With the rapid development of wind power generations, the inertial response of wind turbines (WTs) are widely concerned recently, which is important for grid frequency dynamic and stability. This paper recognizes and understands the inertial response of type-3 and type-4 WTs from the view of equivalent internal voltage, in analogy with typical synchronous generators (SGs). Due to the dynamic of the equivalent inertial voltage different from SGs, the electromechanical inertia of WTs is completely hidden. The rapid power control loop and synchronization control loop is the main reasons that the WT's inertial response is disenabled. On the basis of the equivalent internal voltage's dynamic, the existing inertia control method for WTs are reviewed and summarized as three approaches from the view of WT's control, i.e. optimizing the power control or synchronization control or both. At last, the main challenges and issues of these inertia controls are attempted to explain and address.

Background/Objectives: PEMF therapy has gained significant attention due to its potential benefits in promoting tissue repair and improving overall well-being. Recent publications in the field of exercise physiology, showed that pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) enhanced the velocity and the quantity of muscle O2 available and the rate of muscle oxygen extraction and utilization, in semi-professional cyclists, during a heavy constant-load exercise. In this paper, we investigate the effect of stimulation on muscular activation, in sedentary young people, during a constant-load exercise, performed at moderate intensity. Methods: Nine male sedentary young people, partic-ipated in this study. The response of the muscle activity, was recorded by surface EMG and assessed measuring the root mean square (RMS) normalized to the peak of the maximum voluntary con-traction. Data were collected in the right vastus Medialis (RVM) and right Biceps Femoris (RBF) at the baseline (standstill sitting), on warm-up (unloaded cycling) and during 30 minutes of con-stant-load exercise, in two experimental conditions (PEMF ON vs PEMF OFF). Results: The mul-tivariate analysis of variance performed on RVM showed a significant effect of PEMF in both warmup and exercise, while on RBF showed a significant effect of PEMF and warmup. Conclusions: PEMF strongly enhanced the amplitude of muscle activity in young sedentary people. The increase in the amplitude of the muscular response may lead to a higher oxygen consumption and release.

For the first time, the effect of a significant change in the resistance of the aquatic environment of a population of protozoan microorganisms under the influence of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation from cell phones has been experimentally studied. The results of the experiment demonstrate the biological nature of the changes occurring in the “water population of protozoa” system, which indicates that the impact of radiation directly affects the cell. This conclusion is confirmed by the same order of magnitude time of information exchange between individual individuals of the population in the calculation and in the experiment. An extremely low concentration of protozoa in the experiment was established, equal to 1000 pcs./liter, at which the indicated effect is observed.An unambiguous dependence of the biological effect in the “water – amoeba population” system on the average power of electromagnetic radiation of cell phones, both in standby mode and in talk mode, has been established. It is concluded that the presented method of changing the physical properties of the aquatic environment of a population of protozoa under the influence of electromagnetic fields can be a model experiment in identifying the mechanisms of interaction of biological systems with electromagnetic radiation, determining the response time of biological systems to external electromagnetic influence, and establishing the degree of influence of radiation in the 4G, 5G ranges.

: Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are generally treated with second-generation antipsychotic drugs. These drugs are mostly D2 and 5-HT2A antagonists. They improve positive schizophrenia symptoms sufficiently well; however, they ameliorate negative schizophrenia symptoms and cognitive functions to a small extent. We review novel antipsychotic drugs exerting a partial agonism at dopaminergic and serotonergic receptors such as cariprazine, brexipiprazole and lumateperone. Besides, the mechanisms of actions of non-anti-dopaminergic antipsychotic drugs are pointed out. Updated neural networks are used to explain the mechanism of action of M4 and M1 receptor agonists, for example xanomeline combined with trospium or emraclidine, and trace-amine-associated receptor 1 agonists (TAAR1), for example ulataront. Phase 3 clinical trials of new third generation antipsychotic drugs are presented. Novel antipsychotic drugs with a partial agonism at D2 and D3 receptors improve positive and negative schizophrenia symptoms as well as cognitive symptoms better than second generation antipsychotic drugs. Besides, they are well tolerated. M4 and M1 receptor agonists, i.e. xanomeline combined with trospium or emraclidine, and TAAR1 agonists, i.e. ulataront, have promising results in clinical trials; they well improve negative schizophrenia symptoms and cognitive functions. Phase 3 clinical trials offer promising results for anti-dopaminergic and non-anti-dopaminergic novel antipsychotic drugs. These new non-anti-dopaminergic antipsychotic drugs better emend negative schizophrenia symptoms, and they better improve cognitive functions than second-generation antipsychotic drugs. Promising new antipsychotic drugs are cariprazine, brexipiprazole, lumateperone, ulataront, and xanomeline combined with trospium. Although phase 3 clinical studies are not yet completed, they showed a therapeutic effect superior to those achieved by second-generation antipsychotic drugs. They are tolerated very well, and they better treat negative schizophrenia symptoms and improve cognitive functions.

The rational design of magnetic carbon composites, encompassing both composition and microstructure, holds significant potential for achieving exceptional electromagnetic wave absorbing materials (EAMs). In this study, FeCo@CM composites was efficiently fabricated through an advanced microwave plasma assisted reduction chemical vapor deposition (MPARCVD) technique, offering high efficiency, low cost, and energy-saving benefits. By depositing graphitized carbon microspheres, the dielectric properties were significantly enhanced, resulting in improved electromagnetic wave absorption performances through optimized impedance matching and a synergistic effect with magnetic loss. A systematic investigation revealed that the laminar-stacked structure of FeCo exhibited superior properties compared to its spherical counterpart, supplying a higher number of exposed edges and enhanced catalytic activity, which facilitated the deposition of uniform and low-defect graphitized carbon microspheres. Consequently, the dielectric loss performance of the FeCo@CM composites was dramatically improved due to increased electrical conductivity and the formation of abundant heterogeneous interfaces. At a 40 wt% filling amount and a frequency of 7.84 GHz, the FeCo@CM composites achieved a minimum reflection loss value of -58.2 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth (fE) of 5.13 GHz. This study presents an effective strategy for developing high-performance EAMs.

This paper presents a study to accurately evaluate defects in reinforced concrete decks using ultrasonic pulse-echo signals. Two validation specimens were designed and tested where reinforced concrete deck slab specimens included planned voids and defects. A commercial Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo (UPE) device obtains 2-D images of the void/defect locations of the reinforced concrete deck. The UPE is based on the ultrasonic shear-wave test method using dry-point-contact transmitting and receiving transducers and employing a synthetic aperture focusing technique. The authors analyzed the recorded UPE A-scan data to enhance the accuracy of estimating the defects' locations using the synthetic aperture focusing technique imaging method. The analysis benefitted from an advanced denoising approach and defect echo peak extraction based on empirical modal decomposition, Hurst exponent characterization, and Hilbert envelope estimation. While output from conventional UPC devices can only provide qualitative results, the new method provides quantitative information on the anomalies inside the reinforced concrete deck. The developed approach accurately assists with assessing the location and depth of the voids/defects in the reinforced concrete deck slabs.

This paper is aimed at studying the temporal evolution of the surface displacements occurred over the past few years in the ocean-reclaimed platforms of the Shanghai megacity (China), which are mainly ascribable to consolidation processes of large dredger fills and alluvial deposits. With respect to previous analyses carried out over the same area, this work provides a joint multi-platform differential interferometry synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) analysis, based on the application of the advanced Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm. This led us to retrieve long-term deformation time-series that are helpful for a better understanding of the on-going deformation phenomena. To this aim, we have exploited two sequences of SAR data collected by the ASAR/ENVISAT and by the COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) sensors, respectively, spanning the whole time period from 2007 to 2016. Unfortunately, the large time gap (of about three years) existing between the available ASAR/ENVISAT and CSK datasets gave rise to additional difficulties for their combination. Nevertheless, this problem has been faced by benefiting from the knowledge of a time-dependent model describing the temporal evolution of the expected deformations affecting the Shanghai ocean-reclaimed platforms.

Based upon Maxwell's equations, it has long been established that oscillating electromagnetic (EM) fields incident upon a metal surface decay exponentially inside the conductor, leading to a virtual EM vacuum at sufficient depths. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilizes radiofrequency (r.f.) EM fields to produce images. Here we present the first visualization of a virtual EM vacuum inside a bulk metal strip by MRI, amongst several novel findings. We uncover unexpected MRI intensity patterns arising from two orthogonal pairs of faces of a metal strip, and derive formulae for their intensity ratios, revealing differing effective elemental volumes (voxels) underneath these faces. Further, we furnish chemical shift imaging (CSI) results that discriminate different faces (surfaces) of a metal block according to their distinct nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts, which holds much promise for monitoring surface chemical reactions noninvasively. Bulk metals are ubiquitous, and MRI is a premier noninvasive diagnostic tool. Combining the two, the emerging field of bulk metal MRI can be expected to grow in importance. The fundamental nature of results presented here may impact bulk metal MRI and CSI across many fields.

Observed sea surface Ka-band normalized radar backscatter cross section (NRCS) and Doppler velocity (DV) exhibit energy at low frequencies (LF) below the surface wave range. It is shown that non-linearity in NRCS-wave slope Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and inherent NRCS averaging within the footprint account for the NRCS and DV LF variance with the exception of VV NRCS for which almost half of the LF variance is attributable to wind fluctuations. Although the distribution of radar DV is quasi-Gaussian suggesting virtually little impact of non-linearity, the LF DV variations arise due to footprint averaging of correlated local DV and non-linear NRCS. Numerical simulations demonstrate that MTF non-linearity weakly affects traditional linear MTF estimate (less than 10% for |MTF|< 20). Thus the linear MTF is a good approximation to evaluate the DV averaged over large footprints typical of satellite observations.

The work aims to develop an electromagnetic shielding measurement methodology and design an electromagnetic shielding effectiveness test setup for thin sheet material testing. In brief, multiple shielding effectiveness standards are described and analyzed in the thin sheet material testing framework. Two types of the developed shielding effectiveness test probe in high and low-frequency ranges are validated comprehensively. Extensive descriptions and data of developed testing methodology are also reported.

Approximately 20% of the world's population resides in coastal areas at risk of rising sea levels due to climate change. This could lead to severe weather events and ecological impact on critical infrastructure. To combat the effects of water-based environmental forces on the land, hard engineering methods such as seawalls have been utilized. However, a more sustainable solution is emerging in nature-based engineering, which involves growing vegetation. This approach can help extend the lifespan of existing technology and provide climate change adaptation and resilience for coastal and riverine communities. The following paper will review seaweed farms as an advanced nature-based mitigation approach. The paper also outlines the findings of experiments at RWTH Aachen University's hydraulic laboratory. These tests involved using seaweed as a natural solution to dampen waves in a model system to test a hypothesis. One result involving a system with two lines of seaweed revealed 15 percent wave damping. Using seaweed as a nature-based solution, a gentle engineering approach to designing future vegetated protection systems can extend the design life of existing coastal infrastructure. This can also provide protection against climate-induced sea level rise, promote coastal risk mitigation, restore ecosystems, and foster blue bio-economic development.

As the major greenhouse gas, CO2 gas emission has been noticeably increased over the past decades resulting in global warming and climate change. As a result, it is imperative to reduce the excess CO2 in the atmosphere to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C (ideally 1.5°C) above pre-industrial levels set by the Paris Agreement on climate change. Among many ways, CO2 capture technology is considered as the most promising technology among the available technologies. Porous materials such as carbons, silica, zeolites, hollow fibers, and alumina are widely used as CO2 sorbents. However, among the available porous sloid sorbents, porous silica-based materials grabbed a significant attention due to their unique properties including high surface area, pore volume, good thermal and mechanical stability, and low cost. Therefore, development of porous silica materials as a promising CO2 absorbent is a continuously expanding research area in the current moment. Herein, we aim to visualize a full picture of the porous silica-based materials for CO2 capture. This review presents a comprehensive study of existing CO2 capture techniques and highlights the recent progress of different porous silica materials and synthesis processes. CO2 adsorption capacities of unmodified porous silica materials are less effective as compared with functionalized silica materials. Various research activities have been reported about functionalization of pours silica using amine groups. Therefore, in this review, different synthesis routes of amine-functionalized porous silica materials, CO2 adsorption capacities, gas selectivity and reusability were discussed. Moreover, the research challenges associated with the porous silica materials and future research directions are summarized.

In this paper, the concept of absolute airspace is further elaborated, and the time transform effect, the frequency transform relation of clock timing, and the principle of Doppler effect of special relativistic light are analyzed and demonstrated. Based on the concept of absolute airspace, a new and accurate Doppler effect relation of light (electromagnetic wave) is proposed. It is proved that there is a synchronous relationship between the time shift effect and the frequency change of the timing inside the clock. When the light (electromagnetic wave) source is in motion, the Doppler effect includes two physical mechanisms: the frequency change caused by time transformation effect and the frequency change caused by relative motion. When the light source is in motion, the Doppler effect of the light there are some differences in different directions due to the rotation of the earth. The relation of Doppler effect of special relativistic light is only a highly approximate relation, and its theoretical basis, special relativity, is flawed in principle.

A novel nano-laminated GdB2C2 material was successfully synthesized using GdH2, B4C, and C via an in-situ solid state reaction approach for the first time. The formation mechanism of GdB2C2 was revealed based on the microstructure and phase evolution investigation. A purity of 96.4 wt. % GdB2C2 was obtained at a low temperature of 1500 ℃, while a near full pure GdB2C2 can be obtained at a temperature over 1700 ℃. The as-obtained GdB2C2 presented excellent thermal stability at high temperature of 2100 ℃ in Ar atmosphere due to the stable frame work formed by the high covalent four-members and eight-members B-C rings in GdB2C2. The minimum reflection loss value (RLmin) of -47.01 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 1.76 GHz at a thickness of 3.44 mm was obtained for the GdB2C2 synthesized at 1500 ℃. The possible EMWA mechanism could be ascribed to the nano-laminated structure and appropriate electrical conductivity, which facilitated to the good impedance matching, remarkable conduction loss, interfacial polarization as well as multiple interface reflection and scattering. The as-obtained GdB2C2, with excellent EMWA performance as well as remarkable ultra-high temperature thermal stability, could be a promising candidate for the EMWA materials applications in extreme ultra-high temperatures.

Background: Tibial shaft fractures are the most common of long bone fractures. The gold standard for management is locked intramedullary nailing. The freehand method under fluoroscopic monitoring is the most often utilized method for distal screw locking. Electromagnetic guidance-based distal screw locking methods have gained popularity recently. The study's objective is to evaluate the system using electromagnetic tracking data against the free-hand technique. Methods: Sixty-three patients who received intramedullary nailing for tibial shaft fractures at our institute between January 2018 and May 2022, were included in this study. Two groups of patients were distinguished: Group FH underwent freehand distal locking and intramedullary nailing, while Group SS underwent electromagnetically guided locking. Radiation exposure period, as well as dose area product, were noted and statistically compared. Results: In terms of dose area product, a mean value of 43.57±31.57 cGy/cm2 in group FH and a mean value of 27.62±11.20 cGy/cm2 in group SS (p &lt; 0.05) was assessed. Concerning the duration of surgery a mean value of 128.83±26.51 minutes was reported in group FH and a mean value of 126.42±48.31 minutes in group SS (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms the use of electromagnetic-guided locking distal screws reduces the total time of exposure to ionizing radiation, with no difference in operating time.

In this paper, we investigated the capacitive effect and the electromagnetic coupling on the measurement chain induced by the gas gun or the powder gun during impact experiments. Reduced bandwidth and noise have been noticed on experimental signals. Rogowski coil measurements have been added on the cables to characterize the electromagnetic coupling. The perturbation currents on the cables have been quantified depending on the configuration. The gauge, the transmission line and the conditioning system have been modeled. The calculations have reproduced the electrical wave arrival time, the transmission line transfer impedance, the conditioning system transfer impedance and it shows the bandwidth limitation. A capacitive effect with the piezoresistive manganin gauge embedded into the sample has been identified depending on the experimental setup.

This study presents the utilization of the Microwave InfraRed Thermography (MIRT) technique to identify and analyze the defects in the carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite rein-forcement of concrete specimens. At first, a set of the numerical models was created, comprising of the broadband pyramidal horn antenna and the analyzed specimen. The utilization the system operating at a power of 1000W in a continuous mode, operating at frequency of 2.45 GHz was analyzed. The specimen under examination comprised a compact concrete slab that was covered with an adhesive layer, thereafter, topped with a layer of CFRP. An air gap represented a defect at the interface between the concrete and CFRP within the adhesive layer. In the modelling stage the study investigated three separate scenarios: a sample with no defects, a sample with a defect located at the center, and a sample with a numerous additional random defects located at the rim of the CFRP matte, to analyze the effect of the natural reinforcement degradation in this area. The next phase of the study involved conducting experiments to confirm the results obtained from nu-merical modeling. In the experiments the concrete sample aged for 10 years with the defect in the center and naturally developed defects at the CFRP rim was used. The study employed numerical modeling to explore the phenomenon of microwave heating in complex structures. The aim was to assess the chosen antenna design and identify the most effective experimental setup. These con-clusions were subsequently confirmed through experimentation. The observations made during the heating process were particularly remarkable, since they deviated from earlier studies that solely conducted measurements of the sample post-heating phase. The findings demonstrate that MIRT has the capacity to be employed as a technique for detecting flaws in concrete structures reinforced with CFRP.

The aim of this study is to solve the problems of complicated pretreatment and high analytical cost in the detection technology of trace drug toxicants in municipal wastewater. A high-performance magnetic sorbent was synthesized for enrichment of trace drug substances in wastewater to develop magnetic solid-phase extraction pretreatment combined with the acoustic ejection mass spectrometry (AEMS) analytical methods for the molecules in wastewater drug toxicants. The magnetic nanospheres was successfully prepared by magnetic nanoparticles modified with divinylbenzene and vinyl pyrrolidone.The results showed that the linear dynamic range of 17 drugs was 1-500 ng/L, the recovery was 43%-105%, the matrix effect was more than 67%, the limit of quantitative detection was 1-2 ng/L, and the detection time of each sample was 2.98s. It can be seen that the developed magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method is a good solution to the problem of complicated pre-treatment and analytical cost in the detection of drugs in wastewater. The developed magnetic material and acoustic excitation coupled mass spectrometry analysis method can realize the low-cost, efficient enrichment and fast analysis of different kinds of drug molecules in urban sewage.

Earthquake forecasting is arguably one of the most challenging tasks in Earth sciences owing to the high complexity of the earthquake process. Over the past 40 years, there has been a plethora of work on finding credible, consistent and accurate earthquake precursors. This paper is a cumulative survey on earthquake precursor research, arranged into two broad categories: electromagnetic precursors and radon precursors. In the first category, methods related to measuring electromagnetic radiation in a wide frequency range, i.e. from a few hz to several MHz, are presented. Precursors based on optical and radar imaging acquired by space borne sensors are also considered, in the broad sense, as electromagnetic. In the second category, concentration measurements of radon gas found in soil and air, or even in ground water after being dissolved, form the basis of radon activity precursors. Well-established mathematical techniques for analysing data derived from electromagnetic radiation and radon concentration measurements are also described with an emphasis on fractal methods. Finally, physical models of earthquake generation and propagation aiming at interpreting the foundation of the aforementioned seismic precursors, are investigated

Deep underground laboratories offer advantages for conducting high-precision observations of weak geophysical signals, benefitting from a low background noise level. It is both valuable and feasible to enhance strong, noisy ground electromagnetic (EM) field data using synchronously recorded underground EM signals, which typically exhibit a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this study, we propose an EM field reconstruction method employing a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network with referenced deep underground EM observations. Initially, a deep learning model was developed to capture the time-varying features of underground multi-component EM fields using the LSTM recurrent neural network. Subsequently, this model was applied to process synchronously observed strong, noisy data from other conventional observation systems, such as those at surface, to achieve noise suppression through signal reconstructions. Both theoretical analysis and practical observational data suggest that the proposed method effectively suppresses noise and reconstructs clean EM signals. This method is efficient and time-saving, representing an effective approach to fully utilizing the advantages of deep underground observation data. Furthermore, this method could be extended to the processing and analysis of other geophysical data.

Low-frequency electromagnetic induction (EMI) is a non-invasive geophysical method that is based on the induction of electromagnetic (EM) waves into the subsurface to quantify changes in electrical conductivity. In this study we present an open (design details and software are accessible) and modular system for the collection of EMI data. The instrument proposed allows to adjust the separations between the transmitter and up to four receiving antennas as well as the acquisition frequency (in the range between 3 and 50 kHz) to permit measurements with variable depth of investigation. The sensor provides access to raw data and the software described in this study allows control of the signal processing chain. The design specifications permit apparent conductivity measurements in the range of between 1 mS/m and 1000 mS/m, with a resolution of 1.0 mS/m and with a sampling rate of up to 10 samples per second. The sensor allows for a synchronous acquisition of a time stamp and a location stamp for each data sample. The sensor has a mass of less than 5 kg, is portable and suitable for 1-person operation, provides 4 hours of operation time on one battery charge, and provides sufficient rigidity for practical field operations.

Early identification of viruses leads to more efficient disease management and control, and is extremely important. A possible new approach for creating virus sensors is the Electromagnetic echo effect (EMEE). An important feature is that the signal from EMEE is highly dependent on the state of the irradiated body. This makes it possible to control ongoing reactions, even if these reactions are invisible to the human eye or other equipment. This article shows the possibility of registering reaction occurring in the presence of an avian coronavirus causing infectious bronchitis, strain Massachusetts. The same methodology can be applied for other types of viruses as well.

Effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) on immunological factors in a 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced atopic dermatitis (AD) model were investigated. Hairless mice were randomly assigned to control, acetone and olive oil solution-treated (AOO), PEMF 15 Hz, PEMF 75 Hz, and sham groups (n=5 each). AOO solution was used to dissolve DNCB. Both PEMF and sham groups were exposed to similar DNCB doses, causing similar AD symptoms. After AD induction for five weeks, only the PEMF group was exposed to PEMF stimulations (15 Hz, 75 Hz, and 15 mT) for two weeks inside the solenoid coil. In both groups, splenomegaly was observed, as AD was induced by hyperimmune reactions caused by DNCB sensitization. However, splenomegaly did not occur in the PEMF-exposed groups, and spleen weight decreased similarly to that of the control. Hence, the total splenocytes in the PEMF group were similar to those in the control group, whereas the sham group showed thrice the number of splenocytes compared to the PEMF group. The serum immunoglobulin E levels did not significantly change in the PEMF group; however, they increased more than fourfold in the sham group. These results demonstrate that PEMF stimulation ameliorates the abnormal symptoms caused by hyperimmune reactions.

Ambient vibration energy is widely being harnessed as a source of electrical energy to drive low-power devices. The vibration energy harvester (VEH) of interest employs an electromagnetic transduction mechanism, whereby ambient mechanical vibration is converted to electrical energy. The limitations affecting the performance of VEHs, with an electromagnetic transduction structure, include its operational bandwidth as well as the enclosure-size constraint. In this study, an analysis and design of a nonlinear VEH system is conducted, using the Output Frequency Response Function (OFRF) representations of the actual system model. However, the OFRF representations are determined from the Generalised Associated Linear Equation (GALE) decompositions of the system of interest. The effect of both nonlinear damping and stiffness characteristics, to respectively extend the average power and operational bandwidth of the VEH device, is demonstrated.

Background: According to EWGSOP2, the diagnosis of sarcopenia is confirmed when in addition to low muscle strength, low muscle quantity or quality is present. Echo intensity (EI) determined by muscle ultrasound (US) has been proposed as an efficient method for the assessment of muscle quality. The effect of changing various US parameter settings on EI remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the differences between EI values obtained by adjusting parameter settings over their entire range in a sample of middle-aged healthy subjects. Methods: Thirty-two repeated US scans of rectus femoris (RF) and rectus abdominis (RA) muscles were taken in eight men and three women with a portable Mindray M7 premium US machine, working in an Extended field-of-view, B-Mode setup, equipped with a linear 5.0-10.0 MHz transducer. The following US parameters and settings were fixed: gain 60dB, depth 6.5cm, and frequency 10 MHz. Readily adjustable parameters were dynamic range (DR), gray map (GM), line density, persistence, and IClear. A default setting DR65 was chosen as the reference setting. For each of the parameters, the settings of one single parameter of interest was changed over its entire range following a standardized protocol. The EI values were calculated using the open-source software ImageJ. Repeated measures analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of parameter settings on EI. Linear interpolation was used to determine non-significant ranges across a given parameter. Results: For the RF muscle, the EI values were significantly different across DR (p<0.001), GM (p<0.001), and IClear (p<0.001). Post hoc analysis confirmed the differences within these three settings. Echo intensity values within the range of DR55 to DR80 were not significantly different. For the RA muscle, the EI values were significantly different across DR (p=0.004) and GM (p=0.030). Post hoc pairwise comparisons revealed no significant difference with the default setting, except for DR150 (p=0.042). Conclusion: We showed that EI values differ across the DR and GM range, especially in the RF. We suggest using a DR setting within its midrange to minimize the effect of machine setting-dependent factors on EI values. These findings reconfirm the need for standardization of ultrasound echo intensity settings when applied for diagnostic purposes of muscle quality.

Currently there is no multi-hazard risk assessment tool for determining the level of complexity to swiftwater and flood rescue incidents. Traditionally, the International Scale of River Difficulty is used but it is primarily for paddlers for use in a recreational context, without much consideration to the multitude of hazards faced in swiftwater and flood rescue environments. In response to this gap, the ECHO risk assessment tool has been developed and undergone initial testing. This tool provides for simple and rapid codification of multiple hazards and response considerations and is globally applicable. The tool also assigns a final risk assessment colour making the interpretation of the assessment easy to understand and communicate. Though the proposed tool shows potential, further research is needed before it should be operationalised.

This study aimed to investigate the fatigue performance and interfacial strengthening mechanisms of Al6061-to-Cu dissimilar lap joints via electromagnetic pulse welding (EMPW). The load-bearing capacity of the joints at discharge voltages of 14 kV and 16 kV was superior to that of 12 kV. Furthermore, the fatigue life of the 14 kV joints was one order of magnitude higher compared to the 12 kV joints. SEM observation of the fatigue fracture surface revealed the presence of typical "tire-mark" fatigue striations only in the 14 kV joint, indicating higher ductility and the ability to withstand extended plastic deformation. Notably, ultra-fine nanocrystalline Al2Cu phase, amorphous phase, and numerous dislocations hindered EBSD acquisition in the transition zone. Nevertheless, dense low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) and refined grains were examined at the bonding interface. This suggests that the high-velocity collision caused severe plastic deformation and led to the formation of substructures. The interfacial strength was attributed not only to the "wave-like" or "inverted hook-like" diffusion layer but also to the presence of refined grains along the interface and nanocrystalline Al2Cu in the transition zone. Furthermore, the hybrid nanocrystalline-amorphous microstructure strengthened the joint by regulating the balance between strength and ductility.

The well-being and sociability of individuals have always been part of modernity. The development of new technologies that meet these aspirations is receiving increasing attention. Thus, strengthening the desired objectives of these tools and minimizing their undesirable side effects is the subject of a growing commitment. The present contribution aims, in this context, to evaluate and analyze the desired and undesirable effects of the interaction of electromagnetic fields with living tissues in general. This involves routines reinforcing expected functions as well as those controlling and protecting against undesirable effects. First, the interactions of electromagnetic fields with tissues are analyzed, involving their thermal biological effects of desired and undesired exposures. The roles of blood and sap fluids in bio-affected tissues are then analyzed. Secondly, the governing electromagnetic, bio-heat equations, and their coupled solution are studied. Third, the thermal behavior of tissues and the exposure adverse effects are examined. Next, monitoring and defending of the effects of exposures are discussed. This contribution illustrates and discusses mathematical modeling routines based on a generalized interaction of electromagnetic fields with living tissues.

Magnetic permeability (μ), dielectric permittivity (ε) and electrical conductivity (σ) of the six elastomer samples obtained by mixing silicone rubber (RTV-530) with a kerosene-based ferrofluid in different volume fractions, φ: 1.31%, 2.59% and 3.84%, were determined using the complex impedance measurements, over the frequency range (500 Hz-2 MHz). Three samples (A0, B0 and C0) were manufactured in the absence of a magnetic field and the other three samples (Ah, Bh and Ch) in the presence of the magnetic field, H=43 kA/m. The component μ″ of the complex magnetic permeability of all samples presents a maximum, at a frequency fmax, which moves to higher values by increasing, φ, this maximum being attributed to Brownian relaxation processes. The conductivity spectrum, σ(f) for all samples, follows the Jonscher universal law, which allows both the determination of the static conductivity σDC, and the barrier energy of electrical conduction process, Wm. For the same φ, Wm is lower and σDC is higher in the samples Ah, Bh and Ch than in the samples A0, B0 and C0. The performed study is useful in manufacturing elastomers with predetermined properties and for possible applications, such as magneto-dielectric flexible electronic devices, which can be controlled by the volume fraction of particles or by an external magnetic field.

Conversion of electromagnetic energy into magnetohydrodynamic energy occurs when the electric conductivity changes from negligible to finite values. This process is relevant during the epoch of reheating of the early Universe at the end of inflation and before the emergence of the radiation-dominated era. We find that conversion into kinetic and thermal energies is primarily the result of electric energy dissipation and that the magnetic energy plays only a secondary role in this process. This means that, since electric energy dominates over magnetic energy during inflation and reheating, significant amounts of electric energy can be converted into magnetohydrodynamic energy when conductivity emerges early enough, before the relevant length scales become stable.

An eigenvalue equation representing symmetric (dual) quantum equation is introduced. The particle is described by two scalar wavefunctions, and two vector wavefunctions. The eigenfunction is found to satisfy the quantum Telegraph equation keeping the form of the particle fixed but decaying its amplitude. An analogy with Maxwellian equations is presented. Massive electromagnetic field will satisfy a quantum Telegraph equation instead of a pure wave equation. This equation resembles the motion of the electromagnetic field in a conducting medium. With a particular setting of the scalar and vector wavefunctions, the dual quantum equations are found to yield the quantized Maxwell's equations. The total energy of the particle is related to the phase velocity ($v_p$) of the wave representing it by $E=p\,|v_p|$, where $p$ is the matter wave momentum. A particular solution which describes the process under which the particle undergoes a creation and annihilation is derived. The force acting on the moving particle is expressed in a dual Lorentz-like form. If the particle moves like a fluid, a dissipative (drag) quantum force will arise.

Recently, a layer-stacked ESN model named deep echo state Network (DeepESN) has been established. As an interactional model of recurrent neural network and deep neural network, investigations of DeepESN are of significant importance in both areas. Optimizing the structure of neural networks remains a common task in artificial neural networks, and the question of how many neurons should be used in each layer of DeepESN must be stressed. In this paper, our aim is to solve the problem of choosing the optimized size of DeepESN. Inspired by the sensitive iterative pruning algorithm, a neuronal similarity-based iterative pruning merging algorithm (NS-IPMA) is proposed to iteratively prune or merge the most similar neurons in DeepESN. Two chaotic time series prediction tasks are applied to demonstrate the effectiveness of NS-IPMA. The results show that the DeepESN pruned by NS-IPMA outperforms unpruned DeepESN with the same network size, and NS-IPMA is a feasible and superior approach to improving the generalization performance of DeepESN.

The calculation of echo intensity involved in the SAR image simulation is usually based on the electromagnetic formula or approximate formula derived under certain assumptions. However, the parameters used in these formulas are often difficult to obtain, and the formulas have errors with the actual situation. In this paper, a method of embedding deep neural network (DNN) into the simulation process based on ray tracing is proposed, so that the DNN model can be directly used to fit the calculation formula of echo intensity from real SAR images. Simulation results show that this method can obtain SAR images with high similarity.

Interest grows in designing silicon-on-insulator slot waveguides to trap optical fields in subwavelength-scale slots and developing their optofluidic devices. However, it is worth noting that the inherent limitations of the waveguide structures may result in high optical losses and short optical paths, which challenge the device performance in optofluidics. Incorporating the planar silicon-based slot waveguide concept into a silica-based hollow-core fiber can provide a perfect solution to realize an efficient optofluidic waveguide. Here we propose a subwavelength-scale liquid-core hybrid fiber (LCHF), where the core is filled with carbon disulfide and surrounded by a silicon ring in a silica background. The waveguide properties and the Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) effect in the LCHF are investigated. The fraction of power inside the core of 56.3% allows an improved sensitivity in optical sensing; while the modal Raman gain of 23.60 m-1·W-1 is 2 times larger than that generated around a nano fiber with the interaction between the evanescent optical field and the surrounding Raman media benzene-methanol, which enables a significant low-threshold SRS effect. Besides, this in-fiber structure features compactness, robustness, flexibility, ease of implementation in both trace sample consumption and reasonable liquid filling duration, as well as compatibility with optical fiber systems. The detailed analyses of the properties and utilizations of the LCHF suggest a promising in-fiber optofluidic platform, which provides a novel insight into optofluidic devices, optical sensing, nonlinear optics, etc.

Background. This study aims to estimate the rate of death by cancer, according to Radio Base Stations (RBS) radiofrequency exposure, especially for the types of breast, cervix, lung and esophagus cancer. Methods. We collected information about the number of deaths by cancer, gender, age group, Gross Domestic Product per capita, death year and the amount of exposure over the lifetime. We investigated all cancer types and some specific types (breast, cervix, lung and esophagus cancers). Results. In capitals where RBS radiofrequency exposure was higher than 2,000/antennas-year, the average mortality rate was 112/100,000 for all cancers. The adjusted analysis showed that the higher the exposure to RBS radiofrequency, the higher cancer mortality. The highest adjusted risk was observed for cervix cancer (Rate Ratio = 2.18). The spatial analysis showed that the highest RBS radiofrequency exposure was observed in a city in southern Brazil, which also showed the highest mortality rate for all types of cancer and specifically for lung and breast cancer. Conclusion. The balance of our results indicates that the exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from RBS increases the rate of death by all types of cancer.

The object of study in the article is the auxiliary variable-frequency electric drive onboard of an AC electric locomotive, and more precisely, the structure and parameters of the control system of the active corrector of power factor (ACPF), which is part of the electric drive, as a unit that ensures electromagnetic compatibility of the electric drive with other equipment on board the electric locomotive and catenary and its energy efficiency. The topic of the article's research is the substantiation of the structure of the ACPF control system, the choice of types (transfer functions) of controllers and the calculation of their parameters. The research method chosen was the calculation of the transfer functions of the controllers of the cascaded loops control system, followed by computer simulation using the OrCAD software. The results of simulating a cascaded two loops control system of an ACPF with different types of controllers are presented and analytically compared. It is concluded that it is advisable to use a cascaded two loops control system, containing a voltage control loop and a current control loop. The best results show the simulation when using an aperiodic current controller (A-controller) and a proportional-integral voltage controller (PI-controller). The data obtained serve as the basis for further improvement of the operation of the ACPF by enhancing and optimizing the settings, structure and algorithms of the control system, which, with the selected hardware of power converter unit, will allow the ACPF to perform its functions with a high degree of reliability in an entire range of disturbing and control influences.

Deep Neural Network (DNN) inference demands substantial computing power, resulting in significant energy consumption. A large number of negative output activations in convolution layers are rendered zero due to the invocation of the ReLU activation function. This results in a substantial number of unnecessary computations that consume significant amounts of energy. This paper presents ECHO: Energy-efficient Computation Harnessing Onilne Arithmetic - A MSDF-based accelerator for DNN inference, designed for computation pruning, utilizing an unconventional arithmetic paradigm known as online/ most-significant digit first (MSDF) arithmetic which performs computations in a digit-serial manner. The MSDF digital serial computation of online arithmetic enables overlapped computation of successive operations leading to substantial performance improvements. The online arithmetic, coupled with a negative output detection scheme, facilitates early and precise recognition of negative outputs. This, in turn, allows for the timely termination of unnecessary computations, resulting in a reduction of energy consumption. The implemented design has been realized on the Xilinx Virtex-7 VU3P FPGA and subjected to a comprehensive evaluation through a rigorous comparative analysis involving widely used performance metrics. Experimental results demonstrate promising power and throughput improvements compared to contemporary methods. In particular, the proposed design achieved an average improvement in power consumption of up to 81%, 82.9%, and 40.6% for VGG-16, ResNet-18, and ResNet-50 workloads compared to the conventional bit-serial design, respectively. Furthermore, significant average speedups of 2.39×, 2.6×, and 2.42 were observed when comparing the proposed design to conventional bit-serial designs for VGG-16, ResNet-18, and ResNet-50 models respectively.

Background: This study presents a graph-based and purely structural analysis to detect echo chambers on Twitter. Echo chambers are a concern as they can spread misinformation and reinforce harmful stereotypes and biases in social networks. Methods: The study recorded the German-language Twitter stream over two months, recording about 180.000 accounts and their interactions. The study focuses on retweet interaction patterns in the German-speaking Twitter stream and found that the greedy modularity maximization and HITS metric are the most effective methods for identifying echo chambers. Results: The purely structural detection approach was able to identify an echo chamber (red community) that was focused on a few topics with a triad of Anti-Covid, right-wing populism, and pro-Russian positions (very likely reinforced by Kremlin-orchestrated troll accounts). In contrast, a blue community was much more heterogeneous and showed "normal" communication interaction patterns. Conclusions: The study highlights the effects of echo chambers as they can make political discourse dysfunctional and foster polarization in open societies. The presented results contribute to identifying problematic interaction patterns in social networks often involved in the spread of disinformation by problematic actors. It is important to note that not the content but only the interaction patterns would be used as a decision criterion, thus avoiding problematic content censorship.

In this article, many experimental similarities between electromagnetic fields (which are applied in systems of electrons, atoms, and liquids) and strong interaction fields (which are applied in systems of quarks, nucleons, and nuclei) are reviewed. The currently accepted theories describing electromagnetic fields differ fundamentally from those describing strong fields. Therefore, the many similarities are quite surprising, and some are not adequately explained even today. Several such unexplained similarities are listed among the top open problems in particle physics, such as the “EMC effect,” the “proton spin crisis,” and the “strong CP problem.” This paper highlights, for the first time, the underlying common characteristics of these problems, potentially offering valuable contribution to future explanations.

This paper investigates the influence of magnetic field for a two dimensional deformations on a two temperature problem at the free surface of a semi-infinite semiconducting medium under the effect of mechanical force during a photothermal theory and the effect of hydrostatic initial stress on the medium. The Harmonic Wave Method (Normal Mode Analysis) has been used to obtain the equations of elastic waves, heat conduction equation, quasi-static electric field, carrier density, two temperature coefficient, ratios, and constitutive relationships for the thermo-magnetic-electric medium. The effects of several parameters as thermoelastic and thermoelectric coupling parameters and two temperature parameter of this force on the displacement component, force stress, carrier density and temperature distribution has been depicted graphically.

We consider the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the Friedman – Lemaître – Robertson – Walker metric. The exact solutions for plane and spherical wave are written down. The corresponding redshift, amplitude change, and dispersion are discussed. We also speculate about the connection of the electromagnetic wave equation to the Klein–Gordon equation.

Dielectric elastomers, such as thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), are widely used as dielectric layer, emulation layer and substrate of flexible and stretchable devices. To construct capacitors and actuators that work stably upon deformation, it has become an urgent need to investigate the evolution of dielectricity under stress and strain. However, the lack of effective methods for estimating the dielectric constant of elastomers under strain poses a big challenge. This article reports a device for in-situ measuring the dielectric constant of TPU under strain. It is found that upon stretching TPU to a strain of 400%, its dielectric constant decreases from 8.47 to 2.94. In addition, combined Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray scattering technique, and atomic force microscopy have been utilized to characterize the evolution of microstructure under strain. The investigation under tensile strain reveals that a decreased density and average size of polarized hard domains, along with a tendency of the molecular chains to align in parallel with the tensile stress. The evolution of the microstructures results in a reduction of the dielectric constant parallel to the electric field in TPU. Our work provides valuable experimental reference for improving the stability of flexible sensors and actuators based on dielectric elastomers.

Developing efficient Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled system to substitute human role in non-destructive testing is an emerging topic of considerable interest. In this study, we propose a novel impact-echo analysis system using online machine learning, which aims at achieving near-human performance for assessment of concrete structures. Current computerized impact-echo systems commonly employ lab-scale data to validate the models. In practice, however, the echo patterns can be far more complicated due to varying geometric shapes and materials of structures. To deal with a large variety of unseen data, we propose a sequential treatment for echo characterization. More specifically, the proposed system can adaptively update itself to approaching human performance in impact-echo data interpretation. To this end, a two-stage framework has been introduced, including echo feature extraction and the model updating scheme. Various state-of-the-art online learning algorithms have been reviewed and evaluated for the task. To conduct experimental validation, we collected 10,940 echo instances from multiple inspection sites with each sample had been annotated by human experts with healthy/defective condition labels. The results demonstrated that the proposed scheme achieved favorable echo pattern classification accuracy with high efficiency and low computation load.

Diabetic patients need long-term and frequent glucose monitoring to assist in insulin intake. The current finger-prick devices are painful and costly which make noninvasive glucose sensors highly demanded. In this review paper, we discuss several advanced electromagnetic (EM) wave based technologies for noninvasive glucose measurement, including infrared (IR) spectroscopy, photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence, optical coherent tomography (OCT) and microwave sensing. Development and progress of each method are discussed regarding fundamental principle, system setup and experimental results. Despite the promising achievements reported previously, there is no established product to obtain FDA approval or survive marketing test. Limitations and prospects of these techniques are discussed at the end of this review.

This study used Dutch potatoes at the end of dormancy as the material to explore the impact of menthol (0.2 and 0.5 g/kg based on potato mass) treatment on sprouting inhibition and potato quality. The findings revealed that a menthol concentration of 0.5 g/kg effectively inhibited potato tuber sprouting and significantly reduced glucoside alkaloids production. After a storage period of 15 days, the sprouting percentage and glucoside alkaloids content of potatoes treated with 0.5 g/kg menthol were observed to be significantly lower at 4.17% and 68.63 mg/kg, respectively, compared to the control group which exhibited values of 100% and 282.01 mg/kg, respectively (P < 0.05). Throughout the storage period, 0.5 g/kg of menthol promoted respiration, reduced malondialdehyde production in potatoes, inhibited polyphenol oxidase activity, and slowed down tissue browning. Additionally, it mitigated the decline in starch and soluble protein content, inhibiting the accumulation of reducing sugars.

Lignin fibers typically influence the mixture performance of stone matrix asphalt (SMA), such as strength, stability, durability, noise level, rutting resistance, fatigue life, and water sensitivity. However, limited studies were conducted to analyze the influence of fibers on the percent voids in mineral aggregate in bituminous mixture (VMA) during the mixture design. This study analyzed the effect of different fibers and fiber contents on the VMA in SMA mixture design. A surface-dry condition method test and Marshall Stability test were applied on the SMA mixture with four different fibers (i.e., flocculent lignin fiber, mineral fiber, polyester fiber, blended fiber). The test results indicated that the bulk specific gravity of SMA mixtures and asphalt saturation decreased with the increasing fiber content, whilst the percent air voids in bituminous mixtures (VV), Marshall Stability and VMA increased. Mineral fiber had the most obvious impact on the bulk specific gravity of bituminous mixtures, while flocculent lignin fiber had a minimal impact. The mixture with mineral fiber and polyester fiber had significant effects on the volumetric properties, and, consequently, exhibited better VMA over the conventional SMA mixture with lignin fiber. Modified fiber content range was also provided, which will widen the utilization of mineral fiber and polyester fiber in the applications of SMA mixtures. The mixture evaluation suggested no statistically significant difference between lignin fiber and polyester fiber on the stability. The mineral fiber required a much larger fiber content to improve the mixture performance than other fibers. Overall, the results can be a reference to guide SMA mixture design.

At present, the applications and efficacy of non-ionizing radiations (NIR) in oncotherapy are limited. In terms of potential combinations, the use of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles as heat mediators has been extensively investigated. Nevertheless, the development of more efficient heat nanomediators that may exhibit high specific absorption rates still is an unsolved problem. Our aim was to investigate if externally applied magnetic fields and a heat-inducing NIR affect tumor cell viability. To this end, under in vitro conditions, different human cancer cells (A2058 melanoma, AsPC1 pancreas carcinoma, MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma) were treated with the combination of electromagnetic fields (EMFs, using solenoids) and hyperthermia (HT, using a thermostated bath). The effect of NIR was also studied in combination with standard chemotherapy and targeted therapy. An experimental device combining EMFs and high intensity focused ultrasounds (HIFU)-induced HT was tested in vivo. EMFs (25 T, 4h) or HT (52C, 40 min) showed a limited effect on cancer cell viability in vitro. However, their combination decreased viability to approx. 16%, 50%, and 21% of controls values in A2058, AsPC1, and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. Increased lysosomal permeability, release of cathepsins into the cytosol and mitochondria-dependent activation of cell death are the underlying mechanisms. Cancer cells could be completely eliminated combining EMFs, HT and standard chemotherapy or EMFs, HT and anti-Hsp70-targeted therapy. As a proof of concept, in vivo experiments performed in AsPC1 xenografts showed that combination of EMFs, HIFU-induced HT, standard chemotherapy and a lysosomal permeabilizer induces a complete cancer regression.

Considerable efforts have been devoted to modifying gravity, which aim to elucidate the possible existence or nature of dark matter and energy, describe observational data more effectively, and formulate quantum gravity. In addition, despite the immense success of the quantum field theory, the framework requires renormalization techniques and breaks down at high energies. Recently, the Planck legacy 2018 release has confirmed the existence of an enhanced lensing amplitude in the cosmic microwave background power spectra, which prefers a positively curved early Universe with a confidence level higher than 99%. This study considers the implied curvature of the early Universe as the curvature of “the background or 4D conformal bulk as a manifestation of vacuum energy” and distinguishes it from the localized curvature that is induced in the bulk by the presence of celestial objects that are regarded as ”4D relativistic cloud-worlds.” Analogously, because gravity appears to emerge owing to spacetime curvature and does not exhibit critical characteristics shared by other fields, it has been incorporated as the local curvature of the bulk affecting the embedded quantum fields that are regarded as propagating “4D relativistic quantum clouds.” To consider the effects of the bulk on embedded clouds, this paper presents interaction field equations in terms of brane-world modified gravity and the perspective of geometrization of the quantum mechanics wherein gravity is manifested by the curvature of 4D conformal bulk as an indicator of the field strength of vacuum energy on the embedded 4D relativistic clouds in addition to the boundary interactions, which could remove the singularities and satisfy a conformal invariance theory. A visualization of the evolution of the 4D relativistic cloud-worlds over the conformal spacetime of the 4D bulk is presented, whereas the standard said theories can be recovered from the interaction field equations.

We derive the thermal noise spectrum of the Fourier transform of the electric field operator of a given wave vector starting from the quantum-statistical definitions and relate it to the complex frequency and wave vector dependent complex conductivity in a homogeneous, isotropic system of electromagnetic interacting electrons. We analyze separately the longitudinal and transverse case with their peculiarities. The Nyquist formula for vanishing frequency and wave vector, as well as its modification for non-vanishing frequencies and wave vectors follow immediately. Furthermore we discuss also the noise of the photon occupation numbers. It is important to stress that no additional assumptions at all were used in this straightforward proof.

Modern life implies a constant exposure of living organisms to electromagnetic fields generated by human made technology. The question of whether or not electromagnetic fields in the non-ionizing frequency range can affect cellular functions, increasing the risk of cancer or another pathologies is currently a subject of interest for scientific community of several disciplines of physics, biology, chemistry and medicine. The first part of this short review presents briefly the possible mechanism of interaction of electromagnetic fields in cellular level based in theoretical models and experimental results. The second part refers to experimental observations published by several authors about the potential cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of electromagnetic fields. Results of researches are no yet conclusive enough to accept or reject the genotoxic, carcinogenic or cytotoxic potential of these fields. Up to date the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified the X, gamma and ultraviolet radiation as carcinogenic and the fields generated by radio frequencies as possibly carcinogenic.

We employ another approach to quantize electromagnetic fields in the coordinate space, instead of the mode (or Fourier) space, such that local features of photons can be efficiently, physically, and more intuitively described. To do this, coordinate-ladder operators are defined from mode-ladder operators via the unitary transformation of systems involved in arbitrary inhomogeneous dielectric media. Then, one can expand electromagnetic field operators through the coordinate-ladder operators weighted by non-orthogonal and spatially-localized bases, which are propagators of initial quantum electromagnetic (complex-valued) field operators. Here, we call them QEM-CV-propagators. However, there are no general closed form solutions available for them. This inspires us to develop a quantum finite-difference time-domain (Q-FDTD) scheme to numerically time evolve QEM-CV-propagators. In order to check the validity of the proposed Q-FDTD scheme, we perform computer simulations to observe the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect resulting from the destructive interference of two photons in a 50/50 quantum beam splitter.

Electric and/or magnetic fields are generated by stationary charges, uniformly moving charges and accelerating charges. These field components are described in the literature as static fields, velocity fields (or generalized Coulomb field) and radiation fields (or acceleration fields), respectively. In the literature, the electromagnetic fields generated by lightning return strokes are presented using the field components associated with short dipoles and in this description the one to one association of the electromagnetic field terms with the physical process that gives rise to them is lost. In this paper, we will derive expressions for the electromagnetic fields using field equations associated with accelerating (and moving) charges and separate the resulting fields into static, velocity and radiation fields. The results illustrates how the radiation fields emanating from the lightning channel give rise to field terms varying as inverse of distance and distance squired, the velocity fields generating field terms varying as inverse of distance squired and the static fields generating fields components varying as inverse of distance squired and distance cube. These field components depend explicitly on the speed of propagation of the current pulse. However, the total field does not depend explicitly on the speed of propagation of the current pulse. It is shown that these field components can be combined to generate the field components pertinent to the dipole technique. However, in this conversion process the connection of the field components to the physical process taking place at the source that generate these fields (i.e. static charges, uniformly moving charges and accelerating charges) is lost.

Background: Alfalfa, the most economically important forage legume worldwide, features modest genetic progress due to long selection cycles and large extent of non-additive genetic variance associated with its autotetraploid genome. Methods: To improve the efficiency of genomic selection in alfalfa, we explored the effects of genome parametrization (as autotetraploid and diploid dosage, plus allele ratios) and SNP marker subsetting (all available SNPs; only genic regions; only non-genic regions) on genomic regressions, together with various levels of filtering on reading depth and missing rates. We used Genotyping by Sequencing-generated data and focused on traits of different genetic complexity, i.e., dry biomass yield in moisture-favorable (FE) and drought stress (SE) environments, leaf size, and onset of flowering, assessed on 143 genotyped plants from a genetically-broad European reference population and their phenotyped half-sib progenies. Results: On average, allele ratio improved the predictive ability compared with other genome parametrizations (+7.9% vs. tetraploid dosage, +12.6% vs. diploid dosage), SNP subsetting offered an advantage compared with any tested subsettings (+3.7% vs. genic regions, +7.6% vs. non-genic regions). However, when focusing on specific traits, different combinations of genome parametrization and subsetting reached better performances. We also released Legpipe2, a SNP calling pipeline tailored for reduced representation (GBS, RAD) medium-sized genotyping experiments.

Micro plasma devices (MPD) with power gains are of interest in applications involving operations in the presence of ionizing radiations, in propulsion, in control, amplification of high power electromagnetic waves, and in metamaterials for energy management. Here we review and discuss MPDs with an emphasis on new architectures that have evolved during the past 7 years. Devices with programmable impact ionization rates and programmable boundaries are developed to control the plasma ignition voltage and current to achieve power gain. Plasma devices with 1-10 μm gaps are shown to operate in the sub-Paschen regime in atmospheric pressures where ion-assisted field emission results in a breakdown voltage that linearly depends on the gap distance in contrast to the exponential dependence dictated by the Paschen curve. Small gap devices offer higher operation frequencies at low operation voltages with applications in metamaterial skins for energy management and in harsh environment inside nuclear reactors and in space. In addition to analog plasma devices, logic gates, digital circuits, and distributed amplifiers are also discussed.

The method of doublet frequency distance (DFD-) maps was applied, here, for visualization of DNA sequence structures of yeast chromosomes. The colour scale “rainbow” of the Octave programming tool is well suited for such visualization. The DFD-maps are generated by comparison of the differences in the number of all base doublets in a shifting frame with all other positions of this frame in a regarded DNA sequence section. This procedure can be applied from DNA-sections of between a few hundred bases (bps) up to a complete chromosome with a million or more bps. An orthogonal DFD-map pattern dominates all chromosomes and its parts. It can be interpreted by a large number of successive mutation events during evolution. In contrast, diagonal patterns indicate duplications of sequence sections and multiple tandem repeats. These periodic structures are found in several chromosomes and are more or less regular or noised. The larger tandem repeat in the subtelomeric region of chromosome 12 presents a characteristic example of a nested multiple-repeat structure. Its pattern in the DFD-map illustrates obviously a temporal order of duplication and mutation events leading to a hierarchical sequence architecture.

We propose a novel framework for understanding quantum phenomena through the lens of a modified electromagnetic spacetime governed by Einstein field equations. By assuming the existence of an electromagnetic spacetime that adheres to these modified geodesic and Einstein field equations, provided the field equations satisfy the Coulomb force law in weak-field approximations, we explore the derivation of Maxwell’s equations and highlight the necessity of incorporating spin to validate these equations. We derive the wave equation for the normalized transverse metric and establish its equivalence with the de Broglie wave proposition, suggesting a relationship between this metric and the particle's wavefunction. This approach offers a classical explanation for several quantum phenomena, including the double-slit experiment, entanglement, tunneling, non-locality, and wavefunction collapse. Additionally, it posits a method to visualize atomic orbital structures in line with quantum mechanical predictions. These findings suggest that the foundational principles of quantum mechanics can be interpreted as linearized approximations of general relativity applied to electromagnetic spacetime. While this theory does not yet extend to the correlations between general relativity, quantum electrodynamics (QED), and quantum chromodynamics (QCD), it provides a valuable visualization tool for physicists and advances our understanding of the unresolved challenges linking quantum mechanics with general relativity.

The development of devices for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) of the lunar surface powder (regolith) by means of microwaves needs regolith simulants with electromagnetic properties similar to the lunar regolith. This document deals with the measurement of complex permittivity and dielectric loss tangent of the aforementioned simulants at ambient temperature from 400 MHz to 20 GHz. In addition, further studies are carried out taking into account humidity of the samples and their densities. The obtained results will be applicable for comparing the measured values of EAC-1A and JSC-2A among them and with other previously measured simulants and real samples. The measurements are carried out applying two different nonresonant techniques: Open- Ended Coaxial Probe (OECP) and Transmission Line. For this purpose, the DAK and EpsiMu commercial kits were respectively used.

A deep relationship is identified between the Coulomb Force and Gravity. A gravitational constant for strong gravity is calculated from the relationship. The equivalence between mass and charge is explored. Implications are given for the expansion of Einstein's Field Equations to include vector gravity.

The assortment of low-cost 3D printers for “in-practice” use, e.g., for clear aligner therapies, is ever increasing. To address concerns about the accuracy of orthodontic models produced on such printers when cost efficient modes of 3D printing are employed, this study examined the effect of print model body type and print angulation on accuracy. Six printing-configuration groups were included: 2 model types (solid or hollow shell) combined with 3 print angles (0°, 70°, or 90°) with 10 models/group; all models were printed with 100-µm layer thickness using a digital light processing-based 3-dimensional printer. Eleven selected structures and distances were measured on the printed models with a digital microscope and compared to the same measures on a digitized master model. The clinically-acceptability range was set at ±0.25 mm difference from the master model for single tooth measurements (intra-tooth) and ±0.5 mm for cross-arch measurements (inter-tooth). For individual measurements across all models, 98% fell within clinical acceptability. For mean measurements within each model group, only canine height for the shell-0° model had a mean difference (0.26 mm ± 0.03) outside the clinically acceptable range for intra-tooth measurements. Standard deviations for all intra-tooth measurements were within 0.07 mm. While none of the mean inter-tooth measurements exceeded the acceptability range, the standard deviations were larger (0.04 to 0.30 mm). Accuracy of orthodontic models for clear aligner therapies was not impacted beyond the clinically acceptable range when altering model body type and print angulation to improve efficiency of 3D printing. These findings suggest greater flexibility of the practitioner to alter print settings to address time and cost efficiency in various clinical scenarios and still maintain clinically acceptable model accuracy.

While the number of publications on wine and health is steadily increasing, ranging from molecular level to epidemiological studies, often with contradictory results, little attention has been given to an holistic approach. In this review some unusual concepts are considered, such as phytocomplex, vehicle and the Matrix effect. As an example, three mono/polyphenols present in wine, Tyrosol, Hydroxytyrosol and Resveratrol, have been selected and the consequences of respecting, disregarding or ignoring the Matrix effect are shown. Underestimation of the wine Matrix effect could lead to deceiving results, as in the case of de-alcoholized wine or wine-compound-based nutritional supplements,or in emphasizing a single component toxic activity, in this case alcohol, ignoring the specific protective action at molecular level of other compounds (polyphenols) present in the same Matrix. The dark side of Matrix effect is also discussed. It is suggested that specificity of wine should be always taken in consideration by public health Authorities.

Revealing the spatial distribution mechanism of the coupling effect between soil water and salt is essential for managing saline-alkali farmland. This study utilized the multifractal method to analyze soil water and salt under varying water content levels in arid saline-alkali farmland. Soil samples were collected on the second (S1), fifth (S2), eighth (S3), eleventh (S4), and fourteenth (S5) days after a rainfall event. The findings showed that a significant decrease in soil water content, contrasting with an increase in soil salt content throughout the soil layers post-rainfall. As water content decreased, the spatial variability of soil water initially increased from S1-3 and then decreased, while the spatial variability of soil salt decreased. The spatial distribution between soil water and salt exhibited a high correlation at S3-4 (with relative water content of soil ranging from 0.52 to 0.75) due to their coupling effect. However, soil salt was unevenly leached by rainfall at high water content levels (S1-2) and precipitated at low water content levels (S5), resulting in low spatial variability correlations between soil water and salt. This study elucidated the coupling process of soil water and salt, identifying their spatiotemporal distribution mechanism in dryland agricultural areas.

During the explosion of energetic materials, obvious electromagnetic interference will be generated, which will affect the normal operation of surrounding electronic equipment. Experiments are still an important means to study this issue. A set of electromagnetic radiation measurement device based on short-wave omnidirectional antenna and ultra-wideband omnidirectional antenna is designed to measure the electromagnetic radiation generated by the explosion of energetic materials of different masses, and the electromagnetic radiation characteristics are obtained through data processing. The results show that the mass of the energetic material has a significant effect on the time-domain characteristics of the electromagnetic radiation generated by the explosion: the higher the mass of the energetic material, the shorter the delay response of the electromagnetic signal, the longer the duration, and the earlier the peak appears. The frequency of electromagnetic radiation signals generated by the explosion of energetic materials is mainly concentrated below 100 MHz, and the energy is most concentrated in the frequency band of 0~50 MHz. The composition of energetic materials has the greatest influence on the spectral distribution, and the spectral distribution of electromagnetic radiation produced by the explosion of explosives with different compositions has obvious specificity. The electromagnetic radiation intensity generated by the explosion of energetic materials has a strong correlation with the distance from the explosion center, and it decreases with the increase of the distance, and the decreasing range is large. The structure and detonation method of energetic materials can change the geometrical motion mode during the explosion, resulting in the non-uniformity of electromagnetic radiation propagation.

The detection of Dark Matter is the greatest outstanding problem in modern cosmology. Several attempts have been taken for this without any remarkable success. To find out a suitable way of detection we need to understand its nature comprehensively. In the present article, a hypothesis is described considering Dark Matter as a normal matter. Its peculiar behavior is explained considering its existence in BEC state in the coolest part of the universe that makes it an electromagnetic insulator. Depending upon this hypothesis an experimental verification method is proposed.

We investigate regular damped oscillatory structures appearing in the "effective" form factor of various hadrons. The behavior of this form factor can be extracted from the experimental information on total cross sections, the processes $\sigma_{tot}(e^+e^- \to h \bar h)$, $h=\pi^{\pm}, K^{\pm}, K^0, p, n $ are examined. The apparent oscillations have been observed for the first time for the proton and we show, taking also other hadrons into the consideration, that they are an arbitrary artifact resulting from a very simplistic theoretical description based on an elementary three-parametric model. If the data are described by a more appropriate and well physically funded U\&A model, then the oscillations disappear. In addition, if the simple model is used to describe the data, one observes that the oscillations are opposite for particles which form an isospin dublet. We show, by using the U\&A model, that this feature is explained by the transformation properties of the corresponding states in the isotopic space.

Background: People with Down syndrome (DS) have a trisomy of chromosome 21 and marked deficits in verbal memory but relatively preserved visuospatial perception. Verbal memories are related to semantic knowledge. Little is known about the organization of semantic knowledge in people with DS, which was the aim of this study. Aims: The extent of false memory in people with DS was examined. Possible differences in the number of false memories induced by nominal and verbal themes were examined. Methods and Procedures: In the study phase, ten word lists with semantically related associates were presented. In the recognition phase, participants made judgments on whether each word had been represented previously as semantically related lures, old words, and semantically unrelated new words. Outcomes and Results: Differences in the processing of nominal and verbal theme-related lures were observed among people with DS. When processing nominal theme-related lures, people with DS showed delayed false positives. When processing verbal theme-related lures, people with DS showed no differences compared to controls. Similar patterns have been observed in people with DS when processing nominal theme-related associates and verbal theme-related associates. People with DS have delayed recognition of associates. When processing unrelated words, they showed significantly higher false positives than controls for both nominal and verbal eliciting themes. Further analyses of the themes revealed differences in false positives across syntactic categories among groups. Conclusions and Implications: People with DS showed a delayed recognition of associates and deviance in recognizing unrelated words in the nominal and verbal theme categories. People with DS were delayed in terms of nouns, but deviated with verbs in associated and unrelated words. Additionally, people with DS showed distinct patterns in processing five nominal lures and three verbal lures, suggesting that they formed false memories differently based on distinct syntactic categories. Thus, it was concluded that people with DS develop a deviant semantic structure. Category-based interventions for people with DS should be implemented in order to improve their semantic knowledge through lexical connections.

Purpose: Carotid intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) increases risk of territorial cerebral ischemic events, but different sequences or criteria have been used to diagnose or quantify carotid IPH. The purpose of this study was to compare manual segmentation and semi-automatic segmentation for quantification of carotid IPH on magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition with gradient-echo (MPRAGE) sequences. Methods: Forty patients with 16–79% carotid stenosis and IPH on MPRAGE sequences were reviewed by two trained radiologists with more than five years of specialized experience in carotid plaque characterization with carotid plaque MRI. Initially, the radiologists manually viewed the IPH based on the MPRAGE sequence. IPH volume was then measured by three different semi-automatic methods, with high signal intensity 150%, 175%, and 200%, respectively, above that of adjacent muscle on the MPRAGE sequence. Agreement on measurements between manual segmentation and semi-automatic segmentation was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: There was near-perfect agreement between manual segmentation and the 150% and 175% criteria for semi-automatic segmentation in quantification of IPH volume. The ICC of each semi-automatic segmentation were as follows: 150% criteria: 0.861, 175% criteria: 0.809, 200% criteria: 0.491. The ICC value of manual vs. 150% criteria and manual vs. 175% criteria were significantly better than the manual vs. 200% criteria (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The ICC of 150% and 175% criteria for semi-automatic segmentation are more reliable for quantification of IPH volume. Semi-automatic classification tools may be beneficial in large-scale multicenter studies by reducing image analysis time and avoiding bias between human reviewers.

This paper first explains the theory of the origin of force from a new perspective, explaining that the origin of all forces is caused by the "missing of energy in the time dimension" (non-conservation in a certain period of time), and constructs a unified theory of force on this basis. Then, through the unified theory of force, the following phenomena are reinterpreted: (1) The common origin of the inverse square law of gravitation and electromagnetic force; (2) The origin of the repulsive force of electrons and protons at small distances; (3) The mystery of the rotation curve of galaxies and the new explanation of "dark matter"; (4) explain the origin of the magnetic field; (5) Predict that moving magnets have the same radiation effect as charged particles (electron magnetic moments also have radiation effects); (6) Reinterpret Maxwell's displacement current; (7) Reinterpret synchrotron radiation and bremsstrahlung; (8) Explain that the strong and weak forces are short-range forces; (9) Predict the true structure of black holes and the origin of gravitational waves;(10) Possible explanation for the origin of the speed of light.

Raru’s plants bark has long been used as traditional medicine in Batak’s tribe. Raru’s bark is derived from several trees that are usually used in a mixture in Batak traditional beverages. This bark is generally used as antidiabetic remedies. This study aims to combine the rarus’s bark extract and mocaf activated-carbon (MAC) in order to study antidiabetics in rats. The combination of raru’s bark extract and MAC were tested on male rats as of Sprague Dawley strain for testing antidiabetic bioactivity. The result showed that antidiabetic activity of raru’s extract and MAC exposed the antidiabetic level declines in rat’s blood. The various treatments of different concentration ratios of raru’s extract and MAC useful in the experiments showed that the levels of blood level reduction were slightly different (14-21%). The raru’s extract pure was observed more effective in decreasing the blood glucose level in rat’s blood, in comparison the positive control. The mixture of raru’s extract and MAC with 75:25 ratio is better than 50:50 ratio. The involvement of MAC in the alleged antidiabetic agent did little in improving the blood glucose level decrease in rat’s blood. Raru’s extract and MAC indicate its potential utilization as an antidiabetic agent.

Purpose of research was to determine changes in optical quality for monthly disposable soft contact lenses (SCL) wearers with new and monthly worn SCL. Retinal straylight was assessed in SCL wearers using a C-Quant straylight meter. The study included 33 participants (age 22 ± 1.4 years) who wore monthly disposable silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Measurements were taken with month-old SCL that had been worn for no more than 4 hours. Participants then replaced the old lenses with new ones. After a 15-minute adaptation period, straylight measurements were taken with the new SCL. A questionnaire was administered to all participants, inquiring about vision complaints and the type of contact lens material used. The decimal logarithm of the stray-light parameter, log(s), was notably higher with month-old SCL (log(s) = 0.97±0.17) than with brand-new SCL (log(s) = 0.86±0.15), p < 0.001. The average increase in retinal straylight after a month of SCL use was log(s) = 0.11 ± 0.08. The questionnaire revealed that 35% of participants observed a reduction in visual quality after wearing the contact lenses for a month. Results showed that monthly disposable soft contact lenses could reduce visual quality when scheduled replacement time has been reached.

We aimed to investigate the relationship between membrane material and development of membrane fouling in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) using membranes with different pore sizes and hydrophilicities. Batch filtration tests were performed using submerged single hollow fiber membrane ultrafiltration (UF) modules with different polymeric membrane materials including cellulose acetate (CA), polyethersulfone (PES), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) with activated sludge taken from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The three UF hollow fiber membranes were prepared by a non-solvent-induced phase separation method and had similar water permeabilities and pore sizes. The results revealed that transmembrane pressure (TMP) increased more sharply for the hydrophobic PVDF membrane than for the hydrophilic CA membrane in batch filtration tests, even when membranes with similar permeabilities and pore sizes were used. PVDF hollow fiber membranes with smaller pores had greater fouling propensity than those with larger pores. In contrast, CA hollow fiber membranes showed good mitigation of membrane fouling regardless of pore size. The results obtained in this study suggest that the surface hydrophilicity and pore size of UF membranes clearly affect the fouling properties in MBR operation when using activated sludge.

Pigmented corn is a gramineae food of great biological, cultural and nutritional importance for many Latin American countries, with more than 250 breeds in the American continent. It confers a large number of health benefits due to its diverse and abundant bioactive compounds. In this narrative review we decided to organize the information on the nutrients, bioactive compounds and phytochemicals present in pigmented corn, as well as their effects on human health. Phenolic compounds and anthocyanins are some of the most studied and representative compounds in these grasses, with a wide range of health properties, mainly the reduction of prooxidant molecules. Carotenoids are a group of molecules belonging to the terpenic compounds, present in a large number of pigmented corn breeds, mainly the yellow ones, whose biological activity incorporates a wide spectrum. Bioactive peptides can be found in abundance in corn, having very diverse biological effects that include analgesic, opioid, antihypertensive, etc. activity. Other compounds with biological activity found in pigmented corn are resistant starches, some fatty acids, phytosterols, policosanols, phospholipids, ferulic acid and phlobaphenes, as well as a great variety of vitamins, elements, and fibers. This review aims to disseminate and integrate the existing knowledge on compounds with biological activity in pigmented corn, in order to promote their research, interest and use by scientists, nutrition professionals, physicians, industries and the general population.

Forests have multifunctional roles. They not only increase forest carbon sinks through afforestation and management, but also indirectly realize multiple benefits of "economy + ecology + society". Therefore, we construct a multiple output-benefit system of forest carbon sinks based on the development of forest carbon sinks in provinces of China. This system is also able to distinguish the importance of forest carbon sinks from other outputs. For the efficiency evaluation of multi-level output systems, this paper constructs a cross-evaluation model based on evidential reasoning method, the original efficiency information by conducting efficiency evaluation before information fusion. Further, the spillover effects and influencing factors of forest carbon sink efficiency are analyzed through a spatial regression model to explore the spatial characteristics of forest carbon sink efficiency in China. The results show that: (1) there is a large gap between the cross-efficiency levels of forest carbon sinks in various regions of China, with significant spatial correlation. For the perspective of direct output benefits, the cross-efficiency of the eastern region is higher, while the cross-efficiency of the northwestern region is lower; for the perspective of indirect output benefits, the cross-efficiency of the southeastern region is higher. (2) China's forest carbon sink has a significant positive spillover effect, and the indirect output cross-efficiency has a significant negative impact on the forest carbon sink in its own region. Further analyzing the impact of indirect output cross-efficiency, it is found that the cross-efficiency of the ecological dimension and the cross-efficiency of the social dimension have a significant negative impact on the forest carbon sink in its own region, and the economic dimension has a significant positive impact on the forest carbon sink in its own region. In conclusion, corresponding policy recommendations are proposed for the development of forest carbon sinks to promote the realization of the dual-carbon goal.

To facilitate the computation of the uniaxial compressive strength value of the cemented paste backfill under the condition of high sand-cement ratio, and to analyze the size effect of the cemented paste backfill with high sand-cement ratio under varied aspect ratios, the cemented paste backfill specimens with sand-cement ratios of 8:1-24:1 and aspect ratios of 0.5, 1, and 2 were prepared. Through response surface experiments and finite element analysis, the influence of three aspect ratios on the cemented paste backfill strength was explored, and the failure characteristics and size effect mechanisms of cemented paste backfill with various aspect ratios were analyzed. The model of strength conversion between cemented paste backfill with different aspect ratios was established. The results show that the compressive strength of the cemented paste backfill decreases with the increase of the aspect ratio under the same mass concentration and sand-cement ratio. When the aspect ratio is 0.5 and 1, the splitting failure is the main factor; when the aspect ratio is 2, the shearing failure is the main factor. The three-dimensional stress caused by the end effect of the cemented paste backfill is the main reason for the high strength when the aspect ratio is 0.5. Due to the one-dimensional stress zone generated in the middle of the cemented paste backfill with an aspect ratio of 2 in the laboratory, its strength value is closer to the actual uniaxial compressive strength value of the cemented paste backfill. The strength values of the cemented paste backfill with aspect ratios of 0.5 and 1 were higher than the actual uniaxial compressive strength values in the laboratory. The rationality of the theoretical analysis was verified by the ABAQUS analysis results. According to the experimental results, a strength conversion model between different aspect ratios is established, which can provide a reference for the design of the uniaxial compressive strength of the cemented paste backfill.

The currently available anti-cancer therapies, such as gamma-radiation and chemotherapeutic agents, induce cell death and cellular senescence not only in cancer cells but also in the adjacent normal tissue. New anti-tumor approaches focus on limiting the side effects on normal cells. In this frame, the potential anti-tumor properties of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs) through irradiation of breast cancer epithelial cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and normal fibroblasts (FF95) were investigated. PEMFs had a frequency of 8 Hz, full-square wave type, magnetic flux density of 0.011 T and applied twice daily for 5 days. Data collected showcases that PEMF application decreases the proliferation rate and viability of breast cancer cells while having the opposite effect on normal fibroblasts. Moreover, PEMF irradiation induced cell death and cellular senescence only in breast cancer cells without any effect in the non-cancerous cells. These findings suggest PEMF irradiation as a novel, non-invasive anti-cancer strategy in combination with senolytic drugs, to eliminate both cancer and the remaining senescent cells while simultaneously avoiding the side effects of the current treatments.

Highly efficient, broadband and distinctively structured electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials exhibit huge exceptions with multi-functions in both military and civilian fields. Searching the relationship between structural and EMW performance is beneficial to develop outstanding microwave absorption materials, and has become an attractive research topic. In this study, we briefly reviewed the different EMW absorption mechanisms and key influence factors, then, present the latest developments in low-dimensional (LD) EMW absorption materials. We provide a comprehensive discussion of remarkable examples and summarize the main information related to the structure-function relationship of dimensional design and structural engineering in order to facilitate the rapid evolution of this fascinating field.

The combination of interstitial hyperthermia treatment (IHT) with high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) for prostate cancer treatment and has the potential to improve clinical outcome, since it highly enhances the efficiency of cell kill, especially when applied simultaneously. Therefore, we have developed the ThermoBrachy applicators. To effectively apply optimal targeted IHT, treatment planning is considered essential. However, treatment planning in IHT is rarely applied since it is regarded difficult to accurately calculate the deposited energy in the tissue in a short enough time for clinical practice. In this study, we investigated various time-efficient methods for fast computation of the electromagnetic (EM) energy deposition resulting from the ThermoBrachy applicators. Initially, we investigated the use of an electro-quasistatic solver. Next, we extended our investigation to the application of geometric simplifications. Furthermore, we investigated the validity of the superpositioning principle, which can enable adaptive treatment plan optimization without the need for continuous recomputation of the EM field. Finally, we evaluated the accuracy of the methods by comparing them to the golden standard Finite-Difference Time-Domain calculation method using gamma-index analysis. The simplifications considerably reduced the computation time needed, improving from &gt;12 h to a few seconds. All investigated methods showed excellent agreement with the golden standard by showing a &gt;99% passing rate with 1%/0.5 mm Dose Difference and Distance-to-Agreement criteria. These results allow the proposed electromagnetic simulation method to be used for fast and accurate adaptive treatment planning.

While numerous studies have explored the correlation between the built environment and ride-hailing demand, few have assessed their nonlinear interplay. Utilizing ride-hailing order data and multi-source built environment data from Nanjing, China, this paper uses the machine learning method, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), combined with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Partial Dependence Plots (PDP) to investigate the impact of built environment factors on ride-hailing travel demand, including their non-linear and threshold effects. The findings reveal that dining facilities have the most significant impact, with a contribution rate of 30.75%, on predicting ride-hailing travel demand. Additionally, financial, corporate, and medical facilities also exert considerable influence. The built environment factors need to reach a certain threshold or within a certain range to maximize the impact of ride-hailing travel demand. population density, land use mix and distance to the subway station collectively influence ride-hailing demand. The results are helpful for TNCs to allocate network ride-hailing resources reasonably and effectively.

Salinity stress emerges as an important menace to global food security, particularly affecting susceptible crops such as common bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The disruption of ion balances caused by salt stress withing plants cells reduces water and nutrient absorption, and hampers growth and productivity. Sacchorhiza polyschides, a brown macroalga rich in essential elements, and macrominerals, has drawn attention as a natural biostimulant, being a potential remedy to bolster crop resilience against salt stress. This study delves into the effect of water extracts of Sacchorhiza polyschides (SPE) across varying concentrations (1%, 2%, and 5%) in common bean plants under salt stress (68.4 mM NaCl) conditions. Two different methods of application were used: by spraying the aerial part of the plant or by irrigation together with the watering solution. The effects of both systems of application were studied on the aerial parts of the plants. SPE exhibited significant enhancements in morphological parameters, chlorophyll content, carbon-nitrogen activities, and antioxidant enzymatic system activities, alongside increasing osmolyte accumulation, compared to salt-stressed plants without biostimulation. Moreover, SPE reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels caused by salt stress, mitigating lipid peroxidation. The concentrations of 2% and 5% SPE applied by spraying showed the most significant results in most of the parameters analyzed. By shedding light on the underlying science behind this biostimulant effect, this research underscores the potential of SPE to enhance crop resilience and augment food production in salt-challenged environments.

We study theoretically the Josephson diode effect (JDE) realized in a system composed of parallel-coupled double quantum dots (DQDs) sandwiched between two semiconductor nanowires deposited on an s-wave superconductor surface. Due to the combined effects of the proximity-caused superconductivity, strong Rashba spin-orbit interaction and Zeeman splitting inside the nanowires, a pair of Majorana bound states (MBSs) may possibly emerge at opposite ends of each nanowire. Different phase factors arisen from the superconductor substrate can be generated in the coupling amplitudes between the DQDs and MBSs prepared at the left and right nanowires, and will result in the Josephson current. We find that the critical Josephson currents in positive and negative directions are different from each other in amplitude within an oscillation period with respective to the magnetic flux penetrating through the system, a phenomenon known as the JDE. It arises from the quantum interference effect in this double-path device, and can hardly occur in system of one QD coupled to MBSs. Our results also show that the diode efficiency can reach up to 50%, and depends on the overlap amplitude between the MBSs and the energy levels of the DQDs adjustable by gate voltages. The present model is realizable within current nanofabitication technologies and may find practical use in interdisciplinary field of Majorana and Josephson physics.

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

Oxygen extraction fraction (OEF), the fraction of oxygen that tissue extracts from blood, is an es-sential biomarker for directly assessing tissue viability and function in neurologic disorders. For quantitative mapping of OEF, an integrative model of quantitative susceptibility mapping and quantitative blood oxygen level-dependent magnitude (QSM+qBOLD or QQ) was recently pro-posed. However, QQ assumes Gaussian noise in both susceptibility and multi-echo gradient echo (mGRE) magnitude signals for OEF estimation. This assumption is unreliable in low sig-nal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regions like disease-related lesions, risking inaccurate OEF estimation and potentially impacting clinical decisions. Addressing this, our study presents a novel multi-echo complex QQ (mcQQ) that models realistic noise in mGRE complex signals. The proposed mcQQ was implemented using a deep learning framework (mcQQ-NET) and compared with the existing deep learning-based QQ (QQ-NET) in simulations, ischemic stroke patients, and healthy subjects. Both mcQQ-NET and QQ-NET used identical training and testing datasets and schemes for a fair comparison. In simulations, mcQQ-NET provided more accurate OEF than QQ-NET. In the sub-acute stroke patients, mcQQ-NET showed a lower average OEF ratio in lesions relative to unaf-fected contralateral normal tissue than QQ-NET. In the healthy subjects, mcQQ-NET provided uniform OEF maps, similar to QQ-NET, but without unrealistically high OEF outliers in areas of low SNR. Therefore, mcQQ-NET improves OEF accuracy by better reflecting realistic data noise characteristics.

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

This letter presents a dual-frequency terahertz amplitude modulator based on a cross-shaped structure and U-shaped metal patches. Its structural unit is a typical metal-substrate structure. The top metal consists of a cross-shaped structure and U-shaped metal patches, and the bottom substrate layer is made of quartz. Amplitude modulation is achieved by adjusting the temperature of the vanadium dioxide (VO2) patches. The modulation depth can be approximately 75%. The mechanism of the resonance frequency is explained by the equivalent circuit model. The proposed structure shows good amplitude modulation capability at different incidence and azimuth angles by changing the location of the VO2 patches. The dual-frequency terahertz amplitude modulator can be used in terahertz communication, imaging, etc.

To address the challenges associated with the difficult electromagnetic (EM) scattering computations of anisotropic dielectric-coated metallic composite targets, we proposed an efficient hybrid algorithm for simulating the EM scattering of complex targets with anisotropic dielectric coatings. This method, based on Impedance Boundary Condition (IBC), utilizes surface impedance vectors to describe the EM properties of the dielectric. It fully leverages the respective advantages of the low-frequency Method of Moments (MoM) and the high-frequency Physical Optics (PO) to achieve high-precision and rapid EM simulation of anisotropic dielectric-coated metallic composite targets. Employing boundary conditions and equivalent principles, we equivalently transform the EM scattering problem of targets with thin dielectric coatings into the radiation problem of equivalent EM current on impedance surfaces. This enables the high-precision and rapid calculation of Radar Cross Sections (RCS) for complex targets with anisotropic dielectric coatings. Using examples such as a square plate structure, a simplified aircraft, and a complex satellite model, the simulation results exhibit a high degree of agreement with full-wave numerical solutions and demonstrate a significant advantage in computational resources. This research convincingly demonstrates the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Electromagnetic (EM) waves, used for purposes such as geophysical characterization, impact properties to be measured. This paper describes the effects of radio frequency (RF) waves on the hydraulic conductivity of glass beads and natural sand. A series of tests were conducted using a customized, rigid-wall, cylindrical permeameter inside a resonant cavity made of Plexiglas covered with electrically conductive transparent films. Constant head ASTM-D2434 [1] tests were performed to measure the samples’ hydraulic conductivity. RF stimulation was performed using a magnetically coupled loop antenna at a constant frequency of 726 MHz and input power levels of 10, 25, 40, and 50 Watts. The hydraulic conductivity of both natural sand and glass-bead samples increased with RF stimulation. Furthermore, measurement of the electric-field component of RF waves was also performed to illustrate the pattern of the electric field as well as evaluate the RF impact on the hydraulic conductivity tests. The electric field was numerically simulated and validated against experimentally measured electric fields. A finite-difference numerical model was developed in MATLAB to analyze the seepage flow, which was then validated against the experimental results. An optimization scheme was then used to develop a governing equation for the RF impact on hydraulic conductivity.

As semi-airborne mineral exploration has limited budgets, it is critical to design experimental procedures that generate data maximizing the desired information We investigate the effects of transmitter-receiver geometries for a variety of anomalies and semi-airborne layouts. Our simulations indicate that 200 m flight line spacing and 100 m point distance are the optimal trade-off between coverage and survey progress for various targets. Based on the target size and distance between the transmitter and the target, the transmitter length should be at least equal to the length of the target and for more than 1 km, at least two or three times the target size. Likewise important are the location and direction of the transmitter cables, which can have great impact on the result of inversion and should be parallel to the target strike. By using more than one transmitter, better results are obtained. If the strike of the target is known, transmitters should be parallel to each other and if not, it is better to use perpendicular transmitters. Results showed that the optimal distance between transmitters is 3 km. Our simulations show that it is even possible to recover targets just below the transmitter in corresponding areas of masked data.

During the launch and return of a spacecraft, the intense combustion of propellants generates strong electromagnetic radiation, which interferes with the operation of electronic equipment in the spacecraft. To improve the electromagnetic compatibility of electronic equipment in spacecraft, it is necessary to study the electromagnetic radiation characteristics of rocket fuel. An electromagnetic radiation measurement system based on antennas is designed to measure the electromagnetic radiation generated by rocket fuel, and the electromagnetic radiation characteristics are obtained through data analysis. The mechanism of the electromagnetic radiation generated by rocket fuel is comprehensively analysed through the spatial, time-domain, frequency-domain, and energy-domain characteristics. A characterization model is established to provide a reliable scheme for evaluating the influence of rocket fuel electromagnetic radiation on electronic equipment in spacecraft.

In the frame of our diversity-oriented research on multitarget small molecule anticancer agents, utilizing convergent synthetic sequences terminated by Sonogashira coupling reactions, a preliminary selection of representative alkyne-tethered vindoline hybrids was synthesized. The novel hybrids with additional pharmacophoric fragments of well-documented anticancer agents, including FDA-approved tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (imatinib and erlotinib) or ferrocene or chalcone units, were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity on malignant cell lines MDA-MB-231 (triple negative breast cancer), A2780 (ovarian cancer), HeLa (human cervical cancer) and SH-SY5Y (neuroblastoma) as well as human embryonal lung fibroblast MRC-5 served as reference non-malignant cell line for the assessment of the therapeutic window of the tested hybrids. The biological assays identified a trimethoxyphenyl-containing chalcone-vindoline hybrid (36) as a promising lead compound exhibiting submicromolar activity on A2780 cells with a marked therapeutic window. These results suggest that ovarian cancer might be considered as a prioritized target of treatment with 36.

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.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 90-95% of all kidney cancers in adults, with the clear cell RCC (ccRCC) the most frequently identified subtype. RCC is known for its responsiveness to immunotherapy, making it an area of significant research interest. Immune checkpoint (IC) molecules, which regulate immune surveillance, are established therapeutic targets in RCC. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of polymorphisms in genes HVEM and CD160 on susceptibility to ccRCC and patient overall survival (OS) with over a ten-year period of observation. We genotyped three HVEM single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs1886730, rs2234167, and rs8725, and two CD160 SNPs: rs744877 and rs2231375, in 238 ccRCC patients and 521 controls. Our findings indicated that heterozygosity within rs2231375 and/or rs2234167 increases ccRCC risk. Furthermore, in women, heterozygosity within additional HVEM SNPs, rs8725 and rs1886730, is associated with an increased ccRCC risk. The presence of a minor allele for rs1886730, rs2234167, rs8725, and rs2231375 was also correlated with certain clinical features of the disease. Moreover, the rs1886730 SNP was found to be associated with patients' OS. In conclusion, our study highlights an association between HVEM and CD160 polymorphisms and the risk of developing ccRCC as well as patient’s OS.

The influence of short term water absorption on the mechanical properties of halloysite nanotubes-multi layer graphene reinforced polyester hybrid nanocomposites has been investigated. The addition of nano-fillers significantly increased the flexural strength; tensile strength and impact strength in dry and wet conditions. After short term water exposure; the maximum microhardness; tensile; flexural and impact toughness values were observed at 0.1 wt% MLG. The microhardness increased up to 50.3%; tensile strength increased up to 40% and flexural strength increased up to 44%. Compared to dry samples; the fracture toughness and surface roughness of all types of produced nanocomposites were increased that may be attributed to plasticization effect. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the main failure mechanism is caused by the weakening of nano-filler-matrix interface induced by water absorption. It was further observed that synergistic effects were not effective at concentration of 0.1 wt% to produce considerable improvement in mechanical properties of produced hybrid nanocomposites.

Many farms are replacing the lighting with light emitting diode (LED) bulbs because of the technological modernization. We aimed to investigate the effects of incandescent light (IL) and LED lighting on Cobb500 broiler chickens for six weeks. Production parameters (body weight, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio), calculated slaughter values (yield%, relative breast%, thigh%) and breast meat quality parameters (pH at 45 min and 24 h postmortem, color, drip loss, kitchen equipment losses, shear force, meat composition) were recorded. Non-stop recordings were used to analyze the behavior of the birds in several periods of the rearing. LED group was significantly better in body weigh parameter between week 1-5 and feed conversion ratio between week 2-3. The most significant difference in behavior was observed in the middle of the rearing period. The chickens in the LED group spent more eating time, drinking time, interacting, and resting less. There was no difference in the meat quality parameters, only shear force was significantly lower in the LED group (1781.95±0.33 g/s vs. 2098.82±0.42 g/s). Based on our results, LED lighting can bring positive changes in animal production efficiency, behavior, and important characteristics for meat consumers.

The present paper reports an exact approach quantifying the electromagnetic contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment occurring in isolated system comprised of non-composite particle carrying elementary electric charge. Essential averaging procedure and regularization of the electromagnetic field potentials necessary when quantifying the electromagnetic self-interactions and when deriving equations of motion without singularities and obeying the conservation laws are thoroughly discussed. The study shows that the dynamics of the considered system is associated to unique classical transcendental equations of motion satisfied by the particle's velocity and the electromagnetic contribution to the anomalous $g$-factor known from the quantum electrodynamics. The equations of motion lead to an exact analytical expression for the anomalous $g$-factor that provides more accurate result than that calculated with the aid of quantum electrodynamics. It matches the experimentally measured value reported in the literature to a one part per trillion. We obtain a_e=0.00115965218000(65) thus reveling the potential of non-perturbative, non-probability methods in predicting the electron's anomalous g-factor.

The propagation of electromagnetic waves beyond the line of sight can be caused by atmospheric ducts, which are a significant concerns in the fields of radar and communication. This paper utilizes data from seven automatic stations and five radio-sounding stations to statistically analyze the characteristics of the atmospheric ducts in the northwest region of the South China Sea (SCS). After verifying the practicality of numerical analysis data from NCEP CFSv2 and ERA5 in studying atmospheric ducts using measured data, we analyzed the space-time distribution characteristics of the height of the regional evaporation duct and the bottom height of the elevated duct. Using the parabolic equation model, we simulated electromagnetic propagation loss under different frequencies and radiation elevation angles in both uniform and non-uniform duct environments within a typical atmospheric duct structure. The study found that the NCEP CFSv2 data accurately captures the evaporation duct height and duct occurrence rate in the study area, and the elevated duct bottom height obtained from the inversion of ERA5 and the measured data has a good consistency. The occurrence rate and height of evaporation duct in coastal stations in the northwest of the SCS vary significantly by month, demonstrating clear monthly distribution patterns. Conversely, changes in the Xisha station are minimal, indicating good temporal uniformity. For lower atmospheric ducts, the difference in occurrence rates between 00:00 and 12:00 (UTC) is negligible. The occurrence probability of elevated ducts in the Beibu Gulf area is relatively high, mainly concentrated from January to April, and the Xisha area is dominated by surface ducts without foundation layer, mainly concentrated from June to August. The monsoon plays a critical role in the generation and evolution of atmospheric ducts in the northwest of the SCS, with the height of the evaporation duct increasing and the bottom height of the elevated duct decreasing after the onset of the summer monsoon. Electromagnetic propagation simulations demonstrate that higher frequency and lower elevation angles of radiation sources in the trapping layer of the evaporation duct make it easier to be trapped. As the evaporation duct height decreases, the amplitude of the "sinusoidal fluctuation" of the propagation loss also decreases. Frequency changes of the radiation source in the surface duct environment have minimal impact on electromagnetic propagation loss, but the elevation angle of the radiation source is a critical factor. The frequency of the "sinusoidal fluctuation" in propagation loss is higher in a hybrid duct environment compared to a uniform surface duct. Additionally, the propagation loss increases faster with distance at the height of the evaporation duct, resulting in greater electromagnetic propagation loss.

We examine here characteristics of electromagnetic waves that propagate through an unbounded space filled with a homogeneous isotropic chiral medium. Resulting characters are compared to those of the electromagnetic waves propagating through an achiral free space. To this goal, we form energy conservation laws for key bilinear parameters in a chiral case. Due to a nonzero medium chirality, conservation laws turn out to contain extra terms that are linked to the spin-orbit coupling, which is absent for an achiral case. As an example, we take a plane wave for achiral case to evaluate those bilinear parameters. Resultantly, the conservation laws for a chiral case are found to reveal inconsistencies among several bilinear parameters that constitute the con-servation laws , thereby prompting us to establish partial remedies for formulating proper wave-propagation problems.

This article is a big picture of how electrical noise or conducted Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) is generated and mitigated in power converters. It gives an overview of what EMI in power converters is – from generation through to conduction and mitigation. It is meant to cover the complete subject as a summary so that the reader will have an outline of how to control conducted EMI by design (where possible) and how to mitigate by filtering. A clear distinction is made between Differential Mode (DM) and Common Mode (CM) EMI generation and mitigation. By using a boost converter as an example the trade-offs for DM noise control are discussed. It is shown how CM EMI is generated in a boost converter using the concept of the “Imbalance Difference Model” (IDM). Practical measurements for an in-line power filter is given showing the effect of the filter on the total EMI of a boost converter. Measurements for the CM current produced due to the imbalance difference for different values of the boost conductor are also shown. The main contribution of this study is linking CM noise generation to DM EMI. It is shown that CM noise is a direct consequence of DM noise (although circuit imbalance and coupling to a common ground also play a role). This paper will be useful to designers seeking the “bigger picture” of how EMI is generated in power converters and what can be done to mitigate the noise.

Negative corona discharges occur widely in high voltage transmission lines and charged aircraft, which can cause strong electromagnetic interference. Negative corona discharge is typically performed simultaneously at multiple discharge points. In this study, the current and its EM radiation characteristics of single-needle and multi-needle negative corona discharge in different conditions were tested. The current and electromagnetic radiation characteristics of the two discharge structures were compared. The dipole radiation model was established to analyze the EM radiation characteristics of the negative corona discharge.The results show that, It is only when the voltage reaches a certain threshold that the current and electromagnetic radiation fields of the multi-needle discharge structure will be superimposed and their amplitudes will increase significantly. The frequency of electromagnetic radiation signal does not change with the number of needles, cathode geometry and applied voltage, but only depends on ambient pressure. It provides a basis for detecting corona discharge sources under different conditions.

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

Carbon dioxide (CO2)miscible fracturing huff and puff technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the recovery rate of crude oil, particularly in reservoirs with challenging physical properties, strong water sensitivity, high injection pressure, and complex water injection dynamics. In this study, the oil-increasing mechanism and huff and puff effect of CO2 miscible fracturing fluid are investigated through a comprehensive experimental approach. Specifically, experiments on PVT gas injection expansion, minimum miscible pressure, and CO2 miscible fracturing huff and puff are conducted on the G fault block reservoir in J Oilfield. The findings demonstrate that injecting CO2 into reservoirs leads to oil volume expansion, viscosity reduction, and saturation pressure increase. Additionally, the inclusion of solubilizers and viscosity reducers further enhances the efficiency of crude oil extraction. Solubilizers not only improve oil recovery but also reduce the minimum miscible pressure required for effective CO2 dispersion. Furthermore, the shut-in time, permeability, and huff and puff method all have considerable impacts on huff and puff recovery rate. This study offers valuable technical insights, supporting the application of CO2 miscible fracturing huff and puff technology to enhance oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs.

Fibroin-chitosan composites, especially those containing nanohydroxyapatite, show potential for bone tissue regeneration. The physicochemical properties of these biocomposites depend on the compatibility between their components. In this study, the intermolecular interactions of fibroin and chitosan were analyzed using a molecular dynamics approach. Two types of systems were investigated: one containing acetic acid and the other containing calcium (Ca²⁺) and hydrogen phosphate (HPO₄²⁻) ions mimicking hydroxyapatite conditions. After obtaining the optimal equilibrium structures, the distributions of several types of interactions including hydrogen bonds, ionic contacts, and hydrophobic contacts along with the structural and energetical features were examined. The calculated binding energy values for the fibroin-chitosan complexes confirm their remarkable stability. The high affinity of fibroin for chitosan can be explained by the formation of a dense network of interactions between considered biopolymers. These interactions were found to be primarily hydrogen bonds and ionic contacts involving ALA, ARG, ASN, ASP, GLN, GLU, GLY, LEU, PRO, SER, THR, TYR, and VAL residues. As it was established, the complexation of fibroin with chitosan maintains the β-sheet conformation of the peptide. β-Sheet fragments in fibroin are involved in the formation of significant amount of hydrogen bonds and ionic contacts with chitosan.