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The increasing vessel size and automation level have shifted the productivity bottleneck of automated container terminals from the terminal side to the yard side. Operating an automated container terminal (ACT) yard with a big number of automated guided vehicles (AGV) is challenging due to the complexity and dynamics of the system, severely affecting the operational efficiency and energy use efficiency. In this paper, a hybrid multi-AGV scheduling algorithm is proposed to minimise the energy consumption and the total makespan of AGVs in an ACT yard. This framework first models the AGV scheduling process as a Markov decision process (MDP). Furthermore, a novel scheduling algorithm called MDAS is proposed based on multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient (MADDPG) to facilitate online real-time scheduling decision-making. Finally, simulation experiments show that the proposed method can effectively enhance the operational efficiency and energy use performance of AGVs in ACT yards of various scales by comparing with benchmarking methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Dental anxiety is prevalent and may result in the avoidance of periodontal therapy and maintenance. This study aimed to explore the impact of non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) on dental anxiety among patients with periodontitis. Materials and methods: In this study, 122 patients with periodontitis participated. The Chinese version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) gauged baseline dental anxiety during the initial appointment. Patients receiving non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) in subsequent appointments formed the NSPT group, while those with a delayed NSPT of at least two months constituted the delayed group. In the NSPT group, the second termination questionnaire was administered one month post the last NSPT visit, just before the periodontal re-evaluation. In the delayed group, the second questionnaire was completed before the delayed NSPT initiation. Results: Baseline MDAS scores were comparable between the delay and NSPT groups. However, the NSPT group exhibited lower total scores and scores for each of the five MDAS items at termination compared with the delay group. At baseline, MDAS total scores were inversely associated with age and were lower in males. A reduction in MDAS total scores between observation points was correlated with NSPT, sex, and age after adjustment. Regarding MDAS item 4 (teeth scaled/polished), score reduction consistently correlated with NSPT and age. Conclusion: Participation in NSPT may alleviate dental anxiety, and consequently enhance the patients' conceptiveness to undergo periodontal maintenance or surgery.

This article discusses a case study of a 68-year-old male patient with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) who developed solitary renal metastasis. The importance of routine imaging for detecting asymptomatic renal metastasis is highlighted. The efficacy of various treatment options, including nephrectomy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and cryoablation, is explored. The study underscores the need for a multidisciplinary team approach in managing LUSC with renal metastasis, due to the lack of clear treatment guidelines.

Abstract Objectives This study is to investigate the referral pattern and treatment modality of dentists in the management of peri-implant diseases between periodontists and non-periodontist dentists (NPDs). Materials and methods A total of 167 validated questionnaires were obtained from periodontists and NPDs, who had experience of placing implants for at least one year. Question I to IV asked how the dentist would respond if a patient came for treatment of their peri-implant diseases with four different scenarios according to resource of patient and disease severity. For each Scenario, dentists also replied which treatment procedures they would use if they decide to treat the patient. Results Periodontal training, resource of patient, and disease severity were shown to significantly influence the referral pattern and treatment modality in the management of peri-implant disease (p

The outcome-oriented e-education concept is one of the current international advanced education concepts, and its generation and development fit with the development of information technology and the social demand for the quality of talent cultivation. In this paper, a knowledge mapping system for university English courses based on the concept of outcome-orientated education is investigated to enable the integration of university English course knowledge and its visualization in the form of web pages. Knowledge points, concepts, definitions, and other information about the university English subject are extracted, and various data sources, which contain structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, are collected, integrated, and extracted in the form of English knowledge triads. The system testing results indicate that, in comparison to the traditional DistMult method, this paper’s method enhances the classification accuracy of the three English course datasets by 0.93%, 1.68%, and 0.85%, respectively. The experimental results validate the effectiveness and superiority of the system. Meanwhile, the questionnaire survey found that the system can effectively help learners improve their confidence, interest, and initiative in learning, enhance their learning effectiveness, improve their learning efficiency, and provide them with high-quality learning resources that have good application value.

Abstract Background The equilibrium of the scalp microbiome is important for maintaining healthy scalp conditions, including sebum secretion, dandruff, and hair growth. Many different strategies to improve scalp health have been reported; however, the effect of postbiotics, such as heat-killed probiotics, on scalp health remains unclear. We examined the beneficial effects of heat-killed probiotics consisting of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, GMNL-653, on scalp health. Results Heat-killed GMNL-653 could co-aggregate with scalp commensal fungi, Malassezia furfur, in vitro, and the GMNL-653-derived lipoteichoic acid inhibited the biofilm formation of M. furfur on Hs68 fibroblast cells. The mRNA of hair follicle growth factors, including insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), vascular endothelial growth factor, IGF-1, and keratinocyte growth factor was up-regulated in skin-related human cell lines Hs68 and HaCaT after treatment with heat-killed GMNL-653. For clinical observations, we recruited 22 volunteer participants to use the shampoo containing the heat-killed GMNL-653 for 5 months and subsequently measured their scalp conditions, including sebum secretion, dandruff formation, and hair growth. We applied polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the scalp microbiota of M. restricta, M. globosa, Cutibacterium acnes, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. A decrease in dandruff and oil secretion and an increase in hair growth in the human scalp were observed after the use of heat-killed GMNL-653-containing shampoo. The increased abundance of M. globosa and the decreased abundance of M. restricta and C. acnes were also observed. We further found that accumulated L. paracasei abundance was positively correlated with M. globosa abundance and negatively correlated with C. acnes abundance. S. epidermidis and C. acnes abundance was negatively correlated with M. globosa abundance and positively correlated with M. restricta. Meanwhile, M. globosa and M. restricta abundances were negatively associated with each other. C. acnes and S. epidermidis abundances were statistically positively correlated with sebum secretion and dandruff, respectively, in our shampoo clinical trial. Conclusion Our study provides a new strategy for human scalp health care using the heat-killed probiotics GMNL-653-containing shampoo. The mechanism may be correlated with the microbiota shift.

Plain English summary The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a screening tool that has been widely used to assess binge eating problems in Western countries. The current study aimed to test the validity and reliability properties of the BES among overweight college students in Taiwan. This research involved 300 overweight and obese college students while using a traditional Chinese-translated questionnaire in the survey and analyzed with subjective and scientific statistics methods afterward. The results indicated that BES has good cross-cultural applicability and can be used as a first-line measuring tool by mental health professionals to identify the severity of binge eating behavior among overweight or obese college students in Taiwan.

Large language model (LLM) and Crowd Intelligent Innovation (CII) are reshaping the field of engineering design and becoming a new design context. Generative generic-field design can solve more general design problems innovatively by integrating multi-domain design knowledge. However, there is a lack of knowledge representation and design process model in line with the design cognition of the new context. It is urgent to develop generative generic-field design methods to improve the feasibility, innovation, and empathy of design results. This study proposes a method based on design cognition and knowledge reasoning. Firstly, through the problem formulation, a generative universal domain design framework and knowledge base are constructed. Secondly, the knowledge-based discrete physical structure set generation method and system architecture generation method are proposed. Finally, the application tool Intelligent Design Assistant (IDA) is developed, verified, and discussed through an engineering design case. According to the design results and discussion, the design scheme is feasible and reflects empathy for the fuzzy original design requirements. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper is an effective technical scheme of generative generic-field engineering design in line with the design cognition in the new context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the key flavor characteristics and the influence of oxidation degree of oil on warmed-over flavor of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable. The volatile flavor compounds and taste indexes of different brands of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable were quantitatively detected by headspace-solid phase micro- extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and electronic tongue. The key flavor factors of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable were screened and analyzed by odor activity value (OAV) and principal component analysis. Acid value, peroxide value and TBA value were used to analyze the oxidation degree of oil and warmed-over flavor of different brands of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable. Results showed that a total of 85 volatile compounds were identified from 7 kinds of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable, including 16 alkanes, 19 terpenes, 7 alcohols, 22 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 13 esters, 3 phenols and 2 others. A total of 23 key volatile compounds were screened by OAV, and the substances with OAV>10 were 1-octene-3-ol, hexanal, heptanal, octanal, nonanal, (E,E)-2,4- nonadienal, capric aldehyde, (E)-2-decenal, (E,E)-2,4-decenal and 1-octene-3-ketone, which were the key flavor substances for pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable. The results of electronic tongue and overripe taste evaluation showed that the taste of 7 kinds of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable were mainly salty, umami and aftertaste. Its overripe taste mainly presented linseed oil taste and rancidity taste. The oil oxidation indexes of 7 kinds of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable were higher and the differences were significant (P<0.05). The correlation analysis showed that the main factors that produce warmed-over flavor were (E)-2-decenal, 2-heptanone, nonylaldehyde, 1-octene-3-ketone, (E,E)-2,4-decenal, hexal, pentaldehyde, heptanal, (E)-2-heptenal and octanal, which were positively correlated with acid value, peroxide value and TBA value. In summary, the key flavor factors of the 7 kinds of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable were related to overcooked taste, and it was speculated that the overcooked taste of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable was related to the higher oxidation degree of oil. The key flavor factors, electronic tongue and overripe taste evaluation indexes obtained in this study provide the basis for the establishment of flavor quality system and overripe taste control of pre-prepared steamed pork with preserved vegetable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]