Robust Criteria Research Articles

Core temperature estimation of lithium-ion battery based on numerical model fusion deep learning

Temperature has a critical impact on the lifespan and safety of lithium batteries. This paper proposes a battery core temperature estimation method based on numerical model fused with long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network. The proposed technique extracts features from the numerical model, estimates the volume-averaged temperature by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), uses an LSTM neural network to learn thermodynamic parameters and complex calculations, which takes advantage of the strengths of each method, and achieves accurate core temperature estimation. The effects of state of charge (SOC) and temperature on EIS are explored, impedance properties are selected on the criteria of robustness and rapidity, and the estimation of the volume-averaged temperature is achieved using the imaginary part of the impedance. The proposed method can achieve root mean squared error (RMSE) of less than 0.28 °C and mean absolute error (MAE) of less than 0.23 °C. The proposed method has advantages of high estimation accuracy and does not require an electrothermal model. It also considers the effect of ambient temperature and has a good generalization capability.

Validation of Fetal Medicine Foundation charts for fetal growth in twins: nationwide Danish cohort study.

To assess the validity of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) chorionicity-specific models for fetal growth in twin pregnancy. This was an external validation study of the FMF models using a nationwide Danish cohort of twin pregnancies. The cohort included all dichorionic (DC) and monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies with an estimated delivery date between 2008 and 2018, which satisfied the following inclusion criteria: two live fetuses at the first-trimester ultrasound scan (11-14 weeks' gestation); biometric measurements available for the calculation of estimated fetal weight (EFW) using the Hadlock-3 formula; and delivery of two liveborn infants. Validation involved assessing the distributional properties of the models and estimating the mean EFW Z-score deviations. Additionally, the models were applied to pregnancies that delivered preterm and attended non-scheduled visits (complicated pregnancies). Overall, 8542 DC and 1675 MCDA twin pregnancies met the inclusion criteria. In DC twins, 17 084 fetuses were evaluated at a total of 95 346 ultrasound scans, of which 44.5% were performed at scheduled visits in pregnancies carried to 37 + 0 weeks or later. The median number of growth scans per DC twin fetus from 20 + 0 weeks onwards was four. The model showed good agreement with the validation cohort for scheduled visits in DC twins delivered at 37 + 0 weeks or later (mean EFW Z-score, -0.14 ± 1.05). In MCDA twins, 3350 fetuses underwent 31 632 eligible ultrasound scans, of which 59.5% were performed at scheduled visits in pregnancies carried to 36 + 0 weeks or later. The median number of growth scans per MCDA twin fetus from 16 + 0 weeks onwards was 10. The model showed favorable agreement with the validation cohort for scheduled visits in MCDA twins delivered at 36 + 0 weeks or later (mean EFW Z-score, -0.09 ± 1.01). Non-scheduled visits and preterm delivery before 37 + 0 weeks for DC twins and before 36 + 0 weeks for MCDA twins corresponded with smaller weight estimates, which was consistent with the study's definition of complicated pregnancy. The FMF models provide a good fit for EFW measurements in our Danish national cohort of uncomplicated twin pregnancies assessed at routine scans. Therefore, the FMF models establish robust criteria for subsequent investigations and potential clinical applications. Future research should focus on exploring the consequences of clinical implementation, particularly regarding the identification of twins that are small-for-gestational age, as they are especially susceptible to adverse perinatal outcome. © 2024 The Author(s). Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

An update on pancreatic cancer imaging, staging and use of the PACT-UK radiology template pre- and post-neoadjuvant treatment.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma continues to have a poor prognosis, although recent advances in neoadjuvant treatments have provided some hope. Imaging assessment of suspected tumours can be challenging and requires a specific approach, with pancreas protocol CT being the primary imaging modality for staging with other modalities used as problem-solving tools to facilitate appropriate management. Imaging assessment post neoadjuvant treatment can be particularly difficult due to a current lack of robust radiological criteria to predict response and differentiate treatment induced fibrosis/inflammation from residual tumour. This review aims to provide an update of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with particular focus on three points: tumour staging pre- and post-neoadjuvant treatment including vascular assessment, structured reporting with introduction of the PACT-UK radiology template (PAncreatic Cancer reporting Template-UK), and the potential future role of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer.

The Impact of ESG Standards and Investment : Global Trends and Practices

In recent years, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investment has significantly integrated into investment strategies worldwide. The concept of ESG investing is not merely a fleeting trend but rather an essential tool for investors looking towards sustainable and responsible investment practices. With the evolution and adoption of ESG investments in the global market, a thorough examination of ESG investment practices reveals valuable insights. Nowadays, in economic landscape, the emphasis on ESG factors in investment decisions continues to grow, underscoring the importance of responsible investing practices in fostering long-term value creation and societal impact. This study offers noteworthy recommendations regarding ESG investment standards, aiming to drive improved ESG performance within enterprises. By adhering to robust ESG criteria, organizations can access enhanced financial prospects, paving the way for them to garner increased social recognition. Besides, this paper also put forward countermeasures and suggestions for China's ESG to improve China's ESG information disclosure system and the awareness of ESG.

Robustness of Dry‐Assembled Precast Wall and Coupled Wall‐Frame High‐Rise Structures With Voided Prestressed Slabs

ABSTRACTPrecast concrete structures are recognized among the structural typologies that may mostly suffer from progressive collapse as a consequence of local unpredicted damage, also due to past accidents occurred in buildings employing old precast technologies neglecting the basic robustness criteria and characterized by poorly detailed and/or executed joints and connections. Although vertical ties may relatively easily be provided in both frame and wall panel structures by employing ductile connection devices, dry‐assembled precast systems avoiding concrete pouring in the whole superstructure typically struggle to provide horizontal ties as strong as required by the current standards concerning progressive collapse, in which they are not fully framed yet. Nevertheless, these systems may exploit alternative sources of robustness to stop collapse progression arising from their structural arrangement, the shape of the slab elements employed, and the slab mechanical connections. This article presents the results of a numerical investigation focused on the structural behavior of a dry‐assembled precast floor system consisting of prestressed box‐section slab elements employed in either wall panel or coupled wall‐frame structural systems following the loss of one or multiple primary load‐bearing vertical elements. Nonlinear static simulations of different loss scenarios occurring in prototypes of 100‐m‐tall high‐rise buildings were carried out based upon spread plasticity modeling of the structural elements and experimentally calibrated nonlinear behavior of mechanical connections.

Applying an Evaluation Framework of Hospital CHA/CHIP Quality and Heterogeneity to Accredited Local Health Departments in Kentucky, 2015-2022.

This study aimed to assess the quality of community health assessments (CHA) and community health improvement plans conducted by Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)-accredited local health departments (LHDs) in Kentucky. Quality assessment of CHAs and community health improvement plan documents using criteria adapted from Pennel et al (2015). PHAB-accredited LHDs in Kentucky. Seventeen CHAs and community health improvement plan documents from PHAB-accredited LHD. Quality scores based on 17 evaluation criteria, including stakeholder involvement, data examination, plan feasibility, and LHD-hospital collaboration. The study found significant variation in the quality of CHAs and community health improvement plan documents. The highest scores were for partner involvement, data examination, and plan feasibility. The lowest scores were for LHD-hospital collaboration, use of evidence-based strategies, and plan evaluation. No community variables significantly predicted overall report scores. The quality of CHAs and community health improvement plan documents varies among Kentucky LHDs, highlighting the need for more robust guidance and standardized criteria. Strengthening hospital-LHD collaboration and focusing on evidence-based strategies can improve public health outcomes. Enhancing CHAs and community health improvement plan processes through legislative changes, better guidance, and improved collaboration between hospitals and LHD can lead to more effective public health interventions and outcomes.

The Moderating Role of Proposed External Incentives on COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions in an Emerging Economy Context

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical need for widespread vaccination to combat the spread of the virus and protect public health. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence COVID-19 vaccination intentions and examine the moderating role of proposed external incentives in an emerging economy context. Specifically, the study explores the impact of attitude, subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural (PB) control on vaccination intentions and examines how external incentives interact with these factors to strengthen vaccination intentions. Data was collected through 318 structured self-report questionnaires administered to individuals. The collected data underwent statistical analysis using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 3.0. The analysis fulfilled all the necessary assumptions and criteria for data quality and model robustness. The findings indicate that attitude, SN and PB control significantly influence individuals’ intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the main contribution of this study lies in its revelation that proposed external incentives positively impact the relationship between attitude and vaccination intentions. This suggests that external factors, such as monetary and non-monetary incentives, play a crucial role in attracting individuals towards preventive vaccination. The findings hold practical implications for policymakers and medical service providers, as they highlight the importance of external incentives in positively influencing vaccination intentions. These insights can aid in designing effective strategies to encourage vaccine uptake and reduce the likelihood of future pandemics.

Biweight midcorrelation-based CRITIC method: a case study for electrification of BIPV in Iran

Criteria weights are essential in various multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches. The amount of weight indicates the criterion's importance, and the performance of MCDM techniques depends on the correct estimation of criteria weights and criteria amount in the decision matrix. The distance correlation-based CRiteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) technique is a modified version of the CRITIC method. Since Pearson's correlation is sensitive to noisy and outlier data, this paper proposes using the biweight midcorrelation as a robust alternative to Pearson's correlation. The weights obtained from the proposed biweight midcorrelation method make using the full range of MCDM techniques possible. This study examined the performance of the proposed method in comparison with eight criteria weighting techniques on the electric supply for a Building-Integrated PhotoVoltaic (BIPV) problem. Results from three different tests (i.e. distance correlation, Spearman rank-order correlation, and symmetric mean absolute percentage error (sMAPE)) indicated that the proposed method could produce more valid criteria weights and ranks than other methods. The value of the sMAPE criterion for the proposed method is 0.1096. Sensitivity analysis also revealed that the proposed method provides more robust criteria weights and ranks with a larger decision matrix.

Laryngeal Myasthenia Gravis in Voice Patients: Clinical, Serologic, and Neuromuscular Characterization of Seronegative Patients for Antibodies Against the Acetylcholine Receptor and Muscle-Specific Kinase

OBJECTIVELaryngeal myasthenia gravis (MG) is a focal manifestation of MG, and most patients are seronegative for antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and muscle specific kinase (MuSK). The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of anti-AChR and anti-Musk antibodies in voice patients and to characterize the clinical and neuromuscular profiles of these patients in order to guide the diagnosis of laryngeal MG. STUDY DESIGNThis was a retrospective case-control study that included patients over the age of 18 who underwent laryngeal electromyography as part of their evaluation for neuromuscular junction dysfunction. METHODSCases and controls were evaluated serologically, for the anti-AChR, anti-MuSK, and anti-striational muscle antibodies, and neuromuscularly using the Tensilon test in some patients, repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) test, and a treatment trial of pyridostigmine bromide. Cases were defined as either (1) positive anti-AChR or anti-MuSK, or (2) a positive Tensilon test or positive pyridostigmine bromide trial. RESULTSTwo hundred and eleven patients were screened; 61 (29%) patients were identified with laryngeal MG, and 77 (36%) patients were selected as controls. All case and control patients were seronegative for the anti-AChR and anti-MuSK antibodies with no significant difference between case and control status for seropositivity for anti-striational muscle antibodies. Of the case patients with an electrically positive Tensilon test (80.6%) who completed a treatment trial, 100% had symptom improvement. Of the case patients with a symptomatically positive Tensilon test (16.1%), only 60% of patients had improvement with a treatment trial. The RNS was more likely to be positive in case patients than control patients, and cases had a higher severity of paresis in all laryngeal muscles with LEMG evaluation. CONCLUSIONSLaryngeal MG is an underrecognized condition in the otolaryngology community owing in part to its seronegative presentation. Electrical improvement with a Tensilon test, or electrical or substantial symptomatic improvement with pyridostigmine bromide represent the most robust diagnostic criteria in these patients.

Boundaries of visual phenomena in migraine: the charles bonnet’s syndrome - report of two cases

IntroductionTwo patients were referred to a tertiary headache center due to complex visual phenomena that might be related to migraine aura. Eventually, it turned out that they were Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) patients. The syndrome is characterized by vivid visual hallucinations in the absence of other psychiatric symptoms, often in patients with optical morphophysiological disorders. The pathophysiology of CBS remains uncertain, and the syndrome lacks robust diagnostic criteria. So far, reports on CBS are scarce in Brazilian neurological literature, leading to challenges in identification and diagnosis. The condition is primarily recognized through anamnesis and clinical examination.ObjectiveTo report two cases of CBS to draw the attention of headache specialists about this syndrome.Case reportsThe first case involves a 93-year-old male patient, retired, who reported experiencing vivid hallucinations sometimes of an old white car and sometimes a group of children. Despite the clarity of these visions, the patient remained aware that they were not real. In the second case, a 70-year-old male farmer began experiencing hallucinations involving scratches, scribbles, letters, stones, and women in his visions. ConclusionHere two cases of CBS were reported concerning a not so rare condition, but for sure very uncommon to headache specialists.

Robust filter pruning guided by deep frequency-features for edge intelligence

With the popularity of mobile applications, smart terminals require the deployment of lightweight deep neural networks (DNNs). However, those lightweight DNNs deployed on resource-constrained edge devices, have serious security vulnerabilities to adversarial examples. Pruning methods have been widely used to obtain lightweight DNNs, which mainly focus on improving classification accuracy, but ignore robustness. To this end, we present a Fourier space-based robust pruning algorithm (FSRP). We find that a robust network pays more attention to the low-frequency region of the adversarial examples’ feature maps, but ignores the high-frequency region. According to this finding, we design a filter robust indicator, a ratio of low-frequency components to high-frequency components of the feature map, to guide the pruning process. With this new robust pruning criterion, we adopt a strategy of local pruning that removes the filters with low robustness layer by layer in the model. Extensive experiments on CIFAR10/CIFAR100 and ImageNet show that the robust pruning accuracy is significantly improved under the FSRP robust pruning criterion. On CIFAR10, a pruning ratio of 90% on the VGG16 network still shows a 14.1% improvement in robust accuracy under auto attacks (AA).

Quantifying the reproducibility and longitudinal repeatability of radiomics features in magnetic resonance Image-Guide accelerator Imaging: A phantom study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the inter-platform reproducibility and longitudinal acquisition repeatability of MRI radiomics features in Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR), T2-weighted (T2W), and T1-weighted (T1W) sequences on MR-Linac systems using an American College of Radiology (ACR) phantom. Materials and MethodsThis study used two MR-Linac systems (A and B) in different cancer centers. The ACR phantom was scanned on system A daily for 30 consecutive days to evaluate longitudinal repeatability. Additionally, retest data were collected after repositioning the phantom. Inter-platform reproducibility was assessed by conducting scans under identical conditions using system B. Regions of interest were delineated on the T1W sequence from system A and mapped to other sequences via rigid registration. Intra-observer and inter-observer comparisons were conducted. Repeatability and reproducibility were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV). Robust radiomics features were identified based on ICC>0.9 and CV<10 %. ResultsAnalysis showed that a higher proportion of radiomics features derived from longitudinal FLAIR sequence (51.65 %) met robustness criteria compared to T2W (48.35 %) and T1W (43.96 %). Additionally, more inter-platform features from the FLAIR sequence (62.64 %) were robust compared to T2W (42.86 %) and T1W (39.56 %). Test-retest and intra-observer repeatability were excellent across all sequences, with a median ICC of 0.99 and CV<5%. However, inter-observer reproducibility was inferior, especially for the T1W sequence. ConclusionsDifferent sequences show variations in repeatability and reproducibility. The FLAIR sequence demonstrated advantages in both longitudinal repeatability and inter-platform reproducibility. Caution is warranted when interpreting data, particularly in longitudinal or multiplatform radiomics studies.

Robustness of General Efficiency Balanced Block Designs against Missing Observations

In the present communication, some results on robustness of generalized efficiency balanced (GEB) block designs with equal block sizes (binary and non-binary) are presented. The necessary &amp; sufficient conditions are obtained for robustness as per criteria 1 (Ghosh, 1982) when the missing observations appear in the following patterns: (i) t (≥1) observations of a design pertaining to the same treatment are missing and (ii) all observations in a block are missing but the residual design still becomes connected. Sufficient conditions for robustness according to Criteria 1 are examined in each type of GEB designs. Another criterion (Criteria 2) for robustness of a block design is the small amount loss of efficiency values of the residual design after deletion of t (≥1) observations. The declining trend of efficiency values after deletion of treatments one by one are presented graphically for measuring the robustness of designs under study.

Robust PI-PD Controller Design: Industrial Simulation Case Studies and a Real-Time Application

PI-PD controllers have superior performance compared to traditional PID controllers, especially for controlling unstable and integrating industrial processes with time delays. However, computing the four tuning parameters of this type of controller is not an easy task. Recently, there has been significant interest in determining the tuning rules for PI-PD controllers that utilize the stability region. Currently, most tuning rules for the PI-PD controller are presented graphically, which can be time-consuming and act as a barrier to their industrial application. There is a lack of analytical tuning guidelines in the literature to address this shortfall. However, the existing analytical tuning guidelines do not consider a rigorous design approach. This work proposes new robust analytical tuning criteria based on predefined gain and phase margin bounds, as well as the centroid of the stability region. The proposed method has been tested using various simulation studies related to a DC–DC buck converter, a DC motor, and a heat exchanger. The results indicate that the proposed tuning rules exhibit strong performance against parameter uncertainty with minimal overshoots. Furthermore, the suggested technique for simultaneous control of yaw and pitch angles has been tested in a real-time application using the twin rotor multi-input multi-output system (TRMS). Real-time results indicate that, compared to other methods under investigation, the suggested approach provides nearly minimal overshoots.

Clinical course of atypical parathyroid neoplasm with soft tissue extension.

The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system defines atypical parathyroid neoplasia (APN) as tumor in situ (Tis) and reserves the definition of parathyroid carcinoma (PC) to parathyroid tumor with invasion into surrounding structures. Because the parathyroid gland has no true capsule, "extension" with APN versus microscopic "invasion" of surrounding soft tissue can be difficult and confusing for clinicians. We aimed to determine the clinical course of atypical parathyroid neoplasm with and without soft tissue extension and parathyroid carcinoma with only soft tissue invasion (pT1) and to report the outcomes. Following an IRB-approvedprotocol, we identified all patients treated for parathyroid neoplasm or cancer at our single tertiary care cancer center from 1990 to 2021. We excluded all patients with evidence of clinical or pathologic gross invasion into surrounding structures (pT2 or higher), lymph node involvement, or metastatic disease. By definition, this excluded all cases where the distinction was clinically evident to the surgeon at the time of the operation based on finding a hard, firm, sticky, or discolored parathyroid gland. Only patients with pathologic T1 (pT1) parathyroid carcinoma or APNwere included. All pathologic examinations were independently re-reviewed by a single designated expert senior endocrine pathologist. The definition of APN strictly followed the WHO definition of a clinically worrisome lesion having features including fibrous bands or increased mitotic rate, necrosis, or trabecular growth that did not meet robust criteria for frank invasion. Pathologic T1 disease was defined as invasion limited to soft tissue. Analyses were performed using R version 4.0.2 and Jamovi. Of all PCpatients at our institution, only 71met the strict inclusion criteria of APN or pT1. Forty-four patients had pT1 disease and 27 had APN: 12 of the APN had soft tissue extension, and 15 had no soft tissue extension. The groups were similar with regard to age at diagnosis (p = 0.328). The average follow-up duration was 84 months from initial surgical intervention. Of the 12 with APN, one patient (1/12; 8%) with soft tissue extension recurred, developed distant metastases, and subsequently died during follow up. Of the 44 patients with pT1 PC, six developed distant metastases and 13 (13/44; 30%) died during the follow-up period. One patient with APN and soft tissue extension recurred and died and no patient with APN and no soft tissue extension died. Patients with APN and extension into soft tissue have a clinical course similar to that of APN without soft tissue extension. APN with soft tissue extension is a different disease from pT1 disease with invasion of soft tissue. The pTis classification appears justified for APN with and without soft tissue extension.

Resilient sampled-data control for fractional-order PMVG-based WTS with actuator saturation and probabilistic faults using fuzzy Lyapunov function method

The goal of this study is to present a new fuzzy Lyapunov function-based resilient sampled-data control method for a fractional-order permanent magnet vernier generator (PMVG)-based wind turbine system (WTS) that addresses actuator saturation and probabilistic faults. To achieve this, we first model the dynamical fractional model of the PMVG-based WTS as a T-S fuzzy model. Next, we introduce a fuzzy Lyapunov function within a unified framework that incorporates actuator saturation, probabilistic faults, and uncertainty information from control gain matrices. We then present an actuator fault model that represents actuator faults as stochastic variables with a specific probability distribution. Subsequently, we formulate a robust asymptotic stability criterion for closed-loop systems using linear matrix inequality (LMI), which integrates the fuzzy Lyapunov function and membership function information with fractional integral inequality techniques based on sampling time. We also propose an LMI approach to identify the domain of attraction that meets the necessary actuator saturation criteria. Finally, we apply the proposed method to a PMVG-based WTS, demonstrating its superiority and practical applicability through a comparison with existing methods using a numerical example of a nonlinear truck trailer system.

Robust dynamic output feedback predictive fault‐tolerant control for discrete uncertain systems

AbstractA robust predictive fault‐tolerance control method integrating dynamic output feedback is proposed for discrete industrial processes with unmeasurable states, actuator faults, uncertainties, and external disturbances. First, a new iterative error model is developed, which extends the output tracking error to increase the freedom of controller regulation and ensure the tracking performance of the system. Second, a robust dynamic output feedback predictive fault‐tolerant controller is designed based on the preceding model. According to the Lyapunov stability theory, the robust stability criterion of the system is performed in the case of actuator faults, and the stability conditions of the system in the form of linear matrix inequality are given. The real‐time optimal control law gains are obtained by solving the stability conditions online. This method can effectively suppress the effects of actuator faults, uncertainties and external disturbances on the system with unmeasurable states, which can guarantee the tracking performance and stability of the system. The effectiveness of the proposed method is finally verified by using an injection molding process as an example.

Histopathological assessment of the viability of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.

Infections by the larval stage of the tape worms Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus granulosus s.l. are potentially fatal zoonoses affecting humans as dead-end hosts. Histopathological evaluation of hepatic echinococcosis is an integral part of patient management, including the distinction between alveolar (AE) and cystic echinococcosis (CE), which are associated with different disease courses and treatments. To improve histopathological assessment of Echinococcus lesions, we aimed to develop robust criteria to evaluate their viability and decay. Histomorphological criteria for determining parasitic viability based on the morphology of parasite structures and different stages of their decay were defined based on a clinically and molecularly defined cohort comprising 138 specimens from 112 patients (59 AE and 53 CE); 618 AE lesions were assessed for histopathological viability comparing haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining with mAbEm18 and mAbEm2G11 immunostaining. Moreover, parasite viability was systematically mapped in cross-sections of five additional AE lesions. Protoscoleces in CE and AE displayed variable states of degeneration. Albendazole had no significant effect on the morphology of parasite structures. Viability assessment revealed high agreement between H&E and mAbEm18, but not mAbEm2G11 staining, suggesting mAbEm18 staining as reliable for parasite viability assessment. H&E and mAbEm18 staining displayed a central-peripheral gradient of parasite viability and decay across parasitic lesions, with decayed cystic lesions located more towards the lesion centre while the most viable cystic lesions were located more peripherally. Histopathological criteria corroborated by mAbEm18 staining provide a simple and reliable tool to assess the viability of AE lesions, knowledge of which is a valuable decision-making tool for further treatment.

Summary of Evidence on the Impact of Mindfulness Training on Anxiety Levels of Pregnant Women

Background: Mental health during pregnancy is a global health problem, the percentage of pregnant women with antenatal anxiety or mood disorders ranges from 15% and 25%, with generalized anxiety disorder as the most common factor in the illness. Most of the research findings show a relationship between mothers’ psychological distress and poor prognosis for either the mother or the infant. Low well-being during pregnancy has significant adverse impacts on both mother and infant. Therefore, it is important to focus on antenatal anxiety and psychological stress in pregnant women. Mindfulness training, defined as an intentional and non-judgmental awareness of experience in the present moment, it is the most common intervention for antenatal education. Although the impact of positive thinking interventions on antenatal maternal well-being has been increasingly examined, the results still have not been systematically evaluated. Aim: This paper aims to systematically evaluate the effects of positive thinking interventions on evidence of antenatal anxiety in pregnant women and current research methods with a population of pregnant women by evaluating five studies of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) using the CASP checklist tool. Summarize the implications of the evaluation results for future studies, and finally provide practical insights and research recommendations. Methods: Firstly, the research topic is identified: patient/problem: pregnancy anxiety; intervention: intervention in positive thinking; comparison: usual care. A complete internet-based search of five databases was conducted through Academic Search Complete, Medical Line, CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition and Google Scholar to identify randomized controlled trials assessing positive thinking training versus postnatal depression controls. To select higher quality and relevant articles, the author rechecked titles and abstracts exclusion criteria and manually searched five peer-reviewed RCT articles from the last five years by further evaluating reference lists, while focusing on assessing interventions, measurement scale outcomes, study sample results, strengths and limitations. Secondly, randomized controlled trials were assessed using the CASP Randomized Controlled Trial Criteria Checklist. This version has now been updated to the 2020 Access Guide. Results: This paper provides a specific review of five RCT studies by using the CASP assessment tool, and concludes that positive thinking training shows potential benefits in terms of prenatal depression, anxiety and negative affect levels. From a comparison of the five intervention modalities of the positive thinking intervention, Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MICBT) had the broadest range of interventions and the most comprehensive curriculum. Most of the studies had small sample sizes of participants and an increase in sample size and longer follow-up time through comparative analysis would be beneficial to generalizability, therefore a sample size of 50 people on average between the intervention and control groups was chosen as appropriate, with a follow-up time of at least one month and three months. Also, the presence of potential bias was mentioned in these studies, by comparing randomized classification methods it was found that the smaller the base difference present through computer allocation and single-blind allocation, the less systematic bias there was. The choice of measurement instruments did not conflict with the sample size, the cultural background of the population and the findings. However, positive effects on anxiety and stress during pregnancy were less consistent with the assessment tool for the intervention group. Self-report instruments are highly sensitive and idiosyncratic, coupled with the tendency of participants to interact with researchers to produce bias. Therefore, when selecting a measurement tool, the best approach is to combine a self-report instrument with a researcher’s assessment. The literature highlights the increased interest in this area in recent years. Coupled with the prevalence of methodological issues and variation between studies, the current review is timely and necessary to determine intervention effects and best practice for future research. Findings: Mindfulness training is a useful intervention for improving anxiety and stress during pregnancy, but future research recommendations must follow robust methodological criteria with expanded sample sizes and longer follow-ups to examine the effects of positive thinking interventions during pregnancy.

Research on Active Disturbance Rejection Control of Small Modular Reactor Once-Through Steam Generator Based on Differential Evolution Optimization Algorithm

The pressure control of once-through steam generator (OTSG) is critical for the operation and safety of small modular reactors. However, the dynamics of the OTSG are quite nonlinear, time varying, and uncertain. Classical control methods face significant challenges in keeping the pressure within acceptable limits in an environment with frequent load variations and multiple sources of external disturbances. In this paper, a robust control strategy based on active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) optimized by the differential evolution (DE) algorithm is proposed to satisfy the requirements of steam pressure control in an optimum and efficient way. First, a lumped parameter model for the OTSG is developed based on the notion of moving boundaries and linearized to introduce a transfer function model for control design purposes. Then a feedforward cascade control system based on an ADRC controller and a proportional integral differential (PID) controller is designed, which mainly consists of a pressure ADRC controller, a feedwater PID controller, and a feedforward compensator. To improve the pressure control performance and parameter tuning efficiency of the OTSG control system, a DE algorithm is applied to optimize the ADRC parameters, and the frequency domain and time domain characteristics are compared with particle swarm optimization and the genetic algorithm. Transient simulation experiments were used to evaluate the control performance at 100%, 50%, and 25% power levels, respectively. Moreover, a performance robustness criterion is proposed to demonstrate the robust stability of the ADRC, and the robustness metric is compared with that of the PID control schemes. The simulation results show that DE-ADRC control strategy has better set point tracking, interference rejection, and robust stability than DE-PID control strategy.