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Objective: The traditional lateral arm free flap (tLAFF) has the disadvantages of short vascular pedicle, small vascular diameter, and non-perforator flap. We used a new method to prepare modified LAFF (mLAFF) and evaluate its application value in the repair of oral and maxillofacial soft tissue defects., Methods: The anatomical features of the flap were recorded and compared between the tLAFF group and the mLAFF group. All the flaps in the modified group were perforator flaps. Statistical analysis was performed on the data using ANOVA on SPSS 22.0 statistical software package., Results: Forty-five mLAFFs were prepared as eccentric design rotation repair perforated flap, or multi-lobed or chimeric perforator flaps. Compared with the tLAFF, the vascular pedicle length of the mLAFF was increased, and the outer diameter of the anastomosis was thickened. The damage to the donor site was less. The difference was statistically significant., Conclusion: The mLAFF can effectively lengthen the vascular pedicle length and increase the anastomosis diameter. Perforator LAFFs in the repair of oral and maxillofacial defects have good application value., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wang, Sun, Yang, Hu, Zuo and Min.)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the rare postoperative supraclavicular metastasis originating from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to discuss epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as a potential predictive marker. Tumour specimens of OSCC patients divided into three groups were included: supraclavicular metastasis (n = 8), conventional cervical metastasis (n = 28), no metastasis (n = 48). Basic information and EGFR expression were compared among these groups and the data were analysed to identify potentially related risk factors for supraclavicular metastasis. In the supraclavicular metastasis group (n = 8), all primary tumours were T1-T2 and located in the tongue and buccal region; five of eight cases were pathologically N0. The median interval from the primary tumour resection to the development of supraclavicular metastases was 21.5 months. All related deaths (5/8) occurred within 2 years. In the supraclavicular metastasis group, EGFR expression was highest in the supraclavicular metastases, followed by cervical lymph nodes, and was lowest in the primary tumours (P = 0.39). In contrast, in the conventional metastasis group and the N0 group, EGFR expression was higher in the primary tumours than in the lymph nodes (P < 0.01). Supraclavicular metastasis of OSCC is infrequent and associated with a poor prognosis. EGFR might predict the occurrence of supraclavicular metastasis., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The use of the traditional American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system alone has limitations in predicting the survival of gingiva squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC) patients. We aimed to establish a comprehensive prognostic nomogram with a prognostic value similar to the AJCC system., Methods: Patients were identified from SEER database. Variables were selected by a backward stepwise selection method in a Cox regression model. A nomogram was used to predict cancer-specific survival rates for 3, 5 and 10 years in patients with GSCC. Several basic features of model validation were used to evaluate the performance of the survival model: consistency index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration chart, net weight classification improvement (NRI), comprehensive discriminant improvement (IDI) and decision curve analysis (DCA)., Results: Multivariate analyses revealed that age, race, marital status, insurance, AJCC stage, pathology grade and surgery were risk factors for survival. In particular, the C-index, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and the calibration plots showed good performance of the nomogram. Compared to the AJCC system, NRI and IDI showed that the nomogram has improved performance. Finally, the nomogram's 3-year and 5-year and 10-year DCA curves yield net benefits higher than traditional AJCC, whether training set or a validation set., Conclusion: We developed and validated the first GSCC prognosis nomogram, which has a better prognostic value than the separate AJCC staging system. Overall, the nomogram of this study is a valuable tool for clinical practice to consult patients and understand their risk for the next 3, 5 and 10 years., (© 2021. Huazhong University of Science and Technology.)

Objective: This study investigated the feasibility and clinical result of radical resection of posterior buccal carcinoma by using the facial nasolabial fold "smile" incision approach., Methods: From August 2016 to March 2017, 23 patients with posterior buccal carcinoma were included in this study and underwent radical surgery. Upon finishing the cervical lymph node dissection, an arc-shaped incision was made at 1 cm lateral to the ipsilateral angulus oris, extending along the nasolabial fold upward to the inferolateral margin of the nasal alar while downward in direct continuity with the neck dissection incision., Results: Satisfactory exposure and easy resection of the primary tumor with negative surgical margin were achieved in all 23 patients. After 12-22 months of follow-up (16.5 months on average), all patients recovered favorably, and no local recurrence or distant metastasis was observed. Mouth opening was restored to normal in all cases. The scars were hidden in the nasolabial fold, thus named "smile" incision., Conclusions: For posterior buccal cancer patients, the facial "smile" incision approach can satisfy the need of surgical exposure, facilitate operative performance, and preserve the annular integrity of the lips without affecting the radical tumor ablation, thereby maintaining a favorable mouth opening. With these advantages, the "smile" incision approach is considered worthy of being popularized in clinical application.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to introduce submandibular-facial artery island flaps (S-FAIF), including the perforator flap, and to evaluate their application for intraoral reconstruction in comparison with submental artery perforator flaps (SMAPF)., Methods: Ninety-six patients who underwent intraoral reconstruction using an S-FAIF (n = 34) or SMAPF (n = 62) after cancer resection were recruited in this study. The flap characteristics (viz., pedicle length, flap size, venous drainage pattern, and harvest time), short-term outcomes (viz., flap partial loss, intraoral wound dehiscence, fistula, and wound infection), and long-term morbidity (viz., facial nerve palsy, neck motion restriction, and hair growth) were compared., Results: Nine S-FAIFs were authentic perforator flaps pedicled by level Ⅰ facial artery perforators, while the rest were island flaps based on level Ⅱ facial artery perforators. The survival rates of S-FAIF and SMAPF were both 100 percent. Flap partial loss occurred in two patients in each group. The pedicle length of S-FAIF was shorter than that of SMAPF (p < 0.001). Statistics analysis revealed no significant difference regarding flap size, venous drainage pattern, short-term outcomes, neck motion restriction, or facial nerve palsy between the groups. S-FAIF required less harvest time (p < 0.001) and experienced less hair growth when compared to SMAPF (p = 0.011)., Conclusions: The S-FAIF is a robust and reliable novel flap and on par with SMAPF for reconstruction of small and medium-sized intraoral defects. It is preferred to SMAPF when technical requirements for flap harvest and hair problems are considered. It should be supplemented to the armamentarium for intraoral reconstruction., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value between CBCT and MSCT in the styloid process syndrome. Method: One case with styloid process syndrome is selected examination of CBCT and MSCT in the patient's position of styloid process. The length and the angle of the styloid process in the picture of CBCT and MSCT were measured and had a construct with each other. Result: MSCT is slightly clearer than CBCT in the imaging of styloid process, but there is no obvious difference in the length and angle measurement of styloid process between them. Conclusion: Except for MSCT, CBCT is another important means in the diagnosis of styloid process syndrome, CBCT has a great clinical application value., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a potentially malignant disease predominantly found in Asian people. The areca nut has been implicated in this disease. Arecoline, one of the areca alkaloids, induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related factors in primary human buccal mucosal fibroblasts. Yet, the mechanisms of the underlying arecoline-induced EMT in OSF remain unknown. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in arecoline-induced EMT in HaCaT cells. We found that miR-203 was significantly downregulated in OSF tissues compared to that in normal buccal mucosa tissues, and that miR-203 negatively regulated secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) and positively regulated transmembrane-4 L six family member 1 (TM4SF1). We observed that upregulation of miR-203 significantly decreased the cell proliferation of HaCaT cells, and significantly upregulated the expression of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) and E-cadherin proteins, whereas it significantly downregulated the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin compared to these levels in the vehicle control cells. Thus, we provide evidence to illustrate that miR-203 plays a role in the pathogenesis of OSF, which may be a target for OSF management.

The concept of the Condorcet winner has become central to most electoral models in the political economy literature. A Condorcet winner is the alternative preferred by a plurality in every pairwise competition; the notion of a k-winner generalizes that of a Condorcet winner. The k-winner is the unique alternative top-ranked by the plurality in every competition comprising exactly k alternatives (including itself). This study uses a spatial voting setting to characterize this theoretical concept, showing that if a k-winner exists for some k > 2 , then the same alternative must be the k ′ -winner for every k ′ > k . We derive additional results, including sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of a k-winner for some k > 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating evidence suggests that β‑catenin signaling may be involved in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) cell invasion. Abnormal activation of twist‑related protein 1 (TWIST1 or TWIST) has been identified in several types of human cancer. A recent study showed that overexpression of TWIST is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with OTSCC and may enhance OTSCC cell invasion. This study investigated the effect of TWIST on β‑catenin signaling in OTSCC cells and its impact on OSTCC cell invasion. Stable overexpression of TWIST, with or without knockdown of β‑catenin, and stable knockdown of TWIST were performed in SCC‑4 and TCA8113 human OTSCC cells. Overexpression of TWIST in SCC‑4 and TCA8113 cells increased β‑catenin signaling luciferase reporter activity, mRNA levels of the β‑catenin signaling target genes, c‑Myc and c‑Jun levels, soluble β‑catenin level, the phosphorylation status of glycogen synthase kinase‑3β (GSK‑3β) at serine 9, matrix metalloproteinase‑2 (MMP‑2) expression and cell invasion. Knockdown of TWIST had the opposite effect. All of these changes, with the exception of phosphorylation of GSK‑3β, were eliminated by stable knockdown of β‑catenin. In addition, the phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, LY294002 abrogated the enhancing effects of TWIST on mRNA levels of c‑Myc and c‑Jun, soluble β‑catenin levels, MMP‑2 expression, cell invasion and GSK‑3β phosphorylation. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that TWIST enhances cell invasion and MMP‑2 expression in OTSCC cells through β‑catenin signaling, probably via a PI3K‑dependent mechanism. This study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying OTSCC progression.

The title ion-pair compound, (C(7)H(7)N(2))(2)[Cu(C(4)N(2)S(2))(2)], was obtained by the direct reaction of CuCl(2)·2H(2)O, disodium maleonitrile-dithiol-ate (Na(2)mnt) and 4-cyano-1-methyl-pyridinium iodide. The anion and one pyridinium cation lie entirely on a mirror plane, whereas for the other cation, a crystallographic mirror plane runs through the N and para-C atoms of the pyridine ring, the methyl C atom, and the cyano group. In the crystal, ions are linked into a three-dimensional network by C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

Purpose: To explore the value of free anterolateral thigh flaps in the reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects following radical resection of malignant tumors., Methods: Seventy-six cases of oral and maxillofacial malignant tumor from December 2007 to June 2009, including 32 tongue carcinomas, 16 buccal carcinomas, 10 carcinomas of floor of mouth, 9 gingival carcinomas, 8 oropharyngeal carcinomas and 1 skin carcinoma, underwent radical resection. Free anterolateral thigh flaps were used to reconstruct the defects. The postoperative effect and flap success rate were evaluated., Results: Among 76 cases, 74 flaps survived completely with satisfied configuration, only 2 flaps had complete necrosis. The survival rate was 97.3%. No complications were observed in the donor site., Conclusions: The free anterolateral thigh flap is an ideal choice for reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects, as it has many advantages such as reliable blood supply, large size available, and little donor site morbidity.

Objective: To investigate the expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM-1) in monocytes of burn patients at early post-burn stage, and its significance., Methods: The monocytes of 8 healthy volunteers (A group), 29 patients with mild and moderate burn (B group), and 9 patients with severe and very serious burns (C group) were isolated from the blood, and the THEM-1 mRNA and protein expression were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometry, respectively. The plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta were determined by ELISA method., Results: The value of TREM-1 mRNA expression in A, B and C groups were 0.74 +/- 0.13, 1.24 +/- 0.09, and 1.46 +/-0.07, respectively, and the expression rates on cell surface in the 3 groups were (9 +/- 4)%, (51 +/- 6)%, and (71 +/- 7)%, respectively, and there were significant differences among the three groups (P = 0.000). the plasma levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in B and C groups were obviously higher than that in A group (P = 0.000), and they were positively correlated to TREM-1 expression (rs = 0.68, 0.72, P = 0.000)., Conclusion: Increased expression of TREM-1 in monocytes of burn patients at early post-burn stage is correlated with the release of inflammatory factors, indicating that TREM-1 might contribute to the onset and development of acute inflammatory response after burns.

Lung cancer (LC) is a highly malignant and metastatic form of cancer. The global incidence of and mortality from LC is steadily increasing; the mean 5-year overall survival (OS) rate for LC is less than 20%. This frustrating situation may be attributed to the fact that the pathogenesis of LC remains poorly understood and there is still no cure for mid to advanced LC. Methylation at the N6-position of adenosine (N6mA) of RNA (m(6)A) is widely present in human tissues and organs, and has been found to be necessary for cell development and maintenance of homeostasis. However, numerous basic and clinical studies have demonstrated that RNA m(6)A is deregulated in many human malignancies including LC. This can drive LC malignant characteristics such as proliferation, stemness, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Intriguingly, an increasing number of studies have also shown that eliminating RNA m(6)A dysfunction can exert significant anti-cancer effects on LC such as suppression of cell proliferation and viability, induction of cell death, and reversal of treatment insensitivity. The current review comprehensively discusses the therapeutic potential of RNA m(6)A and its underlying molecular mechanisms in LC, providing useful information for the development of novel LC treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the decision-making problem that the attributive values are internal grey numbers and the attributive weights are unknown, this paper try to construct an entropy-weighted TOPSIS model based on the generalized greyness of interval grey number from the perspectives of proximity and equilibrium. Firstly, the properties of greyness distance are analyzed and the simplified formula for computing greyness distance is given. Then. a method to determine entropy weight based on greyness distance is given, and an entropy weighted TOPSIS decision-making model is established. Finally, the constructed model is applied to selecting brackish water irrigation pattern of winter wheat in North China Plain, China, so to verify its feasibility and effectiveness. The results show that the model proposed in this paper not only fully utilizes the measurement information of interval grey numbers. but also overcomes the influence of subjective factors on weights, and provide a new method for decision-making of unknown attributive weights and attributive value with interval grey number, and the interval grey numbers coexist with the real numbers. The application examples show that the model proposed in this paper is feasible and valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of deterioration effects can reduce production efficiency caused by extended start time or other factors. Based on it, this paper considers the scheduling situations of the common due date assignment in a no-idle flow shop scheduling environment. Under the given four dominating relationships (i.e., increasing, decreasing, increasing-decreasing and decreasing-increasing dominating machines, correspondingly expressed as idm, ddm, idm–ddm and ddm–idm) between machines, the objective functions are, respectively, to minimize (1) the weighted sum of common due date and total earliness; and (2) the weighted sum of common due date, total earliness and total penalty factors of tardy jobs. It is verified that these problems can be solved in polynomial time under four dominating relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network flow measurement is an integral part of modern high-speed applications for network security and data-stream processing. However, processing at line rate while maintaining the required data structure within the on-chip memory of the hardware platform is a challenging task for measurement algorithms, especially when accuracy is of primary importance, such as in network security applications. Most of the existing measurement algorithms are no exception to such issues when deployed in high-speed networking environments and are also not tailored for efficient hardware implementation. Sketch-based measurement algorithms minimize the memory requirement and are suitable for high-speed networks but possess a low memory-accuracy trade-off and lack the versatility of individual flow mapping. To address these challenges, we present a hardware-friendly data structure named Sketch-based Pseudo-associative array Architecture (SPArch). SPArch is highly accurate and extremely memory-efficient, making it suitable for network flow measurement and security applications. The parallelism in SPArch ensures minimal and constant memory access cycles. Unlike other sketch architectures, SPArch provides the functionality of individual flow mapping similar to associative arrays, and the optimized version of SPArch allows the organization of counters in multiple buckets based on the flow sizes. An in-depth analysis of SPArch is carried out in this article and implemented SPArch on the Alveo data center accelerator card, demonstrating its suitability for high-speed networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For each \alpha \in (0, 1), we construct a bounded monotone deterministic sequence (c_k)_{k \geqslant 0} of real numbers so that the number of real roots of the random polynomial f_n(z) = \sum _{k=0}^n c_k \varepsilon _k z^k is n^{\alpha + o(1)} with probability tending to one as the degree n tends to infinity, where (\varepsilon _k) is a sequence of i.i.d. (real) random variables of finite mean satisfying a mild anti-concentration assumption. In particular, this includes the case when (\varepsilon _k) is a sequence of i.i.d. standard Gaussian or Rademacher random variables. This result confirms a conjecture of O. Nguyen from 2019. More generally, our main results also describe several statistical properties for the number of real roots of f_n, including the asymptotic behavior of the variance and a central limit theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The reconstruction of complex wounds of the hand still has challenges in achieving aesthetic, functional and sensory recovery. We presented our experience of using the polyfoliate and chimeric radial collateral artery perforator flaps (RCAPF) to repair complex hand defects, aiming to explore the feasibility of special-form RCAPFs in hand coverage and enhance the comprehension of their respective indications. Methods: From June 2014 to March 2021, 26 cases (19 males and 7 females, mean 44.4 years) underwent defect and sensation reconstruction of their hands with special-form RCAPFs, which manifested as multiple adjacent or irregular single wounds and composite tissue defects complicated with a degree of nerve injury. The clinical effects of the free RCAPFs were evaluated by integrating the postoperative and long-term follow-up outcomes of all cases. Results: Altogether 8 polyfoliate flaps, 17 chimeric flaps and 1 polyfoliate-chimeric flap were harvested. Of them, 23 flaps survived uneventfully in one stage. Venous congestion occurred in 3 cases, two of which survived through vascular exploration and another one was finally repaired by the contralateral RCAPF. The follow-up results showed that the appearance of both the recipient and donor sites mostly recovered satisfactory. All the bone flaps properly healed. The BMRC sensory evaluation results of all skin flaps were S4 in 8 flaps, S3 in 18 flaps, and S2 in 9 flaps. Conclusions: The free RCAPFs can be designed in various forms with a reliable blood supply, contributing to reconstructing simple and multiple wounds of the hand with or without bone defects and dead space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Materiae Compositae Sinica is the property of Acta Materiea Compositae Sinica Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the past two decades, model averaging, as a way to solve model uncertainty, has attracted more and more attention. In this paper, the authors propose a jackknife model averaging (JMA) method for the quantile single-index coefficient model, which is widely used in statistics. Under model misspecification, the model averaging estimator is proved to be asymptotically optimal in terms of minimizing out-of-sample quantile loss. Simulation experiments are conducted to compare the JMA method with several model selections and model averaging methods, and the results show that the proposed method has a satisfactory performance. The method is also applied to a real dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies well-posedness and parameter sensitivity of the square root LASSO (SR-LASSO), an optimization model for recovering sparse solutions to linear inverse problems in finite dimension. An advantage of the SR-LASSO (e.g., over the standard LASSO) is that the optimal tuning of the regularization parameter is robust with respect to measurement noise. This paper provides three point-based regularity conditions at a solution of the SR-LASSO: the weak, intermediate, and strong assumptions. It is shown that the weak assumption implies uniqueness of the solution in question. The intermediate assumption yields a directionally differentiable and locally Lipschitz solution map (with explicit Lipschitz bounds), whereas the strong assumption gives continuous differentiability of said map around the point in question. Our analysis leads to new theoretical insights on the comparison between SR-LASSO and LASSO from the viewpoint of tuning parameter sensitivity: noise-robust optimal parameter choice for SR-LASSO comes at the "price" of elevated tuning parameter sensitivity. Numerical results support and showcase the theoretical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new large-scale algorithms for fitting a subgradient regularized multivariate convex regression function to n samples in d dimensions--a key problem in shape constrained nonparametric regression with applications in statistics, engineering, and the applied sciences. The infinite-dimensional learning task can be expressed via a convex quadratic program (QP) with O(nd) decision variables and O(n²) constraints. While instances with n in the lower thousands can be addressed with current algorithms within reasonable runtimes, solving larger problems (e.g., n ≈ 104 or 105) is computationally challenging. To this end, we present an active set type algorithm on the dual QP. For computational scalability, we allow for approximate optimization of the reduced subproblems and propose randomized augmentation rules for expanding the active set. We derive novel computational guarantees for our algorithms. We demonstrate that our framework can approximately solve instances of the subgradient regularized convex regression problem with n = 105 and d = 10 within minutes and shows strong computational performance compared to earlier approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on recent advancements of reproducing kernels in several complex variables, the theory of rational approximation for weighted Bergman spaces on tube domains over cones is developed. By verifying the boundary vanishing property, the existence of optimal parameters and the corresponding orthogonal functions are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a characterization of the weakly Arf property for the amalgamation of numerical semigroups and for amalgamation algebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the existing pivot rules, the simplex method for linear programming is not polynomial in the worst case. Therefore, the optimal pivot of the simplex method is crucial. In this paper, we propose the optimal rule to find all the shortest pivot paths of the simplex method for linear programming problems based on Monte Carlo tree search. Specifically, we first propose the SimplexPseudoTree to transfer the simplex method into tree search mode while avoiding repeated basis variables. Secondly, we propose four reinforcement learning models with two actions and two rewards to make the Monte Carlo tree search suitable for the simplex method. Thirdly, we set a new action selection criterion to ameliorate the inaccurate evaluation in the initial exploration. It is proved that when the number of vertices in the feasible region is Cnm, our method can generate all the shortest pivot paths, which is the polynomial of the number of variables. In addition, we experimentally validate that the proposed schedule can avoid unnecessary search and provide the optimal pivot path. Furthermore, this method can provide the best pivot labels for all kinds of supervised learning methods to solve linear programming problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electric Power Engineering Technology is the property of Editorial Department of Electric Power Engineering Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We study the scaling behavior of a class of compatible two-well problems for higher order, homogeneous linear differential operators. To this end, we first deduce general lower scaling bounds which are determined by the vanishing order of the symbol of the operator on the unit sphere in the direction of the associated element in the wave cone. We complement the lower bound estimates by a detailed analysis of the two-well problem for generalized (tensor-valued) symmetrized derivatives with the help of the (tensor-valued) Saint-Venant compatibility conditions. In two spatial dimensions for highly symmetric boundary data (but arbitrary tensor order m ∈ N) we provide upper bound constructions matching the lower bound estimates. This illustrates that for the two-well problem for higher order operators new scaling laws emerge which are determined by the Fourier symbol in the direction of the wave cone. The scaling for the symmetrized gradient from [A. Chan and S. Conti, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci., 25 (2015), pp. 1091--1124] which was also discussed in [B. Raiţă, A. Rüland, and C. Tissot, Acta Appl. Math., 184 (2023), 5] provides an example of this family of new scaling laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iteration of quadrilateral foldings. Starting with a quadrilateral q0 = (A1, A2, A3, A4) of R², one constructs a sequence of quadrilaterals qn = (A4n+1, …, A4n+4) by iteration of foldings: qn = φ4 º φ3 º φ2 º φ1 (qn-1) where the folding ?j replaces the vertex number j by its symmetric with respect to the opposite diagonal (see Fig. 1). We study the dynamical behavior of this sequence. In particular, we prove that: - The drift v := limn→∞ 1/n qn exists. - When none of the qn is isometric to q0, then the drift v is zero if and only if one has max aj + min aj ≤ ½ ∑ aj where a1, …, a4 are the sidelengths of q0. - For Lebesgue almost all q0 the sequence (qn - nv)n≥1 is dense on a bounded analytic curve with a center or an axis of symmetry. However, for Baire generic q0, the sequence (qn-nv)n≥1 is unbounded (see Figs. 2 to 7). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using creativity to promote recreational services is crucial. Accordingly, creative linguistic landscapes (CLLs) are being used to improve visitors' experiences in some recreational zones. However, relevant research is still in its early stages. Therefore, this study was conducted. It summarized the leisure function categories and function evaluation indicators of CLLs in recreational zones respectively based on image materials and related online reviews. The leisure function outcomes of all CLL types were ranked using the fuzzy PROMETHEE method; based on this ranking, a CLL configuration optimization mode was suggested. The findings reveal the following. (1) Currently, there are mainly nine leisure function types of CLL in practice, although the type structure is severely imbalanced; there are 12 primary corresponding function evaluation indicators, although each of them draws significantly different attention. (2) There are notable variations among the outcomes of different types of functions of CLL: mood adjustment is the most advantageous function of CLL for leisure services, followed by emotional guidance and cognitive building functions; (3) According to the study findings, in the configuration of CLL, which aims at leisure function optimization, the "function focusing and coordinating mode (the superior functions of CLL are focused on and its various functions are coordinated)" should be adopted. The results provide meaningful lessons for the establishment of rational and effective CLL in recreational zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ocean carbon sink plays a critical role in climate, absorbing anthropogenic carbon from the atmosphere and mitigating climate change. The sink shows significant variability on decadal timescales, but estimates from models and observations disagree with one another, raising uncertainty over the magnitude of the sink, its variability, and its driving mechanisms. There is a need to reconcile observationally-based estimates of air-sea CO2 fluxes with those of the changing ocean carbon inventory in order to improve our understanding of the sink, and doing so requires knowledge of how carbon is transported within the interior by the ocean circulation. Here we employ a recently developed Optimal Transformation Method (OTM) that uses water mass theory to relate interior changes in tracer distributions to transports and mixing and boundary forcings, and extend its application to include carbon using synthetic data. We validate the method using model outputs from a biogeochemical state estimate, and test its ability to recover boundary carbon fluxes and interior transports consistent with changes in heat, salt and carbon. Our results show that OTM effectively reconciles boundary carbon fluxes with interior carbon distributions when given a range of prior fluxes. OTM shows considerable skill in its reconstructions, reducing root-mean-squared errors from biased priors between model 'truth' and reconstructed boundary carbon fluxes by up to 71 %, with bias of the reconstructions consistently ≤ 0.06 mol-Cm−2 yr−1 globally. Inter-basin transports of carbon also compare well with the model truth, with residuals < 0.25 Pg C yr−1 for reconstructions produced using a range of priors. OTM has significant potential for application to reconciling observational estimates of air-sea CO2 fluxes with the interior accumulation of anthropogenic carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider strongly-convex-strongly-concave saddle point problems assuming we have access to unbiased stochastic estimates of the gradients. We propose a stochastic accelerated primal-dual (SAPD) algorithm and show that the SAPD sequence, generated using constant primal-dual step sizes, linearly converges to a neighborhood of the unique saddle point. Interpreting the size of the neighborhood as a measure of robustness to gradient noise, we obtain explicit characterizations of robustness in terms of SAPD parameters and problem constants. Based on these characterizations, we develop computationally tractable techniques for optimizing the SAPD parameters, i.e., the primal and dual step sizes, and the momentum parameter, to achieve a desired trade-off between the convergence rate and robustness on the Pareto curve. This allows SAPD to enjoy fast convergence properties while being robust to noise as an accelerated method. SAPD admits convergence guarantees for the distance metric with a variance term optimal up to a logarithmic factor, which can be removed by employing a restarting strategy. We also discuss how convergence and robustness results extend to the merely-convex-merely-concave setting. Finally, we illustrate our framework on a distributionally robust logistic regression problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the triple correlation of eigenvalues of the Laplacian on generic flat tori in an averaged sense. As two consequences we show that (a) the limit inferior (resp. limit superior) of the triple correlation is almost surely at most (resp. at least) Poissonian, and that (b) almost all flat tori contain infinitely many gaps in their spectrum that are at least 2:006 times longer than the average gap. The significance of the constant 2:006 lies in the fact that there exist sequences with Poissonian pair correlation and with consecutive spacings bounded uniformly from above by 2, as we also prove in this paper. Thus our result goes beyond what can be deduced solely from the Poissonian behavior of the pair correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Computer-Aided Design & Computer Graphics / Jisuanji Fuzhu Sheji Yu Tuxingxue Xuebao is the property of Gai Kan Bian Wei Hui and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An oriented equator of 2 is the image of an oriented embedding 1 ↪ 2 such that it divides 2 into two equal area halves. Following Chekanov, we define the Hofer distance between two oriented equators as the infimal Hofer norm of a Hamiltonian diffeomorphism taking one to another. Consider q + the space of oriented equators. We define the Hofer girth of an embedding j : 2 ↪ q + as the infimum of the Hofer diameter of j ′ ( 2) , where j ′ is homotopic to j. There is a natural embedding i 0 : 2 ↪ q + , sending a point on the sphere to the positively oriented great circle perpendicular to it. In this paper, we provide an upper bound on the Hofer girth of i 0 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an error bound for linear complementarity problems of strong S DD1 matrices is given. By properties of S DD1 matrices, a new subclass of P-matrices called S DD1-B is presented, which contains B-matrices. A new error bound of linear complementarity problems for S DD¹-B is also provided, which improves the corresponding results. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decomposition or approximation of a linear operator on a matrix space as a sum of Kronecker products plays an important role in matrix equations and low-rank modeling. The approximation problem in Frobenius norm admits a well-known solution via the singular value decomposition. However, the approximation problem in spectral norm, which is more natural for linear operators, is much more challenging. In particular, the Frobenius norm solution can be far from optimal in spectral norm. We describe an alternating optimization method based on semidefinite programming to obtain high-quality approximations in spectral norm, and we present computational experiments to illustrate the advantages of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The washing machine is the most commonly utilized household appliance. The automatic washing machines are developed using Fuzzy Logic Controller by several authors. The amount of water, electricity and detergent are more effective parameters for developing economical washing machines. In this work, we design an economical fuzzy logic controller for washing machine which optimize consumption of water, electricity and amount of detergent. We employ Mamdani approach to develop the algorithm as this approach gives higher accuracy. In the fuzzy-rule basis system, 36 rules are created based on expert user knowledge. The algorithm has been implemented and simulated using python programming language. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm for washing machine provides better performance at a lower computational cost. The comparative analysis of proposed work with the previous work shows that our input-output control system optimises performance of the washing machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of zero-divisor graphs of rings is widely used for establishing relationships between the properties of graphs and the properties of the underlying ring. The zero-divisor graph of a ring is generalized to the k-zero-divisor hypergraph of a ring R for k ∈ N , which is denoted by H k (R) . This paper is an endeavor to discuss some properties of zero-divisor hypergraphs. We determine the diameter and girth of H k (R) whenever R is reduced. Also, we characterize all commutative rings R for which H k (R) is in some known class of graphs. Further, we obtain certain necessary conditions for H k (R) to be a Hamilton Berge cycle and a flag-traversing tour. Moreover, we answer a case of the question raised by Eslahchi et al. [15]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The all-for-one tourism guides the development of the tourism industry in China and promotes coordinated development of the economy and society. Existing studies emphasize the significance of all-for-one tourism but pay limited attention to the impact and mechanism of all-for-one tourism on the high-quality development of tourism. By employing the all-for-one tourism demonstration zones as a quasi-natural experiment, this research uses the time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically investigate the relationship between all-for-one tourism demonstration zones and the high-quality development of tourism. In particular, under the guidance of the new development philosophy, this research constructs a measurement and evaluation indicator system for the high-quality development of tourism from five dimensions, including innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development. The results show that the all-for-one tourism demonstration zones positively impact the high-quality development of tourism, and the result is robust to a series of robustness checks, including the placebo test and the propensity score matching (PSM) procedures. Network infrastructure construction and tourism talent agglomeration are mechanisms channelling through all-for-one tourism demonstration zones and high-quality tourism development. Heterogeneity analysis reveals positive impacts of all-for-one tourism demonstration zones on central and western regions and provinces with a low proportion of tertiary sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to analyse the diffusion rule of the contrast media in multi-phase delayed enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) T1 images using radiomics and to construct an automatic classification and segmentation model of brain metastases (BM) based on support vector machine (SVM) and Dpn-UNet. A total of 189 BM patients with 1047 metastases were enrolled. Contrast-enhanced MR images were obtained at 1, 3, 5, 10, 18, and 20 min following contrast medium injection. The tumour target volume was delineated, and the radiomics features were extracted and analysed. BM segmentation and classification models in the MR images with different enhancement phases were constructed using Dpn-UNet and SVM, and differences in the BM segmentation and classification models with different enhancement times were compared. (1) The signal intensity for BM decreased with time delay and peaked at 3 min. (2) Among the 144 optimal radiomics features, 22 showed strong correlation with time (highest R-value = 0.82), while 41 showed strong correlation with volume (highest R-value = 0.99). (3) The average dice similarity coefficients of both the training and test sets were the highest at 10 min for the automatic segmentation of BM, reaching 0.92 and 0.82, respectively. (4) The areas under the curve (AUCs) for the classification of BM pathology type applying single-phase MRI was the highest at 10 min, reaching 0.674. The AUC for the classification of BM by applying the six-phase image combination was the highest, reaching 0.9596, and improved by 42.3% compared with that by applying single-phase images at 10 min. The dynamic changes of contrast media diffusion in BM can be reflected by multi-phase delayed enhancement based on radiomics, which can more objectively reflect the pathological types and significantly improve the accuracy of BM segmentation and classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We extend a result proved by Dirr and Wimmer [IEEE Trans. Automat. Control 52(2007)] for polynomials to the matrix valued analytic functions and thereby obtain generalizations of some well-known results concerning the zero free regions of a class of analytic functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium silicate modification can improve the overall performance of wood. The modification process has a great influence on the properties of modified wood. In this study, a new method was introduced to analyze the wood modification process, and the properties of modified wood were studied. Poplar wood was modified with sodium silicate by vacuum-pressure impregnation. After screening using single-factor experiments, an orthogonal experiment was carried out with solution concentration, impregnation time, impregnation pressure, and the cycle times as experimental factors. The modified poplar with the best properties was selected by fuzzy mathematics and characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TG. The results showed that some lignin and hemicellulose were removed from the wood due to the alkaline action of sodium silicate, and the orderly crystal area of poplar became disorderly, resulting in the reduction of crystallinity of the modified poplar wood. FT-IR analysis showed that sodium silicate was hydrolyzed to form polysilicic acid in wood, and structural analysis revealed the formation of Si-O-Si and Si-O-C, indicating that sodium silicate reacted with fibers on the wood cell wall. TG-DTG curves showed that the final residual mass of modified poplar wood increased from 25% to 67%, and the temperature of the maximum loss rate decreased from 343°C to 276°C. The heat release and smoke release of modified poplar wood decreased obviously. This kind of material with high strength and fire resistance can be used in the outdoor building and indoor furniture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To overcome the subjective limitations and uncertainty of results in the traditional judgment on key areas of chemical hazard monitoring and to improve the scientific selection of important areas of chemical hazard monitoring. Methods Based on the statistical analysis of the factors affecting the importance of chemical hazard monitoring, a scientific quantitative model was constructed to rank the importance of chemical hazard monitoring areas. The index weights of subjective and objective weighting methods were compared by Spearman rank correlation coefficient analysis, and three ranking methods were judged comprehensively by Kendall correlation analysis. In this paper, a spearman -based combined AHP, EWM, and FAHP assignment method (S-AEF) and a Kendall-based W, TOPSIS, and VIKOR integrated ranking method (K -WTV) were proposed to rank the importance of chemical hazard monitoring areas. Results As an example, taking a certain area of a large city as a chemical hazard monitoring area, the similarity between the results calculated by S -AEF combined with the K -WTV method and multiplicative synthesis method, the optimal weighting method, and the game theory weighting method was 0.659, 0.913, and 0.659, respectively, which were larger than the critical value and basically consistent with the judgment of practical experience, which demonstrated the feasibility of this method. Conclusions The proposed method was objective, feasible, applicable, and scientifically reasonable. It can provide a new idea for solving uncertain problems, such as the ranking of the importance of chemical hazard monitoring areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a quantum Laurent expansion formula for the quantum cluster algebras from unpunctured orbifolds with arbitrary coefficients and quantization. As an application, positivity for such a class of quantum cluster algebras is provided. Assume for technical reasons that the weights of the orbifold points are 1/2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines a convertible nonconvex function (CN function for short) and a weak (strong) uniform (decomposable, exact) CN function, proves the optimization conditions for their global solutions, and proposes algorithms for solving the unconstrained optimization problems with decomposable CN functions. First, to illustrate the fact that some nonconvex functions, nonsmooth or discon)tinuous, are actually weak uniform CN functions, examples are given. The operational properties of CN functions are proved, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and compound operations. Second, optimization conditions of the global optimal solution to the unconstrained optimization with weak uniform CN function are proved. Based on the unconstrained optimization problem with decomposable CN functions, a decomposable algorithm is proposed by its augmented Lagrangian penalty function and its convergence is proved. Numerical results demonstrate that an approximate global optimal solution to unconstrained optimization with CN function may be obtained by the decomposable algorithm. The decomposable algorithm can effectively reduce the scale in solving the unconstrained optimization problem with decomposable CN function. This paper provides a new idea for solving unconstrained nonconvex optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a new method to approximate integrals \int _{\mathbb {R}^d} f(\boldsymbol {x}) \,\mathrm {d}\boldsymbol {x} which simply scales lattice rules from the unit cube [0,1]^d to properly sized boxes on \mathbb {R}^d, hereby achieving higher-order convergence that matches the smoothness of the integrand function f in a certain Sobolev space of dominating mixed smoothness. Our method only assumes that we can evaluate the integrand function f and does not assume a particular density nor the ability to sample from it. In particular, for the theoretical analysis we show a new result that the method of adding Bernoulli polynomials to a function to make it "periodic" on a box without changing its integral value over the box is equivalent to an orthogonal projection from a well chosen Sobolev space of dominating mixed smoothness to an associated periodic Sobolev space of the same dominating mixed smoothness, which we call a Korobov space. We note that the Bernoulli polynomial method is often not used because of its excessive computational complexity and also here we only make use of it in our theoretical analysis. We show that our new method of applying scaled lattice rules to increasing boxes can be interpreted as orthogonal projections with decreasing projection error. Such a method would not work on the unit cube since then the committed error caused by non-periodicity of the integrand would be constant, but for integration on the Euclidean space we can use the certain decay towards zero when the boxes grow. Hence we can bound the truncation error as well as the projection error and show higher-order convergence in applying scaled lattice rules for integration on Euclidean space. We illustrate our theoretical analysis by numerical experiments which confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]