Global Parameters Research Articles

Hydrodynamic analysis of nanofluids flow over 45° inclined porous square cylinder using Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model

AbstractVarious engineering applications commonly involve the flow of nanofluids over a porous 45° inclined square cylinder. Therefore, the current study is to assess the impact of the Darcy parameter (Da), nanoparticle volume fraction (ϕ), and Reynolds number (Re) on the momentum transport characteristics over the 45° inclined porous square cylinder. The governing equations were solved numerically using the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model for different values of Da ( ), nanoparticle volume fraction ϕ ( ), and Reynolds number Re ( ). The results for each parameter were visualized using streamline plots, velocity profiles within the porous cylinder, and vorticity contours. Complex flow behaviors were observed between Da = 10−3–10−2, flow separation detached and disappeared at the cylinder's downstream side at critical Darcy number. Drag and pressure coefficents are used to represent the global and local parameter of the flow fields. The pressure coefficient on the surface of the cylinder showed an inverse relationship with the nanoparticles volume fraction and Darcy number. The strength of the drag coefficient decreased with the addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid, with a decreasing trend observed for Da = 10−4–10−2 and no change observed for Da = 10−6–10−4. At last, the comparative analysis has been conducted between a porous square cylinder at 0° inclined and another 45° inclined.

H ii regions and diffuse ionized gas in the AMUSING++ Compilation – I. Catalogue presentation

ABSTRACT We present a catalogue of ∼52 000 extragalactic H ii regions and their spectroscopic properties obtained using Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS) from MUSE observations. The sample analysed in this study contains 678 galaxies within the nearby Universe (0.004 <z < 0.06) covering different morphological types and a wide range of stellar masses (6 < log(M*/M⊙) < 13). Each galaxy was analysed using the pipe3d and pyhiiextractor codes to obtain information of the ionized gas and underlying stellar populations. Specifically, the fluxes, equivalent widths, velocities and velocity dispersions of 30 emission lines covering the wavelength range between λ4750 to λ9300 Å, were extracted and were used to estimate luminosity weighted ages and metallicities of the underlying stellar populations from each H ii region (of the original sample we detect H ii regions in 539 galaxies). In addition, we introduce and apply a novel method and independent of any intrinsic physical property to estimate and decontaminate the contribution of the diffuse ionized gas. Using the final catalogue, we explore the dependence of properties of the H ii regions on different local and global galaxy parameters: (i) Hubble type, (ii) stellar mass, (iii) galactocentric distance, and (iv) the age and metallicity of the underlying/neighbour stellar populations. We confirm known relations between properties of the H ii regions and the underlying stellar populations (in particular, with the age) uncovered using data of lower spatial and spectral resolution. Furthermore, we describe the existence of two main families of diffuse ionized gas different for galaxies host or not of H ii regions.

β-induced Alfvén eigenmodes and fishbone driven by energetic electrons in EAST electron heating dominant plasmas

β-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (e-BAE) and fishbone (e-fishbone) driven by the energetic electrons have been identified on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak in electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), low hybrid wave (LHW) together with neutral beam injection plasma and in pure radio frequency heating plasma, respectively. The e-BAE is predominantly located near the pedestal region, and its frequency typically displays a chirping characteristic. The frequency is notably associated with the count of energetic electrons with energy between 30 keV and 80 keV driven by LHW and undergoes three distinct phases. A direct correlation is established between the frequency of e-BAE and the global parameters, including electron temperature, Alfvén velocity and βp . The e-fishbone emerges in the core and becomes noticeable shortly after ECRH initiation, in an electron heated dominant and core confinement enhanced discharge. Experimental analyses suggest that the e-fishbone ties closely with both the population and energy distribution of energetic electrons. These observations can provide valuable insights into the behavior of energetic electrons, which play a crucial role in the formation and sustainability of transport barriers within hybrid plasma, both in the internal and pedestal regions.

A data‐driven adaptive geospatial hotspot detection approach in smart cities

AbstractHotspot detection from geo‐referenced urban data is critical for smart city research, such as traffic management and policy making. However, the classical clustering or classification approach for hotspot detection mainly aims at identifying “hotspot areas” rather than specific points, and the setting of global parameters such as search bandwidth can lead to inaccurate results when processing multi‐density urban data. In this article, a data‐driven adaptive hotspot detection (AHD) approach based on kernel density analysis is proposed and applied to various spatial objects. The adaptive search bandwidth is automatically calculated depending on the local density. Window detection is used to extract the specific hotspots in AHD, thus realizing a small‐scale characterization of urban hotspots. Through the trajectory data of Harbin City taxis and New York City crime data, Geo‐information Tupu is used to analyze the obtained specific hotspots and verify the effectiveness of AHD, providing new ideas for further research.

Risk factors of adjacent-segment disease after short-segment fusion in patients with de novo degenerative lumbar scoliosis.

Short-segment fusion (SSF) is an effective surgical option for appropriately selected patients with de novo degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DNDLS). Considering that DNDLS is frequently accompanied by multisegment degeneration and potential instability across the entire lumbar segments, it is inevitable that unhealthy segments remain after SSF, thereby increasing the potential risk of adjacent-segment disease (ASD) occurrence. Therefore, the authors aimed to identify the risk factors for ASD in patients with DNDLS who underwent SSF. This retrospective study included 80 patients with DNDLS (Cobb angle > 10°) who underwent SSF (1 or 2 levels) between December 2010 and July 2018 with a minimum follow-up duration of 5 years. The participants were divided into two groups: ASD and non-ASD. ASD was defined as clinical ASD rather than radiographic ASD. Various patient and operative variables were compared between the groups. Global and regional radiographic parameters (preoperatively and postoperatively) were also compared between the two groups using plain radiography and MRI. Consequently, univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the risk factors for ASD occurrence. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the cutoff values. The mean ± SD age was 67.7 ± 7.2 years at the time of SSF, and there were 62 women (77.5%) enrolled in the study. Thirty patients (37.5%) were in the ASD group and 50 patients (62.5%) were in the non-ASD group. The mean time from the surgery to ASD diagnosis was 34.9 ± 28.2 months in ASD group. Thirteen patients required revision surgery at a mean time of 8.8 ± 7.0 months after ASD occurrence. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that preoperative disc wedging angle (OR 1.806, 95% CI 1.255-2.598, p = 0.001), presence of facet tropism (defined as ≥ 10° difference between the facet joint angles of the right and left sides) (OR 5.534, 95% CI 1.528-20.040, p = 0.009), and foraminal stenosis ≥ grade 2 (OR 5.935, 95% CI 1.253-28.117, p = 0.025) were significant risk factors for ASD development. The cutoff value of the preoperative disc wedging angle was calculated to be 2.5° using the ROC curve. Preoperative disc wedging angle ≥ 2.5°, presence of facet tropism, and foraminal stenosis ≥ grade 2 were identified as significant risk factors for ASD development after SSF in patients with DNDLS.

Pixel-Wise Gamma Correction Mapping for Low-Light Image Enhancement

Low-light image enhancement aims to improve the visual quality of images captured under poor illumination and has caught much attention these years. However, existing low-light enhancement methods encounter many problems, e.g., they may not be robust to diverse low-light conditions or have to sacrifice computational efficiency for enhancement performance, which hinder their practical applications. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a novel enhancement method, called Pixel-Wise Gamma Correction Mapping (PWGCM), which combines our innovative pixel-wise Gamma Correction (GC) and deep learning. Compared with conventional GC, our pixel-wise GC is characterized by a set of gamma correction maps, which have the same size as the input image and are taken to replace the single global GC parameter of conventional GC. These gamma correction maps are generated from the low-light image input by a lightweight convolutional neural network at low computational cost. New no-reference loss functions are provided to train the network, ensuring reliable unsupervised learning. Furthermore, our PWGCM is enhanced by an iterative strategy, under which the low-light input image is iteratively enhanced based on the generated gamma correction maps and can yield visually pleasant results. Extensive experiments are done to compare our PWGCM with several state-of-the-art methods in terms of visual quality, efficiency, and auxiliary effects on high-level tasks. The comparison results confirm the superiority of our PWGCM.

Spectroscopic, X-ray structure, radical scavenging and in vitro antifungal activities and catalytic degradation of methyl orange dye investigation of the Meso-tetrakis(p-tolyl) diprotonated porphyrin

With the aim to fully characterize the diprotonated porphyrin: meso‑tetrakis(p-tolyl)porphyrindi-ium dichloride chloroform trisolvate with the formula [H4TTP]Cl2·3CHCl3 (2) this porphyrinic diacid species was first prepared by protonation of the meso‑tetrakis(p-tolyl)porphyrin (H2TTP, (1)). Compound 2 was studied by UV/Vis, fluorescence, IR, 1H NMR spectroscopy as well as by MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. The single crystal X-ray structure of 2 was a very useful technique to show the very important deformation of the porphyrin core of the diprotonated [H4TTP]2+ porphyrinic species (2) which is considered the principal cause of the important redshift of the UV/Vis and fluorescence spectra of compound 2. We used computational studies at B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory to investigate the HOMO and LUMO molecular orbitals characteristics and calculate the global reactive parameters of compound 2 such as the electrophilicity index ψ, the chemical potential (μ), the hardness (η) and the chemical softness (S). The diacid porphyrin species (2) was tested as adsorbent of the Methyl Orange dye (MO) and also as catalyst of the degradation of this organic dye in presence of hydrogen peroxide. Biological studies on the H2TTP free base porphyrin (1) and the corresponding [H4TTP]2+ diacid species (2) were carried out in vitro in order to test their inhibitory effect against some fungal strings and the ability of these two porphyrinic compounds to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl DPPH radical.

Secure semantic search using deep learning in a blockchain-assisted multi-user setting

Deep learning-based semantic search (DLSS) aims to bridge the gap between experts and non-experts in search. Experts can create precise queries due to their prior knowledge, while non-experts struggle with specific terms and concepts, making their queries less precise. Cloud infrastructure offers a practical and scalable platform for data owners to upload their data, making it accessible to intended data users. However, the contemporary single-owner/single-user (S/S) approach to DLSS schemes falls short of effectively leveraging the inherent multi-user capabilities of cloud infrastructure. Furthermore, most of these schemes delegate the dissemination of secret keys to a single trust point within the mutual distrust scenario in cloud infrastructure. This paper proposes a Secure Semantic Search using Deep Learning in a Blockchain-Assisted Multi-User Setting (S3DBMS)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(S^3DBMS)$$\\end{document}. Specifically, the seamless integration of attribute-based encryption with transfer learning allows the construction of DLSS in multi-owner/multi-user (M/M) settings. Further, blockchain’s smart contract mechanism allows a multi-attribute authority consensus-based generation of user private keys and system-wide global parameters in a mutual distrust M/M scenario. Finally, our scheme achieves privacy requirements and offers improved security and accuracy.

Synaptic devices with sodium alginate ionic gel gating for global regulation

Information processing and memorizing in the brain take place in a neural network consisting of neurons connected with each other by synapses. Meanwhile, the neural network is immersed in a common electrochemical environment with global parameters regulating the overall functions, which is barely discussed in neuromorphic devices. In this study, organic/inorganic hybrid transistors with sodium alginate as the gate dielectric layer and indium tin oxide as the channel were successfully prepared. We have not only simulated the basic properties of synapses in a single device, but, on top of that, also simulated the global regulation of information processing in the brain due to the incorporation of global grids, achieving excitatory and inhibitory synaptic weight. Moreover, the construction of a 3 × 3 synaptic array enables image learning and memorizing functions. These results demonstrate the significant advantages of electrolyte-gated transistors in enabling complex neural network connectivity and offer a promising opportunity for future artificial synapses.

P984 VEST: The UK vedolizumab real life experience study in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract Background The characteristics and outcomes of patients treated with vedolizumab in routine healthcare settings have not been widely evaluated in the UK. Methods Prospective, multicentre observational study of 364 patients started on vedolizumab in UK practice from January 2017 until February 2019 using the UK IBD Registry clinical web-based tool. For the present analysis, the primary outcome was drug survival (persistence) at 1-year, defined as attendance for infusion ≥48 weeks after the first dose. Secondary outcomes were: Clinical remission (CR, based on partial Mayo score [≤1] or Harvey Bradshaw index [≤4]), physician global assessment (PGA), IBD-Control Questionnaire (IBD-Control-8, IBD-Control-VAS and individual item scores), laboratory parameters and adverse events. Results Age (mean): 44 yrs; Males: 48%; IBD duration (mean): 6 yrs; Prev. resection: 18%; Steroids at baseline: 39%; Outcomes are summarized in Table 1. 37% of CD patients were assessed as being in clinical remission at baseline. Overall, 210 (58%) continued treatment beyond 48 weeks. At 1 year, 67.1% and 52.3% of CD and UC patients were in clinical remission with a clear improvement in QoL as assessed by IBD-Control -8. There were significant improvements across each IBD-Control-8 domain, including fatigue, with few patients considering switching treatment at that point (Figure 1). Conclusion Vedolizumab was effective in clinical practice with 58% of patients remaining on treatment at one-year. Baseline status differed significantly from those recruited into RCTs. Patient reported outcomes demonstrated significant and meaningful improvements across physical, psychological, social and treatment domains.

Retracted: Study on Global Parameters Optimization of Dual-Drive Powertrain System of Pure Electric Vehicle Based on Multiple Condition Computer Simulation

Retracted: Study on Global Parameters Optimization of Dual-Drive Powertrain System of Pure Electric Vehicle Based on Multiple Condition Computer Simulation

Designing Highly Fluorescent BenzoCoumarin‐Sesamol Conjugates for Optoelectronic Applications

AbstractIn this report we have studied, the substitutional effect on photophysical properties of newly synthesized isomeric benzocoumarin‐Sesamol conjugates using absorption, steady‐state fluorescence emission, and time‐resolved emission measurements. The structural characterization of the synthesized dyes was carried out using FT‐IR, 1H‐NMR, 13C‐NMR, and MS. The ground state dipole moment of both the molecules in the gaseous phase is estimated from ab initio computations by using Gaussian 09W software and also from solvatochromic method and the results are compared. Stoke's shift exhibits a redshift with an increase in solvent polarity for synthesized indicating a π–π* transition. The HOMO‐LUMO energy gaps computed from density functional theory and absorption threshold wavelengths are found to be in good agreement with each other. The Global chemical reactivity descriptor parameter and electrostatic potential (MESP) plots suggest that molecules have strong electrophilic and nucleophilic sites. The preliminary photophysical observations and results suggest that the fluorescent dyes can be considered as potential material for the construction of solar cells, fluorescent probes, and chemosensors.

Combustion efficiency and CO/NO[formula omitted] emissions for a biomass plancha-type stove: Effect of the air excess ratio

For plancha-type stoves, the chemical model of the combustion process and the influence of the air excess ratio (λ) have received little attention. The goal of this work is to use numerical simulations to study the influence of λ on the performance of a plancha-type stove. To simulate species transport, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics, the ANSYS FluentTM software is used. A two-reaction chemical model is employed to calculate volatile combustion efficiency (VCE), emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOX). Additionally, global parameters like thermal efficiency (TE) and heat transfer through the comal (Q) are evaluated. The following comparisons are offered to validate the numerical methodology: (i) to experimental measurements for the TUYA plancha type stove, (ii) to a one-reaction chemical model, and (iii) for various solid biofuels (fuelwood, charcoal, and peat). Results show that λ has a considerable impact on both VCE and CO2 emissions. VCE values were found to be up to 98% for λ=2.5 and λ=3. Lower combustion temperatures and higher values for λ increased NOX and CO emissions. Aside from the two-reaction model, the comparison to experimental performance is better when the air excess ratio and secondary-air were considered. Finally, with λ=3 and a temperature of injection of 1123 K, fuelwood has a higher VCE than charcoal and peat. Emissions and energy performance might vary dramatically for the different solid biofuels.

Exploring the Antiproliferative Potency of Pyrido[2,3-d]Pyrimidine Derivatives: Studies on Design, Synthesis, Anticancer Evaluation, SAR, Docking, and DFT Calculations.

Herein, an efficient method for the synthesis of a new series of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives has been adopted through the reaction of hydrazinyl pyrido[2,3-d] pyrimidine derivative (1) with different electrophilic species, such as ethyl cyanoacetate and different 1,3 diketone derivatives, gave the corresponding derivatives (2-5). Meanwhile, pyrido[2,3-d][1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidines (6-11) were synthesized via reaction of hydrazine derivative 1 with phenylisothiocyanate, potassium thiocyanate, and carbon disulfide. Compound 1 was also submitted to react with different carbonyl compounds to afford pyrido-pyrimidine derivatives (12-15). All the newly synthesized compounds were tested in vitro for their antiproliferative activities against HCT-116 and MCF-7 cell lines. Compounds 2, 3, 7, and 8 displayed very strong inhibitory activity against the two cell lines compared with the standard drug doxorubicin. Furthermore, a docking study of the most active compounds was performed with the thymidylate synthase enzyme (PDB: Code 6qxg). Moreover, DFT calculation was carried out for the most biologically active compounds and a reference drug (Doxorubicin) using the B3LYP/6-31G+(d,p) level of theory. The calculated EHOMO and ELUMO energies were used to calculate the global reactivity parameters. Finally, Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and structure activity relationship (SAR) were studied to correlate the relation between chemical structure and reactivity.

Extracting the Global 21-cm signal from Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization in the presence of Foreground and Ionosphere

ABSTRACT Detection of redshifted H i 21-cm emission is a potential probe for investigating the Universe’s first billion years. However, given the significantly brighter foreground, detecting 21-cm is observationally difficult. The Earth’s ionosphere considerably distorts the signal at low frequencies by introducing directional-dependent effects. Here, for the first time, we report the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to extract the global 21-cm signal characteristics from the composite all-sky averaged signal, including foreground and ionospheric effects such as refraction, absorption, and thermal emission from the ionosphere’s F and D-layers. We assume a ‘perfect’ instrument and neglect instrumental calibration and beam effects. To model the ionospheric effect, we considered the static and time-varying ionospheric conditions for the mid-latitude region, where LOFAR is situated. In this work, we trained the ANN model for various situations using a synthetic set of the global 21-cm signals created by altering its parameter space based on the ‘$\rm \tanh$’ parametrized model and the Accelerated Reionization Era Simulations (ARES) algorithm. The obtained result shows that the ANN model can extract the global signal parameters with an accuracy of ${\ge}96\ \hbox{per cent}$ in the final study when we include foreground and ionospheric effects. On the other hand, a similar ANN model can extract the signal parameters from the final prediction data set with an accuracy ranging from 97 to 98 per cent when considering more realistic sets of the global 21-cm signals based on physical models.

The APO-K2 Catalog. I. ∼7500 Red Giants with Fundamental Stellar Parameters from APOGEE DR17 Spectroscopy and K2-GAP Asteroseismology

We present a catalog of fundamental stellar properties for ∼7500 evolved stars, including stellar radii and masses, determined from the combination of spectroscopic observations from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment, part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV, and asteroseismology from K2. The resulting APO-K2 catalog provides spectroscopically derived temperatures and metallicities, asteroseismic global parameters, evolutionary states, and asteroseismically derived masses and radii. Additionally, we include kinematic information from Gaia. We investigate the multidimensional space of abundance, stellar mass, and velocity with an eye toward applications in Galactic archaeology. The APO-K2 sample has a large population of low-metallicity stars (∼288 with [M/H] ≤ −1), and their asteroseismic masses are larger than astrophysical estimates. We argue that this may reflect offsets in the adopted fundamental temperature scale for metal-poor stars rather than metallicity-dependent issues with interpreting asteroseismic data. We characterize the kinematic properties of the population as a function of α enhancement and position in the disk and identify those stars in the sample that are candidate components of the Gaia-Enceladus merger. Importantly, we characterize the selection function for the APO-K2 sample as a function of metallicity, radius, mass, νmax , color, and magnitude referencing Galactic simulations and target selection criteria to enable robust statistical inferences with the catalog.

Spectroscopic Studies on Structurally Modified Anthraquinone Azo Hydrazone Tautomer: Theoretical and Experimental Approach.

A series of unique four mono-azo substituted anthraquinone analogue were synthesized by using the anthraquinone components in the diazo-coupling technique. The FT-IR, 1H NMR, and HRMS, data were used to confirm the structure of the molecules, and spectroscopic techniques like UV-Vis, and photoluminescence spectroscopy were employed to estimate the photophysical properties of the molecules. The molecular optimized geometry and frontier molecular orbitals were estimated using density functional theory. Further, global chemical reactivity descriptors parameter was theoretically estimated using the value of the highest occupied molecular orbit and lowest unoccupied molecular orbits. The anti-tubercular action of the synthesised dyes were also examined. The results of this biological activity showed that N-isopropyl aniline combined with anthraquinone N-isopropyl aniline had superior anti-tubercular activity when compared to Rifampicin as the standard. As per molecular docking studies, the synthesized compound Q1 showed excellent binding energy (-10.0kcal/mol) among all compounds against the 3ZXR Protein. These results agreed with our in-vitro anti-TB activity results.

Global Sagittal Angle and T9-tilt seem to be the most clinically and functionally relevant global alignment parameters in patients with Adult Spinal Deformity

IntroductionRadiographic analysis is necessary for the assessment and the surgical planning in adults with spinal deformity (ASD). Restoration of global alignment is key to improving patient's quality of life. However, the large number of existing global alignment parameters can be confusing for surgeons. Research questionTo determine the most clinically and functionally relevant global alignment parameters in ASD. Material and methodsASD and controls underwent full body biplanar X-ray to calculate global alignment parameters: odontoid to hip axis angle (OD-HA), global sagittal angle (GSA), global tilt (GT), SVA, center of auditory meatus to hip axis (CAM-HA), SSA, T1-tilt and T9-tilt. All subjects filled HRQoL questionnaires: ODI, SF-36, VAS for pain and BDI (Beck's Depression Inventory). 3D gait analysis was performed to calculate kinematic and spatio-temporal parameters. A machine learning model predicted gait parameters and HRQoL scores from global alignment parameters. Results124 primary ASD and 47 controls were enrolled. T9 tilt predicted the most BDI (31%), hip flexion/extension during gait (36%), and double support time (39%). GSA predicted the most ODI (26%), thorax flexion/extension during gait (33%), and cadence (36%). Discussion and conclusionAmong all global alignment parameters, GSA, evaluating both trunk shift and knee flexion, and T9 tilt, evaluating the shift of the center of mass, were the best predictors for most of HRQoL scores and gait kinematics. Therefore, we recommend using GSA and T9 tilt in clinical practice when evaluating ASD because they represent the most quality of life and functional kinematic of these patients.

Surface kinetics and pressure dependence of propane oxidation over platinum

The catalytic total oxidation of propane over platinum was investigated experimentally and numerically at pressures of 1–7 bar and catalyst temperatures up to 700 K. A wire microcalorimeter was employed to determine the global rate parameters of the catalytic reaction within the kinetically controlled regime. For 1 bar pressure, the dissociative adsorption of C3H8 on Pt and its subsequent decomposition were modeled as two lumped steps based on global reaction parameters. A detailed and thermodynamically consistent catalytic mechanism was constructed by incorporating these lumped steps with an existing atmospheric-pressure H-C2 elementary reaction model. Two-dimensional CFD simulations using the developed global and detailed reaction mechanisms closely reproduced the measured heat release rates. The intricate dependence of catalytic ignition and reactivity on pressure was further elucidated. Ignition temperatures were found to be linearly correlated to pressures, due to the weaker net adsorption of oxygen compared to that of propane, which progressively aggravated at higher pressures and in turn hindered ignition. More importantly, a non-monotonic pressure dependence of the C3H8 catalytic reactivity on Pt, which gradually diminishes with increasing temperatures, is reported for the first time. The temperature range of this non-monotonic behavior (< 650 K) is of special importance for part-load and idling operations of gas turbines using hybrid hetero-/homogeneous combustion approaches and for normal operations of recuperative microreactors. Thus, this work provides key information for the design and optimization of such devices utilizing Pt as catalyst.

From ejection fraction, to myocardial strain, and myocardial work in echocardiography: Clinical impact and controversies.

Enhancing an echocardiographic tool, aimed to detect even subtle left ventricular (LV) systolic function abnormalities, capable of obtaining both early diagnosis and risk prediction of heart disease, represents an ambitious, attractive, and arduous purpose in the modern era of cardiovascular imaging. Ideally, that tool should be simple, reliable, and reproducible, in order to be concretely applied in routine clinical practice. Importantly, that technique should be physiologically plausible and useful both at the population-level, as well as in the individual subject. For a long time, LV ejection fraction (EF) has been considered the first-line parameter for assessing LV global systolic function, strictly related to the prognosis, at least in some settings. However, LV EF limitations are well-known, even though frequently overemphasized, including its load-dependency. Therefore, myocardial strain techniques have been proposed, deemed able to disclose even subtle early LV function anomalies. Nevertheless, many disadvantages of myocardial strain have been reported as well. More recently, myocardial work (MW) analysis has been introduced as a new echocardiographic tool for the evaluation of LV global systolic function, attempting to overcome EF and strain disadvantages. However, MW has shown many limits as well. Notwithstanding, LV EF still remains a landmark functional classification marker for heart failure and cardiac oncology, allowing reliable fast reassessment of LV function changes during patient management, in order to guide treatment in individual cases as well. Notably, global longitudinal strain and MW parameters seem to show better meaningful results at the population-level, but controversial clinical impact, major limitations, wide cut-offs spread and overlap, when the single value needs to be applied to the single case. Taking into account the recent literature-based evidence, the scope of the present narrative critical review is trying to delineate the different types of information given by the described LV global systolic function parameters, both at the population-level and in the individual case, in order to trace a comparative analysis of advantages and limitations in clinical practice.