Multiple Techniques Research Articles

Aerosol Vertical Structure and Optical Properties during Two Dust and Haze Episodes in a Typical Valley Basin City, Lanzhou of Northwest China

The vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties are vital to clarify their transboundary transport, climate forcing and environmental health influences. Based on synergistic measurements of multiple advanced detection techniques, this study investigated aerosol vertical structure and optical characteristics during two dust and haze events in Lanzhou of northwest China. Dust particles originated from remote deserts traveled eastward at different altitudes and reached Lanzhou on 10 April 2020. The trans-regional aloft (~4.0 km) dust particles were entrained into the ground, and significantly modified aerosol optical properties over Lanzhou. The maximum aerosol extinction coefficient (σ), volumetric depolarization ratio (VDR), optical depth at 500 nm (AOD500), and surface PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 0.4~1.5 km−1, 0.15~0.30, 0.5~3.0, 200~590 μg/m3 and 134 μg/m3, respectively, under the heavy dust event, which were 3 to 11 times greater than those at the background level. The corresponding Ångström exponent (AE440–870), fine-mode fraction (FMF) and PM2.5/PM10 values consistently persisted within the ranges of 0.10 to 0.50, 0.20 to 0.50, and 0.20 to 0.50, respectively. These findings implied a prevailing dominance of coarse-mode and irregular non-spherical particles. A severe haze episode stemming from local emissions appeared at Lanzhou from 30 December 2020 to 2 January 2021. The low-altitude transboundary transport aerosols seriously deteriorated the air quality level in Lanzhou, and aerosol loading, surface air pollutants and fine-mode particles strikingly increased during the gradual strengthening of haze process. The maximum AOD500, AE440–870nm, FMF, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, and PM2.5/PM10 were 0.65, 1.50, 0.85, 110 μg/m3, 180 μg/m3 and 0.68 on 2 January 2021, respectively, while the corresponding σ and VDR at 0.20–0.80 km height were maintained at 0.68 km−1 and 0.03~0.12, implying that fine-mode and spherical small particles were predominant. The profile of ozone concentration exhibited a prominent two-layer structure (0.60–1.40 km and 0.10–0.30 km), and both concentrations at two heights always remained at high levels (60~72 μg/m3) during the entire haze event. Conversely, surface ozone concentration showed a significant decrease during severe haze period, with the peak value of 20~30 μg/m3, which was much smaller than that before haze pollution (~80 μg/m3 on 30 December). Our results also highlighted that the vertical profile of aerosol extinction coefficient was a good proxy for evaluating mass concentrations of surface particulate matters under uniform mixing layers, which was of great scientific significance for retrieving surface air pollutants in remote desert or ocean regions. These statistics of the aerosol vertical profiles and optical properties under heavy dust and haze events in Lanzhou would contribute to investigate and validate the transboundary transport and radiative forcing of aloft aerosols in the application of climate models or satellite remote sensing.

Multi-strategy orthogonal enhancement and analysis of aldo-keto reductase thermal stability

Given their outstanding efficiency and selectivity, enzymes are integral in various domains such as drug synthesis, the food industry, and environmental management. However, the inherent instability of natural enzymes limits their widespread industrial application. In this study, we underscore the efficacy of enhancing protein thermal stability through comprehensive protein design strategies, encompassing elements such as the free energy of protein folding, internal forces within proteins, and the overall structural design. We also demonstrate the efficiency and precision of combinatorial screening in the thermal stability design of aldo-keto reductase (AKR7-2-1). In our research, three single-point mutations and five combinatorial mutations were strategically introduced into AKR7-2-1, using multiple computational techniques. Notably, the E12I/S235I mutant showed a significant increase of 25.4 °C in its melting temperature (Tm). Furthermore, the optimal mutant, E12V/S235I, maintained 80 % of its activity while realizing a 16.8 °C elevation in Tm. Remarkably, its half-life at 50 °C was increased to twenty times that of the wild type. Structural analysis indicates that this enhanced thermal stability primarily arises from reduced oscillation in the loop region and increased internal hydrogen bonding. The promising results achieved with AKR7-2-1 demonstrate that our strategy could serve as a valuable reference for enhancing the thermal stability of other industrial enzymes.

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF ACUTE ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE: A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background: Achilles tendon rupture is a common orthopaedic injury that results in substantial functional limitations throughout a lengthy recovery time. The increasing incidence of Achilles tendon ruptures has been well documented in population-based studies. The delayed treatment of AT ruptures is usually attributable to either poor diagnosis upon injury or patients disregarding their injuries and not presenting to healthcare facilities. The aim: The aim of this study to show about diagnosis and treatment of acute achilles tendon rupture. Methods: By the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020, this study was able to show that it met all of the requirements. This search approach, publications that came out between 2014 and 2024 were taken into account. Several different online reference sources, like Pubmed, SagePub, and Google Scholar were used to do this. It was decided not to take into account review pieces, works that had already been published, or works that were only half done. Result: In the PubMed database, the results of our search get 17 articles, whereas the results of our search on SagePub get 299 articles, on Google Scholar 6990 articles. Records remove before screening are 5317, so we get 1989 articles fos screening. After we screened based on record exclude, we compiled a total of 12 papers. We included five research that met the criteria. Conclusion: Multiple evaluative techniques including the addition of diagnostic ultrasound imaging and continuous shear wave elastography (cSWE) to standard clinical tests and measures were used to assess patient-reported symptoms, tendon structure, and tendon functional performance. As treatment recommendations and strategies evolve, decisional conflict may arise when patients with Achilles tendon ruptures are faced with the need to choose a management option. There have been several reviews of management strategies, primarily focused on pairwise comparisons between individual operative and non-operative strategies.

A modified pothole detection approach to capture their width

Detecting potholes is an ongoing problem that requires extensive investigations as potholes significantly deteriorate urban beauty and can cause serious harm to commuters. Multiple techniques have been developed over the years to address that issue. However, there has been no formal way to define the size, particularly the width, of a pothole. This work presents An's mathematical definition for the width of an arbitrary 2D pothole at a point inside. Then, the width of each pothole is calculated by taking the supremum of all width values at all points in a given subset of that pothole. We also extend the detection pipeline by Koch and Brilakis in 2011 to prove the practicality of these definitions. The obtained experimental results show that our modification improves the pothole segmentation. Consequently, it gives a more accurate estimation of pothole widths.

Enhanced hydrogen peroxide production and organic substrates degradation using atomically dispersed antimony P-doped carbon nitride photocatalysts

In this work atomically dispersed antimony P-doped carbon nitride was prepared with the aim of producing hydrogen peroxide under visible light irradiation and of obtaining organic contaminants degradation. The conjugation of the P-doping can induce significant increase in visible light harvesting, narrowing of band gap energy and shift of the upper edge of the VB to less positive value and the introduction of Sb can efficiently trap oxygen molecules in the Sb-OO end-on structure and at the same time accumulate electrons which act as the photoreduction sites for O2 via a 2e− ORR pathway. Pristine C3N4 and P-doped C3N4 were prepared as references using melamine and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate as precursors and different amount of Sb were added (x = 0.5, 1, 3, 5 mmol) to synthetize Sbx P-doped C3N4. All materials were characterized with multiple techniques, tested for the hydrogen peroxide production and for the degradation of carbamazepine. The pristine C3N4 led to a H2O2 poor production but with the introduced modifications the yield increased and an upward trend during the time was observed. The optimum amount of Sb was found to be 1 mmol and it led to the production of more than 7 times the amount produced by pristine carbon nitride. The degradation of carbamazepine using only visible radiation required prolonged timescales but when we expand the light spectrum to include near-UV, the abatement of the pollutant is achieved in a few hours. The efficiency of the synthesized materials in hydrogen peroxide production suggests possible future developments that take advantage of the excellent peroxide production of atomically dispersed antimony P-doped carbon nitride photocatalysts in Fenton-like processes or involve the use of peroxidase enzymes to achieve enhanced degradative performances.

The Effect of Using Information Technology and HR Development on Employee Performance at CV. Prenada Media Group Medan

This research aims to examine the influence of the use of information technology and Human Resources (HR) development on employee performance at CV. Prenada Media Group Medan. The research method uses a quantitative approach with multiple linear regression analysis techniques. Data was collected through a survey of 45 employees, and statistical analysis was carried out using the t test, F test, and coefficient of determination test (R2). The research results show that the use of information technology and HR development together has a positive and significant influence on employee performance. These findings are consistent with previous research and contribute to understanding the importance of integrating information technology and human resource development in increasing workforce effectiveness and productivity in the corporate environment.

Facile synthesis of Gd/Ru-doped fluorescent carbon dots for fluorescent/MR bimodal imaging and tumor therapy

Functional metal doping endows fluorescent carbon dots with richer physical and chemical properties, greatly expanding their potential in the biomedical field. Nonetheless, fabricating carbon dots with integrated functionality for diagnostic and therapeutic modalities remains challenging. Herein, we develop a simple strategy to prepare Gd/Ru bimetallic doped fluorescent carbon dots (Gd/Ru-CDs) via a one-step microwave-assisted method with Ru(dcbpy)3Cl2, citric acid, polyethyleneimine, and GdCl3 as precursors. Multiple techniques were employed to characterize the morphology and properties of the obtained carbon dots. The Gd/Ru-CDs are high mono-dispersity, uniform spherical nanoparticles with an average diameter of 4.2 nm. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the composition and surface properties of the carbon dots. In particular, the successful doping of Gd/Ru enables the carbon dots not only show considerable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performance but also obtain better fluorescence (FL) properties, especially in the red emission area. More impressively, it has low cytotoxicity, excellent biocompatibility, and efficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability, making it an effective imaging-guided tumor treatment reagent. In vivo experiments have revealed that Gd/Ru-CDs can achieve light-induced tumor suppression and non-invasive fluorescence/magnetic resonance bimodal imaging reagents to monitor the treatment process of mouse tumor models. Thus, this simple and efficient carbon dot manufacturing strategy by doping functional metals has expanded avenues for the development and application of multifunctional all-in-one theranostics.

PENGARUH LOKASI, PERSEPSI HARGA DAN DAYA TARIK WISATA TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN BERKUNJUNG DI WISATA PANTAI LAPADE

This study aims to examine the Influence of Location, Price Perception and Tourism Attractiveness on the Decision to Visit Lapade Beach Tourism. Lapade Beach is a beach located in the sub-district of Utan providing a variety of games. This study used quantitative methods with an associative approach. The data collection method in this study used a questionnaire with a Likert scale. The sampling method uses purposive sampling and the sample used by 100 respondents. In this study, the datawas processed using the SPSS 23 application and data analysis was carried out with multiple linsear regression analysis techniques. The results of this study show that location has a significant effect on visiting decisions, price perception has asignificant effect on visiting decisions, Tourism Attraction has a significant effect on Visiting Decisions at Lapade Beach Tourism.

Footstone of Metaverse: A Timely and Secure Crowdsensing

Recently, the metaverse has been a hot research topic that fuses multiple cutting-edge techniques, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and 5th generation (5G) networks. Supported by these powerful cornerstones, people can establish a hyper spatiotemporal virtual world that seamlessly links to the real world and create personal activities such as art creation, concert display, and stock trading. Virtual-reality mapping demands enormous information transmission between two worlds without sensible latency since delayed data could severely impact user experiences. Besides, intrinsic flaws in fundamental technologies also aggravate the vulnerabilities in the metaverse due to real-time interaction. Hence, this paper first proposes a timely and secure data collection framework based on crowdsensing for metaverse modeling. In our proposed Data encryption, Transmission and Perception optimization (DTP) model, the metaverse servers can recruit workers to gather environmental parameters and user information through five layers architecture (i.e., perception layer, link layer, transmission layer, operation layer, and application layer). Each layer takes responsibility for data computation and encryption, which can stimulate data dissemination in a fast and reliable manner for the metaverse. Furthermore, we present a healthcare use case that introduces a bidirectional mapping of patient data between physical and virtual space. This use case illustrates the prospects of the DTP model. Finally, we conclude this paper and summarize several significant future research directions.

The Relationships between Pedagogical and Technological Competence and Digital Literacy Level of Teachers

With the use of technology in education, the integration of digital literacy and technological skills with pedagogy has become one of the important competencies that teachers need to master. Thus, the study investigated the digital literacy, technological and pedagogical competencies of primary school teachers in Kazakhstan on a relational basis. The study was conducted with 223 primary school teachers working in various schools in Almaty. 'Digital Literacy Scale', 'Pedagogical Competence Scale' and 'Technological Competence Scale' were used to collect the data. T and F tests were used to compare school teachers' digital literacy, pedagogical and technological competencies based on gender and professional seniority. 'Multiple Regression Technique' was used to analyze the relationships between the variables of school teachers' digital literacy, pedagogical and technological competencies. The findings revealed that the pedagogical competencies of primary school teachers were high, while their digital literacy and technological competencies were at a moderate level. Pedagogical and technological efficacy and digital literacy of primary school teachers differed significantly based on gender and professional seniority. Male primary school teachers had high levels of technological competence and digital literacy, whereas female primary school teachers had high levels of pedagogical competence. Multiple regression analysis indicated that teachers' digital literacy significantly predicted their pedagogical and technological competencies.

Comparative study of composite single crystal and polycrystalline YAG:Ce phosphors for laser-based lighting applications

YAG:Ce, a widely employed phosphor for LED wavelength conversion applications, comes in different forms, including polycrystal (powder), single crystal, and composite single crystal varieties. We investigated Epoch NeoTM, a composite single crystal incorporating Al2O3 as a heat distribution and optical guiding material embedded within its luminescent core. The properties of Epoch Neo were analyzed and compared with those of its polycrystal counterparts in this paper. Multiple characterization techniques like chromaticity points, color temperature, phosphor temperature, and speckle pattern were employed to study the effect of variable laser input power on both polycrystal powder and composite single crystal of YAG:Ce. It was found that under the influence of pumping blue laser high input optical power the composite single crystal phosphor’s performance was significantly better compared to that of the polycrystal.

Bio‐Functional Hydrogel Microspheres for Musculoskeletal Regeneration

AbstractThe worldwide prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is expected to rise due to an accelerating aging population and increasing associated factors. Despite the high rate of disability induction, clinical options for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders remain limited. Hydrogel microspheres (HMSs), which are colloidal particles with crosslinked polymer networks at the nanometer scale, are characterized by excellent biocompatibility, easy‐to‐tune structures (e.g., stiffness, porosity, and composition), and high encapsulation efficiency of therapeutic agents (e.g., drugs and cells). At present, multiple techniques are utilized for the fabrication of HMSs and encapsulation of therapeutic agents. The HMSs can be produced and used in different states to match specific utilizations. These desirable properties, along with their injectability, bestow HMSs with mutifunctionalities that can be utilized for a variety of biomedical applications (e.g., delivery of biologics, tissue regeneration, and bio‐lubrication), and thus enable them to be promising tools for tackling a variety of clinical diseases. Herein, the focus is the fabrication and application of therapeutic HMSs for i) bone disorders, ii) cartilage and osteochondral disorders, iii) intervertebral disc (IVD) disorders, and iv) neurovascular disorders, with the aim of overviewing the recent progress to summarize key contributions and findings and highlight the limitations and opportunities in this field.

The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm financial performance: does corporate governance matter?

Purpose This study investigated how corporate social responsibility (CSR) impacts financial performance (FP) and examined the moderated role of corporate governance (CG). In particular, this paper aims to empirically examine the impact of CG on the relationship between CSR and FP. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on a sample of 200 firms over 2010/2021. The direct and moderating effects were tested by using multiple regression techniques. Findings The empirical findings indicated that companies with higher levels of CSR reporting invested more effectively than companies with lower CSR reporting levels. The empirical analysis suggested two main findings: CSR has a significant effect on FP, and this relationship depends on CG practices. This research presents new evidence that improves the discussion around CSR involvement and FP in French firms. Then, this research shows that CG positively moderates the impact of CSR on corporate FP. Originality/value These findings may be of interest to academic researchers, practitioners and regulators interested in discovering dividend policies, FP and CSR. The findings may interest different stakeholders, policymakers and regulatory bodies interested in enhancing CG initiatives to strengthen CSR because it suggests implementing a broadly accepted framework of good CG practices to meet the demand for greater transparency and accountability.

Analisis Fraud Diamond Theory terhadap Kecurangan Akuntansi di Sektor Pemerintahan

This study aims to prove the effect of compensation suitability, internal control system, organizational culture, and competence on the occurrence of fraud in the government sector. The sample used in this study was 52 employees in 3 Gresik Regency government offices using purposive sampling. This study uses multiple linear regression analysis techniques. The regression results show that the internal control system has an effect on the tendency of fraud, while compensation suitability, organizational culture and competence have no effect on the tendency of fraud in the Gresik Regency government.

Influence of Psychological Capital on Job Fulfillment: An Examination Within the Academic Institutions of Odisha

Examining ways to enhance job satisfaction among employees is a priority for business leaders aiming to bolster their companies' competitive edge. This research delves into how Psychological Capital influences the job satisfaction of faculty members in selected private professional colleges in ODISHA. Historically, psychology has been linked with mental illness, but recent studies have refuted this association. Employees with a positive psychological mindset can contribute significantly to a company's advancement. The core components of employee Psychological Capital include hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism. This study investigates the correlation between Psychological Capital and job satisfaction among faculty members, along with its effects. A sample of 136 respondents was surveyed, and data analysis employed Pearson correlation and multiple regression techniques. The findings reveal a meaningful connection between Psychological Capital and job satisfaction. Moreover, the study highlights that while not all components exert equal influence, self-efficacy and hope notably contribute positively to job satisfaction.Keywords: Psychological Capital, Job Satisfaction, Pearson correlation, multiple regression.

Perioperative oral pregabalin or clonidine in patients undergoing lumbar spine posterior fusion: A randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Background Multiple techniques and pharmacological efforts have been tried to control intraoperative hemodynamic fluctuations, reduce perioperative blood loss and severe postoperative pain. This study aimed to assess the perioperative effects of oral premedication with pregabalin or clonidine for lumbar spine posterior fusion under general anesthesia (GA). Outcome measures: Perioperative blood loss, hemodynamics, anesthetics consumption, postoperative pain, and side effects Methods This is a prospective, triple blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT). Ninety-six adult ASA I-II patients of either sex undergoing lumbar spine posterior fusion were randomly assigned to obtain a placebo (group E), pregabalin 300 mg (group P), or clonidine 200 μg (group C) orally 90 minutes before induction of GA. Trial registration: www.pactr.org with (PACTR201710002416280). Results Preemptive oral pregabalin 300 mg and clonidine 200 μg optimized intraoperative hemodynamics, reduced perioperative blood loss than the placebo group (by 22.2% and 30.7%, respectively), reduced postoperative pain scores, and anesthetic and postoperative analgesic consumption. In addition, they prolonged the duration to the first postoperative analgesic request. There was no major complication in any group. Conclusion Premedication with pregabalin or clonidine reduced perioperative blood loss and optimized intraoperative and postoperative hemodynamics, with the preference for clonidine over pregabalin as well as both reduced postoperative pain scores, analgesic requirements, PONV, and shivering. Sedative drugs should be used in lower doses to avoid oversedation. Pregabalin-associated dizziness and visual disturbance may necessitate extra precautions and patient education.

Brain identification of IBS patients based on GBDT and multiple imaging techniques.

The brain biomarker of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients is still lacking. The study aims to explore a new technology studying the brain alterations of IBS patients based on multi-source brain data. In the study, a decision-level fusion method based on gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) was proposed. Next, 100 healthy subjects were used to validate the effectiveness of the method. Finally, the identification of brain alterations and the pain evaluation in IBS patients were carried out by the fusion method based on the resting-state fMRI and DWI for 46 patients and 46 controls selected randomly from 100 healthy subjects. The results showed that the method can achieve good classification between IBS patients and controls (accuracy = 95%) and pain evaluation of IBS patients (mean absolute error = 0.1977). Moreover, both the gain-based and the permutation-based evaluation instead of statistical analysis showed that left cingulum bundle contributed most significantly to the classification, and right precuneus contributed most significantly to the evaluation of abdominal pain intensity in the IBS patients. The differences seem to suggest a probable but unexplored separation about the central regions between the identification and progression of IBS. This finding may provide one new thought and technology for brain alteration related to IBS.

State-of-the-art review on meshless methods in the application of crack problems

Meshless or meshfree methods (MMs) are practical and excellent numerical techniques for solving crack problems. With the inherent limitations of mesh-based methods such as the finite element method (FEM) in modeling cracks, MMs have captivated the attention of researchers worldwide because of their conspicuous merits, including mesh independence and higher-order continuity. However, the most recent review literature on MMs in crack problems is only available until 2018, and no relevant analyses have been reported in detail since then. To fill this gap, this state-of-the-art review explores the novel potential and advancements of MMs in crack problems. Generally, eight approaches are implemented with MMs to reproduce crack behaviors. To improve efficiency and stability, the existing strategies are explored in terms of numerical integration, method coupling, and adaptive analysis. Based on these techniques, 82 highly cited and influential articles are analyzed to determine the specific MMs, simulation techniques, and the enhanced strategies that have been adopted. According to existing studies, various novel MMs have been proposed to analyze cracks. Furthermore, flexible coupling of multiple techniques to simulate cracks can be applied to different forms of cracks in various materials. However, adaptive analysis still needs to be widely performed in the MMs for crack problems due to the absence of a solid mathematical foundation for error estimators. This paper presents the research gaps and the future prospect of MMs in the application of crack problems. It should be stated that significant works on numerical methods for modeling cracks predating 1994 are not cited in this paper, a decision considered by the authors to be non-essential to its scope and objectives.

Properties and reaction mechanism of magnesium phosphate cement modified by calcium lactate

The properties of magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) are studied by measurements of setting time, flowability, compressive strength and by multiple technique analyses of pH values, calorimetry, XRD, TG, MIP and SEM taking calcium lactate (CL) content as variables. Results show that CL can significantly prolong the setting time and promote the synergetic development of compressive strength of MPC, but the addition of CL leads to a decrease in flowability of MPC. Comprehensive consideration on these properties, the optimal dosage of CL is 5%. In this case, the setting time, flowability and 1 day & 28 days compressive strength of MPC are 84 minutes, 185 mm, 40.8 MPa & 54.2 MPa, respectively. Multiple technique analyses show that the addition of CL can decrease the liquid phase pH value and hydration rate of MPC, resulting in the extension of setting time. A low content of CL (3%) can improve the reaction degree and optimize the matrix pore structure of MPC, and thus promoting the strength development (50.90 MPa increased to 65.93 MPa). However, an excessive addition of CL (7%) will lead to the decrease in reaction products and the increase in matrix porosity of MPC, resulting in a decrease in compressive strength (43.30 MPa reduced to 37.36 MPa).

Unveiling the synergistic effect of in-situ generated calcium carbonate by CO2 mixing on the reaction of calcined clay

This study investigates the effect of in-situ generated calcium carbonate by CO2 mixing on the reaction of calcined clay and demonstrates that the in-situ generated calcium carbonate remarkably accelerates the reaction of calcined clay. The mechanism is revealed through the application of multiple techniques and thermodynamical modeling. The in-situ generated calcium carbonates are generally nano/micro-particles and provide the seeding effect for promoting the formation of reaction product. More importantly, it is found that in-situ generated calcium carbonates are highly reactive and could react with metakaolin from calcined clay to form carboaluminate, while prohibits the formation of stratlingite. Therefore, this study unveils the synergistic effect of in-situ generated calcium carbonate in promoting the reaction of calcined clay, indicating that CO2 mixing is a promising technique in promoting the performance of calcined clay based cementitious materials.