Search Results (407)

Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) platoons rely on Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication and GPS to maintain sub-second headways, creating cyberattack surfaces underrepresented in standard surrogate-safety metrics. We built a fully equation-based, Routh–Hurwitz- and Lp-string-stability-verified simulation of a ten-follower (eleven-vehicle, including the leader) CACC platoon (point-mass dynamics, actuator lag, PD spacing control) and subjected it to a two-channel GPS-spoofing attack corrupting both the attacked vehicle’s control loop and its broadcast position; velocity and acceleration broadcasts, and the CACC feed-forward term they drive, are left uncorrupted, so the reported boundaries are conditional on this restricted, single-channel threat model and should be read as a lower bound on attack severity rather than a worst case. Across a 64-cell severity–duration grid (2–20 m, 1–10 s; h = 0.6 s), minimum time-to-collision fell from 31.7 s to a simulated collision in 6/64 cells (9.4%), driven more by magnitude than duration; the disturbance decays sharply after the first hop rather than cascading down the platoon, so the resulting risk is local, not cascading. A 48-cell headway grid showed h ≥ 0.7 s eliminated all collisions at the originally tested attack duration (3/8 → 0/8 at fixed severity), a result that held under two alternative controller-gain sets tested for sensitivity and was largely, though not universally, robust to a substantially stiffer third set. A position sweep found risk invariant across nine of ten platoon positions. Batch-computed first-hop propagation and tail-to-origin amplification ratios showed the disturbance transiently amplifies (ratio > 1) at its first hop in a third of tested attacks despite decaying three orders of magnitude by the platoon’s tail, a behavior distinct from the front-injected Lp string stability verified separately. Peak root-mean-squared jerk stayed within the comfortable range (≤1 m/s³) in every tested cell, including collisions, showing collision and comfort risk are governed by different parameters. Embedding a representative detection and elastic-control layer alongside headway optimization eliminated collisions within the tested range and remained robust at three times that severity, where headway alone failed; because the detector’s residual is computed directly from the true offset magnitude and detector failure is not modeled, this joint-defense result is illustrative rather than a validated-detector-calibrated estimate. These results give a reproducible, quantified basis for headway- and detection-based mitigation policy in connected-vehicle platoons. Full article

Geometric misalignment degrades industrial cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), particularly when a dedicated calibration phantom cannot be deployed during object acquisition. This study presents a three-stage, scan-specific geometric refinement framework that searches a bounded five-coordinate correction space around a nominal geometry. Coarse candidates are screened using the normalized residual between a geometry-corrected center-of-mass trajectory and its best-fitting low-order periodic model. Translation- and rotation-dominant coordinates are then refined within system-specific physical bounds, and an energy-normalized nuclear-norm score of corrected row-wise sinograms is used for local correlation refinement. The periodic and low-rank terms are treated as object-dependent surrogate objectives rather than as standalone guarantees of physical parameter identifiability. An exact-ASTRA implementation check using a Shepp–Logan volume verified the detector-plane reindexing convention: applying the injected correction reduced valid-mask projection discrepancy to 35.2%, 13.7%, and 8.66% of the uncorrected values for small, medium, and large perturbations, respectively, with round-trip resampling NRMSE of 0.022–0.023 and a mean valid fraction of 98.4%. Three industrial datasets acquired with horizontal gantry CT, temperature-stage in situ CT, and vertical micro-CT provided comparative reconstruction evidence. In addition, a controlled reduced-resolution industrial object reprojection benchmark was used for direct comparison with MI-PSO, PR, and a stability-regularized implementation of the public epipolar-consistency formulation (Open-ECC-R). Over 20 fixed-ROI axial slices, Open-ECC-R increased the mean SSIM from 0.6852 ± 0.0454 for the uncalibrated reconstruction to 0.8450 ± 0.0155 and reduced the NRMSE from 0.5180 ± 0.0526 to 0.1671 ± 0.0125. The proposed method achieved the highest mean SSIM of 0.9933 ± 0.0002 and the lowest NRMSE of 0.0321 ± 0.0009. For the Bluetooth earphone dataset, local sagittal and axial MTF₅₀ estimates increased from 0.84 to 0.94 lp/mm and from 0.45 to 1.05 lp/mm, respectively. These results support scan-specific image-quality refinement around a nominal geometry while avoiding unsupported claims of absolute parameter recovery. Full article

In make-to-order (MTO) manufacturing, customer-side issues involving payment, documentation, logistics, or site readiness may postpone shipment after order acceptance, increasing finished-goods inventory, capital tie-up, and capacity inefficiency. Although prior studies mainly address in-production delays or pre-order demand uncertainty, Customer-Induced Shipment Postponement (CISP) and its integration into production planning remain comparatively underexamined. This study proposes a predictive–prescriptive decision-support framework that uses ERP data from a real MTO manufacturer to predict shipment-timing outcomes associated with CISP and transfers the resulting predictions into an offline linear-programming-based production-planning model balancing capacity and inventory. Following CRISP-DM, 18,506 order records from 2017 to 2020 were analyzed, and eight machine-learning methods were evaluated across four scenarios combining Full and Parsimonious feature sets with three-class and binary target structures. Models were evaluated using an ex-post cost framework, with conventional classification metrics retained as diagnostic indicators. The selected model was interpreted using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Under the stated evaluation assumptions, integrating predictions into the offline LP-based production plan reduced total planning cost by 22.85% relative to the no-prediction baseline. This suggests that the proposed framework can generate measurable planning value. Full article

Background: Finger citron (Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis Swingle, CM) is an important edible and medicinal plant. Owing to its diverse pharmacological properties, its fruit has long served as a traditional Chinese medicine and has increasingly been developed for functional food applications. However, its non-fruit parts, including leaves, branches, and roots, remain underutilized. Methods: In this study, CM fruit (CMF), leaves (CML), roots (CMR), and branches (CMB) were selected to systematically compare their small-molecule metabolic profiles and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Untargeted metabolomics was conducted based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Meanwhile, antioxidant capacity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assays, and anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage inflammation model. Results: Metabolomic analysis revealed 826 differential metabolites across the four CM parts (CMs), reflecting pronounced organ-specific metabolic features. According to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, the variations in metabolite profiles across the four CMs were primarily linked to amino acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, and unsaturated fatty acid metabolism. In the antioxidant assays, the DPPH radical scavenging activity at 2 mg/mL followed the order CML (78.37 ± 7.29%), CMR (73.30 ± 2.68%), CMB (40.71 ± 0.16%), and CMF (36.67 ± 1.67%), whereas ABTS radical scavenging activity followed the order CMR (51.36 ± 2.17%), CML (48.30 ± 1.64%), CMB (45.23 ± 1.72%), and CMF (18.48 ± 0.22%). In the LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage model, at 0.4 mg/mL, inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production followed the order CML (88.18 ± 4.02%), CMB (87.21 ± 3.02%), CMF (68.05 ± 2.54%), and CMR (67.21 ± 9.12%). Correlation analysis further suggested that features putatively annotated as minecoside, maltotetraose, and (+)-catechin may be associated with antioxidant or anti-inflammatory activities. Conclusions: The study revealed differences in metabolite composition and bioactivities among different CMs, providing an experimental basis for the development and utilization of non-fruit parts, especially leaves, and for further investigation of their bioactive constituents. Full article

Common gene mapping approaches mainly include QTL-mapping, BSA-seq (QTL-seq) and GWAS. BSA-seq is designed to facilitate the mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) in a cost-effective and high-efficiency manner. In order to accommodate the diverse species-specific traits and population genetic architectures, researchers have developed a series of tailored BSA methodologies. In this study, using six wild rices (Oryza rufipogon) as donors and the elite cultivated rice Youzhan 8 (YZ8) as the recipient, we constructed a BC₄F₈ population through hybridization and backcrossing. These six wild rice introgression lines together constitute a nested association mapping (NAM) population. Upon genotyping 1819 lines of the NAM population for the Sd1 gene, we found that among lines harboring the 383 bp deletion, 98.5–99.3% exhibited a low plant height (LP) phenotype, whereas 0.7–1.5% showed a high plant height (HP) phenotype. Based on this phenotypic segregation, we selected a total of 20 HP lines and 20 LP lines from six BC₄F₈ populations to form the H-bulk and L-bulk, respectively. Using BSA-seq, we identified a total of 33 significantly associated candidate intervals. One candidate interval located on chromosome 1 contains D18, a previously reported gene that regulates plant height. Furthermore, we preliminarily identified two major candidate genomic regions on chromosome 8 (4.60–5.76 Mb and 7.29–7.33 Mb). Integrating RNA-seq data, CAFRI-Rice online functional prediction and RT-qPCR validation, two key candidate genes, LOC_Os08g09900 and LOC_Os08g09000, were selected for subsequent functional characterization. The results of this study indicate that the NAM-BSA technology has great potential to detect QTL associated with complex traits, which can provide a novel technical strategy for the genetic dissection of complex traits in rice. Full article

The Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW) takes on a structurally distinct form when the goods being routed undergo first-order quality decay during transport. In this setting, distance minimisation alone underestimates the true economic cost. A per-customer minimum-quality acceptance constraint further introduces a non-linear feasibility condition that does not appear in the classical formulation. This paper addresses such a setting in the context of loose-skin citrus fruit (e.g., mandarins) distribution, where stock has already undergone several days of cold storage at the origin warehouse, and remaining shelf life makes retail time windows binding rather than decorative. We formulate a Maturity-Aware Multi-Echelon Dynamic Reallocation Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (MA-MEDR-VRPTW) on a three-echelon network (origin warehouse → distribution centres → stores) over a seven-day rolling horizon. A first contribution shows that the minimum-quality acceptance constraint admits an analytic transformation into a time-window tightening, which removes per-extension exponential evaluations from the subproblem solver. The algorithmic contribution is a proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) with NG-route relaxation (padmm-ma) whose quality-loss weight is updated by a residual-balancing rule and is decoupled from the outer reallocation linear program (LP) through approximate dynamic-programming-style marginal costs. On twelve Solomon-derived mandarin instances (72 feasible algorithm–instance combinations), padmm-ma returns a mean seven-day cost of 12,638 CNY against 11,753 CNY for a subgradient baseline ($+7.5\%$) at statistically indistinguishable arrival quality (paired Wilcoxon $p=0.077$ for ${\overline{q}}_{\mathrm{arr}}$), while cutting mean wall-clock time from 350 to 23 s (about $15\times$). The method, therefore, reads as a fast operational heuristic for daily re-planning. An ablation, an exact-MIP benchmark on tractable subproblems, and a scale extension to $n=100$ customers round out the validation. Full article

Conversion from distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) measurements to geophone-equivalent data is important for integrating DAS into conventional seismic workflows. This is because most established seismic-processing algorithms are designed for particle-velocity or acceleration data, whereas DAS measures strain or strain rate. Recovering geophone-equivalent particle velocity from DAS strain-rate measurements requires inversion of a gauge-length-dependent spatial-difference operator, which can amplify measurement noise, particularly in field data with low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Existing single-regularization methods often trade noise attenuation against waveform fidelity and the preservation of weak coherent events. To address these limitations, we propose an inverse reconstruction framework combining high-order L_p (HOLp) and overlapping group sparsity (OGS) regularizations. HOLp promotes a compact representation of second-order differences and suppresses incoherent fluctuations, whereas OGS exploits local coherence to reduce isolated artifacts and preserve weak continuous events. The resulting objective function is solved using the alternating direction method of multipliers, with iteratively reweighted L₁ minimization for the HOLp subproblem and a majorization–minimization strategy for the OGS subproblem. Numerical and field experiments confirm that the method restores amplitude and waveform fidelity under low SNR conditions, demonstrating robust and reliable DAS-to-geophone conversion. Full article

This study investigated the co-combustion behavior of loblolly pine (LP100), kaolin clay (KC100), and LP-KC blends (LP75KC25, LP50KC50, and LP25KC75) using thermogravimetric analysis under air gas flow at heating rates of 5, 10, and 20 °C min⁻¹. The objective was to evaluate how biomass–mineral blending affects thermal degradation, reaction-stage development, kinetic behavior, and thermodynamic properties. The TGA-DTG results were interpreted using Coats–Redfern model-fitting kinetics, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) model-free kinetics, and thermodynamic analysis. LP100 and LP-KC blends exhibited two main stages: Phase II oxidative devolatilization and Phase III char oxidation with overlapping kaolinite dehydroxylation, while KC100 showed one dominant high-temperature mineral transformation. In Phase III, the blends’ DTG peak temperatures ranged from 401.7 to 474.3 °C at 5 °C min⁻¹, 427.0 to 500.3 °C at 10 °C min⁻¹, and 478.3 to 509.0 °C at 20 °C min⁻¹. Coats–Redfern Ea values were 58.16–70.50 kJ mol⁻¹ for LP100 in Phase III, and 178.85–181.59 kJ mol⁻¹ for KC100 in Phase III, while the blends’ Ea values ranged from 24.07 to 81.31 kJ mol⁻¹ in Phase II and 30.00 to 59.59 kJ mol⁻¹ in Phase III. FWO analysis confirmed conversion-dependent Ea behavior, with KC100 showing the highest energy barrier. Thermodynamic analysis showed positive ∆G values of 170.59–188.34 kJ mol⁻¹ in Phase II and 197.38–240.84 kJ mol⁻¹ in Phase III. ∆H ranged from 19.67 to 76.55 kJ mol⁻¹ in Phase II and reached 172.53–175.43 kJ mol⁻¹ for KC100 in Phase III, while negative ∆S values of −0.07 to −0.28 kJ mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ indicated ordered activated complexes. In conclusion, LP lowered the apparent kinetic and thermodynamic barriers of KC transformation during co-combustion. Full article

Background: Laparoscopic partial splenectomy (LPS) is a technically demanding procedure. The main difficulty when considering LPS is the bleeding risk. With advancements in technology and a deeper understanding of spleen vascular distribution, LPS has emerged as a feasible and safe procedure. Methods: There are many techniques used in order to prevent bleeding; in our case, we performed LPS using transient main splenic artery clamping. Our case represents a 65-year-old man who was diagnosed with a space-occupying lesion in the lower pole of the spleen and underwent LPS by temporary non-selective occlusion of the splenic artery. Results: The LPS was successfully performed. The surgery length was about 105 min, and it took about 48 min from placement of the bulldog on the splenic artery (warm ischemia), transecting the splenic parenchyma and release of the bulldog. The estimated blood loss was less than 50 mL. The recovery was smooth and uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the third postoperative day. Conclusions: LPS with temporary occlusion of the main trunk of splenic artery is shown to be an effective, practicable and reliable method that is associated with minor operative blood loss. Full article

Quantitative evaluation of the interfacial contact characteristics between the cathode active material (CAM) and solid electrolyte (SE) in all-solid-state battery (ASSB) composite cathodes is essential for improving electrochemical performance. In this study, a previously proposed integrated galvanostatic method (GM)-electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) framework for analyzing the electrochemically active area (EAA) was applied to particle-size-controlled composite cathodes to examine how particle-size design influences interfacial contact in practical ASSB composite cathodes. Specifically, three cathodes were examined: a small-particle Ni-rich layered oxide cathode (SP), a large-particle Ni-rich layered oxide cathode (LP), and a bimodal cathode containing an equal-weight mixture of the two particle fractions (BP). An area-independent lithium diffusion coefficient was first determined from the Warburg-blocking transition in the impedance response. The EAA of each cathode was then obtained by combining this reference value with the area-sensitive galvanostatic response in a one-step constraining procedure. Although bimodal particle-size distributions are often expected to improve interfacial contact by combining the advantages of small and large particles, the EAA increased in the order of SP < BP < LP. This result indicates that under the present electrode configuration, the LP cathode secured the most effective CAM–SE interfacial contact and the highest effective surface coverage. Consistent with this trend, the LP cathode exhibited the best rate capability under high-rate conditions. These results demonstrate that the GM–EIS-based EAA analysis framework provides a practical quantitative tool for evaluating particle-size-dependent interfacial contact and guiding microstructure optimization in ASSB composite cathodes. Full article

This study investigates a single-machine throughput maximization problem (TMP), in which each job is characterized by a processing time, ready date, due date, and weight, and must be completed within its time window to yield profit. The objective is to select and schedule a subset of jobs to maximize the total weight of completed jobs. While existing studies primarily focus on special cases or heuristic approaches, this paper develops a unified exact solution framework for the general TMP. The main contribution is a job-sorting-based approach in which dominance rules are derived from structural properties induced by a partial ordering, while a complete ordering based on time-window midpoints is used to guide job sequencing. Based on this framework, several solution approaches are developed, including implicit enumeration (IE) methods, branch-and-bound (B&B) methods enhanced with linear programming (LP) relaxation, and a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model. A heuristic method is also proposed to generate high-quality initial solutions that accelerate exact methods. Computational experiments are conducted on a comprehensive set of instances. The results demonstrate that the proposed job sorting and dominance rules significantly improve computational efficiency, leading to substantial reductions in solution time compared with baseline methods. Full article

Designing high-speed wide-angle optics for large-format mirrorless cameras presents a fundamental engineering conflict between the short flange back distance and the requirement for high-resolution aberration correction. To address this challenge, this study proposes a compact 18.5 mm F/2.0 lens system utilizing a modified retrofocus architecture equipped with an internal floating-focus mechanism. The design methodology integrates glass-molded aspherical surfaces to suppress high-order aberrations and employs passive athermalization strategies to maintain stability across a temperature range of −30 °C to +70 °C. Performance was rigorously evaluated using numerical simulations in Zemax OpticStudio, alongside comprehensive Monte Carlo tolerance analysis. Simulation results demonstrate exceptional optical performance, with the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) exceeding 0.5 at a spatial frequency of 100 lp/mm across the field. Furthermore, focus breathing is restricted to less than 1%, and optical distortion is strictly controlled within 2%. The Monte Carlo tolerance analysis predicts a manufacturing yield exceeding 80% under standard industrial precision levels. Ultimately, this work provides a theoretically sound, athermally stable, and highly manufacturable solution suitable for next-generation high-resolution mirrorless sensors. Full article

This study proposes and numerically investigates the design and characterization of a ring-assisted (RA) fiber supporting 11 LP mode groups and a concentric-ring-assisted (CRA) fiber supporting 13 LP mode groups. Based on the relationship between the normalized frequency and the number of LP modes, a step-index (SI) fiber capable of supporting 13 LP mode groups is first designed. By leveraging the overlap between the high-index ring-assisted structure and the LP₂₂ mode, the effective index difference (Δn_eff) between the LP₂₂ and LP₀₃ modes is enhanced. The resulting RA 11-LP mode fiber achieves a minimum effective index difference Min|Δn_eff| of 0.78 × 10⁻³, comparable to that of a standard SI 4-mode fiber, and a minimum effective area Min|A_eff| of 164 μm², which effectively suppresses nonlinear effects. Furthermore, by introducing a second ring structure to form a CRA design, we realize a 13-LP mode fiber. This structure selectively increases the effective index of the LP₆₁ mode through overlap with its power distribution, while leaving the effective index of the LP₁₃ mode unaffected. The CRA 13-LP mode fiber exhibits highly stable effective indices across the C band. It demonstrates a Min|Δn_eff | of 0.55 × 10⁻³, which ensures effective mode separation and reduced inter-mode crosstalk. The Min|A_eff| is 131 μm²—still above 100 μm²—thereby mitigating nonlinear impairments. With support for 46 spatial modes in total, this fiber significantly enhances transmission capacity. Full article

Large-sized, room-temperature ultrafast scintillator single crystals are highly demanded for fast timing applications such as time of flight–positron emission tomography, high-speed medical imaging, and pulse heavy-ray detection. Sub-nanosecond scintillation was discovered in 16 mm sized CsPbCl₃Br_x single crystals in our previous research. In this work, the crystal size of CsPbCl₃Br_0.03 was enlarged to 2 inches (50.8 mm). Meanwhile, by precisely optimizing the vertical Bridgman growth process, we further increased the concentration of Br dopant to realize even faster scintillation decay. In this study, we conducted a series of tests on the grown crystals, including temperature-dependent photoluminescence tests, alpha particle excitation tests, X-ray imaging tests, etc. Via the strategy of the incorporation of Br₂, Br dopant introduces highly efficient fast recombination centers in perovskite CsPbCl₃Br_0.03 crystals, resulting in an unprecedently fast scintillation decay time of 303 ps under ²⁴¹Am α-particle excitation, which is significantly shorter than that of the pure CsPbCl₃ and all other perovskites by at least two orders of magnitude. Benefiting from the excellent optical transparency and high crystalline quality of the CsPbCl₃Br_0.03 crystal, an X-ray spatial resolution of up to 20 lp/mm is achieved. These results further demonstrate the great potential of large-sized CsPbCl₃Br_x single crystals for fast timing applications. Full article

Based on the previously screened high-performance strain Lactobacillus LP707, this study systematically investigated the effects of its co-fermentation with yeast on properties of millet starch. By comparing starch samples from unfermented, yeast-only fermented, Lactobacillus-only fermented and co-fermented treatments, it was found that co-fermentation reduced the amylose content of millet starch to 17.45% and shifted the molecular weight distribution toward lower values. Scanning electron microscopy revealed more pronounced surface erosion features on the co-fermented starch granules. X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that co-fermentation did not alter the A-type crystalline pattern of starch; however, the short-range ordered structure ratio (1.45), relative crystallinity (20.78%), and gelatinization enthalpy (7.32 J/g) were significantly reduced, indicating dissociation of ordered structures. Pasting property analysis showed that the final viscosity and setback value of co-fermented starch decreased significantly. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of water distribution indicated an increased proportion of free water with reduced mobility in the co-fermented starch gel. In vitro digestion confirmed higher hydrolysis rates and increased rapidly digestible starch content in co-fermented starch. In summary, co-fermentation with Lactobacillus LP707 and yeast more effectively modified properties of millet starch, providing a theoretical foundation for targeted functional improvement through microbial co-fermentation technology. Full article