We reveal the significance of plasmonic nanoparticle’s (NP) shape and its surface morphology en route to an efficient self-assembled plasmonic nanoparticle cluster. A simplified model is simulated in the form of free-space dimer and trimer nanostructures (NPs in shape of sphere, cube, and disk). A ~ 200 % to ~ 125% raise in near field strength (gap mode enhancement) is observed for spherical NPs in comparison with cubical NPs (from 2 nm to 8 nm gap sizes). Full-width three-quarter maximum reveals better broad-spectral optical performance in a range of ~ 100 nm (dimer) and ~ 170 nm (trimer) from spherical NPs as compared to a cube (~ 60 nm for dimer and trimer). These excellent properties for sphere-based nanostructures are merited from its dipole mode characteristics.

This paper presents a symmetrical topology for the design of solid-state transformer, made up of power switching converters, to replace conventional bulky transformers. The proposed circuitry not only reduces the overall size but also provides power flow control with the ability to be interfaced with renewable energy resources (RESs) to fulfill the future grid requirements at consumer end. Solid state transformer provides bidirectional power flow with variable voltage and frequency operation and has the ability to maintain unity power factor, and current total harmonic distortion (THD) for any type of load within defined limits of IEEE standard. Solid State Transformer offers much smaller size as compared to that of the conventional iron core transformer. MATLAB/Simulink platform is adopted to test the validity of the proposed circuit for different scenarios by providing the simulation results evaluated at 25 kHz switching frequency.

The concept of graphs with clique-width at most was first introduced by Courcelle et al.to be the graphs that can be characterized using -expressions derived from graph operations that use labels of vertices. If the clique-width for some graph is bounded then a grand number of algorithmic problems, in general NP-hard, can be solved in polynomial time when restricted to this graph. This important fact motivated the researchers to prove that the clique-width of certain graphs is bounded. Following this research direction, we prove in this paper that the clique-width of series-parallel digraphs is at most 6 and we present an time algorithm to construct a 6-expression for this class of digraphs. In another part, we present a linear time recognition algorithm for a similar class of series-parallel digraphs and prove that the clique-width of this class is at most 3.

The morphological transformation of an arched ribbon driven by torsion is a scientific problem that is connected with daily life and requires thorough analysis. An arched ribbon can achieve an instantaneous high speed through energy transformation and then return to the original shape of the structure. In this paper, based on the characteristics of the ribbon structure, the dynamic mathematical model of the arched ribbon driven by torsion is established from the Kirchhoff rod equation. The variations of the Euler angle of each point on the center line of the ribbon with the arc coordinate s and the rotation angle of the supports $\phi$ was examined. The relationship between the internal force distribution of each point in the direction of $\hat{d}_{a}$ and the material, cross-sectional properties, and rotation angle of the supports was obtained. We used ABAQUS, a nonlinear finite element analysis tool, to simulate the morphological transformations of the ribbons, verified our theory with simulation results, and reproduced the experimental results of Sano. Furthermore, we redefined the concept of the ``critical flipping point'' of Sano. In this paper, the dimensional analysis method was used to fit the simulation data. The following relationship between the critical width $ w ^{*} $, thickness h, and the radius R of the ribbon with different cross sections was obtained: $w^{*}=A\cdot R\left(h/R\right)^{0.6}$, where A is 3.19 for rectangular cross sections and 3.06 for elliptical cross sections. By analyzing the simulation data, we determined the variation behavior of the out-of-plane deflection of the center point of the ribbon with the radius R, width w, and thickness h. Our research has guiding significance for understanding and designing arched ribbons driven by torsion, and the results can be applied to problems of different scales.

In this compact and focused paper, we revisit the interplay between Bramble and Filter through the lens of a submodular partition function.

This paper concerns the effect of proppant embedment related with hydraulic fracturing treatment. This phenomenon occurs if the strength of the reservoir rock is lower than proppant grains. The aim of the research is laboratory determining the loss of width of the proppant pack built of light ceramic grains. The laboratory simulation of the embedment phenomenon was carried out for a shale rock on a hydraulic press, in a specially prepared for this purpose a heated embedment chamber. Tests were conducted at high temperature and axial compressive stress conditions. The surfaces of the cylindrical core plugs (fracture faces) were imaged under an optical microscope equipped with 3D software. The fracture faces were examined and compared before and after the embedment phenomenon. The analysis of the obtained images of the fracture face were made based on the research method of the embedment phenomenon developed at Oil and Gas Institute-NRI. On the basis of laboratory tests, the parameters characterizing the embedment phenomenon were collected and discussed. In addition, the percentage reduction in the width of the proppant pack was determined.

Backround Cochlear implant is the first approved cranial nerve stimulator that works by directly stimulating the cochlear nerve. Various attempts have been made to evaluate the dimensions of the cochlea related to cochlear implantationThe preoperative computed tomographic examination is essential in assessing the anatomical aspect of the cochlea, but also in determining its dimensions, in order to choose an appropriate electrode, in order to obtain the best possible audiological performance. Method In the present paper, we aimed to carry out an observational study, regarding the role of cochlear measurements in the preoperative evaluation of patients proposed for cochlear implant. The purpose of the study was to measure the cochlea and to establish the existence of a correlation between the size of the cochlea and the age and gender of the patients. Results From the group of 35 examined patients, 54% (n= 19) were male and 46% (n=16) female. The average length of the cochlea in the age group 0-4 years is 7.82 mm in the left ear and 7.86 in the right ear, in the age group 4-7 years it is 7.82 mm and 7.94 mm respectively, for the age group 7-14 years the dimensions increase to 8.48 and 8.77 mm respectively, and after 14 years these dimensions reach 9.12, respectively 9.18 mm. Comparative measurements of the length of the cochlea by age groups show an increase in length with the patient's age, but this increase does not exceed 1.5 mm for both the right and left ears. The measurements of the width of the cochlea, by age group, start from 6.84 mm left ear and 6.81 mm right ear at 0-4 years, 6.94 mm and respective 6.97 mm at the group 4-7 years, 7.71 mm and respective 7.55 mm at 7-14 years , and reaching 8.19 mmm and 8.12 mm at the age of over 14 years. Conclusions From the study carried out it can be concluded that the evaluation of the dimensions of the cochlea is important for cochlear implantation, the size variables, although small, are still an element to be considered in correlation with the age of the patient and the implanted ear. This increase is statistically insignificant, but it still exists, even if from a theoretical point of view, it is considered that the dimensions of the cochlea remain constant.

Background: Pro-golfers are increasingly trained scientifically, but swing technique characteristics have not yet been conclusively determined for golf performance. We investigated the relationship between the player's thorax, pelvis and club based on a wireless biofeedback system. We also determined whether thoracic and pelvic changes during different swing phases have different effects on ball striking. Methods: Eight male professionals performed 10 successful full-swing shots using a 5-iron and applied the K-vest wireless biofeedback system for analysis. Results: Peak angular velocities between the pelvis, torso, and clubs were all significantly different (p<0.05) in the men's professional players. All players deviated more from the PGA players range metrics during the preparation stance. Excessive lateral pelvic bending angle, over-rotation, and hyperextension of the trunk were prevalent at the top of the backswing. Conclusions: Most players have an irrational sequence of pelvic, trunk and club rotation times, which is not conducive to improving club head speed and distance. Excessive pelvic rotation in the closed direction at the apex of the backswing is not conducive to maximizing the X-factor. At the moment of striking the ball, maintain a moderate forward trunk lean and full trunk rotation to avoid sports injuries.

The impact induced by cavitation bubble collapse can be utilized for mechanical surface treatment to improve fatigue properties of metals including additive manufactured metallic materials. A peening method using cavitation impact induced by a pulsed laser is called “laser cavitation peening (LCP)”. Normally, a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, whose pulse width is a few nanoseconds, is used for LCP, which improves the fatigue strength. The problem with LCP is that the processing time is too slow. If a laser pulse whose pulse width is a few hundred microseconds can be utilized for LCP, the repetition frequency can be increased drastically using other types of laser systems such as a fiber laser. In the present paper, in order to reveal the possibility of LCP using a pulsed laser width of a few hundred microseconds, the use of LCP with a normal-oscillation Nd:YAG laser (pulse width ≈ 200 us) was investigated. It is demonstrated that LCP with the normal-oscillation Nd:YAG laser produced curvature in an aluminum alloy plate.

Full Matrix Capture is a multi-channel data acquisition method which enables flexible, high resolution imaging using ultrasound arrays. However, the measurement time and data volume are increased considerably. Both of these costs can be circumvented via compressed sensing, which exploits prior knowledge of the underlying model and its sparsity to reduce the amount of data needed to produce a high resolution image. In order to design compression matrices that are physically realizable without sophisticated hardware constraints, structured subsampling patterns are designed and evaluated in this work. The design is based on the analysis of the Cramér-Rao Bound of a single scatterer in a homogeneous, isotropic medium. A numerical comparison of the point spread functions obtained with different compression matrices and the Fast Iterative Shrinkage/Thresholding Algorithm shows that the best performance is achieved when each transmit event can use a different subset of receiving elements and each receiving element uses a different section of the echo signal spectrum. Such a design has the advantage of outperforming other structured patterns to the extent that suboptimal selection matrices provide a good performance and can be efficiently computed with greedy approaches.

In this paper a full state feedback control of a double inverted pendulum on a cart (DIPC) are designed and compared. Modeling is based on Euler-Lagrange equations derived by specifying a Lagrangian, difference between kinetic and potential energy of the DIPC system. A full state feedback control with H infinity and H 2 is addressed. Two approaches are tested: open loop impulse response and a double inverted pendulum on a cart with full state feedback H infinity and H 2 controllers. Simulations reveal superior performance of the double inverted pendulum on a cart with full state feedback H infinity controller.

Image stitching is a crucial aspect of image processing. However, factors like perspective and environment often lead to irregular shapes in stitched images. Cropping or completion methods typically result in substantial loss of information. This paper proposes a method for rectifying irregularly images into rectangles using deformable meshes and residual networks. The method utilizes a convolutional neural network to quantify rigid structures of images. Choosing the most suitable mesh structure based on the extraction results, offering options such as triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal. Subsequently, the irregularly image, predefined mesh structure, and predicted mesh structure are input into a wide residual neural network for regression. The loss function comprises local and global, aimed at minimizing the loss of image information within the mesh and global target. This method not only significantly reduces information loss during rectification but also adapting to different images with various rigid structures. Validation on the DIR-D dataset shows this method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in image rectification.

The article presents the issues related to load sharing in direct current grid and a novel control method which has advantages over known solutions. Unlikely of many similar sounding papers this article shows attempt of creation fully controllable non-isolated system which allows load sharing between permanent magnet alternator equipped with machine side converter (MSC) and dual active bridge (DAB) tied to batteries or supercapacitor. The power sharing is essential feature of parallel connected direct current generators and all types of voltage sources in this way are contributing power to the system. Such system should have possibility of the rapid voltage build up in the case of sudden electrical load changes. To keep the optimal efficiency of the alternator the rotational speed changes according to proper mapping of driving combustion engine. When rotational speed is too low then sudden electrical load can cause significant voltage drop and time needed for voltage build up will vary according to RPM increase. In such situations the undervoltage system can trip the breaker and finally there may be a blackout. To avoid such problem the DC systems which consist of batteries and supercapacitor were introduced. System components include a self-excited synchronous generator (SESG) operating at variable shaft speed as well as batteries and supercapacitors that provide electricity for sudden electrical load changes on the distribution grid. The core of presented system is in power distribution method which consists of programmed controllers structure allowing precise currents distribution. A novelty in the proposed method is the use of a cascaded system of current and DC voltage regulators which allows power distribution precise control. In contrary to previously presented solutions, the proposed system allows fast and accurate control of currents loading parallel connected DC voltage sources for wide range generator speed changes. In presented solution both converters have been equipped with Schottky diodes preventing flow of equalizing currents between closed transistors in the parallel mode of operation. An experimental test-stand of the described system is presented with its theoretical basis and experimental results.

Image stitching is a crucial aspect of image processing. However, factors like perspective and environment often lead to irregular shapes in stitched images. Cropping or completion methods typically result in substantial loss of information. This paper proposes a method for rectifying irregularly images into rectangles using deformable meshes and residual networks. The method utilizes a convolutional neural network to quantify rigid structures of images. Choosing the most suitable mesh structure based on the extraction results, offering options such as triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal. Subsequently, the irregularly image, predefined mesh structure, and predicted mesh structure are input into a wide residual neural network for regression. The loss function comprises local and global, aimed at minimizing the loss of image information within the mesh and global target. This method not only significantly reduces information loss during rectification but also adapting to different images with various rigid structures. Validation on the DIR-D dataset shows this method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in image rectification.

The paper reports an analytical study of two problems of Rayleigh-Bénard convection(RBC): one in a Newtonian liquid occupying an axi-symmetric cylindrical enclosure(CE) and second in a two-dimensional rectangular enclosure(RE). Linear stability analysis is employed to obtain information on the onset of convection in terms of a critical Rayleigh number, Ra, as a function of the aspect ratio, Ro. The nature and the flow structures of the convective cells, at the onset of convection, are predicted theoretically by plotting the streamlines for different values of Ro. Not so shallow(Ro<1 or Ro≪1), and very shallow enclosures(Ro≫1) are considered. Concepts of cell-width and the wave number are respectively used in these two types of enclosures. An explicit analytical expression for the number of cells as a function of Ro is obtained theoretically. Exact prediction of the critical value of Ra, viz., Rac, as a function of Ro is also made. These are new findings in the case of both CE and RE. The fundamental differences between the problems of CE and RE are also highlighted.

Based on the high-precision quantitative measurement ability, the S-band subsystem of China's high- resolution aviation system carried out the agricultural application test for the first time in Jilin elm, China. The experiment is mainly carried out in combination with vegetation growth, soil moisture content inversion, wheat straw returning and ground feature classification. Through the design of quantitative measurement scheme, the results of different straw coverage and observation at different times are compared, which shows the prospect of S-band full polarization synthetic aperture radar system in the field of agricultural application.

Silver nanoparticles from Origanum vulgare (Oregano) have been synthesized in the past. However, no investigation has been performed on the combined effects of independent factors that affect the synthesis. Silver nitrate and Oregano concentrations, incubation temperature and time, as well as pH can play crucial roles in synthesis. In this regard Full Factorial Design was applied. A Voigt function was fitted on the measured UV – Vis spectra. The fitting parameters of the Voigt function (peak wavelength, area, and Full Width at Half Maximum) were used as the responses. A quadratic model was fitted for the peak wavelength and area, and the pH proved the dominant factor on nanoparticle synthesis.

Grill-specific footprints for common fuels/grill types in the USA are estimated from public information and data from a major grill manufacturer. These are a function of both 1) a fuel’s footprint and 2) a grill’s efficiency of cooking. In 2022, grill-specific footprints vary by 9:1. A typical gas grill is highest at 3.6 lb CO2e/grill session, nine times that of a wood-pellet grill, lowest at 0.4 lb. Charcoal briquettes, electricity and super-efficient gas grills come in-between. Pellets are lowest, because they are made from waste wood and their production burden is modest. Electricity has the highest fuel footprint, yet the second-lowest grill-specific footprint, thanks to its high efficiency. Briquettes come in fourth, because their production involves fossil gas, and they contain some fossil coal. Grill efficiency is key for gas (natural gas or propane): a typical gas grill has twice the footprint of a super-efficient one. In 2027, with bio substitution, the super-efficient gas grill would move ahead of pellets. Electricity and charcoal could improve but would still place fifth and sixth. The range of grill-specific footprints could fall to 4.5:1, within a much-lower range, the highest footprint in 2027 almost 60% lower than 2022’s highest.

The present paper investigates numerically the resistance at full-scale of a zero-emission, high-speed catamaran in both deep and shallow water, with the Froude number ranging from 0.2 to 0.8. The numerical methods are validated by two means: a) comparison with available model tests; b) a blind validation using two different flow solvers. The resistance, sinkage and trim of the catamaran, as well as the wave pattern, longitudinal wave cuts and cross-flow fields, are examined. The total resistance curve in deep water shows a continuous increase with the Froude number while in shallow water, a hump is witnessed near the critical speed. This difference is mainly caused by the pressure component of total resistance, which is significantly affected by the interaction between the wave systems created by the demihulls. The pressure resistance in deep water is maximised at a Froude number around 0.58, whereas the peak in shallow water is achieved near the critical speed (Froude number ≈ 0.3). Insight into the underlying physics is obtained by analysing the wave creation between the demihulls. Profoundly different wave patterns within the inner region are observed in deep and shallow water. Specifically, in deep water, both crests and troughs are generated and moved astern as the increase of the Froude number. The maximum pressure resistance is accomplished when the secondary trough is created at the stern, leading to the largest trim angle. In contrast, the catamaran generates a critical wave normal to the advance direction in shallow water, which significantly elevates the bow and creates the highest trim angle as well as pressure resistance. Moreover, significant wave elevations are observed between the demihulls at supercritical speeds in shallow water which may affect the decision for the location of the wet deck.

Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is frequently analyzed using liquid biopsy to investigate cancer markers. Accordingly, we hypothesized this concept could be applied to the field of exercise physiology. Here, we aimed to identify specific cfDNA (spcfDNA) sequences in the plasma of non-treated human participants using next generation sequencing (NGS) and to clearly define the dynamics regarding the amounts of spcfDNA-fragments upon extreme exercise, such as running a full marathon. NGS analysis was performed using cfDNA of pooled plasma collected from non-treated participants. We confirmed the TaqMan-qPCR assay had a high sensitivity and found the spcfDNA sequence abundance was 16,600-fold higher than a normal genomic region. We then used the TaqMan-qPCR assay to investigate the dynamics of the levels of spcfDNA-fragments upon running a full marathon. Quantities of the spcfDNA fragments were significantly increased post marathon. Furthermore, the amounts of spcfDNA fragments strongly correlated with the numbers of white blood cells and plasma myoglobin concentrations. These results suggest the spcfDNA fragments identified in this study were highly sensitive response markers to extreme physical stress. The findings of this study may provide new insights into exercise physiology and genome biology on the human.

Decoherence with recurrences appear in the dynamics of the one-body density matrix of an $F = 1$ spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, initially prepared in coherent states, in the presence of an external uniform magnetic field and within the single mode approximation. The phenomenon emerges as a many-body effect of the interplay of the quadratic Zeeman effect, that breaks the rotational symmetry, and the spin-spin interactions. By performing full quantum diagonalizations very accurate time evolution of large condensates are analyzed, leading to heuristic analytic expressions for the time dependence of the density matrix, in the weak and strong interacting regimes. We are able to find accurate analytical expressions for both the decoherence and the recurrence times, in terms of the number of atoms and strength parameters, that show remarkable differences depending on the strength of the spin-spin interactions. We discuss the nature of these limits in the light of the thermodynamic limit.

The skyrocketing growth in the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices will certainly pose a huge traffic demand for fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks and beyond. In-band full-duplex (IBFD), which is theoretically expected to double the spectral efficiency of a half-duplex (HD) wireless channel and to connect more devices, has been considered as a promising technology to accelerate the development of IoT. To exploit the full potential of IBFD, the key challenge is how to handle network interference (including self-interference, co-channel interference and multiuser interference) more effectively. In this paper, we propose a simple yet efficient user grouping method, where a base station (BS) serves strong downlink users and weak uplink users and vice versa in different frequency bands, mitigating severe network interference. We aim to maximize a minimum rate among all users subject to bandwidth and power constraints, which is formulated as a highly nonconvex optimization problem. By leveraging inner approximation framework, we develop a very efficient iterative algorithm to solve this problem, which guarantees at least a local optimal solution. Numerical results are provided to show not only the benefit of using full-duplex raido at BS, but also the advantage of the proposed user grouping method.

Sleep quality is known to affect automatic and executive brain functions such as gait control and cognitive processing. This study aimed to assess the effect of dual tasks on gait spatiotemporal parameters among young adults with good and poor sleep quality in the United Arab Emirates. In total, 65 young adults with a mean age of 21.1±2.5 were assessed for gait analysis during single-task and dual-task conditions. The participants’ sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and gait was assessed using the BTS Gaitlab System. The participants were asked to walk at natural speed as a single-task condition, followed by walking while performing a cognitive task as a dual-task condition. The parameters assessed included the gait velocity (m/s), cadence (steps/min), step width (m), and stride length (m). The DTC on each gait parameter was calculated. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the differences in the DTC on gait variables between the good and poor sleep quality groups, and the Spearman correlation test was used to assess the correlation between total PSQI scores and the DTC. At a significance level of p<0.05, a significant difference in cadence between the two sleep quality groups was observed, in addition to a positive correlation between sleep quality and the DTC effect on gait mean velocity, cadence, and stride length. Our findings also revealed a greater DTC on participants with poorer sleep quality. These findings contribute to our understanding of the significance of sleep quality in gait performance while multitasking in younger populations.

In an effort to enhance the efficiency and safety of open-pit mines, this study explores the optimization of end slope road parameters and slope structures, specifically focusing on unmanned driving lanes.A significant aspect of the study is the development of a truck trajectory offset model, which considers the different reaction times between automated sensors and human drivers in adapting to environmental changes. To test these concepts, the study uses numerical simulations to confirm the stability of the proposed end slope designs. Using Victory West Mine No. 1 as a case study, the research determines the optimized width for unmanned driving lanes and the maximum angle for safe steepening of end slopes. The findings indicate that the optimized unmanned lane width for NTE240 mining dump trucks is 1743 mm, allowing for a 2-degree increase in the slope angle at the south end slope. This optimization leads to a steep mining stripping volume of 3.2735 million m³ and a coal output of 2.49628 million tons, maintaining a stripping ratio of 1.31m³/t. These results demonstrate that the unmanned driving road width optimization not only ensures slope safety but also significantly boosts the economic benefits of steep mining in open-pit mines.

Despite the ecological importance of forest tree species, our study was motivated by scarce data on dendrochronology studies limited to the northwestern part of Tajikistan due to lack of access to such a part of the country which is difficult to access. Current studies on Junipers in the northwestern part of Tajikistan identified that tree ring-based climate reconstruction is possible. Cores of Juniperus Turkestanica from Taboshar area, Sogd province were developed into 176-year tree-ring width chronology. In the current study a summer (June-September) minimum temperature reconstruction spanning AD 1840–2016 was developed, which can explain 30.0% of the instrumental variableness for the period of 1940–2015. Five warmest (1856–1866, 1869–1871, 1907–1916, 1923–1935, 1988–2016) and four coldest time periods (1840–1855, 1872–1906, 1917–1922, 1940–1984) were identified. The developed reconstruction coincides with cold and warm periods with prior investigations from tree-rings in China, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Spatial correlation analysis with the gridded minimum temperature data shows that the temperature reconstruction covers geographical representation over High Asia. Significant correlation was found between temperature reconstruction with summer SST, which suggests strong linkages of regional temperature variability with Indian-Ocean climate system. The obtained spectral peaks from the spectral analysis of the summer temperature reconstruction were significantly at 84.7-year (90%), 2.9-year (99%), 2.6-year (99%), 2.5-year (99%), 2.4-year (99%) and 2.2-year (99%).

Cooperative Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) with Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer (SWIPT) communication can effectively improve the spectrum efficiency and energy efficiency of the wireless networks with extend coverage. An important design issue is to incentivize a relaying center user to participate in the cooperative process and achieve a win-win situation to both the BS and the center user. Some private information of the center users are hidden from the BS in the networks. We apply a contract theory-based incentive mechanism under such asymmetric information scenario to incentives center user to join the cooperative communication to maximize the BS profit utility and to guarantee the center user’s expect payoff. A match theory-based Gale-Shapley algorithm is proposed to obtain the optimal strategy with low computation complexity. Simulation results indicated the network performance of our proposed cooperative transmission is much better than the conventional NOMA transmission and the benefit utility of the BS with the stable match strategy is nearly close to the complete channel state information multi-users scenario while the center users get the satisfied expect payoffs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chitosan (CS) and Alginate (Alg) polymers concentrations and CaCl2 concentration on metronidazole (MET) drug loading (LE), size particles and zeta potential. Nanocomposites were prepared by ionotropic pregelation method. A (21 *31 *21) *3= 36 full factorial design (FFD) was used to predict statistical equation and responses. The MET-CS-AlgNPs nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope and in vitro drug release studies. All data indicated the presence of drug into MET-CS-AlgNPs nanocomposites. The release profile of MET-CS-AlgNPs nanocomposites was found to be sustained

This study numerically evaluated the long-term and stable trends of meandering channel planform at different mean annual subcritical flows based on a depth-averaged linearized meander evolution model. The calculation cases included an idealized sine-generated meander with moderate max-deflection angle and a typical natural meander - Jiyun River (in China). Within the increase of the selection of the mean annual width-depth ratio in a certain scope, the results showed some specific phase characteristics of channel centerline evolution: (1) the meander straightening trend became weaker in phase 1 (B/H ≤ 16.5) and gradually turned into the meander developing trend in phase 2 (B/H ≤ 27) with the overall immunity to flow magnitude; (2) the symmetric development form along the transverse direction perpendicular to the flow average direction was broken starting from the downstream tail in phase 3 (B/H ≤ 28.9), meantime accompanied by the highlight of flow effects when the mean annual B/H exceeded 28; (3) in phase 4 (B/H ≤ 29.5), there occurred obvious incipience and jump process of the channel sensitivity responding to flow when the selected B/H crossed 29.3, which were very similar to the transition process from the laminar flow to turbulent flow. Besides, the initial sinuosity and curvature-ratio indicator could contribute much to the channel evolutionary state, as demonstrated in the comparison between natural Jiyun River case and the correspondingly idealized sine-generated meander case with the same level of mean annual B/H. This research provides innovation spaces for deeper meander mechanism exploration and effective riparian management.

In this paper, a new full-Newton step feasible interior point method for convex quadratic programming is presented and analyzed. The idea behind this method is to replace the complementarity condition with a non-negative variable weight vector and use the algebraic equivalent transformation for the obtained equation. Under the selection of appropriate parameters, the quadratic rate of convergence of the new algorithm is established. In addition, the iteration complexity of the algorithm is obtained. Finally, some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the practical performance of the proposed algorithm.

We studied Ni2FeSi, Co2FeSi and Co2MnSi -based full Heusler alloy glass-coated microwires with the same geometric aspect ratio ρ ≈ 0.50 ± 0.01 prepared using Taylor-Ulitovsky method. The fabrication of X2YZ; (X = Co & Ni, Y = Fe & Mn and Z = Si) based glass coated microwires with fixed aspect ratio is a quite challenging due to the different samples preparation conditions. The XRD analysis shows nanocrystalline microstructure for all the samples. Space group Fm3¯m (FCC) with disordered B2 and A2-types for Ni2FeSi and Co2FeSi and ordered L21-type for Co2MnSi are observed. The change in the positions of Ni, Co and Mn, Fe in X2YSi resulted in a variation in the lattice cell parameters and the average grain size of the sample. Room temperature magnetic behavior shows a dramatic change depending on the chemical composition, where Ni2FeSi-MWs shows the highest coercivity (Hc) compared to Co2FeSi-MWS and Co2MnSi-MWs. The Hc –value of Ni2FeSi-MWs is 16 times higher than that of Co2MnSi-MWs and 3 times higher than that of Co2FeSi-MWS. Meanwhile, the highest reduced remanence is reported for Co2FeSi-MWS (Mr =0.92), , being about 0.33 and 0.22 for Ni2FeSi-MWs and Co2MnSi-MWs, respectively. From the analysis of the temperature dependence of the magnetic properties (Hc and Mr) of X2YZ-MWs we deduced that Hc shows a stable tendency for Co2MnSi-MWs and Co2FeSi-MWs, meanwhile two flipped points are observed for Ni2FeSi-MWs where the behavior of Hc changes with temperature. For Mr monotonic increase by decreasing the temperature is observed for Co2FeSi-MWs and Ni2FeSi-MWs and roughly stable for Co2MnSi-MWs. The thermomagnetic curves at low magnetic field show irreversible magnetic behavior for Co2MnSi-MWs and Co2FeSi-MWs and regular ferromagnetic behavior for Ni2FeSi-MWs. The current result illustrates the ability to tailor the structure and magnetic behavior of X2YZ-MWs at a fixed internal stresses, i.e., with fixed aspect ratio. Additionally, a different behavior was revealed in X2YZ-MWs depending on the degree of ordering and elements distribution. The tunability of magnetic properties of X2YZ-MWs makes them suitable for sensing applications.

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

Background: This study aimed to evaluate survival rate, marginal bone levels, and full arch prosthetic success on short implants when placed in areas of severely resorbed and edentulous mandibles. Methods: This is a systematic review of all randomized controlled trials of at least 10 patients with a control group in which bone augmentations were performed that were published between January 2010 and February 2023. Only 3 relevant studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: It obtained demonstrate that short-term dental implant survival rates ranged from 94.2% to 97.4% with a 5-year follow-up and the prosthetic success rate varied by 62% during the same follow-up. The mean marginal bone level values ​​of the affected short implants ranged from 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm. Conclusions: The data obtained demonstrated that short dental implants positioned with criterion and precision as a full-arch fixed support are a valid therapeutic choice for the medium-long term rehabilitation of severe edentulous mandibular atrophy.

In this paper, sea surface wind speed (SSWS) retrieval from Gaofen-3 (GF-3) quad-polarization stripmap (QPS) data in vertical-vertical (VV), horizontal-horizontal (HH) and vertical-horizontal (VH) polarizations is investigated in detail based on 3,170 scenes acquired from October 2016 to May 2018. The radiometric calibration factor of the VV polarization data is examined first. This calibration factor generally meets the requirement of SSWS retrieval accuracy with an absolute bias of less than 0.5 m/s but shows highly dispersed characteristics. These results lead to SSWS retrievals with a small bias of 0.18 m/s but a rather high root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.36 m/s compared with the ERA-Interim reanalysis model data. Two refitted polarization ratio (PR) models for the QPS HH polarization data are presented. Based on a combination of the incidence angle- and azimuth angle-dependent PR model and CMOD5.N, the SSWS derived from the QPS HH data shows a bias of 0.07 m/s and an RMSE of 2.26 m/s relative to the ERA-Interim reanalysis model wind speed. A linear function relating SSWS and the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) of QPS VH data is derived. The SSWS data retrieved from the QPS VH data show good agreement with the WindSat SSWS data, with a bias of 0.1 m/s and an RMSE of 2.02 m/s. We also apply the linear function to the GF-3 Wide ScanSAR data acquired for the typhoon SOULIK, which surprisingly yields a very good agreement with the model results. A comparison of SSWS retrievals among three different polarization datasets is also presented. The current study and our previous work demonstrate that the general accuracy of the SSWS retrieval based on GF-3 QPS data has an absolute bias of less than 0.3 m/s and an RMSE of 2.0 ±0.2 m/s relative to various datasets. Further improvement will depend on dedicated radiometric calibration efforts.

Various renewable energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaic (PV) have been increasingly integrated into the power system through power electronic converters in recent years. However, power electronic converter-driven stability issues under specific circumstances, for instance, modal resonances might deteriorate the dynamic performance of the power systems or even threaten the overall stability. In this paper, the integration impact of a hybrid renewable energy source (HRES) system on modal interaction and converter-driven stability is investigated in an IEEE 16-machine 68-bus power system. Firstly, an HRES system is introduced, which consists of full converter-based wind power generation (FCWG) and full converter-based photovoltaic generation (FCPV). The equivalent dynamic models of FCWG and FCPV are then established, followed by the linearized state-space modeling. On this basis, converter-driven stability analyses are performed to reveal the modal resonance mechanisms of the interconnected power systems and the modal interaction phenomenon. Additionally, time-domain simulations are conducted to verify effectiveness of dynamic models and support the converter-driven stability analysis results. To avoid detrimental modal resonances, an optimization strategy is further proposed by retuning the controller parameters of the HRES system. The overall results demonstrate the modal interaction effect between external AC power system and the HRES system and its various impacts on converter-driven stability.

. Background: regular exercise elicits adaptive changes from several organs and physiological processes, including erythrocyte properties. Methods: in a group of 79 subjects (62 men and 17 women; mean age 31.37 +/- 10.19 years) who trained several times a week as they practiced amateur sports, we evaluated the elongation index, marker of erythrocyte deformability, the red blood cell distribution width (RDW), indicator of erythrocyte anisocytosis, hematocrit, hemoglobin and the main erythrocyte indices (MCV, MCH, MCHC) in basal conditions. Results: in comparison with a group of healthy not trained volunteers, the values of the elongation index, and not the RDW, are increased and this datum is accompanied by an increase of MCV and MCHC, likely related to an increased presence of circulating young erythrocytes in trained subjects. We also divided the same group according to the median of the VO2max, observing that the subgroup above the median shows both an increase in the elongation index values and a decrease in MCH and MCHC. Conclusions: in trained subjects there is no correlation between the values of elongation index and the RDW, while of particular interest and of a certain complexity seem the interrelations among elongation index, RDW and the main erythrocyte indices.

As the general acceptance of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) in the concrete construction industry continues to rise, it is increasingly imperative that the crack width of FRP reinforced concrete members of pavement and girder be predicted with good accuracy due to strengthening of RC pavement, slabs or beams structures using FRP is known to control crack width. However, no specific provisions are provided by most international design codes for predicting crack width in FRP reinforced concrete flexure members. In this paper, five formulas for predicting the crack width for FRP reinforced structures are derived from three common computational theories which including statistical method, comprehensive theory, and bond-slip theory. The formula of statistical method is simplest, but the parameters depend on much sample data. The comprehensive and slippage theory based on semi-empirical statistical crack spacing are obtained through the calculation of non-uniformity coefficient of strain. The comprehensive and slippage theory based on semi-empirical axial force balance are obtained through the calculation of tensile reinforcement factor. The comparative analysis of performance of five formulas is carried out. The results indicate that the formula from comprehensive theory based on semi-empirical statistical crack spacing is recommended for predicting the crack width of FRP reinforced concrete flexural structure.

Diffusion bonding is often used on pre-machined parts to generate internal cavities, e.g. for cooling injection molding tools close to the mold cavity. Only then, the workpieces are finished to their final dimensions. In the case of micro-process devices, however, it is essential to precisely control the deformation, as otherwise uncontrollable pressure losses will occur with channel cross-sections in the sub-millimeter range. Post-processing is not possible. The most important process parameters for diffusion bonding are temperature, dwell time and contact pressure, with the bonding temperature and contact pressure acting in opposite directions and showing a strong non-linear dependence on deformation. In addition, the deformation is influenced by a number of other factors such as the absolute size of the cross-section and the aspect ratio of the parts, the dimensions and distribution of the internal cross sections and the overall percentage of the cross-section to be bonded. In micro process engineering, small material cross-sections in the range of the materials microstructure can facilitate additional deformation mechanisms such as grain boundary sliding, which are not relevant at all for larger structures. For parts consisting of multiple layers, tolerances in thickness and roughness of multiple surfaces must be levelled, contributing to the percentaged deformation. This makes it difficult, especially in micro process engineering and in single or small series production, to determine suitable joining parameters in advance, which on the one hand do not cause unforeseen large deformations, but on the other hand reliably produce highly vacuum-tight components. Hence, a definition of a fixed percentaged deformation does not work for all kinds of components. This makes it difficult to specify parameters for surely obtain high-vacuum tight parts. For successful diffusion bonding, atoms must diffuse over the bonding planes, forming a monolithic part in which the original layers are no longer visible. Only then, mechanical properties identical to those of the base material, which has been subjected to identical heat treatment, can be achieved. In this paper, the impacts of different material cross section widths as well as of the aspect ratio on deformation were investigated. By accident, it was found that also accuracy of the temperature measurement may have a serious impact in terms of deformation.

Based on Venturini method, it is in favor of the modulation technique for controlling the matrix converter due to only use of the comparison between the duty cycles in time domain and the triangular carrier wave for generating the gating signals and the achievable voltage ratio between fundamental output magnitude and fundamental input magnitude to 0.866. However, even with simple modulation method and achieving maximum fundamental output magnitude, the possible input voltage unbalance conditions accordingly influence on the output performances (more reduction and distortion). Thus, a modified Venturini modulation method is presented in this paper, in order to solve the problems of unbalanced input voltage conditions on the matrix converter performances. The proposed strategy is to satisfy the desirable feature of the duty cycle modulating waves, as generated in the event of normal situation. Up to this approach, it can support either single-phase condition or two-phase condition. Performance of the proposed control strategy was verified by the simulated implementation in the MATLAB/Simulink software with showing good steady-state and dynamic operations.

Dynamic optical structural color is always desired in various display applications and usually involves active materials. Full-color generation, especially bi-directional full-color generation in both reflective and transmissive modes, without any active materials included has been rarely investigated. Herein, we demonstrate a scheme of bi-directional full-color generation based on a plasmonic metasurface modulated by rotation of the polarization angle of the incident light without varying the geometry and the optical properties of the materials and the environment where the metasurface resides. The metasurface unit cell consists of plasmonic modules aligning in three directions and is patterned in a square array. The metasurface structural color device generates full colors in both reflection and transmission. Based on the proposed polarization-dependent structural color, information encoding of three multiplexed animal images and quick-responsive (QR) codes is demonstrated to verify the efficient information encoding and decoding of the proposed scheme. The animals can be seen under different polarization incidence and the QR codes can be successfully decoded by the polarization rotation in transmission. The proposed bi-directional full-color generation metasurface has great potential in applications such as kaleidoscope generation, anti-counterfeiting, dynamic color display, and optical information encoding.

When describing the tribological behaviour of technical surfaces, the need for full length scale microtopographic characterization often arises. The self-affine of surfaces and the characterization of self-affine by a fractal dimension and its implantation into tribological models are commonly used. The goal of our present work was to determine the frequency range of fractal behaviour of surfaces by analysing the microtopographic measurements of a brake plunger. We also wanted to know if the bifractal and multifractal behaviour can be detected in real machine parts. As a result, we developed a new methodology for determining the fractal range boundaries to separate the nano- and micro-roughness. In order to reach our goals, we used atomic force microscope (AFM) and stylus instrument to provide measurements in wide frequency range (19 nm - 3 mm). As a result of the power spectral density (PSD) based fractal evaluation, it was found that the examined surface could not be characterized by a single fractal dimension and that we developed a methodology for stopping the margin of validity of each fractal dimension, and we also developed a methodology for determining the limits of validity of certain fractal dimensions.

This study updates previous research showing that 22 all-cause mortality in 31 European countries increased over time the higher the 21 COVID-19 full vaccination uptake. The update illuminates that a one percentage point increase in 21 full vaccination uptake initially decreased all-cause mortality from Jan to Mar 22 by –0.423 percent (95% CI –0.577, –0.270), but the following 14 months, a one percentage point increase in 21 booster vaccination uptake oppositely increased mortality by 0.366 percent (95% CI 0.250, 0.482). The findings indicate that full vaccination initially prevented mortality, but subsequently, booster vaccination, in particular, detrimentally and consistently induced higher mortality. The effects remained robust when controlling for alternative explanations. Studies have argued that heat waves caused mortality in the 22 summer and energy prices caused mortality in the 22-23 winter. However, the update shows that booster vaccination consistently induced higher mortality when neither heat waves nor energy prices were likely explanations.

Background - Mandibular flexion (MF) is a complex biomechanical phenomenon, which involves a deformation of the mandible, due mainly to the contraction of the masticatory muscles, and can have numerous clinical effects. The main aim of the current systematic review is to highlight the different factors that can increase MF, to help clinicians, identify patients to whom they should pay more attention. As a secondary outcome, we wanted to analyze the preventive measures and suitable techniques to be adopted to minimize the negative effects of this phenomenon on oral fixed rehabilitations. Methods - The review, which was carried out in accordance with the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) flowchart, was recorded in the “International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews” (PROSPERO). As research questions, “Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes” (PICO) questions were employed. Using the ROBINS-I technique, the risk of bias in non-randomized clinical studies was evaluated. Results - The initial electronic search identified over 1300 potential articles, of which 54 studies were included in this systematic review. Information regarding the relationship between MF and individual factors, mandibular movements, impression-taking and fixed rehabilitations were obtained. Conclusions – The studies included in this systematic review showed that MF is greater during protrusive movements, in the posterior areas of the lower jaw, and in patients with brachial facial type, greater jaw length, small gonial angle and less density, length and bone surface of the symphysis. The biomechanical effects of mandibular flexion on fixed restorations are debated. Prospective clinical and radiological observational studies should be conducted to evaluate the potential short-, medium- and long-term consequences of MF.

This paper summaries the main findings from the full-scale CFD analyses conducted at SINTEF Ocean on the case of MV REGAL, which is one of the benchmark vessels studied in the ongoing joint industry project JoRes. The numerical approach is described in detail, and comparative results are presented regarding the propeller open water characteristics, ship towing resistance, and ship self-propulsion performance. The focus of numerical investigations is on the assessment of the existing simulation best practices applied to a ship scale case in a blind simulation exercise, and performance of thereof with different turbulence modelling methods. The results are compared directly with full-scale performance predictions based on model tests conducted at SINTEF Ocean and sea trails data obtained in the JoRes project.

In this paper, a metal cutting machine position control have been designed and simulated using Matlab/Simulink Toolbox successfully. The open loop response of the system analysis shows that the system needs performance improvement. Static output feedback and full state feedback H₂ controllers have been used to increase the performance of the system. Comparison of the metal cutting machine position using static output feedback and full state feedback H₂ controllers have been done to track a set point position using step and sine wave input signals and a promising results have been analyzed.

Exact and soliton type solutions have great importance in propagation of surface waves, fluid dynamics, optics, and many other elds of nonlinear sciences. In this study, the explicit and exact soliton type solutions for two space-time fractional Equal- Width (FEW) equations with conformable derivative are procured via the hyperbolic function approach. The wave type solutions are represented in some hyperbolic and trigonometric functions.

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is an optical technique used to measure surface displacements and strains in materials and structures. This technique has demonstrated significant utility in structural examination and monitoring. This manuscript offers a comprehensive review of contemporary research and applications that have leveraged the DIC technique in laboratory-based structural tests. The reviewed works encompass a broad spectrum of structural components, such as concrete beams, columns, pillars, masonry walls, infills, composite materials, structural joints, steel beams, slabs, and other structural elements. These investigations have underscored the efficacy of DIC as a metrological instrument for precise quantification of surface deformation and strain in these structural components. Moreover, the constraints of the DIC technique have been highlighted, especially in scenarios involving extensive or complex test configurations. Notwithstanding these constraints, the DIC methodology has validated its effectiveness as a strain measurement instrument, offering numerous benefits such as non-invasive operation, full-field measurement capability, high precision, real-time surveillance, and compatibility with integration into other measurement instruments and methodologies.

Quantum cell automata (QCA) is a nanotechnology that uses a transistor-free structure to design digital circuits and overcome the limitations listed for CMOS circuits. The computing circuits that make up the bulk of computers can be designed and using this technology. Subtractors are a big part of computational circuits. This research deals with the design of a subtractor that due to the innovation in the design of this circuit and the novel arrangement of quantum cells of its kind has caused the number of cells used in the design of the circuit to reach its lowest value compared to previously designed circuits. The size of the circuit as well as the loss power are minimized compared to the circuits designed by the subtractors. Another trait clears of this circuit compared to many previous designs is its single-layer design, which reduces latency and noise in the output waveform. The circuit designed by the QCADesigner simulator is tested and simulated inadition the results are displayed in the simulated waveform. Also, the results of calculations for power dissipation in each QCA cell were evaluated by QCAPro software, which is a powerful tool for estimating power loss simulation. It has less implementation and level (single layer) than Previous designs.

Globally 390 millions of people are at risk of dengue infection; over the past 50 years the virus incidence increased thirty-fold. In Senegal, an unprecedented occurrence of outbreaks and sporadic cases was noticed since 2017. In October 2018 an outbreak of DENV-2 was reported in Rosso area in the north of Senegal at the border with Mauritania. Out of the 187 blood specimen samples collected, 27 were positives by qRT-PCR and 8 were serologically positive for DENV IgM. Serotyping using qRT-PCR reveals that isolates were positive for DENV-2. A subset of DENV-2 positives samples was selected and subjected to full genome sequencing followed by phylogenetic analysis. Analysis of 06 nearly completed genome sequences (n= 6) revealed that isolates belong to the cosmopolitan genotype and are closely related to the Mauritanian strains detected between 2017 and 2018 and those detected in many West African countries such as Burkina Faso or Cote d’Ivoire. Our results suggest a transboundary circulation of the DENV-2 cosmopolitan genotype between Senegal and Mauritania and call for a need of coordinated surveillance of arboviruses between these two countries. Interestingly, high level of homology between West African isolates highlights endemicity and call for a set-up of sub-regional viral genomic surveillance which will lead to a better understanding of viral dynamic, transmission and spread across Africa.

The process of full-thickness skin regeneration is complex and has many parameters involved, which makes it difficult to use a single dressing to meet the various requirements of the complete regeneration at the same time. Therefore, developing hydrogel dressings with multifunction, including tunable rheological properties and aperture, hemostatic, antibacterial and super cytocompatibility, is a desirable candidate in wound healing. In this study, a series of complex hydrogels were developed via the hydrogen bond and covalent bond between chitosan (CS) and alginate (SA). These hydrogels exhibited suitable pore size and tunable rheological properties for cell adhesion. Chitosan endowed hemostatic, antibacterial properties and great cytocompatibility and thus solved two primary problems in the early stage of the wound healing process. Moreover, the sustained cytocompatibility of the hydrogels was further investigated after adding FGF and VE-cadherin via the co-culture of L929 and EC for 12 days. The confocal 3D fluorescent images showed that the cells were spherical and tended to form multicellular spheroids, which distributed in about 40-60μm thick hydrogels. Furthermore, the hydrogel dressings significantly accelerate defected skin turn to normal skin with proper epithelial thickness and new blood vessels and hair follicles through the histological analysis of in vivo wound healing. The findings mentioned above demonstrated that the CS/SA hydrogels with growth factors have tremendous potential as multifunctional hydrogel dressings for full-thickness skin regeneration incorporated with hemostatic, antibacterial, sustained cytocompatibility for 3D cell culture and normal skin repairing.

In addition to the risk of vaccine failure caused by strain mismatch, the production of inactivated FMD vaccines is dangerous if adequate biosafety cannot be maintained. Using a high-throughput sequencing protocol optimized for short nucleic acid fragments, the composition of a local inactivated vaccine was analyzed in depth. The serotype O strain identified in the vaccine was genetically identical to viruses found in recent FMD outbreaks in Egypt.

Microfluidics is facing critical challenges in the quest of miniaturizing, integrating, and automating in vitro diagnostics, including the increasing complexity of assays, the gap between the macroscale world and the microscale devices, and the diverse throughput demands in various clinical settings. Here a “3D extensible” microfluidic design paradigm that consists of a set of basic structures and unit operations was developed for constructing any application-specific assay. Four basic structures- check valve (in), check valve (out), double-check valve (in and out), and on-off valve, were designed to mimic basic acts in biochemical assays. By combining these structures linearly, a series of unit operations can be readily formed. We then proposed a “3D extensible” architecture to fulfill the needs of the function integration, the adaptive “world-to-chip” interface, and the adjustable throughput in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. To verify this design paradigm, we developed a fully integrated loop-mediated isothermal amplification microsystem that can directly accept swab samples and detect Chlamydia trachomatis automatically with a sensitivity one order higher than that of the conventional kit. This demonstration validated the feasibility of using this paradigm to develop integrated and automated microsystems in a less risky and more consistent manner.

This paper presents the design of a high frequency zero voltage switching (ZVS) full-bridge converter with a phase-shifted driving signal for photovoltaic applications. The resonant power converter can provide high-power capacity under high-frequency operation. The proposed power converter can also reduce the size of the transformer under the same power rating. The high-frequency transformer was developed by using the resonant and switching frequencies of the power converter to reduce the switching loss and to improve the system efficiency. Phase-shifted modulation was selected to drive the switches of a full-bridge power converter based on the switching loss minimization method. The desired output voltage was controlled using a closed-loop controller under a loop gain stability margin. The simulation results showed that the output voltage can be controlled to the desired constant when the input voltage changes from 30 VDC to 60 VDC. The desired output voltage of power converter is constant at 400 VDC. The power converter can transfer the DC supply to a 220 VAC household via grid-connected inverter. Therefore, the proposed study showed the effectiveness of the phase-shift ZVS full-bridge power converter with high-frequency transformer. This power converter can control the operation of the desired voltage system and has a small sizing of power converter system, low switching loss, and high system efficiency.

Efficient member revocation and strong security against attacks are prominent requirements in group signature schemes. Among the revocation approaches Verifier-local revocation is the most flexible and efficient method since it requires to inform only the verifiers regarding the revoked members. The verifier-local revocation technique uses a token system to manage members’ status. However, the existing group signature schemes with verifier-local revocability rely on weaker security. On the other hand, existing static group signature schemes rely on a stronger security notion called, full-anonymity. Achieving the full-anonymity for group signature schemes with verifier-local revocation is a quite challenging task. This paper aims to obtain stronger security for the lattice-based group signature schemes with verifier-local revocability, which is closer to the full-anonymity. Moreover, this paper delivers a new key-generation method which outputs revocation tokens without deriving from the users’ signing keys. By applying the tracing algorithm given in group signature schemes for static groups, this paper also outputs an efficient tracing mechanism. Thus, we deliver a new group signature scheme with verifier-local revocation that satisfies a stronger security from lattices.

Global teacher shortage is a serious concern with grave implications for the future of education. This calls for novel ways of addressing teacher roles. The economic benefits of tireless labour inspires the need for teachers who are unlimited by natural human demands, highlighting consideration for the affordances of robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) as currently obtainable in other areas of human life. This however demands designing robotic personalities that can take on independent teacher roles despite strong opinions that robots will not be able to fully replace humans in the classroom of the future. In this paper, we argue for a future classroom with independent robot teachers, highlighting the minimum capabilities required of such personalities in terms of personality, instructional delivery, social interaction and affect. We describe our project on the design of a robot teacher based on these. Possible directions for future system development and studies are highlighted.

Video quality assessment (VQA) plays an important role in video applications for quality evaluation and resource allocation. It aims to evaluate the video quality consistent with the human perception. In this letter, a hierarchical gradient similarity based VQA metric is proposed inspired by the structure of the primate visual cortex, in which visual information is processed through sequential visual areas. These areas are modeled with the corresponding measures to evaluate the overall perceptual quality. Experimental results on the LIVE database show that the proposed VQA metric significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art VQA metrics.

Background and Aims: Late diagnosis of sepsis is associated with adverse consequences and high mortality rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of hematologic research parameters, that reflect the cell morphology of blood cells, available on the BC 6800 plus automated analyzer (Mindray) for the early detection of sepsis. Materials and Methods: A complete blood count (CBC) was performed by Mindray BC 6800 Plus Analyzer in 327 patients (223 with a confirmed diagnosis of sepsis following sepsis-3 criteria, 104 without sepsis), admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of the Novara’s Hospital (Italy) and in 56 patients with localized infection. Results: In univariate logistic regression, age, Hb, RDW, MO#, NMR, NeuX, NeuY, NeuZ, LymX, MonX, MonY, MonZ were associated with sepsis (p<0.005). In multivariate analysis, only RDW, NeuX, NeuY, NeuZ, MonX and MonZ were found to be independent predictors of sepsis (p<0.005). Morphological research parameters are confirmed to be predictors of sepsis even when analyzing the group with localized infection. Conclusions: In addition to already established biomarkers and basic CBC parameters, new morphological cell parameters can be a valuable aid in the early diagnosis of sepsis at no additional cost.

Background: Acute pancreatitis is a common emergency. Morbidity control requires early detection of disease severity. METHODS: A total of 131 AP patients were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups mild AP (MAP: Ranson score <3) and severe AP (SAP: Ranson score ≥3), according to Ranson’s criteria. Demographic data, hospitalization duration, PNI, CRP, and RDW levels were compared. Any p-value below 0.05 (p<0.05) was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Study included 67 (51.15%) males and 64 (48.85%) females. The age average was 59.74 (19-90) years. 95 (72.52%) patients had MAP, and 36 (27.48%) patients had SAP. Mean hospitalization time, PNI, and CRP differed significantly between the two groups (p=0.010, p<0.05, p<0.05, respectively). The RDW (p=0.380) level difference was insignificant. For SAP prediction; the sensitivity, specificity and cut-off value according to Ranson code cut-off point for PNI were determined as 80.0% (95% CI:54.8-85.8), %72.2 (95% CI:70.5-87.5) and ≤45.6 (gr/L) + (mm3), respectively, and 94.7% (95% CI:57.8-87.9), %75.0 (95% CI:88.1-98.3) and >105,1 mg/L, respectively for CRP. CONCLUSION: PNI and CRP values (but not RDW values) were compatible with the disease severity determined by the Ranson criteria.

Enhancing the degree of functional multiplexing while assuring operational reliability and manufacturability at competitive costs are crucial ingredients for enabling comprehensive sample-to-answer automation, e.g., for use in common, decentralized “Point-of-Care” or “Point-of-Use” scenarios. This paper demonstrates a model-based ‘digital twin’ approach which efficiently supports the algorithmic design optimization of exemplary centrifugo-pneumatic (CP) dissolvable-film (DF) siphon valves towards larger-scale integration (LSI) of well-established “Lab-on-a-Disc” (LoaD) systems. Obviously, the spatial footprint of the valves and their upstream laboratory unit operations (LUOs) have to fit, at a given radial position prescribed by its occurrence in the assay protocol, into the locally accessible disc space. At the same time, the retention rate of a rotationally actuated CP-DF siphon valve and, most challenging, its band width related to unavoidable tolerances of experimental input parameters, need to slot into a defined interval of the practically allowed frequency envelope. To accomplish particular design goals, a set of parametrized metrics is defined, which are to be met within their practical boundaries while (numerically) minimizing the band width in the frequency domain. While each LSI scenario needs to be addressed individually on the basis of the digital twin, a suite of qualitative design rules and instructive showcases structures are presented.

This experimental study probes the dynamic behaviour of a 3mm ABS sheet during positive mould vacuum-assisted thermoforming. In this process, the sheet undergoes large and fast deformations, caused by the applied vacuum and mechanical stretching by the mould. The objective is to elucidate the complexities of these large, rapid and non-isothermal deformations. The non-isothermal conditions are caused by the radiative heating of the sheet, convective heat loss to the surrounding air and conductive heat transfer from the sheet to the mould. Utilizing stereo Digital Image Correlation (DIC) in tandem with thermal imaging, the present study accurately maps the occurring displacement, strain and strain rate field in relation to real-time temperature variation of the material. The study progresses to observe the ABS material from the moment it contacts the mould until it conforms to a positive 250mm diameter semi-sphere cast aluminium mould. The DIC methods are validated by comparing thickness values derived from DIC’s principal strain directions to ultrasonic thickness gauge readings. This knowledge not only broadens the understanding of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the material but also aids in optimizing process parameters for improved thickness uniformity in thermoformed products.

Combinations of Dilwet, an organosilicone surfactant, and ethephon, a hormonal compound often applied to fruit trees to thin the crop, were applied at full bloom to prevent fruit development in two young vineyards differing in elevation by 600 m. Each vineyard was planted with the same 19 red and 10 white grape cultivars from a range of countries of origin. Vineyard elevation did not affect response to treatment. A combined spray of 0.5% Dilwet with 0.04% ethephon reduced cluster number by an average of 85%, while weight of the remaining clusters was reduced by 63%, compared to unsprayed controls. Increasing the concentration of Dilwet to 1% reduced cluster number by 93% and cluster weight by 76%. There were significant differences in the response of cultivars to the treatments, depending on country of origin, with grapes originating in France responding better to higher concentrations of Dilwet. White grapes were more responsive than red grapes. These results highlight the need to test different cultivars and genetic origins of crops when examining the effects of new agricultural chemicals.

Background: Functional restoration of abdominal wall defects represent one of the fundamental challenges of reconstructive surgery. Synthetic grafts or crosslinked animal-derived biological grafts are characterized by significant adverse reactions, which are mostly observed after their implantation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the decellularization protocol to produce a completely acellular full-thickness abdominal wall scaffold. Methods: Full-thickness abdominal wall samples were harvested from Wistar rats and submitted to a 3 cylce decellularization process. Histological, biochemical and DNA quantification analyses were applied to evaluate the effect of the decellularization protocol. Mechanical testing and immunogenicity assessment were also performed. Results: Histological, biochemical and DNA analysis results showed the efficient decellularization abdominal wall samples after the 3rd cycle. Decellularized abdominal wall scaffolds were characterized by good biochemical and mechanical properties Conclusion: The data presented herein confirm the effective production of rat-derived full-thickness abdominal wall scaffold. Expanding this approach will allow the exploitation of the capacity of the proposed decellularization protocol in producing acellular abdominal wall scaffolds from larger animal models or human cadaveric donors. In this way, the utility of biological scaffolds with preserved in vivo remodelling properties may be one step closer to its application in clinical studies.

In this paper, the stability control of the inverted pendulum on a cart with a disturbance forces has been done using observer based and full state feedback H2 controllers. The Lagrangian equation has been used to model the system equation of motions and linearized the system to the unstable upward position. Comparison of the system stability has been simulated by comparing the proposed controllers using Matlab/Scripts and a promising results has been analyzed successfully.

In this paper, the design of a low cost portable ventilator with performance analysis have been done to solve the scarcity of respiratory ventilators for COVID-19 patients. The materials used to build the system are: DC motor, rotating disc and pneumatic piston. The system input is the patient heart beat and the output is volume of air to the patient lung with adjusted breathing rate. This ventilator adjusts the breathing rate to the patient depending on his heart beat rate. The performance analysis of this system have been done using Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) and Full State Feedback H2 controllers. Comparison of the system with the proposed controllers have been done using a step change and a random change of the patient heart beat and a promising result have been analyzed successfully.

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

Academic entrepreneurship focuses on commercialization of research. Even though it is practiced worldwide for decades, Bangladesh is a newcomer in this segment. In Bangladesh only 2 Universities have Technology Transfer Offices or TTOs which are established with the sole focus of commercialization of researches of the students and the faculty members of the Universities. This article focuses on worldwide practices of technology transfer and academic entrepreneurial activities and also explores the opportunities and challenges of such entrepreneurs through detail investigation of the existing body of knowledge. Apart from exploring the problems and prospect of academic entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, this article also introduces the concept of Full-Service Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO), which existing literatures do not offer. The authors believe that by establishing such KTOs as a self-sustaining body, it is possible for an academic entrepreneur to stimulate, support and sustain their activities in Bangladesh. The concept of full service KTOs can also become models for other nations, specially the developing ones, to establish and nurture a culture of academic entrepreneurship.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is at the crossroads. It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the ACA in order to make rational decisions about the ongoing healthcare reform, but existing research into its effect on health insurance status in the United States is insufficient and descriptive. Using data from the National Health Interview Surveys from 2009 to 2015, this study examines changes in health insurance status and its determinants before the ACA in 2009, during its partial implementation in 2010–2013, and after its full implementation in 2014 and 2015. The results of trend analysis indicate a significant increase in national health insurance rate from 82.2% in 2009 to 89.4% in 2015. Logistic regression analyses confirm the similar impact of age, gender, race, marital status, nativity, citizenship, education, and poverty on health insurance status before and after the ACA. Despite similar effects across years, controlling for other variables, youth aged 26 or below, the foreign-born, Asians, and other races had a greater probability of gaining health insurance after the ACA than before the ACA; however, the odds of obtaining health insurance for Hispanics and the impoverished rose slightly during the partial implementation of the ACA but somewhat declined after the full implementation of the ACA starting in 2014. These findings should be taken into account by the U.S. government in deciding the fate of the ACA.

Nowadays, all the stakeholders, policy makers, regulators, aircraft designers, producers, operators, etc.) are intensively working on development of the aircraft with full electric and hybrid propulsion systems. However, the technical, technological constrains (like limit on accumulator energy density) require introducing a new approach to conceptual design of such aircraft. The new methods is based on energy and mass balance evaluation. This paper analyses the identified constrains; integrates the energy and mass balance equations into the preliminary definition and calculations of the aircraft performance. By this way, the technological constrains might be transferred into the limitation on the aircraft energy and mass breakdown, that initiates a new approach to aircraft conceptual design uses the knowledge based multidisciplinary optimization. The paper describes the developed methodology for conceptual design of aircraft. It show results of implementing this new development philosophy to conceptual design of a four-seat small electric/hybrid aircraft and a special hybrid cargo UAV. The discussion of the results including got by using the emerging and enabling new technologies and new methods and solutions (including for example distributed propulsion system, unconventional forms, morphing, biomimics, etc.), demonstrates the possible implementation of the new development philosophy, new approach to aircraft conceptual design.

The intermediate filament protein vimentin constitutes a critical sensor for electrophilic and oxidative stress. We previously showed that vimentin interacts with zinc, which affects its assembly and redox sensing. Here we have used vimentin wt and C328S, an oxidation-resistant mutant showing improved NaCl-induced polymerization, to assess the impact of zinc on soluble and polymerized vimentin by light scattering and electron microscopy. Zinc acts as a switch, reversibly inducing the formation of vimentin oligomeric species. High zinc concentrations elicit optically-detectable vimentin structures with a characteristic morphology depending on the support. These effects also occur in vimentin C328S, but are not mimicked by magnesium. Treatment of vimentin with micromolar zinc induces fibril-like particles that do not assemble into filaments, but form aggregates upon subsequent addition of NaCl. In contrast, when added to NaCl-polymerized vimentin, zinc increases the diameter or induces lateral association of vimentin wt filaments. Remarkably, these effects are absent or attenuated in vimentin C328S filaments. Therefore, the zinc-vimentin interaction depends on the chemical environment and on the assembly state of the protein, leading to atypical polymerization of soluble vimentin, likely through electrostatic interactions, or to broadening and lateral association of preformed filaments through mechanisms requiring the cysteine residue. Thus, impact of zinc on vimentin assembly and redox regulation is envisaged.

A maxillary totally edentulism was rehabilitated with one-piece implants starting from pre-existing totally removable denture. A 3D digital scan of the removable denture and upper and lower arches was performed. On this basis, a prototype with optimal esthetic and functional outcomes was re-alized and turned into a custom-made radiological stent with markers. The superimposition of STL and DICOM files allowed the virtual planning of one-piece implants ideal position. The stackable templates composed of a fixed component, namely base template, and removable components, were realized. The fixed component, once secured with anchor pins to the bone, was no longer removed. The removable components, screwed to the fixed component, were used to perform the implant surgery and the immediate prosthetic loading. A base template allowed for maintaining a fixed reference during the entire workflow, improving the transition between the digital project, the surgical procedure, and the prosthetic rehabilitation.

We aimed to investigate whether the sequence length of HIV-1 increases over time. A longitudinal analysis of full-length coding region sequences (FLs) during an HIV-1 outbreak among pa-tients with hemophilia and local controls infected with the Korean subclade B of HIV-1 (KSB) was performed. Genes were amplified by overlapping RT-PCR or nested PCR and subjected to direct sequencing. Overall, 141 FLs were sequentially determined over 30 years in 62 KSB-infected patients. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that within KSB, two FLs from plasma donors O and P comprised two clusters together with 8 and 12 patients with hemophilia, respectively. Signature pattern analysis for the KSB of HIV-1 revealed 91 signature nucleotide residues (1.05%). In total, 48 and 43 signature nucleotides originated from clusters O and P, respectively. Only six positions contained 100% specific nucleotide(s) in clusters O and P. Additionally, in-depth FL analysis over 30 years indicates that the KSB FL significantly increased over time before combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) and decreased with cART. The increase occurred due to a significant increase in env and nef genes, originating in the variable regions of both genes. The increase in the sequence length of HIV-1 over time suggests that it has an evolutionary direction.

The objective of this study is to investigate whether the sequence length of HIV-1 increases over time. A longitudinal analysis of full-length coding region sequences (FLs) in an outbreak of HIV-1 infection among patients with hemophilia and local controls identified as infected with the Korean subclade B of HIV-1 (KSB). Genes amplified by overlapping RT-PCR or nested PCR were subjected to direct sequencing. In total, 141 FLs were sequentially determined over 30 years in 62 KSB-infected patients. Non-KSB sequences were retrieved from the Los Alamos National Laboratory HIV Database. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that within KSB, 2 FLs from plasma donors O and P comprised two clusters together with 8 and 12 patients with hemophilia, respectively. Signature pattern analysis for the KSB of HIV-1 revealed signature nucleotide residues at 1.05%, compared with local controls. Additionally, in-depth FLs sequence analysis over 30 years in KSB indicates that the KSB FL significantly increases over time before combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) and decreases on cART. Furthermore, the increase in FLs over time significantly occurred in the subtypes B, C and G, but, there was no increase in the subtypes D, A, and F1. Consequently, subtypes F1 and D had the shortest sequence length. Our analysis was extended to compare HIV-1 with HIV-2 and SIVs. Essentially, the longer the sequence length (SIVsm > HIV-2 > SIVcpz > HIV-1), the longer the survival period. The increase in the length of the HIV-1 sequence over time suggests that it might be an evolutionary direction toward attenuated pathogenicity.

Optimizing the nitrogen (N) timings and rate can improve nutrient uptake, and nutrient-efficiencies, especially of N in wheat under the changing climate scenario. Climatic stress in the form of high temperature and drought resulted in the decreased crop physiology and, ultimately, grain yield. Taking the example of rainfed wheat, we quantified the impact of N application rates as full and split-dose at three variable sites of rainfed Pothwar, Pakistan by conducting field experiments for two years (2013-14 and 201-15). Treatments include, T1 = Control (No fertilizer applied), full dose of N applied at the time of crop sowing, i.e. T2 = 50 kg N ha^-1, T3 = 100 kg N ha^-1 and T4 = 150 kg N ha^-1 and split application of N at different timings during different stages of the crop called as split application of N, i.e. T5: Application of 50 kg N ha^-1 (15 kg N ha^-1 (Sowing) : 20 kg N ha^-1 (Tillering) :15 kg N ha^-1 (Anthesis), T6: Application of 100 kg N ha^-1 (30 kg N ha^-1 (Sowing): 40 kg N ha^-1 (Tillering) : 30 kg N ha^-1 (Anthesis) and T7: Application of 150 kg N ha^-1(45 kg N ha^-1 (Sowing) : 60 kg N ha^-1 (Tillering) : 45 kg N ha^-1 (Anthesis). Three study sites include viz. Islamabad (High rainfall with optimum temperature), University Research Farm (URF)-Koont (Medium rainfall with moderate temperature), and Talagang (low rainfall with high temperature). Results showed that the highest stomatal conductance (0.80 mole m^-2 sec^-1), net photosynthetic rate (20.07 μmole m^-2s^-1), transpiration rate (9.58 mmole m^-2s^-1), intercellular CO2 concentration (329.25 μmole CO₂ mol^-1 air), SPAD values (58.86 %) and proline contents (35.42 μg g^-1) were obtained for split application of N (T6 = Split N100) compared to control and full dose of N treatments. Among sites, these physiological traits remained highest at Islamabad and lowest at Talagang, while among years, maximum values of the measured parameters were obtained in 2013-14. A similar trend was observed for crop total N, N efficiencies, and agronomic traits of the crop. Our results suggest that optimum N application rate and its suitable timings can help to harvest real benefits of N as in our findings, split dose resulted in the maximum performance of the crop from physiological parameters to the agronomic traits of the rainfed wheat crop.

Optimizing the nitrogen (N) timings and rate can improve nutrient uptake, and nutrient-efficiencies, especially of N in wheat under the changing climate scenario. Climatic stress in the form of high temperature and drought resulted in the decreased crop physiology and, ultimately, grain yield. Taking the example of rainfed wheat, we quantified the impact of N application rates as full and split-dose at three variable sites of rainfed Pothwar, Pakistan by conducting field experiments for two years (2013-14 and 201-15). Treatments include, T₁ = Control (No fertilizer applied), full dose of N applied at the time of crop sowing, i.e. T₂ = 50 kg N ha^-1, T₃ = 100 kg N ha^-1 and T₄ = 150 kg N ha^-1 and split application of N at different timings during different stages of the crop called as split application of N, i.e. T₅: Application of 50 kg N ha^-1 (15 kg N ha^-1 (Sowing) : 20 kg N ha^-1 (Tillering) :15 kg N ha^-1 (Anthesis), T₆: Application of 100 kg N ha^-1 (30 kg N ha^-1 (Sowing): 40 kg N ha^-1 (Tillering) : 30 kg N ha^-1 (Anthesis) and T₇: Application of 150 kg N ha^-1(45 kg N ha^-1 (Sowing) : 60 kg N ha^-1 (Tillering) : 45 kg N ha^-1 (Anthesis). Three study sites include viz. Islamabad (High rainfall with optimum temperature), University Research Farm (URF)-Koont (Medium rainfall with moderate temperature), and Talagang (low rainfall with high temperature). Results showed that the highest stomatal conductance (0.80 mole m^-2 sec^-1), net photosynthetic rate (20.07 μmole m^-2s^-1), transpiration rate (9.58 mmole m^-2s^-1), intercellular CO₂ concentration (329.25 μmole CO₂ mol^-1 air), SPAD values (58.86 %) and proline contents (35.42 μg g^-1) were obtained for split application of N (T₆ = Split N₁₀₀) compared to control and full dose of N treatments. Among sites, these physiological traits remained highest at Islamabad and lowest at Talagang, while among years, maximum values of the measured parameters were obtained in 2013-14. A similar trend was observed for crop total N, N efficiencies, and agronomic traits of the crop. Our results suggest that optimum N application rate and its suitable timings can help to harvest real benefits of N as in our findings, split dose resulted in the maximum performance of the crop from physiological parameters to the agronomic traits of the rainfed wheat crop.

Rising fuel costs, significant air pollution, and the need to mitigate the negative consequences of oil consumption have diminished the relevance of traditional vehicles. This shift encourages the adoption of safer, more efficient, and eco-friendly transportation alternatives, such as fuel cell, electric, and hybrid vehicles. Brushless direct current motors are gaining popularity due to their high efficiency, power factor, torque, and controllability. By 2030, Brushless Direct Current motors are expected to replace conventional motors as the standard for power transfer, especially in dynamic applications like automobiles, more electric aircraft. This study explores a control technique to improve real-time control of brushless direct current motors in electric vehicles It presents speed control of these system for electric vehicle applications and an overview of electric vehicle technologies. A model for the 120-degree mode was developed using electrical and mechanical equations in MATLAB/Simulink. Three scenarios were examined to assess the potential of controlling brushless direct current motors using constant and dynamic speed and torque. The actual value reached the reference value in the first two scenarios.

The dependence of the width of annual rings of woody plants on the characteristics of the snow cover is analyzed in various natural zones of the West Siberian Plain and adjacent mountainous areas: the maximum thickness and water reserve for the entire winter period and for individual months, the dates of disappearing, establishment, and duration of the occurrence of a stable snow cover. It has been shown that the role of the thickness and water content of snow cover for the radial growth of trees is differentiated by geographical location. On the plain, it intensifies in the forest-tundra and dry steppe. The response of radial growth to snow cover in the upper and lower parts of the forest belt is often opposite. Dates of establishment of stable snow cover are more important for tree growth compared to dates of disappearance. Dates of disappearance of stable snow cover are more significant in the southern regions than in the northern ones. The value of the duration of the period with stable snow cover for tree growth is higher in the southern regions.

As wind turbine power requirements have evolved from the order of kilowatts (kW) to the order of several megawatts (MW), wind turbine components have been subjected to more demanding and critical operating conditions. The wind turbine must cope with higher wind loads due to larger blade sizes, which are also time-varying and ultimately higher power levels. One of the challenges in the manufacture of high-power wind turbines lies in the gearbox and consists of achieving ever greater power density without compromising efficiency, i.e., greater load capacity with lower weight (and production cost) and reduced power losses. In this paper we will analyze the influence that certain design parameters have on the size and weight of the gearbox components and therefore of the gearbox itself. For this purpose, the theoretical model of the gearbox will be planned and the influence of calculation parameters on the gearbox design will be analyzed. The influence of material, modulus and tooth width on the size and weight of the gearbox will be observed. Critical stresses are also calculated. The goal is to prepare the theoretical basis for an optimization process that will result in a gearbox as compact as possible without compromising the service life of the components.

In the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive system, the unwilling and ear-piercing vibro-acoustics caused by high-frequency sideband harmonics becomes unacceptable in the electric vehicle application. In this paper, a modified space vector pulse-width modulation (SVPWM) technique implemented with hybrid carrier frequency modulation (HCFM) is provided to reduce the sideband current harmonic components and vibro-acoustic responses. The principle and implementation of the proposed HCFM technique are firstly presented, in which the fixed carrier frequency is improved with the sawtooth and random signal-based coupling modulation based on the rotor position. For verification, the experiment tests are carried out on a prototype 12/10 PMSM and microcontroller unit. The effectiveness of the HCFM technique can hence be confirmed, in which the sideband vibro-acoustics reduction shows more effectively than that in conventional random PWM. The proposed approach may provide a new route in noise-cancelling and electromagnetic compatibility for the electric drive powertrain.

Solid asperity interactions are common and inevitable under severe loading conditions for any lubricated contact. Heavy-duty machine components (gear, bearings etc.) generally operate under Mixed Lubrication, where uneven surface features contact each other when generated fluid pressure is not enough to support the external load. The Reynolds equation is commonly used to simulate smooth lubricated contacts numerically. In rough lubricated interfaces where opposite surface asperities make contact, the Reynolds equation alone cannot accurately predict pressure using the traditional numerical simulation method. In this paper, Lubrication-Contact interface conditions (LCICs) have been implemented and extended to solve the multiple asperity contact problem using the full-multigrid approach. The developed novel algorithm has significantly accelerated the solution process and improved the accuracy and efficiency of pressure calculation for fluid-solid sub-interactions that can occur under ML regions. The Finite Difference Method (FDM) results have been compared with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation to validate the newly developed model. Hence, the proposed optimized solution method will provide valuable insight to researchers and industry engineers interested in simulating the ML problem where the effect of the fluid-solid interface can be captured effectively to improve reliability in the calculation of the life expectancy of the lubricated parts.

Traditional discrimination techniques for Euler deconvolution use only the color spectrums of structural indexes, without considering the spatial distribution characteristics and inherent relationships among the Euler solutions to separate adjacent causative sources. In the present study, a new approach was developed for discriminating uncorrelated Euler solutions from coherent solutions based on the focusing levels indicated by the probability density distributions generated using multivariate kernel density estimations (KDE). A novel multiple coverage technique was proposed by using a series of different sized moving windows over gridded gravity data, which formed tight clusters of Euler solutions for different sized causative sources. The results of the probability density distributions were obtained using a 3-D KDE method for the Euler solution subsets {x, y, z} of synthetical models, and real data from a survey conducted in British Columbia (Canada) which had successfully established more credible and meaningful geological models when compared with three other subsets.

China's implementation of public-private partnerships projects has been quite effective, involving infrastructure and other livelihood projects, a total of 19 industries, and an investment of nearly 1.5 trillion yuan. The characteristics of PPP projects such as long construction period and large investment amount determine the risks of PPP projects are also great, and the PPP projects of comprehensive environmental governance are also the same. The government and social capital use the PPP model to cooperate, and use the principal component analysis method to assess the risks of the entire life cycle of the comprehensive environmental governance PPP project. Therefore, it plays an important role in ensuring the smooth implementation of projects and reducing the losses caused by risks. According to the risk factors of the whole life cycle of the comprehensive environmental governance PPP project, an indicator system of 5 first-level indicators, 18 second-level indicators, and 43 third-level indicators has been established. Principal component analysis is used to analyze the influence weight of risk factors at each stage. The analysis shows that among the four stages, environmental pollution risk, project approval delay risk, completion risk, interest rate and financial fluctuation risk, and franchise life risk are the most influential risks in the implementation of PPP projects. Therefore, suggestions are made through the risk factors of each stage in the comprehensive environmental governance PPP project. For example, strengthen the response to the external environment risks of the comprehensive environmental governance PPP project, standardize the bidding and procurement of the comprehensive environmental governance PPP project, and strengthen the subsequent management of the transfer of the comprehensive environmental governance PPP project. In this way, the ability to resist risks of comprehensive environmental governance PPP projects is improved; the smooth implementation of the project is guaranteed, and the long-term development of comprehensive environmental governance PPP projects is promoted.

Rotavirus species H (RVH) has been detected in pigs, humans and bats. Moreover, porcine RVHs have been recently identified in several swine-producing countries. Despite their zoonotic impact, genome information of RVHs is still limited. This study aimed to establish a tentative complete genome-based genotyping system for RVHs, by appending genomic sequences from 12 porcine RVHs identified in Japan between 2013 and 2015 to those from human and other porcine RVHs reported in previous studies. Phylogenetic analysis of 11 RNA segments indicated that porcine RVHs could be classified into multiple genotypes. Consequently, the genotype classification for RVHs revealed the existence of genotypes 10G, 6P, 6I, 3R, 4C, 7M, 6A, 2N, 4T, 6E, 3H for the genes VP7, VP4, VP6, VP1, VP2, VP3, NSP1, NSP2, NSP3, NSP4 and NSP5, respectively. Surprisingly, two distinctive types in NSP1 and NSP3 genes were identified from among the twelve porcine RVHs. Our data suggest a potentially novel gene rearrangement event between porcine RVH and rotavirus species C in the NSP3 gene. These findings would provide a new insight in understanding for evolution of RV.

The article presents an induction generator connected to the power grid using the AC / DC / AC converter and LCL coupling filter. In the converter, both from the generator side and from the power grid side, three-level inverters were used. The algorithm realizing Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) in inverters has been simplified to the maximum. Control of the induction generator was based on the Direct Field Oriented Control (DFOC) method. At the same time, voltage control has been used for this solution. The MPPT algorithm has been extended to include the variable pitch range of the wind turbine blades. The active voltage balancing circuit has been used in the inverter DC voltage circuit. In the control system of the grid converter with an LCL filter, the number of measurements was limited to the measurement of power grid currents and voltages. Synchronization of control from the power grid side is ensured by the use of a PLL loop with the system of preliminary suppression of undesired harmonics (CDSC).

The space time fractional Korteweg-de Vries equation, modified Equal Width equation and Benney-Luke Equations are solved by using simple hyperbolic tangent Ansatz method. A simple compatible wave transformation in one dimension is employed to reduce the governing equations to integer ordered ODEs. Then, the ansatz approximation is used to derive exact solutions. Some illustrative examples are presented for some particular choices of parameters and derivative orders.

Full-scale/model test comparison studies to validate the traditional ABL wind tunnel simulation technique are reviewed. According to the literature review, notable discrepancies between full-scale measurement results and model test results were observed by most performed comparison studies, but the causes of the observed discrepancies were not revealed in a scientific way by those studies. In this regard, a new research scheme for future full-scale/model test comparison studies is proposed in this article, which utilizes the multiple-fan actively controlled wind tunnel simulation technique. With the new research scheme, future full-scale/model test comparison studies are expected to reasonably disclose the main problems with the traditional ABL wind tunnel simulation technique, and the technique can be improved correspondingly.

Overcoming the issue of land value and cost in urban areas will not provide a miraculous solution to the problems there. Appropriate land use cost, especially for residential and commercial land, is just one of the issues to be settled in the debate. Therefore, this study aims to build a new urban land price determination model by investigating the urban syntactical analysis, street width, and their economic effects on land value. The study attempts to determine the impact of syntactic analysis of streets and street width on land prices; it also seeks to identify the factor most affected by the land cost. Ultimately, the study built a model for urban land price prediction. The case selected is evaluated and compared in three aspects of the analysis, including; the urban axial assessments and urban street width, to find out their impacts on the real estate’s land price in the context of the land use distributions, which are predominantly residential and commercial types of uses. Depth map X8, SPSS, and QGIS 3.16 were used for the study evaluations and assessments. The result showed a significant impact of the urban street network on the price of land; this result can be used to enhance future urban design regarding urban economy improvements.

The popular motor drive systems with a single two-level voltage source inverter (VSI) have one main problem that is the occurrence of the common-mode voltage (CMV), which is an effect of the electromagnetic interference, shaft voltage, bearing currents, leakage current. These cause the high stress, increasung temperature and early mechanical failure in machine. To overcome this problem, the technology of the dual two-level VSI fed open-end three-phase ac loads is now available to eliminate the CMV at the ac/induction motor load with the 120-degree modulation technique for controlling each inverter. In this paper, the discontinuous space vector modulation (DSVM) schemes are proposed and applied for the dual two-level VSI fed open-end load. It is based on the 120-degree modulation technique by using only 12 active voltage vectors and the 10 zero voltage vectors from the total 64 voltage vectors along with the different five-segment swicthing sequence designs with centralizing pulse width modulation technqiue in order to not only cancel the CMV in the ac load, but also reduce the switching number/switching loss of the conversion system. Among the various DSVM schemes, their performances are compared in this paper, such as the number of the switching, the step and peak value of the CMV in each inverter, and the quality of the output waveform, etc. The details of the verfication and comparison are carried out by simulation using Matlab/Simulink software.

Rebar cages form the skeletal framework of reinforced concrete structural members. They comprise longitudinal and transverse reinforcing bars, usually connected by tie wires. Past studies have identified tie-wire connections as the "weak links" in large, prefabricated rebar cages, leading to their failure during site handling and construction stages. Recent research has explored the use of mechanical U-bolt connectors to bolster stability and safety of rebar cages while reducing their vulnerability and risk of failure. This paper presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of a new type of mechanical connector, referred to as "Cage Clamp", to enhance rebar cage stability and safety. Component-level experimental tests are conducted to determine the force-displacement response of Cage Clamp connectors for crossbar connections in different degrees of freedom. The results highlight the remarkable strength and stiffness of Cage Clamp connectors, significantly outperforming traditional tie-wire connections. Furthermore, full-scale experimental tests are performed on a circular underground pile-shaft rebar cage with Cage Clamp connectors to assess its behavior under various site handling conditions. The data obtained from these experiments are used to construct and refine detailed 3D finite element models of the rebar cages, capable of capturing the complex behavior of rebar cages with Cage Clamp connectors. Using the numerical model, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the effect of the number of Cage Clamps on the deflection and stability of the rebar cage. The findings show that using cage clamps to connect pick-up rebar with lateral reinforcement at every 8 to 10 feet is sufficient to ensure the stability of the cage during typical site handling conditions. The results of this study serve as a basis for establishing analysis, design, fabrication, and handling guidelines for rebar cages, contributing to safe and efficient construction practices.

A system of simultaneous multi-variable nonlinear equations can be solved by the Newton’s method with local q-quadratic convergence if the Jacobian is analytically available. If this is not the case, then quasi-Newton methods with local q-superlinear convergence give solutions by approximating the Jacobian in some way. Unfortunately, the quasi-Newton condition (secant equation) doesn’t completely specify the Jacobian approximate in multi-dimensional case, so its full-rank update is not possible with classic variants of methods. The suggested new iteration strategy (“T-Secant”) allows full-rank update of the Jacobian approximate in each iteration by determining two independent approximates for the solution. They are used to generate a set of new independent trial approximates, then the Jacobian approximate can fully be updated. It is shown, that the T-Secant approximate is in the vicinity of the classic quasi-Newton approximate, providing that the solution is evenly surrounded by the new trial approximates. The suggested procedure increases the super-linear convergence of the secant method (φS = 1.618...) to super-quadratic (φT = φS + 1 = 2.618...) and the quadratic convergence of the Newton-method (φN = 2) to cubic (φT = φN + 1 = 3) in one dimensional case. The Broyden-type efficiency (mean convergence rate) of the suggested method in multi-dimensional case is an order higher than the efficiency of other classic low-rank update quasi-Newton methods as shown by numerical examples on a Rosenbrock-type test-function with up to 1000 variables. The geometrical representation (hyperbolic approximation) in single variable case helps explaining the basic operations and a vector-space description is also given in multi-variable case.

Cable-supported façades represent a novel approach in the design and technology of double skin façades (DSF). This type of systems not only offer flexibility in terms of exterior finishes, but also regulates the access of solar radiation, thereby transforming the appearance of the building in response to varying daylight conditions. However, the structural performance of these façades under wind, impact and seismic loads remains an active area of research. The study is a groundbreaking work that experimentally evaluates the wind and seismic behaviour of these type of façades. The methodology used for the evaluation of flexible masonry facades includes laboratory tests analysing the individual capacity of the connections and materials of the system under standardized and non-standardized procedures. A full-scale experimental sub-assembly specimen of a representative module of the façade is also subjected to uniformly distributed pressures of wind load tests as well as hard body and soft body impact tests. The setup considered the border conditions, tension loads, and actual materials. Furthermore, the earthquake assessment includes tests of full-scale specimens subjected to these demands. Research findings allowed the refinement and redesign of the system's components granting the validation of the DSF used as a case study.

Full waveform (FW) LiDAR holds great potential for retrieving vegetation structure parameters at a high level of detail, but this prospect is constrained by practical factors such as lack of available handy processing tools and technical intricacy of waveform processing. This study introduces a new product, named the Hyper Point Cloud (HPC) derived from FW LiDAR data, and explore its potential applications such as tree crown delineation using the HPC-based intensity and percentile height (PH) surfaces, which show a promising solution to the constraints of using FW LiDAR data. Results of the HPC present a new direction to handle FW LiDAR data and offer prospects for studying the mid-story and understory of vegetation with high point density (~ 182 points/m2). The intensity-derived digital surface model (DSM) generated from the HPC shows that the ground region has larger maximum intensity (MAXI) and mean intensity (MI) than the vegetation region while having smaller total intensity (TI) and number of intensities (NI) at the given grid cell. Our analysis of intensity distribution contours at individual tree level exhibit similar patterns, indicating that the MAXI and MI are decreasing from the tree crown center to tree boundary while a rising trend is observed for TI and NI. These intensity variable contours provide a theoretical justification for using HPC-based intensity surfaces to segment tree crowns and exploit their potential for extracting tree attributes. The HPC-based intensity surfaces and the HPC-based PH Canopy Height Models (CHM) demonstrate promising tree segmentation results comparable to the LiDAR derived CHM for estimating tree attributes such as tree locations, crown widths and tree heights. We envision that products such as the HPC and the HPC-based intensity and height surfaces introduced in this study can open new perspectives to use FW LiDAR data and alleviate the technical barrier of exploring FW LiDAR data for detailed vegetation structure characterization.

It was recently studied how to achieve the optimal degrees of freedom (DoF) in a multi-antenna full-duplex system with partial channel state information (CSI). In this paper, we revisit the DoF of a multiple-antenna full-duplex system using opportunistic transmission under the partial CSI, in which a full-duplex base station having M transmit antennas and M receive antennas supports a set of half-duplex mobile stations (MSs) having a single antenna each. Assuming no self-interference, we present a new hybrid opportunistic scheduling method that achieves the optimal sum DoF under an improved user scaling law. It is shown that the optimal sum DoF of 2M is asymptotically achievable provided that the number of MSs scales faster than SNR^M, where SNR denotes the signal-to-noise ratio. This result reveals that in our full-duplex system, better performance on the user scaling law can be obtained without extra CSI, compared to the prior work that showed the required user scaling condition (i.e., the minimum number of MSs for guaranteeing the optimal DoF) of SNR^2M−1.

The medium-voltage DC (MVDC) technology has gained increasing interests in recent years. Power electronics devices dominate those grids. Accurate simulation of such a grid, with detailed models of switching semiconductors, can quickly became very time-consuming, according to the number of connected devices to be simulated. A simulation approach based on interactions on a continuous time model can be very interesting, especially for developing a system level control model of such a modern MVDC distribution grid. Aim of this paper is to present all the steps required for obtaining a continuous time modelling of a +/- 10 kV MVDC grid case study, including Solid State Transformer (SST) and Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) based Active Front End (AFE). Additional aim of this paper is to supply an educational content about the use of the continuous time simulation approach, thanks to a detailed description of the various devices modelled into the presented MVDC grid. The results of a certain number of simulation scenarios are eventually presented.

Background: Strong indicators of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), hypersensitive CRP (hs-CRP), and a series of hematological indices, including platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), hematocrit (HCT) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW), are regarded related with the incidence of contrast induced nephropathy (CIN) closely. Whereas, it remains unclear whether they can function as predictors of CIN onset. The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the relationship between above indicators and CIN incidence among patients receiving coronary intervention. Methods: Clinical studies were retrieved from the electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Clinical Trials, and science direct from their inception to June 3rd, 2020. Meta-analysis was performed on pool eligible studies. Two reviewers screened all titles and abstracts and independently assessed all articles. Results: A total of 26 studies involving 29,454 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis results revealed that patients with higher CRP (odds ratio [OR]=1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.12, P=0.02), hs-CRP (OR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.01–1.06, P=0.004), NLR (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.01–1.20, P=0.02), RDW (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.19–1.53, P<0.00001), and lower HCT (OR=0.94, 95% CI: 0.92–0.97, P=0.0003) all exhibited significantly higher CIN rates, but there was no significant association between PLR and CIN risk (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 0.99–1.26, P=0.07). Conclusion: The meta-analysis reported here demonstrates that pre-angiography CRP/hs-CRP and some hematological indices are associated with CIN.

In our study, we investigated the prognostic significance of hematological markers—NLR (Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio), PLR (Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio), and RDW-CV (Red Blood Cell Distribution Width - Coefficient of Variation)—in 117 glioblastoma patients. Data collected from January 2016 to December 2018 included demographics, clinical scores, and treatment regimens. Unlike previous research, which often examined these markers solely before surgery, our unique approach analyzed them at multiple stages: preoperative, postoperative, and before adjuvant therapies. We correlated these markers with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using statistical tools, including ANOVA, Cox regression, and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, employing SPSS version 29.0. Our findings revealed notable variations in NLR, PLR, and RDW-CV across different treatment stages. NLR and PLR decreased after surgery, with some stabilization post-STUPP phase (NLR: p=0.007, η2p=0.06; PLR: p=0.001, η2p=0.23), while RDW-CV increased post-surgery and during subsequent treatments (RDW-CV: p &lt; 0.001, η2p=0.67). Importantly, we observed significant differences between the preoperative phase and other treatment phases. Additionally, higher NLR and RDW-CV at the second-line treatment and disease progression were associated with an increased risk of death (NLR at 2nd line: HR=1.03, p=0.029; RDW-CV at progression: HR=1.14, p=0.004). We proposed specific marker cutoffs that demonstrated significant associations with survival outcomes when applied to Kaplan-Meier survival curves (NLR at 2nd line &lt; 5: p&lt;0.017; RDW-CV at progression &lt; 15: p=0.007). Elevated NLR and RDW-CV at later treatment stages correlated with poorer OS and PFS. No significant preoperative differences were detected. These biomarkers may serve as non-invasive tools for glioblastoma management.

While providing safe water for the rural poor is considered a basic human right, there are numerous issues associated with existing technologies with shortcomings. Performance issues have continued to fail to meet the needs of impoverished families due to issues including high cost, difficulties with performance, and continuing needs for maintenance. These issues have severely interfered the safe water accessibility. Key aspects of the Guelph Water Filter (GWF) system can avoid/minimize many of these issues. The GWF as described herein enables delivery of low cost, long-term performance at 3Log removal of E.coli and can deliver 1 to 3 L of treated water per hour. The GWF is simple to operate, has an ability to provide sufficient water for a family, maintains longevity of performance, is easy to maintain and has protection against breakage during the cleaning process, is repairable at village level, and operates using a sizable reservoir of water to supply raw water, meaning the technology does not need to be refilled frequently. Hence, the capability of the novel GWF technology is shown to bypass many of the troublesome features of alternative low-tech water treatment technologies. The potential for the GWF to function for 2 days continuously avoids the need for young girls to fetch raw water frequently during a day, thereby enabling them to attend school. Hence, the GWF enhances the potential to result in ‘safe water and full schools’, providing the opportunity for girls to receive education and capture socio-economic benefits for the community.

In 2023, the technological landscape witnessed an unprecedented surge of transformative innovations, including Web 3.0 and machine learning, poised to revolutionize various aspects of our daily lives. At the forefront of this revolution stands artificial intelligence (AI), which has evolved from a concept once confined to science fiction into an indispensable force reshaping industries on a global scale. Notably, recent years have seen remarkable strides in AI functionalities, particularly in machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. These advancements have empowered AI to generate diverse interactions and media autonomously. This study ultimately provides invaluable insights into the dynamic intersection of AI and Advertising, con-tributing to a deeper comprehension of this evolving field. This study conducts a comprehensive review of Artificial Intelligence within the advertising domain, employing network analysis. By meticulously examining the evolution of AI through co-occurrences of terms, keywords, and co-authorship analysis, we aim to unveil the relationship of AI & Advertising through the lens of Generative models to identify pivotal trends, core concepts, and seminal studies that have profoundly influenced the industry. The analysis charts the trajectory leading to the emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), a transformative development poised to revolutionize advertising practices and consumer engagement. In tandem with these objectives, the results highlight vital trends, emphasizing the growing prominence machine learning tools and techniques such as deep learning techniques and advanced natural language processing methods like word2vec, GANs, and more in shaping the future of advertising practices.

This paper aims to contribute to refining the e-values for testing precise hypotheses, especially when dealing with nuisance parameters, leveraging the effectiveness of asymptotic expansions of the posterior. The proposed approach offers the advantage of bypassing the need for elicitation of priors and reference functions for the nuisance parameters and the multidimensional integration step. For this purpose, starting from a Laplace approximation, a posterior distribution for the parameter of interest only is considered and then a suitable objective matching prior is introduced, ensuring that the posterior mode aligns with an equivariant frequentist estimator. Consequently, both Highest Probability Density credible sets and the e-value remain invariant. Some targeted and challenging examples are discussed.

Dam breaches have catastrophic consequences, causing severe property damage, life loss, and environmental impact. The Kulekhani reservoir rockfill dam break was studied to evaluate the downstream impact. The appropriate breaching parameter of MacDonald and Langridge (1984) regression equations was selected based on the sixteen observed dam failure cases and cross-sectional geometry of the existing dam of Kulekhani. The 2D Diffusion Wave and Full Dynamic Wave Equation were applied for downstream flood assessment, Full Dynamic Wave was able to capture the physical flow phenomena like river bend effects resulting in higher flow velocity at the outer bend, and formation of eddies considering losses. The application of a Full Dynamic Equation was found to be appropriate for rapidly varying unsteady flow considering steep slopes, and sudden changes in channel geometry. Flood mapping of water depth, flow velocity, flood intensity, and arrival time were carried out for flood hazard assessment classified by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Flow depth and extension of the flow area were compared to identify the affected area, higher flow depth and larger extension were observed using a Full Dynamic Wave Equation as a result of less flow velocity considering the losses. Almost 17 minutes of the arrival time of peak difference at the Bagmati River confluence was evaluated between the models which plays an important role in decision-making for selection of the flood model. Flood mitigation with river diversion works through a hydraulic measure of Levee was suggested to protect the highly affected households of Ranche, Nagmar, Khanikhet, and Debaltar towns. Most of the household was found to be safe after the construction of the Levee except for eleven houses that lie along the river below flood elevation of 1269.6 m.a.s.l. This signifies the importance of room for the rivers and the human settlement near the river might be life-threatening.

Brassica yellows virus (BrYV) is a tentative species of the genus Polerovirus, which occurs widely and mostly damage Brassicaceae plants in East Asia. Since BrYV could not be transmitted mechanically, an insect transmission method is required for further virus research. Here, a reliable and unrestricted method was described, in which non-viruliferous aphids (Myzus persicae) acquired BrYV from transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants with virus full length genome germinated from seeds and frozen infected leaves were used to transmit the virus to healthy plants, and there was no significant difference in acquisition rate though transmission rate from frozen infected leaves was somehow lower compared to fresh infected leaves. This novel simple method could be applied to preservation of virus inocula, evaluation of variety resistance to BrYV, biological research on interaction among BrYV, aphid and host, which also provide a new idea on establishing a basic method using virus genomic transgenic plants or frozen infected leaves for other poleroviruses research.

Jumping side volley has created breathtaking moments and cherished memories for us. Regrettably, a scientific study on the skill has not been found in literature. Relying on talent of athletes to improvise on the fly can hardly be considered a viable learning strategy. This study targets to fill the gap by quantifying factors contributing to develop its coaching method. Using 3D motion capture (12-cameras, 200Hz) and full-body biomechanical modeling, our study aimed to identify elements that govern entrainment of the skill by examining jumping, kicking and falling phases of its execution. Given the rarity of players who have acquired this skill, we found five subjects for the study. Twenty-three trials were captured and quantified. The results unveil the following key elements: 1) the control of trunk rotation during the jumping, 2) the angle between thighs upon take-off, 3) the whip-like control of the kicking leg during airborne, 4) timing between ball motion and limbs’ coordination, and 5) damping mechanism during falling. An accurate kick can only be achieved through repetitive training. This underlines the need for athletes to master a safe landing technique that minimizes risk of injury during practice. Therefore, training should begin with learning a safe falling technique.