bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of the Mechanism Resulting in Regions of Degraded Toughness in A508 Grade 4N Manufactured Using Powder Metallurgy–Hot Isostatic Pressing
Authors: Ridgeway Colin D. , Nolan Terrance , Pyle Joeseph M.
Published: June 2024

Powder metallurgy–hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP) is a form of advanced manufacturing that offers the ability to produce near-net shape components that are otherwise not achievable via conventional forging or wrought manufacturing. Accessing the design space of PM-HIP is dependent upon the ability to achieve uniform or known properties in finalized components, which has resulted in a number of programs aimed at identifying properties achievable via PM-HIP manufacturing. One result of these programs has been the consistent observation of a variation in toughness observed for the low-alloy steel ASTM A508 Grades 3 and 4N. While observed, the degree of variability and the mechanism resulting in the variability have not yet been fully defined. Thus, a systematic approach to evaluate the variation observed in impact toughness in PM-HIP ASTM A508 Grade 4N was proposed to elucidate the responsible metallurgical mechanism. Four unique billets manufactured from two heats of powder with different particle size distributions (PSDs) were fabricated and tested for impact toughness and tensile properties. The degradation in impact toughness was confirmed to be location-specific where the near-can region of all billets had reduced impact toughness relative to the interior of each billet. The mechanism driving the location-specific property development was identified to be mobile oxygen that follows the thermal gradient that develops during the HIP cycle and leads to a redistribution of mobile oxygen where oxygen is concentrated ~1” inboard of the original canister/billet interface. Redistributed oxygen then forms stable oxides along coincident prior particle and prior austenite grain boundaries, effectively reducing the impact toughness. With the mechanism now addressed, necessary actions can be taken to mitigate the effect of the oxygen redistribution, allowing for use in PM-HIP A508 Grade 4N in commercial industry.
Ship Trajectory Classification Prediction at Waterway Confluences: An Improved KNN Approach
Authors: Wang Zhiyuan , He Wei , Lan Jiafen , Zhu Chuanguang , Lei Jinyu , Liu Xinglong
Published: June 2024

This study presents a method to support ship trajectory prediction at waterway confluences using historical Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. The method is meant to improve the recognition accuracy of ship behavior trajectory, assist in the proactive avoidance of collisions, and clarify ship collision responsibility, to ensure the safety of waterway transportation systems in the event of ship encounters induced by waterway confluence or channel limitation. In this study, the ship trajectory based on AIS data is considered from five aspects: time, location, heading, speed, and trajectory by using the piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation method and then quickly clustered by regional navigation rules. Then, an improved K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm considering the sensitivity of data characteristics (SKNN) is proposed to predict the trajectory of ships, which considers the influence weights of various parameters on ship trajectory prediction. The method is trained and verified using the AIS data of the Yangtze River and Han River intersection in Wuhan. The results show that the accuracy of SKNN is better than that of conventional KNN and Naive Bayes (NB) in the same test case. The accuracy of the ship trajectory prediction method is above 99% and the performance metrics of the SKNN surpass those of both the conventional KNN and NB classifiers, which is helpful for early warning of collision encounters to ensure avoidance.
Fleet Repositioning, Flag Switching, Transportation Scheduling, and Speed Optimization for Tanker Shipping Firms
Authors: Wu Yiwei , Chen Jieming , Lu Yao , Wang Shuaian
Published: June 2024

In response to the European Union (EU)’s sanctions on Russian oil products, tanker shipping firms may adopt two strategies to reoptimize their shipping networks. The first strategy is to switch the flag states of tankers that are not eligible to operate on certain routes. The second strategy is to reposition tankers based on their flag states, i.e., moving those tankers that are eligible from other groups to specified routes. To help tanker shipping firms minimize the total operating cost during the planning horizon in the context of EU oil sanctions, including costs of fleet repositioning, flag switching, and fuel, this study investigates an integrated problem of fleet repositioning, flag switching, transportation scheduling, and speed optimization considering the dynamic relationships among fuel consumption, speed, and load. By formulating the problem as a nonlinear integer programming model and applying various linearization techniques to convert the nonlinear model into a linear optimization model solvable by off-the-shelf linear optimization solvers, this study demonstrates the practical application potential of the proposed model, with the longest solution time of less than two hours for a numerical instance with seven routes. Furthermore, through sensitivity analyses on important factors including unit fuel prices, crude oil transportation demand, and the tanker repositioning cost, this study provides managerial insights into the operations management of tanker shipping firms.
Effect of Hydrate Saturation on Permeability Anisotropy for Hydrate-Bearing Turbidite Sediments Based on Pore-Scale Seepage Simulation
Authors: Li Ruirui , Han Zhenhua , Zhang Luqing , Zhou Jian , Wang Song
Published: June 2024

The permeability of natural gas hydrate (NGH) turbidite reservoirs typically exhibits significant anisotropy, with anisotropy being a crucial basis for evaluating reservoir production. The presence of hydrates, as a crucial constituent of the solid framework, not only impacts the overall permeability but also influences the permeability anisotropy. To investigate the saturation sensitivity of permeability anisotropy, a series of simulations are performed by integrating particle flow and computational fluid dynamics methods to construct the homogeneous and layered numerical samples and compute the evolution of permeability anisotropy. It is shown that the permeability is isotropic for homogeneous sediments and the isotropy remains unchanged regardless of variations in hydrate saturation. The permeability of layered sediments, in contrast, exhibits significant anisotropy due to the presence of dominant channels within the coarse layer. For uniformly distributed hydrates, the more effective blockage in coarse layers results in a reduction in anisotropy. While for preferentially distributed hydrates, the excess blocking of coarse layers makes the dominant channels transfer to the fine layers, the further blocking causes a U-shaped anisotropy–saturation curve characterized by a decrease–increase transformation. During the reservoir production process, the preponderance channels blocked by hydrates will be cleared and the horizontal permeability will significantly increase. As a result, the production efficiency of horizontal wells may exceed expectations. The findings offer a parameter support for production estimation and environmental assessment.
Infection of Phytophthora palmivora Isolates on Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: García-Gaona Mariandrea , Romero Hernán Mauricio
Published: June 2024

Phytophthora palmivora, a hemibiotrophic oomycete, causes diseases in several economically important tropical crops, such as oil palm, which it is responsible for a devastating disease called bud rot (BR). Despite recent progress in understanding host resistance and virulence mechanisms, many aspects remain unknown in P. palmivora isolates from oil palm. Model pathosystems are useful for understanding the molecular interactions between pathogens and hosts. In this study, we utilized detached leaves and whole seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 to describe and evaluate the infection process of three P. palmivora isolates (CPPhZC-05, CPPhZC-04, CPPhZOC-01) that cause BR in oil palm. Two compatible isolates (CPPhZC-05 and CPPhZOC-01) induced aqueous lesions at 72 h post-inoculation (hpi), with microscopic visualization revealing zoospore encysting and appressorium penetration at 3 hpi, followed by sporangia generation at 72 hpi. In contrast, an incompatible isolate (CPPhZC-04) exhibited cysts that could not penetrate tissue, resulting in low leaf colonization. Gene expression of ten P. palmivora infection-related genes was quantified by RT-qPCR, revealing overexpression in compatible isolates, but not in the incompatible isolate. Additionally, key genes associated with salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) in Arabidopsis exhibited regulation during interaction with the three isolates. These findings demonstrate that P. palmivora can infect Arabidopsis Col-0, and variability is observed in the interaction between Arabidopsis-Col-0 and P. palmivora isolates. Establishing this pathosystem is expected to enhance our understanding of P. palmivora’s pathology and physiology.
The Impact of Family Firms and Supervisory Boards on Corporate Environmental Quality
Authors: Susanto Hendra , Suryadnyana Nyoman Adhi , Rusmin Rusmin , Astami Emita
Published: June 2024

This paper examines the impact of family ownership and supervisory board characteristics on carbon emission disclosure. It uses balanced panel data and a matched-pair design of 124 non-financial firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2017 to 2019. This study finds that family firms and larger boards improve, while female board members harm carbon emission performance. Further analyses reveal non-linear relationships between family ownership and carbon performance. When control rights are limited, family firms prioritize controlling managers and improving carbon quality. Conversely, they prioritize personal objectives over environmental concerns when there are high control rights, resulting in decreased carbon emission performance. Additionally, family board members generate more carbon information, indicating the family owners effectively utilize their position on the supervisory boards to influence the company’s carbon emission performance. Finally, the study reports that more faculty member boards seem to hurt carbon emission reduction efforts. This result suggests that the diversity of their professional experiences does not affect the environmental effectiveness of supervisory boards. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding SEW principles and their connection to families in comprehending Indonesian corporate carbon emissions disclosures. The findings of this study enrich the worldwide literature by exploring the potential benefits of family business environmental performance. This study also adds to the literature on corporate governance, especially the role played by supervisory boards. Our findings align with the resource dependence theory, emphasizing the central function of supervisory boards as a monitoring tool. This study is constrained by its reliance on carbon emission data extracted from the annual reports of public firms, with a particular emphasis on pre-COVID-19 data. Future research should focus on sustainability reports and explore the time frame encompassing COVID-19 (2020–2022 datasets) to determine any differences in the findings.
Entrepreneurial Intentions in the Absence of Banking Services: The Case of the Lebanese in Crises
Authors: Mawad Jeanne Laure , Freiha Sibelle
Published: June 2024

This paper investigates the complex factors hindering entrepreneurial aspirations in Lebanon, focusing on the absence of a functional financial system and its impact on entrepreneurial intentions. Drawing on surveys conducted with 325 Lebanese participants across three generations, using ordinal regression, the research reveals crucial determinants of entrepreneurial intentions, emphasizing the roles of entrepreneurial attitude, the absence of banking sector services, optimism, risk propensity, and age. Positive attitudes and optimism correlate with stronger intentions; however, the weakened economic situation and lack of a functional financial system diminish this positive correlation. Demographic factors like gender and education do not significantly influence intentions. In addition, the study reveals differences in entrepreneurial intentions determinants across the three generations of X, Y, and Z. This study underscores the urgent need for financial system reforms in Lebanon to enhance stability while advocating for financial literacy programs and private sector initiatives to empower entrepreneurs and expand their businesses.
Comparing Different Methods That Measure Bilingual Children’s Language Environment: A Closer Look at Audio Recordings and Questionnaires
Authors: Verhoeven Emma , van Witteloostuijn Merel , Oudgenoeg-Paz Ora , Blom Elma
Published: June 2024

The quantity of language input is a relevant predictor of children’s language development and is frequently used as a variable in child bilingualism research. Studies use various methods to measure bilingual language input quantity, but it is currently unknown what the optimal method is. We investigated the bilingual language input estimates of 31 Turkish–Dutch and 21 Polish–Dutch 3- to 5-year-old bilingual children, obtained via the questionnaire for Quantifying Bilingual Experience (Q-BEx) and day-long audio recordings made with Language Environment Analysis (LENA), and proposed a combined method that could overcome several shortcomings of the individual methods. The three methods are compared to each other in their correlation strength with receptive and expressive vocabulary scores. Each individual method correlated significantly with vocabulary scores, regardless of modality or language. Contrary to our hypothesis, the combined method did not correlate stronger with vocabulary outcomes than the Q-BEx and LENA individually did. The latter two did not differ significantly from each other in their correlational strength with vocabulary outcomes. These findings show that both the Q-BEx, LENA, and combined method can be deemed reliable to measure bilingual language input quantity. Future studies can make more informed decisions about their methodology in children’s bilingualism research.
Effects of Crystal Orientation and External Stress on the Static Recrystallization Behavior of an Ni-Based Single-Crystal Superalloy
Authors: Xu Fuze , Lin Yongcheng , Ma Dexin , Xiong Wei , He Daoguang , Liu Guan , Zhao Yunxing
Published: June 2024

The deformation mechanism and static recrystallization (SRX) behavior of an Ni-based single-crystal superalloy are investigated. Indentation tests were performed to investigate the effects of crystal orientation and external stress on SRX behavior. Following solution heat treatment, the depth of the SRX layer below the indentation increases with a deviation angle (β) from the [001] orientation. The slip analysis indicates that an increased deviation angle leads to an increase in the resolved shear stress on the slip plane and a decrease in the number of active slip systems. In addition, the variation pattern of the SRX layer depth with the deviation angle is consistent for different external stresses. The depth of the SRX layer also increases with external stress. The coarse γ′ phases and residual γ/γ′ eutectics obviously enhance the pinning effects on the expansion of recrystallized grain boundaries, resulting in slower growth rates of the recrystallized grains in interdendritic regions than those in dendrite core regions.
Bending Fatigue Properties of Ultra-High Toughness Cementitious Composite (UHTCC)
Authors: Wang Pengju , Huang Kaijian , Shen Gong , Miao Yixin , Wu Jiansheng
Published: June 2024

Ultra-High Toughness Cementitious Composite (UHTCC) represents a composite material meticulously engineered on the foundation of micromechanical principles. The multi-crack cracking and strain-hardening characteristics of UHTCC enable it to be applied to orthotropic steel decks to control the crack width. Different from most studies which only focus on hybrid fiber or fatigue characteristics, this paper studies the influence of hybrid fiber content on static mechanical properties, flexural toughness, and flexural fatigue characteristics of UHTCC under different stress levels. The compressive and flexural strength, bending toughness, and fatigue damage of UHTCC under different fiber ratios were compared, and the fatigue properties of hybrid fiber UHTCC were verified. The results reveal that hybrid fiber exerts a more pronounced effect on toughness, augmenting the maximum folding ratio by 23.7%. Single-doped steel fiber UHTCC exhibits a characteristic strain-softening phenomenon attributable to inadequate fiber content, whereas the bending toughness index of hybrid fiber UHTCC surpasses that of SF1.5P0 by 18.6%. Under low-stress conditions, UHTCC demonstrates a nearly threefold increase in bending fatigue life with a mere 1% steel fiber content, while the influence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber on fatigue life is more significant: with an increase of only 1/5 volume content, the fatigue life increased by 29.8%, reaching a maximum increase of 43.2% at 1/4 volume content. Furthermore, the fatigue damage accumulation curve of UHTCC follows a three-stage inverted S-shaped trajectory. The inclusion of PVA fiber facilitates early initiation of stable cracking during the fatigue failure process, thereby advancing the entire strain stability development stage and mitigating external load forces through the proliferation of micro-cracks. Consequently, compared to SF1P0, the ε0 of SF1P5 experiences a significant increase, reaching 143.43%.
Influence of Sputtering Power on the Properties of Magnetron Sputtered Tin Selenide Films
Authors: Mars Krzysztof , Sałęga-Starzecki Mateusz , Zawadzka Kinga M. , Godlewska Elżbieta
Published: June 2024

The ecofriendly tin selenide (SnSe) is expected to find multiple applications in optoelectronic, photovoltaic, and thermoelectric systems. This work is focused on the thermoelectric properties of thin films. SnSe single crystals exhibit excellent thermoelectric properties, but it is not so in the case of polycrystalline bulk materials. The investigations were motivated by the fact that nanostructuring may lead to an improvement in thermoelectric efficiency, which is evaluated through a dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S2 σ T/λ, where S is the Seebeck coefficient (V/K), σ is the electrical conductivity (S/m), λ is the thermal conductivity (W/mK), and T is the absolute temperature (K). The main objective of this work was to obtain SnSe films via magnetron sputtering of a single target. Instead of common radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering with a high voltage alternating current (AC) power source, a modified direct current (DC) power supply was employed. This technique in the classical version is not suitable for sputtering targets with relatively low thermal and electrical conductivity, such as SnSe. The proposed solution enabled stable sputtering of this target without detrimental cracking and arcing and resulted in high-quality polycrystalline SnSe films with unprecedented high values of ZT equal to 0.5 at a relatively low temperature of 530 K. All parameters included in ZT were measured in one setup, i.e., Linseis Thin Film Analyzer (TFA). The SnSe films were deposited at sputtering powers of 120, 140, and 170 W. They had the same orthorhombic structure, as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), but the thickness and microstructure examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were dependent on the sputtering power. It was demonstrated that thermoelectric efficiency improved with increasing sputtering power and stable values were attained after two heating–cooling cycles. This research additionally provides further insights into the DC sputtering process and opens up new possibilities for magnetron sputtering technology.
Antioxidant Status in Patients after Breast Mastopexy and Augmentation
Authors: Jurševičs Kirils , Jurševičs Eduards , Krasiļņikova Jeļena , Šķesters Andrejs , Lece Anna , Skadiņš Ingus
Published: June 2024

Background and Objectives: Mammary gland surgery has become very common, but there are complications of these operations, including the concept of breast implant illness (BII) in women with silicone gel breast implants (SBI), who suffer from various symptoms such as myalgia, arthralgia, fatigue, fever, dry eyes, or dry mouth. Silicone biomaterials are synthetic polymers that have their own physical and chemical properties and can exert their effect at the site of use and possibly on the general status of the body, causing inflammation and oxidative stress signs. The aim of the study was to examine components of the blood antioxidant system (AOS) of the mastopexy and breast augmentation patients before the operation, on the first post-op day, and 6 months after surgery. Materials and Methods: Healthy breast surgery patients (women aged 31 to 60 years without visible pathologies) were selected for the study and formed 2 groups: breast lift—mastopexy without silicone biomaterials (I group, 30 patients) and breast augmentation using silicone biomaterials (II group, 28 patients). All patients underwent standard preoperative tests. Glutathione peroxidase (GPxSe) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in blood, selenium (Se), selenium protein P (SelPP), and total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma were measured as AOS parameters. The concentration of vitamin D was also determined. A total of 174 blood tests were performed. Results: Overall, there were no differences in both groups in measured antioxidant system indicators over time; neither changes in objective nor subjective status were observed. However, baseline activity of GPxSe was relatively high but restored to normal values 6 months after surgery. In the mastopexy group, GPxSe decreased from 12,961.7 U/L by 18.9% to 10,513.4 U/L, and in the breast augmentation group, from 15,505.0 U/L by 25.1% to 11,265.5 U/L, which is a decrease of 18.9% and 25.1%, respectively. The patients did not note any complaints; other indicators of standard biochemical tests were within normal limits. Conclusions: The two types of surgical interventions, breast mastopexy and augmentation of the mammary glands, do not significantly impact blood AOS and are physiological in nature.
Predictive Factors and the Role of Conventionally Fractionated Radiation Therapy for Bone Metastasis from Renal Cell Carcinoma in the Era of Targeted Therapy
Authors: Kang Hye Jin , Kim Myungsoo , Kwak Yoo-Kang , Lee So Jung
Published: June 2024

Background and Objectives: Despite rapid advances in targeted therapies for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), bone metastases remain a major problem that significantly increases morbidity and reduces patients’ quality of life. Conventional fractionated radiotherapy (CF-RT) is known to be an important local treatment option for bone metastases; however, bone metastases from RCC have traditionally been considered resistant to CF-RT. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of CF-RT for symptomatic bone metastasis from RCC and identify the predictive factors associated with treatment outcomes in the targeted therapy era. Materials and Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2023, a total of 73 lesions in 50 patients treated with a palliative course of CF-RT for symptomatic bone metastasis from RCC were evaluated, and 62 lesions in 41 patients were included in this study. Forty-five lesions (72.6%) were treated using targeted therapy during CF-RT. The most common radiation dose fractionations were 30 gray (Gy) in 10 fractions (50%) and 39 Gy in 13 fractions (16.1%). Results: Pain relief was experienced in 51 of 62 lesions (82.3%), and the 12-month local control (LC) rate was 61.2%. Notably, 72.6% of the treatment course in this study was combined with targeted therapy. The 12-month LC rate was 74.8% in patients who received targeted therapy and only 10.9% in patients without targeted therapy (p < 0.001). Favorable Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (p = 0.026) and pain response (p < 0.001) were independent predictors of improved LC. Radiation dose escalation improved the LC in radiosensitive patients. A consistent treatment response was confirmed in patients with multiple treatment courses. Conclusions: CF-RT enhances pain relief and LC when combined with targeted therapy. Patients who responded well to initial treatment generally showed consistent responses to subsequent CF-RT for additional painful bone lesions. CF-RT could therefore be an excellent complementary local treatment modality for targeted therapy.
Temporary Hydrostatic Splint Therapy and Its Effects on Occlusal Forces
Authors: Kireilyte Mante , Ancevicius Povilas , Baltrusaityte Ausra , Maciulskiene Vita , Zekonis Gediminas
Published: June 2024

Background and objectives: This study analyzed and compared the distribution patterns of occlusal forces using T-Scan III before and after the hydrostatic temporary oral splint (Aqualizer Ultra) therapy in healthy subjects and subjects with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Materials and Methods: Fifty-one subjects were divided into groups based on anamnesis and responses to the Fonseca questionnaire. The first group, non-TMDs group (n = 19), and the second group, TMDs group (n = 32), had mild-to-severe TMDs, as identified by the Fonseca questionnaire. The non-TMDs group had an average age of 25.4 years (SD = 4.8, range 20–38) with 15 females (78.95%) and 4 males (21.05%). The TMDs group had an average age of 27.4 years (SD = 7.0, range 22–53) with 25 females (78.125%) and 7 males (21.875%). T-Scan III device was used for occlusal analysis before and after hydrostatic splint usage. Results: Significant differences were observed in the TMDs group for anterior and posterior right percentages of forces before and after hydrostatic splint usage. The analysis of force distribution per sector before and after hydrostatic splint therapy showed no significant differences in the non-TMDs group. Analysis of force distributions in the entire study population before and after hydrostatic splint therapy showed significant differences in the anterior and posterior right regions. Occlusal force increased by 32–56% in the front region and decreased in the posterior area after hydrostatic splint usage. Conclusions: Hydrostatic splint therapy is recommended as a part of full-mouth rehabilitation treatment for all patients regardless of the severity of TMDs.
A National Study Exploring the Association between Fasting Duration and Mortality among the Elderly
Authors: Zhang Zhixuan , Zhao Hang , Tao Zhengyu , Jiang Meng , Pu Jun
Published: June 2024

(1) Background: The benefits of weight management are widely recognized, and prolonged fasting duration has become a common method for weight control. The suitability of time-restricted eating (TRE) for elderly individuals remains controversial. This study aims to examine the correlation between fasting duration and mortality within a nationally representative cohort of elderly individuals in the United States. (2) Methods: Data were extracted from a prospective cohort study conducted as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2018. Participants aged over 60 with complete data on dietary intake and mortality follow-up information were included. Fasting duration was assessed using two 24 h dietary recalls. All the participants were categorized into fasting duration quartiles. Mortality outcomes were ascertained through the National Death Index. Cox proportional hazards regression models were utilized to analyze the association between fasting duration and mortality. (3) Results: The final analysis included 10,561 elderly participants (mean age 69.89, 45.58% male). Individuals with the longest fasting duration (over 12.38 h) had a significantly higher risk of CVD mortality compared to those with a normal fasting duration (10.58–12.38 h). This elevated CVD mortality risk was particularly pronounced in males, individuals over 70 years old, and non-shift workers. A non-linear relationship was observed between fasting duration and all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. (4) Conclusions: Prolonged fasting periods are associated with a higher risk of CVD mortality in the elderly population, although this correlation is not evident for all-cause, cancer, or other-cause mortality. A fasting duration of 11.49 h correlates with the lowest mortality risk. Additionally, elderly individuals with the shortest fasting duration exhibit elevated hazard ratios for both cancer and other-cause mortality. As with any health intervention, clinicians should exercise caution when recommending a fasting regimen that is personalized to the health condition of people who are older. Further research through randomized controlled trials should be conducted to comprehensively investigate the impact of TRE on mortality.
Early Methylglyoxal Exposure Leads to Worsened Cardiovascular Function in Young Rats
Authors: Ferreira-Junior Marcos Divino , Cavalcante Keilah Valéria N. , Costa Jaqueline M. , Bessa Amanda S. M. , Amaro Andreia , de Castro Carlos Henrique , Xavier Carlos Henrique , Silva Sónia , Fonseca Diogo A. , Matafome Paulo , Gomes Rodrigo Mello
Published: June 2024

Background: Though maternal diabetes effects are well described in the literature, the effects of maternal diabetes in postnatal phases are often overlooked. Diabetic individuals have higher levels of circulating glycotoxins, and there is a positive correlation between maternal-derived glycotoxins and circulating glycotoxins in their progeny. Previous studies evaluated the metabolic effects of high glycotoxin exposure during lactation in adult animals. However, here we focus on the cardiovascular system of juvenile rats. Methods: For this, we used two experimental models: 1. High Methylglyoxal (MG) environment: pregnant Wistar rats were injected with PBS (VEH group) or Methylglyoxal (MG group; 60 mg/kg/day; orally, postnatal day (PND) 3 to PND14). 2. GLO-1 inhibition: pregnant Wistar rats were injected with dimethyl sulfoxide (VEH group) or a GLO-1 inhibitor (BBGC group; 5 mg/kg/day; subcutaneously, PND1–PND5). The offspring were evaluated at PND45. Results: MG offspring presented cardiac dysfunction and subtly worsened vasomotor responses in the presence of perivascular adipose tissue, without morphological alterations. In addition, an endogenous increase in maternal glycotoxins impacts offspring vasomotricity due to impaired redox status. Conclusions: Our data suggest that early glycotoxin exposure led to cardiac and vascular impairments, which may increase the risk for developing cardiovascular diseases later in life.
Photodynamic Therapy under Diagnostic Control of Wounds with Antibiotic-Resistant Microflora
Authors: Shiryaev Artem , Ivankov Mikhail , Voitova Arina , Kalyagina Nina , Efendiev Kanamat , Pisareva Tatiana , Zavodnov Sergey , Reshetov Igor , Loschenov Victor
Published: June 2024

Background: Difficulties in the treatment of purulent wounds are caused by bacterial biofilms, which results in decontamination limitations. Infected wounds are not sufficiently susceptible to existing antibiotics, necessitating the search for alternative approaches to reduce the concentration of pathogenic microflora. Methods: This study describes an approach to the effective treatment of wounds by photodynamic inactivation or therapy (PDI/PDT) of antibiotic-resistant microflora under fluorescence control. For this purpose, laser and LED light (660–680 nm) and different groups of photosensitizers (PS) (1% solutions of methylene blue, aluminum phthalocyanine, chlorine e6 and nanocomposites containing these groups of PS) were used. The study included 90 patients with various wounds. Some patients were subjected to fluorescence diagnosis by laser spectral analysis before the PDT. Results: Positive results were achieved in 76 patients (84%, p < 0.05). After the first PDT session, a decrease in the concentration of microflora was noticeable. By the third and seventh days, a significant to complete inactivation of bacteria was obtained. In all patients who were photo-diagnosed before PDT, a significant PS concentration decrease of more than 75% after PDT was obtained. Conclusion: PDT is an effective method for the inactivation of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, including in long non-healing wounds, contributing also to early tissue regeneration.
Generation of Narrow Beams of Super High-Energy Gamma Quanta in the Resonant Compton Effect in the Field of a Strong X-ray Wave
Authors: Roshchupkin Sergei P. , Makarov Sergey B.
Published: June 2024

The article presents a theoretical study of Oleinik resonances in the process of scattering a gamma quantum by an ultrarelativistic electron in the field of a strong electromagnetic wave with intensities up to 1027Wcm−2. The resonant kinematics for three possible resonant reaction channels in a strong external field have been studied in detail. It is shown that under resonant conditions, the scattering channels of the reaction effectively split into two first-order processes according to the fine structure constant, such as the external field-stimulated Compton effect. The annihilation channel of the reaction effectively decays into direct and reverse the external field-stimulated Breit–Wheeler processes. In the absence of interference from the reaction channels, a resonant differential cross-section was obtained in a strong external electromagnetic field. The cases when the energy of the initial electrons significantly exceeds the energy of the initial gamma quanta have been studied. At the same time, all particles (initial and final) fly in a narrow cone away from the direction of wave propagation. The conditions under which the energy of ultrarelativistic initial electrons is converted into the energy of a finite gamma quantum are studied. It is shown that the resonant differential cross-section of such a process significantly (by several orders of magnitude) exceeds the corresponding nonresonant cross-section. This theoretical study predicts a number of new physical effects that may explain the high-energy fluxes of gamma quanta produced near neutron stars and magnetars.
In Situ Combustion Characteristics of Heavy Oil in the Liaohe Oilfield at Different Temperatures
Authors: Gong Yuning , Song Yang , Feng Tian , Guo Yong , Wang Xusheng
Published: June 2024

This study conducted in situ combustion oxidation experiments on crude oil from Block D within the Liaohe Oilfield, utilizing a kettle furnace low-pressure oxidation reaction method at various temperatures. The molecular composition of oxidation products was analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The results reveal that the molecular composition of the products remains relatively stable up to 300 °C, exhibiting a slight increase in C13-C30 alkanes. The ratio of the peak area for C21 to bisnorhopane is 0.082. From 300 °C to 450 °C, compounds with long alkyl chains gradually undergo thermal cracking, resulting in a significant increase in the production of alkanes within the C10–C30 range. The concentration of saturated hydrocarbons produced through thermal cracking reaches its maximum at a temperature of 400 °C. The most abundant peak of n-alkane is observed at C21, with a quantified ratio of peak area for C21 to bisnorhopane at 6.5, indicating a two-order magnitude increase compared to crude oil. From 500 °C to 600 °C, compounds undergo more profound thermal cracking and condensation processes. The predominant hydrocarbons consist of aromatic molecules containing two to six rings substituted with short side chains. The double bond equivalent (DBE) values of carbazoles and carboxylic acids are determined as 30 and 25, respectively. At 600 °C, the peak area ratio of naphthalene to biodecane is 300, indicating a remarkable increase of five orders of magnitude compared to the crude oil. The present study elucidates the correlation between the characteristics of combustion components in crude oil and the corresponding combustion temperature. Primary cracking reactions within crude oil are promoted effectively when keeping the combustion zone at 350 °C and 450 °C. This process significantly reduces the viscosity of heavy oil and enhances its fluidity.
Improved Dujiangyan Irrigation System Optimization (IDISO): A Novel Metaheuristic Algorithm for Hydrochar Characteristics
Authors: Shi Jingyuan , Zhang Dapeng , Sui Zifeng , Wu Jie , Zhang Zifeng , Hu Wenjie , Huo Zhanpeng , Wu Yongfu
Published: June 2024

Hyperparameter tuning is crucial in the development of machine learning models. This study introduces the nonlinear shrinking factor and the Cauchy mutation mechanism to improve the Dujiangyan Irrigation System Optimization (DISO), proposing the improved Dujiangyan Irrigation System Optimization algorithm (IDISO) for hyperparameter tuning in machine learning. The optimization capabilities and convergence performance of IDISO were validated on 87 CEC2017 benchmark functions of varying dimensions and nine real-world engineering problems, demonstrating that it significantly outperforms DISO in terms of convergence speed and accuracy, and ranks first in overall performance among the seventeen advanced metaheuristic algorithms being compared. To construct a robust and generalizable prediction model for hydrochar element characteristics, this study utilized IDISO and DISO algorithms to fine-tune the parameters of the XGBoost model. The experimental results show that the IDISO-XGBoost model achieved an average prediction performance of 0.95, which represents a 4% improvement over the DISO-XGBoost model. These results indicate that the IDISO algorithm has significant potential and value in practical applications.
Analysis of Carbon Emission Reduction with Using Low-Carbon Demand Response: Case Study of North China Power Grid
Authors: Feng Haoran , Ji Jie , Yang Chen , Li Fuqiang , Li Yaowang , Lyu Lanchun
Published: June 2024

The power sector is the single industry with the largest carbon emission in China, the carbon emission of which accounts for more than 40% of China’s total carbon emissions. In relevant research on the simulation of power system operation, current studies focus more on energy conservation and economical operation, while few consider the low-carbon optimization of the power system from the perspective of carbon emissions. In addition, in relevant research on carbon reduction in the power system, current studies focus more on controlling the direct carbon emission of the source side and less on the indirect carbon emissions of the load side, which focus on the reverse effect of a user’s electricity consumption behavior on the carbon reduction goals of the power system. This article delved into a deterministic simulation model of power system operation based on time series load curves and proposed a carbon reduction mechanism called the low-carbon demand response mechanism, which guides users to actively respond and reduce the carbon emission of power systems. In addition, this article conducted an empirical analysis based on the planning data of the North China Power Grid. To minimize carbon emissions, a simulation of low-carbon optimization operation for the North China Power Grid in 2040 was carried out. Then, based on the simulation results, an analysis of the carbon reduction benefits of low-carbon demand response was carried out. Ultimately, the empirical analysis verified that low-carbon optimization operation and low-carbon demand response technology possess significant carbon reduction potential for the power system.
Selective Recovery of Tin from Electronic Waste Materials Completed with Carbothermic Reduction of Tin (IV) Oxide with Sodium Sulfite
Authors: Hyk Wojciech , Kitka Konrad
Published: June 2024

A new approach for the thermal reduction of tin dioxide (SnO2) in the carbon/sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) system is demonstrated. The process of tin smelting was experimentally optimized by adjusting the smelting temperature and amounts of the chemical components used for the thermal reduction of SnO2. The numbers obtained are consistent with the thermodynamic characteristics of the system and molar fractions of reactants derived from the proposed mechanism of the SnO2 thermal reduction process. They reveal that the maximum yield of tin is obtained if masses of C, Na2SO3 and SnO2 are approximately in the ratio 1:2:3 and the temperature is set to 1050 °C. The key role in the suggested mechanism is the thermal decomposition of Na2SO3. It was deduced from the available experimental data that the produced sulfur dioxide undergoes carbothermic reduction to carbonyl sulfide—an intermediate product involved in the bulk reduction of SnO2. Replacing sodium sulfite with sodium sulfate, sodium sulfide and even elemental sulfur practically terminated the production of metallic tin. The kinetic analysis was focused on the determination of the reaction orders for the two crucial reactants involved in the smelting process.
Multiscale Feature Search-Based Graph Convolutional Network for Hyperspectral Image Classification
Authors: Wu Ke , Zhan Yanting , An Ying , Li Suyi
Published: June 2024

With the development of hyperspectral sensors, the availability of hyperspectral images (HSIs) has increased significantly, prompting advancements in deep learning-based hyperspectral image classification (HSIC) methods. Recently, graph convolutional networks (GCNs) have been proposed to process graph-structured data in non-Euclidean domains, and have been used for HSIC. The superpixel segmentation should be implemented first in the GCN-based methods, however, it is difficult to manually select the optimal superpixel segmentation sizes to obtain the useful information for classification. To solve this problem, we constructed a HSIC model based on a multiscale feature search-based graph convolutional network (MFSGCN) in this study. Firstly, pixel-level features of HSIs are extracted sequentially using 3D asymmetric decomposition convolution and 2D convolution. Then, superpixel-level features at different scales are extracted using multilayer GCNs. Finally, the neural architecture search (NAS) method is used to automatically assign different weights to different scales of superpixel features. Thus, a more discriminative feature map is obtained for classification. Compared with other GCN-based networks, the MFSGCN network can automatically capture features and obtain higher classification accuracy. The proposed MFSGCN model was implemented on three commonly used HSI datasets and compared to some state-of-the-art methods. The results confirm that MFSGCN effectively improves accuracy.
Speech Emotion Recognition Incorporating Relative Difficulty and Labeling Reliability
Authors: Ahn Youngdo , Han Sangwook , Lee Seonggyu , Shin Jong Won
Published: June 2024

Emotions in speech are expressed in various ways, and the speech emotion recognition (SER) model may perform poorly on unseen corpora that contain different emotional factors from those expressed in training databases. To construct an SER model robust to unseen corpora, regularization approaches or metric losses have been studied. In this paper, we propose an SER method that incorporates relative difficulty and labeling reliability of each training sample. Inspired by the Proxy-Anchor loss, we propose a novel loss function which gives higher gradients to the samples for which the emotion labels are more difficult to estimate among those in the given minibatch. Since the annotators may label the emotion based on the emotional expression which resides in the conversational context or other modality but is not apparent in the given speech utterance, some of the emotional labels may not be reliable and these unreliable labels may affect the proposed loss function more severely. In this regard, we propose to apply label smoothing for the samples misclassified by a pre-trained SER model. Experimental results showed that the performance of the SER on unseen corpora was improved by adopting the proposed loss function with label smoothing on the misclassified data.
Study on Mechanical and Acoustic Emission Characteristics of Backfill–Rock Instability under Different Stress Conditions
Authors: Dong Longjun , Yan Mingchun , Chen Yongchao , Yang Longbin , Sun Daoyuan
Published: June 2024

Unveiling the mechanical properties and damage mechanism of the complex composite structure, comprising backfill and surrounding rock, is crucial for ensuring the safe development of the downward-approach backfill mining method. This work conducts biaxial compression tests on backfill–rock under various loading conditions. The damage process is analyzed using DIC and acoustic emission (AE) techniques, while the distribution of AE events at different loading stages is explored. Additionally, the dominant failure forms of specimens are studied through multifractal analysis. The damage evolution law of backfill–rock combinations is elucidated. The results indicate that DIC and AE provide consistent descriptions of specimen damage, and the damage evolution of backfill–rock composite specimens varies notably under different loading conditions, offering valuable insights for engineering site safety protection.
Tiny-Machine-Learning-Based Supply Canal Surface Condition Monitoring
Authors: Huang Chengjie , Sun Xinjuan , Zhang Yuxuan
Published: June 2024

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China is an extensive inter-basin water transfer project, for which ensuring the safe operation and maintenance of infrastructure poses a fundamental challenge. In this context, structural health monitoring is crucial for the safe and efficient operation of hydraulic infrastructure. Currently, most health monitoring systems for hydraulic infrastructure rely on commercial software or algorithms that only run on desktop computers. This study developed for the first time a lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN) model specifically for early detection of structural damage in water supply canals and deployed it as a tiny machine learning (TinyML) application on a low-power microcontroller unit (MCU). The model uses damage images of the supply canals that we collected as input and the damage types as output. With data augmentation techniques to enhance the training dataset, the deployed model is only 7.57 KB in size and demonstrates an accuracy of 94.17 ± 1.67% and a precision of 94.47 ± 1.46%, outperforming other commonly used CNN models in terms of performance and energy efficiency. Moreover, each inference consumes only 5610.18 μJ of energy, allowing a standard 225 mAh button cell to run continuously for nearly 11 years and perform approximately 4,945,055 inferences. This research not only confirms the feasibility of deploying real-time supply canal surface condition monitoring on low-power, resource-constrained devices but also provides practical technical solutions for improving infrastructure security.