Comprehensive Base Research Articles

Tracing fracture damage evolution and identifying damage patterns in cast steel using advanced acoustic emission analysis

The application of advanced acoustic emission signal analysis techniques can facilitate the identification of fracture damage modes in ductile materials and enable the provision of fracture precursor warnings. Given the vast array of acoustic emission signal characteristic parameters, there must be a systematic and comprehensive basis for selection and a deep comparison among different fracture warning indicators. This study uses G20Mn5QT cast steel material fracture acoustic emission monitoring tests under different in-plane constraints as an example. We adopted principal component analysis and k-means++ to select acoustic emission feature parameters and cluster damage modes. Additionally, we conducted a comparative analysis of several fracture precursor warning indicators and influencing factors, including fractal dimensions, b/Ib values, and natural time analysis. Our findings show that shear and tensile fracture damage modes are present in type-I fracture tests when applying the k-means++ cluster to the rise angle-average frequency-energy parameter, but tensile fracture modes dominate. Fractal dimensions, b-values, and Ib-values show a strong trend correlation with the fracture damage evolution process. Natural time analysis can quantitatively provide the moment of fracture precursor warnings, but the sliding window length inversely affects the absolute value sizes. Through acoustic emission signal analysis, our research provides a reference for identifying and examining the evolution of fracture damage in ductile materials and engineering components.

Tethered Balloon-Borne Turbulence Measurements in Winter and Spring during the MOSAiC Expedition

During the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate expedition, a tethered balloon system was operated with a turbulence probe attached to study the lower troposphere in the high Arctic. Overall, measurements were conducted on 34 days between December 2019 and May 2020, resulting in 47 quality-assured sampling records consisting of vertical profiles and constant-altitude measurements. The continuous profiles extend from the surface, i.e., the sea ice floe, to a height of several hundred meters typically. The high-resolution wind velocity measurements using a hot-wire anemometer and temperature measurements using a thermocouple provide a comprehensive basis for examining the dynamical processes and thermodynamic stratification in the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer under cloudless and cloudy conditions. This paper provides a detailed technical description of the turbulence payload, including calibration and quality assurance, and a general overview of the data. A particular focus of this work is the estimation of local energy dissipation rates. The data are freely available from the World Data Center PANGAEA.

Relationship between machining accuracy and optical properties of convex blazed grating in ultra-precision cutting.

For ultra-precision machining of convex blazed grating elements there are inevitable machining errors, surface defects, and surface roughness, all of which can have an impact on their diffraction efficiency. In this paper, we use PCGrate software based on the integration method to establish the machining error model, surface defect model, and surface roughness model of convex spherical blazed grating with a curvature radius of 41.104 mm, a substrate diameter of 14 mm, a grating density of 53.97 line/mm and a blazed angle of 3.86° as the basic specification. To investigate the effect of base curvature radius error, grating period error, blazed angle error, grating ridge and valley passivation radius, Poisson burr height, and blaze surface roughness on their -1 order diffraction efficiency in the 0.95-2.5 µm spectral range. The results show that when the curvature radius error of the spherical base is less than ±80µm, the influence on diffraction efficiency can be ignored. Among the three groups of grating microstructure parameters, the influence of blazed angle on grating diffraction efficiency is the largest, followed by a grating period, and the influence of grating apex angle is the smallest, among which when the error of blazed angle is less than ±0.1° and the error of grating period is less than ±0.1µm, the influence on diffraction efficiency can be ignored. The effect of the passivation radius of the grating valley on the diffraction efficiency is smaller than that of the passivation radius of the grating ridge, and the maximum reduction of diffraction efficiency is 0.096 and 0.144 when the grating ridge and valley passivation radius are 50nm∼650 nm, respectively. The diffraction efficiency decreases significantly in the wavelength range of 1.9-2.5 µm with the increase of Poisson burr height and blaze surface roughness, and its effect on the diffraction efficiency can be neglected when the Poisson burr height is less than 0.5 µm and the blaze surface roughness value is less than RMS 1 nm. The machining error, surface defect, and surface roughness models of the convex blazed grating are optimized to provide a comprehensive machining accuracy basis for ultra-precision cutting of convex grating components.

Expanding the coverage of regulons from high-confidence prior knowledge for accurate estimation of transcription factor activities.

Gene regulation plays a critical role in the cellular processes that underlie human health and disease. The regulatory relationship between transcription factors (TFs), key regulators of gene expression, and their target genes, the so called TF regulons, can be coupled with computational algorithms to estimate the activity of TFs. However, to interpret these findings accurately, regulons of high reliability and coverage are needed. In this study, we present and evaluate a collection of regulons created using the CollecTRI meta-resource containing signed TF-gene interactions for 1186 TFs. In this context, we introduce a workflow to integrate information from multiple resources and assign the sign of regulation to TF-gene interactions that could be applied to other comprehensive knowledge bases. We find that the signed CollecTRI-derived regulons outperform other public collections of regulatory interactions in accurately inferring changes in TF activities in perturbation experiments. Furthermore, we showcase the value of the regulons by examining TF activity profiles in three different cancer types and exploring TF activities at the level of single-cells. Overall, the CollecTRI-derived TF regulons enable the accurate and comprehensive estimation of TF activities and thereby help to interpret transcriptomics data.

Efficay of high-flow nasal cannula in the paediatric population: A systematic evidence map

ProblemHigh-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) has been widely used in paediatric medicine as a non-invasive ventilation mode for respiratory support. However, the differences in its efficacy across different diseases and intervention types remain poorly understood. Eligibility criteriaAn extensive literature search was performed across multiple academic databases to investigate the systematic reviews and meta-analyses of HFNC. SampleThis study included 35 systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which collectively examined 355 randomised controlled trials and assessed 51 outcome indicators. ResultsThe findings suggest that the existing clinical research evidence predominantly supports the therapeutic efficacy of HFNC. Notably, there is a significant focus on treating acute lower respiratory infection, hypoxaemia, bronchiolitis, and respiratory distress syndrome following extubation. However, concerning the respiratory status, the existing clinical research evidence mainly demonstrates the therapeutic benefits in post-extubation respiratory support and primary respiratory support. ConclusionsThe research on HFNC has witnessed significant expansion, primarily focusing on respiratory disorders, post-extubation respiratory support, conscious sedation, and related fields. The evidence mapping provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of the available evidence on HFNC therapy in paediatric patients. ImplicationsThis study systematically and comprehensively assessed the clinical subjects and populations involved in HFNC therapy. Notably, this study analyzed the trends, current status, and evidence gaps of research, and furnished decision-makers and relevant researchers with a more comprehensive reference basis.

Self-management Behaviors and Associated Factors in Adult Cancer Survivors: An Integrative Review.

Despite numerous systematic reviews on self-management interventions for cancer survivors, little is known about survivors' daily self-management practices and the influencing factors. To identify self-management behaviors and related factors among cancer survivors. Six databases were searched for primary quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies on self-management behaviors in cancer survivors that were published in English-language, peer-reviewed journals between 2012 and July 2022. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The data extracted using a predetermined form were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. A total of 22 articles were included in the review; the majority were qualitative research, and half had moderate to high quality of evidence. Nine domains of self-management behaviors were identified, namely, physical activity/exercise, diet, emotional management, complementary and alternative medicine, symptom management, religiosity/spirituality, attending regular follow-ups, adjustment of other lifestyles, and medication management. Four categories of factors were associated with self-management behaviors in cancer survivors: (1) personal factors (demographic and psychological), (2) health status, (3) family factors, and (4) healthcare system. However, the relationships between self-management behaviors and these factors were mainly identified from qualitative studies or addressed in single studies. Self-management behaviors in cancer survivors are multifaceted. There is an urgent need for quantitative exploration of factors associated with self-management in cancer survivors. This review provides nurses with a comprehensive basis for designing self-management support interventions for cancer survivors.

Comparative analysis of fuzzy multi-criteria decision making methods for selecting sustainable battery suppliers of battery swapping station

ABSTRACT Sustainable battery supplier (SBS) selection of battery-swapping station belongs to a complex multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem due to the fact that included multiple and often conflicting criteria. To this end, this study presents a comparative analysis of selecting SBS using four fuzzy MCDM methods, and a case is executed to compare the ranking results obtained by the proposed four MCDM methods. From the weighting results of criteria, it is observed that economic criteria is the first priority in all evaluation criteria, followed by the technical, social, and environmental criteria in descending order. In terms of the priorities and recommendations of multiple SBSs for the battery swapping station, the comparative analysis demonstrates that the rankings of all alternatives obtained by all approaches are in high agreement, except that determined by fuzzy VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) slightly varies from the other three approaches, and none of these MCDM methods are deemed to be absolutely “perfect”. If possible, we recommend that more than one method should be applied to the same problem to provide a more comprehensive decision basis. If not possible, it is suggested to use the fuzzy VIKOR since it shows more superior potential in sustainable supplier decision analysis.

Research into the Beetle Antennae Optimization-Based PID Servo System Control of an Industrial Robot

Industrial robot speed control remains a critical aspect for efficient operations, especially given the challenges of nonlinearity and multivariable characteristics inherent to servo motor control systems, as well as energy inefficiencies due to a lack of automatic speed control. This study refines an existing control algorithm, beetle antennae optimization (BAO), by integrating elements of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and a beetle antennae search algorithm (BAS), further enhanced by chaos mapping and an adaptive weighting factor. These modifications aim to improve the algorithm’s search capabilities and mitigate the risks of settling into local optima. Unlike previous iterations, this study includes rigorous dynamic and stability analyses focusing on key performance metrics such as settling time, overshoot, and steady-state error. Comparative Simulink/MATLAB modeling demonstrates that the enhanced BAO algorithm significantly outperforms traditional PID control, BAS, and adaptive weighted-PSO in reducing static error, overshoot, and adjustment time under various conditions, including scenarios with external disturbances. Our results indicate a 60% improvement in the optimization performance of speed curve metrics, confirming the enhanced efficacy and robustness of the robotic control system. This research offers valuable insights into the advantages of the refined BAO algorithm, providing a comprehensive basis for its practical application in industrial robotic control systems.

A Theoretical Study on the Degradation Mechanism, Kinetics, and Ecotoxicity of Metronidazole (MNZ) in •OH- and SO4•--Assisted Advanced Oxidation Processes.

Metronidazole (MNZ), a typical example of nitroimidazole antibiotics, is widely used in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by anaerobic bacteria. The degradation mechanism and kinetics of MNZ in the presence of HO• and SO4•- were studied using density functional theory (DFT). It was confirmed that both HO• and SO4•- easily added to the carbon atom bonded to the NO2 group in the MNZ molecule as the most feasible reaction channel. This study shows that subsequent reactions of the most important product (M-P) include the O2 addition, hydrogen abstraction and bond breakage mechanisms. The rate constants of HO• and SO4•--initiated MNZ in the aqueous phase were calculated in the temperature range of 278-318 K. The total rate constants of MNZ with HO• and SO4•- were determined to be 8.52 × 109 and 1.69 × 109 M-1s-1 at 298 K, which were consistent with experimental values of (3.54 ± 0.42) × 109 and (2.74 ± 0.13) × 109 M-1s-1, respectively. The toxicity of MNZ and its degradation products to aquatic organisms has been predicted. The results proposed that the toxicity of the initial degradation product (M-P) was higher than that of MNZ. However, further degradation products of MNZ induced by HO• were not harmful to three aquatic organisms (fish, daphnia, and green algae). This study provides a comprehensive theoretical basis for understanding the degradation behavior of MNZ.

Zero-Dimensional Carbon Nanomaterials for Fluorescent Sensing and Imaging.

Advances in nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted considerable interest and play key roles in scientific innovations in diverse fields. In particular, increased attention has been focused on carbon-based nanomaterials exhibiting diverse extended structures and unique properties. Among these materials, zero-dimensional structures, including fullerenes, carbon nano-onions, carbon nanodiamonds, and carbon dots, possess excellent bioaffinities and superior fluorescence properties that make these structures suitable for application to environmental and biological sensing, imaging, and therapeutics. This review provides a systematic overview of the classification and structural properties, design principles and preparation methods, and optical properties and sensing applications of zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterials. Recent interesting breakthroughs in the sensitive and selective sensing and imaging of heavy metal pollutants, hazardous substances, and bioactive molecules as well as applications in information encryption, super-resolution and photoacoustic imaging, and phototherapy and nanomedicine delivery are the main focus of this review. Finally, future challenges and prospects of these materials are highlighted and envisaged. This review presents a comprehensive basis and directions for designing, developing, and applying fascinating fluorescent sensors fabricated based on zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterials for specific requirements in numerous research fields.

Adaptive multi-scale TF-net for high-resolution time–frequency representations

A novel adaptive multi-scale time–frequency network (AMTFN) is proposed to provide high-resolution time–frequency representations for nonstationary signals. AMTFN is an end-to-end deep network, which firstly adaptively learns the comprehensive basis functions to produce time–frequency (TF) feature maps through multi-scale 1D convolutional kernels. Then, the channel attention mechanism is embedded into AMTFN to rescale the TF feature maps selectively. Thus, the subsequent residual encoder–decoder block’s energy concentration performance is greatly improved with these rescaled TF feature maps. Besides, this paper designs a new training strategy to elegantly enable the model to pay more attention to the intersections of instantaneous frequency trajectories. In the end, a series of simulations as well as real-world cases, are studied to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method.

Unfolding the role of the PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway in male breast cancer: A pragmatic appraisal

Breast cancer in men is rare, but a relevant public health issue, yielding a 25% higher risk of mortality comparing to female counterparts. The representation of males in clinical trials has been scarce and treatment decisions are based mainly on extrapolations from data in females. In the setting of estrogen-dependent metastatic disease, the use of everolimus has been seldom reported, although the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway seems to be a critical oncogenic driver. This paper dissects hallmark biological features of ER+/HER2-advanced male breast cancer, setting a comprehensive basis to promote personalized care, focusing on the potential of targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Neural Correlates of Object-Extracted Relative Clause Processing Across English and Chinese

Abstract Are the brain bases of language comprehension the same across all human languages, or do these bases vary in a way that corresponds to differences in linguistic typology? English and Mandarin Chinese attest such a typological difference in the domain of relative clauses. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging with English and Chinese participants, who listened to the same translation-equivalent story, we analyzed neuroimages time aligned to object-extracted relative clauses in both languages. In a general linear model analysis of these naturalistic data, comprehension was selectively associated with increased hemodynamic activity in left posterior temporal lobe, angular gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex in both languages. This result suggests the processing of object-extracted relative clauses is subserved by a common collection of brain regions, regardless of typology. However, there were also regions that were activated uniquely in our Chinese participants albeit not to a significantly greater degree. These were in the temporal lobe. These Chinese-specific results could reflect structural ambiguity-resolution work that must be done in Chinese but not English object-extracted relative clauses.

Daily Monitoring of Ripening Processes of a Tomato Using an Original Handheld Visible–Near-Infrared Spectrometer

A handheld visible- and shortwave near-infrared spectrometer has been developed for monitoring daily changes in fruits and vegetables. The ripening processes of a mini tomato sample have been monitored daily for about 100 days by this instrument and color values L*a*b* and Brix were measured. Obtained reflection spectra in the 400–1050 nm range were converted to absorption spectra and daily changes of band areas of chlorophyll a (Ch1 a; 640–710 nm), carotenoids (460–520 nm), lycopene (545–600 nm), and water + sugar (920–1050 nm) were determined. The band area of lycopene increased rapidly from 36 to 44 days associated with the increase in a* value, indicating that the increase in the reddish color originated from the increase of lycopene. On the other hand, the band area of Chl a decreased exponentially over 100 days. This Chl a decrease could be well fitted by the first-order reaction giving the rate constant k = 4.07 × 10–7 s–1. These quantitative daily changes of pigments in fruits and vegetables are expected to provide comprehensive bases for their cultivation and harvest.

Assessment of Barriers to the Implementation of Smart Contracts in Construction Projects—Evidence from Turkey

Despite their promising potential, the level of implementation of smart contracts is not at the desired level. To expedite the acceptance and deployment of smart contracts, the barriers to the implementation of smart contracts should be revealed. Past studies, however, do not provide a comprehensive theoretical basis due to several methodological drawbacks. Thus, this study aims to identify and assess the barriers to the implementation of smart contracts by considering the inherent characteristics of the construction industry. An in-depth literature review was initially conducted to extract all barriers proposed in the literature. Then, focus group discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted with the participation of the construction practitioners. In the FGD session, the results of the literature review were validated, and nine additional barriers were proposed. Finally, a total of 20 barriers under five categories was proposed for the smart contract adoption in the construction industry. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted with the participation of 15 construction practitioners. Lastly, fuzzy VIKOR analysis was performed to assess the criticality of the implementation barriers. This study indicates that the construction companies should overcome not only technical barriers but also managerial barriers. Changes in the processes arisen due to smart contract implementation prevent the construction from implementing a smart contract, since the employees show resistance to these changes. Furthermore, the companies believe that they can lose their bargaining power with smart contracts, and they do not want to lose their power. Bottlenecks are considered the most critical barrier from a technological perspective, and companies are concerned about the problems resulting from them. Although this study provides insights into the barriers to smart contracts in the construction industry, all the respondents are from Turkey. Therefore, some of the findings of this study can be specific to the Turkish construction industry.

Comparing the adsorption of methyl orange and malachite green on similar yet distinct polyamide microplastics: Uncovering hydrogen bond interactions

Microplastics (MPs) and dye pollutants are widespread in aquatic environments. Here, the adsorption characteristics of anionic dye methyl orange (MO) and cationic dye malachite green (MG) on polyamide 6 (PA6) and polyamide 66 (PA66) MPs were investigated, including kinetics, isotherm equilibrium and thermodynamics. The co-adsorption of MO and MG under different pH was also evaluated. The results reveal that the adsorption process of MO and MG is suitably expounded by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The process can be characterized by two stages: internal diffusion and external diffusion. The isothermal adsorption equilibrium of MO and MG can be effectively described using the Langmuir model, signifying monolayer adsorption. Furthermore, the thermodynamic results indicated that the adsorption was spontaneous with exothermic and endothermic properties, respectively. The results of binary systems reveal that MO dominates the adsorption at low pH (2–5), while MG dominates at high pH (8–10). Strong competitive adsorption was observed between MO and MG in neutral conditions (pH 6–8). The desorption experiments confirm that PA6 and PA66 could serve as potential carriers of MO and MG. The interaction between dyes and polyamide MPs is primarily mediated through hydrogen bonds and electrostatic attraction. The results reveal that PA6 formed more hydrogen bonds with the dyes, resulting in higher adsorption capacity than that of PA66. This difference can be attributed to the disparities in the synthesis process and polymerization method. Our study uncovered the adsorption mechanism of dye pollutants on PA6 and PA66, and provided a more comprehensive theoretical basis for the risk assessment concerning different types of polyamide MPs in aquatic environments.

HiPrompt: Few-Shot Biomedical Knowledge Fusion via Hierarchy-Oriented Prompting.

Medical decision-making processes can be enhanced by comprehensive biomedical knowledge bases, which require fusing knowledge graphs constructed from different sources via a uniform index system. The index system often organizes biomedical terms in a hierarchy to provide the aligned entities with fine-grained granularity. To address the challenge of scarce supervision in the biomedical knowledge fusion (BKF) task, researchers have proposed various unsupervised methods. However, these methods heavily rely on ad-hoc lexical and structural matching algorithms, which fail to capture the rich semantics conveyed by biomedical entities and terms. Recently, neural embedding models have proved effective in semantic-rich tasks, but they rely on sufficient labeled data to be adequately trained. To bridge the gap between the scarce-labeled BKF and neural embedding models, we propose HiPrompt, a supervision-efficient knowledge fusion framework that elicits the few-shot reasoning ability of large language models through hierarchy-oriented prompts. Empirical results on the collected KG-Hi-BKF benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of HiPrompt.

Pyrolysis oil from post-consumer packaging and its ageing: Physical and chemical properties and drop-in performance in a power generating unit

Waste plastics/pyrolysis oil (WPO) obtained from a batch rotary kiln pyrolysis reactor was collected and stored for 60 months in dark at 10 °C, periodically thoroughly characterized for changes in physical and chemical properties and finally tested as the drop-in fuel for power generating units. Changes during storage were manifested through chain length increase from C5-C33 to C5-C43 and distillation curve shift for 150 °C. The changes were attributed to repolymerization reactions and consequently lowered alkene to alkane ratio, occurring at a slow rate during storage. The drop-in performance of aged WPO was evaluated under a wide range of operating parameters in a compression ignition engine based power generating unit. The results were compared with those obtained with conventional diesel fuel at the same injection and gas path parameters. Emission wise, the trends obtained for aged WPO and diesel were differing in the range of 20%, while more than 50% lower CO emissions could be obtained with WPO in optimized operating points, albeit the order of magnitude higher viscosity of aged WPO. With tailored control strategies and careful guidance of in-cylinder thermodynamic conditions it is possible to exploit the increased alkane content of aged WPO. Results provide a comprehensive basis for further development of control strategies, oriented towards stationary power generation applications with high intermittency, where long and mid-term storage of WPO is expected.

Genotoxicity assessment: opportunities, challenges and perspectives for quantitative evaluations of dose-response data.

Genotoxicity data are mainly interpreted in a qualitative way, which typically results in a binary classification of chemical entities. For more than a decade, there has been a discussion about the need for a paradigm shift in this regard. Here, we review current opportunities, challenges and perspectives for a more quantitative approach to genotoxicity assessment. Currently discussed opportunities mainly include the determination of a reference point (e.g., a benchmark dose) from genetic toxicity dose-response data, followed by calculation of a margin of exposure (MOE) or derivation of a health-based guidance value (HBGV). In addition to new opportunities, major challenges emerge with the quantitative interpretation of genotoxicity data. These are mainly rooted in the limited capability of standard in vivo genotoxicity testing methods to detect different types of genetic damage in multiple target tissues and the unknown quantitative relationships between measurable genotoxic effects and the probability of experiencing an adverse health outcome. In addition, with respect to DNA-reactive mutagens, the question arises whether the widely accepted assumption of a non-threshold dose-response relationship is at all compatible with the derivation of a HBGV. Therefore, at present, any quantitative genotoxicity assessment approach remains to be evaluated case-by-case. The quantitative interpretation of in vivo genotoxicity data for prioritization purposes, e.g., in connection with the MOE approach, could be seen as a promising opportunity for routine application. However, additional research is needed to assess whether it is possible to define a genotoxicity-derived MOE that can be considered indicative of a low level of concern. To further advance quantitative genotoxicity assessment, priority should be given to the development of new experimental methods to provide a deeper mechanistic understanding and a more comprehensive basis for the analysis of dose-response relationships.

Differential RNA-Seq Analysis Predicts Genes Related to Terpene Tailoring in Caryopteris × clandonensis.

Enzymatic terpene functionalization is an essential part of plant secondary metabolite diversity. Within this, multiple terpene-modifying enzymes are required to enable the chemical diversity of volatile compounds essential in plant communication and defense. This work sheds light on the differentially transcribed genes within Caryopteris × clandonensis that are capable of functionalizing cyclic terpene scaffolds, which are the product of terpene cyclase action. The available genomic reference was subjected to further improvements to provide a comprehensive basis, where the number of contigs was minimized. RNA-Seq data of six cultivars, Dark Knight, Grand Bleu, Good as Gold, Hint of Gold, Pink Perfection, and Sunny Blue, were mapped on the reference, and their distinct transcription profile investigated. Within this data resource, we detected interesting variations and additionally genes with high and low transcript abundancies in leaves of Caryopteris × clandonensis related to terpene functionalization. As previously described, different cultivars vary in their modification of monoterpenes, especially limonene, resulting in different limonene-derived molecules. This study focuses on predicting the cytochrome p450 enzymes underlying this varied transcription pattern between investigated samples. Thus, making them a reasonable explanation for terpenoid differences between these plants. Furthermore, these data provide the basis for functional assays and the verification of putative enzyme activities.