Search Results (6,892)

A characterization of near-field impulse responses based on electromagnetic (EM) near-field data from an EM solver to explore features of the propagation process on a well-known wideband traveling wave antenna—double-slot Vivaldi antenna—is presented in this article. The intensity, propagating time and partitional response characteristics facilitate interpretation of the propagation process and impacts of the antenna partitions on the process. The EM energy flows guided, reoriented and scattered along a sequence of antennas transmitting and radiating segments were recognized. The geometric features of near-field wavefront surfaces supported evaluation of the EM flow proportions and antenna directivity. Impact of the structural section on radiation was also assessed by the partitional far-field response characteristic in frequency and time domains. Supported by many complementary characteristics in the analyses, inherent features of the propagation process were emphasized and false flags were minimized. By this approach, the simplification for the near-field propagation model contributed to enhancing the insight of near-field propagation processes on the double-slot antipodal Vivaldi antennas and enabled optimizing the antenna structure details. Full article

Configuring green power transmissions for heavy-industry marines is treated as a crucial request in an era of global energy and pollution crises. Following up on this hotspot trend, this paper examines the effectiveness of a modified optimization-based energy management strategy (OpEMS) for a dual proton exchange membrane fuel cells (dPEMFCs)-battery-ultra-capacitors (UCs)-driven hybrid electric vessels (HEVs). At first, the summed power of the dual PEMFCs is defined by using the equivalent consumption minimum strategy (ECMS). Accordingly, a map search engine (MSE) is proposed to appropriately split power for each FC stack and maximize its total efficiency. The remaining power is then distributed to each battery and UC using an adaptive co-state, timely determined based on the state of charge (SOC) of each device. Due to the strict constraint of the energy storage devices’ (ESDs) SOC, one fine-corrected layer is suggested to enhance the SOC regulations. With the comparative simulations with a specific rule-based EMS and other approaches for splitting power to each PEMFC unit, the effectiveness of the proposed topology is eventually verified with the highest efficiency, approximately about 0.505, and well-regulated ESDs’ SOCs are obtained. Full article

Considering that the presence of a leafy head is a key morphological characteristic that determines the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage, identifying the major genes regulating the formation of a leafy head is crucial for variety improvement. A heading-related gene, BrKS, was previously predicted from a non-heading mutant, nhm1, derived from a heading variety, which encodes a key enzyme involved in gibberellin biosynthesis. Here, another mutant, nhm2, was identified from the same EMS-mutagenized population, and the phenotype of nhm2 was consistent with that of nhm1. We crossed mutants nhm1 and nhm2, and their F₁ plants exhibited the mutant phenotype, which indicated that their mutant genes were allelic. A single non-synonymous mutation in the fourth exon of BrKS in mutant nhm1 and another single non-synonymous mutation in the tenth exon of BrKS in mutant nhm2. The same gene mutation in mutants nhm1 and nhm2 produced a similar non-heading phenotype, which confirmed the role of BrKS in the leafy head formation of Chinese cabbage. RNA-Seq analysis indicated that a transcription factor gene, BrERF1A, which is associated with leaf development, significantly down-regulated expression in mutant nhm1, and after the mutant was treated with GA₃, the expression level of BrERF1A was recovered, which indicated that BrKS might be involved in leafy head formation through regulating the expression level of BrERF1A. Our findings provide important clues for revealing the molecular mechanism of leafy head formation in Chinese cabbage. Full article

This article investigates the effectiveness of feature extraction and selection techniques in enhancing the performance of classifier accuracy in Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM) detection using microarray gene data. To address the inherent high dimensionality of the data, three feature extraction (FE) methods are used, namely Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT), Ridge Regression (RR), and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (PCC). To further refine the data, meta-heuristic algorithms like Bald Eagle Search Optimization (BESO) and Red Deer Optimization (RDO) are utilized for feature selection. The performance of seven classification techniques, Non-Linear Regression—NLR, Linear Regression—LR, Gaussian Mixture Models—GMMs, Expectation Maximization—EM, Logistic Regression—LoR, Softmax Discriminant Classifier—SDC, and Support Vector Machine with Radial Basis Function kernel—SVM-RBF, are evaluated with and without feature selection. The analysis reveals that the combination of PCC with SVM-RBF achieved a promising accuracy of 92.85% even without feature selection. Notably, employing BESO with PCC and SVM-RBF maintained this high accuracy. However, the highest overall accuracy of 97.14% was achieved when RDO was used for feature selection alongside PCC and SVM-RBF. These findings highlight the potential of feature extraction and selection techniques, particularly RDO with PCC, in improving the accuracy of DM detection using microarray gene data. Full article

Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) is a fast-growing woody grass that offers significant economic benefits, including materials for construction, furniture, biofuel, food, and handicrafts. It also provides ecological benefits like soil conservation, wildlife habitats, and carbon sequestration. However, its species distribution patterns are influenced by various factors, including climate (mainly temperature and precipitation), soil attributes, and landscape characteristics such as topography, land use, and vegetation. Understanding these impacts is essential for the sustainable management of D. latiflorus resources and fostering related economic activities. To address these challenges, we developed a comprehensive habitat suitability (CHS) model that integrates climate, soil, and landscape variables to simulate the distribution dynamics of D. latiflorus under different shared socio-economic pathway (SSP) scenarios. An ensemble model (EM) strategy was applied to each variable set to ensure robust predictions. The results show that the current potential distribution of D. latiflorus spans 28.95 × 10⁴ km², primarily located in South China and the Sichuan Basin. Its distribution is most influenced by the annual mean temperature (Bio1), the cation exchange capacity of soil clay particles in the 20–40 cm soil layer (CECc 20–40 cm), vegetation, and elevation. Under future climate scenarios, these habitats are projected to initially expand slightly and then contract, with a northward shift in latitude and migration to higher elevations. Additionally, the Sichuan Basin (Sichuan–Chongqing border) is identified as a climatically stable area suitable for germplasm development and conservation. To conclude, our findings shed light on how climate change impacts the geographic distribution of D. latiflorus, providing key theoretical foundations for its sustainable cultivation and conservation strategies. Full article

This study assessed Ghana’s sustainability from 2000 to 2019 using emergy synthesis. This research study also explored the relationship between changes in Ghana’s socioeconomic metabolism and the expansion of urban areas. The results showed a significant increase of 126% in total emergy use during the study period. This increase was mainly due to a rise in import emergy, which went up from 2.90% to 37.47%, while Ghana’s self-sufficiency capacity decreased from 97.10% to 62.53%. This shift in total emergy utilization indicates that Ghana’s socioeconomic system is transitioning from relying heavily on indigenous resources to increasingly depending on purchased resources to drive economic growth. The emergy sustainability index (EmSI) suggests that Ghana’s socioeconomic system is resource-consuming and has low system performance. To address this situation, this study recommends restructuring Ghana’s socioeconomic system to optimize its indigenous renewable resources while reducing import dependency and environmental stress. Expanding urban areas contributes to resource consumption, especially refined fuels and construction materials. This underscores the importance of urban policies that take into account changes in socioeconomic metabolism as a reference for effective urban land administration. Full article

Yellow fever virus (YFV) infections can cause severe diseases in humans, resulting in mass casualties in Africa and the Americas each year. Secretory NS1 (sNS1) is thought to be used as a diagnostic marker of flavivirus infections, playing an essential role in the flavivirus life cycle, but little is known about the composition and structure of YFV sNS1. Here, we present that the recombinant YFV sNS1 exists in a heterogeneous mixture of oligomerizations, predominantly in the tetrameric form. The cryoEM structures show that the YFV tetramer of sNS1 is stacked by the hydrophobic interaction between β-roll domains and greasy fingers. According to the 3D variability analysis, the tetramer is in a semi-stable state that may contain multiple conformations with dynamic changes. We believe that our study provides critical insights into the oligomerization of NS1 and will aid the development of NS1-based diagnoses and therapies. Full article

Accommodating multiple tasks within a tiny metasurface unit cell without them interfering with each other is a significant challenge. In this paper, an electromagnetic (EM) wave modulation metasurface capable of reflection, transmission, and absorption is proposed. This multitasking capability is achieved through a cleverly designed multi-layer structure comprising an EM Wave Shield Layer (ESL), a Polarization Modulation Layer (PML), and a Bottom Plate Layer (BPL). The functionality can be arbitrarily switched by embedding control materials within the structure. Depending on external excitation conditions, the proposed metasurface can realize reflection-type co-planar polarization to cross-polarization conversion, transmission-type electromagnetically induced transparency-like (EIT-like) modes, and broadband absorption. Notably, all tasks operate approximately within the same operating frequency band, and their performance can be regulated by the intensity of external excitation. Additionally, the operating principle of the metasurface is analyzed through impedance matching, an oscillator coupling model, and surface current distribution. This metasurface design offers a strategy for integrated devices with multiple functionalities. Full article

Environmental monitoring (EM) is the cornerstone for the assurance of sterility during aseptic manufacturing. In this study, the EM quality aspects in the radiopharmaceutical cleanrooms of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), The Netherlands, were evaluated. Hereto, data obtained from EM over the period 2010–2022 were analyzed. The data were sorted according to the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) classification of the respective premises with their corresponding limits, and frequencies of excursions were determined per location. The frequency of conducted measurements gradually increased between the start and end of the assessed period. There was a trend of increased action limit excursions observed between 2010–2022. We found that EM in grade A areas appeared to be significantly less compliant with GMP specifications than the combined data from all sampled premises at the facility (p < 0.00001; two-sided Fisher’s exact test). A trend was found for reduced action limit excursions for passive air sampling and particle counting, suggesting improved GMP compliance over time for this specific type of EM. The contamination recovery rate (CRR) found for cleanroom conditions, around 10%, was considered sufficient. From this comprehensive data analysis, we learn that, in order to be fully compliant with the requirements set in the recent revision of EU (European Union)-GMP Annex 1 ‘Manufacture of sterile medicinal products’ (in force as of 25 August 2023), strategies to further improve product protection are justified. For example, improved cleaning and disinfection procedures, more efficient working methods as well as optimization of the conditions under which aseptic manufacturing is performed are to be considered. Full article

Metasurface absorbers have shown significant potential in stealth applications due to their adaptability and capacity to reduce the backscattering of electromagnetic (EM) waves. Nevertheless, due to the materials used in the terahertz (THz) range, simultaneously achieving excellent stealth performance in ultrawideband remains an important and difficult challenge to overcome. In this study, an ultrawideband absorber is proposed based on indium tin oxide (ITO) and polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), with a structure thickness of only 0.16λ. ITO sheets are utilized to achieve broad-spectrum, optical transparency and flexibility of the metasurface. The results show that absorption higher than 90% can be achieved in the frequency band ranging from 1.75 to 5 THz under normal TE and TM polarizations, which covers a wide THz band. The structure is insensitive to polarization angles and exhibits 97% relative bandwidth above 90% efficiency up to an oblique incident angle of 60°. To further validate the efficiency of the absorption performance, the radar cross-section (RCS) reduction investigation was performed on both planar and conformal configurations. The findings show that under normal incidence EM waves, both flat and curved surfaces can achieve RCS reduction of over 10 dB, covering an extremely wide frequency range of 1.75 to 5 THz. The metasurface presented in this study exhibits significant potential for use in several THz applications, including flexible electronic devices and stealth aircraft windows. Full article

Shoot blight of larch caused by Neofusicoccum laricinum (Sawada) Y. Hattori & C. Nakash poses a significant threat to the growth and development of larch plantations and is among the most devastating diseases of forest trees. Its consecutive occurrence can cause serious damage and even death of the host plant. Analyzing the geographical distribution patterns of shoot blight of larch in China based on the optimized maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and Biomod2 ensemble (EM) models and recognizing the environmental factors limiting the spread of this disease could provide a reasonable basis for its control. The potential geographical distribution areas of shoot blight of larch were predicted using occurrence data and environmental variables. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was employed to compare the predictive performance of the optimized MaxEnt and Biomod2 ensemble models. Our results showed that both models had a prominent performance in predicting the potential distribution of shoot blight of larch, with the latter performing slightly better based on the AUC than the former. The potentially suitable areas for shoot blight of larch, as predicted by both the MaxEnt and Biomod2 ensemble models, were similarly distributed, mainly in Northern China, including Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and Northeastern Inner Mongolia. The environmental variables significantly limiting the distribution of shoot blight of larch identified using the jackknife method and Pearson’s correlation analysis included the annual mean temperature, annual precipitation, precipitation of the wettest quarter, mean temperature of the warmest quarter, and elevation. This research offers a theoretical basis for rationally delineating potential sites invaded by shoot blight of larch, strengthening the detection and quarantine in critical areas, formulating timely effective control measures, and establishing conservation measures for larch resources. Full article

Although financial statements are extremely important to investors in decision-making processes, their reliability can be affected by earnings management (EM) practices, which involve manipulating financial reports in order to achieve managerial benefits. This study explores the relationship between earnings management and firm valuation, based on accounting information’s predictive value, specifically investigating how EM influences the value relevance (VR) of earnings on share price. The research focuses on a sample of audited companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) between 2019 and 2021, comprising 62 entities. Using regression analysis, we explored the importance of accounting information for investors following Ohlson’s research and examined the relationship between EM and VR based on Jones’s model. The findings indicate that earnings significantly impact stock prices, highlighting their value relevance in the Romanian stock market. However, the practice of earnings management reduces the value relevance of earnings because it decreases the reliability of the accounting information. The main contribution of this analysis is to provide a fresh perspective on earnings management (EM) within the BVB framework by highlighting its pivotal role in shaping the motivation and behavior of corporate managers. Full article

This paper presents a hybrid modelling approach that combines physics-based electromigration modelling (PEM) and statistical methods to evaluate the electromigration (EM) limits of nano-interconnects in mesh networks. The approach, which is also compatible with standard Place and Route (P&R) tools and practises, takes into account the positive impact of network redundancy on EM current limits. The numerical simulations conducted in this study show that conventional methods underestimate the EM current limits of a power delivery network (PDN) unit-cell by 80% due to their lack of consideration for redundancy. Additionally, the time-to-failure (TTF) distributions of a PDN unit-cell obtained by the developed modelling framework adhered to a lognormal distribution, where the lognormal sigma, σ_logn, exhibits a 55% reduction compared to that of the single constituent interconnects. The study also found the negative voltage (i.e., ground or V_ss) grid to be more susceptible to EM than the positive voltage, i.e., V_dd grid. In the examined grid unit-cell design, both the number of interconnect sites prone to voiding and also the magnitude of the peak tensile stress within the nano-interconnects were found to be two times as high in the V_ss case compared to V_dd. The lognormal sigma of TFF for the grid unit-cells, ${\mathsf{\sigma }}_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{n}-\mathrm{t}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{e}}$, show a marked reduction compared to the lognormal sigma of the constituent single interconnects, ${\mathsf{\sigma }}_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{n}}$, with a 50% and 66% decrease compared to single interconnects, for downstream (V_ss) and upstream (V_dd), respectively. In addition, ${\mathsf{\sigma }}_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{n}-\mathrm{t}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{e}}$ was three times higher for downstream (V_ss) compared to upstream (V_dd), whilst, in contrast, this difference was only 2-fold at the single interconnect level. TTF_50% was predicted to be 4.13-fold higher at the grid unit-cell level for the upstream compared to downstream operation, which was also more pronounced than in the single interconnect level where the difference was only 2-fold. This research provides valuable insights into the EM ageing of nano-interconnects in mesh networks and could pragmatically enhance the accuracy of EM compliance evaluation methods. Full article

Culture is a central theme across various theories and disciplines, influencing behavior and self-perception through interactions within social groups, families, and legal systems. This influence extends to the general population and particularly impacts sexual and gender minorities (SGMs), resulting in minority stress that contributes to mental health issues and the development of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs). Adolescents within these groups face typical developmental stressors—such as hormonal changes and societal pressures—compounded by prejudice, increasing their vulnerability to depression, anxiety, stress, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Despite these challenges, Schema Therapy (ST) lacks comprehensive studies on the sociocultural aspects influencing EMS acquisition in SGM adolescents. This theoretical review aims to fill this gap by exploring the impact of society and culture on EMS development within SGM adolescents. We recognize the broad spectrum of cultural influences and emphasize the importance of cultural sensitivity and diversity. This review specifically addresses how societal and cultural dynamics impact SGM individuals, acknowledging that while ethnic or other cultural factors are not the focus of this paper, they merit future research. This manuscript will discuss central topics and their impact on LGBTQIA+ youth, including (1) the background (definition of culture, lack of studies on ST focusing on culture, and studies on adverse psychological outcomes), (2) minority stress theory and prejudice against sexual and gender diversity (distal and proximal stressors and sociocultural aspects), (3) EMSs and unmet emotional needs, (4) ST affirmative strategies (working with schema modes, imagery rescripting, chair work, and photo techniques), and (5) final considerations (limitations and research agenda). Full article

Modern energetic materials (EMs), e.g., nanothermite and NSTEX (Nanostructured Thermites and Explosive) compositions are attracting increasing research interest. In this work, we present the results of our investigation on the properties of a novel Ti/CuO nanothermite system doped with cellulose nitrate (NC) and 5-Nitro-1,2-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazin-3-one (NTO). In terms of safety parameters, the friction 40–>360 N), impact (40–>50 J) and laser irradiation sensitivity were determined for tested systems, which indicated tunable properties. The combustion velocity (up to 735 m/s), pressure parameters for combustion in closed vessel, thrust parameters and open-air combustion behaviour were measured. Moreover, in order to deeply study the impact of NTO on the combustion mechanism, the SEM, DSC/TG and XRD tests were performed. The obtained results indicate that the Ti/CuO/NC/NTO system is extremely promising for future applications. Full article