Search

Objective: Functional dysphonia can impair the language expression ability and adversely affect the career development of some patients. Therefore, an active exploration of effective treatment options is imperative. This study investigated the effect of Akson therapy on acoustic parameters in patients with functional dysphonia. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 79 patients with functional dysphonia who received conventional voice correction training from June 2020 to June 2021 were included in the reference group (RG). Our hospital has implemented Akson therapy since July 2021. Correspondingly, 72 patients with functional dysphonia who underwent Akson therapy from July 2021 to July 2022 were enrolled in the observation group (OG). The acoustic parameters such as fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer, and normalized noise energy (NNE); the aerodynamic parameters including maximum phonation time (MPT), mean airflow rate (MFR), and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) score; and the Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia, and Strain scale (GRBAS) score were measured before and after treatment and compared between the two groups. Results: The F0, jitter, shimmer, NNE, MPT, and MFR values as well as the VHI-10 score and the grade (G), roughness (R), and breathiness (B) scores on the GRBAS did not significantly differ between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). However, significantly lower F0, jitter, shimmer, NNE, and MFR values and higher MPT levels were found in the OG compared to the RG after treatment (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the VHI-10 score and the G, R, and B scores were significantly lower in the OG than in the RG after treatment (P<0.001), whereas the asthenia (A) and strain (S) scores remained at 0 before and after treatment. Conclusion: Akson therapy can improve the acoustic parameters of patients with functional dysphonia to a certain extent, indicating its potential application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the approximate formulas have been derived for ELF electromagnetic field in near zone from a horizontal electric dipole on the surface of sea water and one-dimensional anisotropic rock boundary. The computational scheme exploits the concept of quasi-static approach for ELF near-field approximations. Specifically, the integrands of Fourier-Bessel representations are approximated by adopting Maclaurin's Expansion where the ratio of wave numbers for rock and sea approaches zero. The approximated solution is in good agreement with the available experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the electromagnetic pulses have been investigated based on the theory of wave-hop propagation. The approximate formulas are obtained for the electromagnetic field of a vertical magnetic dipole in the presence of an Earth-ionosphere waveguide. Based on the results obtained, the approximate formulas are derived readily for the ground wave and sky waves due to horizontal electric dipole excitation by using a reciprocity theorem. The corresponding computations and discussions are carried out specifically by analogy with those generated by a vertical electric dipole with the formulas in CCIR's recommendation. It is shown that the sky wave pulses would interfere at certain distances and occur by different time-delays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production from an ammonia-fuelled microchannel reactor is simulated in a three-dimensional (3D) model implemented via Comsol Multiphysics™. The work described in this paper endeavours to obtain a mathematical framework that provides an understanding of reaction-coupled transport phenomena within the microchannel reactor. The transport processes and reactor performance are elucidated in terms of velocity, temperature, and species concentration distributions, as well as local reaction rate and NH 3 conversion profiles. The baseline case is first investigated to comprehend the behaviour of the microchannel reactor, then microstructural design and operating parameters are methodically altered around the baseline conditions to explore the optimum values. The simulation results show that an optimum NH 3 space velocity (GHSV) of 65,000 Nml g cat −1 h –1 yields 99.1% NH 3 conversion and a power density of 32 kW e L –1 at the highest operating temperature of 973 K. It is also shown that a 40-μm-thick porous washcoat is most desirable at these optimum conditions. Finally, a low channel hydraulic diameter (225 μm) is observed to contribute to high NH 3 conversion. Mass transport limitations in the porous-washcoat and gas-phase are negligible as depicted by the Damköhler and Fourier numbers, respectively. The experimental microchannel reactor yields 98.2% NH 3 conversion and a power density of 30.8 kW e L –1 when tested at the optimum operating conditions established by the model. Good agreement with experimental data is observed, so the integrated experimental-modelling approach developed in this paper may well provide an incisive step toward the efficient design of ammonia-fuelled microchannel reformers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the stabilization problem for impulsive switched systems with time delays. First, exponential stability criteria Of the delayed impulsive switched systems are established by use of the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method. Based on these results, sufficient conditions for the existence of a guaranteed cost control are also given. Subject to these sufficient conditions, the closed-loop impulsive switched system under the guaranteed cost control law will be exponentially stable with a guaranteed cost value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correspondence is concerned with the robust stability for a class of impulsive switched systems under the LQ guaranteed cost control. Some results on robust stability for this class of impulsive switched systems are obtained. Sufficient conditions for the existence of a guaranteed cost control law are also given. Subject to these sufficient conditions, the closed-loop uncertain impulsive switched system under the guaranteed cost control law is robustly stable with a guaranteed cost value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model of a two-stage N-person noncooperative game under uncertainty is studied, in which at the first stage each player solves a quadratic program parameterized by other players' decisions and then at the second stage the player solves a recourse quadratic program parameterized by the realization of a random vector, the second-stage decisions of other players, and the first-stage decisions of all players. The problem of finding a Nash equilibrium of this game is shown to be equivalent to a stochastic linear complementarity problem. A linearly convergent progressive hedging algorithm is proposed for finding a Nash equilibrium if the resulting complementarity problem is monotone. For the nonmonotone case, it is shown that, as long as the complementarity problem satisfies an additional elicitability condition, the progressive hedging algorithm can be modified to find a local Nash equilibrium at a linear rate. The elicitability condition is reminiscent of the sufficient second-order optimality condition in nonlinear programming. Various numerical experiments indicate that the progressive hedging algorithms are efficient for mid-sized problems. In particular, the numerical results include a comparison with the best response method that is commonly adopted in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) including its derivative, Kelvin probe force microscopy, is widely used to investigate mesoscopic/ nanoscopic conducting/semiconducting structures and electrical interactions. However, the resolution of EFM in ambient is largely limited by the applicable force-detection techniques. This work demonstrates that the lateral resolution of ambient EFM can be significantly improved using an intermittent contact method in conjunction with a resonant multi-frequency method for electrostatic force detection. A lateral resolution of sub-10 nm is obtained. The high-resolution contrast reflects the variation of surface potential in sample on a nanoscale. The mechanism, which is attributed to the decreased effective tip-sample distance, is elucidated by theoretical analysis. The newly developed technique can be easily integrated with existing techniques to herald the next generation of high-resolution probe techniques for various nanoscopic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We establish some new nonlinear retarded finite difference inequalities. The results that we propose here can be used as tools in the theory of certain new classes of finite difference equations in various difference situations. We also give applications of the inequalities to show the usefulness of our results [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the boundedness and attractiveness of nonlinear switched delay systems whose subsystems have different equilibria. Some sufficient conditions which can guarantee the system's boundedness are obtained. In addition, we work out the regionwhere the solutionwill remain and furthermore the relationship between the initial function and the bounded region. Based on the new concept of attractor with switching laws, we show that the nonlinear switched delay system is attractive and then obtain the attractive region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In flotation processes, concentrate grade is the key production index but is difficult to be measured online. The mechanism models reflect the basic tendency of concentrate grade changes but cannot provide adequate prediction precision. The data-driven models based on froth image features provide accurate prediction within well-sampled space but rely heavily on sample data with less generalization capability. So, a hybrid intelligent model combining the two kinds of model is proposed in this paper. Since the information of image features is enormous, and the relationship between image features and concentrate grade is nonlinear, a Bspline partial least squares (BS-PLS) method is adopted to construct the data-driven model for concentrate grade prediction. In order to gain better generalization capability and prediction accuracy, information entropy is introduced to integrate the mechanism model and the BS-PLS model together and modify the model output online through an output deviation compensation strategy. Moreover, a slide window scheme is employed to update the hybrid model in order to improve its adaptability. The industrial practical data testing results show that the performance of the hybrid model is better than either of the two single models and it satisfies the accuracy and stability requirements in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grinding-classification is the prerequisite process for full recovery of the nonrenewable minerals with both production quality and quantity objectives concerned. Its natural formulation is a constrained multiobjective optimization problem of complex expression since the process is composed of one grinding machine and two classification machines. In this paper, a hybrid differential evolution (DE) algorithm with multi-population is proposed. Some infeasible solutions with better performance are allowed to be saved, and they participate randomly in the evolution. In order to exploit the meaningful infeasible solutions, a functionally partitioned multi-population mechanism is designed to find an optimal solution from all possible directions. Meanwhile, a simplex method for local search is inserted into the evolution process to enhance the searching strategy in the optimization process. Simulation results from the test of some benchmark problems indicate that the proposed algorithm tends to converge quickly and effectively to the Pareto frontier with better distribution. Finally, the proposed algorithm is applied to solve a multiobjective optimization model of a grinding and classification process. Based on the technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), the satisfactory solution is obtained by using a decision-making method for multiple attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aims: In the present study, we explored the hypothesis that initiation of PH involves the upregulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in acute PTE. We evaluated the effects of resveratrol and the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in this process. Main methods: A rat model of acute PTE was established by infusion of an autologous blood clot into the pulmonary artery through a polyethylene catheter. Rats were randomly divided into 1, 4, and 8hour time groups. Resveratrol, C1142 (a rodent chimeric mAb that neutralizes rat MCP-1) or SB203580 (a p38MAPK specific inhibitor) was administered to the animals beginning 1h prior to the start of the acute PTE protocol. At each time point, the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), mRNA and protein expressions of MCP-1 were measured. The phosphorylation of p38 MAPK (p-pMAPK) was also detected. Key findings: Acute PTE elicited significant increases in mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), and up-regulated the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK). Administration of C1142 markedly reduced mPAP. Furthermore, pre-treatment of rats with resveratrol significantly reduced mPAP and down-regulated the expression of MCP-1, which was associated with robustly suppressed acute PTE-induced p-p38MAPK expression. Significance: These findings suggested that MCP-1 was involved in the formation of acute PTE-induced PH, and resveratrol down-regulated the expression of MCP-1 by inhibiting acute PTE-induced p-p38MAPK activation, which contributed to the decrease in PH. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]