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This objective of this study was to use empirical data to assess cross-sectional variation singular and changes over time in community efficacy for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) management (COEN) and to examine individual factors associated with changes in COEN. This was a longitudinal observational study. Participants with hypertension and diabetes were randomly selected from 12 communities from three cities in eastern China, and a baseline survey and a 1-year follow-up were conducted. The COEN scale has five dimensions: community physical environment (CPE), behavioral risk factors (BRF), mental health and social relationships (MHSR), community health management (CHM), and community organisations and activities (COA). Mixed-effects models were used to investigate the change in COEN over time and the association between individual factors and changes in COEN. COEN scores showed significant variation singular among the 12 communities (P < 0.001) at the baseline. In the mixed-effects model, CPE (β coefficient: 1.62, P < 0.001), BRF (0.90, P < 0.001), MHSR (0.86, P < 0.001), CHM (0.46, P < 0.001), and total scores (β = 3.57, P < 0.001) increased significantly over time. The changes in COEN were associated with individual characteristics (e.g., older, men, more educated). Cross-sectional variations and changes over time in COEN demonstrated the utility of a sensitive instrument. Factors such as age, gender, marriage, education level, and employment may affect the financial and social resources assignment for NCD management. Our findings suggest that further high-quality studies are needed to better evaluate the effect of community empowerment on the prevention and control of NCDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an adaptive fuzzy control approach to the problem of control of electrostatically actuated MEMS, which is based on differential flatness theory and which uses exclusively output feedback. It is shown that the model of the electrostatically actuated MEMS is a differentially flat one and this permits to transform it to the so-called linear canonical form. For the new description of the system's dynamics the transformed control inputs contain unknown terms which depend on the system's parameters. To identify these terms an adaptive fuzzy approximator is used in the control loop. Thus an adaptive fuzzy control scheme is implemented in which the unknown or unmodeled system dynamics is approximated by neurofuzzy networks and next this information is used by a feedback controller that makes the electrostatically activated MEMS converge to the desirable motion setpoints. This adaptive control scheme is exclusively implemented with the use of output feedback, while the state vector elements which are not directly measured are estimated with the use of a state observer that operates in the control loop. The learning rate of the adaptive fuzzy system is suitably computed from Lyapunov analysis, so as to assure that both the learning procedure for the unknown system's parameters, the dynamics of the observer and the dynamics of the control loop will remain stable. The Lyapunov stability analysis depends on two Riccati equations, one associated with the feedback controller and one associated with the state observer. Finally, it is proven that for the control scheme that comprises the feedback controller, the state observer and the neurofuzzy approximator, an H-infinity tracking performance can be achieved. The functioning of the control loop has been evaluated through simulation experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg-RE alloys containing long period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases usually exhibit excellent mechanical properties while the effect of LPSO phases on mechanical properties is still in dispute. To clarify the intrinsic effect of LPSO phases in Mg-RE alloys, we investigated two selected Mg-RE alloys through microstructure manipulation. The experimental results indicate that the LPSO phases can not only inhibit the coarsening of predominant strengthening β′ phase with a c -axis base-centred orthogonal ( cbco ) structure, but also accommodate basal dislocations during plastic deformation. Therefore, smart alloy design by incorporating the LPSO and β′ phases synergistically has great potential to achieve optimized mechanical properties with high strength, high ductility and high creep resistance in Mg-RE based alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceleration of tool crater wear in high-speed cutting is usually attributed to the high tool–chip interface temperature increasing diffusion coefficient( D E f f ), where the role of microstructure is ignored. The main purpose of this paper is to study the influence of microstructure evolution at second shear zone on tool element diffusion ability and crater wear with increasing cutting speed, which establishes the base for the research of tool wear evolution forecast. Based on the Orthogonal turning experiment of AISI1045 steel, the effect of cutting speed( V ) on crater wear and microstructure of second shear zone was notable: (1) the crater wear increased drastically at 361 m min −1 < V < 560 m min −1 , in which the change to lower or higher cutting speed was relatively flat; (2)the images obtained by field-emission scanning electron microscopy showed dramatically microstructure evolution occurred at second shear zone, and extremely refined dynamic recrystallization grain, with 80 nm to 300 nm grain size, was formed as cutting speed increased. The very fine dynamic recrystallization grain significantly increased the fraction of high-diffusion channel (grain boundary area), and thus the diffusion coefficient was enhanced. Based on this idea, the impact of dynamic recrystallization grain, coupled with tool–chip interface temperature calculated by Oxley model, on diffusion coefficient was explored by Hart equation. The analysis has shown that the influence of dynamic recrystallization grain on tool crater wear was significant by increasing D E f f . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginseng serves as a potential candidate for the treatment of aging-related memory decline or memory loss. However, the related mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we applied an intraperitoneal injection of ginsenoside Rg1, an active compound from ginseng in middle-aged mice and detected memory improvement and the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that a period of 30-day administration of ginsenoside Rg1 enhanced long-term memory in the middle-aged animals. Consistent with the memory improvement, ginsenoside Rg1 administration facilitated weak theta-burst stimulation (TBS)-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) in acute hippocampal slices from middle-aged animals. Ginsenoside Rg1 administration increased the dendritic apical spine numbers and area in the CA1 region. In addition, ginsenoside Rg1 administration up-regulated the expression of hippocampal p-AKT, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), proBDNF and glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1), but not p-ERK. Interestingly, the phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) inhibitor (bpV) mimicked the ginsenoside Rg1 effects, including increasing p-AKT expression, promoting hippocampal basal synaptic transmission, LTP and memory. Taken together, our data suggest that ginsenoside Rg1 treatment improves memory in middle-aged mice possibly through regulating the PI3K/AKT pathway, altering apical spines and facilitating hippocampal LTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent or metastatic malignant salivary gland tumors (R/M MSGTs) of the head and neck portend a poor prognosis, and therapeutic options are currently limited. Surufatinib is a potent, small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that selectively targets VEGF receptors (VEGFR) 1, 2, and 3, FGFR 1, and CSF-1R. Recent studies have demonstrated encouraging efficacy of small molecule antiangiogenic inhibitors in head and neck cancer. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the antitumor activity and safety of surufatinib in R/M MSGT patients. Patients aged 18-75 years with incurable and progressive R/M MSGTs received surufatinib at a dose of 300 mg once daily until intolerance or disease progression occurred. Based on a Simon's two-stage minimax design, 13 patients would be enrolled in stage 1; if 1 or more responses were observed, the trial would proceed to stage 2 in which an additional 14 patients would be enrolled, for a total sample size of 32 patients. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) as assessed by RECIST 1.1 criteria, and secondary endpoints included disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. This study was prospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04910854). From May 2019 to March 2023, 12 patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of treatment. The median age was 45.5 years (range 27-60), 83.3% were female, and 41.7% had an ECOG performance status of 2. The most common histological tumor types were adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC, 41.7%) and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC, 41.7%). The most frequent metastatic sites were the lungs (83.3%). 5 patients (41.7%) had previous chemotherapy, and 4 (33.3%) had previous antiangiogenic therapy. 6 patients (50.0%) had two or more prior lines of treatment before enrollment. As of the September 2023 data cutoff, 2 patients achieved a partial response (PR), 9 had stable disease (SD), yielding a confirmed objective response rate (ORR) of 16.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.1-48.4%), and a disease control rate (DCR) of 91.7% (95% CI: 61.5-99.8%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.57 months (95% CI 4.76-11.33), with 3-month and 6-month PFS rates of 83.3% (95% CI: 51.6-97.9%) and 41.7% (95% CI 15.2-72.3%), respectively. Median overall survival (OS) was immature. Most treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were grade 1-2, including hyperuricemia (58.3%), hypertension (41.7%). The most common grade ≥3 AEs were hypertension (25.0%), proteinuria (25.0%), and nephrotic syndrome (8.3%). There were no treatment-related deaths. This trial demonstrated that surufatinib showed promising antitumor activity in patients with R/M MSGTs. The safety profile observed in this study aligned with prior clinical studies, requiring continued monitoring and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effect of grain size on plasticity was investigated based on the theories of dislocation pile-up and Frank–Read (FR) source activation in ultrafine grained materials. The possible reason of the experimental phenomena of decrease in plasticity as grain size refined in ultrafine grained materials was theoretically analyzed and the critical grain size for plasticity decrease was proposed. The results predicted that there was a critical grain size of about 4–5μm with the present parameters of X80 microalloyed steel where the plasticity would shift from increase to decrease as grain refined, which well agreed with the experimental data described in the references in ultrafine grained materials. The mechanism of decreasing in plasticity as grain size refined was dominantly due to the decrease of probability of activation of FR source. The modeling for predicting the critical grain size has been built up which would be very helpful to optimize microstructure for obtaining excellent combination of strength and plasticity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The current study systematically investigated the anisotropy of fracture behavior in commercial API X100 pipeline steel. The experimental results showed that the temperature for transition from ductile to brittle fracture was significantly different in samples with different orientations, defined as anisotropy of fracture behavior in this paper. The inhomogeneity distribution of microstructure (grain size) and the crystallographic texture were systematically analyzed. The difference in grain size of the samples with different orientations can be reasonably ignored in this study. Therefore, the anisotropy of fracture behavior is attributed to the crystallographic textures in which the deformation and transformation texture components were included. The effect of crystallographic texture on the anisotropy of ductile to brittle fracture transition temperature was theoretically interpreted based on the relationship among yield strength, fracture strength, and their average orientation factor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The usual formulation of the BCS ansatz for superconductivity in the grand canonical ensemble makes the handling of the Pauli exclusion principle between paired electrons straightforward. It however masks that many-body effects between Cooper pairs interacting through the reduced BCS potential are entirely controlled by this exclusion. To show it up, one has to work in the canonical ensemble. The proper handling of Pauli blocking between a fixed number of composite bosons is however known to be quite difficult. To do it, we here develop a commutator formalism for Cooper pair condensate, along the line we used for excitons. We then rederive, within the N-pair subspace, a few results of BCS superconductivity obtained in the grand canonical ensemble, to evidence their Pauli blocking origin. We end by reconsidering what should be called “Cooper pair wave function” and conclude differently from usual understanding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing (SSTF), when combined with nonlinear microscopy, can improve the axial excitation confinement of wide-field and line-scanning imaging. Because two-photon excited fluorescence depends inversely on the pulse width of the excitation beam, SSTF decreases the background excitation of the sample outside of the focal volume by broadening the pulse width everywhere but at the geometric focus of the objective lens. This review theoretically describes the beam propagation within the sample using Fresnel diffraction in the frequency domain, deriving an analytical expression for the pulse evolution. SSTF can scan the temporal focal plane axially by adjusting the GVD in the excitation beam path. We theoretically define the axial confinement for line-scanning SSTF imaging using a time-domain understanding and conclude that line-scanning SSTF is similar to the temporally-decorrelated multifocal multiphoton imaging technique. Recent experiments on the temporal focusing effect and its axial confinement, as well as the axial scanning of the temporal focus by tuning the GVD, are presented. We further discuss this technique for axial-scanning multiphoton fluorescence fiber probes without any moving parts at the distal end. The temporal focusing effect in SSTF essentially replaces the focusing of one spatial dimension in conventional wide-field and line-scanning imaging. Although the best axial confinement achieved by SSTF cannot surpass that of a regular point-scanning system, this trade-off between spatial and temporal focusing can provide significant advantages in applications such as high-speed imaging and remote axial scanning in an endoscopic fiber probe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Refinement of grain size is the most effective approach to obtain high toughness especially at low temperature with high strength level. Ultra-fine grain size can be achieved by dynamic recrystallization at large Z condition, by imparting large deformation at low temperature. Large Z condition is associated with a large critical strain for dynamic recrystallization. Large strain can be accumulated pass by pass in industrial multi-pass rolling processing to overcome large critical strain for dynamic recrystallization through optimization of composition and rolling schedule. The static recrystallization during passes should be suppressed completely in order to eliminate mixed grain size. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: To evaluate formally the risk and levels of irrigant absorption during high-power potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser vaporization of the prostate by the Greenlight PV system using the expired breath ethanol technique. Methods: Forty consecutive patients underwent laser vaporization of the prostate. Of these patients, 17 had a preoperative transrectal ultrasound estimation of the prostate volume (mean 97 cm3). All procedures were performed under general anesthesia, by either of two consultants or a trainee. A 1% ethanol solution was used as irrigation fluid. Throughout the operation, the expired breath was analyzed for ethanol using a standard alcometer “plumbed” into the anesthetic circuit. Venous blood samples were taken immediately before and after the procedure for measurements of serum sodium and plasma alcohol levels. Results: On average, 155,000 J of laser energy was delivered in 47 minutes. In all patients and on all occasions, the expired breath ethanol remained at 0. No statistically significant change was found in the serum sodium concentration during the procedure (P = 0.42), and no patient displayed any clinical evidence of transurethral resection syndrome. Conclusions: The results of this study have confirmed, for the first time, the lack of significant absorption of irrigation fluid during high-power KTP vaporization of the prostate using a recognized sensitive technique and the safety of using sterile water as that irrigant. This was the case even in those patients with very large prostates who are usually considered at high risk of experiencing the clinical consequences of fluid absorption during transurethral resection of the prostate and regardless of the experience of the surgeon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Extraction of rare earth elements from bastnasite (REFCO3) and monazite (REPO4) after fluorine fixation was studied. Chlorination kinetics of fluorine-fixed flotation bulk concentrate with ammonium chloride was found to follow the regional reaction model. The chlorination was found to involve two series steps with nuclear growth occurred in normal to surface direction. Internal diffusion was identified to be the rate limiting step of the chlorination process and an apparent activation energy of 36.8 kJ mol was determined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A FORTRAN code for simulation of SSNTD detection efficiency is designed using the Monte Carlo method in this work. The theoretical basis for the fast-neutron spectrum measurement based on the assembly of PADC11Poly-allyl diglycol carbonate (PADC) sometimes referred to by the trade-name CR-39. detector+radiator+degrader is described. The main principle of this technique is that, the recoiled protons produced in the radiator by fast-neutrons can be slowed down in the degrader and only protons of energies within a limited range can be detected by PADC (proton energy within the PADC detection energy window). Therefore with a set of different-thickness degraders one can measure the fast-neutron spectrum. Studies show that the program can give reasonable results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To reveal the prognostic value of the postoperative and dynamic albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio (AAPR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients undergoing trans-catheter chemoembolisation (TACE). In total, 545 HCC patients undergoing initial TACE were enrolled into the study. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to determine the best cut-off for AAPR. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to confirm the independent prognostic effect of AAPR on overall survival (OS). The predictive performance of AAPR was assessed by ROC curves, concordance index (C-index), and Akaike information criterion (AIC), and was compared to existing liver function assessment systems. The optimal cut-off value for the AAPR was 0.26. Elevated AAPR (>0.26) was associated with a low risk of death after adjustment whether before (HR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.4–0.69) or after (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.43–0.95) TACE treatment. The combined pre- and postoperative AAPR showed much better performance in ROC curve (1-, 3-, and 5-year AUCs: 0.69, 0.71, 0.69), C-index (0.65; 95% CI: 0.59–0.72) and AIC analyses than pre-AAPR and post-AAPR alone or liver function assessment systems. This study demonstrated both preoperative and postoperative AAPR were independent prognostic factors for HCC patients undergoing TACE. In addition, the combined pre- and post-AAPR showed better predictive performance than pre-AAPR and post-AAPR alone or liver function assessment systems. • Postoperative AAPR were prognostic factors for HCC patients undergoing TACE. • A combined indicator including preoperative and postoperative AAPR was proposed. • The combined AAPR showed better prognostic ability than liver function systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel method for the design of gain-scheduled output feedback controllers in the presence of hidden coupling terms, which naturally arise when endogenous signals are used as scheduling parameters. In this case, the controller gains vary with respect to system variables, leading to inner loops between the system and the linearized gain-scheduled controller dynamics. Such effects, also known as parasitic feedbacks, are inherently difficult to handle in classic gain-scheduling control design and are often omitted, which might result in performance degradations or even destabilization of the closed-loop system. This paper shows how such a pitfall can be avoided through the application of self-scheduling and eigenstructure assignment techniques. In this context, the main contribution of the present work is the extension of eigenstructure assignment-based self-scheduling techniques for explicit hidden coupling terms handling. The viability of the proposed method is illustrated through a pitch-axis missile autopilot benchmark problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new procedure for the integrated plant and flight control system design in the presence of parametric uncertainties. The proposed approach is based on a design procedure consisting in casting gain-scheduling and robustness requirements into the framework of structured H ∞ design. As both controller architecture and gain-scheduling structure are defined a priori , the scheduled gains can be tuned by the newly available MATLAB-based tool systune to minimize H ∞ constraints related to performance requirements over both operating and uncertain domains. It is shown that this technique allows for optimization and adjustment of plant's physical parameters while satisfying closed-loop performance requirements. The proposed procedure is applied to the F-16 Fighting Falcon flight control system design under mass and center of gravity uncertainties by adjusting the location of an additional accelerometer to optimize the closed-loop performance while minimizing the horizontal tail area. Numerical studies are carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We present a Six-Point positioning algorithms which can automatically update tool coordinate system. • We choose two kinds of measurement paths for testing the wall thickness values of the blades. • Our method can automatically determine suitable adjustment parameters for distorted wave shapes. • Our method demonstrates excellent precision, accuracy, and stable. It can greatly improve the measurement efficiency. Compared with inner solid structures, the inner hollow structures of turbine blades show excellent mechanical properties and better physical properties, e.g., excellent heat dissipation and diversion effects, and light weight. Its complex inner structures cannot be detected accurately by traditional testing methods. Among all non-destructive testing (NDT) methods, ultrasonic testing method has certain advantages in measurement accuracy and efficiency for measuring wall thickness values. The accuracy of measurement results is provided by four criteria: precision, accuracy, stability, and efficiency. However, ultrasonic testing method still faces new challenges that are barely explored, e.g., inner structures have unique characteristics of complex geometrical features, the measurement process need to meet high-precision positioning and quickly detecting requirements. In this paper, in order to improve the detection accuracy and efficiency, an industrial robot is used to substitute the existing detection methods: once a new blade is clamped by terminal mechanism, a new calibration method adopted the six-point positioning scheme was provided to solve the problem of rapid and accurate updating tool coordinate system. The support vector machine (SVM) system was used to output regression results of the adjustment parameters based on the geometric features of distorted wave shapes. Two kinds of measurement paths were used to measure the wall thickness values for accurate measurement. The experimental results show the superiority and effectiveness of our method in terms of measuring stability, accuracy and testing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]