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The aim of this paper is to analyse the translation performance of German students at the University of Prishtina when translating literary texts from German into Albanian. The paper focuses on the question of whether errors occur during the translation process in the areas of grammar, orthography, semantics, and sentence structure, including possible interference errors between the two languages. These errors may arise due to uncertainties, carelessness, or the influence of other languages. The interference of German manifests itself primarily in the lexical level and sentence structure. If the languages have differences in sentence structure, this interference leads to grammatically incorrect sentences. An interference of Albanian is also noticeable, primarily on a pragmatic level, which is mainly determined by the cultural context. Errors are a characteristic feature of foreign language learners. They are a phenomenon that affects not only foreign language learners but also native speakers. This paper analyses and classifies the errors that German students at the University of Prishtina make when translating by applying the theoretical, analytical, and contrastive methods in the translation of literary texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of FME Transactions is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The holographic signal-processing method for a single vector scalar receiver (VSR) in the high-frequency band in shallow water is developed in the paper. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the theoretical analysis, numerical modeling, and experimental verification of holographic signal processing for a noise source by the VSR. The developed method is based on the formation of the 2D interferogram and 2D hologram of a noise source in a shallow-water waveguide. The 2D interferograms and 2D holograms for different channels of the VSR (P sound pressure and V X and V Y vibration velocity components) are considered. It is shown that the 2D interferogram consists of parallel interference fingers in the presence of a moving noise source. As a result, the 2D hologram contains focal points located on a straight line, and the angular distribution of the holograms has the main extreme value. It is shown in the paper that the holographic signal-processing method allows detecting the source, estimating the source bearing, and filtering the useful signal from the noise. The results of the source detection, source bearing estimation, and noise filtering are presented within the framework of experimental data processing and numerical modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-frequency (HF) oil-immersed transformers with small size and light weight have been paid wide attention by researchers. Its oil–paper insulation frequently withstands HF over-voltages at frequencies of several kilohertz and above, resulting in the too early failure of oil–paper insulation. In order to investigate the effect of HF on oil–paper insulation, this article investigates the partial discharge (PD) characteristics of oil–paper insulation under HF stress. The experimental results show that a frequency-induced inflection point is existed near 10 kHz and the PD parameters of HF voltages is much higher than that ac voltages. Besides, the theoretical mechanism is expounded to interpret and understand the formation process of frequency-induced inflection points more easily. It can be found that the change in frequency causes the change in the charge decay time constant and the residual charge on the insulating surface, resulting in the formation of the frequency-induced inflection point at HF. These results might contribute to determine the characteristics of PDs between HF voltages and ac voltages. It can provide references for the research and production of HF transformers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text-based CAPTCHAs remain the most widely adopted security scheme, which is the first barrier to securing websites. Deep learning methods, especially Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), are the mainstream approach for text CAPTCHA recognition and are widely used in CAPTCHA vulnerability assessment and data collection. However, verification code recognizers are mostly deployed on the CPU platform as part of a web crawler and security assessment; they are required to have both low complexity and high recognition accuracy. Due to the specifically designed anti-attack mechanisms like noise, interference, geometric deformation, twisting, rotation, and character adhesion in text CAPTCHAs, some characters are difficult to efficiently identify with high accuracy in these complex CAPTCHA images. This paper proposed a recognition model named Adaptive CAPTCHA with a CNN combined with an RNN (CRNN) module and trainable Adaptive Fusion Filtering Networks (AFFN), which effectively handle the interference and learn the correlation between characters in CAPTCHAs to enhance recognition accuracy. Experimental results on two datasets of different complexities show that, compared with the baseline model Deep CAPTCHA, the number of parameters of our proposed model is reduced by about 70%, and the recognition accuracy is improved by more than 10 percentage points in the two datasets. In addition, the proposed model has a faster training convergence speed. Compared with several of the latest models, the model proposed by the study also has better comprehensive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The metabolic profile implies simultaneous determination of carbohydrate, fat, protein, and mineral metabolism parameters as well as endocrinological parameters in the blood of cows. Blood is exposed to a variety of preanalytical factors during sampling, transport to the laboratory, and laboratory preparation for analysis, which may cause hemolysis of the sample. As hemolysis affects the values of the metabolic profile, the analyzed blood parameters may falsely increase or decrease, and the metabolic status of the cows may be misinterpreted. Preventing hemolysis is important because severe hemolysis requires discarding the sample and resampling, which is very resource-intensive. In this paper, three levels of hemolysis were determined for each blood parameter tested: (a) a hemolysis level that does not affect the values of the parameters and allows the results to be issued without restriction; (b) a hemolysis level that affects the values of the parameters but remains within the acceptable biological variability and permits the results to be issued along with a note in the form of a correction formula; and (c) a hemolysis level at which the obtained values of the parameters or the entire sample must be discarded. The results are presented graphically using interferograms, which can be easily implemented in every laboratory after validation. Hemolysis is a common cause of errors in laboratory tests as it affects blood parameters and leads to a positive or negative bias. This study aims to examine the relationship between the level of hemolysis (expressed as cell-free hemoglobin concentration, g/L) and the variability of metabolic and endocrine parameters and to determine the threshold level of hemolysis that causes an analytically and clinically significant bias for the twenty most frequently examined blood parameters in cows. Paired blood samples of 10 mL each were obtained from 30 cows. One was subjected to mechanical trauma and plasma was extracted directly from the other. Hemolyzed and non-hemolyzed samples from the same animal were mixed to obtain final samples with cell-free hemoglobin concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 g/L. Metabolic and endocrine parameters were measured in the samples and their deviation and the linear equation between the level of hemolysis and the deviation were determined. The following threshold values of hemolysis were determined, which correspond to the acceptable analytical (lower value) and clinical (upper value) levels of parameter variability: BHB 0.96 and 4.81; NEFA 0.39 and 3.31; GLU 0.38 and 3.90; ALB 1.12 and 6.11; TPROT 1.40 and 6.80; UREA 6.62 and 20.1; TBIL 0.75 and 5.65; AST 0.11 and 2.18; GGT 1.71 and 8.90, LDH 0.01 and 0.11, ALP 0.97 and 2.95; TGC 1.56 and 15.5; CHOL 1.29 and 8.56; Ca 5.68 and 25.7; P 0.57 and 8.43; Mg 1.10 and 8.47; INS 1.15 and 3.89; T3 8.19 and 15.6; T4 8.97 and 18.5; and CORT 2.78 and 11.22 g/L cell-free hemoglobin. Three decision levels are available for each metabolic and endocrine parameter: if hemolysis is below the lower (analytical) threshold value, results can be reported without restriction; if hemolysis is between the lower and upper thresholds, the results can be issued with guidance in the form of corrective linear equations; and if hemolysis is above the upper (clinical) threshold, the results and sample must be discarded. This method contributes to an optimal approach to hemolysis interference with metabolic profile parameters in blood samples from cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have indicated that the preservation of joint health and the facilitation of damage recovery are predominantly contingent upon the joint's microenvironment, including cell-cell interactions, the extracellular matrix's composition, and the existence of local growth factors. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which possess the capacity to self-renew and specialize in many directions, respond to cues from the microenvironment, and aid in the regeneration of bone and cartilage, are crucial to this process. Changes in the microenvironment (such as an increase in inflammatory mediators or the breakdown of the extracellular matrix) in the pathological context of arthritis might interfere with stem cell activation and reduce their ability to regenerate. This paper investigates the potential role of joint microenvironmental variables in promoting or inhibiting the development of arthritis by influencing stem cells' ability to regenerate. The present status of research on stem cell activity in the joint microenvironment is also outlined, and potential directions for developing new treatments for arthritis that make use of these intervention techniques to boost stem cell regenerative potential through altering the intra-articular environment are also investigated. This review's objectives are to investigate these processes, offer fresh perspectives, and offer a solid scientific foundation for the creation of arthritic treatment plans in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of underwater cognitive acoustic network (UCAN) technology aims to improve spectral efficiency and ensure coexistence with the underwater ecosystem. As the demand for short-term underwater applications operated under distributed topologies, like autonomous underwater vehicle cluster operations, continues to grow, this paper presents Underwater Multi-channel Medium Access Control with Cognitive Acoustics (UMMAC-CA) as a suitable channel access protocol for distributed UCANs. UMMAC-CA operates on a per-frame basis, similar to the Multi-channel Medium Access Control with Cognitive Radios (MMAC-CR) designed for distributed cognitive radio networks, but with notable differences. It employs a pre-determined data transmission matrix to allow all nodes to access the channel without contention, thus reducing the channel access overhead. In addition, to mitigate the communication failures caused by randomly occurring interferers, UMMAC-CA allocates at least 50% of frame time for interferer sensing. This is possible because of the fixed data transmission scheduling, which allows other nodes to sense for interferers simultaneously while a specific node is transmitting data. Simulation results demonstrate that UMMAC-CA outperforms MMAC-CR across various metrics, including those of the sensing time rate, controlling time rate, and throughput. In addition, except for in the case where the data transmission time coefficient equals 1, the message overhead performance of UMMAC-CA is also superior to that of MMAC-CR. These results underscore the suitability of UMMAC-CA for use in challenging underwater applications requiring multi-channel cognitive communication within a distributed network architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the imperative need for coexistence and compatibility in the 470–694 MHz frequency band, as mandated by the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) and the WRC-23. It focuses on challenges in the coexistence of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) and International Mobile Telecommunications-2020 (IMT-2020) services in downlink-only mode, particularly in adjacent-channel scenarios. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the study evaluates the probability of interference from IMT base stations with DTTB reception. The analysis thoroughly investigates the impact of the IMT transmitter's Adjacent Channel Leakage Ratio (ACLR) and the DTTB receiver's Adjacent-Channel Selectivity (ACS) on the probability of interference. The results demonstrate a significant degradation in the DTTB reception probability at the edge of coverage based on standard assumptions. To address these challenges, this paper provides recommendations for mitigating interference. These include defining enhanced ACLR regulations for IMT base stations, implementing antenna discriminations, providing specialized filters, and establishing national coordination procedures. The research provides valuable insights for informed decision making in spectrum management within the 470–694 MHz band, aiming to facilitate the coexistence of DTTB and IMT-2020 services, in line with international regulations and best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twisted photonic crystals are photonic analogs of twisted monolayer materials such as graphene and their optical property studies are still in their infancy. This paper reports optical properties of twisted single-layer 2D+ moiré photonic crystals where there is a weak modulation in z direction, and bilayer moiré-overlapping-moiré photonic crystals. In weak-coupling bilayer moiré-overlapping-moiré photonic crystals, the light source is less localized with an increasing twist angle, similar to the results reported by the Harvard research group in References 37 and 38 on twisted bilayer photonic crystals, although there is a gradient pattern in the former case. In a strong-coupling case, however, the light source is tightly localized in AA-stacked region in bilayer PhCs with a large twist angle. For single-layer 2D+ moiré photonic crystals, the light source in Ex polarization can be localized and forms resonance modes when the single-layer 2D+ moiré photonic crystal is integrated on a glass substrate. This study leads to a potential application of 2D+ moiré photonic crystal in future on-chip optoelectronic integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process aspects are prevalent in many domains of reality, and consciousness is no exception. Nevertheless, while the processual approach implicitly underlies the theories of consciousness, an explicit statement of the question is scarcely found in the literature. This paper tries to bridge this gap. Here, I argue that conscious experience fulfils all the requirements for a processual analysis: it is complex, functionally/causally determined, and has a temporal basis. Then, I revisit an old concept, self-transformative processes, which refers to processes that change themselves. These processes are very common. A stretched bow is the classical Heraclitean example. However, it is easy to misunderstand what selftransformativeness is. To provide a well-formed description, I characterize self-transformative processes in terms of composition (using a non-classic mereology) and in terms of functionality (by developing the concept of self-modulating variables). Finally, I apply self-transformative processes to explain consciousness. Traces of self-transformativeness can be found in many theories of consciousness, particularly when they are stressed about their internal mechanisms. Here, I focus on Integrated Information Theory as a paradigmatic example of a mathematically well-described theory, and I demonstrate that quantitative selftransformativeness is a requirement at the very core of the integration of the information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GNSS is an indispensable source of positioning, navigation and timing for many sectors, including inland waterway transport. Unfortunately, GNSS is also vulnerable to interference, including intentional jamming and spoofing. This paper evaluates the vulnerability of one of the key inland waterway systems—the automatic identification system (AIS)—to GNSS jamming and spoofing. The vulnerability is explored via a series of tests conducted in both laboratory and live-sky environments. The results clearly show the negative impact of both types of interference on AIS. The impact included denial of service and reporting of false position. Additionally, the effects on subsequent systems like river information services or nearby vessels are also showcased. The results presented provide valuable insight into the vulnerability of inland waterway transport. The need for understanding the system limitations and vulnerability rises with the increase in the implementation of autonomous systems into the inland waterway sector, as well as other critical infrastructure sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper-based digital microfluidic biochips (P-DMFBs) have recently emerged as a promising low-cost and fast-responsive platform for biochemical assays. In P-DMFBs, electrodes and control lines are printed on a piece of photograph paper using an inkjet printer and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) conductive ink. Compared with traditional digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs), P-DMFBs enjoy significant advantages, such as faster in-place fabrication with printer and ink, lower costs, and better disposability. Since electrodes and CNT control lines are printed on the same side of this paper, a critical design challenge for P-DMFB is to prevent control interference between moving droplets and the voltages on CNT control lines. Control interference may result in unexpected droplet movements and thus incorrect assay outputs. To address this design challenge, a control-fluidic codesign methodology is proposed in this paper, along with two demonstrative design flows integrating both fluidic design and control design, i.e., the droplet-oriented codesign flow and the electrode-oriented codesign flow. The droplet-oriented flow is suitable for designing biochips with sparse electrodes and relatively larger number of droplets, whereas the electrode-oriented flow is suitable for biochips with dense electrodes and smaller number of droplets. The computational simulation results of real-life bioassays demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed codesign flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum is used by the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) for its operation. Due to a limited number of available channels for WLAN operation, frequency channel assignment becomes very difficult. In WLAN, the access points (APs) are widely deployed, and because they share the same frequency, they start interfering with each other and causing more energy consumption. So WLAN frequency channels should be managed and assigned carefully to increase the energy efficiency of the wireless network. This paper proposes an energy-efficient channel assignment algorithm (EECAA) to improve the performance of the network. The suggested approach improves the network's energy efficiency in terms of global delay, packet data loss, and the count of data retransmissions. The extensive simulation study demonstrates that, when compared to the channel handoff scheme and D2MD channel allocation algorithm for various traffic and network conditions, the proposed EECAA method greatly increases network throughput. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LoRa technology is being integrated into industrial applications as part of Industry 4.0 owing to its longer range and low power consumption. However, noise, interference, and the fading effect all have a negative impact on LoRa performance in an industrial environment, necessitating solutions to ensure reliable communication. This paper evaluates and compares LoRa's performance in terms of packet error rate (PER) with and without forward error correction (FEC) in an industrial environment. The impact of integrating an infinite impulse response (IIR) or finite impulse response (FIR) filter into the LoRa architecture is also evaluated. Simulations are carried out in MATLAB at 868 MHz with a bandwidth of 125 kHz and two spreading factors of 7 and 12. Many-to-one and one-to-many communication modes are considered, as are line of sight (LOS) and non-line of Sight (NLOS) conditions. Simulation results show that, compared to an environment with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), LoRa technology suffers a significant degradation of its PER performance in industrial environments. Nevertheless, the use of forward error correction (FEC) contributes positively to offsetting this decline. Depending on the configuration and architecture examined, the gain in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) using a 4/8 coding ratio ranges from 7 dB to 11 dB. Integrating IIR or FIR filters also boosts performance, with additional SNR gains ranging from 2 dB to 6 dB, depending on the simulation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals are vulnerable to disruption sources, such as signal jamming. This, in turn, can cause severe degradation or discontinuities of the GNSS-based position, navigation, and timing services. The availability of multi-frequency signals from multi-constellation GNSS systems, such as Galileo and GLONASS, along with the modernization of GPS with multi-frequency signals, has the potential to increase the immunity of GNSS-based navigation systems to signal jamming. Despite various studies completed on the utilization of multi-frequency and multi-constellation global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals to resist receiver jamming, there is still an urge to further investigate this concern under different circumstances. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the advantages of the employment of multi-frequency multi-constellation GNSS signals for better GNSS receivers' performance during signal jamming situations for high-dynamic platforms such as aircraft/drones. Additionally, the study examines the effects of both simulated and real jamming signals on all possible combinations of the GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS signal frequencies and constellations. Two airplane trajectory routes were built, and their corresponding RF signals were generated using the Spirent and Orolia GNSS signal simulators. The results indicated that the GPS multi-frequency-based solution maintains reliable positioning performance to some extent under low jamming scenarios. However, the combination of GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS signals proved its ability to provide a continuous and accurate positioning solution during both low and high jamming scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an underwater broadband target depth estimation method based on the multipath arrival structure in medium and short-range deep-sea environments. The proposed approach involves separating the multipath rays arriving at the vertical line array using the matched filtering technique. The combined beamforming is then applied to the vector hydrophone vertical array (VHVA) to obtain more accurate elevation angle estimates. The components of the interference sound field at different distances are judged, and the signal received by the array is compensated using suitable estimated angles. Finally, the multipath time delay difference is extracted from the pulse peaks of the compensated signal, and the target depth is estimated by establishing the relationship among the multipath time delay difference, the elevation angle and depth. Simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in reducing the depth estimation bias and avoiding the misjudgment of surface or submerged targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) plays a significant role at the larval stage in the circular economy due to its ability to convert organic waste into valuable products for energy, food, feed, and agricultural applications. Many data are available on larval development and biomass generation, but basic research on this species is lacking and little is known about adult biology, in particular about the cues involved in sexual recognition. In the present study, using various instruments (stereomicroscope, scanning and transmission electron microscope, hyperspectral camera and spectrophotometer), wing ultrastructure of both sexes was analysed, reflectance and transmission spectra of the wings were measured and behavioural bioassays were carried out to measure male response to specific visual stimuli. The collected data showed the existence of sexual dimorphism in the wings of H. illucens due to iridescent structural colouration generated by a multilayer of melanin located in the dorsal lamina of the central part of the wing. Wing sexual dimorphism is particularly evident regarding the strong emission of blue light of female wings. Blue colour induces in males a strong motivation to mate. The obtained results can help to improve and optimize the breeding techniques of BSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demonstration of compliance of rolling stock against disturbance limits for railway signaling, and in particular track circuits, is subject to a large deal of variability, caused by the diverse values of the electrical parameters of the railway line and resulting transfer functions, as well as the operating conditions of the rolling stock during tests. Instrumental uncertainty is evaluated with a type B approach and shown to be much less than the experimental variability. Repeated test runs in acceleration, coasting, cruising, and braking conditions are considered, deriving both max-hold (spread) and sample (or experimental) standard deviation curves compared to the respective mean values (type A approach to the evaluation of uncertainty, as defined in of the Guide to the Uncertainty in Measurement. The major source of variability affecting a significant portion of the spectrum is caused by the superposed oscillations of the onboard LC filter, for which different choices of the transformation window duration are discussed. The test runs and the acquired data covered, overall, 1 day of tests along about 300 km of the Italian 3 kV DC railway network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of temperature variations on the torque capacity of shrink-fit junctions in water-jacketed permanent magnet synchronous motors. Focusing on both baseline and improved designs; torque capacities were evaluated across a temperature range from −40 °C to 120 °C under different material conditions: Least material condition, nominal, and maximum material condition. The baseline design exhibited torque capacities from 7648 Nm to 9032 Nm at −40 °C, decreasing significantly to 549 Nm to 1533 Nm at 120 °C. The improved design showed enhanced performance, with torque capacities ranging from 8055 Nm to 9247 Nm at −40 °C and from 842 Nm to 1618 Nm at 120 °C. The maximum improvement was observed at 120 °C for least material conditions, with a 55.4% increase, and the minimum improvement at −40 °C for maximum material conditions, with a 2.4% increase. Our findings demonstrate a significant increase in torque capacity by up to 20% under varied thermal conditions. These results underscore the effectiveness of design modifications in enhancing thermal stability and torque capacity, making the improved design a more reliable choice for high-performance applications subject to significant thermal fluctuations. This research highlights the critical role of material selection, thermal management, and precise design adjustments in optimizing the performance and reliability of permanent magnet synchronous motors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 14 August 2021 Haiti earthquake mainly portrayed reverse motion to the east near L'Asile town and left‐lateral strike‐slip motion to the west near Camp‐Perrin town. To map the rupture and infer its segmentation, we conducted the first post‐seismic field reconnaissance along the left‐lateral strike‐slip Enriquillo fault from L'Asile to Macaya mountain. We identified 98 linear, minor cracks that are not representative of primary fault surface rupture. Analyzing the topographic slope distribution, we detected that the cracks were often located in areas that are prone to topographic instability. About 60% of the cracks are located in Quaternary alluvium and Middle‐Miocene continental marls, indicating a preference for soft sediments. The rivers also have an impact, as crack lengths and openings negatively correlate with their distance to neighboring rivers. In addition, the earthquake occurred in a rainy region with up to 2,479.34 mm of rainfall in 2021, increasing soil instability. Above all, we found a contrast and asymmetry between the eastern and the western parts of the rupture. By dividing the 60‐km long rupture into two equal parts, we observed 57 cracks to the west against 41 to the east. The longest and the widest cracks are to the west. Analyzing their orientation, the cracks mainly oriented as left‐lateral strike‐slip faults to the west and mainly thrusts to the east. This configuration appears to be influenced by the slip pattern of the 2021 Haiti earthquake and consistent with the regional stress field. Key Points: Alongside geology, topography, and hydroclimate, tectonics is the biggest factor for crack generation during the 14 August 2021, Mw 7.2 Haiti earthquakeThrust and sinistral strike‐slip cracks partition similarly to the earthquake slip pattern and to the oblique‐convergence margin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skepticism of COVID-19 has consequences for public health. We examined several variables that we reasoned were related to skepticism, including demographic factors, people's perceptions and experiences related to COVID-19, and social media usage. The sample consisted of 294 participants recruited in April of 2020. Participants filled out a survey that included questions related to demographics, social media use, COVID-19 anxiety, COVID-19 interference, and COVID-19 skepticism. In the main, biological sex, ethnicity, and social media use were not significantly associated with skepticism regarding COVID-19. Alternatively, older participants and those who experienced greater anxiety related to the pandemic were less skeptical of COVID-19. Interestingly, people who experienced more interference in their lives because of COVID-19 were more skeptical of the pandemic. Finally, social media use moderated the influence of anxiety and interference on skepticism. The negative effect of anxiety on skepticism became weaker as people's use of social media increased. The positive effect of interference related to COVID-19 on skepticism became stronger as people used more social media. Our findings underscore the importance of personal beliefs, attitudes, and experiences when explaining skepticism of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Numerous electrotherapeutic methods are commonly used in complementary and alternative veterinary medicine, as well as in conventional veterinary medicine. In these methods, electrical currents are commonly used to affect nerves, muscles, bones, or other tissues. In a systematic literature review, we collected information from published articles on electrotherapies used in horses, dogs, and cats. After screening 5385 articles of potential interest, we identified 41 articles that contributed to answering the overriding question: What is the scientific evidence for electrotherapy in horses, dogs, and cats? For most of the therapies, the number of studies was low with small numbers of animals. Many of the studies were of insufficient scientific quality and the electrotherapy was applied in many different clinical conditions and therapeutic settings. This made it difficult to reach robust conclusions, except for one: no current electrotherapies have sufficiently strong scientific evidence to support clinical effects in the treatment of horses, dogs, or cats with conditions affecting muscles, joints, nerves, or bones. Based on limited promising results, we have listed some electrotherapies that could be evaluated in more detail in high-quality studies. Electrotherapy modalities are currently used in the treatment of animals, but the evidence base supporting their use has not yet been systematically reviewed. Cochrane guidelines, as adapted by the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services, were followed for this systematic review. A literature search regarding all currently known electrotherapy modalities applied to horses, dogs, and cats was conducted for the years 1980–2020 using three databases: CABI, PubMed, and Web of Science Core Collection. Of the 5385 references found, 41 articles were included in the review: 13 papers on pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMFT), 7 on neural electrical muscle stimulation (NEMS), 5 on transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), 4 on static magnets, 3 on interference, 2 each on percutaneous electrical neural stimulation (PENS), bioelectricity, and diathermy, and 1 each on micro-pulsed stimulation, capacitive coupled electrical stimulation, and microwave therapy. The literature per modality was limited in quantity (mean 3.7 papers). Half of the articles were assessed to have a high risk of bias (20 high, 7 moderate, and 14 low). The existing literature used a spectrum of indications and treatment parameters, which makes comparisons and drawing conclusions to support the use of these modalities in clinical practice challenging. The current scientific evidence is not sufficient to support the clinical effects of electrotherapies for any clinical indication in horses, dogs or cats. The selected suggestive results warrant further high-quality research on PEMFT, NEMS, TENS, and PENS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the degradation caused by interference resulting from cyclic prefix violation and symbol timing offset in narrowband power line communication systems. In this sense, it presents a unified formulation from which Hermitian symmetric orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (HS-OFDM), orthogonal chirp division multiplexing (OCDM), single-carrier cyclic prefix (SCCP), and orthogonal time–frequency division multiplexing (OTFDM) can be easily derived. The paper then provides closed-form expressions for quantifying the aforementioned interference in the presence of a frequency domain equalizer. The numerical analyses exhibit the performances of these schemes under various data communication conditions, such as the availability of channel state information, the presence or absence of interference, modeling of additive noise as a white or colored Gaussian random process, frequency domain equalizer type, and the use of bit and power allocation techniques. The closed-form expressions and performance analyses regarding achievable data rate and bit error probability provide guidance for dealing with distinct constraints in narrowband power line communication (PLC) systems using the HS-OFDM, OCDM, SCCP, or OTFDM scheme. Lastly, the unified formulation and results obtained motivate the design of multi-scheme transceivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Sciences & Humanities Studies / Društvene i Humanističke Studije (DHS) is the property of Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Tuzla and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is an emerging multiple access technique for future generation wireless networks. Owing to the wide applicability of NOMA, precise expressions for the outage performance under various fading conditions are very much needed. The literature on the outage analysis of NOMA systems is extensive. However, a unified approach is required to test the outage performance of NOMA under various impairments as well as fading scenarios. Hence, in this paper we provide a unique procedure to evaluate the outage probability of downlink-NOMA and preciseness in the derived expressions is achieved by including error in channel state information and successive interference cancellation (SIC), intra- and inter-cell interference. The outage probability is derived over (i) homogeneous fading channels: Rayleigh and Nakagami-m faded distributions with and without log-normal shadowing, Rician fading, and (ii) non-homogeneous fading channels: α - μ , η - μ , α - η - μ , κ - μ and α - κ - μ shadowed distributions. The numerical results are evaluated by varying different fading parameters, error in channel estimation and SIC, and number of interferers. The impact of shadowing on the outage performance of NOMA is also analyzed. The obtained analytical results are validated with simulated results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Jurídica Cesumar: Mestrado is the property of Revista Juridica Cesumar - Mestrado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, I investigate questions related to the aesthetic interferences, as well as their implications, in the process of perception and appreciation of artworks and exhibitions. By 'aesthetic interference' however I mean something more than just actual visual interference, such as when other elements, pieces of art, or fellow visitors are 'entering' in the field of vision and thus obstructing the view while one is trying to focus on an individual piece. Instead of purely this, I also mean something that modifies the effect of the exhibited work of art on a further, aesthetic level too, hence not only as something that physically (optically) impedes sight, but something that interferes with the 'working' of the artwork. I survey the question on the level of the singular work, of an entire exhibition, and even the exhibition within the larger 'frame' and context of a city. What is important to see is that such interference is not always and not necessarily negative. The perception of and influence from other works, the modes of installation, the particularities of the venue, and the discovering of the broader environment can all bring out new aspects and considerations that point towards new potentials in the pieces, and that perhaps even the artist or the curator had not thought of before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aspects of sum rate and fairness for dirty paper coding (DPC) based MIMO downlink communications are investigated in this paper. We first apply the $\ell _{1}$ -norm fairness measure to formulate the problem of fairness maximization for a given sum rate as an optimization problem. The problem is unfortunately nonconvex and cannot be efficiently solved. To overcome the difficulty, we invoke the uplink-downlink duality to transform the problem back and forth between uplink and downlink communications. An efficient, iterative waterfilling based algorithm is then proposed to yield achievable rates with the best possible fairness values. Simulation results show that the proposed approach offers an enormous gain in the achievable sum rates for a wide range of fairness values, when compared to the popular successive zero-forcing DPC-based and block diagonalization based coding schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The explosive growth of Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications such as smart cities and Industry 4.0 have led to drastic increase in demand for wireless bandwidth, hence motivating the rapid development of new techniques for enhancing spectrum utilization needed by new generation wireless communication technologies. Among others, dynamic spectrum access (DSA) is one of the most widely accepted approaches. In this paper, as an enhancement of existing works, we take into consideration of inter-node collaborations in a dynamic spectrum environment. Typically, in such distributed circumstances, intelligent dynamic spectrum access almost invariably relies on self-learning to achieve dynamic spectrum access improvement. Whereas, this paper proposes a DSA scheme based on deep reinforcement learning to enhance spectrum and access efficiency. Unlike traditional Q-learning-based DSA, we introduce the following to enhance the spectrum efficiency in dynamic IoT spectrum environments. First, deep double Q-learning is adopted to perform local self-spectrum-learning for IoT terminals in order to achieve better dynamic access accuracy. Second, to accelerate learning convergence, federated learning (FL) in edge nodes is used to improve the self-learning. Third, multiple secondary users, who do not interfere with each other and have similar operation condition, are clustered for federated learning to enhance the efficiency of deep reinforcement learning. Comparing with the traditional distributed DSA with deep learning, the proposed scheme has faster access convergence speed due to the characteristic of global optimization for federated learning. Based on this, a framework of federated deep reinforcement learning (FDRL) for DSA is proposed. Furthermore, this scheme preserves privacy of IoT users in that FDRL only requires model parameters to be uploaded to edge servers. Simulations are performed to show the effectiveness of theproposed FDRL-based DSA framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time systems with strict timing constraints have been widely applied in many fields. The Directed acyclic graph (DAG) task model has been widely studied and applied to model real-time systems with partial parallelism and precedence constraints in each task. Our paper focuses on the worst-case response time (WCRT) analysis of DAG tasks under partitioned scheduling on multiprocessors. We investigate a parallel structure named $Str$ S t r , which helps obtain more accurate analysis results, and propose a new offline scheduling analysis algorithm named reducing repetitive calculation (RRC). Experiments with synthetic workload are conducted to compare the results calculated by RRC and the state-of-the-art, as well as the observed average response time on a real embedded system. Results show that RRC has better performance in terms of analysis accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis: Kształcenie Polonistyczne Cudzoziemców is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Electromyography (EMG) is gaining importance in many research and clinical applications, including muscle fatigue detection, control of robotic mechanisms and prostheses, clinical diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases and quantification of force. However, EMG signals can be contaminated by various types of noise, interference and artifacts, leading to potential data misinterpretation. Even assuming best practices, the acquired signal may still contain contaminants. The aim of this paper is to review methods employed to reduce the contamination of single channel EMG signals. Specifically, we focus on methods which enable a full reconstruction of the EMG signal without loss of information. This includes subtraction methods used in the time domain, denoising methods performed after the signal decomposition and hybrid approaches that combine multiple methods. Finally, this paper provides a discussion on the suitability of the individual methods based on the type of contaminant(s) present in the signal and the specific requirements of the application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectroscopy is the basis of many applications in chemistry; however, the basic principles of light, light–matter interaction, and the operation of spectrophotometers are rarely present in chemistry curricula at the high-school level, or they are only briefly introduced to students before focusing on analytical chemistry applications. In this work, we report the results of a study conducted over several years, aimed to design, optimise, and put into practice a didactic sequence on light phenomena such as reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction, and light dispersion, as well as the basic principles of ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and spectroscopic instruments. Difficult concepts of light phenomena and related topics were deeply investigated, focusing on the best ways to teach them to high-school students in the framework of the content-specific components identified in the topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge theoretical model. Inquiry-based learning and interactive STEM laboratory activities were combined with a historical epistemological teaching method. Short introductory videos were also recorded to help students during the remote lessons in the COVID-19 pandemic period. In this paper, we report and discuss the research strategy used in order to design and implement the sequence of educational activities, leading to a final optimised didactic sequence that was tested in a pilot study. The main results were obtained from the experimentation with several classes in two high-school technical institutes with a chemistry and material sciences curriculum, along with a group of undergraduate students during the first part of an introductory course on molecular spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a wireless communication technology that is used for highly reliable and high data rate communication. In a multi-user OFDM system, the interference has occurred in the receiver side between the consecutive OFDM symbols. This interference reduces the performance of the OFDM system. To achieve good quality in received symbols the interference level should be minimized. The conventional cancellation system requires higher interference reduction time and power. These limitations of the conventional interference cancellation architectures for OFDM systems are overcome by proposing efficient and low power interference cancellation architecture. Hence, this paper proposes a novel and efficient architecture based on logic gates for interference cancellation in multi-user OFDM systems. The proposed design consist of multiplexers, inverters and OR gate. The heuristic parameters for the proposed cancellation architecture are computed by performing an XOR operation. Compared to existing architecture, the proposed interference cancellation architecture consumes 7 mW of power consumption in the Virtex processor, 33.59 mW of power consumption in Spartan 3E processor and 0.029 mW of power consumption in the CPLD processor. This proposed interference cancellation architecture consumes fewer hardware resources and consumes low power. The proposed system is designed using Verilog High Definition Language (HDL) and synthesized in Xilinx Project Navigator 12.1i. Further, this paper also proposes gate diffusion input (GDI) based implementation of proposed interference cancellation architecture to analyse a delay and power consumption compared to other logic style implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the research and implementation of a China Digital Radio (CDR) experimental network in Hubei, China with two FM-CDR transmitting stations and four FM-band channels. To study the coverage discontinuity problem in a large service area, the experimental network employs an intelligent networking solution that incorporates multiple service channels carrying Broadcast and Data Services (BADS) and a Common-Regional-Information Channel (CRIC) carrying both service data and system information. The electronic service guide (ESG) carried by CRIC can inform the receivers about the available contents from current and adjacent stations, which can significantly improve the service quality in the overlapping areas, especially under mobile reception environment. Two RF tuners are used in the receiving terminals to access the CRIC, and the BADS channel, respectively. This paper first presents the frequency analysis and coverage tests of the experimental network, and then summarizes the coverage performances with different transmission parameter combinations. The goal is to gain experience in frequency planning, coverage prediction, as well as supportable services of CDR digital audio broadcasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the uplink performance of a multi-user massive multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) system with mobile users. Mobility brings two major problems to a MIMO-OFDM system: inter carrier interference (ICI) and channel aging. In practice, it is common to allot multiple contiguous subcarriers to a user as well as schedule multiple users on each subcarrier. Motivated by this, we consider a general subcarrier allocation scheme and derive expressions for the ICI power, uplink signal to interference plus noise ratio and the achievable uplink sum-rate, taking into account the ICI and the multi-user interference due to channel aging. We show that the system incurs a near-constant ICI power that depends linearly on the ratio of the number of users per subcarrier to the number of subcarriers per user, nearly independently of how the UEs distribute their power across the subcarriers. Further, we exploit the coherence bandwidth of the channel to reduce the length of the pilot sequences required for uplink channel estimation. We consider both zero-forcing and maximal-ratio combining at the receiver and compare the respective sum-rate performances. In either case, the subcarrier allocation scheme considered in this paper leads to significantly higher sum-rates compared to previous work, owing to the near-constant ICI property as well as the reduced pilot overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Orthogonal Time Frequency Space Modulation (OTFS) has gained popularity in integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) system due to its robustness against Doppler offset and delay changes. Traditional pilot‐based methods for accurate channel parameter estimation are complex and struggle with rapidly changing channel conditions. In this letter, a deep encode‐decode network (DED‐Net) is proposed. It uses DL to automatically learn and eliminate channel interference from OTFS signals. The framework employs a deep encoding and decoding network, similar to a filter, learning complex signal features to effectively remove interference. Our experiments demonstrate DED‐Net's ability to eliminate interference in OTFS modulation signals, offering an alternative to pilot‐based methods and showcasing DL's potential for ISAC systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cognitive control processes have been extensively studied in spoken word production, however, relevant investigations of written word production are scarce. Using data from a group of post-stroke individuals we studied, for the first time, the neural substrates of cognitive control in written word production. We addressed three questions: Are control mechanisms: (1) shared by language and non-language domains; (2) shared by lexical and segmental levels of word production within the word production system; (3) related to both interference and facilitation effect types? Methods: To address these questions, for each participant we calculated cognitive control indices that reflected the interference and facilitation effects observed in written Blocked Cyclic Naming (written language production) and Simon (visuo-spatial processing) tasks. These behavioral cognitive control indices were studied both on their own, as well as in relation to the distribution of structural (gray matter) lesions. Results: For Question 1, we provide strong evidence of domain-specific control mechanisms used in written word production, as, among other findings, distinct regions within Broca’s Area were associated with control in written word production vs. control in visuo-spatial processing. For Question 2, our results provide no strong evidence of shared control mechanisms for lexical and segmental levels of written word production, while they highlight the role of BA45 in instantiating control mechanisms that are specific to the two levels. For Question 3, we found evidence that BA45 supports distinct mechanisms associated with facilitation and interference, while orbital frontal cortex supports control process(es) associated with both. Discussion: These findings significantly advance our understanding of the cognitive control mechanisms involved in written language production, as well as of the role of Broca’s Area in cognitive control and language production more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the dissimilarity among different producing layers, the influences of inter-layer interference on the production performance of a multi-layer gas reservoir are possible. However, systematic studies of inter-layer interference for tight gas reservoirs are really limited, especially for those reservoirs in the presence of water. In this work, five types of possible inter-layer interferences, including both absence and presence of water, are identified for commingled production of tight gas reservoirs. Subsequently, a series of reservoir-scale and pore-scale numerical simulations are conducted to quantify the degree of influence of each type of interference. Consistent field evidence from the Yan'an tight gas reservoir (Ordos Basin, China) is found to support the simulation results. Additionally, suggestions are proposed to mitigate the potential inter-layer interferences. The results indicate that, in the absence of water, commingled production is favorable in two situations: when there is a difference in physical properties and when there is a difference in the pressure system of each layer. For reservoirs with a multi-pressure system, the backflow phenomenon, which significantly influences the production performance, only occurs under extreme conditions (such as very low production rates or well shut-in periods). When water is introduced into the multi-layer system, inter-layer interference becomes nearly inevitable. Perforating both the gas-rich layer and water-rich layer for commingled production is not desirable, as it can trigger water invasion from the water-rich layer into the gas-rich layer. The gas-rich layer might also be interfered with by water from the neighboring unperforated water-rich layer, where the water might break the barrier (eg weak joint surface, cement in fractures) between the two layers and migrate into the gas-rich layer. Additionally, the gas-rich layer could possibly be interfered with by water that accumulates at the bottom of the wellbore due to gravitational differentiation during shut-in operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interference of fermionic particles, specifically molecules comprising a small number of fermions, in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer is being investigated under the influence of both classical and non-classical external controls. The aim is to identify control strategies that can elucidate the relationship between the interference pattern and the characteristics of internal fermion–fermion interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) has been widely used for determination of high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-cTnI). However, a CMIA analysis is usually affected by the presence of some endogenous or exogenous substances. This case-report aims to unveil the essence of the reoccurrence of false-positive results due to heterophilic antibodies interference with Abbott high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I assay, although the assay method applied a chimeric antibody. A 28-year-old female misdiagnosed with myocarditis due to falsely elevated hs-cTnI with an initial test result of 595.0 ng/L considered as critical value was reported. And the false critical value of hs-cTnI reoccurred five times after admission. The heterophilic blocking tube (HBT) procedure caused a decrease in troponin concentrations within the reference values, which suggests the presence of interference from heterophilic antibodies. It requires a close and strong collaboration between clinicians and laboratorians to manage the similar case on the interference from heterophilic antibodies. To prevent false-positive results caused by interferences from being used in clinical practice, the clinicians are suggested to contact the laboratorians whenever the clinical picture, historical data and laboratory values are not conclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significance: The interference-holographic method of phase scanning of fields of scattered laser radiation is proposed. The effectiveness of this method for the selection of variously dispersed components is demonstrated. This method made it possible to obtain polarization maps of biological tissues at a high level of depolarized background. The scale-selective analysis of such maps was used to determine necrotic changes in the optically anisotropic architectonics of biological tissues. Objective: Development and experimental approbation of layered phase polarimetry of repeatedly scattered fields in diffuse layers of biological tissues. Application of scale-selective processing of the found coordinate distributions of polarization states in various phase sections of object fields. Determination of criteria (markers) for histological differential diagnosis of the causes of necrotic changes in optical anisotropy of biological tissues. Approach: We used a synthesis of three instrumental and analytical methods. Polarization-interference registration of laser radiation scattered by a sample of biological tissue. Digital holographic reconstruction and layered phase scanning of distributions of complex amplitudes of the object field. Analytical determination of polarization maps of various phase cross-sections of repeatedly scattered radiation. Application of wavelet analysis of the distributions of polarization states in the phase plane of a single scattered component of an object field. Determination of criteria (markers) for differential diagnosis of necrotic changes in biological tissues with different morphological structure. Two cases are considered. The first case is the myocardium of those who died as a result of coronary heart disease and acute coronary insufficiency. The second case is lung tissue samples of deceased with bronchial asthma and fibrosis. Results: A method of polarization-interference mapping of diffuse object fields of biological tissues has been developed and experimentally implemented. With the help of digital holographic reconstruction of the distributions of complex amplitudes, polarization maps in various phase sections of a diffuse object field are found. The wavelet analysis of azimuth and ellipticity distributions of polarization in the phase plane of a single scattered component of laser radiation is used. Scenarios for changing the amplitude of the wavelet coefficients for different scales of the scanning salt-like MHAT function are determined. Statistical moments of the first to fourth orders are determined for the distributions of the amplitudes of the wavelet coefficients of the azimuth maps and the ellipticity of polarization. As a result, diagnostic markers of necrotic changes in the myocardium and lung tissue were determined. The statistical criteria found are the basis for determining the accuracy of their differential diagnosis of various necrotic states of biological tissues. Conclusions: Necrotic changes caused by "coronary artery disease--acute coronary insufficiency" and "asthma--pulmonary fibrosis" were demonstrated by the method of wavelet differentiation with polarization interference with excellent accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significance: Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) has emerged as a powerful and versatile imaging technique renowned for its remarkable features, including high-speed 3D tomography, minimal photobleaching, and low phototoxicity. The interference light-sheet fluorescence microscope, with its larger field of view (FOV) and more uniform axial resolution, possesses significant potential for a wide range of applications in biology and medicine. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the interference behavior among multiple light sheets (LSs) in LSFM and optimize the FOV and resolution of the light-sheet fluorescence microscope. Approach: We conducted a detailed investigation of the interference effects among LSs through theoretical derivation and numerical simulations, aiming to find optimal parameters. Subsequently, we constructed a customized system of multi-LSFM that incorporates both interference light sheets (ILS) and noninterference light-sheet configurations. We performed beam imaging and microsphere imaging tests to evaluate the FOV and axial resolution of these systems. Results: Using our custom-designed light-sheet fluorescence microscope, we captured the intensity distribution profiles of both interference and noninterference light sheets (NILS). Additionally, we conducted imaging tests on microspheres to assess their imaging outcomes. The ILS not only exhibits a larger FOV compared to the NILS but also demonstrates a more uniform axial resolution. Conclusions: By effectively modulating the interference among multiple LSs, it is possible to optimize the intensity distribution of the LSs, expand the FOV, and achieve a more uniform axial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this manuscript, we present a novel deployment protection method aimed at safeguarding aeronautical radio altimeters (RAs) from interference caused by fifth-generation (5G) telecommunication base stations (BSs). Our methodology involves an integrated interference model for defining prohibited zones and utilizes power control and angle shutoff methods to mitigate interference. First, to ensure reliable protection, we define both horizontal and vertical prohibited zones and investigate their variations to immunize RA against 5G interference. Second, we validate the effectiveness of the model in various operational scenarios, analyzing the influence of factors such as base station types, antenna parameters, flight altitude, and aircraft attitudes to cover a wide range of real-world scenarios. Third, to mitigate interference, we propose and analyze the power control and angle shutoff methods through simulation for the RMa prohibited zone. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the deployment protection method in safeguarding RAs from 5G interference, providing guidance for interference protection during civil aviation operations and base station deployment near airports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging consumer devices rely on the next generation IoT for connected support to undergo the much-needed digital transformation. The main challenge for next-generation IoT is to fulfil the requirements of robust connectivity, uniform coverage and scalability to reap the benefits of automation, integration and personalization. Next generation mobile networks, including beyond 5G and 6G technology, play an important role in delivering intelligent coordination and functionality among the consumer nodes. This paper presents a 6G-enabled scalable cell-free IoT network that guarantees uniform quality-of-service (QoS) to the proliferating wireless nodes or consumer devices. By enabling the optimal association of nodes with the APs, it offers efficient resource management. A scheduling algorithm is proposed for the cell-free model such that the interference caused by the neighbouring nodes and neighbouring APs is minimised. The mathematical formulations are obtained to carry out the performance analysis with different precoding schemes. Further, the allocation of pilots for obtaining the association with minimum interference is managed using different pilot lengths. It is observed that the proposed algorithm offers an improvement of 18.9% in achieved spectral efficiency using partial regularized zero-forcing (PRZF) precoding scheme at pilot length τ p = 10 . In the end, the performance comparison with two other models incorporating random scheduling and no scheduling at all is carried out. As compared to random scheduling, the proposed scheduling shows improvement of 10.9% in obtained spectral efficiency by 95% of the user nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical polarimetric method has been widely used in liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) phase measurement with a simple optical setup. However, due to interference caused by LCoS cover glass reflections, the method lacks accuracy for phase uniformity measurements. This paper is aimed at mathematically analyzing the errors caused by non-ideal glass reflections and proposing procedures to reduce or eliminate such errors. The measurement is discussed in three conditions, including the ideal condition with no reflections from the LCoS cover glass, the condition with only the front reflection from the cover glass, and the condition with only the back reflection from the cover glass. It is discovered that the backward reflection makes the largest contribution to the overall measurement error, and it is the main obstacle to high-quality measurements. Several procedures, including optical alignment, LC layer thickness measurement, and phase estimation method, are proposed, making the uniformity measurement more qualitative and consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a promising technology for the Internet of Things (IoT) because it can increase connectivity and provide considerable energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE). However, pilot contamination caused by pilot reuse severely limits the performance of the system. In this paper, we propose a left-null-space-based massive access method that can significantly reduce interference among users. The proposed method includes three stages: initial orthogonal access, left-null-space-based opportunistic access and data detection of all accessed users. The simulation results show that the proposed method can achieve much higher spectral efficiency than the existing massive access methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Progress in Earthquake Sciences is the property of China Earthquake Administration, Institute of Geophysics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent years, because of global challenges resulting from increased resource shortages and the climate crisis, interest in and the commitment to transition to a more sustainable economic system, especially a circular economy, has increased among scientists, politicians, and practitioners in Europe. To create a system that maintains the value of products as long as possible and minimizes waste, new business models, so-called circular business models (CBMs), are required. So far, as a result of far-reaching barriers, no breakthrough regarding CBMs has been observed and there are a lack of comprehensive analyses on the barriers and drivers of CBMs. Using a systematic literature analysis, this gap was filled and 637 barriers and 394 drivers were extracted from 76 publications, which were categorized into eight areas and synthesized in a comprehensive framework. The results show that an undifferentiated analysis of CBMs could result in incorrect assumptions, as the barriers between them differ. Overall, however, the most significant effect on all CBMs is from external barriers at a macro level. In this paper, drivers, in the form of success factors and political measures, were assigned to concrete barriers, indicating that policy interventions are needed in Europe in order to overcome these barriers and accelerate systematic change. The article provides research, policy, and practice with a theoretically grounded basis for analyzing these barriers and overcoming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]