Preprints are regularly cited in peer reviewed journal articles, books and conference paper. Are preprint citations somehow less important than citations to peer reviewed research papers? This study investigates citation patterns between 2017 and 2020 for preprints published in three preprint servers, one specializing in biology (bioRxiv), one in chemistry (ChemRxiv), and another hosting preprints in all disciplines (Research Square). As evaluation of scholarship continues to largely rely on citation-based metrics, this analysis and its outcomes will be useful to inform new research-based education in today’s scholarly communication.

Machine learning applications often need large amounts of training data to perform well. Whereas unlabeled data can be easily gathered, the labeling process is difficult, time-consuming, or expensive in most applications. Active learning can help solve this problem by querying labels for those data points that will improve the performance the most. Thereby, the goal is that the learning algorithm performs sufficiently well with fewer labels. We provide a library called scikit-activeml that covers the most relevant query strategies and implements tools to work with partially labeled data. It is programmed in Python and builds on top of scikit-learn.

As 180-degree meanders are observed in abundance in nature, a meandering channel with two consecutive 180-degree bends was designed and constructed to investigate bed topography variations. These two 180-degree mild bends are located between two upstream and downstream straight paths. In this study, different mean velocity to critical velocity ratios have been tested at the upstream straight path to determine the meander's incipient motion. To this end, bed topography variations along the meander and the downstream straight path were addressed for different mean velocity to critical velocity ratios. In addition, the upstream bend's effect on the downstream bend has been investigated. Results indicated that the maximum scour depth at the downstream bend has increased as a result of changing the mean velocity to critical velocity ratio from 0.8 to 0.84, 0.86, 0.89, 0.92, 0.95, and 0.98 by respectively 1.5, 2.5, 5, 10, 12, and 26 times. Moreover, increasing the ratio increased the maximum sedimentary height by 3, 10, 23, 48, 49, and 56 times. The upstream bend's incipient motion was observed for the mean velocity to critical velocity ratio of 0.89, while the downstream bend was equal to 0.78.

Student retention is one indicator of accountability in the implementation of educational programs. Achievement of student retention rates indicates the performance of the quality objectives of an institution or college. To get an accurate picture of the factors related to retention, we need to do modeling. The retention variable is the time response variable measured in semester units. One of the statistical analyzes that can be used to analyze response data in time is survival analysis. The selection of an accurate analytical method in modeling will produce valid conclusions and impact making policies that are right and on target. This paper presents alternative modeling of student retention in distance education using survival analysis. The method used is a literature review. This paper also briefly describes distance education, open and distance education, distance education students' characteristics, distance education student retention, and survival models for modeling student retention in distance education.

The ability to replicate scientific experiments is a cornerstone of the scientific method. Sharing ideas, workflows, data, and protocols facilitates testing the generalizability of results, increases the speed that science progresses, and enhances quality control of published work. Fields of science such as medicine, the social sciences, and the physical sciences have embraced practices designed to increase replicability. Granting agencies, for example, may require data management plans and journals may require data and code availability statements along with the deposition of data and code in publicly available repositories. While many tools commonly used in replicable workflows such as distributed version control systems (e.g. “git”) or scripted programming languages for data cleaning and analysis may have a steep learning curve, their adoption can increase individual efficiency and facilitate collaborations both within entomology and across disciplines. The open science movement is developing within the discipline of entomology, but practitioners of these concepts or those desiring to work more collaboratively across disciplines may be unsure where or how to embrace these initiatives. This article is meant to introduce some of the tools entomologists can incorporate into their workflows to increase the replicability and openness of their work. We describe these tools and others, recommend additional resources for learning more about these tools, and discuss the benefits to both individuals and the scientific community and potential drawbacks associated with implementing a replicable workflow.

We present a generic and open-source framework for the numerical modeling of the expected transport and storage mechanisms in unconventional gas reservoirs. These unconventional reservoirs typically contain natural fractures at multiple scales. Considering the importance of these fractures in shale gas production, we perform a rigorous study on the accuracy of different fracture models. The framework is validated against an industrial simulator and is used to perform a history-matching study on the Barnett shale. This work presents an open-source code that leverages cutting-edge numerical modeling capabilities like automatic differentiation, stochastic fracture modeling, multi-continuum modeling and other explicit and discrete fracture models. We modified the conventional mass balance equation to account for the physical mechanisms that are unique to organic-rich source rocks. Some of these include the use of an adsorption isotherm, a dynamic permeability-correction function, and an embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) with fracture-well connectivity. We explore the accuracy of the EDFM for modeling hydraulically-fractured shale-gas wells, which could be connected to natural fractures of finite or infinite conductivity, and could deform during production. Simulation results indicates that although the EDFM provides a computationally efficient model for describing flow in natural and hydraulic fractures, it could be inaccurate under these three conditions: 1. when the fracture conductivity is very low. 2. when the fractures are not orthogonal to the underlying Cartesian grid blocks, and 3. when sharp pressure drops occur in large grid blocks with insufficient mesh refinement. Each of these results are very significant considering that most of the fluids in these ultra-low matrix permeability reservoirs get produced through the interconnected natural fractures, which are expected to have very low fracture conductivities. We also expect sharp pressure drops near the fractures in these shale gas reservoirs, and it is very unrealistic to expect the hydraulic fractures or complex fracture networks to be orthogonal to any structured grid. In conclusion, this paper presents an open-source numerical framework to facilitate the modeling of the expected physical mechanisms in shale-gas reservoirs. The code was validated against published results and a commercial simulator. We also performed a history-matching study on a naturally-fractured Barnett shale-gas well considering adsorption, gas slippage & diffusion and fracture closure as well as proppant embedment, using the framework presented. This work provides the first open-source code that can be used to facilitate the modeling and optimization of fractured shale-gas reservoirs. To provide the numerical flexibility to accurately model stochastic natural fractures that are connected to hydraulically-fractured wells, it is built atop other related open-source codes. We also present the first rigorous study on the accuracy of using EDFM to model both hydraulic fractures and natural fractures that may or may not be interconnected.

Thermal-based actuators are known for generating large force and displacement strokes at mesoscale (millimeter) regime. In particular, two-phase thermal actuators are found to benefit from the scaling laws of physics at mesoscale to offer large force and displacement strokes; but they have low thermal efficiencies. As an alternative, a combustion-based thermal actuator is proposed and its performance is studied in both open and closed cycle operations. Through a physics-based lumped-parameter model, we investigate the behavior and performance of the actuator using a spring-mass-damper analogy and taking an air standard cycle approach. Three observations are reported: (1) the mesoscale actuator can generate peak forces of up to 400 N and displacement strokes of about 16 cm suitable for practical applications; (2) an increase in heat input to the actuator results in increasing the thermal efficiency of the actuator for both open and closed cycles; and (3) for a specific heat input, both the open and closed cycle operations respond differently \textemdash different stroke lengths, peak pressures, and thermal efficiencies.

Changes brought about by the Internet to Scholarly Communication and the spread of Open Access movement, have made it possible to increase the number of potential readers of published research dramatically. This two-phase study aims, at first, to assert the satisfaction of the potential for increased open access to articles published by authors at the University of Coimbra, in a context when there was no stimulus for the openness of published science other than an institutional mandate set by the University policy on Open Access (“Acesso Livre”). The satisfaction of the access openness was measured by observing the actual archiving behavior of researchers (either directly or through their agents). We started by selecting the top journal titles used to publish the STEM research of the University of Coimbra (2004-2013) by using Thomson Reuters’ Science Citation Index (SCI). These titles were available at the University libraries or through online subscriptions, some of them in open access (21%). By checking the journals' policy at the time regarding self-archiving at the SHERPA/RoMEO service, we found that the percentage of articles in Open Access (OA) could rise to 80% if deposited at Estudo Geral, the Institutional Repository of the University of Coimbra, as prescribed by the Open Access Policy of the University. As we concluded by verifying the deposit status of every single paper of researchers of the University that published in those journals, this potential was far from being fulfilled, despite the existence of the institutional mandate and favorable editorial conditions. We concluded, therefore, that an institutional mandate was not sufficient by itself to fully implement an open access policy and to close the gap between publication and access. The second phase of the study, to follow, will rescan the status of published papers in a context where the Portuguese public funding agency, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, introduced in 2014 a new significant stimulus for open access in science. The FCT Open Access Policy stipulates that publicly funded published research must be available as soon as possible in a repository of the Portuguese network of scientific repositories, RCAAP, which integrates the Estudo Geral.

The oncologic merits of laparoscopic technique for colorectal cancer surgery remain debatable. Eligible patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer who were scheduled for an elective resection by only one surgeon in a medical institution were randomized to either laparoscopic or open treatment. During this period, total 188 patients received laparoscopic surgery and other 163 patients to open approach. The primary endpoint was cancer-free 5-year survival after operative treatment and secondary endpoint was the tumor recurrence incidence. We found there was no statistically significant difference between open and laparoscopic groups regarding average number of lymph nodes dissected, overall mortality rate, cancer recurrence rate or cancer-free 5-year survival. Nevertheless, laparoscopic approach was more effective for colorectal cancer treatment with shorter hospital stay and less blood loss despite operation time was significantly longer. Meanwhile fewer patients receiving laparoscopic approach developed postoperative urinary tract infection, wound infection, pneumonia or anastomosis leakage, which reached statistical significance. For non-metastatic colorectal cancer patients, laparoscopic surgery resulted in better short-term outcomes whether in total complications and intra-operative blood loss. Though there was no significant statistical difference in terms of cancer-free 5-year survival and tumor recurrence, we favor patients receiving laparoscopic surgery if not contraindicated.

The authors introduce the GRASS GIS add-on module g.citation as an initial implementation of a fine-grained software citation concept. The module extends the existing citation capabilities of GRASS GIS, which until now only provide for automated citation of the software project as a whole, authored by the GRASS Development Team, without reference to individual persons. The functionalities of the new module enable individual code citation for each of the over 500 implemented functionalities, including add-on modules. Three different classes of citation output are provided in a variety human- and machine-readable formats. The implications of this reference implementation of scientific software citation for both for the GRASS GIS project and the OSGeo foundation are outlined.

Much of the debate on Plan S seems to concentrate on how to make toll access journals open access, taking for granted that existing open access journals are Plan S compliant. We suspected this was not so, and set out to explore this using DOAJ's journal metadata. We conclude that an overwhelmingly large majority of open access journals are not Plan S compliant, and that it is small HSS publishers not charging APCs that are least compliant and will face major challenges with becoming compliant. Plan S need to give special considerations to smaller publishers and/or non-APC-based journals.

Energy system models have become indispensable to shape future energy systems by providing insights into different trajectories. However, sustainable systems with high shares of renewable energy are characterized by growing cross-sectoral interdependencies and decentralized structures. To capture important properties of increasingly complex energy systems, sophisticated and flexible modelling tools are needed. At the same time open science becomes increasingly important in energy system modelling. This paper presents the Open Energy Modelling Framework (oemof) as a novel approach in energy system modelling, representation and analysis. The framework forms a toolbox to construct comprehensive energy system models and has been published open source under a free license. With a collaborative development based on open processes the framework seeks for a maximum level of participation and transparency to facilitate open science principles in energy system modelling. Based on a generic graph based description of energy systems it is well suited to flexibly model complex cross-sectoral systems and incorporate various modelling approaches. This makes the framework a multi-purpose modelling environment for modelling and analyzing different systems ranging from an urban to a transnational scale.

Given a stream of depth images with a known cuboid reference object present in the scene, we propose a novel approach for accurate camera tracking and volumetric surface reconstruction in real-time. Our contribution in this paper is threefold: (a) utilizing a priori knowledge of the cuboid reference object, we keep drift-free camera tracking without explicit global optimization; (b) we improve the fineness of the volumetric surface representation by proposing a prediction-corrected data fusion strategy rather than simple moving average, which enables accurate reconstruction of high-frequency details such as sharp edges of objects and geometries of high curvature; (c) we introduce a benchmark dataset CU3D containing both synthetic and real-world scanning sequences with ground-truth camera trajectories and surface models for quantitative evaluation of 3D reconstruction algorithms. We test our algorithm on our dataset and demonstrate its accuracy compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms. We release both our dataset and code as opensource1 for other researchers to reproduce and verify our results.

This study investigates the impact of geomagnetic storms that occurred on June 8, 22-23, and 25, 2015, on the ionosphere in the low-latitude and equatorial regions of Brazil. By examining various data sources, such as solar wind parameters from the ACE satellite, GPS vertical total electron content (VTEC), magnetometer data, and the SAMI2 model, we aimed to simulate the effects of storms on the ionosphere in these regions. Two methods were employed to separate DP2 and Disturbance dynamo (Ddyn) from the ionospheric disturbance current (Diono). Our analysis revealed a positive (negative) ionospheric storm in the VTEC during the main phase (recovery) of the June 22-23 and 25 storms. This observation can be attributed to the combined impact of the eastward prompt penetration of the magnetospheric convection electric field (westward disturbance dynamo electric field) and changes in the storm-time thermospheric [O]/[N_2] ratio based on the GUVI satellite imagery. Notably, the westward disturbance dynamo exhibited a significant amplitude on June 23 in Belem. The amplitude of the D_dyn at Belem (dip lat: - 0.47˚) was greater than that at Alta Floresta (dip lat: - 3.75˚) due to intensified cowling conductivity in Belem. Furthermore, we found that the SAMI2 model provided more accurate results when we replaced the default ExB drift with the vertical drift calculated from the ground-based magnetometer, enabling us to simulate the effect of the westward DDEF on VTEC during daytime.

With simple but rigorous arguments we prove that the ordinary second quantization of bosonic and fermionc fields is formally equivalent to constraining the elementary degrees of freedom of the classical fields to have intrinsically periodic dynamics in time. This result confirms and extends the formal equivalence obtained in previous papers for general Hamiltonian systems in terms of canonical quantization, for elementary relativistic particles also in terms of the Feynman Path Integrals, as well as other remarkable correspondences of both phenomenological and theoretical fundamental interest.

It is discovered that the gravitational field on the surface of a neutron star is with a relativistic mass density of 2.65*10¹⁶~5.87*10¹⁸kgm^-3 which can be larger than the mass density of the neutron star (~10¹⁷kgm^-3). And, the total relativistic mass of the gravitational field of the Sun is ~10⁷ times the mass of the Sun. For different stars, the relativistic mass of the gravitational field is larger as the mass density of the star is larger. In the Milky Way, the total relativistic mass of the gravitational fields is much larger than the total mass of the stars, planets and gas. And, the relativistic mass density of the observed strongest magnetic field is 2.17*10⁸kgm^-3. This discovery should be a new frame to understand the fundamental problem of physics.

Geomagnetic induced current (GIC) is a ground end manifestation associated with the space weather perturbations that should be greatly taken into account by the society. Although the GICs implication to the power system is not regular, it can cause large scale of system failure. In equatorial, the power system is considered safe since the most intense of geomagnetic storm happened in high latitude. However, the internal damage due to GICs which finally led to the South African power system failure has totally changed the normal perception. Therefore, a preliminary investigation on the GICs activity in equatorial region is performed to understand the space weather impact to the power system. Time derivative of the horizontal magnetic field component (dB/dt) is done to indicate the GICs activity value based on Faraday’s law. All the reported power failures are compiled to produce the threshold value of dB/dt, which possibly cause the harmful effect to the system. Then, dB/dt analysis is extended to show the pattern of GICs activity in function of magnetic latitude and local time. The results reveal that power network in equatorial region has possibly suffered by GIC. Plus, high number of intense GIC activity in this region occurred during dayside.

The magnetic field of the earth plays an important role in the ecosystem, and the magnetic field of celestial bodies is also important in the formation of cosmic large-scale structures, but the origin and evolution of the celestial magnetic field is still an unresolved mystery. Many hypotheses to explain the origin have been proposed, but there are some insurmountable difficulties for each one. At present, the theory widely accepted in scientific society is the dynamo model, it says that, the movement of magnetofluid inside celestial bodies, which can overcome the Ohmic dissipative effect and generate persistent weak electric current and macroscopic magnetic field. However, this model needs an initial seed magnetic field, and the true values of many physical parameters inside the celestial body are difficult to obtain, and there is no stable solution to the large range of fluid motion. These are all difficulties for the dynamo model. Furthermore, it is difficult for the dynamo to explain the correlation between the dipole magnetic field and angular momentum of a celestial body. In this paper, by calculating the interaction between spin of particles and gravity of celestial body according to Clifford algebra, we find that a rotational celestial body provides a field $\Omega^\alpha$ for spins, which is similar to the magnetic field of a dipole, and the spins of charged particles within the celestial body are arranged along the flux line of $\Omega^\alpha$, then a macroscopic magnetic field is induced. The calculation shows that the strength of $\Omega^\alpha$ is proportional to the angular momentum of the celestial body, which explains the correlation between the magnetic intensity and angular momentum. The results of this paper suggest that further study of the effects of internal variables such as density, velocity, pressure and temperature of a celestial body on $\Omega^\alpha$ may provide some new insights into the origin and evolution of celestial magnetic field.

A recently proposed classical field theory comprised of four field equations that geometrically couple electromagnetism and gravitation in a fundamentally new way is reviewed. The cornerstone of the theory equates the derivatives of the Maxwell tensor to a vector field contracted with the Riemann-Christoffel curvature tensor. The new theory’s field equations show little resemblance to the field equations of classical physics, but both Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism and Einstein’s equation of General Relativity augmented by a term that can mimic the properties of dark matter and dark energy are shown to be a consequence. Emphasized is the unification brought to electromagnetic and gravitational phenomena as well as the consistency of solutions of the new theory with those of the classical Maxwell and Einstein field equations. Unique to the four field equations reviewed here and based on specific solutions to them are: the emergence of antimatter and its behavior in gravitational fields, the emergence of dark matter and dark energy mimicking terms in the context of General Relativity, an underlying relationship between electromagnetic and gravitational radiation, the impossibility of negative mass solutions that would generate repulsive gravitational fields or antigravity, and a method for quantizing the charge and mass of particle-like solutions.

Abstract: In order to accelerate deployment of distributed recycling by providing low-cost feed stocks of granulated post-consumer waste plastic, this study analyzes an open source waste plastic granulator system. It is designed, built and tested for its ability to convert post-consumer waste, 3-D printed products and waste into polymer feedstock for recyclebots of fused particle/granule printers. The technical specifications of the device are quantified in terms of power consumption (380 to 404W for PET and PLA, respectively) and particle size distribution. The open source device can be fabricated for less than USD$2000 in materials. The experimentally-measured power use is only a minor contribution to the overall embodied energy of distributed recycling of waste plastic. The resultant plastic particle size distributions were found to be appropriate for use in both recyclebots and direct material extrusion 3-D printers. Simple retrofits are shown to reduce sound levels during operation by 4dB-5dB for the vacuum. These results indicate that the open source waste plastic granulator is an appropriate technology for community, library, makespace, fab lab or small business-based distributed recycling.

The characteristics of gap plasmon formed by nanoparticle-on-mirror (NPOM) structure composed of metal nanoparticles (MNP) and metal thin films have aroused the interest of various optoelectronic devices. The resonant spectrum obtained by the internal coupling effect of gap can be flexibly controlled by the polarization of incident light and the thickness of the dielectric layer between MNP and metal thin films. We have theoretically studied the resonance spectra of polarization-dependent gold ellipsoidal nanoparticles (GENP) and gold thin films in the gap region of NPOM structures. GENP and gold thin films are separated by a dielectric layer with a refractive index of 1.36. We observe that the intensity of the local electric field resonance peak in the gap region is inversely proportional to the polarization angle. Similarly, the intensity of the local electric field resonance peak in the gap region is inversely proportional to the thickness of the dielectric layer. We have obtained more than 2200 V/m local electric field intensity (dielectric layer thickness 0.3nm). Finally, the resonant peak wavelength of the electric field in the gap region of the NPOM structure is also controlled by the polarization angle of the incident light and the thickness of the dielectric layer.

This article theoretically derives the magnetic field and vector potential produced by a steady current I flowing in an arbitrary plane loop at an arbitrary point r. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the behavior of the magnetic field produced by loops of various shapes such as polygons, circles, ellipses, and p-norm balls. Taking the limit as the loop shrinks to a point and the current I grows to infinity so that the magnetic dipole moment m of the loop (defined as the current I times the vector area of the loop) is kept constant, the magnetic field and vector potential are theoretically shown to converge to those of an ideal point magnetic dipole m.

The transition region is a very thin but most peculiar layer in the solar atmosphere, located between the solar chromosphere and the corona. It is a key region for understanding the coronal heating, the solar eruptions triggering, and the origin of solar winds. Here, the gradients of all physical parameters are very high, including plasma density, ionization degree, temperature, and magnetic fields, etc. Therefore, the transition region should be highly dynamic, such as fast energy releasing and transporting, plasma heating, and even particle accelerating. They include two physical aspects: thermal and non-thermal processes. The thermal processes can be observed from the ultraviolet (UV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission by multi-wavelength images. The non-thermal processes, however, should be related to radio emissions especially at millimeter wavelengths, and the frequency range should span from several GHz to beyond 300 GHz, and the emission mechanism should be highly related to the magnetic fields and variations. The ultra-wide broadband spectral observations at millimeter wavelengths with high spectral resolutions may provide rich dynamic information about the transition region, such as non-thermal energy release and transmission, the flows of plasma and energetic particles, the magnetic fields and their variations, the generation and transportation of various waves, and the formation and evolution of the source regions of solar eruptions. Here, we discussed the spectral characteristics of millimeter-wave emission from the transition region and proposed a new conception of ultra-wide broadband millimeter-wave spectrometers to observe them.

MicroRNAs are small ribonucleotides which act as key gene regulators. Their altered expression is often associated with onset and progression of several human diseases, including cancer. Given their potential use as biomarkers, there is a need to find detection methods of microRNAs suitable for use in clinical setting. Field Effect Transistor based biosensors (bioFETs) appear to be valid tools to detect microRNAs, since they may reliably quantitate the specific binding between the immobilized probe and free target in solution through an easily detectable electrical signal. We have investigated the detection of human microRNA 155 (miR-155) using an innovative cap-turing probe constituted by a synthetic peptide nucleic acid (PNA), which has the advantage to form a duplex even at ionic strengths approaching the physiological conditions. With the aim to develop an optimized BioFET setup, the interaction kinetics between miR-155 and the chosen PNA was preliminary investigated by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). By exploiting both these results and our custom-made bioFET system, we were able to attain a low-cost, real-time, label-free, highly specific detection of miR-155 in the nano-molar range.

This paper is devoted to the analysis of fluctuations in the solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field parameters observed by Solar Orbiter and WIND spacecraft at different scales, ranging from ~10^3 to 10^7 km. We investigated two long observation intervals when the spacecraft were near the Sun-Earth line, during which the distance between the spacecraft was 0.1 and 0.5 AU respectively. It is analyzed how the fluctuation properties in different types of SW, associated with quasi-stationary and transient solar phenomena, transform on the way from the Sun to the Earth. It is shown that the time series behavior of the bulk speed subject to the least change even at the large distance between the observation points, while the time series of the IMF magnitude, components and proton density were significantly transformed even at the relatively short distance. Regardless of the assumed change in the absolute value of the parameters, the conducted statistical analysis shows that the characteristics of their fluctuations (including the level of intermittency) remains near constant regardless of the distance between the observation points and depends mostly on the type of the solar wind.

This paper introduces a Unified Field Theory through the generalization of General Relativity, following the methodology outlined by Einstein for incorporating complex metrics in the pursuit of a comprehensive Unified Field Theory.

The recent introduction of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O (O/EA-2 topotype) in Southern Africa region has changed virus dynamics and the FMD vaccine requirements. This study describes an assessment of the heterologous antibody responses induced by O Manisa vaccine (three PD50/dose) against a representative O/EA-2 virus collected from an FMD outbreak in Zambia. Commercial and subsistence cattle herds were monitored following vaccination, where the benefits of employing a double vaccination schedule were compared to single-dose vaccination. Testing using virus neutralisation showed cattle that received two vaccine doses had a mean reciprocal log virus neutralisation titre of 2.02 (standard error [SE] = 0.16, n = 9) for commercial herds and 1.65 (SE = 0.17, n = 5) for subsistence herds , 56 days after first vaccination (dpv). Significantly lower mean titres were observed for single-dosed commercial herds (0.90, SE = 0.08, n = 9) and subsistence herds (1.15, SE = 0.18, n = 3), 56 dpv. Comparison of these results and those generated by solid-phase competitive ELISA by cohen’s kappa coefficient observed a statistically significant (ρ = 0.598 for 1:10 dilution, and ρ = 0.562 for 1:30 dilution of SPCE % inhibition results, p < 0.001 for both dilutions) positive correlation.

High-quality optical Fano resonances, which exist in a spherical dielectric microparticle in the spatial configurations of the "whispering-gallery modes" (WGMs) and recently are referred to as the “super-resonances”, possess extremal sensitivity not only to the micro-cavity size and shape but also to the optical properties of the particulate material. The increase in the power of light radiation coupling into a super-resonance can lead to the manifestation of strong optical nonlinearity of the resonator material due to the cubic nonlinearity (optical Kerr effect) and generation of free electron plasma in certain regions of the spherical microcavity. In fact, an optically linear medium of the resonance cavity transforms into a Drude-Kerr-type medium with a strong dependence on input laser intensity. With the help of the finite-elements numerical simulations, we theoretically analyze the transformations of the resonant contour for a number of high-quality WGMs excited in a lanthanum-glass microsphere exposed to an optical radiation of different intensity. We show that in a certain input intensity range, the competition of Kerr and plasma optical nonlinearities can stop and even reverse the Stokes shift of the super-resonance observed in a pure Kerr medium. Additionally, optical ionization and plasma generation within the mode volume significantly reduce the strength of the magnetic super-resonance and lead to its spoiling and frequency splitting.

In this paper, we aim to address the challenge of airflow interference during fault detection in high-speed train bogies by introducing a flow field and investigating the characteristics of the sound field distribution of critical components under its influence. This approach overcomes the limitation observed in previous studies that ignored the impact of the flow field. Furthermore, we evaluate and compare various layouts for inter-track acoustic sensor arrays. The proposed sensing methods hold significant practical engineering value, and the collected data serves as a valuable reference for acquiring acoustic signals from key bogie components in future research.

An atomic-scale approach is employed to simulate the formation of precipitates with different lattice misfits in the early stages of aging of supersaturated aluminum alloys. Simulation results reveal that the increase of lattice misfit could significantly promote the nucleation rate of precipitates, which results in a larger number and smaller size of the precipitates. The morphologies of the precipitates also vary with the degree of lattice misfit. Moreover, the higher the lattice misfit, the earlier the nucleation of the second phase occurs, which can substantially inhibit the movement of dislocations. The research on the lattice misfit of precipitation can provide theoretical guidance for the design of high-strength aluminum alloy.

In this paper, a quick and efficient method for preparation of scopolamine hydrobromide with high purity was introduced, named as magnetic field induced crystallization. Based on the solubility difference between scopolamine and scopolamine hydrobromide, salifying crystallization was selected and then treated with the synergistic effect of magnetic field to achieve the aim of scopolamine purification. The effects of crystallization solvents and magnetic field intensity on the crystallization process of scopolamine hydrobromide, as well as the influnence of magnetic field on the crystal growth direction were investigated. The results revealed that after treatment under magnetic field, the shortened induction time (25.64%-75.46%), the increased purity of crystals (0.95%-2.92%) and the improved recovery rate (4.51%-10.78%) were achieved. Furthermore, we also found that magnetic field could destroy the hydrogen bond in the solution, and change the physical properties of the mother liquid, so as to promote the nucleation formation and crystal growth. The above experiments suggested that the external magnetic field has the potential to be a feasible method for scopolamine preparation.

Current effort with light field displays is mainly concentrated on the widest possible viewing angle, while a single viewer only needs to view the display in a specific viewing direction. To make light field display a practical practice, a super multi-view light field display is proposed to compress the information in the viewing zone of a single user by reducing the redundant viewpoints. A quasi-directional backlight is proposed and a lenticular lens array is applied to achieve the restricted viewing zone. Eye-tracking technique is applied to extend the viewing area. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can present vivid 3D scene with smooth motion parallax. Only 16.7% conventional light field display data are required to achieve 3D display. Furthermore, an illumination power of 3.5 watt is sufficient to lighten a 31.5-inch light field display，which takes up 1.5% of the illumination power required for planar display of similar configuration.

By developing the previously proposed method of combining continuum mechanics with Einstein Field Equations, it has been shown that the classic relativistic description, curvilinear description, and quantum description of the physical system may be reconciled using the proposed Alena Tensor. For a system with an electromagnetic field, the Lagrangian density equal to the invariant of the electromagnetic field was obtained, vanishing four-divergence of canonical four-momentum appears to be consequence of the Poyinting theorem, and explicit form of one of gauges of the electromagnetic four-potential was introduced. The proposed method allows for further development with additional fields.

Three facts characterize the hailstorm of 30 August 2022 in the Catalan village of La Bisbal d'Empordà and its surroundings: first, the most dramatic, the death of a child hit by a hailstone. Second, the damage to most of the roofs and cars in the town. Finally, because of the record of hail size (more than 10 cm) in Catalonia in at least the last 30 years. This research focuses on the radar field comparison and the observations provided by an electronic survey of the study area. The results reveal that weather radar sub-estimated the hail size because of different factors. On the opposite, some reporters provided an inaccurate hour. The difference of three months between the hail event and the electronic survey is the probable cause of this mistake in the time estimation. However, the survey delay helped to avoid answers with larger hail sizes than those provided by the official spotters.

Large inconsistencies in the outcome of precise measurements of Newtonian gravitational ‘constant’ were identified throughout more than three hundred experiments conducted up to date. This paper illustrates the dependency of the Newtonian gravitational parameter on the curvature of the background and the associated field strength of vacuum energy. Additionally, the derived interaction field equations show that boundary interactions and spin-spin correlations of vacuum and conventional energy densities contribute to the emergence of mass. Experimental conditions are recommended to achieve consistent outcomes of the parameter precision measurements, which can directly falsify or provide confirmations to the presented field equations.

The overcrowding of high-rise buildings in the city adversely affects the wind environment by changing the air currents in the surrounding areas. In particular, extreme climate phenomena caused by climate change are stronger and more frequent, causing social damages in cities. To comprehensively better understand the wind properties around high-rise buildings, actual filed measurement is necessary to determine the environment assessment of wind effect. We performed the on-site measurement on LCT residential complex regions (411.6m tall) with highly concentrated high-rise buildings in coastal city Busan, South Korea under extreme weather conditions such as typhoon invasions to determine wind fluid characteristics. In the field monitoring, five anemometers were installed to analyze the wind environment around high-rise buildings when typhoon 'Hinnamnor' invaded. Compared to the nearby weather station operated by KMA(Korea Meteorological Administration), the gust was 3.7 times stronger and the max 1 min-mean wind speed was 3.1 times stronger, and the characteristics of the downward wind and the canyon wind were shown depending on the location characteristics of the point. Turbulence intensity decreased as the wind speed increased and converged to a certain value. Likewise, the gust factor also decreased as the wind speed increased and converged to 2.0, which is considered to be the parameter that best represents the intensity of the instantaneous gust caused by the skyscraper wind effect.

A model for cell proliferation in developmental fields is derived from information theory using a few biological postulates. The model provides an explanation for the success of the Gompertz equation in describing the growth of embryonic, neoplastic, and regenerative systems. Although this equation has been applied to many growth phenomena, its use has been entirely empirical. A theoretical justification for the use of the Gompertz equation in characterizing developmental processes is presented. The model also accounts for a reported relationship among the parameters of the Gompertz equation. A method for quantification and comparison of the determination of developmental fields at different levels of organization is suggested.

Inflationary model provides a conceptual explanation of the horizon problem, the flatness problem and may also suppress the over abundant magnetic monopoles predicted by Grand Unified Theories. Although various inflationary models have been proposed since 1981, difficulties like fine tuning is not only unsolved but also becomes severer in confrontation with data of Planck Satellite. This paper proposes an alternative model of inflation: the spontaneous symmetry breaking phase transition at early universe is only responsible for the production of magnetic monopoles expected by Grand Unified Theories; it is the subsequent energy release of monopole annihilation that drives the inflation. As a result, the early universe underwent a free expansion with a heat source originating in the annihilation, which expects a smooth, plateau-like potential consistent with the observational data. Beside interpreting a number of long standing inflationary problems, the new scenario predicts a significant increase of entropy during the inflation, and tends to produce large scale structures exceed scale of 300 million light-years correlated with a CMB smoothen and flatten by a simple dynamical mechanism.

An aerobic methanotroph, strain Kb3^T, was isolated from a rhizospheric soil sample collected from a tropical Indian rice field. The cells were motile, Gram-negative bacilli, formed pink colonies and pink turbid/pellicles in the liquid medium. Biochemical characteristics showed that strain Kb3^T utilised only methane and methanol as its sole carbon and energy sources. The isolate's 16S rRNA gene sequence expressed 99.52% similarity to the recently described valid species Methylomonas fluvii EbB (Mmf), with 92% query cover. But examining the genome similarity between Kb3 and EbB, a DDH value of 44.20% [41.6 - 46.7%] and an Ortho-ANI value of 91.48 was observed that were below the current cut-off values for species differentiation. Also, the 16S rRNA gene phylogeny and the phylogenomic analysis branched the two species separately. The major fatty acid in Methylomonas sp. Kb3 was C_14:0, followed by C_16:1 ω5c. The genome sequence revealed the size of strain Kb3 is 5.1 Mb, with the G + C content of 51.8%. Strain Kb3^T shared the closest relatedness with Methylomonas sp. LW13 reveals a 99.66% 16S rRNA gene similarity, an Ortho-ANI value of 97.9%, a DDH value of 87.3%, and a close branching in the phylogenomic tree Kb3 and LW13 together form a new species. The genomic and phylogenetic distinction between species Mmf and strain Kb3 supports Kb3^T to be described as a novel species within the genus Methylomonas, with the proposed name, Methylomonas aquatica sp. nov. (Mma) and the type strain being Kb3^T (=MCC 4012, =JCM 33634, =KCTC 72521).

A 9.4 T/400 MHz superconducting magnet with a warm bore of 60 mm is being designed. The 400 MHz NMR magnet is composed of 9 coaxial coils to generate a central field of 9.4 T. The magnetic field homogeneity is better than 4 ppm for 50 mm diameter spherical volume (DSV) and better than 1 ppb for 5 mm DSV. Three types of NbTi strands were used to reduce the cost of the superconducting materials. A preload with 80 MPa was exerted on the superconducting coils and over-banding with stainless steel was adopted to release the stress from the electromagnetic forces. The magnet will be operated in persistent mode with superconducting joints to reduce the field decay. The pulse tube cryocooler with a cooling capacity of 1 W at 4.2 K can be used to reduce the liquid helium evaporation and vibration during operation. The magnet will be equipped with Bi2223/AgAu HTS current leads to reduce the heat losses. In this paper, the design of the 9.4 T NMR superconducting coils, electromagnetic field calculations, and stress analysis of the superconducting coils were presented.

Based on the textured controllable interface effect, the dynamic performances of the textured and ordinary pilot valve are analyzed experimentally, and the influence of the textured controllable interface on the response of pilot valve is studied. Results show that when Pin is small, the textured surface shortens the reciprocating time of valve core, increasing the flow rate, and speeds up the piston stroke of oil cylinder. The valve core actions much more stable and sensitivity. Meanwhile, combined with the theoretical calculation, the operation mechanism of texturing the pilot valve is analyzed. It is concluded that the stress of textured valve core sealing surface is greater than that of ordinary one, and the pressure difference gradually decreases with the increase of Pin, and the flow difference is basically the same as the force on the sealing surface. This indicates that the textured surface improves lubrication characteristics, reduces the friction between components. The textured valve makes the velocity changes gently, and enhances the responsiveness and stability of the valve. Those related results provide a new idea for enhancing the response design of the pilot valve.

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

It is shown that the four fundamental physical forces, i.e. weak interaction, strong interaction, electromagnetism and gravity, all have their origin in the quark as the single true elementary particle.This requires conceiving the quark as a Dirac particle in a pseudo-tachyon mode, which possesses two real dipole moments: the common one associated with its angular momentum and a second one that is polarisable in a scalar field. This Dirac particle carries a regular charge magnetic monopole without Dirac’s string, theorized by Comay. The boson carrier of its field of energy is the gluon showing an exponential decay of its spatial range because of the influence of an omni-present energetic background field, known as the Higgs field, in this article interpreted as the Lambda in Einstein’s Field Equation.

We summarise contributions made to the computational phase-field modelling of alloy solidification from the University of Leeds spoke of the LiME project. We begin with a general introduction to phase-field, and then reference the numerical issues that arise from solution of the model, before detailing each contribution to the modelling itself. These latter contributions range from controlling and developing interface-width independent modelling; controlling morphology in both single and multiphase settings; generalising from single to multi-phase models; and creating a thermodynamic consistent framework for modelling entropy flow and thereby postulate a temperature field consistent with the concepts of, and applicable in, multiphase and density-dependent settings.

Excitation of the acoustic field leading to the Blaha effect affects the plasticity of the material significantly in ultrasonic vibration-assisted forming. In a micro-forming field, the effects are more significant in the deformation in surface of materials [1]-[3], in which reduction of the surface roughness based on the increasing of plastic deformation of surface asperity was effective [4]. On the other hand, the effect on deformation behavior of the bulk region indicted reduction in the yield stress of materials, and not only acoustic effect [5], but also impact effect is found to generate a large amount of dislocation and produce plastic deformation [6][7]. However, the effect on the bulk is more significant as that on the surface. Differences in the effect on the surface and the bulk are not clarified. In this study, the mechanism of the deformation in the surface of the material with ultrasonic vibration assistance is investigated and compared with that in the bulk. Forging tests using a newly developed ultrasonic vibrator were carried out on pure Cu foils with various process conditions. The longitudinal vibration frequency of the ultrasonic transducer is 60∓2kHz, and the vibration amplitude is in an adjustable range of 0~10μm. Forging test was carried out at different initial stress, specimen size and amplitude. The difference in acoustic softening and impact effects on the surface and the bulk was discussed.

We study the effect of oblique illumination on the functioning of a plasmonic nanoantenna for chiral light. The antenna is designed to receive a structured beam of light and produce a nanosized near-field distribution that possesses non-zero orbital angular momentum. The design consists of metal (gold) micro-rods laid on a dielectric surface and is compatible with well-developed nanofabrication techniques. Experimental arrangements often require such an antenna to operate in a tilted geometry, where input light is incident on the antenna at an oblique angle. We analyze the limitations that the angled illumination imposes and discuss approaches to mitigate these limitations. Through our numerical simulations, we find that tilt angles larger than 30 degrees require modifications to the antenna design. Our analysis guides current and future experimental configurations to pushing the limits of resolution and sensitivity.

The study of the brain networks using analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data based on statistical dependencies (functional connectivity) and mathematical graph theory concepts is common in neuroscience and cognitive sciences for examinations of patient and healthy individuals. The Consciousness Fields according to Taheri theory and applications in the optimization of system under study have been investigated in various studies. In this study, we examine the results of working with Faradarmani Consciousness Field (FCF) in the brain of Faradarmangars. Faradarmangars are one of the necessary components in mind mediation of the function of Faradarmani Consciousness Fields according to Taheri. For this purpose, the functional and effective connectivity and the corresponding brain graphs of EEG from the brain of Faradarmangars is compared with that of non Faradarmangar groups during FCF connection. According to the results of the present study, the brain of the Faradarmangars shows significant decreased activity in delta (BA8), beta2 (BA4/6/8/9/10/11/32/44/47) and beta3 (in 34 of 52 BA) frequency bands mainly in frontal lobe and after that in parietal and temporal lobes in the comparison with the non Faradarmangars. Moreover, the functional and effective connectivity analysis in the frontal network shows dominant multiple decreased connectivity mainly in the case of beta3 frequency band in all parts of the frontal network. On the other hand, the graph theory analysis of the Faradarmangar brain shows an increase in the activity of the O2-T5-F4-F3-FP2-F8 areas and significant decrease in the characteristic path length and increases in global efficiency, clustering coefficient and transitivity. In conclusion, the unique higher graph function efficiency and the reduction in the brain activity and connectivity during the Faradarmani Consciousness Field mind mediation, shown the passive and detector like function of the human brain in this task.

A class of models for non-Gaussian spatial random fields is explored for spatial field reconstruction in environmental and sensor network monitoring. The family of models explored utilises a class of transformation functions known as the Tukey g-and-h transformations to create a family of warped spatial Gaussian process models which can support various desirable features such as flexible marginal distributions, which can be skewed, leptokurtic and/or heavy-tailed. The resulting model is widely applicable in a range of spatial field reconstruction applications. To utilise the model in applications in practice, it is important to carefully characterise the statistical properties of the Tukey g-and-h random fields. In this work, we both study the properties of the resulting warped Gaussian processes as well as using the characterising statistical properties of the warped processes to obtain flexible spatial field reconstructions. In this regard, we derive five different estimators for various important quantities often considered in spatial field reconstruction problems. These include the multi-point Minimum Mean Squared Error (MMSE) estimators; the multiple point Maximum A-Posteriori (MAP) estimators; an efficient class of multiple-point linear estimators based on the Spatial-Best Linear Unbiased (S-BLUE) estimators; and two multi-point threshold exceedance based estimators, namely the Spatial Regional and Level Exceedance estimators. Simulation results and real data examples show the benefits of using the Tukey g-and-h transformation as opposed to standard Gaussian spatial random fields in a real data application for environmental monitoring.

Periodic travelling waves are observed in various brain activities including visual, motor, language, sleep, and so on. There are several neural field models describing periodic waves assuming nonlocal interaction and, possibly, inhibition, time delay, or some other properties. In this work we study the influence of asymmetric connectivity functions and of time delay on the emergence of periodic waves and on their properties. Nonlinear wave dynamics is studied, including modulated and aperiodic waves. Multiplicity of waves for the same values of parameters is observed. External stimulation in order to restore wave propagation in a damaged tissue is discussed.

We calculate the spectral function of a boson ladder in an artificial magnetic field by means of analytic approaches based on bosonization and Bogoliubov theory. We discuss the evolution of the spectral function at increasing effective magnetic flux, from the Meissner to the Vortex phase, focussing on the effects of incommensurations in momentum space. At low flux, in the Meissner phase, the spectral function displays both a gapless branch and a gapped one, while at higher flux, in the Vortex phase, the spectral function displays two gapless branches and the spectral weight is shifted at a wavevector associated to the underlying vortex spatial structure which can indicate a 8 supersolid-like behavior. While the Bogoliubov theory, valid at weak interactions, predicts sharp delta-like features in the spectral function, at stronger interactions we find power-law broadening of 10 the spectral functions due to quantum fluctuations as well as additional spectral weight at higher 11 momenta due to backscattering and incommensuration effects. These features could be accessed in 12 ultracold atom experiments using radio-frequency spectroscopy techniques.

In this research, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are combined with mesoscopic phase-field computational methods in order to investigate phase-transformation in polycrystalline Aluminum microstructure. In fact, microstructural computational modeling of engineering materials could help to optimize their mechanical properties for industrial applications (e.g. directional solidification for turbine blades). As a result, a multiscale modeling approach is developed to find a relation between manufacturing variables (e.g. temperature) and microstructural properties of crystalline materials (e.g. grain size), which could be used to develop an advanced manufacturing process for sensitive applications. The results show that atomistic modeling of grain growth could be used as a first-principle approach in order to study phase transformation's kinetics, which could capture morphology of polycrystalline materials more accurately. On the other hand, phase-field mesoscopic approach needs less computational efforts, but still it relies on semi-empirical data to capture accurate phase transformation regimes, which makes this approach suitable for rapid examining of new manufacturing conditions as well as its effects on microstructural properties of polycrystalline materials.

The current study focused on reviewing the rapid growing of using magnetic water in different fields of science and measure the influence of several intensities of magnetization on the chemical and electrical properties of tap water treated by reverse osmosis. The work includes circulation of water for 24 h. in magnetic fields of intensity 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 G. The magnetization of water causes increasing some positive and negative ions in water such as (Mg, K, Na, Cl¯, Alkaline and SiO₂) and decreasing some positive and negative ions (Ca and SO₃). In the near future, the application of concepts of sustainability development in civil engineering have the to produce structures in harmony with these concepts through using of high-performance materials with less impacts on the environmental and have low cost. The main application of using magnetic water is improvement the geotechnical properties of soil through precipitation of calcite which increases the bond between soil particles and then strength of soil.

This paper developed a new theory for supply chain architecture, and engineering design that enables integration of the business and supply chain strategies. The architecture starts with individual supply chain participants and derives insights into the complex and abstract concept of green-field integration design. The paper presented a conceptual system for depicting the interactions between business and supply chain strategy engineering. The system examines the decisions made when engineering the business strategy, with regards to the supply chain design. The system derived with a new understanding of how strategies are integrated, and what are the implications for engineering successful strategies. The study revealed that supply chain design is not considered in great detail before architecting the business strategies. Thus, companies consequentially experience supply chain problems that are likely to be detrimental to the growth potentials. The paper also derived with the findings that proactive and pre-emptive involvement of supply chain participants in the strategy engineering process, would lead to a more robust strategic design.

We study the effect of polymer coating, pressure, temperature and light on the electrical characteristics of monolayer WSe₂ back-gated transistors with quasi-ohmic Ni/Au contacts. We prove that the removal of a layer of poly(methyl methacrylate) or a decrease of the pressure change the device conductivity from p to n-type. We demonstrate a gate-tunable Schottky barrier at the contacts and measure a barrier height of ~70 meV in flat-band condition. We report and discuss a temperature-driven change in the mobility and the subthreshold slope which we use to estimate the trap density at the WSe₂/SiO₂ interface. We study the spectral photoresponse of the device, that can be used as a photodetector with a responsivity of ~0.5 AW^-1 at 700 nm wavelength and 0.37 mW/cm² optical power.

We show that an experimentally plausible system consisting of a modulated wire medium hosted in a metal cavity can preserve the longitudinal field profile shaping predicted by Boyd et al. (2018) on the basis of a perfectly periodic wire-only structure. These new frequency domain numerical results are a significant step towards justifying the construction of an experimental apparatus to test the field profile shaping in practise.

We believe that a natural focus of the Physics Education Research community is on understanding and improving student learning in our physics courses. For this purpose, we are introducing smartphones in the physics laboratory. Current smartphones measure each component of the magnetic field, bearing in mind that any current perpendicular to a magnetic field produces a small potential difference, transversal to the said current, being this voltage easily measurable by Hall sensors. In this work, we have considered the magnetic field created by a linear quadrupole and we have studied its dependence on distance. Using an experimental procedure that is simple we have measured the magnetic field using the Hall sensor that most smartphones have, together with the corresponding app. The purpose of this work is to show that the laboratory is a powerful tool that increases significant learning under three conditions: 1) the practice must not be too sophisticated; 2) students must handle objects in the lab; and 3) the practice must be scientifically accurate, including the adjustments by minimum squares, and the following and necessary error calculation.

In the weak-field approximation of covariant theory of gravitation the problem of 4/3 is formulated for internal and external gravitational fields of a body in the form of a ball. The dependence of the energy and the mass of the moving substance on the energy of field accompanying the substance, as well as the dependence on the characteristic size of the volume occupied by the substance are described. Additives in the energy and the momentum of the body, defined by energy and momentum of the gravitational and electromagnetic fields associated with the body are explicitly calculated. The conclusion is made that the energy and the mass of the body can be described by the energy of ordinary and strong gravitation, and through the energies of electromagnetic fields of particles that compose the body.

Recent analyses of cosmic microwave background surveys have revealed hints that there may be a non-trivial running of the running of the spectral index. If future experiments were to confirm these hints, it would prove a powerful discriminator of inflationary models, ruling out simple single field models. We discuss how isocurvature perturbations in multi-field models can be invoked to generate large runnings in a non-standard hierarchy, and find that a minimal model capable of practically realising this would be a two-field model with a non-canonical kinetic structure. We also consider alternative scenarios such as variable speed of light models and canonical quantum gravity effects and their implications for runnings of the spectral index.

The necessity for precise and current data concerning the dynamics of land cover change in Indonesia is crucial for efforts to reduce natural vegetation cover due to agricultural expansion. The functionality of monitoring systems that incorporate Terra-MODIS is currently compromised by the limited availability of data for the immediate future. This study seeks to assess the potential of VIIRS satellite imagery in developing an early warning system for monitoring vegetation cover change in Indonesia. The Normalized Differential Open Area Index (NDOAI) computed from the 8-day’ VIIRS data was employed to detect changes in vegetation cover based on pixel-by-pixel subtraction in the NDOAI data time series. Evaluating the pixel-level accuracy of change detection is complicated due to the fact that we evaluate a change map at a coarser resolution than the Landsat-based reference map. The results revealed that increasing the threshold percentage is associated with improved accuracy. In change detection, there is often a trade-off between accuracy and sensitivity. A threshold that is too low may result in false positives, while a threshold that is too high may lead to missed changes. This study demonstrates that when a threshold value of less than 20% is applied, Landsat can identify vegetation cover changes at an earlier stage. Conversely, when a threshold value greater than 20% is employed, VIIRS will detect the change 4.5 days earlier than Landsat. Additionally, VIIRS is capable of detecting changes 25.4 days and 54.8 days faster than Landsat, respectively, when using thresholds of 40% and 75%.

Data4HumanRights training materials have been developed as open-source and tailored to limited resource settings where community data collectors often live and work. An overview of how the training material was developed together with community data collectors in Nigeria and Kenya is provided. The paper gives insights into the fundamental principles (i.e., inclusiveness, adaptive, limited resources, gender- and incentive-sensitive) and the structure of the open-access training materials. This resulted in 28 modules designed to be delivered in a face-to-face format in less than one day by a local trainer. To maximize adaptivity, the training modules can be mixed and matched (e.g., as individual modules or a learning path of several modules around a specific training need). The individual modules cover a range of methods and tools that are useful to human rights work, for example, documenting evictions, performing rapid needs assessments after acute crises, community profiling, and monitoring community development indicators. The training materials contain instructions for the facilitator(s) of the training and all necessary training materials to conduct the training. To maximize inclusivity, the training covers basic to advanced topics. Most training modules address basic training topics that can be optimally followed with a mobile phone (to avoid using a computer and printing handouts). The training was developed and implemented with local community groups in Nigeria and Kenya. The material is free to use, adapt, and translate into different contexts and languages.

This paper introduces an innovative framework for the integration of artificial empathy into robot swarms to enhance communication and cooperation. The proposed model relies on fuzzy state vectors to represent the knowledge and environment of individual agents, accommodating uncertainties in the real world. Utilizing similarity measures, the model compares states, enabling empathetic reasoning for synchronized swarm behavior. A practical application example demonstrates the model’s efficacy in a robot swarm striving for a common goal. The evaluation methodology involves the Open Source Physical-based Experimentation Platform (OPEP), emphasizing empirical validation in real-world scenarios. The paper proposes a transitional environment that allows automated and repeatable execution of experiments on a swarm of robots using physical devices.

Infant electrocardiograms (ECG) and heart rates (HR) are very useful biosignals for psychological research and clinical work, but can be hard to analyze properly, particularly long form (≥5 minutes) recordings taken in naturalistic environments. Infant HRs are typically much faster than adult HRs, and so some of the underlying frequency assumptions made about adult ECGs may not hold for infants. However, the bulk of publicly available ECG approaches focus on adult data. Here, existing open-source ECG approaches are tested on infant datasets. The best performing open-source method is then modified to maximize its performance on infant data (e.g., including a 15Hz high pass filter, adding local peak correction). The HR signal is then subsequently analyzed, developing an approach for cleaning data with separate sets of parameters for the analysis of cleaner and noisier HR. A Signal Quality Index (SQI) for HR is also developed, providing insight into where a signal is recoverable and where it is not, allowing for more confidence in analysis performed on naturalistic recordings. The tools developed and reported in this paper provide a base for future analysis of infant ECG and related biophysical characteristics. Of particular importance, the proposed solutions outlined here can be efficiently applied to real-world large datasets.

Availability and continuous operation under critical conditions are very important in electric machine drive systems. However, such systems, are suffering from several type of failures that affect the electric machine or the associated voltage source inverter. Therefore, fault diagnosis and fault tolerance are highly required. This paper presents a new robust deep learning-based approach to diagnosis multiple open-circuit fault in three phase two level voltage source inverter for induction motor drive applications. The proposed approach uses fault diagnosis variables obtained from sigmoid transformation of the motor stator currents. The open-circuit fault diagnosis variables are then introduced to a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory algorithm to detect the faulty switch(es). Several simulation and experimental results are presented to show the proposed fault diagnosis algorithm effectiveness and robustness.

The open hole tensile and flexural test of composites holds immense importance in aerospace and structural engineering. These tests provide critical insights into how composites perform under real-world conditions, allowing for the development of materials that meet rigorous standards, thereby ensuring the safety and durability of aircraft and other applications. This study investigates the influence of hole size on the open hole tensile (OHT) and flexural properties (OHF) of plane woven aramid/epoxy (AFRP), basalt/epoxy (BFRP), and aramid-basalt/epoxy (ABFRP) sandwiched laminates. Specimens with three different hole sizes viz., 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm were prepared and tested according to ASTM D5766 and ASTM D7264 for OHT and OHF performance respectively. Results indicated that the hybridization of aramid-basalt layers in a sandwich lay up significantly improved the mechanical performance when compared to only aramid laminate. However, with the increase in hole size the mechanical properties declined irrespective of the material. Basalt fibres showed higher hole sensitivity under tensile loading due to its brittle fracture mechanism while aramid fibres exhibited higher hole sensitivity under flexural loading which can be attributed to its the poor compressive strength. The effect of hole size on the damage mechanism has also been highlighted through scanning electron microscope (SEM). Major failure modes observed are delamination around the hole edges, ductile and brittle fibre fractures, and delamination.

This article presents the possibilities of using ferrite absorption material for shielding rooms with medical devices in order to additionally protect them against the limits of the electric component of the E field, which are up to 61 V/m. These values may appear in connection with the currently launched 5G system operating in the high-band frequency range, i.e. 28 GHz and 38 GHz, and may cause negative effects on the operation of medical devices. The possibilities of using ferrite absorption material for shielding rooms with medical devices were determined based on the results of measurements of the electrical properties of the ferrite material performed using two methods: the reflection method and the free space method. In the article, the complex electrical permittivity and complex magnetic permeability were determined for a ferrite plate based on measurements of the reflection coefficient and the transmission (attenuation) coefficient. The presented calculation and measurement results were used to show the properties of the ferrite material in the frequency range from 15 GHz to 45 GHz and to show the possibility of using it for shielding rooms as a material absorbing electromagnetic waves in this frequency range.

This study aimed to compare the efficacies and safety of enhanced and standard monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) in eyes with early glaucoma. Patients with concurrent cataracts and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) were enrolled. They underwent cataract surgery with IOL implantation. Manifest refraction; monocular uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), uncorrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA), and uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA); visual field (VF); contrast sensitivity (CS); defocus curves and questionnaires were assessed three months postoperatively. Thirty-four and 38 patients had enhanced and standard monofocal IOLs, respectively. The enhanced monofocal IOL provided better UIVA than the standard monofocal IOL (p = 0.003) but similar UDVA, CDVA and UNVA. The enhanced monofocal IOL had more consistent defocus curves than the standard monofocal IOL, especially at -1 (p = 0.042) and -1.5 (p = 0.026) diopters. The enhanced monofocal IOL provided better satisfaction (p = 0.019) and lower spectacle dependence (p = 0.004) than the standard monofocal IOL for intermediate vision, with similar VF and CS. In conclusion, the enhanced monofocal IOL is recommended for patients with OAG because they provide better intermediate vision, higher satisfaction, and lower dependence on spectacles than standard monofocal IOL, without worsening other visual outcomes.

The study investigated determinants of open defecation among rural women in Ghana. The study extracted data from the female’s file of the 2003, 2008 and 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). A total of 4,284 pooled sample size of rural women aged 15-49 with complete information about the variables analyzed in the study. The outcome variable was “open defecation” (i.e., defecating in an open space rather than a toilet facility) whilst fourteen (14) key explanatory variables were used. Two regression models were built, and output reported in odds ratio. Descriptively, 42 in every 100 women aged 15-49 practised open defecation (n=1811, 95’CI=49-52). Open defecation significantly correlated with educational attainment, wealth status, religion, access to mass media, partner's education, and zone of residence. The likelihood to practice open defecation reduced among those with formal education [aOR=0.69, CI=0.56-0.85], those whose partners had formal education [aOR=0.64, CI=0.52-0.80], women in the rich wealth quintile [aOR=0.12, CI=0.07-0.20], the traditionalist [aOR=0.33, CI=0.19-0.57], and those who had access to mass media [aOR=0.70, CI=0.57-0.85]. Residents in the Savannah zone were over 21-fold higher to defecate openly [aOR=21.06, CI=15.97-27.77]. The prevalence of open defecation is disproportionately pro-poor indicating that impoverished rural women are more likely to perform it.

Background Content marketing is increasingly important for online branding. Brand popularity can be more easily determined online than sales-based measures but is not yet well-explained from a content marketing perspective. Promising predictors are open data syndication policies, connectivity to e-commerce platforms, product reviews, data health, and the depth and width of a brands product portfolio. A predictive content marketing model can help brand owners to understand their e-commerce potential. Methods We used brand popularity (Brand Popularity Rank) and catalog data in combination with product reviews from an independent content aggregator. For all datasets, we selected the overlapping dataset for brand popularity and brand reviews based on a period of 90 days from June 10, 2022, till September 24, 2022 (n = 333 brands). Backward stepwise multiple linear regression was used to develop a predictive content marketing model of the Brand Popularity Rank. Results Through stepwise backward multiple linear regression five highly significant (p < 0.01) predictive factors for brand rank are selected in our content marketing model: the brand’s data syndication policy, the number of connected e-commerce platforms, a brand’s number of products, its number of products per category, and the number of product categories in which it is active. Our model explains 78% of the variance of Brand Popularity Rank and has a good and highly significant fit: F (5, 327) = 233.5, p < 0.00001. Conclusions We conclude that a content marketing model can adequately predict a Brand Popularity Rank based on online popularity. In this model an open content syndication policy, more connected e-commerce platforms, and catalog size, i.e., presence in more categories and more products per category are each related to a better (lower) Brand Popularity Rank score.

Pancreatic cancer represents one of the difficult problems of contemporary medicine. The development illness evolves very slowly, takes place in special sake (stroma) and manifests clinically close to a final stage. Another feature of this pathology is a coexistence (symbiotic) effect between cancer cells and normal cells inside stroma. All these aspects make it difficult to understand the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer and develop a proper therapy. The emergence of pancreatic pre-cancer and cancer cells represents a branching stochastic process engaging populations of 64 cells differing in the number of acquired mutations. In this study we formulate and calibrate the mathematical model of pancreatic cancer using the quasispecies framework. The mathematical model incorporates the mutation matrix, fineness landscape matrix and the death rates. Each element of the mutation matrix presents the probability of appearing a specific mutation in the branching sequence of cells representing the accumulation of mutations. The model incorporates the cancer cell elimination by effect CD8 T cells (CTL). The down-regulation of the effector function of CTLs and exhaustion are parameterized. The symbiotic effect of coexistence of normal and cancer cells is considered. The computational predictions obtained with the model are consistent with empirical data. The modelling approach can be used to investigate other types of cancers and examine various treatment procedures.

In this paper, we present a method to map information regarding service activity provision residing in governmental portals across European Commission. In order to perform this, we used as a basis the enriched Greek e-GIF ontology, modeling concepts, and relations in one of the two data portals (i.e., Points of Single Contacts) examined, since relevant information on the second was not provided. Mapping consisted in transforming information appearing in governmental portals in RDF format (i.e., as Linked data), in order to be easily exchangeable. Mapping proved a tedious task, since description on how information is modeled in the second Point of Single Contact is not provided and must be extracted in a manual manner.

Atomtronics is a relatively new subfield of atomic physics that aims to realize the device behavior of electronic components in ultracold atom-optical systems. The fact that these systems are coherent makes them particularly interesting since, in addition to current, one can impart quantum states onto the current carriers themselves or perhaps perform quantum computational operations on them. After reviewing the fundamental ideas of this subfield, we report on the theoretical and experimental progress made towards developing externally-driven and closed loop devices. The functionality and potential applications for these atom analogs to electronic and spintronic systems is also discussed.

Purpose is to o review the pathogenic mechanism for ocular hypertension and glaucoma development after pars plana vitrectomy. Both acute and chronic causes are considered and special attention is paid to the theories and clinical evidence on the risk of developing Open Angle Glaucoma (OAG) after Pars Plana Vitrectomy (PPV). Most existing scientific literature on the issue agree on the role of ascorbate as an oxygen scavenger within the vitreous chamber. Oxygen tension in the vitreous and anterior chamber is maximum inn proximity of the retinal surface and endothelium, respectively and steeply decreases toward the lens; on both sides, and trabeculate. Vitreous removal and, to a lesser extent, liquefaction, greatly reduces oxygen tension gradient in vitreous chamber while cataract extraction has similar effects on anterior chamber oxygen gradients. Oxygen derivatives originated from the cornea and retina are actively reduced by the vitreous gel and/or the crystalline lens. Vitreous removal and cataract extraction reduce drastically this function. Most reported clinical series confirm this hypothesis although protocol difference and follow-up length greatly impact the reliability of results.

Academic publishing is undergoing a highly transformative process, and many rules and value systems that were in place for years are being challenged in unprecedented forms leading to the evolution of novel ways of dealing with new pressures. One of the most important aspects of an integrated and valid academic literature is the ability to screen publications for errors during peer review to weed out mistakes, fraud and inconsistencies, such that the final published product represents a product that has value, intellectually, and otherwise. It is difficult to claim the existence of perfect manuscripts. The level of errors that exist in a manuscript will depend on the rigor of the research group and of the peer review process that was used to screen that paper. When errors slip into a final published paper, either through honest error or misconduct, and are not detected during peer review and editorial screening, but are spotted during post-publication peer review, an opportunity is created to set the record straight, and to correct it. To date, the most common forms of correcting the literature have been errata, corrigenda, expressions of concern, and retractions. Despite this range of corrective measures, which represent artificially created corrals around pockets of imperfect literature, certain cases do not quite fit this mold, and new suggested measures for correcting the literature have been proposed, including manuscript versioning, amendments, partial retractions and retract and replace. In this commentary, a discussion of the evolving correction of the literature is provided, as are perspectives of the risks and benefits of such new measures to improve it.

Several studies have shown that changes in incoming solar radiation and variations of the diffuse fraction can significantly modify the vegetation carbon uptake. Hence, monitoring the incoming solar radiation at large scale and with high temporal frequency is crucial for this reason along with many others. The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis (LSA SAF) operationally disseminates in near real time estimates of the downwelling shortwave radiation at the surface since 2005. This product is derived from observations provided by the SEVIRI instrument onboard the Meteosat Second Generation series of geostationary satellites, which covers Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and part of South America. However, near real time generation of the diffuse fraction at the surface level has only recently been initiated. The main difficulty towards achieving this goal was the general lack of accurate information on the aerosol particles in the atmosphere. This limitation is nowadays less important thanks to the improvements in atmospheric numerical models. This study presents an upgrade of the LSA-SAF operational retrieval method, which provides the simultaneous estimation of the incoming solar radiation and its diffuse fraction from satellite every 15 minutes. The upgrade includes a comprehensive representation of the influence of aerosols based on physical approximations of the radiative transfer within an atmosphere-surface associated medium. This article explains the retrieval method, discusses its limitations and differences with the previous method, and details the characteristics of the output products. A companion article will focus on the evaluation of the products against independent measurements of solar radiation. Finally, the access to the source code is provided through an open access platform in order to share with the community the expertise on the satellite retrieval of this variable.

Trends such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 have increased the need to use powerfull network technologies in industrial automation. The growing communication in industrial automation is harnessing the productivity and efficiency of manufacturing and process automation with minimum human intervention. Due to the ongoing evolution of industrial networks from Fieldbus technologies to Ethernet, the new opportunity has emerged to integrate the Software Defined Networking (SDN) technique. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of SDN in the domain of industrial automation. We propose a network architecture called Software Defined Industrial Automation Network (SDIAN), with the objective of improving network scalability and efficiency. To match the specific considerations and requirements of having a deterministic system in an industrial network, we propose two solutions for flow creation: Pro-active Flow Installation Scheme (PFIS) and Hybrid Flow-Installation Scheme (HFIS). We analytically quantify the proposed solutions in alleviating the overhead incurred from the flow setup cost. The analytical model is verified through monte carlo simulations. We also evaluate the SDIAN architecture and analyze the network performance of the modified topology using an emulator called Mininet. We further list and motivate SDIAN features and in particular report on an experimental food processing plant demonstration featuring Raspberry PIs (RPIs) instead of traditional Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). Our demonstration exemplifies the characteristics of SDIAN.

Purpose: To compare the therapeutic efficacy and safety of dorzolamide/timolol fixed-combination in newly diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma patients. Methods: In this prospective, interventional case series, newly diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients that had not been treated for glaucoma were included. Patients were started on Cosopt twice a day (BID) for 1 month and then switched to three times a day (TDS) for additional 1 month. Patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination, diurnal intraocular pressure (IOP), blood pressure (BP) and 24-hours heart rate (HR) measurements at baseline, month 1( BID), and month 2( TDS). IOP, systolic and diastolic pressures were measured at 8:00 AM,12:00 AM, 4:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 12:00 PM. Throughout the study, all adverse events were recorded and monitored by the investigators. Results: In 31 POAG patients that completed the study ,mean baseline IOP was 23.1±3.15 mmHg . IOP was decreased significantly 16.5 ± 2.21 at 1 month (P < 0.0001) and 13.9 ± 2.23 mmHg at 1 and 2 month follow up. (P < 0.0001) IOP was significantly lower in month 2 compared to month 1 (P = 0.0004). While Cosopt BID significantly reduced the mean 24-hour systolic BP and mean 24-hour HR from baseline (P < 0.0001), the mean 24-hour systolic BP and HR remained unchanged 2ith Cosopt TDS compared to BID (P = 0.62). Conclusions: Cosopt TDS has a superior IOP-lowering effect than Cosopt BID in POAG patients with comparable safety profile.

The way people innovate and create new ideas and bring them to the market is undergoing a fundamental change from closed innovation to open innovation. Why and how do firms perform open innovation? Firms’ open innovation is measured through the levels of firms’ joint patent applications. Next, we analyze network structures and characters of firms’ joint patent applications such as betweenness and degree centrality, structure hole, and closure. From this research, we drew conclusions as follows. First, the structure of collaboration networks has both direct and indirect effects on firms’ innovative performance. Second, in the process of joint patent applications, there is a long tail phenomenon in networks of joint patent applications. Third, the number of patents and International Patent Classification (IPC) subclasses together constitute a meaningful measure of the innovation performance of firms.

We propose a phenomenological theory of spin behavior in a magnetic field, which explains from the point of view of classical physics the two-valued result of the Stern-Gerlach experiment. The behavior of the spin and intrinsic magnetic moment of an electron wave of an atom in an external magnetic field is considered. We show that in a weak magnetic field, the intrinsic magnetic moment of an electron wave is always oriented parallel to the magnetic field strength vector, while in a strong magnetic field, depending on the initial orientation of the intrinsic magnetic moment, two orientations are realized: either parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic field strength vector. Within the framework of classical electrodynamics, the calculation of the motion of an atomic beam in an inhomogeneous magnetic field is carried out, which reproduces the results of the Stern-Gerlach experiment.

We prove the continuous non-Archimedean (resp. p-adic) Banach space and Hilbert space versions of non-Archimedean (resp. p-adic) Welch bounds proved by M. Krishna. We formulate continuous non-Archimedean and p-adic functional Zauner conjectures.

In this work, we focus on investigating electrothermal flow in a rotating electric field (ROT-ETF), with primary attention paid to the horizontal traveling-wave electrothermal (TWET) vortex induced at the center of the electric field. The frequency-dependent flow profiles in the microdevice are analyzed using different heat transfer models. Accordingly, we address in particular the importance of electrode cooling in ROT-ETF as metal electrodes of high thermal conductivity while substrate material of low heat dissipation capability are employed to develop such microfluidic chips. Under this circumstance, cooling of electrode array due to external natural convection on millimeter-scale electrode pads for external wire connection occurs and makes the internal temperature maxima shift from the electrode plane to a bit of distance right above the cross-shaped interelectrode gaps, giving rise to reversal of flow rotation from a typical repulsion-type to attraction-type induction vortex, which is in good accordance with our experimental observations of co-field TWET streaming at frequencies on the order of reciprocal charge relaxation time of the bulk fluid. These results point out a way to make a correct interpretation of out-of-phase electrothermal streaming behavior, which holds great potential for handing high-conductivity analytes in modern microfluidic systems.

It is extremely fascinating and astonishing that the gravitational field on the surface of a neutron star is with a relativistic mass density of 2.65*10¹⁶~5.87*10¹⁸kgm^-3 which can be larger than the mass density of the neutron star (~10¹⁷kgm^-3).Therefore, it is the author’s first intuitional imagining that this field could directly convert into mass. In so strong a gravitational field, electron and proton could be produced directly from graviton–photon collision. The gravitational field exists in everywhere in our universe. No vacuum that the region of a space is “empty” does exist. A particle is clearly always being acted on by the gravitational field. The quantum vacuum fluctuation and vacuum polarization need be re-understood with the interaction between photon and gravitational field. Therefore, the gravitational field is naturally one of the foundations of modern physics.

The paper presents an analysis of the method of recording the magnetic component of the Earth’s natural pulse electromagnetic field in an urban environment. This method of recording has already proved itself to be a method that allocates the stressed sections of rock mass at mining and, therefore, authors suppose its effectiveness for allocating active tectonic disturbances and forecasting accidents at underground utilities, what will help reduce the potential environmental hazard of these objects.

Human decision-making is increasingly supported by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. From medical imaging analysis to self-driving vehicles, AI systems are becoming organically embedded in a host of different technologies. However, incorporating such advice into decision-making entails a human rationalization of AI outputs for supporting beneficial outcomes. Recent research suggests intermediate judgments in the first stage of a decision process can interfere with decisions in subsequent stages. For this reason, we extend this research to AI-supported decision-making to investigate how intermediate judgments on AI-provided advice may influence subsequent decisions. In an online experiment (N=192), we found a consistent bolstering effect in trust for those who made intermediate judgments and over those who did not. Furthermore, violations of total probability were observed at all timing intervals throughout the study. We further analyzed the results by demonstrating how quantum probability theory can model these types of behaviors in human-AI decision-making and ameliorate the understanding the interaction dynamics at the confluence of human factors and information features.

When the epipelic algae group growing on the concrete inclined side wall, which is typical of urban rivers and open diversion channels, enters the water flow, it will seriously affect the func-tion of the rivers or the channels. It is urgent to predict the transport capacity of epipelic algae group with water flow. However, the current research on the transport of pollutants is mostly based on mathematical models, and the study of the transport of flake epipelic algae group is extremely rare. A generalized hydrodynamic experimental model of a flume with sidewall epi-pelic algae group was established. Through a series of hydraulic experiments, the physical movement form and transport capacity of the suspended epipelic algae group on the side wall of the channel were studied qualitatively and quantitatively by taking the thickness, sheet size and flow rate of the epipelic algae group as the influencing factors. The key influencing factors of the suspension of epipelic algae are clarified, so as to quantitatively analyze the critical conditions of its suspension. Through flow scheduling, the probability of epipelic algae gathering some-where is increased. It provides a theoretical basis for realizing the long-distance migration of epipelic algae and optimizing the mathematical model.

We argue for reconsidering leadership development based on systems design principles. A primary advantage of systems thinking is that it encourages holistic approaches to development and avoids episodic program-based training and piecemeal thinking. The latter approaches are both limited and limiting yet tend to be the preferred approach to leadership development in organizations. Systems approaches to development offer numerous advantages both conceptually and pragmatically, especially through the incorporation of ongoing feedback cycles. Core practices that define a leadership development system are presented and implications are discussed.

Modern research applies the Open Science approach that fosters the production and sharing of Open Data according to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles. In the geospatial context this is generally achieved through the setup of OGC Web services that implements open standards that satisfies the FAIR requirements. Nevertheless, the requirement of Findability is not fully satisfied by those services since there’s no use of persistent identifiers and no guarantee that the same dataset used for a study can be immutably accessed in a later period: a fact that hinders the replicability of research. This is particularly true in recent years where data-driven research and technological advances have boosted frequent updates of datasets. Here, we review needs and practices, supported by some real case examples, on frequent data or metadata updates in geo-datasets of different data types. Additionally we assess the currently available tools that support data versioning for databases, files and log-structured tables. Finally we discuss challenges and opportunities to enable geospatial web services that are fully FAIR: a fact that would provide, due to the massive use and increasing availability of geospatial data, a great push toward open science compliance with ultimately impacts on the science transparency and credibility.

The construction of large-scale water diversion projects alleviated effectively the current situa-tion of uneven distribution of water resources in China. However, due to the siltation of very fine sediment and organic matter on the side wall of the open channel, and the slow velocity of the side wall flow field, it is easy to produce epipelic algae, which affects water quality. For the prototype observation cannot be used to predict the series of flow in real time, and the mathe-matical model calculation is affected by parameter limitations, these two methods often cannot truly reflect the hydrodynamic characteristics of open channel with epipelic algae. Therefore, by referring to the design parameters of the water diversion project channel, this paper takes the epipelic algae growing on the side wall of the open channel as the research object, and uses the scale of 1:30 to carry out the generalized flume experiment. Through the analysis of the physical characteristics of the prototype sample, and the simulation of the cohesive force between the oblique side wall and the epipelic algae, the multi-group and multi-series hydrodynamic tests are carried out. The flow velocity distribution law and the development and change of the tur-bulent vortex on the side wall are analyzed. It has important scientific guiding significance and practical value for water quantity regulation water regulation and water quality safety protec-tion of long-distance projects.

Work done by us shows that rough topology is a good tool for dealing with things that happen in the real world. The concept of ”basis” has been used to show out the deciding elements of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 that was reported all over the world.

As universities increasingly compete to improve students’ experience through investment in their campuses, well-designed Campus Open Spaces (COSs) become a major feature as well as a marketing tool. Well-designed and managed COSs are increasingly attractive to students and increase the number of public visits to university campuses (footfall). Current literature does not provide planners with evidence of what makes a COS add value to the student experiences. As such, this paper aims to find the nexus between the value/cost of COS and the attractiveness to - and enhanced experience of - students. This aim is approached via a three-phase integrative framework and results in a validated assessment model with a ‘COS Exp score’ that quantifies the most used/vital, best used/engaging, and most valued/beneficial COS. The data was gathered from in-depth analysis of 21 universities in the UK & USA. The conclusion offers valuable insights into improving experience-based outdoor space developments.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly spread to over 180 countries and abruptly disrupted the production rates and supply chains worldwide. Since then, 3D printing also recognized as additive manufacturing (AM) and known to be a novel technique that uses layer-by-layer deposition of material to produce the intricate 3D geometry, has been engaged in reducing the distress caused by the outbreak. During the early stages of this pandemic, shortages of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), including facemasks, shields, respirators, and other medical gears, were significantly answered by remotely 3D printing them. Amidst the growing testing requirements, the 3D printing emerged as a potential and fast solution manufacturing process to meet the production needs due to its flexibility, reliability, and rapid response capabilities. In the recent past, some of the other medical applications that have gained prominence in the scientific community include 3D printed ventilator splitters, device components, and patient-specific products. Regarding the non-medical applications, researchers have successfully developed contact-free devices to address the sanitary crisis in public places. This work aims to systematically review the applications of 3D printing or AM techniques that have been involved in producing various critical products essential to limit this deadly pandemic's progression.

The land-surface developments of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) are based on the Carbon-Hydrology Tiled Scheme for Surface Exchanges over Land (CHTESSEL) and form an integral part of the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS), supporting a wide range of global weather, climate and environmental applications. In order to structure, coordinate and focus future developments and benefit from international collaboration in new areas, a flexible system named ECLand which would facilitates modular extensions to support numerical weather prediction (NWP) and society-relevant operational services, e.g. Copernicus, is presented . This paper introduces recent examples of novel ECLand developments on (i) vegetation, (ii) snow, (iii) soil, (iv) open water/lake (v) river/inundation, and (vi) urban areas. The developments are evaluated separately with long-range, atmosphere-forced surface offline simulations, and coupled land-atmosphere-ocean experiments. This illustrates the benchmark criteria for assessing both, process fidelity with regards to land surface fluxes and reservoirs of the water-energy-carbon exchange on the one hand, and on the other hand the requirements of ECMWF’s NWP, climate and atmospheric composition monitoring services using an Earth system assimilation prediction framework.

The energy transition requires integration of different energy carriers, including electricity, heat, and transport sectors. Energy modeling methods and tools are essential to provide a clear insight into the energy transition. However, the methodologies often overlook the details of small-scale energy systems. The study states an innovative approach to facilitate sub-national energy systems with 100% renewable penetration and sectoral integration. An optimization model, OSeEM-SN, is developed under the Oemof framework. The model is validated using the case study of Schleswig-Holstein. The study assumes three scenarios representing 25%, 50%, and 100% of the total available biomass potentials. OSeEM-SN reaches feasible solutions without additional offshore wind investment, indicating that they can be reserved for supplying other states’ energy demand. The annual investment cost varies between 1.02 bn – 1.44 bn €/yr for the three scenarios. The electricity generation decreases by 17%, indicating that with high biomass-based combined heat and power plants, the curtailment from other renewable plants can be decreased. Ground source heat pumps dominate the heat mix; however, their installation decreases by 28% as the biomass penetrates fully into the energy mix. The validation confirms OSeEM-SN as a beneficial tool to examine different scenarios for sub-national energy systems.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is at the heart of the Smart City approach, which constitutes the next level of cities’ and communities’ development across the globe. Thereby, ICT serves as the gluing component enabling different domains to interact with each other and facilitating the management and processing of vast amounts of data and information towards intelligently steering the cities infrastructure and processes, engaging the citizens and facilitating new services and applications on various aspects of urban life - e.g. supply chains, mobility, transportation, energy, citizens’ participation, public safety, interactions between citizens and the public administration, water management, parking and many other use cases and domains. Hence, given the fundamental role of ICT in cities in the near future, it is of paramount importance to lay the ground for a sustainable and reliable ICT infrastructure, which can enable a city/community to respond in a resilient way to upcoming challenges whilst increasing the quality of life for its citizens. This paper constitutes a continuation of a series of research documents and standardization activities, which relate to the concept of Open Urban Platforms (OUP) and the way they serve as a blueprint for each city/community towards the establishment of an ICT backbone. Thereby, the current paper emphasizes on the aspects of sustainability and resilient ICT, whilst reporting on our latest activities and related developments in the research area.

The 'big data revolution' has enabled novel types of analyses in the life sciences, facilitated by public sharing and reuse of datasets. Here, we review the prodigious potential of reusing publicly available datasets and the challenges, limitations and risks associated with it. Possible solutions to issues and research integrity considerations are also discussed. Due to the prominence, abundance and wide distribution of sequencing data, we focus on the reuse of publicly available sequence datasets. We define ‘successful reuse’ as the use of previously published data to enable novel scientific findings and use selected examples of such reuse from different disciplines to illustrate the enormous potential of the practice, while acknowledging their respective limitations and risks. A checklist to determine the reuse value and potential of a particular dataset is also provided. The open discussion of data reuse and the establishment of the practice as a norm has the potential to benefit all stakeholders in the life sciences.

3D printing is described as the third industrial revolution: its impact is global in industry and progresses every day in society. It presents a huge potential for ecology and evolution, sciences with a long tradition of inventing and creating objects for research, education and outreach. Its general principle as an additive manufacturing technique is relatively easy to understand: objects are created by adding material layers on top of each other. Although this may seem very straightforward on paper, it is much harder in the real world. Specific knowledge is indeed needed to successfully turn an idea into a real object, because of technical choices and limitations at each step of the implementation. This article aims at helping scientists to jump in the 3D printing revolution, by offering a hands-on guide to current 3D printing technology. We first give a brief overview of uses of 3D printing in ecology and evolution, then review the whole process of object creation, split into three steps: (1) obtaining the digital 3D model of the object of interest, (2) choosing the 3D printing technology and material best adapted to the requirements of its intended use, (3) pre- and post-processing the 3D object. We compare the main technologies available and their pros and cons according to the features and the use of the object to be printed. We give specific and key details in appendices, based on examples in ecology and evolution.

3D object reconstruction from depth image streams using Kinect-style depth cameras has been extensively studied. In this paper, we propose an approach for accurate camera tracking and volumetric dense surface reconstruction assuming a known cuboid reference object is present in the scene. Our contribu¬tion is three-fold. (a) We maintain drift-free camera pose tracking by incorporating the 3D geometric constraints of the cuboid reference object into the image registration process. (b) We reformulate the problem of depth stream fusion as a binary classification problem, enabling high-fidelity surface reconstruction, especially in the con¬cave zones of objects. (c) We further present a surface denoising strategy to mitigate the topological inconsistency (e.g., holes and dangling triangles), which facilitates the generation of a noise-free triangle mesh. We extend our public dataset CU3D with several new image sequences, test our algorithm on these sequences and quantitatively compare them with other state-of-the-art algorithms. Both our dataset and our algorithm are available as open-source content at https://github.com/zhangxaochen/CuFusion for oth-er researchers to reproduce and verify our results.

The urbanisation phenomenon and related cities expansion and transport networks entail preventing the increase of population exposed to environmental pollution. Regarding noise exposure, the Environmental Noise Directive demands on main metropolis to produce noise maps. While based on standard methods, these latter are usually generated by proprietary software and require numerous input data concerning, for example, the buildings, land use, transportation network and traffic. The present work describes an open source implementation of a noise mapping tool fully implemented in a Geographic Information System compliant with the Open Geospatial Consortium standards. This integration makes easier at once the formatting and harvesting of noise model input data, cartographic rendering and output data linkage with population data. An application is given for a French city, which consists in estimating the impact of road traffic-related scenarios in terms of population exposure to noise levels both in relation to a threshold value and level classes.

The NA61/SHINE experiment studies hadron production in hadron-hadron, hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions. The physics programme includes the study of the onset of deconfinement and search for the critical point as well as reference measurements for neutrino and cosmic ray experiments. For strong interactions, future plans are to extend the programme of study of the onset of deconfinement by measurements of open-charm and possibly other short-lived, exotic particle production in nucleus-nucleus collisions. This new programme is planned to start after 2020 and requires upgrades to the present NA61/SHINE detector setup. Besides the construction of a large acceptance silicon detector, a 10-fold increase of the event recording rate is foreseen, which will necessitate a general upgrade of most detectors.

Semantic Web technologies are being increasingly adopted by the geospatial community during last decade through the utilization of open standards for expressing and serving geospatial data. This was also dramatically assisted by an ever increasing access and usage of geographic mapping and location-based services via smart devices in people’s daily activities. In this paper we explore the developmental framework of a pure Javascript client-side GIS platform exclusively based on invocable geospatial Web services. We also extend Javascript utilization on the server side by deploying a node server acting as a bridge between open source WPS libraries and popular geoprocessing engines. The vehicle for such an exploration is a cross platform Web browser capable of interpreting Javascript commands to achieve interaction with geospatial providers. The tool is a generic Web interface providing capabilities of acquiring spatial datasets, composing layouts and applying geospatial processes. In an ideal form the end-user will have to identify those services, which satisfy a geo-related need and put them in the appropriate row. The final output may act as a potential collector of freely available geospatial web services. Its server-side components may exploit geospatial processing suppliers composing that way a light-weight fully transparent open Web GIS platform.

The morphological and compositional complexities of keratinized components make feathers ingenious skin appendages adapted to diverse ecological needs. Frizzling feathers, characterized by their distinct curling phenotypes, offer a unique model to explore the intricate morphogenesis in developing a keratin-based bioarchitecture over a wide range of morphospace. Here, we investigated the heterogeneous allocation of α- and β-keratins in flight feather shafts of homozygous and heterozygous frizzle chickens by analyzing the medulla-cortex integrations using quantitative morphology characterizations across scales. Our results reveal intriguing construction of frizzling feather shaft through modified medulla development, leading to a perturbed balance of the internal biomechanics and, therefore, introducing the inherent natural frizzling compared to those from wild-type chickens. We elucidate how the localized developmental suppression of the α-keratin in the medulla interferes with the growth of the hierarchical keratin organization by changing the internal stress in the frizzling feather shaft. This research not only offers insights into the morphogenetic origin of the inherent bending of frizzling feathers but also facilitates our in-depth understanding of the developmental strategies toward the diverse integuments adapted for ecological needs.