Search Results (256)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) super-resolution (SR) enables high-resolution reconstruction from low-resolution acquisitions, reducing scan time and easing hardware demands. However, most deep learning-based SR models are large and computationally heavy, limiting deployment in clinical workstations, real-time pipelines, and resource-restricted platforms such as low-field and portable MRI. We introduce CHARMS, a lightweight convolutional–Transformer hybrid with attention regularization optimized for MRI SR. CHARMS employs a Reverse Residual Attention Fusion backbone for hierarchical local feature extraction, Pixel–Channel and Enhanced Spatial Attention for fine-grained feature calibration, and a Multi-Depthwise Dilated Transformer Attention block for efficient long-range dependency modeling. Novel attention regularization suppresses redundant activations, stabilizes training, and enhances generalization across contrasts and field strengths. Across IXI, Human Connectome Project Young Adult, and paired 3T/7T datasets, CHARMS (~1.9M parameters; ~30 GFLOPs for 256 × 256) surpasses leading lightweight and hybrid baselines (EDSR, PAN, W2AMSN-S, and FMEN) by 0.1–0.6 dB PSNR and up to 1% SSIM at ×2/×4 upscaling, while reducing inference time ~40%. Cross-field fine-tuning yields 7T-like reconstructions from 3T inputs with ~6 dB PSNR and 0.12 SSIM gains over native 3T. With near-real-time performance (~11 ms/slice, ~1.6–1.9 s per 3D volume on RTX 4090), CHARMS offers a compelling fidelity–efficiency balance for clinical workflows, accelerated protocols, and portable MRI. Full article

This article proposes single-layer neural network algorithms for solving second-order ordinary differential equations, based on the principles of functional connection. According to this principle, the hidden layer of the neural network is replaced by a functional expansion unit to improve input patterns using orthogonal Chebyshev, Legendre, and Laguerre polynomials. The polynomial neural network algorithms were implemented in the Python programming language using the PyCharm environment. The performance of the polynomial neural network algorithms was tested by solving initial-boundary value problems for the nonlinear Lane–Emden equation. The solution results are compared with the exact solution of the problems under consideration, as well as with the solution obtained using a multilayer perceptron. It is shown that polynomial neural networks can perform more efficiently than multilayer neural networks. Furthermore, a neural network based on Laguerre polynomials can, in some cases, perform more accurately and faster than neural networks based on Legendre and Chebyshev polynomials. The issues of overtraining of polynomial neural networks and scenarios for overcoming it are also considered. Full article

In Ivy Road’s new game Wanderstop (March 2025), the player character is so burned out from their lifetime as a workaholic warrior that they find themselves trapped and forced to serve tea in a charming, purgatorial teashop until they finally learn how to rest and recover. This article analyzes the game through its two core verbs—wander and stop—both of which the player first resists and then eventually accepts. With wander, the game forces the player into a jarring experience of presence, using a defamiliarization technique I term ‘confrontational coziness’—an experience of safety, abundance, and softness taken to such an extreme it becomes uncomfortable. With stop, the game uses ideas from the anti-capitalist philosophy of degrowth to engage the player in the challenge of not doing rather than doing. Full article

We investigate the leading-power fragmentation of triply heavy $\Omega$ baryons in high-energy hadronic collisions. Extending our previous work on the ${\Omega }_{3c}$ sector, we release the full OMG3Q1.0 family of collinear fragmentation functions by completing the description of the charm channel and delivering novel ${\Omega }_{3b}$ functions. These hadron-structure-oriented functions are constructed from improved proxy-model calculations for heavy-quark and gluon fragmentation, matched to a flavor-aware DGLAP evolution based on the HF-NRevo scheme. For phenomenological applications, we employ the (sym)Jethad multimodular interface to compute and analyze NLL/NLO⁺ semi-inclusive ${\Omega }_{3Q}$ plus jet distributions at the HL-LHC and FCC. This work consolidates the link between hadron structure, rare baryon production, and resummed QCD at the energy frontier. Full article

Background/Objectives: The deposition of antibiotic residues in animal source foods has become a global public health threat. This study aimed to assess antibiotic class residues in raw cow milk from smallholder dairy farms in Mbala and Kasama, Zambia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, in which 93 milk samples (54 from Mbala and 39 from Kasama) were randomly collected from lactating cows on 56 farms between May and June, 2025. The samples were analyzed using the Charm II assay for beta-lactams, tetracyclines, macrolides, sulfonamides, and aminoglycosides. A total of 100 mL of milk was collected in sterile plain tubes, placed in a cooler box with ice packs, and transported to the district laboratory’s freezer and then delivered to the Central Veterinary Research Institute at (−18 to −20 °C), where they were stored at −20 °C. Statistical significance between districts was determined using Pearson’s chi-square, and associations between a district and the occurrence of antibiotic residues in milk were evaluated using logistic regression. Data were analyzed using Stata 14.2 at a 95% confidence level (p = 0.05). Results: A total of 91.4% (n = 85) of samples had antibiotic residues above EU/MRLs, with mean positive samples being 0.91 ± 0.28 and a significant association between a district and residue occurrence (OR = 0.086; p = 0.025). Approximately 44.1% of the samples had multiple antibiotic residues. Approximately 82.1% of samples from Kasama and 98.1% from Mbala had antibiotic residues (p = 0.006). Approximately 68.8% of samples had sulphonamides, and 58.1% macrolides, indicating their widespread use. Tetracyclines were 12.9%, beta-lactams 9.7%, and aminoglycosides 2.2%. Conclusions: A majority of milk samples had antibiotic residues above EU/MRLs, raising public health threats and necessitating the development and implementation of policies. Full article

The rapid growth of China’s electric vehicle (EV) market has led to a peak in end-of-life (EOL) power batteries, yet the recycling sector remains dominated by informal operations. This paper incorporates the formal and informal recycling participation behaviours of EV owners into the framework of evolutionary games, systematically examines the mechanism by which governmental incentive and disincentive mechanisms influence the evolutionary stability of each party, and constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the government, recycling enterprises, and EV owners. Numerical simulation experiments conducted using PyCharm 2.3 provide an in-depth exploration of the strategic evolutionary trajectories of each participating agent. The findings indicate that (1) the stable strategy for the game-theoretic system of EOL power battery recycling is government non-regulation, recycling enterprises adopting formal recycling practices, and EV owners participating in formal recycling; (2) strengthening penalties against recycling enterprises will accelerate their transition towards formal recycling strategies, while increasing incentive levels can significantly enhance the steady-state probability of firms opting for formal recycling; (3) government subsidies for EV owners encourage both EV owners and recycling enterprises to adopt formal recycling, with recycling enterprises shifting first. This study enriches the application of evolutionary game theory in the field of EOL power battery recycling and further provides guidance for the healthy development of the recycling industry. Full article

We perform a systematic investigation of low-lying singly charmed dibaryon systems with $J=1$, $I=0,{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}},1,{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}},2,{\displaystyle \frac{5}{2}}$ and strangeness $S=-1,-2,-3,-4,-5$ in the chiral quark model. According to the analysis of effective potentials, dibaryon systems characterized by lower isospin and magnitude of strangeness exhibit stronger attractive interactions, which may enhance their tendency to form bound states. Experimental efforts may therefore prioritize the search for such configurations. The bound-state calculation results indicate that we have obtained some single-channel bound states, which are $\mathrm{\Sigma }{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c$, $\mathrm{\Sigma }{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{*}$, ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{*}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c$, ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{*}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{*}$ with $I=0,S=-1$; ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\mathrm{\Delta }$, ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{*}\mathrm{\Delta }$ with $I={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}},S=0$; $\mathrm{\Sigma }{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c$ with $I=1,S=-1$; ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\mathrm{\Delta }$ with $I={\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}},S=0$; and ${\mathrm{\Xi }}^{*}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c^{*}$ with $I={\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}},S=-2$. However, these states can decay through open channels. We have listed both these single-channel bound states and their corresponding decay channels in this work for experimental reference and search. In the future, we need to study the scattering processes of the open channels further to confirm whether these states are resonance states. Full article

Motivated by the recent CMS observation of a near-threshold enhancement in top quark pair production, we investigate a novel class of hadronic systems containing a single top quark: the topped mesons ($t\overline{q}$, with $\overline{q}=\overline{u},\overline{d},\overline{s}$). In contrast to the extensively studied toponium ($t\overline{t}$) system—analyzed primarily within perturbative QCD—topped mesons offer a complementary nonperturbative probe of QCD dynamics in the heavy quark limit. These states are expected to exhibit longer lifetimes and narrower decay widths than toponium, as only a single top quark undergoes weak decay. We employ QCD sum rules within the framework of heavy quark effective theory to study the structure and mass spectrum of ground-state topped mesons. Our analysis predicts masses near 173.1 GeV, approximately 0.5–0.6 GeV above the top quark pole mass. Compared with singly topped baryons ($tqq$, with $q=u,d,s$), topped mesons have a simpler quark composition and more favorable decay channels (a topped meson is anticipated to decay weakly into a $\mathrm{{\rm Y}}$ meson and a charmed meson), enhancing their potential for both theoretical analysis and experimental discovery. Full article

Against the backdrop of advancing ecological civilization and increasing public interest in reconnecting with nature, this study examines fireflies—iconic insects cherished for their natural charm—as valuable landscape resources. This study was conducted in Dalingshan Forest Park, Dongguan (Pearl River Delta), using the Forest Science Trail as a sampling site. Surveys combining line transect and point count methods were employed to analyze firefly species composition, adult activity patterns, and flight characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Four species were identified—Asymmetricata circumdata, Pygoluciola qingyu, Aquatica analis, and Luciola satoi—three of which were observed along the trail; (2) Adults appeared sporadically after 19:00, with peak activity occurring between 19:30 and 20:00, showing minor interspecific variation; (3) Although flight height varied slightly among species, most activities concentrated within 0–1.5 m, corresponding to herbaceous and shrub layers; (4) Distinct flight patterns were observed: A. circumdata displayed prolonged intermittent flights, while P. qingyu and L. satoi exhibited shorter perching-based flights. These results provide a scientific basis for firefly habitat conservation, biodiversity promotion, and the sustainable integration of firefly landscapes into nature education and ecotourism. Full article

We investigate the charmed meson spectrum using a constituent quark model (CQM) with one-loop corrections applied to the one-gluon exchange (OGE) potential. The study aims to understand if the modified version of our CQM sufficiently account for the charmed meson spectrum observed experimentally, without invoking exotic quark and gluon configurations such as hybrid mesons or tetraquarks. Within this model, charmed mesons’ masses are computed, comparing theoretical predictions to experimental data. The results, within uncertainties, suggest that our theoretical framework generally reproduces mass splittings and level ordering observed for charmed mesons. Particularly, large discrepancies between theory and experiment found in P-wave states are, at least, significantly ameliorated by incorporating higher-order interaction terms. Therefore, the findings emphasize that while the traditional quark model is limited in fully describing charmed mesons, enhanced potential terms may bridge the gap with experimental observations. The study contributes a framework for predicting excited charmed meson states for future experimental validation. Full article

Estimated population growth and increased demand for food production bring with them the evident need for more efficient and sustainable production systems. Because of this, computer vision plays a fundamental role in the development and application of solutions that help producers with the issues that limit livestock production in Brazil and the world. In addition to being stressful for the producer and the animal, the conventional pig weighing system causes productive losses and can compromise meat quality, being considered a practice that does not value animal welfare. The objective was to develop a computational procedure to predict the live weight of pigs in the growth and finishing phases, through the volume of the animals extracted through the processing of 3D images, as well as to analyze the real and estimated biometric measurements to define the relationships of these with live weight and volume obtained. The study was conducted at Roçadinho farm, in the municipality of Capoeiras, located in the Agreste region of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The variables weight and 3D images were obtained using a Kinect^®—V2 camera and biometric measurements of 20 animals in the growth phase and 24 animals in the finishing phase, males and females, from the crossing of Pietrain and Large White, totaling 44 animals. To analyze the images, a program developed in Python (PyCharm Community Edition 2020.1.4) was used, to relate the variables, principal component analyses and regression analyzes were performed. The coefficient of linear determination between weight and volume was 73.3, 74.1, and 97.3% for pigs in the growing, finishing, and global phases, showing that this relationship is positive and satisfactorily expressed the weight of the animals. The relationship between the real and estimated biometric variables had a more expressive coefficient of determination in the global phase, having presented values between 77 and 94%. Full article

The production rate of charm quarks in strongly interacting matter is investigated under various conditions, employing the effective quasiparticle framework. This phenomenological approach treats quarks and gluons as quasiparticles with dynamically generated self-energies linked to the medium. This paper studies thermal production of charm quarks in hot deconfined matter when those quarks are treated as impurities with a constant mass or as dynamical quarks dressed by the effective mass. When charm quarks are considered quasiparticles, their large (compared to the bare value) mass generates a significant decrease in the production rate in the crossover region. Various initial conditions for the evolution of the system are applied, showing that lower initial temperature leads to the continual suppression of the charm quark production rate, which appears in line with the previously reported estimate at certain values of the initial parameters. Full article

This study investigates the aroma differences among various peach and nectarine varieties by sensory evaluation, electronic nose (E-nose) analysis, and metabolomics. Peach is a significant fruit crop in China, and identifying unique fragrances is essential for germplasm selection and cultivar improvement. Six peach and nectarine varieties were collected from the National Peach Germplasm Repository in Nanjing, China. Sensory evaluation revealed significant differences in aroma and taste, with ”Zi Jin Hong 3” and “Bai Mi Pan Tao” showing high scores for aroma, sweetness, and overall sensory quality, while “Tachibanawase” had the lowest overall impression score. E-nose analysis showed distinct response values among varieties, with sensors W1S, W1W, and W5S exhibiting the highest sensitivity. GC-MS identified 446 metabolites, including esters and terpenes. PCA and OPLS-DA differentiated metabolite profiles among varieties, revealing significant differences in metabolite expression. The integration of these techniques provides a comprehensive understanding of aroma differences, highlighting the potential for identifying unique germplasms for breeding high-quality cultivars with charming flavor, and offering a theoretical foundation for raw material selection and process optimization in the deep-processing industry of peach fruits in future research. Full article

Trauma often causes long-lasting functional impairment, but the extent varies across populations. This study investigated disability six months after moderate to severe injury and identified sociodemographic and early injury-related predictors, including estimated rehabilitation complexity. Further, we assessed the implementation of direct transfer from acute care in the trauma centre to specialised inpatient rehabilitation, bypassing local hospitals. In this prospective study 398 adults, treated from January 2020 to January 2021 at two Norwegian trauma centres, were included. Self-reported disability was measured using the 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Ordinal logistic regression was applied to identify predictors of the 6-month disability outcome. At follow-up, 22% reported no disability, 49% mild/moderate and 29% severe. In multivariable analyses, low education, comorbidities, number of injuries and higher estimated rehabilitation complexity at discharge from acute care were significantly associated with greater disability. Only 20% were transferred directly to specialised inpatient rehabilitation, while 17% went via local hospitals. Participants with orthopaedic injuries and women were less likely to be transferred directly. In summary, most participants experienced some disability at 6 months. Indirect pathways to specialised rehabilitation via local hospitals remained common. Understanding predictors of disability and optimising rehabilitation pathways may improve trauma rehabilitation outcomes, highlighting the need for guidelines that identify patients with high rehabilitation needs. Full article

Background/Objectives: Renal cancer has a heterogeneous characteristic. Prognostic models can enable a better evaluation of the prognosis. This study aimed to analyze the clinical applicability and risk of bias of prognostic models described in the literature for predicting cancer-specific mortality in renal cancer patients who have undergone nephrectomy. Methods: A systematic review (PROSPERO [CRD42021243529]) of all scientific articles that evaluate prognostic models for cancer-specific mortality due to renal cancer was performed. Descriptive analysis and application of the Checklist for Critical Appraisal and Data Extraction for Systematic Reviews of Prediction Modelling Studies (CHARMS) and the Prediction Model Risk Of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST) were used. Results: Most of the 40 reviewed studies used retrospective cohort designs, mainly based on hospital records or the SEER database, and focused on patients undergoing nephrectomy. While 50% developed models without validation, the rest included internal or external validation methods, with nomograms being the most common format for presenting results. Cox regression was the main modeling technique, although problems such as poor treatment of missing data, inadequate reporting of events per variable, and limited assessment of model assumptions were prevalent. According to the PROBAST assessment, all studies showed a high risk of bias, particularly in the scope of analysis, and only 40% had good applicability. Conclusions: All the studies analyzed were found to have a high risk of bias, and only 40% demonstrated good applicability. Hence, it is necessary to develop cancer-specific prognostic models for renal cancer based on the CHARMS and PROBAST frameworks. Full article