Adjustable Phase Research Articles

Geomorphological response to system‐scale river rehabilitation II: Main‐stem channel adjustments following reconnection of an ephemeral tributary

AbstractThis paper describes changes in bed morpho‐dynamics and topography in the River Ehen, a regulated river in NW England (i.e., temperate climate) following a rehabilitation project that reconnected a formerly diverted headwater sub‐catchment back to its main‐stem. Sediment grain‐size distributions in the Ehen changed subtly and in rather complex ways following the reconnection. Changes were most evident in the riffle morphological unit, where gravel‐sized material accumulated in the first 2 years after the reconnection. All morphological units initially experienced an addition of fine sediment (size <8 mm) but by the end of the study the proportion of fine material in the bed matrix had returned to pre‐reconnection levels. Topographic changes were evident in some units, with net aggradation in the riffle and scour in the plane bed; there was no detectable change in the pool. Albeit limited, there was evidence of an increase in bed mobility, with field observations indicating that the new sediment is moving over the top of the largely static existing pavement, rather than interacting with it. Despite numerous uncertainties related mainly to the ephemeral nature of the tributary and, consequently, how much sediment it would deliver, evidence suggests that the main project objective is being met: there is a renewed supply of sediment now being delivered to the main‐stem Ehen at times and in quantities that are controlled by natural processes. Nevertheless, the river is still best considered to be in an adjustment phase, so assessment of its long term response to the reconnection requires continued monitoring.

СУТНІСТЬ ТА ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ ПРОЦЕСНО-ОРІЄНТОВАНОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ ЕКОНОМІЧНИМ ПОТЕНЦІАЛОМ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ

The article explores the nature and essential characteristics of process-based management of enterprise economic potential in the frameworks of system analysis of the current approaches and critical thinking to the development of modern economic theory. A retrospective analysis of the research studies over the past two decades has provided insights into the nature of an ‘economic potential’ concept and has revealed a shift of focus in understanding and interpretation of the given category. It is emphasized that modern scholarly publications demonstrate evidence of extensive research on various aspects of the economic potential concept and fundamental differences in the above term interpretations, however, the application of structural analysis would greatly enlarge the research scope, in particular, will enable to identify the four basic dimensions: the level and functionality of resources, their value-based perspective, along with the focus to production outcome or a transformation process. Through the realization of such approach, a company will get an opportunity to build an up-to-date action plan trajectory; accumulate the necessary range of resources, skills and capabilities, where company business processes of sustainable operation and development are designed to ensure their close interaction, clear manner and consistency. An in-depth literature review to summarize numerous academic viewpoints has provided for identifying a business process as a set of interrelated activities that have their entry and exit points, specific interfaces, and organizational structure. Through a number of functions, they effectively design a range of actions and perform tasks to ensure well-ordered operation, thus producing results (production outcomes) that have value to a customer. A thorough study on modern companies’ economic potential provides argument that it is the business process that creates opportunities to shape its capacity to manufacture competitive products to meet customers’ needs. These companies understand the vast potential sustainable development provides that translates into the growing need to design their own strategic indicators to ensure common and effective structure and organizational pattern of business processes. In this context, such factors as the company size, price or other indicators are becoming paramount. Companies always strive for attaining better performance, thus it is critical to develop a reasonable ranking methodology to manage fundamental and auxiliary business processes, as well as the company internal efficiency. This study has deployed commonly accepted indicators of quality assurance affected by economic potential factors through active interaction between company business processes, technology, human resources, management, information, knowledge, etc. The research findings have revealed the specifics of a certain shift in business management associated with the transition from functional management approach to process-based management. Accordingly, the economic potential is viewed as a network of interconnected decisions and processes. Since the main characteristics of the economic potential are the structure of business processes and the relationships between them at different levels which accommodate the important phases of business planning, control and adjustment to changing environment, the ultimate benefit a company obtains is the relevant toolkit to ensure effective business development.

Effect of Different Denture Base Materials on the Masticatory Muscle Performance in Patients Wearing Single Maxillary Complete Denture: A Cross-over Study

Purpose: The aim of the research was to evaluate the masticatory muscle performance with different resilient denture base materials in maxillary single denture. Material and methods: Six patients were included in this cross over study. In the first stage of the study, the patients were instructed to use the denture (PMMA denture base) for 1 month and the masticatory muscle activity was assessed in the second and fourth weeks after delivery. A wash out period of two weeks was applied in this study to eliminate the effect of the previous denture then the denture material was relined to soft liner, then replaced with breflex flexible material. For each type of denture base relining material, EMG was recorded after 2 weeks form day of denture insertion (adjustment phase) then EMG was recorded after 4 weeks after complete muscles adaptation (adaptation phase). Results: Comparison between three types of denture bases was performed by one way ANOVA test which revealed significant difference between them regarding duration and amplitude of both masseter and temporalis after 2 weeks and after 4 weeks as P <0.05. Conclusion: This in-vivo study, which shows that rehabilitation of correct masticatory muscle function, improved with the proper use of denture base material and which leads to improvement in the patient’s quality of life.

Quality Improvement in a Pandemic.

Quality Improvement in a Pandemic.

Deposition and properties of mixed molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) and copper sulfide (CuxS) films on glass surface using elemental sulfur as a precursor

Mixed molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) and copper sulfide (CuxS) materials were synthesized on glass slides as a model substrate by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method using elemental sulfur as a sulfur source and solutions of copper (II/I) and molybdenum (IV) salts. X-ray diffraction data showed the presence of copper sulfides (anilite Cu7S4 and djurleite Cu31S16 phases), molybdenum disulfide and molybdenum oxide with adjustable crystalline phase composition dependent on the precursor exposure time and reaction temperature. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the surface had a homogenous layer distribution at lower temperatures/short exposures and comprised of ~1 μm particles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed no oxidized sulfate (SO42−) compounds present on the sample surface while a thin MoO3 layer was found to cover the sample surface. Optical ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy showed mixed layers formed, containing optical properties of both MoS2 and CuxS. After annealing in an N2 atmosphere at 100 °C, the sample was composed primarily of MoS2 and copper sulfides in the crystalline phase with minimal residual S8. Usability of this mild mixed metal sulfide thin film preparation method on supports for sour natural gas catalyst synthesis is also discussed.

Center of pressure excursion and muscle activation during gait initiation in individuals with and without chronic ankle instability

The aim of the current study was to determine differences in center of pressure (COP)excursion and muscle activation during gait initiation (GI) in those with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI). Thirty-four participants, 17 per group, volunteered to participate. Participants were asked to stand barefoot on a force plate before initiating gait upon hearing an auditory cue. Reaction time, anticipatory postural adjustment phase time, as well as normalized peak COP excursion during the anticipatory postural adjustment phase was calculated. Response time of Soleus and Tibialis Anterior muscles were concurrently recorded via electromyography. The results demonstrate a longer reaction time and shorter anticipatory postural adjustment phase time in the CAI group (p < 0.05). No significant between group differences in peak normalized COP excursion were noted (p > 0.05). Muscle onset patterns differed between groups as those with CAI demonstrated earlier Soleus activation compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The results suggest that those with CAI have an altered GI motor control strategy as evidenced by reduced or absent Soleus muscle inhibition during APA phase of GI relative to controls. The APA phase is controlled by the secondary motor area, therefore, the presence of motor control alterations in CAI patients may be due to a supra-spinal alterations.

OSTEOARTHRITIS IN POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN – AN APPROACH THROUGH AYURVEDA

ABSTRACT Menopause is a gradual and natural transitional phase of adjustment between the active and inactive ovarian function and occupies several years of women’s life and involves biological and psychological changes adjustments. This period is usually associated with unavoidable manifestation of ageing process in women. With menopause, women enter an estrogen deficient phase in their lives, which accelerates the ageing process. Though Rajonivritti as a disease condition is not described separately in classical literature, Rajonivritti kala is mentioned by almost all classical texts. According to Sushrutha Samhita and other references too, 50 years is mentioned as the age of Rajonivritti, when the body is fully in the grip of senility. Sandhigata Vata is a most common condition which occur during this phase because of Dhatukshaya. Sandhigata Vata can be explained under the degenerative osteoarthritis according to contemporary science. Contemporary science suggests supplementation of estrogen as hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal osteoarthritis. Sandhigata Vata in Rajonivritti has to be understood under Dhatukshayajanya Samprapti, which throws light into the utilization of Rasayana therapy, those specific to Asthidhatu Poshana in specific. Anupahata (unimpeded) dhatu Agni, Srotus and Vyana Vayu which is responsible for the sustenance of Sharira dhatu which is being fed by their poshaka dhatus, the derangement of which leads to hormonal disorders. This article aims at understanding the concept of Sandhigata Vata in Rajonivritti, considering Arthava Kshaya as the Nidana. Rasayana Chikitsa throws light into the scope of alternative therapy to hormone replacement therapy which works at the level of dhatu Agni, Srotus and Vyana Vayu. Application of phytoestrogens in such condition should also be considered as the supportive line of management. Keywords: Sandhigata Vata, Menopause, Estrogen, Rajonivritti, Rasayana, Osteoarthritis and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Parallel Programming of an Arbitrary Feedforward Photonic Network

Reconfigurable photonic mesh networks of tunable beamsplitter nodes can linearly transform $N$ -dimensional vectors representing input modal amplitudes of light for applications such as energy-efficient machine learning hardware, quantum information processing, and mode demultiplexing. Such photonic meshes are typically programmed and/or calibrated by tuning or characterizing each beam splitter one-by-one, which can be time-consuming and can limit scaling to larger meshes. Here we introduce a graph-topological approach that defines the general class of feedforward networks and identifies columns of non-interacting nodes that can be adjusted simultaneously. By virtue of this approach, we can calculate the necessary input vectors to program entire columns of nodes in parallel by simultaneously nullifying the power in one output of each node via optoelectronic feedback onto adjustable phase shifters or couplers. This parallel nullification approach is robust to fabrication errors, requiring no prior knowledge or calibration of node parameters and reducing programming time by a factor of order $N$ to being proportional to the optical depth (number of node columns). As a demonstration, we simulate our programming protocol on a feedforward optical neural network model trained to classify handwritten digit images from the MNIST dataset with up to 98% validation accuracy.

Coherent control of nonlinear mode transitions in Bose–Einstein condensates

In the present work, we consider the generation of excited nonlinear topological modes of Bose–Einstein condensates. These nonlinear modes present a number of interesting properties and can be used in many applications, such as in matter-wave optics experiments. The resonant generation of nonlinear modes by modulating either the trapping potential or the scattering length have been previously reported. Here, we propose the simultaneous use of both modulations with an adjustable relative phase between them in order to coherently control the transition from the ground state to an excited mode. Within the framework of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation (GPE), we show that the transition probability and the transition duration can be controlled by means of the manipulation of the relative phase. In particular, the acceleration of the transition can be useful to avoid dissipative effects of the condensate with its surroundings. In our analysis, we employ approximate analytical techniques, including a perturbative treatment, and numerical calculations for the GPE.

Differential Effects of Acute and Multiple Concussions on Gait Initiation Performance

ObjectiveTo identify the effect of acute and multiple concussions on gait initiation performance. DesignCohort study. SettingUniversity research center. ParticipantsA population-based sample of participants (N=45) divided into 3 groups: No Prior Concussion, ≥3 Prior Concussions, and Acute Concussion. The Acute Concussion participants were assessed within 24 hours of their concussion. Participants were matched based on (1) sport, (2) position, and (3) anthropometric measures. InterventionsParticipants were tested on a single occasion and performed 5 trials of gait initiation on 4 force plates. The No Prior Concussion and ≥3 Prior Concussions groups were tested out of their primary athletic season. Main Outcome MeasuresThe dependent variables were the posterior and lateral displacement and velocity of the center of pressure (COP) during the anticipatory postural adjustment phase and initial step kinematics (step length and step velocity). Comparisons between groups used a 1-way analysis of variance with Tukey post hoc when significant effects were identified and effect sizes were calculated. ResultsThere were significant effects for group for all 6 outcome measures with large effect sizes. Post hoc tests identified differences between Acute Concussion and No Prior Concussion groups for all measures. The ≥3 Prior Concussions group and No Prior Concussion group were different for COP posterior displacement (4.91±1.09 and 4.91±1.09cm, respectively, P=.032, d=0.91) and velocity (0.18±0.06 and 0.27±0.08m/s, respectively, P=.002, d=1.27). ConclusionThere was continuum of performance identified whereby the Acute Concussion participants performed worse and the No Prior Concussion participants performed the best. The ≥3 Prior Concussions generally fell between these 2 groups, but only statistical significance on COP posterior displacement and velocity. These results suggest there may be subtle neurophysiological deficits present in collegiate student-athletes with ≥3 Prior Concussions group, and further investigation over the lifespan is warranted.

Management of Osmoprotectant Uptake Hierarchy in Bacillus subtilis via a SigB-Dependent Antisense RNA.

Under hyperosmotic conditions, bacteria accumulate compatible solutes through synthesis or import. Bacillus subtilis imports a large set of osmostress protectants via five osmotically controlled transport systems (OpuA to OpuE). Biosynthesis of the particularly effective osmoprotectant glycine betaine requires the exogenous supply of choline. While OpuB is rather specific for choline, OpuC imports a broad spectrum of compatible solutes, including choline and glycine betaine. One previously mapped antisense RNA of B. subtilis, S1290, exhibits strong and transient expression in response to a suddenly imposed salt stress. It covers the coding region of the opuB operon and is expressed from a strictly SigB-dependent promoter. By inactivation of this promoter and analysis of opuB and opuC transcript levels, we discovered a time-delayed osmotic induction of opuB that crucially depends on the S1290 antisense RNA and on the degree of the imposed osmotic stress. Time-delayed osmotic induction of opuB is apparently caused by transcriptional interference of RNA-polymerase complexes driving synthesis of the converging opuB and S1290 mRNAs. When our data are viewed in an ecophysiological framework, it appears that during the early adjustment phase of B. subtilis to acute osmotic stress, the cell prefers to initially rely on the transport activity of the promiscuous OpuC system and only subsequently fully induces opuB. Our data also reveal an integration of osmostress-specific adjustment systems with the SigB-controlled general stress response at a deeper level than previously appreciated.

100 GBd IM/DD transmission over 14 km SMF in the C-band enabled by a plasmonic SSB MZM.

100 Gb/s NRZ-OOK transmission over 14 km standard single mode fiber in the C-band is demonstrated with a simple intensity modulation and direct detection scheme. The transmission concept utilizes single sideband modulation and comprises a single differential digital-to-analog converter with adjustable phase offset, a new dual electrode plasmonic Mach-Zehnder modulator, a laser at 1537.5 nm, standard single mode fibers, a photodiode, an analog-to-digital converter, and linear offline digital signal processing. The presented SSB concept requires no DSP and complex signaling at the transmitter. The demonstrated SSB transmitter increased the possible transmission distance by a factor of 4.6 compared to a DSB transmitter. We also investigated the equalization requirements. A T/2-spaced feedforward equalizer requires 27 taps to achieve transmission over 10 km with a BER below the HD-FEC limit. In comparison to a DSB transmitter, the SSB transmitter reduced the receiver DSP complexity by a factor of 13.7.

Multivehicle Cooperative Lane Change Control Strategy for Intelligent Connected Vehicle

In order to improve the safety, stability, and efficiency of lane change operating, this paper proposes a multivehicle-coordinated strategy under the vehicle network environment. The feasibility of collaborative lane change operation is established by establishing a gain function based on the incentive model. By comparing lane change gain with lane keeping gain, whether it is feasible to perform the collaboration under current conditions can be judged. Based on the model predictive control (MPC), a multiobjective optimization control function for cooperative lane change is established to realize the distributed control. A novel two-stage cooperative lane change framework is proposed, which divides the lane change process into the lane change phase and the longitudinal headway adjustment phase. It is significant to solve the difficult numerical problem caused by the dimension of collision-avoidance constraints and the nonlinearity of vehicle kinematics. In the first stage, the subject vehicle completes lane change operation. Both longitudinal and lateral movements of the vehicle are considered to optimize the acceleration and the error of following distance at this stage; in the second stage, the operation of adjusting longitudinal headway between vehicles in the target lane is completed, and at this period, only the longitudinal motion of the vehicle is considered to optimize the vehicle acceleration error. The rolling optimization time domain algorithm is used to solve the optimization control problem step by step. Finally, based on the US NGSIM open-source traffic flow database, the accuracy and feasibility of the proposed strategy are verified.

Development of heat transfer enhancement of a novel composite phase change material with adjustable phase change temperature

Latent thermal energy storage plays an indispensable role in exhaust heat recycles in various industries which is useful for reducing energy consumption. Different phase change temperatures and high thermal conductivities of composite phase change materials were required for various domains. In the present work, Alum as phase change material and Ala as melting point modifier, a series of phase change materials with adjustable melting temperatures were prepared by physical mixing method. Moreover, EG as porous skeleton and thermal conductive enhancer, composite with high thermal conductivity was obtained with simple physical adsorption method. The XRD and SEM were applied to characterize the phase crystal and microstructure of the composite phase change material. DSC results revealed that phase change temperatures of Alum-Ala mixtures could be adjustable from 91.11 °C to 74.61 °C and thermal conductivity of the composite was improved to 10.93 W·m−1·K−1, which is 21.9 times of pristine Alum-Ala mixture. The infrared thermography and temperature-time curves were obtained to represent the heat transfer performance and the subcooling degree intuitively. The subcooling degree was decreased from 2.238 K to 1.866 K. The result of TGA indicated that the composite possessed favorable thermal stability during the operating temperature. From the result, the composite obtained in the present work is a prospective candidate for exhaust heat recycles.

Equations to establish a regression between current units with respect to patient`s age and the use time of cochlear implants.

Propose a system of multivariate multiple regression equations in order to establish a mathematical association that allows estimating the current units needed during the adjustment phase with respect to age and time that were used the implants. Descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 41 pediatric patients with a unilateral cochlear implant participated. Three groups were formed and multivariable multiple regression equations were constructed. For Group 1, in electrode Groups 3 and 4, there is a lower standard deviation and a similar index of asymmetry of the current units; in Group 2, the groups of electrodes with similar index of asymmetry were 2 and 4, while group of electrodes 3 presented average of 21.54 and dispersion smaller (16.25); in Group 3, groups of electrodes 3 and 4 presented similar standard deviation and average and smaller standard deviation. With respect to the standard estimation error, the lowest variability of current units was obtained in Group 2 for electrode Group 3. The proposed equations could be used in the clinical area by knowing the units current needed with respect to age and time of use the implant.

What is the influence of severity levels of knee osteoarthritis on gait initiation?

BackgroundThe anticipatory postural adjustments required for gait initiation have not yet been investigated in older adults with different levels of severity of knee osteoarthritis. This study aimed to evaluate the anticipatory postural adjustments adopted by older adults with different severity levels of knee osteoarthritis during gait initiation. MethodsSixty-seven older adults with knee osteoarthritis (mild, moderate, and severe levels) and 11 healthy older adults control were evaluated bilaterally with a force plate to analyze gait initiation. The center of pressure trajectory during gait initiation was divided into four phases: three anticipatory postural adjustments, and a locomotor phase. The length, duration, and velocity of each phase were calculated. FindingsThe results showed that during the right and left limbs swing forward, the severe and moderate knee osteoarthritis groups presented a significant reduction in the length of anticipatory postural adjustment phases, locomotion, duration, and velocity (P < 0.05). The severe knee osteoarthritis group presented a significantly higher body mass index (P < 0.003) than the other groups. However, just the healthy group presented a correlation between body mass index and anticipatory postural adjustments. InterpretationOur results demonstrated that older adults with severe and moderate levels of knee osteoarthritis adopt longer lasting and slower anticipatory postural adjustment phases, lower locomotion, and lower center of pressure displacement during gait initiation, suggesting that this population has adaptive strategy in performing gait initiation, which is significantly changed by the knee osteoarthritis severity level.

Weighted Sum Power Maximization for Intelligent Reflecting Surface Aided SWIPT

The low efficiency of far-field wireless power transfer (WPT) limits the fundamental rate-energy (R-E) performance trade-off of the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) system. To address this challenge, we propose in this letter a new SWIPT system aided by the emerging intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) technology. By leveraging massive low-cost passive elements that are able to reflect the signals with adjustable phase shifts, IRS achieve a high passive beamforming gain, which is appealing for drastically enhancing the WPT efficiency and thereby the R-E trade-off of SWIPT systems. We consider an IRS being deployed to assist a multi-antenna access point (AP) to serve multiple information decoding receivers (IDRs) and energy harvesting receivers (EHRs). We aim to maximize the weighted sum-power received by EHRs via jointly optimizing the transmit precoders at the AP and reflect phase shifts at the IRS, subject to the individual signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraints for IDRs. Since this problem is non-convex, we propose efficient algorithms to obtain suboptimal solutions for it. In particular, we prove that it is sufficient to send information signals only at the AP to serve both IDRs and EHRs regardless of their channel realizations. Moreover, simulation results show significant performance gains achieved by our proposed designs over benchmark schemes.

The Disease Management Experience of Patients with Asthma: Grounded Theory Approach

The aim of this study was to develop a situation-specific theory to explain the disease management experience of patients with asthma. Twenty participants with asthma were selected using the theoretical sampling method. The data were acquired through in-depth interviews conducted from June to October 2018 and analyzed using the grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin. In total, 69 concepts, 30 subcategories, and 13 categories were generated to explain the disease management experience of patients with asthma. The core category of the disease management experience of patients with asthma was 'management of the disease to prevent aggravation of symptoms over the lifetime'. The disease management process of asthma patients included three steps: the 'cognition phase', the 'adjustment phase', and the 'maintenance phase'. However, some patients remained in the 'stagnation phase' of disease management, which represents the result of the continual pursuit of risky health behavior. There were three types of disease management experiences among patients with asthma: 'self-managing', 'partially self-managing', and 'avoidant'. This study shows that patients with asthma must lead their disease management process to prevent exacerbation of their symptoms. It is imperative to develop nursing strategies and establish policies for effective disease management of patients with asthma based on their individual disease management processes and types.

Crystalline phase regulation of anatase-rutile TiO2 for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity.

Biphasic TiO2 with adjustable crystalline phases was prepared by the hydrothermal-calcination method assisted by nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), using potassium titanate oxalate (K2TiO(C2O4)2) as the titanium source. The influences of H2O2 volume on anatase and rutile contents and photocatalytic activity of biphasic TiO2 were investigated and the photocatalytic mechanism was explored. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and specific surface area (BET) were employed to characterize crystal structure, physical morphology, absorbable light, chemical composition, specific surface area and pore size distribution. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency towards a methylene blue (MB) solution under xenon light was tested, and the photocatalytic stability of the sample was investigated by photocatalytic cycle experiments. The prepared biphasic TiO2 was nanorod-shaped and had a large specific surface area. The results showed the anatase TiO2 content increased and the photocatalytic efficiency was enhanced as the H2O2 volume solution increased. Among the catalysts, the biphasic TiO2 prepared with 30 mL of H2O2 had the best photocatalytic effect and could entirely degrade the MB solution after 30 minutes under irradiation. After three repeated degradations, the photocatalytic degradation rate was still estimated to be as high as 95%. It is expected that the work will provide new insights into fabricating heterophase junctions of TiO2 for environmental remediation.

Study of Creative Thinking in Digital Media Art Design Education

In recent years, with the rapid development of the information age and the wide dissemination of information technology knowledge, the “Internet + micro era” has been created, and the diversified development of the art field has also been promoted at the same time. The difference between professional and traditional education in digital art design education is a great challenge and change that modern innovative education will face. In this context, digital media art design education is facing a phase of adjustment. Based on the current situation of digital media art design education, this paper analyzes the influence and existing problems of digital media art in contemporary art design education, including the confusion of teaching mode, the deficiency of knowledge construction system and the aging of course content. Finally, some countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the perspective of innovative thinking education.