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Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion is an important pathological factor in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). One of the most used animal models for chronic cerebral hypoperfusion is the bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) mouse. For the therapy of CSVD and other diseases, it will be beneficial to understand the pathological alterations of the BCAS mouse, particularly vascular pathological changes. A mouse model of BCAS was used, and 8 weeks later, cognitive function of the mice was examined by using novel object recognition test and eight-arm radial maze test. 11.7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and luxol fast blue staining were used to evaluate the injury of the corpus callosum (CC), anterior commissure (AC), internal capsule (IC), and optic tract (Opt) in the cerebral white matter of mice. Three-dimensional vascular images of the whole brain of mice were acquired using fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography (fMOST) with a high resolution of 0.32 × 0.32 × 1.00 μm3. Then, the damaged white matter regions were further extracted to analyze the vessel length density, volume fraction, tortuosity, and the number of vessels of different internal diameters. The mouse cerebral caudal rhinal vein was also extracted and analyzed for its branch number and divergent angle in this study. BCAS modeling for 8 weeks resulted in impaired spatial working memory, reduced brain white matter integrity, and myelin degradation in mice, and CC showed the most severe white matter damage. 3D revascularization of the whole mouse brain showed that the number of large vessels was reduced and the number of small vessels was increased in BCAS mice. Further analysis revealed that the vessel length density and volume fraction in the damaged white matter region of BCAS mice were significantly reduced, and the vascular lesions were most noticeable in the CC. At the same time, the number of small vessels in the above white matter regions was significantly reduced, while the number of microvessels was significantly increased in BCAS mice, and the vascular tortuosity was also significantly increased. In addition, the analysis of caudal rhinal vein extraction revealed that the number of branches and the average divergent angle in BCAS mice were significantly reduced. The BCAS modeling for 8 weeks will lead to vascular lesions in whole brain of mice, and the caudal nasal vein was also damaged, while BCAS mice mainly mitigated the damages by increasing microvessels. What is more, the vascular lesions in white matter of mouse brain can cause white matter damage and spatial working memory deficit. These results provide evidence for the vascular pathological alterations caused by chronic hypoperfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent conductive films that are based on nanowire networks are essential to construct flexible, wearable, and even stretchable electronics. However, large-scale precise micropatterning, especially with regard to the controllability of the organizing orientation of nanowires, is a critical challenge. Herein, we proposed a liquid film rupture self-assembly approach for manufacturing transparent conductive films with microstructure arrays based on a highly ordered nanowire network. The large-scale microstructure conductive films were fabricated through air–liquid interface self-assembly and liquid film rupture self-assembly. Six typical micropattern morphologies, including square, hexagon, circle, serpentine, etc., were prepared to reveal the universal applicability of the proposed approach. The homogeneity and controllability of this approach were verified for multiple assemblies. With the assembly cycles increasing, the optical transmittance decreases slightly. In addition, theoretical model analysis is carried out, and the analytical formula of the speed of the film moving with the surface tension and the density of the liquid film is presented. Finally, the feasibility of this approach for piezoresistive strain sensors is verified. This fabrication approach demonstrated a cost-effective and efficient method for precisely arranging nanowires, which is useful in transparent and wearable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the willingness of highway construction enterprises in China to adopt intelligent construction technology. Based on the existing literature, a TOSE framework was proposed, and four dimensions and 15 hypothesized influencing factors were identified through expert interviews. By using a combination of PLS-SEM and ANN, 513 survey data were analyzed to determine the linear and non-linear relationships of the influencing factors on the willingness to adopt. The results showed that all 14 hypothesized factors had varying degrees of positive or negative effects on the willingness to adopt, except for organizational culture, which was found to have no significant impact. Specifically, technology cost was found to be the most influential negative factor, while market demand and organizational structure were the most influential positive factors. The findings of this study have important reference value for decision makers and participants in highway construction enterprises, as well as other construction companies when considering the adoption of smart construction technologies. The originality of this research lies in the novel application of the TOSE framework to investigate smart construction technology adoption, and the combined use of PLS-SEM and ANN to examine both linear and nonlinear relationships between variables for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apart from cancer, metabolic reprogramming is also prevalent in other diseases, such as bacterial infections. Bacterial infections can affect a variety of cells, tissues, organs, and bodies, leading to a series of clinical diseases. Common Pathogenic bacteria include Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella enterica, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, and so on. Amino acids are important and essential nutrients in bacterial physiology and support not only their proliferation but also their evasion of host immune defenses. Many pathogenic bacteria or opportunistic pathogens infect the host and lead to significant changes in metabolites, especially the proteinogenic amino acids, to inhibit the host's immune mechanism to achieve its immune evasion and pathogenicity. Here, we review the regulation of host metabolism, while host cells are infected by some common pathogenic bacteria, and discuss how amino acids of metabolic reprogramming affect bacterial infections, revealing the potential adjunctive application of amino acids alongside antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless sensor network nodes are widely used in wearable devices, consumer electronics, and industrial electronics and are a crucial component of the Internet of Things (IoT). Recently, advanced power technology with sustainable energy supply and pollution-free characteristics has become a popular research focus. Herein, to realize an unattended and reliable power supply unit suitable for distributed IoT systems, we develop a high-performance triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid nanogenerator (TEHNG) to harvest mechanical energy. The TEHNG achieves a high load power of 21.8 mW by implementing improvements of material optimization, configuration optimization and pyramid microstructure design. To realize a self-powered integrated microsystem, a power management module, energy storage module, sensing signal processing module, and microcontroller unit are integrated into the TEHNG. Furthermore, an all-in-one wireless multisensing microsystem comprising the TEHNG, the abovementioned integrated functional circuit and three sensors (temperature, pressure, and ultraviolet) is built. The milliwatt microsystem operates continuously with the TEHNG as the only power supply, achieving self-powered operations of sensing environmental variables and transmitting wireless data to a terminal in real time. This shows tremendous application potential in the IoT field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the promising human—machine interfaces, wearable sensors play an important role in modern society, which advances the development of wearable fields, especially in the promising applications of electronic skin (e-skin), robotics, prosthetics, and healthcare. In the last decades, wearable sensors tend to be capable of attractive capabilities such as miniaturization, multifunction, and smart integration, and wearable properties such as lightweight, flexibility, stretchability, and conformability for wider applications. In this work, we developed a stretchable multifunctional sensor based on porous silver nanowire/silicone rubber conductive film (P-AgNW/SR). Its unique structural configuration, i.e., an assembly of the P-AgNW/SR with good conductivity, stability, and resistance response, and the insulated silicone rubber layer, provided the feasibility for realizing multiple sensing capabilities. Specifically, porous microstructures of the P-AgNW/SR made the device to be used for pressure sensing, exhibiting outstanding dynamic and static resistive responsive behaviors and having a maximum sensitivity of 9.062 %·N−1 in a continuous compressive force range of ∼ 16 N. With the merit of the good piezoresistive property of AgNW/SR networks embedded into the surface of micropores of the P-AgNW/SR, the device was verified to be a temperature sensor for detecting temperature changes in the human body and environment. The temperature sensor had good sensitivity of 0.844 %·°C−1, high linearity of 0.999 in the range of 25–125 °C, and remarkable dynamic stability. Besides, the developed sensor was demonstrated to be a single electrode-triboelectric sensor for active sensing, owing to the unique assembly of the conductive P-AgNW/SR electrode and the silicone rubber friction layer. Based on the coupling effect of the triboelectrification and electrostatic induction, the generated electrical signals could be used to sense the human motions, according to the quantitative correlation between the human motions and the features in amplitude and waveform of the output signals. Thus, the developed stretchable sensor successfully achieved the integration of two types of passive sensing capabilities, i.e., pressure and temperature sensing, and one type of active sensing capability, i.e., triboelectric sensing, demonstrating the feasibility of monitoring multiple variables of the human body and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable electronics, as essential components of the Internet of Things (IoT), have attracted widespread attention, and the trend is to configure attractive wearable smart microsystems by integrating sensing, powering, and other functions. Herein, we developed an elastic hybrid triboelectric–electromagnetic microenergy harvester (named EHTE) to realize hybrid sensing and microenergy simultaneously. This EHTE is a highly integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and electromagnetic nanogenerator (EMG). Based on the triboelectric–electromagnetic hybrid mechanism, an enhanced electrical output of the EHTE was achieved successfully, which demonstrates the feasibility of the EHTE for microelectronics powering. Moreover, with the merits of the EMG, the developed hybrid microenergy harvester integrated both active frequency sensing and passive inductive sensing capabilities. Specifically, the almost linear correlation of the electromagnetic outputs to the frequencies of the external stimulus endowed the proposed EHTE with an outstanding active frequency sensing ability. In addition, due to the unique structural configuration of the EMG (i.e., a conductive permanent magnet (PM), hybrid deformation layer, and flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) coil), an opportunity was provided for the developed EHTE to serve as a passive inductive sensor based on the eddy current effect (i.e., a form of electromagnetic induction). Therefore, the developed EHTE successfully achieved the integration of hybrid sensing (i.e., active frequency sensing and passive inductive sensing) and microenergy (i.e., the combination of electromagnetic effect and triboelectric effect) within a single device, which demonstrates the potential of this newly developed EHTE for wearable electronic applications, especially in applications of compact active microsystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High tumor mutation load (TMB-H, or TMB ≥ 10) has been approved by the U.S. FDA as a biomarker for pembrolizumab treatment of solid tumors, including non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with cancer who have immunotherapy-resistant gene mutations cannot achieve clinical benefits even in TMB-H. In this study, we aimed to identify gene mutations associated with immunotherapy resistance and further informed mechanisms in NSCLC. A combined cohort of 350 immune checkpoint blockade-treated patients from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) was used to identify genes whose mutations could negatively influence immunotherapy efficacy. An external NSCLC cohort for which profession-free survival (PFS) data were available was used for independent validation. CIBERSORT algorithms were used to characterize tumor immune infiltrating patterns. Immunogenomic features were analysed in the TCGA NSCLC cohort. We observed that PBRM1 mutations independently and negatively influence immunotherapy efficacy. Survival analysis showed that the overall survival (OS) and PFS of patients with PBRM1 mutations (MT) were significantly shorter than the wild type (WT). Moreover, compared with PBRM1-WT/TMB-H group, OS was worse in the PBRM1-MT/TMB-H group. Notably, in patients with TMB-H/PBRM1-MT, it was equal to that in the low-TMB group. The CIBERSORT algorithm further confirmed that the immune infiltration abundance of CD8+ T cells and activated CD4+ memory T was significantly lower in the MT group. Immunogenomic differences were observed in terms of immune signatures, T-cell receptor repertoire, and immune-related genes between WT and MT groups. Nevertheless, we noticed an inverse relationship, given that MT tumors had a higher TMB than the WT group in MSKCC and TCGA cohort. In conclusion, our study revealed that NSCLC with PBRM1 mutation might be an immunologically cold phenotype and exhibited immunotherapy resistance. NSCLC with PBRM1 mutation might be misclassified as immunoresponsive based on TMB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic radicals, which have unique doublet spin-configuration, provide an alternative method to overcome the efficiency limitation of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on conventional fluorescent organic molecules. Further, they have made great breakthroughs in deep-red and near-infrared OLEDs. However, it is difficult to extend their fluorescence into a short-wavelength region because of the natural narrow bandgap of the organic radicals. Herein, we significantly expand the scope of luminescent radicals by showing a new platform of carbon-centered radicals derived from N-heterocyclic carbenes that produce blue to green emissions (444–529 nm). Time-dependent density functional theory calculations and experimental investigations disclose that the fluorescence originates from the high-energy excited states to the ground state, demonstrating an anti-Kasha behavior. The present work provides an efficient and modular approach toward a library of carbon-centered radicals that feature anti-Kasha's rule emission, rendering them as potential new emitters in the short-wavelength region. Organic radicals, which have unique doublet spin-configuration, provide an alternative method to overcome the efficiency limitation of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) but extending their fluorescence into a short-wavelength region remains challenging. Here, the authors significantly expand the scope of luminescent radicals by showing a new platform of carbon-centered radicals that produce blue to green emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As lightweight materials, granulated rubber–weathered rock material (WRM) mixtures could be utilized as backfills in geosynthetics reinforcement structures to reduce deformations. However, the deformation behaviour of geosynthetics in granulated rubber–WRM mixtures is not clear. In this paper, pullout tests considering different normal pressures (30 kPa, 50 kPa and 100 kPa) and different granulated rubber contents (10%, 15% and 30%) are performed. Sensor-enable geobelts (SEGB) are employed, which can realize distributed measurements on the strains of SEGB inside soil. Two constitutive models—bilinear model and hyperbolic model are established based on tensile tests and direct shear tests to capture the full stress–strain curves and the interfacial shear responses, respectively, and are employed in the derivation of load transfer equation for pullout process. Numerical results of load transfer equation give distributions of tensile forces, strains, displacements and shear stresses. Test results validate the established constitutive models. Rubber content has an optimal value for the best geobelt–soil interaction. The deformations of geobelts in pullout process start from the front end, but decrease rapidly in soil. Under high normal pressures, the front part of geobelts exhibit quasi-plasticity. The shear stress distributes more uniformly under low normal pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Bridging studies are mandatory in the EU and USA if the reference biological product used in the biosimilar comparability exercise is foreign sourced. However, it has been argued that the duplication of bridging studies may limit biosimilar development. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore whether it is necessary to conduct pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) bridging studies for biosimilars. This study examines similarities and differences between EU- and US-licensed reference biological products, based on literature-reported PK and/or PD data. Methods: We searched PubMed, Drugs@FDA, and European Medicines Agency (EMA) databases to identify biosimilar bridging studies designed to evaluate similarities between EU- and US-licensed reference biological products. PK and/or PD parameters were retrieved; the ratio of the parameter value of the EU-licensed product to that of the US-licensed product and its corresponding 90% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Similarity was declared if the 90% CIs for the ratios of the PK or PD parameters were within the range of 80–125%. Results: Thirty-one bridging studies were identified for 11 biosimilars, including adalimumab (n = 10), bevacizumab (n = 4), epoetin alfa (n = 1), etanercept (n = 2), filgrastim (n = 1), infliximab (n = 3), insulin glargine (n = 1), insulin lispro (n = 1), PEGfilgrastim (n = 2), rituximab (n = 2), and trastuzumab (n = 4). Most studies showed PK and/or PD similarities between the EU- and US-licensed reference biological products. However, among the 31 studies, only three studies (accounting for two biologics, PEGfilgrastim and adalimumab) showed dissimilarity between the EU and US reference products. Although one bridging study on PEGfilgrastim (Sandoz) indicated dissimilar PKs (maximum observed plasma concentration [Cmax] and area under the concentration–time curve [AUC]) between the reference products, the other study (Mylan) demonstrated similar PK. Moreover, two of ten studies involving adalimumab failed to demonstrate similarities between the reference products. However, for both cases, PK similarities were later confirmed in the follow-up bridging studies with larger sample sizes. Conclusion: Our analysis reveals that, in most cases, the reference biological products originated from the EU and those from the USA are almost indistinguishable in terms of PK/PD properties. Additional in vivo bridging studies between reference products from different global regions may not be required if similar physicochemical and structural properties are evident in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are phospholipid membrane-enclosed entities containing specific proteins, RNA, miRNA, and lncRNA. EVs are released by various cells and play a vital role in cell communication by transferring their contents from the host cells to the recipient cells. The role of EVs has been characterized in a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological processes. In this context, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of the regulatory effects of EVs, with a focus on bone metabolism and the bone microenvironment. The roles of EVs in cell communication among bone-related cells, stem cells, tumor cells, and other cells under physiological or pathological conditions are also discussed. In addition, promising applications for EVs in treating bone-related diseases are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The adoption of a domestic reference product in bioequivalence (BE) studies for generic drug applications is required by some countries. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of this by investigating whether innovative products from different countries are bioequivalent. Methods: Data were collected from all generic drug applications received by the Taiwan regulatory authority 2012-2016. If a submission package contained BE studies, that generic product was compared separately with different reference products, and the resulting data included in this analysis. A method of adjusted indirect comparison was used to evaluate the BE of reference products from different sources. The relationship between in vitro dissolution and in vivo BE was also explored. Results: The present study included 10 drugs and a total of 11 comparisons. Seven comparisons for maximum concentration ( C ) (63.6%) and all comparisons (100.0%) for area under the curve up to last measurable time point (AUC) complied with the BE criterion. Similar in vitro dissolution profiles were observed in all comparisons. Among the comparisons that failed to demonstrate BE, only one was considered to be possibly related to product difference, with point estimates of indirect comparison for C significantly greater than unity (22%). Discordance between in vitro and in vivo observations was probably due to either drugs with highly variable properties or a lack of discriminatory dissolution testing method. Conclusions: Although this retrospective analysis only included a few drugs and product formulation types, i.e., immediate release, delayed release, and orally disintegrating tablet, these preliminary results suggest that using a foreign reference product in BE studies for generic drug applications could be a feasible approach, but with some restrictions: comparable dissolution profiles, same innovator company, same size, weight, and type of coating as the domestic reference product, etc. Further investigations for other complex formulations are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing is a next-generation strategy for genetic modifications. Typically, sgRNA is constitutively expressed relying on RNA polymerase III promoters. Polymerase II promoters initiate transcription in a flexible manner, but sgRNAs generated by RNA polymerase II promoter lost their nuclease activity. To express sgRNAs in a tissue-specific fashion and endow CRISPR with more versatile function, a novel system was established in a polycistron, where miRNAs (or shRNAs) and sgRNAs alternately emerged and co-expressed under the control of a single polymerase II promoter. Effective expression and further processing of functional miRNAs and sgRNAs were achieved. The redundant nucleotides adjacent to sgRNA were degraded, and 5′- cap structure was responsible for the compromised nuclease capacity of sgRNA: Cas9 complex. Furthermore, this strategy fulfilled conducting multiplex genome editing, as well as executing neural- specific genome editing and enhancing the proportion of homologous recombination via inhibiting NHEJ pathway by shRNA. In summary, we designed a new construction for efficient expression of sgRNAs with miRNAs (shRNAs) by virtue of RNA polymerase II promoters, which will spur the development of safer, more controllable/regulable and powerful CRISPR/Cas9 system-mediated genome editing in a wide variety of further biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three ternary copper(II) complexes [Cu(L)(phen)] ( 1), [Cu(L)(phen)] ( 2), and [Cu(L)(phen)] ·2HO ( 3) (L = 4-fluoro-2-(picolinamido)benzoic acid, L = 4,5-difluoro-2-(picolinamido)benzoic acid, L = 4,5-difluoro-2-((2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)benzoic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized and characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods. In addition, X-ray crystallography showed that the Cu atoms in each of the complexes are five-coordinate, adopting distorted square pyramidal or trigonal bipyramidal geometries. The interactions of the complexes with calf-thymus DNA were investigated by UV absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy and viscosity measurements. In addition, the complexes were screened for in vitro cytotoxicity against A549 (human pulmonary carcinoma cells), Jurkat (human T lymphocyte cell line) and HepG-2 (human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells); these experiments showed that complex 3 exhibited the most effective cytotoxicities (IC = 1.224-7.099 µM). Antibacterial studies revealed that complex 3 also exhibited highest activity, consistent with the DNA binding affinities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present experimental results on the formation of air bubbles in a non-Newtonian liquid. Flow-focusing technology with pressure-driven fluid pumping is used to demonstrate and study the bubble production process. The liquid phase consists of aqueous polyacrylamide at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.10 wt%. Additionally, the solution contains sodium lauryl sulfate, an anionic surfactant, at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.10 wt%. We report on bubble production with pressure ratios (dispersed/continuous phases) ranging from 0.6 to 0.9; the range spans from the minimum ratio required to produce bubbles to the pressure ratio required to produce an air jet. Within this range of pressure ratios, the bubbles lengths are polydisperse, a clear deviation from previous studies involving Newtonian continuous phase fluids. Although the continuous phase contains two additives, we deduce that the polymer is mainly responsible for this change in behavior from Newtonian fluids. The addition of surfactant though provides a means of manipulating this behavior for a certain range of polymer concentrations. We characterize the efficiency of the surfactant by performing a mass transport analysis using Schmidt ( Sc), Sherwood ( Sh), and Reynolds ( Re) numbers. Despite this observation, the average bubble lengths follow trends established for Newtonian fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength, fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth resistance of 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy plate with different thicknesses (35 mm and 160 mm) were investigated by means of optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The results show that thicker plate has lower strength and fracture toughness but higher fatigue crack growth resistance, by comparison to the thinner plate. The drop of strength is mainly attributed to grain coarsening in the thicker plate, and the increased degree of recrystallization results in the loss of K. However, the coarsened grains in the thicker plate make cracks deflected and closure effect enhanced due to surface roughness increased. For both of plates, in the fracture surface subjected plain strain, a transition from transgranular dimpled fracture to intergranular dimpled fracture is observed during the fracture process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pattern Time Delay Shift Coding (PDS) scheme is robust for underwater acoustic communication. The digital information are encoded in the time delay shift values of the Pattern, so the PDS scheme belongs to the Pulse Position Modulation (PPM). Several Patterns are selected for code division that the communication system could have a high ability to mitigate the inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by multipath channel. Four communication channels work on the same time divided by different frequency, which lead to 1000bits/s of the data rate of communication. The simulation experiments show that the PDS system could adapt to many underwater acoustic channels for high data rate and high reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of modern industry, sheet-metal parts in mass production have been widely applied in mechanical, communication, electronics, and light industries in recent decades; but the advances in sheet-metal part design and manufacturing remain too slow compared with the increasing importance of sheet-metal parts in modern industry. This paper proposes a method for automatically extracting features from an arbitrary solid model of sheet-metal parts; whose characteristics are used for classification and graph-based representation of the sheet-metal features to extract the features embodied in a sheet-metal part. The extracting feature process can be divided for valid checking of the model geometry, feature matching, and feature relationship. Since the extracted features include abundant geometry and engineering information, they will be effective for downstream application such as feature rebuilding and stamping process planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]