Contracted State Research Articles

Digital Dynamic Agent (DDA) Driven Energy Contract Negotiation

Abstract Digital Dynamic Agent (DDA) introduces the new paradigm of digital dynamic agent-driven energy contract negotiation, which is dynamic and real-time in adjustment. Long-term static contracts normally produce one-sided traditional market outcomes. On the contrary, DDA driving will be continuous in nature, at a level of rapid negotiations over the underlying transactions. This paper proposes a new generic DDA framework that negotiates energy contracts between grid agents and renewable generation sources, especially wind farms equipped with battery storage. The agents dynamically update their strategy concerning realtime market conditions, demand, and storage capacity. By simulation over one week with real data from the wind farms, it is evident that the DDA framework is better adapted in using battery storage for significantly lesser wastage of energy. Interestingly, the system secured energy at competitive prices in both live energy and capacity markets; it showed an improvement in cost savings compared to conventional static contracts. It also allows for effective energy procurement within diverse market states, which enables greater flexibility and responsiveness in energy management through the optimization of the negotiation process. The current paper highlights the capability of the framework to enhance negotiation outcomes while allowing the broader transition toward renewable energy markets.

Steel Scrap Prediction from Indonesian Ship Recycling: Ship Type Point of View

Abstract Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships 2009 will entry into force on 26 Juni 2025, which is 24 month after Bangladesh and Liberia deposited their instrument to be a Contracted States to the Convention in 2023. As known widely, the output from the ship recycling activity is steel scrap that can be melted as a source of new steel. In Indonesia, the number of ship scrap is expected to be able to contribute to national steel industry. There are around 14.000 ships registered in Biro KlasiOikasi Indonesia. More than 2000 ships have been operated for more than 25 years. The aim of this study is for predicting the weight of the steel scrap by calculating the Light Displacement Tonnage (LDT) of potential ships to be recycled from available data based on 11 ship types that has higher total GT Total LDT estimation from ships more than 25 years is almost 2 million tons. This number would contribute positively to shipbuilding industry in Indonesia.

Early Folding Dynamics of i-Motif DNA Revealed by pH-Jump Time-Resolved X-ray Solution Scattering.

The i-motif is a pH-responsive cytosine-rich oligonucleotide sequence that forms, under acidic conditions, a quadruplex structure. This tunable structural switching has made the i-motif a useful platform for designing pH-responsive nanomaterials. Despite the widespread application of i-motif DNA constructs as biomolecular switches, the mechanism of i-motif folding on the atomic scale has yet to be established. We investigate the early folding structural dynamics of i-motif oligonucleotides with laser-pulse-induced pH-jump time-resolved X-ray solution scattering. Following the pH-jump, we observe that the initial random coil ensemble converts into a contracted intermediate state within 113 ns followed by further folding on the 10 ms time scale. We reveal the representative structures of these transient species, hitherto unknown, with molecular dynamics simulations and ensemble fitting. These results pave the way for understanding metastable conformations of i-motif folding and for benchmarking emerging theoretical models for simulating noncanonical nucleic acid structures.

Akad Nikah Virtual: Perspektif Hukum Islam dan Undang-Undang Perkawinan di Indonesia.

This study aims to determine the legal status of virtual marriage contracts from the perspective of Indonesian marriage law and Islamic law, The type of literature research, which is research that uses data sources from books, papers, and scientific works that are relevant to the subject being studied, is used to answer this problem. These sources include a variety of opinions on virtual marriage contracts. The results of the study show that according to Islamic marriage law, a virtual marriage contract is considered valid as long as it meets the legal requirements, including the pillars of marriage. The marriage contract is considered valid as long as there is no firm decision from the legal entity on the opinion that has been determined in the religious court, provided that the Kabul ijab ceremony does not doubt it, is in accordance with the principles and conditions of marriage, and does not contradict Islamic law. This is reinforced by Articles 27 to 29 in the Compilation of Islamic Law which stipulates that the procession of the marriage contract cannot be stopped, carried out directly by the marriage guardian, or announced by the groom by telephone or other means of communication. It is hoped that the wider community can understand the concept of a virtual marriage contract wisely and not necessarily reject it without knowing the context. Muslims are obliged to obey the rules or provisions that have been agreed.

A Systematic Literature Review on Blockchain-based Smart Contracts: Platforms, Applications, and Challenges

Blockchain technology has rapidly emerged with a multitude of applications, among which smart contracts have garnered considerable attention. Smart contracts represent a promising solution for streamlining trade and business transactions between untrusted parties without intermediaries. These self-executing pieces of code automatically execute predefined actions when specific conditions are met. Despite the growing enthusiasm for blockchain and smart contracts, researchers believe this powerful combination has not yet reached its full potential. Hence, a systematic study is conducted to explore the various facets of blockchain-based smart contracts comprehensively. The research follows the PRISMA framework and employs two primary approaches: bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review. The process was initiated by formulating targeted search queries within the Scopus database, identifying a total of 1,949 publications spanning from January 2019 to August 2023. Subsequently, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on these publications using VOSViewer and Biblioshiny. Further, the full text of these publications was meticulously screened to isolate those with a significant focus on smart contracts. This led to the identification of 48 publications, each offering unique insights into various smart contract applications. Upon further examination, it was observed that the majority of these publications held rankings within the China Computer Federation, which refers to the qualitative research work in this domain. The study concludes with the current state of blockchain-based smart contracts, their platforms, applications, and challenges and reveals the substantial potential in handling tasks with predefined conditions and security requirements.

Quantitative Ultrasound Parameters as Predictors of Chemotherapy Toxicity in Lymphoma

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to use quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters to assess the muscle mass and quality in patients with lymphoma. Additionally, the study aimed to investigate the relationship between these QUS parameters and post‐chemotherapy myelosuppression.MethodsThe study cohort comprised 202 patients diagnosed with lymphoma (105 males, 97 females; mean age 57.0 ± 14.9 years). The skeletal muscle index (SMI) and mean skeletal muscle density (SMD) were measured on CT and used as the gold standards to evaluate low skeletal muscle mass and quality. The muscle thickness (MT) of the forearm flexor and extensor muscles was measured in both the relaxed and contracted states, while the normalized non‐linear parameter B/A (MusQBOX.NLP) and normalized mean intensity (MusQBOX.NMI) were extracted from retained ultrasound radiofrequency signals. The correlations between the QUS parameters and grip strength were assessed. Models were constructed using these QUS parameters to predict low SMI and SMD, and to evaluate whether these factors were independently associated with post‐chemotherapy myelosuppression.ResultsThe MT in both the relaxed and contracted states exhibited the strongest correlations with grip strength, while the MusQBOX.NLP and MusQBOX.NMI were only weakly correlated with grip strength. Models incorporating QUS parameters to predict low SMI and SMD achieved high area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values. The MT, MusQBOX.NLP, and MusQBOX.NMI were independent factors associated with post‐chemotherapy myelosuppression.ConclusionsQUS parameters show promise in characterizing muscle strength, mass, and quality. They are also independent factors influencing post‐chemotherapy myelosuppression.

Self-Powered, Flexible, Wireless and Intelligent Human Health Management System Based on Natural Recyclable Materials.

Combining wearable sensors with modern technologies such as internet of things and big data to monitor or intervene in obesity-induced chronic diseases, such as obstructive sleep apnea, type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and Alzheimer's disease, is of great significance to the self-health management of human beings. This study designed a loofah-conducting graphite four friction layer enhanced triboelectric nanogenerator (LG-TENG) and developed a health management system for human motion recognition and early warning of sleep breathing abnormalities. By uniformly spraying and depositing conductive graphite on the surface of the loofah and the elastic film cross-interlocking bending structure design, the signal strength of the LG-TENG has been improved by 390%. The stable output signal is still maintained after 1500 s of continuous operation at a frequency of 2 Hz. LG-TENG can realize accurate motion analysis by muscle contraction state. Combining different deep learning models resulted in 98.1% accuracy in recognizing seven categories of displacement speeds for an individual and 96.46% accuracy in recognizing seven categories of displacement speeds for three individuals. In addition, the sleep breathing monitoring early warning system was developed by integrating Bluetooth wireless transmission and upper computer analysis technology. This system aims to analyze and provide real-time warnings for sleep-breathing abnormalities. This research promotes an innovation of TENG technology based on the advantages of natural materials, recyclability and low cost. It offers new ideas for self-health management and scientific exercise for obese people, showing a broad application prospect.

Imagining Speeds up the Effect of Motor Imagery on Central Motor Conduction Time.

Although motor imagery (MI) has been reported to increase motor cortical excitability, its effect on central motor conduction time (CMCT), a widely used neurophysiological diagnostic method, has not been investigated. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of MI on CMCT. In this cross-sectional study, 21 healthy volunteers (11 females, 10 males) aged 24 to 67 years (mean age: 38.8 years) were recruited between April 2022 and June 2023.CMCT was calculated during MI from the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles. Measurements were also performed with conventional measurement methods, such as resting and voluntary contraction, to compare the effect of MI on CMCT. The ANOVAtest revealed that the CMCT session (rest, MI, and voluntary contraction) was a significant factor (p < 0.05). In both muscles, CMCT was shorter in the imagery state than in the resting state but longer than in the voluntary contraction state (p < 0.05). Similarly, motor-evoked potential (MEP) latencies obtained during imagery were shorter for both muscles than the resting state but longer for the voluntary contraction state. The study's findings suggest that MI is a mental activity that modulates CMCT measurement.MI shows a voluntary contraction-like effect on CMCT and MEP latency, although the effect is more uncertain.

Role of Ultrasound in the Evaluation of Skeletal Muscle Changes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract Background Diabetes is a global public health problem, with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounting for more than 90% of the diabetic population and it has been consistently reported as one of the strongest correlates of mobility limitation, especially in older people, and a potential risk factor for future mobility disability and loss of independence. Long-term complications and diabetes-related comorbidities only partially explain the excess risk of disability associated with diabetes. Changes in body composition, in particular progressive loss of muscle mass and increase in fat mass, with decline in muscle strength and quality have been proposed as additional potential mediators of the association between diabetes and disability. Aim of the Work to investigate the differences in Skeletal muscle ultrasound features in people with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients and Methods This was a Case control study conducted at the Ultrasound Radiology Unit, Radiology Department, Ain Shams University Hospitals from July, 2023 to January 2024. The study was performed on simple random sample consists of 36 T2DM patients on regular follow up in the endocrinology clinics in Ain Shams University Hospitals. And 36 Healthy controls came for routine checkup in Ain Shams University Hospitals clinics and meeting the study inclusion criteria. A signed informed consent was obtained from all patients and controls prior to inclusion in the study after explaining the procedure details. The approval of research ethical committee of faculty of Medicine - Ain Shams University was obtained before starting the study. The privacy of participants and confidentiality of data was guaranteed during the various phases of the study. Results we measured three ultrasonic parameters. MT, FL and PA. The FL and PA are measured in both relaxed and contracted states. the DPN group had the lowest MT, FL at both rest and contracted states and PA at contracted state as well as the lowest ΔFL and ΔPA. The control group had the highest MT, FL at both rest and contracted states and PA at contracted state as well as the highest ΔFL and ΔPA. The non-DPN group had intermediate values for the same variables. The differences among the groups were statistically significant for all the variables except for the pennation angle at rest. It showed that the ΔFL of the DPN group was significantly lower than that of the non-DPN group (p &amp;lt; 0.001), which was similar to a previous conclusion that the gastrocnemius fascicles undergo the smallest length changes in a DPN group. Conclusion The combination of MT,ΔFL and ΔPA of the MG showed high-diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity &amp;gt;80%; specificity &amp;gt;95%) for predicting DPN, which could be used for rapid screening in the future. Early muscle ultrasound screening should be timely carried out in patients with T2DM, especially those with a long disease course and poor long-term blood glucose levels, and there is no difference between men and women.

A Foldaxane-Based Supramolecular Muscle-Like Switch.

[cn]daisy chain molecular muscle architectures are self-assemblies of hermaphrodite monomers, which usually contain a macrocycle unit linked to a molecular thread that contains sites of interactions - i. e. molecular stations - for the macrocycle. In these multiply threaded structures, altering with control the affinity between macrocycles and stations allows for contraction and extension of the molecule, which is reminiscent of the operation of a muscle. Besides, the field that consists of combining helix and template-containing rods to design foldaxane supramolecular assemblies is still underexplored. By using foldamer units as surrogates for macrocycles, Gan et al. reported the first supramolecular muscle-like foldamer-containing switch that can adopt, after chemical stimulus, either a contracted co-conformational state or a degenerate-like state for which a slow exchange occurred between the contracted and the stretched state.

Safe design and evolution of smart contracts using dynamic condition response graphs to model generic role‐based behaviors

AbstractSmart contracts executed on blockchains are interactive programs where external actors generate events that trigger function invocations. Events can be emitted by participants asynchronously. However, some functionalities should be restricted to participants inhabiting specific roles in the system, which might be dynamically adjusted while the system evolves. We argue that current smart contract languages adopting imperative programming paradigms require additional complicated access control code. Furthermore, smart contracts are often developed and evolved independently and cannot share a joint access control policy. This makes it challenging to ensure the correctness of access control properties and to maintain correctness when the contracts are adapted. We propose using dynamic condition response (DCR) graphs for role‐based and declarative access control for smart contracts and techniques for test‐driven modelling and refinement of DCR graphs to support the safe design and evolution of smart contracts. We show that they allow for capturing and visualizing a form of dynamic access control where access rights evolve as the contract state progresses. Their use supports the straightforward declaration of access control rights, improved code auditing, test‐driven modelling, and safe evolution of smart contracts and improves users' understanding.

Sensor‐Embedded Muscle for Closed‐Loop Controllable Actuation in Proprioceptive Biohybrid Robots

Biohybrid robots are soft robots that exploit unique characteristics of biological cells and tissues for motion generation. Skeletal muscle tissue‐based bioactuators respond to externally applied stimuli, such as electrical fields. However, current bioactuation systems rely on open‐loop control strategies that lack knowledge of the actuator's state. The regulation of output force and position of biohybrid robots requires self‐sensing control systems that combine bioactuators with sensors and control paradigms. Herein, a soft, fiber‐shaped mechanical sensor based on a piezoresistive composite is proposed that efficiently integrates with engineered skeletal muscle tissue and senses its contracting states in a cell culture environment in the presence of applied electrical fields. After testing the sensor's insulation and biocompatibility, its sensitivity for typical strains (&lt;1%) is characterized, and its ability is proven to detect motions from contractile skeletal muscle tissue constructs. Finally, it is shown that the sensor response can feed an autonomous control system, thus demonstrating the first proprioceptive biohybrid robot that senses and responds to its contraction state. In addition to inspiring implantable systems, biomedical models, and other bioelectronic devices, the proposed technology will confer biohybrids with decisional autonomy, thus driving the paradigm shift between bioactuators and intelligent biohybrid robots.

Exploring the relationship between trunk muscles and lower limb injuries in Australian badminton players

Due to its dynamic nature, lower limb injuries are common in badminton. Overuse injuries of the knee, including tendon related conditions, are the most common. During jumping and landing, force transference and dissipation through the trunk is required, with the trunk muscles playing a vital role. However, the relationship between knee pain and the ability to voluntarily contract the trunk muscles has not yet been explored in badminton players. A cross-sectional study of Australian badminton players was therefore conducted. Players performed a single leg decline squat to identify those with knee pain. Ultrasound imaging was used to image and measure the size of the multifidus and quadratus lumborum, and the ability to contract the abdominal and multifidus muscles. Voluntary contraction of the trunk muscles was conducted with the subjects lying down. Independent samples T-Tests were performed to test for between group differences. Badminton players with knee pain had larger quadratus lumborum muscles and demonstrated a greater change in muscle thickness from the rested to contracted state. While we cannot comment on causation or direction, over co-contraction of trunk muscles has been shown in other studies to be associated with increased ground reaction forces on landing. Motor control training has been successfully used in other conditions to modify trunk muscle recruitment patterns and may therefore potentially represent a useful approach for badminton players.

FMCF: A fusing multiple code features approach based on Transformer for Solidity smart contracts source code summarization

A smart contract is a software program executed on a blockchain, designed to facilitate functionalities such as contract execution, asset administration, and identity validation within a secure and decentralized ecosystem. Summarizing the code of Solidity smart contracts aids developers in promptly grasping essential functionalities, thereby enhancing the security posture of Ethereum-based projects. Existing smart contract code summarization works mainly use traditional information retrieval and single code features, resulting in suboptimal performance. In this study, we propose a fusing multiple code features (FMCF) approach based on Transformer for Solidity summarization. First, FMCF created contract integrity modeling and state immutability modeling in the data preprocessing stage to process and filter data that meets security conditions. At the same time, FMCF retains the self-attention mechanism to construct the Graph Attention Network (GAT) encoder and CodeBERT encoder, which respectively extract multiple feature vectors of the code to ensure the integrity of the source code information. Furthermore, the FMCF uses a weighted summation method to input these two types of feature vectors into the feature fusion module for fusion and inputs the fused feature vectors into the Transformer decoder to obtain the final smart contract code summarization. The experimental results show that FMCF outperforms the standard baseline methods by 12.45% in the BLEU score and maximally preserves the semantic information and syntax structures of the source code. The results demonstrate that the FMCF can provide a good direction for future research on smart contract code summarization, thereby helping developers enhance the security of development projects.

A Study on the Legal Status of Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts

A Study on the Legal Status of Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts

A lumen-tunable triangular DNA nanopore for molecular sensing and cross-membrane transport

Synthetic membrane nanopores made of DNA are promising systems to sense and control molecular transport in biosensing, sequencing, and synthetic cells. Lumen-tunable nanopore like the natural ion channels and systematically increasing the lumen size have become long-standing desires in developing nanopores. Here, we design a triangular DNA nanopore with a large tunable lumen. It allows in-situ transition from expanded state to contracted state without changing its stable triangular shape, and vice versa, in which specific DNA bindings as stimuli mechanically pinch and release the three corners of the triangular frame. Transmission electron microscopy images and molecular dynamics simulations illustrate the stable architectures and the high shape retention. Single-channel current recordings and fluorescence influx studies demonstrate the low-noise repeatable readouts and the controllable cross-membrane macromolecular transport. We envision that the proposed DNA nanopores could offer powerful tools in molecular sensing, drug delivery, and the creation of synthetic cells.

Investment Arbitration: A Model for Resolving Property Law Disputes on the Example of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia?

Property disputes between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia are a reality that burdens the entirety of international diplomatic relations between two neighboring countries of the same subregion. After the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), numerous issues arose, of which property rights are among the most important. The republics of the former SFRY, as well as natural and legal persons, had their property in the entire territory of Yugoslavia, so it was necessary to adequately protect the existing rights. In this regard, in 2001, the Successor States of the SFRY concluded the Agreement on Succession, in which they agreed on movable and immovable property through seven Annexes. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) started from the view that the comprehensive implementation of the Succession Agreement is the basis of permanent, stable, and friendly relations between the Contracting States and took all that was necessary to return the property claimed by the Successor States. However, the Republic of Croatia did not return the property in the way that Bosnia and Herzegovina did, and the first country started to violate the aforementioned multilateral international agreement. Given that the Agreement on Succession does not offer adequate solutions for the peaceful settlement of international disputes between the Contracting Parties, the paper analyzes the possibility of settlement of said disputes based on investment arbitration, which as a model for the settlement of international disputes is not an instrument used by individuals and legal entities from BiH into a sufficient extent. Equally, in this light, we explore the legal possibilities of the concluded Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia (bilateral investment treaty) and present the future of investment arbitration from the perspective of the European Union.

Energy transition dynamics amid policy uncertainty, environmental regulations, and Geopolitics: Evidence from China

The time-varying dynamics of the transition to renewable energy reflect the effectiveness and efficiency of energy policy. This paper investigates renewable energy transition behavior in China using Markov regime-switching models. Two distinct phases, expansion and contraction, are identified based on the growth rates of renewable energy consumption share. We find that since China started its new-energy national strategy in 2005, there has been an extended period in which it has been in the expansion state, although it occasionally reverts to a contraction state. Intriguingly, we uncover that the timing of transition state changes can be explained by the changes in policy-related, market-based instruments and risk-related indexes. These findings present implications for policymakers in developing more precise and effective policies, that drives investment choices to align with the goal of a sustainable energy system.

Akad Jual Beli dan Uang Ganti Rugi Rumah Dinas di Kota Langsa Perspektif Fikih Muamalah

Compensation money handed over by new residents to old residents of official residences in Langsa City as well as handover transactions for official residences have caused problems related to the status of the contract and ownership rights which occurred after payment of a sum of money which was also recognized as compensation money. Through a qualitative approach with descriptive methods, this research aims to determine the status of contracts, compensation money and ownership rights for official residences in Langsa City from a muamalat fiqh perspective. This research reveals that an official residence transaction that is recognized as a sale and purchase agreement is a false sale and purchase agreement because the old occupant as a seller is not the owner of the official residence as al-mabi' so the status of ownership of the official residence does not transfer to the buyer, but remains ownership. National Police. Furthermore, handing over compensation money is not appropriate because it is contrary to the concept of al-ta'widh, causing the transfer of assets from the party giving compensation money to be illegal to own and not permissible to use.

A Local-First Approach for Green Smart Contracts

Shared code in blockchains, known as smart contracts , stands to replace important parts of our digital governance and financial infrastructure. The permissionless execution of smart contracts is tightly coupled to cryptocurrencies and Proof-of-Work blockchains. As a result, smart contracts inherit the environmental impact of Proof-of-Work blockchains, such as its energy consumption, carbon footprint, and electronic waste. The four concepts of relaxed consistency, strong identities, probabilistic consensus, and the use of liabilities instead of assets may change the status quo. This work explores the integration of these concepts to decouple smart contracts from Proof-of-Work blockchains. By means of a local-first approach, which may expose users to inconsistent ephemeral contract states, the architecture of smart contracts can be transformed to become green. Because such contract states may be dropped, we base the interactions between users on liabilities. We propose a novel paradigm for smart contract architectures, named Green Smart Contracts, that is based on a local-first approach. Furthermore, we present and implement a prototype solution for this paradigm. We validate the need for a mechanism to resolve consistency violations by replaying the contract calls of a real smart contract. Our simulation shows that violations occur more often (13% of contract invocations) when using liabilities than when using a traditional blockchain (3% of contract invocations). However, we additionally validate that they can be avoided using a consensus mechanism, and our experiments show that a publish-subscribe messaging pattern uses the fewest messages to do so, though it may not be applicable for use cases that disallow the inherent imbalance in the messaging between peers. Our carbon emission estimation shows that a Green Smart Contract approach lowers carbon emissions by 52.31% when compared with the messaging behavior of a typical peer-to-peer blockchain with 1000 nodes.