Limited Conditions Research Articles

Minimizing acetate formation from overflow metabolism in Escherichia coli: comparison of genetic engineering strategies to improve robustness toward sugar gradients in large-scale fermentation processes.

Introduction: Escherichia coli, a well characterized workhorse in biotechnology, has been used to produce many recombinant proteins and metabolites, but have a major drawback in its tendency to revert to overflow metabolism. This phenomenon occurs when excess sugar triggers the production of mainly acetate under aerobic conditions, a detrimental by-product that reduces carbon efficiency, increases cell maintenance, and ultimately inhibits growth. Although this can be prevented by controlled feeding of the sugar carbon source to limit its availability, gradients in commercial-scale bioreactors can still induce it in otherwise carbon-limited cells. While the underlying mechanisms have been extensively studied, these have mostly used non-limited cultures. In contrast, industrial production typically employs carbon-limited processes, which results in a substantially different cell physiology. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficiency of different metabolic engineering strategies with the aim to reduce overflow metabolism and increase the robustness of an industrial 2'-O-fucosyllactose producing strain under industrially relevant conditions. Methods: Three distinct metabolic engineering strategies were compared: i) alterations to pathways leading to and from acetate, ii) increased flux towards the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and iii) reduced glucose uptake rate. The engineered strains were evaluated for growth, acetate formation, and product yield under non-limiting batch conditions, carbon limited fed-batch conditions, and after a glucose pulse in fed-batch mode. Results and Discussion: The findings demonstrated that blockage of the major acetate production pathways by deletion of the pta and poxB genes or increased carbon flux into the TCA cycle by overexpression of the gltA and deletion of the iclR genes, were efficient ways to reduce acetate accumulation. Surprisingly, a reduced glucose uptake rate did not reduce acetate formation despite it having previously been shown as a very effective strategy. Interestingly, overexpression of gltA was the most efficient way to reduce acetate accumulation in non-limited cultures, whereas disruption of the poxB and pta genes was more effective for carbon-limited cultures exposed to a sudden glucose shock. Strains from both strategies showed increased tolerance towards a glucose pulse during carbon-limited growth indicating feasible ways to engineer industrial E. coli strains with enhanced robustness.

Forecasting Tree Root Architecture as a Complement to Proactive Urban Green Space Design

Abstract Background Stewarding newly planted urban trees to maturity involves consideration of above- and belowground factors. While landscape architects and urban planners often focus on aboveground tree aspects, understanding root structure and function is crucial, especially in urban areas with limited underground space and diverse soil conditions. To address the importance and challenges of belowground planning for urban tree roots, we propose a protocol for site assessment and demonstrate root growth forecasting as a complement to existing urban planning approaches. Methods This paper describes adaptations to a plant root architecture simulator, RootBox, and its subsequent application in 4 scenarios created to assess its efficacy as a complement to the phase of urban planning that prescribes vegetation type and planting location in the context of a myriad of other site considerations. RootBox was parameterized based on observed conformity of root growth simulations to generalized tree root architecture reported in the literature. Results Root growth forecasts for each scenario illustrate that plausible urban tree root system architectures—specifically, commonly observed root growth habits—can be produced by RootBox.In-situroot detection (e.g., with an air spade or hydro-vac) at predetermined time intervals can provide model validation and the opportunity to backward reconfigure RootBox parameters for forecast accuracy. Conclusion The adapted RootBox is a flexible, proof-of-concept solution for predicting urban tree root architecture, considering the site and soil conditions pre-established in the planning process. When used with other relevant tools, RootBox can offer valuable insights during the design or rejuvenation of urban spaces.

Assessment of Stream Flow of Hidkal Dam Catchment Area in Krishna Basin of India Using SIMHYD Model

A study was conducted to predict the stream flow from a catchment area of Hidkal dam situated in Krishna basin of India. The SimHYD model was selected to setup the stream flow model under limited data conditions. Daily rainfall, potential evapotranspiration (PET) and observed discharges were used as input data to setup the model. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify the more sensitive parameter and fixed final parameter values. A genetic algorithm was used for calibration and validation of the model with object function of Nash -Sutcliffe Equation (NSE). The performance of model during calibration and validation with monthly stream flow (m3/s) was found to be very good in terms of NSE, R2. The NSE and correlation coefficient were found to be 0.77 and 0.93 during calibration period and 0.90 and 0.95 during validation period respectively. The was a very good agreement between monthly observed and simulated stream flows of catchment area of Hidkal Dam. The NSE value of model during calibration period with daily runoff was found to be satisfactory at 0.51. It was observed that good agreement between observed and simulated daily runoff (in mm) with a correlation coefficient is 0.74. NSE and correlation coefficient during validation period using daily data are found to be 0.80 and 0.9 respectively. This study concluded that the SimHYD model can be used for assessment of stream flow with limited data.

TASK SCHEDULING OPTIMISATION OF DISTRIBUTED REAL-TIME COMPUTING SYSTEMS.

Distributed computing structures for production and special purposes represent the resources of soft or hard real-time systems. The problem of task planning is to determine the optimal distribution according to the generalized criterion of system utility. The article discusses the methods of building a schedule, based on the theory of planning. It is shown that the most effective step in this process is the optimisation of the activity of the enterprises or organizations at all levels - economic, technical, informational, etc., under the conditions of natural limitations on time resources. Since the optimisation of schedule planning occupies a fundamentally important place in the process of organizing the effective operation of a distributed multiprocessor computing system, the possibilities of using this theory in creating an optimal schedule based on the theory of queues with ordinary and marked applications are considered. The theoretical basis of the planning optimisation problem is a multistage system with M storage units and a set of N´M services. In order to organize the schedule optimality criteria to ensure ease of description, storage and software implementation, a conditional division of criteria into geographic, technical or transit categories with a description of the corresponding priority value is proposed. Taking into account these components, an expression for the average waiting time in the queue for a marked demand is derived. The scheme of the conceptual approach to the construction of a multi-core computer with the distribution of periodic and sporadic tasks is presented. The scheme of the real-time system (RTS) in hardware and software implementation is also presented. Background streams in RTS are activated by RT operating system (RT OS) commands and are embedded in primary streams. The above demonstrates the versatility of the proposed approach to scheduling a multiprocessor computing structure and its ability to meet the user's work requirements in real time.

Mitigation of water stress in broccoli by soil application of humic acid

The main challenge to plant productivity is water scarcity, which is predicted to get worse with climate change, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. Humic acid could improve plant tolerance to mitigate drought damage, which is an effective strategy to improve crop production and agriculture sustainability under limited water conditions in these regions, but its effective application rates should also be established. Thus, two field experiments were carried out at the Qaha Vegetable Research Farm in Qalubia Governorate, Egypt, during the two seasons of 2020–21 and 2021–22 on clay soil. The present study investigated the effect of three rates of humic acid application (0, 4.8, and 9.6 kg ha-1) on growth, yield, and quality of broccoli cv. Montop F1 hybrid under well-watered and drought conditions. Drought was induced by missing alternate irrigation. Soluble humic acid as potassium-humate was applied three times with irrigation water at the time of the first three irrigations of drought treatment. Water-stressed plants had a decrease in growth, yield, leaf chlorophyll, and nutrient content, while they showed an increase in the contents of leaf proline and curd dry matter and total soluble solids as well as water use efficiency, in both seasons. Soil application of humic acid was effective in mitigating the adverse effects of water deficit stress on the growth and yield of broccoli. Water-stressed plants had the highest WUE value (9.32 and 9.36 kg m3−1 in the first and second seasons, respectively) when the maximal humic acid rate was applied. Humic acid at a high level (9.6 kg ha−1) had the most promising results and represents an opportunity that must be applied to improve broccoli yield and its production sustainability in arid and semiarid regions.

Heavy Wilson quarks and O(a) improvement: nonperturbative results for bg

With Wilson quarks, on-shell O(a) improvement of the lattice QCD action is achieved by including the Sheikholeslami-Wohlert term and two further operators of mass dimension 5, which amount to a mass-dependent rescaling of the bare parameters. We here focus on the rescaled bare coupling, g~02=g021+bgamq\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\ ilde{g}}_0^2={g}_0^2\\left(1+{b}_{\ extrm{g}}a{m}_{\ extrm{q}}\\right) $$\\end{document}, and the determination of bgg02\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {b}_{\ extrm{g}}\\left({g}_0^2\\right) $$\\end{document} which is currently only known to 1-loop order of perturbation theory. We derive suitable improvement conditions in the chiral limit and in a finite space-time volume and evaluate these for different gluonic observables, both with and without the gradient flow. The choice of β-values and the line of constant physics are motivated by the ALPHA collaboration’s decoupling strategy to determine αs(mZ) [1]. However, the improvement conditions and some insight into systematic effects may prove useful in other contexts, too.

Estimator-based adaptive prescribed performance cooperative bipartite containment control of nonlinear multiagent system against DoS attacks

This paper studies the prescribed performance bipartite containment control design issue for nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs) under denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. First, an attack compensator is built for each agent in order to obtain the system output when the DoS attacks appear. Then, a fuzzy estimator is developed to estimate the unknown states based on the attack compensator. Second, a prescribed performance control (PPC) approach is utilized to ensure the bipartite containment error within a preassigned boundary, and the restriction related to the initial condition is removed. Finally, a set of switching laws is designed by combining the average dwell time method with the limited conditions of DoS attacks. Under this framework, an appealing feature of the designed controller is that the output signals of followers converge to a convex hull formed by leaders and all the signals in the closed-loop system remain bounded. A simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy.

Digitalization and the management system of institutions in the sphere of public administration

Subject. The article addresses the management system of institutions in the public administration sector that were transformed into budgetary and autonomous under the organizational and legal reform. Objectives. The purpose is to investigate the influence of digital technologies on the management system of budgetary and autonomous institutions functioning in conditions of granting certain powers for self-regulation and self-sufficiency to the management of these institutions at the third stage of budgetary reform. Methods. The study employs universal methods of scientific knowledge, such as analysis, synthesis, generalization, abstraction, and methods of modeling, induction, and deduction. Results. As a result of granting certain powers, the management of the said institutions is actively introducing digital technologies. At the same time, the chief budget funds managers, to which these institutions are subordinate, restrict their participation only by assessment of performance indicators of the heads of institutions that include indicators for achieving quantitative digitalization results. The heads of budgetary and autonomous institutions, on the one hand, strive to achieve maximum targets, and this requires serious financial costs. On the other hand, they are placed in rather limited financial conditions of self-sufficiency, and, in the absence of freedom to choose sources of funds, they are forced to take austerity measures, as staff redundancy. In these circumstances, the most affected party is the institution's management system, which is actually collapsing. Conclusions. The main managers should develop a unified policy of functioning and development, including digital, for subordinate institutions, based on their provision with material, technical and financial resources. This obligation must be enshrined in law.

Assessment by bioeconomic modeling water price scenarios of the resilience of agricultural production systems in a semi-arid region: Case of Baalbeck El Hermel – Lebanon

Baalbeck El Hermel Governorate, particularly the semi-arid region is increasingly threatened by climate change. These disturbances, more specifically, concerning the limit in water resources generate problems for the agricultural systems constituting the principle source of families’ subsistence in this zone. This study was established to evaluate, via a bioeconomic modeling approach, the resilience of agricultural systems in Baalbeck El Hermel and perceive their adaptation techniques under conditions of water scarcity. In this context, we have selected three typical farms representative of the driest northern zone receiving the least precipitation.
 Several behaviors and levels of resilience of these farms were showed after analysis of the results: 1) farms specializing in market gardening or perennial crops are very sensitive to drought conditions and are not resilient in the face of water limit conditions; 2) the diversified farm with olive tree dominance is less sensitive and more resilient. The analysis of the water pricing scenario showed an improvement in water management but a limit in the adaptive capacity of farmers, hence the necessity to adapt resilience-building strategies for the targeted zone.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester mediates apoptosis in serum-starved HT29 colon cancer cells through modulation of heat shock proteins and MAPK pathways.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most prevalent gastrointestinal cancers of epithelial origin worldwide, with over 2 million cases detected every year. Emerging evidence suggests a significant increase in the levels of inflammatory and stress-related markers in patients with CRC, indicating that oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation may influence signalling cascades involved in the progression of the disease. However, the precise molecular and cellular basis underlying CRC and their modulations during bioactive compound exposure have not yet been deciphered. This study examines the effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a natural bioactive compound, in HT29 CRC cells grown under serum-supplemented and serum-deprived conditions. We found that CAPE inhibited cell cycle progression in the G2/M phase and induced apoptosis. Migration assay confirmed that CAPE repressed cancer invasiveness. Protein localisation by immunofluorescence microscopy and protein expression by western blot analysis reveal increased expressions of key inflammatory signalling mediators such as p38α, Jun N-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) proteins. Molecular docking data demonstrates that CAPE shows a higher docking score of -5.35 versus -4.59 to known p38 inhibitor SB203580 as well as a docking score of -4.17 versus -3.86 to known ERK1/2 inhibitor AZD0364. Co-immunoprecipitation data reveals that CAPE treatment effectively downregulates heat shock protein (HSP) expression in both sera-supplemented and limited conditions through its interaction with mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14). These results suggest that stress induction via serum starvation in HT29 CRC cells leads to the induction of apoptosis and co-ordinated activation of MAPK-HSP pathways. Molecular docking studies support that CAPE could serve as an effective inhibitor to target p38 and MAPK compared to their currently known inhibitors.

Development of a Relationship between Pavement Condition Index and Riding Quality Index on Rural Roads: A Case Study in China

The current standard for evaluating road conditions worldwide relies primarily on the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and the International Roughness Index (IRI). The IRI can be further calculated to obtain the Riding Quality Index (RQI). To assess pavement damage, various imaging equipment is commonly utilized, providing consistent results that align with actual road conditions. For roughness detection, the Laser Profilometer offers excellent results but may not be suitable for rural roads with poor conditions due to its high inspection cost and the need for a stable environmental setting. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop cost-effective, rapid, and accurate roughness inspection methods for these roads, which constitute a significant portion of the road network. This study examined the relationship between PCI and RQI using nonlinear regression on 30,088 valid pavement inspection records from various regions in China (totaling 24,624.222 km). Our objective was to estimate RQI solely from PCI data, capitalizing on its broad coverage and superior accuracy. Additionally, we explored how PCI levels impact RQI decay rates. The models in this study were compared to several models published in previous studies at last. Our findings indicate that the model performs best for low-grade roads with low PCI scores, achieving over 90% accuracy for both cement concrete and asphalt concrete pavements. Furthermore, different levels of pavement damage have distinct effects on RQI decay rates, with the most significant impact observed when the pavement is severely damaged. The models in this study outperformed all the other available models in the literature. Consequently, under limited inspection conditions in rural areas, pavement damage inspection results can effectively predict riding quality or roughness, thereby reducing inspection costs. Overall, this study offers valuable insights but has limitations, including limited global generalizability and the model’s applicability to high-grade roads. Future research is needed to address these issues and enhance practical applications.

Exploring the relationship between regional tourism development and land use efficiency: A case study of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

The utilization efficiency of land resources is an essential embodiment of economic development, social development, and ecological development and is a critical core to measure how to maximize the efficiency of land resources under limited conditions. The land is an important content and essential carrier of the research of tourism development level. This paper selects Panel Data from 2010 to 2019 to research the Guangxi regional tourism development. The entropy weight method and stochastic frontier production function (SFA) model were used to evaluate the development level of urban-rural tourism and the utilization efficiency of land resources in Guangxi. This paper uses the Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) model to analyze the internal relationship between urban-rural tourism development. The results show that: (1) Guangxi has a good level of tourism development and a high land use efficiency. (2) There is a reciprocal causation relationship between the regional tourism development level and land use efficiency in Guangxi, with significant levels of 0.005 and 0.034 respectively, indicating high credibility. This indicates that there is a mutual promotion and interaction between the two, which rely on and drive each other, promoting the joint sustainability of tourism development and land use efficiency. (3) . The tourism development level is greatly influenced by itself, with impact values all above 0.99. At the same time, land use also has a significant self-impact, with impact values all above 0.87. Their internal optimization system is solid and endogenous impetus is robust, which can drive their development. Establishing an effective strategy for developing and protecting land use is beneficial to promote the long-term effectiveness of sustainable tourism development, enhancing high-quality development of the tourism economy and improving people's living standards and quality.

A multi-scale collaborative fusion residual neural network-based approach for bearing fault diagnosis

In recent years, deep learning techniques have become popular for diagnosing equipment faults. However, their real industrial application performance is hindered by challenges related to noise and variable load conditions that prevent accurate extraction of valid feature information. To tackle these challenges, this paper proposed a novel approach known as the multi-scale collaborative fusion residual neural network (MCFRNN) for bearing fault diagnosis. To begin with, the methodology introduces a multi-scale systolic denoising module designed to extract features at multiple scales while mitigating the influence of noise. Subsequently, a central fusion module is employed to explore the intrinsic correlation among the multiple channels and effectively fuse their respective features. Additionally, a global sensing module is incorporated to enhance the perceptual field of MCFRNN, thereby facilitating the extraction of global features. Furthermore, online label smoothing and AdamP are applied to alleviate overfitting and improve the diagnostic capability of MCFRNN under small sample. Finally, the effectiveness of MCFRNN is verified with two publicly available datasets under complex operational and limited sample conditions. The experimental results show that the proposed method has more excellent diagnostic performance and adaptivity than the existing popular methods.

Proposal for a novel technological damper system (TDS) for the retrofit of reinforced concrete frame structures

Considering the severe earthquakes that have occurred worldwide, it has been observed that even buildings which are constructed in compliance with the seismic regulations, have suffered heavy damage or collapsed. Similarly, in earthquake on February 6, 2023, in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, many old and new structures were damaged or even collapsed. This situation has compelled researchers to focus on the most current and technological applications for earthquake protection. In the latest research topics, there has been a growing emphasis on the impact of new technological systems targeted at improving the seismic performance of structures constructed with reinforced concrete systems, given the notable occurrence of collapsed buildings with such structural systems in this earthquake. In this study, the developed Technological Damper System (TDS) was employed to enhance the earthquake performance of reinforced concrete structures. TDS is a versatile and adjustable friction-type damper. For this reason, two identical ½ scaled reinforced concrete frames were fabricated for the study, one representing a traditional structure as a reference frame (REF), and the other a frame with the TDS device. After applying quasi-static cyclic tests to the frames, the force-displacement, and force-rotation relationships, as well as energy dissipation capacities were determined for both frames. In addition, the damage conditions of the columns during the tests were assessed based on the plastic rotation limit conditions outlined in Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBEC 2018). As a result, the frame retrofitted with the TDS device exhibited a significant increase in horizontal load-carrying capacity, ranging from 42.04% to 75%, when compared to the REF. Additionally, it was observed that energy consumption increased between 85% and 220%. The REF reached significant damage levels at 1% and 2% story drift ratios and an advanced damage state at about 3%, in accordance with TBEC 2018. Finally, the behavior of the frame retrofitted with TDS considerably improved according to REF and it reached a significant damage state at 3% story drift ratio.

Comparative and Microscopic Analysis of Vehicle Startup Behavior in Red Countdown Traffic Lights with Various Display Forms

Background: Countdown-type traffic lights provide drivers with the time remaining before the signal turns green or red. Most countdown devices inform the drivers of the exact signal switching time numerically on a display form. This study focuses on two vehicle startup behaviors when a red signal phase countdown (RC) is displayed: a premature start (PS) and an early reaction (ER). The PS is a vehicle crossing the stop line before the green phase, and the ER is a vehicle starting to move before the green phase. While there are many studies on PS rates under RC, there are only a few studies on ER rates. There are also few studies that have analyzed the relationship between the PS and ER rates and the display forms of RC have also been analyzed in terms of micro-behavior. Objective: This study microscopically analyzes the ER and PS by including data within 1 second at signal switching while comparing 10 types of display forms in RC in order to obtain the ideas of safer and more efficient display forms in signal countdown. Methods: We conducted the experiments with RC traffic lights of different display forms, and the surveys of no countdown (NC). Results: From the very limited conditions of the experiment, we found that there is a threshold at which the ER rates in RC and NC differ significantly. Conclusion: We were also able to analyze the basic characteristics related to the display forms of RC, which is a quick start and which reduces PS and ER.

Typology of agricultural holdings: a starting point for understanding the performance of irrigated systems in Baalbek Al Hermel Lebanon.

The Mediterranean region is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change (CC) which raises important problems for Mediterranean agriculture. In fact, climate disruption creates some uncertainty in the decision-making of farmers in the management of their farms. This understanding can help researchers to better orient agricultural research on adaptation at the farm level and can help policy makers to develop adaptation policies. The semi-arid region of Baalbeck El Hermel is increasingly threatened by climate change. The agricultural systems constituting the main source of household subsistence in this zone show a significant vulnerability to these disturbances, especially about the limit in water resources. In this research we propose a framework to represent agricultural activities using typologies of farms and production units aggregated at a regional scale. We used empirical data from a local case study of the five most representative farming systems in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. Analysis of the results showed several behaviors and several levels of resilience of these farms:1-farms specializing in market gardening or perennial crops are very sensitive to drought conditions and are not resilient in the face of water limit conditions;2-the diversified farm with olive tree dominance is less sensitive and more resilient.

Developing user personas to capture intersecting dimensions of disadvantage in older patients who are marginalised: a qualitative study.

Remote and digital services must be equitable, but some patients have difficulty using these services. Designing measures to overcome digital disparities can be challenging for practices. Personas (fictional cases) are a potentially useful tool in this regard. To develop and test a set of personas to reflect the lived experiences and challenges that older people who are disadvantaged face when navigating remote and digital primary care services. Qualitative study of digital disparities in NHS community health services offering video appointments. Following familiarisation visits and interviews with service providers, 17 older people with multiple markers of disadvantage (limited English, health conditions, and poverty) were recruited and interviewed using narrative prompts. Data were analysed using an intersectionality lens, underpinned by sociological theory. Combining data across all participant interviews, we produced personas and refined these following focus groups involving health professionals, patients, and advocates (n = 12). Digital services create significant challenges for older patients with limited economic, social, and linguistic resources and low digital, health, or system literacy. Four contrasting personas were produced, capturing the variety and complexity of how dimensions of disadvantage intersected and influenced identity and actions. The personas illustrate important themes including experience of racism and discrimination, disorientation, discontinuity, limited presence, weak relationships, loss of agency, and mistrust of services and providers. Personas can illuminate the multiple and intersecting dimensions of disadvantage in patient populations who are marginalised and may prove useful when designing or redesigning digital primary care services. Adopting an intersectional lens may help practices address digital disparities.

Evaluating the structures and arrangements of water institutions to include in‐stream modeling for water quality management and control pollution: Insights from the Awash Basin, Ethiopia

AbstractHealthy rivers and stream waters support sustainable use and protect the ecological health of water flows. Developing countries rarely include in‐stream water quality modeling in their strategic policy documents. In the sub‐Saharan regions, stream water quality is declining due to many human activities. Ethiopian is no different, and its environmental policy does not directly target the importance of impact and planning analyses. Also, it does not include decision making processes for the protection of water ecology and multiple water uses. In this study, stream water quality issues in the Awash Basin have been assessed. The key sources of land‐based pollutants have been identified, and the availability and appropriateness related data have been examined and evaluated as well as the capacity of model users of institutions. Applicable models with the capability of simulating the Awash streams are presented and the changes needed for the existing settings suggested. The model selection was undertaken using a set of criteria based on environmental assumptions to enable environmental improvement into the future. The available hydrological and monitoring information provides an opportunity to apply model analyses, while the poor capacity of the governmental model users is of concern. With limited supporting conditions in governmental water institutions, the level of in‐stream water quality modeling integration in the Awash Basin development plans is too low to make recommendations based on key areas of support. It is time to apply and capitalize on the potential opportunity of using the models in local, regional, and national institutions for planning and impact analyses and strategic policy documents. The methods described in this study can be a guidance for model practitioners of the Awash basin targeting improvement in their institutions.

Wood Basic Density Assessment of Eucalyptus Genotypes Growing under Contrasting Water Availability Conditions

Limited research exists on wood properties in E. nitens × E. globulus hybrid genotypes grown in water-limited conditions generated by the climate change influence in Mediterranean areas. The EUCAHYDRO project aimed to assess environmental stress impacts on eucalyptus genotypes, including responses to reduced water availability, and to evaluate wood density and resistance using the non-destructive drill resistance technique. This study focused on 10-year-old E. nitens × E. globulus hybrids and Eucalyptus badjensis Beuzev. & Welch, revealing that low irrigation led to a 13% (p < 0.05) decrease in diameter and a 6.5% (p > 0.05) increase in wood density for the hybrids. On the contrary, E. badjensis demonstrated a noteworthy 22% increase in wood density (p < 0.05), while showing a corresponding 0.6% growth increase (p > 0.05), as measured by the diameter at breast height. Drill resistance measurement results indicated that E. nitens × E. globulus’ amplitude ranged from 20.1% to 26.6%, while E. badjensis’ ranged from 20.8% to 27.2%. The study revealed a high correlation between resistance amplitude and wood density, with coefficients of 0.97 observed for E. nitens × E. globulus and 0.84 for E. badjensis (p < 0.05). These findings fall within the range reported in similar studies involving Eucalyptus spp. The primary focus of the research was to assess the growth potential and wood quality of novel Eucalyptus spp. under conditions of water limitation. The study also explored the utility of drill resistance as a predictive measure for evaluating wood density as an indicator of wood quality.

Integrated Recognition Assistant Framework Based on Deep Learning for Autonomous Driving: Human-Like Restoring Damaged Road Sign Information

Unpredictable situations frequently occur in real driving environments, and it is often difficult to recognize road signs. In this case, autonomous vehicles (AVs) have a limited ability to predict areas that cannot be detected, making it difficult to judge objects accurately when some information is lost. Therefore, we propose a framework that helps AVs infer proper information under limited conditions. The entire process consists of three steps. First, the missing part of the road sign is restored using the image generative pre-trained transformer model. Next, the sample image with the highest classification accuracy and restored quality is selected among several sample images. Finally, the selected image is provided to users through the designed user interface. The proposed framework improved recognition accuracy compared with unrestored accuracy, indicating the possibility of application as a driving assistance system, and is meaningful in that it is a system that mimics human reasoning ability.