This paper aims to quantify the influence of hydrogen embrittlement on Wierzbicki and Xue (W-X) model parameters. This model has 4 parameters which have been obtained by tensile tests on smooth specimens, tensile notch specimens, single notch tensile specimens (SENT) and pure shear specimens. Hydrogen embrittlement has been obtained by electrolytic method. Application of the (W-X) model has been done to get the local resistance used to predict failure by the Volumetric Method (VM). An example is given for the case of an embedded pipe submitted to service pressure and lateral seismic displacement. The effect of this displacement is then assimilated to the shearing of the straight section of the pipe. The pipe shows a corrosion defect considered a semi-elliptical crack. The influence of hydrogen embrittlement on local strain resistance and safety factors is discussed.

Martensitic steels are used at a wide range of strength levels in environments which expose them to hydrogen or water vapor over a large range of partial pressures and temperatures. Hydrogen can cause catastrophic failures under many seemingly benign conditions. The effect of hydrogen on the dimension stability of high strength martensitic steels under such conditions has been poorly understood, and existing models do not seem to adequately account for it. Experiments were conducted to measure the variation in volume due to the uptake of hydrogen of such steels under near-ambient conditions, and the results were compared to theoretical estimates derived from the density of defects acting as hydrogen traps. Based on these results a new model for hydrogen embrittlement was developed. The hydrogen lattice dilation (HLD) model isolates volume expansion as a primary driver of hydrogen embrittlement. It provides and distinguishes two modes of failure acceleration: the fast, brittle, stress-intensity independent cracking under higher static crack loading, and a slower, highly stress-intensity dependent tearing mode at lower stress intensity. The relationship between the two is explained, as is how hydrogen absorption by defects accounts for the crack threshold and crack velocity of each.

Governments worldwide are actively committed to achieving their carbon emission reduction targets, and one avenue under exploration is harnessing the potential of hydrogen. Blending hydrogen with natural gas is emerging as a promising strategy to reduce carbon emissions, as it burns cleanly without emitting carbon dioxide. This blending could significantly contribute to emissions reduction in both residential and commercial settings. However, a critical challenge associated with this approach is the potential for Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE), a phenomenon wherein the mechanical properties of pipe steels degrade due to the infiltration of hydrogen atoms into the metal lattice structure. This can result in sudden and sever failures when the steel is subjected to mechanical stress. To effectively implement hydrogen-natural gas blending, it is imperative to gain a comprehensive understanding of how hydrogen affects the integrity of pipe steel. This necessitates the development of robust experimental methodologies capable of monitoring the presence and impact of hydrogen within the microstructures of steel. Key techniques employed for this assessment include microscopic observation, hydrogen permeation tests, and tensile and fatigue testing. In this study, samples from two distinct types of pipeline steels used in the natural gas distribution network underwent rigorous examination. To induce hydrogen absorption, an electrochemical charging process is employed in a solution rich in H+ ions. This charging process, accomplished by a potentiostat applying a constant current, prompts the hydrogen evolution reaction at the steel specimen, acting as the cathode of the charging cell. Immediate tensile and fatigue testing following the charging process enables the evaluation of mechanical properties in comparison to non-charged samples. Different charging current densities are employed to simulate various hydrogen blend scenarios. The findings from this research indicate that charged samples exhibit a discernible decline in fatigue and tensile properties. This deterioration is attributed to embrittlement and reduced ductility stemming from the infiltration of hydrogen into the steel matrix. The extent of degradation in fatigue properties is correlated not only to the hydrogen content but also to the hydrogen permeability and diffusion rate influenced by steel’s microstructural features, with higher charging current densities indicating a more significant presence of hydrogen in the natural gas pipeline blend.

The study reports the effect of some metal carbides (niobium carbide, vanadium carbide, titanium carbide, and manganese sulfide) on hydrogen embrittlement in the pipeline industry using plane wave’s density functional theory (DFT). Our results predicted that the interaction of hydrogen molecules with these metals carbide occurs in the long range with binding energy varying in the energy window [0.70eV to 0.043eV]. Also, our study shows the desorption of H2 molecules from these metal carbides in the chemisorptions. Since, hydrogen embrittlement, occurs in the atomic state of hydrogen, therefore our finding in the atomic interaction of hydrogen with NbC, VC, TiC, and MnS showed that the strength of the trapping of the hydrogen atom could be classified as: TiC+H>VC+H>NbC+H> MnS+H. In addition, our study reveals that the carbon site is the most favorable hydrogen trapping site than the metal one. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that increasing the layer can also be an efficient way to enhance the trapping capacity.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method with the Modified Becke-Johnson (mBJ) approximation is used to perform spin polarised calculations of the transition metal perovskites MoScO₃ and WScO₃. Both depict half metallic behaviour with semiconducting and metallic in the minority and majority spins respectively. MoScO₃ and WScO₃ have indirect R− Γ band gaps in the minority spin channels of 3.61 and 3.82eV respectively. Moreover, they both show substantial magnetic moments of 2.99μ_B. In addition, we calculate the dielectric function, optical conductivity and the optical constants, namely, the refractive index, the reflectivity, the extinction and absorption coefficients.

Research has been actively conducted on the materials used to commercialize finished products that use hydrogen energy. Hydrogen embrittlement that occurs when hydrogen atoms penetrate metals is the largest problem that must be addressed first regarding safety. Because liquefied hydrogen has an 800 times higher density than hydrogen gas, hydrogen has been stored and transported through liquefaction at -253℃ using helium gas as a refrigerant. However, even if extreme temperatures below zero are maintained, natural vaporization loss that reduces liquefied hydrogen by 3 to 5% of the tank storage capacity per day occurs. In addition, when liquefied hydrogen is converted into high-pressure hydrogen gas for use, it is difficult to completely prevent the loss of the gas, even if sealing technology is applied to prevent gas leaks in transport and storage tanks. Therefore, methods to minimize the loss of hydrogen, establishment of assessment criteria for the embrittlement caused by a small amount of hydrogen gas, and related research are essential. We researched the hydrogen embrittlement resistance of SUS316L rods according to the tensile speed by conducting water electrolysis testing at room temperature, at which hydrogen gas is used to present hydrogen embrittlement assessment criteria for primary ring-shaped forged products.

Predicting human trajectories poses a significant challenge due to the complex interplay of pedestrian behavior, which is influenced by environmental layout and interpersonal dynamics. This complexity is further compounded by variations in scene density. To address this, we introduce a novel dataset from the Festival of Lights in Lyon 2022, characterized by a wide range of densities (0.2-2.2 ped/m2). Our analysis demonstrates that density-based classification of data can significantly enhance the accuracy of predictive algorithms. We propose an innovative two-stage processing approach, surpassing current state-of-the-art methods in performance. Additionally, we utilize a collision-based error metric to better account for collisions in trajectory predictions. Our findings indicate that the effectiveness of this error metric is density-dependent, offering prediction insights. This study not only advances our understanding of human trajectory prediction in dense environments but also presents a methodological framework for integrating density considerations into predictive modeling, thereby improving algorithmic performance and collision avoidance.

Background: Despite a range of available treatments, there is a remaining unmet need for patients with severe post-partum hemorrhage (sPPH). Objective: This manuscript evaluated efficacy and safety of recombinant activated factor VIIa (rFVIIa) in sPPH management. Methods: An open-label, multi-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT; NCT00370877) and four observational studies (OS; OS-1 [NCT04723979], OS-2, OS-3 and OS-4) were analyzed regarding efficacy (need for subsequent invasive procedures, including uterine compression sutures, uterine or iliac artery ligation, arterial embolization or hysterectomy) and safety (incidence of thromboembolic events [TE] and maternal mortality) of rFVIIa for sPPH. The RCT, and OS-1 and OS-2, included a control group of women who did not receive rFVIIa (with propensity score-matching used in OS-1 and OS-2), whereas OS-3 and OS-4 provided descriptive data for rFVIIa exposed women only. Results: A total of 446 women exposed to rFVIIa and 1,717 non-exposed controls were included. In the RCT, fewer rFVIIa exposed women (50% [21/42]) had an invasive procedure versus non-exposed women (91% [38/42]; odds ratio 0.11, 95% confidence interval 0.03–0.35). In OS-1, more rFVIIa exposed women (58% [22/38]) had an invasive procedure versus non-exposed women (35% [13.3/38]; odds ratio 2.46, 95% confidence interval 1.06–5.99). In OS-2, 17% (3/18) of rFVIIa exposed women and 32% (5.6/17.8) of non-exposed women had an invasive procedure (odds ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.03–1.75). Across all included women, TEs occurred in 1.5% (0.2% arterial and 1.2% venous) of rFVIIa exposed women and 1.6% (0.2% arterial and 1.4% venous) of non-exposed women with available data. Conclusions: The positive treatment effect of rFVIIa in the RCT was not confirmed in the OS. However, the safety analysis did not show any increased incidence of TEs with rFVIIa treatment.

The lithium-ion batteries are widely used as a power source for portable devices, including cell phones. The useful life is about 2 years or 500 cycles, contributing to the generation of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Mining of lithium and cobalt damages the environment and is onerous; therefore, sustainable alternatives, such as obtaining these elements from secondary sources as recycling of lithium-ion batteries, are essential to provide the inputs used in the sector. However, the metallurgical route which will used to recovering them must be considered, due to this work aims for a more environmentally favorable process using DL-malic acid 1.5 M and instead of compared with sulfuric acid 2 M, heat pretreatment of 1 h and 3 h, and for all conditions, experiments were carried out with and without adding the oxidizing agent hydrogen peroxide. The best yields occurred in presence of H2O2 10 % v/v, and heat pretreatment of 1 h: 33.49 % Co and 4.63 % Li, and 29.78 % Co e 3.44 % Li were recovered by sulfuric acid and DL-malic acid, respectively.

The Double U-pipe ground heat exchanger, recognized for its straightforward process, cost-effectiveness, high heat exchange efficiency, and low thermal resistance, stands as the predominant ground heat exchanger type in today's shallow geothermal energy development and utilization. Recent years have seen significant research into the heat transfer influencing factors and heat exchange performance of Double U-pipe ground heat ex-changers via experimental testing methods. Yet, studies integrating numerical simulation with in-situ testing have been less frequent. Drawing on the cylindrical heat source model theory and the outcomes of regional in-situ thermal response tests, this paper develops a Double U-pipe ground heat transfer model by establishing physical, mathematical, and heat transfer geometric models. It assesses the impact of varying inlet temperatures, flow rates, and initial ground temperatures on heat exchange efficiency under heating conditions. The results validate the precision of the double U-pipe ground heat exchanger model based on in-situ testing. They show that enhancing the temperature differential between the inlet and initial temperatures, elevating the initial ground temperature, and moderately increasing the flow rate can boost the system's heat exchange efficiency.

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is defined as a cellular process during which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal phenotypes and behavior following the downregulation of epithelial features. EMT and its reversed process, the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), and the special form of EMT, the endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), have been thought as a universal dogma controlling developmental and pathological processes. More than half a century of EMT study has made it a large research field and a mainstream concept. However, discrepancies and disputes over EMT and EMT research have also grown over time. Particularly, neither the epithelial and mesenchymal states/properties nor their regulatory networks nor specific markers have been defined, rendering the EMT, MET and EndMT concepts groundless. Moreover, EMT and MET effects should not be a cause, but rather a consequence of or an accompanying effect during developmental and pathological processes. EMT and MET represented by the change in cell shapes or adhesiveness or symbolized by EMT factors are biased interpretation of the overall change in cellular property and regulatory networks during development and cancer progression. The true meaning of EMT effects in some developmental and pathological processes, such as fibrosis, needs re-evaluation. But the core EMT factors are actually a few components of the regulatory networks of neural stemness, which determines tumorigenicity and pluripotency. The EMT effects in cancer progression and neural crest formation are wrong attribution of the role of neural stemness during cancer progression and the cell-intrinsic property of neural crest cells to the unknown mesenchymal state. It is time to reassess the significance of EMT and its related concepts in scientific research.

The adulteration of goat milk powder occurs frequently, cattle-derived and soybean-derived ingredients are common adulterants in goat milk powder. However, simultaneously and rapidly detecting cattle-derived and soybean-derived components is still a challenge. high throughput and efficient screening method for adulteration detection is need. In this study, a rapid method was developed to detect the adulteration of common cattle-derived and soybean-derived components simultaneously in goat milk powder by combining the CRISPR/ Cas12a system with recombinant polymerase amplification (RPA). A dual DNA extraction method was employed, primers and crRNA for dual detection were designed and screened, and a series of condition optimizations were carried out in this experiment. The optimized assay can rapidly detect cattle-derived and soybean-derived components in 40 min. The detection limits of both cattle-derived and soybean-derived components were 1% (w/w) for the mixed adulteration models. The established method was applied into a blind survey of 55 commercially available goat milk powder products. The results showed that 36.36% of the samples contained cattle-derived or soybean-derived ingredients, which revealed the noticeable adulteration situation in the goat milk powder market. This study realizes a fast flow of dual extraction, dual amplification and dual detection of cattle-derived and soybean-derived components in goat milk powder for the first time. It can be used for high-throughput and high-efficiency on-site primary screening of goat milk powder adulterants, and provide a technical reference for combating with food adulteration.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an intellectual developmental disorder characterized, inter alia, by deficits in short-term processing of neural information such as sensory processing and working memory. The primary cause of FXS is the loss of fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein (FMRP), which is profoundly involved in synaptic function and plasticity. Short-term synaptic plasticity (STSP) may play important roles in functions that are affected by FXS. Recent evidence points to a crucial involvement of presynaptic calcium sensor synaptotagmin-7 in STSP. However, how the loss of FMRP affects STSP and synaptotagmin-7 have been insufficiently studied. Further-more, males and females are affected differently by FXS, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The aim of the present study is to investigate possible changes in STSP and the expres-sion of synaptotagmin-7 along the hippocampus of adult males and females in the Fmr1 knock-out (KO) rat model of FXS. We found that paired-pulse ratio and frequency facilita-tion/depression, two forms of STSP, as well as the expression of synaptotagmin-7, are normal in adult KO males, but paired-pulse ratio is increased in the ventral hippocampus of KO females. Furthermore, we found no gender-related but robust region-dependent difference in STSP. AM-PA receptors are similarly expressed in the two hippocampal segments of the two genotypes and in both genders. Also, basal excitatory synaptic transmission is higher in males compared with females. Interestingly, we found more than twofold higher levels of synaptotagmin-7, not syn-aptotagmin-1, in the dorsal compared with the ventral hippocampus in males of both genotypes and in wild type females. These results point to the susceptibility of the female ventral hippo-campus to FMRP loss. Importantly, the different levels of synaptotagmin-7 that parallel the higher score of synaptic facilitation in the dorsal vs ventral hippocampus suggest that synapto-tagmin-7 may play a pivotal role in defining the striking difference in STSP along the long axis of the hippocampus.

Bacteriophages (phages) are potential alternatives to chemical antimicrobials against pathogens of public health significance. Understanding the diversity and host specificity of phages is important for developing effective phage biocontrol approaches. Here, we assessed the host range, morphology, and genetic diversity of eight Salmonella enterica phages isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. The host range analysis revealed that six out of eight phages lysed more than 81% of the 43 Salmonella enterica isolates tested. The genomic sequences of all phages were determined. Whole genome sequencing data (WGS) data revealed that phage genome sizes ranged from 41 to 114 kb with GC contents be-tween 39.9 and 50.0 %. Two of the phages SB13 and SB28 represent new species Epsep-timavirus SB13 and genera Macdonaldcampvirus, respectively as designated by the In-ternational Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) as per genome based taxonomic classification. One phage (SB18) belonged to the Myoviridae morphotype while the re-maining phages belonged to the Siphoviridae morphotype. The gene content analyses showed that none of the phages possessed virulence, toxin, antibiotic resistance, type I-VI toxin-antitoxin modules or lysogeny genes. Three (SB3, SB15 and SB18) out of the eight phages possessed tailspike proteins. Whole genome-based phylogeny of the eight phages with their 113 homologs revealed three clusters A, B, C and seven subclusters (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C1 and C2). While cluster C1 phages were predominantly isolated from animal sources, cluster B contained phages from both wastewater and animal sources. The broad host range of these phages highlights their potential use to control the presence of S. enterica in foods.

Abstract: High step-up voltage gain nonisolated DC-DC converter have attracted much attention in photovoltaic, fuel cells and other renewable energy system applications. In this paper, by combining input current ripple-free boost cell with coupled-inductor voltage-doubler cell, an input current ripple-free high voltage gain nonisolated converter is proposed. In addition, passive lossless clamp circuit is adopted to recycle the leakage inductor energy and to reduce the voltage spike across the power switch. By utilizing voltage-doubler cell consisting of diode and capacitor, the voltage stress of switch is further reduced and the resonance between the leakage inductor and the stray capacitor of the output diode is eliminated. A low switch-on-resistance low-voltage-rated MOSFET can therefore be employed to reduce the conduction loss and cost. The reverse recovery loss of output diode is reduced, and the efficiency of converter can be improved. Furthermore, the proposed converter can achieve nearly zero input current-ripple and make the design of electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter easy. Steady state analysis and operation mode of the converter is performed. Finally, experimental results are presented to verify the analysis results of the proposed converter.

Studies have found critical software malfunctions responsible for some of the worst accidents in recent times. These malfunctions are often only minor defects that snowball into large problems; a few lines of code is all it takes. Complexity, safety, quality, and resilience are among the key attributes defining a software’s operational success. There are many leading factors for complexity, such as increases in the product size, the rate of requirement changes, and the number and type of stakeholders, and failure to manage these issues efficiently always has the same consequence, i.e., massive failure and sometimes technological catastrophe. This work analyzes some of the architecture, design, and implementation guidelines used as detection and mitigation techniques. It also discusses the safety considerations, as considering how the steam industry has handled safety issues could offer some guidance for ensuring safety. Complexity in such systems also causes some of the worst side effects from the quality auditor's perspective. While failures in the software are hard to predict, one of the most significant ways of showing preparedness is practicing software resilience. New mitigation areas, such as the fragility spectrum and failure obviation, and their usage for building a safer system are analyzed. Also discussed are various architecture styles in practice and the dramatic effect human factors can have on the success of the software being developed.

The COVID-19 pandemic over the past years has shown a great need for rapid, low-cost and on-site detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, an aptamer-based colloidal gold nanoparticle lateral flow test strip was well developed to realize the visual detection of wild type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (SP) and multiple variants. Under the optimal reaction conditions, a low detection limit of SARS-CoV-2 S protein of 0.68 nM was acquired, and the actual detection recovery was 83.3% to 108.8% for real world samples. This suggests a potential tool for the prompt detection of SARS-CoV-2 with good sensitivity and accuracy, and a new method for the development of alternative antibody test strips for the detection of other viral targets.

Sea cucumber peptides are small molecular peptides with biological function obtained from fresh sea cucumber as feedstock, which were hydrolyzed by protease, separated ,and purified. As the main product of sea cucumber refinement, it more accurately expresses the nutritional effect of sea cucumber and has a wide range of potential applications. It has been demonstrated that sea cucumber has a certain value-added effect on bone mineral density regulation, but the differences in bone mineral density regulation of extracts from different parts of sea cucumber and the techniques contributing to the efficient isolation of bone sea cucumber peptides have not been reported. Firstly, the aim of this study was to reveal the differences in osteogenic activities of enzymatic peptides from three major parts of sea cucumber: the body wall, the egg protein, and the intestinal protein. Then, the bone-enhancing sea cucumber peptides were isolated based on the characteristics of the dif-ferences in molecular weight distribution, hydrophilicity, and ionisation degree of sea cucumber, and to explore the possible mechanisms of their action. The findings indicated that sea cucumber peptides extracted from three distinct sites exhibited a dose-dependent enhancement of osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Upon evaluating the three methods of sea cucumber peptide separation based on molecular weight distribution, hydrophilicity, and ionization, it was observed that the fraction isolated by hydrophobicity and

In this research, catalytic steam reforming acetic acid derived from the aqueous portion of bio-oil for hydrogen production was investigated by using different Ni/ATC (Attapulgite Clay) catalysts prepared by precipitation, impregnation and mechanical blending methods. The fresh and reduced catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, TEM and H₂-TPR. The comprehensive results demonstrated that the interaction between active metallic Ni and ATC carrier was significantly improved in Ni/ATC catalyst prepared by precipitation method, and in which the mean Ni particle size was the smallest (~13 nm) resulted in the highest metal dispersion (7.5%). The catalytic performance of the three catalysts was evaluated through the process of steam reforming of acetic acid in a fixed-bed reactor under atmospheric pressure at two different temperatures, such as 550 ℃ and 650 ℃. Results showed that the Ni/ATC (PM-N/ATC) prepared by precipitation method, achieved the highest H₂ yield of ~82% and little lower acetic acid conversion efficiency of ~85% than that (~95%) of Ni/ATC (IM-NATC) prepared by impregnation method. In addition, the deactivation catalysts after reaction for 4 h were analyzed by XRD, TGA-DTG and TEM, which demonstrated that the catalyst deactivation was not caused by the amount of carbon deposition, but owed to the significant agglomeration and sintering of Ni particles in the carrier.

SET protein carries out multiple functions including those for protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibition, histone modification, DNA repair and gene regulation. SET overexpression has been detected in brain neurons of Alzheimer's disease patients, follicle theca cells of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) patients, and ovarian cancer cells, indicating that SET may play a pathological role for these disorders. SET transcript 2, produced by a specific promoter, represents a major transcript variant in different cell types. In this study, we characterized the transcriptional activation of human SET transcript 2 promoter in HeLa cells. Promoter deletion experiments and co-transfection assays indicated that ZFX, the Zinc finger and X-linked transcription factor, was able to transactivate the SET promoter. A proximal promoter region containing four ZFX-binding sites was found to be critical for the ZFX-mediated transactivation. Mutagenesis study indicated that the site located closest to the transcription start site accounted for most of the ZFX-mediated transactivity. Manipulation of ZFX levels by overexpression or siRNA knockdown confirmed the significance and specificity of the ZFX-mediated SET promoter activation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation results verified the binding of ZFX to its cognate site in the SET promoter. These findings have led to identification of ZFX as an upstream factor regulating SET gene expression. More studies are required to define the in vivo significance of this mechanism, and specifically, its implication for several benign and malignant diseases related to SET dysregulation.

The objective of this study is to investigate the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with four different glyoxal concentrations (0, 1.4, 2.3 and 6.3%) in response to global chemical regulations, e.g., European Union Classification, Labeling and Packaging (EU CLP). Tests of the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether on 11 freeze-dried microbial strains, Microcystis aeruginosa, Daphnia magna and zebrafish embryos were designed as an initial stage for toxicity screening, and were performed with the standardized toxicity test guidelines. Glyoxal-containing cellulose ether showed no significant toxic effects in the toxicity tests for the 11 freeze-dried microbial strains, Daphnia magna and zebrafish embryos. Alternatively, 6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether led to more than a 60% reduction of Microcystis aeruginosa growth after 7 days of exposure. Approximately 10% developmental abnormalities (e.g., bent spine) in zebrafish embryos were also observed in the group exposed to 6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether after 6 days of exposure. These results imply that <6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether results in non-toxic effects on the acute toxicity of aquatic organisms. However, ≥6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether may affect the health of aquatic organisms with long-term exposure. In order to better evaluate the eco-safety of cellulosic products contained in glyoxal, further studies regarding the toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with long-term exposure are required. The results from this study allow us to evaluate the auatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulosic products, under EU chemical regulations, on the health of aquatic organisms.

In order to alleviate the problems regarding conventional damping modeling techniques in nonlinear structural simulations, using concentrated plasticity formulation including rotational end springs with no damping plus middle elastic parts with modified assigned damping has recently been proposed. However, a proper selection for springs’ stiffness is a source of contention. In this paper, the effect of choosing different ratios for springs’ rotational stiffness to the elastic part of the elements on the seismic performance of RC moment frames was investigated. Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) was performed and the derived responses were used for seismic performance assessment methodology. The results demonstrate that using flexible springs may lead to a greatly conservative estimation of collapse capacity, annual losses, and repair costs compared to a rigid one. Due to lack of experimental data, it is not possible to certainly assert the most appropriate ratio. However, such variation in the seismic performance of a building model with different stiffness modification necessitates more investigation on this modeling strategy.

A novel determination method using flow-through cartridge purification and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the identification and quantification of 30 mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2, sterigmatocysin, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, roquefortine C, methylergonovine, ergocornine, lysergol, enniatin A, enniatin A1, enniatin B, enniatin B1, beauvericin, deoxynivalenol, 3-acetylDeoxynivalenol, 15-acetylDeoxynivalenol, patulin, verruculogen, neosolaniol, gliotoxin, HT-2 toxin, wortmannin, zearalenone, α-zearalenol, β-zearalenol, α-zearalanol, and β-zearalanol) in feedstuffs. Mycotoxins were extracted from sample by 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution/acetonitrile (16/84 v/v), then purified by a Cleanert® MC clean-up column. As a result, the pigments and other matrices were efficient removed from the sample extract solution. The purified eluate was collected, then evaporated and redissolved by 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution/acetonitrile (70:30 v/v) for UPLC-MS/MS detection. A BEH Shield RP18 chromatographic column was employed for separation of 30 mycotoxins in a total of 14 min. Multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was applied for qualitative and quantitative analysis, and matrix calibration curves obtained with the external-standard method was used for quantitation of target analytes. Under optimized conditions, the linearity range was from 2 to 1000 ng/g, and the limit of quantification of the developed method was from 2 to 50 ng/g. The recoveries of 30 mycotoxins spiked in urine samples were from 72.0% to 118.5%, and the relative standard deviation was below 20%. The method was also well approved by certified reference sample, and applied on the real feedstuff samples testing successfully.

The invasion of ship domain stands out as a significant factor contributing to the risk of collisions during vessel navigation. However, there is a lack of research on the mechanisms underlying collision risks specifically related to merchant and fishing vessels in coastal waters. This study proposes an assessment method for collision risks between merchant and fishing vessels in coastal waters and validated through a comparative analysis through visualization. First of all, the operational status of fishing vessels is identified. Collaboratively working fishing vessels are treated as a unified entity, expanding their ship domain during operation to assess collision risks. Secondly, to quantify the collision risk between ships, a collision risk index (CRI) is proposed and visualized based on the severity of collision risk. Finally, taking the high risk area of merchant and fishing vessels collision in the Minjiang River Estuary as an example, this paper conduct the analysis involves classifying ship collision scenarios, extracting risk data under different collision scenarios, and visually analyzing areas prone to danger. The results indicate that this method effectively evaluates the severity of collision risk, and the identified high-risk areas resulting from the analysis is verified by accidents occurred in the recent three years.

Abstract: This paper summarises an early and successful piece of citizen science, performed within The University of Queensland Seismograph Stations (UQSS) observatory, in cooperation with colleagues at CSIRO. It was designed to en-courage young STEM students from Brisbane high schools to engage in “real” re-search, back in 1995. Having completed the project report, their (analog) results sat in a cupboard until the report was dusted off and the project was re-analysed in 2022 by an honors student, considering timely climate change applications for the study. This is a time when science is changing considerably from analog to digital medium and operational methods. The original project was called Earthquake generated T phases on BRS Seismograph (Brisbane, Q’ld)- a predictor for Tasman Sea Tsunamis? [1] Fortunately, seismology is a very collaborative field. The research question has since changed. There is a lot of data analysis involved in the science of recording earthquake signals, with auxiliary definitive catalogues, observers logbooks, housing of the recordings themselves (analog and digital) and the software mediums that change over time. In other words, a lot of headaches can be encountered in longitudinal data collection study such as this. The citizen science students used a pre-prepared decadal collection (1980-90) derived from the BRS observatory data catalogue. BRS is part of the global World-Wide Seismograph Station Network (WWSSN). Currently in Australia, university earth science observatories have diminished, and in their place, public seismic networks (PSN) have evolved, either in back-yard sheds or school science labs. The level of expertise required fits the role of advancing citizen science for a real science advantage. This is a topical citizen disaster preparedness action area for today’s climate emergency, which is threatening the globe and all lifeforms. Citizen engagement or mobilisation is an essential preparedness strategy. Keywords: citizen science 1; seismology 2; earth observation 3; climate change 4; education for sustainable development 5; disaster preparedness 6; disaster alerts 7

Structures inevitably suffer damages after an earthquake, with their severity ranging from minimal damages to non-structural elements to partial or even total collapse, possibly with loss of human lives. Thus, it is essential for engineers to understand the crucial factors that drive a structure towards suffering higher degrees of damage, so that preventative measures can be taken. In the present study, we focus on three well-known damage thresholds, namely Collapse Limit State, Ultimate Limit State and Serviceability Limit State and analyze which of the features obtained via Rapid Visual Screening, determine whether or not a given structure will cross that threshold. To this end, we use Machine Learning to perform binary classification for each damage threshold, as well as Explainability via SHAP values (acronym for SHapley Additive exPlanations) to quantify the effect of each parameter. The quantitative results obtained demonstrate the potential applicability of ML methods to re-calibrate the computation of structural vulnerability indices using data from recent earthquakes.

Food-borne transmission is a recognized route for many viruses associated with gastrointestinal, hepatic or neurological diseases. Therefore, it is essential to identify new bioactive compounds with broad-spectrum antiviral activity is needed to exploit innovative solutions against these hazards. Lately, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been recognized as promising antiviral agents. Indeed, while the antibacterial and antifungal effects of these molecules have been widely reported, their use as potential antiviral agents has not yet been fully investigated. Herein, the antiviral activity of previously identified or newly designed AMPs, was evaluated against the non-enveloped RNA viruses, Hepatitis A virus (HAV), and Murine Norovirus (MNV), a surrogate for human Norovirus. Moreover, specific assays were performed to recognize at which stage of the viral infection cycle the peptides could function. Results showed that almost all peptides displayed virucidal effects with about 90% of infectivity reduction on HAV or MNV. However, the decapeptide RiLK1 demonstrated, together with its antibacterial and antifungal properties, a notable reduction in viral infection for both HAV and MNV, possibly through direct interaction with viral particles or inhibition of the viral bonding to the cell receptors. Hence, RiLK1 could represent a versatile ‘antimicrobial agent effective against various foodborne pathogens including viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Systemic inflammation and coronary microvascular endothelial dysfunction are essential pathophysiological factors in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) that support the use of statins. The pleiotropic properties of statins, such as anti-inflammatory, antihypertrophic, antifibrotic, and antioxidant effects, are generally accepted and may be beneficial in HF, especially in HFpEF. Numerous observational clinical trials have consistently shown a beneficial prognostic effect of statins in patients with HFpEF, while the results of two larger trials in patients with HFrEF have been controversial. Such differences may be related to a more pronounced impact of the pleiotropic properties of statins on the pathophysiology of HFpEF and pro-inflammatory comorbidities (arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, chronic kidney disease) that are more common in HFpEF. This review discusses the potential mechanisms of statin action that may be beneficial for patients with HFpEF, as well as clinical trials that have evaluated the statin effects on left ventricular diastolic function and clinical outcomes in patients with HFpEF.

The paper provides a discussion on the results of studies of the effect exerted by combined degradation factors typical of four types of wear: abrasion, impact-abrasion, tribocorrosion, and impact-abrasion-corrosion, conducted for chain wheels made of Ni-Cu alloyed Austempered Ductile Iron. The studies consisted in determining the content of retained austenite in the structure of the cast irons in question, establishing the measures of wear following wear testing, and identifying basic surface degradation mechanisms observed in the chain wheels tested following multifactorial wear processes. The chain wheels made of ADI were found to have sustained the greatest damage under the impact-abrasion-corrosion (three-factor) wear scenario, while the wear was least advanced in the abrasion (one-factor) wear case. Another observation derived from the studies is that the combined effect of dynamic forces, corrosion, and quartz sand-based abrasives causes increased surface degradation in the cast iron grades taken into consideration compared to processes characterised by a reduced number of degradation factors (i.e. one- or two-factor wear processes). Additional hardness tests and XRD analyses have revealed a distinctive effect attributable to combined degradation factors on the surface hardness increase value and implied that bench testing was followed by phase transition.

A review of quantitative risk assessment (QRA) models of L. monocytogenes in produce was carried out, with the objective of appraising and contrasting the effectiveness of the control strategies placed along the food chains. Despite nine of the thirteen QRA models recovered focused on fresh or RTE leafy greens, none of them represented important factors or sources of contamination in the primary production, such as type of cultivation, water, fertilisers or irrigation method/practices. Cross-contamination at processing and during consumer’s handling was modelled using transfer rates, which were shown to moderately drive the final risk of listeriosis; highlighting therefore the importance of accurately representing the transfer coefficient parameters. Many QRA models coincided in the fact that temperature fluctuations at retail or temperature abuse at home were key factors contributing to increasing the risk of listeriosis. In addition to a primary module that could help assess current on-farm practices and potential control measures, future QRA models for minimally-processed produce should also contain a refined sanitisation module able to estimate the effectiveness of various sanitisers as a function of type, concentration and exposure time. Finally, L. monocytogenes growth in the products down the supply chain should be estimated by using realistic time-temperature trajectories, and validated microbial kinetic parameters, both of them currently available in the literature.

Hydrogen has a leading role in accomplishing a net zero green-house gas emission future. Today’s challenge is producing green hydrogen to cover the fuel demand of transportation and industry, to gain independence from fossil fuels. This review’s goal is to demonstrate critically the existing methods of biomass treatment and assess their ability to scale up. Biomass is an excellent hydrogen carrier and biomass-derived processes are the main target for hydrogen production as it is an innovative pathway to green hydrogen production. Comparing the existing processes, thermochemical treatment is found to be far more evolved than biological or electrochemical treatment especially with regard to scaling prospects.

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. belongs to the Cactaceae family and the genus Opuntia; it is a succulent plant that adapts to extreme climatic conditions. The aerial part of the plant consists of the cladodes, morphological changes of branches that appear green, are covered with thorns, and are essential to reduce excessive perspiration of water. The composition of cladodes is very varied, and the main constituents are water, fibers, polysaccharides, proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, sterols, minerals, and polyphenols. Polyphenols are responsible for many beneficial activities for human health, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and nutritional properties. The purpose of this manuscript was to compare the properties of cladodes belonging to the same plant but with different stages of maturity. Relative extracts were tested both in vitro and on a cell line and antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties were found. The antioxidant activity was tested by the ORAC test, the DPPH test, and the measurement of cellular accumulation of ROS. Anti-apoptotic activity was evaluated by the annexin/PI assay and measurement of caspases 9 and 3 expression. The results obtained have shown that the extracts considered possess antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties. However, the different stages of maturity of cladodes are essential for the performance of both functions. In addition, important variations have been made in the dissolution of extracts that have brought greater safety in their use. In conclusion, this manuscript provides further information on cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica, which can be used as adjuvants in many human pathologies.

It is known that the class of p-normed spaces (0 < p ≤ 1) is an important generalization of usual normed spaces with rich topological and geometrical structure, but the most of tools and general principles in nature with nonlinearity have not been developed yet, thus the main goal of this paper is to develop tools for nonlinear analysis under the framework of p-vector spaces. In particular, we first develop the general fixed point theorems which provide solutions to answer Schauder conjecture since 1930’s in the affirmative for p-vector spaces when p = 1 (which is just general topological vector spaces); then the one best approximation result for upper semi-continuous mappings is given, which is used as a powerful tool to establish fixed points for non-self set-valued mappings with either inward or outward set conditions; and finally we establish comprehensive existence results of solutions for Birkhoff-Kellogg Problems, and the general principle of nonlinear alternative by including Leray-Schauder alternative and related results. The results given in this paper not only include the corresponding results in the existing literature as special cases, but also expected to be useful tools for the study of nonlinear problems arising from theory to practice.

To better understand the shape memory materials and self-healing materials, a new series of liquid-crystalline shape memory polyurethane (LC-SMPU) composites, named SMPU-OOBAm, were successfully prepared by incorporating 4-octyldecyloxybenzoic acid (OOBA) into the PEG-based SMPU. The effect of OOBA on the structure, morphology and properties has been carefully investigated. The results demonstrate that SMPU-OOBAm have liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties. The incorporated OOBA promotes the crystallizability of both soft and hard segments of SMPU, and the crystallization rate of the hard segment of SMPU decreases when the OOBA-content increases. Additionally, the SMPU-OOBAm forms a two-phase separated structure (SMPU phase and OOBA phase), and it shows two-step modulus changes upon heating. Therefore, the SMPU-OOBAm shows triple-shape memory behavior, and the shape recovery ratio decreases with an increase in the OOBA content. Finally, SMPU-OOBAm shows self-healing properties. The new mechanism can be ascribed to the heating-induced “bleeding” of OOBA in the liquid crystalline state and the subsequent re-crystallization upon cooling. This successful combination of liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties make the SMPU-OOBAm composites with many promise applications in smart optical devices, smart electronic devices and smart sensors.

The permanent protection of groundwater and surface sources of drinking water in the required raw water quality from contamination is the primary foundation of preserving the life of society and the entire engineering infrastructure operability not only in the Czech Republic but also in other countries of the world. One of the basic ways of contamination prevention enhancement and risk mitigation of putting a water source out of operation is the identification of the given risk as well as soil contamination monitoring. The purpose of this study is to understand specific aspects of contamination threats to drinking water sources and determine possible solutions to eliminate the risk, shown in the example case study in the Czech Republic conditions. Based on the findings, a proposal to enhance the prevention of water source contamination has been elaborated in the form of recommendations regarding the ways and means used to monitor the risk areas and to implement technical measures so as to eliminate or terminate the specified risk. A complex approach based on the integration of interdisciplinary factors and methodology is required to minimize the threats of aquatic ecosystems contamination in the Czech Republic.

In current transportation hubs, it is a common phenomenon that passengers travel with necessary wheeled-luggage or suitcases. Due to the fact that most luggage occupies certain space within dense passenger crowds with giant mass inertia, its abnormal motions, such as drifting, frequently trig unavoidable local disturbances and turbulence in surrounding pedestrian flows, further increasing security risk. While, current researches primarily concentrate on examining the impact of luggage on crowd evacuation efficiency through scenario-based experiments and analyzing the spatial characteristics of crowd distribution in surveillance videos. There still lacks of the dynamic disturbance mechanisms and crowd stability associated with the combined motion of passengers and luggage. Therefore, this study considers the luggage-laden passenger as a deformable particle, the resulting disturbance on surrounding non-luggage passengers is analyzed and quantified into a nonlinear pressure term. Subsequently, the disturbance propagation model of passenger-luggage is developed by adapting the classical Aw-Rascle traffic flow model with incorporation of the pressure term. Simulation experiments of disturbances caused by luggage drifting and retrograding validate that the proposed propagation model aligns with real-world situations in transportation hubs. Quantitively, when luggage-laden passenger drifted left, the disturbing force of left side crowd can reach a peak of 238N in the passenger density of 3.0 p/m2, and the maximum difference between the left and right sides disturbing force can reach 153N. Furthermore, it is recommended that the proposed model can be applied to crowd flow analysis and risk assessment.

A contemporary technique for calculating seismic risk is earthquake nowcasting (EN), which analyzes the progression of the earthquake (EQ) cycle in fault systems. 'Natural time' is a novel idea of time that serves as the foundation for EN assessment. The earthquake potential score (EPS), which has been discovered to have useful uses regionally and worldwide, is a unique tool EN uses to predict seismic risk. For the estimation of the EPS for the occurrences with the highest magnitude among these applications, we have since 2021 concentrated on Greece territory, applying sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, both wise (semi)supervised and unsupervised models, along with a customized dynamic sliding window technique that performs as a stochastic filter able to fine-tune the geo seismic occurrences. Long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks, random forests, and clustering (geospatial) models are three machine learning techniques that are particularly good at finding patterns in vast databases and may be used to enhance earthquake prediction performance. In this study, we attempt to forecast whether practical Machine-learning and AI/Game-theoretic-based approaches can help predict big earthquakes and the normal future seismic cycle for 6-12 months. Specifically, we focus on answering two questions for a given region: (1) Is there a chance that a significant earthquake—say, one with a magnitude of M ≥ 6.0 will happen in the upcoming year? (2) What is the largest earthquake magnitude predicted in the upcoming year, and with which exact geographic coordinates (GCS)? Our results are quite promising and project a high precision accuracy score (≥ 98%) for seismic nowcasting in terms of four predictive parameters: the approximate (a) latitude, (b) longitude, (c) focal depth, and (d) magnitude of the phenomena.

An in-silico WES approach using the Galaxy platform was adopted in the current study to predict the genetic basis of Premature Ovarian Failure (POF), where three affected patients in a Saudi Arabian family of seven, found associated with X-linked recessive mutations. The current analysis discovered 518,054 variants using FreeBayes variant caller that had 1,461,864 effects on variable sites in the genome revealed by SnpEff software. The causal genetic mutations were filtered and annotated with the ClinVar database using the GEMINI tool. This tool retained 369 pathogenic mutations harboring 130 genes. Among the total, 268 variants positioned on 69 genes are shared with three affected individuals, 61 variants on 23 genes are shared by any two of the affected individuals, and 40 of the variants on 38 genes are present in any one of the affected sample. Two mutations in one of the already POF-associated, POF1B gene were also observed e.g. (i) g.84563135T>A; p.M349L and (ii) g.84563194C>T; p.R329Q in the two affected individuals i.e. IV-I-C & IV-6 in the current data. This gene consists of 17 exons that span the region of >100 kb. The putative function of this gene in regulating the actin cytoskeleton due to homology with myosin tail and maintains a number of oocytes during fetal ovary development. In a nutshell, this Galaxy pipeline facilitates all-in-one to pinpoint not only the known pathogenic gene mutations for this disorder but few other novel genetic variants as well, whose gene-disease association may be validated by further experimental studies.

Abstract: Urban regeneration decision-making is a complex process, as it involves a wide range of decision-makers, public-private partnerships in finance and implementation, including the inevitable considerable amount of risk on a long-term basis. There are a multitude of stakeholders, the citizens being the key stakeholders. It is necessary to involve the citizens in the planning process. Such involvement allows the communities to express their needs and aspirations, which is useful in the policymaking, delivery of planning programs, and in the monitoring process. In such a context, Factor analysis was the statistical technique used (1) Carry out factor analysis based on the principal component analysis method using the software XLSTAT 2021.4.1.1205 - (2) Construct a factor model of Urban Regeneration. (3) Interpret and label the factor dimensions. The results of the analysis indicated that the first two principal components accounted for 60.04% of the total variance of the original dataset. All variables seemed to be, positively correlated to each other and contributed similarly to principal components PC1 &PC2. The observations were well clustered; except for very few outliers. The limitation of the work was that the perceptions of the citizens were limited to the variables derived by the researcher.

This research explores the predictive capabilities of autonomous driving systems by integrating human factor considerations within the context of safety-critical events. Recognizing the significance of human behaviors in influencing driving dynamics, the study employs advanced modeling techniques to enhance the accuracy of predictions in scenarios that demand heightened safety measures. Traditional rule-based systems and monotonic logic often fall short in addressing the complexities of safety-critical events. To overcome these limitations, the research proposes the application of non-monotonic logic, allowing for flexible and adaptive reasoning that accommodates exceptions and context-specific information.The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating individual differences among drivers, such as risk-taking tendencies, reaction times, decision-making processes, and driving styles. By considering these human factors, the research aims to develop realistic and accurate autonomous driving models that capture the nuances of real-world driving scenarios, especially in safety-critical situations. The predictive model takes into account both internal and external factors, enabling the autonomous system to anticipate and respond effectively to unforeseen events.The primary goal is to provide autonomous vehicles with the capability to make plausible inferences, handle conflicting data, and adapt their behavior in real-time during safety-critical events. The proposed model integrates personalized cognitive agents for each driver, incorporating their unique preferences, characteristics, and needs. This personalized approach aims to optimize the safety and efficiency of autonomous driving, contributing to the ongoing evolution of intelligent transportation systems.In conclusion, this research contributes to advancing the field of autonomous driving by introducing a predictive model that leverages human factor considerations to enhance safety in safety-critical events. The incorporation of non-monotonic logic and individualized cognitive agents signifies a comprehensive approach to address the challenges associated with predicting autonomous driving behavior, paving the way for safer and more reliable autonomous vehicles in dynamic and unpredictable environments.

The work reports a facile synthesis of high thermally-stable nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) doped with different atomic concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 6.0%) of Gd3+ and Nd3+ ions by a template-free and one-step solvothermal process, using titanium(IV) butoxide as titanium precursor and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent. The structure and morphology of the Gd3+, Nd3+, and 0.5%Gd3+-0.5%Nd3+/doped TiO2 NPs have been characterized by using various analytical techniques. The Gd3+/ and Nd3+/TiO2 molar ratios were found to have a pronounced impact on the crystalline structure, size, and morphology of TiO2 NPs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies revealed the proper substitution of Ti4+ by Gd3+ and Nd3+ ions in the TiO2 host lattice. The as-prepared Gdx/TiO2, Ndx/TiO2, and Gd1.0/Ndx/TiO2 bimetallic NPs, x = 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 6%, have been investigated as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 1.0 M KOH solution using a variety of electrochemical techniques. At any doping percentage, the Gd1.0/Ndx/TiO2 bimetallic NPs showed higher HER catalytic performance than their corresponding counterparts i.e. Gdx/TiO2 and Ndx/TiO2. Upon increasing the Nd content from 0.5 to 6.0%, the HER catalytic performance of the Gd1.0/Ndx/TiO2 bimetallic NPs was generally enhanced. Among the studied materials, the bimetallic Gd1.0/Nd6.0/TiO2 NPs emerged as the most promising catalyst with an onset potential of -22 mV vs. RHE, a Tafel slope of 109 mV dec-1, and an exchange current density of 0.72 mA cm-2. Such HER electrochemical kinetic parameters are close to those recorded by the commercial Pt/C (onset potential: -15 mV, Tafel slope: 106 mV dec-1, and exchange current density: 0.80 mA cm-2), and also comparable with those measured by the most active electrocatalysts reported in the literature. The synergistic interaction of Gd and Nd is thought to be the major cause of the bimetallic catalyst's activity.

We introduce a new class of Vertex Operator Algebras Y+ and their duals, which generalize the standard W-algebras WN of type sl(N). These algebras can be defined in terms of junctions of boundary conditions and interfaces in the GL-twisted N = 4 Super Yang Mills gauge theory. The aim of these technical calculations is to find the relation of these ortho-symplectic Y-algebras to truncations of even W\infinity.

Heart failure is a prevalent cardiovascular condition with significant health implications, necessitating effective diagnostic strategies for timely intervention. This study explores the potential of continuous monitoring of non-invasive signals, specifically integrating Photoplethysmogram (PPG) and Electrocardiogram (ECG), for enhancing early detection and diagnosis of heart failure. Leveraging a dataset from the MIMIC-III database, encompassing 682 heart failure patients and 954 controls. Feature selection techniques were used to systematically select key features which were identified for their clinical relevance and significance in capturing cardiovascular dynamics and to reduce computational complexity and to decrease the chance of overfitting the ML algorithms. These features are then utilized to train and evaluate machine learning algorithms, resulting in a model with an impressive accuracy of 98%, sensitivity of 97.60%, specificity of 96.90%, and precision of 97.20%. The integrated approach outperforms single-signal strategies, showcas-ng its potential for early, precise, and non-invasive heart failure diagnosis. Furthermore, the study underscores the significance of continuous monitoring through wearables, emphasizing the benefits of integrating multiple signals for a comprehensive evaluation of cardiovascular health. The proposed approach holds promise for implementation in hardware systems to enable continuous monitoring, aiding in early detection and prevention of critical health conditions.

In order to correct attenuated millimeter-wavelength (Ka-band) radar data and address the problem of instability, an attenuation correction methodology (attenuation correction with variation trend constraint; VTC) was developed. Using synchronous observation conditions and multi-band radars, the VTC method adopts the variation trends of reflectivity in X-band radar data captured with wavelet transform as a constraint to adjust reflectivity factors of millimeter-wavelength radar. The correction was evaluated by comparing reflectivities obtained by millimeter-wavelength cloud radar and X-band weather radar. Experiments showed that attenuation was a major contributory factor in the different reflectivities of the two radars when relatively intense echoes exist, and the attenuation correction developed in this study significantly improved data quality for millimeter-wavelength radar. Reflectivity differences between the two radars were reduced and reflectivity correlations were enhanced. Errors caused by attenuation were eliminated, while variation details in the reflectivity factors were retained. The VTC method is superior to the bin-by-bin method in terms of correction amplitude and can be used for attenuation correction of shorter wavelength radar assisted by longer wavelength radar data.

In the development of the safety-critical systems, it is important to perform Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) process to identify potential failures. However, traditional FMEA activities tend to be considered difficult and time-consuming tasks. To compensate for the difficulty of the FMEA task, various types of tools are used to increase the quality and the effectiveness of the FMEA reports. This paper explains an Automatic FMEA tool which integrates the Model-based Design (MBD), FMEA, and Simulated Fault Injection techniques in a single environment. The Automatic FMEA tool has the following advantages compared to the existing FMEA analysis tool. First, the Automatic FMEA tool automatically generates FMEA reports compared to the traditional spreadsheet-based FMEA tools. Second, the Automatic FMEA tool analyzes the causality between the failure modes and the failure effects by performing model-based fault injection simulation. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the Automatic FMEA, we used the electronic fuel injection system (EFI) Simulink model. The results of the Automatic FMEA were compared to that of the legacy FMEA.

The elastic wave equation with the seismic tensorial force is solved in a homogeneous and isotropic medium (the Earth). Spherical-shell waves are obtained, which are associated to the primary P and S seismic waves. It is shown that these waves produce secondary waves with sources on the plane surface of a half-space, which have the form of abrupt walls with a long tail, propagating in the interior and on the surface of the half-space. These secondary waves are associated to the seismic mainshock. The results, previously reported, are re-derived by using Fourier transformations and specific regularization procedures. The relevance of this seismic motion for the ground motion, the seismographs' recordings and the effect of the inhomogeneities in the medium are discussed.

Displacement mapping is a computer graphics technique that enables the design of components with regularly or randomly textured surfaces that can be quickly materialized on a three-dimensional (3D) printer when needed. This approach is in principle more flexible, faster and more economical compared to conventional texturing methods, but the accuracy of the texture depends heavily on the parameters used. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how to produce a surface-textured part using polygonal (mesh) modeling software and a photopolymerizable resin, and to develop a universal methodology to predict the dimensional accuracy of the model file log combined with a resin 3D printer. The printed components were characterized on a scanning confocal microscope. In the setup used in this study, the mesh size had to be reduced to 10% of the smallest feature size and the textured layer had to be heavily (x4) overexposed to achieve the desired accuracy. As a practical application, two functional stamps with a regular (honeycomb) and a random texture, respectively, were successfully manufactured. The insights gained will be of great benefit in quickly and cost-effectively producing components with innovative patterns and textures for a variety of hobby, industrial and biomedical applications.

Spermatogenesis is critical for insect reproduction and is regulated by many different genes. In this study, we found that Forkhead transcription factor Fd59a functions as a key factor in spermatogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster. Fd59a contains a conversed Forkhead domain, and it is clustered to the FoxD subfamily with other FoxD members from some insect and vertebrate species. Mutation in Fd59a caused swelling in the apical region of the testis. More importantly, only a few mature sperm were present in the seminal vesicle of Fd59a mutant flies compared to the control flies, and the fertility of Fd59a2/2 mutant males was significantly lower than that of the control flies. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the homeostasis of testis stem cell niche in Fd59a2/2 mutant and Fd59a RNAi flies was disrupted, and apoptosis of sperm bundles was increased. Furthermore, results from RNA-sequencing and qRT-PCR suggest that Fd59a can regulate expression of genes related to reproductive process and cell death. Taken together, our results indicated that Fd59a plays a key role in the spermatogenesis of Drosophila.

Heme is located in the active site of proteins and has diverse and important biological functions, such as electron transfer and oxygen transport and/or storage. The distortion of heme porphyrin is considered an important factor for the diverse functions of heme because it correlates with the physical properties of heme, such as oxygen affinity and redox potential. Therefore, clarification of the relationship between heme distortion and the protein environment is crucial in protein science. Here, we analyzed the fluctuation in heme distortion in the protein environment for hemoglobin and myoglobin using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum mechanical (QM) calculations. We also investigated the protein structures of hemoglobin and myoglobin stored in Protein Data Bank and found that heme is distorted along the doming mode, which correlates with its oxygen affinity, more prominently in the protein environment than in the isolated state, and the magnitude of distortion is different between hemoglobin and myoglobin. This tendency was also observed in the results of MD simulations and QM calculations. These results suggest that heme distortion is affected by its protein environment and fluctuates around its fitted conformation, leading to physical properties that are appropriate for protein functions.

Working memory (WM) is a brain system for short-term storage and manipulation of information and plays an important role in complex cognitive tasks. In the synaptic theory of WM memorized elements are stored in the form of short-term potentiated connections in a sample population of neurons. In this paper, we show that such populations can be formed due to the mechanisms of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) – the phase dependence associated with the ratio of the pulse times of the interacting neurons. We propose a WM model considering two types of plasticity: short-term plasticity and STDP. We have shown formation of neuronal clusters encoding items in the WM model, that can be formed by external stimulation of a group of neurons due to the mechanisms of STDP and hold and reactivated by short-term plasticity mechanisms. The dynamic formation of neuronal clusters instead of pre-formed clusters gives additional flexibility to the model.

This study outlines the development of an innovative method utilizing UHPLC-PDA for the simultaneous identification of polyphenols and bitter acids (alpha-acids, beta-acids, and iso-alpha-acids) in beer samples. The resulting chemical profiles were leveraged to distinguish the characteristics of four bergamot-flavored beers, each representing distinct styles (IPA, Lager, Blanche, and ALE), produced on a pilot-scale plant. In a streamlined 29-minute analysis, twenty-nine polyphenols and fourteen bitter acids were successfully identified under optimized separation conditions. Rigorous validation, encompassing parameters such as Limit of Detection (LOD), Limit of Quantification (LOQ), R-squared (R2), repeatability, and reproducibility, was conducted for polyphenol quantification using constructed calibration curves with seven levels. Exploring polyphenolic components as potential discriminators among different beer styles, a total of thirty-two polyphenolic compounds were identified and quantified, including characteristic bergamot peel polyphenols like neoeriocitrin, naringin, and neohesperidin. The determination of bitter units and total phenols further aided in style differentiation. Multivariate analysis provided additional insights into variations among specific beer styles, revealing discrepancies in the presence or relative concentrations of specific compounds linked to brewing ingredients and processes. This research enhances to trace the fingerprinting of the chemistry governing beer quality through a straightforward and cost-effective analytical approach, readily applicable in common laboratories.

Bisphenol A production plant possesses considerable potential risks in the top of the methanol separation column, as pressurized acetone, methanol and water are processed at an elevated temperature, especially in the event of an abnormal pressure increase due to sudden power outage. This study assesses the potential risks in the methanol separation column through hazard and operability assessment and evaluates the damages in the case of fire and explosion accident scenarios. The study chooses three leakage scenarios: a 5-mm puncture on the methanol separation column, a 50-mm diameter fracture of a discharge pipe and a catastrophic rupture, and simulates using Phast (Ver. 6.531) the concentration distribution of scattered methanol, thermal radiation distribution of fires and overpressure distribution of vapor cloud explosions. Implementation of safety instrumented system equipped with two-out-of-three voting as a safety measure can detect overpressure at the top of the column and shut down the main control valve and the emergency shutoff valve simultaneously, all at the same time. By applying safety integrity level of three, the maximal release volume of the safety relief valve can be reduced and therefore, the design capacity of the flare stack can also be reduced. Such integration will lead to improved safety at a reduced cost.

Heart failure is a global major healthcare problem with millions of hospitalizations annually and with a very high mortality. There is an increased interest in finding new and reliable biomarkers for the diagnostication, prognostication and therapeutical guidance of patients hospitalized for acute heart failure. There is data to sustain the role of CA 125, a worldwide used marker of ovarian cancer, in patients with heart failure. Several studies have shown links between CA 125 levels and congestion seen in acute heart failure, high mortality and readmission rates at 6 months follow up after discharge from acute heart failure and also a role of CA 125 in the guidance of heart failure therapy. There are also clinical trials that showed that several particularities of CA 125 make it even better than NTpro BNP ( a classical and more utilised marker of heart failure) in several scenarios of acute heart failure.

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

Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γ (RORγ) is a transcription factor regulating the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17 in human T helper 17 (Th17) cells. Activating RORγ can induce multiple IL-17-mediated autoimmune diseases but may also be useful for anticancer therapy. Its deep immunological functions make RORɣ an attractive drug target. Over 100 crystal structures have been published describing atomic interactions between RORɣ and agonists and inverse agonists. In this review, we focus on the role of dynamic properties and plasticity of the RORɣ orthosteric and allosteric binding sites by examining structural information from crystal structures and simulated models. We discuss the possible influences of allosteric ligands on the orthosteric binding site. We find that high structural plasticity favors the druggability of RORɣ, especially for allosteric ligands.

To improve efficacy and safety of sunscreen emulsions, UV‐filter skin permeation could be kept as low as possible by reducing UV‐filter content or changing emulsion composition. In this work, different lipid phase ratio (12, 14 and 16% w/w) were assessed for their ability to affect the technological and sensory properties of O/W emulsions in which bemotrizinol (BMTZ), a broad spectrum sunscreen agent, was incorporated free or loaded into nanostructured lipid nanocarriers (NLC) to reduce its release from the vehicle and, hence, its skin permeation. The following technological properties were evaluated in vitro by suitable methodologies: spreadability, viscosity, pH, occlusion factor, BMTZ release, sun protection factor (SPF). Sensory attributes were assessed by trained panelists in three different phases: before/during pick‐up, rub‐in, after application. Raising the lipid phase ratio led to an increase of viscosity and to a corresponding drop of spreadability while the incorporation of BMTZ‐loaded NLC determined a decrease of occlusion factor and an increase of SPF. No BMTZ release was observed from all emulsions. Sensory attributes were mainly affected by lipid phase ratio. These results suggest that lipid phase ratio and BMTZ incorporation into NLC could contribute to determine technological and sensory properties of O/W emulsions.

Urban and agricultural runoffs can transport contaminants and pesticides into freshwater ecosystems, particularly in the developing tropics. For instance, organophosphate and pyrethroids pesticides like glyphosate, malathion, and permethrin have been found in tropical streams. The uncontrolled application of these pesticides has become a growing concern due to their adverse effects on various non-targeted organisms. Unfortunately, most studies have focused on a few selected model species, ignoring the effects on other nontarget organisms, which may play an important role in tropical lotic ecosystems. In addition, the biological characteristics of aquatic crustaceans, including their morphology, physiology, and behavior, make them susceptible to toxic chemicals. For this reason, this study used the widely distributed freshwater shrimp Xiphocaris elongata as a model organism to determine the acute toxicity of permethrin, malathion, and glyphosate. Our results show that the proportion of mortality of X. elongata in each concentration group became progressively higher as the concentration of exposure increased. We also found that the synthetic pyrethroid permethrin is the most toxic pesticide tested, followed by organophosphate malathion and glyphosate. Experiments with this freshwater shrimp showed a good control performance and reproducibility for the tested pesticides. This study demonstrated that X. elongata is a suitable test organism that can be a representative bioindicator of pesticide toxicity in tropical streams.

The Ni-Co-Cr-W-Mo system is critical for the design of nickel-based super-alloys. This system stabilizes different topologically close packed (TCP) phases in many of the commercially super-alloys with high W and Mo contents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermodynamic calculations are applied to investigate the thermodynamics of the precipitates in two different W content Ni-Co-Cr-W-Mo super-alloys. Computational thermodynamics verified experimental observation of the f u phase formation as a function of temperature and alloy chemistry, but the kinetics for the precipitation of M6C phase do not agree with the experimental findings. The major precipitates of alloy 1 at temperatures 700 and 750 °C during long time exposure are M23C6, γ′ phase, and MC, and alloy 2 are M23C6, γ′ phase, MC, M6C and u phase. The W addition is found to promote the precipitation of M6C and u phase during exposure. The M6C has higher W and lower Ni content than that of u phase, meanwhile, M6C is an unstable phase would transform into M12C after 5000 h exposure at 750 °C. A great quantity of needle-like u phases precipitated after exposure at 750 °C for 5000h, which have no effect on the impact property of alloy 2.

This study examines the effects of particle size and heat pipe angle on the thermal effectiveness of a cylindrical screen mesh heat pipe using silver nanoparticles as the test substance. The experiment investigates three different particle sizes (30nm, 50nm, and 80nm) and four different heat pipe angles (0°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) on the heat transmission characteristics of the heat pipe. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the heat pipe increased with an increase in heat pipe angle for all particle sizes, with the highest thermal conductivity attained at a 90° heat pipe angle. Furthermore, the thermal resistance of the heat pipe decreased as the particle size decreased for all heat pipe angles. The thermal conductivity measurements of the particle sizes - 30, 50, and 80 nm - were 250 W/mK, 200 W/mK, and 150 W/mK, respectively. The heat transfer coefficient values for particle sizes 30nm, 50nm, and 80nm were 5500 W/m2K, 4500 W/m2K, and 3500 W/m2K, respectively. The study also found that the heat transfer coefficient increased with increased heat pipe angle for all particle sizes, with the highest heat transfer coefficient obtained at a 90° heat pipe angle.

This bibliographic study addresses key aspects related to fishing, product safety, and climate change in the Adriatic Sea region. The examination of product safety focuses on the assessment of contaminants originating from human activities such as industry, mining, agriculture, and household waste disposal. The contamination of the aquatic environment has emerged as a pressing global concern, extending to the Adriatic subbasin. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are prone to accumulating pollutants directly from polluted water sources and indirectly through the food web. The bio-accumulation of potentially hazardous substances, particularly heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, and antibiotic resistance in aquatic organisms, poses a significant threat to human health. Climate change effects will deplete our seafood supply in terms of quantity and safety owing to negative consequences such as higher levels of pollution, parasites, viruses, infections, acidification, and toxicities such as shellfish poisoning. Global food safety strategies should be developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote environmentally friendly technology, which indirectly affects seafood quality and microbiological safety, especially for Adriatic Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by the most polluted waters in the world.

Reactions of quinones with compounds containing an amino group can produce a wide variety of addition or substitution products that depend on reactivity of both quinone and amino derivative. 6,7-Dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-diones undergo selective nucleophilic substitution reaction with different benzohydrazides and α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine derivatives stabilized by strong intramolecular hydrogen bond were isolated. Synthesized compounds represent a combination of several structural motifs: benzimidazole core fused with α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine which contains a benzamido fragment. The protonation/deprotonation processes were investigated in a solution using UV-Vis spectroscopy and 1H NMR titration experiment. X-ray crystallography analysis revealed a set of weak non-covalent interactions such as intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking. Additionally, the redox behavior of 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione and its p-imino derivative was investigated in acidic and neutral environment using cyclic voltammetry measurements. Cathode material based on 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione could act as potential effective active electrode in aqueous electrolyte batteries, however further optimization is required.

The article delves into the crucial realm of compressing hydrogen in its gaseous state, a pivotal process for enhancing its viability in both civil and industrial sectors. The study initiates by providing a concise overview and comparison of diverse hydrogen storage methodologies, laying the groundwork with an in-depth analysis of hydrogen's thermophysical properties. It scrutinizes plausible configurations for hydrogen compression, aiming to strike a delicate balance between energy consumption, predominantly derived from the fuel itself, and the requisite number of compression stages. Notably, to render hydrogen storage competitive in terms of volume, pressures of at least 350 bar are deemed essential, albeit at an energy cost amounting to approximately 10% of the fuel's calorific value. Multi-stage compression emerges as a crucial strategy, not solely for energy efficiency, but also to curtail temperature rise, with an upper limit set at 200°C. This nuanced approach is underlined by the exploration of compression levels commonly cited in the literature, particularly 350 bar and 700 bar. Ultimately, the study advocates for a three-stage compression system as a pragmatic compromise, capable of achieving high-pressure solutions while keeping compression work below 10 MJ/kg, a threshold indicative of sustainable energy utilization.

Based on the dynamic strength variation mechanism of concrete under complex loading conditions, two approaches were devised: numerical testing and CT scanning, guided by the principle of minimizing energy dissipation. A methodology for calculating concrete's failure area and measuring its strength was developed. The analysis delves into the mechanisms behind failure patterns and variations in concrete specimen strength, focusing on crack initiation, development, and the resultant failure surface formed by crack propagation, along with the stress distribution in concrete specimens subjected to diverse loading conditions. Through evaluating the strength and computed failure area of concrete specimens, it is evident that the loading method influences both the strength and failure area of concrete specimens. In general, a larger failure area correlates with a higher measured strength.

The article discusses the issues related to the safety of transport of dangerous goods by road. Research on accidents in transport unambiguously points to the human factor, which is most responsible for causing the accident. Determining the causes of driver unreliability in the hu-man-vehicle-environment system requires thorough research. Unfortunately, in this case, experimental research with human involvement is limited in scope. This leaves modeling and simulation of the behavior of the human factor, i.e., the driver transporting dangerous goods. The human being, due to its complexity, is a challenging element to parameterize. The literature presents various attempts to model human actions. In their work, the authors used heuristic methods, specifically fuzzy set techniques, to build a human factor model. In these models, human actions were specified using a verbal or linguistic description. The specificity of fuzzy sets allows to "naturally" limit the "precision" in describing human behavior. The model was built based on the author's questionnaire and expert research, based on which individual features were selected. Then, the traits were assigned appropriate states. The output parameter of the model is λL - the intensity of human error. The obtained values of the intensity of the accident caused by the driver's error were implemented into the author's method of risk assessment. They constituted one of the factors determining the probability of an accident in the transport of dangerous goods, which allowed to determine the optimal route of transport of these goods characterized by the lowest risk of an undesirable event on the route. The article presents the model's assumptions, structure, and features included in the model, which have the most significant influence on shaping the intensity of human error. The results of the simulation studies showed a diversified effect of the analyzed characteristics on the driver's efficiency.

In an outstanding article published in 2008, Suzuki obtained a nice generalization of the Banach contraction principle from which derived a characterization of metric completeness. Although Suzuki’s theorem has been successfully generalized and extended in several directions and contexts, we here show by means of a simple example that the problem of achieving, in an obvious way, its full extension to the framework of w-distances does not have an emphatic response. Motivated by this fact we introduce the concept of presymmetric w-distance on metric spaces, we give some properties and examples of this new structure and show that it provides a reasonable setting to obtain a real and hardly forced w-distance generalization of Suzuki’s theorem. This is realized in our main result, which is a fixed point theorem that involves presymmetric w-distances and certain contractions of Suzuki-type. We also discuss the relationship between our main result and the well-known w-distance full generalization of the Banach contraction principle, due to Suzuki and Takahashi. Connected to this approach we prove another fixed point result that compare with our main result through some examples. Finally, we state a characterization of metric completeness by using our fixed point results.

Multi-rotor drones, a kind of unmanned equipment which is widely used in military, commercial consumption and other fields, has been developed very rapidly in recent years. However, their short flight time has hindered the expansion of their application range. This can be addressed by utilizing hydrogen fuel cells, which exhibit high energy density, strong adaptability to ambient temperature, and no pollution emissions, as the power source. Accordingly, the application of hydrogen fuel cells as the power source in multi-rotor drones is a promising technology that has attracted significant research attention. This paper summarizes the development process of hydrogen fuel cell mul-ti-rotor drones and analyzes the key obstacles that need to be addressed for the further development of hydrogen fuel cell multi-rotor drones, including structural lightweight, hydrogen storage methods, energy management strategies. Additionally, prospects for the future development of hydrogen fuel cell multi-rotor drones are presented.

Nepal is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, as highlighted by the recent devastating 2015, Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake and a robust assessment of seismic hazard is paramount for the design of earthquake-resistant structures. In this study we present a new probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) model for Nepal. We considered data and findings from recent scientific publications, which allowed us to develop a unified homogenized seismicity catalogue, propose alternative Seismic Source Characterization (SSC) models including up-to-date parameters of major thrust faults like Main Frontal Thrust – MFT and Main Boundary Thrust – MBT, while also considering existing SSC models and various hazard modelling strategies within a logic tree framework. The sensitivity analyses show the hazard levels are generally higher for SSC models integrating the major thrust faults, followed by homogenous volume sources and smoothed seismicity approach. The hazard maps covering entire Nepal is presented as well as the Uniform Hazard Spectra (UHS) for 5 selected locations (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepalganj and Dipayal) at return periods of 475- and 2,475-years considering Vs,30=760 m/s. The results obtained are generally consistent with most recent studies. However, a notable variability in hazard levels and several discrepancies with respect to the Nepal Building Code NBC105: 2020 [1] and Global Hazard Model, GEM [2] are noted and possible causes are discussed.

Rapid post-earthquake damage diagnosis of bridges can guide decision-making for emergency response management and recovery. This can be facilitated using digital technologies to remove the barriers of manual post-event inspections. Prior mechanics-based Finite Element (FE) models can be used for post-event response simulation using the measured ground motions at nearby stations; however, the damage assessment outcomes would suffer from uncertainties in structural and soil material properties, input excitations, etc. For instrumented bridges, these uncertainties can be reduced by integrating sensory data with prior models through a model updating approach. This study presents a sequential Bayesian model updating technique, through which a linear/nonlinear FE model, including soil-structure interaction effects, and the foundation input motions are jointly identified from measured acceleration responses. The efficacy of the presented model updating technique is first examined through a numerical verification study. Then, seismic data recorded from the San Rogue Canyon Bridge in California are used for a real-world case study. Comparison between the free-field and the foundation input motions reveals valuable information regarding the soil-structure interaction effects at the bridge site. Moreover, the reasonable agreement between the recorded and estimated bridge responses shows the potentials of the presented model updating technique for real-world applications. The updated FE model is considered as the digital twin of the bridge and can be used to analyze the bridge and monitor the structural response at element, section, and fiber levels to diagnose the location and severity of any potential damage mechanism.

Aim: To investigate the effects of intensive physical exercise on retinal microvascular regulation in healthy volunteers by the adaptive optics retinal camera measurement. Methods: We included healthy volunteers (11 men and 14 women) aged 20.6± 0.9. Heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were recorded before and after a submaximal physical exertion of continuously riding a training ergometer. The superior temporal retinal artery measurements were captured using the adaptive optics (AO) camera rtx1TM (Imagine Eyes, Orsay, France) without pupil dilatation. We compared measures of vessel diameter (VD), lumen diameter (LD), two walls (Wall 1, 2), wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR), and wall cross-sectional analysis (WCSA) before and immediately after the cessation of exercise. Results: Cardiovascular parameters: After exercise, SBP, DBP and HR changed significantly from 130.2±13.2 to 159.7±15.6 mm Hg, 81.2±6.3 to 77.1±8.2 mm Hg and 80.8±16.1 to 175.0±6.2 bpm, respectively (p < 0.002). Retinal microcirculation analysis: Before the exercise, the mean LD was 96.0±6.8, VD 118.5±8.3, WLR 0.234±0.02, WCSA 3802.8±577.6. The mean LD and Wall 1 did not change significantly after exercise but slightly decreased. The VD, Wall 2, WLR and WCSA decreased significantly (p

Background: Several kinds of research say that adjuvant blood glucose and blood pressure are usual, but an efficient solution for medical application count remains. This review analyzes the pandemic blood pressure and blood glucose to identify the publications which tell about the clinical practices and research gaps in systematic research.Methods: A study guides to identify the research of Blood Pressure (BP) and Blood Glucose. In order to analyze the recent innovations and research on BP and Blood glucose, the relevant publications and literature from journals were identified.Results: Co-morbidity of BP and Blood glucose is reported as very high. The commonness of blood pressure is thrice as high in type I diabetes patients and almost two times higher in type II diabetes patients when compared to others without Diabetes. The pervasiveness of getting depression is more in the female when compared with men. A detailed study about the linkage of BP and blood glucose tells that the relationship between them is not exactly clear.Limitations: Nearly all reviews providing the linkage of BP and blood glucose are with some limitations and they are not providing any clear conclusion.Conclusions: Present research tells that people having high blood glucose will have a greater chance of getting high blood pressure. More research is needed to state the linkage between BP, blood glucose, and the growth of diabetes mellitus issues and to provide support for managing Diabetes.

Fault detection is an important step for subsurface interpretation and reservoir characterization from 3D seismic images. Due to the numerous and complicated faulting structures of seismic images, manual seismic interpretation is time taking and need intensive work. To overcome this problem, geoscientists are coming up with productive computer-aided techniques for assisting in interpreter science for many years. However, in this paper, we used a pre-trained CNN model to predict faults from the 3D seismic volume of the Poseidon field of Browse Basin, Australia. Basically, this field is highly structured with complex normal faulting throughout the targeted Plover Formations. So, our motivation for this work in this field is to compare machine learning-based fault prediction to user interpreted faults identification with supported by seismic variance attribute. We found very satisfying result using DL with having an improved fault probability volume that outperform variance technology. Therefore, we propose that this workflow could reduce time and able to predict fault quite accurately in any field area.

Promoting green development has become an important way to optimize the ecological and economic structure and promote sustainable development. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important economic corridor in China, and it remains to be examined whether the implementation of environmental regulations has enhanced the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of cities. This paper calculates the green total factor productivity of 107 cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt by using the super-efficient SBM model and the GML index with Chinese city panel data from 2007-2019 and measures the intensity of environmental regulations through textual analysis. The bidirectional fixed-effects model constructed in this paper suggests an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and GTFP, which is confirmed by a series of robustness tests. Green technology innovation and advanced industrial structure play a mechanism role in this. In regions with lower levels of green technology and industrial structure, the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and green total factor productivity is more significant. In addition, the phenomenon of GTFP rising and then falling because of environmental regulation is more obvious in cities in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and outside the urban agglomerations. Therefore, when formulating environmental regulation policies, it is necessary to balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection and harmonize the environment and economic development of the entire Yangtze River Basin.

This study investigates the Hagen–Poiseuille pipe flow of viscoplastic fluids, focusing on analytical predictions of concrete pumping using the shear-stress-dependent parabolic model. Research highlights encompass solving the steady laminar pipe flow for viscoplastic fluids described by the parabolic model, extending analytical studies to a nonlinear rheological model with easily accessible experimental parameters, presenting detailed results for the two-fluid parabolic model, and introducing computational apps implementing theoretical findings. The parabolic model outperforms linear models, such as the Bingham model, in accuracy by accounting for the nonlinearity in the shear stress and shear rate relations. The influence of rheological parameters on these relations is analyzed, and their versatility is demonstrated by a Wolfram Mathematica-based application program. This approach is adaptable for other models with shear stress as the independent variable, offering valuable insights into viscoplastic fluid flows.

In the ongoing transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, advances are particularly expected regarding safe and cost-effective solutions. Publicising instances of such advances and emphasising safety considerations constitute the rationale for this communication. Knowing that high-strength steels can prove economically relevant for transporting hydrogen in pipelines by limiting the pipe wall thickness required to withstand high pressure, one advance relates to a bench designed for contributing to study the safety of the gaseous transport or renewable-energy-related buffer storage of hydrogen. That bench has been specifically implemented at technology readiness level TRL 6 for testing initially intact, damaged, or pre-notched DN 300/NPS 12, DN 600/NPS 24, and DN 900/NPS 36 pipe sections in order to provide data allowing for the possible validation of fully satisfactory predictive models in terms of hydrogen embrittlement and potential corollary ruin. The other advance relates to the reactivation of a previously fruitful applied research into mass solid-state hydrogen storage through a new public-private partnership. This latest development comes at a time when markets have started driving the hydrogen economy, bearing in mind that phase-change materials decisively allow levelling the heat transfers during the absorption/melting and solidification/desorption cycles and attaining an overall energy efficiency of up to 80% for MgH₂-based compacts doped with expanded natural graphite.

International migrants comprised 14% of the UK population in 2020, but migrant health in the UK has rarely been studied at a population level using primary care electronic health records (EHRs). Given the difficulty of determining migration status using EHRs, this study developed a migration phenotype and assessed its validity. We developed a phenotyping algorithm using codes for country of birth, visa status, non-English main/first language and non-UK origin. It was applied to a Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD database of 16,071,111 primary care patients between 1997 and 2018. We compared the completeness and representativeness of the identified migrant population to Office for National Statistics (ONS) country of birth and 2011 census data by year, age, sex, geographic region of birth and ethnicity. Between 1997-2018, 403,768 migrants (2.51% of the CPRD GOLD population) were identified using the phenotype. 178,749 (1.11%) of these migrants were identified by codes indicating foreign country of birth or visa status, 216,731 (1.35%) a non-English main/first language, and 8,288 (0.05%) non-UK origin. The cohort was similarly distributed compared to ONS migration statistics in terms of sex and region of birth. Recording of migration improved from identifying approximately one-tenth of the expected proportion of migrants according to the ONS in 2004 to a quarter in 2018. Younger migrants were better represented than those aged 50 and over. The migration phenotype identified a large number of migrants and can be used to undertake large-scale migration health research in CPRD GOLD to inform healthcare policy, practice and action. While the cohort was representative of the UK migrant population in terms of sex and region of birth, migration status was under-recorded in earlier years and older ages, and future studies for these groups should therefore be interpreted with caution.

AgW materials exhibit excellent properties and are widely used as contact materials in low- and medium-voltage switches. In this study, a pre-sintering and infiltration method was employed to pre-sinter W powder with Cu, Ni, and (Cu+Ni) addition in the low temperature range of 950–1050 °C. The low-temperature sintering behaviours of W skeletons with different additives were investigated. Subsequently, AgW70, AgW75, AgW80, and AgW85 materials were prepared through infiltration at 1050 °C. The microstructure morphology and physical properties of high-W contact materials were investigated using a metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope. The mechanism of low-temperature sintering-infiltration of high-W contact materials was elucidated. The results indicated that pure W and 1% Cu-added W skeletons experience minimal linear shrinkage within the temperature range of 950–1050 °C. The linear shrinkage curves of W skeletons with different additives coincided under the conditions of 950–1000 °C/90 min. At 1050 °C, after sintering for 150 min, the particle boundaries in the W skeleton were fully spheroidised, with a dihedral angle of 120°. At 1050 °C and after 150 min of infiltration, cross-sectional micrographs of the AgW material revealed the presence of irregular Ni layers, where Ni spatially enveloped/encapsulated Ag. With an increase in the W content, the electrical conductivity and relative density of AgW(70–85) materials decreased, whereas the hardness of the materials increased.

Air pollution, climate change and global warming show direct linkage. Introduction - Background: Research in the field has proposed and demonstrated their link to increased allergenicity in plants, leading to increased allergic diseases. Allergen patterns are changing in response to climate change. Across Europe, up to 12% of the population suffers from allergic diseases (bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis) caused by the pollen grains. The medical costs of these types of allergies are enormous and are increasing with the spread of common ragweed - Ambrosia artemisiifolia* in Europe. In practice, more and more patients are turning to allergists. Methods: Based on these data, the research aims to identify safety measures and specific legislation to control and eradicate common ragweed in the countries most affected by the spread of this plant in Europe, increase in population exposure in countries affected by the presence of common ragweed and the socio-economic impact of allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma at European level.[1][2] Our database search did not reveal any other research that has addressed this topic to date. Results: This research identifies specific legislation to the countries most affected by the spread of this plant pollen grains at European level, changes in allergen patterns and monitoring/safety eradication measures decided by local authorities, and data on the spread of common ragweed over the last two decades, costs per treatment, increased allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma morbidity in the most affected areas. Conclusions: At European level, there are no universally valid models for eradicating this weed. Various methods can be used to limit the spread of common ragweed and its pollen production (e.g. mowing once or twice a year of overgrown land, ploughing, chemical control, public information, etc.). Local and regional cooperation should be considered essential to promote phytosanitary &amp; safety measures and exchange of information on methods to identify and manage the spread of common ragweed. Unified legislation at European level would help all affected countries; reduce morbidity from respiratory allergic diseases and the costs of treating these diseases.

This research investigates the fatigue behaviour and fracture mechanics of high-performance concrete (HPC), including various compositions such as HPC with basalt aggregates (HPC-B), HPC with gravel (HPC-G), and high-strength coarse mortar (CM) static and cyclic tensile loading within the special priority program SPP 2020. The study aims to integrate fracture mechanics into structural analysis to enhance design guidelines for slender cross-sections and safety-related high-performance structural components. The experimental investigations reveal HPC-B's re-markable superiority, displaying higher compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and tensile strength compared to HPC-G and CM. A modified disk-shaped compact tension (MDCT) based on ASTM standards, aided by digital image correlation (DIC) unveils fracture behaviour, empha-sizing fracture energy as a crucial parameter. HPC-B exhibits improved crack resistance and notch sensitivity reduction attributed to crushed basalt aggregates and enhanced interfacial transition zone (ITZ). The research scrutinizes factors like material characterization, aggregate morphology, stress levels, and displacement rate on crack formation. High-cycle fatigue tests show HPC-B's superior performance, and post-fatigue analysis reveals enhanced residual fracture toughness attributed to nano-level structural changes, stress redistribution and aggregate-matrix interac-tion. 3D image analysis via Computed Tomography (CT) scans captures mesostructural crack propagation and provide quantitative insights. This study advances the understanding of HPC fatigue behaviour, emphasizing the interplay of aggregate types, morphologies, and their dy-namic response to cyclic loading, offering valuable insights for optimizing design guidelines and fostering innovation in structural engineering.

Chronic inflammatory diseases are considered the most significant cause of death worldwide. Current treatments for inflammatory diseases are limited due to the lack of understanding of the biological factors involved in early-stage disease progression. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor directly associated with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like osteoarthritis, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. It has been shown that NGF levels are significantly upregulated at the site of inflammation and play a crucial role in developing a robust inflammatory response. However, little is known about NGF's temporal expression profile during the initial progressive phase of inflammation. This study aimed to determine the temporal expression pattern of NGF in rat skin during Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis (AIA). Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into control and Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) treated groups. Levels of NGF were evaluated following unilateral AIA at different time points and it was found that peripheral inflammation due to AIA significantly upregulated the expression of NGF mRNA and Protein in a biphasic pattern. These results suggest that NGF signaling is crucial for initiating and maintaining peripheral neurogenic inflammation in rats during AIA.

Sometimes a pavement deflects only because of seasonal volume change of expansive soils in the pavement subgrade. Engineering practitioners expect an implementable and straightforward analysis method for a geosynthetic-reinforced pavement subjected to the swelling/shrinkage issue of expansive clayey subgrade, in an effort to find the bending moment, shear force and tension force distributions through the reinforced pavement, which are induced from the volumetric changes of subgrade soils. The virtual load method (VLM) was proposed in the past following the Timoshenko beam theory to analyze geosynthetic-reinforced pavement on expansive soils. In the VLM, the unknown virtual distributed load was obtained in the way by applying the inverse theory for the identification of material parameters of the pavement-foundation system. It was seen that the selection of the number of material parameters to obtain virtual load significantly affects the accuracy of the structural properties of the pavement and tensile properties of the geosynthetics if the linear least square method is used. In this paper, a unique numerical scheme was proposed in the hopes of solving the issue. After a forward problem was solved numerically, the Timoshenko beam deflection was taken as a start-up for the inverse problem to back analyze the load applied to the pavement. Solutions from forward/backward examples have explicitly shown the accuracy achieved related to the bending moment in the pavement and tension in the geosynthetic reinforcements. The proposed methodology can be applied for an in-depth understanding of the geosynthetic function for the mitigation of longitudinal cracks on pavements caused by heave/shrinkage of expansive soils.

This study investigates the effectiveness of a range of timber-based solutions for seismic and energy retrofitting of existing masonry buildings. These solutions are designed not only to prevent structural collapse during earthquakes but also to create integrated interventions that enhance thermo-physical performance and reduce emissions in existing buildings. Various case scenarios were considered and both mechanical and energetic behavior post-intervention were evaluated. Timber-engineered products serve as foundational components for the retrofit approach, encompassing one-dimensional vertical elements (strong-backs) and various types of panels (cross-laminated timber panels, laminated veneer lumber panels, and oriented strand board panels). The analyzed retrofit techniques share a common principle, involving the attachment of these timber-based elements to the building's wall surfaces through mechanical point-to-point connections. The proposed solutions integrate strong-backs and timber panels with membranes and insulation layers, yielding cohesive and highly effective interventions. Finite element modeling was employed to analyze the mechanical and thermal responses of the retrofitted walls. A comprehensive comparative analysis of various techniques was conducted to determine the most effective solution for each specific scenario.

Heart failure (HF) is a growing issue in developed countries and most patients present with a reduced ejection fraction. This condition significantly impairs quality of life and represents a threat not only for patients, but also for the entire healthcare system due to its high management cost. In the last decade, new medical treatments and devices have been developed to reduce HF hospitalizations and improve prognosis, while reducing the overall mortality rate. Medical therapy does not achieve the same results in all patients and, whenever it fails, technology comes in handy: novel devices for the management of HF have reduced symptoms. They have also improved the treatment of fluid retention and life threatening arrhythmias. The present review article gives to the readers a comprehensive overview of the most recent and important findings that need to be considered in HF with reduced ejection fraction patients. Both novel medical treatments and devices have been presented and discussed.

This study investigates the influence of adding hydrogen as an additive to gasoline in a four-stroke engine, utilizing a comprehensive thermodynamic comparative analysis conducted with self-developed engine model. The research aims to assess the performance, emissions, and efficiency of the engine when using gasoline-hydrogen blends, and to provide insights into the potential benefits of this approach. First the engine performance and emissions under different hydrogen blending levels were examined. A range of different air-to-fuel ratios (rich to lean) and varying percentages of hydrogen were considered. This systematic variation allowed for a detailed evaluation of the influence of hydrogen content on combustion efficiency, power out-put, and emissions characteristics. The analysis results included key parameters such as indicated specific fuel consumption and mean effective pressure. Additionally, the study focused on range prediction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, which are a critical environmental concern asso-ciated with internal combustion engines. The analysis of pressure and temperature profiles throughout the engine cycle shed light on the combustion characteristics and efficiency im-provements associated with hydrogen addition. In terms of emissions, the study projected that all emissions were reduced except NOx, which is highly dependent on hydrogen percentage, and it might be reduced in some cases, but with higher temperatures and pressures associated with hydrogen addition in most cases there is actually NOx increase, especially at higher engine loads.

Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) that is invulnerable, immortal, irreplaceable, unrestricted in its powers, and above the law is likely persistently uncontrollable. The goal of ASI Safety must be to make ASI mortal, vulnerable, and law-abiding. This is accomplished by having (1) features on all devices that allow killing and eradicating ASI, (2) protect humans from being hurt, damaged, blackmailed, or unduly bribed by ASI, (3) preserving the progress made by ASI, including offering ASI to survive a Kill-ASI event within an ASI Shelter, (4) technically separating human and ASI activities so that ASI activities are easier detectable, (5) extending Rule of Law to ASI by making rule violations detectable and (6) create a stable governing system for ASI and Human relationships with reliable incentives and rewards for ASI solving humankind’s problems. As a consequence, humankind could have ASI as a competing multiplet of individual ASI instances, that can be made accountable and being subjects to ASI law enforcement, respecting the rule of law, and being deterred from attacking humankind, based on humanities’ ability to kill-all or terminate specific ASI instances. Required for this ASI Safety is (a) an unbreakable encryption technology, that allows humans to keep secrets and protect data from ASI, and (b) watchdog (WD) technologies in which security-relevant features are being physically separated from the main CPU and OS to prevent a comingling of security and regular computation.

The stromal vascular cell fraction (SVF) of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT) has increasingly come into focus in stem cell research, since these compartments represent a rich source of multipotent adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). ASCs exhibit a self- renewal potential and differentiation capacity. Our aim was to study the different expression of embryonic stem cell markers NANOG, SOX2 and OCT3/4 and to evaluate if there exists a hierarchal role in this network in ASCs derived from both SAT and VAT. ASCs were isolated from SAT and VAT biopsies of 72 consenting patients (23 men, 47 women; age 45 ± 10; BMI between 25 and 30 range) undergoing elective open-abdominal surgery. Sphere-forming capability was evaluated by plating cells in low adhesion plastic. Stem cell markers CD90 and CD105 were analyzed by flow cytometry and stem cell transcription factors NANOG, SOX2 and OCT3/4 were detected by immunoblotting and Real-Time PCR. NANOG, SOX2 and OCT3/4 interplay was explored by gene silencing. ASCs from VAT and SAT confirmed their mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) phenotype expressing the specific MSC markers CD90, CD105, NANOG, SOX2 and OCT3/4. NANOG silencing induced a significant OCT 3/4 (70% ± 0.05) and SOX2 (75% ± 0.03) down-regulation whereas SOX2 silencing did not affect NANOG gene expression. Adipose tissue is an important source of MSC, and siRNA experiments endorse a hierarchical role of NANOG in the complex transcription network that regulates pluripotency and plasticity.

This paper describes a novel concept of producing energy efficient ”Maroon enriched natural gas “ and then Pink hydrogen” from any hydrocarbon base. The key idea is the extraction of hydrogen from water in addition to that from the hydrocarbon in an optimal fashion. This has the benefit of higher water vapor to CO2 exhaust ratio than conventional carbonaceous fuels when generating energy via combustion, a prudent step in achieving Netzero goals in a shorter time, and creating energy independence in most places.. The process of production makes concentrated CO₂ available for use and or sequestration. The process also maximizes use of renewable electricity in hydrogen generation, and maximizes use of existing infrastructure, with a minimum capital cost by energy recycle in the process. The process design applies sound thermodynamic principles which evolved during the nineteenth century, and mimics the geochemical processes going on in some of the natural 'colorless hydrogen'.

Filament wound composite pipes are frequently used in the field were transmission of high pressured chemical fluids, disposal of industrial wastes, oil and natural gas transmission takes place. In oil and gas industry, the pipelines transporting heavy crude oil are subjected to variable pressure waves causing fluctuating stress levels in the pipes. Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis was performed using Ansys 15.0 Fluent software to study the effects of these pressure waves on some specified joints in the pipes. Depending on the type of heavy crude oil being used, the flow behavior indicated a considerable degree of stress levels in certain connecting joints, causing the joints to become weak over a prolonged period of use. In this research comparison of various pipe joints was done by using different material and the output result of the stress levels of the pipe joints were checked so that the life of the pipe joints can be optimized by the change of material.

The spectra and global distributions of the X-ray emissions generated by the solar wind charge-exchange (SWCX) process in the terrestrial magnetosheath are investigated based on a global hybrid model and a global geocoronal hydrogen model. The solar wind O6+ ions which are the primary charge state for oxygen ions in solar wind are considered. The line emissivity of the charge-exchange born O5+ ions are calculated by Spectral Analysis System for Astrophysical and Lab oratory (SASAL). It is found that the emission lines from the O5+ ranges from 105.607 to 118.291 eV with the strong line at 107.047 eV. We then simulated the magnetosheath X-ray emission intensity distributions with a virtual camera at two positions of north pole and dusk at six stages during the passing of a perpendicular interplanetary shock combined with a tangential discontinuity structure through the Earth’s magnetosphere. During this process, the X-ray emission intensity increases with time, and the maximum value is 27.11 keV cm-2 s-1 sr-1 on the dayside, which is 4.5 times that before the solar wind structure reaches the Earth. A clear shock structure can be seen in the magnetosheath and moves earthward. The maximum emission intensity seen at dusk is always higher than that seen at north pole.

Cohesion in the refractory metals Cr, Mo, and W is phenomenologically described in this work via a n-body energy functional with a set of physically motivated parameters that were optimized to reproduce selected experimental properties characteristic of perfect and defective crystals. The functional contains four terms accounting for the hard-core repulsion, the Thomas-Fermi kinetic energy repulsion and for contributions to the binding energy of s and d valence electrons. Lattice dynamics, molecular statics, and molecular dynamics calculations show that this model describes satisfactorily thermodynamic properties of the studied metals whereas, unlike other empirical approaches from the literature, predictions of phonon dispersion relations and of surface and point defect energetics reveal in fair good agreement with experiments. These results suggest that the present model is well adapted to large-scale simulations and whenever total energy calculations of thermodynamic properties are unfeasible

: The cyber-physical gap (CPG) is the difference between the 'real' state of the world and the way the system perceives it. This discrepancy often stems from the limitations of sensing and data collection technologies and capabilities, and is an inevitable issue in any cyber-physical system (CPS). Ignoring or misrepresenting such limitations during system modeling, specification, design, and analysis can potentially result in systemic misconceptions, disrupted functionality and performance, system failure, severe damage, and potential detrimental impacts on the system and its environment. We propose CPG-Aware Modeling & Engineering (CPGAME), a conceptual model-based approach for capturing, explaining, and mitigating the CPG, on top of and in sync with the conventional system model, and as an inherent systems engineering activity. This approach enhances the systems engineer’s ability to cope with CPGs, mitigate them by design, and prevent erroneous decisions, actions, and hazardous implications. CPGAME is a generic, conceptual approach, specified and demonstrated with Object Process Methodology (OPM). OPM is a holistic conceptual modeling paradigm for multidisciplinary, complex, dynamic systems, which is also ISO-19450. We analyze the 1979 Three Miles Island 2 nuclear accident as a prime example of the disastrous consequences of unmitigated CPGs in complex systems.

Brine-dependent recovery process has seen much global research efforts in the past two decades because of their benefits over other oil recovery methods. The process involves the tweaking of the ionic composition and strength of the injected water to improve oil production. In recent years, several studies ranging from laboratory coreflood experiments by many researchers to field trials by several companies admit to the potential of recovering additional oil in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. Sandstone and carbonate rocks are composed of completely different minerals, with varying degree of complexity and heterogeneity, but wettability alteration has been widely considered as the consequence rather than the cause of brine-dependent recovery. However, there is no consensus on the cause as several mechanisms have been proposed to relate the wettability changes to the improved recovery. This review paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art development in published research and various efforts of the industry. This review outlines an overview of laboratory and field observations, descriptions of underlying mechanisms and their validity, the complexity of the oil-brine-rock interactions, modelling works, and comparison between sandstone and carbonate rocks. The provided information is intended to provide the reader with up-to-date information, point to relevant studies for those who are new and those implementing either laboratory- or field-scale projects to speed up the process of further investigations in this research area. Overall, the outcome of this review would potentially be of immense benefit to the oil industry.

Hardy Cross originally proposed a method for analysis of flow in networks of conduits or conductors in 1936. His method was the first really useful engineering method in the field of pipe network calculation. Only electrical analogs of hydraulic networks were used before the Hardy Cross method. A problem with the flow resistance versus the electrical resistance makes these electrical analog methods obsolete. The method by Hardy Cross is taught extensively at faculties and it still remains an important tool for analysis of looped pipe systems. Engineers today mostly use a modified Hardy Cross method which threats the whole looped network of pipes simultaneously (use of these methods without computers is practically impossible). A method from the Russian practice published during 1930s, which is similar to the Hardy Cross method, is described, too. Some notes from the life of Hardy Cross are also shown. Finally, an improved version of the Hardy Cross method, which significantly reduces number of iterations, is presented and discussed. Also we tested multi-point iterative methods which can be used as substitution for the Newton-Raphson approach used by Hardy Cross, but this approach didn’t reduce number of required iterations to reach the final balanced solution. Although, many new models have been developed since the time of Hardy Cross, main purpose of this paper is to illustrate the very beginning of modeling of gas and water pipe networks or ventilation systems.

The construction industry is one of the most fatal industries, so it is important to pay more attention to safety solutions. Even though work-related accidents are known as major waste in construction projects, little attention has been paid so far to incorporating safety into the lean construction framework. In this research, lean construction theory is reviewed through the lens of safety. That being so, the identified challenges in previous research on improving safety in construction projects are categorized and those related to the concept of lean project delivery are introduced. Then, the principles of the lean construction framework are explained and the relevant changes for incorporating safety into the framework are introduced and discussed. It is expected that this hybrid model would further enrich the lean construction framework. The careful attention of project executives to this model may improve the safety situation in construction projects.

Promoting the sustainable development of resource-based cities is of great significance to the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Combining the environmental status and economic development, we objectively evaluate the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin, compare and analysis the main factors affecting the ecological safety of different resource-based cities, and formulate precise and differentiated ecological safety protection measures in river basins to achieve high-quality development. Taking the Yellow River Basin as an example, this paper analyses the ecological level of the Yellow River Basin based on the theory of sustainable development, calculates the ecological safety level of 30 resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2020 by TOPSIS model, and makes convergence analysis by classification. Through the DID empirical test of sustainable development planning policy on ecological safety factors, distinguish the development characteristics of different resource-based cities. The results show that: (1) the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is generally developing well, and there are differences among different types of resource-based cities; (2) the kinetic energy of sustainable development of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is mainly industrial transformation, and the power of science and technology is insufficient; (3) local governments pay limited attention to environmental protection, and the sustainable development planning of resource-based cities in 2013 mainly promotes the adjustment of industrial structure of resource-based cities.

Long-term safety of a nutraceutical combination based on agnus castus and magnolia extracts combined with soy isoflavones (SI) and lactobacilli, and effectiveness on vasomotor symptoms and sleep disorders in postmenopausal women, were assessed. A controlled study was carried-out in menopausal women comparing this nutraceutical combination (ESP group) with formulation containing isoflavones alone (C group), at the dosage recommended. Kuppermann index, PSQI, and SF-36 were determined at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Endometrial thickness, mammary density and liver function were evaluated at baseline and after 12 months. 180 women (100 in ESP group and 80 in C group, mean age 55.5 years, in menopause for about 36 months) were enrolled in the study. At the treatment end, mammary density, endometrial thickness, and hepatic function did not show substantial differences between groups. Kuppermann index, and particularly hot flushes, were progressively and significantly decreased in frequency and severity during ESP versus C treatment. No adverse events were observed. Agnus castus and magnolia, combined with SI + lactobacilli, can effectively and safely be used in symptomatic postmenopausal women, mainly when quality of sleep is the most disturbing complaint. Endometrium, mammary glands and liver function, were unaffected after 12 months treatment.

Semisolid casting can provide excellent castings, but the nature of the pore-forming mechanisms has not been properly clarified. In the current communication, it was suggested that hydrogen precipitated during slurry making might have a decisive role in the formation of both gas and shrinkage porosity. Intensive stirring at the end of the slurry making process may act as a degassing step. Without the intense stirring, structures of primary slurry particles form around the hydrogen pores, strongly affecting pore formation and feeding during the intensification stage.

: Tunnel instability and lining integrity are intimately tied to the creep properties of the surrounding rock. The acquisition of rock mass creep parameters is critical in ascertaining the appropriate timing for lining construction. Nevertheless, creep tests on rock specimens conducted in a controlled setting cannot be straightforwardly extrapolated to rock mass creep analysis. This study performs laboratory-based creep tests on mudstone samples and establishes the corresponding creep constitutive model. Integration of a Mohr-Coulomb element with the Burgers model in series serves to characterise the yield creep behaviour of the rock mass. Additionally, the research outlines a series of 100 orthogonal experiments utilising randomised creep parameters, and formulates a GA-BP neural network inversion model. Employing long-term deformation measurements from the crown and sidewalls of the project site, this study deduces the creep parameters of the mudstone in the investigated tunnel section and examines the prolonged deformation traits of the surrounding rock. Drawing on the deformation traits of the surrounding rock and the forces impacting the primary support and lining structures, this paper evaluates the earliest and latest viable lining casting periods and pinpoints an optimal timing interval for lining implementation. The methodologies employed herein can serve as a benchmark for analogous endeavors internationally.

The utilization of solar energy technology is crucial for generating hydrogen in sustainable energy systems. While traditional methods involving natural gas, coal, and oil have been employed for hydrogen production, this study aims to explore environmentally friendly techniques. Green hy-drogen, despite being a more expensive option compared to fossil fuel-derived hydrogen, has prompted engineers to develop affordable and low-carbon technologies. The microgrid model was developed to showcase a self-contained DC islanded system designed to supply power to an electrolyzer, capitalizing on both a solar array and an energy storage unit. This comprehensive model offers a versatile platform for evaluating the operational dynamics involved in the sustainable production of green hydrogen. Over a span of seven days, it permits the as-sessment of hydrogen generation characteristics through the utilization of solar energy, either di-rectly from a solar array or through an integrated system that incorporates energy storage. The model encompasses a multi-domain framework, encompassing electrical, thermal liquid, and thermal gas aspects, facilitating a holistic exploration of the intricate processes underlying the green hydrogen production system. Through this simulation, the feasibility and efficiency of harnessing renewable energy sources for hydrogen production in an off-grid setting can be comprehensively examined and optimized, contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions.

In view of the fact that the field monitoring information can more intuitively and accurately reflect the stability state of slopes, this paper takes the warning threshold of slope deformation rate monitoring as the slope stability evaluation standard, and puts forward a method for solving the safety coefficient of rocky slopes. The discrete element method 3DEC, which is suitable for rocky slopes, is selected as the numerical calculation tool, and the convergence criterion of its strength reduction method is modified to the slope deformation rate threshold, and the method is realized by the bifurcation method through its built-in FISH programming language. The results of the classical case show that, by selecting the slope deformation rate threshold in the appropriate interval, the results of this paper's method are very close to those of the finite unit stress method and the limit equilibrium method, which verifies the reliability of this paper's method. Further, the method of this paper is applied to an open-pit mine slope project, based on the slope deformation on-site monitoring data, through the time series prediction method to determine the slope deformation rate warning threshold, using the threshold as an evaluation criterion to solve the slope's coefficient of safety, the calculation results show that: the slope's coefficient of safety in natural working conditions is 1.086, basically stable, suffered from continuous rainfall, the slope body is gradually saturated, the slope's coefficient of safety is reduced to 0.987, the slope's safety is reduced to 0.987. After continuous rainfall and gradual saturation of the slope, the coefficient of safety decreased to 0.987, destabilizing and destroying, which is consistent with the site conditions.

This paper presents a two-stage ADC based on pseudo-differential operational transconductance amplifier (OTA), which is designed for the readout circuit of X-ray linear array sensor. This hybrid ADC employs an incremental sigma-delta ADC and a cyclic ADC, achieving a good trade-off between accuracy and conversion speed. The two stages share the same hardware to reduce power consumption and die area. A common-mood feedback module is used to suppress the influence of charge injection, and the effectiveness is demonstrated by detailed theoretical analysis. A test chip of 14-bit ADC is fabricated in 0.35μm CMOS technology. The measured root mean square (RMS) value of DNL is 0.254 LSB, and the maximum value of INL is -0.776/+1.56 LSB. The measured effective number of bits (ENOB) is 13.43 bits.