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Rehabilitation robots with intent recognition are helping people with dysfunction to enjoy better lives. Many rehabilitation robots with intent recognition have been developed by academic institutions and commercial companies. However, there is no systematic summary about the application of intent recognition in the field of rehabilitation robots. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the application of intent recognition in rehabilitation robots, analyze the current status of their research, and provide cutting-edge research directions for colleagues. Literature searches were conducted on Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Medline. Search terms included "rehabilitation robot", "intent recognition", "exoskeleton", "prosthesis", "surface electromyography (sEMG)" and "electroencephalogram (EEG)". References listed in relevant literature were further screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. In this field, most studies have recognized movement intent by kinematic, sEMG, and EEG signals. However, in practical studies, the development of intent recognition in rehabilitation robots is limited by the hysteresis of kinematic signals and the weak anti-interference ability of sEMG and EEG signals. Intent recognition has achieved a lot in the field of rehabilitation robotics but the key factors limiting its development are still timeliness and accuracy. In the future, intent recognition strategy with multi-sensor information fusion may be a good solution. As a technology, intent recognition can become a part of rehabilitation, assist patients to complete daily life activities, and improve their quality of life. Rehabilitation training equipment for treatment usually adopts a relatively stable prediction method, which aims to stimulate the enthusiasm of users to participate in training. Functionally enhanced rehabilitation aids have high requirements for the timeliness of movement intent recognition, and its purpose is to assist patients to complete activities of daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several parameters of widely used risk assessment tools for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have been linked to hemodynamic outcomes of balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA). Therefore, we aimed to determine whether these risk assessment tools could be used to predict hemodynamic outcomes following BPA. In this retrospective study, we included 139 patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who had undergone BPA at Center for Pulmonary Vascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (Beijing, China). We compared the accuracies of seven well-validated risk assessment tools for predicting hemodynamic outcomes following BPA. A favorable hemodynamic outcome was defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure < 30 mmHg at follow-up. The baseline risk profiles varied significantly among the risk assessment tools. The US Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-Term PAH Disease Management risk scales and the French risk assessment tools rated most patients as high-risk, while the Comparative, Prospective Registry of Newly Initiated Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension (COMPERA) series and laboratory examination-based risk scales categorized most patients as having intermediate-risk profile. COMPERA 2.0 (4-strata) exhibited the highest predictive power among all risk stratifications. Noninvasive risk stratification (COMPERA 2.0 [3-strata]) showed a comparable predictive ability to that of invasive risk stratification (COMPERA 1.0) (area under the curve 0.649 vs. 0.648). Moreover, incorporating diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide and tricuspid regurgitation velocity into COMPERA 2.0 (4-strata) further enhanced its predictive power (net reclassification index 0.153, 95% confidence interval 0.009–0.298, p = 0.038). Additionally, this refined COMPERA version had a high calibration accuracy (slope 0.96). Although the risk strata distribution varied among different risk assessment tools, the proportion of patients achieving favorable hemodynamics decreased with the escalation of risk stratification in most models. The well-validated risk assessment tools for PAH could also predict hemodynamic outcomes following BPA, and the refined COMPERA 2.0 model exhibited the highest predictive ability among these. Applying risk assessment tools before BPA can facilitate early identification of patients in need of closer monitoring and more intensive interventions, contributing to a better prognosis after BPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to investigate the relationship between the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) and bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis, and future fracture risk in elderly hypertensive patients. Elderly hypertensive patients (age ≥60 years) who attended our hospital between January 2021 and December 2023 and completed BMD screening were included in the study. Analyses were performed with multivariate logistic and linear regression. The multiple linear regression indicated that SIRI levels were significantly negatively correlated with lumbar 1 BMD (β = -0.15, 95% CI: −0.24, −0.05), lumbar 2 BMD (β = -0.15, 95% CI: −0.24, −0.05), lumbar 3 BMD (β = -1.35, 95% CI: −0.23, −0.02), lumbar 4 BMD (β = -0.11, 95% CI: −0.30, −0.10), femur neck BMD (β = -0.11, 95% CI: −0.18, −0.05) and Ward's triangle BMD (β = -0.12, 95% CI: −0.20, −0.05) among elderly hypertensive patients, after fully adjusting for confounders. Furthermore, we observed that SIRI was positively associated with future fracture risk in elderly hypertensive patients. Specifically, SIRI was associated with an increased risk of major osteoporotic fractures (β = 0.33) and hip fractures (β = 0.25). The logistic regression analysis indicated that there is an association between the SIRI level and an increased risk of osteoporosis (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.37, 1.87), after fully adjusting for confounders. Our findings indicate a potential association between SIRI and BMD, osteoporosis, and the risk of future fractures in elderly hypertensive patients. However, further studies are warranted to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the present study was to assess the beneficial effect of Lactobacillus plantarum GM11 (LacP GM11), screened from Sichuan traditional fermented food, in depressive rats induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Male SPF SD rats were randomly assigned to 3 groups: the control group, CUMS group and CUMS + LacP GM11 group (n = 10). The rats in the CUMS and LacP GM11 groups received CUMS stimulation for 42 d. The behavioral tests and levels of monoamine neurotransmitter, glucocorticoid hormone and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the serum and hippocampus were measured. The effects of LacP GM11 on the mRNA and protein expression of BDNF and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the hippocampus were also investigated. After supplementation for 21 d, LacP GM11 was associated with alleviation of depressive-like behavior, not anxiety-like behavior, in depressive rats. LacP GM11 increased the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and BDNF and decreased the level of cortisol (CORT) in the serum and hippocampus in depressed rats. In addition, treatment with LacP GM11 also increased the mRNA and protein expression of BDNF and CREB in the hippocampus. This work has revealed that LacP GM11 has potential beneficial effects on depression. This effect might be related to alleviating monoamine neurotransmitter deficiency, HPA axis hyperfunction and CREB-BDNF signaling pathway downregulation. This study demonstrates that LacP GM11 could be a potential therapeutic approach to treat depression and other mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly reshaped people's language behaviour on social media and may beget varying interactive possibilities in the online environment. From a perspective of the virtual linguistic landscape, this enquiry looks into the dynamic and multilingual nature of the geotagged social media content by situating this issue in the context of the pandemic. An additional aim is to explore in what way the pandemic has influenced the form of this linguistic landscape. To achieve these goals, the enquiry collects and analyses over 90,000 posts on Instagram from three sites in Dublin, Ireland, between 2019 and 2021, using a set of established computational approaches from the field of natural language processing as well as diversity indices from ecology. The results picture a dynamic mechanism of the virtual linguistic landscape in Dublin over the COVID-19 pandemic, in which linguistic richness and diversity were revealed. This richness and diversity, according to our analysis, were beset by the pandemic associated with a decrease in online activities at the research sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the role of linguistic soundscape in constructing city image. Previous studies paid inadequate attention to linguistic soundscape, an important branch of linguistic landscape. The authors applied the theory of City Identity System (CIS) and selected Shenzhen, the third wealthiest city in China, to discuss how linguistic soundscape in public space may shape people's perceptions of a city. The public address announcements in the major metro stations, airport, and ferry terminal of Shenzhen were recorded and analysed based on their language pattern, functions, and gender of voice. It was concluded that despite issues such as an imbalance between informative and symbolic functions, the linguistic soundscape of Shenzhen generally exhibited positive influence and promising potential in the construction of city image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymers, with various advantages including lightweight, low cost, flexibility and ease of processing, are popular choices for thermal management in flexible electronics, photovoltaics, fuel cells, etc. In this perspective, we review the recent progress of developing uniaxial thermally conductive polymers and three-dimensional polymers with high thermal conductivity, discuss new opportunities in applying machine learning methods to search for thermally conductive polymers, and finally point out current key challenges and future directions in simulations and experimental measurements. The useful insights in this perspective can guide the rational design of thermally conductive polymers for advanced thermal management. This paper delineates the advantages and recent progress of pristine polymers with high thermal conductivity and provides significant insights on future directions in the simulations and experimental measurements of thermally conductive pristine polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimodal is the prominent characteristic of Lamb waves, which means a variety of Lamb wave modes propagate in the structure and each of them has unique propagation behaviour. For a wideband multimodal Lamb wave signal, it is possible that many different modes share the same group velocity at some frequency points, while their dispersion behaviours change differently to thickness variation. In this study, the diversity and difference of the interaction between the corrosion and Lamb wave modes are investigated. On this basis, a corrosion index (CI) is established to evaluate the time gap between two modes at their identical group velocity points. The simulation results show that the CI value of a corroded path is obviously larger than that of a healthy path, indicating the presence of the damage, which is independent of any base-line signal. Furthermore, the new reconstruction algorithm for the probabilistic inspection of damage (RAPID) was proposed, where the signal difference coefficient was replaced by the CI to visualise damage location. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed multimodal Lamb wave baseline-free damage detection method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of enzymes that are essential in maintaining extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis, regulating inflammation and tissue remodeling. In chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), the overexpression of certain MMPs can contribute to chronic nasal tissue inflammation, ECM remodeling, and tissue repair. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the biological characteristics and functions of the MMP family, particularly focusing on the expression and activity of MMPs in patients with CRS, and delves into their role in the pathogenesis of CRS and their potential as therapeutic targets. MMPs are important in tissue remodeling and have been implicated in the pathophysiology of CRS. Previous studies have shown that the expression of MMPs is upregulated in the nasal mucosa of patients with CRS and positively correlates with the severity of CRS. However, there is still a large gap in the research content of MMP in CRS, and the specific expression and pathogenic mechanism of MMP still need to be clarified. The significance and value of the ratio of MMP to tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) in diseases still need to be demonstrated. Moreover, further studies are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of biologics that target MMPs in patients with CRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circumplex model posits a circular representation of affect and some personality traits. There is an increasing need to examine the viability of the circumplex model with multivariate time series data collected on the same individuals due to the development of new data collection methods such as smartphone applications and wearable sensors. Estimating the circumplex model with time series data is more complex than with cross-sectional data because scores at nearby time points tend to be correlated. We adapt Browne's circumplex model to accommodate time series data. We illustrate the proposed method with an empirical data set of daily affect ratings of an individual over 70 days. We conducted a simulation study to explore the statistical properties of the proposed method. The results show that the method provides more satisfactory confidence intervals and test statistics than a method that treats time series data as if they were cross-sectional data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrocotyle vulgaris is a perennial wetland clonal plant in the Araliaceae family, which was introduced to China as an ornamental plant in the 1990s. Although H. vulgaris is now considered a potential invasiveness species in China, it also plays a significant role in the remediation of water pollution. Here, we reported its complete chloroplast genome and analyzed the basic characteristics. The chloroplast genome was 153,165 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,072 bp separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region of 84,291 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,730 bp. The H. vulgaris chloroplast genome contained 132 predicted genes, and its overall GC content was 37.60%. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that H. vulgaris was closely related to H. verticillata. The H. vulgaris chloroplast genome presented in this study will lay a foundation for further genetic and genomic studies of the genus Hydrocotyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of ultrafast photoemission spectroscopy and photon engineering techniques in the study of quantum materials. These techniques allow scientists to observe the development of electronic band structures and their occupancy over time, providing insights into non-equilibrium characteristics. The National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Taiwan is working on enhancing time-resolved spectroscopic methodologies, including the development of a time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy system and a time-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy system. These systems aim to deepen our understanding of the electronic and dynamic characteristics of substances and their relationship with fundamental physical attributes. The article highlights the design and specifications of the Tr-ARPES setup, including the laser source, optics, and photon flux generation. The system offers high energy and temporal resolution, making it a powerful tool for studying quantum materials and driving innovation in various scientific and technological fields. [Extracted from the article]

Two new open-chain cytochalasins, xylarchalasins A and B (1 and 2), together with six known analogues (3-8), were isolated from the endophytic fungus Xylaria sp. GDGJ-77B from the Chinese medicinal plant Sophora tonkinensis. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic analysis. Compound 2 displayed moderate antibacterial activities against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli with MIC values of 25 and 12.5 μg/mL, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many observed that the rise of GenAI is causing an ‘erosion of trust’ between students and teachers in higher education. Such distrust mainly stems from concerns about student cheating, which is believed to be massively facilitated by recent technological breakthroughs in GenAI. Despite anecdotal discussions, little empirical research has explored students’ experiences with trust in the GenAI age. This study engaged university students in concept mapping activities followed by interviews to investigate how they navigate trust-building with teachers in this AI-mediated assessment landscape. The findings highlight an absence of ‘two-way transparency’ – while students are required to declare their AI use and even submit chat records, the same level of transparency is often not observed from the teachers (e.g. ambiguities around teachers’ grading process of AI-mediated work). The transparency issue reinforces teacher-student power imbalances and top-down surveillance mechanisms, resulting in a low-trust environment where students feel unsafe to freely explore GenAI use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the emergence of deep learning has improved the performance of automatic building extraction, there is still a long way to go before it can completely replace the labour-intensive manual delineation of building contours. To narrow the gap between building extraction results of deep learning methods and manual-level annotations, this paper introduces an interactive semantic segmentation framework that uses manual clicks as interactive information to guide the process of semantic segmentation towards the manual annotation level. In our framework, we first use an interactive semantic segmentation network for coarse building extraction from high resolution remote sensing images. Then, we use an optimization network to further refine the extraction results. We comprehensively compare the automatic deep learning methods, the proposed interactive building extraction framework, and the full manual delineation in practical experimental settings. First, our interactive method can significantly improve the performance of automatic building extraction. Second, by comparing the efficiency of manual annotation using the ArcGIS software and our interactive method, it is found that the proposed method can save more than half of the time. The above results show the potential of the interactive method in improving the efficiency of contour annotation and reducing the cost of manual annotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the literature shows that stricter environmental regulations deter exports and inward foreign direct investment (FDI), few studies examine the impacts on outward FDI, especially for developing countries. In this paper, we analyse this issue in the context of China, which is the largest developing country in terms of FDI. We collect the transaction-level data of all the overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by Chinese firms from 2000 to 2019. For the identification of the causal effect, we exploit the implementation of the Environmental Protection Law in 2015 as a quasi-natural experiment and carry out the difference-in-difference-in-differences analysis (DDD). The results show significant impacts of stricter environmental regulations on outward FDI. When the provincial emission reduction target increases by 10% points, the number of overseas M&A transactions in the high-polluting industries has increased by 32 every year since 2015. Moreover, the investments are more likely towards countries with better environmental protection. This suggests that firms aim at gaining cleaner technologies via M&As rather than transferring pollution abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of ammonium nitrate produced by ozone denitrification on the crystallisation of ammonium sulfate, a by-product of ammonia desulfurisation. The laser method was used to study the influence of ammonium nitrate on the solubility and metastable zone width of ammonium sulfate. An experiment on the influence of ammonium nitrate on the particle size of ammonium sulfate was designed, and the influence mechanism was explored through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The findings showed that the addition of ammonium nitrate increased the size and aspect ratio of ammonium sulfate crystals. The addition of ammonium nitrate inhibited the dissolution of ammonium sulfate and widened its metastable zone. The addition of ammonium nitrate covered the active sites of crystal nucleus growth, which inhibited the formation of crystal nuclei to a certain extent, and crystal growth dominated the crystallisation process. Moreover, the addition of ammonium nitrate induced the preferred orientation of the specific crystal plane of ammonium sulfate, and the addition of a small concentration of ammonium nitrate decreased the crystallinity of ammonium sulfate. The research results can provide a reference for crystallisation optimisation and quality improvement of ammonium sulfate in the ammonia desulfurisation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the catalytic activity of CuFe2O4 on PS, a nanoscale oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4 was prepared by hydrogenation reduction technique to construct an advanced oxidation system of electrochemical-enhanced nanoscale oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4-activated persulfate. Using Ebselen (EBS) as a model pollutant, the degradation efficiency, activation mechanism and degradation pathway were studied. The oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4 was characterized and analysed by FESEM, EDS and XPS. The results show that under the optimal reaction conditions (PS = 0.8 g/L, oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4 = 0.3 g/L, initial pH = 6.5), the removal rate of 20 mg/L EBS can reach 92% after reaction for 60 min, which proves that the formation of oxygen-vacancy changed the catalytic inertness of CuFe2O4 on PS. It is speculated that in the E/oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4/PS system, the existence of oxygen holes enhances the electron transfer ability and reducibility of the catalyst, so the oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4 can efficiently activate PS to degrade EBS. The quenching experiments show that both ${\rm SO}_4^{\cdot -}$ SO 4 ⋅ − and $\cdot {\rm OH}$ ⋅ OH are involved in the oxidation reaction as reactive radicals in the system, with ${\rm SO}_4^{\cdot -}$ SO 4 ⋅ − being the main reactive radical. In addition, both dissolved oxygen (DO) and anions in the solution inhibit the oxidative degradation of EBS by oxygen-vacancy CuFe2O4/PS system. Through GC-MS detection, a possible degradation pathway is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient removal of 2-Methylisoborneol (2-MIB), a typical odour component, in water treatment plants (WTPs), poses a great challenge to conventional water treatment technology due to its chemical stability. In this study, the combination of ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED) and chlorine (UV-LED/chlorine) was exploited for 2-MIB removal, and the role of ultraviolet (UV) wavelength was investigated systematically. The results showed that UV or chlorination alone did not degrade 2-MIB effectively, and the UV/chlorine process could degrade 2-MIB efficiently, following the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The 275 nm UV exhibited higher 2-MIB degradation efficiency in this UV-LED/chlorine system than 254 nm UV, 265 nm UV and 285 nm UV due to the highest mole adsorption coefficient and quantum yield of chlorine in 275 nm UV. ·OH and ·Cl produced in the 275 nm UV/chlorine system played major roles in 2-MIB degradation. HCO3− and Natural organic matter (NOM), prevalent in water, consumed ·OH and ·Cl, thus inhibiting the 2-MIB degradation by UV-LED/chlorine. In addition, NOM and 2-MIB could form a photonic competition effect. The degradation of 2-MIB by UV-LED/chlorine was done mainly through dehydration and demethylation, and odorous intermediates, such as camphor, were produced. 2-MIB was degraded through the α bond fracture and six-membered ring opening to form saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons and aldehydes. Four DBPs, chloroform (CF), trichloroacetaldehyde (TCE), trichloroacetone (TCP) and dichloroacetone (DCP), were mainly generated, and CF was the most significant by-product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the effects of HSP90 on rotavirus (RV) replication. Materials & methods: The interaction between NSP2 and HSP90 was analyzed by immunoprecipitation assay, and co-localization confirmed by an immunofluorescence assay. The viral titer was measured by immunofluorescence assay and viral protein expression investigated by western blotting. Results: The interaction between NSP2 and HSP90 was confirmed. Knockdown of HSP90 using siRNA resulted in a decrease in NSP2 expression and virus titer. HSP90 inhibitor 17-AAG significantly decreased NSP2 and NSP5 expression, as well as the virus titer, while proteasome inhibitor MG132 restored the protein amount and the viral titer. Conclusion: HSP90 is involved in rotavirus replication, and inhibition of HSP90 promotes the degradation of NSP2 through the proteasome pathway. Rotavirus is a type of virus that causes severe diarrhea, especially in children. The virus infects the cell in our bodies. These cells have proteins which carry out important functions and can help the growth of the virus. One of these proteins, called HSP90, interacts with a protein of the virus, called NSP2. After infection, these proteins move to the same place within the cell. Decreasing the level of HSP90 also decreases the level of NSP2, slowing the growth of the virus. Understanding how HSP90 and NSP2 work will help to develop new drugs to treat rotavirus infection. Article highlights Background Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) appears to play an essential role in viral replication, but little is known regarding the role of HSP90 in rotavirus (RV) infection. Methods RV laboratory strain SA11 was used in this study. Virus titers were measured by Fluorescent formation units assay and viral protein expression checked by WB. The interaction of HSP90 and NSP2 was confirmed by immunoprecipitation (IP) and confocal laser microscope. siRNA used to knockdown the expression of HSP90 and HSP90 activity was inhibited. Results The HSP90 inhibition resulted in decreased RV replication. Knockdown of HSP90 by siRNA decreased RV protein levels and virus replication. HSP90 interacted with virus protein NSP2. Inhibition of the proteasome pathway decreased viral protein degradation. Conclusion HSP90 was used by RV to facilitate virus replication by chaperoning viral proteins and preventing their degradation via the proteasome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study explores changes in viral and host gene expressions during Epstein–Barr virus lytic reactivation, establishing a bioinformatics foundation for understanding the pathogenesis of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and identifying potential therapeutic targets. Methods: We used the data set GSE141220 to assess differentially expressed genes. Subsequent analyses included Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment. Hub genes were identified using Cytoscape. Results: Viral gene expression exhibited significant alterations 24 h after treatment with Sodium butyrate (NaB). Upregulated host genes mainly related to the PI3K-Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. Conclusion: Epstein–Barr virus lytic reactivation is likely to involve the activation of the PI3K-Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. Hub genes may serve as therapeutic targets for BL. Our study looks at a severe disease known as Burkitt's lymphoma that is linked to a virus called Epstein–Barr Virus. We looked at the genetic makeup of the virus to explore changes that may show why the virus becomes active after a period of inactivity. We hope this will help to identify new ways to diagnose and treat Burkitt's lymphoma. Article highlights Background Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is closely linked to Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), with the lytic phase of EBV also potentially playing a crucial role in tumorigenesis. This study explores changes in viral and host gene expression during EBV lytic reactivation to understand BL pathogenesis and identify therapeutic targets. Methods Utilized GSE141220 data set to analyze the changes in virus and their host genes in HH514-16 cell line treated with NaB. Conducted Gene ontology (GO) functional annotation and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. Identified hub genes using Cytoscape software. Results Viral gene expression was significantly altered 24 h after NaB treatment, with upregulated host genes associated with PI3K-Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. Latency genes showed minor changes, while lytic genes exhibited significant increases after 24 and 48 h of NaB treatment. Discussion EBV lytic reactivation impacts both viral and host gene expression, with potential implications for BL pathogenesis. Identification of hub genes such as STAT1, EGF and EGFR suggests promising targets for BL therapy. Limitations include the need for broader cell line inclusion and increased sample replicates for improved reliability. Conclusion EBV lytic reactivation may be associated with the activation of the PI3K-Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. STAT1, EGFR, EGF and other hub genes may serve as potential targets for the diagnosis and therapy of BL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sketching is a common way to depict design ideas freely. Augmented reality technology extends the human–computer interaction space from the screen to the real world, providing a new application space for 3D sketching. However, due to the difficulty of depth perception, it is difficult for sketching strokes to maintain good planar and spatial consistency, making drawing 3D sketches in AR challenging. In this article, we propose FMASketch—a method of drawing mid-air sketches similar to building blocks. The auxiliary surfaces can ensure that the strokes drawn by users can always stay on the same plane as drawing in 2D space. Gestures are used to stitch together multiple drawing planes, and the strokes on the planes form a 3D sketch, which is very similar to how 3D modeling is done on the desktop by drawing different views and assembling them. Experiments have verified the effectiveness of the auxiliary surface generation method and gesture operations in this article. The mid-air sketching method is easy to learn and provides a new idea for rapid modeling in AR scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pour point depressant (PPD) is a crucial addition in the petroleum industry which can significantly enhance the flow properties of crude oil by preventing wax from precipitating out of it. The flow assurance effect of PPD on crude oil is impacted by its molecular structure. As a result, we concentrate on the PPD with various molecular structures, such as carboxyl and benzene rings, to investigate its impact on the flow behavior of crude oil. Then, FTIR and contact angle test were used to describe the characteristics of PPD (SAF-n and SAFS-m). The Karamay crude oil was tested using the following items: pour point, rheology, viscosity, viscoelasticity, and POM. When the crude oil was treated with 1000 ppm SAFS-1, the pour point decreased from 12 to −14 °C and the viscosity decreased from 40.1 to 6.3 pa·s at 0 °C. Meanwhile, the results show that the more variety polar groups PPD has, the more its dispersion increases and the stronger its interactions with crude oil are when its molar ratio of non-polar groups are suitable. These effects may be caused by the PPD changing the crystallization characteristics of wax and the aggregate state of resin and asphalt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gas extraction method by buried pipes in closed connection roadways of goaf was proposed. It was intended to solve large gas emission quantity and over-limit gas concentration at the upper corner in the goaf of highly gassy mine. The study object was 81307 fully mechanized mining face in Baode Coal Mine. The gas distribution characteristics in the goaf during no extraction and those during gas extraction by buried pipes under different extraction parameters were numerically simulated via COMSOL Multiphysics, and the best layout parameters of buried pipes in the goaf were determined. A field optimization experiment was carried out for the extraction parameters. Results showed that the extraction measure by buried pipes could effectively solve the aforementioned over-limit gas concentration at the upper corner when the layout spacing of closed connection roadways was 100 m, extraction pressure was −32 kPa, diameter of extraction pipe was 800 mm, and extraction flow was 600 m3/min. During the experiment, the average gas concentration at the upper corner was 0.38% and that in the return airway was 0.29%. Both of which were lower than the national safety standard, thus reaching the goal of safety production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackground and objective: Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) for somatoform disorders (SFDs) is understudied in China. Western findings may not be applicable to Chinese culture. This preliminary study evaluated the efficacy of CBT for patients in China, relative to treatment-as-usual (TAU). Methods: Seventy patients with SFDs randomly received either combined CBT and TAU (CBT + TAU), or TAU alone between January 2018 to May 2019. The CBT + TAU group received 12 weekly individual 50-minute CBT sessions. Participants were blindly assessed at 4 timepoints (baseline, week 6, end of treatment: week 12; 12 weeks post-treatment: week 24) using the following outcome measures: SQSS (Self-screening Questionnaire for Somatic Symptoms); PHQ-15 (Patient-Health-Questionnaire-15) and the WI (Whiteley Index); GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7); HAMD-17 (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17); Family Burden Interview Schedule (FBIS); Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS); and the Short Form of Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q-SF). The primary endpoint was the difference between the SQSS total score at week 24 and the baseline. A mixed model for repeated measures was used to analyze inter- and intra-group changes from the baseline. Results: At week 24, The least-squares mean (LSM) change of the total score on the SQSS was −18.87 points and −9.69 points, respectively in the CBT + TAU group and in the TAU group (LSM difference, −9.18 points; 95% confidence interval, −15.72 to −2.64; P = 0.0068). At week 24, the LSM changes from baseline in the WI, HAMD, PHQ15, FBIS and SDS total scores were significantly different between the two groups, however, there was no significant difference in the Q-LES-Q-SF. The SQSS of group effect sizes were 0.63 at 24 weeks. The dropout rates of the CBT + TAU and TAU groups were comparable (22.9% and 19.3%). Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that CBT may be helpful for improving the symptoms of patients with SFDs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At intersections where traffic demand is above capacity, reducing the number of signal phases may help operational performance. Alternative intersections may help achieve the reduction; however, retrofits to alternatives with two-phase signals may be impactful and unpopular. Our study evaluates five alternative signalized intersections with three critical phases, namely partial median U-turn intersection (MUT), partial continuous-flow intersection (CFI), a combination of MUT and CFI (MUT/CFI combo), reverse reduced conflict intersection (reverse RCI), and thru-cut. Three-phase designs may provide better capacity than conventional intersections with fewer impacts than two-phase intersections and, therefore, may be more palatable to stakeholders. A wide range of simulation scenarios were tested to evaluate the performance of the intersections using VISSIM and the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model. Based on the results, all three-phase designs outperformed the conventional design in terms of traffic operation. The partial CFI and MUT/CFI combo yielded the fewest conflicts among the designs evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various linear or nonlinear function-on-function (FOF) regression models have been proposed to study the relationship between functional variables, where certain forms are assumed for the relationship. However, because functional variables take values in infinite-dimensional spaces, the relationships between them can be much more complicated than those between scalar variables. The forms in existing FOF models may not be enough to cover a wide variety of relationships between functional variables, and hence the applicability of these models can be limited. We consider a general nonlinear FOF regression model without any specific assumption on the model form. To fit the model, inspired by the universal approximation theorem for the neural networks with "arbitrary width," we develop a functional universal approximation theorem which asserts that a wide range of general maps between functional variables can be approximated with arbitrary accuracy by members in our proposed family of maps. This family is "fully" functional in that the complexity of the maps within the family is completely determined by the smoothness of the component functions in the map. With this functional universal approximation theorem, we develop a novel method to fit the general nonlinear FOF regression model, which includes all existing FOF models as special cases. The complexity of the fitted model is controlled by smoothness regularization, without the necessity to choose the number of hidden neurons. for code and additional information are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of soyhulls with different particle sizes on the growth performance, blood indices and gut microbiota of yellow feather broilers. 2. Total of 240 healthy, one-day-old, yellow feather broilers were randomly divided into four groups, with six pen replicates within each group and ten birds per pen. The control group birds were fed the basal diet (Control). For the treatment groups, 5% soyhulls with different particle sizes were included in the basal diet. The particle size geometric mean diameters (dgw) of the soyhulls in the three treatment groups were 299.69 μm (LowPS), 489.85 μm (MediumPS) and 734.83 μm (HighPS) with geometric standard deviation (Sgw) 1.75 μm, 1.62 μm and 1.67 μm, respectively. 3. Results showed that the growth performance variables and organ indices were not different among the four groups. The MediumPS group had increased TG, T-CHO, ALT, HDL-C, and GSH-PX levels and decreased T-AOC levels, whereas LowPS and HighPS groups had increased HDL-C and GSH-PX levels (p < 0.05). Microbial diversity analysis showed that the intestinal microbiota of yellow feather broilers mainly included Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Inclusion of 5% soyhulls with different particle size had no effect on alpha diversity indices of caecal microbiota. The HighPS group had significantly higher relative abundance of Firmicutes spp. and lower Bacteroidetes spp. compared with the LowPS and MediumPS group but this was not different from the Control group. The relative abundance of Cyanobacteria spp. was significantly higher in the HighPS group than the other three groups. LEfSe analysis showed that there were more enriched biomarker taxa in the groups with soyhulls than the control group. 4. Overall, the inclusion of soyhulls with different particle sizes had limited effects on growth performance, blood indices and caecal microbiota composition of yellow feather broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an analytical method based on a linear single bogie model was used to investigate the mechanism of active steering for three control structures: wheelset yaw control (WYC), wheelset lateral control (WLC), and bogie yaw control (BYC). The results revealed that the WYC structure reduced both circumferential and axial wear, whereas the WLC and BYC structures mainly reduced circumferential wear, and BYC was ineffective when the primary lateral stiffness was low. Moreover, the impact of external forces on the control quantity was investigated by using a nonlinear full-vehicle model, with the wheelset unbalanced moment having the largest impact. Subsequently, the adaptation of the WYC and BYC structures to two control modes, namely, force and displacement control, was analysed. The results showed that for the WYC, the displacement control mode was favoured, whereas for the BYC, the force control mode was the sole alternative. Finally, the control efficiency was determined, with the WYC being recommended for low primary longitudinal stiffness and BYC for higher stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the evolution of the pantograph-catenary system dynamic under crosswind environments, this paper examines the effect of crosswind on the quality of the current collection and explores the wind stability of different longitudinal suspension forms of the catenary system. Firstly, the catenary with different longitudinal suspension forms is established based on the absolute node coordinate formulation, and the initial equilibrium configuration are accurately obtained. Secondly, the pantograph model is derived, and the pantograph-catenary system coupling model is established according to the standard EN 50318:2018 and passed the verification. Then, the random wind speed spectrum of the simulated environment is built based on the Davenport spectrum and is validated. Finally, the pantograph-catenary system dynamic behavior under the crosswind environments is simulated. The results show that the crosswind affects the low-frequency vibration part of the pantograph-catenary system, with the increase in wind speed and the standard deviation of contact force, the worse current collection quality. Different longitudinal suspension forms of catenary systems have various wind stability. Semi-inclined and inclined longitudinal suspension forms have better wind stability, and the maximum reduction of contact force standard deviation is 14.05%, which can effectively improve the current collection quality in crosswind environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green innovation is pivotal to events. However, little is known about how exhibitors manage the challenge of adopting green innovation in the fast-paced and short-oriented events. Drawing upon institutional theory and organisational learning perspective, this study investigates how institutional pressures are linked to exhibitors' willingness to adopt (WTA) eco-exhibiting via two temporal variables: future orientation (mediator) and past experience (moderator). PLS-SEM is applied to analyse a survey from 685 event exhibitors. Results show that coercive and normative pressures are significantly associated with exhibitors' future orientation, which then predicts WTA. Besides, past experience moderates the relationship between institutional pressures and WTA. Specifically, experienced exhibitors learn by doing and their WTA is more associated with normative pressure, while novice exhibitors learn vicariously and their WTA links stronger to mimetic pressures. This paper integrates macro-level institutional pressures and organisational-level learning heterogeneity, offering a multi-level explanation of green innovation adoption. This research also contributes to the green events and sustainable tourism literature with novel insights from the time perspective, verifying events as pro-environmental learning spaces for exhibitors. We highlight time perspective and environmental education for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for drugs that can protect the brain tissue and reduce nerve damage in acute ischemic stroke has emerged as a research hotspot. We investigated the potential protective effects and mechanisms of action of dihydroergotamine against ischemic stroke. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and dihydroergotamine at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day was intraperitoneally injected for 14 days. Adhesive removal and beam walking tests were conducted 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 days after MCAO surgery. Thereafter, the mechanism by which dihydroergotamine regulates microglia/macrophage polarization and inflammation and imparts ischemic stroke protection was studied using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunofluorescence staining, and western blotting. From the perspective of a drug repurposing strategy, dihydroergotamine was found to inhibit oxygen-glucose deprivation damage to neurons, significantly improve cell survival rate, and likely exert a protective effect on ischemic brain injury. Dihydroergotamine significantly improved neural function scores and survival rates and reduced brain injury severity in mice. Furthermore, dihydroergotamine manifests its protective effect on ischemic brain injury by reducing the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in mouse ischemic brain tissue, inhibiting the polarization of microglia/macrophage toward the M1 phenotype and promoting polarization toward the M2 phenotype. This study is the first to demonstrate the protective effect of dihydroergotamine, a first-line treatment for migraine, against ischemic nerve injury in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have focused on snakebites in adults, but very few have described snakebites in children. We reviewed the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with venomous snakebites aged less than 15 years who presented to a regional medical centre in South China from January 2013 to December 2022. A total of 69 envenomed patients were analyzed in our study; 42 (60.9 per cent) patients were male, and 59 (85.5 per cent) reported lower limb bites. Most bites (89.8 per cent) occurred between April and October. Twenty-seven patients received first aid management, and 47 required admission to the general ward. Antivenom was administered to 58 patients, glucocorticoids to 43 patients, antibiotics to 48 patients, and tetanus antitoxin to 40 patients. No fatalities were reported. The most common snake identified was Trimeresurus albolabris. Four were classified as dry bites, 15 as mild, 43 as moderate, and seven as severe. The most common local signs were pain and swelling, while the most common systemic effects were haematological complications. Patients with high severity scores had significantly higher lactate dehydrogenase activities, creatine kinase isoenzyme activities, aspartate aminotransferase activities, D-dimer concentrations, prothrombin times and lower fibrinogen concentrations. In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the values with the highest Youden index, the following cut-offs proved significant: lactate dehydrogenase activity > 248.1 U/L, creatine kinase isoenzyme activities > 17.5 U/L, fibrinogen concentration < 1,455 mg/L, D-dimer concentration > 437.0 µg/L, aspartate aminotransferase activity > 26.1 U/L, and prothrombin time > 15.2 seconds. This study provides insight into the epidemiology, clinical profile, and management of snakebites in children. Data from the present study were compared with those from our previous adult study. Limitations include that 50.7 per cent of our snakebites were attributed to Trimeresurus albolabris. Therefore, the results of our study may not be generalizable to all snakebites. The clinical symptoms were more severe in children than in adults in our previous study. Even though there were no fatalities, close monitoring should be performed to detect haematological and other potentially fatal complications promptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin dissolution and the fluid behaviour of reaction systems play important roles in the conversion rate of lignin. This study investigated the solubility of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazole bisulphate ethanol solutions ([BMIM]HSO4/ethanol) and the dynamic shear rheological characterisation of EHL-[BMIM]HSO4/ethanol. Different with [BMIM]HSO4/water, [BMIM]HSO4/ethanol exhibited excellent abilities to dissolve EHL at [BMIM]HSO4% 20%–90%, with the maximum EHL solubility obtained at 40%–70%. The dynamic shear rheological characterisation strongly depended on temperatures, [BMIM]HSO4% and EHL%, exhibited as pseudoplastic fluid at higher [BMIM]HSO4% and EHL%, and Dilatant fluid at lower [BMIM]HSO4% and EHL%. Adjusting an appropriate [BMIM]HSO4% and EHL%, EHL-[BMIM]HSO4/ethanol was Newtonian fluid with the viscosity stable. EHL was regenerated from EHL-[BMIM]HSO4/ethanol without obvious changes in the chemical structure and thermal behaviour. This study provided ideas for the design of the [BMIM]HSO4/ethanol system and the optimisation of conversion processes for the economic utilisation of lignin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), as NAFLD has been identified as an autonomous risk factor for CKD and previous research has demonstrated a reduction in overall mortality in NAFLD patients who consume alcohol in moderation. Methods: This study included participants from ten consecutive rounds of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES:1998–2018). Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on chronic kidney disease (CKD) in both male and female populations. Subgroup analysis was conducted by categorizing patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index. Results: 17040 participants were eligible to be included in the study. The logistic regression analysis model showed that moderate alcohol consumption was a protective factor for CKD in male NAFLD patients, with an unadjusted OR: 0.37 (0.22,0.65), and p < 0.001. After further adjustment, the association persisted. However, the association was not significant in female patients with NAFLD. Among men with low risk of liver fibrosis group, moderate alcohol consumption remained a protective factor for CKD (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.12–0.84, p = 0.02), but the association was not significant in the high risk of liver fibrosis group. In female patients, both moderate alcohol consumption and excessive alcohol consumption were not significantly associated with CKD in either the low-risk group or the high-risk group. Conclusion: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of CKD in men with NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with dyslipidemia, and the connection between dyslipidemia and remnant cholesterol (RC), a component of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, remains enigmatic. In this cross-sectional study, our primary aim was to investigate the role of RC in the progression of NAFLD and to provide robust evidence of RC's involvement in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. We enrolled 2800 NAFLD patients from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Logistic regression was employed to examine the relationship between serum RC levels and liver stiffness, while receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the diagnostic capability of RC. RC exhibited an independent correlation with the extent of liver stiffness, with odds ratios (OR) of 1.02 for liver steatosis (p = 0.014) and 1.02 for liver fibrosis (p = 0.014). To predict NAFLD, the optimal RC thresholds were 17.25 mg/dL for males and 15.25 mg/dL for females in the case of liver steatosis. For advanced liver fibrosis, the best thresholds were 17.25 mg/dL for males and 16.25 mg/dL for females. RC demonstrated a positive correlation with the degree of liver stiffness and exhibited superior diagnostic efficacy for liver steatosis and fibrosis compared to other cholesterol indicators. Elevated serum remnant cholesterol (RC) levels may serve as a potential indicator of metabolic diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The connection between serum RC and NAFLD has been previously undervalued. In our investigation, we examined 2800 NAFLD patients from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Our cross-sectional study has revealed a more distinct relationship between RC and the degree of liver stiffness, especially concerning liver steatosis when compared to other cholesterol indicators. Recognizing RC's significant role in metabolic disorders may lead to innovative approaches for diagnosing and treating NAFLD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the old cement concrete pavement continues to be used for widening, compared with the new construction, there are some prominent challenges, such as non-uniform support of the new and old subgrades, additional settlement of the old subgrade caused by the widened new subgrade, and gap between the tie-bar added to the old pavement slab and the concrete. To reveal the difference in the mechanical behaviour of the widened and new cement concrete pavement structures under vehicle load, a finite element model of the cement concrete pavement widening is established with the use of KENSLABS computer programme. The influence weight of non-uniform support of old and new subgrades, additional settlement of new subgrade to old subgrade and gap between tie-bar added within old pavement slab and concrete on deflection in cement concrete pavement widening is clarified, and the control measures for the deflection are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genotoxic impurities are a class of highly potent mutagenic substances that typically needs to be controlled down to low ppm level in pharmaceuticals. A novel LC-MS/MS limit test method (single impurity ≤16.7 ppm) for detecting five impurities in Posaconazole has been established and partially validated. The chromatographic separation of analytes was conducted on an YMC-Triart C18 column and gradient elution was performed with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as mobile phase A and B, respectively. Five impurities were carried out in ESI+ and MRM with the following mass transition pairs: m/z 390.2→296.2 for BSKZ029, m/z 300.4→136.2 for BSKZ117, m/z 207.0→162.2 for BSKZ135, m/z 209.0→91.0 for BSKZ155 and m/z 499.1→258.1 for BSKZ160. The established method exhibited good specificity, well robustness and high sensitivity with the LOD and LOQ was 1.34-1.56 ng/mL and 4.01-4.69 ng/mL, respectively. The genotoxicity of these impurities were evaluated by two (Q)SAR prediction methodologies, and results showed that BSKZ135 and BSKZ029 exhibited no genotoxicity, while BSKZ155, BSKZ117 and BSKZ160 possessed potent mutagenicity risk. Furthermore, the possible action-mechanisms of which were analyzed and proposed. This study has instructive significance to the analysis and genotoxicity research of genotoxic impurities, and also provides technical support for the supervision of the drug administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Track irregularities induce potential risks to the safety and stability of railway track systems. This paper proposes a novel methodology to identify vertical and lateral track irregularities. The method involves measuring system-based attitude calculation and a model-based unknown input observer estimator, based on the dynamic responses of distributed multi-sensors on the vehicle and bogie. First, a mechanical model of wheel-rail contacts is built with dynamic methods. The model considers the different directions of motion for a railway vehicle and consists of two bogies and four wheelsets. Based on the multi-sensor acceleration measurement, the vertical and lateral acceleration signals of the vehicle and bogies are integrated into the displacement signal. Then a state-space description of the vehicle suspension model is established for inverse dynamical analysis to extract the input signals. A suitable unknown input observer is constructed to estimate the track irregularities by transforming the state space equations of the vehicle into an augmented system that can monitor the track irregularities in-service. This method provides an opportunity to reduce the costs of the monitoring infrastructure and provide quicker and more reliable information about the status of a track. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to safety requirements, insensitive behavior under slow cook-off conditions is the desirable behavior for HTPE propellant. As a low sensitivity oxidant, PSAN is used to partially replace for AP in HTPE propellant formulation to improve the slow cook-off behavior further. But the effect of PSAN on the slow cook-off behavior of propellant is inconclusive. So, in this paper, two kinds of HTPE composite propellant contained either AP as oxidant or a mixture of AP and PSAN were manufactured, named HTPE/AP/Al propellant and HTPE/AP/PSAN/Al propellant respectively. Then the slow cook-off behavior of the two propellants were tested. The results indicated that the slow cook-off response of HTPE/AP/PSAN/Al propellant was much more violent than the response of HTPE/AP/Al propellant. Then the possible mechanism was proposed. It expressed that, during the slow cook-off test, the PSAN decomposed much more than AP, the crack and hole produced in propellant grain; meanwhile the decomposition of PSAN also accelerated the decomposition of HTPE binder, the the crack and hole or AP particles could not be covered effectively by the liquefied decomposition product of HTPE binder; if the ignition occurred, the combustion of thermal damaged propellant was sensitive to pressure, leading a violent response to slow cook-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During a large-scale epidemic, a local healthcare system can be overwhelmed by a large number of infected and non-infected patients. To serve the infected and non-infected patients well with limited medical resources, effective emergency medical service planning should be conducted before the epidemic. In this study, we propose a two-stage stochastic programming model, which integrally deploys various types of emergency healthcare facilities before an epidemic and serves infected and non-infected patients dynamically at the deployed healthcare facilities during the epidemic. With the service equity of infected patients and various practical requirements of emergency medical services being explicitly considered, our model minimizes a weighted sum of the expected operation cost and the equity cost. We develop two comparison models and conduct a case study on Chengdu, a Chinese city influenced by the COVID-19 epidemic, to show the effectiveness and benefits of our proposed model. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to generate managerial insights and suggestions. Our study not only extends the existing emergency supply planning models but also can facilitate better practices of emergency medical service planning for large-scale epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the advantages of the steel fiber reinforced concrete pavement structure, which includes high strength, high stiffness, and high stability, a large number of steel fiber concrete pavements will be used for highway construction in China. As a result, numerous cracks develop, which significantly reduces the life of the road; therefore, the study of the jointing problem is vital. As concrete research on the influence of the load transfer capacity and service life of prefabricated steel fiber reinforced concrete joints on the structural design and use function of the whole and pavement panels, the paper proposes two joint forms, tongue-and-groove and overlap. Using experiments and software, the stress and reflection of prefabricated road panels of the two joint forms are analyzed for different axial loads. The analysis reveals that the maximum tensile stress, shear stress, and deflection of the precast panels of both joint forms increase linearly as the axle load of the vehicle increases, while the service life decreases relatively. The load transfer capacity is independent of the axle load magnitude, and the load transfer capacity difference between the two types of joints is minimal and excellent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, researchers have proposed to leverage technology-supported data (log files) to investigate temporal and sequential patterns of interaction behaviors in learning processes. There are two major challenges to be addressed: clarifying the positioning of interaction levels and identifying the evolution of the interaction action patterns in learning processes, particularly for students with differing achievements. This paper explores the use of sequential pattern mining to address the evolution of student action patterns in Massive Private Online Courses (MPOCs) and compare these patterns between different achievement groups. The study was conducted with first-year undergraduate computer science students enrolled in a computer application course at a traditional open university in one of the Chinese provinces (N = 1375). The results showed the development of various action patterns in each phase of the course and the distinct action patterns for high-achieving and low-achieving students. The findings of study provide a new perspective for instructors and students to understand interaction patterns at the fine-grained level, and can help instructional designers develop learner-cantered courses and platforms to improve online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning methods have greatly promoted the ship detection performance in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. However, due to the different imaging mechanisms and target characteristics, detecting ships in SAR imagery precisely and efficiently is still challenging. To address this issue, a streamlined rotational ship detection network (SRSD-Net) is proposed in this letter. First, we construct a lightweight network using one-level feature and a receptive field block (RFB) to extract ship features with rich context. Second, a simple and effective representation for rotated ship bounding boxes using the minimum external horizontal box and two phase factors is proposed. Finally, to reduce the missed detections of small ships, k-nearest label assignment (KNLA) is designed to make all targets equally contribute to the network training. Extensive experiments are conducted on high-resolution SAR images dataset (HRSID) and the results show that the proposed method can achieve high detection accuracy with low computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]