Auto checkout has received more and more attention in recent years and this system automatically generates a shopping bill by identifying the picture of the products purchased by the customers. However, the system is challenged by the domain adaptation problem, where each image of the training set contains only one commodity, whereas the test set is a collection of multiple commodities. The existing solution to this problem is to resynthesize the training images to enhance the training set. Then the composite images are rendered using CycleGAN to make the image distribution of the training set and the test set more similar. However, we find that the detection boxes given by the ground truth of the common dataset contain a large part of the background area, the area will affect the training process as noise. To solve this problem, we propose a mask data priming method. Specifically, we redo the large scale Retail Product Checkout (RPC) dataset and add segmentation annotation information to each item in the training set image based on the original dataset using pixel-level annotation. Secondly, a new network structure is proposed in which we train the network using joint learning of detectors and counters, and fine-tune the detection network by filtering out suitable images from the test set. Experiments on the RPC dataset have shown that our method yields better results. we used an approach that reached 81.87% compared to 56.68% for the baseline approach which demonstrates that pixel-level information helps to improve the detection results of the network.

Early-season crop-type data are required for a variety of agricultural monitoring and decision-making applications. The early season in this study referred to the prophase and middle of a growth season. Early-season detection of crop types remains challenging because of limited discriminative features, especially for landscapes that are characterized by complex cropping patterns. In fact, different remote-sensing satellites can increase the frequency of data acquisition, which can provide more information in the early season. Moreover, optical and radar sensors have different degrees of sensitivity to crop parameters. Therefore, the integration and application of two types of multitemporal data are of great significance to improve the accuracy and timeliness of crop type detection.In deep learning (DL), convolutional neural network (CNN) and recurrent neural network (RNN) models have great potential for temporal feature extraction. Compared with RNNs, CNNs usually have fewer parameters and are more conducive to determining early-season detection dates of different crop types, which requires a lot of training because of the need to model on different dates. Nevertheless, revisit dates and temporal intervals of different satellites are usually different, resulting in different data acquisition time series; these data cannot be directly used as input for the same convolutional layer. To address this challenge, a Dual-1DCNN was bulit based on the CNN model in this study. Moreover, an incremental training method was used to attain the network on each data acquisition date and obtained the best detection date for each crop type in the early season. A case study for Hengshui City in China was conducted using time series of Sentinel-1A (S1A) and Sentinel-2 (S2). To verify this method, classical methods support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) were implemented. The results demonstrated the following: (1) the Dual-1DCNN extracted discriminative features from S1A and S2 time series at the early season by producing the highest overall accuracy (OA: 87.23%); (2) for summer maize, cotton, and common yam rhizome, the Dual-1DCNN achieved F1 values of 92.39%, 87.71%, and 84.38%, respectively, at the early season (moreover, the early seasons were almost 40, 70, and 80 days before the end of the growth seasons, respectively). These findings suggested that the Dual-1DCNN is promising for the accurate and timely detection of crop types.

This paper addresses the difficulty of balancing real-time response and low power consumption in intelligent manhole cover application scenarios. It proposes a method to distinguish normal and abnormal events by segmenting the boundary where the acceleration of the intelligent manhole cover deviates from a set threshold and lasts for a certain period, based on the difference in vibration patterns of the intelligent manhole cover when a normal event and an abnormal event occur. This paper uses digital output motion sensor data autonomous data fusion to implement the pattern mentioned above recognition algorithm, which reduces the MCU computing and working time and the overall power consumption of the system while meeting the real-time response requirements. The test results demonstrate that the method has a high rate of anomaly recognition accuracy. The method ensures the system's real-time response capability, and the actual low power consumption test demonstrates that the device can operate continuously for 9.5 years. The low power consumption index exceeds the requirements of the existing national standard, thereby resolving the issue that it is challenging to balance intelligent manhole cover abnormality recognition and low power consumption.

We studies the initial value problem for the fractional Navier-Stokes-Coriolis equations, which obtained by replacing the Laplacian operator in the Navier-Stokes-Coriolis equation by the more general operator $(-\Delta)^\alpha$ with $\alpha>0$. We introduce function spaces of the Besove type characterized by the time evolution semigroup associated with the general linear Stokes-Coriolis operator. Next, we establish the unique existence of global in time mild solutions for small initial data belonging to our function spaces characterized by semigroups in both the scaling subcritical and critical settings.

The combination of wet-lab experimental data on multi-site combinatorial mutations and machine learning is an innovative method in protein engineering. In this study, we present an improved innovative sequence–activity relationship (innov'SAR) methodology based on novel descriptors and digital signal processing (DSP) to construct a predictive model. In this improved approach, 21 experimental (R)-selective amine transaminases from Aspergillus terreus (AT-ATA) were used as an input to predict higher thermostability than that predicted using the existing data. We successfully improved the determination coefficient (R2) of the model from 0.66 to 0.92. In addition, root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) were estimated and conformation analysis based on molecular dynamics simulations was performed to verify the enhanced thermal stability of the screened mutants. The improved innov'SAR algorithm enhanced the predictive accuracy, suggesting a method for modifying the stability of AT-ATA, which may help in directed evolutionary screening and open up new avenues for protein engineering.

In this paper, PEN3 electronic nose was used to detect and recognize fresh and moldy apples (inoculated with Penicillium expansum and Aspergillusniger) taken Golden Delicious apples as model subject. Firstly, the apples were divided into two groups: apples only inoculated with different molds (Group A) and mixed apples of inoculated apples with fresh apples (Group B). Then the characteristic gas sensors of the PEN3 electronic nose that were most closely correlated with the flavor information of the moldy apples were optimized and determined, which can simplify the analysis process and improve the accuracy of results. Four pattern recognition methods, including linear discriminant analysis (LDA), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), support vector machines (SVM) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), were then applied to analyze the data obtained from the characteristic sensors, respectively, aiming at establishing the prediction model of flavor information and fresh/moldy apples. The results showed that only the gas sensors of W1S, W2S, W5S, W1W and W2W in the PEN3 electronic nose exhibited strong signal response to the flavor information, indicating were most closely correlated with the characteristic flavor of apples and thus the data obtained from these characteristic sensors was used for modeling. The results of the four pattern recognition methods showed that BPNN presented the best prediction performance for the training and validation sets for both the Group A and Group B, with prediction accuracies of 96.29% and 90.00% (Group A), 77.70% and 72.00% (Group B), respectively. Therefore, it first demonstrated that PEN3 electronic nose can not only effectively detect and recognize the fresh and moldy apples, but also can distinguish apples inoculated with different molds.

The development of a method to produce coumarins unsubstituted on the pyranic nucleus catalyzed from Wells–Dawson heteropolyacid (H₆P₂W₁₈O₆₂), phenol derivatives and ethyl 3,3-diethoxypropionate using Pechmann condensation under solvent-free conditions is described. This catalytic method was also applied successfully to synthesize various substituted coumarins, including the corresponding phenols and ethyl 3,3-diethoxypropionate. This work provides a novel, cheaper and safer way to syhthesize coumarins unsubstituted on the pyranic nucleus.

Background: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sunlight can harm skin cells, causing short-term effects, such as sunburns and long-term effects, such as pigmentation changes, changes in the skin's immune responses, and increased risk of skin cancer. These conditions can be largely prevented with proper sun protection measures and behavioural changes. This study aims to assess the knowledge on sun protection behaviour and baseline knowledge of medical students from the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. Methods: Data in this cross-sectional study were collected through a Google Forms questionnaire, which was distributed from November 2023 to December 2023 via digital communication channels to students across all academic years. STROBE guidelines were consulted for data synthesis; Results: A total of 668 stu-dents responded. The student cohort demonstrated a commendable level of awareness of the risks associated with sun exposure and the advantages of employing sun protection factor (SPF); how-ever, the incidence of sunburns remained notably elevated (72.3%). Further analysis revealed cor-relations among gender, academic year, presence of photosensitizing conditions, and adherence to SPF application. Additionally, there is a need to improve understanding of the appropriate appli-cation techniques for SPF, as only 11.5% of the students exhibited proficiency in this regard; Con-clusions: As future healthcare providers, medical students hold significance in promoting healthy behaviours in the broader community. This study indicates that while their knowledge about sun protection is satisfactory, there is scope for enhancement.

Climate change related increases in frequency and intensity of heatwaves affect viticulture, leading to losses in yield and grape quality. We assessed whether canopy architecture manipulation mitigates the effects of summer stress in a Mediterranean vineyard. Muscat of Alexandria grapevines were monitored during 2019-2020. Two canopy shoot positioning treatments were applied: Vertical shoot positioning (VSP); and Modulated shoot positioning (MSP), the west side upper foliage released to promote partial shoot leaning, shading the clusters. Clusters were sampled at pea size (PS), veraison (VER) and full maturation (FM). Measurements included rachis anatomy and hydraulic conductance, and aquaporins (AQP) and stress-related genes expression in cluster tissues. Results show significant seasonal and interannual differences in Kh and vascular anatomy. At VER, Krachis , Krachis+pedicels, and xylem diameter decreased but were unaffected by treatments. The Phloem/Xylem ratio was either increased (2019) or reduced (2020) in MSP, compared to VSP. Most AQP were down-regulated at FM in pedicels, and up-regulated at VER in pulp. A potential maturation shift in MSP was observed, confirmed by the up-regulation of several stress-related genes in all tissues. The study pinpoints the role of canopy architecture in berry water relations and stress response during ripening.

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) remain a public health challenge in developing counties. We developed a needs-based essential care service package (ECSP) for care planning of persons living with dementia (PLWD) using a cross-sectional survey among PLWD in institutions in six cities in China (n= 1,299). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with caregivers of PLWD by trained staff between 2018 and 2019. Care service needs and utilization by the level of cognitive impairment were summarized. The average age of PLWD was 80.7 years. 76% of participants had severe cognitive impairment. The needs-based ECSP with 30 service items would be sufficient in supporting care services of PLWD in China, of which seven items are core care. The selection plan for ECSP at different levels is designed as “General Care Services + Selective Care Services”, in which service items for low-, mid-and high-level care for PLWD are 7+3, 7+6, and 7+10, respectively. The findings provide the first large-scale data on service needs and utilization of PLWD in mainland China. The ECSP for PLWD advanced in the paper was a practicable and effective quantitative management means. It is deserved to application in a large scale.

Conclusions: Molecular classification could provide reliable supplementary information for evaluating prognostic and contribute to treatment option decision-making in EEC patients. Fertility-sparing treatment is not recommended for EEC patients with CNH and MSI-H. Furthermore, fertility-sparing treatment can be attempted in EEC patients with CHL, but regular follow-up should be carried out to early detection of EC relapse and prevention of disease progression.

Ensuring bus priority is to improve traffic sustainability at the signalized intersection. To achieve this, the Bus Priority Lane (BPL) is adopted to provide exclusive right-of-way for buses. However, the BPL is underutilization if the frequency of buses is low. To address this issue, many studies focus on improving the BPL’s utilization efficiency by intermittently allowing general vehicles to access it. However, these studies still have some shortcomings: i) bus priority cannot be guaranteed if general vehicles run on the BPL; ii) the traffic system lacks resilience, especially when the traffic demand is unbalanced. This paper proposes a dynamic right-of-way allocation on the BPL considering traffic system resilience. On the one hand, it ensures absolute bus priority by controlling Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) to not interfere with buses. On the other hand, it can improve traffic system resilience by allocating right-of-way for CAVs with heavy turning-movement demand. To validate the effectiveness, the proposed control strategy is evaluated against the non-control baseline. Sensitivity analysis is conducted under seven unbalanced traffic demand levels, four congestion levels, and five CAV Penetration Rates. The results show that the proposed control strategy can ensure absolute bus priority and improve traffic efficiency and traffic system resilience.

Handwriting is a form of biometric behavioral characteristic with evident individual distinctiveness. With the surge of the deep learning trend and the demand for forensic identification, handwriting identification has become one of the focal points of research in the field of pattern recognition. The research on handwriting identification in major world languages has reached a mature stage. However, there is still a notable lack of relevant research in the field of Mongolian handwriting identification, despite the fact that Mongolian is used by over 4 million people in China. This paper embarks on an initial exploration of Mongolian handwriting identification by constructing a convolutional neural network named MWInet-12. In this paper, the model evaluation experiments were conducted using a dataset comprising 156,372 samples contributed by 125 authors from the MOLHW dataset. The dataset was divided into training, validation, and test sets in an 8:1:1 ratio. The final results of the experiments reveal impressive accuracy on the test set, achieving a top-1 accuracy of 89.60% and a top-5 accuracy of 97.53%. Furthermore, through comparative experiments involving Resnet, Fragnet, and GRRNN models, this paper establishes that the proposed model yields the most favorable results for Mongolian handwriting identification.

This paper, from the perspective of Mode 3 of knowledge production, takes the important carrier of knowledge, scientific research papers, as the research object. The mainstream databases (SCIE and SSCI) are chosen as the data sources. Firstly, bibliometric methods are applied to analyze the cooperation status among the main bodies of paper production, including authors and their affiliated institutions, countries, and disciplines; secondly, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to construct a comprehensive evaluation model for the state of research cooperation in carbon neutrality. Based on the evaluation model, the cooperation characteristics of different disciplinary fields and the relationship between paper cooperation status and high-impact research papers are comparatively analyzed. At the same time, an analysis is conducted on the support from the government, the sponsorship from enterprises, and the participation of the public in the process of paper production. Finally, some suggestions are put forward on how to build an innovative ecosystem for carbon neutrality research from the perspective of Mode 3 of knowledge production.

Soil washing is a rapid and efficient method for heavy metals removal. In this study, in order to prove the feasibility of leaching remediation technology for remediation of lead-contaminated soil around a smelter, intermittent oscillating washing tests and extensive continuous tests were conducted to remediate Pb contaminated soils. Plant growth tests with wheat (Bainong Aikang 58) were also conducted to investigate the effects of leaching on plant growth and the Pb content of stems and leaves. The results revealed that in soils, Pb mainly exists in the forms of PbCO3, Pb5(PO4)3Cl2, PbSO4, and in small amounts of PbS. The intermittent oscillating washing tests showed that a lower liquidsolid(L/S) ratio and a higher leaching temperature and time were related to increased Pb removal efficiency. The Pb removal efficiency rates in the oscillating washing tests and the extensive continuous tests were 72.50% and 69.94%, respectively. In addition, the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil were basically unchanged after the leaching regimes. The results of the plant growth tests showed that the leaching regimes did not have a negative effect on the survival rate and growth of the wheat, and the heavy metal contents of the stem and leaf were effectively reduced. This study provides a reference for the large-scale remediation of contaminated soils.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a disease with unknown causes within all forms of arthritis in children under 16 years of age. The diagnosis is made when another joint pathology is excluded. Difficulties in early and differential diagnosis lead to the rapid disability of patients and an unfavourable life prognosis. Therefore, timely diagnosis is necessary to prevent irreversible damage to the joints and preserve their function. Due to the widespread use of new technologies, modern multimodal imaging has gained recognition, which includes X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI. The combination of methods plays a key role in confirming the diagnosis, monitoring disease activity, prognosis during the course, and outcome in children with JIA. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. The introduction of the method of passive microwave radiometry (MWR), in combination with other imaging methods, makes it possible to expand the possibilities of screening the disease in the preclinical and early clinical phases.

Hypoxia is the main survival challenge that human beings encounter in high altitudes, it is also the leading cause of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Studies have shown that hypoxia induces a large number of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in AMS patients, and the surge of ROS leads to the reduction of oxygen delivery capacity of erythrocyte, senescence and inflammatory impairment of erythrocyte and vascular endothelial cells to a certain extent. Through depicting a target-pathway network, our study indicates that Compound Danshen Dropping Pills (CDDP), which is one of the best-known traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of myocardial ischemic diseases, can improve red blood cell oxygen delivery capacity in AMS patients, alleviate tissue and organ damage, relieve a series of clinical symptoms caused by hypoxia through ROS clearance and related mechanisms. We further elucidate the active ingredients of CDDP targeting ROS related pathway by target-ingredient correspondence analysis. Tanshinone IIA, catechol and some other compounds of CDDP were identified to have certain targeting effect on ROS and ROS dependent pathways. This study provides new understandings of CDDP in clinical application on AMS.

Technological advancements must keep pace with earth’s rising demand for energy, while minimizing the carbon footprint on earth. One such option is using space based solar (SBS) radio frequency (RF) microwave power beaming. This innovative and novel technology is currently being explored to address terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) intermittency and provide a method to transmit power to other spacecraft in various orbits. This modality of power generation and distribution presents a new way to power terrestrial off-grid applications and earth orbiting spacecraft. In 1968, Dr. Peter Glaser published "Power from the Sun: Its Future", which serves as the foundation of this paper to revitalize scientific interest and efforts in this topic. This paper will primarily focus on the reliance of SBS initiatives on reusable launch vehicles (RLV) to place SBS spacecraft in a designated orbit, as well as the technological, economic, and operational challenges associated with power beaming to earth and other spacecraft. This includes a discussion of the variables from the operational environment that contribute or accelerate spacecraft end of life.

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.

Accurate prediction of the self-propulsion performance is one of the most important factors for energy-efficient design of a ship. In general, the hydrodynamic performance of a full-scale ship could be achieved by model-scale simulation or towing tank test with extrapolations. With the development of CFD methods and computing power, directly predict ship performance with full-scale CFD is an important approach. In this article, a numerical study on the full-scale self-propulsion performance with propeller operating behind ship at model- and full-scale is presented. The study includes numerical simulations using RANS method with double-model and VOF model respectively and scale effect analysis based on overall performance, local flow fields and detailed vortex identification. Verification study on grid convergence is also performed for full-scale simulation with global and local mesh refinements. And a series of sea trail tests were performed to collect reliable data for the validation of CFD predictions. The analysis of scale effect on hull-propeller interaction shows that the difference on hull boundary layer and flow separation is the main source of scale effect on ship wake. And the results of the fluctuations of propeller thrust and torque along with circulation distribution and local flow field show that propeller’s loading is significantly higher for model-scale ship. It is suggested that the difference on vortex evolution and interaction is more pronounced and have larger effects on ship’s powering performance at model-scale than full-scale according to the simulation results. From the study on self-propulsion prediction, it could be concluded that the simplification on free surface treatment does not only affect the wave-making resistance for bare hull but also the propeller performance and propeller induced ship resistance which can produced up to 5% uncertainty to the power prediction. Roughness is another important factor in full-scale simulation because it has up to approximately 7% effect on the delivery power. As a result of validation study, the numerical simulations of full-scale ship self-propulsion shows good agreement with the sea trail data especially for cases that have considered both roughness and free surface effects. This result will largely enhance our confidence to apply full-scale simulation in the prediction of ship’s self-propulsion performance in the future ship designs.

Alfalfa is an important forage crop around the world. LncRNAs are considered to be a class of functional biomacromolecules, while little is known about lncRNAs in alfalfa. In this study, RNAs from different tissues of alfalfa were sequenced and anlyzed with full-length transcriptome sequencing technology, yielding the full-length transcripts dataset of alfalfa. Based on sequencing and public RNA-seq data, lncRNAs of alfalfa were predicted genome-wide by CPC2 and PLEK. The results showed most lncRNAs shared low sequence conservation with those in other plant species, part of which seems originate from plastid genome. We also identified 88563 lncRNAs, approximately 99.8% of total lncRNAs, with possibility of coding small ORFs using two prediction tools. Our research generated the biggest sequence set of alfalfa lncRNAs, and revealed some plastid originated lncRNAs with high sequence conservation.

The daily path of the Sun across longitude yields night and day, but the Sun also travels across latitude on a belt 47° wide. The Sun meridian declination explains the annual budget of natural beam irradiance (NBI), which is the irradiance delivered to the Earth’s surface as a normal projec-tion from the Sun. Data for the sun meridian declination data were obtained from the geometric model. The distribution of NBI was weighed between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The variation patterns of the solar declination conform to the dynamics of pendular motion. The joint distributions of velocity or acceleration of meridian declination against declination fit circular graphs. The NBI budget fluctuates in inverse proportion to the velocity of declination, yielding 18 sun-paths per degree for latitudes above 20°, and 6 sun-paths per degree for latitudes under 20°. All sites of the planet, whose latitude coincide, whether within or between hemispheres, accumu-late an equivalent budget of NBI.

Forest ecosystems make a greater contribution to carbon (C) stocks than any other terrestrial ecosystem. To understand the role of regional forest ecosystems in global climate change and carbon exchange, forest C stock and its spatial distribution within the small (2,300 km2) Liuxihe River basin were analyzed to determine the different contributors to the C stock. Forest C stocks were quantified by measuring the biomass of trees, understory vegetation, litter and roots, as well as soil organic C, using data from field samples and laboratory experiments. The results showed that forests stored 38.04 Tg C in the entire basin, with secondary and planted forests accounting for 89.82% and 10.18%, respectively, of the stored C. Five types of forests, a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, a subtropical coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, a subtropical coniferous forest, a timber forest, and a non-wood forest, stored 257.55 ± 15.01, 218.92 ± 9.59, 195.24 ± 18.29, 177.42 ± 17.55, and 117.86 ± 6.04 Mg C ha−1, respectively. In the forest ecosystem C stocks of the basin, soils averagely contribute about 73.78%, not including root underground biomass. It provides a comprehensive method for forest ecosystem carbon investigation and forest management in small basin scale.

We study L_2-approximation problems in the weighted Hilbert spaces in the worst case setting. Three interesting weighted Hilbert spaces appear in this paper, whose weights are equipped with two positive parameters $\ga_j$ and $\az_j$ for $j=1,\,2,\dots,\,d$. We consider the worst case error of algorithms that use finitely many arbitrary continuous linear functionals. We discuss the exponential convergence-(t,s)-weak tractability (EC-(t,s)-WT) of these L_2-approximation problems under the absolute or normalized error criterion. In particular, we obtain the sufficient and necessary conditions for EC-(1,1)-WT and EC-(t,1)-WT with t

The global warming our generation is experiencing is just one of the great environmental crises of the Anthropocene, a geological period that began with the use of fossil fuels and that, in merely one century and a few decades of industrial activity, has altered ecosystemic processes that sustain human health and well-being. Beyond the loss of the “intrinsic value of nature”, changes in the magnitude and direction of biogeochemical cycles and increases in temperature are phenomena that not only accompany the loss of habitats and species but impair resilience by ultimately generating greater and more complex numbers and types of exposures that constitute a danger to human health. In this study, we attempted to offer some notes about the margin, understood as that space with the greatest inequity and therefore the fastest growth of risk: the collision area where deprivation marks the social determinants of health and where the greatest interaction with causes of disease occur.

Studying the two famous old problems that why the moon can move around the Sun and why the orbit of the Moon around the Earth cannot be broken off by the Sun under the condition that calculating with F=GMm/R^2, the attractive force of the Sun on the Moon is almost 2.2 times that of the Earth. We found that the planet and moon are unified as one single gravitational unit which results in that the Sun cannot have the force of F=GMm/R^2 on the moon. The moon is moved by the gravitational unit orbiting around the Sun. It could indicate that the gravitational field of the moon is limited inside the unit and the gravitational fields of both the planet and moon is unified as one single field interacting with the Sun. The findings are further clarified by reestablishing Newton’s repulsive gravity.

In aerospace, robotics, network engineering and mechanical engineering, there exist complex and urgent challenges that can be abstracted into mathematical optimization problems. Therefore, exploring solutions to these optimization problems is a crucial task. Metaheuristic algorithms have been applied across various fields.The Snake Optimization Algorithm (SO) is an innovative metaheuristic method recognized for its efficient solving capabilities.However, this algorithm encounters challenges such as diminished search efficiency in the later stages and a propensity to become ensnared in local optima. To mitigate these issues, this paper introduces an enhanced Snake Optimization Algorithm (ISO). ISO integrates the RIME Algorithm(RIME)and introduces two effective enhancement strategies to improve its capability to evade local optima.To assess the effectiveness of ISO,the population distribution state was first measured using three algorithms, including Star Discrepancy, and the exploration and exploitation performance was analyzed using the CEC2017 test functions. Subsequently, utilized 23 benchmark functions for testing.The evaluation outcomes indicate that ISO exhibits outstanding performance in terms of convergence velocity and robustness.Additionally, it was applied to engineering fields including UAV path planning,Robot path planning, Wireless sensor network node deployment and Pressure vessel design.In comparison to the SO algorithm, the ISO algorithm demonstrates superior stability, converges earlier, and improves its ability to solve for optimal .These findings highlight the significant potential of the ISO algorithm in diverse test functions and a wide range of interdisciplinary problems.

Based on the geologic conditions of natural gas hydrate (NGH) accumulations in the Shenhu area, northern slope of the South China Sea, this paper used a method of combining reservoir stimulation technique (RST) with depressurization to investigate the conversion efficiency of marine NGH reservoirs in different intrinsic permeability and initial NGH saturation conditions, and analyze the influence of variably-stimulation effect on marine NGH conversion efficiency in different accumulation conditions, provided a reference scheme for improving the NGH conversion efficiency in the Shenhu area. In this work, we performed calculations for the variations in CH4 production rate and cumulative volume of CH4 in different initial NGH saturation, intrinsic permeability and stimulation effect conditions, variance analysis and range analysis methods were used to analyze the significance of these key factors and their interaction, and investigated the sensitivity of stimulation effect on NGH conversion efficiency, respectively. The simulation results showed that stimulation effect have a significant influence on NGH conversion efficiency, and the influence of interaction between these three factors were not obvious. Possibly most important, we clarified an optimum stimulation effect for higher NGH conversion efficiency under different accumulation conditions, especially in low-permeability and high-saturation, which corresponding stimulation effect were different.

p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) is not only the useful molecular target in treating life-threatening tyrosinemia type I, but also an important target for chemical herbicides. A combined in silico structure-based pharmacophore and molecular docking based virtual screening were performed to identify novel potential HPPD inhibitors. The complex based pharmacophore model (CBP) with 0.721 of ROC used for screening compound showed remarkable ability to retrieve known active ligands from decoy molecule. The ChemDiv database was screened using CBP-Hypo2 as a 3D query, and the best-fit hits subjected to molecular docking with two methods of LibDock and CDOCKER in Accelrys Discovery Studio 2.5(DS 2.5) to discern interactions with key residues at the active site of HPPD. 4 Compounds with top rank in HipHop model and well-known binding model were finally chosen as identification of lead compounds with potentially inhibitory effects on active site of target. The results provided powerful insight to the development of novel HPPD inhibitors herbicides using computational techniques.

Sensory descriptive analysis was used to evaluate the aged Feng-flavored baijiu. The results indicated that there are notable differences in the samples of different ages. The samples with shorter storage times and fresh distilled Baijiu present bran flavor, and fresh green flavor. with the increase of storage time, the fragrance of honey, sweetness, flowers, and aging gradually increases. The samples of Feng-flavored baijiu were dected by Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOFMS) , in total, 496 sustances were identified in all samples, mainly containing 14 types of substances, such as esters, aldehydes etc., of which 42 substances were found in Feng-flavored baijiu for the first time. Chemometrics was used to analyze the key differential compounds. 143 differential compounds closely related to aging were preliminarily screened, and principal component analysis revealed that these samples were separated by year. 65 differential compounds were selected out by partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA). Furthermore, 43 key differential compounds were selected from the aged Feng-flavored baijiu combined with variable importance in projection and Pearson correlation coefficients. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to research the correlation of sensory properties and key differential compounds, and the results indicated that most compounds were closely related to the aged Baijiu . This study afford theoretical basis and reference for flavor research of Feng-flavored baijiu.

Lake sediment records are of great importance for understanding the evolution of watershed environments. Various studies have been carried out to constrain the depositional ages of lake sediments and examine their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, aiming to construct historical vegetation, environment and climate patterns in Chinese lake watersheds. In this study, we obtained relevant literature on lake sediment records by searching the key word 'age-depth' from the databases – Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, the largest Chinese academic database). We analyzed the literature based on its type (published in a Chinese/English journal or as a Master’s/PhD thesis), period of publication, journal (if published in a journal), key authors, study area, dating scale, and main aims. The results suggest that the lakes in the plateau regions are the most popular research topic typically covering 100–200 years (short-term) and 500–30,000 years (long-term). The literature focuses on a wide range of topics, from past environmental evolution in the watershed to lake ecology, and provides a solid foundation for better understanding regional climate change and the preservation of lake environments and ecosystems. In the future, resulting data from environmental reconstruction with lake sediments will be needed to integrate with emerging information processing technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and meta-analysis), to disentangle the complex interplay between Earth surface processes and global climate change; furthermore, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration will deepen our comprehension of man-land relationship and promote the sustainable management of lake ecosystems in the context of global climate change.

The use of bacteriophage is reemerging as a tool for combatting multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. In our previous study, we showed that colistin resistant carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (ColR-CRKP) is more susceptible to killing by lytic tailed phages, including ФNJS1 specific for nonmucoid K. pneumoniae. Although we demonstrated that alteration on surface charges of ColR-CRKP promotes phage adherence and infection, the receptor for ФNJS1 was still unknown. In current study, we identified O-antigen was involved in the reversible adsorption, and outer membrane protein (OMP) FepA may be served as one of the irreversible receptors for ФNJS1. We firstly found accelerated reversible phage adsorption to ColR-CRKP cells, and that periodate treatment of bacteria inhibited the phage binding, indicating LPS may be involved in phage reversible adsorption. ФNJS1-resistant bacterial mutants screening revealed that mutants in ∆wecG(mTn5) and ∆wecA(mTn5), two genes responsible for LPS biosynthesis, affected phage adsorption capacity and phage infectivity. The loss of wzyE encoding O-antigen polymerase showed no significant difference in phage adsorption but increased phage infectivity, suggesting the long chain length of O-antigen may also be a barrier for bacteriophage infection. Among four OMP mutants including ∆fepA, ∆fhuA, ∆ompA and ∆ompC, only ∆fepA slowed phage lysis rate, suggesting FepA may be as one of irreversible receptors for ФNJS1. The results are helpful to better understand why ColR-CRKP sensitizes phage infection and to combat multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae infections in the future.

Camouflage is a natural or artificially process to prevent an object from being detected while camouflage breaking is a countering process for the identification of the concealed object. We report that a perfectly camouflaged object in a two-dimensional scene can be retrieved and detected with stereo-vision assisted three-dimensional (3D) imaging perceived with stereopsis. The analysis is based on binocular energy model applied to general 3D settings. We show that a perfectly concealed object with random noise background can be retrieved with vision’s stereoacuity to resolve the hidden structures. The theoretical analysis is further tested and demonstrated with distant natural images taken by a drone-camera, processed with a computer and displayed in an autostereoscopy. The recovered imaging is presented with removal of the background interference to demonstrate the general applicability for camouflage breaking with stereo imaging and sensing.

The ketogenic diet and walking exercise training activity are two key public health lifestyle factors. The potential of combined lifestyle factors interventions focused on getting to compliance in forced exercise. A balanced ketogenic diet and regular exercise activity is a key modifiable factor to the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Influence health across the lifespan and reduction of the risk of premature death through several biological mechanisms. Community older group’s lifestyle factors interventions contribute identity in their natural living environment. While the older health benefits of walking exercise training strategies are commonly to study, combined ketogenic diet and walking exercise interventions have induced greater benefits in community older groups.

While being a workaholic supervisor may be viewed as admirable due to their commitment to work, existing findings on its effects on subordinates are mixed. Drawing upon the principle learning perspective and activation theory, we propose a curvilinear relationship between supervisor workaholism and subordinate job performance and investigate the moderating role of subordinate social-related social media usage. Specifically, we suggest that subordinate job performance increases (decreases) as supervisor workaholism increases from low (moderate) to moderate (high) levels and that this inverted U-shaped relationship becomes flatter when subordinates have higher social-related social media usage. The results, based on a multi-source survey collected from 321 supervisor-subordinate dyads, support the predictions. Our research moves beyond linear thinking and suggests that there exists an optimal level of supervisor workaholism that maximizes subordinate job performance. We also provide insights into the ongoing debate and potential ethical concerns surrounding whether employees should use social media at work. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

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

In this paper, we propose and evaluate two mechanisms aimed at improving the communication reliability of IEEE 802.15g SUN (Smart Utility Networks) in industrial scenarios: RTS (Re-Transmission Shaping), which uses acknowledgements to track channel conditions and dynamically adapt the number of re-transmissions per packet, and AMS (Adaptive Modulation Selection), which makes use of reinforcement learning based on MAB (Multi-Armed Bandits) to choose the modulation that provides the best reliability for each packet re-transmission. The evaluation of both mechanisms is performed through computer simulations using a dataset obtained from a real-world deployment and two widely used metrics, the PDR (Packet Delivery Ratio) and the RNP (Required Number of Packet transmissions). The PDR measures the ratio between received and transmitted packets, whereas the RNP is the number of packet repetitions before a successful transmission. The results show that both mechanisms allow to increase the communication reliability while not jeopardizing the battery life-time constraints of end devices. For example, when three re-transmissions per packet are allowed, the PDR reaches 98/96\% with a RNP of 2.03/1.32 using RTS and AMS, respectively. Additionally, the combination of both proposed mechanisms allows to reach a 99% PDR with a RNP of 1.7, making IEEE 802.15.4g SUN compliant with the stringent data delivery requirements of industrial applications.

Measuring host communities' perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development has been increasingly common since the mid-1970s. The greater the growth of the tourism industry worldwide, the more relevant it has become to assess the impact of tourism activity on the local residents. In this paper we present the results of a study carried out in two EU countries highly dependent on tourism act though at a different stage of development. Our findings are based on qualitative and quantitative data obtained via a questionnaire survey designed in pre-covid 19 times to analyze the perceptions and attitudes of tourism college students from Croatia and Spain, today’s tourism employers and employees, towards tourism development in sun and sea desti-nations. Our aim is to contrast the hypothesis that the nationality of our sample is a significant variable when evaluating the socioeconomic and environmental impact of the development of the tourism industry. Croatia’s workforce, the most highly dependent on the EU travel and tourism industry show to be much more aware of the negative impacts of tourism development than their Spaniards counterparts; showing a tourism workforce more reluctant to further tourism development.

The vibration signal of the engine contains strong background noise and many kinds of modulating components, which is difficult to diagnose. Variational mode decomposition (VMD) is a recently introduced adaptive signal decomposition algorithm with a solid theoretical foundation and good noise robustness compared with empirical mode decomposition (EMD). VMD can effectively avoid endpoint effect and modal aliasing. However, VMD cannot effectively eliminate the random noise in the signal, so the random decrement technique is introduced to solve the problem. Based on the crankshaft bearing fault simulation experiment, the four kinds of wear state vibration signals are decomposed by VMD, and the modal components with smaller permutation entropy are selected as fault components. Then the fault component is processed by the random decrement technique, and the Hilbert envelope spectrum of the fault component is obtained. Compared with the fault feature extraction method based on EMD and EEMD, the feature extraction results of the proposed method are better than those of the above two methods. The simulation analysis and the simulation test of the crankshaft bearing fault verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Detecting and monitoring changes in soil salinity through remote sensing provides an opportunity for field assessment in regions where on-site measurements are limited. This investigation, carried out in Siwa Oasis, Egypt, aimed to assess the efficacy of several soil salinity indices derived from Landsat 5 and 7 satellite images. To achieve this, 56 on-site ground measurements were utilized for evaluation purposes. The study aimed to improve the correlation between EC and index values and explore the relationship between salinity and changes in land cover. Eleven spectral indices were calculated for nine scenes captured in different months from August to December. The first approach involved stacking the data to identify the index with the strongest correlation with ground EC values, without the need for complex analysis or EC value ranging. In the second approach, the ground EC measurements were classified into seven different salinity categories, and the correlation coefficient was calculated between each index and each salinity category. The third approach analyzed the data temporally, considering different salinity levels. Lastly, a spatial correlation analysis was conducted between EC and index values in the fourth scenario. The initial approach revealed a weak correlation due to substantial variation in EC values. However, the SI index demonstrated the highest correlation coefficient of 0.38. In the second scenario, the S2 index exhibited the highest correlation of 0.96 for moderate salinity samples. The third scenario showed that the S1 index achieved the highest correlation value of 0.99 for moderately saline areas. In the fourth scenario, the SI index exhibited the strongest correlation among all four ponds with correlation coefficients of 0.23, 0.23, 0.18, and 0.61. Notably, the correlations observed in the second and third scenarios demonstrated higher correlation coefficients compared to both the first and fourth scenarios. The study highlighted significant variations in EC levels related to land cover types and pond elevation. Additionally, remote sensing methods detected a 48% increase in total vegetated area over 17 years, showing the potential of remote sensing techniques in salinity monitoring for expanding agriculture and improving land management.

Outliers seriously affect the accuracy in geometric model fitting. Previous works in coping with outliers involve threshold selection and scale estimation. However most scale estimators suppose the inlier distribution as a Gaussian model, which usually poorly meets the cases in geometric model fitting. Outliers, considered as the points with big residuals to all the true models, share common items with big values in quantized residual preferences, thus making the outliers gather away from the inliers in quantized residual preference space. In this paper we make use of this outlier consensus in quantized residual preference space by extending the usage of energy minimization to combine the model error and the spatial smoothness in quantized residual preference space for outlier detection. The energy minimization based outlier detection process follows an alternate sampling and labeling framework. After the outlier detection, an ordinary energy minimization method is employed to optimize the inlier labels, which also follows the framework of alternate sampling and labeling. The experimental results in this study show that the energy minimization based outlier detection method can detect most of the outliers in the data. Furthermore, the proposed energy minimization based inlier segmentation process segments the inliers into different models quite accurately. Overall, the performance of the proposed method is better than most of the state-of-the-art methods.

Baijiu is popular with its long history and balanced flavor, and flavor type was the most widely used classification mode for Baijiu. However, the evolution relationship of Baijiu flavor types and the differential markers between flavor types are still unclear, which has greatly affected the development of Baijiu industry. In this study, a total of 319 trace components were identified by gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Among them, 91 trace components with high odor active values or taste active values were recognized as flavor components. Then random forests were conducted to screen differential markers between derived and basic flavor types, and principal component analysis was carried out to evaluate their effectiveness in distinguishing the flavor types of Baijiu. Finally, 19 differential markers were screened and proved to effectively reveal the evolution Baijiu flavor types, and were further verified as key differential markers by addition test and correlation analysis.

Digital technology makes energy systems more dynamic, efficient, reliable and sustainable. Promoting the digital governance of renewable energy is not only a key part of energy transformation, but also an important initiative to cope with the global energy crisis, which provides a new impetus for realizing the goal of net-zero emissions. In order to achieve the "dual-carbon" goal, China has been actively promoting energy reform and enhancing the wide application of digital technologies in the development and utilization of renewable energy. The digital governance system and governance capacity of renewable energy is an important support for the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Although the digital governance of renewable energy in China has better policy support and advantages, the dilemmas it faces are still relatively prominent, including unsound laws and policies, insufficient governance capacity, and security loopholes in digital technology, etc. Therefore, this paper proposes a problem-oriented approach to the digital governance of renewable energy. Therefore, this paper puts forward problem-oriented optimization suggestions to innovate the legal system of renewable energy digital governance, promote the digital transformation of China's renewable energy industry, provide development space for renewable energy digital governance in a diversified mode, and enhance the digital governance capacity by improving the renewable energy security system.

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

This paper aims to investigate the rate of expansion and extraction within the solar system. We carried out the Solar system expansion calculations to do such a review. The Universe is expected to look the same from every point in it. After the big bang, Universe is expanding at some speed. Astrophysicists have been in a race to measure precisely how fast the Universe is expanding since Hubble announced that galaxies were systematically moving away from Milky Way Galaxy with a current speed in 1929. Hubble’s observations came after Einstein’s general relativity, which inspired the big bang theory. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe has created billions of years ago with an explosion and started to expand until today. The expansion of the Universe mostly happens in vast spaces, so clusters of galaxies move away from each other. For example, raising bread during baking will expand, but the raisings will stay the same size while moving each other to expand the bread. Observers have proven that an object (galaxies, a cluster of planets) held together by gravity has a patch of nonexpanding space produced by a gravitational field. However, some observers claimed the solar system is not expanding, while others claimed it is expanding. Does our solar system expand in an expanding Universe? The cosmological expansion of local systems is reviewed in the modern cosmological models. We showed answers related to this question with the help of literature. This review article revisited the proof of the Solar System’s expansion and its speed with about 0.32 nm/s in an expanding Universe.

Packet re-transmissions are a common technique to improve link reliability in low-power wireless networks. However, since packet re-transmissions increase the end-device energy consumption and the network load, a maximum number of re-transmissions per packet is typically set, also considering the duty-cycle limitations imposed by radio-frequency regulations. Moreover, the number of re-transmissions per packet is typically set to a constant value, meaning that all packet re-transmissions are treated the same regardless of actual channel conditions (i.e., multi-path propagation or internal/external interference effects). Taking that into account, in this paper we propose and evaluate the concept of re-transmission shaping, a mechanism that manages packet re-transmissions to maximize link reliability, while minimizing energy consumption and meeting radio-frequency regulation constraints. The proposed re-transmission shaping mechanism operates by keeping track of unused packet re-transmissions and allocating additional retransmission when the instantaneous link quality decreases due to channel impairments. To evaluate the re-transmission shaping mechanism we use trace-based simulations using a IEEE 802.15.4g SUN data-set and two widely used metrics, the PDR (Packet Delivery Ratio) and the RNP (Required Number of Packets). The obtained results show that re-transmission shaping is a useful mechanism to improve link reliability of low-power wireless communications, as it can increase PDR from 77.9% to 99.2% while sustaining a RNP of 2.35 re-transmissions per packet, when compared to using a single re-transmission per packet.

Polygonum sibiricum is a traditional Chinese food and medicine homologues with multiple active ingredients and extensive bioactive effects. Polygonum sibiricum polysaccharides (PSP) are one of the main active ingredients with the antidepressant activity, meanwhile the specific mechanisms of its action are still unclear. Recently, it is recognized by researchers that microglia play a double-edged role in neuroinflammation and the transformation of M1/M2 microglial phenotypes appears to be a potential therapeutic strategy in depression. Therefore, the present study evaluated the effects of PSP on microglial M1/M2 polarization and the molecular mechanisms were studied based on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV2 cell activation model. The results show that PSP significantly inhibited NO and LDH release and reduced ROS levels in LPS-induced BV2 cells. PSP could significantly reduce the protein expression level of Iba-1, decreased the mRNA levels of TNF-, IL-1 and IL-6, increased the mRNA level of IL-10. PSP also significantly reduced the protein expression level of CD16/32 and increased it of CD206, reduced the mRNA level and fluorescence intensity of iNOS and increased them of Arg-1. However, PSP pretreatment reversed the alterations of BDNF/TrkB/CREB and Notch/Hes1 pathways in LPS-induced BV2 cells. These results suggested that PSP exerted the anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting M1 phenotype polarization and promoting microglia polarization toward M2 phenotype, and its regulation of microglia M1/M2 polarization may be associated with modulating the BDNF/TrkB/CREB and Notch/Hes1 pathways.

Pancreatitis and alcoholic pancreatitis are serious health concerns, and there is an urgent need for effective treatment strategies. Alcohol is a known etiological factor for pancreatitis, including acute pancreatitis (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). Excessive alcohol consumption induces many pathological stress responses; of particular note is endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and adaptive unfolded protein response (UPR). ER stress results from the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded protein in the ER and is implicated in the pathogenesis of alcoholic pancreatitis. Here we summarize the possible mechanisms by which ER stress contributes to alcoholic pancreatitis. We also discuss potential approaches targeting ER stress and UPR for developing novel therapeutic strategies for the disease.

This narrative review examines the crucial role of physical activity in managing long COVID, characterized by persistent symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, and cognitive impairments following SARS-CoV-2 infection. The methodology involved a comprehensive literature search across PubMed, EBSCO (EDS), and Google Scholar, selecting peer-reviewed articles from December 2019 focusing on long-term COVID physical activity interventions. The review highlights that tailored exercise programs, adjusted to individual health status and abilities, significantly alleviate symptoms and enhance psychological well-being. Key findings emphasize the importance of personalized exercise prescriptions due to the variability in patient responses and the need for a multidisciplinary approach in developing and monitoring interventions. Despite promising outcomes, the review identifies research gaps, including the need for long-term studies, randomized controlled trials, and deeper mechanistic insights. It suggests that standardized reporting, templates like CERT, and integrating digital health tools are essential for optimizing interventions. Overall, the review advocates including personalized physical activity programs in standard care for long COVID to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

With the increasingly stringent airworthiness standards, the noise generated during the rotorcraft flight is gradually attracting people’s attention. It widely operated helicopters at low altitudes because of their maneuverability. The way to reduce the noise caused by the complex airflow of the helicopter rotor system has progressively become a hot topic for researchers. Using a hybrid acoustic analysis method, this paper investigates the improvement of the noise and thrust of the helicopter’s tail rotor through the tail rotor structural parameters. For the basic model, the turbulence simulation is performed using an incompressible detached eddy simulation (DES) method, and the Lighthill acoustic analog equation is calculated using the finite element method (FEM). We verified the accuracy of the method through wind tunnel tests. We chose a series of structural parameters for sound simulation and fluid simulation calculations. The results indicate that the modified tail rotor noise reduced by 16.5 dBA and the total thrust increased by 19.9% from the prototype model. This work can enhance the duct tail rotor design to improve aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance.

The origin and climate impact of Arctic aerosols, like the Arctic Haze, are not fully understood. Therefore, long-term aerosol observations in the Arctic are performed. In this study we present a homogenised data set from sun and star photometer operated in the European Arctic, in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, from 2004 – 2023. Due to polar day and polar night it is crucial to use observations of both instruments. Their data is evaluated in the same way and follows the cloud-screening procedure of AERONET. Additionally, an improved method for the calibration of the star photometer is presented. We found out, that winter months are generally more polluted and have larger particles than summer. While the monthly median Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) decreases in spring, the AOD increases significantly in autumn months. The Arctic Haze is not characterised by large particles and can not be distinguished from large aerosols in winter months. With autocorrelation analysis we found out, that AOD events usually occur with duration of several hours and are therefore caused by large-scale processes and may have a periodicity of several days. Local processes can be neglected in Ny-Ålesund but long-range transport plays a major role for the Arctic aerosol budget. We also compared AOD events with large-scale processes, like large-scale oscillation patterns, sea ice, weather conditions or wildfires on the Northern Hemisphere but did not find one single cause, which clearly determines the Arctic AOD.

Background and Objectives: In the literature, relationships between being married and having prediabetes or diabetes are inconsistent. We aimed to investigate whether marriage is a protective or risk factor for prediabetes and to uncover new insights into its impact on prediabetes. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, questionnaires were distributed by email to 1,039 staff members who participated in an employee health check from a hospital affiliated with a medical university in Taiwan. Fasting blood glucose and triglyceride (TG) levels were checked and the questionnaires elicited basic demographic characteristics and included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, logistic regression, and mediation analysis were conducted for statistical analysis. Results: Among the group aged 20–37 years, married, obesity, neck and shoulder pain, and elevated TG levels were independent risk factors for prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose). For those >38 years old, overweight, obesity, and elevated triglyceride (TG) were the independent risk factors for impaired fasting glucose. Increased TG levels serve as a mediating factor linking marriage to an increased risk of prediabetes for the group aged 20–37 years. Conclusions: TG play a significant role in the association between marriage and prediabetes among the group aged 20–37 years. Therefore, dietary habits, especially those of young adult couples should be considered. Our findings connect marital status to prediabetes, facilitating advances in diabetes prevention.

Background: Excessive sun exposure is a significant risk factor for various skin conditions, including sunburn, premature aging, and skin cancer. This study aims to assess the awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding sun exposure and sunscreen use among college students in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 388 college students from various disciplines. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering demographic information, knowledge, and practices related to sun exposure and sunscreen use. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. Results: The study comprised 53.9% females, with the majority aged 18-23 years. Formal education on sun exposure dangers was lacking for 43.0% of participants. The most recognized consequences of excessive sun exposure were sunburn (80.6%) and skin cancer (74.4%). Intermediate knowledge of sun exposure effects was most common (40.7%). Sunscreen use was inconsistent, with 27.3% never using it during peak sunlight hours. Factors influencing sunscreen use included weather conditions and healthcare provider recommendations. Males were significantly less likely to use sunscreen. First-year students and participants without formal education on sun exposure were less likely to use sunscreen regularly. Conclusion: Despite awareness of the risks associated with excessive sun exposure, sunscreen use among college students in Saudi Arabia is inconsistent and influenced by various factors, including gender and education level. These findings highlight the need for enhanced educational initiatives to promote regular sunscreen use and other sun protection behaviors to mitigate the risk of skin conditions associated with sun exposure.

Baobab (Adansonia digitata) leaves are usually used in dry form in the preparation of a soup known as ‘miyan kuka’ in Northern Nigeria. The leaves are believed to have nutritional and medicinal benefits and have been used for those purposes in Africa and Asia. However there has been limited research on the detailed constituents of the dry leaves. In this study, phytochemical, elemental and proximate analyses of stored, sun and shade-dried baobab leaves were conducted. The results revealed a great variation in the nutritional contents of the leaves. The study reveals that the leaves are rich in phytochemicals such as glycosides, saponins, steroids and flavonoids while alkaloids, tannins and resins are absent. Also, they are important source of minerals such as zinc, copper, iron and manganese. In addition, they are rich in fibre, crude protein, nitrogen and ash. Contrasting responses were obtained in the samples studied. The implications of these responses are discussed in relation to crop yield.

With superior optical properties, high flexibility in engineering its material properties, and strong capability for large-scale on-chip integration, graphene oxide (GO) is an attractive solution for on-chip integration of two-dimensional (2D) materials to implement functional integrated photonic devices capable of new features. Over the past decade, integrated GO photonics, representing an innovative merging of integrated photonic devices and thin GO films, has experienced significant development, leading to a surge in many applications covering almost every field of optical sciences. This paper reviews the recent advances in this emerging field, providing an overview of the optical properties of GO as well as methods for the on-chip integration of GO. The main achievements made in GO hybrid integrated photonic devices for diverse applications are summarized. The open challenges as well as the potential for future improvement are also discussed.

Sun glint, i.e., direct solar radiation reflected from a water surface, negatively affects the accuracy of ocean color retrieval schemes if entering the field-of-view of the observing instrument. Herein, a simple and robust method to quantify the sun glint contribution to top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectances in the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) is proposed, exploiting concomitant observations of the sun glint’s morphology in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) characterized by reflectance contrasts typically higher than those resulting from other in-water or atmospheric processes. The proposed method, termed Glint Removal through Contrast Minimization (GRCM), requires high spatial resolution (ca. 10–50 m) imagery to resolve the sun glint’s characteristic morphology, meeting additional criteria on radiometric resolution and temporal delay between the individual band’s acquisitions. It has been applied with good success to a selection of Landsat 8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) scenes encompassing a wide range of environmental conditions in terms of observation geometry and glint intensity, as well as aerosol and Rayleigh optical depth. The method proposed herein is entirely image based and does not require ancillary information on the sea surface roughness or related parameters (e.g., surface wind), neither the presence of clear water areas in the image under consideration. Limitations of the proposed method are discussed, and its potential for sensors other than OLI and applications beyond glint removal is sketched.

The nuclear factor-ĸB (NF-ĸB) transcriptional system is a major effector pathway involved in inflammatory responses. Previous studies found that a Gardenia decoction (GD) inhibited the expression of NF-κB in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse intestinal injury model. Herein, we hypothesized that geniposide (GE), a component of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, also exerts anti-inflammatory effects and inhibits NF-ĸB activity in LPS-induced intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6). IEC-6 cells were stimulated with LPS, following which the effects of GE on NF-ĸB signaling in the IEC-6 cells were examined by western blotting to detect IĸB phosphorylation/degradation. The expression of NF-κB was determined by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the inhibitory effect of GE on the release of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) activated by LPS in IEC-6 cells. In addition, the migration ability of IEC-6 cells was observed by the scratch method. These results showed that GE dose-dependently downregulated levels of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β that had been upregulated by LPS and suppressed the phosphorylation of IĸB and NF-ĸB induced by LPS. Our findings indicated that GE could reduce LPS-induced NF-ĸB signaling and proinflammatory expression in IEC-6 cells and significantly enhance the migration of IEC-6 cells. Moreover, GE inhibited the expression of NF-κB, nuclear transfer, and transcriptional activity in IEC-6 cells. GE could block the synthesis of inflammatory factors of IEC-6 cells by inhibiting activation of the IĸB/NF-κB signaling pathway induced by LPS.

Pullulan is a kind of natural polymer, which is widely used in medicine and food because of its solubility, plasticity, edible, non-toxicity and good biocompatibility. It is of great significance to improve the yield of pullulan by genetic modification of microorganisms. It was previously reported that Aureobasidium melanogenum TN3-1 isolated from honey-comb could produce high-yield of pullulan, but the molecular mechanisms of its production of pullulan had not been completely solved. In this study, the reported strains of Aureobasidium spp. were further compared and analyzed at genome level. It was found that genome duplication and genome genetic variations might be the crucial factors for the high yield of pullulan and stress resistance. This particular phenotype may be the result of adaptive evolution, which can adapt to its environment through genetic variation and adaptive selection. In addition, the TN3-1 strain has a large genome, and the special regulatory sequences of its specific genes and promoters may ensure a unique characteristics. This study is a supplement of the previous studies, and provides basic data for the research of microbial genome modification in food and healthcare applications.

Biocides used in antifouling (AF) paints, such as 4,5-dichlorine-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazole-3-one (DCOIT), can gradually leach into the environment. Some AF compounds can persist in the marine environment and cause harmful effects on non-target organisms. Nanoengineered materials, such as mesoporous silica nanocapsules (SiNC) containing AF compounds, have been developed to control their release rate and reduce their toxicity to aquatic organisms. This study aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity of new nanoengineered materials, SiNC-DCOIT and a silver-coated form (SiNC-DCOIT-Ag), as well as the free form of DCOIT and empty nanocapsules (SiNC), on the sun coral Tubastraea coccinea. T. coccinea is an invasive species and can be an alternative test organism for evaluating the risks to native species, as most native corals are currently threatened. The colonies were collected from the Alcatrazes Archipelago, SP, Brazil, and acclimatized to laboratory conditions. They were exposed for 96h to different concentrations of the tested substances: 3.33, 10, 33, and 100 µg L-1 of free DCOIT; 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 µg L-1 of SiNC; and 74.1, 222.2, 666.7, and 2000 µg L-1 of SiNC-DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT-Ag. The test chambers consisted of 500 mL flasks containing the test solutions, and the tests were maintained under constant aeration, constant temperature of 23 ± 2°C, and photoperiod of 12h:12h (light/dark). At the end of the experiments, no lethal effect was observed; however, some sublethal effects were noticeable, such as the exposure of the skeleton in most of the concentrations and replicates, except for the controls, and embrittlement at higher concentrations. Adults of T. coccinea were considered little sensitive to the tested substances. This resistance may indicate a greater capacity for proliferation of the species, which is favored in substrates containing antifouling paints, to the detriment of the native species.

Adaptive mechanisms, such as channel hopping and packet replication, are used in low-power wireless networks to deal with the spatial and temporal variations in the link quality, and meet the reliability requirements of industrial applications (i.e., PDR>99%). However, the benefits of such mechanisms are limited and may have a large impact on end-to-end latency and energy consumption. Hence, in this paper we propose using adaptive modulation diversity, which allows to dynamically select different modulations, to improve link reliability. We present three adaptive modulation diversity selection strategies and validate them using the data derived from a real-world deployment using the IEEE 802.15.4g SUN modulations (i.e., SUN-FSK, SUN-OQPSK and SUN-ODFM) in an industrial environment. The results show that by using adaptive modulation diversity it is possible to improve link reliability regardless of node conditions.

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

.With the increasing use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics in various area, carbon fiber composites based on prepregs have attracted attention in industries and academia research. However, prepreg manufacturing processes are costly, and the strength of structures varies depending on the orientation and defects (pores and delamination). For non-contact evaluation of internal defects, we proposed lock-in infrared thermography to investigate orientation angles after a compression test. We also conducted a drop-weight impact test to study the behaviour of the composites after impact according the fibers orientation for composite fabricated using unidirectional carbon fiber prepregs. Using CAI tests, we determined the residual compressive strength and confirmed the damage modes using a thermal camera. The results of the drop weight impact tests show that the specimen laminated at 0° suffered the largest damage because of susceptibility of the resin to impact. In contrast, the specimens oriented in of 0°/90° and +45°/–45° directions transferred more than 90% of the impact energy back to the impactor because of the lamination of fibers in the orthogonal directions. Furthermore, the specimens that underwent complete damage in the impact tests were subjected to the lock-in method and showed internal delamination and cut fibers. With the finite elements analysis, the damage of each ply could be observed. Moreover, the temperature differences in the residual compression tests were not significant.

The intricate relationship between physical and social environments within organizations plays a pivotal role in shaping sustainable innovation endeavors. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of two key dynamics that have garnered substantial scholarly attention for promoting sustainable innovation: the physical environment and the organizational climate. To elucidate the intricate interplay between these dynamics, we propose a novel three-dimensional framework that guides the modeling of the intricate processes through which the physical environment and innovation climate synergistically influence innovation outcomes. Building on this framework, we delve into an in-depth literature review concerning physical environments that exert a significant impact on innovation. Through this review, we identify and elaborate on four pivotal elements of the physical environment: communality, personalization, comfort, and healthiness. Leveraging insights gleaned from this review, we outline two promising avenues for future research in the realm of the physical environment's interaction with the innovation climate. Furthermore, we underscore the critical importance of adopting an interdisciplinary approach that seamlessly integrates insights from both the physical and social domains to comprehensively understand the sustainable innovation landscape.

Weeds that infest crops are a primary factor limiting agricultural productivity world-wide. Weedy rice, also called red rice, has experienced independent evolutionary events through gene flow from wild rice relatives and de-domestication from cultivated rice. Each evolutionary event supplied/equipped weedy rice with competitive abilities that allowed it to thrive with cultivated rice and severely reduce yields in rice fields. Under-standing how competitiveness evolves is important not only for noxious agricultural weed management but also for the transfer of weedy rice traits to cultivated rice. Molec-ular studies of weedy rice using simple sequence repeat (SSR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and whole genome sequence have shown great genetic variations in weedy rice population globally. These variations are evident both at whole genome and at single allele level, including Sh4 (shattering), Hd1 (heading and flower-ing), and Rc (pericarp pigmentation). The goal of this review is to describe the genetic diversity of current weedy rice germplasm and the significance of weedy rice germplasm as a novel source of disease resistance. Understanding these variations, es-pecially at an allelic level, is also crucial as individual locus that control important traits can be of great target to rice breeders.

This study analyses regional development in one of the poorest provinces in China, Guizhou Province, between 2000 and 2012 using a multiscale and multi-mechanism framework. In general, regional inequality has been declining since 2000. In addition, economic development in Guizhou Province presented spatial agglomeration and club convergence, which shows how the development pattern of one core area, two-wing areas and a contiguous area at the edge of the province have been developed between 2006 and 2012. Multilevel regression analysis revealed that industrialization and investment level were the primary driving forces of regional economic disparity in Guizhou Province. The influences of marketization and decentralization on regional economic disparity were relatively weak. Investment level reinforced regional economic disparity and the development of core-periphery structure in the province. However, investment level actually weakened the regional economic disparity in Guizhou Province when the variable of time was considered. In addition, both the topography and urban–rural differentiation were the two main reasons for forming a core-periphery structure in Guizhou Province.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a global public health crisis. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 by contact is widely accepted, but the relative importance of aerosol transmission for the spread of COVID-19 is controversial. Here we characterize the distribution of SARA-CoV-2 in 123 aerosol samples, 63 masks, and 30 surface samples collected at various locations in Wuhan, China. The positive percentages of viral RNA included 21% of the aerosol samples from an intensive care unit and 39% of the masks from patients with a range of conditions. A viable virus was isolated from the surgical mask of one critically ill patient while all viral RNA positive aerosol samples were cultured negative. The SARS-CoV-2 detected in masks from patients, ambient air, and respirators from health workers compose a chain of emission, transport, and recipient of the virus. Our results indicate that masks are effective in protecting against the spread of viruses, and it is strongly recommended that people throughout the world wear masks to break the chain of virus transmission and thus protect themselves and others from SARS-CoV-2.

Variational mode decomposition (VMD) is a recently introduced adaptive signal decomposition algorithm with a solid theoretical foundation and good noise robustness compared with empirical mode decomposition (EMD). There is a lot of background noise in the vibration signal of diesel engine. To solve the problem, a denoising algorithm based on VMD and Euclidean Distance is proposed. Firstly, a multi-component, non-Gauss, and noisy simulation signal is established, and decomposed into a given number K of band-limited intrinsic mode functions by VMD. Then the Euclidean distance between the probability density function of each mode and that of the simulation signal are calculated. The signal is reconstructed using the relevant modes, which are selected on the basis of noticeable similarities between the probability density function of the simulation signal and that of each mode. Finally, the vibration signals of diesel engine connecting rod bearing faults are analyzed by the proposed method. The results show that compared with other denoising algorithms, the proposed method has better denoising effect, and the fault characteristics of vibration signals of diesel engine connecting rod bearings can be effectively enhanced.

To achieve user retention through multifactor synergy, Internet enterprises must reduce costs and increase efficiency and sustainable development. In response to the dilemma that Internet compa-nies are experiencing increasingly high user acquisition costs and serious user churn, this paper uses a sample of 46,695 user reviews of nine product series from Xiaomi Ecological Chain. Case studies and qualitative comparative analysis are used to explore the influence mechanisms of quality of experience, brand trust, and brand attachment on users' retention intentions. Our find-ings are as follows. (1) Brand attachment alone is not necessary for high user retention intention, but user perception, cognition, and brand trust are necessary. (2) Quality of experience positively impacts brand trust, attachment, and user retention intention. Therefore, improving user perception and cognition is critical in generating high user retention intention. (3) Five configuration paths can achieve high user retention intention, three configuration paths lead to low user retention intention, and there is an asymmetric relationship between these paths. Among them, the role of quality of experience-driven configuration paths in generating user retention intention is the most prominent. (4) In the substitution relationship between configuration paths, user perception, and cognition can substitute with brand trust and attachment. Our findings have important theoretical and practical implications for revealing the realization paths of high user retention intention in Internet companies and provide a new perspective for future research.

With the fast growth of smartphones and digital cameras, massive images are generated every day in the world. They are easily transmitted on the insecure channel-Internet. It has been a hot spot for protecting sensitive images during communication. A new cryptosystem is proposed using a six dimensional (6D) hyperchaotic system and DNA computing. The hash value is obtained with the function of SHA-512. It keeps the encrypted result closely connected with the original image. The initial values of the cryptosystem are produced with the hash value and the secret key. The pixel is divided into four parts, and a large matrix is formed. Scrambling is performed on the new image. DNA coding, modern DNA complementary rules, DNA computing, and DNA decoding are performed on the new image. Diffusion is also executed, and ciphered image is achieved finally. The experimental result reveals the outcome of the proposed algorithm. Security analysis shows that the designed algorithm has a huge secret key space, low correlation, and high sensitivity. It also signifies that the designed algorithm could protect against common attacks and is more secure than some existing methods.

Urban rail transit hub platform is the most important area for passenger flow distribution. In order to calculate passenger flow volume in platform and evaluate platform service level during rush hours, this paper presents a method for modeling and simulation of passenger flow distribution in platform. Passenger flow distribution model (PFDM) is proposed based on the basic analysis and the superposition principle of passenger flow. Simulation design for PFDM is proposed by Anylogic, which contains simulation process and simulation model. Experiment results show that PFDM and simulation design are effective and accordant with the reality scenario, and the simulation precision is comparatively ideal. This research could provide a beneficial reference for train scheduling and operation management under the viewpoint of traffic safety and service level.

We present a plausible solution to the now forty seven year old paleoclimatology riddle of the so-called Faint Young Sun Paradox via the combined hypothesis of the conservation of the state of radiation balance between the Earth and Sun and that of an expanding Earth, where, in the face of a changing (increasing) Solar luminosity, the Earth would maintain steady temperatures by re-adjusting the height of its atmosphere. That is to say, depending on whether or not the radius of the solid Earth is changing, this re-adjustment of the height of the Earth’s atmosphere would mean two things — i.e.: (1) either the height increases — in which event the Earth accretes matter from its immediate surroundings (i.e., the obvious pool formed by the Solar wind) thereby increasing the mass of the Earth’s atmosphere, or: (2) the height decreases — in which event the Earth naturally expels matter from its atmosphere, thereby decreasing the effective mass of the Earth. We demonstrate that if –- as the current state of the art ITRF observations seem to indicate, namely that — the Earth’s landmass is steadily expanding globally at a paltry rate of ∼+0.45±0.05mm·yr−1, and, that the Earth’s atmosphere is to have a present radial vertical height of about one third of the Earth’s radius (∼2860km) from the Earth’s surface, then, one can (might) with relative ease, explain not only the presence of liquid water on the Earth’s surface some ∼3.20±0.70Gyr ago during the Archaean eon when the Sun was about 75% of its current luminosity, but also the present radial expansion rate of the Earth. When all is said and done, the Earth system is herein cast as an auto-self-regulating incubator where the auto-self-regulating mechanism is as a result of the Earth’s atmosphere responding by automatically re-adjusting its height.

The effect of H2S with high concentrations on catalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) process has seldom been focused on previously. Herein, a thermodynamic analysis of the DRM reactions in the presence of H2S with the concentration varying in 0-20 vol% was conducted firstly. Several typical types of catalysts including MgO, NiO/MgO and LaNiO3 in different states were prepared for executing DRM at 800 C, 0.1 MPa in the feed of 20 vol% CO2 and 20 vol% CH4 balanced with N2. The catalytic performance of each catalyst for DRM process under conditions of absence and presence of H2S was compared. A promotion effect of increasing H2S concentration on both the conversions of CO2 and CH4 and the molar yields of CO and H2 was observed on all the catalysts especially the MgO and the pristine NiO/MgO. While a significant decline in catalytic activity of either the reduced NiO/MgO or the reduced LaNiO3 catalyst after adding H2S, moderate reactant conversions still sustained. The results of process analysis and catalyst structure characterization suggest that H2S participation can contribute to the increment in CO2 and CH4 conversion, and active S-adsorbed species may play the key role of catalysis in the reactions involving H2S.

This study fabricated piezoelectric fibers of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) with graphene using near-field electrospinning (NFES) technology. A uniform experimental design table U*7 (7^4 ) was applied, considering weight percentage (1-13 wt%), distance between needle and disk collector (2.1-3.9 mm), and applied voltage (14.5-17.5 kV). We optimized the parameters using electrical property measurements and the Kriging response surface method. Adding 13 wt% graphene significantly improved electrical conductivity, increasing from 17.7 μS/cm for pure PVDF to 187.5 μS/cm. The fiber diameter decreased from 21.4 μm in PVDF/1% graphene to 9.1 μm in PVDF/13% graphene. Adding 5 wt% graphene increased the β-phase content by 6.9%, reaching 65.4% compared to pure PVDF fibers. Material characteristics were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), contact angle measurements, and tensile testing. Optimal parameters included 3.47 wt% graphene, yielding 15.82 mV voltage at 5 Hz and 5 N force (2.04 times pure PVDF). Force testing showed a sensitivity (S) of 7.67493 log(mV/N). Fibers were attached to electrodes for piezoelectric sensor applications. Results affirmed enhanced electrical conductivity, piezoelectric performance, and mechanical strength. The optimized piezoelectric sensor could be applied to measure physiological signals, such as attaching it to the throat under different conditions to measure the output voltage. The force-to-voltage conversion facilitated subsequent analysis.

Types of DNA recombination include homologous recombination and nonhomologous recombination. Homologous DNA recombination is a general term that includes exchange of information between chromatids: (reciprocal) crossing-over, gene conversion, and post-meiotic segregation. Gene conversion is now thought to be a type of non-Mendelian segregation of heterozygous markers near the recombination initiation site. Thus, it includes both gene conversion and post-meiotic segregation previously described. DNA non-HR including transpositional recombination and site-specific recombination. Our understanding of the molecular mechanism by which DNA recombination occurs has significantly increased in the past decades. Currently The synthesis-dependent strand annealing model is now thought to give rise to most or all noncrossovers, with the double-strand-break repair model forming mainly crossovers. The Shapiro model proposed by Dr. J. Shapiro explains the molecular mechanism of transpositional recombination. Site-specific recombination results from another distinct model. We previously proposed a novel theory which can provide a more reasonable and simpler explanation accounting for DNA HR including the 3 classes of recombinogenic events described above. In the new supplementedly molecular model, DNA meiotic recombination can be initiated by a copy choice mechanism, that is, copying part of 1 single-stranded DNA template, followed by DNA polymerase switching to another single-stranded DNA template, and then resuming the following DNA synthesis along the new template. The current review suggests that transpositional recombination and site-specific recombination should be initiated by copy choice during DNA synthesis rather than break/join mechanism. The work indicates that review of DNA nonhomologous recombination are very necessary. The novel theory would challenge earlier models accounting for transpositional recombination and site-specific recombination and would be critical to the understanding of the mechanisms. We hope copy choice initiating DNA nonhomologous recombination will be one of the concepts that are explored. Proper and specific experiments are required to reconstruct the detailed mechanism described here.

In this article we present a deployment of 11 nodes using the three different SUN (Smart Utility Network) modulation schemes, as defined in the IEEE 802.15.4-2015 standard. The nodes were deployed in a 110.044 m2 warehouse for 99 days, and the resulting dataset contains a total of 10.710.868 measurements with RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), CCA (Clear Channel Assessment) and PDR (Packet Delivery Ratio) values. The analyzed results show a high variability in average RSSI (i.e., between -82.1 dBm and -101.7 dBm) and CCA (i.e., between -111.2 dBm and -119.9 dBm) values, which are caused by the effects of multi-path propagation and external interference. Despite being above the sensitivity limit for each modulation, this values result in poor average PDR values (i.e., from 65.9% to 87.4%), indicating that additional schemes are required for low-power wireless communications to meet the dependability requirements of industrial applications. For that purpose, we also introduce the concept of modulation diversity, which can be combined with packet repetition to meet such requirements (i.e., PDR>99%) while minimizing the energy expenditure of nodes and meeting regulatory constraints.

With the development of social economy, the quality of national life has been rapidly improved, along with the accelerated aging of the population and the continued prevalence of metabolic risk factors. Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) have become a major disease burden for both urban and rural residents in China, and most of them are related to lifestyle changes in modern society, especially circadian rhythm disorders. Circadian rhythm regulating the activity of metabolism, such as carbohydrates, lipids, and other nutrients, is the most important pathway modulating the health. Nowadays, studies have shown that the interaction between circadian rhythmicity and gut microbiota counts for the homeostasis of metabolic health, while circadian rhythm disruption is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic diseases. However, there is a lack of research on the topic of gut microbiota mechanisms regulating circadian rhythm disruption leading to CMDs. With increased burden of CMDs prevention and treatment, as well as the demand of healthcare resource allocation, it prompts us to put forward a new strategy to solve this problem. This review focuses on the interactions between circadian rhythm and gut microbiota to elucidate the potential mechanisms of circadian rhythm disruption induced CMDs, providing a solid support for further prevention and treatment.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has caused great damage to the global pig industry. The innate immunity plays a significant role in resisting viral infection, however, the exact role of innate immunity in the anti-PEDV response has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we observed that various porcine innate immune signaling adaptors are involved in the anti-PEDV activity. Among these, TRIF and MAVS showed the strongest anti-PEDV activity. The endogenous TRIF, MAVS and STING were selected for further examination of anti-PEDV activity. Agonist stimulation experiments showed that TRIF, MAVS and STING signaling all have obvious anti-PEDV activity. The siRNA knockdown assay showed that TRIF, MAVS and STING are also all involved in anti-PEDV response, and their remarkable effects on PEDV replication were confirmed in TRIF-/-, MAVS-/- and STING-/- Vero cells. For further verification, the anti-PEDV activity of TRIF, MAVS and STING could be reproduced in porcine IPEC-DQ cells. In summary, this study reveals that multiple pattern recognition receptor (PRR) signaling pathways of porcine innate immunity play an important role in the anti-PEDV infection, providing new and useful antiviral knowledge for prevention and control of PEDV spreading.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is one of the most important oil crops in the world; however, drought significantly curtails its growth and productivity. Identifying drought-tolerant germplasm is an efficient and low-cost strategy for addressing water shortages. Using water loss ratio (WLR) as an index of drought tolerance, we screened a panel of 265 B. napus lines. We identified eight low-WLR and six high-WLR accessions, which were regarded as drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive, respectively. Further validated these selected accessions at the seedling stage under drought-stress conditions. The drought-tolerant accessions had significantly greater fresh and dry weights under drought stress than the drought sensitive accessions. Using RT-qPCR, we showed that a set of previously reported drought-adaptive marker genes were expressed at higher levels in the drought-tolerant lines than in the drought-sensitive lines. These results indicated that the drought-tolerant genotypes could be identified from natural populations using WLR. Then, we performed a genome-wide association study to identify loci harboring single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A total of 139 SNPs were significantly associated with the WLR, of which chromosome A10 harbored the largest number. Furthermore, four putative candidate genes were selected by combining the SNP–WLR association results and transcriptional expression data with the changes in drought tolerance. Thus, we have identified two drought-tolerant B. napus cultivars and uncovered genome-wide variation differentiating B. napus lines related to WLR, in addition to providing insights for further research into WLR-related drought mechanisms.

The shear stress generated by wall turbulence is the main cause of wall friction resistance in turbulent flow through pipes. This paper investigates the impact of inserting rest periods (regions of constant Reynolds number) within the pulsating operating cycle of velocity on the fully turbulent flow at large time-averaged Reynolds numbers, using the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method. The study aims to explore the effect of increasing rest periods within pulsations on drag resistance. The dimensionless shear stress and drag reduction rates during different time periods of rest were analyzed. Numerical simulation results indicate that the pulsating velocity operation mode does not necessarily lead to drag reduction; it may even result in increased resistance. Inserting rest periods within the pulsation cycle can achieve drag reduction effects, with the maximum drag reduction rate reaching 21.8\%. Comparisons with experimental data and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) from the literature validate the feasibility of using the LES method for pipe pulsating operation modes.

People have always hoped to be able to fill an entire plane with ``single unit cells'' without periodicity. This wish was realized after the mathematician discovered a 13-sided ``single unit cell'' named `einstein'. These non-periodic tessellations generally exhibit anisotropic properties, making them superior in terms of mechanical performance compared to periodic structures. From the perspective of information entropy, the reason behind the improved mechanical properties of these structures is the higher entropy associated with non-periodic configurations. To quantify the disorder of non-periodic structures, we propose an entropy expression for the `einstein' metamaterial. To demonstrate the mechanical properties of these high-entropy structures, we fabricate specimens using 3D printing and conducte mechanical experiments. For comparative analysis, we also use ABAQUS to perform finite element analysis of the problem. The research results reveal that the mechanical properties of high-entropy structures created by the non-periodic stacking of cells are significantly improved compared to those of low-entropy structures created by periodic stacking. The conclusions drawn from the study of individual issues are generalizable and may be of assistance in future material and structural design.

Nicotine exposure may affect NSCLC is associated with lung cancer in humans. Whether nicotine exhibits carcinogenesis promoted activities in tumor growth still unknown. Nicotine is known to have dichotomous effects on cancer biology, acting like a pro- or anti-carcinogenesis agent. There are different functions between adenocarcinoma and squamous NSCLC cancer cells. Excess generation of nicotine may inhibit mitochondrial metabolism, protein modification, and DNA cleavage. Materials and Methods: We used the H520 NSCLC line obtained from human lung epithelial cells to detected nicotine growth and toxicity using MTT assay and western blotting. The concentration of nicotine stimulated cell growth to correspond to low concentration, while high concentration was cytotoxic. Results: According to MTT assay results, at 1.0 μM nicotine has significantly enhanced the H520 cell viability (%). Nicotine induced lung cancer carcinogenesis through mechanisms of α7nAchR, EGFR, HDAC2/4/5, Cyclin D/Cyclin E, Bcl-2, p-Akt, and inflammatory proteins of NF-KappaB and COX2 increases at 1.0 μM. Apoptosis proteins were decreases at 1.0 μM nicotine by p21, p27, c-jun, and p38α using western blotting. Nicotine stimulates tumor growth is mediated through α7nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChR), possibly involving inflammation. On the other hand, at high nicotine concentrations (> 1.0 μM) with consistent cytotoxic effects and appeared to be due to direct cell kill. Nicotine can prevent apoptosis induced by NSCLC. Conclusion: Therefore, the effects on chemotherapeutics by NSCLC malignant cell lines, nicotine in concentrations as low as 1.0 μM decreased. These mechanisms are responsible for the genotoxic effects caused by nicotine. This leads to downstream effects on decreased apoptosis, increased cell proliferation and transformation. The malignant NSCLC cells respond to the treatment with nicotine in lung cancer, the nicotine-mediated induction of growth may provide one of its links to α7nAchR or EGFR.

The sexual reproduction of ascomycetes is controlled by the mating-type(MAT) locus. (Pseudo)homothallic reproduction has been hypothesized based on genetic data from Hirsutella sinensis (Genotype #1 of Ophiocordyceps sinensis). In this study, the differential occurrence of the mating-type genes in the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs, which constitute the genetic control of O. sinensis reproduction, was analyzed in 237 strains and 5 genomes of H. sinensis. The mating-type genes were differentially transcribed in H. sinensis Strain L0106, and the MAT1-2-1 transcript in H. sinensis Strain 1229 was alternatively spliced, with an unspliced intron I containing stop codons; these findings constitute O. sinensis reproduction controls at the transcriptional and coupled transcriptional-translational levels. The occurrence of the mating-type genes and a-/α-pheromone receptor genes differed among the 5 H. sinensis genomes. The differential occurrence and transcription of these genes are inconsistent with self-fertilization under (pseudo)homothallism but suggest self-sterility of H. sinensis, which therefore needs a mating partner to achieve sexual outcrossing under heterothallism or hybridization. Consistent occurrence and transcription of the mating-type genes of both the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs have been reported in natural and cultivated Cordyceps sinensis, but these findings are insufficient to determine the reproduction mode(s) because of the co-occurrence of >90 fungal species and multiple genomically independent genotypes of O. sinensis. The mutant MAT1-1-1 and α-pheromone receptor transcripts in natural C. sinensis result in the N-terminus or middle-truncated proteins, with changes in hydrophobicity and secondary structures of the proteins, suggesting heterogeneous fungal source(s) of the proteins and hybridization reproduction.

In this paper, we investigate the following chemotaxis-haptotaxis model $$\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} u_{t}=\nabla\cdot (D(u) \nabla u)- \nabla\cdot (H(u)\nabla v)- \nabla\cdot (I(u)\nabla w)+ u(a-\mu u^{k-1}-\lambda w),\\ v_{t}=\triangle v-v+u^{\gamma},\\ w_{t}=-v w \end{array}\right.\eqno(*) $$ under homogenous Neumann boundary condition and for a bounded domain $ \Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^{n} (n\geq2)$, with $\lambda, \mu, \gamma >0$, $k>1$, $a \in \mathbb{R}$, and $D(u)\geq K_{D} (u+1)^{m-1}$, $0\leq H(u)\leq \chi u(u+1)^{-\alpha}$, $0\leq I(u)\leq \xi u(u+1)^{-\beta}$ for $K_{D}, \chi, \xi>0, m, \alpha, \beta\in \mathbb{R}$. It has been demonstrated that (i) For $0\gamma-k+1$ and $\beta>1-k$, problem ($*$) admits a classical solution $(u, v, w)$ which is globally bounded. (ii) For $\frac{2}{n}\gamma-k+\frac{1}{e}+1$ and $\beta>\max\{\frac{(n\gamma-2)(n\gamma+2k-2)}{2n}-k+1, \frac{(n\gamma-2)(\gamma+\frac{1}{e})}{n}-k+1\}$ or $\alpha>\gamma-k+1$ and $\beta>\max\{\frac{(n\gamma-2)(n\gamma+2k-2)}{2n}-k+1, \frac{(n\gamma-2)(\alpha+k-1)}{n}-k+1\}$, problem ($*$) admits a classical solution $(u, v, w)$ which is globally bounded.

We research the interaction between six representative carbon-based nanoparticles (CBNs) and 20 standard amino acids through all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The six carbon-based nanoparticles are fullerene(C60), CNT55L3, CNT1010L3, CNT1515L3, CNT2020L3, and two-dimensional-graphene(Graphene33). Their curvatures decrease sequentially, and all of CNT are single-walled carbon nanotubes. We have observed that as the curvature of CBNs decreases, the adsorption effect of 20 amino acids with them has an increasing trend. In addition, we also used multi-dimensional clustering to analyze the adsorption effects of 20 amino acids on six carbon-based nanoparticles. We observed that the π-π interaction still plays an extremely important role in the adsorption of amino acids on carbon-based nanoparticles. Individual long-chain amino acids and “Benzene-like” Pro also have a strong adsorption effect with carbon-based nanoparticles.

We report a large third-order nonlinear optical response of palladium diselenide (PdSe₂) films – a two-dimensional (2D) noble metal dichalcogenide material. Both open-aperture (OA) and closed-aperture (CA) Z-scan measurements are performed with a femtosecond pulsed laser at 800 nm to investigate the nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction, respectively. In the OA experiment, we observe optical limiting behaviour originating from large two photo absorption (TPA) in the PdSe₂ film of β = 3.26 ×10^-8 m/W. In the CA experiment, we measure a peak-valley response corresponding to a large and negative Kerr nonlinearity of n₂ = -1.33×10^-15 m²/W – two orders of magnitude larger than bulk silicon. We also characterize the variation of n₂ as a function of laser intensity, observing that n₂ decreases in magnitude with incident laser intensity, becoming saturated at n₂ = -9.96×10^-16 m²/W at high intensities. These results verify the large third-order nonlinear optical response of 2D PdSe₂ as well as its strong potential for high performance nonlinear photonic devices.

In nature and engineering applications, flexible fiber beds covering biological surfaces can play a role in reducing resistance. These fibers deform under the action of fluids, and this deformation affects the fluid flow state, forming a complex fluid-solid interaction phenomenon. To quantitatively analyze such issues, the physical model is simplified to the deformation problem of an soft hair bed caused by Stokes flow, and the deformation problem of a single fiber caused by Stokes flow is further studied. The deformation problem of an elastic single fiber in a channel caused by Stokes flow can be described by a nonlinear integral equation. We have obtained a new series solution, which has been compared with the previous perturbation method to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the series solution. Meanwhile, we have further provided an extended form of flexible fiber deformation through experimental fitting. This fluid-solid interaction problem involves multiple fields and is very important in many natural and engineering systems. The research in this paper can not only help us better understand complex phenomena in nature but also delve into the interaction mechanism between fluids and solids, providing a theoretical basis for future scientific research and engineering applications.

A multimodal detection system with complementary capabilities for efficient detection was developed for impurity detection. The system consisted of a visible light camera, a multispectral camera, image correction and registration algorithms. It can obtain spectral feature and color feature at the same time, and has higher spatial resolution than a single spectral camera. This system was applied to detect impurities in Pu ’er tea to verify its high efficiency. The spectral and color features of each pixel in the images of Pu ’er tea were obtained by this system and used for pixel classification. The experimental results show that the accuracy of Support Vector Machine (SVM) model based on combined features is 93%, which is 7% higher than that based on only spectral features. By applying median filtering algorithm and contour detection algorithm to the label matrix extracted from pixel-classified images, 8 impurities except hair were detected successfully. Moreover, taking advantage of the high resolution of visible light camera, small impurities can be clearly imaged. By comparing the segmented color image with the pixel-classified image, small impurities such as hair could be detected successfully. Finally, it is proved that the system can obtain multiple images to allow a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the detected items, and has excellent ability to detect small impurities.

A switchable and tunable terahertz (THz) metamaterial based on photosensitive silicon and Vanadium dioxide (VO2) was proposed. By using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, the transmission and reflective properties of the metamaterial were investigated theoretically. The results imply that, the metamaterial can realize a dual electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) or two narrow-band absorption depending on the temperature of the VO2. Additionally, the magnitude of the EIT and two narrow-band absorption can be tuned by varying the conductivity of photosensitive silicon (PSi) via pumping light. Correspondingly, the slow light effect accompanying the EIT can also be adjusted.

Estimating the ocean’s subsurface thermohaline information from satellite measurements is essential for understanding ocean dynamics and El Niño phenomenon. This paper proposes an improved double-output Residual Neural Network (DO-ResNet) model to concurrently estimate the ocean subsurface temperature (OST) and ocean subsurface salinity (OSS) in the tropical Western Pacific using multi-source remote sensing data, including sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), sea surface height anomaly(SSHA), sea surface wind (SSW), and geographical information (including longitude (LON) and latitude (LAT)). In the model experiment, Argo data were used to train and validate the model, and the root mean square error (RMSE), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and coefficient of determination (R²) were employed to evaluate the model's performance. The results showed that the sea surface parameters selected in this study have a positive effect on the estimation process, and the average RMSE and R² values for estimating OST (OSS) by the proposed model are 0.34 °C (0.05 psu) and 0.91 (0.95), respectively. Under the data conditions considered in this study, DO-ResNet demonstrates superior performance relative to the extreme gradient boosting model, random forest model, and artificial neural network model. Additionally, this study evaluates the model’s accuracy by comparing its estimations of OST and OSS across different depths with Argo-derived data, demonstrating the model's ability to effectively capture the most spatial features, and by comparing NRMSE across different depths and seasons, the model displays strong seasonal adaptability. In conclusion, this research introduces a novel artificial intelligence technique for estimating OST and OSS in the tropical Western Pacific Ocean.

This study presented a novel and sustainable method for producing chitin nanocrystals (PA-ChNCs) using phosphoric acid hydrolysis. The produced PA-ChNCs were used as stabilizers for Pickering emulsions and their physicochemical properties as well as stabilization mechanisms were systematically investigated. The PA-ChNCs exhibited small particle sizes and high surface areas, enabling an effective adsorption at the oil/water interface, which prevented coalescence in Pickering emulsions. The particle size and surface charge PA-ChNCs were strongly pH-dependent, which were critical factors for stabilizing Pickering emulsions. The study showed that emulsions with higher O:W ratios (50%) exhibited larger droplets but greater viscosity, forming a stable gel-like matrix that was more stable than emulsions with other O:W ratios after storage for 30 days. Emulsions with higher PA-ChNCs concentrations (2.0 wt%) and higher pH values (pH 10) showed small droplets and high viscosity, leading to stable emulsions. This research contributes to the development of sustainable and effective emulsifiers for use in the food industry, making utilization of seafood waste in an eco-friendly manner possible. Overall, this study highlights the potential of using newly developed PA-ChNCs as stabilizers for Pickering emulsions in food products.

Gelidium jelly was traditionally made by boiling processed Gelidium seaweed and allowing the filtrate to congeal into jelly. The processing of Gelidium seaweed was very complicate involved the repeated procedures of water washing and sun drying for 7 times, and the seaweed was originally purple-red in color turned into yellow after the repeated wash and sun drying. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of halogen lamp drying methods in replace of sun drying on the physical-chemical qualities of Gelidium jellies. Properties included the agar yield, gelling temperature, hardness, springiness, rheological parameters, sensory attributes, color, and volatile compounds were investigated. The results demonstrated halogen lamp drying method required 12 times of washing and drying processes to achieve the similar jelly properties compared to sun drying for 7 times in the experimental conditions. Volatiles including heptanal, β-ionone, and (E)-2-decenal could be used as indicators to monitor the washing and drying processing. Halogen lamp was found could be an alternative processing method for seaweed drying, especially at rainy days.

If environmental exposures are shown to cause an adverse health outcome, reducing exposure should reduce the disease risk. Links between exposures and outcomes are typically based on ‘associations’ derived from observational studies, and causality may not be clear. Randomised controlled trials to ‘prove’ causality are often not feasible or ethical. Here the history of evidence that tobacco smoking causes lung cancer – in observational studies – is compared to that of low sun exposure and/or low vitamin D status as causal risk factors for the autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis. Evidence derives from in vitro and animal studies, as well as ecological, case-control and cohort studies, in order of increasing strength. For smoking and lung cancer, the associations are strong, consistent, and biologically plausible – the evidence is coherent or ‘in harmony’. For low sun exposure/vitamin D as risk factors for MS, the evidence is weaker, with smaller effect sizes, but coherent across a range of sources of evidence, and biologically plausible. The association is less direct – smoking is directly toxic and carcinogenic to the lung, but sun exposure/vitamin D modulate the immune system, which in turn may reduce the risk of immune attack on self-proteins in the central nervous system. Opinion about whether there is sufficient evidence to conclude that low sun exposure/vitamin D increase the risk of multiple sclerosis, is divided. General public health advice to receive sufficient sun exposure to avoid vitamin D deficiency (<50nmol/L) should also ensure any benefits for multiple sclerosis.

(1) Background: In most cases, passive isolation control methods are commonly used for the seismic isolation design of bridge engineering. However, for passive seismic isolation devices, due to their non-adjustable performance parameters, it is challenging to achieve a good seismic isolation effect for structures under random and variable seismic loads in the wide frequency range of 0 Hz to 20 Hz; (2) Methods: the sensitivity of the design parameters of the seismic isolation bearing was analyzed using the optimization center gradient method, and an improved genetic algorithm was employed to quickly optimize and obtain the optimal design parameters; (3) Results: the effectiveness of the three-dimensional seismic isolation bearing was validated through experiments. (4) Conclusions: The multi-factor sensitivity analysis approach used in this study for designing novel isolation bearings is applicable not only to seismic design in bridges but also serves as a reference for parameter design in isolation bearings requiring medium to high precision in seismic performance.

Employing remote sensing techniques to evaluate crop residue cover (CRC) enables rapid mapping of tillage practices over large cropland areas, which has significant practical implications for monitoring the implementation of conservation tillage practices. This research utilized Sentinel-2 MSI and Landsat-8 OLI remotely sensed data, various spectral indices were calculated and the datasets were correlated with the field-measured CRC data. Selected spectral indices, highly significantly correlated, were chosen to build a correlation model between the indices and the CRC. Considering Sentinel-2 MSI and Landsat 8 OLI remotely sensed data variations in spectral and spatial scales, the accuracy of CRC models was evaluated using R2 and RMSE values. From the results, it's evident that all six spectral indices, including STI, NDTI, SRNDR, NDI5, NDI7 and NDSVI, registered correlation coefficients with the CRC exceeded 0.3 in the study area. STI and NDTI showed a stronger correlation to CRC, with coefficients of 0.810 and 0.803, respectively. For the Landsat 8 data, the lowest correlation obtained was for NDSVI with the Landsat 8 data with a correlation coefficient of 0.358. Applying the linear regression technique, STI and NDTI obtained higher accuracy compared to other indices in the Sentinel-2 MSI data. For NDTI and STI, The R2 values were 0.650 and 0.665, respectively, while their corresponding RMSE values were 3.96% and 4.03%. The highest model accuracy was obtained for the STI and NDTI constructed from the Landsat 8 OLI data (R2 values 0.41 and 0.40; RMSE values 5.25% and 5.27%, respectively). The CRC model built using partial least squares regression (PLSR) exhibited greater precision when applied to the Sentinel-2 MSI data (R2 value 0.894; RMSE value 2.18%) in comparison to the Landsat 8 OLI data (R2 value 0.695; RMSE value 3.70%). PLSR has the potential to enhance the precision of the model. In addition, the study area shows that the estimation of the CRC is better in the one-dimensional linear regression model and the PLSR model created with the Sentinel-2 MSI optical data compared to the Landsat 8 OLI optical remotely sensed data. The validation suggests that the CRC estimation in the study area is more precise when using the model relying on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery rather than the Landsat 8 OLI imagery.

It's challenging to achieve robust lane detection depending on single frame when considering complicated scenarios. In order to detect more credible lane markings by using sequential frames, a novel approach to fusing vision and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is proposed in this paper. The hough space is employed as the space where lane markings are stored and it's calculated by three steps. Firstly, a basic hough space is extracted by Hough Transform and primary line segments are extracted from it. In order to measure the possibility about line segments belong to lane markings, a CNNs based classifier is introduced to transform the basic hough space into a probabilistic space by using the networks outputs. However, this probabilistic hough space based on single frame is easily disturbed. In the third step, a filtering process is employed to smooth the probabilistic hough space by using sequential information. Pose information provided by IMU is applied to align hough spaces extracted at different times to each other. The final hough space is used to eliminate line segments with low possibility and output those with high confidence as the result. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach has achieved a good performance.

This paper proposes a new non-radial biennial Luenberger energy and environmental performance index (EEPI) to measure the EEP change in various Chinese cities. The sources of EEP change, in terms of technical efficiency change and technological change, are examined by Luenberger EEPI. The contributions from specific undesirable outputs and energy inputs to the EEP change are identified by means of the non-radial efficiency measure. The proposed approach is applied to evaluate the EEP of the industrial sector in 283 cities in China over 2010-2014. Factors influencing the emission abatement potential are investigated by employing geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. We find that 1) changes in EEP can be attributed to technological progress but that technological progress slows down across the study period; 2) the soot emission performance experiences a downtrend among four specific sub-performances in line with the truth that severe haze happened frequently in China; 3) the best performers begin to move from the coastal to inland cities with the less resource consumption and higher ecological equality; 4) cities with the strongest positive effect in regards to pollution intensity on emission abatement potential are located in the areas around the Bohai Gulf, where air pollution is particularly severe.

Density distribution function of classical statistical mechanics is generally generalized as a product of a general complex function and its complex Hermitian conjugate function, and the average of classical statistical mechanics is generalized as the average of the quantum mechanics. Furthermore, this paper derives three ones of the five axiom presumptions of quantum mechanics, e.g., deduces Schrȍdinger equation by two general ways, makes the three axiom presumptions into three theorems of quantum mechanics, not only solves the crisis to hard understand, but also gets new theories and new discoveries, e.g., this paper solves the crisis of the origin of the wave-particle duality, derives operators, eigenvalues and eigenstates, deduces commutation relations for coordinate and momentum as well as the time and energy, and discovers quantum mechanics is just a generalization ( mechanics ) theory of the complex square root of ( real density function of ) classical statistical mechanics. Quantum mechanics being just a generalization theory of the complex square root of classical statistical mechanics is both new physics and revolutionary discovery, which are affecting people’s deep philosophical thinking for modern physics development, solve all the crisises of quantum mechanics, quantum information and so on, and make quantum mechanics have scientific solid bases being checked and both no basic axiom presumption and no all the quantum strange incomprehensible properties, because classical statistical mechanics and the complex square root of classical statistical mechanics have the scientific solid bases being checked. In addition, this paper discovers the reason no taking the time derivative of space coordinates in Schrȍdinger equation. Therefore, this paper gives solution to the crisis of the first quantization origin, and mainly deduces quantum physics no all the quantum current strange incomprehensible properties.

Background: Accurate estimation of dietary intake is challenging. But whilst some progress has been made in high-income countries, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain behind, contributing to critical nutritional data gaps. This study aimed to validate an objective, passive image-based dietary intake assessment method against weighed food records in London, UK for onward deployment to LMICs. Methods: Wearable camera devices were used to capture food intake of eating occasions in 18 adults and 17 children of Ghanaian and Kenyan origin living in London. Participants were provided pre-weighed meals of Ghanaian and Kenyan cuisine and camera devices to automatically capture images of the eating occasions. Food images were assessed for portion size, energy, and nutrient intake, and relative validity of the method compared to the weighed food records. Results: Pearson and Intra-class correlation coefficient of estimates of intakes of food, energy and 19 nutrients ranged from 0.60 to 0.95 and 0.67 to 0.90, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis showed good agreement between the image-based method and weighed food record. Under-estimation of dietary intake by the image-based method ranged from 4 to 23%. Conclusions: Passive food image capture and analysis provides an objective assessment of dietary intake comparable to weighed food records.

Australia and New Zealand have the highest incidence of skin cancer. Sport is a fundamental part of Australasian culture, beginning in childhood, often with life-long participation. Participating in outdoor sports can contribute significantly to the lifetime ultraviolet radiation (UVR) dose individuals receive and their risk of developing skin cancer. This systematic scoping review explores the use of sun-protection by outdoor sporting participants in Australasia and considers how sun-protection practices may be better evaluated and improved in the community. A search of electronic databases using the search strategy “sun protection” AND “sport” AND “Australia” yielded 17 studies published in English from January 1992 to August 2021. Study methods included using UV-dosimeters to measure individual UVR-exposure; remote estimates of clothing-adjusted UVR-exposure; direct observation of sun-protection practices; and self-reported sun-exposure and sun-protection. Despite 40-years of ‘Slip Slop Slap’ campaigns in Australia, the use of sun-protection in most outdoor sports is inadequate. The paucity of comparable data limited our analyses, demonstrating a need for standardized, objective evaluation tools. Such tools, if used across a range of sports, should inform the development of workable recommendations that sporting clubs could implement and adopt into policy, thus empowering them to better protect the health of their participants.

Facing the charging difficulties of free-floating shared electric vehicle and the high cost of mobile charging for single demand, this article proposes a collaborative charging planning method based on the complementary advantages of fixed charging stations and mobile charging vehicles, which can charge shared electric vehicles more efficiently and reduce the charging cost at the same time. A bi-level programming model for fixed and mobile cooperative charging is constructed. The upper level of the model is the minimization model of system charging total cost, seeking the optimal charging scheme and the number of mobile charging vehicles. The lower model is a fixed and mobile cooperative charging path planning model, which calculates the optimal routes for mobile charging vehicles and the shared electric vehicles that need to be transferred to the fixed charging station. The example results show that the cost of the proposed fixed-mobile cooperative charging scheme is reduced by 12.6% compared with the pure fixed charging scheme and 14.9% compared with the pure mobile charging scheme