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Processes or products are typically complex systems with numerous interrelated procedures and interdependent components. This results in complex relationships between responses and input factors, as well as complex nonlinear correlations among multiple responses. If the two types of complex correlations in the quality design cannot be properly dealt with, it will affect the prediction accuracy of the response surface model, as well as the accuracy and reliability of the recommended optimal solutions. In this paper, we combine kernel trick-based kernel principal component analysis, spline-based Bayesian semiparametric additive model, and normal boundary intersection-based evolutionary algorithm to address these two types of complex correlations. The effectiveness of the proposed method in modeling and optimisation is validated through a simulation study and a case study. The results show that the proposed Bayesian semiparametric additive model can better describe the process relationships compared to least squares regression, random forest regression, and support vector basis regression, and the proposed multi-objective optimisation method performs well on several indicators mentioned in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the semiconductor industry, virtual metrology (VM) is a cost-effective and efficient technique for monitoring the processes from one wafer to another. This technique is implemented by generating a predictive model that uses real-time data from equipment sensors in conjunction with measured wafer quality characteristics. Before establishing a prediction model for the VM system, appropriate selection of relevant input variables should be performed to maintain the efficiency of subsequent analyses considering the large dimensionality of the sensor data inputs. However, wafer production processes usually employ multiple sensors, which leads to cost escalations. Herein, we propose a variant of the sparse principal component analysis (PCA) called true sparse PCA (TSPCA). The proposed method uses a small number of input variables in the first few principal components. The main contribution of the proposed TSPCA is reducing the number of essential sensors. Our experimental results demonstrate that compared to the existing sparse PCA methods, the proposed approach can reduce the number of sensors required while explaining an approximately equivalent amount of variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We rely on a total of 23 (cluster size, 8 structural, and 14 connectivity) descriptors to investigate structural patterns and connectivity motifs associated with water cluster aggregation. In addition to the cluster size n (number of molecules), the 8 structural descriptors can be further categorized into (i) one-body (intramolecular): covalent OH bond length (rOH) and HOH bond angle (θHOH), (ii) two-body: OO distance (rOO), OHO angle (θOHO), and HOOX dihedral angle (ϕHOOX), where X lies on the bisector of the HOH angle, (iii) three-body: OOO angle (θOOO), and (iv) many-body: modified tetrahedral order parameter (q) to account for two-, three-, four-, five-coordinated molecules (qm, m = 2, 3, 4, 5) and radius of gyration (Rg). The 14 connectivity descriptors are all many-body in nature and consist of the AD, AAD, ADD, AADD, AAAD, AAADD adjacencies [number of hydrogen bonds accepted (A) and donated (D) by each water molecule], Wiener index, Average Shortest Path Length, hydrogen bond saturation (% HB), and number of non-short-circuited three-membered cycles, four-membered cycles, five-membered cycles, six-membered cycles, and seven-membered cycles. We mined a previously reported database of 4 948 959 water cluster minima for (H2O)n, n = 3–25 to analyze the evolution and correlation of these descriptors for the clusters within 5 kcal/mol of the putative minima. It was found that rOH and % HB correlated strongly with cluster size n, which was identified as the strongest predictor of energetic stability. Marked changes in the adjacencies and cycle count were observed, lending insight into changes in the hydrogen bond network upon aggregation. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was employed to identify descriptor dependencies and group clusters into specific structural patterns across different cluster sizes. The results of this study inform our understanding of how water clusters evolve in size and what appropriate descriptors of their structural and connectivity patterns are with respect to system size, stability, and similarity. The approach described in this study is general and can be easily extended to other hydrogen-bonded systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hardness of thin films is a noteworthy property in the electronic and mechanical industry and is generally observed to be dependent on the degree of roughening facilitated from surface heights' surface spatial heterogeneity at the mesoscopic observation scale. Nonetheless, owing to enhanced scale fluctuations and higher-order central moments, conventional parameters provide limitations and errors in capturing the spatial heterogeneity of surfaces. Herein, we have utilized scale-independent fractal parameters to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of surface heights in Ti1−xSixN ternary hard films deposited with varying Si doping concentrations using sputtering technique. The fractal dimension, lacunarity coefficient, Moran index, surface entropy, Otsu's separability, and fractal succolarity were computed to provide an overarching understanding of the surface heights' spatial heterogeneity. Principal component analysis was employed on the data sets to identify the parameter(s) accounting for the maximum variance and accordingly, the structure–property relation between spatial heterogeneity of surface and hardness is analyzed and discussed in the context of the fractal dimension of surface heights. The results indicate the possibility of mesoscopic surface engineering and, consequently, tuning of hardness and modulus of elasticity in Ti1−xSixN hard films by mere changing of surface spatial heterogeneity facilitated by the fractal dimension of surface heights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have reanalyzed the rich plethora of ground state configurations of the asymmetric Wigner bilayer system that we had recently published in a related diagram of states [Antlanger et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 118002 (2016)], comprising roughly 60 000 state points in the phase space spanned by the distance between the plates and the charge asymmetry parameter of the system. In contrast to this preceding contribution where the classification of the emerging structures was carried out "by hand," we have used for the present contribution machine learning concepts, notably based on a principal component analysis and a k-means clustering approach: using a 30-dimensional feature vector for each emerging structure (containing relevant information, such as the composition of the configuration as well as the most relevant order parameters), we were able to reanalyze these ground state configurations in a considerably more systematic and comprehensive manner than we could possibly do in the previously published classification scheme. Indeed, we were now able to identify new structures in previously unclassified regions of the parameter space and could considerably refine the previous classification scheme, thereby identifying a rich wealth of new emerging ground state configurations. Thorough consistency checks confirm the validity of the newly defined diagram of states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Torsional and bending deformations of DNA molecules often occur in vivo and are important for biological functions. DNA "under stress" is a conformational state, which is by far the most frequent state during DNA–protein and gene regulation. In DNA minicircles of length < 100 base pairs (bp), the combined effect of torsional and bending stresses can cause local unusual conformations, with certain base pair steps often absorbing most of the stress, leaving other steps close to their relaxed conformation. To better understand the superhelical dynamics of DNA under stress, molecular simulations of 94 bp minicircles with different torsional linking numbers were interpreted using Fourier analyses and principal component analyses. Sharp localized bends of nearly 90° in the helical axis were observed, which in turn decreased fluctuations of the rotational register and helped redistribute the torsional stress into writhe, i.e., superhelical turn up to 360°. In these kinked minicircles, only two-thirds of the DNA molecule bends and writhes and the remaining segment stays close to straight and preserves a conformational flexibility typical of canonical B-DNA (bending of 39° ± 17° distributed parsimoniously across 36 bp), which was confirmed and visualized by principal component analysis. These results confirm that stressed DNA molecules are highly heterogeneous along their sequence, with segments designed to locally store and release stress so that nearby segments can stay relaxed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to facilitate the high-quality advancement and digital innovation of the wine industry, a method based on principal component analysis (PCA) and improved quantum particle swarm optimization (IQPSO) to optimize support vector machine (PCA-IQPSO-SVM), was proposed to solve the wine classification problem. First, the feature extraction ability of PCA was used to reduce the input dimension of the model and improve the classification efficiency. At the same time, aiming at the problems that the quantum particle swarm optimization (QPSO) is easy to fall into local optimum and the convergence ability is decreased in the later stage of optimizing SVM, a variety of improvement strategies are used to improve QPSO to find the best parameters of SVM. The experimental results demonstrate that the model of PCA-IQPSO-SVM exhibits superior evaluation indices compared to other models. Moreover, the optimization efficiency of the PCA-IQPSO-SVM model is enhanced by 1.64% to reach an impressive 85.2%, showcasing its remarkable optimization effect. Simultaneously, this study provides a scientific approach for quality classification in the wine industry, thereby facilitating its high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize space-sea integrated communication between multiple ships under the BeiDou-3 satellite communication topology, this paper proposes a new satellite-ship autonomous communication system based on a deep learning anomaly detection algorithm. A deep learning algorithm combining coarse-grained detection (piecewise oversampling principal component analysis, POsPCA) and fine-grained sorting (VAE and differential ARIMA joint model) was established to realize two-way autonomous communication between BeiDou-3 satellites and ships. Specifically, a segmented oversampling principal component analysis algorithm was proposed to analyze anomalous BeiDou-3 short message data segments in the coarse-grained detection stage. In the fine-grained sorting stage, a joint fusion reconstruction and prediction model was proposed to calculate the fine-grained anomaly score. The autonomous communication system establishes the communication priority of multiple ships based on this score. Using the experimental platform independently built for this study to verify the algorithm performance, the proposed algorithm effectively realizes the priority ranking of anomaly scores by detecting abnormal data segments, effectively saving 64.4% of BeiDou-3 satellite short message communication resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multivariate relationships and variability of initial and post-harvest soil parameters in the North and South Transects of Bengaluru during 2017 and 2018 are assessed. North (South) Transect soils indicated initial pH of 5.9 (7.1), EC of 0.17 (0.16) dS m−1, N of 376.9 (415.3) kg/ha, P2O5 of 83.18 (64.31) kg/ha, K2O of 169.7 (247.3) kg/ha, Fe of 11.78 (10.86) ppm, Zn of 1.59 (1.13) ppm, Cu of 0.71 (0.6) ppm, Mn of 8.24 (7.74) ppm and B of 0.24 (0.21) ppm; compared to post-harvest pH of 6.1 (6.8), EC of 0.26 (0.19) dS m−1, N of 352.5 (383.4) kg/ha, P2O5 of 68.05 (54.14) kg/ha, K2O of 153.5 (222.1) kg/ha, Fe of 9.91 (8.75) ppm, Zn of 1.35 (0.93) ppm, Cu of 0.58 (0.53) ppm, Mn of 6.88 (6.72) ppm and B of 0.20 (0.19) ppm. Four PCs of post-harvest parameters explained a maximum variance of 59.85% in the North compared to 69.94% in the South Transects. Soil pH (−0.623), Fe (0.648), Zn (−0.603) on PC-1; Cu (0.628) on PC-2; EC (0.613) on PC-3; and B (−0.657) on PC-4 were significant in North, while pH (−0.715), Fe (0.891), Zn (−0.624), Mn (0.835) on PC-1; EC (0.771), N (0.618) on PC-2; K2O (0.718), B (0.774) on PC-3; P2O5 (0.673), Cu (0.647) on PC-4 were significant in South Transect. It may be recommended that the package of practices of crops should be modified by considering variability, relationships, loadings, and buildup of soil fertility parameters under semi-arid Alfisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Douchi is a highly appreciated product due to its unique flavor, high nutritional value, and health benefits. Douchi from different regions exhibits distinct characteristics. The objective of this study was to investigate the volatile profiles in douchi produced from different geographical origins using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and chemometrics. The volatiles were extracted by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and subsequently determined by GC-MS. A comparative analysis was further conducted to identify the variations in volatile compounds among the samples. The correlation between the samples was investigated by employing cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA). An orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model was established to discriminate samples from different regions and identify key differential compounds. A total of 46 volatile compounds were detected, among which terpenes, alcohols were the main compounds. Furthermore, 14 key differentiating compounds were screened out based on the OPLS-DA modle. The application of GC-MS combined with chemometrics offers a theoretical framework for douchi quality control and classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed to detect the biochemical changes in Gordonia-HS126-4N bacterial strain mediated by exposure to 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene. SERS has revealed significant changes induced in the bacterial cells after exposure to a compound, confirming its potential for evaluating their desulfurization capability. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were demonstrated to be effective tools for comparison of the exposed and unexposed bacterial strains. PCA was used for differentiating the SERS spectra of unexposed and exposed Gordonia-HS126-4N. PLS-DA was employed on SERS spectra for the discrimination of the unexposed and exposed bacterial strains with 87% specificity, 88% sensitivity, 89% accuracy, and the value of area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) of 0.78, which indicates the excellent performance of the chemometric model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is currently being used in healthcare systems to collect sensor values for heart disease diagnosis and prediction. Although many researchers have focused on the diagnosis of heart disease, the accuracy of the diagnosis results is low. To address this problem, we present a novel method for predicting heart disease. This paper proposes a novel approach for heart disease detection using long short-term memory networks (LSTM) optimized with Self-improved Jellyfish Optimization. Initially, input data are gathered from the smartwatch and heart monitor device that is attached to the patient to monitor the blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG). Then the input data are Pre-processed using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) algorithm. The African vulture's optimization algorithm (AVOA) is employed for feature selection. Selected features are provided to LSTM for classifying the received sensor data into normal and abnormal. The proposed approach aims to optimize LSTM hyperparameters the Self-improved Jellyfish Optimization (SIJO) is utilized. In addition, the proposed algorithm incorporates a self-improvement mechanism. By then, the proposed approach's performance has been tested on the MATLAB platform and its results have been compared to those of other approaches. Thus, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the Jellyfish Optimization algorithm in enhancing LSTM for heart disease detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a staple food crop that plays a crucial role in global food security. A suitable planting pattern and optimum nitrogen (N) split management are efficient practices for improving wheat production. Therefore, an experiment was performed to explore the effect of N split management and sowing patterns on wheat at the Agronomy Research Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, during rabi season 2020-21 and 2021-22. The treatments consisted of different nitrogen rates of 0, 80, 120, and 160 kg ha− 1 and planting patterns of W, M, broadcast and line sowing. The pooled analysis of both cropping seasons showed that application of 120 kg N ha− 1 increased spikelets spike− 1, grains spike− 1, 1000 grains weight, grain yield, grain N content, evapotranspiration and water use efficiency by 21.9, 16.7, 21.8, 70, 13, 19.9 and 40% as compared to control, respectively. In addition, W and M were observed the best management practices among all planting patterns. The M planting pattern enhanced chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids and evapotranspiration while W plating pattern improved yield components and yield of wheat as compared to broadcast planting patterns. The principal component analysis biplot showed a close association of M and W planting patterns with 120 kg N ha− 1 in most of the studied traits. Hence, it is concluded that split application of 120 kg N ha− 1 in W and M sowing patterns enhanced growth, biochemical traits and water use efficiency, reducing N fertilization from 160 to 120 kg ha− 1 while increasing grain yield of wheat. Hence, it is recommended that application of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ in combination with W and M planting patterns offer a sustainable approach to enhancing wheat production in the alkaline soil conditions of the Peshawar valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan harbors five endemic species of salamanders (Hynobius spp.) that inhabit distinct alpine regions, contributing to population fragmentation across isolated "sky islands". With an evolutionary history spanning multiple glacial-interglacial cycles, these species represent an exceptional paradigm for exploring biogeography and speciation. However, a lack of suitable genetic markers applicable across species has limited research efforts. Thus, developing cross-amplifying markers is imperative. Expressed sequence-tag simple-sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) that amplify across divergent lineages are ideal for species identification in instances where phenotypic differentiation is challenging. Here, we report a suite of cross-amplifying EST-SSRs from the transcriptomes of the five Hynobius species that exhibit an interspecies transferability rate of 67.67%. To identify individual markers exhibiting cross-species polymorphism and to assess interspecies genetic diversity, we assayed 140 individuals from the five species across 84 sampling sites. A set of EST-SSRs with a high interspecies polymorphic information content (PIC = 0.63) effectively classified these individuals into five distinct clusters, as supported by discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC), STRUCTURE assignment tests, and Neighbor-joining trees. Moreover, pair-wise FST values > 0.15 indicate notable between-cluster genetic divergence. Our set of 20 polymorphic EST-SSRs is suitable for assessing population structure within and among Hynobius species, as well as for long-term monitoring of their genetic composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A mediation analysis approach is proposed for multiple exposures, multiple mediators, and a continuous scalar outcome under the linear structural equation modeling framework. It assumes that there exist orthogonal components that demonstrate parallel mediation mechanisms on the outcome, and thus is named principal component mediation analysis (PCMA). Likelihood‐based estimators are introduced for simultaneous estimation of the component projections and effect parameters. The asymptotic distribution of the estimators is derived for low‐dimensional data. A bootstrap procedure is introduced for inference. Simulation studies illustrate the superior performance of the proposed approach. Applied to a proteomics‐imaging dataset from the Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative (ADNI), the proposed framework identifies protein deposition – brain atrophy – memory deficit mechanisms consistent with existing knowledge and suggests potential AD pathology by integrating data collected from different modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Analyzing longitudinal data in health studies is challenging due to sparse and error‐prone measurements, strong within‐individual correlation, missing data and various trajectory shapes. While mixed‐effect models (MM) effectively address these challenges, they remain parametric models and may incur computational costs. In contrast, functional principal component analysis (FPCA) is a non‐parametric approach developed for regular and dense functional data that flexibly describes temporal trajectories at a potentially lower computational cost. This article presents an empirical simulation study evaluating the behavior of FPCA with sparse and error‐prone repeated measures and its robustness under different missing data schemes in comparison with MM. The results show that FPCA is well‐suited in the presence of missing at random data caused by dropout, except in scenarios involving most frequent and systematic dropout. Like MM, FPCA fails under missing not at random mechanism. The FPCA was applied to describe the trajectories of four cognitive functions before clinical dementia and contrast them with those of matched controls in a case‐control study nested in a population‐based aging cohort. The average cognitive declines of future dementia cases showed a sudden divergence from those of their matched controls with a sharp acceleration 5 to 2.5 years prior to diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Respiratory motion correction is beneficial in positron emission tomography (PET), as it can reduce artefacts caused by motion and improve quantitative accuracy. Methods of motion correction are commonly based on a respiratory trace obtained through an external device (like the real time position management system) or a data driven method, such as those based on dimensionality reduction techniques (for instance principal component analysis (PCA)). PCA itself being a linear transformation to the axis of greatest variation. Data driven methods have the advantage of being non-invasive, and can be performed post-acquisition. However, their main downside being that they are adversely affected by the tracer kinetics of the dynamic PET acquisition. Therefore, they are mostly limited to static PET acquisitions. This work seeks to extend on existing PCA-based data-driven motion correction methods, to allow for their applicability to dynamic PET imaging. Approach. The methods explored in this work include; a moving window approach (similar to the Kinetic Respiratory Gating method from Schleyer et al (2014)), extrapolation of the principal component from later time points to earlier time points, and a method to score, select, and combine multiple respiratory components. The resulting respiratory traces were evaluated on 22 data sets from a dynamic [18F]-FDG study on patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This was achieved by calculating their correlation with a surrogate signal acquired using a real time position management system. Main results. The results indicate that all methods produce better surrogate signals than when applying conventional PCA to dynamic data (for instance, a higher correlation with a gold standard respiratory trace). Extrapolating a late time point principal component produced more promising results than using a moving window. Scoring, selecting, and combining components held benefits over all other methods. Significance. This work allows for the extraction of a surrogate signal from dynamic PET data earlier in the acquisition and with a greater accuracy than previous work. This potentially allows for numerous other methods (for instance, respiratory motion correction) to be applied to this data (when they otherwise could not be previously used). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MacArthur Admission Experience Survey was developed to evaluate perceived coercion in psychiatric inpatients and comprises of three subscales: “Perceived coercion”, “Negative pressures” and “Voice”. The present study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Romanian language version of the AES (R-AES) and to identify predictors for higher perceived coercion. We developed the R-AES using a translation/back-translation procedure and administered it to 137 patients admitted to the “Profesor Doctor Alexandru Obregia” psychiatric hospital in Bucharest, Romania. Discriminatory power was evaluated by comparing the scores of voluntarily and involuntarily admitted patients. The R-AES showed satisfactory internal consistency (Crohnbach’s alpha = 0.92). Principal components analysis disclosed a three-factor solution explaining 69.1% of variance. Factor components roughly corresponded to the original subscales. Higher scores were associated with involuntary admission, objective coercive measures, younger age, frequent past hospitalisations, treatment non-compliance, psychosis, mania, greater disease severity, aggression, and presentation by police or ambulance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can inter-individual variability be quantified? Measuring many features per experiment raises the question of choosing them to recapitulate high-dimensional data. Tackling this challenge on spindle elongation phenotypes, we showed that only three typical elongation patterns describe spindle elongation in C. elegans one-cell embryo. These archetypes, automatically extracted from the experimental data using principal component analysis (PCA), accounted for more than 95% of inter-individual variability of more than 1600 experiments across more than 100 different conditions. The two first archetypes were related to spindle average length and anaphasic elongation rate. The third archetype, accounting for 6% of the variability, was novel and corresponded to a transient spindle shortening in late metaphase, reminiscent of kinetochore function-defect phenotypes. Importantly, these three archetypes were robust to the choice of the dataset and were found even considering only non-treated conditions. Thus, the inter-individual differences between genetically perturbed embryos have the same underlying nature as natural inter-individual differences between wild-type embryos, independently of the temperatures. We thus propose that beyond the apparent complexity of the spindle, only three independent mechanisms account for spindle elongation, weighted differently in the various conditions. Interestingly, the spindle-length archetypes covered both metaphase and anaphase, suggesting that spindle elongation in late metaphase is sufficient to predict the late anaphase length. We validated this idea using a machine-learning approach. Finally, given amounts of these three archetypes could represent a quantitative phenotype. To take advantage of this, we set out to predict interacting genes from a seed based on the PCA coefficients. We exemplified this firstly on the role of tpxl-1 whose homolog tpx2 is involved in spindle microtubule branching, secondly the mechanism regulating metaphase length, and thirdly the central spindle players which set the length at anaphase. We found novel interactors not in public databases but supported by recent experimental publications. Author summary: When quantifying the cell, scientists need to accurately measure cell-to-cell variability as it carries unique information about the underlying mechanisms. In this article, we focused on the spindle length as a proxy for correct mitosis. We used the nematode one-cell embryo, an established model organism, to investigate (stem-like) cell divisions. Through a data-only approach of spindle dynamics over time, we automatically extracted the most informative variability descriptors. We recalled two known ones: spindle length and anaphase elongation rate. We uncovered a new one –late-metaphase shortening –present in all conditions. Such a phenotype was previously confined to cells with defective chromosome attachments. These three descriptors account for 95% of variability, suggesting that the complex spindle choreography relies only on a few core mechanisms. Furthermore, we showed that the final spindle length at anaphase, important to set the daughter cell fates, is already determined in late metaphase, despite a complete spindle reassembly between both phases. Interestingly, the same descriptors explain variability in genetically perturbed and non-treated conditions. This suggests that no novel mechanism appears in defective cells. Only mechanism contributions are changing. Finally, we propose a tool to predict genes co-involved in a mechanism from a known gene to support candidate approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 infection among pregnant women results in more severe symptoms and higher mortality rates. No comprehensive health literacy for protection against COVID‐19 among pregnant women has been available for general use in Thailand. This cross‐sectional study aimed to develop and examine an instrument for measuring health literacy of prevention COVID‐19 infection among pregnant women (HLS‐P). A total of 321 pregnant women aged older than 20 years were participated in this study, Selected through multistage cluster sampling, between September 2021 and January 2022. Data were collected using structured questions that included sociodemographic characteristics and the health literacy scale for protecting against COVID‐19 (HLS‐P) developed by the researchers. The content and construct validity of the health literacy scale were examined. Exploratory factor analysis performed with principal component analysis and Varimax rotation. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS AMOS 26. The model fitting was evaluated using several indices namely root mean square error of approximation, normed fit index, comparative fit index, and goodness‐of‐fit index. The reliability of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and item total correlation. As a results of exploratory factor analysis of the scale, 31 items were loaded which indicated a 6‐factors for the scale that collectively explained 62.59% of total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis also indicated a good fit to the six latent structures with root mean square error of approximation 0.03, normed fit index 0.94, comparative fit index 0.97, and goodness‐of‐fit index 0.91. Internal consistency reliability was satisfactory with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.94 and the item‐total correlation between 0.34 and 0.86. The overall scale was sufficiently reliable. As a result, the HLS‐P is a reliable and relevant measure for assessing health literacy in pregnant women. Thus, this scale is profoundly used as an evaluation tool for measuring health literacy among pregnant women, providing critical information for healthcare professionals and policymakers about the health literacy needs and capacity of service receivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Finger limes (Citrus australasica) are an Australian native and traditional food that are known for their caviar‐like pearls often referred to as “Citrus Caviar”. This study aimed to spectrally characterise finger lime varieties sourced across South‐East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. The varieties investigated demonstrated a wide diversity in their phenotypic appearance; however, their infrared spectra were similar. The NIR spectra of the samples were collected using a portable instrument and the data analysed using principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression. Differences in the PCA score plot were observed associated with the different varieties analysed. The cross‐validation statistics obtained for the prediction of adulteration of finger with Tahitian lime were R2CV and SECV 0.96% and 7%, respectively (using 8 PLS factors), using PLS regression. This study demonstrated that a portable handheld NIR instrument is able to identify finger lime varieties using both whole fruits and the corresponding peel samples. This study also showed that NIR was able to identify the level of adulteration of finger lime with Tahitian lime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points Physiologists often express the change in the value of a measurement made on two occasions as a ratio of the initial value. This is usually motivated by an assumption that the absolute change fails to capture the true extent of the alteration that has occurred in attaining the final value – if there is initial variation among individual cases. While it may appear reasonable to use ratios to standardize the magnitude of change in this way, the perils of doing so have been widely documented. Ratios frequently have intractable statistical properties, both when taken in isolation and when analysed using techniques such as regression. A new method of computing a standardized metric of change, based on principal components analysis (PCA), is described. It exploits the collinearity within sets of initial, absolute change and final values. When these sets define variables subjected to PCA, the standardized measure of change is obtained as the product of the loading of absolute change onto the first principal component (PC1) and the eigenvalue of PC1. It is demonstrated that a sample drawn from a population of these standardized measures: approximates a normal distribution (unlike the corresponding ratios); lies within the same range; and preserves the rank order of the ratios. It is also shown that this method can be used to express the magnitude of a physiological response in an experimental condition relative to that obtained in a control condition. The intractable statistical properties of ratios and the perils of using ratios to standardize the magnitude of change are well known. A new method of computing a standardized metric, based on principal components analysis (PCA), is described, which exploits the collinearity within sets of initial, absolute change and final values. A sample drawn from a population of these PCA‐derived measures: approximates a normal distribution (unlike the corresponding ratios); lies within the same range as the ratios; and preserves the rank order of the ratios. The method can also be applied to express the magnitude of a physiological response in an experimental condition relative to a control condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the energy-absorbing capability of frontal collision management systems and improve vehicle crash safety, foam-filled crash boxes should be optimized. On the basis of a double tubular construction, a novel foam-filled crash box with a different design is developed. The energy absorption capacity, initial peak force, and deformation modes of the original and improved crash boxes were examined using impact models. As opposed to the full-filling design, it is demonstrated that the filling design may utilize less foam while increasing specific energy absorption. The stability of continuing deformation after the first buckling is determined by the foam-filled crash box. For the foam-filled crash box, a better-optimized design technique is suggested using the Taguchi method and principal component analysis (PCA). Compression tests are used to validate the design concept. Therefore, the optimal design technique of the crash box is suitable and practical for the crashworthiness design of crash boxes, considering the combined effect of significant indicators for electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics is an important tool for studying disease-related biomarkers. Conventionally, different strategies have been used to screen biomarkers. However, many studies for biomarker screening by different strategies have ignored the dose-response relationship between the biomarker level and exposure level, and no relevant studies have described and compared different strategies in detail. Phenobarbital (PHB) which belongs to the barbiturates, was selected as the typical representative of neurotoxins. Acylcarnitines have been promising candidates for diagnostic biomarkers for several neurological disorders and neurotoxicity. In this work, we aimed to use an acute PHB poisoning animal model to clarify PHB poisoning effects on plasma and brain acylcarnitine changes and how to rationally analyze data from LCMS/ MS. Methods: The acylcarnitine profiles in plasma and brain regions in an actuate PHB poisoning animal model were utilized. The dose-response relationship between plasma PHB and carnitine and acylcarnitines (CARs) in plasma and brain were assessed by the variance analysis trend test and Spearman's rank correlation test. In different strategies, principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) screened the differential CARs, variable importance plots (VIPs) were utilized to select putative biomarkers for PHB-induced toxicity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis then illustrated the reliability of biomarkers. Results: Under the first strategy, 14 potential toxicity biomarkers were obtained including eight downregulated CARs with AUC >0.8. Under the second strategy, 11 potential toxicity biomarkers were obtained containing five downregulated CARs with AUC >0.8. Only when the dose-response relationship was fully considered, different strategies screen for the same biomarkers (plasma acetyl-carnitine (C2) and plasma decanoyl-carnitine (C10)), which indicated plasma acylcarnitines might serve as toxicity biomarkers. In addition, the plasma CAR level changes showed differences from brain CAR level changes, and correlations between plasma CARs and their brain counterparts were weak. Conclusion: We found that plasma C2 and C10 might serve as toxicity biomarkers for PHB poisoning disorders, and PHB poisoning effects on changes in plasma CARs may not be fully representative of changes in brain CARs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the influencing factors of spatial and temporal evolution of production-living-ecological space in Beijing Tianjin sandstorm source area, the remote sensing images, natural environment and socio-economic data of Duolun County in Inner Mongolia from 2000 to 2020 were selected, and the spatial auto-correlation model and principal component analysis model were used to analyze the spatial pattern evolution and influencing factors of production-living-ecological space. The results show that: (1) the function of production space decreases slightly, and the degree of spatial agglomeration decreases; (2) The function of living space rose slightly, and its spatial agglomeration degree showed an upward trend; (3) The ecological spatial function showed a slow upward trend, and its spatial agglomeration degree increased; (4) The spatial pattern of production-living-ecological space is characterized by "high in the southwest and low in the northeast"; (5) Precipitation has the greatest impact on the spatial evolution of the production-living-ecological space. The distance from the main residential areas, per capita GDP, the distance from the main roads and the distance from the main waters have strong explanatory power on the spatial evolution of the production-living-ecological space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the composition, distribution, and origins of rare, Noble, and fissionable elements for the first time in black sand deposits from the Northern Delta coastal region. The findings showed that among the elements under investigation, Fe, Ti, Mn, and Sn had the greatest mean levels, while Hf, Cd, and As had the lowest mean amounts. According to the study's elemental composition, black sand is thought to have economic worth for Ti, Zr, Hf, Sn, Ag, and W. The Zr, Co, Cd, Cu, Hf, V, W, and Zn correlation points to the same source origin. It is clear that the accessory mineral composition in the sediments under study especially the heavy ones controls the geochemical patterns of trace elements. The trace element concentrations of interest show a pattern of element variability related to the mineralogy of the sands, as indicated by the principal component analysis and cluster analysis. To explore and exploit heavy minerals in the research region, the study's findings are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitrinite reflectance (VR) is a critical measure of source rock maturity in geochemistry. Although VR is a widely accepted measure of maturity, its accurate measurement often proves challenging and costly. Rock–Eval pyrolysis offers the advantages of being cost-effective, fast, and providing accurate data. Previous studies have employed empirical equations and traditional machine learning methods using T-max data for VR prediction, but these approaches often yielded subpar results. Therefore, the quest to develop a precise method for predicting vitrinite reflectance based on Rock–Eval data becomes particularly valuable. This study presents a novel approach to predicting VR using advanced machine learning models, namely ExtraTree and XGBoost, along with new ways to prepare the data, such as winsorization for outlier treatment and principal component analysis (PCA) for dimensionality reduction. The depth and three Rock–Eval parameters (T-max, S1/TOC, and HI) were used as input variables. Three model sets were examined: Set 1, which involved both Winsorization and PCA; Set 2, which only included Winsorization; and Set 3, which did not include either. The results indicate that the ExtraTree model in Set 1 demonstrated the highest level of predictive accuracy, whereas Set 3 exhibited the lowest level of accuracy, confirming the methodology's effectiveness. The ExtraTree model obtained an overall R2 score of 0.997, surpassing traditional methods by a significant margin. This approach improves the accuracy and dependability of virtual reality predictions, showing significant advancements compared to conventional empirical equations and traditional machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is an important staple crop not only in Pakistan but all over the globe. Although the area dedicated to wheat cultivation expands annually, the quantity of wheat harvested is declining due to various biotic and abiotic factors. Global wheat production and output have suffered as a result of the drought, which is largely driven by a lack of water and environmental factors. Organic fertilizers have been shown to reduce the severity of drought. The current research was conducted in semi-arid climates to mitigate the negative effects of drought on wheat during its critical tillering (DTS), flowering (DFS), and grain filling (DGFS) stages through the application of three different abscisic acid treatments: ABA0 (0 mgL−1) control, ABA1 (100 mgL−1) and ABA2 (200 mgL−1). Wheat growth and yield characteristics were severely harmed by drought stress across all critical development stages, with the DGFS stage being particularly vulnerable and leading to a considerable loss in yield. Plant height was increased by 24.25%, the number of fertile tillers by 25.66%, spike length by 17.24%, the number of spikelets per spike by 16.68%, grain count per spike by 11.98%, thousand-grain weight by 14.34%, grain yield by 26.93% and biological yield by 14.55% when abscisic acid (ABA) was applied instead of the control treatment. Moreover, ABA2 increased the more physiological indices (water use efficiency (36.12%), stomatal conductance (44.23%), chlorophyll a (24.5%), chlorophyll b (29.8%), transpiration rate (23.03%), photosynthetic rate (24.84%), electrolyte leakage (− 38.76%) hydrogen peroxide (− 18.09%) superoxide dismutase (15.3%), catalase (20.8%), peroxidase (− 18.09%), and malondialdehyde (− 13.7%)) of drought-stressed wheat as compared to other treatments. In the case of N, P, and K contents in grain were maximally improved with the application of ABA2. Through the use of principal component analysis, we were able to correlate our results across scales and provide an explanation for the observed effects of ABA on wheat growth and production under arid conditions. Overall, ABA application at a rate of 200 mgL−1 is an effective technique to boost wheat grain output by mitigating the negative effects of drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive deficits are prevalent in individuals with psychosis and are associated with neurobiological changes, potentially serving as an endophenotype for psychosis. Using the HCP-Early-Psychosis-dataset (n = 226), we aimed to investigate cognitive subtypes (deficit/intermediate/spared) through data-driven clustering in affective (AP) and non-affective psychosis patients (NAP) and controls (HC). We explored differences between three clusters in symptoms, cognition, medication, and grey matter volume. Applying principal component analysis, we selected features for clustering. Features that explained most variance were scores for intelligence, verbal recognition and comprehension, auditory attention, working memory, reasoning and executive functioning. Fuzzy K-Means clustering on those features revealed that the subgroups significantly varied in cognitive impairment, clinical symptoms, and, importantly, also in medication and grey matter volume in fronto-parietal and subcortical networks. The spared cluster (86%HC, 37%AP, 17%NAP) exhibited unimpaired cognition, lowest symptoms/medication, and grey matter comparable to controls. The deficit cluster (4%HC, 10%AP, 47%NAP) had impairments across all domains, highest symptoms scores/medication dosage, and pronounced grey matter alterations. The intermediate deficit cluster (11%HC, 54%AP, 36%NAP) showed fewer deficits than the second cluster, but similar symptoms/medication/grey matter to the spared cluster. Controlling for medication, cognitive scores correlated with grey matter changes and negative symptoms across all patients. Our findings generally emphasize the interplay between cognition, brain structure, symptoms, and medication in AP and NAP, and specifically suggest a possible mediating role of cognition, highlighting the potential of screening cognitive changes to aid tailoring treatments and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abundance of degrees of freedom (DOF) exist when executing a countermovement jump (CMJ). This research aims to simplify the understanding of this complex system by comparing jump performance and independent functional DOF (fDOF) present in CMJs without (CMJNoArms) and with (CMJArms) an arm swing. Principal component analysis was used on 39 muscle forces and 15 3-dimensional joint contact forces obtained from kinematic and kinetic data, analyzed in FreeBody (a segment-based musculoskeletal model). Jump performance was greater in CMJArms with the increased ground contact time resulting in higher external (p = 0.012), hip (p < 0.001) and ankle (p = 0.009) vertical impulses, and slower hip extension enhancing the proximal-to-distal joint extension strategy. This allowed the hip muscles to generate higher forces and greater time-normalized hip vertical impulse (p = 0.006). Three fDOF were found for the muscle forces and 3-dimensional joint contact forces during CMJNoArms, while four fDOF were present for CMJArms. This suggests that the underlying anatomy provides mechanical constraints during a CMJ, reducing the demand on the control system. The additional fDOF present in CMJArms suggests that the arms are not mechanically coupled with the lower extremity, resulting in additional variation within individual motor strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT With the rapid urbanization in China, urban land resources gradually become the core of urban development. This study spatially evaluated the urban land resource carrying capacity (LRCC) with a case study of the built‐up area in Wuhan from 2015 to 2020. Following an evaluation index system, five critical LRCC indicators, including population density, GDP per land area, plot ratio, building density, and road network density, were selected by an analytical hierarchical process. The synthesis of indicators, however, is usually challengeable due to homogeneous assumptions of traditional techniques. In this study, we adopted a local technique, geographically weighted principal component analysis, to calculate a comprehensive carrying pressure (CCP) concerning spatially varying contributions of each indicator on their synthesis across different geographic locations. On mapping these spatial outputs of the built‐up area in Wuhan, the highest CCP was found in the central areas, where population size tends to be influential and the dominant variable in 62.69% of subdistricts. Furthermore, increased construction over the 5 years has led to an increased CCP in some of the peripheries of the built‐up area, and 55.22% of subdistricts show rising changes. With the GWPCA technique, this framework works well in evaluating and analyzing urban LRCC from a new local perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reasonable land use development around subway stations can balance the utilization rates of the subway system during peak and off-peak hours, thereby enhancing its service levels and operational efficiency. Analyzing the temporal distribution patterns of passenger flow and their influencing factors is crucial for determining the optimum ratio of each land use type surrounding metro stations. Thus, this paper employs principal component analysis (PCA) at first to investigate the temporal distribution of metro ridership, and identify their main patterns and factor loadings. Then, using geographically weighted regression, the study examines the spatial dependencies between the main component proportions and influencing factors, focusing on Xi'an subway stations. The results indicate that the temporal distribution of passenger flow can be decomposed into three principal components: the first representing commuting characteristics, and the second and third representing regulating functions. The overall distribution is a composite of these components in varying proportions. Residential and educational land uses primarily drive morning and evening peak flows, with residential land use in the city center and peripheral areas having a more pronounced effect compared to transitional areas. Conversely, commercial & office, healthcare, and recreational & park land mitigate peak flows and increase off-peak flows. External hub enhances passenger flow throughout the day, while industrial land use has negligible impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Sensor devices, such as accelerometers, are widely used for measuring physical activity (PA). These devices provide outputs at fine granularity (e.g., 10–100 Hz or minute‐level), which while providing rich data on activity patterns, also pose computational challenges with multilevel densely sampled data, resulting in PA records that are measured continuously across multiple days and visits. On the other hand, a scalar health outcome (e.g., BMI) is usually observed only at the individual or visit level. This leads to a discrepancy in numbers of nested levels between the predictors (PA) and outcomes, raising analytic challenges. To address this issue, we proposed a multilevel longitudinal functional principal component analysis (mLFPCA) model to directly model multilevel functional PA inputs in a longitudinal study, and then implemented a longitudinal functional principal component regression (FPCR) to explore the association between PA and obesity‐related health outcomes. Additionally, we conducted a comprehensive simulation study to examine the impact of imbalanced multilevel data on both mLFPCA and FPCR performance and offer guidelines for selecting optimal methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling the quality and health of foodstuffs is of great importance. The quality of foods like garlic is strongly influenced by the conditions of processing. Fungal infection is one of the most common hazards of garlic productivity that can affect its processing as well. This research aimed to use the E-Nose to investigate the aroma of garlic as a quality control factor influenced by different treatments such as type of processing, type of fungal infection, and time elapsed since the date of inoculation. The data was investigated and categorized through different methods such as principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), Support vector machine (SVM), and backpropagation neural network (BPNN). The Index of deterioration toughness increased during the monitoring period. In the analysis of the data related to the unprocessed whole (UW), dried slices (DS), garlic powder (PO), and garlic tablet (TA), the PCA included 55%, 75%, 47%, and 53% of the data, respectively. The LDA was able to classify the aroma of UW, DS, PO, and TA samples based on the TFI treatment with an accuracy of 90%, 93.33%, 88.89%, and 60%, respectively. Also, the BPNN classified the aromas of UW, DS, PO, and TA samples based on the TEI treatment with an accuracy of 90%, 95.6%, 72.2%, and 82.2%, respectively. The results revealed that the aroma alteration can be used as a comprehensive factor in the quality control of processed products. As well, the type of processing had significant effects on the severity of decay caused by fungal infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the realization of users ‘ information rights (IRs) in the smart service of university libraries. Based on the LibQUAL model, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to measure the quality of smart services in university libraries. The contribution weight of various services to the realization of IRs is calculated by analytic hierarchy process (AHP), then the degree of IR realization is obtained. Users have the highest right to express information, the lowest right to equality, and other rights tend to be moderate. Suggestions to improve the realization of IRs are put forward at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical morphological variations at the population level serve as a robust foundation for species delimitation and taxonomic treatment. We employed this approach to investigate species delimitation within the Ptilagrostis dichotoma species complex (Poaceae), which is characterized by open panicles. While three species have been described, the boundaries between these species and the morphological distributions of all taxonomic traits remain unclear. In this study, we examined the geographical variability of 19 morphological traits based on at least six individuals from each of the 28 populations across the entire distributional range of the species complex. Our statistical analyses identified five distinct phenotypic clusters with specific geographical preferences. Three of these clusters corresponded to the previously described species, while the remaining two clusters represented previously undescribed species. Furthermore, our findings highlight several traits, such as basal leaf scabrosity, panicle branch pulvinae, and glume length, which exhibit distinct gaps between phenotypic units and prove highly valuable for species delimitation. Finally, two new species are described and a key is provided to differentiate the five species. This morphological revision establishes a basis for future studies on species boundaries and divergences of the complex based on other evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants inhabiting contrasting physical conditions might develop local adaptations overriding the homogenizing effects of gene flow. Hypotheses of local adaptation on phenotypic, genomic, and environmental variation under extreme precipitation regimes were tested in the Patagonian conifer Austrocedrus chilensis. Common garden experiments on progeny and genotype-to-environment association analysis on adults were conducted. Samples consisting of seeds and leaves from adult trees were collected from contrasting dry (DF) and humid (HF) forests along a steep but short precipitation gradient. Seeds were germinated and seedlings were grown under common garden conditions for 24 months. DNA was extracted from 75 randomly selected trees from DF and HF, and genotyped by sequencing to obtain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Seedlings from HF outgrew DF ones suggesting genetically based differences. Twenty-four outlier SNP loci differed between DF and HF, whereas neutral genes (3242) showed high levels of admixture. Eight out of the 24 outlier SNPs aligned with transcripts, half of them related to drought stress responses, and principal component analysis identified four precipitation-related marker–climate associations. Quantitative and genomic traits suggested that natural selection maintains divergence under contrasting climatic conditions regardless high gene flow. This underscores the importance of dry forests as reservoirs of drought-tolerant variants to cope with forecasted climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is the only member of the order Pholidota found in Pakistan. The current study was designed to compare the mortality rate and causes of mortality of Indian pangolin from eight districts, i.e., four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four from Punjab, Pakistan during 2019–2022. Data were collected by using self-designed questionnaires (n = 340) and social media reports. Most of the data were collected from Facebook 53 %, followed by Instagram (22 %), WhatsApp (17 %), and OLX (10 %). Mean and standard deviation were computed for district-wise killing (mean ± SD 15.25 ± 10.21), season-wise killing (mean ± SD 30.50 ± 9.8), month wise killing (mean ± SD 10.38 ± 4.19) and area wise killing (mean ± SD 40.7 ± 17.6). The killing of 179 Indian pangolins was recorded in four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while in Punjab 59 Indian pangolins were killed. According to interviewees, 33 % of the mortality of Indian pangolin was caused by illegal killing followed by human settlement (17 %), agricultural practices (13 %), mites and ticks (11 %), natural mortality (8 %), accidents (7 %), myth (6 %), and floods (5 %). District wildlife departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab arrested many people (KPK n = 83, Punjab n = 57) during 2019–2022. The highest fines were imposed by the Chakwal Wildlife Department, i.e., 20,000–60,000 PKR along with 1–4 months of imprisonment sentences. Eight dead pangolins were recovered among those six were male (75 %) and two were female (25 %). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that PC appears to be influenced the most by mites and ticks (MT), myth, natural mortality (NM) and "flood" given their strong loadings. PC2 was heavily influenced by killed for illegal trade (KFIT), accident, and agriculture practices (AP) due to their significant negative loadings. PC3 has NM and AP as the dominant variables, KFIT, also playing a role but in the opposite direction. PC4 showed strong influences from NM (negative) and flood (positive). We concluded that the illegal killing of Indian pangolin is very high. Conservation efforts are crucial to protect these unique and endangered creatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful surgical treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy traditionally relies on the identification of seizure onset zones (SOZs). Connectome-based analyses of electrographic data from stereo electroencephalography (SEEG) may empower improved detection of SOZs. Specifically, connectome-based analyses based on the interictal suppression hypothesis posit that when the patient is not having a seizure, SOZs are inhibited by non-SOZs through high inward connectivity and low outward connectivity. However, it is not clear whether there are other motifs that can better identify potential SOZs. Thus, we sought to use unsupervised machine learning to identify network motifs that elucidate SOZs and investigate if there is another motif that outperforms the ISH. Resting-state SEEG data from 81 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy undergoing a pre-surgical evaluation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were collected. Directed connectivity matrices were computed using the alpha band (8–13 Hz). Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on each patient's connectivity matrix. Each patient's components were analysed qualitatively to identify common patterns across patients. A quantitative definition was then used to identify the component that most closely matched the observed pattern in each patient. A motif characteristic of the interictal suppression hypothesis (high-inward and low-outward connectivity) was present in all individuals and found to be the most robust motif for identification of SOZs in 64/81 (79%) patients. This principal component demonstrated significant differences in SOZs compared to non-SOZs. While other motifs for identifying SOZs were present in other patients, they differed for each patient, suggesting that seizure networks are patient specific, but the ISH is present in nearly all networks. We discovered that a potentially suppressive motif based on the interictal suppression hypothesis was present in all patients, and it was the most robust motif for SOZs in 79% of patients. Each patient had additional motifs that further characterized SOZs, but these motifs were not common across all patients. This work has the potential to augment clinical identification of SOZs to improve epilepsy treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs multivariate analysis within a multifactorial design to investigate the author-translator style of distinguished Chinese author Eileen Chang. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), it examines Chang's stylistic multiverse across three literary types: original writing, self-translation, and regular translation of others' works. The findings reveal diverse patterns of stylistic convergence and divergence among these literary types, analyzed using the metrics of the most frequent words: 200-MFW, 20-MFW, and 5-MFW. These patterns are shaped by the perspectives introduced by two explanatory factors, translation status (original versus translated) and translation type (self-translation versus regular translation), and influenced by Chang's literary ambition, translation philosophy, and patronage. The study contributes methodologically to author-translator style research by demonstrating the effectiveness of multifactorial and multivariate approaches, which not only provide profound insights into datasets but facilitate methodological triangulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the scenario of literary retranslation, the presence of a previous translation necessarily has influence on retranslators. Systemic analyses of relevant features are needed to reveal the potential influence that an earlier translation exerts on a later one and the strategies the latter takes as a response. Starting with the assumption that a distinctive translation can be identified with a set of consistent features, this study examines the relationship between translations with The Great Gatsby and its nine Chinese versions as a case in point, with a novel method of corpus triangulation. For the discovery of the most effective set of distinctive features, a multi-class Support Vector Machine algorithm is applied on twenty-one linguistic features related to vocabulary, grammar, and textuality for the classification of samples from the nine versions. A principal components analysis then follows to verify the multi-dimensionality of a translation and the intertwinement of its features. Finally, further aided with a sentiment analysis, we examine the faithfulness of translations and their distances from each other. Through cross-validation, this study finds: (1) With the shared source text, different translations show a certain, and in some pairs striking, degree of resemblance both in terms of linguistic features and in the sentiment-based narrative plot; (2) the dependency relation between retranslations and earlier ones is usually manifested in measurable linguistic features; (3) linguistic features of a text are normally combined in a complicated manner and features of different categories inextricably intertwined; (4) the trend of proximity proposed by the Retranslation Hypothesis is discernible in the retranslations; and (5) cross-validation between the examination of linguistic features and sentiment analysis proves to be an effective approach for measuring the distance between translations and the closeness of a translation to the original. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The normalization of X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) spectra is required for comparing spectral features and extracting quantitative information in analytical techniques such as linear combination analysis, principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution. Most published data are normalized to the edge‐jump, but normalization to the spectral area has also been applied. The latter is particularly attractive if only a small energy range around the absorption can be recorded reliably. Here, the two normalization methods are compared at the L3‐edge of Pt, Pd and Rh, and at the Ni K‐edge using experimental and calculated spectra. Normalization to the spectral area is found to be a viable approach if the range for the area normalization is sufficiently large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the limitations imposed by urban power grid outages for maintenance, on‐line harmonic current detection technology for distribution network cables is expected to become an effective supplement to traditional offline diagnostic methods, enhancing the real‐time diagnosis of distribution network cable insulation conditions. This study established a 10 kV distribution network cable test platform and prepared typical defective cables subjected to moisture and long‐term thermal aging. Using COMSOL finite element electromagnetic simulation, the magnetic flux evolution laws of the cable insulation under typical defects were obtained. Experimental tests provided the harmonic current characteristics and statistical features of cables with typical defects. Based on these data, a method for analysing the degradation degree of distribution network cables was constructed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis. Furthermore, a defect‐type identification method based on cluster analysis was proposed. Results indicate that the odd harmonics and the 4th harmonic of the distribution network cable's harmonic current are closely related to the cable's degradation state. A model integrating principal component analysis (PCA) data dimensionality reduction and expectation‐maximization clustering analysis achieved a recognition accuracy of up to 75.64% in distinguishing between moisture‐affected and normal cable states. The proposed on‐line detection and evaluation methods can effectively identify high‐risk cables with latent defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]