Search Results (9,934)

High-throughput microfluidic deformation assays enable label-free single-cell mechanophenotyping by quantifying how cells deform under controlled hydrodynamic loading. These approaches commonly extract deformation-related observables, such as projected area, axis ratio, and deformation index, and use them as indicators for cellular mechanical properties. However, deformation is not solely determined by stiffness; it is a coupled outcome of cell size, local hydrodynamic stress, and intrinsic mechanical response. Therefore, we present a simulation-based microfluidic framework for estimating region-dependent apparent Young’s modulus (E, a quantitative indicator characterizing cellular mechanical stiffness) from diameter–deformation measurements at the single-cell level. A three-region microfluidic channel is designed to impose distinct hydrodynamic loading conditions, while numerical simulations establish quantitative maps linking cell diameter, deformation, and E. Based on these results, region-specific nonlinear surface models are constructed to invert experimental diameter–deformation measurements into E values. Finally, application to primary T cells and K562 cells demonstrates clear region-dependent differences in E, highlighting the influence of local loading conditions on inferred mechanical properties. Overall, this work provides a simplified but practical route for transforming deformation-based phenotypes into quantitative, loading-aware mechanical parameters for single-cell analysis. Full article

Large-scale, multi-center projects have become common in the era of rapid technological development, but protocol standardization remains challenging. In whole-exome sequencing (WES), various exome enrichment kits exhibit variable efficiency across genomic regions, leading to systematic, non-biological batch effects, much stronger than other technical factors. We propose a workflow to minimize the effect of WES capture inconsistencies in single-nucleotide variation (SNV) data. The pipeline consists of quality control, mapping to the genome, SNV calling, joint genotyping, and imputing genotypes using reference haplotypes. SNVs are then aggregated into gene-level features measuring the burden of deleterious variants. Finally, a gene-level imputation is performed using a customized algorithm. Namely, if the detection rate of a gene is low in samples enriched with a given capture kit but high in samples enriched with other kits, missing values in the former group are imputed, as such differences are unlikely to reflect true biology. As a benchmark, we conducted a study on over a thousand breast cancer cases across 11 cohorts, using eight exome capture kits. We demonstrated that the proposed pipeline leads to a considerable decrease in the batch effect signal, potentially increasing the likelihood of finding true biological signals. Full article

Lifelong learning is widely recognised as a core capability for engineers working under rapid technological, professional, and societal change. This article reports a PRISMA 2020-guided systematic review and thematic synthesis of engineering education publications that explicitly position themselves in relation to lifelong learning. Searches of Web of Science, ERIC, IEEE Xplore, and the ACM Digital Library in May 2026 identified 341 records; after duplicate removal and staged screening, 68 publications were included. The synthesis was organised around four recurrent thematic layers within this explicit lifelong learning corpus: project-based and inquiry-based learning, soft skills and motivation, employability-oriented capabilities, and curriculum and co-curricular embedding. Across the corpus, the literature was stronger at naming lifelong learning and proposing educational responses than at demonstrating how development was sustained across time and context. A recurring gap separated definition, design, and evidence: conceptual breadth and pedagogical variety outpaced cumulative developmental evidence. The review contributes an explicit-corpus synthesis, a layered interpretive framework for reading these recurrent supports, and implications for curriculum design, educational practice, and future research. Full article

The construction of large-scale buildings often faces extended production cycles due to inefficiencies in scheduling processes. To address this challenge, a timed Petri net model was developed to analyze and optimize construction scheduling. Based on the Petri net transition sequence, a scheduling optimization model was proposed. To solve the model efficiently, an improved brainstorming optimization (BSO) algorithm was introduced. Compared with the classical BSO, two targeted enhancements were introduced: a problem-specific encoding and decoding method for Petri net transition sequences to ensure solution feasibility and an embedded simulated annealing local search mechanism to prevent premature convergence in later iterations. The proposed methodology was validated using real-world data from a large high-speed railway hub foundation pit construction project. Results demonstrated a significant reduction of 531 working hours in the total scheduling time, representing a 15.47% improvement in scheduling efficiency compared to traditional sequential scheduling methods. This approach not only shortened the scheduling cycle and enhanced production efficiency but also offered an innovative solution to address scheduling issues in complex construction processes. Full article

This case study investigates specific language phenomena and dominance patterns among second-generation speakers of Sri Lankan origin in Naples within the framework of the HELLO Campania Project. While second generations are typically assumed to be dominant in the societal majority language, the Sri Lankan community—characterized by exceptionally high rates of heritage language maintenance—offers a critical testing ground for this assumption. Drawing on a corpus of sociolinguistic interviews with first- and second-generation speakers, the analysis focuses on two morphosyntactic variables that function as indicators of acquisitional development in Italian as L2: verbal morphology and the realization of definite and indefinite articles. Verbal forms were classified along a four-stage developmental scale derived from research on Italian interlanguage, while article use was evaluated through a three-level accuracy scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics reveal a clear asymmetry within the second generation specifically in terms of gender variable. Male speakers display near-native competence consistent with the expected dominance shift toward Italian. In contrast, several female speakers exhibit persistent features—such as infinitive overextension, auxiliary omission in perfective constructions, and residual article omission—patterns more typical of first stages of second-language acquisition than of heritage-speaker dominance. These findings suggest that, in contexts of strong heritage language maintenance and dense ethnic social networks, second-generation speakers may experience incomplete acquisition of the majority language rather than incomplete acquisition of the heritage language. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the importance of integrating perceptual self-reports with production data. Theoretically, it challenges universalist assumptions about second-generation dominance and underscores the need for community-specific, migration-scenario-based analyses in heritage language research. Full article

This article examines whether treaty-based and cooperation-oriented institutions can perform complementary functions in Indo-Pacific economic governance. It compares the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), while treating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and other regional mechanisms as contextual alternatives. Drawing on a structured 53-document corpus of legal, policy, institutional, scholarly, and project-level materials, the study maps overlapping participation and agreement-specific legal status, then analyses labour and supply-chain governance in Malaysia and Vietnam and an attribution boundary case on clean-energy cooperation in Indonesia. It develops selective complementarity as an issue-specific evaluative framework distinguishing thematic overlap, functional differentiation, prospective compatibility, operational interaction, and institutionalised interaction. The findings show functional differentiation and prospective compatibility in Malaysia and Vietnam, but no cross-framework linkage, transmission, uptake, or additional implementation value was documented within the defined corpus and period. Indonesia demonstrates that policy alignment does not convert bilateral, development-finance, or adjacent regional initiatives into IPEF activities. Japan is best understood as a cross-case facilitating actor because the evidence does not establish a stable bridging mechanism between the two frameworks. By setting clear evidentiary thresholds and identifying evidence that would count against complementarity, the study contributes to research on regime complexity, institutional interaction, and sustainability-oriented regionalism. Full article

This research assesses the practical synthesis of Building Information Modeling (BIM), Autodesk Forma and Dalux to support LEED-oriented sustainable design for a higher education building. Autodesk Revit 2025 functioned as the central BIM platform, while Autodesk Forma enabled early-stage simulations of solar exposure, daylight potential, wind conditions, microclimate, noise and solar-energy potential. Dalux supported model coordination and information management in accordance with ISO 19650 principles. The workflow links simulation outputs to BIM elements through project-defined parameters, allowing performance evidence to inform design refinement. Quantitative indicators were consolidated for daylight exposure, wind comfort, outdoor thermal stress, acoustic exposure and photovoltaic potential. The solar-energy analysis considered an area of approximately 970 m², an annual potential of 1030 kWh/m² and a theoretical yield of approximately 999,100 kWh/year. Assuming 70% roof coverage and 18% panel efficiency, the estimated photovoltaic the expected output is approximately 125,113 kWh/year. These findings demonstrate the value of combining BIM, cloud-based analysis and CDE-based coordination for early-stage sustainable design, while LEED certification, operational energy modelling and lifecycle assessment require additional specialist validation. The proposed workflow provides a consistent approach for aligning design development with sustainability objectives and can be applied to similar building types. Full article

This research is situated within the Irish tertiary educational space between Higher Education and Further Education and Training. This research is set in the Literacy Development Centre (LDC), South-East Technological University (SETU), the Higher Education organisation, and the Longford Westmeath Education Training Board (LWETB), the Further Education organisation. This study builds on the research conducted by the authors and focuses on the continued provision of a 120 ECTS NFQ Level 6 qualification, the Higher Certificate in Literacy Development and the importance of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in this educational progression. This article explores the impact of RPL as a means of educational access for adult learners. Two focus groups captured the differing accounts of experience, specifically the programme management team from both the higher and further education perspectives and the graduate perspective. The results demonstrated the individualised nature of RPL. While the onus was on each graduate to provide evidence of prior learning, the graduates expressed an experience of a ‘seamless’ RPL process while, conversely, the organisational team recalled experiencing a substantial, emotionally taxing workload. The data additionally demonstrates that the success of the project resulted from relationships and a culture of collaboration. Full article

Vibration signals of planetary gearboxes under variable-speed conditions exhibit strong non-stationarity and modulation, so a single feature representation cannot comprehensively describe intricate fault patterns, and distribution discrepancies across rotating speeds degrade the cross-condition generalization of diagnostic models. To address these limitations, this paper proposes an adaptive domain-aligned multi-modal feature fusion network (ADAMFFN). Three parallel branches extract complementary features from dual-channel vibration signals: spatial coupling features from orbit images, time–frequency energy features from continuous wavelet transform (CWT) representations, and frequency-domain statistical (FreqStat) features from power and envelope spectra. Heterogeneous features are mapped into a shared latent subspace through a unified projection layer, deep cross-modal interaction is realized by a progressive fusion network, and a domain alignment mechanism based on a domain-adversarial neural network (DANN) is introduced to eliminate source–target distribution gaps via adversarial training. On eight leave-one-speed-out (LOSO) cross-speed tasks constructed on the public WT-Planetary Gearbox dataset, ADAMFFN achieves an average accuracy of 99.25%, outperforming the best single-branch and dual-branch schemes by 2.63 and 0.40 percentage points, respectively; ablation experiments verify the complementarity of the three modalities and the effectiveness of domain alignment. Cross-condition external validation on the Southeast University (SEU) gearbox dataset further demonstrates its generalization capability under a different test rig and acquisition conditions. Full article

Xinjiang’s distinctive geography and climate provide important habitats for Falconidae species, yet their climate-driven habitat shifts and conservation gaps remain poorly understood. Using 2731 validated occurrence records and 26 environmental predictors, including bioclimatic, land-use, topographic, hydrological, anthropogenic, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) predictors, we applied an optimized Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) framework to project suitable habitats for seven falconid species under current conditions and three Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios (1–2.6, 2–4.5, and 5–8.5) for 2041–2060, 2061–2080 and 2081–2100. Barycenter migration analysis, the Habitat Quality module of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs framework, and protected-area overlays were further integrated to identify conservation priorities. All models showed high discriminatory performance, with mean areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve exceeding 0.90. Current suitable habitats were mainly concentrated along river corridors and mountain foothills in the southern Altai, central-western Tianshan and northern Kunlun regions. Future responses were strongly species-specific. By 2081–2100 under Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5–8.5, suitable habitat increased by 154.6% for Falco peregrinus and 79.5% for Falco tinnunculus but declined by 81.1% for Falco vespertinus; Falco subbuteo also showed overall expansion, with its suitable-habitat barycenter shifting by up to 291.9 km. Mean relative habitat quality was 0.514 [standard deviation = 0.185], while suitable habitat outside protected areas ranged from 35,346 to 304,866 km² among species, and high-quality priority conservation gaps reached 102,489 km² for Falco cherrug. These results demonstrate that climatic suitability does not necessarily correspond to high habitat quality or adequate protection and support species-specific, climate-adaptive conservation strategies for falconids in Xinjiang. Full article

To characterise the fracture network geometry of a fluid reservoir, fundamental parameters are used in a DFN simulation algorithm. However, evaluating the hydrodynamic behaviour of such rock bodies also requires apertures of individual fractures. Aperture is usually not treated as an independent variable; rather, it is derived from length. A common approach is a linear relationship, a = A × L, where A is the aperture coefficient. The fracture’s free volume varies with the aperture coefficient, which influences the modelled fractured porosity and permeability. Since post-tectonic fluid–rock interactions can considerably alter the original apertures, the relationship between fracture length and aperture may vary across a reservoir, complicating hydrodynamic modelling. Therefore, from a hydrodynamic perspective, the hydraulic aperture should be used instead of the physical aperture. In this paper, transmissivity data and DFN models are analysed simultaneously to estimate reliable aperture coefficients. The method is demonstrated using the fractured Mórágy granite body in SW Hungary. In the context of the radioactive waste depository project, numerous wells penetrated the fractured granite. Transmissivity data and DFN models from 238 intervals are used to calibrate aperture coefficient values. The associated porosity data are employed to construct a porosity log for each well and analyse poro-perm diagrams. Full article

Adoption of peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is very challenging, mainly due to numerous issues and limitations such as lack of trust in the concept and awareness of the technical, economic and social benefits. This paper aims to understand how blockchain technology can address the current issues/limitations of P2P distributed solar energy (DSE) trading. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 community energy stakeholders to confirm and expand the stakeholder issues identified in the literature review. A case representing community energy projects was selected to (1) develop and implement a blockchain system and (2) evaluate its ability to eliminate (or reduce) stakeholder issues and meet stakeholder expectations. A blockchain-enabled P2P trading platform was developed using an Ethereum backend. The system clearly demonstrated its ability to deliver full or partial solutions to 12 stakeholder issues. Two stakeholder issues are unable to be addressed via the blockchain platform since they uncovered the weaknesses of blockchain technology. The P2P trading platform has also demonstrated its ability to facilitate decentralized trading and data management. The outcome of this study indicates the areas of P2P trading projects that can be improved by the application of blockchain technology. Full article

This essay examines a long-term collaboration between writer and curator Dr George Vasey and the London-based organisation Intoart, which supports a group of 24 artists with learning disabilities. Throughout the collaboration, a broad array of practice-based curatorial methods have been employed—including field recording, creative writing, and drawing—to develop an interpretative framework for a growing organisational collection of over 6000 artworks. Drawing on John Dewey’s writing on art as experience, the essay expands on Dewey’s concept of thinking through doing in the context of disability arts, arguing for progressive studio provision as a site of exchange and community learning that emphasises an art of lived experience. The essay explores what an artist-led approach might mean in the context of disability, revisiting Dewey’s practice-led approach and foregrounding embodied and experimental forms of engagement. By centring the voice and intention of learning-disabled artists, the project focuses on facilitative strategies that merge the disciplines of art criticism, visual arts, curating, and pedagogy. The essay contributes to ongoing debates in curatorial and disability studies by demonstrating how facilitative and practice-led approaches can reshape interpretative frameworks, artist agency and knowledge production. Full article

This study presents a systematic literature review of spatial planning frameworks for coastal hazard mitigation, conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A structured search of two academic databases, Scopus and Web of Science, covering the period 2016 to 2026 identified 368 records, of which 27 peer-reviewed studies were included in the final synthesis. The review pursues four interrelated objectives: analyzing global publication trends in research on spatial planning for coastal hazard mitigation; identifying and describing coastal hazard typologies and their associated mitigation approaches; examining how spatial planning frameworks are integrated with hazard mitigation strategies; and synthesizing cross-cutting constructs that structure an integrative analytical model. Findings reveal a marked intensification of scholarly output over the final third of the review period, with Asia–Pacific and Europe as the most represented regions, while sub-Saharan Africa and small island developing states remain critically underrepresented. Coastal hazards are classified into four categories: slow-onset climate and hydro-geological processes, acute hydro-meteorological events, multi-risk systemic hazard interactions, and ecological and environmental degradation. Three analytically distinct integration families are identified: geospatial and technical modeling, NbS and ecosystem-planning integration, and participatory governance and institutional integration. From these, four cross-cutting constructs emerge inductively across the evidence base, namely spatial risk assessment and geospatial modeling, land-use governance and climate-proof planning, community-based resilience and participatory governance, and ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions, which together constitute an integrative analytical framework. The discussion demonstrates that governance capacity, rather than technical sophistication, is the primary moderator of implementation effectiveness, and that socio-spatial equity in hazard planning represents a cross-regional challenge irrespective of governance capacity level. Limitations include the geographic concentration of the evidence based in high-capacity planning contexts and the predominantly projected rather than implemented nature of effectiveness evidence. Full article

The evolution from 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) to 5G New Radio (NR) has increased cell density in cellular deployments, thereby increasing inter-cell interference (ICI), which is most significant in cell-edge scenarios. The Minimum Mean Square Error–Interference Rejection Combining (MMSE-IRC) receiver was widely adopted in LTE systems around Release 11 as a practical implementation for advanced interference rejection. Although not standardized in 3GPP specifications, it was commonly used in 3GPP studies and has been effectively used in 5G-NR environments. In this paper, we propose new versions of the Alternating Projections Hard Successive Interference Cancellation (AP-HSIC) equalizer algorithm that combine the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) and MMSE-IRC equalizers (denoted MMSE-AP-HSIC and MMSE-IRC-AP-HSIC, respectively). The effectiveness of the new approach is demonstrated by Block Error Rate (BLER) analysis for Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), 16-QAM, and 64-QAM modulations. Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) 5G-NR receiver simulations demonstrate the differences between the proposed algorithms and the classical AP-HSIC, MMSE, and MMSE-IRC equalizer algorithms. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme, MMSE-IRC-AP-HSIC, outperforms the conventional MMSE-IRC scheme in cell-edge scenarios. Full article