Understanding tumor attachments and management of feeding arteries are very important factors to achieve safe resection of skull base meningioma. We examined the distributions and frequencies of feeding arteries in skull base meningioma by cerebral angiography, and also assessed relationships to tumor attachment for skull base meningioma. We enrolled patients with skull base meningioma who underwent MRI and cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA), from September 2015 to October 2022. Subjects comprised 115 patients (32 males, 83 females; mean age, 52.7 years) with 117 meningiomas showing tumor attachments around the “cavernous sinus to upper part of the clivus” (Area 1), “lower part of the clivus to foramen magnum” (Area 2), and “tentorium around the petrous bone” (Area 3). We examined feeding arteries based on cerebral angiography and counted the number of related feeding arteries. Particularly frequent arteries, such as the dorsal meningeal artery (DMA), ascending pharyngeal artery (APA), tentorial artery (TA), and petrosal branch (PB) of the middle meningeal artery (MMA) were analyzed for associations of tumor attachment to Areas 1–3. DMA, APA, TA, and PB are very frequent feeding arteries among skull base meningiomas. In some cases, the artery of the foramen rotundum, posterior ethmoidal artery, recurrent meningeal artery, posterior meningeal artery, etc., supply blood to the skull base meningioma. Meningiomas with DMA as a feeding artery correlated strongly with tumor attachment to Area 1 (p<0.001). Meningiomas with APA correlated strongly with tumor attachment to Area 2 (p<0.001). Meningiomas with TA correlated strongly with tumor attachment to Area 3 (p<0.001). PB correlated with Area 3 (p<0.05). Visualization of these arteries suggests tumor attachments to the correlated areas. An accurate anatomical understanding of tumor attachment and feeding arteries is essential to determine appropriate surgical strategies for skull base meningioma. Pre-operative DSA can provide further understanding of the feeding arteries and attachments of skull base meningioma.

Understanding the structural intricacies of RNA molecules is essential for deciphering numerous biological processes. Traditionally, scientists have relied on experimental methods to gain insights and draw conclusions. However, the recent advent of advanced computational techniques has significantly accelerated and refined the accuracy of research results in several areas. A particularly challenging aspect of RNA analysis is the prediction of its secondary structure, which is crucial for elucidating its functional role in biological systems. This paper deals with the prediction of pseudoknots in RNA, focusing on two types of pseudoknots: K-type and M-type pseudoknots. Pseudoknots are complex RNA formations in which nucleotides in a loop form base pairs with nucleotides outside the loop and thus contribute to essential biological functions. Accurate prediction of these structures is crucial for understanding RNA dynamics and interactions. Building on our previous work in which we developed a framework for the recognition of H- and L-type pseudoknots, an extended grammar-based framework tailored to the prediction of K- and M-type pseudoknots is proposed. This approach uses syntactic pattern recognition techniques and provides a systematic method to identify and characterize these complex RNA structures. Our framework uses context-free grammars (CFGs) to model RNA sequences and predict the occurrence of pseudoknots. By formulating specific grammatical rules for type K and type M pseudoknots, we enable efficient parsing of RNA sequences to recognize potential pseudoknot configurations. This method ensures an exhaustive exploration of possible pseudoknot structures within a reasonable time frame. In addition, the proposed method incorporates essential concepts of biology, such as base pairing optimization and free energy reduction, to improve the accuracy of pseudoknot prediction. These principles are crucial to ensure that the predicted structures are biologically plausible. By embedding these principles into our grammar-based framework, we aim to predict RNA conformations that are both theoretically sound and biologically relevant.

The unsolved problem in three-dimensional surgical planning for patients with facial deformity, dysgnathia, or asymmetry is the lack of a normative database of “norm skulls” that can be used as treatment objectives. A study was conducted on 90 Eurasian persons (46 male and 44 female adults) with normal and balanced facial appearance, skeletal Class I pattern, and proper interincisal relationship with normal occlusion. Cone-beam computed tomography was performed. 18 landmarks were digitized and 3D cephalometric measurements of overall facial features, skull, midface and mandible were performed and analyzed by means of proportions calculated from the landmarks. Male and female skulls were analyzed as well as subdivisions revealed by cluster analysis. The data showed that four subtypes of skulls were distinguishable with statistical significance (p< 0,05). A male and a female type subdivided in a brachiocephalic and dolichocephalic phenotype could be identified. For each type then a mean shape was calculated by a Procrustes transformation, which in turn was used to create four template skulls from a male and a female skull by means of a thin plate spline transformation. The normative data of the subtypes can individually serve as a guide for orthodontic surgery, especially helpful in 3D plan-ning and execution of craniofacial operations.

In the 21st century, museums have come to realize that the human skeletons they display might have problematic origins. The older anthropological skeletal collections typically originate from anatomical dissection of the executed and the very poor, or from scavenged graves of indigenous people. Such collections are currently being re-evaluated in many countries, and reburying or repatriating museum skeletons have become viable options. A particularly difficult question is what to do with human remains of unknown origins. Here, we present and discuss one such case, where a human skeleton of unclear origin in the 1930’s was brought to a local museum in Bollnäs, Sweden, under likely unethical circumstances. Most of the bones have now been lost, except for the skull, the sacrum and one lumbar vertebra, which in 2007 were transferred to the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. The skull was there put on display as the “Bollnäs skull”, and was presented to the public to illustrate the dilemmas involved in handling human remains in the post-colonial era. The original gift letter from 1934 stated that the skeleton came from San Nicolas Island outside the California coast, but this letter contained numerous instances of incorrect information and was therefore deemed not trustworthy. However, our critical examination of the skull and its background information indicates that San Nicolas Island is a plausible origin, and we suggest that a bioarchaeological comparison should be made between the skull and living descendants of the San Nicolas Island population, and/or with archaeological human skeletons excavated from the island.

Crop production in Afghanistan suffers from limited phosphorus (P) availability, which severely hinders national agriculture sustainability. This present study hypothesized that deep fertilizer placement could significantly enhance uptake of immobile P and thus tissue P accumulation and crop yield. A two-year pot experiment growing two maize (Zea mays) hybrid cultivars (Xida-789 and Xida-211) was therefore conducted to test these hypotheses under three contrasting fertilizer placement methods (broadcast, side band, and deep band). In doing so, P concentrations in both maize tissues and soils were compared at 45, 60, and 115 days after sowing (DAS) under nine combinations of nitrogen (N) and P fertilizer rates (kg ha-1: N112P45, N112P60, N112P75, N150P45, N150P60, N150P75, N187P45, N187P60, N187P75). Results have shown that deep band placement significantly increased P uptake efficiency, leading to greater P concentration and accumulation in maize tissues compared to other two fertilization methods. This improved P uptake was attributed to several factors associated with deep placement, including reduced P fixation, enhanced root access to P, and moisture availability for P uptake. Additionally, deep band placement combined with higher N application rates (N187 and N150) further enhanced plant P uptake by promoting P availability and utilization mechanisms. Deep band placement also resulted in significantly higher total soil P, Olsen-P, and P use efficiency than broadcast and side band methods, indicating a more efficient P fertilization strategy for maize that can improve growth and yield. This present study also found positive correlations between P concentration in plant organs and soil Olsen-P, highlighting the importance of adequate soil P levels for optimal plant growth. Overall, our results have showed that deep band fertilizer placement emerged as a superior strategy for enhancing P uptake efficiency, utilization, and maize productivity compared to broadcast and side band placement. This approach can potentially optimize P fertilizer utilization, improve maize growth and yield, while minimizing environmental P losses associated with broadcast applications.

The author demonstrates a stable Lagrangian solid modeling method, tracking the interactions of solid mass particles rather than using a meshed grid. This numerical method avoids the problem of tensile instability often seen with smooth particle applied mechanics by having the solid particles apply stresses expected with Hooke's law, as opposed to using a smoothing function for neighboring solid particles. This method has been tested successfully with a bar in tension, compression, and shear, as well as a disk compressed into a flat plate, and the numerical model consistently matched the analytical Hooke's law as well as Hertz contact theory for all examples. The solid modeling numerical method was then built into a 2-D model of a pressure vessel, which was tested with liquid water particles under pressure and simulated with smoothed particle hydrodynamics. This simulation was stable, and demonstrated the feasibility of Lagrangian specification modeling for fluid–solid interactions.

(S)-Atenolol ((S)-2-(4-(2-Hydroxy-3-(isopropylamino)propoxy)phenyl)acetamide) has been synthesized in >99% ee with use of Candida antarctica lipase B from Syncozymes (Shanghai, China), in a kinetic resolution of the corresponding racemic chlorohydrin. Deprotonation of the starting phenol building block was base catalyzed. The enantiopurity of the chlorohydrin building block remained unchanged upon subsequent amination. All four steps in the synthesis protocol have been optimized compared to previously reported methods, which makes this new protocol more sustainable and in accordance with green chemistry principles compared to previously reported protocols.

This paper mainly explores the feasibility of using desert sand (DS) and recycled aggregate in cement stabilized base. Recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) and DS serve as the substitutes of natural coarse and fine aggregates, respectively, in cement stabilized base. A four-factor and four-level orthogonal test is designed to analyze the unconfined compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and compressive resilient modulus. Furthermore, this paper investigates the effects of cement content, fly ash (FA) replacement rate, RCA replacement rate, and DS replacement rate on the road performance of cement stabilized base composing of RCA and DS. The test results reveal that the performance of cement stabilized base with partial RCA instead of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) and partial DS instead of natural fine aggregate satisfy the road use. Meanwhile, DS is beneficial to improve the strength of cement stabilized base. The correlation and microscopic analyses of the test results imply the feasibility of applying DS and recycled aggregate to cement stabilized base. It is hoped that this paper can offer a solid theoretical foundation for promoting the application of DS and recycled aggregate in road engineering.

This study addresses the critical issue of dowel-bearing strength in Bambusa blumeana, a key sus-tainable construction material crucial for climate change mitigation. Given the lack of bamboo connection standards, the research focuses on determining the dowel-bearing strength of Bambusa blumeana, emphasizing factors such as dowel diameter, node placements, and the physical prop-erties of bamboo. A predictive equation is derived, enhancing the practicality of bamboo in struc-tural design. The results underscore a notable correlation between dowel diameter and character-istic strength, with implications for engineering practices. Node placements significantly affect dowel-bearing capacity, while bamboo's physical attributes, including thickness, culm diameter, and moisture content, exhibit modest correlations with strength. The derived equation aims to assist in structural design, mitigating splitting and bearing failures in bamboo structures. This research establishes a foundation for optimizing the use of Bambusa blumeana in sustainable construction, advancing the understanding of its dowel-bearing strength for improved sustainability and resili-ence in the construction industry. Future research suggestions include exploring bamboo-mortar composites, additional node placements, and employing more comprehensive empirical equations and curve-fitting techniques. The study advocates for further investigations with more diverse and larger bamboo samples to bolster robustness. Additionally, delving into bamboo ductility may offer valuable insights.

The relationship between the structure characteristics and performances of coal based hydrogenation isomeric base oil (CTL) and metallocene catalyzed coal based polyalphaolefin (mPAO) base oil was clarified here. CTL and mPAO were compared with typical petroleum based and natural gas based commercial API Class III and IV base oils. Pressurized differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC), Rotary Bomb Oxidation Test (RBOT) and four-balls friction tester were used to evaluate the oxidation stability and lubrication performance of base oils under different working conditions. The sensitivity of different base oils to typical antioxidants and extreme pressure antiwear agents was compared. Specially, the composition and structure of CTL base oil are obviously different from GTL and mineral base oil. The coal-based CTL and mPAO base oils exhibit commendable viscosity-temperature properties, characteristics, coupled with low-temperature fluidity, fire safety, and minimal evaporation loss. The lubricating properties, oxidation stability and the sensitivity to extreme pressure antiwear agents of CTL are close to those of similar base oils. But the sensitivity of CTL to typical antioxidants is relatively poor. Besides, compared with commercial PAO base oil, mPAO has lower isomerization degree and fewer isomerization types. The oxidation stability and sensitivity to typical antioxidants of mPAO base oil are comparable with those of commercial PAO base oil, while its lubrication performance and sensitivity to typical extreme pressure antiwear agents are significantly better than those of commercial PAO base oil.

Polyalcohol liquefaction can be done by acid or basic catalysis producing polyols with different properties. This study compared the mechanical properties of foams produced using polyols from liquefied Cytisus scoparius obtained by acid and basic catalysis and using two different foam catalysts. The differences were monitored using FTIR analysis. Acid-catalyzed liquefaction yielded 95.1 %, with the resultant polyol having an OH index of 1081 mg KOH/g while basic catalysis yielded 82.5 %, with a similar OH index of 1070 mg KOH/g. Generally, compressive strength with dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) ranged from 16 - 31 kPa (acid-liquefied polyol) and 12 -21 kPa (base-liquefied polyol), while with stannous octoate (TIN), it ranged from 17 - 42 kPa (acid) and 29 - 68 kPa (base). Increasing water content generally decreased the compressive modulus and strength of foams. Higher water content led to a higher absorption at 1670 cm-1 in the FTIR spectrum due to the formation of urea. Higher isocyanate indices generally improved compressive strength, but high amounts led to unreacted isocyanate that could be seen by a higher absorption at 2265 cm-1 and 3290 cm-1. DBTL was shown to be the best foam catalyst due to higher trimer conversion seen in the spectra by a higher absorption at 1410 cm-1. Acid and base-derived polyols lead to different polyurethane foams with different FTIR spectra, particularly with a higher absorption at 1670 cm-1 for foams from acid-derived liquefaction.

Unmanned vehicles (UVs) have become increasingly important in various scenarios of civil and military operations. The present work aims at the conceptual design of a modular Amphibious Unmanned Ground Vehicle (A-UGV), that can be easily adapted for different types of land and/or water missions, with low monetary cost (&lt;5k€, without sensors). Basing the design on the needs highlighted in the 2021 review of the Strategic Directive of the Portuguese Navy, the necessary specifications and requirements are established for two mission scenarios. Then a market research analysis focused on vehicles currently available, and their technological advances, is conducted to identify existing UVs solutions and respective characteristics/capabilities of interest to the current work. To study and define the geometry of the hull and the configuration of the A-UGV itself, preliminary computational structural and fluid analyses are carried out to ensure it complies with the specifications initially established. As a result, one obtains a fully electric vehicle, with approximate dimensions of 1050×670×450mm (length-width-height), enabled with 6×6 traction capable of reaching 20km/h in land, possesses amphibious capabilities of independent propulsion in water up to 8kts, and with an estimated autonomy of over 60 minutes.

This study proposes a cephalometric analysis that can be used for biomechanical simulation by considering the important and complex relationship between craniofacial morphology and masseter muscle (MM) size and inclination and by including muscle values. The MM line of action drawn between the Gonion (Go) and Orbital (Or) point relative to dental and skeletal references (occlusal and Frankfort planes) were analyzed. A total of 510 pre-treatment lateral cephalometric tracings (217 males, 293 females, 6-50 years) and lateral Bolton standard tracings (6-18 years) were analyzed. The study examined the following: a) skeletal-cutaneous class (linear distance in mm between the projections of points A' and B' on the occlusal plane), b) the angle between the perpendicular line to the occlusal plane and the Go-Or line at the molar occlusal point, and c) the angle between the Go-Or line and the Frankfort plane. The skeletal classes of the patients ranged from -14.5 to 15.5 mm and did not differ by sex or age; the angle between the Go-Or line and the normal to the occlusal plane averaged 39° (range 15° to 53°) and decreased with age, while the angle between the Go-Or line and the Frankfort plane averaged 42° (range 30° to 54°), increased in older patients. No effect of gender was observed. The two angles were also significantly correlated with each other, but not with sagittal jaw discrepancy. Similar results were obtained with Bolton tracings; the positional relationship of the Go-Or line to the teeth and skeletal landmarks is partially consistent with the literature. The present cephalometric analysis can be usefully used to estimate the mechanical advantage of MM in biomechanical simulations of masticatory muscle performance.

Abstract: Due to sever land degradation throughout Ethiopia, the government has been implementing massive soil and water conservation works at the watershed scale since 2010 to conserve soil and water resources. However, most of the rivers in Ethiopia carry huge amount of sediment in rainy season and streams dried up in the dry period. Planned research was conducted on two paired micro-catchments Mt.Yewel with the main objective of evaluating the impact of soil and water conservation measures on base flow modification. Stream flow and rainfall data were collected from 22/11/2020 to 8/11/2022 on both micro-catchments at their outlets and center respectively. Base flow separation was done using Sp. Hydro base flow separation tool and SPSS Ver.21 statistical software was employed for data analysis. Flow duration curve (FDC) for both watersheds were developed. The FDC indicated that the base flow from treated micro-catchment ishigher and sustained in the dry season while it is low and un-sustained in untreated micro-catchment. From statistical analysis, there is a significant difference in base flow enhancement between the treated and untreated micro-catchment (P<0.001). Hence, catchment treatment contributed to improve groundwater recharge and sustain base flow in the dry season by reduce surface runoff during rainy season.

Abstract: Severe land degradation is the principal environmental problem in Ethiopian highlands in the form of soil erosion, and soil fertility loss, which is caused by human intervention for food, shelter, and energy demands. Soil erosion contributes to the loss of precious soil and water resources which are the basis of agricultural production and provide numerous other eco-system services. The Ethiopian highlands are one of the most degraded regions in the world. To combat such problems, the government of Ethiopia has been implementing massive soil and water conservation works at the watershed scale since 2010 to conserve soil and water resources. Mount Yewel is one of the highlands in Northeastern Ethiopia where intensive soil and water conserva-tion has been implemented. Despite the massive investment in soil and water conservation measures, most of the rivers in the highlands of Ethiopia carry huge amounts of sediment with high flood risks in the wet season and streams are dried up in the dry period. Nonetheless, the impact of soil and water conservation measures on flood reduction and dry season flow en-hancement has not yet been quantified and evaluated. This research was then conducted on paired micro-catchments of Mount Yewel with the main objective of evaluating the impact of soil and water conservation measures on base flow modification. Stream flow and rainfall data were col-lected from 22/11/2020 to 8/11/2022 on paired micro-catchments of Mount Yewel at their outlets and centers respectively. Base flow separation was done from the stream hydrograph using Sp. Hydro base flow separation tool and SPSS Ver.21 statistical software were employed for data analysis. Flow duration curves (FDC) for both watersheds were developed to compare the stream flow patterns between treated and untreated micro-catchments of Mount Yewel. The FDC indi-cated that the base flow from treated micro-catchment is higher and sustained in the dry season while it is low and unsustained in untreated micro-catchment. From statistical analysis, there is a significant (P

Nystagmus induced by applying an intense vibratory stimulus to the skull (SVIN) indicates vestibular functional asymmetry. In unilateral vestibular loss, a 100-Hz bone-conducted vibration given to either mastoid immediately causes a primarily horizontal nystagmus. Test is performed in darkness to avoid visual fixation (VF) but there is no data about how much VF affects the often-intense SVIN. The aim is to analyze the amount of reduction of SVIN when VF is allowed during testing. Thus, all patients seen in a tertiary hospital for vertigo or dizziness with positive SVIN were included. SVIN was recorded for 10 seconds for each condition: without VF (aSVINwo) and VF (aSVINw). We obtained an aSVINwo and aSVINw as average slow-phase velocities (SPV) without and with VF. VF index (FISVIN) was calculated as the ratio of SPV. Among the 124 patients included, spontaneous nystagmus (SN) was found in 25% and the mSPV (without VF) of SN was 2.62.4º/s. Mean FISVIN was 0.270.29. FISVIN was 0 in 42 patients and &gt;0 FISVIN &lt;1 in 82 (mean FISVIN 0.390.02). Fixation suppression was found in all patients with SVIN in cases of peripheral vestibulopathy. FISVIN clearly delineates two populations of patients: with or without complete visual reduction of nystagmus.

Most human genetic disease arises from point mutations. These genetic diseases can theoretically be corrected by gene therapy but clinic practice is still far from mature. Nearly half of the pathogenic single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are caused by G:C>A:T or T:A>C:G base changes. The best current methods to repair these changes are by base editing without footprint using recently developed CRISPR-Cas9 technology by David Liu’s lab. These base editing methods have been confirmed with precision and efficiency in cultured mammalian cells, but it is barely confirmed and the efficiency is still very low. Animal models are important in dissecting pathogenic mechanism for human genetic diseases and efficacy testing of base correction in vivo. Cytidine base editor BE4 is a newly developed version of cytidine base editing system that converts cytidine (C) to uridine (U) in cultured mammalian cells but has not been proven in vivo. In this study, we have tested this system in cells to inactivate GFP gene and in mice by introducing single-base substitution that leads to a stop codon in tyrosinase gene. High percentage albino coat-colored mice were obtained from black coat-colored donor zygotes after pronuclei microinjection. Sequencing results showed that expected base changes were obtained with high precision and efficiency (56.25%). There are no off-targeting events identified in predicted off-target sites. Results confirm BE4 system can work in vivo with high precision and efficacy, and has great potentials in clinic to repair human genetic mutations.

To make wind power more competitive, it is necessary to reduce turbine downtime and reduce costs associated with wind turbine Operation and Maintenance (O&amp;M). Incorporating machine learning in developing condition-based predictive maintenance methodologies for wind turbines can enhance their efficiency and reliability. This paper presents a monitoring method that utilizes Base Density for the Support Vector Machine (BDSVM) and the evolutionary Fourier spectra of vibrations. This method allows smart monitoring of the function evolution of the turbine. A complex optimal function (FO) for 5-degree order has been developed that will be the boundary function of the BDSVM to timely determine the magnitude, frequency, and place of the failure occurring in wind turbine drive.

A U.S. government health agency conducted epidemiological studies to evaluate whether exposures to drinking water contaminated with volatile organic compounds at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, were associated with increased health risks to children and adults. These health studies required knowledge of contaminant concentrations in drinking water—at monthly intervals—delivered to family housing, barracks, and other facilities within the study area. Because concentration data were limited or unavailable during much of the period of contamination (1950s–1985), the historical reconstruction process was used to quantify estimates of monthly mean contaminant-specific concentrations. This paper integrates many efforts, reports, and papers into a synthesis of the overall approach to, and results from, a drinking-water historical reconstruction study. Results show that at the Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant (WTP) reconstructed (simulated) tetrachloroethylene (PCE) concentrations reached a maximum monthly average value of 183 micrograms per liter (ug/L) compared to a one-time maximum measured value of 215 ug/L and exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s current maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 ug/L during the period November 1957–February 1987. At the Hadnot Point WTP, reconstructed trichloroethylene (TCE) concentrations reached a maximum monthly average value of 783 ug/L compared to a one-time maximum measured value of 1,400 ug/L during the period August 1953–December 1984. The Hadnot Point WTP also provided contaminated drinking water to the Holcomb Boulevard housing area continuously prior to June 1972, when the Holcomb Boulevard WTP came on line (maximum reconstructed TCE concentration of 32 ug/L) and intermittently during the period June 1972–February 1985 (maximum reconstructed TCE concentration of 66 ug/L). Applying the historical reconstruction process to quantify contaminant-specific monthly drinking-water concentrations is advantageous for epidemiological studies when compared to using the classical exposed versus unexposed approach.

Bamboo is considered a sustainable construction material due to its ability to grow quickly and its mechanical properties that are comparable to timber. Contributing to the current effort to establish the structural bamboo standards in the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP), this study establishes the characteristic compressive strength of four bamboo species: Bambusa vulgaris (36 samples), Dendrocalamus asper (36 samples), Bambusa blumeana (94 samples), and Guadua angustifolia Kunth (30 samples). The samples were subjected to compressive loading following ISO 22157-1 (2017). The characteristic compressive strength values obtained, according to ISO 12122-1 (2014), were 40.35 MPa for B. vulgaris, 40.21 MPa for D. asper, 46.63 MPa for B. blumeana, and 36.99 MPa for G. angustifolia Kunth. Simple linear analysis, One-way ANOVA, and Welch’s t-Test were used to analyze the correlation models and establish a comparative analysis of the effect of nodes, and geometric and physical properties on the compressive strength of bamboos. Comparing the characteristic compressive strength obtained from this study to the strength of unseasoned structural timber of Philippine woods, all bamboo species showed higher strength values, and thus have great potential as an alternative construction material to timber.

A random variable X that is base b Benford will not in general be base c Benford when c is not equal to b. This paper builds on two of my earlier papers and is an attempt to cast some light on the issue of base dependence. Following some introductory material, the “Benford spectrum” of a positive random variable is introduced and known analytic results about Benford spectra are summarized. Some standard machinery for a “Benford analysis” is introduced and combined with my method of “seed functions” to yield tools to analyze the base c Benford properties of a base b Benford random variable. Examples are generated by applying these general methods to several families of Benford random variables. Berger and Hill's concept of “base-invariant significant digits” is discussed. Some potential extensions are sketched.

Structure - function interdependence is a universal phenomenon in biological systems. Any alteration in structural features may result in change in functions–leading to natural selection of a particular trait, or dysfunctions thereof. Many such alterations arise during the course of evolution of a species and may meticulously be traced during embryonic development of an organism. Through the theoretical construct of morphological integration, a set of phenotypic traits alter in a coordinated and integrated manner during evolution and embryonic development of an organism yielding efficient environmentally adapted physiological functions pertinent to those structures. Such integration may go awry sometimes, setting the basis for genesis of diseases. Morphological integration in human skull has been established through various methods. The brain-skull co-development is handcuffed through evolution and development, and the very basis of a neuro-psychiatric disorder could be underlying in dysmorphogenesis of the skull, its consequent effect on structures, and thus functions of the pertinent brain components. Here we propose that morphological integration in human skull may be mechanistically implied in etiogenesis of certain neuro-psychiatric disorders and should be borne in mind during clinical diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

Unmanned aerial vehicles serving as air base stations (UAV-BSs) are used in telecommunications, when the network is overloaded or unavailable, providing access to users on the ground. Due to its dynamics of providing access to networks in different altitudes, the electromagnetic signal of UAVs suffers losses along the path, thus facing several problems related to transmission, such as: attenuation, fading and distortion. In this work is proposed a 3D positioning strategy for UAVs, taking into account height, coverage radius and flight energy efficiency. Results show that the proposed algorithm is able to position the UAVs in suboptimal locations, providing network access for mobile users, maximizing the number of connected devices in the UAV-BS and saving energy, thus obtaining better performance than the approaches conventional.

The temperature effect plays an important role for an accurate determination of the polar free energy, polar thermodynamic parameters, and enthalpic and entropic Lewis’s acid base properties of oxides, polymers and composites polymers/oxides. The adsorption of polymers on other solid surfaces is crucial in many industrial applications, coatings, paints, catalysis, colloids and adhesion processes. (1) Background: Inverse gas chromatography at infinite was used for the physico-chemical characterization of solid substrates by determining the thermodynamic parameters of adsorption of model organic solvents on solid surfaces such as polymers, metallic oxides, carbon fibers, pharmaceutical or 3D/4D printing substrates. (2) Methods: A new method based on the London dispersion equation was applied with a new parameter associating the deformation po-larizability and the harmonic mean of the ionization energies of solvent. More accurate values of the dispersive and polar interaction energies of the various organic solvents adsorbed on PMMA in bulk phase and PMMA/silica at different recovery fractions were obtained as well as the Lewis acid-base parameters and the transition temperatures of the different composites. (3) Results: This new methodology gave very interesting results on the behavior of PMMA adsorbed on silica. An important effect of the temperature and the recovery fraction on the various physicochemical and thermodynamic properties was highlighted. The variations of all interaction parameters showed the presence of three transition temperatures for the different PMMA adsorbed on silica with the various coverage rates with a shift of these temperatures for a recovery fraction of 31% (4) Con-clusions: An important variation of the polar enthalpy and entropy of adsorption, the Lewis ac-id-base parameters and the intermolecular separation distance as a function of the temperature and the recovery fraction of PMMA on silica.

The treatment of large-area bone defects remains a challenge; however, various strategies have been developed to improve the performances of scaffolds in bone tissue engineering. In this study, poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/hydroxyapatite (PLGA/HA) scaffold was coated with Asp-Gly-Glu-Ala (DGEA)-incorporated collagen for the repair of rat skull defect. Our results indicated that the mechanical strength and hydrophilicity of PLGA/HA scaffold were clearly improved and conducive to cell adhesion and proliferation. The collagen-coated scaffold with DGEA significantly promoted the repair of skull defect. These findings indicated that a combination of collagen coating and DGEA improved scaffold properties for bone regeneration, thereby providing a new potential strategy for scaffold design.

A series of novel indole Schiff base derivatives (2a–2t) containing a 1,3,4-thiadiazole scaffold modified with a thioether group were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed using FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, andHR-MS. In addition, the antifungal activity of synthesized indole derivatives was investigated against Fusarium graminearum (F. graminearum), Fusarium oxysporum (F. oxysporum), Fusarium moniliforme (F. moniliforme), Curvularia lunata (C. lunata), and Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotiana (P. p. var. nicotianae) using the mycelium growth rate method. Among the synthesized indole derivatives, compound 2j showed the highest inhibition rates of 100%, 95.7%, 89%, and 76.5% at a concentration of 500 μg/mL against F. graminearum, F. oxysporum, F. moniliforme, and P. p. var. nicotianae, respectively. Similarly, compounds 2j and 2q exhibited higher inhibition rates of 81.9% and 83.7% at a concentration of 500 μg/mL against C. lunata. In addition, compound 2j has been recognized as a potential compound for further investigation in the field of fungicides.

Inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution was used to determine the surface thermodynamic properties of silica particles and PMMA adsorbed on silica, and more particularly, to quantify the London dispersive energy γsd, the Lewis acid γs+ and base γs- polar surface energies of PMMA/silica composites as a function of the temperature and the recovery fraction θ of PMMA. The polar acid–base surface energy γsAB and the total surface energy of the different composites were then deduced as a function of the temperature. In this paper, the Hamieh thermal model was used to quantify the surface thermodynamic energy of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) adsorbed on silica particles at different recovery fractions. A comparison of the new results was carried out with those obtained by applying other molecular models of the surface areas of organic molecules adsorbed on the different solid substrates. An important deviation of these molecular models from the thermal model was proved. The determination of γsd, γs+, γs-, and γsAB of PMMA in both bulk and adsorbed phases showed an important non-linearity variation of these surface parameters as a function of the temperature. The presence of maxima in the curves of γsd(T) highlighted the second order transition temperatures in PMMA showing beta-relaxation, glass transition and liquid-liquid temperatures. These three transition temperatures depended on the adsorption rate of PMMA on silica. The proposed method gave a new relation between the recovery fraction of PMMA and its London dispersive energy showing an important effect of the temperature on the surface energy parameters of adsorption of PMMA on silica. A universal equation relating γsd(T,θ) of the systems PMMA/silica to the recovery fraction and the temperature was proposed.

This research was devoted to study the effect of the tacticity of PMMA on the surface physicochemical properties such as the London dispersive component of the surface energy of the polymer, the polar and dispersive free energies, the Lewis’s acid-base surface parameters, and the Lewis acid and base surface energies of atactic, isotactic and syndiotactic PMMAs as a function of the temperature. Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution was used to determine the surface thermodynamic properties of PMMA at different tacticities. The experimental values of the net retention time and volume of model organic molecules adsorbed on the atactic, isotactic and syndiotactic PMMAs, were obtained by IGC technique at infinite dilution. The London dispersion interaction energy was used for the separation of the polar and dispersive energy of the different n-alkanes and polar solvents adsorbed on the different PMMA surfaces. The London dispersive surface energy γ_s^d (T) of PMMAs was determined by applying the Hamieh thermal model that took into account the effect of the temperature on the surface area of adsorbed molecules. The obtained results showed non-linear variations of γ_s^d (T) of atactic, isotactic, and syndiotactic PMMAs with three maxima characterizing the three transition temperatures of PMMAs, T_g, T_g and T_(liq-liq) with a shift of these temperatures with the isotactic and syndiotactic PMMAs. It was showed that the polar interaction free energy ∆G_a^p (T) also showed the presence of the three above transition temperatures of the polymers. The study showed an important non-linearity variation of the different acid-base parameters in the various polymer surfaces proving the highest effect of the temperature and the tacticity on these parameters. The determination of the enthalpic and entropic Lewis’s acid-base parameters showed an amphoteric character for the different PMMAs. The basicity of the atactic PMMA was about four times larger than its acidity outside the neighborhood of the transition temperatures of the polymer. Whereas, the isotactic PMMA was about 2 to 2.5 times more basic than acid, while the syndiotactic PMMA exhibited the highest basicity by showing a surface 5 to 8 times more basic than acid. However, the Lewis acid-base parameters strongly depended on the temperature and sudden variations of these surface parameters were observed around the transition temperatures largely depending on the PMMA tacticity. The determination of the polar acid and base surface energies of the three PMMAs led to the same previous transition temperatures with an important effect of the tacticity of PMMA on the values of these acid-base surface energies.

Tunicate orthologs in the human genome comprise just 84 genes of the 19,872 protein-coding genes, yet they stand at the base of the Olfactores clade - which radiated to generate thousands of tunicate and vertebrate species. What were the powerful drivers among the 84 that enabled this process? Many of these orthologs are present in gene families. We discuss the biological role of each family and the orthologs’ quantitative contribution to the family. Most important was the evolution of a second type of cadherin. This, a Type II cadherin, had the property of detaching the cell containing that cadherin from cells that expressed the Type I class. The set of such Type II cadherins could now detach and move away from their Type I neighbours, a process which would eventually evolve into the formation of the neural crest, “ the fourth germ layer”, providing a wide range of possibilities for further evolutionary invention. A second important contribution were key additions to the broad development of the muscle and nerve protein and visual perception tool-kits. These developments in mobility and vision provided the basis for the development of the efficient predatory capabilities of the Vertebrata.

A new low-pass filter (LPF) circuit with independent adjustment of various, incl. digitally controlled, pole frequency resistors, pole quality factor and transmission coefficient. The proposed low-pass filter is based on the use of the properties of a multi-differential operational amplifier that performs the functions of a signal adder. The peculiarity of the filter is that it has three inputs, with respect to which different transmission coefficients are implemented, incl. inverting (-1) and non-inverting (+1). To check these properties of a low-pass filter in the Micro-Cap environment, computer simulation of a specific circuit was performed on a multi-differential operational amplifier AD 8130. Mathematical expressions are given for the main parameters of the proposed low-pass filter, which allow parametric synthesis of elements of a specific circuit under given restrictions on the used element base.

We present a novel method for online measurement of multi-point opening distances of midpalatal suture during rapid palatal expansion (RPE) using fiber optic Fabry-Perot (F-P) sensors. The sensor consists of an optical fiber with a cut flat end face and an optical reflector, which are implanted into the palatal base structure of an expander and is capable of measuring the precise distance between two optical reflective surfaces. As a demonstration, a 3D printed skull model containing the maxilla and zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) was produced and a miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expander (MARPE) with two guide rods was used to generate the midpalatal suture expansion. The reflected spectrums of the sensors were used to dynamically extract cavity length information for full process monitoring of expansion. The dynamic opening of the midpalatal suture during the gradual activation of the expander was measured, and a displacement resolution of 2.5 μm was demonstrated. The angle of expansion was derived and the results suggested that the midpalatal suture was opened with a slightly V type expansion of 0.03 rad at the first loading and subsequently expanded in parallel. This finding might be useful for understanding the mechanical mechanisms that lead to different types of expansion. The use of a fiber-optic sensor for mounting the rapid palatal expander facilitates biomechanical studies and experimental and clinical evaluation of the effects of RPE.

At present, in the field of aviation industry, titanium alloy is mainly used to manufacture parts such as compressor disc, blade and casing of aircraft engine. When working, titanium alloy parts produce high temperature due to high-speed running friction, which makes the high temperature oxidation resistance and friction resistance of titanium alloy greatly reduced. When their working environment contains salt, titanium alloys are subjected to thermal corrosion, which limits their wider practical applications. This paper introduce the aluminide coating and its preparation methods. The characteristics and functional mechanism of three functional coatings for service environment, such as high temperature resistant alumina-based coating, thermal corrosion resistant alumina-based coating and wear-resistant alumina-based coating are summarized. Finally, the development direction of composite coatings of titanium and titanium alloys for complex service environment is prospected.

In the polar region, the gravity vector and Earth's rotation vector tend to be in the same direction, leading to slower convergence speed and longer alignment time of the moving base alignment. When the alignment time is short, the alignment cannot converge, resulting in low azimuth accuracy. To address this issue, we propose a polar moving base alignment method based on backtracking scheme. Notably, this work first derives a polar coarse alignment method with the inertial frame based on the transverse Earth model. On this basis, we design a polar coarse alignment method based on backtracking scheme and optimize the data storage scheme. Then, an inverse navigation algorithm based on the transverse inertial navigation mechanical arrangement scheme was derived, and a polar fine alignment method based on backtracking scheme was designed. Semi-physical simulation experiments showed that the alignment algorithm based on backtracking scheme can converge in a short time with high alignment accuracy.

Multiplex genome editing may induce genotoxicity and chromosomal rearrangements due to double-strand DNA breaks at multiple loci simultaneously induced by programmable nucleases, including CRISPR/Cas9. However, recently developed base-editing systems can directly substitute target sequences without double-strand breaks. Thus, the base-editing system is expected to be a safer method for multiplex genome-editing platforms for livestock. Target-AID is a base editing system composed of PmCDA1, a cytidine deaminase from sea lampreys, fused to Cas9 nickase. It can be used to substitute cytosine for thymine in 3-5 base editing windows, 18 bases upstream of the protospacer-adjacent motif site. In the current study, we demonstrated Target-AID-mediated base editing in porcine cells for the first time. We targeted multiple loci in the porcine genome using the Target-AID system and successfully induced target-specific base substitutions with up to 63.15% efficiency. This system can be used for the further production of various genome-engineered pigs.

We have previously clarified that the strongly electron-withdrawing CF3 group nicely affected the base-mediated proton migration reactions of CF3-containinig propargylic or allylic alcohols to afford the corresponding a,b-unsaturated or saturated ketones, respectively, which was applied this time to the Claisen rearrangement after O-allylation of the allylic alcohols, followed by isomerization to the corresponding allyl vinyl ethers, enabling the desired rearrangement in a tandem fashion, or in a stepwise manner where a palladium catalyst attained an excellent diastereoselectivity.

The article presents the Base Point Split (BPSplit) algorithm for generating a polygon skeleton based on sets of vector data describing lakes and rivers. A key feature of the BPSplit algorithm is that it is dependent on base points representing the source or mouth of a river or a stream. The input values of base points determine the shape of the resulting skeleton. Various skeletons can be generated with the use of different base points. Base points are applied to divide polygon boundaries into segments. Segmentation supports the selection of TIN edges inside polygons. The midpoints of selected TIN edges constitute a basis for generating a skeleton. The algorithm handles polygons with numerous holes, and it accounts for all holes. This article proposes a method for modifying a complex skeleton with numerous holes. In the discussed approach, skeleton edges that do not meet the preset criteria (e.g. that the skeleton is to be located between holes in the center of the polygon), are automatically removed. A simple algorithm for smoothing zigzag lines was proposed.

Vertical-channel organic dual-gate/base transistors would be highly interesting since vertical organic transistors are the fastest organic transistors demonstrated today. However, incorporating a dual gate/base structure into an ultra-short channel vertical architecture represents a substantial challenge. Here, we successfully realize a new device concept of vertical organic permeable dual-base transistors (OPDBTs), where either of both base electrodes can be used to change the on-currents and tune the threshold voltages. The optimized devices yield a high on-current density of 1.54 A cm^-2 and a large current gain of 9.2×10⁵, corresponding to a high transmission value of 99.998%. The detailed operation mechanisms are investigated by calibrated TCAD simulations with the Poole-Frenkel mobility model, Gaussian density of states and tunneling model. Finally, high-performance logic circuits, e.g. inverter, NAND/AND computation functions are demonstrated with one single OPDBT operating at supply voltages of < 2.0 V. We believe that OPDBTs offer a compact and technologically simple hardware platform with excellent application potential for vertical-channel organic transistors in complex logic circuits.

A waterbody detection technique is an essential part of digital elevation model (DEM) generation to delineate land-water boundaries and set flattened elevations. This paper describes the technical methodology for improving the initial tile-based waterbody data that are created during production of the ASTER GDEM, because without improvement such tile-based waterbody data are not suitable for incorporating into the new ASTER GDEM Version 3. Waterbodies are classified into three categories: sea, lake, and river. For sea-waterbodies, the effect of sea ice is removed to better delineate sea shorelines in high latitude areas, because sea ice prevents accurate delineation of sea shorelines. For lake-waterbodies, the major part of the processing is to set the unique elevation value for each lake using a mosaic image that covers the entire lake area. Rivers present a unique challenge, because their elevations gradually step down from upstream to downstream. Initially, visual inspection is required to separate rivers from lakes. A stepwise elevation assignment, with a step of one meter, is carried out by manual or automated methods, depending on the situation. The ASTER GWBD product consists of a global set of 1º latitude-by-1º longitude tiles containing water body attribute and elevation data files in geographic latitude and longitude coordinates and with one arc second posting. Each tile contains 3601-by-3601 data points. All improved waterbody elevation data are incorporated into the ASTER GDEM to reflect the improved results.

Bone is the second most frequent site of metastases from differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Bone metastases (BM) occurs in about 10% of all patients with DTC. They are more frequently observed in follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) (7-28%), than in thyroid papillary carcinoma (PTC) (1-7%) [1,2] and are associated to unfavorable clinical out-comes, mainly related to skeletal related events (SREs), such as pathologic fractures, bone pain, spinal cord compressions and hypercalcemia, which impair the quality of life and reduce life expectancy. BM from DTC require multimodal and comprehensive treatment, including radioiodine therapy (RAI), palliative treatment, surgical treatment, external beam radiation and target drug therapy. RAI is the first line treatment, but about two thirds of DTC patients with distant metastases are not definitively cured. This treatment is considered less effective in BM particularly in case of large metastases. The different response to RAI treatment alone or associated to BM focal treatment depends to RAI avidity of lesions [3]. We report the rare case of an excellent response to RAI of a metachronous bone metastasis of skull from FTC, in a 72 yrs old woman, diagnosed 15 years after the first treatment, followed by a complete regression of radioiodine up-taking area with persistence of excellent response to the treatment six years after it. This case confirms that the complete BM response to RAI treatment depends to the degree of dedifferentiation of cancers cells and enforce the concept of a long- life follow-up of FTC patients.

The present study investigates the role of a simple inerter in supplemental devices for possible implementation in the matured seismic base isolation technique. Firstly, the response of the base-isolated structure with an optimally tuned mass damper-inerter (TMDI) is investigated to see the tuning effects. The time required to tune the TMDI was found to be significantly longer than the duration of a strong-motion earthquake. There was still a reduction in the response of the isolated structure, which is primarily due to the added damping and stiffness (ADAS) of TMDI and not because of the tuning effects. Hence, it is proposed that the corresponding ADAS of the TMDI be directly added to the isolation device. Secondly, the response of the base-isolated structures with the fluid inerter damper (FID) is studied. It was observed that the inerter of the FID does not influence the displacement variance of an isolated structure under broadband earthquake excitation. It implies that the response of the isolated structure with FID is primarily controlled by its counterpart fluid damper (FD). The performance of optimal TMDI, ADAS, FID, and FD to mitigate the seismic response of the flexible multi-story base-isolated structure under real earthquake excitations is also investigated. In terms of suppressing the displacement and acceleration responses of the isolated structure, it has been found that TMDI and ADAS perform similarly. Comparing the response of the isolated structure with FID and FD demonstrated that the inerter in the FID has detrimental effects on the isolated structures, in which the top floor's acceleration and base shear are substantially increased.

The study was conducted in north wollo, south wollo and orimiya zone, in Eastern Amhara with an aim to assess the resource potential of Acacia seyal in the selected sites. The data from the selected sites were collected using point center quarter method. A total of 90 quadrates from nine study areas with plot size 50m*50m, (22.5ha) were systematically located along each transect, 100 m apart, and was spatially captured with the aid of GPS. At every sampling point, four quadrants (90 degrees) were created, using the transect line and a line perpendicular to it. Species composition Acacia seyal structure and its regeneration status, at points along transects were taken to analyze diversity and target species structure of the sites. The highest and least density of Acacia seyal ha^-1 were attained by Mehale mecharie (148) and Alene sefer (52). The highest shannon weiner diversity and species richness was observed in Alene sefer(Kemessie). Acacia seyal structure in all study sites showed an inverted J shape except lastie gerdao (Gubalafeto). Therefore, Acacia seyal deserves immediate conservation and appropriate management measures in order to get sustainable product and services from the species. Based on the results, awareness creation on the values and management of Acacia seyal, study on the management options of Acacia seyal for firewood, fuel wood, charcoal production and also investigation of gum production techniques of Acacia seyal for the sustainable use of the resource are recommended.

The reuse of recycled crushed concrete aggregate (RCCA) and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) can provide a sustainable solution for the disposal of C&amp;D materials instead of sending it to landfill. More importantly, it will save energy and reduce impact on the environment. Several states in USA are using RCCA and RAP as base materials for years, focusing on the quality of the recycled materials. The structure of Recycled Aggregate (RA) is more complex than Natural Aggregate (NA). RAs have old mortar adhered on them that forms a porous surface at interfacial transition Zone (ITZ) and prevents new cement mix from bonding strongly with the aggregates. The objective of this work was to correlate microstructural properties like micro-porosity, inter and intra aggregate pores with the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of RAP and RCCA molds, mixed at different proportions. In this paper, the quantity of micro-pores and their effect on the strength of mixed materials is used as the basis of microstructural analysis of recycled concrete and reclaimed asphalt. Microstructural properties obtained from the analysis of scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were correlated with unconfined compressive strength. Intra-aggregate and inter-aggregate pores were studied for different ratios of cement treated mixture of RAP and RCCA. The results show that the number of pores in the mixture increases considerably by adding RAP, which eventually causes reduction in unconfined compressive strength. In addition, significant morphological and textural changes of recycled aggregates were observed by SEM image analysis.

Abstract: Two novel low-dimensional molecular magnetic materials were prepared by a self-assembling of 3d- and 5d-metal complexes. These are the first neutral heterobimetallic cyanobridged compounds involving one anisotropic Mn(III) Schiff base complex and one octacyanotungstate(V) per molecular unit. A slow diffusion of the constituents’ solutions leads to a formation of the 0D crystalline complex 1 due to coordination of a water molecule to the Mn center prevents a polymer formation. A rapid mixing of reagents results in a precipitation of the microcrystalline powder of the complex 2, which on a totality of experimental data possess 1D polymeric structure. The magnetic studies have shown that antiferromagnetic exchange interactions are dominating in 1 J/k_B= -13.1(7) K, D=-3.0(1.3) K, zJ'= -0.16(20) K and g_av=2.00(1); while the presence of the significant intramolecular Mn(III)–W(V) ferromagnetic couplings through cyanide bridges is characteristic for 2 (J/k_B = 46.1(5) K g_Mn = 2.11(3), fixed g_W = 2.0). Due to the weak interchain interactions, zJ'/k_B = –0.8(2) K, compound 2 is a metamagnet with the Néel temperature of 9.5 K undergoing a spin-flip transition at 2 kOe. The slow magnetization dynamics of 2 was investigated at DС field of 0 and 2 kOe, giving the values of τ₀ 32(15) and 36(15) ps respectively, well within the range typical for SCMs. The respective ∆_τ/k_B values were 48.4(1.2) and 44.9(1.0) K.

How Nature discovered genetic coding is a largely ignored question, yet the answer is key to explaining the transition from biochemical building blocks to life. Other, related puzzles also fall inside the aegis enclosing the codes themselves. The peptide bond is unstable with respect to hydrolysis. So, it requires some form of chemical free energy to drive it. Amino acid activation and acyl-transfer are also slow and call for catalysis. All living things must thus also convert free energy and synchronize cellular chemistry. Most importantly, functional proteins occupy only small, isolated regions of sequence space. Nature evolved heritable symbolic data processing to seek out and use those sequences. That system has three parts: a memory of how amino acids behave in solution and inside proteins, a set of code-keys to access that memory, and a scoring function. The code-keys themselves are the genes for cognate pairs of tRNA and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, AARS. I outline the surprising links between all these questions and the structural duality of the base-pairing that holds genes together and how those links arise from the experiments.

Background: The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulted in the global COVID-19 pandemic. The urgency for an effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has led to the development of a first series of vaccines at unprecedented speed. The discovery of SARS-CoV-2 spike-glycoprotein mutants, however, and consequentially the potential to escape vaccine-induced protection and increased infectivity, demonstrates the persisting importance of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 mutations to enable early detection and tracking of genomic variants of concern. Results: We developed the CoVigator tool with three components: 1) a knowledge base that collects new SARS-CoV-2 genomic data, processes it and stores its results; 2) a comprehensive variant calling pipeline; 3) an interactive dashboard highlighting the most relevant findings. The knowledge base routinely downloads and processes virus genome assemblies or raw sequenc-ing data from the COVID-19 Data Portal (C19DP) and the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), respectively. The results of the variant calling pipeline are visualized through the dashboard in the form of tables and customizable graphs, making it a versatile tool for tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants. We put a special emphasis on the identification of intrahost mutations and make available to the community what is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest dataset on SARS-CoV-2 intrahost mutations. In the spirit of open data, all CoVigator results are available for download. The CoVigator dashboard is accessible via covigator.tron-mainz.de. Conclusion: With increasing demand worldwide in genome surveillance for tracking the spread of SARS-CoV-2, CoVigator will be a valuable resource of up-to-date list of mutations, which can be incorporated into global efforts to sustainably prevent or treat infections.

A low-profile broadband dual-polarized antenna is investigated for base station applications. It consists of two orthogonal dipoles, fork-shaped feeding lines, an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC), and parasitic strips. By utilizing the dispersion Brillouin diagram, the AMC is designed as the antenna reflector. It has a wide in-phase reflection bandwidth of 54.7% (1.54-2.70 GHz) and a surface wave bound range of 0-2.65 GHz. This design effectively reduces the antenna profile by over 50% compared to traditional antennas without an AMC. For demonstration, a prototype is fabricated for 2G/3G/LTE base station applications. Good agreement between simulations and measurements is observed. The measured -10-dB impedance bandwidth of our antenna is 55.4% (1.58 –2.79 GHz), with a stable gain of 9.5 dBi and high isolation of more than 30 dB across the impedance passband. As a result, this antenna is an excellent candidate for miniaturized base station antenna applications.

To obtain a given structure in 3D building-up modes, it is necessary to use optimal surfacing modes that determine the amount of heat input in local areas. For this purpose, aluminum bronze was surfacing onto a deformed base and the structure and its characteristics in the surfacing and heat-affected zones were studied by the EBSD method. The heterogeneity of the formation of the structure in each selected zone is established, which indicates the heterogeneity of heat input in local areas of the material in one mode of surfacing. For typical cases of crystallization, a molecular dynamics simulation of crystallization processes with different heat input to the base with characteristics specified based on experimental data was carried out. It has been established that the amount of heat input determines the degree of melting and the inherited defectiveness of growing crystals. The formation of misorientation boundaries and crystallization centers of new grains is determined by the conditions of joint growth of grains with given crystallographic parameters of the computational model. Numerical calculations agree with the experimentally observed results.

Many educational institutions are using technology-enhanced learning. However, studies have shown that increased access to technological tools/gadgets is a precursor to incidents of cyberbullying. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory, we explored educators’ knowledge and intervention strategies regarding cyberbullying in schools. The design used in this study was qualitative and descriptive in nature. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit a sample of eight educators working at secondary school in Johannesburg, South Africa. Data were collected using one-on-one interviews. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed educators had sufficient knowledge of cyberbullying and how it affects learners in schools. However, interventions the teachers had put in place to prevent and manage incidences of cyberbullying were found to be ineffective due to parental disengagement and learners not reporting cases of cyberbullying. Recommendations for enhancing management of cyberbullying cases are provided.

(1) Background: High blood pressure is one of the symptoms of stroke, the Self Care Deficit theory by Dorothea Orem focuses on a person's ability to care for himself independently so that the ability to maintain his health and well-being is achieved. There are currently 600 million hypertensive patients worldwide, of which 3 million die every year. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to a 7-fold increase in the chances of stroke. The existence of this condition can be minimized in patients through several innovative interventions, one of which is foot massage. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of stretching and foot massage with lavender oil in stabilizing high blood pressure in stroke patients.(2) Methods: The method used in this research is descriptive. The subjects of this case study were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the journal Evidence-Based. Subjects included intervention patients and control patients. Foot massage therapy with lavender oil is done 2 times a day for 10-15 minutes using the effleurage technique after showering in the morning and evening. Stretching is done 2 times a day every 10-15 minutes.(3) Results: The results of the analysis showed that there was a change in blood pressure after the application of stretching and foot massage with lavender oil. From the initial examination, the results showed that the blood pressure of 170/100 mmHg decreased to 140/90 mmHg and the pain scale decreased from 4 to 0.

Deep neural networks (DNN) have successfully delivered a cutting-edge performance in several fields. With the broader deployment of DNN models on critical applications, the security of DNNs becomes an active and yet nascent area. Attacks against DNNs can have catastrophic results, according to recent studies. Poisoning attacks, including backdoor and Trojan attacks, are one of the growing threats against DNNs. Having a wide-angle view of these evolving threats is essential to better understand the security issues. In this regard, creating a semantic model and a knowledge graph for poisoning attacks can reveal the relationships between attacks across intricate data to enhance the security knowledge landscape. In this paper, we propose a DNN Poisoning Attacks Ontology (DNNPAO) that would enhance knowledge sharing and enable further advancements in the field. To do so, we have performed a systematic review of the relevant literature to identify the current state. We collected 28,469 papers from IEEE, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, and from these papers, 712 research papers were screened in a rigorous process, and 55 poisoning attacks in DNNs were identified and classified. We extracted a taxonomy of the poisoning attacks as a scheme to develop DNNPAO. Subsequently, we used DNNPAO as a framework to create a knowledge base. Our findings open new lines of research within the field of AI security.

The next generation of wireless and mobile networks will have to handle a significant increase in traffic load compared to the actual one. This situation calls for novel ways to increase spectral efficiency. Therefore in this paper, we propose a wireless spectrum hypervisor architecture that abstracts a radio frequency (RF) front-end into a configurable number of virtual RF front-ends. The proposed architecture has the ability to enable flexible spectrum access in existing wireless and mobile networks, which is a challenging task due to the limited spectrum programmability, $i.e.$, the capability a system has to change the spectral properties of a given signal to fit an arbitrary frequency allocation. The main goal of the proposed approach is to improve spectral efficiency by efficiently using vacant gaps in congested spectrum-bandwidths or adopting network densification through infrastructure sharing. We demonstrate mathematically how our proposed approach works and present several simulation results proving its functionality and efficiency. Additionally, we designed and implemented an open-source and free proof of concept prototype of the proposed architecture, which can be used by researchers and developers to run experiments or extend the concept to other applications. We present several experimental results used to validate the proposed prototype. We demonstrate that the prototype can easily handle up to 12 concurrent physical layers.

The present study produced and characterised chitosan, chitosan nanoparticle, chitosan n – benzaldehyde Schiff base, chitosan nanoparticle n – benzaldehyde Schiff base, Fe(III) chitosan n – benzaldehyde Schiff base and Fe(III) chitosan nanoparticle n – benzaldehyde Schiff base for biomedical application as antimicrobial agents. The materials were characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Diffractogram and biologically evaluated using disc diffusion method with three gram-positive bacteria. The FTIR absorption peaks were shifted to a lower wave number than the micro materials from which it was modified. These clearly indicate the linkage between phosphate, ammonium ion, Schiff base and Fe(III) metal. The diffracted peaks of Fe(III) chitosan nanoparticle n – benzaldehyde Schiff base were new peaks at 2θ = 24o and 42o when compare to the peak of Fe(III) chitosan n – benzaldehyde Schiff base of 2θ = 22.5o and 34o. The difference in peak shift were attributed to the ionic bonding of the complexation of Fe(III) with the blending of benzaldehyde to chitosan – Tpp backbone structure. Fe(III) chitosan nanoparticle Schiff base has more antimicrobial activity against same bacteria and fungi tested than Fe(III) chitosan n – benzaldehyde Schiff base, chitosan n – benzaldehyde Schiff base and chitosan. The antimicrobial activities of the synthesised six materials shown that the materials have high activities than the above – mentioned standard drugs.

Sickle cell disease is characterized by stiff, “sickled” red blood cells that have difficulty moving through the bloodstream and do not efficiently carry oxygen. It is an inherited disease with severely limited treatment options, and is caused by a point mutation. Its prevalence in black and brown communities makes the already limited treatment options even less accessible. Base editing and prime editing are two relatively recent discoveries in the field of genome editing and were developed after the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR Cas9 system. While not fully tested, they hold a lot of promise in providing alternative treatment options for sickle cell disease. Both editing systems are able to install individual point mutations in the beta globin gene, which is where the sickle cell mutation occurs, and can thus cure sickle cell disease (in theory). In this paper we outline the mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9 systems and base and prime editing, and provide insight into how to apply them to treat SCD. Further investigation should be done on specific editing systems and designs to use to ensure optimal treatment of SCD.

This paper is devoted to an accurate determination of the London dispersive and polar free energy of adsorption, the two Lewis acid γs+ and base γs- components of polar surface energy γsAB of 2D single-crystalline and polycrystalline covalent organic frameworks such as TAPPy-TPA-COFs. Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution was used to quantify the different surface parameters of the different materials. From IGC measurements, one determined the net retention time of the adsorption of n-alkanes and several polar solvents on single-crystalline and polycrystalline covalent organic frameworks. The free surface Gibbs energy of adsorption was obtained for the various organic molecules at different temperatures from their net retention volume values. The separation between the London dispersive energy and the polar energy of adsorbed molecules was carried out by using a new thermodynamic parameter PSX chosen as new indicator variable and taken into account the deformation polarizability and the harmonic mean of the ionization energies of solvents and solid materials, derived from London dispersion equation. The obtained results are very promising for the accurate determination of the surface thermodynamic parameters of adsorption of organic solvents on solid surfaces.

The location routing problem of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in border patrol for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance is investigated, where the location of UAV base stations and the UAV flying routes for visiting the targets in border area are jointly optimized. The capacity of the base station and the endurance of the UAV are considered. A binary integer programming model is developed to formulate the problem, and two heuristic algorithms combined with local search strategies are designed for solving the problem. The experiment design for simulating the distribution of stations and targets in border is proposed for generating random test instances. Also, an example based on the Sino-Vietnamese border is presented to illustrate the problem and the solution approach. The performance of the two algorithms are analyzed and compared through randomly generated instances.

Vertical and horizontal bone augmentation is one of the most challenging techniques in bone engineering. The use of barrier membranes and scaffolds in guided bone regeneration (GBR) procedures is a common approach for the treatment of lost bone around teeth and dental implants. The aim of this study was to estimate the barrier effects of a synthetic poly (lactic acid/caprolactone) [P(PA/CL)] bilayer membrane for GBR, compared to a porcine collagen bilayer membrane, in the vertical augmentation model on 10–12-months old rat skull without periosteum. The HAp block (diameter: 4 mm, height: 3 mm, porosity:75%, average pore size:150 μm) was placed on the rat skull without a periosteum. The P(LA/CL) membrane (solid layer: 25 μm, porous layer: 175 μm) or the collagen membrane (solid layer, porous layer) was applied onto the HAp block. At 3, 6, and 12 weeks after the surgery, the incised tissues were fixed, decalcified, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histological evaluation. The P(LA/CL) membrane remained until 12 weeks and could achieve barrier effects to inhibit cellular invasion from the repositioned soft tissues. Local bone formation occurred in the interconnected pores of HAp at 6 weeks. On the other hand, the collagen membrane did not inhibit cellular invasion for its expansion until 3 weeks, and was absorbed until 6 weeks. The results indicated that the P(LA/CL) membrane might be effective in GBR as occlusive absorbable membrane.

In this paper, a circularly polarized broadband slot antenna is designed for base station applications. The antenna is built on a square-shaped FR4 Epoxy substrate that measures 60mm in length and 1mm in height with a relative permittivity of 4.4. The ground plane has a recessed slot, and the feeding mechanism employs an offset microstrip line. The slot enables circular polarization and optimal impedance matching, which are enhanced further by offset feeding and the addition of stubs to create a composite-shaped patch. With an impedance bandwidth of 106% (1.28 GHz-4.16 GHz) and an axial ratio bandwidth of 69% (1.71 GHz-3.51 GHz), the CP broadband slot antenna effectively covers popular mobile communication bands such as GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G/LTE 2100, 3G/LTE 2300, 4G/LTE 2500, and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi bands. The maximum gain is simulated to be 3.5 dB.

Raindrop size distribution (RSD) is an index for reflecting precipitation characteristics. Analyzing the differences of RSD plays an important role in understanding the precipitation microphysical processes and improving quantitative precipitation prediction of radar. In this paper, the RSD data of Dafang (57708) station, Majang (57828) station, and Luodian (57916) station (with an altitude of 1722.7m, 985.0m, and 441.5m, respectively) in Guizhou are analyzed according to the precipitation microphysical characteristics. First,Particles with particle size less than 1mm contributes the highest value to the density of particle number , and decrease with the descending altitude. Second, the GAMMA distribution fit shows a better fit compare to M-P distribution fit, and GAMMA distribution fit increases with the ascending altitude. Third, the mass-weighted average diameter is not sensitive enough to the change of precipitation intensity with correlation coefficients of 54.84%, but there is a obvious relationship between the average volume diameter and the precipitation intensity with correlation coefficients of 69.15%. Then, the precipitation prediction model is established using LSTM neural network after fusing the representative microphysical characteristics of RSD with radar and rain gauge data. The precipitation prediction model is applied to the Dafang (57708) site to predict precipitation for time range of 0-180 minutes, and it is found that for the prediction of convective cloud and stratiform cloud precipitation, the 60-minute prediction results are the most consistent with the actual precipitation, where the correlation coefficients are 92.87% and 92.57%, respectively. Conclusively, the results demonstrate that combining with the RSD base data could improve the reliability of precipitation forecasting.

Simple Learning Motivations Hierarchy Model (SLMHM) is a theory that attempts to structure the path of learning “growth” with 16 levels where each next level corresponds to higher aims, motives, results, and satisfaction of needs. The SLMHM has been developed to simplify design, control, and evaluate the learning processes. The SLMHM was first presented at IES-2020 Conference (Gakh, 2020). More detailed research including analysis of internal structure shows that the model should be corrected. The “Plan-Do-Check-Act” cycle (PDCA Cycle) is popular in management. This paper describes the SLMHM improvements based on analyses of its similarities with the PDCA Cycle. The description of this research makes SLMHM more comprehend.

This paper presents a multifunctional reflective digital metasurface of arbitrary base based on voltage tunable liquid crystal (LC). The reflective digital metamaterial can be multiplexed for different desirable functions by properly biasing the LC for different code patterns. Simulation results of three significant functions, beam steering with a steering elevation angle 27° at 75 GHz, RCS reduction of at least 15dB along the incident direction, and beam shaping with different beam shapes have been presented to prove the concept.

Bone growth plate abnormalities and skull shape defects are seen in hypophosphatasia, a heritable disorder in humans that occurs due to deficiency of Tissue Nonspecific Alkaline Phosphatase (TNAP, Alpl) enzyme activity. Abnormal development of the cranial base growth plates (synchondroses) and abnormal skull shapes have also been demonstrated in global TNAP-/- mice. To distinguish local vs. systemic effects of TNAP on skull development, we utilized P0-Cre to knockout TNAP only in cranial neural crest derived tissues using TNAP flox mice. Here we show that TNAP deficiency in cranial neural crest leads to leads to skull shape defects and deficient growth of the intersphenoid synchondrosis (ISS). ISS chondrocyte abnormalities included increased proliferation in resting and proliferative zones with decreased apoptosis in hypertrophic zones. ColX expression is increased, indicative of premature differentiation in the absence of TNAP. Sox9 expression is increased in both resting and prehypertrophic zones of mutant mice. Expression of PTHrP and IHH were also increased. Finally, cranial base organ culture revealed that inorganic phosphate (Pi) and pyrophosphate (PPi) have specific effects on cell signaling and phenotype changes in the ISS. Together, these results demonstrate that TNAP expression in growth plate chondrocytes is essential for normal development, and that the mechanism likely involves Sox9, PTHrP, IHH and PPi.

The reflectance $R$ of monolayer graphene for the normal incidence of electromagnetic radiation is known to be remarkably defined only by $\pi$ and the fine-structure constant $\alpha$. It is shown in this paper that the reflectance (or the sum of transmittance and absorptance) of monolayer graphene, expressed as a quadratic equation with respect to the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ must unsurprisingly introduce the 2$^\text{nd}$ fine-structure constant $\alpha_2$, as the 2$^\text{nd}$ root of this equation, as well as two $\pi$-like constants for a convex and a saddle surface. It turns out that this 2$^\text{nd}$ fine-structure constant is negative, and the sum of its reciprocal with the reciprocal of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ is independent of the reflectance value $R$ and remarkably equals $-\pi$. Particular algebraic definition of the fine-structure constant $\alpha^{-1} = 4\pi^3 + \pi^2 + \pi \approx 137.036$, containing the free $\pi$ term and agreeing with the physical definition of this dimensionless constant to the 5$^\text{th}$ significant digit, when introduced to this sum, yields $\alpha_2^{-1} = -4\pi^3 - \pi^2 - 2\pi \approx -140.178$. Assuming universal validity of the physical definition of $\alpha$, $\alpha_2$ defines the negative speed of light in vacuum $c_n$. The average of this speed $c_n$ and the speed of light in vacuum $c$ is in the range of the Fermi velocity ($10^6$ m/s). Furthermore, the 2$^\text{nd}$ negative fine-structure constant $\alpha_2$ alone introduces the imaginary set of base Planck units.

A dual-platform colorimetric and ratiometric chemosensor, namely 6-(2-hydroxynaphthalen)-N-n-butyl-naphthalimide (HNA), based on Schiff base constructed from N-n-butyl-4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde has been designed and fabricated for detecting fluoride anion (F−) in DMSO solution. HNA is a colorimetic and ratiometric probe with superior selectivity and sensitivity. The color changes of HNA from yellow to purple was observed by the naked eyes in the presence of F−. The absorbance in the UV-Vis spectra of HNA was decreasing in 422 nm, while gradually increasing in 583 nm by adding F−. The limit of detection (LOD) of HNA for detecting F− is low to 0.61 μM and the binding model of HNA and F− is in 3:2 stoichiometry. Meanwhile, HNA can be used to detect F− in real samples. Finally, the mechanism of HNA for the detection of F− was investigated. The present work indicated that HNA would be a superior potential chemosensor in monitoring F− selectively and sensitively.

The universal health insurance system in Taiwan was formed with good intentions to help vulnerable groups. However, the possibility of bankrupting the system due to wasted medical resources. In this study, using the medical expenditures of the Taiwanese Government and gross domestic product (GDP) as variables, the wavelet analysis method was used to empirically study the correlations and leading-lagging relationships in quarterly data in the period from 1996 to 2016. In addition, the dependent population of the insured was used as the control variable. This population had no income and had high medical demands. Results: After the dependent population was included as a control variable, there was a period of low-frequency (one to four years short-term) linkage correlation, as well as a period of high-frequency (four to eight years long-term) linkage correlation. In addition, for more than eight years, there was also a high degree of linkage correlation, indicating that the linkage between medical expenditures and GDP occurred over the long term. Moreover, since medical expenditures positively affected GDP, one-way causality was observed. However, after 2008, regardless of whether a long or short term was examined, there was almost no linkage correlation. Before 2008, the medical expenditures of the government were positively correlated with economic growth; i.e., they enhanced economic growth. But, after 2008, this effect had already disappeared. The universal health insurance system has long been denounced as a waste of medical resources, and the waste must be immediately stopped. The government urgently needs to find a new solution.

Using density functional theory (DFT) and the information-theoretic approach (ITA) quantities to appreciate the energetics and properties of biopolymers is still an unaccomplished and ongoing task. To this end, we studied the building blocks of nucleic acid base pairs and small peptides. For base pairs, we have dissected the relative importance of energetic components by using two energy partition schemes in DFT. Our results convincingly show that the exchange-correlation effect predominantly governs the molecular stability of base pairs while the electrostatic potential plays a minor but indispensable role, and the steric effect is trivial. Furthermore, we have revealed that simple density-based ITA functions are in good relationships with molecular polarizabilities for a series of 30 hydrogen-bonded base pairs and all 20 natural α-amino acids, 400 dipeptides, and 8000 tripeptides. Based on these lines, one can easily predict the molecular polarizabilities of larger peptides, even proteins as long as the total molecular wavefunction is available, rather than solving the computationally demanding coupled-perturbed Hartree-Fock (CPHF) equation or its DFT counterpart coupled-perturbed Kohn-Sham (CPKS) equation.

A new biodegradable paper-based film is a hot research topic in the development of green agriculture. In this paper, a black paper base film coated with cooked tung oil with excellent mechanical properties, hydrophobic surface, high heat transfer and strong weather resistance was prepared by spraying high pigment carbon black solution on the surface of base paper. The results showed that the surface solidified oil film with rough structure was made by the brush coating process of cooked tung oil, and the base film of black paper was given hydrophobic structure, and the contact angle reached 98.9 °. Cooked tung oil permeates into the inside of the paper base, and after curing, it forms a multi-dimensional network film structure. The maximum tensile stress of the black paper base film is about 123% higher than that of the original paper base film. The coloring of carbon black makes the black paper base film have heat conduction effect, and the average heat transfer rate reaches 15.12 °C/s. Cooked tung oil is combined with the paper-based fiber high-toughness layer to form a stable system. The existence of the cured film improves the basic mechanics and hydrophobicity, and the resistance to ultraviolet radiation and hot air is greatly improved. This study provides a feasible scheme for the application of a black paper base film coated with cooked tung oil.

in this article, an ultra-wideband traveling wave antenna with antipodal topology is proposed. The proposed design is realized on an economical substrate with minimum thickness. The proposed design offers an ultra-wide bandwidth of 26 to 40 GHz, translating to 42%. The dimensions of the antenna are 20mm x10mm x 0.5mm indicating an electrically compact structure. The proposed antenna offers high front to back ratio of at least 10dB across the bandwidth of operation. The forward gain of the antenna varies from 4 to 7dBi in the afore-mentioned band. The pattern integrity is maintained throughout the band. The antenna is fabricated using the commercial photolithography process. A mutli-step topology of the antennas is also proposed for wide angular coverage. The coverage is greater than 150º with mutual coupling less than 25dB. These performance metrics is achieved with a very small footprint. Simulated and experimental results are presented in this paper.

An novel indoor positioning method of pigsty based on Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology is proposed via reasonably arranging the base stations (BTS) and positioning tags, which can provide a strong support for the accurate positioning of specific pig pens in the pig house. The distribution of Dilution of Precision (DOP) values are analysed in different deployment schemes which includes the amount, the height, the deployment shape and distance of BTS, though positioning simulation. Moreover, the positioning effect of dynamic following positioning (DFP), the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and variance of static positioning (SP) are measured. It is noteworthy that Kalman filtering algorithm is adopted to smooth the DFP experimental data for reducing the positioning error. The simulated results show that the DOP values decrease with the increasing of the height and the distance, and these results and laws are consistent with the experimental results. However, the DOP values are reached best when the height is from 1.75 m to 2.75 m, and the distance is over 3.00 m. Furthermore, the DOP values of quadrilateral deployment is smaller than the one of triangle. In addition, variance of SP and DFP are decreased by utilizing Kalman filtering algorithm. Therefore, the excellent positioning system and its solutions in pigsty can be provided by our proposed indoor positioning method.

The type of implant at the fracture site has effects not only from biological perspective but also from mechanical perspective in fracture healing. Biodegradable implants such as magnesium (Mg) based alloys have shown faster secondary bone healing properties as compared to bioinert implants such as titanium (Ti). The general reasoning behind this is the benefit of Mg from biocompatibility perspectives. We study the effect of Ti and Mg as base materials for implants with their different mechanical properties. The focus of our work is on the displacements at the fracture site of the tibia and their influence on the stimulus for bone healing. We have found that in comparison to Ti, Mg implants have minimal stress shielding problem, only which led to better mechanical stimulus at the fracture site.

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has garnered attention to access sustainable energy generation with a pollutant-free combustion product in the form of H2 gas. Despite the utility of this pathway in the context of growing climate concerns, stable HER electrocatalysts which avoid the use of rare-earth platinum while retaining high catalytic performance and efficiency remains a challenge. In this work, we present the application of a binuclear nickel (II/III) Schiff base complex [Ni]2[L]2 2 for HER electrocatalysis. The design of the electrocatalyst provides optimal HER activity as the presence of electronegative heteroatoms in proximity to the metal centers augments proton affinity. As a result, the catalyst displays excellent HER activity with 100% faradaic efficiency (FE) at an onset potential of 0.4 V vs. reverse hydrogen electrode (RHE), sustained catalytic activity during prolonged electrolysis for greater than 17 hours, and provided a turn over number (TON) of 0.0006 s-1.

Chatbots have gained widespread popularity for their task automation capabilities and consistent availability in various domains, including education. However, their ability to adapt to the continuously evolving and dynamic nature of knowledge is limited. This research investigates the implementation of an internet wizard to enhance the knowledge base of an open-domain question-answering chatbot. The proposed approach leverages search engines, particularly Google, and its features, including feature snippets, knowledge graph, and organic search, in conjunction with data science and natural language models. This mechanism empowers the chatbot to dynamically access the extensive and up-to-date knowledge available on the web, enabling the provision of real-time and pertinent answers to user queries sourced from web documents. A pilot study in a higher education context evaluated the chatbot's mechanism and features, confirming its proficiency in generating responses across a broad range of educational and non-educational topics. Positive feedback and high user satisfaction validate these findings. Notably, the chatbot's dynamic feature of retrieving related or follow-up questions from search engines significantly enhances student engagement and facilitates exploration of supplementary information beyond the curriculum.

A series of MgAl-layered double hydroxide (MgAl-HT), the calcined form at 500^oC (MgAlO_x) and the re-hydrated one at 25^oC (MgAl-HT-RH) were synthesized. Physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Surface area of the as-synthesized, calcined and re-hydrated catalysts was determined by N₂ physisorption at -196^oC. CO₂-teperature programmed desorption (CO₂-TPD) was applied to determine the basic sites of catalysts. The catalytic test reaction was carried out using benzaldehyde and their derivatives with nitromethane and their derivatives. The Henry products (1-15) were obtained in a very good yield using MgAl-HT-RH catalyst either by conventional method at 90^oC in liquid phase, or under microwave irradiation method. The mesoporous structure and basic nature of re-hydrated solid catalyst were responsible for their superior catalytic efficiency. The robust nature was determined by using the same catalyst for five times, where the product % yield was almost unchanged significantly.

The determination of the specific surface free energy, specific properties and Lewis’s acid base of solid materials is of capital importance in many industrial processes such as adhesion, coatings, two dimensional films and adsorption phenomena. (1) Background: The physicochemical properties of many solid particles were characterized during the last forty years by using the retention time of injected well-known molecules into chromatographic column containing the solid substrates to be characterized. The obtained net retention time of the solvents adsorbed on the solid allowing the determination of the net retention volume directly correlated to the specific surface variables, dispersive, polar and acid-base properties. (2) Methods: Many chromatographic methods were used to quantify the values of the different specific surface variables of the solids. However, one found a large deviation between the different results. In this paper, one proposed a new method that quantify the specific free energy of adsorption as well as the Lewis’s acid-base constants of many solid surfaces. (3) Results: The new applied method allowed us to obtain the specific enthalpy and entropy of adsorption of polar model organic molecules on several solid substrates such as silica, alumina, MgO, ZnO, Zn, TiO2 and carbon fibers. (4) Conclusions: our new method based on the separation between the dispersive and polar free surface energy allowed to better characterize the solid materials.

High-rise building fires pose a serious threat to the lives and property safety of the people. The lack of reliable and accurate positioning means is one of the main difficulties faced by rescue. In the absence of prior knowledge of the high-rise building fire environment, the coverage deployment of mobile base stations is a challenging problem that has not received much attention in the literature. This paper studies the problem of autonomous optimal deployment of base stations in high-rise building fire environment based on UAV group. A novel problem formulation is proposed that solves the non line of sight (NLOS) positioning problem in complex unknown environment. The purpose of this paper is to realize the coverage and deployment of mobile base stations in complex and unknown fire environment. The NLOS positioning problem in the fire field environment is turned into the line of sight (LOS) positioning problem through the optimization algorithm. And there are more than three LOS base stations nearby any point in the fire field. A control law which is formulated in a mathematically precise problem statement is developed that guarantees to meet mobile base stations deployment goal and to avoid collision. Finally, positioning accuracy of our method and that of common method were compared. The simulation result showed that the positioning accuracy of simulated firefighter in the fire field environment was improved greatly.

Accurate expression of bracket prescription is important for successful orthodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of digital scan images of brackets produced by four different intraoral scanners (IOSs) in terms of the height, position, and angle of the bracket slot when scanning the surface of dental model attached with bracket materials made from different composition of materials. Brackets made from stainless steel, polycrystalline alumina, composite and composite/stainless steel slot were considered, which have been scanned from 4 different IOSs (Primescan, Trios, CS3600 and i500). SEM images were used as references. Each bracket axis was set in the reference scan image, and the axis was set identically by superimposing with the IOS image, and then only the brackets were divided and analyzed. The difference between the manufacturer's nominal torque and bracket slot base angle was 0.39 in SEM, 1.96 in Primescan, 2.04 in Trios, and 5.21 in CS3600 (P <0.001). The parallelism, which is the difference between the upper and lower angles of the slot wall, was 0.55 in SEM, 7.55 in Primescan, 6.74 in Trios3, 6.59 in CS3600, and 24.95 in i500 (p <0.001). This study evaluated the accuracy of the bracket only and it must be admitted that there is some error in recognizing slots through scanning in general

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have emerged as promising catalysts for various acid-base catalytic reactions. Due to their unique structure and regulatable dual acid-base properties, they offer more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives to traditional liquid acid and base catalysts. This study introduces the structural composition, preparation methods, and acid-base catalytic properties of LDHs-based catalysts. Recent application progress of LDHs and rehydrated LDHs, LDHs-based metal nanocatalysts, and LDHs-based mixed metal oxide catalysts used as solid acid-base catalysts in acid-base green catalytic conversion is reviewed. The challenges and prospects of LDHs-based catalysts as green and sustainable catalysts are summarized and proposed.

The article is devoted to the analytical and numerical study of the pattern of propagation and attenuation, due to Coulomb friction, of shear waves in an infinite thin elastic plate with a circular orifice of radius lying on a rough base. In the field of motion, an exact analytical solution of a nonlinear boundary value problem for tangential stresses and transversal velocities is obtained in quadratures by the method of Laplace transformations. It turned out that the complete exhaustion of the wave front of a strong rupture occurs at a finite distance from the center of the hole and an elementary formula is given for this distance (the case of tangential forces instantly applied to the orifice boundary, and then constant in time, is considered). For various ratios of the magnitude of the limiting friction force to the amplitude of the applied load, the trailing wave fronts are obtained, after which a state of static equilibrium between the elastic and friction forces with a nonlinear distribution of residual deformations is established in the region .

Platinum group metals (PGMs) high-grade ore tonnage from Merensky reef keeps on depreciating forcing the metallurgical industry to explore beneficiating PGMs from upper group 2 (UG2) ore which has up to 60% content of chromite and from secondary sources. The PGMs are naturally associated with base metal sulphides and the efficacy of the PGMs extraction processes is dependent on the processing of PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides. These processes include concentrating PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides through flotation, oxidation, etc. prior the metal extraction processes. The evolving mineralogy of PGMs ores has necessitated the use of multiple reagents to enhance the efficiency of the concentration process. This has led to an increased amount of inor-ganic chemicals disposal to the environment and the processing of PGMs to be less economic. Bio-technology has been investigated as a potential low cost, ecologically safe substitute for many current minerals processing methods. The metabolites produced by microorganisms have been used for many years with great success in the leaching and flotation of metals from medium and low-grade sulphide minerals. The possible application of microorganism mainly Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) in the metallurgical processing of PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides is systematically reviewed in this paper. The main emphasis is on the use of A. ferrooxidans in bio-oxidation and bioleaching, as well as their potential to substitute inorganic reagents in the flo-tation of PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides from primary and secondary sources

In this article, copper(II) oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles were added to Group III base oil formulated with 8 wt% Komad 323 dispersant. The nanoparticles were treated with ethyl oleate surface modification. The tribological properties of the homogenized oil samples were tested on a linear oscillating tribometer with continuous monitoring of static friction. Friction absolute integral values were calculated from high data acquisition. The wear was evaluated using a digital optical and confocal microscope. The wear types were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, while the remaining additives were located and quantified with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The measurement results show that the CuO nanoparticles did not work well with the Komad 323 dispersant. As a result of their antagonistic effect, in the case of low CuO concentrations (≤0.3 wt%), the friction increased, while in the case of high concentrations (≥0.4%), surface fatigue caused a high wear rate. The cooperation between TiO2 and the dispersant showed synergistic effects. The oxygen-rich boundary layer formed on the worn surface with a titanium content of 0.33-0.39 norm.wt% provides both lower friction and high wear resistance.

A series of novel asymmetrical mono-carbonyl analogs of curcumin (AMACs) were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxic activity using the brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT) and the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay against Vero, HeLa, and MCF7 cell lines. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C-NMR, and mass spectral data. The results of the cytotoxicity evaluation showed that the synthesized compounds exhibited moderate to very high toxic activity in BSLT, requiring a concentration of 13.06–714.49 µg/mL to kill half the population. Most of the compound exhibited cytotoxic activity against HeLa cell lines, comparable to the activity of cisplatin with a concentration of the synthesized compounds required to inhibit 50% of the growth of the cell lines (IC₅₀) value of 40.65–95.55 µM, and most of the compounds tested against MCF7 cell lines exhibited moderate to very high cytotoxic activity (IC₅₀ value 7.86–35.88 µM). However, the selectivity index of the compounds was low, less than 1–1.96. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 1b showed the highest cytotoxicity and selectivity against MCF7 cell lines. Compound 1b could be considered for further development to obtain more active and selective chemotherapeutic agents against breast cancer.

Current stock market forecasting methods encompass fundamental, technical, emotional, and bargaining factors. Predominantly, price prediction hinges on order volume and price, although correlating these two within existing models proves challenging. This study employs Cycle Generative Adversarial Network (Cycle GAN) to unravel the intricate price-volume relationship, combining it with Bollinger Bands for trading signal analysis, overcoming hurdles in short-term forecasting prevalent in numerical analysis and AI. Focusing on TSMC (2330.TW) stock price, the research leverages Cycle GAN in deep learning to master the price-volume nexus, juxtaposed with LSTM and RNN. Historical TSMC closing prices and transaction counts are model inputs, scrutinizing their interconnectedness for predictions. This innovative approach aligns stock price, volume, market value, taxes, and prior changes via system engineering. By intertwining Bollinger Bands with stock price forecasts, trading signals are distilled, factoring in extended index %b for a comprehensive market picture.

Athlete’s heart is characterised by structural, functional, and electrical remodelling. During an exercise session, the heart increases the use of oxygen, which is associated with decreased vascular resistance in the lungs’ circulation. Left ventricular hypertrophy is an echocardiographic modification especially met in endurance athlete’s heart. Moreover, left atrial dilatation represents another important characteristic of endurance athletes. Electrical modulation in the athletic heart induces neurological modifications leading to sinus arrhythmia, bradycardia, early repolarisation, and first-grade atrioventricular (AV) blocks. Athletes' nutritional status involves the assimilation of macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Depending on the duration of physical exercise, ATP can be obtained in aerobic or anaerobic conditions. This systematic review aims to find correlations between different evaluative methods of cardiac adaptation and present the metabolism in performance athletes.

In winter sports, the equipment often comes into contact with snow or ice, and this contact generates a force that resists motion. In some sports, such as cross-country skiing, this resistive force can significantly affect the outcome of a race, as a small reduction in this force can give an athlete an advantage. Researchers have examined the contact between skis and snow in detail, and to fully understand this friction, the entire ski must be studied at various scales. At the macro scale, the entire geometry of the ski is considered and the apparent contact between the ski and the snow is considered and at the micro scale the contact between the snow and the ski base ski-base textures. In the present work, a method for characterising contact between the ski-base texture and virtual snow will be presented. Six different ski-base textures will be considered. Five of them are stone-ground ski bases, and three of them have linear longitudinal textures with a varying number of lines and peak-to-valley height, and the other two are factory-ground “universal” ski bases. The sixth ski base has been fabricated by a steel-scraping procedure. In general, the results show that a ski base texture with a higher Spk-value has less real contact area, and that the mutual differences can be large for surfaces with similar Sa-values. The average interfacial separation is, in general, correlated with the Sa-value, where a “rougher” surface exhibits a larger average interfacial separation. The results for the reciprocal average interfacial separation, which is related to the Couette type of viscous friction, were in line with the general consensus that a “rougher” texture performs better at high speed than a “smoother” one, and it was found that a texture with high Sa and Spk values resulted in a low reciprocal average interfacial separation and consequently low viscous friction. The reciprocal average interfacial separation was found to increase with increasing real contact area, indicating a correlation between the real area of contact and the Couette part of viscous friction.

Statement of problem: Henna has been added to polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as a new type of antifungal agent; however, its effect on the latter’s physical properties has not been investigated. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the addition of various henna concentrations on the surface roughness and hardness of PMMA denture base material. Materials and Methods: A total of 99 specimens of rectangular-shaped (10×20×3 mm3) acrylic specimens were prepared from heat-cured acrylic resin. Specimens were divided into one control group without the addition of henna and five test groups, which were prepared by adding Yamani henna powder to acrylic powder at concentrations of 1wt%, 2.5wt%, 5wt%, 7.5wt%, and 10wt%. The polymer was added to the monomer before being mixed, packed, and processed using the conventional water bath method. After processing, specimens were finished and polished, then kept in distilled water for 48+2 h. A profilometer and Vickers hardness tester were used to measure surface roughness and hardness respectively. Statistical data analysis was conducted via SPSS version 20.0 (IBM, USA). Results: The addition of henna at varying concentrations significantly increased surface roughness values (P ≤ 0.01) while decreasing hardness (P ≤ 0.0001). The most favorable addition value was 1% henna between all henna groups. Conclusion: The addition of henna to the acrylic resin may negatively affect the surface properties of PMMA acrylic denture base.

The present contribution introduces the task dependent comfort zone as a base placement strategy for mobile manipulators using different manipulability measures. Four different manipulability measures depending on end-effector velocities, forces, stiffness, and accelerations are considered. By evaluating a discrete subspace of the manipulator workspace with these manipulability measures and by using image processing algorithms, a suitable goal position for the autonomous mobile manipulator was defined within the comfort zone. This always ensures a certain manipulator manipulablity value with a lower limit in respect to the maximum possible manipulability in the discrete subspace. Results are shown for three different mobile manipulators using the velocity dependent manipulability measure in a simulation.

This paper presents a novel normative framework for assessing granular base materials in rigid pavements, incorporating evaluations of California Bearing Ratio (CBR) alongside hydraulic conductivity tests. A critical component of this research adheres to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) standards, which specify a permeability coefficient range of 0.05 to 0.20 cm/sec. Our investigations indicate that increased compaction energy inversely affects permeability, highlighting a sophisticated interplay between compaction dynamics and hydraulic characteristics. The study further elucidates that CBR values are profoundly impacted by the content of coarse-grained soil, advocating for a tailored approach to base layer assessment. Multivariable CBR analysis facilitated the identification of an optimal water content, underscoring that maintaining a minimum 80% CBR—while minimizing water content—can mitigate fatigue effects and enhance structural performance under heightened energy conditions. This research proposes bespoke, scientifically validated standards that integrate local geotechnical nuances, aimed at refining material selection processes and extending the durability of pavement infrastructures through foundational yet meticulous geotechnical evaluations.

The rapid increase in the number of mobile phone base stations (MPBS) has raised global concerns about the potential adverse health effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF). The application of machine learning techniques can enable healthcare professionals and policymakers to proactively address concerns surrounding RF-EMF exposure near MPBS. In this study, we investigated the potential of machine learning models to predict health symptoms associated with RF-EMF exposure in individuals residing near MPBS.We utilized support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) algorithms, incorporating 11 predictors related to participants' living conditions. A total of 699 adults participated in the study, and model performance was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The SVM-based model demonstrated strong performance, achieving accuracies of 85.3%, 82%, 84%, 82.4%, and 65.1% for headache, sleep disturbance, dizziness, vertigo, and fatigue, respectively. The corresponding AUC values were 0.99, 0.98, 0.920, 0.89, and 0.81. Compared to the RF model and a previously developed model, the SVM-based model exhibited higher sensitivity, particularly for fatigue, with sensitivities of 70.0%, 83.4%, 85.3%, 73.0%, and 69.0% for these five health symptoms. Particularly for predicting fatigue, sensitivity and AUC were significantly improved (70% vs 8% and 11.1% for SVM, MLPNN, and RF, respectively, and 0.81 vs 0.62 and 0.64, for SVM, MLPNN, and RF, respectively). These findings suggest that machine learning methods, specifically SVM, hold promise in effectively managing health symptoms in individuals residing near or planning to settle in the vicinity of MPBS.

By introducing a suitable renormalization process the charge carrier and phonon dynamics of a double-stranded helical DNA molecule is expressed in terms of an effective Hamitonian describing a linear chain, where the renormalized transfer integrals explicitly depend on the relative orientations of the Watson-Crick base pairs, and the renormalized on-site energies are related to the electronic parameters of consecutive base pairs along the helix axis, as well as to the low-frequency phonons dispersion relation. The existence of synchronized collective oscillations enhancing the π-π orbital overlapping among different base pairs is disclosed from the study of the obtained analytical dynamical equations. The role of these phonon-correlated, long-range oscillation effects on the charge transfer properties of double standed DNA homopolymers is discussed in terms of the resulting band structure.

Reducing carbon emissions is a major ways to achieving green development and sustainability for China’s future. This paper elaborates the detailed feature of China's carbon flow for 2013 with the carbon flow chart and gives changing characteristics of China's CO₂ flow from the viewpoint of sector and energy during 2000 and 2013. The results show that (1) during 2000 to 2013, China's CO₂ emissions with the approximately growth portion of 9% annually, while the CO₂ intensity of China diminishes at different rates. (2) The CO₂ emissions from secondary industry are prominent from the perspective of four main sectors accounting for 83.5%. The manufacturing play an important part in the secondary industry with 45%. In which the "smelting and pressing of metal" takes up a large percentage as about 50% in manufacturing. (3) The CO₂ emissions produced by coal consumption is keep dominant in energy-related emissions with a contribution of 65%, while it will decrease in the future. (4) From the aspect of sector, the CO₂ emissions mainly come from the "electricity and heating" sector and the "smelting and pressing of metals" sub-sector. While it is essential and urgent to propose concrete recommendations for CO₂ emissions mitigation. Firstly, the progression of creative technology is inevitable and undeniable. Secondly, the government should make different CO₂ emissions reduction policies among different sectors. For example, the process emission plays an important role in "non-metallic mineral" while in "smelting and manufacturing of metals" it is energy. Thirdly, the country can change the energy structure and promote renewable energy for powering by wind or other low-carbon energy. Besides it, the coke oven gas can be a feasible substitution. Finally, policy maker should be aware of the emissions from residents have been growing in a fast rate. It is effective to involve the public in the activity of energy conservation and carbon emissions reduction such as reducing the times of personal transportation.

A fluorescent probe, N'-((3-methyl-5-oxo-1-phenyl-4, 5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-yl) methylene)-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carbohydrazide (MPMC), was synthesized and characterized. Characterizations of the synthetic MPMC were conducted by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) spectroscopy and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C NMR). The fluorescence emission behaviors of probe MPMC towards diverse metal ions were detected and the probe exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity towards Cu2+ over other metal ions via quenching of its fluorescence. Furthermore, the existence of other metal actions made no difference on the fluorescence intensity of the MPMC-Cu2+ system apparently, that is, MPMC displayed a good anti-interference ability. Job’s plot of MPMC and copper ions indicated the detection limit was 15.16 nM (R2=0.9612) for the assayed actions, with a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 for MPMC and Cu2+. Additionally, the color of MPMC probe solution changed from nearly colorless to yellow in the presence of Cu2+ in visible light, which the color change could be observed by the naked eye. Similarly, the color resolved bright yellow into blue in ultraviolet light. Also reusability studies indicated that MPMC probe was reusable. The pH effect of probe MPMC to Cu2+ had a broad range of pH detection 4.0 to 11.0. The response time of MPMC probe for determining Cu2+ was within 1 min. The recognition of Cu2+ by MPMC performed on pre-treated paper under sunlight and UV light both had a distinct colour change. Thus, the solid-state method for detecting Cu2+ with the naked-eye, was both economical and convenient.

The three-phase separator was perforated after four years’ service. The perforation position is at the bottom of the vessel under the baffle plate in an oil transfer station. The cause of perforation was investigated by chemical analysis using a direct-reading spectrometer, microstructure examined by optical microscope(OM), and lab simulated corrosion experiments by electrochemical workstation, and the corrosion products examined with scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS) in this paper. The analyses indicated that the coating at the base of the pressure vessel failed and this led to the direct exposure of the carbon steel plate to the corrosive medium. The electrical contact between the carbon steel and the stainless steel, sets up a galvanic cell that accelerated the corrosion of the pressure vessel which eventually led leads to the perforation.

Abstract. Leiomyoma is a benign tumour of smooth muscle cells classified into three groups: solid leiomyoma, angioleiomyoma and leiomyoblastoma. Angioleiomyoma arises from the tunica media of veins and arteries of vascular smooth muscle.Nasal cavity, paranasal sinus and oral cavity are the most frequent locations in Head and Neck region. Here we present the case of a tongue base angioleiomyoma with an emphasis on clinical data, pathologic findings and surgical approach. The patient complained about a one-month of globus sensation, dysphagia and hemoptysis without other systemic symptoms. Laryngoscopy revealed the presence of a 2 cm solitary submucosal mass located on the left tongue base covered with normal mucosa. The patient underwent direct laryngoscopy to perform a biopsy for the purpose of achieving the conclusive diagnosis. Treatment options were discussed, included surgical resection. Transoral robot-assisted resection was performed without complications. Clearly the description of our case does not want to have a purpose in terms of indications but wants to describe the possibility of considering TORS in the case of benign tumours of the tongue base, especially in cases like this where a standard technique can difficulty be achieved. Current literature review was provided and discussed.

At the highest level of endurance sports, the differences in finishing times are small, so equipment is constantly being constantly improved to enhance the athletes' performance. For instance, one dominant resistive force in connection with cross-country skiing is the friction between the skis and snow and since the 1930s, research designed to understand and reduce this friction has been ongoing. The mechanisms involved in ski-snow friction include compaction, micro-ploughing, adhesion, viscosity, and water-bridging. Of these, adhesive and viscous friction have been most studied, while much less is presently known about compaction, micro-ploughing, and water-bridging. At the macro-scale, the ski-camber profile plays a key role in determining whether, with respect to friction, a particular cross-country ski is suitable for use under a given set of conditions. Through its influence on where ski-snow contact occurs, this ski-camber profile has a profound impact on adhesive and viscous friction, micro-ploughing, the formation of water bridges, and the rate of compaction. Different contact zones with different apparent areas of contact and pressure have been found to be most suitable for different conditions. In addition, the micro-scale texture of the ski base is also an important determinant of ski-snow friction. Topographical measurements of this texture can be achieved with white-light interferometer and recent characterisation has focused on the mechanical properties of contact. In numerous tribological studies the interactions between features at different scales are modelled. In most tribological systems, features on several scales influence friction and ski-snow contact is certainly no exception. Accordingly, the current investigation was designed to evaluate the multi-scale properties of different combinations of two skis with two different base textures. The real area of contact and the average interfacial separation and total average reciprocal interfacial separation between the ski and snow were taken into consideration. We found that different macro- and micro-scale properties of the ski favour different mechanisms of friction. Both the profile of the ski camber and texture of the base play decisive roles in determining viscous friction. At the same time, the texture of the ski base exerts a greater impact on the average real contact pressure, real contact area and minimal average interfacial separation between the ski and snow than does the ski-camber profile.

Startups are playing increasingly influential roles in the technology sector of the world. India has been a rapidly growing economy and hosts over one hundred thousand total startups. Investors have been increasingly investing in the Indian technology sector. However, the Indian startup ecosystem is different to the American startup ecosystem and requires a separate analysis to determine important influences for their success. Through this research with responsible machine learning, entrepreneurs will be empowered to better understand how to successfully raise their company. I collected data from Crunchbase and defined a successful startup as one who has acquired another company, was acquired, or went public. I used Random Forest, XGBoost, LightGBM, and CatBoost to predict the success of the startups. To determine the most important factors, I used the feature importance tools provided by the models. I compared these results and found that the time taken between the founding and first funding of the company, commonly referred to as seed lag, was the most pivotal factor to every model’s prediction of success.

Recently, federated learning (FL) has been receiving great attention as an effective machine learning method to avoid the security issue in raw data collection as well as to distribute the computing load to edge devices. However, even though wireless communications is a essential part for implementing FL in edge networks, there have been a few works that analyze the effect of wireless networks on FL. In this paper, we investigate FL in small-cell networks where multiple base stations (BSs) and users are located according to homogeneous Poisson point process (PPP) with different densities. We comprehensively analyze the effects of geographic node deployment on the model aggregation in FL on the basis of stochastic geometry-based analysis. We derive the closed-form expressions of coverage probability with tractable approximations and discuss the minimum required BS density for achieving a target model aggregation rate in small-cell networks. Our analysis and simulation results provide insightful information for understanding the behaviors of FL in small-cell networks, and it can be exploited as a guideline for designing the network facilitating the wireless FL.

Computation of Common Middle Point seismic sections and their subsequent time migration and diffraction imaging provides very important knowledge about the internal structure of 3D heterogeneous geological media and are key elements for successive geological interpretation. Full-scale numerical simulation, that computes all single shot seismograms, provides a full understanding of how the features of the image reflect the properties of the subsurface prototype. Unfortunately, this kind of simulations of 3D seismic surveys for realistic geological media needs huge computer resources, especially for simulation of seismic waves’ propagation through multiscale media like cavernous fractured reservoirs. In order to significantly reduce the query of computer resources we propose to model these 3D seismic cubes directly rather than the shot-by-shot simulation with subsequent CMP stacking. To do that we modify the well known "exploding reflectors principle" for 3D heterogeneous multiscale media by use of the finite-difference technique on the base of grids locally refined in time and space. To be able to simulate realistic models and acquisition we develop scalable parallel software, which needs reasonable computational costs. Numerical results for simulation of Common Middle Points sections and their time migration are presented and discussed.

The production of photovoltaic modules is increasing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, this results in a significant amount of waste at the end of their lifespan. Therefore, recycling these solar panels is important for environmental and economic reasons. However, collecting and separating Crystalline silicon, Cadmium Telluride, and Copper indium gallium selenide panels can be challenging, especially in underdeveloped countries. The innovation of this work is to develop a process to recycle all solar panel waste. The dissolution of all metals is studied through the leaching process as the main step of the flowchart. In the first step of leaching, silver can be recovered 98% by 0.5 nitric acid. Then, the second and third step involves the use of glycine for base metals dissolution, followed by the leaching of valuable metals with hydrochloric acid. The effect of parameters such as initial pH, acid concentration, solid/liquid ratio, and Hydrogen peroxide concentration are studied. The results show that Cu, Pb, Sn, Zn, Cd, In, Ga, and Se can be recovered until about 100% under optimal conditions. The optimal conditions for the dissolution of Cu, Zn, and Cd were the glycine concentration of 0.5 M, Temperature of 25 ˚C, the solid/liquid ratio of 10 gr/l, and 1% of Hydrogen peroxide. The optimized glycine concentration for the leaching of lead and tin was 1.5M. Indium and gallium were recovered to 100% by the use of 5M Hydrochloric acid, S/L=10gr/l, and T=45 ˚C. Separation of selenium and tellurium occurred by 0.5 M HCl at a temperature of 60 ˚C. Additionally, for the first time, a general outlook for the recycling of various end-of-life solar panels is suggested.

In this article, the main building of the former Uto City Hall, which was severely damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, is investigated as a case study for the retrofitting of an irregular Reinforced Concrete building using the base-isolation technique. Its peak response is predicted via mode-adaptive bidirectional pushover analysis (MABPA), which was originally proposed by the authors. In the prediction step of MABPA, the peaks of the first and second modal responses are predicted considering the energy balance during a half cycle of the structural response. The numerical analysis results show that the peak relative displacement can be properly predicted by MABPA. The results also show that the performance of the retrofitted building models is satisfactory for the ground motion considered in this study, including the recorded motions in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.

Catalytic upgrading of bio-based platform molecules is one of promising approaches for biomass valorization. However, most solid catalysts are thermally and/or chemically unstable and difficult to prepare. In this study, a stable organic phosphonate-hafnium solid catalyst (PPOA-Hf) was synthesized, and acid-base bifunctional sites were found to play a cooperative role in the cascade transfer hydrogenation and cyclization of ethyl levulinate (EL) to γ-valerolactone (GVL). Under relatively mild reaction conditions of 160 ºC for 6 h, EL was completely converted to GVL in a good yield of 85%. The apparent activation energy was calculated to be 53 kJ/mol, which was lower than other solid catalysts for the same reaction. In addition, the PPOA-Hf solid catalyst did not significantly decrease its activity after five recycles, and no evident leaching of Hf was observed, indicating its high stability and potential practical application.

The primary objective of this research was to assess the energy consumption of the gas treatment units at Bonny NLNG Refinery, the first Gas Refinery in Rivers State, Nigeria, while utilizing semi-lean amine. To achieve this goal, a simulation of the units was conducted using the advanced software package Aspen Hysys (V.8.3). The simulation was designed to accurately represent the dynamic behavior of the refinery's gas treatment units, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of their energy usage. The research aimed to quantify the energy consumption of the gas treatment units and identify opportunities for energy optimization. By utilizing semi-lean amine, which is known to improve energy efficiency, the study sought to evaluate the potential energy savings that could be achieved in the refinery's operations. The simulation model incorporated the specific design and operational parameters of the gas treatment units at Bonny NLNG Refinery, including the gas flow rate, lean amine concentration, absorber pressure, stripping temperature, amine circulation rate, and acid gas removal efficiency. By considering these parameters, the simulation accurately represented the dynamic behavior of the gas treatment units, enabling a detailed analysis of their energy consumption. Through the simulation, various scenarios and operational conditions were evaluated to determine the optimal set of parameters that minimized energy consumption. The research also examined the trade-offs between energy consumption, acid gas removal efficiency, and other performance indicators, such as amine circulation rate and regeneration efficiency. The findings of this research have significant implications for the energy efficiency and sustainability of gas treatment operations at Bonny NLNG Refinery. By identifying opportunities for energy optimization and providing recommendations for the utilization of semi-lean amine, the study contributes to the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly gas treatment processes. Overall, this research combines advanced simulation techniques with a comprehensive analysis of energy consumption to provide valuable insights into the energy efficiency of gas treatment units at Bonny NLNG Refinery, enabling informed decision-making and potential improvements in energy utilization. By utilizing the percentage-based unit simulation approach, a detailed examination of the energy consumption patterns was obtained. This analysis provides valuable insights into the operational efficiency and determination of potential energy-saving opportunities within the gas treatment units. This study specifically focuses on the integration of an absorption column split stream (stream flow) and a flash unit as a potential means to reduce the energy consumption of gas treatment devices. The integration of these units aims to optimize the overall energy efficiency of the gas treatment process by recovering and utilizing waste heat and reducing energy losses. The absorption column split stream allows for the diversion of a portion of the gas stream to a flash unit before entering the absorber. The flash unit operates at a lower pressure, which facilitates the release of entrained hydrocarbons and reduces the overall energy requirements for gas treatment. By separating and recovering the hydrocarbons in the flash unit, energy losses associated with their absorption and subsequent regeneration are minimized. Through the simulation, the study analyzes the energy consumption patterns of the gas treatment units with and without the integration of the absorption column split stream and flash unit. Comparative assessments are conducted to evaluate the energy savings and overall operational efficiency achieved through this integration. The findings of this research will provide valuable insights into the potential energy-saving opportunities offered by the integration of the absorption column split stream and flash unit in gas treatment devices. It will help refine the design and operation of gas treatment units, enabling more energy-efficient processes in the gas refining industry. By optimizing energy consumption in gas treatment units, the study contributes to the industry's goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving sustainability. The integration of the absorption column split stream and flash unit offers a promising approach to enhance energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and minimize environmental impact. Overall, this research underscores the importance of exploring innovative solutions, such as the integration of different process units, to achieve energy savings in gas treatment operations. Through a comprehensive analysis of energy consumption patterns, this study aims to provide practical recommendations for optimizing energy efficiency in gas treatment units, fostering a more sustainable and efficient gas refining industry.The research specifically explores the impact of integrating the absorption column split stream and flash unit when dealing with sour gas streams containing carbon dioxide concentrations of less than mole ℅, while utilizing MDEA fluid as the solvent. Through comprehensive analysis and simulation using advanced software tools, the study demonstrates that by incorporating the absorption column split stream and flash unit, a significant reduction in device energy consumption of up to 10% can be achieved. The integration of the absorption column split stream and flash unit offers promising opportunities to enhance the energy efficiency of gas treatment devices. By diverting a portion of the gas stream to the flash unit, the separation of hydrocarbons and the subsequent release of entrained hydrocarbons at lower pressure significantly reduce the overall energy requirements for gas treatment. The comprehensive analysis and simulation conducted in the research provide concrete evidence of the energy-saving potential of this integration. By quantifying the energy consumption patterns and comparing scenarios with and without integration, the study establishes the effectiveness of the approach and its impact on operational efficiency. The findings of the research highlight the importance of considering the specific gas composition and utilizing appropriate solvents, such as MDEA, for optimizing energy efficiency. The integration of the absorption column split stream and flash unit not only reduces energy consumption but also offers the potential for cost savings and environmental benefits. Overall, the research demonstrates that by incorporating the absorption column split stream