Core Index Research Articles

Prognostic value of some leukocyte indices of intoxication and reactivity in fish under the action of physico-chemical stressors

Purpose: determining the prognostic value of leukocyte indexes of intoxication and reactivity in fish under the action of some physicochemical stressors.Materials and methods. The object of the study was the lady of the roach of ordinary Rutilus Rutilus (L.). Control and experimental groups were formed taking into account the principle of analogues (n = 90). The average mass (PP) is 5.29 ± 1.0 g, length (TL) - 7.22 ± 0.39 cm, fish of the juvenile period of development (the sexual structure was not installed). The individuals were accumulated (10 days) and contained the following indices in aquariums (volume - 200 l.) We examined the core index, a leukocytic index of intoxication, blood leukocyte shear index, and a leukocytal index. As physico-chemical stressors, subcutal concentrations of copper (exposition in copper salt 0.01 mg/l and 0.1 mg/l for 7 and 14 days) were studied; imitation of the main phase and the initial period of the phase of geomagnetic storm; The action of high temperature.Results. The analysis of leukocyte indexes of intoxication and reactivity showed that in fish the Krebs index and a leukocytic index have the greatest prognostic importance. The information content of the blood leukocyte shear index and the leukocyte intoxication index should be considered controversial. The blood leukocyte shift index increased only with the exposure of copper salts for 14 days and with the action of physical stressors. Statistically significant changes in the blood leukocyte shift index during exposure by copper salts for 7 days have not been revealed, which may indicate a low sensitivity of the index. The results obtained during the calculation of the leukocyte index of intoxication are similar to the results when determining the Krebs index. Specific changes in the index under the action of physico-chemical stressors have not been identified.

Determining the contribution of attachment styles and coping styles in predicting the instability of married life with the mediating role of resilience in conflicted couples

Background and Aim: Marital stability is considered a core index of continuity and durability of mutual independence, trust and friendship, and it is considered a predictor of marital happiness, and is influenced by many individual and interpersonal factors. Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop a structural model for predicting the instability of married life based on attachment styles and coping styles: the mediating role of resilience in conflicted couples. Methods: The descriptive research method was correlation type. The statistical population included couples who were referred to police counselling centres in Tehran in 2019, and 300 people were selected as a statistical sample using the available (voluntary) sampling method. The members of the statistical sample responded to Edwards et al.'s marital stability instability scale (1987), coping styles questionnaire by Lazarus and Folkman (1985) and Connor and Davidson resilience questionnaire (2003). Results: The findings showed that coping styles directly predict the instability of marital life in conflicted couples, and resilience had a significant mediating role in the relationship between emotion-oriented and problem-oriented coping styles and marital instability. In addition, the results showed resilience had a significant mediating role in the relationship between secure attachment style, insecure-avoidant attachment style and marital instability (P < 0.01). However, resilience did not have a significant mediating role in the relationship between bisexual attachment style and marital instability (P > 0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that teaching effective coping styles, paying attention to resilience and identifying attachment styles of couples can prevent injuries that threaten the stability of married life.

Grid Inertia and Damping Support Enabled by Proposed Virtual Inductance Control for Grid-Forming Virtual Synchronous Generator

Inertia and damping are the core index of the estimation of power system stability. Existing analysis to the support of inertia and damping are focused on the improvement of system stability as well as parameters tuning of virtual inertia and virtual damping but rarely involved in the quantitative calculation of level of inertia and damping under a certain condition. Based on this background, this article puts forward a unified calculation method to identify the equivalence of inertia and damping under various ratios of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">R_g</i> / <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">X_g</i> . In addition, the quantity of improved inertia and damping support enabled by virtual inductance control are estimated by the derived calculation model of equivalence. The calculated mathematical model of equivalence of inertia and damping is well verified by the overlapped eigenvalues distribution. Besides, the negative synchronous power will inevitably influence the aperiodic loss of synchronization (ALoS) of power system caused by the large virtual inductance. Therefore, a solution should be derived to make a compromise between oscillation damping and ALoS by tuning the value of virtual inductance. Finally, the simulation and experiment results in various cases verify the effectiveness of the proposed equivalent damping and inertia calculation method as well as virtual inductance control.

Energy Availability Factors Drive the Geographical Pattern of Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) in the Arid and Semiarid Areas of China

Species richness is regarded as the core index of biogeography. Estimating the correlation between species richness and modern environmental factors will be of great significance for species conservation. The arid and semiarid areas of China present serious desertification, but there are rich biodiversity resources of high value. In this study, we evaluated species diversity, species richness, and the correlation between species richness and modern environmental factors using the species of Tenebrionidae in arid and semiarid areas of China, which will provide basic data for species conservation. The species richness was measured using 1° × 1° grid cells, and its determinants were explored based on generalized linear models (GLMs) and random forest models. A total of 696 species, belonging to 125 genera of 38 tribes and 7 subfamilies, were recorded in the study area. The non-uniform species richness pattern was presented, with more species in Altai, Tianshan, Nyenchen Thanglha and Helan Mountains. The species richness was affected by a variety of environmental factors. The variables representing energy availability and climate stability had stronger explanatory power, especially the annual mean temperature (BIO1) and the mean temperature of warmest quarter (BIO10). In contrast, water availability and habitat heterogeneity have relatively little correlation with species richness.

Pressure Measurement of Coal Seam with Active Nitrogen Injection: Model and Experimental Analysis.

Coal seam gas pressure is the core index of coal mine gas disaster prevention and control. Research on active nitrogen injection pressure measurement can effectively shorten the pressure measurement time and is of great significance to improve the pressure measurement efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to study the variation in gas pressure in the process of active nitrogen injection and the influence of different gas injection pressures on pressure measurement. Through the design of active pressure test device, pressure measurement experiments with different nitrogen injection pressures were carried out. The multicomponent gas migration model of active pressure measurement was constructed, and the active pressure numerical solver was developed based on OpenFOAM and C++ language. The borehole gas pressure equation was verified by field pressure data. The results show that when the injected nitrogen pressure is closer to the original coal seam gas pressure, the borehole gas pressure balance time is shorter. The gas change rate in this process depends on the pressure difference and concentration difference between the borehole and the surrounding coal. When the nitrogen injection pressure is greater than the gas pressure around the borehole, N2 will percolate, diffuse, and adsorb into the coal. In contrast, it is dominated by the desorption, diffusion, and seepage of CH4 to the borehole. The correlation coefficient R 2 between the borehole gas pressure equation and the field pressure measurement data is more than 0.88. Therefore, the equation can verify the reliability of the measurement results of active gas injection pressure in the field. The research results provide a reference for further understanding the mechanism and application of pressure measurement in coal seam injected with active nitrogen.

Comparison of five weaning indices in predicting successful weaning from mechanical ventilation

Introduction: Mechanical ventilation is a life-supporting modality used in patients with respiratory failure. Most patients are extubated early but weaning can be prolonged in some. Aim: Comparison of accuracy of prediction of success of a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) using CORE, CROP, RSBI, RSBI rate and minute ventilation recovery. Methods: This is a prospective observational study. 62 adult patients admitted to Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Unit during April 2012 - January 2013 were studied. All patients, orotracheally intubated and mechanically ventilated for at least 24 hours and ready for weaning were enrolled. The patients underwent SBT using pressure support ventilation (5 – 8 cm H2O), PEEP of 5 - 8 cm H2O, and 40% oxygen. The weaning indices were measured at 30 min and correlated with weaning success. Results: The mean (± SD) age was 49.7 (± 18.3) years. There were 46 male and 16 female patients. The threshold values were as follows: CORE index: ≥ 6, CROP index: ≥ 13, RSBI &lt; 105 b/min/L, RSBI rate ≤ 20%. The sensitivity (%), specificity (%) and AUC of ROC curve were as follows: CORE (96, 66, 0.74), CROP (95, 33, 0.61), RSBI (89, 46, 0.2), RSBI rate (85, 28, 0.52) and minute ventilation recovery (higher than baseline minute ventilation at 25 min of rest on initial ventilator settings after 30 min of SBT) (n = 26) (92.3, 100, 0.93). Conclusion: CORE and RSBI are moderately accurate while CROP and RSBI rate are inaccurate. Minute ventilation recovery predicted weaning failure accurately.

Driving factors of spatial-temporal difference in China's transportation sector carbon productivity: an empirical analysis based on Geodetector method.

Carbon productivity is the core index to measure the performance of carbon emission reduction. Exploring the driving factors of the spatial-temporal differences in China's transportation sector, carbon productivity (TSCP) is conducive to the low-carbon sustainable development of the transportation sector. Based on the calculation of TSCP in 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019, we use time series, spatial visualization, and Dagum Gini coefficient to reveal the characteristics of spatial-temporal evolution and regional differences of TSCP, and uses Geodetector to identify the driving factors that affecting the spatial-temporal differences of TSCP. The results are as follows: (1) from 2000 to 2019, China's TSCP shows a U-shaped change trend of "decline to rise," and shows a spatial pattern of "high in the eastern and central, low in the western". (2) There are obvious regional differences in China's TSCP. The differences within each region show the trend of "eastern > central > western," while the differences between regions show the trend of "central-western > eastern-western > eastern-central," and the differences between regions are the main reason for the overall differences. (3) The spatial-temporal differences in China's TSCP are affected by many factors, such as social economy and self-endowment. Overall, energy intensity, foreign trade, technological innovation level, energy structure, and industrial structure are the dominant factors. Additionally, the interaction between the driving factors enhances the impact on the spatial-temporal differences of TSCP. Finally, according to the analysis results, some policy suggestions are put forward to improve TSCP.

Effects of different cooking treatments on the sensory qualities and pigmented phytochemicals of carrots

Effects of different cooking treatments including steaming (S), boiling (B), stir-frying (SF) and frying (F) on the sensory qualities and pigmented phytochemicals of “Guanghong” carrot were studied based on intelligent sensory technology and targeted metabolomics, with fresh carrot slices (R) as control. Results showed cooking treatments reduced the brightness, redness, yellowness, and color saturation, and h° was the core index reflecting consumers’ preference for the color characteristics of cooked carrots. The overall acceptability of cooked carrots was higher than R, and S gave carrots the best taste. (E/Z)-phytoene, α-carotene and β-carotene were the most dominant carotenoids monomers. None of the four cooking methods resulted in a loss of total monomer carotenoids content (TMCC) in carrots. B and SF increased the contents of xanthophyll and carotene, respectively, while the carotenoid esters’s content remained stable during cooking. SF significantly increased TMCC and the contents of γ-carotene, α-carotene and (E/Z)-phytoene (p < 0.05). Pel-3-O-glu was the most important anthocyanins monomer in “Guanghong” carrot.

The Integration of Digital Technologies in the European Union based on the DESI Index

Since the 2000s, the European Commission has been paying particular attention to the digital development of the European economy and society. Since 2014, the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) has been one of the key tools for monitoring and measuring. In 2021, the DESI index's core indicators were aligned with the objectives of the 2030 Digital Agenda, which has four dimensions: human capital, connectivity, integration of digital technology, and digital public services. We sought to determine whether convergence between the Member States could be detected using the third dimension of DESI's annual database. The σ-convergence analysis was used to estimate the reduction over time of the differences in digital technology integration between the Member States, while the β-convergence analysis was used to estimate the rate of catching up with the initial level of development. The σ- and β-convergence were not confirmed. We examined the individual indicators (11) of the integration of digital technology to identify critical areas that need to be addressed in the future to ensure that digital inclusion is as widespread as possible. Our analysis focused on the Member States that joined the EU during the Eastern European enlargements. The performance of all individual indicators is typically below the EU average, and, as the β-convergence analysis shows, the average catching-up rate is not encouraging.

Monitoring and early warning of a metal mine tailings pond based on a deep learning bidirectional recurrent long and short memory network.

The effective monitoring and early warning capability of metal mine tailings ponds can improve the associated safety risk management level. The infiltration line is an important core index of tailings pond stability. In this paper, a tailings pond monitoring and early warning system, which provides technical support for the design and daily management of tailings reservoir early warning systems, is constructed. Based on a deep learning bidirectional recurrent long and short memory network, an infiltration line prediction model with univariate input and an infiltration line prediction model with multivariate input are proposed. The data adopted are those from four monitoring points of the same cross-section at different positions and data from one adjacent internal lateral displacement and internal vertical displacement monitoring point. Using the adaptive moment estimation (Adam) optimization algorithm and the root mean square error (RMSE) model evaluation metric, the multilayer perceptron model, univariate input model, and multivariate input model are compared. This work shows that their RMSEs are 0.10611, 0.09966, and 0.11955, respectively.

The clinical impact of serum 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol levels on coronary artery calcification and adverse outcomes assessed by coronary optical coherence tomography in diabetic patients.

BackgroundSerum 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol (1,5-AG) is a novel biomarker for short-term glycemic status and postprandial hyperglycemia. The association between serum 1,5-AG levels and coronary artery calcification (CAC) through a quantitative assessment using optical coherence tomography (OCT) is unclear. We aimed to evaluate this association using OCT in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).MethodsFrom June 2016 to December 2019, we prospectively enrolled 256 patients who underwent OCT-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Half of the patients had diabetes. Patients were followed up for a mean period of 1.8 ± 0.8 years (median: 2.2 years). The relative calcium index and relative lipid core index measured by quantitative OCT analysis were used to evaluate the intra-plaque calcium and lipid levels of culprit plaques. We also analyzed the correlation between serum 1,5-AG levels and long-term major adverse cardiovascular events.ResultsSerum 1,5-AG levels were significantly lower in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients (DM vs. non-DM: 55.6 ± 27.9 μg/mL vs. 63.7 ± 26.1 μg/mL, p = 0.016), and lower in fibrocalcified lesions than in fibrotic or fibrolipidic lesions (fibrocalcified vs. fibrotic or fibrolipidic: 42.8 ± 19.1 vs. 72.9 ± 25.2 or 66.4 ± 27.5 μg/mL, p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, we found a significant inverse correlation between serum 1,5-AG levels and relative calcium index (r = −0.729, p < 0.001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, low serum 1,5-AG level was identified as an independent predictor for major adverse cardiovascular events in diabetic patients (p = 0.043), but not in non-diabetic patients (p = 0.748) after adjusting for age and sex.ConclusionThis study revealed that low serum 1,5-AG levels were associated with an increased risk of CAC as assessed by OCT, especially in diabetic patients. Low serum 1,5-AG levels may predict future major adverse cardiovascular events in diabetic patients undergoing OCT-guided PCI.

Development of Enzyme-Free DNA Amplifier Based on Chain Reaction Principle

Enzyme-free DNA amplifiers can amplify the signal of nucleic acid molecules. They can be applied to DNA molecular operation and nucleic acid detection. The reaction speed is the core index to evaluate DNA amplifiers. In this study, we designed a DNA amplifier based on an enzyme-free chain reaction. This DNA amplifier can release one more signal molecule in each round of reaction and trigger the next round, which significantly improved reaction speed. Moreover, because the amplifier used a stable DNA structure, the reaction can occur at room temperature. To integrate the amplifier into other DNA molecular operations, we performed the amplification reaction in a microfluidic chip module. The results showed that the amplifier can realize real-time signal feedback at a proper input molecule concentration and reach the endpoint in 40 s, even at a low relative concentration. To apply the amplifier for nucleic acid detection, we also used a conventional fluorescent polymerase chain reaction instrument for the reaction. The results showed that the amplifier specifically detected trace DNA single-stranded molecules. To solve the leakage problem of existing amplifiers, we designed a DNA molecule as the chain reaction's inhibitor, which was crucial in controlling the reaction speed and preventing leakage. Statement of significanceTraditional amplifier strategies of enzyme-free DNA amplifiers relied on a constant number of cycling molecules to catalyze the amplifier molecules’ changing structure and release fluorescent signals, which lead low reaction speed. Based on an enzyme-free chain reaction, we designed a DNA amplifier which can release one more cycling molecule in each loop and trigger the next loop and significantly improve reaction speed in this study. Our analysis on microfluidic chip module and PCR instrument verifies high sensitivity and selectivity. And this strategy of DNA amplifier realizes the control of reaction and prevents leakage. We believe that this automated amplification strategy could have great applications in vivo signal detection, imaging, and signal molecule translation.

Zeros in the character tables of symmetric groups with an -core index

AbstractLet $\mathcal {C}_n =\left [\chi _{\lambda }(\mu )\right ]_{\lambda , \mu }$ be the character table for $S_n,$ where the indices $\lambda $ and $\mu $ run over the $p(n)$ many integer partitions of $n.$ In this note, we study $Z_{\ell }(n),$ the number of zero entries $\chi _{\lambda }(\mu )$ in $\mathcal {C}_n,$ where $\lambda $ is an $\ell $ -core partition of $n.$ For every prime $\ell \geq 5,$ we prove an asymptotic formula of the form $$ \begin{align*}Z_{\ell}(n)\sim \alpha_{\ell}\cdot \sigma_{\ell}(n+\delta_{\ell})p(n)\gg_{\ell} n^{\frac{\ell-5}{2}}e^{\pi\sqrt{2n/3}}, \end{align*} $$ where $\sigma _{\ell }(n)$ is a twisted Legendre symbol divisor function, $\delta _{\ell }:=(\ell ^2-1)/24,$ and $1/\alpha _{\ell }&gt;0$ is a normalization of the Dirichlet L-value $L\left (\left ( \frac {\cdot }{\ell } \right ),\frac {\ell -1}{2}\right ).$ For primes $\ell $ and $n&gt;\ell ^6/24,$ we show that $\chi _{\lambda }(\mu )=0$ whenever $\lambda $ and $\mu $ are both $\ell $ -cores. Furthermore, if $Z^*_{\ell }(n)$ is the number of zero entries indexed by two $\ell $ -cores, then, for $\ell \geq 5$ , we obtain the asymptotic $$ \begin{align*}Z^*_{\ell}(n)\sim \alpha_{\ell}^2 \cdot \sigma_{\ell}( n+\delta_{\ell})^2 \gg_{\ell} n^{\ell-3}. \end{align*} $$

Study on the Effect of Vegetation Coverage on Urban Cooling and Energy Conservation: A Case Study of a Typical Hilly City, Chenzhou, China

Urban vegetation coverage is a core index in urban planning, which has been confirmed to be an effective indicator for the urban thermal environment. Through the urban thermal environment, this study aims to further quantify the impact of vegetation coverage on urban energy consumption. Chenzhou, a typical hilly city, was selected as the study object for its diversified vegetation coverages. Remote sensing technology and correlation and regression models were employed in this study. Firstly, the data of land surface temperature and vegetation coverage were calculated with remote sensing technology, followed by data analysis with the correlation and regression models. Then, employing the “λ-T” model, a statistical model corresponding to urban temperature and energy, this study clarified the impact of temperature on urban energy consumption. Finally, through urban temperature, this study analyzed the impact of urban greening coverage on urban energy consumption. This study shows that when the temperature ranges from 22 °C to 28.9 °C, every 10% of additional vegetation coverage will reduce the air conditioning energy demands by 5.5%, and when the temperature is between 28.9 °C and 37 °C, every 10% of additional vegetation coverage will reduce the mean air conditioning energy demands by 2.4%.

Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon of Eroded Cultivated Layer of Slope Farmland in Purple Hilly Area

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest carbon pool in the terrestrial ecosystem. It is not only the core index of cultivated land soil quality evaluation but also an important part of the global carbon cycle. In order to understand the response characteristics of SOC in the cultivated layer to the interaction of soil erosion and management measures, the eroded cultivated layer of typical purple soil slope farmland in the Three Gorges Reservoir area was the research object. The in-situ tests of five erosion degrees on sloping farmland were established using the shovel erosion simulation test method; taking no fertilizer (CK) as a control measure, two types of restorative management measures were set up, namely chemical fertilizer (F) and biochar+chemical fertilizer (BF), to clarify the differences in SOC content under different erosion degrees and management measures and to analyze the variation characteristics and interannual variation trend of SOC along the cultivated-layer profile. The results showed that:① BF significantly increased the soil organic carbon content in the cultivated layer of purple soil slope farmland; the SOC of BF was 90.25% and 23.84% higher than that of CK and F on average, respectively. Soil erosion significantly reduced the content of SOC (12.25%-27.74%) under CK measures, but there was no significant difference in the profile distribution of SOC under different erosion degrees. ② The SOC content in the surface layer (0-10 cm) of slope farmland was the highest, and the two measures had the most obvious effect on improving the SOC contents, which were 120.59% and 66.90%, respectively. ③ After three consecutive years of experiments, the SOC content in the cultivated-layer of slope farmland changed significantly. Under CK, the average annual loss of SOC was 12.52%, whereas under BF, the average annual increase in SOC content was 9.31%. ④ The correlation between SOC and soil physical and chemical properties was different in the various soil layers; the deeper the soil layer was, the weaker the correlation was. Therefore, biochar combined with chemical fertilizer (BF) was an important management measure to improve the erosive cultivated layer and enhance soil fertility for slope farmland in the purple hilly area. The results of this study can provide basic parameters for the rational regulation of cultivated layers and the improvement of soil fertility.

Investigations of the Activity of Phenobarbitone in Mice Models of Depression

Background: Depression is a severe neurological condition that interferes with the brain neurochemistry and downstream signaling pathways that are involved in the regulation of mood and behavior. Studies have highlighted the antidepressant potential of GABA mimetics such as Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines. Objective: This study investigated the activities of Phenobarbitone in acute and chronic mice models of depression. Methodology: The experimental animals received a single intraperitoneal injection of Phenobarbitone 10mg/kg, 5mg/kg, 2.5mg/kg and 0.5mg/kg respectively. Imipramine 20mg/kg was used as a positive control and 0.1mg/kg of distilled water was used as the negative control. The experimental animals were subjected to a series of stressors using neurobehavioral assays in the Forced swimming test (FST), Tail suspension test (TST), and Chronic mild stress (CMS) models of depression. The duration of immobility in the TST and FST were taken as an index of behavioral despair which is a core index of depression, while aversion to consumption of palatable solution containing 2% sucrose was also taken as index anhedonia, a symptom of depression. Result: A statistically significant decrease in the immobility time was observed in the highest dose tested i.e., 10 mg/kg Phenobarbitone (P&lt;0.05) in both phases of the study when compared to control. There was no statistically significant decrease in the immobility time in the 5mg/kg, 2.5mg/kg, and 0.5mg/kg groups in both phases of the experiment when compared to the control. Mice subjected to the Sucrose preference test showed an increase in sucrose preference at the highest dose tested, while mice subjected to the Open field test (OFT) following exposure to CMS paradigms did not show any statistically significant increase in locomotory activity (line crossings) when compared to control. Conclusion: The result of the study indicates that Phenobarbitone possesses antidepressant activity at the highest dose tested (10mg/kg).

The Role of Attention, Language Ability, and Language Experience in Children's Artificial Grammar Learning.

The current study examined the role of attention and language ability in nonverbal rule induction performance in a demographically diverse sample of school-age children. The participants included 43 English-speaking monolingual and 65 Spanish-English bilingual children between the ages of 5 and 9 years. Core Language Index standard scores from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition indexed children's language skills. Rule induction was measured via a visual artificial grammar learning task. Two equally complex finite-state artificial grammars were used. Children learned one grammar in a low attention condition (where children were exposed to symbol sequences with no distractors) and another grammar in a high attention condition (where distractor symbols were presented around the perimeter of the target symbol sequences). Overall, performance in the high attention condition was significantly worse than performance in the low attention condition. Children with robust language skills performed significantly better in the high attention condition than children with weaker language skills. Despite group differences in socioeconomic status, English language skills, and nonverbal intelligence, monolingual and bilingual children performed similarly to each other in both conditions. The results suggest that the ability to extract rules from visual input is attenuated by the presence of competing visual information and that language ability, but not bilingualism, may influence rule induction.

Applying landscape approach in assessing effectiveness of mangrove conservation in Ca Mau Cape National Park, Vietnam

ABSTRACT The study aims to assess the effectiveness of mangrove conservation in Ca Mau Cape National Park (CMCNP) during 1973–2018 using remote sensing and landscape metrics. The maximum likelihood method was used to classify time-series Landsat images with overall accuracy ranging from 87.8% to 90.3% and Kappa from 0.83 to 0.88. Additionally, landscape structure which expresses the spatial pattern and the connections between landscape elements such as number, size, and shape were assessed using landscape metrics including Number of patches, Landscape Shape, Largest Patch, Cohesion, Core, Contiguity, and Contagion index. The results showed that mangroves increased by 1,078 ha (7%), and the landscape structure was simple in the first period (1973–1979). In the second period (1979–2003), mangroves decreased by 1,411 ha (9.2%) during 1989–1995, and then they increased by 4,564 ha (29.9%) from 1995 to 2003. The landscape structure was fragmented, disconnected, and had irregular shapes during the beginning but improved at the late phase. In the third period (2003–2018), mangroves increased by 1,596 ha (10.5%). In which, dense mangroves increased by 2,500 ha (16.4%). And sparse mangroves decreased by 904 ha (5.9%). The landscape structure was more homogenous and connected than the second period. Since CMCNP was established in 2003, mangroves have enlarged year by year. The landscape structure became more aggregated. These proved the effectiveness of mangrove conservation in both quality and quantity.

On wave propagation in piezoelectric-auxetic honeycomb-2D-FGM micro-sandwich beams based on modified couple stress and refined zigzag theories

In the present paper, wave propagation of micro-sandwich beams is investigated. The sandwich beam is consisted of the core, top, and bottom layers which are corresponding to auxetic honeycomb, piezoelectric, and Two-Dimensional Functionally Graded Material (2D-FGM), respectively. The material properties of the 2D-FGM layer differ in both thickness and axial directions. The structure is under the electric field with respect to the existence of piezoelectric material. Giving the hypothesis of modified couple stress theory (MCST) for size effects and the refined zigzag theory (RZT) for mathematical modeling, the equations of motion are gained based on Hamilton’s principle. The wave velocity, escaping frequency, and cut-off frequency of the structure are computed through the analytical method. The influences of different components (e.g. geometric parameters, electric field, auxetic honeycombs core, electric field, size parameter, and gradient index) of 2D-FGM layer on the wave velocity of the micro-sandwich beam are evaluated. The results illustrate that the wave velocity which is calculated by the modified couple stress theory increases by about 2.5 times than that in classic theory. Moreover, the phase velocity increases as the geometrical components of auxetic honeycombs core are enhanced.

Does Insurance Status Influence Outpatient Flow? Cross-Sectional Comparison of Insured and Uninsured Patients in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria.

Background: While patient satisfaction is a core index for the assessment of health quality, waiting time and payment mode in hospitals could influence outpatients’ flow and as well as their level of satisfaction. Objective: This study compared the waiting time of insured and uninsured patients seeking general outpatient care in a tertiary hospital. Methods: A total of 166 insured and 166 uninsured ambulatory adult patients seeking outpatient services were recruited by systematic random sampling and followed through their consultation at the outpatient clinic. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Science (version 20.0) at a 5% alpha level and power of 80%. Results: There were more males (54.8%) among the insured and more females (53.0%) among the uninsured, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = .153). There were significant differences in mean total idle time during outpatient visits (md = 65.7 min; 95% CI: 69.1, 162.8; P < .001) and total time spent (md=106.6 min; 95% CI: 204.8, 211.8; P < .001) in favor of insured patients. The time spent during the consultation was not significantly different (md = 0.8 min; 95% CI: 0.2, 1.7; P = .107). The insured patients were significantly more satisfied with the time spent waiting for nurses’ and doctors’ attention (P < .001). Conclusion: Significant variations exist in the time spent and level of satisfaction with time spent by insured and uninsured ambulatory patients. Findings call for improving efficiency in patient flow management especially for uninsured patients attending outpatient clinics in public hospitals.