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Cement-based sensors have attracted considerable attention due to their potential for self-sensing applications, particularly in the realms of structural health monitoring and traffic management, as they eliminate the need for external sensors. However, the performance of these sensors can be adversely affected by various environmental factors, with water ingress being a particularly critical concern that can destabilize their piezoresistive sensing capabilities. In this study, hollow glass microspheres (HGM), recognized for their superhydrophobic properties, were incorporated into cement-based sensors to improve their piezoresistive sensing stability under conditions of water ingress. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) were employed as the conductive filler, and the hybrid effects of CNT and HGM were systematically investigated using a range of characterization techniques. The study experimentally assessed the impact of HGM on the compressive strength, electrical resistivity, and water absorption characteristics of the cementitious composites. Furthermore, the enhancement in sensing performance due to HGM was evaluated with respect to sensitivity, linearity, and stability under both monotonic and cyclic loading scenarios. The experimental findings revealed that while HGM initially reduces water absorption, this effect diminishes over prolonged periods of water exposure. Additionally, HGM prevents CNT-based conductive networks from water ingress, thereby improving sensing stability after water exposure. Consequently, the utilization of HGM is anticipated to enhance the sensing stability of cement-based sensors under water ingress conditions.

Reaction products and properties of carbonation-cured calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements exposed to a sulfate attack were explored in an attempt to elucidate their durability aspects and potential opportunities for practical applications. CSA paste samples were either normally cured or carbonation-cured and subsequently immersed in a Na2SO4 solution. The test results indicated that carbonation curing hindered the delayed ettringite formation induced by a sulfate attack, especially in the carbonation-cured samples with an m-value of 0.5 or 1.0. In addition, these carbonation-cured samples exhibited less degrees of weight and mass loss compared to the normally cured samples. Given these test results, the carbonation-cured samples with an m-value of 0.5 – 1.0 were found to be the most durable against the Na2SO4 attack. The outcomes of this study can be viewed important as they provide a fundamental data source for developing guidelines on producing highly durable materials by combining mixture proportioning and carbonation curing when CSA cements are applied in areas particularly susceptible to sulfate attacks.

ThMn12-type Sm(FeV)12 magnets with high coercivity (Hc) demonstrate promising potential as alternative rare-earth-lean permanent magnets. This study delves into the microstructure and magnetic properties influenced by the Sm content in the SmxFe10V2 (x = 1.4–1.9) alloy. High-density SmFe10V2 bulks were prepared through a jet-milling process, followed by high-pressure pressing and heat treatment. Upon increasing the Sm content beyond 1.6, the heat-treated bulks exhibited a predominant ThMn12 phase, accompanied by a secondary phase – Sm oxides. Additionally, Sm played a pivotal role in influencing the ThMn12 crystal structure, with the c/a value reaching the smallest in the Sm1.7Fe10V2 bulk. This change contributed to heightened anisotropy constants and Tc values. The introduction of an amorphous Sm-rich grain boundary phase, with the thickness of 1.2 nm, was observed in bulks within a specific Sm content range, influenced by the heat-treatment time. Notably, this phase was absent in bulks with insufficient or excessive Sm. The grain boundary phase had a substantial impact on improving Hc, reaching 10.6 kOe in the Sm1.7Fe10V2 bulk heat-treated for 25 min. However, Hc exhibited a gradual decrease with prolonged heat treatment, attributed to the evaporation of Sm leading to the disappearance of the grain boundary phase. This nuanced relationship underscores the importance of optimizing heat treatment conditions to harness the full potential of ThMn12-type Sm(FeV)12 magnets for enhanced Hc.

Anisotropic bulk magnets of ThMn12-type SmFe10V2 with a high coercivity (Hc) were successfully fabricated. Powders with varying particle sizes were prepared using the ball milling process, where the particle size was controlled with milling time. A decrease in Hc occurred in the heat-treated bulk pressed from large-sized powders, while heavy oxidation excessively occurred in small powders, leading to the decomposition of the SmFe10V2 (1–12) phase. The highest Hc of 8.9 kOe was achieved with powders ball-milled for 5 h due to the formation of the grain boundary phase. To improve the maximum energy product ((BH)max), which is only 2.15 MGOe in the isotropic bulk, anisotropic bulks were prepared using the same powders. The easy alignment direction, confirmed by XRD and EBSD measurements, was . Significant enhancements were observed, with saturation magnetization (Ms) increasing from 59 to 79 emu/g and a remanence ratio (Mr/Ms) of 83.7%. (BH)max reaching 7.85 MGOe. For further improvement of magnetic properties, controlling oxidation is essential to form a uniform grain boundary phase and achieve perfect alignment with small grain size.

Abstract Understanding how the structural organization of neural networks influences their computational capabilities is of great interest to both machine learning and neuroscience communities. In our previous work, we introduced a novel learning system, called the reservoir of basal dynamics (reBASICS), which features a modular neural architecture (small-sized random neural networks) capable of reducing chaoticity of neural activity and of producing stable self-sustained limit cycle activities. The integration of these limit cycles is achieved by linear summation of their weights, and arbitrary time series are learned by modulating these weights. Despite its excellent learning performance, interpreting a modular structure of isolated small networks as a brain network has posed a significant challenge. Here, we investigate how local connectivity, a well-known characteristic of brain networks, contributes to reducing neural system chaoticity and generates self-sustained limit cycles based on empirical experiments. Moreover, we present the learning performance of the locally connected reBASICS in two tasks: a motor timing task and a learning task of the Lorenz time series. Although its performance was inferior to that of modular reBASICS, locally connected reBASICS could learn a time series of tens of seconds while the time constant of neural units was ten milliseconds. This work indicates that the locality of connectivity in neural networks may contribute to generation of stable self-sustained oscillations to learn arbitrary long-term time series, as well as the economy of wiring cost.

Abstract People tend to expect mental capabilities in a robot based on anthropomorphism and often attribute the cause and responsibility for a failure in human-robot interactions to the robot. This study investigated the relationship between mind perception, a psychological scale of anthropomorphism, and attribution of the cause and responsibility in human-robot interactions. Participants played a repeated noncooperative game with a human, robot, or computer agent, where their monetary rewards depended on the outcome. They completed questionnaires on mind perception regarding the agent and whether the participant’s own or the agent’s decisions resulted in the unexpectedly small reward. We extracted two factors of Experience (capacity to sense and feel) and Agency (capacity to plan and act) from the mind perception scores. Then, correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that mind perception influenced attribution processes differently for each agent type. In the human condition, decreased Agency score during the game led to greater causal attribution to the human agent, consequently also increasing the degree of responsibility attribution to the human agent. In the robot condition, the post-game Agency score decreased the degree of causal attribution to the robot, and the post-game Experience score increased the degree of responsibility to the robot. These relationships were not observed in the computer condition. The study highlights the importance of considering mind perception in designing appropriate causal and responsibility attribution in human-robot interactions and developing socially acceptable robots.

The permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) has been of interest to eco-friendly industries on account of its advantages such as high performance, efficiency, and precision control. However, perturbations due to PMSM parameter uncertainty, load torque, and external disturbance interfere with the construction of PMSM precision control systems. Therefore, a robust control system is needed to avoid unnecessary system movement caused by perturbations. In this paper, sliding mode control (SMC) is adopted to implement a robust control system for the PMSM. In order to reduce the reaching time from the initial system state to the sliding surface and the chattering phenomenon that can cause the system to malfunction, the adaptive quick sliding mode reaching law based on an exponential function and power equation is proposed. Although the SMC is robust to disturbance and parameter uncertainty, unexpected disturbances can destabilize the system. To estimate the unmatched disturbance in a short time, the second-order fast terminal sliding mode observer (SFTSMO) is proposed. The results show that the motor control system based on the proposed method has a fast convergence speed to an objective value, position tracking performance, and robustness.

The present study aims to explore the potential of using electrical impedance measurements for evaluating the self-healing degree in cement composites incorporating biological admixtures. Four different carbon-based conductive fillers such as carbon black, carbon nanotube, carbon fiber, and graphene were employed in the cementitious composites to ensure the electrical conductivity in the composite samples. The applicability of carbon-based fillers for evaluating self-healing degree was assessed by comparing the present electrical impedance-based evaluation with the self-healing degree quantitatively obtained from microscopic images and the regain in compressive strength. The samples containing carbon nanotube or graphene were shown to have satisfactory self-healing capacities, as evidenced by the restoration of electrical conductivity and the regain in compressive strength.

First-principles calculations were performed to calculate the electronic structures of low temperature phase (LTP) MnBi (Mn50Bi50) and substitutionally and interstitially Sn-doped MnBi [Mn50Bi25Sn25, (Mn0.5Bi0.5)66.7Sn33.3]. Brillouin function predicts the temperature dependence of saturation magnetization M(T). Sn substitution for Bi in MnBi (Mn50Bi25Sn25) changes the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant (Ku) from −0.202 MJ/m3 (the in-plane magnetization) for LTP MnBi to 1.711 MJ/m3 (the out-of-plane magnetization). In comparison, the Ku remains negative but slightly decreases to −0.043 MJ/m3 when Sn is interstitially doped in MnBi [(Mn0.5Bi0.5)66.7Sn33.3]. The Curie temperature (TC) decreases from 716 K for LTP Mn50Bi50 to 445 K for Mn50Bi25Sn25 and 285 K for (Mn0.5Bi0.5)66.7Sn33.3. Mn50Bi25Sn25 has a lower magnetic moment of 5.034 μB/f.u. but a higher saturation magnetization of 64.2 emu/g than (Mn0.5Bi0.5)66.7Sn33.3 with a magnetic moment of 6.609 μB/f.u. and a saturation magnetization of 48.2 emu/g because the weight and volume of the substitutionally Sn-doped MnBi are smaller than the interstitially Sn-doped MnBi. The low Curie temperature and magnetization for Sn-doped MnBi are attributed to the high concentration of Sn. Thus, future study needs to focus on low Sn-concentrated MnBi.

The magnetization of most magnetic materials decreases monotonically with increasing temperature. In this work, we found that the temperature coefficient of magnetization of Mn _4- _x Ga _x C alloys can be tuned from negative values to positive values by controlling the composition x . The antiperovskite-type Mn _4- _x Ga _x C (0.05≤ x ≤0.75) alloys were prepared by using induction melting method, which is more efficient in large-scale production and obtaining full-density alloys in comparison with the traditional solid-state-reaction method. The values of the temperature coefficient of magnetization of Mn _4- _x Ga _x C change continuously from negative to positive with decreasing x . The Mn _4- _x Ga _x C alloys with highly thermal-stable magnetization is expected to present in the composition range of 0.15< x

While different types of low-power transistors have been investigated, low voltage rectifiers able to overcome the thermionic limit have not been proposed yet. Here, the authors report the realization of Dirac-source diodes based on graphene/MoS2/graphite heterostructures, showing ideality factors

Excitatory and inhibitory neurons are fundamental components of the brain, and healthy neural circuits are well balanced between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance). However, it is not clear how an E/I imbalance affects the self-organization of the network structure and function in general. In this study, we examined how locally altered E/I balance affects neural dynamics such as the connectivity by activity-dependent formation, the complexity (multiscale entropy) of neural activity, and information transmission. In our simulation, a spiking neural network model was used with the spike-timing dependent plasticity rule to explore the above neural dynamics. We controlled the number of inhibitory neurons and the inhibitory synaptic weights in a single neuron group out of multiple neuron groups. The results showed that a locally increased E/I ratio strengthens excitatory connections, reduces the complexity of neural activity, and decreases information transmission between neuron groups in response to an external input. Finally, we argued the relationship between our results and excessive connections and low complexity of brain activity in the neuropsychiatric brain disorders.

Si-doped Fe-rich compounds, i.e., Sm(Fe0.8Co0.2)11Ti + Six (x = 0, 0.5, and 1.0), with ThMn12-type structure in forms of ribbons and bulks were fabricated using melt-spinning process and high pressure pressing and heat treatment processes. Physical and magnetic properties of the ribbons and bulks were analyzed to investigate Si doping effects on the Sm(Fe0.8Co0.2)11Ti. The Si-free ribbons were found to be amorphous, while the small amount of Si doping resulted in dramatic crystallization of the ThMn12 phase. Coercivity of the ribbons increased with the increasing Si content from 43 to 3140 Oe, while the magnetization decreased from 146 to 78 emu/g. It was observed that the Si-free ribbons consisted of nano-sized grains in the matrix of an amorphous phase. On the other hand, the Si-doped ribbons exhibited submicron-sized grains with high crystallinity. The crystallized phases of the heat-treated bulks varied with the Si concentrations; the main phase was the ThMn12 phase in all samples, but concentrations of soft magnetic α-Fe phase decreased with the increasing Si concentration, and corresponding saturation magnetizations of the bulks also decreased.

Background: Despite the lack of official COVID-19 statistics, various workplaces and occupations have been at the center of COVID-19 outbreaks. We aimed to compare legal measures and governance established for managing COVID-19 infection risks at workplaces in nine Asia and Pacific countries and to recommend key administrative measures. Methods: We collected information on legal measures and governance from both general citizens and workers regarding infection risks such as COVID-19 from industrial hygiene professionals in nine countries (Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand) using a structured questionnaire. Results: A governmental body overseeing public health and welfare was in charge of containing the spread and occurrence of infectious diseases under an infectious disease control and prevention act or another special act, although the name of the pertinent organizations and legislation vary among countries. Unlike in the case of other traditional hazards, there have been no specific articles or clauses describing the means of mitigating virus risk in the workplace that are legally required of employers, making it difficult to define the responsibilities of the employer. Each country maintains own legal systems regarding access to the duration, administration, and financing of paid sick leave. Many workers may not have access to paid sick leave even if it is legally guaranteed. Conclusion: Specific legal measures to manage infectious disease risks, such as providing proper personal protective equipment, education, engineering control measures, and paid sick leave are recommended to be stipulated in Industrial safety and health-related acts.

PurposePresence of a long remnant sigmoid colon after left hemicolectomy with inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) ligation for distal transverse and descending colon cancers may be a risk factor for venous ischemia. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact of IMV preservation in patients who underwent left hemicolectomy with inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) preservation.MethodsWe included 155 patients who underwent left hemicolectomy with IMA preservation for distal transverse and descending colon cancers from 2003 to 2020. Technical success of IMV preservation was determined by assessing pre- and post-operative patency of the IMV on computed tomography (CT) by an abdominal radiologist. Intestinal complications comprising ulceration, stricture, venous engorgement, and colitis in remnant colon were compared between the IMV preservation and ligation groups.ResultsIMV was preserved in 22 (14.2%) and ligated in 133 (85.8%) patients. Surgical time, postoperative recovery outcomes, and number of harvested lymph nodes were similar in both groups. The technical success of IMV preservation was 81.8%. Intestinal complications were less common in the preservation group than in the IMV ligation group (4.5% vs. 23.3%, P=0.048). The complications in the IMV ligation group were anastomotic ulcer (n=2), anastomotic stricture (n=4), venous engorgement of the remnant distal colon (n=4), and colitis in the distal colon (n=21).ConclusionsIMV preservation may be beneficial after left hemicolectomy with IMA preservation for distal transverse and descending colon cancers. We suggest that IMV preservation might be considered when long remnant sigmoid colon is expected during left hemicolectomy with low ligation of IMA.

Abstract Although epidural patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) to control postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the relationship of epidural PCA with postoperative bleeding remains controversial. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of epidural and intravenous PCA on postoperative bleeding in patients undergoing unilateral TKA. Total of 2467 patients who underwent TKA were divided to intravenous PCA (n = 2339) or epidural PCA (n = 128) group. After 1:1 propensity score-matching, 212 patients were analyzed to assess the associations between the perioperative blood loss and epidural PCA between the groups. Mean postoperative blood loss was significantly greater in epidural PCA than in intravenous PCA (900.9 ± 369.1 mL vs. 737.8 ± 410.1 mL; P = 0.007). The incidence of red blood cell (RBC) administration (> 3 units) was significantly higher in epidural PCA than in intravenous PCA (30.2% vs. 16.0%; OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.201–5.205; P = 0.014). Epidural PCA may be strongly related to postoperative bleeding and the incidence of RBC transfusion of more than 3 units after unilateral TKA, as compared to intravenous PCA. Therefore, the use of epidural PCA may be carefully considered for postoperative pain management in TKA.

This study contains the process of developing a Mission Planning System (MPS) of an USV that can be applied in real situations and verifying them through HILS. In this study, we set the scenario of a single USV with limited operating time. Since the USV may not perform some missions due to the limited operating time, an objective function was defined to maximize the Mission Achievement Rate (MAR). We used a genetic algorithm to solve the problem model, and proposed a method using a 3-D population. The simulation showed that the probability of deriving the global optimal solution of the mission planning algorithm was 96.6% and the computation time was 1.6 s. Furthermore, USV showed it performs the mission according to the results of the MPS. We expect that the MPS developed in this study can be applied to the real environment where USV performs missions with limited time conditions.

Federated learning (FL) is an emerging technique that trains machine learning models across multiple de-centralized systems. It enables local devices to collaboratively learn a model by aggregating locally computed updates via a server. Privacy is a core aspect of FL, and recent works in this area are advancing the privacy guarantee of an FL network. To ensure rigorous privacy guarantee for FL, prior works have focused on methods to securely aggregate local updates and provide differential privacy (DP). In this paper, we investigate a new privacy risk for FL. Specifically, FL may frequently encounter unexpected user dropouts because it is implemented over a large-scale network. We first observe that user dropouts of an FL network may lead to failure in achieving the desired level of privacy protection, i.e., over-consumption of the privacy budget. Subsequently, we develop a DP mechanism robust to user dropouts by dynamically calibrating noise with account of the dropout rate. We evaluate the proposed technique to train convolutional neural network models on MNIST and FEMNIST datasets over a simulated FL network. Our results show that our approach significantly improves privacy guarantee for user dropouts compared to existing DP algorithms on FL networks.

Background: Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are harmful gases generated during aerobic/anaerobic bacterial decomposition of livestock manure. We evaluated ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations generated from workplaces at livestock farms and determined environmental factors influencing the gas concentrations. Methods: Five commercial swine farms and five poultry farms were selected for monitoring. Real-time monitors were used to measure the ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations and environmental conditions during the manure-handling processes. Monitoring was conducted in the manure storage facility and composting facility. Information on the farm conditions was also collected through interview and walk-through survey. Results: The ammonia concentrations were significantly higher at the swine composting facilities (9.5–43.2 ppm) than at other manure-handling facilities at the swine and poultry farms, and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide were identified during the manure agitation and mixing process at the swine manure storage facilities (6.9–19.5 ppm). At the poultry manure-handling facilities, the ammonia concentration was higher during the manure-handling processes (2.6–57.9 ppm), and very low hydrogen sulfide concentrations (0–3.4 ppm) were detected. The air temperature and relative humidity, volume of the facility, duration of manure storage, and the number of animals influenced the gas concentrations. Conclusion: A high level of hazardous gases was generated during manure handling, and some levels increased up to risk levels that can threaten workers' health and safety. Some of the farm operational factors were also found to influence the gas levels. By controlling and improving these factors, it would be possible to protect workers' safety and health from occupational risks. Keywords: Ammonia, Exposure, Hydrogen sulfide, Livestock workers, Manure handling

An experiment was conducted to evaluate modelling relationships between pig’s body surface temperature and ambient environment including inside and outside of pig barn. For this purpose, four different artificial neural network (ANN), including Feed Forward Back-propagation (FFB), Layer recurrent (LR), Elman (EL) and Cascade Forward Back-propagation (CFB) with different learning algorithms, transfer functions, hidden layers and neuron in each layer, and multi-linear regression (MLR) models have been performed to predict body temperature of pig. Six two-month-old pigs were studied over a period of 92 days during two years (2017–2018) to develop and evaluate the ANN and MLR models. The performance of the models in predicting pig’s body temperature was determined using statistical quality parameters, including coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The FFB model with the Levenberg-Marquardt training function, Gradient descent weight and bias learning function, Log-sigmoid transfer function and two hidden layers with 20 neurons was found as the best model. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the temperature-humidity index (THI) inside the room is the most influential factor in predicting pig’s body temperature in the MLR/ANN models.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the types of diseases that developed in semiconductor workers who have registered with the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KWCWS) and to identify potential common occupational characteristics by the type of claimed disease. Methods: A total of 55 semiconductor workers with cancer or rare diseases who claimed to the KWCWS were compared based on their work characteristics and types of claimed diseases. Leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and aplastic anemia were grouped into lymphohematopoietic (LHP) disorder. Results: Leukemia (n = 14) and breast cancer (n = 10) were the most common complaints, followed by brain cancer (n = 6), aplastic anemia (n = 6), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 4). LHP disorders (n = 24) accounted for 43%. Sixty percent (n = 33) of registered workers (n = 55) were found to have been employed before 2000. Seventy-six percent (n = 42) of registered workers and 79% (n = 19) among the registered workers with LHP (n = 24) were found to be diagnosed at a relatively young age, ≤40 years. A total of 18 workers among the registered semiconductor workers were finally determined to deserve compensation for occupational disease by either the KWCWS (n = 10) or the administrative court (n = 8). Eleven fabrication workers who were compensated responded as having handled wafers smaller than eight inches in size. Eight among the 18 workers compensated (44 %) were found to have ever worked at etching operations. Conclusion: The distribution of cancer and rare diseases among registered semiconductor workers was closely related to the manufacturing era before 2005, ≤8 inches of wafer size handled, exposure to clean rooms of fabrication and chip assembly operations, and etching operations. Keywords: Chip assembly, Etching, Fabrication, Leukemia, Semiconductor operation

Background: The photolithography process in the semiconductor industry uses various chemicals with little information on their constitution. This study aimed to identify the chemical constituents of photoresist (PR) products and their by-products and to compare these constituents with material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and analytical results. Methods: A total of 51 PRs with 48 MSDSs were collected. Analysis consisted of two parts: First, the constituents of the chemical products were identified and analyzed using MSDS data; second, for verification of the by-products of PR, volatile organic compounds were analyzed. The chemical constituents were categorized according to hazards. Results: Forty-five of 48 products contained trade secrets in amounts ranging from 1 to 65%. A total of 238 ingredients with multiple counting (35 ingredients without multiple counting) were identified in the MSDS data, and 48.7% of ingredients were labeled as trade secrets under the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Act. The concordance rate between the MSDS data and the analytical result was 41.7%. The by-product analysis identified 129 chemicals classified according to Chemical Abstracts Service No., with 17 chemicals that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic substances. Formaldehyde was found to be released from 12 of 21 products that use novolak resin. Conclusion: We confirmed that several PRs contain carcinogens, and some were not specified in the toxicological information in the MSDS. Hazardous chemicals, including benzene and formaldehyde, are released from PRs products as by-products. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a systematic management system for chemical compounds and the working environment. Keywords: By-product, Material safety data sheet, Photoresist, Semiconductor, Trade secret

A conventional energy product calculated by the product of the B-field and the H-field is not sufficient for representing the performance of a magnet because it considers the homogeneous and only the uniaxial magnetic properties of the magnet. The conventional energy product has been compared with another energy product obtained by integrating the scalar product of the B-field and the H-field of each cell composed of the three-dimensional components. We investigated a model system by micromagnetic simulation using finite differential method (FDM) and calculated the full hysteresis of the magnet. The model system of a Nd2Fe14B magnet composed of grains with a diameter of about 100 nm was assumed. In the case of the isotropic multi-grain magnet, the energy product calculated by the integration method was 28% larger than the energy product obtained by the conventional way, although a discrepancy between the distribution of the magnetizations and the demagnetizing fields at the reversal process resulted in the decrease of the energy product.

Objective General anaesthesia with tracheal intubation results in sore throat. We evaluated the influence of the two-handed jaw thrust on postoperative sore throat in patients who require tracheal intubation. Methods In this prospective, double-blind, single-centre, parallel-arm, and randomised trial, 92 patients who were scheduled for general anaesthesia for total hip arthroplasty were allocated to one of two groups. In the jaw thrust group (n = 46), the two-handed jaw thrust manoeuvre was applied at intubation. In the control group (n = 46), conventional intubation with sham jaw thrust was performed. Incidences of airway morbidities including sore throat, hoarseness, and cough at 2, 4, and 24 hours postoperatively were compared. Results During the postoperative 24 hours, the incidence of sore throat (8 [17%] vs. 20 [44%]) and hoarseness were lower in the jaw thrust group (8 [17%] vs. 18 [39%]) compared with the control group. The incidence of cough during the postoperative 24 hours was similar between the groups. Conclusions The jaw thrust manoeuvre significantly reduced sore throat and hoarseness in patients after general anaesthesia using tracheal intubation. Clinical trial registration: NCT 03568279.

While the postoperative outcome is favorable, post-thyroidectomy pain is considerable. Reducing the postoperative acute pain, therefore, is considered important. This study investigated whether the pain intensity and need for rescue analgesics during the immediate postoperative period after thyroidectomy differ according to the methods of anesthesia. Seventy-two patients undergoing total thyroidectomy under general anesthesia were examined. Patients were randomly assigned to undergo either total intravenous anesthesia with remifentanil and propofol (TIVA, n = 35) or propofol induction and maintenance with desflurane and nitrous oxide (volatile anesthesia [VA], n = 37). The mean administered dose of remifentanil was 1977.7 ± 722.5 μg in the TIVA group, which was approximately 0.268 ± 0.118 μg/min/kg during surgery. Pain scores based on a numeric rating scale (NRS) and the need for rescue analgesics were compared between groups at the postoperative anesthetic care unit (PACU). The immediate postoperative NRS values of the TIVA and VA groups were 5.7 ± 1.7 and 4.7 ± 2.3, respectively (P = 0.034). Postoperative morphine equianalgesic doses in the PACU were higher in the TIVA group than in the VA group (16.7 ± 3.8 mg vs. 14.1 ± 5.9 mg, P = 0.027). The incidence of immediate postanesthetic complications did not differ significantly between groups. In conclusion, more rescue analgesics were required in the TIVA group than in the VA group to adequately manage postoperative pain while staying in the PACU after thyroidectomy.

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a major component of turmeric, which is isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. from the family Zingiberaceae. It is used as a dietary pigment for curry and in traditional Indian medicine for its anti-inflammatory and attenuating pain effects. This study aimed to evaluate the beneficial effects of curcumin in a rat model of diabetic neuropathic pain. Additionally, we investigated the involvement of the phosphorylated form of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (pJNK) located in the neurons and astrocytes of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). To induce diabetic neuropathic pain in rats, 50 mg/kg of streptozotocin (STZ) was intraperitoneally injected. After 4 weeks, rats were administered the vehicle, 10 mg/kg/day curcumin, or 50 mg/kg/day curcumin orally for 4 consecutive weeks. One day after the final drug administration, we performed behavioral tests to measure responses of rats to mechanical, heat, cold, and acetone-induced cold stimuli. After behavioral tests, pJNK expression in the DRG was evaluated using western blot assay and immunohistochemistry. Curcumin treatment for 4 consecutive weeks in STZ-induced diabetic neuropathic pain rats improved behavioral responses to mechanical, cold, and thermal stimuli. Increased pJNK expression in the astrocytes and neurons of the DRG in STZ-induced diabetic neuropathic pain rats was reduced by curcumin treatment for 4 consecutive weeks. We suggest that curcumin can be an option for the treatment of diabetes-related neuropathic pain, and one of the mechanisms that underlie the action of curcumin may involve pJNK expression in the astrocytes and neurons of the DRG.

The integrated gradients (IG) method is widely used to evaluate the extent to which each input feature contributes to the classification using a deep learning model because it theoretically satisfies the desired properties to fairly attribute the contributions to the classification. However, this approach requires an appropriate baseline to do so. In this study, we propose a compensated IG method that does not require a baseline, which compensates the contributions calculated using the IG method at an arbitrary baseline by using an example of the Shapley sampling value. We prove that the proposed approach can compute the contributions to the classification results reliably if the processes of each input feature in a classifier are independent of one another and the parameterization of each process is identical, as in shared weights in convolutional neural networks. Using three datasets on electroencephalogram recordings, we experimentally demonstrate that the contributions obtained by the proposed compensated IG method are more reliable than those obtained using the original IG method and that its computational complexity is much lower than that of the Shapley sampling method.

The magnetic properties of ThMn12-type Fe-rich compounds were investigated by producing Sm(Fe0.8Co0.2)10Si2 ribbons. The produced ribbons, with different conditions by varying the melt-spinning conditions, were characterized to investigate physical and magnetic properties. Weight fraction of ThMn12-type phase decreased from 94.5 to 57.1 wt. % as the melt-spinning wheel speed increased from 6.5 to 39 m/s, and corresponding magnetizations and coercivities were substantially varied; the coercivity increased up to 0.175 T from 0.058 T by increasing the wheel speed from 6.5 to 26 m/s, and their magnetization also increased from 89.81 Am2/kg to 105.58 Am2/kg, even though the content of ThMn12-type phase decreased. Morphologies of the ribbons were also observed to verify the melt-spinning effects on the surface conditions and grain sizes. It was found that the particle and grain sizes in the ribbons became smaller and striped patterns appeared as the wheel speed increased. The grain size decreased from about 1 μm to 250 nm by increasing the wheel speed from 6.5 to 39 m/s.

We previously reported a Corynebacterium glutamicum JH41 strain with a 58% faster growth rate through application of adaptive laboratory evolution. To verify that the fast-reproducing strain was useful as a host for recombinant protein expression, we introduced a plasmid responsible for the secretory production of a recombinant protein. The JH41 strain harboring the plasmid indeed produced the secretory recombinant protein at a 2.7-fold greater rate than its ancestral strain. To provide the reverse engineering targets responsible for boosting recombinant protein production and cell reproduction, we compared the genome sequence of the JH41 strain with its ancestral strain. Among the 15 genomic variations, a point mutation was confirmed in the 14 bases upstream of NCgl1959 (encoding a presumed siderophore-binding protein). This mutation allowed derepression of NCgl1959, thereby increasing iron consumption and ATP generation. A point mutation in the structural gene ramA (A239G), a LuxR-type global transcription regulator involved in central metabolism, allowed an increase in glucose consumption. Therefore, mutations to increase the iron and carbon consumption were concluded as being responsible for the enhanced production of recombinant protein and cell reproduction in the evolved host.

Commercial spray products are commonly used in daily life and airborne particles generated by these products may cause adverse health effects. Our study was aimed to characterize the behaviors of airborne particles from spray products and to determine the deposition loss rate. Four categories of spray products with highly frequent use - air fresheners, fabric deodorants, window cleaners, and a bathroom cleaner - were selected for the study. The products were applied in a cleanroom according to the instructions for use. Airborne particles (10–10,000 nm) were measured within the breathing zone of a user with a scanning mobility particle sizer and an optical particle spectrometer. Additionally, filter sampling was performed to examine the morphological characteristics of the particles using a field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The initial concentration and particle size distribution varied among different spray types and products. Two propellant-type air fresheners that we tested showed a high initial concentration of smaller sized particles. However, one of these and all hand-pressure type propellants showed a low initial concentration in all size ranges. We observed that particles in nucleation mode (10–31.6 nm) decreased and aggregated particles shifted to accumulation mode (100–1,000 nm) over time. The FS-SEM analysis confirmed the aggregation of nano-sized particles for all products. The deposition loss rates of various particle sizes depended on the initial concentration and distribution of particle sizes. For two air fresheners with high initial concentrations, the loss rate of small-sized particles was higher than that of the other products whereas the particle loss rate of large-sized particles was higher, regardless of initial concentration. The results of this study can give us useful information in the behaviors of airborne particles in the consumer spray products and resulting exposure assessment especially in the application to the exposure modeling of spray products.

High coercivity B-N-doped MnAl alloys were prepared by the traditional induction melting, high temperature homogenization, water-quenching, post-annealing, and severe plastic deformation process. The massive phase transformation of the ε→τ in the B-N-doped ε-MnAl occurs at the temperatures above 680 K and accomplishes at 760 K, both of which are slightly higher than those of the ε-MnAl without elemental doping. The Currie point of the B-N-doped τ-MnAl is measured to be 620 K, which is lower than that of the doping-free τ-MnAl. High-pressure torsion was employed to decrease the crystal size and increase the coercivity of samples. A coercivity up to 0.54 T was achieved in the B/N doped MnAl bulk sample after severe plastic deformation under 6 GPa. The aging processing on the severely deformed samples enhances the remanent magnetization significantly and decreases the coercivity slightly. Our work shows that the high-pressure torsion process is effective in developing coercivity in MnAl-based bulk magnet.

Optical emission spectroscopy has been widely used in low-temperature argon plasma diagnostics. A coronal model is usually used to analyze the measured line ratios for diagnostics with a single temperature and density. However, many plasma processing conditions deviate from single temperature and density, optically thin conditions, or even coronal plasma conditions due to cascades from high-lying states. In this paper, we present a collisional-radiative model to investigate the validity of coronal approximations over a range of plasma conditions of Te = 1–4 eV and Ne = 108–1013 cm−3. The commonly used line ratios are found to change from a coronal limit where they are independent of Ne to a collisional-radiative regime where they are not. The effects of multiple-temperature plasma, radiation trapping, wall neutralization, and quenching on the line ratios are investigated to identify the plasma conditions under which these effects are significant. This study demonstrates the importance of the completeness of atomic datasets in applying a collisional-radiative model to low-temperature plasma diagnostics.

The increasingly widespread use of engineered nanoparticles in medical, industrial, and food applications has raised concerns regarding their potential toxicity to humans and the environment. Silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs), which have relatively low direct toxicity, have been increasingly applied in both consumer products and biomedical applications, leading to significantly higher exposure for humans and the environment. We carried out a toxicity assessment of SiO2 NPs using the common water flea D. magna by focusing on physiological and behavioral indicators such as heart rate, swimming performance, and growth. Exposure to SiO2 NPs did not produce acute or chronic toxicity at limited concentrations (2 NP accumulation in D. magna, which was confirmed by ICP-MS. Although exposure to SiO2 NPs seemed to affect cardiac and swimming performance, such end-point experiments may be insufficient to fully understand the toxicity of these nanoparticles. However, the physiological and behavioral changes shown here suggest potential adverse effects on the aquatic environment by substances previously considered nontoxic.

Abstract We present a simple analytical model to estimate the magnetization (σ s) and intrinsic coercivity (H ci) of a hard/soft nanocomposite magnet using the mass fraction. Previously proposed models are based on the volume fraction of the hard phase of the composite. However, it is difficult to measure the volume of the hard or soft phase material of a composite. We synthesized Sm2Co7/Fe-Co, MnAl/Fe-Co, MnBi/Fe-Co, and BaFe12O19/Fe-Co composites for characterization of their σ s and H ci. The experimental results are in good agreement with the present model. Therefore, this analytical model can be extended to predict the maximum energy product (BH)max of hard/soft composite.

Abstract Background The expression of the Gloeobacter rhodopsin (GR) in a chemotrophic Escherichia coli enables the light-driven phototrophic energy generation. Adaptive laboratory evolution has been used for acquiring desired phenotype of microbial cells and for the elucidation of basic mechanism of molecular evolution. To develop an optimized strain for the artificially acquired phototrophic metabolism, an ancestral E. coli expressing GR was adaptively evolved in a chemostat reactor with constant illumination and limited glucose conditions. This study was emphasized at an unexpected genomic mutation contributed to the improvement of microbial performance. Results During the chemostat culture, increase of cell size was observed, which were distinguished from that of the typical rod-shaped ancestral cells. A descendant ET5 strain was randomly isolated from the chemostat culture at 88-days. The phototrophic growth and the light-induced proton pumping of the ET5 strain were twofold and eightfold greater, respectively, than those of the ancestral E. coli strain. Single point mutation of C1082A at dgcQ gene (encoding diguanylate cyclase, also known as the yedQ gene) in the chromosome of ET5 strain was identified from whole genome sequencing analysis. An ancestral E. coli complemented with the same dgcQ mutation from the ET5 was repeated the subsequently enhancements of light-driven phototrophic growth and proton pumping. Intracellular c-di-GMP, the product of the diguanylate cyclase (dgcQ), of the descendant ET5 strain was suddenly increased while that of the ancestral strain was negligible. Conclusions Newly acquired phototrophic metabolism of E. coli was further improved via adaptive laboratory evolution by the rise of a point mutation on a transmembrane cell signaling protein followed by increase of signal molecule that eventually led an increase proton pumping and phototrophic growth.

Nonmagnetic phase assisted low temperature phase MnBi bulk magnetic materials, i.e., MnBi/NaCl and MnBi/C magnets, were fabricated by hot pressing mixtures of MnBi and NaCl or C powders. The effects of nonmagnetic NaCl or C on the magnetic and physical properties of the MnBi bulks were investigated in detail. Identifications of phase stability and decomposition rate during the mixing and hot pressing processes were analyzed using the Rietveld refinement method. It was found that the coercivities (Hc) of the bulk magnets significantly increase with increasing content of NaCl or C: Hc of the MnBi bulks with NaCl of 5 wt. % and C of 5 wt. % reach 9041 Oe and 7054 Oe, respectively, which are higher than the pure MnBi bulk of 6272 Oe. This means that the addition of a small amount of NaCl and C in the MnBi bulks could be one of the promising routes to enhance their magnetic properties.

This study aimed to quantify both chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT) and methylisothiazolinone (MIT) dissolved in different product brands and to characterize the exposure to these chemicals among humidifier disinfectant-associated lung injury (HDLI) patients. Both CMIT and MIT dissolved in different humidifier disinfectant (HD) products were quantified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The inhalation level of CMIT and MIT was estimated based on HD-associated factors as reported by HDLI patients. A total of eleven HD products marketed until the end of 2011 were found to contain CMIT and/or MIT. The level of combined CMIT and/or MIT dissolved in these HD products ranged from 12 to 353 ppm. The level varied among HD products and the year of manufacture. The average inhalation levels were estimated to be 7.5, 4.1, and 3.2 μg/m3 for the definite, probable, and possible groups, respectively. If probable and possible groups were collapsed together, the inhalation level of the collapsed group was significantly different from that of the definite group (p < 0.001). All HDLI patients responded as having used HD not only while sleeping, but also as having a humidifier treated with HD within close proximity every day in insufficiently ventilated spaces. These HD use characteristics of patients may be directly/indirectly linked to the HDLI development.

Rare-earth-free permanent magnets have attracted considerable attention due to their favorable properties and applicability for cost-effective, high-efficiency, and sustainable energy devices. However, the magnetic field annealing process, which enhances the performance of permanent magnets, needs to be optimized for different magnetic fields and phases. Therefore, we investigated the effect of composition on the crystallization of amorphous MnBi to the ferromagnetic low-temperature phase (LTP). The optimal compositions and conditions were applied to magnetic field annealing under 2.5 T for elemental Mg- and Sb/Mg pair-substituted MnBi. The optimum MnBi composition for the highest purity LTP was determined to be Mn56Bi44, and its maximum energy product, (BH)max, was 5.62 MGOe. The Mg-substituted MnBi exhibited enhanced squareness (Mr/Ms), coercivity (Hc), and (BH)max values up to 0.8, 9659 Oe, and 5.64 MGOe, respectively, whereas the same values for the Sb/Mg pair-substituted MnBi were 0.76, 7038 Oe, and 5.60 MGOe, respectively. The substitution effects were also investigated using first-principles calculations. The density of states and total magnetic moments of Mn16Bi15Mg and Mn16Bi15Sb were similar to those of pure Mn16Bi16. Conversely, the Sb-substituted MnBi resulted in a dramatic enhancement in the anisotropy constant (K) from a small negative value (−0.85 MJ/m3) to a large positive value (6.042 MJ/m3).

The use of humidifier disinfectant (HD) has been determined to be associated with lung injuries (HDLI) in Korea. Although HD brands containing polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) oligomers have been found to cause more HDLI compared to brands containing other disinfectants, the physicochemical properties of PHMG have been poorly defined. We aimed to quantify the PHMG dissolved in HD brands, characterize the number-average (Mn) and weight-average (Mw) molecular masses, and identify the polymerization degree of PHMG. Analysis of the PHMG oligomers was performed using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF MS) operated in positive-ion reflectron mode. Eight brands of HD containing PHMG were identified. The PHMG concentrations in these brands ranged from 160 to 37,200 ppm (mean = 3100.9 ppm). Concentration was a significant variable among and within HD brands. The degree of PHMG oligomerization fell within the range of two to four. The averages of Mn and Mw were 517.2 g/mol (range: 422–613 g/mol) and 537.3 g/mol (range: 441.0–678.0 g/mol), respectively. Based on the average molecular weight and the degree of polymerization, the PHMG examined here could be regarded as oligomers, which may be associated with the highest proportion of HDLI being caused by PHMG.

Solar renewable energy (SRE) applications are substantial in eradicating the rising global energy shortages and reversing the approaching environmental apocalypse. Hence, effective solar irradiance forecasting models are crucial in utilizing SRE efficiently. This paper introduces a partially amended hybrid model (PAHM) by the implementation of a new algorithm. The algorithm innovatively utilizes bi-directional gated unit (Bi-GRU), autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and naive decomposition models to predict solar irradiance in 5-min and 60-min intervals. Meanwhile, the models’ generalizability strengths would be tested under an 11-fold cross-validation and are further classified according to their computational costs. The dataset consists of 32 months’ solar irradiance and weather conditions records. A fundamental result of this study was that the single models (Bi-GRU and ARIMA) outperformed the hybrid models (PAHM, classical hybrid model) in the 5-min predictions, negating the assumptions that hybrid models oust single models in every time interval. PAHM provided the highest accuracy level in the 60-min predictions and improved the accuracy levels of the classical hybrid model by 5%, on average. The single models were rigorous under the 11-fold cross-validation, performing well with different datasets; although the computational efficiency of the Bi-GRU model was, by far, the best among the models.

The effects of elemental doping of Si and Fe on the ε→τ phase transformation and the magnetic properties of MnAl were studied. The magnetic powders of Si- and Fe-doped MnAl were prepared by using induction melting followed by water-quenching, annealing, and salt-assisted ball-milling. The Fe-doped MnAl powders are mainly composed of the L10-structured τ-phase, while the Si-doped MnAl are composed of τ-phase and a small fraction of γ2- and β-phases. A unique thin leaves-like morphology with thickness of several tens of nanometers and diameter size up to 500 nm were observed in the Si-doped MnAl powders. The Fe-doped MnAl powders show irregular shape with much larger dimensions in the range from several to 10 μm. The morphology difference of the samples was ascribed to the variation of the mechanical properties affected by different doping elements. The phase transformation temperatures of the ε-phase of the samples were measured. The doping of Fe decreases the onset temperature of the massive phase transformation in MnAl, while the Si-doping increases the massive phase transformation temperature. Both Fe and Si increase the Curie temperature of MnAl. A substantially enhanced coercivity up to 0.45 T and 0.42 T were observed in the ball-milled MnAl powders doped with Si and Fe, respectively.

Background We conducted this clinical study to compare the efficacy and safety between Neuramis Deep and Restylane in the correction of nasolabial folds. Methods In this phase III, randomized, multi-center, double-masked, matched-pairs, active-controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01585220), we evaluated a total of 67 subjects (n=67). All the subjects underwent Neuramis Deep treatment on one side and Restylane on the contralateral side of the bilateral nasolabial folds at a ratio of 1:1. To compare the efficacy of Neuramis Deep and Restylane, we evaluated the Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale scores and those of the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale. In addition, we compared the safety of Neuramis Deep and Restylane based on adverse events, physical examination, and clinical laboratory tests. Results Neuramis Deep was not inferior in improving the nasolabial folds as compared with Restylane. In addition, there was no significant difference in the efficacy between Neuramis Deep and Restylane. There were no significant differences in safety parameters between Neuramis Deep and Restylane. Conclusions In conclusion, our results indicate that Neuramis Deep may be a safe, effective material for improving the nasolabial folds. However, further studies are warranted to compare the tolerability of Neuramis Deep and Restylane based on histopathologic findings.

We investigated the effect of substitution of various ions at the Fe sites on magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite (SrFe12O19) using first principles method based on density functional theory. The site occupancies of substituted atoms were estimated by calculating the substitution energies of different configurations. The formation probabilities of configurations were used to calculate magnetic properties of substituted strontium hexaferrite. A total of 21 elements (M) were screened for their possible substitution in strontium hexaferrite, SrFe12−xMxO19 with x = 0.5. In each case the site preference of the substituted atom and the magnetic properties were calculated. We found that Bi, Sb, Sn, and Sc can effectively increase the magnetization and P, Co, Al, Ga, and Ti can enhance the anisotropy field when substituted into strontium hexaferrite.

Chaotic itinerancy is a phenomenon in which the state of a nonlinear dynamical system spontaneously explores and attracts certain states in a state space. From this perspective, the diverse behavior of animals and its spontaneous transitions lead to a complex coupled dynamical system, including a physical body and a brain. Herein, a series of simulations using different types of non-linear oscillator networks (i.e., regular, small-world, scale-free, random) with a musculoskeletal model (i.e., a snake-like robot) as a physical body are conducted to understand how the chaotic itinerancy of bodily behavior emerges from the coupled dynamics between the body and the brain. A behavior analysis (behavior clustering) and network analysis for the classified behavior are then applied. The former consists of feature vector extraction from the motions and classification of the movement patterns that emerged from the coupled dynamics. The network structures behind the classified movement patterns are revealed by estimating the "information networks" different from the given non-linear oscillator networks based on the transfer entropy which finds the information flow among neurons. The experimental results show that: (1) the number of movement patterns and their duration depend on the sensor ratio to control the balance of strength between the body and the brain dynamics and on the type of the given non-linear oscillator networks; and (2) two kinds of information networks are found behind two kinds movement patterns with different durations by utilizing the complex network measures, clustering coefficient and the shortest path length with a negative and a positive relationship with the duration periods of movement patterns. The current results seem promising for a future extension of the method to a more complicated body and environment. Several requirements are also discussed.

We have performed first-principles calculations to obtain magnetic moment, magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE), i.e., the magnetic crystalline anisotropy constant (K), and the Curie temperature (Tc) of low temperature phase (LTP) MnBi and also estimated the maximum energy product (BH)max at elevated temperatures. The full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method, based on density functional theory (DFT) within the local spin density approximation (LSDA), was used to calculate the electronic structure of LPM MnBi. The Tc was calculated by the mean field theory. The calculated magnetic moment, MAE, and Tc are 3.63 μB/f.u. (formula unit) (79 emu/g or 714 emu/cm3), −0.163 meV/u.c. (or K = −0.275 × 106 J/m3) and 711 K, respectively. The (BH)max at the elevated temperatures was estimated by combining experimental coercivity (Hci) and the temperature dependence of magnetization (Ms(T)). The (BH)max is 17.7 MGOe at 300 K, which is in good agreement with the experimental result for directionally-solidified LTP MnBi (17 MGOe). In addition, a study of electron density maps and the lattice constant c/a ratio dependence of the magnetic moment suggested that doping of a third element into interstitial sites of LTP MnBi can increase the Ms.

Agricultural water supply (AWS) estimation is one of the first and fundamental steps of developing agricultural management plans, and its accuracy must have substantial impacts on the following decision-making processes. In modeling the AWS for paddy fields, it is still common to determine parameter values, such as infiltration rates and irrigation efficiency, solely based on literature and rough assumptions due to data limitations; however, the impact of parameter uncertainty on the estimation has not been fully discussed. In this context, a relative sensitivity index and the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) method were applied to quantify the parameter sensitivity and uncertainty in an AWS simulation. A general continuity equation was employed to mathematically represent the paddy water balance, and its six parameters were investigated. The results show that the AWS estimates are sensitive to the irrigation efficiency, drainage outlet height, minimum ponding depth, and infiltration, with the irrigation efficiency appearing to be the most important parameter; thus, they should be carefully selected. Multiple combinations of parameter values were observed to provide similarly good predictions, and such equifinality produced the substantial amount of uncertainty in AWS estimates regardless of the modeling approaches, indicating that the uncertainty should be counted when developing water management plans. We also found that agricultural system simulations using only literature-based parameter values provided poor accuracy, which can lead to flawed decisions in the water resources planning processes, and then the inefficient use of public investment and resources. The results indicate that modelers’ careful parameter selection is required to improve the accuracy of modeling results and estimates from using not only information from the past studies but also modeling practices enhanced with local knowledge and experience.

In this study, simulations are conducted using a network model to examine how the macroscopic network in the brain is related to the complexity of activity for each region. The network model is composed of multiple neuron groups, each of which consists of spiking neurons with different topological properties of a macroscopic network based on the Watts and Strogatz model. The complexity of spontaneous activity is analyzed using multiscale entropy, and the structural properties of the network are analyzed using complex network theory. Experimental results show that a macroscopic structure with high clustering and high degree centrality increases the firing rates of neurons in a neuron group and enhances intraconnections from the excitatory neurons to inhibitory neurons in a neuron group. As a result, the intensity of the specific frequency components of neural activity increases. This decreases the complexity of neural activity. Finally, we discuss the research relevance of the complexity of the brain activity.

An output capacitor-less low-dropout (OCL-LDO) regulator with a wide range of load currents is proposed in this study. The structure of the proposed regulator is based on the flipped-voltage-follower LDO regulator. The feedback loop of the proposed regulator consists of two stages. The second stage is turned on or off depending on the variation in the output load current. Hence, the regulator can retain a phase margin at a wide range of load currents. The proposed regulator exhibits a better regulation performance compared to the ones in previous studies. The test chip is fabricated using a 65-nm CMOS process.