bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Dietary Berry Supplementation on Antioxidant Biomarkers in Adults with Cardiometabolic Risks: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials
Authors: Helm Macy , Alaba Tolu , Klimis-Zacas Dorothy , Izuora Kenneth , Basu Arpita
Published: May 2023

Cardiometabolic conditions are closely associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Dietary berries may serve as a beneficial nutrition intervention to address the features of cardiometabolic dysfunction and associated oxidative stress. The high antioxidant status of dietary berries may increase antioxidant capacity and reduce biomarkers of oxidative stress. This systematic review was conducted to investigate these effects of dietary berries. The search was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and citation searching. Through this search we identified 6309 articles and 54 were included in the review. Each study’s risk of bias was assessed using the 2019 Cochrane Methods’ Risk of Bias 2 tool. Antioxidant and oxidative stress outcomes were evaluated, and the magnitude of effect was calculated using Cohen’s d. A range of effectiveness was reported in the included studies and the quality of the studies differed between the parallel and crossover trials. Considering the inconsistency in reported effectiveness, future investigations are warranted to determine the acute and sustained reductions of oxidative stress biomarkers from dietary berry intake (PROSPERO registration# CRD42022374654).
Quality Assessment of Ground Coffee Samples from Greek Market Using Various Instrumental Analytical Methods, In Silico Studies and Chemometrics
Authors: Tsiaka Thalia , Kritsi Eftichia , Bratakos Sotirios M. , Sotiroudis Georgios , Petridi Panagiota , Savva Ioanna , Christodoulou Paris , Strati Irini F. , Zoumpoulakis Panagiotis , Cavouras Dionisis , Sinanoglou Vassilia J.
Published: May 2023

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide due to its sensory and potential health-related properties. In the present comparative study, a preparation known as Greek or Turkish coffee, made with different types/varieties of coffee, has been investigated for its physicochemical attributes (i.e., color), antioxidant/antiradical properties, phytochemical profile, and potential biological activities by combining high-throughput analytical techniques, such as infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and in silico methodologies. The results of the current study revealed that roasting degree emerged as the most critical factor affecting these parameters. In particular, the L* color parameter and total phenolic content were higher in light-roasted coffees, while decaffeinated coffees contained more phenolics. The ATR-FTIR pinpointed caffeine, chlorogenic acid, diterpenes, and quinic esters as characteristic compounds in the studied coffees, while the LC-MS/MS analysis elucidated various tentative phytochemicals (i.e., phenolic acids, diterpenes, hydroxycinnamate, and fatty acids derivatives). Among them, chlorogenic and coumaric acids showed promising activity against human acetylcholinesterase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes based on molecular docking studies. Therefore, the outcomes of the current study provide a comprehensive overview of this kind of coffee preparation in terms of color parameters, antioxidant, antiradical and phytochemical profiling, as well as its putative bioactivity.
Antioxidant Properties of Oral Antithrombotic Therapies in Atherosclerotic Disease and Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Falco Luigi , Tessitore Viviana , Ciccarelli Giovanni , Malvezzi Marco , D’Andrea Antonello , Imbalzano Egidio , Golino Paolo , Russo Vincenzo
Published: May 2023

The thrombosis-related diseases are one of the leading causes of illness and death in the general population, and despite significant improvements in long-term survival due to remarkable advances in pharmacologic therapy, they continue to pose a tremendous burden on healthcare systems. The oxidative stress plays a role of pivotal importance in thrombosis pathophysiology. The anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs commonly used in the management of thrombosis-related diseases show several pleiotropic effects, beyond the antithrombotic effects. The present review aims to describe the current evidence about the antioxidant effects of the oral antithrombotic therapies in patients with atherosclerotic disease and atrial fibrillation.
Selenoprotein P, Peroxiredoxin-5, Renalase and Selected Cardiovascular Consequences Tested in Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring and Echocardiography
Authors: Czerwińska Karolina , Januszewska Lidia , Markiewicz-Górka Iwona , Jaremków Aleksandra , Martynowicz Helena , Pawlas Krystyna , Mazur Grzegorz , Poręba Rafał , Gać Paweł
Published: May 2023

This study aimed to assess the relationship between chosen antioxidants, namely selenoprotein P (SELENOP), peroxiredoxin-5 (Prdx-5), renalase and selected cardiovascular consequences tested in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and echocardiography (ECHO). In our work, cardiovascular consequences refer to higher mean blood pressure (MBP) and pulse pressure (PP) on ABPM, as well as to left atrial enlargement (LAE), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF%) on ECHO. The study group consisted of 101 consecutive patients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases and Hypertension to verify the diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). Each patient underwent full polysomnography, blood tests, ABPM and ECHO. Both selenoprotein-P and renalase levels correlated with different ABPM and ECHO parameters. We found no correlation between the peroxiredoxin-5 level and none of the tested parameters. We point to the possible application of SELENOP plasma-level testing in the initial selection of high cardiovascular-risk patients, especially if access to more advanced examinations is limited. We further suggest SELENOP measurement as a possible indicator of patients at increased left ventricular hypertrophy risk who should be of particular interest and may benefit from ECHO testing.
Oxidative Stress Is a Concept, Not an Indication for Selective Antioxidant Treatment
Authors: Lichtenberg Dov , Pinchuk Ilya , Yonassi Eleni , Weber Daniela , Grune Tilman
Published: May 2023

The steady-state redox status is physiologically important and therefore homeostatically maintained. Changes in the status result in signaling (eustress) or oxidative damage (distress). Oxidative stress (OS) is a hard-to-quantitate term that can be estimated only based on different biomarkers. Clinical application of OS, particularly for selective antioxidant treatment of people under oxidative stress, requires quantitative evaluation and is limited by the lack of universal biomarkers to describe it. Furthermore, different antioxidants have different effects on the redox state. Hence, as long as we do not have the possibility to determine and quantify OS, therapeutic interventions by the “identify-and-treat” approach cannot be assessed and are, therefore, not likely to be the basis for selective preventive measures against oxidative damage.
Binary Alginate-Whey Protein Hydrogels for Antioxidant Encapsulation
Authors: Pedrali Davide , Scarafoni Alessio , Giorgi Anna , Lavelli Vera
Published: May 2023

Encapsulation of antioxidants in hydrogels, i.e., three-dimensional networks that retain a significant fraction of water, is a strategy to increase their stability and bioaccessibility. In fact, low oxygen diffusivity in the viscous gelled phase decreases the rate of oxidation. Moreover, some hydrocolloids such as alginate and whey proteins provide a pH-dependent dissolution mechanism, allowing the retention of encapsulated compounds in the gastric environment and their release in the intestine, where they can be absorbed. This paper reviews the information on alginate-whey protein interactions and on the strategies to use binary mixtures of these polymers for antioxidant encapsulation. Results showed that alginate and whey proteins strongly interact, forming hydrogels that can be modulated by alginate molecular mass, mannuronic acid: guluronic acid ratio, pH, Ca2+ or transglutaminase addition. Hydrogels of alginate and whey proteins, in the forms of beads, microparticles, microcapsules, and nanocapsules, generally provide better encapsulation efficiency and release properties for antioxidants with respect to the hydrogel of alginate alone. The main challenges for future studies are to extend knowledge on the interactions among three components, namely alginate, whey proteins, and the encapsulated bioactive compounds, and to investigate the stability of these structures under food processing conditions. This knowledge will represent the rationale basis for the development of structures that can be tailored to specific food applications.
Numerical Study on Cooling Performance of a Steam-Cooled Blade Based on Response Surface Method
Authors: Zhao Zhen , Xi Lei , Gao Jianmin , Xu Liang , Li Yunlong
Published: May 2023

In order to investigate the cooling mechanism of the turbine blade and to enrich and supplement the experimental study of the blade, a numerical study of a steam-cooled blade with five cooling channels was carried out based on the response surface model. The surface cooling efficiency and dimensionless temperature distribution of the steam-cooled blade were obtained with different mainstream inlet temperature, outlet pressure, pressure ratio of inlet to outlet, temperature ratio and flow ratio of steam to mainstream by using the flow-solid coupling numerical method. The influence of the working parameters on the cooling performance of air-cooled blade and steam-cooled blade, including the average cooling efficiency, temperature non-uniformity, and average dimensionless temperature, was comparatively investigated; the correlation equation of the working parameters on the cooling performance of the steam-cooled blade was obtained. The results show that the influence of mainstream inlet temperature and outlet pressure on the cooling performance of the steam-cooled blade is not significant; the cooling efficiency of the steam-cooled blade increases by 5.92%, 7.35% and 26.51% respectively as the mainstream inlet to outlet pressure ratio, the temperature ratio and the flow ratio of steam to mainstream increase; the dimensionless temperature increases by 3.74% as the temperature ratio increases and decreases by 0.93% and 4.09% as mainstream inlet to outlet pressure ratio and flow ratio increase; the temperature non-uniformity decreases by 4.09% and 30.08% respectively, as the mainstream inlet to outlet pressure ratio and temperature ratio increase and increases by 37.99% as the flow ratio increases; the effect of working parameters on air-cooled blade and steam-cooled blade is the same, but the steam-cooled blade has 14.06–17.81% higher cooling efficiency, 18.47–29.01% higher temperature non-uniformity and 1.86–2.58% lower dimensionless temperature compared to the air-cooled blade under the same working parameters; the correlation equation obtained by fitting the response surface model has higher accuracy.
An Advanced Crow Search Algorithm for Solving Global Optimization Problem
Authors: Lee Donwoo , Kim Jeonghyun , Shon Sudeok , Lee Seungjae
Published: May 2023

The conventional crow search (CS) algorithm is a swarm-based metaheuristic algorithm that has fewer parameters, is easy to apply to problems, and is utilized in various fields. However, it has a disadvantage, as it is easy for it to fall into local minima by relying mainly on exploitation to find approximations. Therefore, in this paper, we propose the advanced crow search (ACS) algorithm, which improves the conventional CS algorithm and solves the global optimization problem. The ACS algorithm has three differences from the conventional CS algorithm. First, we propose using dynamic AP (awareness probability) to perform exploration of the global region for the selection of the initial population. Second, we improved the exploitation performance by introducing a formula that probabilistically selects the best crows instead of randomly selecting them. Third, we improved the exploration phase by adding an equation for local search. The ACS algorithm proposed in this paper has improved exploitation and exploration performance over other metaheuristic algorithms in both unimodal and multimodal benchmark functions, and it found the most optimal solutions in five engineering problems.
Framework for a Secure and Sustainable Internet of Medical Things, Requirements, Design Challenges, and Future Trends
Authors: Villegas-Ch William , García-Ortiz Joselin , Urbina-Camacho Isabel
Published: May 2023

The framework presented in this article provides a guide for designing secure and sustainable internet of medical things (IoMT) solutions. The main objective is to address the challenges related to safety and sustainability in the medical field. The critical conditions driving these challenges are identified, and future trends in the field of IoMT are discussed. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed framework, a case study was carried out in a private medical clinic. In this study, an IoMT system was implemented to monitor patients’ vital signs, even when they were not in the clinic. The positive results demonstrated that the implemented IoMT system met the established security and sustainability requirements. The main statistical findings of the case study include the real-time monitoring of the vital signs of the patients, which improved the quality of care and allowed for the early detection of possible complications. In addition, medical devices such as the blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, and electrocardiograph were selected, proving safe, durable, and energy and maintenance efficient. These results were consistent with previous research that had shown the benefits of IoMT in remote monitoring, the early detection of health problems, and improved medical decision-making.
Analysis of the Composition of Ancient Glass and Its Identification Based on the Daen-LR, ARIMA-LSTM and MLR Combined Process
Authors: Li Zhi-Xing , Lu Peng-Sen , Wang Guang-Yan , Li Jia-Hui , Yang Zhen-Hao , Ma Yun-Peng , Wang Hong-Hai
Published: May 2023

The glass relics are precious material evidence of the early trade and cultural exchange between the East and the West. To explore the cultural differences and trade development between early China and foreign countries, it is extremely important to classify glass cultural relics. Despite their similar appearances, Chinese glass contains more lead, while foreign glass contains more potassium. In view of this, this paper proposes a joint Daen-LR, ARIMA-LSTM, and MLR machine learning algorithm (JMLA) for the analysis and identification of the chemical composition of ancient glass. We separate the sampling points of ancient glass into two systems: lead-barium glass and high-potassium glass. Firstly, an improved logistic regression model based on a double adaptive elastic network (Daen-LR) is used to select variables with both Oracle and adaptive classification characteristics. Secondly, the ARIMA-LSTM model was used to establish the correlation curve of chemical composition before and after weathering and to predict the change in chemical composition with weathering. Thirdly, combining the data processed by the above two methods, a multiple linear regression model (MLR) is used to classify unknown glass products. It was shown that the sample obtained by this processing method has a very good fit. In comparison with other similar types of models like Decision Trees (DT), Random Forests (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Random Forests based on classification and regression trees (CART-RF), the classification accuracy of JMLA is 97.9% on the train set. The accuracy rate on the test set reached 97.6%. The results of the research demonstrate that JMLA can improve the accuracy of the glass type classification problem, greatly enhance the research efficiency of archaeological staff, and gain a more reliable result.
A Non-Linear Non-Planar Coupling Mechanism of Suspended Cables in Thermal Conditions
Authors: Guo Zhirui , Lin Henghui , Ni Weilong , Zhao Yaobing
Published: May 2023

Slight variations induced by thermal effects may bring unexpected discrepancies in both the system’s linear and non-linear responses. The present study investigates the temperature effects on the non-linear coupled motions of suspended cables subject to one-to-one internal resonances between the in-plane and out-of-plane modes. The classical non-linear flexible system is excited by a uniform distributed harmonic excitation with the primary resonance. Introducing a two-mode expansion and applying the multiple scale method, the polar and Cartesian forms of modulation equations are obtained. Several parametric investigations have highlighted the qualitative and quantitative discrepancies induced by temperature through the curves of force/frequency-response amplitude, time history diagrams, phase portraits, frequency spectrum, and Poincaré sections. Based on the bifurcation and stability analyses, temperature effects on the multiple steady-state solutions, as well as static and dynamic bifurcations, it is observed that the periodic motions may be bifurcated into the chaotic motions in thermal environments. The saddle-node, pitch-fork, and Hopf bifurcations are sensitive to temperature changes. Finally, our perturbation solutions are confirmed by directly integrating the governing differential equations, which yield excellent agreement with our results and validate our approach.
Proposal of a Full Digital Workflow for a Bite Fork to Assess Mandibular Advancement during Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Grippaudo Cristina , Rizzotto Grazia , Lo Giudice Antonino , Buccarella Cristina , Negrini Stefano , Anelli Fabrizio , Corina Luigi , Galli Jacopo , Fiorita Antonella
Published: May 2023

(1) Background. Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is currently regarded as the gold standard diagnostic procedure to assess the site(s) of upper airway collapse in subjects affected by Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). During DISE, a jaw thrust maneuver is performed to advance the mandible and to predict the effectiveness of outcomes of treatment with mandibular advancement devices (MADs). However, the maneuver is not predictable and could be influenced by specific patients’ anatomical/functional conditions. The aim of this work is to propose a full-digital workflow for customizing an individual mandibular advancement fork, usable by otorhinolaryngologists during DISE. (2) Materials. Two patients with a diagnosis of mild-to-moderate OSAS (AHI ≥ 5 to ≤30/h of sleep) underwent orthodontic examination to verify the usability of the MAD. Intra-oral scans and registration were performed, including bite registration with 65% of mandibular advancement. The latter measurement was used as a reference to design a 3D-printed fork for DISE, as well as for the future MAD. Both patients underwent DISE in the operating room in the presence of an anesthesiologist, otolaryngologist, orthodontic specialist and neurophysiopathology technician. (3) Results. In the intraoperative polysomnography recording, during sleep, the presence of obstructive apnea was confirmed based on respiratory parameters (PNG1, PNG2, PNG3) with associated desaturation and increased muscle activities on PNG4 (mylohyoid muscle), EMG1 (right masseter muscle) and EMG2 (left masseter muscle). With the advancement fork in place, the immediate improvement effect on all respiratory parameters with normal saturation values and the complete suppression of masseter muscles were observed. Accordingly, both patients were considered potential good-responders to the MAD treatment. (4) Conclusions. The preliminary data shown are encouraging and would suggest that the fork represents a stable reference for the otorhinolaryngologist to evaluate the airway patency within the physiological range of movement. The efficiency of the work-flow from data registration to the DISE procedure and laboratory process represent two significant advantages that justify the integration of a digital system in the management of patients affected by OSAS.
Density-Based Prioritization Algorithm for Minimizing Surplus Parts in Selective Assembly
Authors: Shin Kanghyeon , Jin Kyohong
Published: May 2023

Selective assembly is a manufacturing method that matches and assembles pairs of parts in a manner that offsets the machining errors of these parts. In the production of products requiring high precision and efficient mass production, flow production and search-based selective assembly must be combined for market competitiveness; however, this method increases computational costs and generates many surplus parts. Therefore, research should aim to minimize surplus parts in search-based selective assembly at a low computational cost to suit flow production systems. In this paper, we propose the density-based prioritization (DBP) algorithm, which minimizes surplus parts in the search-based selective assembly of flow production systems. In addition, a method of varying the assembly tolerance is developed and incorporated into DBP to increase its process capability. The proposed algorithm requires an assembly facility to prepare parts with as many different sizes as possible. This paper confirms that DBP reduces computational costs and surplus parts while enhancing process capability.
Impact of Evaluation of Freeze–Thaw Cycles on Collapse Zone at Entrance and Exit of Loess Tunnel
Authors: Bai Weishi , Li Rongjian , Li Rongjin , Zou Xin , Lin Guoqiang , Zhao Xuemeng
Published: May 2023

The entrance and exit of loess tunnel are easily affected by freezing and thawing, which leads to collapse in cold regions. Based on the slip line network method, this paper proposed a graphical method and analyzed the impact of evaluation of freeze–thaw cycles on the collapse zone at the entrance and exit of a loess tunnel. Firstly, the slip line network method was improved for a graphical calculation program, and the program was validated by monitoring the data of collapse evolution in an unlined loess tunnel in situ. Then, some triaxial tests of freeze–thaw cycles were carried out on loess, and the attenuation law of loess strength was summarized after freeze–thaw cycles in cold regions. Finally, the graphical calculation program was applied to evaluate the impact of freeze–thaw cycles on collapse range in the unlined loess tunnel. The results show that introducing the classic slip line field into the analysis process of a tunnel collapse zone can provide a feasible and efficient analysis method for a tunnel surrounding rock collapse arch for tunnel engineering, and the collapse zone increases with the growing number of freeze–thaw cycles. Moreover, the attenuation of loess strength which suffered from the freeze–thaw cycles would cause the collapse zone area to increase by a maximum of 16.13%.
Increased Anticancer Activity of Organic Kimchi with Starters Demonstrated in HT-29 Cancer Cells
Authors: Lee Yeon-Jun , Pan Yanni , Kwack Kyu-Bum , Chung Ji Hyung , Park Kun-Young
Published: May 2023

This study aims to investigate the effects of kimchi made with organic ingredients and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as starters (Leuconostoc mesenteroides + Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) on HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. Four types of kimchi (standard kimchi (SK), commercial kimchi (CK), anticancer kimchi (AK), and organic anticancer kimchi (OAK)) were evaluated. The results show that, among the different types of kimchi studied, OAK presents high DPPH free-radical scavenging activity and total phenol and flavonoid contents, and the MTT assay shows that the growth inhibition rate against HT-29 cancer cells is the highest. In addition, the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) results show that, compared to SK and CK, AK and OAK can effectively down-regulate the mRNA expression of anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 and up-regulate the mRNA expression of the cell cycle arrest genes p21 and p53; pro-apoptotic genes Bim, Bak, and Bad; and genes for caspases 3 9. Subsequently, a Western blot test confirmed that the expression of Bcl-2 decreased and the expressions of p53, Bax, and caspases 3 and 9 increased in OAK. The abovementioned results indicate that the anticancer kimchi prepared with organic ingredients and starters of lactic acid bacteria effectively present the best antioxidant activity and inhibit the proliferation of HT-29 cancer cells by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.
Effects of Drying–Wetting Cycle and Fines Content on Hysteresis and Dynamic Properties of Granite Residual Soil under Cyclic Loading
Authors: Chen Dongxia , Tang Jiarun , Yang Xuefei
Published: May 2023

In southern China, granite residual soil (GRS) is widely used as road base material. Thus, it is important to study the effects of hot and rainy climates and cyclic loads generated by trains on the dynamic properties of GRS. In this work, by means of dynamic triaxial tests, the effects of the number of drying and wetting (D–W) cycles, fines content and number of load cycles on the hysteresis curve, dynamic shear modulus Gd and damping ratio λ of GRS are systematically investigated. The experimental results illustrate the changes in the morphology of the hysteresis curve and dynamic parameters with the numbers of load and D–W cycles, as well as the fines content. Namely, the area S, center offset d, and residual strain εsp of the hysteresis curve decrease with the increase of load cycle number, increase with the growth of fines content, and first decrease with the increase of D–W cycle number, then slowly increase to stabilized values. However, the major axis gradient k exhibits exactly the opposite relationships. Meanwhile, the dynamic shear modulus Gd increases with the growing load cycles and decreases with the addition of fines content, and the damping ratio λ shows the opposite behavior. It is also shown that Gd and λ vary linearly with respect to logN, where N is the number of D–W cycles. The dynamic properties of GRS are mostly affected by the number of load cycles, which is followed by the fines content and then the number of D–W cycles. The influence of the latter two factors on the dynamic properties of GRS may be primarily due to contact form changes between soil particles.
Machine Learning and Image-Processing-Based Method for the Detection of Archaeological Structures in Areas with Large Amounts of Vegetation Using Satellite Images
Authors: Fuentes-Carbajal José Alberto , Carrasco-Ochoa Jesús Ariel , Martínez-Trinidad José Francisco , Flores-López Jorge Arturo
Published: May 2023

The detection of archaeological structures in satellite images is beneficial for archaeologists since it allows quick identification of structures across large areas of land. To date, some methods have been proposed to solve this task; however, these methods do not give good results in areas with large amounts of vegetation, such as those found in the southeast of Mexico and Guatemala. The method proposed in this paper works on satellite images obtained with SASPlanet. It uses two color spaces (RGB and HSL) and filters (Canny, Sobel, and Laplacian) jointly with supervised machine learning to improve the detection of archaeological structures in areas with a lot of vegetation. The method obtains an average performance of at least 93% on precision, recall, F1 score, and accuracy. Thus, our proposal is a very good option compared with traditional techniques for manual or semi-automatic detection of structures, identifying archaeological sites in a shorter time.
Experimental and Machine Learning Approach to Investigate the Mechanical Performance of Asphalt Mixtures with Silica Fume Filler
Authors: Tiwari Nitin , Rondinella Fabio , Satyam Neelima , Baldo Nicola
Published: May 2023

This study explores the potential in substituting ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with industrial waste silica fume (SF) as a mineral filler in asphalt mixtures (AM) for flexible road pavements. The Marshall and indirect tensile strength tests were used to evaluate the mechanical resistance and durability of the AMs for different SF and OPC ratios. To develop predictive models of the key mechanical and volumetric parameters, the experimental data were analyzed using artificial neural networks (ANN) with three different activation functions and leave-one-out cross-validation as a resampling method. The addition of SF resulted in a performance comparable to, or slightly better than, OPC-based mixtures, with a maximum indirect tensile strength of 1044.45 kPa at 5% bitumen content. The ANN modeling was highly successful, partly due to an interpolation-based data augmentation strategy, with a correlation coefficient RCV of 0.9988.
Electrical Circuits Simulator in Null-Flux Electrodynamic Suspension Analysis
Authors: França Thaís N. , Li Hengda , Zhu Hanlin , Shi Hongfu , Liang Le , Deng Zigang
Published: May 2023

This paper employed an electrical circuit simulator to investigate an electrodynamic suspension system (EDS) for passenger rail transport applications. Focusing on a null-flux suspension system utilizing figure-eight-shaped coils (8-shaped coils), the aim was to characterize the three primary electromagnetic forces generated in an EDS and to compare the findings with existing literatures. The dynamic circuit theory (DCT) approach was utilized to model the system as an electrical circuit with lumped parameters, and mutual inductance values between the superconducting (SC) coil and the upper and lower loops of the 8-shaped coil were calculated and inputted into the simulator. The results were compared with experimental data obtained from the Yamanashi test track. The comparison demonstrated close alignment between the theoretical expectations and the obtained experimental curves, validating the accuracy of the proposed model. The study highlights the advantages of this new approach, including faster computation times and efficient implementation of modifications. Overall, this work contributes to the ongoing development and optimization of null-flux suspension Maglev systems.
Lightweight YOLOv5s Human Ear Recognition Based on MobileNetV3 and Ghostnet
Authors: Lei Yanmin , Pan Dong , Feng Zhibin , Qian Junru
Published: May 2023

Ear recognition is a biometric identification technology based on human ear feature information, which can not only detect the human ear in the picture but also determine whose human ear it is, so human identity can be verified by human ear recognition. In order to improve the real-time performance of the ear recognition algorithm and make it better for practical applications, a lightweight ear recognition method based on YOLOv5s is proposed. This method mainly includes the following steps: First, the MobileNetV3 lightweight network is used as the backbone network of the YOLOv5s ear recognition network. Second, using the idea of the Ghostnet network, the C3 module and Conv module in the YOLOv5s neck network are replaced by the C3Ghost module and GhostConv module, and then the YOLOv5s-MG ear recognition model is constructed. Third, three distinctive human ear datasets, CCU-DE, USTB, and EarVN1.0, are collected. Finally, the proposed lightweight ear recognition method is evaluated by four evaluation indexes: mAP value, model size, computational complexity (GFLOPs), and parameter quantity (params). Compared with the best results of YOLOv5s, YOLOv5s-V3, YOLOv5s-V2, and YOLOv5s-G methods on the CCU-DE, USTB, and EarVN1.0 three ear datasets, the params, GFLOPS, and model size of the proposed method YOLOv5s-MG are increased by 35.29%, 38.24%, and 35.57% respectively. The FPS of the proposed method, YOLOv5s-MG, is superior to the other four methods. The experimental results show that the proposed method has the performance of larger FPS, smaller model, fewer calculations, and fewer parameters under the condition of ensuring the accuracy of ear recognition, which can greatly improve the real-time performance and is feasible and effective.
A Mathematical Model for Predicting the Droplet Size of Micro-Fog Nozzle with Circular-Hole Rotating Core Based on Orthogonal Design
Authors: Cui Yan , Cheng Chuan , Wang Pengfei , Liu Yong , Li Runqiu , Zhang Yong , Li Ming , Li Shilin
Published: May 2023

The circular-hole rotating core fog nozzle has excellent atomization performance and has been widely used in the realm of spray dust. As part of this study, a mathematical model was developed for predicting the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of nozzles of this type. The coaction between the SMD of the nozzle and the three influencing factors of axial distance, water supply pressure, and outlet diameter was investigated based on the customized spray’s experimental platform and orthogonal design method. According to the comparative analysis of the size range, the axial distance, outlet diameter and water supply pressure are three parameters that affect the SMD of the nozzle, and the degree of influence is axial distance > outlet diameter > water supply pressure. On this basis, a mathematical model was developed using the multiple regression method to predict the SMD of the nozzle. We analyzed the results and compared them to the SMD value predicted by the multiple regression mathematical model and the orthogonal experiment results. The change trend was the same, the values were essentially the same, and the average relative error was just 16.11%. Accordingly, the mathematical model presented in this paper may be used for the prediction and calculation of the droplet size for circular-hole rotating core micro-fog nozzles.
Detection of HTTP DDoS Attacks Using NFStream and TensorFlow
Authors: Chovanec Martin , Hasin Martin , Havrilla Martin , Chovancová Eva
Published: May 2023

This paper focuses on the implementation of nfstream, an open source network data analysis tool and machine learning model using the TensorFlow library for HTTP attack detection. HTTP attacks are common and pose a significant security threat to networked systems. In this paper, we propose a machine learning-based approach to detect the aforementioned attacks, by exploiting the machine learning capabilities of TensorFlow. We also focused on the collection and analysis of network traffic data using nfstream, which provides a detailed analysis of network traffic flows. We pre-processed and transformed the collected data into vectors, which were used to train the machine learning model using the TensorFlow library. The proposed model using nfstream and TensorFlow is effective in detecting HTTP attacks. The machine learning model achieved high accuracy on the tested dataset, demonstrating its ability to correctly identify HTTP attacks while minimizing false positives.
Fault Reconstruction for a Giant Satellite Swarm Based on Hybrid Multi-Objective Optimization
Authors: Kang Guohua , Yang Zhenghao , Yuan Xinyu , Wu Junfeng
Published: May 2023

To perform indicator selection and verification for the on-orbit fault reconstruction of a giant satellite swarm, a hybrid multi-objective fault reconstruction algorithm is proposed and then verified by Monte Carlo analysis. First, according to the on-orbit failure analysis of the satellite swarm, several optimization indicators, such as the health state of the satellite swarm, the total energy consumption of reconstruction, and the balance of fuel consumption, are proposed. Then, a hybrid multi-objective fitness function is constructed, and a hybrid multi-objective genetic algorithm is used to optimize the objective function to obtain the optimal reconstruction strategy. Finally, the algorithm is statistically verified by Monte Carlo analysis. The simulation results not only show the algorithm’s validity but also reveal the relationship between the number of satellite faults and the health of the satellite swarm. From this, the maximum number of faulty satellites allowed in the giant satellite swarm is calculated, which is significant for assessing the swarm’s health.
An Intelligent Measurement Method and System for Vehicle Passing Angles
Authors: Chen Jiaping , Jia Kebin , Wang Zhiju , Sun Zhonghua
Published: May 2023

Vehicle passing angles are critical metrics for evaluating the geometric passability of vehicles. The accurate measurement of these angles is essential for route planning in complex terrain and in guiding the production of specialized vehicles. However, the current measurement methods cannot meet the requirements of efficiency, convenience and robustness. This paper presents a novel measurement method by building and measuring the point cloud of a vehicle chassis. Based on this method, a novel measurement system is designed and its effectiveness is verified. In the system, a wheeled robot acquires and processes data after passing underneath the vehicle. Then, we introduce a new approach to reduce the main sources of error when building point clouds beneath the vehicle, achieved by modifying the extraction algorithm and the proportion of different feature points in each frame. Additionally, we present a fast geometric calculation algorithm for calculating the passing angles. The simulation experiment results demonstrate deviations of 0.06252%, 0.01575%, and 0.003987% when comparing the calculated angles to those of the simulated vehicle. The experimental results show that the method and system are effective at acquiring the point cloud of the vehicle and calculating the parameters of passing angles with good data consistency, exhibiting variances of 0.12407, 0.12407, and 0.69804.
High Gain Improved Planar Yagi Uda Antenna for 2.4 GHz Applications and Its Influence on Human Tissues
Authors: Constantinescu Claudia , Pacurar Claudia , Giurgiuman Adina , Munteanu Calin , Andreica Sergiu , Gliga Marian
Published: May 2023

Considering the technological enhancements nowadays, antennas tend to be smaller in order to be easily integrated in devices. The most used antennas today in small high-tech devices close to the human body are planar antennas. In this paper, a Yagi Uda planar antenna operating at a frequency of 2.4 GHz is HF analyzed and optimized by increasing its bandwidth and gain while maintaining its initial dimensions. The methods used to optimize the antenna’s operation are the use of different dielectrics, different numbers of directors, and different dimensions for directors, placing new conductor elements, all while keeping the same dimensions for its implementation on the planar device. The optimized structure of the planar Yagi Uda antenna has a 10% increase in bandwidth and a 30% increase in gain, reaching a peak value of 4.84 dBi. In our daily activities, we use devices with such antennas very often, so an analysis of the antenna’s influence on the human body is performed: the SAR, electric and magnetic field and radiation power density are determined, represented and reported to the standards in force. For the frequency considered, the SAR should be below 4 W/kg for the head/torso when the exposure is more than six minutes, which is a value exceeded by the antenna in its near vicinity. The calculated maximum electric field limit is 0.349 V/m and the maximum magnetic field value is 28.441 V/m for an exposure between 6 and 30 min values, which is also exceeded in the immediate vicinity of the antenna. The results allow us to suggest that such an antenna should be placed further from the human body, or some protection should be placed between the body and the antenna. From the radiation power density point of view for the modeled antenna, it can be said that a distance from the antenna greater than 0.5 m is considered to be safe.
The Effect of Circadian Photoreceptors Stimulation on the Stress Response of Subjects with High Anxiety: A Pilot Study
Authors: Sergeeva Mariya , Borisova Oksana , Romanchuk Natalia , Videnin Arseniy , Pyatin Vasiliy , Shusharina Natalia , Zakharov Alexander V. , Kolsanov Alexander
Published: May 2023

The circadian and stress-realizing systems are interconnected, and the balance of their interaction determines the state of human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the modulating effect of activating the circadian system on heart rate variability in female medical students with high anxiety while performing a cognitive task. After 20 min of adequate stimulation of circadian photoreceptors with a monochromatic blue light, the cognitive task performance resulted in a decrease in sympathetic impact. During the session of monochromatic blue light exposure, a trend of increasing heart rate variability was observed in a state of relative rest (especially in the first 5 min). A comparative analysis of the parameters of the letter cancellation test before and after light exposure revealed a statistically significant increase in the indexes reflecting mental productivity, work accuracy, and concentration of attention. The results suggest an essential physiological role of the human circadian system in modulating the autonomic and psycho-emotional conditions, as well as cognitive functions of individuals with high anxiety. Our findings indicate the possibility of quickly correcting the balance in human systemic regulatory mechanisms using the activation of retinal circadian photoreceptors by blue light.
A Quantitative Detection Method for Surface Cracks on Slab Track Based on Infrared Thermography
Authors: Ye Xuan-Yu , Luo Yan-Yun , Li Zai-Wei , Liu Xiao-Zhou
Published: May 2023

Surface cracks are typical defects in high-speed rail (HSR) slab tracks, which can cause structural deterioration and reduce the service reliability of the track system. However, the question of how to effectively detect and quantify the surface cracks remains unsolved at present. In this paper, a novel crack-detection method based on infrared thermography is adopted to quantify surface cracks on rail-track slabs. In this method, the thermogram of a track slab acquired by an infrared camera is first processed with the non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT)-based image-enhancement algorithm, and the crack is located via an edge-detection algorithm. Next, to quantitatively detect the surface crack, a pixel-locating method is proposed, whereby the crack width, length, and area can be obtained. Lastly, the detection accuracy of the proposed method at different temperatures is verified against a laboratory test, in which a scale model of the slab is poured and a temperature-controlled cabinet is used to control the temperature-change process. The results show that the proposed method can effectively enhance the edge details of the surface cracks in the image and that the crack area can be effectively extracted; the accuracy of the quantification of the crack width can reach 99%, whilst the accuracy of the quantification of the crack length and area is 85%, which essentially meets the requirements of HSR-slab-track inspection. This research could open the possibility of the application of IRT-based track slab inspection in HSR operations to enhance the efficiency of defect detection.
Evaluation of Accelerator Pedal Strength under Critical Loads Using the Finite Element Method
Authors: Holenko Kostyantyn , Koda Eugeniusz , Kernytskyy Ivan , Babak Oleg , Horbay Orest , Popovych Vitalii , Chalecki Marek , Leśniewska Aleksandra , Berezovetskyi Serhii , Humeniuk Ruslan
Published: May 2023

The core idea of the research consists in a formulation of boundary conditions of a mechanical accelerator pedal’s strength in an Ansys environment, whose conditions are equivalent to full-scale tests under the critical loads defined by the UNECE’s Regulation No. 13. The lack of regulatory requirements for the strength of pedal types other than brake pedals is a major gap in vehicle certification, especially when it comes to agricultural machinery. In such cases, the authors suggest being guided by UNECE R 13 regarding the strength of the accelerator and other types of pedals and checking their behavior under loads of at least 1000 N. The real value of the yield strength of the material (Silumin 4000) is very important, both in the physical real-life experiments and in FEA simulation. The critical case of a short-term shock loading of the pedal in its extreme position has been considered separately. With the help of the Ansys Explicit Dynamics module, results of a pedal’s behavior were obtained; it lost its integrity and suffered destruction. It is also necessary to check the intermediate stress values depending on the loads for direct and hybrid tasks using the Transient Structural module in order to estimate other critical cases of the pedal behavior.
Numerical Studies on the Impact of Traffic Loading on Embedded Pipes in Solar Energy Harvesting Concrete Pavement
Authors: Najeeb Muhammad Imran , Itam Zarina , Alrubaye Mohammed Azeez , Shaik Ahmad Fadzil Shaikh Muhammad Mubin , Zahari Nazirul Mubin , Abu Bakar Mohd Supian , Syamsir Agusril , Zawawi Mohd Hafiz , Abdul Razak Norizham
Published: May 2023

The urban heat island (UHI) effect occurs when cities and towns warm up more than the surrounding rural areas because they have more structures and less vegetation and soil. The issue can be lessened by implementing a pavement solar collector (PSC) system, which converts heat from the pavement’s surface into thermal energy. In this work, the authors analyze the effect of pipe depth (85 mm to 50 mm) and spacing (200 mm to 100 mm) on the efficiency of heat extraction from the surface while taking pavement structural performance into account using the ANSYS Fluent program. The modeling approach was validated against the previous studies. According to the findings, a concrete water harvesting system may achieve the maximum outlet temperature with the least impact on traffic loading by using a distance of 100 mm and a depth of 85 mm. The load’s impact is 51% less than that of the model that predicted the highest outlet temperature, and the outside temperature is reduced by 3.9%. The outcomes here demonstrated that concrete might be employed in the PSC system as an alternative to asphalt.
Straight Jump Landing Position of Trampoline Gymnasts with Stable Occlusal Balance Reflects Standing Postural Control Function
Authors: Takahashi Mutsumi , Bando Yogetsu , Fukui Takuya , Maruyama Akiko , Sugita Masaaki
Published: May 2023

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between the landing position during consecutive straight jumps and standing posture stability of trampoline gymnasts with stable occlusal balance. Participants were 10 healthy men (BMI: 18.5–25.0) and 10 trampoline gymnasts (competition experience: ≥12 years), all of whom had stable occlusal balance. To assess postural control function, the displacements in the forward–backward (COP-FB) and the left–right directions (COP-LR) of the center of foot pressure were recorded under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. For the trampoline gymnasts, landing positions during 10 consecutive straight jumps were recorded. The horizontal displacements from the center of the bed in the forward–backward (H-FB) and the left–right directions (H-LR) directions were recorded. Differences in COP displacement between participant groups and between visual conditions were analyzed, along with the correlations between COP displacement and landing position. COP-FB in the eyes-open condition was significantly smaller in trampoline gymnasts than in healthy men (p < 0.05). Significant strong positive correlations were observed between COP-FB and H-FB, and between COP-LR and H-LR (p < 0.05). The postural control function of trampoline gymnasts was superior to that of healthy men in the eyes-open condition. The landing position during straight jumps of trampoline gymnasts with stable occlusal balance reflects standing postural control function.