We present a custom platform that integrates data from several sensors measuring synchronously different variables of the beehive and wirelessly transmits all measurements to a cloud server. There is a rich literature on beehive monitoring. The choice of our work is not to use ready platforms such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi and to present a low cost and power solution for long term monitoring. We integrate sensors that are not limited to the typical toolbox of beehive monitoring such as gas, vibrations and bee counters. The synchronous sampling of all sensors every 5 minutes allows us to form a multivariable time series that serves in two ways: (a) it provides immediate alerting in case a measurement exceeds predefined boundaries that are known to characterize a healthy beehive, and (b) based on historical data predict future levels that are correlated with hive’s health. Finally, we demonstrate the benefit of using additional regressors in the prediction of the variables of interest. The database, the code and a video of the vibrational activity of two months are made open to the interested readers. Full article

Antibiotics are frequently prescribed to patients with COVID-19. The aim was to determine the pattern of use of systemic antibiotics in a group of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Colombia between 2020–2022. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study designed to identify antibiotics prescription patterns for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 treated in eight clinics in Colombia. The AWaRe tool of the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to classify the antibiotics. A total of 10,916 patients were included. The median age was 57 years, and 56.4% were male. A total of 57.5% received antibiotics, especially ampicillin/sulbactam (58.8%) and clarithromycin (47.9%). Most of the antibiotics were classified as Watch (65.1%), followed by Access (32.6%) and Reserve (2.4%). Men (OR: 1.29; 95%CI: 1.17–1.43), older adults (OR: 1.67; 95%CI: 1.48–1.88), patients with dyspnea (OR: 1.26; 95%CI: 1.13–1.41), rheumatoid arthritis (OR: 1.94; 95%CI: 1.17–3.20), and high blood pressure at admission (OR: 1.45; 95%CI: 1.29–1.63), patients treated in-hospital (OR: 5.15; 95%CI: 4.59–5.77), patients admitted to the ICU (OR: 10.48; 95%CI: 8.82–12.45), patients treated with systemic glucocorticoids (OR: 3.60; 95%CI: 3.21–4.03) and vasopressors (OR: 2.10; 95%CI: 1.60–2.75), and patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation (OR: 2.37; 95%CI: 1.82–3.09) were more likely to receive a systemic antibiotic. Most of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19 received antibiotics, despite evidence showing that bacterial coinfection is rare. Antibiotics from the Watch group predominated, a practice that goes against WHO recommendations. Full article

The aim of our study was to identify characteristics associated with postpartum hemorrhage (PPH defined as blood loss >1000 mL) in twin pregnancies in order to select patients at higher risk to be treated. This retrospective study includes multiple pregnancies between 2015 and 2020. The possible association between pregnancy characteristics and the primary endpoint (occurrence of PPH) was conducted using chi-square or Fisher exact test and Wilcoxon test. Then, univariate logistic models were performed considering as outcome the PPH, and the odds ratios with 95% CI were estimated. Finally, a multivariate logistic model was implemented, including all significant covariates. Seven hundred seven twin pregnancies giving birth beyond 32 weeks were included and of those, 120 (16.97%) had a PPH. The univariate analysis showed that factors significantly associated with PPH were: Preterm delivery, episiotomy, neonatal weight, and mode of delivery. The multivariate analysis showed that the most important factors were episiotomy and neonatal weight. The results show that the performance of episiotomy and the neonatal weight are the factors that most impact the risk of PPH in twin pregnancies. The correct identification of factors associated with PPH in twins could ideally allow to modify the clinical management and positively affect the rate of complications. Full article

Adequate access to drinking water for hydration and hygiene depends on many factors. We developed the Drinking Water Security Index (DWSI) to assess relative multifactorial drinking water security at different spatial and temporal scales. DWSI is a function of four key indicators of drinking water security: water quality, water accessibility, water continuity, and water availability. We built DWSI with a total of 10 variables and applied the new index in Sudan to assess historical and future drinking water security at state, local, and maternity levels. Analyses at the state level found that the Red Sea and River Nile states are most vulnerable, with the lowest DWSI for both historical and future periods. The 1 km² pixel level analysis shows large differences in water security within the major states. Analyses at the maternity level showed that nearly 18.97 million people are affected by the 10% of maternities with the lowest DWSI, a number projected to increase by 60% by 2030. Current and future DWSI of maternities providing Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care was assessed to identify those where urgent action is needed to ensure quality health care in water-secure conditions. This work provides useful information for stakeholders in the health and drinking water sectors in Sudan, to improve public health, reduce preventable mortality, and make the population more resilient to projected environmental changes. Full article

Duck liver is an important by-product of duck food. In this study, we investigated the effects of glucose, fructose, and xylose on the antioxidant properties of glycosylated products of duck liver protein and their protective effects on HepG2 cells. The results show that the glycosylation products of the three duck liver proteins (DLP-G, DLP-F, and DLP-X) all exhibit strong antioxidant activity; among three groups, DLP-X shows the strongest ability to scavenge DPPH, ·OH free radicals, and ABTS⁺ free radicals. The glycosylated products of duck liver protein are not toxic to HepG2 cells and significantly increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px in HepG2 cells at the concentration of 2.0 g/L, reducing oxidative stress damage of cells (p < 0.05). DLP-X has a better effect in reducing oxidative damage and increasing cellular activity in HepG2 cells than DLP-G and DLP-F (p < 0.05). In this study, the duck liver protein glycosylated products by glucose, fructose, and xylose were named as DLP-G, DLP-F, and DLP-X, respectively. Full article

Recent research on the use of physical mixtures In₂O₃-ZrO₂ has raised interesting questions as to how their combination enhances catalytic activity and selectivity. Specifically, the relationship between oxygen diffusion and defect formation and the epitaxial tension in the mixture should be further investigated. In this study, we aim to clarify some of these relationships through a molecular dynamics approach. Various potentials for the two oxides are compared and selected to describe the physical mixture of In₂O₃ and ZrO₂. Different configurations of each single crystal and their physical mixture are simulated, and oxygen defect formation and diffusion are measured and compared. Significant oxygen defect formation is found in both crystals. In₂O₃ seems to be stabilized by the mixture, while ZrO₂ is destabilized. Similar results were found for the ZrO₂ doping with In and ln₂O₃ doping with Zr. The results explain the high activity and selectivity catalyst activity of the mixture for the production of isobutylene from ethanol. Full article

In this study, three new triterpenes (1−3) and fourteen known triterpenoids (4−17) were isolated from the ethanol extract of Kochiae Fructus, and their structures were elucidated by analyzing UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D, and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Among them, compounds 6, 8, and 11−17 were isolated for the first time from this plant. The screening results of the glucose uptake experiment indicated that compound 13 had a potent effect on glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes at 20 μM. Meanwhile, compounds 3, 9 and 13 exhibited significant inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase, with IC₅₀ values of 23.50 ± 3.37, 4.29 ± 0.52, and 16.99 ± 2.70 µM, respectively, and their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were reported for the first time. According to the enzyme kinetics using Lineweaver–Burk and Dixon plots, we found that compounds 3, 9 and 13 were α-glucosidase mixed-type inhibitors with K_i values of 56.86 ± 1.23, 48.88 ± 0.07 and 13.63 ± 0.42 μM, respectively. In silico molecular docking analysis showed that compounds 3 and 13 possessed superior binding capacities with α-glucosidase (3A4A AutoDock score: −4.99 and −4.63 kcal/mol). Whereas compound 9 showed +2.74 kcal/mol, which indicated compound 9 exerted the effect of inhibiting α-glucosidase activity by preferentially binding to the enzyme−substrate complex. As a result, compounds 3, 9 and 13 could have therapeutic potentials for type 2 diabetes mellitus, due to their potent hypoglycemic activities. Full article

Objectives: To evaluate, in a Compassionate City pilot experience (Sevilla), the impact results on health in a population of people with advanced illness and at the end of life. Methods: The project was undertaken in Sevilla, Spain, between January 2019 and June 2020. A longitudinal, descriptive study was conducted using a longitudinal cohort design with two cross-sectional measurements, pre and post intervention. All patients who entered the program on the start date were included. The networks of care around people with advanced illness and at the end of life, palliative care needs, quality of life, loneliness, anxiety, depression, caregivers’ burden and family satisfaction were evaluated. The interventions were conducted by community promoters assigned to the “Sevilla Contigo, Compassionate City” program. Results: A total of 83 people were included in the program. The average number of people involved in care at the beginning of the evaluations was 3.6, increasing to 6.1 at the end of the interventions. The average number of needs detected at the beginning was 15.58, and at the end of interventions, it was 16.56 out of 25. The unmet needs were those related to last wishes (40.7%), emotional relief (18.5%), entertainment (16%), help to walk up and down stairs (8.6%) and help to walk (6.2%). A total of 54.2% showed improved loneliness in the final evaluation. Out of 26 people evaluated for pre and post quality of life, 7 (26.9%) improved their quality of life in the general evaluation and 5 (19.2%) displayed improved anxiety/depression. A total of 6 people (28.6%) improved their quality-of-life thermometer scores. A total of 57.7% of caregivers improved their burden with a mean score of 17.8. Full article

The demand for new devices that enable the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) at a relatively low cost and that are fast and feasible to be used as point-of-care is required overtime on a large scale. In this sense, the use of sustainable materials, for example, the bio-based poly (ethylene terephthalate) (Bio-PET) can be an alternative to current standard diagnostics. In this work, we present a flexible disposable printed electrode based on a platinum thin film on Bio-PET as a substrate for the development of a sensor and immunosensor for the monitoring of COVID-19 biomarkers, by the detection of L-cysteine and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, respectively. The electrode was applied in conjunction with 3D printing technology to generate a portable and easy-to-analyze device with a low sample volume. For the L-cysteine determination, chronoamperometry was used, which achieved two linear dynamic ranges (LDR) of 3.98−39.0 μmol L⁻¹ and 39.0−145 μmol L⁻¹, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.70 μmol L⁻¹. The detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was achieved by both square wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) by a label-free immunosensor, using potassium ferro-ferricyanide solution as the electrochemical probe. An LDR of 0.70−7.0 and 1.0−30 pmol L⁻¹, with an LOD of 0.70 and 1.0 pmol L⁻¹ were obtained by SWV and EIS, respectively. As a proof of concept, the immunosensor was successfully applied for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in enriched synthetic saliva samples, which demonstrates the potential of using the proposed sensor as an alternative platform for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in the future. Full article

In the context of the current energy crisis and climate change, the importance of discussions on how to incorporate monument protection into sustainable strategies that mitigate the human impact on the environment and implement renewable sources while preserving cultural values is raised. Through the case study of the Monument Reserve in Bratislava, Slovakia, this article presents the potentials and limits of the integration of photovoltaic systems in historic urban structures that directly affect their feasible participation in smart city and positive energy district concepts by means of energy cooperativeness. This study highlights the most current recommendations and basic principles on how to assess their visual impact and select the most appropriate solutions. Using the datafication process, it analyzes the irradiance of pitched and flat roof polygons of the set area based on their characteristics such as the normal vector azimuth and slope of the rooftops. For this purpose, a 3D morphological model in LOD3 detail and the open-source solar irradiation model r.sun implemented in GRASS GIS / QGIS were used. The data obtained provided an estimate of the output potential to endow the city’s power grid and were compared to the electricity consumption of the particular city district. Furthermore, these data are suitable for designing a customized technical and aesthetic solution for the integration of photovoltaics with respect to cultural sustainability, as well as for decision- and policy makers. Full article

We study the effects of trans-Planckian censorship conjecture (TCC) bounds on geodesic completeness of spacetime and the associated existence for an infinite proper time. Using Gronwall’s lemma, TCC bounds can be derived directly, leading to a result about the absence of blowup solutions. We show that the TCC provides part of the required criteria for geodesic completeness, and we then provide the remaining ones, the norm of the extrinsic curvature being bounded away from zero. We also discuss the importance of these results for the classical evolution of Friedmann universes under the assumptions of global and regular hyperbolicity. Full article

This research contributes an intelligent cloud-based software defect prediction system using data and decision-level machine learning fusion techniques. The proposed system detects the defective modules using a two-step prediction method. In the first step, the prediction is performed using three supervised machine learning techniques, including naïve Bayes, artificial neural network, and decision tree. These classification techniques are iteratively tuned until the maximum accuracy is achieved. In the second step, the final prediction is performed by fusing the accuracy of the used classifiers with a fuzzy logic-based system. The proposed fuzzy logic technique integrates the predictive accuracy of the used classifiers using eight if–then fuzzy rules in order to achieve a higher performance. In the study, to implement the proposed fusion-based defect prediction system, five datasets were fused, which were collected from the NASA repository, including CM1, MW1, PC1, PC3, and PC4. It was observed that the proposed intelligent system achieved a 91.05% accuracy for the fused dataset and outperformed other defect prediction techniques, including base classifiers and state-of-the-art ensemble techniques. Full article

In this work, the novel design of a sliding mode TriboElectric Nano Generator (TENG)—which can utilize vibration amplitude of a few hundred microns to generate useful electric power—is proposed for the first time. Innovative design features include motion modification to amplify relative displacement of the TENG electrodes and use of biological material-based micron-sized powder at one of the electrodes to increase power output. The sliding mode TENG is designed and fabricated with use of polyurethane foam charged with the biological material micropowder and PolyTetraFluoroEthylene (PTFE) strips as the electrodes. Experimentations on the prototype within frequency range of 0.5–6 Hz ensured peak power density of 0.262 mW/m², corresponding to the TENG electrode size. Further numerical simulation is performed with the theoretical model to investigate the influence of various design parameters on the electric power generated by the TENG. Lastly, application of the proposed TENG is demonstrated in a wearable device as an in-shoe sensor. Conceptual arrangement of the proposed in-shoe sensor is presented, and numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate that the real size application can deliver peak power density of 0.747 mW/m² and TENG; the voltage will accurately represent foot vertical force for various foot force patterns. Full article

Zika virus (ZIKV) diagnostics are crucial for proper antenatal and postnatal care and also for surveillance and serosurvey studies. Since the viremia during ZIKV infection is fleeting, serological testing is highly valuable to inform diagnosis. However, current serology tests using whole virus antigens frequently suffer from cross reactivity issues, delays, and technical complexity, especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs) and endemic countries. Here, we describe an indirect ELISA to detect specific IgG antibodies using the ZIKV envelope domain III (EDIII) protein expressed in Drosophila S2 cells as an immunogen. Using a total of 367 clinical samples, we showed that the EDIII-ELISA was able to detect IgG antibodies against ZIKV with high sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 94.7% when compared to plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNTs) as the gold standard and using 0.208 as the cut-off OD value. These results show the usefulness of the recombinant envelope domain III as an alternative to standard whole virus proteins for ZIKV diagnostics as it improves the sensitivity and specificity of IgG ELISA assay when used as an immunogen. This method should, therefore, be extended to serological diagnostic techniques for other members of the flavivirus genus and for use in IgM diagnostic testing. Full article

Based on the survey data of 540 peasants in Sichuan Province, the probit and unordered multi-classification logistic model regression models were used to explore peasants’ differentiation on the transformation of willingness and behavior of land transfer and to provide a theoretical and empirical basis for promoting land intensification and large-scale management. The results show the following: (1) There is a significant negative correlation between the intention and behavior of part-time peasants, multiple occupations peasants, and non-agricultural peasants. (2) Part-time peasants and non-agricultural peasants promoted the change in willingness and behavior of land transfer out; part-time peasants, multiple occupations peasants, and non-agricultural peasants all promoted the willingness and behavior transformation of land transfer in. (3) The heterogeneity analysis results show that different household heads ages, the proportion of labor force in the total population of the household, and the terrain of cultivated land significantly impact peasants’ willingness and behavior of land transfer. Peasants’ non-agricultural differentiation is an important way to promote the rapid development of land transfer. The government should strengthen skills training and guidance services, broaden the channels for peasants to increase income, optimize the market environment of land transfer, and improve the social security system related to land transfer in order to promote the industrialization and large-scale development of agriculture. Full article

The “Caliphal City of Medina Azahara” was built in 936–937 CE or 940–941 CE (depending on the source) by the first Caliph of al-Andalus Abd al-Rahman III, being recently inscribed (2018) on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The abandonment and destruction of the city have been traditionally related to the civil war (“fitna”) that started between 1009 and 1010 CE. However, we cannot rule out other causes for the rapid depopulation and plundering of the city just a few decades after its foundation. The archaeoseismological study provides the first clues on the possible role played by an earthquake in the sudden abandonment and ruin of the city. Eleven different types of Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAEs) have been identified, such as dropped key stones in arches, tilted walls, conjugated fractures in brick-made walls, conjugated fractures and folds in regular pavements and dipping broken corners in columns, among others. Besides that, 163 structural measures on EAEs were surveyed resulting in a mean ground movement direction of N140°–160° E. This geological structural analysis clearly indicates a building-oriented damage, which can be reasonably attributed to an earthquake that devastated Medina Azahara during the 11st or 12th centuries CE. If this were the case, two strong earthquakes (≥VIII MSK/EMS) occurred in 1024–1025 CE and 1169–1170 CE could be the suspected causative events of the damage and destruction of the city. Full article

Manufacturers are looking for innovative solutions to improve the sustainability of their products in terms of environmental, economic, and social issues. Many studies demonstrate that conservative tillage techniques can be more advantageous for the environment and farmer profits than conventional tillage techniques. However, conservative tillage tools have certain disadvantages, including challenging weed control and stagnation issues in humid conditions due to low soil porosity at depth. In this study, field tests were conducted comparing the performances of a conventional tillage technique, using a ripper and a rotary tiller, and the usage of an innovative rotary ripper (Rotoripper). The comparison was performed in terms of energy requirements, through data acquisition during tillage operations, tilled soil quality, through soil sieving and cone penetration tests, and ownership costs, through acquired field data and literature databases. The results indicate that increased porosity of the soil in the deepest layer and increased cost-effectiveness are the main advantages attainable with the use of the Rotoripper instead of conventional tillage equipment. However, because of the low soil segregation level achieved with the Rotoripper, additional tillage activities are required before planting. Full article

Outbreaks of leaf spot disease occurred in Rehmannia glutinosa fields in Henan Province, China, in 2019, with the incidence ranging from 20% to 40%. R. glutinosa plants with diseased leaves were collected, and 25 isolates were obtained. Pathogenicity tests, morphological observations, and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to identify the pathogens, and the biological characteristics and control agents of the pathogens were studied. Five isolates of pathogenic fungi were isolated. Three isolates were identified as Fusarium equiseti, which is a new pathogen causing R. glutinosa leaf disease; the other two isolates were identified as Fusarium acuminatum. The mycelia of F. equiseti grew fastest on Czapek medium, and the optimal temperature and pH were 25 °C and 10.0, respectively. The mycelia of F. equiseti grew from 5 °C t o 35 °C, and the lethal temperature was 55 °C. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were soluble starch and peptone, respectively. Eight fungicides had inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth of F. equiseti and F. acuminatum. Prochloraz had higher activities against F. equiseti and F. acuminatum, with EC₅₀ values of 0.139 mg·L⁻¹ and 0.123 mg·L⁻¹, respectively. These results provide useful information that will aid the development of management strategies to control leaf diseases of R. glutinosa caused by F. equiseti and F. acuminatum. Full article

The objective of this work is to analyze the possibility of compliance with the objectives committed to by the Canary Islands authorities, which aim to reach a completely decarbonized economy by 2040, meaning ten years earlier than the entire EU. Since historically, energy planning in the Canary Islands did not achieve its objectives by far, we will first identify the historical obstacles which had prevented the achievement of this planification, to later highlight the main differences between the energy transition foreseen by the current planning instruments of the government of the Canary Islands and the expected evolution of the energy transition of the archipelago. Beyond this point, and, within the frame of energy governance, we will understand how the root of this failure lies in planning instruments developed hierarchically, without including the view of the different stakeholders involved in the process. The final goal, after identifying the main barriers faced by the energy transition in the Canary Islands, is to provide a set of recommendations contributing to supporting a successful energy transition for the archipelago. Full article

There are different area-based factors affecting the COVID-19 mortality rate in urban areas. This research aims to examine COVID-19 mortality rates and their geographical association with various socioeconomic and ecological determinants in 350 of Tehran’s neighborhoods as a big city. All deaths related to COVID-19 are included from December 2019 to July 2021. Spatial techniques, such as Kulldorff's SatScan, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and multi-scale GWR (MGWR), were used to investigate the spatially varying correlations between COVID-19 mortality rates and predictors, including ­­air pollutant factors, socioeconomic status, built environment factors, and public transportation infrastructure. The city's downtown and northern areas were found to be significantly clustered in terms of spatial and temporal high-risk areas for COVID-19 mortality. The MGWR regression model outperformed the OLS and GWR regression models with an adjusted R² of 0.67. Furthermore, the mortality rate was found to be associated with air quality (e.g., NO₂, PM₁₀, and O₃); as air pollution increased, so did mortality. Additionally, the aging and illiteracy rates of urban neighborhoods were positively associated with COVID-19 mortality rates. Our approach in this study could be implemented to study potential associations of area-based factors with other emerging infectious diseases worldwide. Full article

Esophageal and gastric cancers are common diseases with high morbidity and mortality; thus, early detection and treatment are beneficial to improve prognosis. Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) is a novel imaging technique that permits the histological analysis of tissues during endoscopy. CLE has been shown to uniquely affect the diagnosis of early upper gastrointestinal cancers. Relevant literature was searched using PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Despite inherent flaws, CLE can reduce tissue damage and improve diagnostic accuracy to a certain extent. CLE in combination with other imaging methods can help enhance the detection rate and avoid unnecessary biopsies in the management of esophageal or gastric cancer and precancerous lesions. CLE is of great significance in the diagnosis and surveillance of early cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Further technical innovations and the standardisation of CLE will make it more responsive to the needs of routine clinical applications. Full article

Higher eco-efficiency will not be enough to slow global warming caused by climate change. To keep global warming to 2 degrees, people also need to reduce their consumption. At present, however, many who would be able to do so seem unwilling to comply. Given the threats of a runaway climate change, urgent measures are needed to promote less personal consumption. This study, therefore, examines whether social marketing consume-less appeals can be used to encourage consumers to voluntarily abstain from consumption. As part of an online experiment with nearly 2000 randomly sampled users of an online platform for sustainable consumption, we tested the effectiveness of five different “consume-less” appeals based on traditional advertising formats (including emotional, informational, and social claims). The study shows that consume-less appeals are capable of limiting personal desire to buy. However, significant differences in the effectiveness of the appeal formats used in this study were observed. In addition, we found evidence of rebound effects, which leads us to critically evaluate the overall potential of social marketing to promote more resource-conserving lifestyles. While commercial consumer-free appeals have previously been studied (e.g., Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacked”), this study on the effectiveness of non-commercial consume-free appeals is novel and provides new insights. Full article

The damage mode of U75V rail steel in application is determined by its rolling wear behavior. In this paper, the pearlite microstructure of U75V steel is characterized to investigate the relationship between wear and fatigue behavior. The results show that, with decreasing of pearlite lamellar spacing, the wear resistance of the steel increases and the contact fatigue resistance decreases. The spacing decreasing causes the change of the wear mechanism from abrasive wear to adhesive wear, as well as the damage mode from wear damage to fatigue damage. The smaller the pearlite lamellar spacing is, the stronger the deformation of the cementite lamellar is. The thin cementite lamellar is hardly broken in the rolling friction to pile up a large number of dislocations in the ferrite matrix and the work hardening degree was improved. So, the plastic deformation layer is difficult to remove, and fatigue cracks are easy to initiate and extend to the interior of the material. Full article

Trajectory tracking is a fundamental task of the dynamic positioning (DP) system. This paper studies the problem of trajectory tracking of DP ships constrained by control inputs under environmental disturbances. To solve this problem, we develop a novel anti-disturbance Lyapunov-based model predictive control (ADLMPC) scheme. Firstly, an extended state observer (ESO) is designed to estimate environmental disturbances. By combining the ESO with Lyapunov-based model predictive control, the ADLMPC scheme is devised. Secondly, a virtual controller which satisfies input constraints is developed by backstepping and the auxiliary dynamic system, and it is integrated into the Lyapunov contraction constraint in ADLMPC. We show that if the parameters for the virtual controller are appropriately determined, the recursive feasibility of ADLMPC is theoretically guaranteed, and the uniform ultimate boundedness of all signals in the trajectory tracking control system is achieved. Finally, the simulation results display the efficacy and superiorities of the ADLMPC scheme. Full article

One advantage of a resistive sensor array (RSA) with shared rows (M) and shared columns (N) is the reduced number of wires from M × N + 1 to M + N which can greatly lessen the complexity and burden on wearable electronic systems. However, the drawback is the crosstalk current effect between adjacent elements, which will lead to high measurement error. Although several solutions have been reported, they mainly focus on RSAs with high resistance (≥100 Ω). There is a lack of research that addresses RSAs with resistor values below 100 Ω. Here, we introduce a new circuit design named the dynamic zero current method (DZCM) to further decrease the measurement error. From the low value RSA test with ideal resistors, the DZCM exhibits lower error than the zero potential method (ZPM). In the case of the error variation ratio of amplifier offset voltage, the DZCM has a 4%/mV (row) to 7%/mV (column) ratio, while the ZPM has an almost 25%/mV (row) to 45%/mV (column) ratio and it increases with array size. Full article

In the present work, we investigate the problem of the optical absorption coefficient (OAC) and refractive-index change (RIC) in a semiconductor quantum dot placed in the vicinity of a spherical metallic nanoparticle. We derive the total OAC and RIC from the density-matrix equations through different approaches, one without approximations and the other keeping only linear and third-order nonlinear terms. The derived formulae are then applied in a specific hybrid nanostructure to calculate the OAC and RIC. The results obtained from the derived formulae are used to compare cases of various interparticle distance values and applied light intensities and find that, although for specific distances and intensities the formulae may give similar results, in general, they give different results. Moreover, it becomes clear that the distance between the quantum dot and the metallic nanoparticle, in combination with the polarisation of the light field, plays a significant role in the OAC and RIC of the quantum dot. Expressly, conditional on the polarisation of the applied electric field, the OAC and RIC of the quantum dot can be either enhanced or suppressed close to the metallic nanoparticle compared to their values in the absence of the metallic nanoparticle. Full article

Alopecia is associated with significant psychological burden. There is limited evidence on the use of psychological interventions in conditions of hair loss. This manuscript systematically reviews the current state of literature on psychological treatments for quality of life, mental health, and hair growth in various forms of alopecia. PubMed and Embase were searched with predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Reference lists were also examined for relevant studies. Nine articles met our criteria and are included in this review. Eight of the articles related to alopecia areata and one related to scarring alopecia. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was found to improve quality of life-related subjective symptoms, relationship impacts, anxiety, phobia, distress, and psychological symptom intensity. Alopecia-specific collocated behavioral health (CLBH) treatment showed a trend for psychosocial improvement in areas such as appearance shame, activity avoidance, negative emotions, and coping. Hypnotherapy was found to improve anxiety and depression, quality of life measures, and alexithymia. There was also some evidence for significant hair growth with hypnosis, but the data are mixed. Psychotherapy combined with immunotherapy led to more hair growth, and supported self-confidence. Finally, coping strategies modulated the subjective burden of alopecia, and were associated with disease improvement. Further research will be necessary to better establish the efficacy and optimal administration of these interventions in alopecia. Full article

In practical applications, the multidisciplinary dynamic system design optimization (MDSDO)-based solution is limited by uncertainty, which causes random variation in the physical design variable in the static discipline and the equation of state in the dynamic discipline. To address the lack of reliability of the MDSDO solution, a crossrate-based MDSDO approach (C-MDSDO), consisting of the MDSDO stage and a reliability assessment stage, is proposed in this paper. In the reliability assessment stage, a sub-optimization problem based on the crossrate of the objective reliability index sample trajectory is designed to obtain the shifting vector, which is employed to obtain a sufficiently reliable solution. In addition, the proposed approach adopts a sequential problem-solving framework that avoids nested optimization and a reliability assessment. One numerical case and two engineering cases were employed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the reliability of the proposed solutions significantly improved. Full article