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This article presents the current state and development directions of the tire industry. One of the main requirements that a tire must meet before it can leave the factory is achieving values of quantities describing uniformity at a defined level. Of particular importance areconicity and the components of the tire with the greatest impact on its value. This research is based on the possibility of using an ANN to meet contemporary challenges faced by tire manufacturers. In order to achieve a satisfactory level of prediction, we compared the use of a multi-layer perceptron and decision trees XGBoost, LightGbmRegression, and FastTreeRegression. Based on data analysis and similar examples from the literature, metrics were selected to evaluate the models' ability to solve regression problems in relation to the described problem. We selected the best possible solution, standing at the top of the features covered by the criterion analysis. The proposed solutions can be the basis for acquiring new knowledge and contributions in the field of the computational analysis of industrial data in tire production. These solutions are characterized by the required accuracy and efficiency for online work, and they also contribute to the creation of the best fit elements of complex systems (including computational models). The results of this study will contribute to reducing the volume of waste in the tire industry by eliminating defective tire parts in the early stages of the production process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, launched in December 2022, aims to address the crucial environmental goal of water monitoring to support preparedness for extreme events and facilitate adaptation to climate change on global and local scales. This mission will provide a comprehensive inventory of worldwide water resources, lakes, reservoir storage, and river dynamics. In this work, we carried out a preliminary assessment of SWOT's Lake product Level 2 version 1.1, also known as "L2_HR_LakeSP". The analysis was performed across six diverse lakes on three continents, revealing an average median bias of 0.08 m with respect to the considered reference, after suitable outlier removal. An overall precision of 0.22 m was found, combined with an average correlation of 68% between SWOT and reference time series. Moreover, the accuracy varied in the considered six lakes, since biases up to some decimeters were found for some of them; they could be due to residual inconsistencies between the vertical reference frame of SWOT and that of the considered reference. In summary, the first analysis of the "L2_HR_LakeSP" product, Version 1.1, demonstrated the promising potential of SWOT for monitoring seasonal variations in water levels. Nevertheless, notable anomalies were found in the water masks, particularly in higher latitudes, suggesting potential difficulties in accurately delineating water bodies in those regions. Additionally, a discernible reduction in accuracy was observed towards the end of the monitoring period. These preliminary findings indicate some issues that should be addressed in future investigations about the quality and potential of SWOT's lake products for advancing our understanding of global water dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). This virus has caused a global pandemic, marked by several mutations leading to multiple waves of infection. This paper proposes a comprehensive and integrative mathematical approach to the third wave of COVID-19 (Omicron) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for the period between 16 December 2022 and 8 February 2023. It may help to implement a better response in the next waves. For this purpose, in this article, we generate a new mathematical transmission model for coronavirus, particularly during the third wave in the KSA caused by the Omicron variant, factoring in the impact of vaccination. We developed this model using a fractal-fractional derivative approach. It categorizes the total population into six segments: susceptible, vaccinated, exposed, asymptomatic infected, symptomatic infected, and recovered individuals. The conventional least-squares method is used for estimating the model parameters. The Perov fixed point theorem is utilized to demonstrate the solution's uniqueness and existence. Moreover, we investigate the Ulam–Hyers stability of this fractal–fractional model. Our numerical approach involves a two-step Newton polynomial approximation. We present simulation results that vary according to the fractional orders (γ) and fractal dimensions (θ), providing detailed analysis and discussion. Our graphical analysis shows that the fractal-fractional derivative model offers more biologically realistic results than traditional integer-order and other fractional models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there are references available in the literature regarding learning experiences with Dataset-Based Learning (DBL) approaches, there is a noticeable absence of a standardized model for designing DBL activities. This gap was identified in this work after performing a systematic literature review (SLR). In contrast to other active learning methodologies, the lack of a common framework for the DBL methodology makes it challenging to compare different DBL approaches. This paper highlights the knowledge gap in the methodology for designing DBL activities and aims to provide a common approach for sharing the view and details about what DBL entails in higher education and how to design a DBL activity. Additionally, we illustrate these concepts with three case studies in different engineering fields. Based on the SLR results and the review of additional literature, this work defines DBL as an active teaching methodology that focuses on using datasets to promote the learning and understanding of specific concepts and skills. These datasets should contain real data presented in different formats. As a common starting point, in a DBL lesson, the dataset not only provides information and context in the activity statement but also serves as the material to work with, and the solution to the activity is entirely extracted from the information contained in the dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-effects of COVID-19 have begun to emerge in the long term in society. Stroke has become one of the most common side effects in the post-COVID community. In this study, to examine the relationship between COVID-19 and stroke, a fractional-order mathematical model has been constructed by considering the fear effect of being infected. The model's positivity and boundedness have been proved, and stability has been examined for disease-free and co-existing equilibrium points to demonstrate the biological meaningfulness of the model. Subsequently, the basic reproduction number (the virus transmission potential ( R 0 )) has been calculated. Next, the sensitivity analysis of the parameters according to R 0 has been considered. Moreover, the values of the model parameters have been calculated using the parameter estimation method with real data originating from the United Kingdom. Furthermore, to underscore the benefits of fractional-order differential equations (FODEs), analyses demonstrating their relevance in memory trace and hereditary characteristics have been provided. Finally, numerical simulations have been highlighted to validate our theoretical findings and explore the system's dynamic behavior. From the findings, we have seen that if the screening rate in the population is increased, more cases can be detected, and stroke development can be prevented. We also have concluded that if the fear in the population is removed, the infection will spread further, and the number of people suffering from a stroke may increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article investigates the application of Lévy noise to understand the dynamic aspects of measles epidemic modeling and seeks to explain the impact of vaccines on the spread of the disease. After model formulation, the study utilises uniqueness and existence techniques to derive a positive solution to the underlying stochastic model. The Lyapunov function is used to investigate the stability results associated with the proposed stochastic model. The model's dynamic characteristics are analyzed in the vicinity of the infection-free and endemic states of the associated ODEs model. The stochastic threshold R s that ensures disease's extinction whenever R s < 1 is calculated. We utilized data from Pakistan in 2019 to estimate the parameters of the model and conducted simulations to forecast the future behavior of the disease. The results were compared to actual data using standard curve fitting tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe the design and development of a STEM problem-solving activity involving mathematics and physics content. It is an activity whose starting point is a question based on a real problem: to identify the areas of the classroom where the intensity of sound is higher. In this way, the problem involves the physics of sound. However, in addition, by trying to give an answer to the initial question, students have the opportunity to develop progressively more complex mathematical models from already known mathematical concepts and procedures. The analysis of the results of the implementation based on the identification of the learning opportunities and the catalyst elements that generate them, allows us to state that the activity encourages students to enrich their mathematical models by incorporating new mathematical concepts such as the function of two variables. We conclude that the design of the activity and the choice of data acquisition technology are key, but also the interaction between the students and the teacher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a detailed investigation of a stochastic model that rules the spreading behavior of the measles virus while accounting for the white noises and the influence of immunizations. It is hypothesized that the perturbations of the model are nonlinear, and that a person may lose the resistance after vaccination, implying that vaccination might create temporary protection against the disease. Initially, the deterministic model is formulated, and then it has been expanded to a stochastic system, and it is well-founded that the stochastic model is both theoretically and practically viable by demonstrating that the model has a global solution, which is positive and stochastically confined. Next, we infer adequate criteria for the disease's elimination and permanence. Furthermore, the presence of a stationary distribution is examined by developing an appropriate Lyapunov function, wherein we noticed that the disease will persist for R 0 s > 1 and that the illness will vanish from the community when R 0 s < 1 . We tested the model against the accessible data of measles in Pakistan during the first ten months of 2019, using the conventional curve fitting methods and the values of the parameters were calculated accordingly. The values obtained were employed in running the model, and the conceptual findings of the research were evaluated by simulations and conclusions were made. Simulations imply that, in order to fully understand the dynamic behavior of measles epidemic, time-delay must be included in such analyses, and that advancements in every vaccine campaign are inevitable for the control of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural symmetries exist in several processes of chemistry, physics, and biology. Symmetries possess interesting dynamical characteristics that cannot be seen in non-symmetric systems. The present paper investigates the competition between two banking systems, rural and commercial, in Indonesia, in parameterized fractional order Caputo derivative. A novel numerical method is used to discretize the competition system using the real data of rural and commercial banks in Indonesia for the period 2004–2014. The new scheme is more suitable and reliable for data fitting results and has good accuracy. The integer model is formulated in Caputo derivative and their stability results are presented. With the available parameters, the data for the model is analyzed using various scenarios. We shall compare the result with the previous method used in the literature and show that the present method is better than the previous method in the literature. It is shown that fractional order α and the parameter ρ involved in the numerical scheme provide excellent fitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural symmetry exists in several phenomena in physics, chemistry, and biology. Incorporating these symmetries in the differential equations used to characterize these processes is thus a valid modeling assumption. The present study investigates COVID-19 infection through the stochastic model. We consider the real infection data of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia and present its detailed mathematical results. We first present the existence and uniqueness of the deterministic model and later study the dynamical properties of the deterministic model and determine the global asymptotic stability of the system for R 0 ≤ 1 . We then study the dynamic properties of the stochastic model and present its global unique solution for the model. We further study the extinction of the stochastic model. Further, we use the nonlinear least-square fitting technique to fit the data to the model for the deterministic and stochastic case and the estimated basic reproduction number is R 0 ≈ 1.1367 . We show that the stochastic model provides a good fitting to the real data. We use the numerical approach to solve the stochastic system by presenting the results graphically. The sensitive parameters that significantly impact the model dynamics and reduce the number of infected cases in the future are shown graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensor drift in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) reduces the efficiency of the plants and needs to be handled. Several studies have investigated anomaly detection and fault detection in WWTPs. However, these solutions often remain as academic projects. In this study, the gap between academia and practice is investigated by applying suggested algorithms on real WWTP data. The results show that it is difficult to detect drift in the data to a sufficient level due to missing and imprecise logs, ad hoc changes in control settings, low data quality and the equality in the patterns of some fault types and optimal operation. The challenges related to data quality raise the question of whether the data-driven approach for drift detection is the best solution, as this requires a high-quality data set. Several recommendations are suggested for utilities that wish to bridge the gap between academia and practice regarding drift detection. These include storing data and select data parameters at resolutions which positively contribute to this purpose. Furthermore, the data should be accompanied by sufficient logging of factors affecting the patterns of the data, such as changes in control settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twelve GPS Block IIF satellites, out of the current constellation, can transmit on three-frequency signals (L1, L2, L5). Taking advantages of these signals, Three-Carrier Ambiguity Resolution (TCAR) is expected to bring much benefit for ambiguity resolution. One of the research areas is to find the optimal combined signals for a better ambiguity resolution in geometry-free (GF) and geometry-based (GB) mode. However, the existing researches select the signals through either pure theoretical analysis or testing with simulated data, which might be biased as the real observation condition could be different from theoretical prediction or simulation. In this paper, we propose a theoretical and empirical integrated method, which first selects the possible optimal combined signals in theory and then refines these signals with real triple-frequency GPS data, observed at eleven baselines of different lengths. An interpolation technique is also adopted in order to show changes of the AR performance with the increase in baseline length. The results show that the AR success rate can be improved by 3% in GF mode and 8% in GB mode at certain intervals of the baseline length. Therefore, the TCAR can perform better by adopting the combined signals proposed in this paper when the baseline meets the length condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale microsimulations are increasingly resourceful tools for analysing in detail citywide effects and alternative scenarios of our policy decisions, approximating the ideal of 'urban digital twins'. Yet, these models are costly and impractical, and there are surprisingly few published examples robustly validated with empirical data. This paper, therefore, presents a new large-scale agent-based traffic microsimulation for the Barcelona urban area using SUMO to show the possibilities and challenges of building these scenarios based on novel fine-grained empirical big data. It combines novel mobility data from real cell phone records with conventional surveys to calibrate the model comparing two different dynamic assignment methods for getting an operationally realistic and efficient simulation. Including through traffic and the use of a stochastic adaptive routing approach results in a larger 24-hour model closer to reality. Based on an extensive multi-scalar evaluation including traffic counts, hourly distribution of trips, and macroscopic metrics, this model expands and outperforms previous large-scale scenarios, which provides new operational opportunities in city co-creation and policy. The novelty of this work relies on the effective modelling approach using newly available data and the realistic robust evaluation. This allows the identification of the fundamental challenges of simulation to accurately capture real-world dynamical systems and to their predictive power at a large scale, even when fed by big data, as envisioned by the digital twin concept applied to smart cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study—with existence and unicity results—a variant of the SIR model for an infectious disease incorporating both the possibility of a death outcome—in a short period of time—and a regime switch that can account for the mitigation measures used to control the spreading of the infections, such as a total lockdown. This model is parametrised by three parameters: the basic reproduction number, the mortality rate of the infected, and the duration of the disease. We discuss a particular example of application to Portuguese COVID-19 data in two short periods just after the start of the epidemic in 4 March 2020, with the first two cases dated that day. We propose a simple and effective method for the estimation of the main parameters of the disease, namely, the basic reproduction number and the mortality rate of the infected. We correct these estimated values to take into account the asymptomatic non-diagnosed members of the population. We compare the outcome of the model in the cases of the existence, or not, of a regime switch, and under three different scenarios, with a remarkable agreement between model and data deaths in the case of our basis scenario. In a final short remark, we deal with the existence of symmetries for the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: There is no doubt about the transformation that health systems have undergone in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this may have had a negative impact on other diseases such as cancer. We have analyzed all the cancer patients diagnosed in the first post-pandemic year in two university hospitals that attend 785,000 people and compared them with patients diagnosed in 2019. Our results clearly show that during the first post-pandemic year there has been a significant decrease of 17.2% in the number of patients diagnosed with cancer. However, there were no differences in the number of patients diagnosed between 2018 and 2019 or between 2017 and 2019, so that loss of cancer patients could be attributed to changes made in health systems due to the pandemic. The delay in the diagnosis may have important consequences in the prognosis of cancer patients, so health systems should carry out an effort similar to that made with the pandemic to recover all lost patients who have remained undiagnosed. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a profound change in health organizations at both the primary and hospital care levels. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the annual rate of new cancer diagnosis in two university-affiliated hospitals. This study includes all the patients with a pathological diagnosis of cancer attended in two hospitals in Málaga (Spain) during the first year of pandemic. This study population was compared with the patients diagnosed during the previous year 2019. To analyze whether the possible differences in the annual rate of diagnoses were due to the pandemic or to other causes, the patients diagnosed during 2018 and 2017 were also compared. There were 2340 new cancer diagnosis compared to 2825 patients in 2019 which represented a decrease of −17.2% (p = 0.0001). Differences in the number of cancer patients diagnosed between 2018 and 2019 (2840 new cases; 0.5% increase) or 2017 and 2019 (2909 new cases; 3% increase) were not statistically significant. The highest number of patients lost from diagnosis in 2020 was in breast cancer (−26.1%), colorectal neoplasms (−16.9%), and head and neck tumors (−19.8%). The study of incidence rates throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the diagnosis of new cancer patients has been significantly impaired. Health systems must take the necessary measures to restore pre-pandemic diagnostic procedures and to recover lost patients who have not been diagnosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary aluminum production is an uninterrupted and complex process that must operate in a closed loop, hindering possibilities for experiments to improve production. In this sense, it is important to have ways to simulate this process computationally without acting directly on the plant, since such direct intervention could be dangerous, expensive, and time-consuming. This problem is addressed in this paper by combining real data, the artificial neural network technique, and clustering methods to create soft sensors to estimate the temperature, the aluminum fluoride percentage in the electrolytic bath, and the level of metal of aluminum reduction cells (pots). An innovative strategy is used to split the entire dataset by section and lifespan of pots with automatic clustering for soft sensors. The soft sensors created by this methodology have small estimation mean squared error with high generalization power. Results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach to soft sensors in the aluminum industry that may improve process control and save resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smart grid with its two-way communication and bi-directional power layers is a cornerstone in the combat against global warming. It allows for the large-scale adoption of distributed (individually-owned) renewable energy resources such as solar photovoltaic systems. Their intermittency poses a threat to the stability of the grid, which can be addressed by the introduction of energy storage systems. Determining the optimal capacity of a battery has been an active area of research in recent years. In this research, an in-depth analysis of the relation between optimal capacity and demand and generation patterns is performed for households taking part in a community-wide demand-side management scheme. The scheme is based on a non-cooperative dynamic game approach in which participants compete for the lowest electricity bill by scheduling their energy storage systems. The results are evaluated based on self-consumption, the peak-to-average ratio of the aggregated load and potential cost reductions. Furthermore, the difference between individually-owned batteries and a centralised community energy storage system serving the whole community is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twelve GPS Block IIF satellites, out of the current constellation, can transmit on three-frequency signals (L1, L2, L5). Taking advantages of these signals, Three-Carrier Ambiguity Resolution (TCAR) is expected to bring much benefit for ambiguity resolution. One of the research areas is to find the optimal combined signals for a better ambiguity resolution in geometry-free (GF) and geometry-based (GB) mode. However, the existing researches select the signals through either pure theoretical analysis or testing with simulated data, which might be biased as the real observation condition could be different from theoretical prediction or simulation. In this paper, we propose a theoretical and empirical integrated method, which first selects the possible optimal combined signals in theory and then refines these signals with real triple-frequency GPS data, observed at eleven baselines of different lengths. An interpolation technique is also adopted in order to show changes of the AR performance with the increase in baseline length. The results show that the AR success rate can be improved by 3% in GF mode and 8% in GB mode at certain intervals of the baseline length. Therefore, the TCAR can perform better by adopting the combined signals proposed in this paper when the baseline meets the length condition., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.