The aim of this study is to present a method for developing fragility curves for soil liquefaction that are consistent with the seismic hazard using Monte Carlo simulation. This method can account for all the uncertainties and variabilities of the input parameters. The seismic parameters of earthquake magnitude (M) and the associated peak ground acceleration (PGA) are considered together for the liquefaction assessment. The liquefaction potential and damages obtained by this method are more realistic. A case study is performed using data from a sand-boil site in Yuanlin, Changhua county, where liquefaction occurred during the Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan in 1999. The results show that the liquefaction potential index, IL, the post-liquefaction settlement, St, and the liquefaction probability index, PW, are all suitable parameters for evaluating the liquefaction damages. The fragility curves for soil liquefaction developed by this method can support the performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) approach, provide guidance for liquefaction evaluation to the ‘Taiwan Earthquake Loss Estimation System’-TELES, and serve as a basis for scenario simulation and an earthquake early warning system for liquefaction damages.

Objectives To examine the comorbidity burden in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using a nationwide population-based cohort by assessing the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI), Multimorbidity Index (MMI), and Rheumatic Disease Comorbidity Index (RDCI) scores and to investigate their predictive ability for all-cause mortality. Methods We identified 24,767 RA patients diagnosed between 1998–2008 in Taiwan and followed up until December 31, 2013. The incidence of comorbidities was estimated in three periods (before, during, and after the diagnostic period). The incidence rate ratios were calculated by comparing during vs. before and after vs. before the diagnostic period. One- and 5-year mortality rates were calculated and discriminated by low and high-score groups and modified models for each index. Results The mean score at diagnosis is 0.8 in CCI, 2.8 in ECI, 0.7 in MMI, and 1.3 in RDCI, and annual percentage changes are 11.0%, 11.3%, 9.7%, and 6.8%, respectively. The incidence of any increase in the comorbidity index is significantly higher in the periods of ‘during’ and ‘after’ the RA diagnosis (incidence rate ratios for different indexes: 1.33-2.77). The mortality rate significantly differs between the high and low-score groups measured by each index (adjusted hazard ratios: 2.5-4.3 for different indexes). CCI is slightly better in the prediction of 1- and 5-year mortality rates. Conclusion Comorbidities are common before and after RA diagnosis, and the rate of accumulation accelerates after RA diagnosis. All four comorbidity indexes are useful to measure the temporal changes and to predict mortality.

Gastric inflammation-related disorders are commonly observed digestive system illnesses char-acterized by the activation of proinflammatory cytokines, particularly tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). This results in the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/prostaglandin E2 (PEG2) and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9). These factors contribute to the pathogenesis of gastric in-flammation disorders. We examined the preventive effects of Lonicera japonica Thunb. ethanol ex-tract (Lj-EtOH) on gastric inflammation induced by TNF-α in normal GES-1 cells. The GES-1 cell line was used to establish a model that simulated the overexpression of COX-2/PGE2 and MMP-9 proteins induced by TNF-α, to examine the anti-inflammatory properties of Lj extracts. The re-sults indicated that Lj-EtOH exhibits significant inhibitory effects on COX-2/PEG2 and MMP-9 ac-tivity, attenuates cell migration, and provides protection against TNF-α-induced gastric inflam-mation. The protective effects of Lj-EtOH are associated with the modulation of COX-2/PEG2 and MMP-9 through activation of TNFR–ERK 1/2 signaling pathways as well as the involvement of c-Fos and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways. Based on our findings, Lj-EtOH ex-hibits a preventive effect on human gastric epithelial cells. Consequently, it may represent a novel treatment for the management of gastric inflammation.

In order to maintain the best conditions of the building from the first day of opening, explorations of office buildings in the world investigated the approaches of optimizing the building operation and property facilities, whereas building managers often have trouble prioritizing improvements toward their sustainable objectives. The challenge is due to numerous equipment types in the building, which has various durability in years and represents users’ different feelings of importance and satisfaction. When faced with multiple improvement projects, building managers are often unable to determine the order of implementation.Hence, this research applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) using TAIPEI 101 Tower as a case study to explore the key factors affecting tenants’ willingness to lease office buildings by distributing questionnaires to real estate experts. By filtering out key indicators related to property facilities that users care about, this study used Importance and Satisfaction Analysis (IS Analysis) to identify items that need urgent improvement. The research revealed that air conditioning is the top priority for improvement through empirical evaluation and weight ranking. This study hopes to establish an evaluation model for facility improvements to help clarify the prioritization and defeat limited resources to projects effectively, which is helpful for sustainable property management.

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a major cause of mortality worldwide, has been shown through epidemiological studies to have a relationship with short-term exposure to air pollutants; however, the association between air pollutants and the outcome of STEMI has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of air pollutants on the outcomes of STEMI. Data on particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM2.5), <10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) at each of the 11 air monitoring stations in Kaohsiung City were collected between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2017. Medical records of non-trauma patients aged > 20 years who had visited the ED with a principal diagnosis of STEMI were extracted. The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. After adjusting for potential confounders and meteorological variables, we found that an increase in the interquartile range (IQR) in NO2 was associated with an elevated risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with STEMI. Moreover, during the warm season, an IQR increase in NO2 corresponded to a higher risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with STEMI on lag 3 (OR=3.266; 95% CI:1.203–8.864, p=0.02). Conversely, an IQR increase in PM10 was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with STEMI on lag 3 (OR=2.792; 95%CI:1.115–6.993, p=0.028) during the cold season. Our study suggests that exposure to NO2 (during warm season) and PM10 (during cold season) may contribute to a higher risk of poor prognosis in patients with STEMI.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in both sexes globally. This is not unconnected with the heterogeneity and plasticity of CRC stem cells (CRC-SCs) which stealthily exploit niche-related and (epi)genetic factors to facilitate metastasis, chemoresistance, tumor recurrence, and disease progression. Despite accumulating evidence of the role of dysregulated microRNAs in malignancies, the therapeutic efficacy of pharmacological-targeting of CRC-SC-associated microRNAs is relatively under-explored. Experimental approach: In this present study, we employed relatively new bioinformatics approaches, analyses of microarray data, western blot, RT-PCR, and functional assays to show that hsa-miR-324-5p expression is significantly suppressed in CRC cells, and inversely correlates with the aberrant expression of SOD2. Results: This converse hsa-miR-324-5p/SOD2 relationship is associated with enhanced oncogenicity, which is effectively inhibited by 4-AAQB as evidenced by inhibited cell viability and proliferation, as well as, attenuated migration, invasion and clonogenicity in 4-AAQB-treated DLD1 and HCT116 cells. We also showed that 4-AAQB-induced re-expression of hsa-miR-324-5p, akin to short-interfering RNA reduced SOD2 expression, correlates with the concurrent down-regulation of SOD2, N-cadherin, vimentin, c-Myc, and BcL-xL2, with concomitant up-regulation of E-cadherin and BAX2 proteins. Enhanced expression of hsa-miR-324-5p in the CRC cells suppressed their tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, 4-AAQB synergistically potentiates FOLFOX anticancer effect by eliciting the re-expression of SOD2-suppressed hsa-miR-324 and inhibiting SOD2-mediated tumorigenicity. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the pre-clinical anti-CSC efficacy of 4-AAQB, with or without FOLFOX in CRC, and suggest a potential novel therapeutic strategy for CRC patients.

Aim: Aging is companied by deteriorations of insulin resistance (IR) and insulin secretion. However, little is known about the roles of aging on different phases of insulin secretion (ISEC); i.e., the first- and second-phase of insulin secretion (FPIS, SPIS) and glucose effectiveness (GE). Methods: Totally 169 individuals (43 men and 126 women) with the similar fasting plasma glucose (FPG: 90 mg/dL) and BMI (men: 23 kg/m2, women 22 kg/m2) were enrolled. IR, FPIS, SPIS, and GE were estimated using our previously developed equations shown below. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the correlations between age and four diabetes factors (DFs: IR, FPIS, SPIS and GE). The equations that are used to calculate the DF in the present study were built and published by our group. Results: The age of the participants ranged from 18- to 78-year-old. Men had higher FPIS but lower HDL-C levels than women (2.067±0.159, 1.950±0.186 μU/min and 1.130±0.306, 1.348±0.357 mmol/dl, accordingly). The results of Pearson correlation revealed that age was negatively related to IR and GE in both genders (IR: r = -0.39, p < 0.001 for men, r = -0.24, p < 0.003 for women; GE: r = 0.66, p < 0.001 for men, r = 0.78, p < 0.001 for women). In the meanwhile, FPIS was also only found to be negatively correlated with age in female (r = -0.238, p = 0.003). But there was no different with SPIS and age in both of genders. Conclusions: We have found that in Chinese with normal FPG level (90 mg/dl) and body mass index (men: 23 kg/m2, women: 22: kg/m2), age is negatively related to IR and GE in both genders. At the same time, only FPIS was found to be negatively related to age in women. The tightness of their relationships, from the highest to the lowest are, GE, FPIS and IR accordingly. The importance of GE should be re-evaluated. These results should be interpreted with caution because of the small sample size.

Climate change and food security are the most relevant issues to be considered in sustainable agricultural development. The FAO’s initiative of climate-smart agriculture has attracted international attention. Since then, the smart agriculture (SA) has been recognized as the most influential trends in contributing to agricultural development. Therefore, encouraging farmers to adopt digital technologies and mobile devices into farming practices becomes a policy priority worldwide. However, there is limited literature available on psychologic factors that drive farmers’ intentions to adopt SA technologies. The purpose of this study is to investigate how farmer’s knowledge and attitude toward SA affects their adoption of smart technologies in Taiwan. A total of 321 farmers participated in the project’s survey in 2017 and 2018, from which the data was used to perform an OLS regression model of SA adoption. This study contributes to a preliminary understanding of relationship between innovation and adoption of SA technologies in a small-scale farming economic context. The findings suggest that the policy makers and R&D institutes need to concentrate on improving market access for well-known and high important SA technologies.

Photodynamic therapy has been applied endoscopically to treat early esophageal cancer. However, the long-term survival outcome of this treatment option is unknown in literature. Patients and Method: The patients of early esophageal cancer (clinical stage I) treated with photophrin based photodynamic therapy were analyzed for their long-term survival outcome and compared to those patients undergoing esophagectomy by a single surgeon for stage I disease. Results: There were 15 and 16 patients undergoing PDT and esophagectomy enrolled in the current study respectively. Complete response was achieved in 10 (66.7%) patients after PDT. After adjuvant chemoradiation (CCRT) complete response was achieved in 13 patients (86%). There is no mortality after PDT. Severe complication was detected in 3 patients including trachea-esophageal fistulae, esophageal stenosis and skin photosensitivity respectively. With a median follow-up duration of 110.2 months (+9.6 months) for the patients after PDT, there were 4 and 3 recurrence in the primary tumor site and regional lymph node respectively with 73.3% of successful local control rate of the primary tumor. There were 7 (46.7%) patients died during clinical follow-up of this cohort with 5 (33.3%) from disease progression of esophageal cancer and two from other diseases respectively. The five-year survival rate after PDT is 64.3%, whereas 70.9% of the patients after esophagectomy without significant difference of these two group of patients (P=0.72). Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggested that PDT might provide an equivalent long-term oncological outcome as compared to that done by esophagectomy for early esophageal cancer. A prospective randomized clinical trial comparing the results with esophagectomy and other endoscopic abrasive therapies is warrant in the future.

This purpose of the study presented in this article is to comparing different service quality measurements between Kano and TRIZ that plays the critical roles in the catering industrial. Data collected from a DINESERV questionnaire comprises service-quality standards to increase customer satisfaction of mobile dining car. Finally, the TRIZ is standardized measure designed to improve the idealization of strategy for selecting the most appropriate service quality model. In addition, the preferences of more than one decision maker are internally aggregated into the TOPSIS procedure. All these things provide several important theoretical and practical implications for developing a successful mobile catering app.

Ferulic acid esters have been suggested as a group of natural chemicals with sunscreen function. The study aimed to utilize an environment-friendly enzymatic method to produce octyl ferulate by esterification of ferulic acid with octanol. The Box-Behnken design with response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to evaluate the effects of synthesis variables, including reaction temperature (70–90 °C), enzyme amount (1000–2000 PLU) and stir speed (50–150 rpm), on the molar conversion of octyl ferulate. According to the joint test, both the reaction temperature and enzyme amount had great impacts on the molar conversion. RSM-developed second-order polynomial equation further showed great ability on data-fitting. Based on ridge max analysis, the optimum parameters for the biocatalyzed reaction were: 72 h reaction time, 92.2 °C reaction temperature, 1831 PLU enzyme amount and 92.4 rpm stir speed, respectively. Finally, the molar conversion of octyl ferulate under optimum condition was verified to be 93.2 ± 1.5%. In conclusion, high yield of octyl ferulate synthesized by commercial immobilized lipase under elevated temperature conditions has been suggested, which our findings could broaden the utilization of the lipase and provide a biocatalytic approach, instead of the chemical method, for ferulic acid ester synthesis.

Patients with lean NAFLD make up an increasing subset of liver diseases. The association between lean NAFLD and feutin-A, which serves as a hepatokine and adipokine, has never been examined. Our study aimed to explore the association of serum fetuin-A among lean and nonlean patients. The study comprised 606 adults from the community, stratified into lean or nonlean (BMI </≥ 24 kg/m2) and NAFLD or non-NAFLD (scoring of ultrasonographic fatty liver indicator, US-FLI ≥ 2/<2). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratio of having NAFLD among the tertiles of fetuin-A after adjustment. The least square means were computed by general linear models to estimate marginal means of the serum fetuin-A concentrations in relation to the NAFLD groups. The OR of having NAFLD for the highest versus the lowest tertile of fetuin-A was 2.62 (95% CI: 1.72-3.98; P for trend<0.001). Stratifying by BMI, the OR of having lean NAFLD for the highest versus the lowest tertile of fetuin-A was 2.09 (95% CI: 1.09-3.98; P for trend 0.026), while nonlean NAFLD had no significant association with the fetuin-A gradient after adjustments. Fetuin-A was positively associated with lean NAFLD after adjusting for central obesity and insulin resistance.

Since first described by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1967, the clinical diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD) has remained relatively unchanged. However, studies since then have suggested that diagnoses using only that original clinical criteria may lead to underdiagnosis. In this review, updated KD diagnostic methods, diagnostic methods for “atypical” KD, diagnostic pitfalls, and other differential diagnoses are discussed. Peripheral blood eosinophil showed important in distinguishing KD from febrile children. We review herein the current literature regarding new biomarkers, scoring systems, and microRNA panels that may aid in the diagnosis of KD, the importance of eosinophil and treatment updates.

Spectacular shifts have been led to by The COVID-19 crisis in consumer behavior. Retailers will have to work hard to meet ever-evolving customer service experience with respect to the ways in which it may be differently affected by offline or online transactions in order to win and stay relevant. We suggest an integrative framework and construct customer service experience hypotheses, based on its antecedents and consequences that will contribute to academic study as well as managerial implications. The hypotheses are tested by a simultaneous equation model employing two data sets of the retail industry's offline and online customers. In this study, 571 samples of these businesses, 319 and 252 respondents from offline and online retail channels, respectively, were collected by means of an online web survey of consumers. The results show that the impact of consequences and antecedents of CSX differs based on the media utilized. The integrative framework of CSX in its online medium is far more effective than its explanatory power offline. The outcomes are reasonably counterintuitive in so far as they demonstrate that while most elements of CSX where a service is selected offline is the same in terms of customer loyalty and value equity, the emotional element related to the service provider is higher when the service is selected offline rather than online. These outcomes indicate that, contrary to popular fears, the online medium enables firms to develop a loyal customer foundation. These findings offer perceptivity into how an online channel could be used to better complement the offline channel, contributing towards new knowledge and understanding on CSX and how it may be utilized for managerial decision-making.

This study explored drivers’ emotion-based impressions of car-borne central control platforms (CBCCPs) personal-use vehicles. Thus, this preference-based study examined experts’ and drivers’ opinions regarding CBCCPs’ appeal from the perspective of Miryoku engineering. To this end, this study analyzed data via the EGM (evaluation grid method (EGM) and quantification theory type I. Results: Drivers’ preferences for specific CBCCP design characteristics were categorized into the factors “legible,” convenient,” and “tasteful,” which comprised the core of the EGM semantic hierarchical diagram. In addition, the importance of CBCCPs’ appeal factors and characteristics was assessed through quantification theory type I.The findings of this study provide valuable insights for designers, manufacturers, and researchers interested in the design of CBCCPs. Additionally, the results of this study can contribute to research on applied psychology, human-computer interactions, and car interface design.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a form of vasculitis that primarily affects children under the age of 5 years old. Patients may be missed diagnosis when initial clinical symptoms do not fulfill the traditional criteria. We aimed to analyze factors that clinicians could use to differentiate febrile children suspected of KD. Method: We retrospectively enrolled a total of 83 febrile children who were initially suspected of KD, but they did not meet the American Heart Association (AHA) criteria for a diagnosis. However, some of these patients were diagnosed with KD during their second visit. We analyzed patients' characteristics, clinical symptoms, and laboratory data. Results: In total, 50 patients were enrolled in the study. Of those, ten patients were diagnosed with KD on their second visit (group 1), while the other 40 patients still did not fit a KD diagnosis (group 2). A patient with a neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio greater than 1.33 combined with a C-reactive protein more than 33 mg/L was more likely to have KD. Conclusion: Among patients suspected of KD that did not initially meet the criteria, clinicians should pay special attention to elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios and CRP levels and closely follow up such patients.

. Manufacturers are increasingly adopting mixed-flow manufacturing models to meet the growing customized, diverse, and dynamic customer demand. In such an environment, material distribution scheduling optimization is vital for smooth operations and is integral to production management. However, manufacturers frequently encounter problems like disordered and delayed material distribution. Traditional scheduling methods suffer from problems like inadequate transparency, delayed decision directives, and suboptimal results, impacting performance. To this end, this study proposes a dynamic material distribution scheduling optimization model and strategy based on digital twin (DT) to address these problems. Firstly, we introduce workstation satisfaction and establish a material distribution path optimization model minimizing total distribution cost while maximizing workstation satisfaction. Subsequently, we present a cloud-edge computing-based decision framework and explain the DT-based material distribution system's components and operation. Furthermore, a dynamic material distribution scheduling optimization mechanism based on DT is designed. By incorporating a savings method and incentive, penalty strategies, improvements are made to the path node selection probabilities and the information pheromone update rules of the traditional ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm. Finally, a numerical case study, using real data from collaborating enterprises, validates the proposed algorithm and strategy. This research offers valuable insights into logistics management and algorithm design in smart manufacturing environments.

In this work, we examined the effect of tropospheric emissions on tropospheric ozone (O₃) by conducting three-dimensional (3D) chemistry transport model (CTM) simulations. For the control run, the CTM model simulates tropospheric O₃ levels with a complete set of anthropogenic, biomass burning, and vegetation emissions [8]. For the no-emission simulation, all anthropogenic, biomass burning, and vegetation emissions were turned off. Comparisons of results from these two simulations exhibit the emission impacts on the tropospheric O₃. In the no-emission simulation, distinctive low surface O₃ with concentrations less than 5 ppbv prevail over the Amazon basin, tropical South America, tropical South Africa, Southeast Asia. Transport of air from these land areas downwind contributes to the low O₃ over the remote marine boundary layer. In contrast, elevated O₃ levels over the extra-tropical remote marine boundary layer are less supported by the anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions but more sustained by the downward transport of O₃ from the stratosphere. These results demonstrate that the northern hemisphere continental areas (north of 30^◦N ), polar regions, and tropical continental regions are more sensitive to the tropospheric emissions. The northern hemisphere winter is mostly dominated by the stratospheric processes, while the tropospheric emissions dominate over the southern hemisphere tropical continental areas from tropics to 30^◦S latitudinal bands. The northern hemisphere continental regions are increasingly dominated by tropospheric emissions from spring, to reach maxima in summer, and started to reduce in autumn months.

Streptococcal infection is a main infectious diseases for farmed grey mullet (Mugil cephalus). This study were to identify spreptococcal species in diseased farmed grey mullet and to investigate differences in susceptibility to 13 antibiotics and in genotypes between the stains from the grey mullet and non-grey mullet. 170 samples from diseased farmed grey mullet were collected from three county in 2013 -2016. Multiplex PCR identified L. garviea (146) as the main pathogen, S. agalactia (9), S. dysgalactiae (19), and double infection (5), but no S. iniae. The prevalence changed annually and differed among three counties. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis demonstrated identical genotype with an ApaI-digested DNA pattern. Disc diffusion results demonstrated differences in antibiotic susceptibility between the strains from grey mullet (146) and non-grey mullet (30). Almost all strains resisted to clindamycin and all strains were susceptible to six antibiotic in grey mullet and 4 antibiotics in non-grey mullet. The reduced susceptible strains was more in non-grey mullet than grey mullet group. The reduced susceptible strains were observed the highest in 2014 and in Chiayi county and decreased from 2014 to 2016. However, the strains with reduced susceptibility to ceftriaxone, cirpofoxacin, moxifloxacin, tetracycline for human treatment were observed.

Growing evidence suggests that healthcare provider advice may increase tobacco cessation, reduce alcohol use, and improve the adoption of desirable lifestyle behaviors among patients. However, how brief interventions and other provider-patient interactions can shape cumulative adoption of multiple modifiable behaviors is less well studied for diabetes prevention and control. Using weighted internet panel survey data from a large socio-demographically diverse urban population in the United States (n=1,003), the present study describes differences in group characteristics among those who had been “ever diagnosed” with prediabetes/diabetes versus those who had not. It also examines the associations between the cumulative adoption of lifestyle behaviors and each of the following: a) lifetime prediabetes/diabetes diagnosis; b) brief lifestyle intervention exposure (i.e., received provider advice/encouragement); and c) recent provider-patient communication about diabetes. There were several group differences in “ever diagnosed” prediabetes/diabetes status by age, employment status, health status, nutrition knowledge, blood pressure/hypertension diagnosis, and diabetes-related health behaviors (p<0.05). Each of the three provider-patient interactions of interest were positively associated with a higher cumulative sum of adopted modifiable lifestyle behaviors for diabetes prevention and management. Results suggest that provider advice/provider-patient interactions of any type can have a salutary impact on whether individuals with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes will engage in recommended lifestyle behavior modifications.

Objectives. Invasive fungal spondylodiscitis (IFSD) is rare and could be lethal in certain circumstances. Previous literature revealed limited data concerning the outcomes. This study aimed to establish a risk-scoring system. Methods. A total of 53 patients were included in the study from a multi-centered database in Taiwan. All the clinicopathological and laboratory data were retrospectively analyzed. Variables strongly related to 1-year mortality were identified using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to express the performance of our IFSD scoring model. Results. Five strong predictors were included in the IFSD score: predisposing immunocompromised state, the initial presentation of either radiculopathy or myelopathy, initial laboratory findings of WBC > 12.0 or < 0.4 103/uL, hemoglobin < 8 g/dL, and evidence of candidemia. 1-year mortality rates for patients with IFSD Scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0%, 16.7%, 56.3%, 72.7%, and 100%, respectively. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.823. Conclusions. We developed a practical scoring model with easily obtained demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters to predict the probability of 1-year mortality in patients with IFSD. However, more large-scale and international validations would be necessary before this scoring model is commonly used.

Blockchain technology can achieve decentralization, multi-party verification, anti-tampering, anonymity, traceability of transactions, and the application of distributed ledger. Countries around the world continue to seek the blockchain business models, technologies and applications, and have different visions and policies for the development of blockchain. This study conducts a comparative policy framework of theoretical analysis of the blockchain technology between the USA and China. Using the innovative policy tools proposed by Rothwell and Zegveld, the above mentioned governments are analyzed from the viewpoint of twelve policy tools. The results show that the USA and China all prefer to use “Environmental-side” policy. The USA has paid more attention to “Legal and regulatory”, “Public services” and “Procurement”. China has the highest proportion of policies in “Political tools”, followed by “Legal & regulatory”, while “Scientific and technical”, “Education” and “Overseas agent” come in third . The blockchain technology has developed vigorously among industries and its applications have gradually diversified. The results are provided to various stakeholders as a reference for policy planning.

The synergistic features of a three-component, photoinitiating system (A/B/C) based on the measured data and proposed mechanism of Liu et al. are analyzed. The co-initiators/additives B and C have dual-functions of : (i) regeneration of photoinitiator A, and (ii) generation of extra radicals for enhanced conversion efficacy (CE). The synergistic effects led to higher CE for both free radical polymerization (FRP) and cationic polymerization (CP). The CE of FRP has 3 terms due to the direct (tyep-I) coupling of the triplet state of A with the monomer (M) and the coupling of the two radicals, R and R', with M. The CE of CP has a transient state proportional to the effective absorption constant (b), the light intensity (I) and initiator concentration (A0), but a steady state is independent of the light intensity (I). For the CE of FRP, the contribution from radical R had two cases: (i) linear dependence on T=bIA0, or (ii) nonlinear square root dependence T0.5. The synergistic effects led to higher conversion of FRP and CP, consistent with the measured results. The theoretically predicted new features include: (i) co-initiator [C] which always enhances both FRP and CP conversions, and (ii) co-initiator [B] which leads to more efficient FRP, but it also reduces CP.

Feruloylacetone (FER) is a natural degradant of curcumin after heating, which structurally reserves some functional groups of curcumin. It is not as widely discussed as its original counterpart in previous studies and, therefore, its anti-cancer efficacy is investigated herein. This study focuses on the suppressive effect of FER on colon cancer, as the efficacious effect of curcumin on this typical cancer type has been well evidenced. In addition, demethoxy-feruloylacetone (DFER) was applied to compare the effect that might be brought on by the structural differences of the methoxy group. It was revealed that both FER and DFER inhibited the proliferation of HCT116 cells, possibly via suppression of the phosphorylated mTOR/STAT3 pathway. Notably, FER could significantly repress both the STAT3 phosphorylation and protein levels. Furthermore, both samples showed the capability of arresting HCT116 cells at the G2/M phase via the activation of p53/p21 and upregulation of cyclin-B. In addition, ROS elevation and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were revealed, as indicated by p-atm elevation. The apoptotic rate rised to 36.9% and 32.2% after being treated by FER and DFER, respectively. In summary, both compounds exhibited an anti-cancer effect, and FER showed a greater pro-apoptotic effect, possibly due to the presence of the methoxy group on the aromatic ring.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, dementia severity, age, and ANS regulation. This cross-sectional pilot study included 27 older patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease, hospitalized at a psychiatric center. We measured heart rate variability to assess ANS regulation at night, evaluated dementia severity using the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, and obtained sleep duration data from sleep diaries maintained by psychiatric nurses. The data were analyzed using repeated-measures generalized linear models with age, sex, dementia severity, and medication (antipsychotics) as covariates. A sleep duration of 7–8 h per night was associated with better ANS regulation than other sleep durations, as indicated by sympathovagal balance (p = 0.005). ANS dysregulation was characterized by a 20.7% increase in sympathetic nervous system activity and a 14.8% decrease in parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) activity. We found a significant correlation between dementia severity and PSNS activity (p = 0.04) and observed an inverted U-shaped association between sleep duration and ANS regulation. This pilot study demonstrated that a sleep duration of 7–8 h per night may be critical in maintaining optimal ANS regulation. Bidirectional associations between sleep duration, inadequate sleep duration, aging, and ANS regulation warrant further investigation.

Background: Shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is observed in multiple age-related diseases, which are also associated with vitamin D deficiency (i.e., osteosarcopenia, neurocognitive disorders, cancer, osteoarthritis, etc.), which suggests a close association. In this study, we examined the relationship between vitamin D levels and LTL in older participants of the UK Biobank. Methods: Data were collected from the UK Biobank. Participants aged 60 and older (n=148,321) were included. Baseline LTL was measured using a multiplex qPCR technique and expressed as the ratio of the telomere amplification product (T) to that of a single-copy gene (S) (T/S ratio). Se-rum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) was stratified by z score and linked to LTL in a linear regression model adjusting for covariates. Results: Compared to the medium level, a low (in the range of 16.6 nmol/L, 29.7 nmol/L) or extremely low (≤ 16.6 nmol/L) level of serum 25OHD was associated with shorter LTL: 0.018 SD (standardized β= -0.018, 95% CI -0.033 to -0.003, P=0.022) and 0.048 SD (standardized β= -0.048, 95% CI -0.083 to -0.014, P=0.006), respectively. Additionally, the high serum 25OHD groups (> 95.9 nmol/L) had 0.038 SD (standardized β= -0.038, 95% CI -0.072 to -0.004, P=0.030) shorter mean LTL than the group with medium 25OHD levels. The associations above were adjusted for multiple variables. Conclusion: In this population-based study, we identified an inverted U-shape relationship between LTL and vitamin D status. Whether high or low vitamin D-associated shorter LTL is mechanistically related to age-related conditions remains to be elucidated.

Background: Recently we demonstrated that Astragalus polysaccharide (PG2), the active ingredient in dried roots of astragalus membranaceus, ameliorates cancer symptom clusters and improve quality of life (QoL) in patients with metastatic disease by modulating inflammatory cascade, against the background that inflammatory cells including macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs), and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in tumor initiation, metastasis, and progression. Nevertheless, the role of PG2 in the modulation of anticancer immunogenicity and therapeutic response remains relatively underexplored and unclear. Purpose: The present study investigates how and to what extent PG2 modulates cellular and biochemical components of the inflammatory cascade, enhance anticancer immunity, and the therapeutic implication of same in patients with lung cancer. Methods and Results: Herein, we demonstrated that PG2 significantly increased the M1/M2 macrophage polarization ratio in non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) H441 and H1299 cells. This PG2-induced preferential pharmacologic up-regulation of tumoral M1 population in vitro, positively correlated with the downregulation of tumor-promoting IL-6 and IL-10 expression in NSCLC cell-conditioned medium, with concomitant marked inhibition of cell proliferation, clonogenicity and tumorsphere formation. Our ex vivo results, using clinical sample from our NSCLC cohort, demonstrated that PG2 also promoted the functional maturation of DCs with consequent enhancement of T cell-mediated anticancer immune responses. Consistent with the in vitro and ex vivo results, our in vivo studies showed that mice treated with PG2 exhibited significant time-dependent depletion of the tumor-associated M2 population, synergistically enhanced the anti-M2-based anticancer effect of cisplatin, and inhibition of xenograft tumor growth in the NSCLC mice models. Moreover, in the presence of PG2, cisplatin-associated dyscresia and weight-loss was markedly suppressed. Conclusion: These results do indicate a therapeutically-relevant role for PG2 in modulating the M1/M2 macrophage pool, facilitating DC maturation, and synergistically enhancing the anticancer effect of conventional chemotherapeutic agent, cisplatin; thus laying the foundation for further exploration of the curative relevance of PG2 as surrogate immunotherapy and/or clinical feasibility of its use for maintenance therapy in patients with lung cancer.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a well validated prostate cancer marker, but reported PSMA-targeted tracers derived from the Lys-urea-Glu pharmacophore including the clinically validated [99mTc]Tc-EDDA/HYNIC-iPSMA have high off-target uptake in kidneys, spleen and salivary glands. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated three novel 99mTc-labeled PSMA-targeted tracers and investigated if the tracers derived from the Lys-urea-Aad pharmacophore could have minimized uptake in off-target organs/tissues. In vitro competition binding assays showed that compared with HYNIC-iPSMA, the three novel ligands had slightly weaker PSMA binding affinity (average Ki = 3.11 vs 8.96 - 11.6 nM). Imaging and ex vivo biodistribution studies in LNCaP tumor-bearing mice showed that [99mTc]Tc-EDDA/HYNIC-iPSMA and the three novel tracers successfully visualized LNCaP tumor xenografts in SPECT images and were excreted mainly via the renal pathway. The average tumor uptake at 1 h post-injection varied from 5.40 to 18.8 %ID/g, and the tracers derived from the Lys-urea-Aad pharmacophore had much lower uptake in spleen and salivary glands. Compared with the clinical tracer [99mTc]Tc-EDDA/HYNIC-iPSMA, the Lys-urea-Aad derived [99mTc]Tc-EDDA-KL01127 had lower background uptake and superior tumor-to-background contrast ratios, and is therefore promising for clinical translation to detect prostate cancer lesions with SPECT.

In this work, we investigated the effects of heat treatment on the microstructure, hydrogen storage characteristics and corrosion rate of a Ti₃₄V₄₀Cr₂₄Fe₂ alloy. The arc melted alloy was divided into three samples, two of which were separately quartz-sealed under vacuum and heated to 1000 °C for 1 h; one of these samples was quenched and the other furnace cooled to ambient temperature. The crystal structures of the samples were studied via X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Absorption/desorption characteristics were investigated using a Sievert apparatus. Potentiostat corrosion tests on the alloys were performed using an AutoLab^® corrosion test apparatus and electrochemical cell. All samples exhibited a mixture of body-center-cubic (BCC) and Laves phase structures. The corrosion rate, maximum absorption, and useful capacities increased after both heat treatments. The annealed sample had the highest absorption and reversible capacity. The plateau pressure of the as-cast alloy increased after quenching. The corrosion rate increased from 0.0004 mm/y in as-cast sample to 0.0009 mm/y after annealing and 0.0017 mm/y after quenching, due to a decrease in the Cr-content of the C14 phase.

The development of using mitochondrial transplantation in medical therapy are currently discussed. According to the endosymbiotic theory, the movement of mitochondria between different cells is possible. Therefore, an idea of transferring the mitochondria purified from the cells with a limited lifespan to shorten the lifespan of immortal cancer cells was generated. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) is a kind of primary cell with a limited lifespan. In the present study, the mitochondria purified from HUVEC were applied to alter the malignance of B16F10 melanoma cell. In the comparison of the basic function of mitochondria, HUVEC mitochondria exhibited a higher mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), while the lower levels in ATP, mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) and mitochondrial protein (mt-protein) as compared to melanoma B16F10. After transplanted the B16F10 with HUVEC mitochondria, the migration, invasion, and the proteins involved in cancer stemness were decreased, however, the proteins involved in cell proliferation, such as cyclin D1 and cyclin E1 were increased. In addition, the levels of ATP, mt-DNA and mt-protein of B16F10 were also reduced. As for the dynamics of mitochondria, the reduced expressions of DRP1 and LC3 II revealed that transferred mitochondria can attenuate the mitophagy of B16F10. In mice, inoculated the B16F10 carrying the transplanted HUVEC mitochondria resulted in the larger size of tumor, which is corresponded to the higher levels of cyclin D1 and E1. Interestingly, the lower expressions of N-cadherin, α-SMA and MMP-9 reveled the tumor were decreased in mesenchymal characteristics. Therefore, despite the HUVEC mitochondria did not inhibit the proliferation of B16F10, the metastatic characteristic was reduced.

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a membrane-tethered serine protease overexpressed in the reactive stromal fibroblasts of &gt; 90% human carcinomas, which makes it a promising target for developing radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy of carcinomas. Here, we synthesized two novel (R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl-boronic acid-based FAP-targeted ligands; SB02055 (DOTA-conjugated (R)-(1-((6-(3-(piperazin-1-yl)propoxy)quinoline-4-carbonyl)glycyl)pyrrolidin-2-yl)boronic acid) and SB04028 (DOTA-conjugated ((R)-1-((6-(3-(piperazin-1-yl)propoxy)quinoline-4-carbonyl)-D-alanyl)pyrrolidin-2-yl)boronic acid). natGa- and 68Ga-complexes of both ligands were evaluated in preclinical studies and compared to previously reported natGa/68Ga-complexed PNT6555. Enzymatic assays showed that FAP binding affinities (IC50) of natGa-SB02055, natGa-SB04028 and natGa-PNT6555 were 0.41±0.06, 13.9±1.29 and 78.1±4.59 nM, respectively. PET imaging and biodistribution studies in HEK293T:hFAP tumor-bearing mice showed that while [68Ga]Ga-SB02055 presented with a nominal tumor uptake (1.08±0.37 %ID/g), [68Ga]Ga-SB04028 demonstrated clear tumor visualization with ~1.5-fold higher tumor uptake (10.1±0.42 %ID/g) compared to [68Ga]Ga-PNT6555 (6.38±0.45 %ID/g). High accumulation in the bladder indicated renal excretion of all three tracers. [68Ga]Ga-SB04028 displayed low background level uptake in most normal organs, and comparable to [68Ga]Ga-PNT6555. However, since its tumor uptake was considerably higher than [68Ga]Ga-PNT6555, the corresponding tumor-to-organ uptake ratios for [68Ga]Ga-SB04028 were also significantly greater than [68Ga]Ga-PNT6555. Our data demonstrate that (R)-(((quinoline-4-carbonyl)-D-alanyl)pyrrolidin-2-yl)boronic acid is a promising pharmacophore for the design of FAP-targeted radiopharmaceuticals for cancer imaging and radioligand therapy.

The objective of this research is to establish a better understanding of the current landscape of digital learning research and sustainable development by using CiteSpace. First, we retrieved published publications from the Web of Science (2004–2022). Following that, we examined the primary research strengths and important subjects of digital learning from two perspectives: collaboration networks (including collaborative networks across countries, institutions, and authors) and co-citation networks. We examined the co-citation network from three perspectives: cluster analysis, the most active citers, top references. Furthermore, referenced journals, popular themes, and rising trends were examined. These findings indicate the primary study subjects in the field of digital learning, the most intriguing research literature, and each period's emerging research hotspots. Finally, we proposed further study ideas for future paths.

The root extracts of Symphytum officinale (comfrey) are commonly used in traditional medicine to treat muscle, joint, skin and bone disorders. However, little information is available on the biomedical functions of comfrey leaves. In this study, sequencing results of Internal Transcribed Spacer and trnL-trnF genes showed that plants purchased from the local market were comfrey and named as S. officinale WL (WL). The optimal extraction conditions of WL leave with the highest extract yield and contents of total phenols and flavonoids by microwave-assisted extraction were identified. The antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities and possible molecular mechanism(s) of the WL leaf extract (WLE) were evaluated. Furthermore, the major component of WLE was identified as rosmarinic acid by HPLC. Results showed that the optimal extract condition was obtained with 750W microwave power, 50℃, 75% methanol, the solid-to-solvent ratio of 1:10, and 15 minutes. Results of all DPPH, ABTS and superoxide radical scavenging activities, reducing power, ferrous ion chelating activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power showed high antioxidative capacities of WLE. Furthermore, WLE showed obvious DNA protecting activity. WLE attenuated lipopolysaccharides-stimulated inflammation by suppressing iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α expressions in RAW264.7 macrophages. These attenuations involved in inactivations of lipopolysaccharides-induced NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.

The present study analyzed light emitting diodes (LEDs) as an output load and used a Taylor series to describe the characteristic curve based on the exponential characteristic of voltage and current. A prototype circuit of a flyback LED driver system was established to verify whether the theory is consistent with actual results. This study focused on the exponential relationship of LED voltage and current. Conventional simulations usually used linear models to present LED loads. However, the linear model resulted in considerable error between simulation and actual characteristics. Therefore, this study employed a Taylor series to describe the nonlinear characteristic of an LED load. Through precise calculations with Mathcad computation software, the error was effectively reduced. Moreover, the process clarified the influence of temperature on LEDs, which benefited the characteristic analysis of the entire system. Finally, a realized circuit of 120-W flyback LED drivers was established for conducting theory verification, including theoretic analysis and evaluation of the system design process of the flyback converter. The circuit simulation software SIMPLIS was used to demonstrate the system model, which enabled quick understanding of the system framework established in this study. Regarding LEDs, a commercially available aluminum luminaire was used as the output load. The measured results of the actual circuit and the simulation results were remarkably consistent. For the same system at the same temperature, the error between the simulation and actual results was less than 3%, which proved the reliability of the Taylor series simulation.

End-to-end learned image compression codecs have notably emerged in recent years. These codecs have demonstrated superiority over conventional methods, showcasing remarkable flexibility and adaptability across diverse data domains while supporting new distortion losses. Despite challenges such as computational complexity, learned image compression methods inherently align with learning-based data processing and analytic pipelines due to their well-suited internal representations. The concept of Video Coding for Machines has garnered significant attention from both academic researchers and industry practitioners. This concept reflects the growing need to integrate data compression with computer vision applications. In light of these developments, we present a comprehensive survey and review of lossy image compression methods. Additionally, we provide a concise overview of two prominent international standards, MPEG Video Coding for Machines and JPEG AI. These standards are designed to bridge the gap between data compression and computer vision, catering to practical industry use cases.

The exceptional performance advantages of the fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) position it as a dominant player in middle and high-end inertial navigation systems. To prevent the loss of sensor precision caused by algorithm design and simplify the complex modeling strategy in traditional methods. We gradually demonstrate the significant role of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) in the navigation system based on FOG, and utilize the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) to expedite the convergence of the network. The experimental results demonstrate that the initial alignment method based on deep learning is more accurate than the traditional method. The attitude angle error is reduced by 81.25%, 92.54% and 36.53% respectively. The research provides support for the future application of deep learning in optical navigation systems.

Early debridement and stabilization for pyogenic spondylodiscitis allow early mobilization of the patient and prevent subsequent spinal deformity. Tantalum (Ta) trabecular metal (TM) components have several potential advantages over conventional implant materials, such as its uniformity and structural continuity, strength, low stiffness, high porosity, high coefficient of friction and tantalum trabecular metal enhances the host defense mechanism by increasing leukocyte chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and the bacterial killing rate. A single-stage surgery with a tantalum trabecular metal cage combining two different approaches is sufficient to maintain vertebral stability. This retrospective cohort study included 57 patients, 31 (54%) patients were treated with single-stage debridement and reconstruction with trabecular metal cages, and 26 (45.6%) patients received spine surgery without trabecular metal cages received surgery between January 2018 and March 2021 in our tertiary academic teaching hospital. The CRP values dropped borderline significantly in the TM cage group compared with the non-TM cage group postoperatively. In patients with spondylodiscitis, it is advisable to perform single-stage debridement and reconstruction with a trabecular metal cage, which allows abscess drainage and rapid mobilization, prevents deformity.

This study aimed to compare the differences in durability and prestress loss between normal-weight concrete (NC) and lightweight aggregate concrete (LWC) prestressed box girders, which were constructed at the same time in the same area, so as to verify the superiority of using synthetic lightweight aggregate (LWA) made from reservoir sediments in prestressed bridges. For the NCs and LWCs used in prestressed box girders, the basic mechanical properties were tested on the one hand, and the durability properties were tested on the other hand. Then, through the prestress monitoring system, the prestress loss of the two groups of the prestressed box girders was tracked. The results of the durability test confirmed that LWC can inhibit the penetration of air, water, and chloride ions by strengthening the interfacial transition zone between the aggregate and the cement paste, thereby improving its durability. Moreover, the magnetic flux prestress loss of the NC prestressed box girder reached 8.1%. In contrast, the magnetic flux prestress losses on both sides of the LWC prestressed box girder were 4.6% and 4.9%, respectively. This verified that, under the same environmental conditions, the use of LWC produced less of a prestress loss than the use of NC.

Blocking the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme II (hACE2) protein serves as a therapeutic strategy for treating COVID-19. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments containing bioactive products could alleviate the symptoms of severe COVID-19. However, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has complicated the process of developing broad-spectrum drugs. As such, the aim in this study was to explore the efficacy of TCM treatments for SARS-CoV-2 variants through targeting the interaction of the viral spike protein with the hACE2 receptor. The antiviral activity was systematically evaluated using a pseudovirus system. Scutellaria baicalensis was found to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection through affecting the interaction of viral spike protein with the hACE2 protein. The active molecules of S. baicalensis were identified and analyzed. Baicalein and baicalin, a flavone and a flavone glycoside, respectively, found in S. baicalensis, exhibited strong inhibitory activities, targeting the viral spike protein or hACE2 protein, respectively. Under optimized conditions, virus infection was inhibited by 98% via baicalein-treated pseudovirus and baicalin-treated hACE2. In summary, we identified the potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors of the interaction of the Omicron spike protein and hACE2 receptor from S. baicalensis. Future studies on the therapeutic application of baicalein and baicalin against SARS-CoV-2 variants are needed.

Biocompatible and biodegradable poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA)/hexadecylamine-modified PPZn (m-PPZn) nanocomposites were prepared using a melt mixing process. Experimental results of wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the stacking layers of the m-PPZn were partially intercalated and partially exfoliated into the PBSA polymer matrix. The isothermal crystallization kinetics of PBSA/m-PPZn nanocomposites were studied at the temperature range of 62−70 °C and the half-time for crystallization of 3 wt % PBSA/m-PPZn nanocomposite was reduced by 27−35% compared with that of pure PBSA. This finding suggests that the incorporation of m-PPZn might cause the heterogeneous nucleation and the subsequent crystallization growth, which enhances the isothermal crystallization rate of PBSA/m-PPZn nanocomposite. The biodegradation rates of PBSA using Lipase from Pseudomonas sp. increase as the contents of m-PPZn increase. The degradation behavior of the neat PBSA investigated using the change of weight-average molecular weight belongs to exo-type hydrolysis activity. It is necessary to point out that the change of degree of crystallinity and degradation rate are almost linearly proportional to the loading of hexadecylamine-modified PPZn. This finding would provide an important information for the manufacturing biodegradable PBSA nanocomposites.

The Yixian Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of China is famous worldwide for its fossils of early angio-sperms, but there is only one record of flower bud hitherto. A previous fossil record of flower bud just showed the appearance and lacked any internal details. Such a lacuna in knowledge of flower buds hin-ders our understanding of the evolution of flowers. Our new specimen was collected from an outcrop of the Yixian Formation (the Barremian-Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) near Dawangzhangzi, Lingyuan, Liao-ning, China. The specimen was observed and photographed using a Sony ILCE-7 digital camera and a Nikon SMZ1500 stereomicroscope, and details were observed using a TESCAN MAIA3 SEM. Our ob-servations document a fossil flower bud, Archaebuda cretaca sp. nov, from the Lower Cretaceous of China. The occurrence of two species of Archaebuda in the Yixian Formation not only confirms the ex-istence of the expected gynoecium (and possible androecium) in a flower bud, but also underscores the occurrence of typical flowers in the Early Cretaceous.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by chronic synovitis and progressive destruction of cartilage and bone. RA is commonly accompanied by extra-articular comorbidities. The pathogenesis of RA and its comorbidities is complex and not completely elucidated. Assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome activates caspase-1, which induces the maturation of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 and leads to cleavage of gasdermin D with promot-ing pyroptosis. Although the available therapeutic agents are effective for RA treatment, their high cost and increased infection rate are causes for concern. Recent evidence revealed the components of NLRP3 inflammasome as potential therapeutic targets in RA and its comorbidities. This nar-rative review summarizes the current research evidence regarding the pathogenic role and the therapeutic potential of NLRP3 inflammasome in RA and its comorbidities. Areas covered. We searched the MEDLINE database using the PubMed interface and reviewed English-language literature on NLRP3 inflammasome from 2000 to 2023. Its pathogenic role and therapeutic potential in RA and its comorbidities are the focus of this review. Expert opinion. NLRP3 inflammasome may play a critical role in both innate and adaptive im-munity, and its dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of RA and its comorbidities. Conse-quently, the components of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling represent promising therapeutic tar-gets, and ongoing research might lead to the development of new, effective treatments for RA and its comorbidities.

This paper proposed an optimal tracking control scheme through adaptive dynamic programming(ADP) for a class of partially unknown discrete-time nonlinear systems based on radial basis function neural network(RBF-NN). In order to acquire the unknown system dynamics, we use two RBF-NNs, the one is used to construct the identifier, and the another is used to directly approximate the steady-state control input, where a novel adaptive law is proposed to update neural network weights. While the optimal feedback control and the cost function are derived via feedforward neural networks approximating, it is proposed to regulate the tracking error, the critic network and the actor network are then trained online to obtain the solution of the associated Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation being built under the ADP framework. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the optimal tracking control technique using the neural networks.

Background: Improving patients’ quality of life (QoL) is a principal objective of all treatment in any clinical setting, including oncology practice. Cancer-associated inflammation is implicated in disease progression and worsening of patients’ QoL. Conventional anticancer therapeutics while selectively eliminating cancerous cells, are evaded by stem cell-like cells, and associated with varying degrees of adverse effects, thus reducing patients’ QoL. This necessitates novel therapeutic approaches with enhanced efficacy, minimal or no treatment-related adverse effects, and improved QoL in patients with cancer, especially those with metastatic/advance stage disease. Methods: Sequel to our team’s previous publication, the present study explores probable effects of Astragalus polysaccharides (PG2) on cancer-related inflammatory landscape and known determinants of QoL, as well as the probable link between the two to provide mechanistic insight. In exploratory double blind randomized controlled trial using patients with metastatic disease (n=23), we comparatively evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of high (500mg) or low (250mg) dose PG2 administered intravenously (i.v.), with particular focus on its suggested anti-inflammatory function and the probable effect of same on QoL indices at baseline, then at weeks 4 and 8 post-PG2 treatment. Results: All 23 patients with metastatic disease treated with either low or high PG2 experienced reduced pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue, as well as better appetite and sleep, culminating in improved global QoL. This was most apparent in the high dose group, with significant co-suppression of pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, IL-17, monocytes chemotactic protein (MCP)1, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor growth factor (TGF)-β1, interferon (IFN)-γ, and immune suppressors IL-10, and IL-12. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that IL-1β, IL-13 and GM-CSF are independent prognosticators of improved QoL. Conclusion: This proof-of-concept study provides premier evidence of functional association between PG2 anti-inflammatory effects and improved QoL in patients with advanced stage cancers, laying the groundwork for future larger cohort blinded controlled trials to establish the efficacy of PG2 as adjuvant anticancer therapy in metastatic or advanced stage clinical settings.

Attracting and retaining international students has been widely discussed in higher education settings. Increasing the number of international students has become an indispensable strategy for national and global competition. This study focuses on effective strategies and international students' issues regarding satisfaction in the most popular STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. We designed a structural equation modeling (SEM) method to determine the effect of institutional mediation between push factors and satisfaction factors for the development of better strategies by which to attract and retain international students. Taking Taiwan as an example, this study employed a self-designed questionnaire to collect data: 485 degree-seeking international students in STEM programs were invited and successfully participated in this study during spring 2021. IBM SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 (Analysis of Moment Structure) were used to carry out the data analysis. We employed reliability, factor, and SEM analyses. This study assumed that the impact of push factors can be modified by institutional situations and result in international students’ satisfaction with their learning and environment and regarding migration policy. The results revealed that the predictors, mediation, and criteria were significant at the 0.05 or 0.01 levels. The findings suggest that push factors impact international students’ satisfaction when using institutional leadership and international strategy. The results of the bootstrap with a generalized least square method showed that the SEM model fit in 2000 bootstrap samples. The effect of institutional mediation can provide useful information for STEM programs to boost their future recruitment and retention strategies. This study provides an innovative approach to the detection of issues among international students in specific programs. These findings can enrich our knowledge regarding attracting and retaining global students in higher education settings.

People wore clothes for warmth, survival and necessity in modern life as well but in modern era, eco-friendliness, shorten production time, design, and intelligence also matters. The seamless bonding technology strengthen the bond between fabrics in textiles, while Grey relational analysis (GRA) can be applied to fabrics to measure the relationship between data series and determine the closeness of each data series. In this study, polyurethane prepolymer, 2-Hydroxyethyl acrylate (2-HEA) as an end-capping agent, and n-octyl acrylate (ODA) as a photo-initiator were used to synthesize dual-curing polyurethane hot-melt adhesive. The Taguchi quality engineering and grey relational analysis used to discuss the influence of different mole ratio of NCO:OH, and the effect of the molar ratio of addition of octyl decyl acrylate on the mechanical strength. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed the termination of prepolymer's polymerization reaction and the C=O peak intensity at 1730 cm-1 indicating the efficient bonding to main chain. The high molecular weight polymer (20,000-30,000) described by advanced polymer chromatography (APC) confirmed the polyurethane polymer bonded with octyl decyl acrylate to achieve the photo-thermosetting effect. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed the thermal decomposition temperature of polyurethane hot melt adhesive also increased and highest pyrolysis temperature (349.89℃) for the polyhydric alcohols. The high value of shear strength (34.94 kg/cm2) as well as peel strength (1.68 kg/cm) were also observed in dual-cure photo-thermosetting polyurethane hot melt adhesive. The signal-to-noise ratio also used to generate the grey relational degree. It was observed that the best parameter ration of NCO: OH was 4:1 with 5 moles of monomer. The Taguchi quality engineering method was used to find the parameters of single quality optimization, and then the grey relation calculation was used to obtain the parameter combination of multi-quality optimization for thermosetting polyurethane hot melt adhesive. The study aims to meet the requirements of seamless bonding in textile factories and optimized experimental parameter design by setting target values can effectively increase production speed, reduce processing time and costs as well.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease induced by many environmental factors. The inhalation of allergens and pollutants promote the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production leading to airway inflammation, hyper-responsiveness and remodeling in allergic asthma. The effects of asthma medications on ROS production are unclear. The present study investigated the anti-ROS effects of current asthma medications including inhaled corticosteroid (ICS; budesonide and fluticasone), leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA; montelukast), long acting β2 agonists (LABAs; salmeterol and formoterol) and a new extra-LABA (indacaterol). The human monocyte cell line THP-1 cells were pre-treated with different concentrations of the asthma medications at different time-points after hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) stimulation. H₂O₂ production was measured with DCFH-DA by flow cytometry. Montelukast, fluticasone and salmeterol suppressed H₂O₂-induced ROS production. Indacaterol enhanced H₂O₂-induced ROS production. Budesonide and formoterol alone had no anti-ROS effects, but the combination of these two drugs significantly suppressed H₂O₂-induced ROS production. Different asthma medications have different anti-ROS effects on monocytes. The combination therapy with LABA and ICS seemed not be the only choice for asthma control. Montelukast may be also a good supplemental treatment for the poorly-controlled asthma because of its powerful anti-ROS effects. Our findings provide a novel therapeutic view in asthma.

This research focuses on the Hopf bifurcation occurring at a singular point with high-order degeneracy in a class of three-dimensional systems. Based on center manifold theorem, by expanding the technique for determining singular point values of degenerate singularities in two-dimensional systems, the formal series method to determine the singular point values at the high-order degenerate critical point is discussed. Furthermore, a class of specific three-dimensional differential systems with high-order degenerate singularities is explored. By computing the singular point values and determining center conditions, we proved that a minimum of 5 small-amplitude limit cycles in the vicinity of the origin. This research provides new perspectives on the center problem and limit cycle bifurcation in high-dimensional systems with high-order degenerate singular points.

This study investigates the effects of Zinc (4wt.%) and severe plastic deformation on the mechanical properties of AZ61 magnesium alloy through the stir-casting process. The severe plastic deformation (equal channel angular pressing (ECAP)) has been done followed by T4 heat treatment. The microstructural examinations revealed that the addition of 4wt.%Zn enhances the uniform distribution of β-phase, contributing to a more uniformly corroded surface in corrosive environments. Additionally, dynamic recrystallization (DRX) significantly reduces the grain size of as-cast alloys after undergoing ECAP. The attained mechanical properties demonstrate that after a single ECAP pass, AZ61 + 4wt.%Zn alloy exhibits optimal yield strength (YS), ultimate compression strength (UCS), and hardness. This research highlights the promising potential of AZ61 + 4wt.%Zn alloy for enhanced mechanical and corrosion-resistant properties, offering valuable insights for applications in diverse engineering fields.

Patients with schizophrenia had higher mortality risks and the role of antipsychotic medications remained inconclusive. In an aging society, elderly schizophrenia patients warrant increased attention. In this study, we aimed to explore medication dosage associations with mortality in schizophrenia patients, using Taiwan's national healthcare database from 2010 to 2014, with 102,964 patients with schizophrenia, and a subgroup of 6,433 elderly patients, compared to an age- and gender-matched control group. The findings revealed that schizophrenia patients with no antipsychotic exposure had the highest mortality risk as compared to the control sample—with a 3.61 and 3.37-fold risk for overall and cardiovascular mortality respectively in age and gender-adjusted model, followed by high, low, and moderate exposure groups. A similar pattern was observed in elderly schizophrenia patients but high exposure to antipsychotics was associated with the highest risk in both overall and cardiovascular mortality in elderly patients, with a 3.01, and 2.95-fold risk), respectively. In conclusion, the use of antipsychotics is beneficial to patients with schizophrenia, with recommended exposure levels being low to moderate. In elderly patients, high antipsychotic exposure was associated with the highest mortality risk. We should pay more attention to antipsychotic dosage in elderly schizophrenia patients.

Infectious keratitis (IK) represents a major cause of corneal blindness. This study aims to investigate the demographics, risk factors, microbiological characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of IK in Taiwan over the past 15 years. A retrospective population-based study was conducted using the Chang Gung Research Database. Patients with IK were identified by diagnostic codes for corneal ulcer from 2004 to 2019. Of 7807 included subjects, 45.2% of patients had positive corneal cultures. The proportion of contact lens-related IK declined, while that of IK related to systemic diseases grew. The percentage of isolated gram-positive bacteria surpassed that of gram-negative bacteria in the 15-year period. The prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed a decreasing trend (p = 0.004), whereas coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) and Propionibacterium species were increasingly detected (p &lt; 0.001). Overall, the trend of antibiotic susceptibility of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria did not change throughout the study period. The susceptibility to the test antibiotics maintained over 90% in gram-negative isolates during 15 years. Vancomycin preserved 100% susceptibility to all gram-positive isolates. Since most tested antibiotics exhibited stable susceptibility over decades, this study reinforced that fluoroquinolones and fortified vancomycin continue to be good empiric therapies for treating bacterial keratitis in Taiwan.

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) combines the nontoxic photosensitizer (PS) and visible light to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause oxidative damages in (on) microbial organisms. Previously, we have shown that chitosan can augment the bactericidal efficacy mediated by PDI against bacteria and Candida. In this study, we showed that the antimicrobial action of chitosan to augment PDI relates to the enlargement of cell surface destruction. The microbial cell surfaces exhibit severe irregular shapes after PDI in the presence of chitosan. Furthermore, increase in the concentrations or incubation time of chitosan significantly reduce the amounts of photosensitizers TBO required, indicating that chitosan could be a synergistic agent with PDI against human pathogens. A prolonged lag phase was found in PDI surviving microbial cells, in which chitosan can act to synergistically eradicate the cells. Once the impaired cells rebuild their cellular functions from PDI-induced damage, the increased cytotoxic effect of chitosan disappeared. Together, our results suggest that chitosan with an augmented bactericidal activity after PDI is to inhibit the rehabilitation of PDI surviving cells, leading to microbial death.

The kinetics and efficacy profiles of photoinitiated polymerization are theoretically presented. For the same dose, lower light intensity achieves a higher steady-state-efficacy (SSE) in type-I; in contrast, type-II has an equal SSE. Higher light intensity has a faster rising efficacy, due to faster depletion of photoinitiator (PS) concentration. However, type-II process is also affected by the available oxygen. Higher light intensity produces more efficient singlet oxygen, resulting a higher transient efficacy, in which all intensities reach the same SSE when oxygen is completely depleted. With external oxygen, type-II efficacy increases with time, otherwise, it is governed only by the light dose, i.e., same dose achieves same efficacy. Moreover, type-II has an efficacy follows Bunsen Roscoe law (BRL), whereas type-I follows non-BRL. The measured type-I efficacy and gelation profile are analyzed by our analytic formulas. Schematics of the photocrosslinking stage defined by the availability of oxygen is developed, where both type-I and –II coexist until the oxygen is depleted. The overall efficacy may be enhanced by resupply of PS or oxygen during the light exposure. The roles of light dose and PS concentration on the efficacy of photoinitiated polymerization should be are governed a new concept of a volume efficacy (Ve), defined by the product of the crosslink (or gelation) depth (CD) and local [efficacy].

We explored the trends and the diversity of the mortality and risk factors of age-standardized cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cerebrovascular disease (CBD) from 2000 to 2020 in five advanced Asian countries, including China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report. Overall, the CVD mortality rates decreased gradually in all five Asian countries. Singapore had the highest rates before 2011, but Taiwan replaced Singapore as the nation of the highest mortality rates after 2012. Additionally, South Korea had the highest CBD mortality rates before 2016, while Taiwan experienced a peak in 2011 and remained high thereafter. The absolute difference (AD) and relative difference (RD) for CVD mortality rates showed clear declining trends in all five countries, with South Korea and China displaying the highest reductions, respectively. It is noteworthy that overweight and obesity exhibited an increasing trend in all these five Asian countries, with China demonstrating the highest AD and RD. Except for Taiwan, where a negative association of r=-0.732 was observed, CVD mortality was positively associated with CBD, hypertension, and DM mortality in all other four countries, therefore, further investigation into these relationships are needed.

Optimal conditions for maximum efficacy of photoinitiated polymerization are theoretically presented. Analytic formulas are shown for the crosslink time, crosslink depth and efficacy function. The roles of photoinitiator (PI) concentration, diffusion depth and light intensity on the polymerization spatial and temporal profiles, for both uniform and non-uniform cases, are presented. For optimal efficacy, a strategy via controlled PI concentration is proposed, where re-supply of PI in high light intensity may achieve a combined-efficacy similar to low light intensity, but has a much faster procedure. A new criterion of efficacy based on the polymerization (crosslink) [strength] and [depth] is introduced. Experimental data are analyzed for the role of PI concentration and light intensity on the gelation time and efficacy.

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

This paper discovers that current variational principle and Noether theorem for different physics systems with (in)finite freedom systems have missed the double extremum processes of the general extremum functional that both is deduced by variational principle and is necessarily taken in deducing all the physics laws, but these have not been corrected for over a century since Noether's proposing her famous theorem, which result in the crisis deducing relevant mathematical laws and all physics laws. This paper discovers there is the hidden logic cycle that one assumes Euler-Lagrange equations, and then he finally deduces Euler-Lagrange equations via the equivalent relation in the whole processes in all relevant current references. This paper corrects the current key mistakes that when physics systems choose the variational extreme values, the appearing processes of the physics systems are real physics processes, otherwise, are virtual processes in all current articles, reviews and (text)books. The real physics should be after choosing the variational extreme values of physics systems, the general extremum functional of the physics systems needs to further choose the minimum absolute extremum zero of the general extremum functional, otherwise, the appearing processes of physics systems are still virtual processes. Using the double extremum processes of the general extremum functionals, the crisis and the hidden logic cycle in current variational principle and current Noether theorem are solved. Furthermore, the new mathematical and physical double extremum processes and their new mathematical pictures and physics for (in)finite freedom systems are discovered. This paper gives both general variational principle and general Noether theorem as well as their classical and quantum new physics, which would rewrite all relevant current different branches of science, as key tools of studying and processing them.

In this study, we aimed to develop a deep learning model for identifying bacterial keratitis (BK) and fungal keratitis (FK) by using slit-lamp images. We retrospectively collected slit-lamp images of patients with culture-proven microbial keratitis between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2019, from two medical centers in Taiwan. We constructed a deep learning algorithm, consisting of a segmentation model for cropping cornea images and a classification model that applies convolutional neural networks to differentiate between FK and BK. The model performance was evaluated and presented as the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curves. A gradient-weighted class activation mapping technique was used to plot the heatmap of the model. By using 1330 images from 580 patients, the deep learning algorithm achieved an average diagnostic accuracy of 80.00%. The diagnostic accuracy for BK ranged from 79.59% to 95.91% and that for FK ranged from 26.31% to 63.15%. DenseNet169 showed the best model performance, with an AUC of 0.78 for both BK and FK. The heat maps revealed that the model was able to identify the corneal infiltrations. The model showed better diagnostic accuracy than the previously reported diagnostic performance of both general ophthalmologists and corneal specialists.

Accurate estimation of Remaining Useful Life (RUL) for aircraft engines is essential for ensuring safety and uninterrupted operations in the aviation industry. Numerous investigations have leveraged the success of attention-based Transformer architecture in sequence modeling tasks, particularly in its application to RUL prediction. These studies primarily focus on utilizing onboard sensor readings as input predictors. While various Transformer-based approaches have demonstrated improvement in RUL predictions, their exclusive focus on temporal attention within multivariate time series sensor readings, without considering sensor-wise attention, raises concerns about potential inaccuracies in RUL predictions. To address this concern, our paper proposes a novel solution in the form of a two-stage attention based hierarchical transformer (STAR) frame-work. This approach incorporates a two-stage attention mechanism, systematically addressing both temporal and sensor-wise attentions. Furthermore, we enhance the STAR RUL prediction framework by integrate hierarchical encoder-decoder structures to capture valuable information across different time scales. By conducting extensive numerical experiments with the CMAPSS datasets, we demonstrate that our proposed STAR framework significantly outperforms current state-of-the-art models for RUL prediction.

Estimating the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of aircraft engines holds a pivotal role in enhancing safety, optimizing operations, and promoting sustainability, thus being a crucial component of modern aviation management. Precise RUL predictions offer valuable insights into an engine’s condition, enabling informed decisions regarding maintenance and crew scheduling. In this context, we propose a novel RUL prediction approach in this paper, harnessing the power of Bi-directional LSTM and Transformer architectures, known for their success in sequence modeling, such as natural languages. We adopt the encoder part of the full Transformer as the backbone of our framework, integrating it with a self-supervised denoising autoencoder that utilizes Bidirectional LSTM for improved feature extraction. Within our framework, a sequence of multivariate time series sensor measurements serves as the input, initially processed by the Bidirectional LSTM autoencoder to extract essential features. Subsequently, these feature values are fed into our Transformer encoder backbone for RUL prediction. Notably, our approach simultaneously trains the autoencoder and Transformer encoder, different from the naive sequential training method. Through a series of numerical experiments carried out on the C-MAPSS datasets, we demonstrate that the efficacy of our proposed models either surpasses or stands on par with that of other existing methods.

This paper discovers that current canonical variational principle and canonical Noether theorem of (in)finite freedom systems for different physics systems have neglected doublet extreme value processes of the general extreme value functional that both is derived by variational principle and is necessarily be taken in deriving all ( quantum ) physics laws in phase space, but which have not been done for over one century since Noether's showing her distinguished theorem, which lead to the crisis deriving all (quantum) physics laws (necessary) in phase space. We discover there is the hidden logic cycle that people assume canonical equations, and then they finally deduce canonical equations by the equivalent relation in the whole processes in all current references. We correct the current key mistake concepts that when physics systems take the variational extreme values, the appearing processes of the physics systems are real physics processes, otherwise, are virtual processes in all current references. The real physics should be what after taking the physics systems' variational extreme values, the physics systems' general extremum functional needs to further take the general extremum functional's minimum absolute extremum zero, otherwise, the appearing processes of physics systems still are virtual processes. Conservation current equations and conservation currents, in phase space, of general canonical variational principle and general canonical Noether theorem are, respectively, deduced for the first time. Using the general extremum functionals' doublet extreme value processes, the hidden logic cycle and the crisis in current canonical variational principle and current canonical Noether theorem are solved. Consequently, the new mathematical pictures, classical and quantum new physics in phase space and the new mathematical and physical doublet extremum processes for (in)finite freedom systems are discovered. General canonical variational principle and general canonical Noether theorem naturally are given, which would rewrite all the different sciences in phase space, as key tools of studying and dealing with them.

A case-crossover study examined how PM_2.5 from Asian Dust Storms (ADS) affects the number of emergency room (ER) admissions for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and respiratory diseases (RDs). Our data indicated that PM_2.5 concentration from ADS was highly correlated with ER visits for CVDs and RDs. The odds ratios (OR) increased by 2.92 (95% CI: 1.22-5.08) and 1.86 (95% CI: 1.30-2.91) per increase 10 µg/m³ in PM_2.5 levels, for CVDs and RDs, respectively. A 10 µg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 from ADSs was significantly associated with increase in ER visits for CVDs among those 65 years of age and older (an increase of 2.77 in OR) and for females (an increase of 3.09 in OR). In contrast, PM_2.5 levels had a significant impact on RD ER visits among those under 65 years of age (OR=1.77). The risk of ER visits for CVDs increased on the day when the ADS occurred in Taiwan and the day after (lag 0 and lag 1); the corresponding risk increase for RDs only increased on the fifth day after the ADS (lag 5). In Taiwan’s late winter and spring, the severity of ER visits for CVDs and RDs increases. Environmental protection agencies should employ an early warning system for ADS to reduce high-risk groups’ exposure to PM_2.5.

The era of Internet of Things (IoT) has begun to evolve and with this the devices around us are getting more and more connected. Vehicular Ad-hoc NETworks (VANETs) is one of the applications of IoT. VANET allow vehicles within these networks to communicate effectively with each another. VANETs can provide an extensive range of applications that support and enhance passenger safety and comfort. It is important that VANETs are applied within a safe and reliable network topology; however, the challenging nature of reaching reliable and trustworthy agreement in such distributed systems is one of the most important issues in designing a fault-tolerant system. Therefore, protocols are required so that systems can still be correctly executed, reaching agreement on the same values in a distributed system, even if certain components in the system fail. In this study, the agreement problem is revisited in a VANET with multiple damages. The proposed protocol allows all fault-free nodes (vehicles) to reach agreement with minimal rounds of message exchanges, and tolerates the maximal number of allowable faulty components in the VANET.

Two secondary waste materials, municipal incinerator bottom ash (MIBA) and sewage sludge ash (SSA), were mixed with clay for ceramic manufacturing in this study. Specimens with 5 different MIBA replacement amount of 0%, 5%,10%, 15%, and 20%(wt) and 3 different SSA replacement amount of 0%, 10%, and 20%(wt) were prepared and then a series of tests and analysis were conducted to investigate how the two materials affect the quality of the final product and to what extent. It concludes that a mix with up to 20% of SSA and 5% of MIBA could result in quality tiles complying with specifications for interior or exterior flooring applications at certain kiln temperatures.

Viral pathogens pose a substantial threat to public health and necessitate the development of effective remediation and antiviral strategies. This short communication aimed to investigate the antiviral efficacy of disinfectants on the surface proteins of human pathogenic viruses. Using in silico modeling, ligand binding energies (LBEs) of selected disinfectants were predicted and combined with their environmental impacts and costs through eco-pharmaco-economic analysis (EPEA). Results revealed the binding affinities of chemical disinfectants to viral proteins varied significantly (p

This study aimed to examine the vitamin D status of professional volleyball athletes and to determine its correlation with shoulder muscle strength. We finally included 52 healthy male professional volleyball players (23.2 ± 4.5 years), who were categorized by vitamin D status (<20 ng/mL: deficiency, 20-30 ng/mL: insufficiency, and >30 ng/mL: sufficiency). We examined the strength of the internal rotator (IR) and external rotator (ER) muscles of the shoulder by using isokinetic dynamometer. Fourteen players (26.9%) had vitamin D deficiency, 24 players (46.2%) were vitamin D insufficient, and 14 players (26.9%) were vitamin D sufficient. There was no significant correlation between the vitamin D level and shoulder muscle strength at 60°/s (IR, r = 0.159, p = 0.26; ER, r = 0.245, p = 0.08), and at 180°/s (IR, r = - 0.093, p = 0.51; ER, r = - 0.037, p = 0.79). Moreover, the isokinetic shoulder strengths were not significantly different across the three groups in all settings. In conclusion, vitamin D insufficiency was common in elite volleyball players. Though not being associated with isokinetic muscle weakness, vitamin D should be regularly monitored and supplemented in young elite athletes, considering its importance on musculoskeletal health.

Numerous cases and a shortage of resources usually limit wild animal rescue. New technology implemented might save these severely injured wild animals from the situation of euthanasia by easing the requirement of intensive medication. Three-dimensional (3D) technologies provide precise and accurate results that improve the quality of the medical application. These 3D tools have become relatively low-cost and accessible in the past years. In the medical field of exotic animal, turtle shell defect is highly challenging because of inevitable water immersion. This report is the first attempt to apply the combination of 3D scanning, computer-aid design (CAD), and 3D printing to make a protective device that frees the wound from exposure to water or infection sources. The presenting techniques successfully extricate a wild freshwater turtle from an extensive shell defect within a short period. Integration of multiple sciences to 3D technology can provide a facile model for veterinary medical applications.

Background: The main factors to influence on the stroking performance of club head are alloy and spring-like effect. Design the structure of new club face to create the fairway wood which can show best stroking feeling and let driving distance become longer. Purpose: The club face of fairway wood is processed through the iron alloy heating procedure and CNC to innovate the club head with high spring-like effect (characteristic time). Method: (1) Use 455 stainless steel processed by heating and aging treatment, to do the analysis on microstructure and mechanical properties. (2) Through CNC to design seven different patterns for the back of club face, each pattern for three club head. The total amount is twenty-one. (3) Make finished product be test the characteristic time and the ability of strike by the practical measurement. (4) To analyze after the compare between three-way ANOVA and LSD. Results: After 455 stainless steel was heated in procedure S850℃-A550℃, mechanical properties became superior and had the better malleability, it is suitable for developing the club face of high spring-like effect. Before and after grinding among three-way ANOVA (pattern*thickness*place), did not achieve the significant level on the figure of characteristic time. Through two-way ANOVA (pattern*place and thickness*place), showed the significant deviation before and after grinding. After doing the crash test by 45m/s, all the results can reach the higher limited standard. Summary: 455 stainless steel was designed with the different club face’s thicknesses of fairway wood can make spring-like effect achieve high characteristic time. The much thinner club face let the characteristic time perform highly. But there was no obvious effects from the patterns of the back club face.

This paper gives both a general canonical quantum gravity theory and the general canonical quantum gravity theories of the Universe and general black hole, and discovers the relations reflecting symmetric properties of the standard nonlinear gravitational Lagrangian, which are not relevant to any concrete metric models. This paper concretely shows the general commutation relations of the general gravitational field operators and their zeroth, first, second and third style, respectively, of high order canonical momentum operators for the general nonlinear system of the standard gravitational Lagrangian, and then has finished all the four styles of the canonical quantization of the standard gravity.

This paper gives solutions to puzzles of double Wheeler’s delayed choice experiments, a photon’s passing two paths simultaneously and wave collapse velocity measure, and shows new quantum control, new quantum oscillation and new controlling photon oscillator (that can be arranged in quantum computer and quantum network as their classical correspondences) in experiments. Furthermore, this paper obtains the measured attractive state and the new useful key technology of altering state’s evolving paths for quantum systems. We discover the reason and the technological way for the present changes the past, further show their feasible experiments of new quantum control, new quantum oscillation and new quantum oscillator. Finally, this paper achieves the collapse response time t of wave, further concretely deduces the measured collapse velocity of quantum system. In the past, the collapse velocity cannot be objectively deduced and experimentally measured.

By repeated unloading and loading of the excavation dynamic and static loads, repeated train dynamic and static loads of multi-factors, the underpass tunnel, cross tunnel engineering influence area rock layer, the existing tunnel structure of the three constitutes a multifaceted structure, multi-factor interaction system. Existing tunnels into the prediction theory model of the new tunnel excavation process of dynamic and static loads, dynamic and static loads of existing tunnels are mostly analyzed individually, the results of synergistic analysis needs to be improved. Based on the theory of the current layer method, the paper comprehensively considers the stiffness of the existing tunnel, the stiffness of the new tunnel, the excavation method load and the existing tunnel load, coupled with Peck's empirical formula, the theoretical model of deformation prediction for excavation of a two-lane highway tunnel under the tunnel through the existing railroad is proposed, and verified and optimized by numerical calculations and monitoring data, which proves the applicability and reliability of the theoretical model in the similar strata and the project promotion.

The research on the excavation mechanical properties of underpass tunnels has already had certain results, but fewer of them consider the effects of dynamic and static loads on the excavation mechanical properties of underground tunnels at the same time, especially the lack of research cases of double-line highway tunnels with angled underpasses of existing railway tunnels. In this paper, based on the tunnel project of the new double-line Shiqian Highway Tunnel passing under the Hurong Railway at an oblique angle, the mechanical parameters of the rock body in the cross-tunneling area under the influence of static and dynamic load coupling are obtained by using the disturbance quantification coefficients and the Hoek-Brown criterion based on the method of over-advanced geological prediction and the investigation of the surrounding rock on the palisade face, and the engineering-scale finite element model is constructed and the mechanical characteristics of the excavation in the tunnel of the double-lane highway tunnel passing under the existing railroad under the influence of the static and dynamic loads are analyzed. The results show that: the new tunnel rock movement law for the top of the arch sinking, bottom plate bulging, side wall to move outward, the height and width of the arch and bottom plate arch with the tunnel excavation and increase, the side wall rock displacement effect is smaller; left and right lines of the tunnel disturbed area of the rule of change is similar; the existing tunnel bottom plate displacement is more than the top plate and the left and right side walls by the excavation of the time step influence is larger. Typical profile displacement is mainly determined by the distance from the excavation surface; the new tunnel in the four types of calculation conditions of the rock disturbance angle is the same; the existing tunnel roof and side wall Von Mises stress extreme occurs in the tunnel structure, the bottom plate there are pressure relief and pressure-bearing areas; based on the displacement control criteria, the recommended upper and lower step blasting method.

Due to the impacts from climate change, the allocation of water resources must urgently be optimized worldwide to ensure that the needs of both water managers and farmers are balanced. In this study, manager-oriented and farmer-oriented assessment models were developed for irrigation water optimization and allocation. The distance from water sources and hydraulic head were the main factors in the manager-oriented assessment model; crop value, water demand of crops, and soil type were additional factors in the farmer-oriented assessment model. The developed assessment models were used to assess irrigation water allocation in five villages in Neimen District. Cadasters at high elevation were discovered to not be suitable for cultivation of crops because of the difficulties in constructing irrigation facilities and the loss of irrigation water during transportation. The result obtained from the manager-oriented assessment system was related to the costs involved in the construction and maintenance of irrigation facilities, which indicated that cadasters located at long distances from water sources and at high elevation are unsuitable for cultivation. By contrast, the result obtained from the farmer-oriented assessment system was related to the profits of farmers and revealed that more cadasters would be suitable for cultivation if suitable crops were chosen.

Liposome-mediated delivery is a possible means to overcome several shortcomings with C. elegans as a model for identifying and testing drugs that retard aging. These include interactions between drugs and the nematodes’ bacterial food source, and failure of drugs to be taken up into nematode tissues. To explore this, we have tested liposome-mediated delivery of a range of fluorescent dyes and drugs in C. elegans. Liposome encapsulation led to enhanced effects on lifespan, using smaller quantities of compound, and enhanced uptake of three dyes into the gut lumen. However, one dye (Texas red) did not cross into nematode tissues, indicating that liposomes cannot ensure uptake of any compound. Of six compounds previously reported to extend lifespan (vitamin C, N-acetylcysteine, glutathione (GSH), trimethadione, thioflavin T (ThT) and rapamycin), this effect was reproduced for the latter four in a condition-dependent manner. For GSH and ThT, antibiotics abrogated life extension, implying a bacterially-mediated effect. With GSH, this was attributable to reduced early death from pharyngeal infection, and associated with alterations of mitochondrial morphology in a manner suggesting a possible innate immune training effect. By contrast, ThT exhibited antibiotic effects. For rapamycin, significant increases in lifespan were only seen when bacterial proliferation was prevented. These results document the utility and limitations of liposome-mediated drug delivery for C. elegans. They also show how nematode-bacteria interactions can determine the effects of compounds on C. elegans lifespan in a variety of ways.

While pioglitazone reduces insulin resistance and hepatic gluconeogenesis effectively in patients with T2DM, these benefits remained controversial in patients with ESRD. We compared MACCEs and mortality (overall, infection-related, and MACCE-related) of pioglitazone to that of DPP4-inhibitors in patients with T2DM and ESRD. From Taiwan’s national health insurance database, 647 pioglitazone users and 6080 DPP4-inhibitors users between April 1st, 2006 and December 31th, 2016 were followed from the 91th date after the ESRD certification till study outcomes, independently; withdraw from the NHI program, death, or Dec. 31th, 2017. After weighting, risks of MACCEs (10.48% vs 12.62% per person-years, [HR]: 0.85, 95% [CI]: 0.729–0.985) and all-cause mortality (12.86% vs 13.22% per person-years, [HR]: 0.88, 95% [CI]: 0.771–0.995) are significantly lower in pioglitazone group. Subgroup analysis found lower MACCEs risk in the pioglitazone users without insulin therapy (6.44% vs 10.04% [HR]: 0.59, 95% [CI]: 0.42–0.82) and lower MACCEs related death (2.76% vs 3.84% [HR]: 0.61, 95% [CI]: 0.40–0.95) in the pioglitazone group with dyslipidemia, when comparing with DPP4-inhibitors users. Pioglitazone is associated with lower all-cause mortality and MACCEs in diabetic patients with ESRD, compared to DPP4-inhibitors. These benefits were further significant in the non-insulin users and patients with dyslipidemia.

This paper uncovers that quantum uncertain principle makes the single particle with global property have no certain path, and then wave of quantum particle can simultaneously do pass the double slits. The two subwaves after passing Young’s double slits are entanglement, they may form interference of subwaves. Consequently, we find a kind of quantum probabilistic entanglements with Wheeler's delayed choice. Quantum particles such as photons, electrons, neutrons, protons etc mean that wave of the quantum particle can simultaneously do pass through Young's double slits, rather than individual quantum particle may pass through Young's double slits at the same time. When considering wave property, we cannot consider particle property (Just as in the photoelectric effect, considering the particle nature of the system, people cannot consider wave property, otherwise the photoelectric effect cannot appear). Therefore, this paper discovers that the ability of single photon to hit electrons out in photoelectric effect is complementarily equivalent to the ability of wave of the single photon to simultaneously pass through Young's double slits in wave-particle duality. Objective criteria for distinguishing classical and quantum particles are discovered and objectively give the applicable realm of quantum mechanics for the first time. The crisis of the single particle’s simultaneously passing through Young's double slits, which has been plaguing physicists in the whole world up to now for decades, is solved, in which the studies are classified as classical and quantum particles, the classical particle and quantum particle wave cannot and can pass the Young’s slits, respectively. This paper discovers both the new physics mechanism of passing the double slits of the wave with the amplitude of 4-dimensional momentum representation wave function reflecting particle nature and the principle of self-adaptive emergence of wave-particle duality, and then using the principle, this paper gives both direct explanations to the current experiments and new predictions of new some experiments for wave-particle duality. All the deduced results here are consistent with all relevant physics experiments.

Skeletal muscle is a specialized tissue consisting of nondividing and multinucleated muscle fibers. Skeletal muscle-specific myostatin (MSTN) is a secreted protein that acts as a negative regulator of muscle mass by inhibiting proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts. In this study, we established a screening platform to monitor myostatin promoter activity in rat L8 myoblasts. Extract of Glycyrrhiza uralensis (GUE), an oriental herbal medicine, was identified through this screening platform and, the active fractions of GUE were identified by process-scale liquid column chromatography system. For in vivo study, the GUE as a feed additive was investigated in growth-finishing pigs. The results showed that GUE significantly increased body weight, carcass weight and lean content in pigs. Microbiota analysis indicated that GUE did not affect the composition of gut microbiota in pigs. In summary, this established rodent myoblast screening platform was used to identify a myogenesis-related phytogenic, GUE, and further demonstrated that the active fractions inhibited MSTN expression. These finding suggest a novel application for GUE in growth performance enhancement through modulation of MSTN expression. Furthermore, this established screening platform has great potential for identification and evaluation of a wide variety of phytogenics involving in myogenesis.

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

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.

This paper derives measurement and identical principles, then makes the two principles into measurement and identical theorems of quantum mechanics, plus the three theorems derived earlier, we deduce the axiom system of current quantum mechanics, the general quantum theory no axiom presumptions not only solves the crisis to understand in current quantum mechanics, but also obtains new discoveries, e.g., discovers the velocities of quantum collapse and entanglement are instantaneously infinitely large. We deduce the general Schrȍdinger equation of any n particles from two aspects, and the wave function not only has particle properties of the complex square root state vector of the classical probability density of any n particles, but also has the plane wave properties of any n particles. Thus, the current crisis of the dispute about the origin of wave- particle duality of any n microscopic particles is solved. We display the classical locality and quantum non-locality for any n particle system, show entanglement origins, and discover not only any n-particle wave function system has the original, superposition and across entanglements, but also the entanglements are of interactions preserving conservation or correlation, three kinds of entanglements directly give lots of entanglement sources. This paper discovers, one of two pillars of modern physics, quantum mechanics of any n particle system is a generalization ( mechanics ) theory of the complex square root ( of real density function ) of classical statistical mechanics, any n particle system’s quantum mechanics of being just a generalization theory of the complex square root of classical statistical mechanics is both a revolutionary discovery and key new physics, which are influencing people’s philosophical thinking for modern physics, solve all the crisises in current quantum theories, quantum information and so on, and make quantum theory have scientific solid foundations checked, no basic axiom presumption and no all quantum strange incomprehensible properties, because classical statistical mechanics and its complex square root have scientific solid foundations checked. Thus, all current studies on various entanglements and their uses to quantum computer, quantum information and so on must be further updated and classified by the new entanglements. This and our early papers derive quantum physics, solve all crisises of basses of quantum mechanics, e.g., wave-particle duality & the first quantization origins, quantum nonlocality, entanglement origins & classifications, wave collapse and so on.Key words: quantum mechanics, operator, basic presumptions, wave-particle duality, principle of measurement, identical principle, superposition principle of states, entanglement origin, quantum communication, wave collapse, classical statistical mechanics, classical mechanics

Hydro generator sets serve as the peak and frequency regulation of the power system,and play a very important role in maintaining system stability and improving power quality.Based on the internal characteristics model of a specific type of hydro generator,this paper constructs a hydroelectric coupling model for hydropower units,studies the influence of the regulation system of hydropower units on low-frequency oscillations under different load conditions,and adopts variable speed reaching law and fuzzy sliding mode control strategy to improve the regulation quality of the system and ensure the stable operation of the units.Results of simulation and water turbine set under different load conditions show that varible speed reaching law can effectively improve the power-angle oscillation behavior of the hydropower set and suppress the occurrence of low-frequency oscillations of the system when the system is subject to power disturbance,which provide a new theoretical basis and solution for the vibration analysis and control optimization of hydraulic turbine units.

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.

As a fundamental, overall, and strategic issue facing human society, human migration is a key factor affecting the development of countries and cities given constantly changing population numbers. The fuzziness of the spatiotemporal attributes of human migration limits the pool of open-source data for human migration prediction, leading to a relative lag in human migration prediction algorithm research. This study expands the definition of human migration research, reviews the progress of research into human migration prediction, and classifies and compares human migration algorithms based on open-source data. It also explores the critical uncertainty factors restricting the development of human migration prediction. Given the effect of human migration prediction, in combination with artificial intelligence and big data technology, the paper concludes with specific suggestions and countermeasures aimed at enhancing human migration prediction research results to serve economic and social development and national strategy.

The human mandible's cancellous bone, which is characterized by its unique porosity and directional sensitivity to external forces, is crucial for sustaining biting stress. Traditional CAD models fail to fully represent bone's anisotropic structure and thus depend on simple isotropic assumptions. For our research, we use the latest versions of nTopology and Creo Parametric software to make biomimetic Voronoi lattice models that accurately reflect the complex geometry and mechanical properties of trabecular bone. The porosity of human cancellous bone is accurately modeled in this work using biomimetic Voronoi lattice models. The porosities range from 70% to 95%, which can be achieved by changing the pore sizes to 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, and 2.5 mm. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to examine the displacements, stresses, and strains acting on dental implants with a buttress thread, abutment, retaining screw, and biting load surface. The results show that the Voronoi model accurately depicts the complex anatomy of the trabecular bone in the human jaw, compared to standard solid block models. The ideal pore size for biomimetic Voronoi lattice trabecular bone models is 2 mm, taking into account both the von Mises stress distribution over the dental implant, screw retention, cortical bone, cancellous bone, and micromotions. This pore size displayed balanced performance by successfully matching natural bone's mechanical characteristics. Advanced finite element analysis (FEA) improves biomechanical understanding of how bones and implants interact by creating more accurate models of biological problems and dynamic loading situations. This makes biomechanical engineering better.

Multimission satellite altimetry (e.g. ERS, Envisat, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason) data have enabled a synoptic view of ocean variations in the past decades, including sea-level rise and mesoscale circulations. Since 2016, the Sentinel-3 mission has provided better spatial and temporal sampling compared with its predecessors. The Sentinel-3 Ku/C Radar Altimeter (SRAL) is one of the synthetic aperture radar altimeters (SAR Altimeter) which is more precise in coastal and lake observations. In this study, we validate Sentinel-3 Level-2 products in Baltic Sea coastal areas and two lakes in Estonia. Moreover, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) Level-3 sea-level anomaly data and the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) reanalysis model outcomes are compared with measurements from a tide gauge network. A dense in situ water level network deployed along the coast for geodetic observation was utilised to provide ground truths for validating altimetry results. Three validation methods were used for Level-2 data: (i) collocated Sentinel-3 and GNSS ship measurements; (ii) a national geoid model (EST-GEOID2017) with sea-level anomaly correction; (iii) collocated Sentinel-3 and buoy measurements. The validations were carried out in seven Sentinel-3A/B overpasses in 2019. Our results show that the uncertainty of the Sentinel-3 Level-2 altimetry product is below decimetre level on the Estonian coast and the targeted lakes. Results from CMEMS Level-3 showed a correlation of 0.8 (RMSE 0.19 m) and 0.91 (RMSE 0.27 m) when compared against tide gauge measurements and NEMO model, respectively.

Hospitalizations for patients with diabetes and dementia take a significant health and economic toll on older adults in the United States. The present study sought to examine the differences in hospitalization characteristics and outcomes associated with diabetes and dementia separately and together using discharge record data of Los Angeles County residents aged 50+ from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information for the period 2019-2021. Results from multiple linear regression analyses indicated that when compared to those with no diabetes or dementia, patients with diabetes alone exhibited the highest total charges, while those with comorbid diabetes and dementia exhibited lower charges (p≤.05). Results of a multinomial logistic regression found that patients with comorbid diabetes and dementia had the highest odds of having a length of stay of 7+ days (AOR=1.49; 95% CI=1.44-1.53). A matched-case control analysis found that comorbid diabetes and dementia was associated with significantly lower odds of hypertensive disease than diabetes alone (MOR=0.81; 95% CI=0.67-0.97). These results highlight the complexity of factors affecting variation in hospitalization outcomes across these distinct disease profiles. Findings suggest a need to carefully consider this complexity when developing health policies or strategies to improve hospitalization outcomes involving these disease conditions.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, researchers are increasingly using machine learning algorithms to study the factors that make people more susceptible to phishing scams. Most studies in this area have taken one of two approaches: either they explore statistical associations between various factors and susceptibility, or they use complex models such as deep neural networks to predict phishing behavior. However, these approaches have limitations in terms of providing practical insights for individuals to avoid future phishing attacks and delivering personalized explanations regarding their susceptibility to phishing. In this paper, we propose a machine learning approach that leverages explainable artificial intelligence techniques to examine the influence of human and demographic factors on susceptibility to phishing attacks. Our analysis reveals that psychological factors such as impulsivity and conscientiousness, as well as appropriate online security habits, significantly affect an individual's susceptibility to phishing attacks. Furthermore, our individualized case-by-case approach offers personalized recommendations on mitigating the risk of falling prey to phishing exploits, considering the specific circumstances of each individual.

The correlation and comorbidity between depression and chronic pain have been observed for a long time. Generally, it is considered that the two conditions reinforce each other, whereas the causal relationship between them is not clear. However, some evidence suggested that chronic pain may reverse the progression of depression in some cases. This article presents a selective review of clinical and pharmacological relationship between depression and pain, and their interactions at neurochemical and neurobiological levels. In addition, we open a discussion on a recent case report of repeated success of using short but continuous pain (SCP) during meditation as the only treatment for depression, compared to initial success but no remission with other conventional antidepressants on the same patient. Together this review proposes an updated model for depression and its various treatments that is based on synaptic and system homeostasis. More importantly, it suggests that SCP may benefit depression recovery through its properties that are different from either acute or chronic pain and represents a novel research area that has been largely neglected to date.

This study investigated whether reciprocal collaborative pedagogy significantly impacts Indonesian electrical engineering polytechnic students in reducing reading anxiety and improving self-efficacy in ESP reading comprehension skills. Fifty Polytechnic students were equally assigned to two groups. Control groups learned in the traditional reciprocal teaching method individually. Experimental group engaged in reciprocal collaborative pedagogy. Each group received a 6-week reading strategy training. E-learning platforms were used in this study as a complementary tool to distribute ESP reading materials, announcements, and the experiment details being taught. The quantitative and qualitative results demonstrated that the tasks in reciprocal collaborative pedagogy positively affects Indonesian electrical engineering polytechnic students' learning experience and outcomes. This pedagogy promotes a productive learning environment through peer interaction, active engagement, and peer group discussions of the whole learning activities, reducing feelings of anxiety and building confidence in ESP-specialized text.

Complex models have received significant interest in recent years and are being increasingly used to explain the stochastic phenomenon with upward and downward fluctuation such as the stock market. Different from existing semi-variance methods in traditional integer dimension construction for two variables, this paper proposes a simplified multi-factorized fractional dimension derivation with the exact Excel tool algorithm involving the fractional center moment extension to covariance, which is a complex parameter average that is a multi-factorized extension to Pearson covariance. By examining the peaks and troughs of gold price averages, the proposed algorithm provides more insight into revealing underlying stock market trends to see who is the financial market leader during good economic times. The calculation results demonstrate that the complex covariance is able to distinguish subtle differences among stock market performances and gold prices for the same field that the two variable covariance may overlook. We take the London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Toronto and Nasdaq as the representative examples.

In the process of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the focus on climate risk driven by transition innovations has received widespread attention from governments, regulators, and investors. Based on the identification of low-carbon patents through the Green and Low-carbon Technology Inventory in China, this study constructs low-carbon innovation measurements of listed firms in China from 2015 to 2021. Then, an empirical model is used to investigate the impact and mechanism of climate transition innovations on the default risk. The baseline regression model shows that low-carbon innovations can mitigate the default risk of listed firms. Moreover, our findings are supported by instrumental variable regressions that use the time costs of innovation. Finally, the mediation effect demonstrates that investor attention, total factor productivity, and technology spillovers are paths through which transition innovations can affect the default risk. This study reveals that low-carbon technological advances have a positive effect on climate transition risks.

Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study examines the socioeconomic characteristics of Internet users, as well as the relationships between the dynamics of different forms of online activities and the subjective well-being of urbanites and rural migrants in urban China. The study finds that online behaviour may clearly reflect differences in individuals’ personal traits and socioeconomic positions. Patterns of the association between online activities and subjective well-being tend to differ among rural migrants and urbanites, especially in terms of depression. A difference-in-differences model is employed to estimate the impact of intensified engagement in online activities on depression and life satisfaction from 2010 to 2016. The results show that increased frequency of online entertainment exhibits a comparatively positive effect on depression and life satisfaction. Spending more time on online social networking has a similar impact on rural migrants, but not on urbanites. These findings suggest that the rapid development of urban China’s online community has important implications for residents’ subjective well-being.

Dravet syndrome (DS), also known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy, is a rare and drug-resistant form of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, which is both debilitating and challenging to manage, typically arising during the first year of life, with seizures often triggered by fever, infections, or vaccinations. It is characterized by frequent and prolonged seizures, developmental delays, and various other neurological and behavioral impairments. Most cases result from pathogenic mutations in the sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 1 (SCN1A) gene, which encodes a critical voltage-gated sodium channel subunit involved in neuronal excitability. Precision medicine offers significant potential for improving DS diagnosis and treatment. Early genetic testing enables timely and accurate diagnosis. Advances in our understanding of DS's underlying genetic mechanisms and neurobiology have enabled the development of targeted therapies, such as gene therapy, offering more effective and less invasive treatment options for patients with DS. Targeted and gene therapies provide hope for more effective and personalized treatments. However, research into novel approaches remains in its early stages, and their clinical application remains to be seen. This review addresses the current understanding of clinical DS features, genetic involvement in DS development, and outcomes of novel DS therapies.

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

Existing research indicates that mineralization of Carlin-type gold deposit is related to geological structures, but current studies mostly focus on the qualitative association, and lack quantitative analysis of the relationship between mineralization and structural features, which limits the potential for predictive mineral exploration. In this study, the Nibao Carlin-type gold deposit was selected as the research area to conduct three-dimensional geological modeling, spatial analysis, and three-dimensional prospectivity modeling. Spatial analysis revealed that the majority of gold ore bodies are situated near the main fault, with gold mineralization primarily occurring within a spatial range of approximately -80 meters to 20 meters from the main fault plane. This spatial distribution predominantly aligns in a SW-NE direction. Spatial characteristic extraction of fault slope indicators suggests that the slope angles are conducive to the migration and accumulation of ore-forming hydrothermal fluids, with ore body metal content rapidly increasing within an angle range of approximately 20° to 60°. The shape analysis of the mainfault indicates that the principal spaces of mineralization enrichment are within -10m to 20m of the fault plane undulations, where gold resources are concentrated in a relatively flat area. However, the degree of mineralization is more pronounced in the protruding sections than in the depressed areas. The areas with significant dip changes in faults display higher variations in orebody attitudes, with mineralization noticeably weaker in areas where the fault steepness changes markedly. Ore-bearing units exhibit significantly higher grades within the -17° to 3° interval of fault steepness transition. This interval also sees a rapid accumulation of gold resources. The Nibao gold mine's mineralization is derived from deep, ore-bearing hydrothermal fluids ascending along major fractures, precipitating, and accumulating in favorable ore-hosting spaces (faults, anticline cores) and lithological combinations (sedimentary tuffs, tuffs). Three deep potential gold targets were identified, highlighting the deep western edge of the F1 fault and the deep southeast-trending lower plate as prospective areas for future exploration. This study underscores the effectiveness of 3D prospective modeling as an indispensable tool for elucidating the spatial distribution of fault-controlled Carlin-type gold deposits and their tectonic determinants.

The collapsible loess will rapidly soften and lose its bearing capacity when soaked in water. Under a mild condition (20°C), the biomimetic inorganic agent, Diammonium phosphate (DAP), reacts with calcite in the collapsible loess, producing a stronger bonding material, hydroxyapatite (HAP), to modify and stabilize the soil. Uniaxial compression, permeability tests and morphological analysis using XRD and SEM/EDX microscopy were carried out to assess the effectiveness of DAP stabilization on the collapsible loess. The results indicated that HAP improved the inter-particle bonding within loess, filled the pores within particles, reduced the permeability, and consequently mitigated collapsibility of loess. The compressive strength of DAP-treated loess increased as DAP concentration increased. Following 28-days curing, the compressive strength of the loess treated with a 3.0 mol/L DAP solution was six times greater than that of the untreated group. DAP's reinforcement effect on loess was superior to that of cement. The compressive strength of DAP-treated loess was about double that of cement-treated loess and the permeability coefficient was reduced by more than 50% at equivalent solid content. Furthermore, DAP generated 68% fewer carbon emissions compared to Portland cement. Considering eco-friendly and sustainable development, DAP offers a more competitive alternative for modification and stabilization of loess.

A simple design of an ultrathin six-band polarization-insensitive terahertz perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) composed of a metal cross-cave-patch resonator (CCPR) placed over a ground plane was proposed and investigated numerically. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the average absorption peaks are up to 95% at six resonance frequencies with high quality-factors (>65). In addition, the absorption properties can be kept stability for both normal incident transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) waves. The physical mechanism behind the observed high level absorption is illustrated by the electric and power loss density distributions. The different absorption mainly originates from the higher order multipolar and multipolar plasmon resonance of the structure, which are sharp different to the most previous studies of the PMMAs. Furthermore, the resonance absorption of the PMMA can be tunable by varying the geometric parameters of the unit cell.

A simple design of an ultrathin six-band polarization-insensitive terahertz perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) composed of a metal cross-cave-patch resonator (CCPR) placed over a ground plane was proposed and investigated numerically. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the average absorption peaks are up to 95% at six resonance frequencies with high quality-factors (>65). In addition, the absorption properties can be kept stability for both normal incident transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) waves. The physical mechanism behind the observed high level absorption is illustrated by the electric and power loss density distributions. The different absorption mainly originates from the higher order multipolar and multipolar plasmon resonance of the structure, which are sharp different to the most previous studies of the PMMAs. Furthermore, the resonance absorption of the PMMA can be tunable by varying the geometric parameters of the unit cell.

Cesarean Section (CS) is one of the most frequently executed surgical procedures in gynecology and obstetrics. After a cesarean section, surgical site infection (SSI) increases hospital stay, lengthens maternal morbidity, and upsurges treatment costs. The current study determines the prevalence and risk factors for surgical site infection following cesarean section in China. A retrospective study was conducted on 23 cases of pregnant women who underwent cesarean section and incision severe infection and detection from March 2017 to January 2020 at Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital in China as the study group, and 20 cases of uninfected cesarean section during the same period were selected as the control group. Data were compared with the controls based on study variables and the presence of SSI. The mean age was 31±2.6. High fever and blood loss were observed in serous SSI-infected patients. The incidence rate of severe surgical site infection was 0.15 %. SSI was observed to be expected in pregnant women who had premature rupture of membrane before surgery (p < 0.001), who underwent postoperative antibiotic therapy (p < 0.001), and the patients who had gestational diabetes mellitus (p <0.001) and hematoma (p < 0.001) during surgery. Hence, following a cesarean section, surgical site infection is common. This research discovered several modifiable risk factors. SSI is associated with multifactorial rather than a single one. The development and strict implementation of a procedure by all health care practitioners can successfully reduce and prevent infection rates following cesarean section.

In order to increase the number of tourism in ecotourism, enhance the ecotourism attractions. It is essential to construct the ecotourism service system for the Penghu National Scenic Area because the ecology system is sensitive and frangible. This study adopts the Fuzzy Delphi method and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish an index framework of ecotourism service system of Penghu National Scenic Area. The results indicated that there are 4 dimensions which include 21 factors service attributes are identified as the service system for traveling. The findings are concluded as follows:(1)the security management capability is the main principle for ecotourism service system;(2)the ecological diversity is fundamental for the marine environment and the core resource for ecotourism;(3)the transportation capacity and environmental quality need to improve; (4)the marine environmental resources is the most important item for sound ecotourism development; (5)the enhancement of the operation willingness of local communities can promote ecotourism development;(6)the natural resources should be protected to provide an ideal recreational environment for ecotourism;(7)the development of ecotourism needs to support local conservation to achieve sustainability. The perspectives of sustainability and service system are involved to support the value of this study, which can continuously sustain Penghu archipelago.