bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence-Based Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections: A Critical Reappraisal
Authors: Karruli Arta , Catalini Christian , D’Amore Chiara , Foglia Francesco , Mari Fabio , Harxhi Arjan , Galdiero Massimiliano , Durante-Mangoni Emanuele
Published: February 2023

Multidrug-resistant (MDR)/extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is emerging as a major threat related to adverse patient outcomes. The goal of this review is to describe evidence-based empiric and targeted treatment regimens that can be exploited when dealing with suspected or confirmed infections due to MDR/XDR P. aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa has inherent resistance to many drug classes, the capacity to form biofilms, and most importantly, the ability to quickly acquire resistance to ongoing treatments. Based on the presence of risk factors for MDR/XDR infections and local epidemiology, where large proportions of strains are resistant to classic beta-lactams, the recommended empirical treatment for suspected P. aeruginosa infections is based on ceftolozane-tazobactam or ceftazidime-avibactam. Where local epidemiology indicates low rates of MDR/XDR and there are no risk factors, a third or fourth generation cephalosporin can be used in the context of a “carbapenem-sparing” strategy. Whenever feasible, antibiotic de-escalation is recommended after antimicrobial susceptibility tests suggest that it is appropriate, and de-escalation is based on different resistance mechanisms. Cefiderocol and imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam withstand most resistance mechanisms and may remain active in cases with resistance to other new antibiotics. Confronting the growing threat of MDR/XDR P. aeruginosa, treatment choices should be wise, sparing newer antibiotics when dealing with a suspected/confirmed susceptible P. aeruginosa strain and choosing the right option for MDR/XDR P. aeruginosa based on specific types and resistance mechanisms.
Surveillance on ESBL-Escherichia coli and Indicator ARG in Wastewater and Reclaimed Water of Four Regions of Spain: Impact of Different Disinfection Treatments
Authors: Oliveira Márcia , Truchado Pilar , Cordero-García Rebeca , Gil María I. , Soler Manuel Abellán , Rancaño Amador , García Francisca , Álvarez-Ordóñez Avelino , Allende Ana
Published: February 2023

In the present study, the occurrence of indicator antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) both in the influent and the effluent of four Spanish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was monitored for 12 months, and the susceptibility profiles of 89 recovered extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli isolates were obtained against a wide range of antimicrobials. The aim of the study was to better understand whether the current wastewater treatment practices allow us to obtain safe reclaimed water mitigating the spread of ARB and ARGs to the environment. Results showed high concentrations of ESBL-producing E. coli as well as a high prevalence of a range of ARGs in the influent samples. The reclamation treatments implemented in the WWTPs were effective in reducing both the occurrence of ESBL E. coli and ARGs, although significant differences were observed among WWTPs. Despite these reductions in occurrence observed upon wastewater treatment, our findings suggest that WWTP effluents may represent an important source of ARGs, which could be transferred among environmental bacteria and disseminate antimicrobial resistance through the food chain. Remarkably, no major differences were observed in the susceptibility profiles of the ESBL E. coli isolated from influent and effluent waters, indicating that water treatments do not give rise to the emergence of new resistance phenotypes.
On the Importance of the Starting Material Choice and Analytical Procedures Adopted When Developing a Strategy for the Nanoencapsulation of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Bioactive Antioxidants
Authors: Tsimidou Maria Z.
Published: February 2023

Saffron is known as the most expensive spice in the world. It is comprised of the dried stigmas of the pistil of the Crocus sativus L., which is a cultivated, sterile crocus plant. This plant material is now recognized as the unique edible source of certain bioactive apocarotenoids for which in-vivo antioxidant properties have been reported. Among the latter, crocins, red-orange natural colorants, and their parent molecule crocetin prevail in bioactivity significance. This review is focused on the strategies developed so far for their nanoencapsulation in relation to the characteristics of the starting material, extraction procedures of the bioactive antioxidants and analytical methods applied for their characterization and quantification throughout the process. The literature so far points out gaps that lead to publishable data, on one hand, but not necessarily to repeatable and meaningful processes due to incomplete characterization of the starting and the released material in efficiency and stability studies of the nanoencapsulates. Accurate terminology and quantitative chromatographic or spectrophotometric procedures for the determination of the core compounds are needed. Authenticity control and quality of saffron samples, and the verification of the concentrations of compounds in commercial preparations labeled as ‘crocin,’ are prerequisites in any experimental design setup.
Endogenous and Exogenous Antioxidants in Skeletal Muscle Fatigue Development during Exercise
Authors: Supruniuk Elżbieta , Górski Jan , Chabowski Adrian
Published: February 2023

Muscle fatigue is defined as a decrease in maximal force or power generated in response to contractile activity, and it is a risk factor for the development of musculoskeletal injuries. One of the many stressors imposed on skeletal muscle through exercise is the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), which intensifies as a function of exercise intensity and duration. Exposure to ROS/RNS can affect Na+/K+-ATPase activity, intramyofibrillar calcium turnover and sensitivity, and actin–myosin kinetics to reduce muscle force production. On the other hand, low ROS/RNS concentrations can likely upregulate an array of cellular adaptative responses related to mitochondrial biogenesis, glucose transport and muscle hypertrophy. Consequently, growing evidence suggests that exogenous antioxidant supplementation might hamper exercise-engendering upregulation in the signaling pathways of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), peroxisome-proliferator activated co-activator 1α (PGC-1α), or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Ultimately, both high (exercise-induced) and low (antioxidant intervention) ROS concentrations can trigger beneficial responses as long as they do not override the threshold range for redox balance. The mechanisms underlying the two faces of ROS/RNS in exercise, as well as the role of antioxidants in muscle fatigue, are presented in detail in this review.
Design of K-Band Power Amplifier with 180-Degree Phase- Shift Function Using Low-Power CMOS Process
Authors: Jang Seongjin , Lee Jaeyong , Lee Jeong-Woo , Park Changkun
Published: February 2023

In this study, a K-band complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) power amplifier was designed using a low-power (LP) process to improve the integration of the beamforming system. In order to reduce the overall system size, a 180° phase-shift function was mounted. It was designed in a four-stage structure to secure sufficient gain. In addition, we propose a way to secure wideband characteristics by utilizing the gains of each of the four stages. The power amplifier was designed with a 40-nm LP CMOS process to verify the feasibility of the proposed technique. The measured P1dB for 0° and 180° phase-shift modes were 15.25 dBm and 14.30 dBm, respectively, at the operating frequency of 25.0 GHz. The measured phase difference between the two modes was 217° at the 25.0 GHz.
The Hydrological Balance in Micro-Watersheds Is Affected by Climate Change and Land Use Changes
Authors: Ruiz-García Víctor H. , Asensio-Grima Carlos , Ramírez-García A. Guillermo , Monterroso-Rivas Alejandro Ismael
Published: February 2023

Temperate forests are key to the balance and provision of hydrological and environmental services. Currently, these forests are subject to human alterations as well as to the effects of global change, including warming, variability, deforestation, and forest fires. As a consequence, the hydrological balance has been modified. The present study simulates the effects of climate change and land use change on the hydrological balance of micro-watersheds in Mexico using the hydrological model Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP). The land use change between 1995 and 2021 was estimated to establish a baseline. Climate scenario SSP585 was projected using three global models, MPI-ESM1-2-LR, HadGEM3-GC31-LL, and CNRM-CM6-1 by the 2081–2100 horizon, along with two scenarios of land use change: one with forest permanence and another with loss of forest cover and increased forest fires. Results indicate that future climatic conditions will modify the hydrological balance at the microbasin level. Even with positive conditions of forest permanence, increases in surface runoff of 124% (CNRM), 35% (HadGEM3), and 13% (MPI) are expected. The projections of coverage loss and fires showed surface runoff increases of 338% (CNRM), 188% (HadGEM3), and 143% (MPI). In the high areas of the microbasins where temperate forest predominates, climatic variations could be contained. If the forest is conserved, surface runoff decreases by −70% (CNRM), −87% (HadGEM3), and −89% (MPI). Likewise, the moisture in the soil increases. In areas with temperate forests, there will be modifications of the hydrological balance mainly due to the increase in evapotranspiration (due to the increase in temperature and precipitation). This will cause a significant decrease in flow and interflow. The alteration of these flows will decrease water availability in soil for infiltration. It is expected that the availability of hydrological and environmental services will be compromised in the entire study area due to climate change.
Experimental Analysis of the Influence of Gear Design and Catch Weight on the Fluid–Structure Interaction of a Flexible Codend Structure Used in Trawl Fisheries
Authors: Nyatchouba Nsangue Bruno Thierry , Tang Hao , Zhang Jian , Liu Wei , Xu Liuxiong , Hu Fuxiang
Published: February 2023

This study evaluated the behavior of different codend designs to provide the basic information that is relevant for improving the gear selectivity, energy efficiency, to better understand the fish behavior inside the codend, and prevent the probability of the fish escaping. Three different codends were designed from the standard codend commonly used in the Antarctic krill fisheries based on modified Tauti’s law and evaluated. The first and the third codends were designed with four-panel and two-panel nettings, respectively, both made of diamond meshes. While, the second one was a four-panel diamond mesh design with cutting ratio 4:1(N [NBNBN]16). We measured the drag force, codend shape, fluttering codend motions, and the flow field inside and behind the different codends composed of different catch weights under various flow velocities in flume tank. The power spectra density was undertaken to analyze the time evolution of measured parameters. The results showed that the drag force and the codend motion increased and decreased, respectively, with the number of net panels and the cutting ratio. Due to the catch weight and flow velocity, which caused significant codend motions and deformation, a complex interaction occurred between the fluid and the structure, and there was a strong correlation between the codend drag, the codend motions, and the turbulent flow inside and behind the codend. The study showed that the use of the four-panel codend with cutting ratio and the two-panel codend resulted in drag reductions of 6.07% and 6.41%, respectively, compared to the standard codend. The velocity reduction and turbulent kinetic energy were lower inside and behind the four-panel codend than inside and behind the two-panel codend, indicating that turbulent flow through the two-panel codend is more important than through the four-panel codend. The results of the power spectral density analysis showed that the drag and codend motions were mainly low frequency in all codends, with another component related to turbulent flow street. In addition, the two-panel codend showed more unstable behavior with more pendulum motion compared to the four-panel codends, resulting in a smaller mesh size in this codend that could affect swimming energy and thus influence fish escape, making it the least selective codend. The results of this study provide fundamental insights useful for understanding and improving the hydrodynamic performance and selectivity of trawls in the Antarctic krill fishery, especially to reveal the masking effects of the number of net panels on codend design.
Mechanical and Microstructural Studies of High Performance Concrete with Condensed Silica Fume
Authors: Smarzewski Piotr
Published: February 2023

This article is an extended version of the conference paper “Influence of silica fume on mechanical and fracture properties of high performance concrete” published in Procedia Structural Integrity as a part of the Special Issue for the 3rd International Conference on Structural Integrity (ICSI 2019). Tests were carried out to evaluate the compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, modulus of elasticity, flexural strength, and fracture properties of high performance concretes (HPC) having different levels of condensed silica fume (CSF) replacements for cement. It was found that CSF replacement for cement by up to 25% may have a favorable effect on the mechanical properties. HPC containing CSF was characterized by quite large increases in compressive strength (up to 14%) and flexural strength (16%). However, the most significant improvements in mechanical properties were obtained for splitting tensile strength (26%) and fracture energy (30.5%). There were slight reductions up to 2% in the elastic modulus, flexural strength and fracture properties at the 25% level of CSF substitution for cement. Microstructural studies showed that the narrowest microcracks and the smallest pores in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the paste and grains of aggregate occurred in the HPC having 10% CSF. In addition, a reduction of ITZ around the aggregate and the formation of more high-strength hydration products was observed in all CSF-added HPCs. The outcomes reported that CSF can successfully replace cement. It is suggested that the substitution should not exceed 20%.
Experimental Analysis of Pressure Relief Effect of Surrounding Rock in High-Stress Roadways under Different Drilling Parameters
Authors: Wang Ping , Jiang Yongzhi , Li Peng , Zhou Jinlian , Zhou Ze
Published: February 2023

Drilling to relieve pressure is a simple and efficient solution to prevent impact ground pressure for the engineering problem of the high risk of impact on the surrounding rock of high stress roads, and choosing suitable drilling parameters is the key to it. The unloading law of borehole diameter, depth, and spacing was investigated using a combination of indoor tests, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. The characteristics of crack extension and plastic zone changes of the three were analyzed, and the relationship between boreholes and elastic strain energy was derived by developing a hole mechanics model. The findings indicate that as drilling radius and depth are increased, peak strength and the elastic strain energy stored in front of the peak decrease, the plastic zone around the hole and the main control crack on the surface of the block expand more obviously, and the vertical stress at the top and bottom of the hole decrease, and the peak stress increases with the depth of the hole. The plastic zone surrounding the hole is attached to one another more easily the closer the drilling spacing is. The test block is changed from independent damage to penetrating damage when the drilling spacing is less than or equal to 3.286 cm. However, the pressure release effect does not necessarily improve with narrower drilling spacing. The plastic zone radius and the elastic strain energy held in the rock body are linked to each other linearly and quadratically, respectively, by the drilling radius. The joint pressure relief of several holes should be prioritized when drilling pressure is relieved, and then the hole’s diameter should be increased, and, finally, the hole’s depth should be increased. A reference for engineering applications is provided by this.
Discovering Community Structure in Multiplex Networks via a Co-Regularized Robust Tensor-Based Spectral Approach
Authors: Al-sharoa Esraa , Al-wardat Mohammad , Al-khassaweneh Mahmood , Al Bataineh Ali
Published: February 2023

Complex networks arise in various fields, such as biology, sociology and communication, to model interactions among entities. Entities in many real-world systems exhibit different types of interactions, which requires modeling these type of systems properly. Multiplex networks are used to model these systems, as they can reflect the nodes’ pair-wise interactions as multiple distinct types of links across layers. Community detection is a widely studied application in network analysis as it provides insights into the structure and organization of the network. Even though multiple algorithms have been developed in the community detection field, many of them have a limited performance in the presence of noise. In this article, we develop a novel algorithm that combines tensor low-rank representation, spectral clustering and distance regularization to improve the accuracy in discovering communities in multiplex networks. The low-rank representation leads to reducing the noise and errors existing in the network and the optimization of an accurate consensus set of eigenvectors that reveals the communities in the network. Moreover, the proposed approach balances the agreement between the eigenvectors of each layer, i.e., individual subspaces, and the consensus set of eigenvectors, i.e., common subspaces, by minimizing the projection distance between them. The common and individual subspaces are computed efficiently through Tucker decomposition and modified spectral clustering, respectively. Finally, multiple experiments are conducted on real and simulated networks to evaluate the proposed approach and compare it to state-of-the-art algorithms. The proposed approach shows its robustness and efficiency in discovering the communities in multiplex networks.
Squill: Testing DBMS with Correctness Feedback and Accurate Instantiation
Authors: Wen Shihao , Jia Peng , Yang Pin , Hu Chi
Published: February 2023

Database Management Systems (DBMSs) are the core of management information systems. Thus, detecting security bugs or vulnerabilities of DBMSs is an essential task. In recent years, grey-box fuzzing has been adopted to detect DBMS bugs for its high effectiveness. However, the seed scheduling strategy of existing fuzzing techniques does not consider the seeds’ correctness, which is inefficient in finding vulnerabilities in DBMSs. Moreover, current tools cannot correctly generate SQL statements with nested structures, which limits their effectiveness. This paper proposes a fuzzing solution named Squill to address these challenges. First, we propose correctness-guided mutation to utilize the correctness of seeds as feedback to guide fuzzing. Second, Squill embeds semantics-aware instantiation to correctly fill semantics to SQL statements with nested structures by collecting the context information of AST nodes. We implemented Squill based on Squirrel and evaluated it on three popular DBMSs: MySQL, MariaDB, and OceanBase. In our experiment, Squill explored 29% more paths and found 3.4× more bugs than the existing tool. In total, Squill detected 30 bugs in MySQL, 27 in MariaDB, and 6 in OceanBase. Overall, 19 of the bugs are fixed with 9 CVEs assigned. The results show that Squill outperforms the previous fuzzer in terms of both code coverage and bug discovery.
Toward a Rapid and Sustainable Recovery in the Tourism Industry Using Lean Manufacturing Principals
Authors: Almomani Mohammed A. , Alshatnawi Eman M. , Abdelhadi Abdelhakim N.
Published: February 2023

The tourism industry sector is among the economic growth drivers in many countries worldwide. Unfortunately, this sector was one of the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of this study are to implement selected lean management principles to speed up and sustain the sector’s recovery. The country of Jordan is among those countries which is depending on the tourism industry and will be selected as a model to implement the goals of this study. The number of tourists visiting Jordan on a monthly basis for two years, their nationalities, and the trip organizing agencies were collected and investigated for this study using group technology. Group technology, as a lean manufacturing tool is selected to be investigated and applied for having favorable clusters in terms of their economic, social, and health impact. Two scenarios were examined: the first scenario is clustering visitors based on their nationalities, and the second scenario is clustering based on travel agencies. Then, for each scenario, the developed tools were used to come up with recommendations for Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) to communicate between the travel agencies to take advantages from the grouping to arrange and optimize tourists’ trip which may increase their profit and reduce tourists’ travel cost. In conclusion, the used procedure could provide the planners with a useful and powerful instrument for tourism development and prosperity.
Review on the Influence of Complex Stratum on the Drilling Trajectory of the Drilling Robot
Authors: Kang Mingxia , Hua Dezheng , Guo Xiaoqiang
Published: February 2023

A complex stratum formed due to the influence of internal and external dynamic geological processes will lead to extremely complex mining conditions in deep exploration and development of oil, gas, coal and other resources, processes mainly threatened by disasters such as coal and gas conflict, mine water inrush, and rock burst. Combined with formation identification and measurement while drilling technology, the drilling level of underground drilling robot in coal mines is constantly developing. In order to prevent coal mine accidents and achieve safe and efficient mining, efficient and accurate drilling is the key, and should be based on research on the influence of complex stratum on the drilling trajectory. In order to comprehensively and systematically summarize the research on the influence of a complex stratum on drilling tool mechanics, this paper describes the history and current situation of complex stratum exploration, measurement while drilling technology, borehole bending conditions, stress analysis of complex coal seams on drilling tools, formation force theory and method, and geosteering drilling technology. In addition, the research and application of directional drilling technology in gas control, water hazard prevention and geological anomaly detection are also discussed.
Study on Shock Initiation Randomness of Energetic Materials on a Macroscopic Scale
Authors: Liu Lan , Chen Weidong , Lu Shengzhuo , Yu Yanchun , Wu Shibo , Wu Peiwen
Published: February 2023

The shock initiation randomness problem of energetic materials (SIREM) is an important problem in the research field of energetic material safety. With the purposes of solving SIREM on a macroscopic scale and obtaining the statistics, such as the initiation probabilities of energetic materials and the statistical characteristics of the detonation pressure, this paper considers the effect of the randomness of the parameters of the Lee–Tarver equation of reaction rate and the JWL equation of state of energetic materials and the randomness of load intensity parameters—such as fragment shock velocity—on the randomness of the shock initiations of energetic materials. It then decomposes SIREM into an initiation probability problem (IP) and a detonation pressure randomness problem (DPR). Further, with the Back Propagation Neural Networks optimized by the Genetic Algorithm (GABPNN) as the surrogate models of the numerical models of two-phase reactive flow, this paper proposes the approach of solving IP and DPR in turn, adopting Monte Carlo Simulations, which use the calculations of GABPNNs as repeated sampling tests (GABP-MCSs). Finally, by taking the shock initiation randomness problem of Composition B as an applied example, this paper adopts GABP-MCS under the randomness conditions that the means of fragment shock velocities are 1050 m/s and 1000 m/s and that the coefficients of variation (CVs) of BRVs are 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, and 0.02 in order to obtain the initiation probabilities of Composition B and the statistical characteristics, such as the means and CVs of the detonation pressure. It further observes the variation tendencies that these statistics show under various randomness conditions, so as to prove the effectiveness of GABP-MCS in solving SIREM. Therefore, this paper investigates SIREM on a macroscopic scale and proposes a universal technique for solving SIREM by GABP-MCS, in the hope of shedding some light on the SIREM study.
EETO-GA: Energy Efficient Trajectory Optimization of UAV-IoT Collaborative System Using Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Rahman M M Hafizur , Al-Naeem Mohammed , Banerjee Anuradha , Sufian Abu
Published: February 2023

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) is capable of adding significant potential to the internet of thing (IoT) devices and hence smart UAV–IoT collaborative system has attracted the attention of many researchers. This system has to be energy efficient for its nature and functionalities. Optimized trajectory planning is a significant area of research for any automatic movable device. In this article, we propose a technique, called EETO-GA for energy-efficient trajectory optimization of UAV–IoT using a genetic algorithm (GA). This technique prescribes each device of: (i) the next timestamp of arrival on the present cluster of IoT devices, at which the task queue of its header contains the highest possible number of tasks, and (ii) the minimum amount of energy that requires to complete all the tasks present in task queue of the IoT device. This technique uses a GA for optimization where the fitness function is designed by optimizing objectives: (i) the total number of tasks that can be completed, (ii) minimization of consumed energy, and (iii) the number of devices that could be served. A GA is applied here to accommodate a large number of IoT devices. A binary method of encoding is applied and methods like cross-over and mutation are used to arrive at the optimal solution. Through a simulation study, the proposed technique shows significant improvement in terms of UAV energy saved (UAVE), energy saving in IoT devices (IoTDEC), the average delay in execution of the task (ADET), and the percentage of tasks that could be completed (PTSK). Proposed EETO-GA improved average UAVE: 43%, IoTDEC: 56%, PTSK: 7.5%, and ADET: 38% over the state of the art.
Distributed Dynamic Load Identification of Beam Structures Using a Bayesian Method
Authors: Luo Shuyi , Jiang Jinhui , Zhang Fang , Mohamed M. Shadi.
Published: February 2023

The distributed dynamic load is difficult to obtain due to the complexity of loads in practical engineering, such as the aerodynamic loads of aircraft and the distributed dynamic loads of sea-crossing bridges. Thus, distributed dynamic load identification is important to deal with these difficulties, which is generally an ill-posed problem considering the inversion of the infinite dynamic loads. The traditional Tikhonov regularization technique is limited on the optimal regularization parameters selection. Consequently, in this paper, we develop a novel distributed dynamic load identification algorithm in combination with the orthogonal polynomials and the Bayesian framework. Thus, the orthogonal polynomial coefficients in the load identification model are regarded as the prior probability distribution of unknown variables in the Bayesian inference. Simultaneously, the posterior probability distribution of the orthogonal polynomial coefficients is derived based on the Bayesian formula and the likelihood function. The regularization parameters and the standard deviation of the response error are also treated as random variables to obtain the corresponding prior distribution in the multi-level Bayesian model. Moreover, the maximum posterior estimate is applied aiming at determining the regularization parameters, as well as the orthogonal polynomial coefficients to reconstruct the distributed dynamic loads. Compared with the Tikhonov regularization, a series of numerical simulations are studied to verify the effectiveness and high accuracy, as well as the noise resistance, and the results illustrate that this approach is effective to reconstruct the distributed dynamic loads.
A Hybrid Model for Predicting Low Oxygen in the Return Air Corner of Shallow Coal Seams Using Random Forests and Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Wang Kai , Ai Zibo , Zhao Wei , Fu Qiang , Zhou Aitao
Published: February 2023

In order to better solve the phenomenon of low oxygen in the corner of return airway caused by abnormal gas emission in goaf during shallow coal seam mining, by analyzing the source and reason of low oxygen phenomenon, a prediction model of oxygen concentration in the corner of return airway based on genetic algorithm (GA) and random forest (RF) technology was proposed. The training sample set was established by using the field data obtained from actual monitoring, including the oxygen concentration in the return airway corner, the periodic pressure step distance of the roof, the surface temperature and atmospheric pressure. GA was used to optimize the parameters in the RF model, including trees and leaves in the forest. The results showed that the model prediction error was minimum when the number of trees was 398 and the number of leaves was 1. In addition, GA was used to optimize the number of hidden neurons and the initial weight threshold of the back-propagation neural network (BPNN). In order to verify the superiority of the model, the GA optimized RF and BPNN model are compared with the conventional RF and BPNN model. Analyze the average absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE), and average absolute error (MAE) of the prediction data of each model. The results show that the optimized RF prediction model is better than other models in terms of prediction accuracy.
A Novel Methodology for Predicting the Production of Horizontal CSS Wells in Offshore Heavy Oil Reservoirs Using Particle Swarm Optimized Neural Network
Authors: Zhang Lijun , Xie Haojun , Fan Zehua , Bai Yuting , Hu Jinpeng , Wang Chengkai , Sun Xiaofei
Published: February 2023

Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) is one of the main offshore heavy oil recovery methods used. Predicting the production of horizontal CSS wells is significant for developing offshore heavy oil reservoirs. Currently, the existing reservoir numerical simulation and analytical models are the two major methods to predict the production of horizontal CSS wells. The reservoir numerical simulation method is tedious and time-consuming, while the analytical models need many assumptions, decreasing models’ accuracy. Therefore, in this study, a novel methodology combining the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PA) and long short-term memory (LM) model was developed to predict the production of horizontal CSS wells. First, a simulation model was established to calculate the cumulative oil production (COP) of horizontal CSS wells under different well, geological, and operational parameters, and then the correlations between the calculated COP and parameters were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient to select the input variables and to generate the initial data set. Then, a PA-LM model for the COP of horizontal CSS wells was developed by utilizing the PA to determine the optimal hyperparameters of the LM model. Finally, the accuracy of the PA-LM model was validated by the initial data set and actual production data. The results showed that, compared with the LM model, the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the testing set for the PA-LM model decreased by 4.27%, and the percentage of the paired points in zone A increased by 2.8% in the Clarke error grids. In addition, the MAPEs of the training set for the PA-LM and LM models stabilized at 267 and 304 epochs, respectively. Therefore, the proposed PA-LM model had a higher accuracy, a stronger generalization ability, and a faster convergence rate. The MAPEs of the actual and predicted COP of the wells B1H and B5H by the optimized PA-LM model were 8.66% and 5.93%, respectively, satisfying the requirements in field applications.
Review of Control Technologies for Quiet Operations of Advanced Air-Mobility
Authors: Afari Samuel , Golubev Vladimir , Lyrintzis Anastasios S. , Mankbadi Reda
Published: February 2023

The current technologies for developing quiet rotor noise in urban canyons are reviewed. Several passive noise control approaches are discussed with their limitations in reducing both tonal and broadband noise. Blade tip modifications are seen to be one of the more successful in reducing tonal noise, with serrations at the trailing edge useful in reducing trailing edge broadband noise. Due to the adverse performance limitations of passive control, several optimization approaches are reviewed to discuss the possible improvements in performance of rotors. Additionally, a few legacy control technologies for helicopters are discussed. Active control technologies are investigated. The overall outlook and challenges to these methods are discussed with an eye on Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles (AAM).
Cross-Lingual Named Entity Recognition Based on Attention and Adversarial Training
Authors: Wang Hao , Zhou Lekai , Duan Jianyong , He Li
Published: February 2023

Named entity recognition aims to extract entities with specific meaning from unstructured text. Currently, deep learning methods have been widely used for this task and have achieved remarkable results, but it is often difficult to achieve better results with less labeled data. To address this problem, this paper proposes a method for cross-lingual entity recognition based on an attention mechanism and adversarial training, using resource-rich language annotation data to migrate to low-resource languages for named entity recognition tasks and outputting changing semantic vectors through the attention mechanism to effectively solve the long-sequence semantic dilution problem. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, the method in this paper is applied to the English–Chinese cross-lingual named entity recognition task based on the WeiboNER data set and the People-Daily2004 data set. The obtained F1 value of the optimal model is 53.22% (a 6.29% improvement compared to the baseline). The experimental results show that the cross-lingual adversarial named entity recognition method proposed in this paper can significantly improve the results of named entity recognition in low resource languages.
Optimal Design and Experiment of Corn-Overlapped Strip Fertilizer Spreader
Authors: Dun Guoqiang , Mao Ning , Ji Xinxin , Zhang Fuli , Ji Wenyi
Published: February 2023

As the complex terrain in hilly areas is not conducive to corn mid-tillage precision fertilization, a corn-overlapped strip fertilizer spreader was designed without an external power source. By configuring a passive overlapping spreading method with a three-branch split chamber structure, the uniform spreading of fertilizer in strips was achieved. A horizontal and vertical movement model of fertilizer spreading was developed to determine the angle of the fertilizer extending tube, the width of fattening small plates, and the height of the fertilizer spread as the main factors affecting the fertilizer distribution pattern. The single-factor ternary orthogonal rotational combination response surface simulation test was carried out with pendulum angle, width, and height as test factors and the transversal fertilizer uniformity coefficient and longitudinal fertilizer uniformity coefficient as test indicators. The test results showed that the pendulum angle, height, and width had significant effects (p < 0.05) on the transversal fertilizer uniformity coefficient, and the pendulum angle and width had a considerable impact (p < 0.05) on the longitudinal fertilizer uniformity coefficient. In the optimal combination of parameters, swing angle 52°, height 400 mm, and width 50 mm operation, the coefficients of uniformity of both the transversal fertilizer uniformity coefficient and longitudinal fertilizer uniformity coefficient were less than 0.15%. A verification test was carried out under the optimal combination of parameters for the simulation tests with the simulation conditions as the standard. The test results were consistent with the simulation results within the error range. The deviation values of the transversal fertilizer uniformity coefficient and longitudinal fertilizer uniformity coefficient were 8.11% and 9.01%, respectively. The corn-overlapped strip fertilizer spreader was able to complete the fertilizer spreading operation smoothly. This study provides evidence for further optimizing the performance of the corn mid-tillage fertilizer applicator.
Evaluation of Eutrophication in Jiaozhou Bay via Water Color Parameters Determination with UAV-Borne Hyperspectral Imagery
Authors: Pan Xin , Wang Zhangjun , Ullah Habib , Chen Chao , Wang Xiufen , Li Xianxin , Li Hui , Zhuang Quanfeng , Xue Boyang , Yu Yang
Published: February 2023

The continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of unprecedented eutrophication has resulted in a rising trend of red tides in the sea, which may be responsible for ecological degradation in the surrounding environment. Studies rarely investigate the accurate concentration of seawater eutrophication substances in offshore aquaculture areas, which may lead to the exacerbated pollution of inshore aquaculture. We examined whether offshore seawater quality monitoring can be effectively performed through unmanned aerial vehicles’ (UAVs) airborne hyperspectral remote sensing technique at Jiaozhou Bay, a water body associated with eutrophication. We used the UAV airborne hyperspectral imager to detect and measure typical marine aquaculture areas in Jiaozhou Bay and selected the key parameters of seawater quality, chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations, and total suspended matter (TSM) concentrations as indicators of seawater eutrophication. The hyperspectral inversion model of the Jiaozhou Bay seawater (JZBZ) was established with the optimal sensitive band of parameters. Results showed that in comparison with the traditional inversion model, the inversion R2 of the Chl-a was 0.712, the RPD was 3.72, and the inversion R2 of the TSM concentration was 0.756 while the RPD was 5.83. We found that this model is more suitable for the retrieval of water color parameters in Jiaozhou Bay. Additionally, by actual measurement, it can be seen that the concentration ranges of Chl-a in the observation area are 0.380–1.74 mg/m3, and the concentration range of TSM is 12.6–131 mg/L. The results of this study indicate that the Jiaozhou Bay Water Quality Translation Model (JZBM), based on the UAV airborne hyperspectral imager, performs well in the inversion of the concentration of chlorophyll and suspended particulate matter in offshore water, which advances our understanding with a new method to assess the degree of eutrophication in coastal waters.
High-Spatial-Resolution Methane Emissions Calculation Using TROPOMI Data by a Divergence Method
Authors: Li Shengwei , Wang Chunbo , Gao Pengyuan , Zhao Bingjie , Jin Chunlin , Zhao Liang , He Botao , Xue Yong
Published: February 2023

Methane (CH4) is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitted by human activity and natural sources after carbon dioxide (CO2). Its relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere (about 12 years) means that we can mitigate the human impacts of climate change in a relatively short period of time by reducing CH4 emissions. The creation of CH4 emissions management policies can be based on the distribution maps of surface CH4 concentration that are in large-scale and at high-resolution. The estimate of CH4 emissions with broad coverage are provided by currently extensively used satellite data supplemented with data from model simulations. However, it is at low spatial resolution. In this paper, through the combination of atmospheric CH4 observations from the TROPOMI sensor and wind data from the ECMWF global reanalysis, a straightforward divergence method is proposed to estimate the surface CH4 emissions in China from March 2019 to September 2022 at a resolution of 7 km × 7 km. This method was compared with the average annual CH4 emissions of Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGARv7.0), and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is 2.53 kg/km2/h and within error envelop (EE) is 72.93%, which represents the proportion of reliable values under certain uncertain conditions. We estimated that the average annual CH4 emissions in China from 2019 to 2022 is 81 Tg, with the lowest emissions in 2021 (75 Tg) due to the impact of COVID-19. In 2021, the largest anthropogenic emissions in China are from agriculture, energy activities and livestock, accounting for 28% (20.8 Tg), 25% (18.9 Tg) and 19% (13.9 Tg) of total emissions, respectively, while wetlands, as the largest natural source, produce 14% (10.5 Tg) of CH4 emissions.
On r-Compactness in Topological and Bitopological Spaces
Authors: Oudetallah Jamal , Alharbi Rehab , Batiha Iqbal M.
Published: February 2023

This paper defines the so-called pairwise r-compactness in topological and bitopological spaces. In particular, several inferred properties of the r-compact spaces and their connections with other topological and bitopological spaces are studied theoretically. As a result, several novel theorems of the r-compact space are generalized on the pairwise r-compact space. The results established in this research paper are new in the field of topology.
Effect of PACAP/PAC1R on Follicle Development of Djungarian Hamster (Phodopus sungorus) with the Variation of Ambient Temperatures
Authors: Qi Yan , Xue Huiliang , Xu Jinhui , Wu Ming , Chen Lei , Xu Laixiang
Published: February 2023

In Phodopus sungorus, the relationship between pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its receptor (PAC1R), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and follicle development remains unclear. In this study, we found that the development of growing follicles and antral follicles were inhibited at low (8 °C, 14 °C) and high (29 °C) temperatures. Meanwhile, PACAP/PAC1R expression and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) serum concentration significantly decreased during ambient temperatures of 8 °C, 14 °C and 29 °C compared to 21 °C. Thus, ambient temperature may influence the expression of PACAP/PAC1R and the synthesis of FSH for involvement in follicle development. Moreover, PACAP/PAC1R had major functional elements including PKA/PKG and PKC phosphorylation sites, which may involve in the pathway of FSH synthesis through cAMP-PKA and its downstream signal pathway. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the expression levels of PACAP/PAC1R and the number of the growing and antral follicles, as well as the serum FSH concentration and the number of antral follicles. However, there was no significant correlation between the expression levels of PACAP/PAC1R and the serum FSH concentration, indicating a complicated pathway between PACAP/PAC1R and FSH. In conclusion, ambient temperature affects the expression of PACAP/PAC1R and the serum FSH concentration. The expression of PACAP/PAC1R and the serum FSH concentration are correlated with follicle development, which implies that they are involved in follicle development, which will ultimately influence the reproduction of Phodopus sungorus. This study can lay the foundation for future investigation on the regulation mechanism of reproduction in Phodopus sungorus.
miR-34b/c-5p/CXCL10 Axis Induced by RSV Infection Mediates a Mechanism of Airway Hyperresponsive Diseases
Authors: Liu Dan , Tang Zhongxiang , Bajinka Ousman , Dai Pei , Wu Guojun , Qin Ling , Tan Yurong
Published: February 2023

Background: RSV is closely correlated with post-infection airway hyperresponsive diseases (AHD), but the mechanism remains unclear. Objective: Due to the pivotal role of miRNAs in AHD, we analyzed the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) in RSV-infected patients, asthma patients, and COPD patients from public datasets and explored the mechanisms of association between RSV and AHD. Methods: We obtained miRNA and mRNA databases of patients with RSV infection, as well as miRNA databases of asthma and COPD patients from the GEO database. Through integrated analysis, we screened DEmiRs and DEGs. Further analysis was carried out to obtain the hub genes through the analysis of biological pathways and enrichment pathways of DEGs targeted by DEmiRs and the construction of a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Results: The five differential molecules (miR-34b/c-5p, Cd14, Cxcl10, and Rhoh) were verified through in vivo experiments that had the same expression trend in the acute and chronic phases of RSV infection. Following infection of BEAS-2B cells with RSV, we confirmed that RSV infection down-regulated miR-34b/c-5p, and up-regulated the expression levels of CXCL10 and CD14. Furthermore, the results of the dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that CXCL10 was the target of hsa-miR-34c-5p. Conclusions: miR-34b/c-5p/CXCL10 axis mediates a mechanism of AHD.
Associations between Dietary Intake, Blood Levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Reading Abilities in Children
Authors: Borasio Francesca , De Cosmi Valentina , D’Oria Veronica , Scaglioni Silvia , Syren Marie-Louise Eva , Turolo Stefano , Agostoni Carlo , Coniglio Marilena , Molteni Massimo , Antonietti Alessandro , Lorusso Maria Luisa
Published: February 2023

Lower levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been described in individuals with reading difficulties, but the degree and the nature of such deficiencies as well as the role of nutrition are a matter of debate. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between PUFA blood levels, nutritional status, and reading/writing/phonological awareness performances in 42 school-age children with varying levels of reading ability. Significant correlations were found between PUFA levels (specific omega-6/omega-3 ratios), the ratio of omega-6-derived calories to the total amount of calories and reading scores. Mediation analysis showed a mediating effect of fatty acids on the association between reading speed scores and nutritional status. Moderation analysis, moreover, showed that the associations of omega-6/omega-3 ratios in the blood and Kcal omega-6/Kcal total in dietary intake were moderated by reading speed performances. Results of the mediation and moderation models confirm that the associations of dietary intake with PUFA levels in the blood vary depending on learning abilities. Reading skills appear to be sensitive to the effects of a complex set of favorable conditions related to the presence of higher omega-3 blood levels. These conditions may reflect the action of dietary as well as genetic and epigenetic mechanisms.