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

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

Street view images can help us better understand the city environment and potential characteristics. With the development of computer vision and deep learning, the technology of semantic segmentation algorithms has become more mature. However, DeeplabV3+, which is commonly used in semantic segmentation, has shortcomings such as a large number of parameters, high requirements for computing resources, and easy loss of detailed information. Therefore, this paper proposes LM-DeeplabV3+, which aims to greatly reduce parameters and computations of the model while ensuring the segmentation accuracy. Firstly, the lightweight network MobileNetV2 is selected as the backbone network, and the ECA attention mechanism is introduced after MobileNetV2 extracts shallow features to improve the ability of feature representation; secondly, the ASPP module is improved, and on its basis, the EPSA attention mechanism is introduced to achieve cross-dimensional channel attention and important feature interaction; thirdly, a loss function named CL loss is designed to balance the training offset of multiple categories and better indicate the segmentation quality. This paper conducted experimental verification on the Cityspaces dataset, and the results showed that the mIoU reached 74.9%, which was an improvement of 3.56% compared to DeeplabV3+; the mPA reached 83.01%, which was an improvement of 2.53% compared to DeeplabV3+.

The consequences of climate change and anthropogenic stressors, such as habitat loss and overexploitation, are threatening the subsistence of species and communities across the planet. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the impact of environmental perturbations on the diversity, structure and function of ecosystems. In this work, in silico simulations of biodiversity loss were carried out on the marine food web of Caleta Potter (25 de Mayo Island, Antarctica) where global warming has caused critical changes in the abundance and distribution of benthic and pelagic communities during the last 30 years. We performed species removal considering their degree and trophic level and including four different thresholds on the occurrence of secondary extinctions. We examined the impact of extinctions on connectance, modularity and stability of the food web. We found different responses of these properties depending on the extinction criteria used, e.g., large increase in modularity and rapid decrease in stability when most-connected and relatively high-trophic level species were removed. Additionally, we studied the complexity-stability relationship of the food web founding two regimes: 1) high sensitivity to small perturbations suggesting that Potter Cove would be locally unstable, and 2) high persistence to long-range perturbations suggesting global stability of this ecosystem.

This study tests the utilization of Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones in improving the quality of eye exams in patients with hearing loss. University of Texas Medical Branch patients above 55 years of age were screened for hearing loss using SoundCheck audiometry. All 29 subjects (18 red-zone and 11 yellow-zone) answered pre-recorded Amsler grid and patient education questions that solicited precise responses. As controls, subjects were randomly administered half of the questions via headphones and half via a smartphone at normal speech volume (60 decibels). Points were awarded for responses demonstrating comprehension, and a post-exam survey was collected. Collectively, the mean score was 1.79 with headphones versus 0.96 with control on the Amsler grid segment and 1.90 with headphones versus 0.97 with control on education questions (p=0.001). Between the red and yellow zone hearing loss patients, the red-zone group answered significantly better in both Amsler (1.78 versus 0.50; p=0.0003) and education questions (1.88 versus 0.44; p<0.0001) with headphones. The yellow zone group answered better with headphones overall but failed to reach significance. Post-exam survey indicated that 28 of 29 patients (97%) preferred the headphones during ophthalmic exams. Patients with severe hearing loss demonstrated better comprehension with the noise-canceling headphones; thus these devices show great promise in improving effective, compassionate communication between providers and hearing-loss patients.

Liquidity providers for asset-pair pools with constant value distri- bution, such as Balancer pools, experience some impermanent loss whenever there is price divergence in the tokens’ fiat values. In this paper, we model this impermanent loss for geometric mean invariant pools by deriving a function of two parameters. We analyze our function graphically, showing that unevenly distributed pools with large weighting disparities best mitigate the risk of impermanent loss. We conclude by providing a general protocol for liquidity providers to choose a suitable pool based on their risk tolerance and profit goals.

Acute respiratory viruses (ARVs) are leading cause of diseases in human worldwide. High risk individuals including children and elderly could potentially develop severe illness that could result in hospitalization or death in the worst case. Most common ARVs are Human respiratory syncytial virus, Human Metapneumovirus, Human Parainfluenza Virus, rhinovirus, coronaviruses (including SARS and MERS CoV), adenoviruses, Human Bocavirus, enterovirus (-D68 and 71), and influenza viruses. The olfactory deficits due to ARVs infection is a common symptom among patients. This mini review provides an overview of the role of SARS-CoV-2 and other common ARVs in the development of human olfactory pathophysiology. We highlight the critical need for understanding the signaling underlying the olfactory dysfunction and the development of therapeutics for this wide-ranging category of AVRs to restore the altered or loss of smell in affected patients.

Diabetes is one of the fatal diseases that play a vital role in the growth of other diseases in the human body. Controlling and curing diabetes in its early stages is the most significant technique to avoid its effects of diabetes. However, lack of awareness and expensive clinical tests are the primary reasons to skip clinical diagnosis and take preventive methods in lower-income countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. From this perspective, the study aims to build an automated machine learning (ML) model, which will predict diabetes at an early stage using socio-demographic characteristics rather than clinical attributes. Because clinical features are not always known to all people from lower-income countries. To find the best fit supervised ML classifier of the model, we applied six classification algorithms and found that RF outperformed with an accuracy of 99.36%. In addition, the most significant risk factors were found based on the SHAP value by all the applied classifiers. The study reveals that polyuria, polydipsia, and delayed healing are the most significant risk factors for growing diabetes. The findings indicate that the proposed model is highly capable of predicting diabetes in the early stages.

The aim of this study was to measure one-year total cost of stroke and to investigate the value of stroke care, defined as cost per QALY. The study population included 892 patients with first ever acute stroke, hemorrhagic and ischemic, (ICD-10 codes: I61, I63 and I64) admitted within 48 hours of symptoms onset to nine public hospitals located in six cities. We conducted a bottom-up cost analysis from the societal point of view. All cost components including direct medical costs, productivity losses due to morbidity and mortality and informal care costs were considered. We used an annual time horizon, including all costs for 2021 irrespective of the time of disease onset. The average cost (direct and indirect) was extrapolated in order to estimate the national annual burden associated with stroke. We estimated the total cost of stroke in Greece at €343.1 mil a year in 2021, (€10,722/patient or €23,308 per QALY). Out of €343.1 mil., 53.3% (€182.9 mil) consisted direct healthcare cost representing 1.1% of current health expenditure in 2021. Overall, productivity losses were calculated at €160.2 mil. The mean productivity losses were estimated to 116 work days with 55.1 days lost due to premature retirement and absenteeism from work, 18.5 days lost due to mortality and 42.4 days lost due to informal caregiving by family members.This study highlights the burden of stroke and underlines the need for stakeholders and policy makers to re-organize stroke care and promote interventions that have been proved as cost-effective

The results of applying drilling engineering tools in planned deviated and horizontal wells of oil and gas condensate fields have been examined. The basis for the implementation of a comprehensive approach was the information obtained from drilling horizontal wells in the West and East Siberia, Volga-Ural region, and Iraqi Kurdistan. A synthetic model is considered as an example of the data, incorporating geomechanical and geological properties. As a result of the conducted audit of the geomechanical model and drilling process, the methodologies used were further developed to obtain optimal drilling fluid densities, aiming to prevent cavity formation on well walls, hydraulic fractures, and other related issues. The implementation of the Python programming language was introduced in the stages of geomechanical model preparation, resulting in a time acceleration of up to 20%. During the pre-drilling stage, technological operations were synchronized with the geomechanical model, increasing the involvement of process participants through the synchronization of knowledge areas. The interrelation between drilling technology, drilling parameters, properties of flushing fluids, and rock stability analysis was established, ensuring a 5% increase in construction speed (through NPT reduction and modification of existing tools and technological operations) and accident-free drilling of complex deviated and horizontal wells, provided that the recommended drilling parameters are followed.

Second-level hospitals face peculiarities that hinder the implementation of the hearing rescreening protocol, which are not uncommon in other settings. This study analyzes the hearing rescreening process in this kind of hospital. A total of 1130 individuals were included. In this cohort, 61.07% were newborns in the hospital who failed their first otoemission test after birth (n=679) or were unable to have the test performed (n=11), then being referred to outpatient clinic. The remaining 38.93% were individuals who were born in another hospital with their first test conducted in the outpatient clinic (n=440). A high amount of rescreenings were made outside the recommended time frame, mainly in children referred from another hospital. There was a high rate of lost to follow-up especially with otolaryngologist referrals. Neonatal Hearing screening in second level hospitals is difficult because of the staffing and time constraints. This results in longer than recommended turnaround times and interferes with the timely detection of hearing loss. This is particularly serious in outpatients. Referral of children with impaired screening to out-of-town centers leads to unacceptable loss of follow-up. A legislative support for all these rescreening issues is necessary. We discuss these findings and propose some solutions.

Expanding previous efforts to survey the visual opsin repertoires of the Hemiptera, this study confirms that homologs of the UV- and LW-opsin subfamilies are conserved in all Hemiptera, while the B-opsin subfamily is missing from the Heteroptera and subgroups of the Sternorrhyncha and Auchenorrhyncha, i.e. aphids (Aphidoidea) and planthoppers (Fulgoroidea), respectively. Unlike in the Heteroptera, which are characterized by multiple expansions of the LW-opsin subfamily, the lack of B-opsin correlates with the presence of tandem-duplicated UV-opsins in aphids and planthoppers. Available data on organismal wavelength sensitivities and retinal gene expression patterns lead to the conclusion that, in both groups, one UV-opsin paralog shifted from ancestral UV peak sensitivity to derived blue sensitivity, thereby compensating for the lost B-opsin. Two parallel bona fide tuning site substitutions compare to 18 non-corresponding amino acid replacements in the blue-shifted UV-opsin paralogs of aphids and planthoppers. Most notably, while the aphid blue-shifted UV-opsin clade is characterized by a replacement substitution at one of the best-documented UV/blue tuning sites (Rhodopsin site 90), the planthopper blue-shifted UV-opsin paralogs retained the ancestral lysine at this position. The combined findings identify aphid and planthopper UV-opsins as a new valuable data sample for studying adaptive opsin evolution.

According to circular economy principles, the recycling and reuse of waste tyre rubber is one of the most advanced and ecological waste disposal technologies. Each year about 19 million tons of tyres are produced, and this amount is increasing each year. One of the most innovative ways to recycle rubber waste is devulcanization. There are many methods of rubber devulcanization, but the most popular are grinding and chemical. In this article devulcanized rubber granules were used for the preparation of rubber samples. Two of them were obtained by the grinding method and one by chemical devulcanization. 15 different rubber samples were produced for the experimental measurements. Multilayer constructions with two solid layers of plasterboard on both sides (GKB and GKFI) and porous acoustic material of rubber sample inside were produced. Measurements were made in an impedance tube and compared with the results of TMM analysis. The same trends of resonant frequencies were determined. According to the results, the resonant frequencies depended on the thickness of the material, since transmission loss values depended on the mass of construction. According to the test results of transmission loss, constructions with 50mm thick rubber samples had on average 3dB better results than the structures with 25mm samples and 5dB better results than structures with 12 mm thick rubber samples. In addition, it was found that higher density plasterboards (GKFI) increased the overall transmission loss value of the structure by 5 dB. The same trends were determined by the TMM method. The test results showed that multi-layered constructions with devulcanized waste rubber had high transmission loss result and could be used for sound insulating structures.

The aim of the research presented here is to assess the magnitude of the burden of health limitations resulting from air pollution on the world's economies. This burden was determined by the estimated number of premature years of life lost (YLLs) or health lost (YLDs) due to air pollution-related diseases in the working-age population. Attention was drawn to the problem of existing inequalities in the global burden of national economies with different income levels. The hypothesis of a persistently high level of inequality was verified on the basis of an analysis of the convergence process in a group of 204 countries over the period 1990-2019. The results obtained indicate a strong variation in the level of health constraints caused by air pollution. The analysis of the catch-up process of the least advantaged countries (highest level of health constraints due to air pollution) did not show a positive convergence effect in the study group.

Many studies have focused on the impacts of rainfall duration and intensity while overlooking the role of rainfall patterns on intensive tillage erosion in hilly agricultural landscapes. The objective of this study was to determine the combined effects of rainfall patterns and intensive tillage erosion on surface runoff and soil loss on sloping farmland in the purple-soil area of China. Five simulated rainfall patterns (constant, rising, falling, rising-falling, and falling-rising) with the same total precipitation were designed, and the intensive tillage erosion treatment (IT) and no-tillage treatment (NT) were subjected to simulated rainfall using rectangular steel tanks (2 m × 5 m) with a slope of 15°. To analyse the differences in the hydrodynamic characteristics induced by tillage erosion, we calculated the flow velocity (V), Reynolds number (Re), Froude number (Fr), and Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient (f). The results indicate that significant differences in surface runoff and soil loss were found among different rainfall patterns and stages (P < 0.05). The falling pattern and falling-rising pattern had faster runoff-initiating times and larger sediment yields than those of the other rainfall patterns. f varied from 0.30 to 9.05 for the IT and 0.48 to 11.57 for the NT and exhibited an approximately inverse trend to V and Fr over the course of the rainfall events. Compared with the NT, the mean sediment yield rates from the IT increased the dynamic range of 8.34%–16.21% among different rainfall patterns. The net contributions of the IT ranged from 2.77% to 46.39% on surface runoff and 10.14%–78.95% on soil loss on sloping farmland. Surface runoff and soil loss were positively correlated with rainfall intensity, V, and Fr but negatively correlated with f irrespective of tillage intensive (P < 0.05). For varying-intensity rainfall patterns, soil and water loss fluctuated during rainfall events, suggesting that the changes in rainfall intensity and tillage intensity would result in drastic variations in soil hydrological characteristics and sediment transport mechanisms. The time sequences of rainfall intensity in each rainfall pattern significantly affected surface runoff, soil erosion, and their contribution rates to total soil and water loss. Moreover, tillage erosion effects on soil and water loss were closely related to rainfall patterns in hilly agricultural landscapes. Our study not only sheds light on the mechanism of tillage erosion and rainfall erosion but also provides useful insights for developing tillage-water erosion prediction models to evaluate soil and water loss on cultivated hillslopes.

Nowadays, many Muslim-majority countries have implemented a dual banking system, namely the sharia and conventional systems. The development of Islamic banks is to fulfill the Muslims' need for the existence of halal transactions in financial institutions. However, in some countries, it turns out that conventional banks still dominate the country's economy. Because of that, it is necessary to see whether there are differences in financial risk and Earnings management between Islamic and conventional banks. The samples are conventional and Islamic banks in Southeast Asia, analyzed by the purposive sampling method from 2010-2019. The analytical tool used is the statistical difference test and economometrics analysis using generalized least square (GLS) regression with panel data (time series and cross-sectional data). These models are intended to forecasting the macroeconomics effects in applying dual banking system in one country or region. The results using non parametrics means difference test showed that the first hypothesis is accepted It means that Earnings management in conventional banks is greater than in Islamic banks. The Random Model Effect (REM) for second and third hypotheses testing on Conventional banks shows the Bankruptcy Risk and NPL do not affect the dependent variable Earnings Management (LLP). While fixed effect model testing on Islamic banks, the second and third hypothesis testing is rejected. Therefor Islamic Banks the value of Bankruptcy Risk (z-score) and the value of Non-Performing Loans (NPL) do not affect Earnings management. It also means that hypothesis 2 and 3 are rejected both in conventional as well as Islamic Banking. Sensitivity analysis for conventional as well as Islamic banking altogether using fixed effect model shows that the second and third hypotheses show that the independent variables (Bankruptcy Risk and NPL) do not affect the dependent variable Earnings Management (LLP). These results can be concluded that Islamic bank are enganged in less earnings management. Therefor in the the long run there are still more research that should conduct in comparing dual banking system in one region.

We explore the importance of curvature in carbonaceaous species transformation and stability, using laser-induced vaporisation to evaporate and ionise a source of curved polyaromatic hydrocarbons: carbon nanobelts. Collision impacts between species cause mass loss and the resultant ions are catalogued via mass-spectrometry. To interpret the mass spectra, we perform a series of “in-silico” simulated systematic hydrogen-loss studies using density functional theory (DFT) modelling, sequentially removing hydrogen atoms using thermodynamic stability as a selection for subsequent dehydrogenation. In an initial sequence of H2 removal, the rings are maintained through stable carbyne chain and pentagon-chain formation, giving rise to circular strained dehydrobenzoannulene species. The chains subsequently break, releasing CH and C2. While theoretical closed-cage routes are identified, they are not observed experimentally. The results can serve as a useful guide to high-energy impact conditions observed in some astrochemical environments.

The purpose of this article is to simulate data transmission and calculate traffic parameters in SAGIN air segment for which Ad Hoc network of flying drones is considered as a model. Traffic modeling is based on the manet-routing-compare example from the ns3 simulator library, which has been supplemented with the code for calculation packet losses, throughput/goodput, and message transmission delays. The program allowed considering drones movement at both low and high speeds from 3.6 km/h to 72 km/h. The dependences of traffic losses on data transmission power, transaction sizes and data transmission rate are obtained and analyzed. The distribution of the average effective arrival rate λ and the throughput/goodput for drones has been studied. Comparing traffic characteristics in models with different numbers of drones allows judging how the required quality of service can be achieved by choosing the right transmission parameters.

This paper explores the coordination of the agricultural cooperative to supermarket or E-commerce sup-ply chain, under the condition of quantity loss with a mixed decay function of exponential and logistical distribution. The nature of this process is analyzed, and the corresponding demand and supply functions with single- and multi-stage discount strategies are constructed respectively to create a working model. The optimal discount ratios for supermarkets and agricultural cooperatives in decentralized and central-ized decision-making modes coupled with single- and multi-stage discounts are calculated respectively. Finally, a universal optimal strategy is designed, which can be applied to various quantity decay scenarios and makes the discount strategy more generalized. The results show that discounts can coordinate supply chains more effectively; not only is fresh agricultural produce sold before it starts to rot, but the benefit conflicts arising from both supermarkets vs. cooperatives and traditional vs. E-commerce channels are equilibrated. Further, multi-stage discounts are more effective than single-stage ones, but optimal discount ratios rely on the initial quantity of fresh agricultural produce in the supply chain; its market share in the traditional distribution channel; the potential market size; retail price; the price sensitivity coefficient of the channel; the cross-elasticity coefficient of prices between different channels; and the properties of the quantity loss.

Abstract: Windtech device is a novel tool for measuring the sensation of the ‘cold’. Cold poses numerous challenges for industrial operations, human survival, and living convenience. The impact of the cold is not possible to be quantified just based on temperatures; however other factors such as wind speed, humidity, irradiance have to be taken into consideration. Efforts have been made to develop combined indices such as wind chill temperature (WCT), AccuWeather RealFeel®, and others. The presented article discusses these along with the industrial standards that emphasize on the quantification of the ‘cold’. The following article introduces the Windtech device and its operating principle involving ‘heated temperature’, where the ‘heated temperature’ is affected by environmental parameters including ambient temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and irradiance. The discussed Windtech device is calibrated for operation according to the ISO 11079:2007 standard.

In this paper, we examine two strategies for boosting the performance of ensembles of Siamese networks (SNNs) for image classification using two loss functions (Triplet and Binary Cross Entropy) and two methods for building the dissimilarity spaces (FULLY and DEEPER). With FULLY, the distance between a pattern and a prototype is calculated by comparing two images using the fully connected layer of the Siamese network. With DEEPER, each pattern is described using a deeper layer combined with dimensionality reduction. The basic design of the SNNs takes advantage of supervised k-means clustering for building the dissimilarity spaces that train a set of support vector machines, which are then combined by sum rule for a final decision. The robustness and versatility of this approach are demonstrated on several cross-domain image data sets, including a portrait data set, two bioimage and two animal vocalization data sets. Results show that the strategies employed in this work to increase the performance of dissimilarity image classification using SNN is closing the gap with standalone CNNs. Moreover, when our best system is combined with an ensemble of CNNs, the resulting performance is superior to an ensemble of CNNs, demonstrating that our new strategy is extracting additional information.

TThe passion of bodybuilding athletes for a symmetric, lean, heavily muscled body leads them to carry out exhausting exercise programs and restrictive eating regimens, sometimes resulting in disordered eating behaviors. This study investigates potential exacerbators on the development of disordered eating in bodybuilding and strength athletes. The study involved 103 Cypriot bodybuilding athletes of both sexes, performing at three levels: professional, recreational and strength athletes. The Eating Attitude Test 26 (EAT-26) and The Three Factor Eating Question-naire (TFEQ-R21) were used to evaluate disordered eating and eating behaviors respectively. The current study was performed under the auspices of the Hellenic Center of Education & Treatment of Eating Disorders (KEADD). The degree of deviation between the perceived ideal body weight and the actual body weight was associated with increased risk of eating disorder. Athletes who desired a lower body weight recorded higher scores on EAT-26 overall, (p=0.001), and the subscales of dieting (p=0.01) and bulimia. (p=0.001). Cognitive restraint and emotional eating scales of TFEQ-R21 were more pronounced in the non-professional athletes. (p=0.01). The emotional eating score was higher in women. There is a need for appropriate sport-specific, gender-specific preventive intervention to deescalate the risk of eating disorder, in both profes-sional and non-professional bodybuilding athletes.

The passion of bodybuilding athletes for a symmetric, lean, heavily muscled body leads them to carry out exhausting exercise programs and restrictive eating regimens, sometimes resulting in disordered eating behaviors. This study investigates potential exacerbators on the development of disordered eating in bodybuilding and strength athletes. The study involved 103 Cypriot bodybuilding athletes of both sexes, performing at three levels: professional, recreational and strength athletes. The Eating Attitude Test 26 (EAT-26) and The Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21) were used to evaluate disordered eating and eating behaviors respectively. The current study was performed under the auspices of the Hellenic Center of Education & Treatment of Eating Disorders (KEADD). The degree of deviation between the perceived ideal body weight and the actual body weight was associated with increased risk of eating disorder. Athletes who desired a lower body weight recorded higher scores on EAT-26 overall, and the subscales of dieting and bulimia. Cognitive restraint and emotional eating scales of TFEQ-R21 were more pronounced in the non-professional athletes. The emotional eating score was higher in women. There is a need for appropriate sport-specific, gender-specific preventive intervention to deescalate the risk of eating disorder, in both professional and non-professional bodybuilding athletes.

Oriental melons have a relatively short shelf life as they are harvested during the summer season and susceptible to cold-induced injuries. Typical chilling injury when stored at 4℃ is expressed as browning of the fruit suture. To prolong the shelf life and reduce browning of the fruit, the effects of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), X-tend modified atmosphere (MA)/modified humidity (MH) bulk packaging (XF), and polyethylene (PE) packaging, on oriental melons were investigated during storage at 4℃ and 10℃ for 14 days and under retail display conditions at 20℃. The O2 concentrations in PE packages stored at 4℃ and 10℃ ranged from 17.4–18.5%, whereas those in XF packages were reduced to 16.3–16.6%. The CO2 content of XF package (4.2–4.6%) was higher than that of PE package (1.4–1.9%) stored at 4℃ or 10℃. Relative humidity (RH) saturated in the PE packages but not in the XF packages after seven days of storage. Furthermore, PE packages performed better at maintaining melon weight and firmness than XF packages during storage at 10℃ for 14 days and under retail display conditions at 20℃. PE and XF packages effectively reduced the browning index of the peel and white linear sutures of oriental melons compared with the unpackaged control during cold storage at 4℃, and this observation was maintained at the retail display condition at 20℃. The enhanced CO2 levels, reduced O2 levels, and optimal RH values that were provided by the MAP, prevented the browning symptoms and improved the marketability and shelf life of oriental melons.

Turbine generator operates with complex cooling system due to the challenge in controlling the peak temperature of the stator bar caused by ohm loss, which is unavoidable. Therefore, it is important to characterise and quantifies the thermal performance of the cooling system. The focus of the present research is to investigate the heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics of typical cooling system, so-called stator ventilation duct. A real scale model was built at its operating conditions for the present study. The direction of cooling air is varied to consider its operation condition, so that there are (1) outward flow and (2) inward flow cases. In addition, the effect of (3) cross flow (inward with cross flow case) is also studied. The transient heat transfer method using thermochromic liquid crystals is implemented to measure full surface heat transfer distribution. A series of Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis is also conducted to support the observation from the experiment. For the inward flow case, the results suggest that the average Nusselt number of the 2nd duct is about 30% higher than the 3rd duct. The trend is similar with the effect of cross flow. The CFD results are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Dietary approach is essential to obesity control, but the effectiveness of changes in meal frequency (MF) as strategies for loss and maintenance of body mass remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of MF on a hypocaloric diet on weight loss, active ghrelin levels and metabolic indicators of women with obesity. This is a randomized, parallel clinical trial, including forty women, randomized in two groups, both following a hypocaloric diet, according to MF (G1 – six meals/day; G2 – three meals/day). Dietary, laboratory, anthropometric and body composition indicators were assessed, as well as energy expenditure (EE), before and after the 90 days of intervention. After intervention, both groups decreased body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat mass (FM), insulin and HOMA-IR. G1 increased insulin sensitivity and G2 reduced triglyceride and FM and increased fat-free mass (FFM). MF increased ghrelin levels. There were no differences in EE variables. Hypocaloric diet with different MF promoted a reduction in total weight, BMI, WC and FM and an improvement in glycidic metabolism. However, the accomplishment of the three meals/day increased the FFM and active ghrelin and reduced triglyceride, while six meals/day was more beneficial in increasing insulin sensitivity.

The corrosion of prestressing steel in prestressed concrete bridges is a critical issue for bridge maintenance. To assess structures with corroded strands, it is necessary to define the mechanical properties of the strands and their influence on the structural behavior. In this study, corroded strands are taken from external tendons in existing bridges and tested to define the effects of corrosion on the tensile properties of the strand. Empirical equations for the tensile strength and ductility of the corroded strand are proposed using test results. The most corroded wire governs the mechanical properties of the strand. Experiments on prestressed concrete beams with a single corroded strand are conducted to investigate the structural behavior. A reduction in the flexural strength and maximum deformation is observed from the experiment. According to the section loss of a wire in a strand and its location in a beam, the flexural capacity can be evaluated using the proposed equation. The reduced ultimate strain of the corroded strand can be the governing factor of the flexural strength.

Bangladesh has a history of species introduction from different geographic regions. The country was a major trade route during the early-modern era and was under British colonial rule until 1947s. Many species of plants and animals are either domesticated or cultivated at different times that were brought into the country by the settlers, seamen, and traders. The deliberate preferences of fast-growing, high-yielding exotics in recent decades also threaten the existence of native species and their genetic resources in the country. Here we provide an overview of the invasive alien species in Bangladesh, likely pathways of their introduction, their impacts on ecosystem and people, and strategies for their effective management and regulation. Many exotic plants and animals both terrestrial and aquatic have found to be invasive in the country with negative impacts on local ecosystems, biodiversity, and livelihoods. Collectively, those species possess serious threats to country’s agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector. Although initially introduced to favor primary productivity or other environmental benefits, many of these are now regarded as obnoxious pest or weed in Bangladesh. A comprehensive list of invasive species both for native and exotics and a framework to characterize them is also absent in the country. We recommend a separate statutory body and appropriate rules and policies for the introduction, monitoring, and management of alien species in the country. Community awareness, advocacy, surveillance, capacity building of relevant government staff and agreement with neighboring countries for transboundary management of invasive alien species is also necessary.

This paper develops a multi-task learning framework that attempts to incorporate the image structure knowledge to assist image inpainting, which is not well explored in previous works. The primary idea is to train a shared generator to simultaneously complete the corrupted image and corresponding structures --- edge and gradient, thus implicitly encouraging the generator to exploit relevant structure knowledge while inpainting. In the meantime, we also introduce a structure embedding scheme to explicitly embed the learned structure features into the inpainting process, thus to provide possible preconditions for image completion. Specifically, a novel pyramid structure loss is proposed to supervise structure learning and embedding. Moreover, an attention mechanism is developed to further exploit the recurrent structures and patterns in the image to refine the generated structures and contents. Through multi-task learning, structure embedding besides with attention, our framework takes advantage of the structure knowledge and outperforms several state-of-the-art methods on benchmark datasets quantitatively and qualitatively.

As the energy efficiency demands for future buildings become increasingly stringent, preliminary assessments of energy consumption are mandatory. These are possible only through numerical simulations, whose reliability crucially depends on boundary conditions. We therefore investigate their role in numerical estimates for the usage of geothermal energy, performing annual simulations of transient heat transfer for a building employing a geothermal heat pump plant and energy piles. Starting from actual measurements, we solve the heat equations in 2D and 3D using COMSOL Multiphysics and IDA-ICE, and discover a negligible impact of the multiregional ground surface boundary conditions. Moreover, we verify that the thermal mass of the soil medium induces a small vertical temperature gradient on the piles surface. We also find a roughly constant temperature on each horizontal cross-section, with nearly identical values if the average temperature is integrated over the full plane or evaluated at one single point. Calculating the yearly heating need for an entire building we then show that the chosen upper boundary condition affects the energy balance dramatically. Using directly the pipes’ outlet temperature induces a 54% overestimation of the heat flux, while the exact ground surface temperature above the piles reduces the error to 0.03%.

The aim of this study was to explore perspectives of occupation health personnels (OHPs) regarding education and training of mineworkers on occupational noise induced hearing loss (ONIHL) and its impact on mineworkers’ hearing. Qualitative, in-depth telephonic and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 OHPs comprising representatives from the state, employer and labour as well as audiologists and occupational health hygienists. Purposive and snowball sampling were utilized to recruit participants. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that mineworkers have a superficial awareness and knowledge of the impact of noise on their hearing and health. Moreover, OHPs are not knowledgeable on how mineworkers are educated on ONIHL and its latent consequences. Furthermore, language, low levels of education and literacy as well as the financial constraints were factors that had a negative impact on raising awareness and training mineworkers. There is a need to prioritize health literacy among mineworkers. Additionally, audiologists need to play an active role in educating mineworkers about the effects of excessive exposure to noise. There is a need to take into account literacy levels and language barriers in planning training material for mineworkers.

Abstract: Radiation-induced skin injury can be a serious cutaneous damage and have specific characteristics. Asymptomatic periods are classified as the latent stage. The skin barrier plays a critical role in the modulation of skin permeability and hydration and protects the body against a harsh external environment. However, an analysis on the skin barrier dysfunction against radiation exposure in the latent stage has not been conducted. Thus, we investigated whether skin barrier is impaired by irradiation in the latent stage and aimed to identify the molecules involved in skin barrier dysfunction. We analyzed skin barrier function and its components in SKH-1 mice that received 20 and 40 Gy local irradiation. Increased transepidermal water loss and skin pH were observed in the latent stage of the irradiated skin. Skin barrier components, such as structural proteins and lipid synthesis enzymes in keratinocyte, increased in the irradiated group. Interestingly, we noted sebaceous gland atrophy and increased serine protease and inflammatory cytokines in the irradiated skin during the latent period. This finding indicates that the main factor of skin barrier dysfunction in the latent stage of radiation-induced skin injury is sebaceous gland deficiency, which could be an intervention target for skin barrier impairment.

Energy storage systems (ESS) are penetrating into various sections of power system through different applications. ESS can be used either as a buffer for intermittent renewable energy sources or as a stand-alone distributed storage for load shifting. ESS use different types of storage devices such as lead-acid batteries, lithium ion batteries, flow batteries, and super-capacitors. Hybrid ESS consisting of few types of storage devices are also common in practice. Determining the load demand of such ESSs at various instances (charging profile) accurately is indispensable in most of the cases. Capacity loss is common phenomenon that occurs in all types of storage devices because of ageing. Capacity loss has to be accounted while determining the charging profile of storage devices for better accuracy. Data-driven modeling is an attractive approach for determining the load demand of ESS due to the availability of valuable data from smart grid technologies. In this paper, the application of different types of data-driven models to predict the current charging profile of the ESS based on previous charging profiles is examined. The proposed method can leverage on the existing data from smart grid and is a black box modeling approach.

Uncertainties in initial water saturation and early water breakthroughs of un-known sources and paths, which occurred in the low resistivity Lower Haushi sand-stone (LHS) reservoir at the beginning of oil production, imply that the bypassed oil can yet remain in the reservoir. In addition, the upper part of LHS is a tight oil reser-voir, which can still contain a significant amount of unrecovered oil. This opens the opportunity to produce the remaining oil instead of abandoning this reservoir. Low resistivity can exaggerate water saturation, leading to misinterpretation and premature water flooding due to inadequate oil-water contrast. Our analysis revealed a correlation between low resistivity and robust porous network connectivity, along-side elevated formation water salinity in highly porous layers. In regions of high po-rosity, sufficient oil-water contrast facilitates precise water saturation determination, affirming oil presence in all wells. However, within tight oil zones, near-complete wa-ter saturation contradicts actual oil presence. Factors contributing to saturation un-certainty and water breakthroughs were reassessed. Utilizing a 1:1 verti-cal-to-horizontal permeability ratio derived from core data enhanced simulation alignment with water production rates. Investigation into the impact of relative per-meabilities on water production was conducted. Water saturation maps were gener-ated to pinpoint remaining oil reserves. Depletion around wells is evident in lower po-rous regions, while oil persists across the entire tight reservoir, notably in two unex-plored sections.

Several Lung diseases can result in lung damage structural changes, with lung transplantation as a only therapeutic option when the disease reaches an advanced progression, unfortunately, the success of lung transplantation is limited. In this context, lung bioengineering is considered a potential therapeutic alternative and the current approach is based on the use of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM) of the decellularized lung. The use of undifferentiated cells to seed an ECM can be a more practical strategy for lung bioengineering but the sterilization of the organ for this recellularization process is still a challenge. In this sense, Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) can emerge as a potential treatment alternative. Therefore, the objective of this study was to verify if LLLT, can optimize lung recelularization with mesenchymal stem cells by cytokine modulation. For this, we decellularized lungs from C57BL/6 mice perfusing SDS 1% via pulmonary artery, sterilized with LLL (660nm, 100mW, 30s). Whole lung scaffolds were recellularized: (1) Recellularized Lung (2) Recellularized Lung + LLLT. Mesenchymal stem cells derived from human tooth pulp (DPSc) were seeded into lungs and incubated for 24 hours at 37ºC, 5% CO₂, in a bioreactor-like conditions, maintaining CPAP at 20cmH2O, 90% O2, and LLL at wavelength of 808nm, 100mW, 30s. Culture medium were analyzed at 24 hours. H&amp;E, immunostaining, SEM and ELISA assay were performed. We produced viable biological scaffolds absent of DNA content, preserving glycosaminoglycans and collagen I, III and IV, fibronectin, laminin and elastin and lung structure (SEM). The levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were stable during the 24 hours of culture. IFN-γ levels showed significant difference in the DPSc and DPSc+LLLT group in the 24-hour evaluation. The levels of IL-10 decreased after LLLT. These findings highlight LLLT's role in cytokine regulation and contamination prevention during lung recellularization with mesenchymal stem cells. Overall, these results demonstrated that LLLT's modulated cytokine levels and could prevent contamination during the lung recellularization process with mesenchymal stem cells, offering promise for enhanced therapeutic strategies in lung bioengineering

To investigate the structural behavior of simply supported concrete beams with steel and polypropylene fiber under low velocity impact loading. In all twenty-four beams (150X200X1800 mm) with simply supported boundary condition were modeled and analyzed using ABAQUS software. Steel and polypropylene fibers of aspect ratio of 60 and 231 respectively are used. The total volumes of fibers are maintained at 1% by volume of specimen. A 100 kg hammer with tip diameter 16 mm (hemispherical contact area = 201 mm2) with four different velocities (3.13 m/s, 4.42 m/s, 5.43 m/s and 6.11 m/s) were used in the analysis. It is observed that with the addition of hybrid fibers the deflection in beams was reduced. The beams with 1% PP and 0% steel fiber shows the maximum deflection values due to low modulus of elasticity. Beams with 0.9% steel and 0.1% polypropylene fibers was less affected in terms of deflection as compared to all other beams, it is due to presence of high tensile strength fibers.

Phenylketonuria is an inherited metabolic disorder that leads to neurobehavioral dysfunction. The main treatment is a low-phenylalanine diet and/or the cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin. Regular outpatient follow-up care and measurement of the phenylalanine level in the blood are required. We aimed to analyze the economic burden of phenylketonuria on families and the state. The pa-tients with phenylketonuria were divided into three groups according to their treatment: a low-phenylalanine diet group (n= 50), a tetrahydrobiopterin group (n= 44) and a group taking tetra-hydrobiopterin together with the diet (n= 25). A comparative cost analysis was carried out. The annual economic burden to the state was calculated to average €18801±15345 and was lowest in the diet group, then in the tetrahydrobiopterin group and highest in the tetrahydrobiopterin+diet group (p < 0.001). Out-of-pocket costs amounted to €1531±1173 per year, and indirect losses aver-aged €2125±1930 per year for all families. The economic loss was significantly lower in the fami-lies taking tetrahydrobiopterin than in the other groups (p=0.001). The combined use of medical nutrition and BH4 treatments has been shown to increase the economic harm to the state. Reim-bursing low-protein products and increasing the rate of patients eligible for financial allowances may reduce the economic harm to families.

In the field of delta-sigma modulators, reducing system power consumption without sacrificing accuracy has become a challenge. The summing circuit, as the main part of the cascade-of-integrator-in-feedforward delta-sigma modulator, consumes a significant amount of power in active summing. On the other hand, passive summing circuits have low power consumption but can cause attenuation in the summing results. This article proposes a low-power multi-bit delta-sigma modulator based on passive and attenuationless summation scheme. The summation circuit achieves multiplication of the voltage signal carried on the summation capacitor through bidirectional sampling technique, compensating for the inherent attenuation caused by passive summation, thus eliminating the need for active OTA to achieve perfect summation. A 2-order delta-sigma modulator based on 4-bit 1-order passive noise-shaping (NS) SAR quantizer is designed to verify the scheme. By combining a passive NS SAR as the 4-bit quantizer and the third-stage integrator of the system, and incorporating an energy-efficient cascode floating inverter amplifier (FIA) structure as the core active OTA, these elements have significantly enhanced the energy-efficiency of the modulator. Simulation results show that at a supply voltage of 1.2 V and a bandwidth of 20 kHz, the SNDR reaches 102.62 dB, power consumption is only 148.32 μW, and Schreier figure-of-merit (FoM) of SNDR is 183.92 dB.

The low-altitude quasi-periodic (LQP) E-region echoes observed with the upgraded HCOPAR located in Hainan Island of China (19.5°N, 109.1°E) are presented. With the interferometry technique, the interferometry equations can be developed to investigate the structures of the irregularities. The results show that the plasma structures of the LQP echoes with negative slope mainly drift southwestward almost horizontally, but they also drifted southeastward in some striations. According to the movement of the plasma structures, we find strong wind shear in the region where the LQP echoes are produced. Meanwhile, The periodicity of the LQP echoes may be related to the strength of the wind shear. It is proposed that the plasma structures are most likely produced by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.

Glucose is an important carbon sources for microbial growth, and its content in infertile soils is essential for the growth of the bacterium. Since the mechanism of oligotrophic bacterium adaptation in barren soils is unclear, the research employed RNA Seq technology to examine the impact of glucose concentration on the low nutrient bacteria BS-G1 in soil affected by desertification. RNA-Seq revealed that differentially expressed genes（DEG）histidine metabolism, glutamate synthesis, HIF-1 signalling pathway, sporulation, and TCA cycle pathway of BS-G1 were significantly enriched in 0.015 g/L glucose concentration, compared with 10 g/L glucose concentration. DEG amino acids system, two-component system, Metal Ion Transport, and nitrogen metabolism system of B. subtilis BS-G1 were significantly enriched in 5 g/L glucose concentration, compared with 10 g/L glucose concentration. In addition, The present study identified its regulation pattern and key genes under the low glucose environment (7 mRNAs, 16 sRNAs). This study primarily investigates the variances in the regulatory pathways of oligotrophic bacteria BS-G1, which holds substantial importance in comprehending the mechanism underlying the limited sugar tolerance of oligotrophic bacteria.

Regulatory monitoring networks are often too sparse to support community-scale PM2.5 exposure assessment while emerging low-cost sensors have the potential to fill in the gaps. Recent advances in air quality monitoring have produced portable, easy-to use, low-cost, sensor-based monitors, which has given a new dimension to the air pollutant monitoring and has democratized the air quality monitoring process by making monitors and results directly available at community level. This study used PurpleAir(c) sensors for PM2.5 assessment in California, USA. Evaluation of PM2.5 from sensors included Quality Assurance &amp; Quality Control (QAQC) procedures, assessment with respect to reference monitored PM2.5 concentrations, and formulation of a decision support system integrating these observations using geostatistical techniques. The hourly and daily average observed PM2.5 concentrations from PurpleAir monitors followed the trends of observed PM2.5 at regulatory monitors. PurpleAir monitored PM2.5 also captured the peak PM2.5 concentrations due to incidents like forest fire. In comparison with reference monitored PM2.5 levels, it was found that PurpleAir PM2.5 concentrations were mostly higher. The most important reason for PurpleAir higher PM2.5 concentrations was the inclusion of moisture or water vapor as aerosol in contrast to measurements of PM2.5 excluding water content in FEM/FRM and non-FEM/FRM monitors. On long term assessment (2016-2020), R2 was between 0.54 and 0.86 at selected collocated PurpleAir and regulatory monitors for hourly PM2.5 concentrations. Past research studies have been conducted for mostly shorter time periods (&lt;3-4 months) that resulted in higher R2 values between 0.80 to 0.98. This study aims to provide reasonable estimations of PM2.5 concentrations with high spatiotemporal resolutions based on statistical models using PurpleAir measurements. The methods of Kriging and IDW, geostatistical interpolation techniques, showed similar spatio-temporal patterns. Overall, this study revealed that low-cost, sensor based PurpleAir sensors could be effective and reliable tools for episodic and long-term ambient air quality monitoring.

Most of the fishing currently practiced in Japan is done by small vessels with a small number of fishermen (one or two). One of the most common fishing methods is longline fishing. However, this method requires the vessel to operate at a constant low speed because the depth of the hook must be kept constant while adjusting the speed of the fishing boat to the tidal current. In addition, because the vessel must maneuver and fish at the same time, automation is desired. Thus, we propose a robotic system that can control the depth of the trap at a constant depth even when the speed of the vessel and the current change, and that can successfully fish without the need for skilled fishermen. Fishing can be conducted regardless of the speed of the vessel, whereas currently it is controlled by the speed of the vessel and the tidal current. Therefore, it may contribute to proposing new fishing methods as well as the existing ones. This can contribute to the shortage of successors to the fishing industry and to the revitalization of the fishing industry.

The paper explores the potential of a low-cost advanced video-based technique for the assessment of structural damage induced to buildings by seismic loading. A low-cost high-speed video camera was utilized for motion magnification (MM) processing of footages of a two-story reinforced concrete frame building subjected to shaking table tests. The damage after seismic loading was estimated by analyzing the dynamic behavior (i.e. in terms of modal parameters) and the structural deformations of the building in the MM videos. The results by MM were compared for method validation to damage assessment obtained by the analyses of conventional accelerometers and high-precision optical markers tracked by a passive 3D motion capture system. Also, 3D laser scanning to obtain an accurate survey of the building geometry before and after the seismic tests was carried out. In particular, accelerometers were also processed and analyzed by using several stationary and non-stationary techniques with the aim to analyze the linear behavior of the undamaged structure and the nonlinear structural behavior during damaging shaking table tests. The proposed MM-based procedure provided accurate estimate of the main modal frequency and the damage location through the analysis of modal shapes, which were confirmed by advanced analyses of accelerometric data.

In this study, we explore the potential of using a straightforward neural network inspired by the retina model to efficiently restore low-light images. The retina model imitates the neurophysiological principles and dynamics of various optical neurons. Our proposed neural network model reduces the computational overhead compared to traditional signal-processing models while achieving results similar to complex deep learning models from a subjective perceptual perspective. By directly simulating retinal neuron functionalities with neural networks, we not only avoid manual parameter optimization but also lay the groundwork for constructing artificial versions of specific neurobiological organizations.

Methane is the main cause of sewer explosion accidents, and the available monitoring methods mainly use portable gas sensors for on-site detection. However, these methods cannot grasp the dynamic changes in methane in a sewer in real time or make better predictions of methane explosion accidents. Here, we present a low-power online monitoring system for sewer methane in order to ensure the safety of urban sewers. A low-power ultrasonic gas sensor was used to monitor the methane content in biogas. Due to the impacts of changes in CO2, temperature, and humidity in the sewer on the ultrasonic methane measurement results, a corresponding compensation method was proposed. The effectiveness of the compensation method was verified through experiments, which measured the methane concentration under different influences, and the methane values measured before and after compensation were compared. The power consumption was only 1.28 mW if the system worked in intermittent operation mode, and it could operate for about 1.5 years by selecting a lithium battery with a capacity of 5 A · H. The experimental results showed that the gas detection accuracy could meet the commercial requirements and had a high compensation for the impacts of carbon dioxide, temperature, and humidity.

The goal of classroom English instruction is to educate students on how to use the English language effectively for communication in any scenario. It is identified by presenting various teaching tactics and speaking activities to encourage students to participate more actively in conversations. The study intended to identify the problems in the speaking performance of Grade 8 Jade in Tagum City National High School. The study was conducted using a quantitative non-experimental descriptive survey method. Results revealed that the problems in speaking performance have garnered a mean of 3.20 (moderate) as descriptive equivalent and it was found out that the prevailing speaking problem is anxiety with a mean of 3.84, interpreted as high. Thus, an intervention program is designed to address the problems in the speaking performance of the respondents. This program is divided into two: Overcoming Speaking Anxiety Seminar-Workshop and Speaking Enhancement Activities.

Low back pain is a common problem in the active population, and the second reason for visiting a physician. In patients with lumbar disc protrusion, the nucleus pulposus bulges against the disc and the latter protrudes into the spinal column, but the annulus fibrosus remains intact. The purpose of this study was to prove that starting an early complex rehabilitation treatment results into pain and disability reduction, and increased muscle strength and mobility in patients with lumbar disc protrusions. We performed a prospective cohort study, enrolling 60 patients (25 men and 35 women) aged between 26 to 76 years, diagnosed with lumbar disc protrusion. Patients in the experimental group registered significant improvements in all studied variables (pain, mobility, muscle strength, disability) after 6 months of treatment. The results of our study suggest that, in the lumbar disc disease, a combined rehabilitation program may be more effective in terms of pain and disability reduction, if it starts early after diagnosis. The current study proves the importance of combining electrotherapy with hydrotherapy and physical therapy. Patients who received this treatment combination showed an extremely significant improvement in pain relief, and reduction of functional disability after 6 months of treatment.

Pepper plants experience complex environmental factors including abiotic and biotic stresses in field and the importance of climate changes including low and high temperatures has been emerged. Low temperature stress in the growth and development is one of the most critical issues, which directly impact on the crop yield and productivity of pepper plants. It is essential to select and breed low temperature-(LT) tolerant pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars. The research was performed to assess the agronomical traits of 39 pepper accessions belonging to chili and bell fruit types which cultivated two different night temperature set-points at 15°C for suboptimal temperature (CT) and at 10°C for low temperature (LT), respectively. Plant heights (PH) of most pepper accessions in LT were significantly decreased compared to those in CT. The stem diameter (SD) and the length of main axis (LMA) were various depending on the genotypes under LT. Moreover, the number of flowers (NFL), the total number of fruits (NFR), fruit yield (FY), fruit fresh weight (FFW), fruit length (FL), fruit diameter (FD), and the number of seeds in a fruit (NSF) were notably declined in LT compared to CT. The evaluated agronomical traits between LT and CT were further applied for the correlation analysis, the principal component analysis (PCA), and the hierarchical cluster analysis. Notably, FY trait was correlated with other reproductive traits including NFR, FFW, FD, and FL on positive directions and LT treated-39 pepper accessions were clustered into seven groups by the clustering analysis. The selected accessions were primarily involved with the positive trends with the reproductive index including NFR, FL, FD, and FW traits and would be used for pepper breeding programs on developing LT-tolerant cultivars.

(1) Background: Although manual therapy for pain relief has been used as an adjunct in treatments for chronic low back pain (CLBP), there is still the belief that a single session of myofascial release would be effective. This study aimed to investigate whether a single session of a specific technique reduces pain and disability. (2) Methods: This was a crossover clinical trial in which 41 participants over 18 years old with CLBP were randomly enrolled into 3 situations - experimental, placebo, control, in a balanced and cross-over manner. The subjects underwent a single session of myofascial release on thoracolumbar fascia and compare it with the control and placebo. Outcome were pain and functionality, evaluated using the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), pressure pain threshold (PPT) and Oswestry (ODI). (3) Results: There was no effects between-, within-tests, and interaction for all the outcomes, i.e., NPRS (η 2 = 0.32, F = 0.48, p = 0.61), PPT (η2 = 0.73, F = 2.80, p = 0.06), ODI (η 2 = 0.02, F = 0.02, p = 0.97). (4) Conclusion: A single trial of thoracolumbar myofascial release technique was not enough to reduce pain and disability in subjects with CLBP.

Background: To examine the association between income levels and mortality rates in patients with chronic kidney disease. Methods: We analyzed data obtained from 3,172 patients with chronic kidney disease obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance claims database (2003–2009). Each patient was monitored until December 2010 or until death, whichever came first. Individual income was estimated from the national health insurance premium. Information on mortality was obtained from the Korean National Statistical Office. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare mortality rates between different income groups after adjusting for possible confounding risk factors. Results: A low income was significantly associated with a high mortality rate after adjusting for covariates (adjusted HR 1.298 [1.082–1.556]). In addition, dialysis patients who had low incomes were more likely to have higher mortality rates compared to those in dialysis patients who had high incomes (adjusted HR 1.528 [1.122–2.082]). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that chronic kidney disease patients with low incomes have the highest mortality risk. Promotion of targeted policies and priority health services for patients with low incomes may help reduce the mortality rate in this vulnerable group.

To achieve efficient utilization of low-concentration mine gas, reduce resource waste, and alleviate environmental pollution, high-temperature oxidation of low-concentration gas at a concentration range of 1.00% to 1.50% that is directly discharged into the atmosphere during coal mine production was oxidized to recover heat for reuse. The gas oxidation equipment was improved for the heating process, and the safety of low-concentration gas oxidation under high-temperature environment was evaluated. Experimental results showed that the reactor could provide a 1000 ℃ high-temperature oxidation environment for gas oxidation after installing high-temperature resistant ceramics. The pressure variation curves of the reactor with air and different concentrations of gas were similar. Due to the thermal expansion, the air pressure slightly increased and then returned to normal pressure. In contrast, the low-concentration gas exhibited a stable pressure response in the high-temperature environment of 1000 ℃. The outlet pressure was significantly greater than the inlet pressure, and the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet exhibited a trend to increase with the gas concentration. The explosion limit varied with the temperature and the blend with oxidation products. The ratio of measured gas pressure to air pressure after oxidation was below the explosion criterion, indicating that the measured concentration gas is still safe after the shift of explosion limit, which provides a safe concentration range for efficient use of low-concentration gas in the future.

The establishment of low carbon assessment initiatives is a crucial task especially at the city level. The determination of which source of carbon contributed more require robust data set and strategic approach. Hence, by using the campus as a small city approach, the establishment of carbon assessment and its’ reduction initiatives was required to keep track of the hotspot of the carbon source. The substantial amount of carbon source from campus operations such as energy consumption in the building, waste generation, and water consumption were identified. Moreover, as institutions of higher education, the execution of low carbon campus was initiated structurally involves the triangulation of research activities, teaching & learning and as well as campus operations or known as campus living lab approach. The application of low carbon cities framework, LCCF and assessment system enables to strategize the low carbon campus initiatives through the use of carbon footprint concept and the LCCF carbon track.

This paper deals with a non-contact method to identify the aerodynamic propeller parameters of the Parrot AR.Drone quadrotor. The experimental set consists in a camera recording the vehicle flights, the audio signal is extracted and is used a spectrogram analysis to estimates the propeller velocity. First, the aerial vehicle takes off and starts a hovering maneuver. The experiment is repeated with different additional masses attached to its rigid body. If the weight over the UAV increases/decreases, then the propeller must rotates faster/slower to produce a higher/lower thrust, and consequently, the sound frequency increases/decreases. Finally, this proposition is validated experimentally, and the estimated velocity is used to identify the quadrotor thrust parameters.

Introduction: We investigated the potential effect of smoking on pathological staging in clinically low-risk patients. Material-Methods: Data of 59 patients who were diagnosed with a bladder tumor for the first time and had a single lesion radiologically and endoscopically smaller than 3 cm were investigated, retrospectively. A total of 33 patients who currently smoke or smoked were classified as ever smokers group and 26 patients who did not ever smoke were classified as never smokers group. Pathological diagnoses of the patients in both groups were compared. Results: A total of 9 patients (27.3%) in ever smokers group and 18 patients (69.2%) in never smokers group had Ta disease (p<0.05). Morover, 19 patients (57.6%) in ever smokers group and 5 patients (19.2%) in never smokers group had T1 disease (p<0.05). The number of patients with low grade (LG) tumor were 8 (24.2%) and 19 (73.1%) in ever smoking and never smoking groups, respectively (p<0.05). The number of patients with high grade (HG) tumor were 25 (75.8%) and 7 (26.9%) in ever smoking and never smoking groups, respectively (p<0.05). Ta HG was detected in 9 (27.3%) patients in ever smoking group. In contrast, no patients in never smoking group had Ta HG disease (p<0.05). The number of patients with T1 HG was 17 (51.5%) in ever smoking group and 2 (7.69%) in never smoking group (p<0.05). Conclusion:Smoking seems to associate with pathologically worse stage and grade in patients with primary, single, < 3cm bladder cancer.

AbstractWe investigated the effect of cigarette smoking on pathological staging in clinically low-risk patients. Data of 59 patients who were diagnosed with bladder tumor for the first time and had a single lesion radiologically and endoscopically smaller than 3 cm were investigated retrospectively. 33 patients who smoked were classified as Group I, and 26 patients who did not smoke were classified as Group II. Pathological diagnoses of the patients in both groups were compared. The mean age of the patients were 64.8 (20–86) years. In Group II, 5 (19.2%) were female and 21 (80.8%) were male (p < 0.05). Nine patients (27.3%) in Group I and 18 patients (69.2%) in Group II had Ta disease (p < 0.05). Nineteen patients (57.6%) in Group I and 5 patients (19.2%) in Group II had T₁ disease (p < 0.05). The number of patients with low grade (LG) tumor were 8 (24.2%) and 19 (73.1%) in Group I and in Group II, respectively (p < 0.05). The number of patients with high grade(HG) tumor were 25 (75.8%) and 7 (26.9%) in Group I and in Group II, respectively (p < 0.05). TaHG was detected in 9 (27.3%) patients in Group I. In contrast, no patients in Group II had TaHG disease (p < 0.05). The number of patients with T₁HG was 17(51.5%) patients in Group I and 2 (7.69%) patients in Group II (p < 0.05). Smoking is associated with pathologically HG and stage in patients with first time bladder tumor which is single and smaller than 3 cm.

Background: The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in domestic animals is one of the problems of modern veterinary. Treating with standard techniques using chemotherapeutic agents not always leads to a positive result of therapy; moreover, many drugs produce adverse side effects. Methods: Low level laser therapy, in particular, intravenous laser blood illumination (ILBI) has a pronounced and long-lasting impact on the immune system of animals. The combined technique including ILBI-635 (635 nm, 2 mW, 5 min) and LUVBI^® (365 nm, 2 mW, 3 min) every other day provides a positive change in clinical status of cats with allergic dermatitis after the 3rd-4th treatment session. Results: The increased level of erythrocytes and hemoglobin was identified in the course of treatment, and it indirectly indicates increased blood transport activity, which improves trophic provision and microcirculation. A double reduction of leukocytes and a significant decrease of neutrophil cells indicate the immunomodulatory effect of LILI (low-intensity laser illumination). The increase in the percentage of lymphocytes and the decrease of eosinophils and monocytes against the background of basophil concentrations deviations within physiological concentration result in the reduction of inflammatory mediators expression that induce itching. The reduction of total IgE concentration 32 times against control on the 7th day of treatment correlates with the decrease in the quantitative content of peripheral blood eosinophils, indicating the decrease in severity of an allergic process. Conclusion: LLLT is recommended against the background of standard drug therapy to achieve quick clinical outcome together with a long-lasting prolonged effect.

The existence of low-cost and accurate tools that can equip the First Responders (FRs) to detect trapped victims and provide insights about their health condition in the aftermath of a disaster, is imperative. To address the problem of detecting trapped victims behind walls or debris, we have developed a tool that exploits an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) radar sensor for data collection and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms for data analysis. To evaluate the efficacy of our approach, we collected data from nine humans, both in standing and lying down positions. Next, we applied various ML algorithms to the collected dataset for two discrete sub-tasks that are of interest from an FR’s perspective. The first task is the detection of the victim’s presence, where the algorithms attained more than 95% accuracy and F1-Score. The second task is the estimation of the distance between the radar sensor and the victim, where the tool showed an average error of less than 40 cm.

Food composition data in the EMR countries are often lacking, obsolete or unreliable. The study aims to provide reliable and up-to-date nutrient data of selected food products consumed in Oman in order to evaluate consistency of nutrition labelling and update the current used food composition database. Contents of total fat, fatty acids, carbohydrates, total nitrogen, sugars and sodium were chemically analyzed in 221 foods and beverages purchased in 2022 and label and corresponding laboratory values were compared using the tolerance levels of the European Union. Food items were classified according their nutritional composition, the extent of processing and coded according FoodEx2 system. Results indicate that the nutrient values stated on a label align with the values obtained in the laboratory with the exception of a 6.3% discrepancy in TFAs content, where the reported values are higher than the appropriate reference values. The category with the highest frequency (71.5%) consisted of ultra-processed foods. In terms of inconsistencies in the nutrition claims, 5.1% of food products with claims did not comply with the statement “sugar free” or “low salt”. These findings underscore the significance of vigilant monitoring of nutritional labels as a means to implement measures that promote the well-being of consumers.

A cell filtration platform that affords accurate size separation and minimizes fouling was developed. The platform features an ultra-thin porous membrane (UPM) filter, a pumping head for backflushing (PHB), and cell size measurement (CSM) software. The UPM chip is an ultrathin free-standing membrane with a large window area of 0.68 mm2, a pore diameter of 5 to 9 μm, and a thickness of less than 0.9 μm. The PHB prevents filter fouling. The CSM software analyzes the size distributions of the supernatants and subnatants of isolated cells and presents the data visually. The D99 particle size of cells of the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) line K562 decreased from 22.2 to 17.5 μm after passage through a 5-μm filter. K562 cells could be separated by careful selection of the pore size; the recovery rate attained 91.3%. The method was compared to conventional blocking models by evaluating the mean square errors (MSEs) between the measured and calculated filtering volumes. The filtering rate was fitted by a linear regression model with a significance that exceeded 0.99 based on the R2 value. The platform can be used to separate various soft biomaterials and affords excellent stability during filtration.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the feasibility of using waste from granite gang saws (GCW-GS) to manufacture ultra-high performance, steel-fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC). These machines cut granite blocks by abrasion using a steel blade and slurry containing fine steel grit. The waste generated by gang saws (GCW-GS) contains up to 15% Fe2O3 and up to 5% CaO. This is the main difference from the waste produced by diamond saws (GCW-D). Consequently, the second objective of this study is to compare the results of the waste obtained with gang saws with that from diamond saws, in order to determine the influence of iron and calcium oxides. The waste from cutting granite with gang saws was used in different percentages to replace micronized quartz powder of natural origin in the manufacture of UHPRFC. All the test specimens were analysed to determine their compressive strength, elasticity modulus, flexural strength and indirect tensile strength. The final conclusion is that wastes from both gang saws and diamond saws can be used to manufacture UHPFRC with an improvement in the mechanical properties up to a 35% replacement. The results for GCW-GS are better, mainly due to the pozzolanic effect of the iron dioxide. For higher percentage replacements the mechanical properties are close to the control concrete with small decreases.

Hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS) is the increased sensitivity to low doses of ionizing radiation observed in most cell lines. We previously demonstrated that HRS is permanently abolished in cells irradiated at a low dose rate (LDR), in a mechanism dependent on transforming growth factor β3 (TGF-β3). In this study, we aimed to elucidate the activation and receptor binding of TGF-β3 in this mechanism. T-47D cells were pre-treated with inhibitors of potential receptors and activators of TGF-β3, along with addition of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from LDR primed cells, before their radiosensitivity was assessed by the clonogenic assay. The protein content of sEVs from LDR primed cells was analyzed with mass spectrometry. Our results show that sEVs contain TGF-β3 regardless of priming status, but only sEVs from LDR primed cells remove HRS in reporter cells. Inhibition of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family prevents removal of HRS, suggesting an MMP-dependent activation of TGF-β3 in the LDR primed cells. We demonstrate a functional interaction between TGF-β3 and activin receptor like kinase 1 (ALK1), by showing that TGF-β3 removes HRS through ALK1 binding, independent of ALK5 and TGF-βRII. These results are an important contribution to a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism behind TGF-β3 mediated removal of HRS.

The goal of this paper is to present a low-cost, low-power prototype of a pulsed Ultra Wide Band UWB) oscillator and an UWB elliptical dipole antenna integrated on the same Radio Frequency (RF) Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and its digital control board for Real Time Locating System (RTLS) applications. The design is compatible with IEEE 802.15.4 high rate pulse repetition UWB standard being able to work between 6 GHz and 8.5 GHz with 500 MHz bandwidth and with a pulse duration of 2 ns. The UWB system has been designed using the CST Microwave Studio transient Electro-Magnetic (EM) circuit co-simulation method. This method integrates the functional circuit simulation together with the full wave (EM) simulation of the PCB’s 3D model allowing fast parameter tuning. The PCB has been manufactured and the entire system has been assembled and measured. Simulated and measured results are in excellent agreement with respect to the radiation performances as well as the power consumptions.

Proper Post-Activation Performance Enhancement helps to improve athletic performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two different velocity loss (VL), 10%VL and 20%VL, on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in 20m sprint performance among sprint athletes. Twenty-four male sprint athletes (100m sprint time: 10.96±0.15 s) were recruited. A randomized crossover experimental design was used for traditional group (TG), 10%VL, and 20%VL interventions. Sprint tests were conducted at the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th minutes after the intervention. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed an interaction effect between group and time on 20m sprint performance (F=2.817, p=0.037, partial η²=0.585). Simple effect analyses showed significant differences compared to baseline at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (P&lt;0.05). Cohen's d values indicated improvement in 10m sprint times at the 8th minute of the rest interval for all three intervention groups (TG: ES=-0.270, 10%VL: ES=-0.038, 20%VL: ES=-0.279). Improvement in 20m sprint times was observed at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (ES=-0.296) and at the 16th minute for the 10%VL group (ES=-0.276). Compared to traditional PAPE schemes based on 1RM, PAPE schemes based on velocity loss (20%VL) can better induce PAPE effects in sprint athletes.

Abstract—Hydraulic switching actuators are high efficiency, fast response, and low cost solutions for hydraulic control systems. One of the challenging problems is throttling losses during valve transitions. Previously the authors proposed a zero-flowrate switching method to reduce throttling energy loss of the switching valve, where a hydraulic resonator is applied to make the flowrates through the lines approaching zero before the valves are switched off. The major challenge of this approach is fast switching valves whose transition times are less than 2 ms. In this paper, an improved zero-flowrate switching method is presented. It utilizes the capacity with independent inlet/outlet ports to regulate flowrates through the lines. Models of capacity applied in a simple line with different pressure signals are developed to explore characteristics of the capacity, based on which a complete actuation system is developed. In the complete model, resistance and inductance are optimized to achieve desired flowrate response. The improved zero-flowrate switching method reduces throttling energy losses by 99.945% compared to a hard switching system. The simulation results demonstrated that the improved zero-flowrate switching method performs as expected in the design condition. A capacity with proper volume is able to regulate flowrates through all the lines to zero, with the help of appropriate resistance and inductance. Compared to previous zero-flowrate switching method, the novel strategy allows slower switching valves applied in hydraulic actuation systems and achieves better efficiency performance. This research paves a new avenue for reducing throttling energy losses and improves system efficiency in hydraulic switching actuators, as well as most of the hydraulic switch-mode circuits.

Mandibular third molar is the most frequently impacted tooth. Mandibular third molar impaction bears consequences on the adjacent mandibular second molar (MSM) like bone loss. It can be identified initially using orthopantomography (OPG). The objective is to compare the changes in the bone level distal to MSM between patients with extracted and non-extracted impacted man-dibular third molars (IMTM) using OPG. In this retrospective case-control study, 160 archived (OPGs) of 80 patients visiting the Dental Hospital of the University of Barcelona (HOUB) were randomly selected. The participants were stratified into two groups. The study group involved measuring the bone level distal to the mandibular second molar before and after the extraction of the IMTM. The control group, on the other hand, had bone levels measured twice within 3–6-month period without the extraction of the IMTM. The mean ages of patients in study and control groups were 35.5 ± 15.45 and 33 ± 16.49, respectively. Study group demonstrated signifi-cant (p < 0.05) bone gain after extraction, whereas control group demonstrated significant bone loss (p < 0.0001) after follow-up. Bone improvements were observed distal to the mandibular second molar after the extraction of the IMTM compared to those in control group.

The Southwest Alpine Canyon Area of China was one of the regions in the world that suffered from severe soil erosion. The focus of this research was to understand the response of land use change on soil loss by water erosion in alpine canyon on Southeast Tibet, we analyzed the characteristics of temporal and spatial dynamics of land use in the Niyang River Basin from 1990 to 2020 using GIS and statistical methods, assessed the spatial and temporal change characteristics of soil erosion in the Niyang River Basin using RUSLE model. For this purpose, the meteorological, soil, topographic, remote sensing data were collected. The results showed the area of cropland and construction land in the Niyang River Basin increased to 2.4 and 6.1 times the original from 1990 to 2020, respectively, the area of forest and water continued to decrease. Grassland, unused land and forest have always been the dominant land types in the Niyang River Basin. Tolerable soil erosion was distributed in the flat areas of the valley terraces in the main stream and its tributaries, slight soil erosion was mainly distributed in the flat areas at high altitudes, and moderate, severe, very severe and destructive soil erosion was sporadically distributed in the Niyang River Basin. The areas of tolerable and slight soil erosion exceeded 82% of the total area, The area of severe, very severe and destructive soil erosion was less than 6%, but the total soil loss amount of severe, very severe and destructive erosion was more than 27%. From 1990 to 2020, the soil erosion area decreased from 9219.34 km2 to 8,090.84 km2 in Niyang River Basin, more than 85% of the soil erosion class has not changed, and the change of total soil loss amount also shows a significant reduction trend as a whole. 99% of the total soil loss amount in the Niyang River basin is generated by grassland, forest and unused land. The conversion of various land use types to cropland will cause the enhancement in soil erosion grade. We recommend that the focus of soil erosion control in the Niyang River Basin is to protect grassland, forest and carry out scientific farming.

In high-traffic harbor waters, marine radar frequently encounters signal interference stemming from various obstructive elements, thereby presenting formidable obstacles in the precise identification of ships. To achieve precise pixel-level ship identification in the complex environments, a customized neural network-based ship segmentation algorithm named MrisNet is proposed. MrisNet employs a lightweight and efficient FasterYOLO network to extract features from radar images at different levels, capturing fine-grained edge information and deep semantic features of ship pixels. To address the limitation of deep features in the backbone network lacking detailed shape and structured information, an adaptive attention mechanism is introduced after the FasterYOLO network to enhance crucial ship features. To fully utilize the multi-dimensional feature outputs, MrisNet incorporates a Transformer structure to reconstruct the PANet feature fusion network, allowing for the fusion of contextual information and capturing more essential ship information and semantic correlations. In the prediction stage, MrisNet optimizes the target position loss using the EIoU function, enabling the algorithm to adapt to ship position deviations and size variations, thereby improving segmentation accuracy and convergence speed. Experimental results demonstrate that MrisNet achieves high recall and precision rates of 94.8% and 95.2%, respectively, in ship instance segmentation, outperforming various YOLO and other single-stage algorithms. Moreover, MrisNet has a model parameter size of 13.8M and real-time computational cost of 23.5G, demonstrating notable advantages in terms of convolutional efficiency. In conclusion, MrisNet accurately segments ships with different spot features and under diverse environmental conditions in marine radar images. It exhibits outstanding performance, particularly in extreme scenarios and challenging interference conditions, showcasing robustness and applicability.

The research paper provides a mathematical framework for understanding phase shift in wave phenomena, bridging theoretical foundations with real-world applications. It emphasizes the importance of phase shift in physics and engineering, particularly in fields like telecommunications and acoustics. Key equations are introduced to explain phase angle, time delay, frequency, and wavelength relationships. The study also introduces the concept of time distortion due to a 1° phase shift, crucial for precise time measurements in precision instruments. The research also addresses infinitesimal wave energy loss related to phase shift, enriching our understanding of wave behavior, and impacting scientific and engineering disciplines.

Long Covid is a term used for patients who have recovered from COVID-19 but exhibit persistent cognitive dysfunction, including mental confusion, difficulties in attention, impairment in executive functions and slow movements, among other common symptoms. A study was conducted with 65 patients who had a positive RT-PCR diagnosis and reported symptoms of cognitive impairment, such as memory loss and attention difficulties after recovery. The patients underwent neuropsychological evaluation and completed questionnaires on cognition, mood, and quality of life. During the cognitive screening, 71% of the patients showed alterations, with deficits in visual memory (69%), language (54%), visuospatial construction (49%), verbal episodic memory (37%), executive functions (36%), attentional abilities (34%), and premorbid intelligence (12%). It is important to highlight the need for treatments and further studies to understand the long-term side effects of this disease.

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer is widely used in various fields today. In order to thoroughly reveal the structural impact performance of PMMA materials, this paper is based on the comprehensive Johnson-Cook constitutive model and damage failure model, and accurately confirm the J-C constitutive and damage failure model parameters of PMMA through material test data, The dynamic process of steel bullet impacting PMMA plate structure is analyzed by finite element software ABAQUS. The calculation results show that the numerical simulation results in this paper are in good agreement with the experimental test data. Therefore, the feasibility and accuracy of the impact analysis of PMMA structures based on J-C constitutive and damage failure models in this paper are studied. Finally, based on the J-C constitutive model and damage failure model, the variation of the residual velocity of the bullet with the PMMA plate thickness is analyzed in depth, that is, the results show that the residual velocity of the bullet has a certain linear relationship with the plate thickness.

In healthy humans, taste sensitivity varies widely, influencing food selection and nutritional status. Chemosensory reductions have been associated with numerous pathological disorders or pharmacological interventions. Reliable psychophysical methods are crucial resources to analyze the taste function during routine clinical assessment. However, in the daily clinical routine, they are often considered to be too time-consuming. We used the Supervised Learning (SL) regression method to analyze with high precision the overall taste status of healthy controls (HC) and patients with chemosensory loss and to characterize the combination of responses that best can predict the overall taste status of two groups. Random Forest regressor allowed us to achieve our objective. The analysis of the order of importance and impact of each parameter on the prediction of overall taste status in the two groups showed that salty (low concentration) and sour (high concentration) stimuli specifically characterized healthy subjects, while bitter (high concentration) and astringent (high concentration) stimuli identified patients with chemosensory loss. The identification of these distinctions appears to be of interest to the health system since they may allow the use of specific stimuli during routine clinical assessments of taste function reducing the commitment in terms of time and costs.

The images captured by UAVs during inspection often contain numerous small targets related to transmission lines, which are critical and vulnerable elements for ensuring the safe operation of these lines. However, due to various factors such as the small size of the targets, low resolution, complex background, and potential line aggregation, achieving accurate and real-time detection becomes challenging. To address these issues, this paper proposes a detection algorithm called P2-ECA-EIOU-YOLOv5 (P2E-YOLOv5). Firstly, in order to address the challenges posed by the complex background and environmental interference that impact small targets, an ECA attention module is integrated into the network. This module effectively enhances the network's focus on small targets while concurrently mitigating the influence of environmental interference. Secondly, considering the characteristics of small target size and low resolution, a new high-resolution detection head is introduced, which is more sensitive to small targets. Lastly, the network utilizes the EIOU-Loss as the regression Loss function to improve the positioning accuracy of small targets, as they tend to aggregate. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed P2E-YOLOv5 detection algorithm achieves an accuracy P of 96.0% and an average accuracy (mAP) of 97.0% for small target detection in transmission lines.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are of concern to conservation biologists worldwide. However, not all organisms are affected equally by these processes, thus it is important to study the effects of living in fragmented habitats on species that differ in lifestyle and habitat requirements. In this study we examined dispersal and connectivity patterns of rodents, one endemic (Eliurus myoxinus) and one invasive (Rattus rattus), in two landscapes containing forest fragments and adjacent continuous forest patches in northwestern Madagascar. We generated genomic (RADseq) data for 66 E. myoxinus and 81 R. rattus individuals to evaluate differences in genetic diversity as well as inbreeding and connectivity in two landscapes. We found higher levels of inbreeding and lower levels of genetic diversity in E. myoxinus compared with R. rattus. We observed related dyads both within and between habitat patches and positive spatial autocorrelation at lower distance classes for both species, with a stronger pattern of spatial autocorrelation in R. rattus. Across each site we identified contrasting migration rates for each species, but these did not correspond to habitat-matrix dichotomies. The relatively low genetic diversity in the endemic E. myoxinus suggests ecological constraints that require further investigation.

In order to formulate a reasonable water input model for cotton fields in southern Xinjiang, scientific and rational fertilization, reduce soil carbon leaching, and improve soil carbon sequestration capacity, the undisturbed soil column leaching test was used to simulate the current field management method in the study area. Two methods of drip irrigation and flood irrigation were set up, and three irrigation and three nitrogen fertilizer levels were used to carry out the undisturbed soil column leaching test. The results showed that the amount and mode of water and nitrogen input affected the distribution and leaching loss of organic carbon and inorganic carbon in soil. When the nitrogen application rate increased from 270 kg·hm-2 to 450 kg·hm-2, the leaching loss of soluble organic carbon and soluble inorganic carbon increased significantly. When the water input increased from 6000 m3·hm-2 to 9000 m3·hm-2, the leaching loss of DOC and DIC increased significantly. The carbon leaching loss under drip irrigation was higher than that under flood irrigation. The leaching rates of DOC and DIC were the fastest under the conditions of high water ( 9000 m3·hm-2 ) and high fertilizer ( 450 kg·hm-2 ). It shows that water and nitrogen input and irrigation methods are important factors affecting soil carbon leaching. In the case of excessive water input, long-term high-frequency irrigation is the main factor affecting carbon leaching.

Silicon has a theoretical specific capacity of 4200 mAh g−1, which is considered to have significant potential for anode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the volume change that occurs in silicon during charging and discharging affects the development of commercial applications. In this work, a yolk-shell structured Si@void@C anode material has been developed to address this problem. The silicon nanoparticle yolk material is obtained by recycling kerf-loss (KL) Si waste from the photovoltaic industry, the carbon shell is prepared via a hydrothermal process with glucose, and the sacrificial interlayer is Al2O3. The synthesized material is used to fabricate anodes that show a high reversible capacity of 836 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.1 A g−1 after 100 cycles, with a Coulomb efficiency of 71.4%. This work demonstrates a relatively low-cost approach to turn KL Si waste into value-added materials for LIBs.

A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Results: summarize the article's main findings; (4) Conclusions: indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective representation of the article and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.

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

Background: We aimed to assess the association between DII and PD and the mediation effect of DII in the association of PD with systemic inflammation. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010, 2011-2012 and 2013-2014, participants that received periodontal exam and provided dietary recall data were included. The inflammatory potential of diet was calculated via DII. Periodontitis was defined according to the 2012 case definition. The clinical outcomes of interest were mean periodontal probing (PPD), mean clinical attachment loss (CAL) and thresholds of PPD and CAL. White blood cells (WBC), segmented neutrophils and C-reactive protein (CRP) were used as proxies for systemic inflammation. The periodontal measures were regressed across DII values using adjusted multivariate linear regression. Adjusted mediation analysis appraised the influence of DII in the association of periodontitis and systemic inflammation. 10,178 participants were included. DII was significantly correlated with mean PPD, mean CAL, thresholds of PPD and CAL, WBC, segmented neutrophils and DII (p&lt;0.01). A linear regression logistic adjusted for multiple confounding variables confirmed the association between DII and mean PPD (B = 0.02, Standard Error [SE]: 0.02, p&lt;0.001) and CAL (B = -0.02, SE: 0.01, p&lt;0.001). The association of mean PPD and mean CAL with both white blood cells and segmented neutrophils were mediated by DII (from 2.1 to 3.5%, p&lt;0.001). In the 2009-2010 subset, the association of mean CAL with serum CRP was mediated by DII (52.0%, p&lt;0.01). In conclusion, inflammatory diet and PD may be associated. Also, the inflammatory diet significantly mediated the association of leukocyte counts and systemic inflammation with periodontitis.

Seagrass ecosystems are lost due to habitat disturbance, coastal development and human pressure. We assessed the impact of boat anchors from traditional fishing and recreational activities on the seagrass Halophila ovalis from the Andaman and Nicobar Isalnds of India. The plant density, biomass, morphometrics, canopy height and percentage cover were estimated from two sites of Govind Nagar beach of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The shoot density of H. ovalis was reduced by physical damage caused by boat anchors. The morphometrics of H. ovalis, such as number of leaves per ramet, leaf length, width and horizontal rhizome length were significantly reduced when impacted by boat anchors. Seagrass canopy height and percentage cover were reduced by 41% and 47% respectively. Though the impact of boat anchors reported here is on small-scale, it may impact feeding grounds of locally endangered dugongs. Therefore, proper management and preventive measures should be implemented to prevent the loss of dugong grass habitats from tourism, recreational and fishing activities.

The black hole information paradox is one of the most puzzling paradoxes in physics. Black holes trap everything that falls into them, while their mass may leak away through purely thermal Hawking radiation. When a black hole vanishes, all the information locked inside, if any, is just lost, thus challenging the principles of quantum mechanics. However, some information does have a way to escape from inside the black hole, that is, through gravitational waves. Here, a concise extension of this notion is introduced. When a black hole swallows something, whether it is a smaller black hole or an atom, the system emits gravitational waves carrying the information about the “food”. Although most of the signals are too weak to be detected, the information encoded within them will persist in the universe. This speculation provides an explanation for a large part, if not all, of the supposed “information loss” in black holes, and thus reconciles the predictions of general relativity and quantum mechanics.

The information on the land use and soil conservation practice based on year 2006, 2010 and 2014, hence offering an opportunity to model the impacts of land use change on erosion, deposition and surface water runoff. Limitation in the use of hydrological models had been their inability to handle the large amount of input data that describe the heterogeneity of the natural system. In this study, a procedure that takes into account soil conservation practice based on the land use change, the response of soil erosion and sediment export from the George Town Conurbation catchment area, and average annual sediment yields were estimated for each grid cell of the watershed to identify the critical erosion areas of rural and urban planning proposes. Average annual sediment yield and data on a grid basis estimated using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and an emerging technology represented by Geographic Information System (GIS) used as a tool to produce a map for erosion rate. The changing of the land use from forest to agriculture and then to an urban area is a challenging task to research on land use demand for population, and environmental impact assessment is important for the planning of natural resources management, allowing research the modification of land use properly and implement more sustainable for long term management strategies. The challenge is to formulate strategies that would promote an integrated approach to the land use planning at an appropriate level as to address the issues that arose. Modelling for creating urban growth boundary for the George Town Conurbation must have to be controlled surface runoff and soil loss and sediment export from land use of the George Town Conurbation catchment.

Purpose: to assess any differences on marginal bone loss between bone-level or tissue-level dental implants through a review of literature until September 2019. Materials and methods: MEDLINE, Embase and other database were searched by two independent authors. The search was limited to articles in English. Results: The search provided 1028 records and, after removing the duplicates through titles and abstracts screening, 45 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. For qualitative analysis 20 articles were included, 17 articles of them for quantitative analysis. A total of 1161 patients (mean age 54,4 years) and 2933 implants were observed, 1427 (Tissue-level) and 1506 (Bone-level). The survival rate and the success rate were more than 90%, except for 2 studies with a success rate of 88% and 86.2%. No studies reported any differences between groups in term of success and survival rates. Three studies showed that BL-implants had statistically less marginal bone loss (P< 0.05). Only one study reported statistically less marginal bone loss in TL-implants (P< 0.05). In the most part of the studies, differences between implant types in marginal bone loss were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Despite to the peri-implant tissue around transmucosal implants has been reported to be inflammation-free because of the absence of bacterial infiltration in the micro-gap between the fixture and abutment, no clinical and radiological differences were highlighted between groups from the included studies after a variable period of follow-up ranged between 1 to 5 years.

This paper constructs a model of climate-related damage for small island developing states (SIDS). We focus on the loss of private productive capital stocks through extreme climate events. In contrast to most economic analyses of climate impacts, which assume temperature-dependent damage functions, we draw on the engineering literature to allow for a greater or lesser degree of anticipation of climate change when designing capital stocks and balancing current adaptation expenditure against future loss & damage. We apply the model to tropical storm damage in the small island developing state of Barbados and show how anticipatory behavior changes the damage to infrastructure for the same degree of climate change. Thus, in the model, damage depends on behavior as well as climate variables.

This paper considers estimating the ratio of two distributions with different parameters and common supports. We consider a Bayesian approach based on the Log--Huber loss function which is resistant to outliers and useful to find robust M-estimators. We propose two different types of Bayesian density ratio estimators and compare their performance in terms of Bayesian risk function with themselves as well as the usual plug-in density ratio estimators. Some applications such as classification and divergence function estimation are addressed.

We study impact of geometry on leakage loss in negative curvature fibers made with As₂Se₃ chalcogenide and As₂Se₃ chalcogenide glasses for carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser transmission. The minimum leakage loss decreases when the core diameter increases both for fibers with six and for fibers with eight cladding tubes. The optimum gap corresponding to the minimum loss increases when the core diameter increases for negative curvature fibers with six cladding tubes. For negative curvature fibers with eight cladding tubes, the optimum gap is always less than 20 μm when the core diameter ranges from 300 μm to 500 μm. The influence of material loss on fiber loss is also studied. When material loss exceeds 10² dB/m, it dominates the fiber leakage loss for negative curvature fiber at a wavelength of 10.6 μm.

Analysis of 1382 measures of battery State of Health (SoH) from 283 Nissan Leafs (“Leaf/s”), manufactured between 2011 and 2017, has detected a faster rate of decline in this measure of energy-holding capacity for 30 kWh variants. At two years of age, the mean rate of decline of SoH of 30 kWh Leafs was 9.9% per annum (95% uncertainty interval of 8.7% to 11.1%; n = 82). This was around three times the rate of decline of 24 kWh Leafs which at two years averaged 3.1% per annum (95% uncertainty interval of 2.9% to 3.3%; n = 201). For both variants there was evidence for an increasing rate of decline as they aged, although this was much more pronounced in the 30 kWh Leafs. Higher use of rapid DC charging was associated with a small decrease in SoH. Additionally, while 24 kWh cars with greater distances travelled showed a higher SoH, in 30 kWh cars there was a reduction in SoH observed in cars that had travelled further. The 30 kWh Leafs sourced from United Kingdom showed slower initial decline than those from Japan, but the rate of decline was similar at two years of age. Improvements in the battery health diagnostics, continuous monitoring of battery temperatures and state of charge, and verification of a fundamental model of battery health are needed before causes and remedies for the observed decline can be pinpointed. If the high rate of decline in battery capacity that we observed in the first 2.3 years of a 30 kWh Leaf’s lifetime were to continue, the financial and environmental benefits of this model may be significantly eroded. Despite 30 kWh Leafs accounting for only 14% of all light battery electric vehicles registered for use on New Zealand roads at the end of February 2018, there is also the potential for the relatively poor performance of this specific model to undermine electric vehicle uptake more generally unless remedies can be found.

Corona loss generated from conductors is one of the important design factors on ac transmission lines. Based on helical charge simulation method, the 3-D corona loss calculation model considering the conductors’ outer strands in the corona cage is established. With regard to 2-D corona-loss calculation method, the calculation model proposed in this paper can take the electric field strength’s nonuniformity along the axial direction of stranded conductor into consideration, furthermore, it can also calculate the corona loss when the conductor has sag. The calculation results of the LGJ-300/40 and LGJ-400/35 in the small corona cage well coincide with the measurement results, which indicates that the corona-loss calculation model is appropriate. In addition, the corona loss of the bundle conductors 4 × LGJ720 with sag in UHV corona cage is also analyzed.

Agavins consumption has lead to accelerate body weight loss in mice. We investigated the changes on cecal microbiota and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) associated to body weight loss in overweight mice. Firstly, mice were fed with standard (ST5) or high fat (HF5) diet for 5 weeks. Secondly, overweight mice were shifted to standard diet alone (HF-ST10) or supplemented with agavins (HF-ST+A10) or oligofructose (HF-ST+O10), five more weeks. Cecal contents were collected before and after supplementation to determine microbiota and SCFA concentrations. At the end of first phase, HF5 mice showed a significant increase of body weight, which was associated with reduction of cecal microbiota diversity (PD whole tree; non-parametric t-test, P < 0.05), increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and reduced SCFA concentrations (t-test, P < 0.05). After diet shifted, HF-ST10 normalized its microbiota, increase its diversity and SCFA levels, whereas agavins (HF-ST+A10) or oligofructose (HF-ST+O10) led to partial microbiota restoration, with normalization of the Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio as well as higher SCFA levels (P < 0.1). Moreover, agavins noticeably enriched Klebsiella and Citrobacter (LDA > 3.0); this enrichment has not been reported previously under a prebiotic treatment. In conclusion, agavins or oligofructose modulated cecal microbiota composition, reduced extent of diversity and increased SCFA. Furthermore, identification of bacteria enriched by agavins, opens opportunities to explore new probiotics.

With the widespread use of new equipment such as distributed photovoltaics, distributed energy storage, electric vehicles, and distributed wind power, the control of low-voltage distribution networks (LVDNs) has become increasingly complex. Acquiring the most recent topological structure is essential for conducting accurate analysis and real-time control of LVDNs. The signal-injection-based topology identification algorithm is favored for its speed and efficiency. This study proposes a new signal-injection-based topology identification algorithm aimed at solving the issues of reduced completeness and correctness of identification caused by missing feature signal records (FSRs). By analyzing the correlations between FSRs of different positions, the algorithm employs vertical and horizontal completion methods to effectively address missing data, combined with inclusion detection algorithms, to identify the topology of LVDNs. Based on the study of actual LVDN data, the results indicate that the algorithm not only significantly improves the completeness and correctness of topology identification for LVDNs but can also increase the number of devices in operation by evaluating the status of topological equipment, further enhancing the topology identification performance.

In the process of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the focus on climate risk driven by transition innovations has received widespread attention from governments, regulators, and investors. Based on the identification of low-carbon patents through the Green and Low-carbon Technology Inventory in China, this study constructs low-carbon innovation measurements of listed firms in China from 2015 to 2021. Then, an empirical model is used to investigate the impact and mechanism of climate transition innovations on the default risk. The baseline regression model shows that low-carbon innovations can mitigate the default risk of listed firms. Moreover, our findings are supported by instrumental variable regressions that use the time costs of innovation. Finally, the mediation effect demonstrates that investor attention, total factor productivity, and technology spillovers are paths through which transition innovations can affect the default risk. This study reveals that low-carbon technological advances have a positive effect on climate transition risks.

This review provides a comprehensive and updated information on chalcones, presenting their sources, methods of identification and properties putting emphasis on applications in agricultural industry. Vast exploitation of synthetic pesticides led to the weed and pest resistance issue, causing economic loss but more importantly health risk due to pesticide overuse. Because one of the aim of the European Green Deal 2030 is the Farm to Fork strategy which targets on reducing by 50% the use of chemical pesticides by 2030, and push towards natural pesticides which are more environmentally friendly and restore natural resources, chalcones and their derivatives seem to fit perfectly. They have herbicidal, fungicidal, bactericidal and antiviral properties. Moreover, chalcones are naturally occurring substances, known for their favorable health effect for years, working on many areas. This review is complementary to the previous ones describing chalcones use in agriculture, updates them but additionally shows methods of detection.

Public housing stock, called Social Housing, in Italy developed between the 1950s and the 1980s. As of today, the first residential developments are almost nearing their end-of-life age, in need of urgent and intensive renovation. The European Commission, with the Renovation Wave, has set a goal of doubling the rate of building renovation over the next 10 years, reducing emissions, improving energy performance, and promoting decarburization. Renovation interventions, including structural, functional, energy, plant upgrading, etc., are to be preferred over integral demolition and reconstruction interventions, which have significant repercussions in terms of managerial and social discomfort. The case studies examined concern renovation interventions aimed at energy efficiency, functional adaptation of housing as well as facade restyling. The design variants analyzed were evaluated in terms of CO2e emissions, according to LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) and EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) approaches. This approach has a twofold purpose: to propose design guidelines, with low CO2e emissions, through hypotheses of variants to the case studies, and to propose, to the Economic Operators, economically advantageous bidding scenarios, in the procurement process.

For the last two decades, an increasing demand for low-cost adsorbents for drinking water treatment has been challenged in the rural areas of developing countries that have problems with arsenic (As) contamination. In this work, spent bleaching earth (SBE), a residual material that is formed during the process of refining vegetable oil, has been utilized to prepare the new magnetic adsorbent Fe-SBE/C by modifying its surface area through calcination and co-precipitation with iron. The experimental results demonstrate that Fe-SBE/C exhibits a substantial adsorption capacity towards both arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)). Optimal pH conditions were found to be pH 10 for As(III) and pH 3 for As(V), resulting in adsorption percentages of 76.7% and 94.1%, respectively. Other experimental parameters such as calcination conditions, adsorbent dosage, iron-loading ratio, and the presence of co-existing ions were thoroughly investigated. The kinetic study revealed that the adsorption processes follow the Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models, suggesting a combined adsorption mechanism of boundary layer control and chemisorption. Furthermore, the isotherm followed the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 202.61 μg g-1 for As(III) and 187.61 μg g-1 for As(V). Through thermodynamic analysis and reinforcement by activation energy data, this research validates that the observed adsorption process is indicative through chemisorption. The regeneration study revealed the potential for multiple cycles of arsenic removal, highlighting the practical applicability of Fe-SBE/C in environmental contexts. In conclusion, the findings of this study underscore the efficacy of Fe-SBE/C in arsenic removal and present it as a promising and environmentally friendly solution for mitigating arsenic pollution.

Background. Implementing mammogram screening means that clinicians are seeing many breast cancers that will never develop metastases. The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of breast cancer patients who did not present events related to long-term breast cancer mortality, taking into account diagnosis at breast screening, absence of palpability and axillary involvement, and genomic analysis with PAM50. Patients and Methods. To identify them, a retrospective observational study was carried out selecting patients without palpable tumour, without axillary involvement, and a genomic analysis was performed with PAM50. Results. The probability of distant metastasis-free interval (DMFI) of 337 patients was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.90-0.93) at 20 years and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.92-1.00) in 95 patients (28%) with available PAM50 tests. In 22 (23.15%) luminal A tumours and in 9 (9.47%) luminal B tumours smaller than 1 cm and in HER2 and basal type tumours there were no metastatic events (20-year DMFI of 1.00). Conclusion. Patients with nonpalpable breast cancer found at screening with negative nodes are at very low risk. It is possible to identify subgroups without metastatic events by determining the intrinsic subtype and tumour size less than 1 cm. De-escalation of treatment should be considered.

This paper is an extended version of a previously reported conference paper regarding low power design for NAND Flash. As the number of bits per NAND Flash die increases with cost scaling, IO datapath speed increases to minimize the page access time with scaled CMOS in IOs. The power supply for IO buffers, namely VDDQ, has decreased from 3V to 1.2V, accordingly. In this paper, how a reduction in VDDQ can contribute to power reduction in BL path is discussed and validated. Conventionally, BL voltage of about 0.5V has been supplied from a supply voltage source (VDD) of 3V. BL path power can be reduced by a factor of VDDQ to VDD when BL voltage is supplied from VDDQ. To maintain a sense margin at sense amplifiers, the supply source for BLs is switched from VDDQ to VDD before sensing. As a result, power reduction and equivalent sense margin can be realized at the same time. The overhead of implementing this operation is an increase in BL access time of about 2% for switching the power supply from VDDQ to VDD and an increase in die size of about 0.01% for adding the switching circuit, both of which are not significant in comparison with a significant power reduction in BL path power of NAND die of about 60%. The BL path was designed in 180nm CMOS to validate the design. When the cost for powering SSD becomes quite significant especially for data center, an additional lower voltage supply such as 0.8V dedicated to BL charging for read and program verify operations may be the best option for the future.

forging a resilient path towards a low carbon future, this research delves deep into the intricate dynamics of the petroleum and petrochemical industries. By uncovering the challenges posed by transitioning to a low carbon economy, this study emphasizes their transformative potential as catalysts for growth. Through an in-depth analysis of the oil and natural gas sector, it not only sheds light on the carbon footprint of Nigeria's petroleum and petrochemical industries but also identifies the opportunities for sustainable transformation within these sectors. Ultimately, this research aims to pave the way for a greener future by unraveling the complexities and intricacies of building a low carbon economy."By incorporating the unique attributes of the petroleum and petrochemical industries and considering the evolving domestic and global context, this research investigates the challenges and prospects associated with the shift towards a low-carbon economy. It delves deep into the complexities of the sector, taking into consideration the distinct characteristics of petroleum and petrochemical production. Through a comprehensive analysis, this study aims to uncover the potential barriers and opportunities that arise from the pursuit of a sustainable and low-carbon future within the petroleum and petrochemical industries. In addition, this research thoroughly examines the current global and local conditions, shedding light on the opportunities for growth and transformation within the petroleum and petrochemical sectors. By presenting insightful perspectives and recommendations, the study aims to provide valuable guidance for fostering the development of a low-carbon economy within these industries. Ultimately, the research seeks to drive positive change by offering actionable insights and strategies to propel the transition towards a sustainable future.

Background. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the intensity and frequency of low back pain (LBP) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and the patient's knowledge of physiotherapeutic methods of combating. Methods. In this study, patients with confirmed multiple sclerosis were selected. The study was carried out using an original survey questionnaire and a numerical pain intensity scale (Visual Analogue Scale). PwMS were divided into 3 age groups: 18-30 years, 31-50 years, and over 50 years. Results. Ninety PwMS (68 women and 22 men) aged 18 to 60 years were included in the study. The mean duration of the disease was 9.5±4.9 years, and the mean EDSS was 3.5±1.6. Most of the patients had a relapse-remitting form. 68.9% of PwMS felt lower back pain (n = 62). The relationship tested was statistically significant (p=0.0000012), and the strength of the relationship was high (rc=0.695). The average level of low back pain among PwMS was 4.7 out of 10 on the VAS scale. The prevalence of LBP was higher in female patients (p<0.001), with a secondary progressive form (p<0.001) and with a longer duration of the disease (p=0.023). The most widely used methods of LBP therapy were kinesitherapy and manual therapy. Conclusions. LBP is common in multiple sclerosis. A female sex, a secondary progressive form of MS, and a longer duration of the disease increased the risk of LBP. It is important to implement properly planned physiotherapy activities and educate patients on how to combat LBP.

Camera malfunctions or loss of storage elements in imaging devices may lead to loss of important image information or random impulse noise interference. Low rank is one of the important prior information in image optimization processing. This paper uses different low-rank constraint models of the image matrices to recover the impulse interference satellite images. Firstly, an overview of image inpainting models based on nuclear norm, truncated nuclear norm, weighted nuclear norm, and matrix-factorization-based F-norm is presented, and corresponding optimiza-tion iterative algorithms are provided. Then, we conducted experiments under three types of pulse interference and provided visual and numerical results. Finally, it is concluded that the WSVT_ADMM method based on the weighted nuclear norm can obtain the best image inpainting results; The UV_ADMM method based on F norm of matrix factorization has the least computa-tion time and can be used for large-scale low-rank matrix computation; The WSVT_ADMM method based on weighted nuclear norm and the TSVT_ ADMM method based on truncated nuclear norms can significantly improve the repair effect compared to the nuclear norm-based methods such as SVT, SVP, and n_ADMM.

In the context of post-harvest pest management in agricultural products, the adoption of modified atmospheres presents an eco-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides. This study focuses on nitrogen gas as a potential agent for insect control in stored commodities, utilizing computational simulations to investigate its penetration and distribution within two common storage configurations: chamber-contained pallets and silos. By employing the convection-diffusion equation, the simulations reveal insights into nitrogen distribution dynamics and duration required for oxygen reduction. The results highlight the influence of boundary conditions, commodity porosity, and convection effects on nitrogen dispersion. In chamber scenarios, boundary condition type significantly affects oxygen reduction time, while in silos, convection and diffusion interact to establish a consistent diffusion layer thickness. This research enhances the understanding of modified atmosphere techniques and their potential for sustainable pest management. It provides practitioners with valuable quantitative insights, paving the way for optimized modified atmosphere strategies in real-world agricultural contexts.

A Gem-quality rubies and sapphires are often commercially heat treated at about 800°C or higher temperatures to enhance their colour and clarity, and hence quality. For this study, selected corundum samples containing diaspore- and goethite inclusions were heated step-by-step to a maximum of 1000 °C with the aim to monitor the dehydration and phase transformation of these oxyhydroxides to corundum and hematite during heating. Based on our experiments and in agreement with literature, the dehydration of diaspore in corundum occurs between 525 to 550 °C, whereas goethite transforms to hematite already between 300 and 325 °C. As both, diaspore and goethite are common inclusions in rubies, sapphires, and other corundum varieties, these dehydration reactions and phase transformations can be considered important criteria to separate unheated stones from heated ones, specifically in cases in which other methods (e.g. microscopy, FTIR) are unsuccessful.