Search

Background: Accessible measures specific to the Canadian context are needed to support health system planning for older adults living with frailty. We sought to develop and validate the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Hospital Frailty Risk Measure (HFRM). Methods: Using CIHI administrative data, we conducted a retrospective cohort study involving patients aged 65 years and older who were discharged from Canadian hospitals from Apr. 1, 2018, to Mar. 31, 2019. We used a 2-phase approach to develop and validate the CIHI HFRM. The first phase, construction of the measure, was based on the deficit accumulation approach (identification of age-related conditions using a 2-year look-back). The second phase involved refinement into 3 formats (continuous risk score, 8 risk groups and binary risk measure), with assessment of their predictive validity for several frailty-related adverse outcomes using data to 2019/20. We assessed convergent validity with the United Kingdom Hospital Frailty Risk Score. Results: The cohort consisted of 788 701 patients. The CIHI HFRM included 36 deficit categories and 595 diagnosis codes that cover morbidity, function, sensory loss, cognition and mood. The median continuous risk score was 0.111 (interquartile range 0.056-0.194, equivalent to 2-7 deficits); 35.1% (n = 277 000) of the cohort were found at risk of frailty ([greater than or equal to] 6 deficits). The CIHI HFRM showed satisfactory predictive validity and reasonable goodnessof-fit. For the continuous risk score format (unit = 0.1), the hazard ratio (HR) for 1-year risk of death was 1.39 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.38-1.41), with a C-statistic of 0.717 (95% CI 0.715-0.720); the odds ratio for high users of hospital beds was 1.85 (95% CI 1.82-1.88), with a C-statistic of 0.709 (95% CI 0.704-0.714), and the HR of 90-day admission to long-term care was 1.91 (95% CI 1.88-1.93), with a C-statistic of 0.810 (95% CI 0.808-0.813). Compared with the continuous risk score, using a format of 8 risk groups had similar discriminatory ability and the binary risk measure had slightly weaker performance. Interpretation: The CIHI HFRM is a valid tool showing good discriminatory power for several adverse outcomes. The tool can be used by decision-makers and researchers by providing information on hospital-level prevalence of frailty to support system-level capacity planning for Canada's aging population., Health systems need to make concerted efforts to strengthen care for their aging populations. (1) A particular challenge that jurisdictions face is in the identification and management of age-related conditions, [...]

The increasing integration of renewable energy and electronic power devices into power systems is expanding the data volume and seriously challenging data interaction. The improvement of data reliability contributes to ensuring power supply reliability through the accurate assessment of the power grid's status and the correct response of equipment. To quantify the impact of data reliability on power supply reliability, a data-driven analysis method is proposed. First, based on low-voltage telemetry data, a set of evaluation indicators for data reliability and high-quality power supply reliability is proposed. Then, a reliability scoring method considering combined weight is developed based on the improved technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution and grey relational analysis. Additionally, the analysis method based on convolutional neural networks and support vector machines nonlinear fitting is proposed to indicate the impact of data on power supply reliability and find a reasonable range of data reliability indicators. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the experiments based on actual distribution network data from the eastern province of China.

To further explore the effect of the surfactant on strengthening the wetting of micropore fractures, coal particles and coal pillars with different numbers of fractures were selected to prepare anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solution for coal sample imbibition experiments. A modified Langmuir model is used for fitting and analyzing the water absorption data.The results show that the influence of surfactant on the percolation effect is diverse at different scales of the fracture, and the absorbed volume of water of coal particles is reduced to 23 %–50 % of the original. In addition, the variation range of water absorption of coal pillars with few fractures is within 1 %, and the water absorption of coal pillars with more fractures is about 33 % higher than the original value. Through the microscope test, we found that the surfactant hardly blocks the channel where the opening of the pore and fracture is large, as the fissure opening decreases, the plugging gets worse. Plugging induced by the adsorption of surfactants and coal fracture surfaces potentially hinder water imbibition in coal. The findings provide more sufficient theoretical guidance for the research and development of efficient and clean surfactants in the future.

Soil microorganisms play critical roles in ecosystem function. However, the relative impact of the potassium (K) fertilizer gradient on the microbial community in wheat-maize double-cropping systems remains unclear. In this long-term field experiment (2008–2019), we researched bacterial and fungal diversity, composition, and community assemblage in the soil along a K fertilizer gradient in the wheat season (K0, no K fertilizer; K1, 45 kg ha−1K2O; K2, 90 kg ha−1K2O; K3, 135 kg ha−1K2O) and in the maize season (K0, no K fertilizer; K1, 150 kg ha−1K2O; K2, 300 kg ha−1K2O; K3, 450 kg ha−1K2O) using bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal internally transcribed spacer (ITS) data. We observed that environmental variables, such as mean annual soil temperature (MAT) and precipitation, available K, ammonium, nitrate, and organic matter, impacted the soil bacterial and fungal communities, and their impacts varied with fertilizer treatments and crop species. Furthermore, the relative abundance of bacteria involved in soil nutrient transformation (phylum Actinobacteria and class Alphaproteobacteria) in the wheat season was significantly increased compared to the maize season, and the optimal K fertilizer dosage (K2 treatment) boosted the relative bacterial abundance of soil nutrient transformation (genus Lactobacillus) and soil denitrification (phylum Proteobacteria) bacteria in the wheat season. The abundance of the soil bacterial community promoting root growth and nutrient absorption (genus Herbaspirillum) in the maize season was improved compared to the wheat season, and the K2 treatment enhanced the bacterial abundance of soil nutrient transformation (genus MND1) and soil nitrogen cycling (genus Nitrospira) genera in the maize season. The results indicated that the bacterial and fungal communities in the double-cropping system exhibited variable sensitivities and assembly mechanisms along a K fertilizer gradient, and microhabitats explained the largest amount of the variation in crop yields, and improved wheat-maize yields by 11.2–22.6 and 9.2–23.8% with K addition, respectively. These modes are shaped contemporaneously by the different meteorological factors and soil nutrient changes in the K fertilizer gradients.

• The designed Al 21 Co 19.5 Fe 9.5 Ni 50 EHEA show an excellent high-temperature stability. • The precipitation of L12 and L10 phases can be regulated by solution treatment with different cooling rates. • The transformation from B2 to L10 phases can enhance the yield strength. • The transformation from L10 to B2 phases can enhance the ductility. Eutectic high-entropy alloys (EHEAs) that combine the advantages of HEAs and eutectic alloys are promising materials for high-temperature environments. However, the mechanical properties of currently developed EHEAs still cannot meet the servicing requirements. Here, we propose a strategy to optimize the tensile properties in a Al 21 Co 19.5 Fe 9.5 Ni 50 EHEA by regulating the phase transformation and precipitation features. The results showed that the as-cast Al 21 Co 19.5 Fe 9.5 Ni 50 EHEA mainly consists of face-centered cubic (FCC) and B2 phases showing a lamellar morphology, and the FCC and B2 phases keep a stable K-S orientation relationship. Solution treatment at 900 and 1100 °C followed by furnace cooling to room temperature leads to a significant precipitation of L1 2 phases within the FCC phases. In the subsequent tensile deformation process, dispersed L1 2 phases and the transformation from B2 to L1 0 phases can significantly enhance the yield strength of the designed EHEA. Furthermore, solution treatment at the same temperature, followed by rapid water quenching, results in the appearance of numerous L1 0 phases within the B2 phases. The transformation from L1 0 to B2 phases during subsequent tensile deformation can make the B2 and FCC phases return to a K-S orientation relationship. This, in turn, reduces the tendency for dislocation pile-ups at the phase interfaces and improves the ductility. We believe that this work will provide some new references for designing EHEAs with excellent mechanical properties. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TiNbV 0.5 Ta 0.5 Cr x (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5) refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) with an excellent combination of ductility and strength were designed and prepared for high-temperature applications. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation of the TiNbV 0.5 Ta 0.5 Cr 0.1 alloy were 878 MPa, 928 MPa, and 21.6 %, respectively. Important issues of microstructure evolution, precipitation process, and their impact on mechanical properties were concerned. Then, the effect of Cr content on the mechanical properties of TiNbV 0.5 Ta 0.5 Cr x alloys was evaluated through a quantitative analysis of the strengthening mechanism, which elucidated the trade-off relationship between solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening in RHEA. The microstructure evolution of the TiNbV 0.5 Ta 0.5 Cr x alloys involved the formation and interconversion of titanium allotropes (α-Ti and β-Ti) and the precipitation of the Laves phase. Significant embrittlement was induced by the preferential precipitation of α-Ti on the grain boundary. The TiNbV 0.5 Ta 0.5 Cr x alloys exhibited an incubation period for Laves phase precipitation, which was related to the Cr content in the alloy. The Laves phase preferentially nucleated next to α-Ti due to the redistribution of elements during the α-Ti precipitation process. The precipitation of the Laves phase played an important role in enhancing the strength of the TiNbV 0.5 Ta 0.5 Cr x alloys. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dissimilar welding between aluminum alloys and ultra-high strength steels (UHSS) can realize the structural lightweighting in the manufacturing of vehicle bodies. However, brittle Al–Fe intermetallic compounds (IMCs) are easily formed during welding, limit the industrial application of Al/steel hybrid structure. In this paper, solid rivet resistance riveting welding (RRW) is adopted to join AA6061-T6 aluminum alloy to CR1180T UHSS. This method employs a solid steel rivet to pierce the aluminum alloy workpiece under a piercing current, then a welding current is conducted to weld the rivet to the steel sheet. The influence of rivet leg height, rivet diameter, taper of rivet leg and volume ratio of rivet cap to rivet leg on the joint performance of RRW Al/steel are investigated. The results show that a rivet with small dimension will make it difficult to form effective piercing and welding, and a rivet with too large dimension will increase the difficulty of piercing and welding. With suitable design of rivet dimensions and selection of piercing and welding parameters, the maximum average tensile-shear force of RRW joint reaches 10.8 kN.

Deep convolutional neural networks are shown to be overkill with high parametric and computational redundancy in many application scenarios, and an increasing number of works have explored model pruning to obtain lightweight and efficient networks. However, most existing pruning approaches are driven by empirical heuristics and rarely consider the joint impact of channels, leading to unguaranteed and suboptimal performance. In this article, we propose a novel channel pruning method via c lass-aware t race r atio o ptimization (CATRO) to reduce the computational burden and accelerate the model inference. Utilizing class information from a few samples, CATRO measures the joint impact of multiple channels by feature space discriminations and consolidates the layerwise impact of preserved channels. By formulating channel pruning as a submodular set function maximization problem, CATRO solves it efficiently via a two-stage greedy iterative optimization procedure. More importantly, we present theoretical justifications on convergence of CATRO and performance of pruned networks. Experimental results demonstrate that CATRO achieves higher accuracy with similar computation cost or lower computation cost with similar accuracy than other state-of-the-art channel pruning algorithms. In addition, because of its class-aware property, CATRO is suitable to prune efficient networks adaptively for various classification subtasks, enhancing handy deployment and usage of deep networks in real-world applications.

In the process of deep coal resource extraction, a large number of cracks will be generated in the coal body in front of the working face under mining stress, causing large-scale instability and damage to the coal seam. However, due to limitations in experimental conditions, there is little research on the specific process of crack propagation under mining-induced stress. In response to this situation, this article adopts in situ CT scanning technology to extract the dynamic development process of coal sample fractures under the mining stress path and the traditional triaxial loading path. The damage stages of the coal samples were characterized by analyzing the corresponding stress–strain curves. The reconstruction results of coal sample fractures were quantitatively characterized from four perspectives─fractal dimension, equivalent fracture opening, porosity, and crack volume─and the PNM model. This analysis also elucidated the changes of the internal flow field and permeability during the damage process. Furthermore, the digital volume correlation (DVC) method was utilized to study the evolution of the displacement and strain fields in middling coal samples throughout the loading process. Finally, this study explored the mechanisms of crack propagation by examining the distinct behaviors observed under the two stress paths. The research results of this article have certain reference significance for the study of the coal damage destruction mechanism and fluid transport law under mining stress.

Rice dregs, a by‐product of the process of making sugar from broken rice, have a protein content of up to 70%. However, rice dreg protein (RDP) has not yet been fully utilized due to its high‐temperature liquefaction denaturation during sugar production. In this study, the structural, functional, and in vitro digestive properties of rice protein (RP) extracted from broken rice and RDP derived from rice dregs were compared, with a view to providing a basis for further utilization of RDP. Although RDP was a heat‐denatured protein, it was found to have relatively better functional properties and a well‐balanced amino acid composition. Structural analysis results revealed that RDP showed a looser and disordered structure. However, SDS‐PAGE results showed that the subunit composition of the two proteins was similar. The in vitro simulated digestion results showed that the digests of RDP had higher antioxidant and ACE inhibitory activity, but RDP showed significantly lower digestibility than RP. Through relevant modifications of RDP, RDP has the potential to be a good source of high‐quality protein in the human diet as the demand for plant‐based protein increases. This study can provide a basic theoretical basis for further development and utilization of RDP, which is also of great practical significance for seeking new plant protein resources and increasing the added value of broken rice.

The integration of oxidation and reduction half-reactions to amplify their synergy presents a considerable challenge in CO2photoconversion. Addressing this challenge requires the construction of spatially adjacent redox sites while suppressing charge recombination at these sites. This study introduces an innovative approach that utilizes spatial synergy to enable synergistic redox reactions within atomic proximity and employs spin polarization to inhibit charge recombination. We incorporate Mn into Co3O4as a catalyst, in which Mn sites tend to enrich holes as water activation sites, while adjacent Co sites preferentially capture electrons to activate CO2, forming a spatial synergy. The direct H transfer from H2O at Mn sites facilitates the formation of *COOH on adjacent Co sites with remarkably favorable thermodynamic energy. Notably, the incorporation of Mn induces spin polarization in the system, significantly suppressing the recombination of photogenerated charges at redox sites. This effect is further enhanced by applying an external magnetic field. By synergizing spatial synergy and spin polarization, Mn/Co3O4exhibits a CH4production rate of 23.4 μmol g–1h–1from CO2photoreduction, showcasing a 28.8 times enhancement over Co3O4. This study first introduces spin polarization to address charge recombination issues at spatially adjacent redox sites, offering novel insights for synergistic redox photocatalytic systems.

Hybrid heterojunction photodetectors (PDs) have received widespread attention due to their excellent optoelectronic performance. This study investigated the combination of ZnO with organic–inorganic perovskites to develop a high-performance heterojunction hybrid PD. The developed PD showed optical responses of 0.70 and 0.86 A/W at 350 and 850 nm. The detectivity achieved values of 3.98 × 1011and 4.92 × 1011Jones, while the external quantum efficiency stood at 246.59 and 125.31%. In addition, the PD displays broad-band responsivity to illumination ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared light. Incorporating [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid (PCBM) into the perovskite film to form a bulk heterojunction further enhances the responsivity, detectivity, and photoconductivity gain. This enhancement is attributed to the improved separation of electron–hole pairs, resulting in optical responses of 3.55 and 3.94 A/W at 350 and 850 nm, respectively. Moreover, detectivity was measured with values of 3.64 × 1012Jones and 4.04 × 1012Jones, with external quantum efficiencies of 1258.88% and 574.82%.

ABSTRACT 3D printing is a novel construction method, which utilizes sequential deposition of printable material to build structures. It contributes to the automation in civil engineering and offers advantages of [...]

ABSTRACT 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a technology which adopts layer-by-layer additive deposition process to build three-dimensional objects. Over the past decade, 3D printing has been attracting more and [...]

ABSTRACT The Mixture Design Approach was adopted in this report to formulate the correlation between the cementitious material components and material rheological properties (static yield stress, dynamic yield stress) and [...]

Tunable microwave absorbers have gained significant interest due to their capability to actively control microwaves. However, the existing architecture-change-based approach lacks flexibility, and the active-element-based approach is constrained by a narrowband operation or small dynamic modulation range. Here, a novel electrically tunable microwave absorbing device (TMAD) is demonstrated that can achieve dynamic tuning of the average reflection amplitude between −13.0 and −1.2 dB over a broadband range of 8–18 GHz enabled by reversible metal electrodeposition. This reversible tunability is achieved by electrodepositing silver (Ag) layers with controlled morphology on nanoscopic platinum (Pt) films in a device structure similar to a tunable Salisbury screen, employing Ag electrodeposited on Pt films as the modifiable resistive layer. Furthermore, this TMAD possesses a simple device architecture, excellent bistability, and multispectral compatibility. Our approach offers a new strategy for dynamically manipulating microwaves, which has potential utility in intelligent camouflage and communication systems.

AbstractSpray-based 3D concrete printing (S-3DCP) is a type of 3D concrete printing specifically for automated constructions on vertical and overhanging surfaces, e.g. facades and ceilings. In this study, cement is partially substituted by calcined marine clay to develop a high-performance mixture for S-3DCP. Through setting, rheological, and tack tests, the fresh properties of the mixtures with marine clays calcined after different temperatures have been assessed. Considering pumping and deposition performance, tackiness, and sustainability, the optimum calcination temperature of marine clay is determined as 700 °C. The subsequent spray-based printing test shows that compared with the mixture without marine clay, the mixture with the marine clay calcined at 700 °C has a more uniform thickness distribution and 185% higher building capacity. The study contributes to the deeper understanding of the rheological and tack properties of the mixtures with calcined marine clay, which guides the future utilization of marine clay.

• A good combination of strength and ductility is obtained in low-activation Ti 1.5 ZrV 0.5 Ta 0.5 RHEA. • The phase evolutions of the alloy at different temperatures and its effect on properties are investigated. • The formation mechanism of each phase is clarified. • The dominant strengthening factors of the alloy and the effect of phase evolution on the mechanical properties are elucidated. A novel low-activation Ti 1.5 ZrV 0.5 Ta 0.5 refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) was designed as a potential candidate for nuclear reactor application. At room temperature, it had an elongation of 8.4% and a yield strength of 1096 MPa. The phase evolution of this alloy and its effect on properties was investigated. At 400 °C, the solid solution bcc 1 transformed into the fcc phase and bcc 2 phase, and the ω phase and α phase also appeared. At 600 °C, the ω phase and α phase disappeared, and the microstructure of the alloy was composed of the fcc phase and bcc 2 phase. When the temperature was up to 1200 °C, the fcc phase and bcc 2 phase re-transformed into solid solution bcc 1 phase. The precipitation of ω phase and α phase caused a sharp increase in strength and a decrease in plasticity. Meanwhile, the appearance of the fcc phase led to a simultaneous decrease in strength and ductility, due to larger stress concentrations at the fcc/bcc interface. Besides, the formation mechanism of each phase in the alloy was discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersion-strengthened copper alloys can achieve ultra-high strength, but usually at the expense of ductility. In this study, a strategy for overcoming strength-ductility tradeoff of Cu alloys is realized through the introduction of bimodal grains structures. Cu-Ta alloys with only 0.5 at.% Ta content were successfully prepared by mechanical alloying combined with spark plasm sintering. The samples prepared by one-step and two-step ball milling methods are named as Cu-Ta (Ⅰ) and Cu-Ta (Ⅱ), respectively. The microstructural characterizations revealed that ultra-fine equiaxed grains with uniformly dispersed Ta precipitates were obtained in the Cu-Ta alloys. High strength of 377 MPa for yield strength together with elongation of ∼8% was obtained in Cu-Ta (Ⅰ). Bimodal grains structures composed of fine-grain zones and coarse-grain zones were successfully introduced into Cu-Ta (Ⅱ) by a two-step ball milling approach, and both yield strength (463 MPa) and elongation (∼15%) were significantly synergistic enhanced. The hardness values of both Cu-Ta (Ⅰ) and Cu-Ta (Ⅱ) were almost kept nearly constant with the increase of annealing time, and the softening temperatures of Cu-Ta (Ⅰ) and Cu-Ta (Ⅱ) are 1018 and 1013 °C, reaching 93.9% and 93.5% T m of pure Cu (1083 °C), respectively. It reveals that the Cu-0.5 at.% Ta alloys exhibit excellent thermal stability and exceptional softening resistance. Ta nanoclusters with semi-coherent structures play an essential role in enhancing the strength and microstructural stability of alloys. Bimodal structures are beneficial to the activation of back stress strengthening and the initiation and propagation of microcracks, thus obtaining the extraordinary combination of strength and elongation. This study provides a new way to fabricate dispersion-strengthened Cu alloys with high strength, high elongation, excellent thermal stability and softening resistance, which have potential application value in the field of the future fusion reactor. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) ash is a common industrial waste in the crude oil refinery process. In this study, raw FCC ash was incorporated to develop sustainable MgO/FCC ash blends for 3D printing on vertical surfaces. Rheological and tack behaviors of MgO/FCC ash blends were systematically studied, followed by the assessment of mechanical property and hydration products. On this basis, the suitable mixture for 3D printing on the vertical surfaces was determined, and its feasibility was verified with lab-scale 3D printing. Finally, the environmental impact of the developed mixture was estimated through batch leaching and composition tests. This study provides an alternative method to upcycle FCC ash as an ingredient for 3D concrete printing, which brings benefits to both the construction and oil refinery industries. Besides, the rheological, tack, and hydration investigations of the MgO/FCC ash blends guide the future design of similar mixtures with upcycled wastes.

The problem of art forgery and infringement is becoming increasingly prominent, since diverse self-media contents with all kinds of art pieces are released on the Internet every day. For art paintings, object detection and localization provide an efficient and effective means of art authentication and copyright protection. However, the acquisition of a precise detector requires large amounts of expensive pixel-level annotations. To alleviate this, we propose a novel weakly supervised object localization (WSOL) with background superposition erasing (BSE), which recognizes objects with inexpensive image-level labels. First, integrated adversarial erasing (IAE) for vanilla convolutional neural network (CNN) dropouts the most discriminative region by leveraging high-level semantic information. Second, a background suppression module (BSM) limits the activation area of the IAE to the object region through a self-guidance mechanism. Finally, in the inference phase, we utilize the refined importance map (RIM) of middle features to obtain class-agnostic localization results. Extensive experiments are conducted on paintings, CUB-200-2011 and ILSVRC to validate the effectiveness of our BSE.

Objective: Biliary interventional procedures require physicians to track the interventional instrument tip (Tip) precisely with X-ray image. However, Tip positioning relies heavily on the physicians' experience due to the limitations of X-ray imaging and the respiratory interference, which leads to biliary damage, prolonged operation time, and increased X-ray radiation. Methods: We construct an augmented reality (AR) navigation system for biliary interventional procedures. It includes system calibration, respiratory motion correction and fusion navigation. Firstly, the magnetic and 3D computed tomography (CT) coordinates are aligned through system calibration. Secondly, a respiratory motion correction method based on manifold regularization is proposed to correct the misalignment of the two coordinates caused by respiratory motion. Thirdly, the virtual biliary, liver and Tip from CT are overlapped to the corresponding position of the patient for dynamic virtual-real fusion. Results: Our system is respectively evaluated and achieved an average alignment error of 0.75 $\pm$ 0.17 mm and 2.79 $\pm$ 0.46 mm on phantoms and patients. The navigation experiments conducted on phantoms achieve an average Tip positioning error of 0.98 $\pm$ 0.15 mm and an average fusion error of 1.67 $\pm$ 0.34 mm after correction. Conclusion: Our system can automatically register the Tip to the corresponding location in CT, and dynamically overlap the 3D virtual model onto patients to provide accurate and intuitive AR navigation. Significance: This study demonstrates the clinical potential of our system by assisting physicians during biliary interventional procedures. Our system enables dynamic visualization of virtual model on patients, reducing the reliance on contrast agents and X-ray usage.

Anticholinergic (AC) drugs are commonly prescribed to older adults for treating diseases and chronic conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, urinary incontinence, gastrointestinal disorder, or simply pain and allergy. The high prevalence of AC drug use can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of older adults. We aim to improve the prediction of future trends of AC drug use at the individual level, with pharmacy refill data. The individual drug use data presents challenges in the modeling, such as data being discrete-valued with excess zeros and having significant unobserved heterogeneity in the trend pattern. To address these challenges, we propose a statistical model of hierarchical structure and an EM scheme for the model parameter estimation. We evaluate the proposed modeling approach through a numerical study with synthetic data and a case study with real-world pharmacy refill data. The simulation study show that our analysis method outperforms the existing ones (e.g., reducing MSE significantly), particularly in terms of accurately predicting the trend pattern. The real-world case study further verifies the out-performance and demonstrate the advantageous features of our method. We expect the prediction tool developed based on our study can assist pharmacists' decision on initiating or strengthening behavioral interventions with the hope of discontinuing AC drug misuse.

Graphical Abstract:

To build commercial robots, skid-steering mechanical design is of increased popularity due to its manufacturing simplicity and unique mechanism. However, these also cause significant challenges on software and algorithm design, especially for the pose estimation (i.e., determining the robot’s rotation and position) of skid-steering robots, since they change their orientation with an inevitable skid. To tackle this problem, we propose a probabilistic sliding-window estimator dedicated to skid-steering robots, using measurements from a monocular camera, the wheel encoders, and optionally an inertial measurement unit (IMU). Specifically, we explicitly model the kinematics of skid-steering robots by both track instantaneous centers of rotation (ICRs) and correction factors, which are capable of compensating for the complexity of track-to-terrain interaction, the imperfectness of mechanical design, terrain conditions and smoothness, etc. To prevent performance reduction in robots’ long-term missions, the time- and location- varying kinematic parameters are estimated online along with pose estimation states in a tightly-coupled manner. More importantly, we conduct in-depth observability analysis for different sensors and design configurations in this paper, which provides us with theoretical tools in making the correct choice when building real commercial robots. In our experiments, we validate the proposed method by both simulation tests and real-world experiments, which demonstrate that our method outperforms competing methods by wide margins. Note to Practitioners—This paper was motivated by the problem of long-term pose estimation of the commonly commercial-used skid-steering robots with only low-cost sensors. Skid-steering robots change their orientation with a skid, which poses a significant challenge for pose estimation when using the wheel encoders. We propose to online estimate the robot’s kinematics, which succeeds in compensating for the complexity of track-to-terrain interaction, due to the slippage, the imperfectness of mechanical design, terrain conditions and smoothness. It is critical to estimate the kinematics and poses jointly to prevent performance reduction in robots’ long-term missions. We further theoretically analyze whether the kinematics parameters can be estimated under different sensor configurations, and find out the special degrade motions that make the parameters unobservable.

This article proposes an open-circuit fault diagnosis method for parallel inverter switches based on circulating current. The mixed logic dynamic (MLD) model of the parallel inverter system is established. Based on this model, a Luenberger observer is applied to estimate the circulating current of the parallel inverter system. The observed value of the circulating current is compared with the actual value of the circulating current to obtain the residual signal. By using the residual signal, the faulty switches are detected and located. In addition, the reasonable thresholds of the residual signal are set to eliminate the interference of other factors on the fault diagnosis results, which enhances the robustness of the proposed fault diagnosis method. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis method. Additionally, the proposed fault diagnosis method does not require additional devices or equipment, and has low cost and good practicability.

The high lattice thermal conductivity of half-Heuslers (HHs) restricts the further enhancement of their thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT). In this study, multiscale scattering centers, such as point defects, dislocations, and nanoprecipitates, are synchronously introduced in a n-type ZrNiSn-based HH matrix through Nb doping and Hf substitution. The lattice thermal conductivity is substantially decreased from 4.55 (for the pristine ZrNiSn) to 1.8 W·m−1·K−1at 1 123 K viaphonon scattering over a broad wavelength range through the adjustment of multiscale defects. This value is close to the theoretically estimated lowest thermal conductivity. The power factor (PF) is enhanced from 3.25 (for the pristine ZrNiSn) to 5.01 mW·m−1·K−2for Zr0.66Hf0.30Nb0.04NiSn at 1 123 K owing to the donor doping and band regulation viaNb doping and Hf substitution. This can be ascribed to the synergistic interaction between the lowering of the lattice thermal conductivity and retention of the high PF. Consequently, a ZTvalue of as high as 1.06 is achieved for Zr0.66Hf0.30Nb0.04NiSn at 1 123 K. This work demonstrates that these actions are effective in jointly manipulating the transport of electrons and phonons, thereby improving the thermoelectric performance through defect engineering.

The efficiency of the wireless power transfer (WPT) system is highly dependent on the load resistance. To meet the demand of wide load variation, traditional methods employ dual-side control with multivariable to improve the efficiency for light loads. However, these methods often necessitate high-frequency signal synchronization and involve complex control. Therefore, a crucial challenge in WPT systems is to maintain high efficiency over a wide load range while using a simple control method. To address this research gap, a tandem-half-bridge (THB) WPT converter is proposed to improve the system efficiency and reduce the switching drain-source voltage. Based on the THB WPT converter, a hybrid modulation strategy is proposed, and only pulse frequency modulation or phase shift modulation is used in each operation mode. Additionally, a unified pulsewidth modulation generated method for three modes is given, which can be better applied in the digital controller. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed THB WPT converter under the hybrid modulation strategy, we construct a 1.8-kW experimental prototype. The experimental results demonstrate a peak efficiency of 95.26%. Furthermore, the efficiency under light load is up to 10.36% higher than the traditional full-bridge and half-bridge (FB&HB) converter under the mode switching strategy.

Objective: To observe the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on ubiquitin-like containing PHD and RING finger domains 1 (UHRF1) and DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) in ectopic endometrium of rats with endometriosis (EMS). Methods: Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham operation group with 10 rats and a model-building group with 30 rats according to body mass. EMS rat models were established in the model-building group and then were divided into a model group, an acupuncture and moxibustion group, and a progesterone group, with 10 rats in each group. All rats were fixed by a fixator. The sham operation group and the model group were given normal saline by gavage. The acupuncture and moxibustion group received acupuncture at Xuehai (SP10) and Sanyinjiao (SP6), moxibustion at Guanyuan (CV4), and gavage of normal saline. The progesterone group was given the mixed liquid made of dydrogesterone and normal saline by gavage. After 28 d of treatments, the three diameters (length, width, and height) of EMS rats’ ectopic cysts were measured, the cyst volumes were calculated, the volumes before intervention were subtracted, and the difference values were used to evaluate the growth of ectopic cysts. UHRF1 and DNMT1 mRNA and protein levels in normal endometrium, eutopic endometrium, and ectopic endometrium were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Results: There was no significant difference in the ectopic cyst volume difference between the acupuncture and moxibustion group and the progesterone group (P>0.05), but they were smaller than that of the model group (P<0.05). The levels of UHRF1 and DNMT1 mRNA and protein in the ectopic endometrium of the model group were lower than those in the normal endometrium (P<0.05). The levels of DNMT1 mRNA and UHRF1 protein in the eutopic endometrium of the model group were lower than those in the normal endometrium (P<0.05). The levels of UHRF1 mRNA and protein and the level of DNMT1 protein in the ectopic endometrium of the acupuncture and moxibustion group were higher than those in the model group (P<0.05), and the level of UHRF1 mRNA was higher than that in the progesterone group (P<0.05). The level of DNMT1 mRNA in the eutopic endometrium of the acupuncture and moxibustion group was higher than that in the model group (P<0.05). The levels of UHRF1 and DNMT1 mRNA and protein in the acupuncture and moxibustion group were insignificantly different from those in the normal endometrium (P>0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion may up-regulate the levels of UHRF1 mRNA and UHRF1 and DNMT1 proteins in the ectopic endometrium to the normal level so as to reduce the volume of ectopic cysts and cure endometriosis in rats.

ABSTRACT3D printable construction materials need to be conveyed through a delivery system whilst possess certain flow resistance to ensure materials can sustain the weight of subsequent layers. To meet these [...]

ABSTRACT Cementitious materials for 3D printing have special requirements for rheological properties, which are significantly affected by many factors, including sand gradation and packing fraction. Fuller Thompson theory and Marson-Percy [...]

As a promising on-demand transportation mode in low-demand areas, flex-route transit, has attracted much attention in the transportation research field. However, unexpectedly high demand levels caused by travel uncertainty impact the reliability and development of flex-route transit services. Although the meeting point strategy can deal with this problem effectively, selecting a location for the meeting points can substantially influence the performance of this strategy. In this study, meeting point location selection is modeled as a simulation-based optimization (SO) problem, and a Kriging-based global optimization method using a Pareto-based multipoint sampling strategy (KGO-PS) is proposed to solve this problem. Through comparison of several typical benchmark functions with other counterparts, the effectiveness of KGO-PS has been verified. Moreover, a real-life flex-route transit service is employed to construct the SO problem, and the optimization results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the performance of flex-route transit services under unexpectedly high demand levels.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly malignant type of brain tumor with limited treatment options. Recent research has focused on epigenetic regulatory factors, such as Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2), which plays a role in gene expression through epigenetic modifications. EZH2 inhibitors have been developed as potential therapeutic agents for GBM, but resistance to these inhibitors remains a considerable challenge. This study aimed to investigate the role of ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) in GBM and its association with resistance to EZH2 inhibitors. We first induced drug resistance in primary GBM cell lines by treatment with an EZH2 inhibitor and observed increases in the expression of stemness markers associated with glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) in the drug-resistant cells. We also found high expression of RSK4 in GBM patient samples and identified the correlation of high RSK4 expression with poor prognosis and GSC marker expression. Further experiments showed that knocking down RSK4 in drug-resistant GBM cells restored their sensitivity to EZH2 inhibitors and decreased the expression of GSC markers, thus reducing their self-renewal capacity. From a mechanistic perspective, we discovered that RSK4 directly phosphorylates EZH2, activating the EZH2/STAT3 pathway and promoting resistance to EZH2 inhibitors in GBM. We also found that combining EZH2 inhibitors with an RSK4 inhibitor called BI-D1870 had better inhibitory effects on GBM occurrence and progression in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that RSK4 enhances cancer stemness and mediates resistance to EZH2 inhibitors in GBM. Combination treatment with EZH2 inhibitors and RSK4 inhibitors is a promising potential therapeutic strategy for GBM. Collectively, our results strongly demonstrate that RSK4 regulates the EZH2/STAT3 pathway to promote GSC maintenance and EZH2i resistance in a PRC2-independent manner, indicating that RSK4 is a promising therapeutic target for GBM.

The integration of photonic crystals and self-shaping actuators is a promising method for constructing powerful biomimetic color-changing actuators. The major barrier is that common photonic crystals generally block the transfer/orientation of monomers/fillers and hence hinder the formation of heterogeneous structures for programmed 3D deformations as well as degrade the deformation capacity and mechanical properties of actuators. Herein, we present the construction of complex and strong 3D color-changing hydrogel actuators by asymmetric photolithography based on soft, permeable photonic crystals. The soft permeable photonic crystals are assembled by hydrogel microspheres with an ultralow volume fraction. During the asymmetric photolithography, the monomers in precursor solutions can thus transfer freely to generate heterogeneous microstructures, spatially patterned internal stresses, and interpenetrating networks for programming the deformation trajectories and initial 3D configurations and enhancing mechanical properties of actuators. Various 3D color-changing hydrogel actuators (e.g., flower and scroll painting) are constructed for applications such as information encryption and display.

The efficient broad-band emission from low-dimensional metal halides has garnered significant interest. However, most of these materials exhibit poor stability at the operating temperature of light-emitting diodes. In this study, using the solution method (temperature lower than 90 °C), a new compound (NH4)3In0.95Sb0.05Cl6was obtained with the structure in the Pnmaspace group featuring unit-cell parameters of a= 12.3871(4) Å, b= 24.9895(9) Å, and c= 7.7844(3) Å. (NH4)3In0.95Sb0.05Cl6can be prepared by doping (NH4)2InCl5·H2O when the Sb3+feeding ratio is in the range of 30–80%. Thermal analysis reveals that (NH4)3In0.95Sb0.05Cl6is stable up to 320 °C. (NH4)3In0.95Sb0.05Cl6exhibits broad-band yellow-white emission with extremely high internal and external photoluminescence quantum yields of 93 and 77%, respectively. Interestingly, (NH4)3In0.95Sb0.05Cl6displays remarkable resistance to thermal quenching, retaining 83% of its initial photoluminescence intensity at 80 °C. A white light-emitting diode is fabricated by combining (NH4)3In0.95Sb0.05Cl6with a commercial phosphor, and a high color rendering of 92.8 was obtained. This work presents an environmentally friendly, efficient, stable UV-excited broad-band emission material for potential solid-state lighting applications.

The efficiency of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems is highly dependent on the load and dc voltage gain, which may change in a wide range in electric vehicle (EV) charging applications. Besides, existing control triple-phase-shift (TPS) strategies aimed at power regulation, zero-voltage switching (ZVS) realization and maximum efficiency point tracking (MEPT) have limitations when applied to the wide output voltage application. To fill this gap, a segmented TPS modulation scheme is proposed. Considering wide-range ZVS, three different working modes are derived to achieve MEPT over the wide output voltage range. The proposed modulation scheme employs closed-loop control by integrating different working modes. In addition, the efficiency-oriented seamless transition method among different working modes is described, which can avoid the transient oscillation at the boundary of the mode transition. The proposed modulation scheme's on-state loss and switching loss are compared to the traditional TPS modulation scheme. Finally, a 1.5 kW prototype has been built to verify effectiveness of the proposed modulation scheme within the wide voltage range, and the measured efficiency can be increased by up to 0.82% in the deep buck mode and 2.20% in the deep boost mode.

Umami peptides are small molecular weight oligopeptides that play a role in umami taste attributes. However, the identification of umami peptides is easily limited by environmental conditions, and the abundant source and high chromatographic separation efficiency remain difficult. Herein, we report a robust strategy based on a phage random linear heptapeptide library that targets the T1R1-Venus flytrap domain (T1R1-VFT). Two candidate peptides (MTLERPW and MNLHLSF) were readily identified with high affinity for T1R1-VFT binding (KDof MW-7 and MF-7 were 790 and 630 nM, respectively). The two peptides exhibited umami taste and significantly enhanced the umami intensity when added to the monosodium glutamate solution. Overall, this strategy shows that umami peptides could be developed via phage display technology for the first time. The phage display platform has a promising application to discover other taste peptides with affinity for taste receptors of interest and has more room for improvement in the future.

Grain boundaries are defects present in polycrystalline materials that often possess unique electrochemical activity, including in metal dissolution reactions. The structural origin of the enhanced activity at some grain boundaries is often experimentally elusive because of the ambiguity in attributing the activity to a specific grain boundary due to ensemble averaging. Herein, we experimentally elucidate the structural and energetic effect of grain boundary on metal dissolution reaction by colocalized scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) and electron microscopy assisted by focused ion beam (FIB). The local dissolution activity at isolated locations containing only single grain boundaries is measured from SECCM. The structure and orientation of the same grain boundary planes are characterized by electron backscatter diffraction and FIB, which is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The relative interfacial energy of these grain boundaries is also measured via the thermal grooving method. Using anodic dissolution at Ag grain boundaries as a model system, we found that the dissolution rate increases with grain boundary energy and the density of broken bonds at the grain boundary plane. The results explain the heterogeneity in the activity of metal dissolution at different grain boundaries, elucidating the initiation sites of metal dissolution. The method developed here is generally applicable to revealing the structure–activity correlation of electrochemical reactions at grain boundaries.

Spent cathode carbon (SCC) is a hazardous solid waste discharged from the aluminium electrolysis industry that poses a serious environmental pollution risk. In this paper, the migration transformation route and distribution ratio of fluorine during the reduction of copper slag by SCC were investigated. The results show that fluorine accounts for 57.92% of the slag phase, and the main phase is CaF2, which accounts for 41.75% of the gas phase and 0.33% of the alloy phase when reduced at 1460 °C with 10 wt% SCC for 90 min. The recoveries of reduced Cu and Fe reached 94.42% and 40.32%, respectively. After reduction by metallization, the F−leaching toxicity in the leaching slag was 38 mg/L, which is far below the regulatory limit (100 mg/L). In the process of copper slag reduction by SCC metallization, the copper and iron in the slag were effectively recovered, thus realizing the resourceful and harmless utilization of SCC. This achieves the goal of “treating waste with waste” and significantly reduces the treatment cost of SCC.