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This work tackles the tracking control problem of robotic manipulators where the robot dynamics contains uncertain parameters and joint velocity measurements are not available. Specifically when the robotic manipulator is required to perform a periodic task repetitively, as in most industrial applications, a repetitive learning controller is proposed that does not require joint velocity measurements and can compensate the uncertainties of the robot dynamical parameters and additive disturbances caused due to the periodic joint motion. The proposed solution is achieved via the use of a novel learning component in the controller design in conjunction with a novel model‐free joint velocity observer design. The stability of the closed‐loop system and the convergence of both the joint position tracking error and the joint velocity observation error to the origin are guaranteed via Lyapunov based arguments. Experimental results performed on a 2 degree of freedom robot manipulator are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed observer–controller couple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study revealing behavioural oestrus and ovulatory cycle in beef cattle with presenting a note on the clay model technique. It is described that behavioural oestrus in mammals is under the influence of sensory stimulation, hormone secretion and central neural organization. These mechanisms sent independently as target areas for the ovarian and possibly the gonadotrophic hormones in the manifestation of behavioural oestrus and in the feed-back system regulating the anterior pituitary gland. One hundred and four Hereford nulliparous heifers weighing 700 to 1.000 lbs. and ranging between 18 and 26 months of age were purchased and shipped for sonic 200 miles to Pullman, Washington. Animals were placed in two corrals, one for those which were in or approaching behavioural oestrus, and another for those whose ovaries indicated that they were in the early luteal phase. The time of ovulation was determined by palpating the ovaries per rectum and Constructing clay models of the ovaries. Normal behavioural oestrus associated with normal ovulation was manifested in 75 per cent of the oestrous periods.

Efficiently generating 3D holograms is one of the most challenging research topics in the field of holography. This work introduces a method for generating multi‐depth phase‐only holograms using a fully convolutional neural network (FCN). The method primarily involves a forward–backward‐diffraction framework to compute multi‐depth diffraction fields, along with a layer‐by‐layer replacement method (L2RM) to handle occlusion relationships. The diffraction fields computed by the former are fed into the carefully designed FCN, which leverages its powerful non‐linear fitting capability to generate multi‐depth holograms of 3D scenes. The latter can smooth the boundaries of different layers in scene reconstruction by complementing information of occluded objects, thus enhancing the reconstruction quality of holograms. The proposed method can generate a multi‐depth 3D hologram with a PSNR of 31.8 dB in just 90 ms for a resolution of 2160 × 3840 on the NVIDIA Tesla A100 40G tensor core GPU. Additionally, numerical and experimental results indicate that the generated holograms accurately reconstruct clear 3D scenes with correct occlusion relationships and provide excellent depth focusing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study ion‐implanted lateral 4H‐SiC pin diodes are reported, which show an unexpectedly high room temperature in‐plane magnetic field sensitivity approaching 100 % at 0.5 Tesla. Using dedicated TCAD simulations the underlying transduction mechanism is studied, and the effect of implantation‐induced carrier traps on the observed high sensitivity is unraveled. The study shows how such traps can greatly control the injection conditions at the highly doped implant regions providing a plausible explanation for an observed portion in the IV‐characteristics of the pin diodes exhibiting the aforementioned high magnetic field sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the biological nervous system, the integration and cooperation of parallel system of receptors, neurons, and synapses allow efficient detection and processing of intricate and disordered external information. Such systems acquire and process environmental data in real‐time, efficiently handling complex tasks with minimal energy consumption. Memristors can mimic typical biological receptors, neurons, and synapses by implementing key features of neuronal signal‐processing functions such as selective adaption in receptors, leaky integrate‐and‐fire in neurons, and synaptic plasticity in synapses. External stimuli are sensitively detected and filtered by "artificial receptors," encoded into spike signals via "artificial neurons," and integrated and stored through "artificial synapses." The high operational speed, low power consumption, and superior scalability of memristive devices make their integration with high‐performance sensors a promising approach for creating integrated artificial sensory systems. These integrated systems can extract useful data from a large volume of raw data, facilitating real‐time detection and processing of environmental information. This review explores the recent advances in memristor‐based artificial sensory systems. The authors begin with the requirements of artificial sensory elements and then present an in‐depth review of such elements demonstrated by memristive devices. Finally, the major challenges and opportunities in the development of memristor‐based artificial sensory systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The spatial distribution and interactions of cells in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) might be related to the different responses of triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) to immunomodulators. The potential of multiplex IHC (m‐IHC) in evaluating the TIME has been reported, but the efficacy is insufficient. We aimed to research whether m‐IHC results could be used to reflect the TIME, and thus to predict prognosis and complement the TNBC subtyping system. Methods: The clinical, imaging, and prognosis data for 86 TNBC patients were retrospectively reviewed. CD3, CD4, CD8, Foxp3, PD‐L1, and Pan‐CK markers were stained by m‐IHC. Particular cell spatial distributions and interactions in the TIME were evaluated with the HALO multispectral analysis platform. Then, we calculated the prognostic value of components of the TIME and their correlations with TNBC transcriptomic subtypes and MRI radiomic features reflecting TNBC subtypes. Results: The components of the TIME score were established by m‐IHC and demonstrated positive prognostic value for TNBC (p = 0.0047, 0.039, <0.0001 for DMFS, RFS, and OS). The score was calculated from several indicators, including Treg% in the tumor core (TC) or stromal area (SA), PD‐L1+ cell% in the SA, CD3 + cell% in the TC, and PD‐L1+/CD8+ cells in the invasive margin and SA. According to the TNBC subtyping system, a few TIME indicators were significantly different in different subtypes and significantly correlated with MRI radiomic features reflecting TNBC subtypes. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the m‐IHC‐based quantitative score and indicators related to the spatial distribution and interactions of cells in the TIME can aid in the accurate diagnosis of TNBC in terms of prognosis and classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a process that often occurs due to binding between oppositely charged biopolymers, and has gained increasing attention recently due to their ubiquity in biological systems and ability to direct essential cellular processes. However, while these discoveries in biology are recent, the field of origins of life has been investigating LLPS for nearly 100 years, ever since the first suggestions by Oparin and Haldane that primitive LLPS could have been precursors to the first cells on Earth. Since then, a significant amount of work has been done to elucidate different primitive LLPS systems that could have been relevant as protocellular models. Given the structural similarities between primitive LLPS and modern membraneless organelles, there may even be an evolutionary link between the two, although this remains a question to be answered. Nevertheless, in order to answer this, a source that compares compositional aspects of modern biological condensates and primitive LLPS is necessary. Here, we first focus on membraneless organelles composed of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and nucleic acids. Then, as a parallel, we explore primitive membraneless compartments composed of simple biopolymers such as short peptides and nucleic acids. This is followed by a discussion of how the first biomolecules on Earth may have originated, analyzing the environmental and chemical conditions that could have favored primitive LLPS processes. Finally, we directly compare composition of modern biological condensates and primitive phase‐separated compartments, further discussing the potential of primitive IDPs on early Earth, but also the evolution from membraneless to membrane‐bound cells. This review aims to provide a compositional comparison of modern and primitive phase‐separated structures in order to help researchers in both fields understand the current state of knowledge, how this knowledge evolved, and the current gaps that need to be further addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there have already been many works on the model predictive control (MPC) for load frequency control (LFC) of modern power systems, limited works can be found in the literature related to the output feedback MPC. This article studies an N‐step synthesis approach of output feedback MPC for LFC systems considering the problems of communication efficiency and network security. First, to improve the communication efficiency, an adaptive event‐triggering (AET) scheme involving two adaptive laws is designed to reduce the number of transmitted data packages which offers more flexible compared with existing event‐triggering schemes; Second, to handle the network security, a new model of LFC power system combining the AET scheme and random deception attack under an unified framework is established; Moreover, a synthesis approach of output feedback MPC with N‐step strategy is addressed for LFC of power system by parameterizing the infinite control moves into a series of output feedback laws. Compared with the existing predictive load frequency control methods, the present technique is shown as an useful way to improve the control performance since more degrees freedom is introduced by the N‐step strategy. Finally, the simulation experiment is carried out to verify our technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the need for miniaturization and high integration have steered a strong technical wave in developing (micro‐)electronic devices. However, excessive amounts of heat may be generated during operation/charging, severely affecting device performance and leading to life/property loss. Benefiting from their low density, easy processing and low manufacturing cost, thermally conductive polymer composites have become a research hotspot to mitigate the disadvantage of excessive heat, with potential applications in 5G communication, electronic packaging and energy transmission. By far, the reported thermal conductivity coefficient (λ) of thermally conductive polymer composite is far from expectation. Deeper understanding of heat transfer mechanism is desired for developing next generation thermally conductive composites. This review holistically scopes current advances in this field, while giving special attention to critical factors that affect thermal conductivity in polymer composites as well as the thermal conduction mechanisms on how to enhance the λ value. This review covers critical factors such as interfacial thermal resistance, chain structure of polymer, intrinsic λ value of different thermally conductive fillers, orientation/configuration of nanoparticles, 3D interconnected networks, processing technology, etc. The applications of thermally conductive polymer composites in electronic devices are summarized. The existing problems are also discussed, new challenges and opportunities are prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this article, a novel event‐triggered zero‐sum differential game through value iteration (VI)‐based adaptive fuzzy control is proposed for modular robot manipulators (MRMs) with uncertain disturbance. The subsystem dynamic of MRMs is established by joint torque feedback (JTF) technology. An identifier based on fuzzy logic model (FLM) is established to identify unknown system dynamics. Then, the trajectory tracking control issue of MRMs with uncertain disturbance is transformed into a two‐player zero‐sum differential game. On the basis of event‐triggered mechanism and VI algorithm, the event‐triggered Hamilton–Jacobi–Issacs (HJI) equation is approximately solved through establishment of actor‐critic structure. Different from the traditional adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) algorithm, this scheme is based on adaptive fuzzy optimal control through an actor‐critic structure, which refers to adaptation of both optimal cost function and optimal control policy. Moreover, tracking errors of closed‐loop MRM system are demonstrated to be uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) under Lyapunov stability theorem. At last, experimental examples and comparisons show the reliability and effectiveness of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Radioisotope and blue dye are standard agents for performing sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in breast cancer. The paucity of nuclear medicine facility poses logistic challenge. This study evaluated performance of radioisotope & methylene blue (MB) with indocyanine green (ICG) and MB for SLNB. Patients and Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted from December 2019 to July 2022 comparing SLN identification proportions of radioisotope-blue dye [Group A] with dual dye (MB + ICG; Group B]. Secondary objective included time required and cost effectiveness of performing SLNB. Sample size of 70 (35 in each arm) was calculated. Upfront operable node negative early breast cancer was included in the study. Clinico-demographic data, number & type of SLN, time taken were noted. Cost analysis was done including the equipment, manpower & consumables. Chi-square/Fisher exact test was used to compare proportion between two groups. p value of less than 0.05 was considered to represent statistical significance. Results: Seventy patients randomized to either group were similar in clinico-demographic and tumor characteristics. SLN identification rate (IR) was 91.43% in group A and 100% in group B. Overall IR of MB, radioisotope and ICG were 91.43%, 91.43% and 100%, respectively. Mean number of SLNs identified were 3 in group A and 4 in group B. Median time required for SLNB was 12 min and 14 min in either group, respectively. Cost of performing SLNB was higher in Group B. Conclusion: SLNB using dual dye is non-inferior to radioisotope-blue dye in upfront operable early breast cancer. Trial registration number Clinical Trial registry India CTRI/2020/02/023503. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the problem of triangular formation control for a three‐agent group with different measuring capabilities: agent 1 can measure local bearings but with limited field of view (FOV), and agents 2 and 3 can only obtain distance measurements. For agent 1, an orientation controller is first designed to steer its heading to the expected direction. Furthermore, a type of switching control law utilizing pure bearing measurements is proposed to reach the desired angle with respect to the other two agents. Concurrently, it is guaranteed that the flip ambiguity of the formation can be excluded. For agents 2 and 3, the extended distance‐based control algorithm is proposed by invoking the so‐called signed area strategy to determine their actuation. With this control scheme, it is proven that the triangular formation is stabilized globally even in the presence of FOV constraints. The effectiveness is validated through numerical simulations and physical experiments on three nano quadrotors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the event‐triggered cooperative output regulation problem for uncertain multi‐agent systems, demonstrating that the output regulation error of the uncertain multi‐agent system can converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. The proposed method has several notable features. Firstly, both the leader and follower systems contain unknown parameters, and follower systems can be heterogeneous. Secondly, the controller only requires the relative output of each agent, rather than the absolute output or state. Thirdly, the controller is fully distributed, which implies that it does not rely on any global information. In order to achieve the above purpose, a fully distributed reduced‐order observer is proposed with new adaptive laws. Furthermore, new adaptive event‐triggered mechanisms are designed on the basis of the neighborhood regulation error (NRE) and the observational regulation error (ORE). Finally, the proposed approach is validated through simulation and experiment on a multi‐joint robot manipulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

System identification is a critical task in various engineering applications such as motion control, signal processing and robotics. In this article, the identification of linear time‐varying (LTV) systems that perform tasks repetitively over a finite‐time interval is investigated. Traditional LTV system identification typically adopts recursive algorithms in the time domain, which are incapable of tracking drastic‐varying parameters and are subject to estimation lag and numerical instability. To address these issues, this article proposes the utilization of an iteration axis in addition to the time axis for estimating repetitive time‐varying parameters. Specifically, the proposed approach involves an estimation algorithm for the time‐varying parameters based on a recursive least squares (RLS) method along the iteration axis, as well as an update algorithm for the covariance matrix based on singular value decomposition (SVD) to enhance numerical stability. Additionally, a bias compensation method based on noise variance estimation is introduced for the sake of eliminating estimation error induced by measurement noise. Numerical comparisons with existing methods are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquids (ILs) have a wide variety of applications in energy storage and material production. ILs are composed of only cations and anions, without any molecular solvents, and are generally known as "designer liquids (solvents)" because their physicochemical properties can be tuned by the combination of ionic species. In recent several decades, research and development activities of rechargeable batteries have garnered considerable attention because certain groups of ILs exhibit high electrochemical stability and moderate ionic conductivity, rendering them suitable for application in high‐voltage batteries. ILs with amide anions are representative electrolytes and are extensively researched by many research groups, including our group. This paper focuses on amide‐based ILs as electrolytes for alkali‐metal‐ion rechargeable batteries, introducing their history, characteristics, and existing challenges to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Systemic inflammation may be involved in the entire cancer process as a promoter and is associated with antitumor immunity. The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) has been shown to be a promising prognostic factor. However, the relationship between SII and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) have not been established in esophageal cancer (EC) patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Methods. Retrospective analysis of 160 patients with EC was performed, peripheral blood cell counts were collected, and TIL concentration was assessed in H&E-stained sections. Correlations of SII and clinical outcomes with TIL were analyzed. Cox proportional hazard model and Kaplan–Meier method were used to perform survival outcomes. Results. Compared with high SII, low SII had longer overall survival (OS) (P = 0.036 , hazard ratio (HR) = 0.59) and progression-free survival (PFS) (P = 0.041 , HR = 0.60). Low TIL showed worse OS (P < 0.001 , HR = 2.42) and PFS (P < 0.001 , HR = 3.05). In addition, research have shown that the distribution of SII, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were negatively associated with the TIL state, while lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio presented a positive correlation. Combination analysis observed that SIIlow + TILhigh had the best prognosis of all combinations, with a median OS and PFS of 36 and 22 months, respectively. The worst prognosis was identified as SIIhigh + TILlow, with a median OS and PFS of only 8 and 4 months. Conclusion. SII and TIL as independent predictors of clinical outcomes in EC receiving CCRT. Furthermore, the predictive power of the two combinations is much higher than a single variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pipeline flow visualization of cemented tailings backfill slurry (CTBS) improves the safety and stability of transportation. High turbidity and low resolution make it difficult for conventional methods to monitor the particle distribution state of CTBS in a short period of time. Particle tracking technology (PTT) is used to simulate and investigate the flow characteristics of CTBS pipeline, combine with theoretical analysis to construct a CTBS pipeline visualization model, elaborate the particle distribution state when CTBS flows in the pipeline, and explore the effects of pipe diameter (PD), flow velocity (FV) and tailings gradation (TG) on the particle distribution. The results show that particle tracking technology is better applied to investigate the particle transport distribution characteristics of CTBS tailings. Three concepts of particle accumulated gravity Ga, static friction angle θ and diameter dividing line are defined, and the transport pipe is divided into light wear zone, medium wear zone and heavy wear zone. The increase in pipe diameter increases the content of fine particles at the pipe wall and the thickness of the lubrication layer becomes larger, which improves the safety and stability of CTBS transport. The increased flow velocity reduces the settling phenomenon of large size particles and improves the transport efficiency, which increases the pipeline transport resistance. Under good tailings grading conditions, a wide range of tailings grading is more suitable as backfill material. The results of the study illustrate the flow characteristics of the backfill slurry in the pipeline from the particle perspective and provide a theoretical basis for pipeline transportation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motion planning, decision making, and control are vital functions in autonomous driving for accomplishing the desired driving task while considering passenger comfort, road infrastructure, and surrounding traffic participants. Model predictive control (MPC) is a promising method for simultaneously realizing these functions. However, formulating a single MPC that can run through all driving scenarios is difficult, and previous research has often been conducted to design an MPC for a specific driving task. To extend the availability of MPC for all driving tasks, smooth switching between different MPCs designed for each driving task must be addressed. One of the difficulties in switching between MPCs is guiding the state to a feasible set of optimization problems after switching. In this paper, we present a new framework to realize the smooth connection of MPCs, that is, to reduce the optimization infeasibility at the time of MPC switching. In our proposed method, two general nonlinear MPCs with different state spaces, cost functions, constraints, and formulations can be systematically switched via automatically generated intermediate‐MPCs without requiring any particular alterations. This can help reduce the system complexity of the hybrid MPC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To investigate the association between quantitative parameters generated using synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (SyMRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and Ki-67 expression level in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC). Method. We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with IDC who underwent SyMRI and DWI before treatment. Precontrast and postcontrast relaxation times (T1, longitudinal; T2, transverse), proton density (PD) parameters, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were measured in breast lesions. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to screen for statistically significant variables to differentiate the high (≥30%) and low (<30%) Ki-67 expression groups. Their performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results. We analyzed 97 patients. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the high Ki-67 expression group (n = 57) had significantly higher parameters generated using SyMRI (pre-T1, p = 0.001) and lower ADC values (p = 0.036) compared with the low Ki-67 expression group (n = 40). Pre-T1 showed the best diagnostic performance for predicting the Ki-67 expression level in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer (areas under the ROC curve (AUC), 0.711; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.609–0.813). Conclusions. Pre-T1 could be used to predict the pretreatment Ki-67 expression level in invasive ductal breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Redistribution of adipose tissue in the abdomen during the menopausal transition is attributable mostly to estrogen drop with aging. Adipose differentiation‐related protein (ADRP), a major component of lipid droplets, is closely related to the onset of lipid accumulation. We hypothesized that estrogen exerted its tissue‐specific effect in reducing abdominal fat accumulation by regulation of ADRP. Methods: Twenty‐four female C57/BL6 mice aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham operation (Sham), bilateral ovariectomy (OVX), and OVX plus 17β‐estradiol (OVX + E2). After being fed 8 weeks of a high‐fat diet, plasma lipid profiles including total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) levels, body weight gain, visceral, and subcutaneous adipose tissue, adipocyte size, and ADRP expression were measured. Results: In comparison to sham‐operated mice, OVX mice presented a weight gain with higher plasma TC, TG, LDL‐C levels, and lower HDL‐C levels. E2 supplement ameliorated the increase in weight and lipid profiles. Elevated ADRP expression was observed in visceral adipose tissue of OVX mice, whereas treatment of estrogen suppressed the ADPR expression and reversed the fat accumulation in the abdomen. However, no significant difference of ADRP expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue was detected between sham, OVX, and OVX + E2 mice. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that enhanced ADRP expression in ovariectomized mice correlates with the tissue‐specific regulation of estrogen, which may provide useful clues for further exploring the regulatory mechanism and corresponding anti‐abdominal obesity treatment in postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite altered brain activities being associated with suicidal ideation (SI), the neural correlates of SI in major depressive disorder (MDD) have remained elusive. We enrolled 82 first-episode drug-naïve MDD patients including 41 with SI and 41 without SI, as well as 41 healthy controls (HCs). Resting-state functional and structural MRI data were collected. The measures of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and grey matter volume (GMV) were calculated and compared. Compared with HCs, patients with SI exhibited increased fALFF values in the right rectus gyrus and left medial superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus and precuneus. Decreased GMV in the right parahippocampal gyrus, insula and middle occipital gyrus and increased GMV in the left superior frontal gyrus were detected in patients with SI. In addition, patients without SI demonstrated increased fALFF values in the right superior frontal gyrus and decreased fALFF values in the right postcentral gyrus. Decreased GMV in the left superior frontal gyrus, right medial superior frontal gyrus, opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, fusiform gyrus and increased left supplementary motor area, superior occipital gyrus, right anterior cingulate gyrus and superior temporal gyrus were revealed in patients with SI. Moreover, in comparison with patients without SI, increased fALFF values were identified in the left precuneus of patients with SI. However, no significant differences were found in GMV between patients with and without SI. These findings might be helpful for finding neuroimaging markers predicting individual suicide risk and detecting targeted brain regions for effective early interventions., (© 2024 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study proposes a controller design method based on block sparse optimization for dynamical network systems. The objective of the controller is to stabilize dynamical network systems with a given convergence rate. The block sparse optimization minimizes the number of controlled nodes. This study is unique in that the structure of the controller is constrained by the network topology of the system. Additionally, the proposed design problem is separable in terms of the distributed optimization over networks. The proposed method is applicable to controller design for the pinning control of consensus systems and the optimal vaccine allocation for epidemic spreading processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to survey some sparsity‐inducing methods in system identification and state estimation. Such methods can be divided into two main categories: methods inducing sparsity in the parameters and those sparsifying the prediction error. In the last class we discuss in particular the least absolute deviation estimator and its robustness properties with respect to sparse noise in both cases of univariate and multivariate measurements. We also discuss the application of sparsity‐inducing methods to switched system identification and to state estimation for linear systems in the presence sparse and dense measurement noises. While the presentation focuses essentially on bridging some existing results, some technical refinements, and new features are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single dose slow‐release vaccines herald a new era in vaccine administration. An ideal device for slow‐release vaccine delivery would be minimally invasive and self‐administered, making these approaches an attractive alternative for mass vaccination programs, particularly during the time of a pandemic. In this review article, we discuss the latest advances in this field, specifically for prophylactic vaccines able to prevent infectious diseases. Recent studies have found that slow‐release vaccines elicit better immune responses and often do not require cold chain transportation and storage, thus drastically reducing the cost, streamlining distribution, and improving efficacy. This promise has attracted significant attention, especially when poor patient compliance of the standard multidose vaccine regimes is considered. Single dose slow‐release vaccines are the next generation of vaccine tools that could overcome most of the shortcomings of present vaccination programs and be the next platform technology to combat future pandemics. This article is categorized under:Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging TechnologiesImplantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanomaterials and ImplantsBiology‐Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus‐Based Structures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: The responses of photochemical efficiency to desiccation and salinity gradients in an intertidal edible brown macroalga, Sargassum fusiforme (Harvey) Setchell (Sargassaceae, Fucales), were determined using a pulse amplitude modulation (PAM)‐chlorophyll fluorometer. The effective quantum yields (ΔF/Fm'; = ΦPSII) of photosystem II (PSII) dropped to zero after 360‐min aerial exposure under low irradiance (20 μmol photons m−2 s−1) and 120‐min exposure under high irradiance (700 μmol photons m−2 s−1) for this species at 20°C and 50% relative humidity. Under these conditions, ΔF/Fm' failed to recover to initial levels even after 1‐day rehydration in seawater. In general, ΔF/Fm' decreased as desiccation reduced the absolute water content (AWC, %). Nevertheless, when AWC was above ca. 20%, ΔF/Fm' was mostly restored to initial levels after 1‐day rehydration in seawater, suggesting strong tolerance to dehydration. Furthermore, S. fusiforme appeared to tolerate a broad range of salinity (i.e. 15–50 psu) during six days of culture; however, ΔF/Fm' declined when salinity was <10 and 60 psu. Strong tolerance to dehydration and salinity stress likely provides S. fusiforme an advantage that allows it to flourish in the intertidal habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomimetic machine vision systems require structures, including an artificial retina to capture and process images, and an artificial network that imitates the cortex for visual inspection and identification tasks. One of the key challenges for biomimetic perceptional machine visual systems is the self‐adaptive behavior of the retina, which is known as the ability to adjust and eventually perceive objects through a wide range of environmental light intensities. To achieve this, current systems use either complex processing algorithms or specific devices with optoelectronic properties which results in complexity and less efficiency. Herein, an artificial retina circuit is reported to imitate the adaptation process to light (photopic and scotopic adaptation) of the perceptional biovisual system. The implementation of an artificial Hodgkin–Huxley neuron circuit based on adaptive VO2 memristors has helped the artificial retina to successfully demonstrate time‐varying activation and inhibition characteristics. The adaptable perception function under different illumination conditions is faithfully achieved by the artificial HH neuron based on the self‐adaptability of the memristor. The function is consistent with the dynamic light amplitude ranges of biological vision systems. More importantly, this development shows a pervasive way to design and fabricate a universal environmentally adaptable artificial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MXene, as a new two‐dimensional nanomaterial, is endowed with lots of particular properties, such as large surface area, excellent conductivity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, hydrophilicity, antibacterial activity, and so on. In the past few years, MXene nanomaterials have become a rising star in biomedical fields including biological imaging, tumor diagnosis, biosensor, and tissue engineering. In this review, we sum up the recent applications of MXene nanomaterials in the field of tissue engineering and regeneration. First, we briefly introduced the synthesis and surface modification engineering of MXene. Then we focused on the application and development of MXene and MXene‐based composites in skin, bone, nerve and heart tissue engineering. Uniquely, we also paid attention to some research on MXene with few achievements at present but might become a new trend in tissue engineering and regeneration in the future. Finally, this paper will also discuss several challenges faced by MXene nanomaterials in the clinical application of tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) and its lymphatic drainage pattern (LDP) of breast cancer were studied by contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Methods: From July 2017 to December 2019, patients with SLN localization of breast cancer in Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences·Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital were selected. The sentinel lymph system of breast cancer was observed by CEUS before both operation and blue staining in the surgery. The location, number, and route of sentinel lymphatic channel (SLC) were recorded, along with the number, size, and the depth from skin of SLN. LDPs were summarized according to these basic characteristics of SLC and SLN. Results: A total of 368 cases were included; 465 SLCs and 423 SLNs were detected. Most of the SLCs were originated from the outer upper quadrant of areola. Eleven LDPs were found, including 31 subtypes of LDPs. There were 6 cases of type A (1.63%), 15 cases of type B (4.08%), 223 cases of type C (57.88%), 38 cases of type D (10.33%), 2 cases of type E (0.54%), 3 cases of type F (0.82%), 50 cases of type G (13.59%), 30 cases of type H (8.15%), 2 cases of type I (0.54%), 6 cases of type J (1.63%), and 3 cases of type K (0.82%). Conclusions: The most common LDP of breast cancer was one SLC originated from the upper quadrant of areola with one SLN. CEUS can identify the LDP before surgery to reduce the false negative rate of SLN biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To avoid unnecessary neoadjuvant chemotherapy in case anticipating a poor therapy response, it is essential to find the pathological parameters that would predict pathological complete response or at least a decrease in tumor burden following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes can predict the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to find the Ki67 cutoff value that best predicts the benefit of chemotherapy. 153 cases of breast cancer were chosen, based on their molecular subtype: triple negative subtype (77) and luminal, HER2-ve subtype (76). Histopathological assessment of pretherapy core biopsies was conducted to assess variable pathological parameters including TILs rates with the aid of immunohistochemical staining for CD20 and CD3. Moreover, core biopsies were stained for Ki67, and the findings were compared to the residual cancer burden following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. On analyzing and contrasting the two groups, a significant association between molecular subtype and pathological complete response was confirmed, while tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in either group had no effect on therapy response. We used receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to determine that a cutoff of 36% for Ki67 is the most accurate value to predict complete therapy response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Collagen type X alpha 1 (COL10A1) is a structural component of the extracellular matrix that is aberrantly expressed in a variety of cancer tissues. However, its role in pancreatic cancer progression is not well understood. Methods. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and Gene Expression Profiling Interaction Analysis (GEPIA) data were employed to explore the expression of COL10A1 in normal and tumor tissues and its prognostic value in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The clinical data of pancreatic cancer in TCGA were used to explore the relationship between COL10A1 and clinical features. Genes coexpressed with COL10A1 were explored using multiple databases and analyzed for functional enrichment. In addition, the lncRNA/miRNA/COL10A1 axis that may be involved in COL10A1 regulation in pancreatic cancer was explored by constructing a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory axis. Finally, COL10A1 was analyzed for correlation with immune cell infiltration and various immune checkpoint molecules in pancreatic cancer. Results. It was found that the expression of COL10A1 was significantly increased in pancreatic cancer tissues. High expression of COL10A1 was related to the clinicopathological characteristics and the worse prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. The TUG1/miR-144-3p/COL10A1 axis was identified as the most likely upstream noncoding RNA pathway for COL10A1 in pancreatic cancer. Besides, in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the expression level of COL10A1 showed a significant positive correlation with tumor immune cell infiltration, biomarkers of immune cells, and expression of immune checkpoint molecules. Conclusion. COL10A1 is an early diagnostic marker, and its high expression correlates with immune infiltration in pancreatic cancer. The TUG1/miR-144-3p/COL10A1 axis was identified as the most likely upstream noncoding RNA pathway for COL10A1 in pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Near‐infrared fluorescent imaging has been described for intraoperative mapping of the draining lymph nodes in human cancer and canine oral tumours. The aim of this study was to retrospectively describe the results of lymphadenectomies in dogs with mast cell tumours treated either by standard unguided locoregional lymph node dissection or near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection. Methods: Medical records between 2012 and 2020 were reviewed for dogs that were presented for surgical resection of mast cell tumours with concurrent lymphadenectomy either with (near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection) or without near‐infrared fluorescence image guidance (lymph node dissection). The number and location of lymph nodes planned for surgical dissection and actually dissected nodes, presence of metastases and perioperative complications were recorded. Results: Thirty‐five patients underwent near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection, and 43 lymph node dissections. The number of nodes preoperatively planned for resection were 70 and 68, respectively. Fifty‐eight of those (83%) were identified during near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection procedures, compared with 50 (74%) during lymph node dissection. near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection resulted in resection of additional fluorescent nodes not corresponding to locoregional nodes in 15 of 35 dogs. Using near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection, we identified at least one metastatic node in 68% of dogs (24 of 35) compared with 33% (14 of 43) when lymph node dissection was used without imaging. No complications related to near‐infrared fluorescent imaging were reported. Clinical Significance: The present study suggests that near‐infrared imaging is a promising technique for intraoperative detection of the draining lymph nodes in dogs with mast cell tumours. Further validation of the technique is required to assess if near‐infrared fluorescent imaging can detect the true sentinel lymph node. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the development of 4H‐SiC bipolar devices, defect generation during the fabrication process is an important issue for maintaining a long carrier lifetime in the drift layers. Herein, two 4H‐SiC PiN diode structures are produced with a p‐type layer fabricated through epitaxial growth or Al ion implantation; and the current–voltage characteristics and defect distribution observed using deep‐level transient spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL) are compared. The PiN diode fabricated through ion implantation shows higher deep‐level concentrations even at a drift layer depth of ≈6 μm from the junction. In addition, the concentrations at the deep levels decrease with the depth, as does the CL intensity originating from defects. Therefore, defects induced through Al‐ion implantation are distributed into a drift layer with a gradual decrease in the concentration along the depth. These results suggest that drift layers in 4H‐SiC bipolar devices should be fabricated in regions far from the Al‐ion‐implanted regions to induce an efficient conductivity modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The memristor is added to the port‐Hamiltonian systems to improve the disturbance suppression performance in this paper. The concepts of locally fixed‐time stability and locally fixed‐time H∞$H_{\infty }$ control of port‐Hamiltonian systems are presented. From this starting point, two novel memristor‐based locally fixed‐time controllers are designed to suppress the external disturbance of port‐Hamiltonian systems via the interconnection and damping assignment passivity‐based control technique. Comparing with the classical interconnection and damping assignment passivity‐based control methodology without memristor, there are some advantages. First, the settling‐time related to the memristor‐based controllers in stabilizing the same port‐Hamiltonian systems are shorter. Second, the memristor‐based controllers can make the oscillation in the case of the strong periodic disturbance be better suppressed. Theoretical analysis shows that the memristor‐based controller possesses good disturbance rejection performance owing to it can make the system states in a neighbourhood accelerate convergence to the desired equilibrium point. Two illustrative examples show that the theoretical results and the controllers designed in this paper work very well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be routinely applied to patients with breast cancer before surgery remains controversial. A pooled analysis of the association between preoperative MRI and surgical outcomes in female patients with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer was conducted to provide evidence-based medicine for clinical practice.Methods: Three independent researchers searched the following databases: PubMed, Medline, Embase, Ovid, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception to April 2022. Literature was included and excluded according to Cochrane's principles. The basic information from eligible documents was extracted. Systematic evaluation and meta-analysis were performed, and the odds ratio (OR) was analyzed by the random-effect model. The quality of the literature was assessed using the modified Jadad scale and the Newcastle-Ottawa (NOS) mean scale.Results: A total of 19 studies were included, including 4 randomized controlled trials and 15 observational comparative studies. Among them, most studies were not limited to a specific pathological type, with the exception of 3 that were limited to invasive lobular carcinoma. The results showed that preoperative MRI examination would significantly reduce the reoperation rate (OR = 0.77, P=0.02) and increase the mastectomy rate (OR = 1.36, P=0.001). In comparison, preoperative MRI did not significantly affect the rate of secondary mastectomy (OR = 0.77, P=0.02), the rate of positive margin (OR = 1.08, P=0.66), the rate of mastectomy (OR = 1.00, P < 0.05), and reoperations (OR = 0.65, P=0.19) in the subgroup analysis of patients with invasive lobular carcinoma.Conclusion: Available evidence suggests that preoperative MRI examination increases the rate of mastectomy and reduces the rate of reoperations. The results indicate that preoperative MRI examination has the potential to benefit patients with breast cancer, but more high-quality studies are needed for confirmation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the effects of different models on the controllability of leader‐follower dynamics system based on Laplacian matrix are studied, and the controllability results applicable to general model are obtained. Our research is based on three different control modes, namely, broadcast control, UI$$ {U}_I $$ control, and non‐broadcast control, which cover all the control modes in the general model. Specifically, we first identify the relation of different UI$$ {U}_I $$ control, that is, if the system is controllable under i1$$ {i}_1 $$ different control signals, then increasing the number of control signals does not change the controllability of the system. Furthermore, it is proved that in a fixed topology, when the number of control inputs is increased, the controllability of the system is not correlated with the controllability of the original system, which appears counter‐intuitive. But the spectral radius of the Gramian matrix of the controllable system is increased. In addition, we analyze the condition number of Gramian matrix. Based on the above conclusions, we put forward the concept of hierarchical equivalent partition (HEP), and prove that under the general model, the existence of HEP makes the system uncontrollable. Finally, we expect to find a way to make the system controllable under the general model. Therefore, we obtain sufficient conditions for the system to be controllable. As a by‐product, we find that there is no completely uncontrollable graph when the general model with broadcast control is removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution and food waste are two global issues with much in common. Plastic containers were introduced as a practical and easy remedy to improve food preservation and reduce the risk of creating waste, but ironically, to address one problem, another has been made worse. The spread of single‐use containers has dramatically increased the amount of plastic that has to be discarded, and the most urgent task is now to find a solution to what has become part of the problem. An innovative way around it consists of promoting the valorization of food residues by turning them into novel materials for packaging. Although the results are promising, the aim of completely replacing plastics with biodegradable materials still seems far from being achieved. This review illustrates the main strategies adopted thus far to produce new bioplastic materials and composites from waste resources and focuses on the pros and cons of the food recovery process to look for the aspects that represent an obstacle to the development of the circular food economy on an industrial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the quality of life of breast cancer patients, this paper will apply continuous early intervention to the nursing of breast cancer patients. The continuous early intervention nursing model can propose countermeasures for the health problems faced by patients with postoperative chemotherapy. In order to analyze the effect of continuous early intervention nursing on negative emotions and quality of life in breast cancer patients, the effect of continuous early intervention in improving the quality of life of breast cancer patients is analyzed by means of experimental research. The control group is given routine nursing, and the observation group is given continuous early intervention nursing intervention. Moreover, this paper obtains data statistics in combination with statistical analysis. Through the comparison of the test results, it can be seen that the implementation of continuous early intervention nursing intervention in breast cancer patients can improve the nursing effect, effectively relieve the negative emotions of patients, and improve the quality of life of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a continuous tracing framework for fault location in distribution network, which is divided into two stages: parameter correction and fault location. On the stage of parameter correction, it is capable of correcting line parameters based on data in the steady state. On the stage of fault location, it can locate the fault according to the one cycle signal after it occurs based on the corrected parameters in the former stage. The stage of parameter correction is beneficial to the fault location process. The core algorithm of the framework is parameter adaptive group search optimizer (PAGSO), which is a kind of improved metaheuristic optimization algorithm. The adjustment strategy and regulatory mechanism are introduced in exploitation, whereas the adaptive mechanism based on reinforcement learning (RL) is introduced in exploration. Improvements could enhance search capability and help the algorithm converge faster. The proposed framework is tested in IEEE 34-bus model. Other meta-heuristic algorithms are adopted for comparison, including genetic algorithms (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), grey wolf optimization (GWO), and the standard group search optimizer (GSO). For fault location, PAGSO has been verified under three cases, including ideal condition, noisy condition, and the system with renewable penetration. For line parameters, experiments are designed to prove the algorithm feasibility and verify the necessity of the correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper studies the problem of model reference safety‐critical adaptive control for a class of nonlinear and switched systems with nonlinear reference models. An adaptive law is designed to estimate unknown parameters, while an energy function is proposed to guarantee the boundedness and safety of nonlinear systems. Also, a model reference safety‐critical adaptive control framework is established to ensure that the state trajectory of nonlinear systems is always within the safe set in the presence of unknown parameters. Moreover, the results obtained are extended to switched uncertain nonlinear systems under arbitrary switchings. A switched adaptive controller is designed to reduce the conservativeness caused by adoption of a common update law for all subsystems. Also, the safety of switched systems under arbitrary switchings is guaranteed as well as the boundedness of the error states between the switched nonlinear systems and the switched reference models by utilizing the common Lyapunov function method. Finally, two illustrative numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the impact of breast‐cancer treatment on fertility. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, case‐based survey of treatments administered for infertility and pregnancy outcomes after patients underwent treatment for breast cancer. Surveys were distributed to breast oncology facilities and reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) facilities. Results: As high as 60% of the pregnancies in women under the age of 35 years occurred spontaneously. Additionally, the fertility rates decreased as age increased (under 35 years of age: 40%, 35–39 years of age: 21%, 40–44 years of age: 10%, respectively). In women who became pregnant after treatment for breast cancer, conception was achieved within 1 to 3 years after beginning to try for pregnancy. Conclusions: After treatment for breast cancer, women can expect spontaneous pregnancy, especially if they are under 35 years of age. It is important for patients 35 years of age and older to commence assisted reproductive technology in a timely manner when pursuing fertility after treatment for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing, structure, property, and performance have been acknowledged in a linearly linked picture for materials manufacturing. It is promising to harness the processing‐structure relationship to accelerate the development of functional materials. In the present study, we attempted to predict microstructures of a polymer composite via computational simulations, because functions of the polymer composite would respond to its microstructures. A program KAPSEL, which has been widely utilized to calculate dynamics of solid particles in coherent fluids, was slightly amended to handle parameters related to interfacial science. Constituents of the target polymer composite were α‐alumina and poly(methyl methacrylate). When proper parameter values are given, the program yielded microstructural features similar to those found in an experiment. Nimbleness and affordability of the simulation scheme would allow us to omit experimental trial‐and‐error for functional polymer composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The status of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) has a substantial prognostic value because these nodes are the first place where cancer cells accumulate along their spreading route. Routine SLN biopsy ("gold standard") involves peritumoral injections of radiopharmaceuticals, such as technetium‐99m, which has obvious disadvantages. This review examines the methods used as "gold standard" analogs to diagnose SLNs. Nonradioactive preoperative and intraoperative methods of SLN detection are analyzed. Promising photonic tools for SLNs detection are reviewed, including NIR‐I/NIR‐II fluorescence imaging, photoswitching dyes for SLN detection, in vivo photoacoustic detection, imaging and biopsy of SLNs. Also are discussed methods of SLN detection by magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonic imaging systems including as combined with photoacoustic imaging, and methods based on the magnetometer‐aided detection of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. The advantages and disadvantages of nonradioactive SLN‐detection methods are shown. The review concludes with prospects for the use of conservative diagnostic methods in combination with photonic tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, an adaptive model predictive control (MPC) strategy is proposed for a class of discrete‐time linear systems with parametric uncertainty. In the presented adaptive MPC, an updating law is firstly designed to update the estimated parameters online. By utilizing the estimated parameters, a standard MPC optimization problem for unconstrained systems is established. Then, to deal with constrained systems, the min–max MPC technique is developed under the set‐based approach for the estimated parameters. Furthermore, it is shown theoretically that the recursive feasibility and closed‐loop stability can be rigorously proved, respectively. Finally, numerical simulations and comparative analysis are presented to illustrate the superiority of the proposed algorithms in control performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) with significant involvement of coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a major cause of death and disability among the diabetic population. Although percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) continues to evolve, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a well-established marker of poor clinical prognosis after PCI, which is mainly attributed to the rapid progression of atherosclerosis requiring recurrent revascularizations. Hence, the use of bioresorbable materials could provide some solution to this problem. Material and Methods. The study was divided into two arms. For the first one, we qualified 169 patients with NSTE-ACS treated with PCI who received the drug-eluting stent (DES) coated with a biodegradable polymer Ultimaster (Terumo, Tokyo, Japan). The second arm was composed of 193 patients with ACS who underwent PCI with a magnesium bioresorbable scaffold Magmaris (Biotronik, Berlin, Germany). Both arms were divided into two subsequent groups: the T2DM (59 and 72) and the non-DM (110 and 121, respectively). The primary outcomes were cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and in-stent thrombosis. The main secondary outcomes included target lesion failure (TLF) and were recorded at a 1-year-follow-up. Results. There were no significant differences between the diabetic and nondiabetic populations in primary endpoints or main secondary endpoints (TLF, scaffold restenosis, death from any reason, and other cardiovascular events) either in the Ultimaster or Magmaris group. At a 1-year-follow-up, the primary endpoint in the DM t.2 population was recorded in 2.7% Ultimaster vs. 5.1% Magmaris, respectively. At the same time, the TLF occurred in the diabetic group in 4.1% Magmaris and 3.3% in the Ultimaster arm, respectively. Conclusion. Both, Ultimaster and Magmaris revealed relative safety and efficiency at a one-year follow-up in the diabetic population in ACS settings. The observed rates of TLF were low, which combined with a lack of in-stent thrombosis suggests that both investigated devices might be an interesting therapeutic option for diabetics with ACS. Nevertheless, further large randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm fully our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]