Search Results (11,701)

Conventional multispectral photodetectors typically rely on multiple electrical terminals to discriminate different wavelengths, which inevitably increases structural complexity. Here, we break this paradigm by demonstrating a dual-color visible–infrared photodetector based on a simple two-terminal Au/MoS₂/Te heterostructure. The device operates through a bias-switching mechanism: reversing the voltage polarity selectively activates either the MoS₂/Au Schottky junction for visible-light detection (520 nm) or the Te/MoS₂ heterojunction for infrared detection (1550 nm). This bias-controlled wavelength selectivity is unambiguously verified by scanning photocurrent mapping. Beyond dual-color discrimination, an adaptive convolutional neural network is employed to decode the nonlinear current–voltage characteristics and enable precise spectral identification, achieving a reconstruction error of approximately 4.5%. Furthermore, high-fidelity dual-color imaging is demonstrated at room temperature. These results establish a hardware–algorithm co-design strategy based on a minimalist two-terminal architecture, providing a viable route toward compact and intelligent spectral-sensing systems. Full article

Cognitive impairment is a prevalent non-motor manifestation of Parkinson’s disease (PD), yet early detection remains limited by the sensitivity of conventional cognitive assessments. Emerging evidence suggests that motor dysfunction, particularly gait and balance abnormalities, reflects underlying cognitive vulnerability. This study examined motor–cognitive associations and evaluated whether motor-derived features can be used to classify low-MoCA status in PD without direct cognitive testing. Data from 102 individuals with PD were analyzed, incorporating clinical assessments, physical function measures, lifestyle factors, and gait-derived biomarkers. Multiple regression identified Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part III, stride length of the more affected side during 360° turning at preferred speed, and maximum ankle jerk on the less affected side during forward walking as independent predictors of Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, collectively explaining 34.7% of the variance. Network analysis revealed integrative relationships among global motor severity, gait smoothness, and cognitive performance. Using a compact motor-based feature set, logistic regression achieved a mean accuracy of 65.8% and an AUC of 0.737 in classifying low-MoCA status under cross-validation. These findings demonstrate that motor-derived digital biomarkers capture clinically meaningful information about cognitive status in PD and may serve as adjunctive tools for identifying cognitive vulnerability in clinical settings. Full article

The present study examined the interactions between the structure, microstructure and mechanical properties of CrMnFeCoNi, CrMnFeCoNiV_0.5 and CrMnFeCoNiMo_0.5 High-Entropy Alloys (HEAs). Starting from elemental powders, the HEAs were obtained by high-energy ball milling, followed by vacuum annealing at 1373 K for 1 h. After milling, a binary FCC-BCC solid solution was formed; the samples showed hardness values ranging from 800 to 973 HV. Evidence shows that annealing HEAs reduced the solubility of V and Mo in the alloys’ FCC structure. Additionally, the Cr content in the FCC phase also decreases. The carbon derived from the decomposition of the process control agent was trapped in the interstices of the HEA structure during mechanical alloying. This amount of carbon is sufficient to form carbides during annealing. The thermodynamic stability of the precursor elements in HEAs is a determining factor in M_xC_y-type formation. The hardness response of HEAs was associated with the HEAs’ structure, while the elastic modulus was affected by their microstructure. Full article

High-strength stainless steels are essential materials for critical load-bearing aerospace components, and solution treatment serves as a core process governing their strength–toughness balance. However, in novel multi-element alloy systems, the complex dissolution behavior of precipitates and its underlying mechanisms affecting matrix phase transformations require further investigation. This study systematically explores the thermodynamic evolution and microstructural response of a novel Fe-Ni-Cr-Mo-Al-Ti ultra-high-strength stainless steel during solution treatment. The research highlights how solution temperature drives Laves phase dissolution, controls prior austenite grain growth, redistributes local chemical elements, and dictates retained austenite stability. By establishing the relationship between microstructural features and macroscopic properties, this study aims to provide crucial theoretical guidance for optimizing heat treatment protocols to achieve superior comprehensive mechanical properties in advanced high-strength stainless steels. Full article

TiO₂ is normally a preferred photocatalyst; however, its photocatalytic performance is constrained by its low surface area, wide band gap, and high electron–hole pair recombination rates. The objective of this study was to optimize the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO₂ by impregnating it onto activated carbon derived from Senegalia mellifera biomass. The quantitative study involved synthesizing TiO₂ using the precipitation technique and preparing AC through both chemical and physical activation methods. The prepared AC samples were impregnated with TiO₂ NPs using the wet impregnation method. The physicochemical properties of the samples were examined using several characterization techniques, namely, FTIR, EDS, Raman, UV reflectance, STA, SEM, and BET. The photocatalytic efficiency of AC/TiO₂ composites was evaluated through methyl orange degradation. The results showed significant improvement in photocatalytic performance when TiO₂ was supported on AC. The modified photocatalyst exhibited enhanced surface area, thus increased active sites for photocatalysis, improving electron–hole separation and reducing recombination. The 50%CO₂/AC-0.5TiO₂ composite demonstrated superior photocatalytic activity under both UV and visible light irradiation. It showed 52.1% MO removal under visible light and 76.1% MO removal under UV light. The study concludes that biomass-derived AC/TiO₂ composites present a promising, cost-effective and sustainable approach of enhancing photocatalytic activities. Full article

Ultrahigh lateral resolution (UHLR) optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, also called optical coherence microscopy (OCM), has gained popularity, especially in the field of biomedical imaging. In these systems, high numerical aperture (NA) Microscope objectives (MO) are employed in OCM systems to offer better than 3 µm lateral resolution. However, in the implemented broadband OCM configuration, the use of complex multi-element microscope objectives can reduce the detected returned signal compared with a simpler imaging lens configuration. This reduction in detected returned signals can become an important practical limitation in many OCM applications, particularly for biomedical imaging when high imaging speed is crucial. This study investigates whether a single off-the-shelf lens can provide a practical alternative to conventional MOs, achieving higher throughput while maintaining reasonable spatial resolution. We systematically evaluated 14 commercial lenses using Zemax OpticStudio simulations, identifying an aspherized achromatic lens (Edmund Optics #85302) that best met these key criteria. To validate its feasibility for OCM, performance was tested in both Full-Field Time-Domain OCM (FF-TD-OCM) and Line-Field Spectral-Domain OCM (LF-SD-OCM) configurations. Using a broadband composite Superluminescent Diode (SLD) source (750–920 nm), we quantified the resolvable features, axial resolution, and overall light transmission. The validated system demonstrated near-diffraction-limited performance. In the LF-SD-OCM setup, it successfully resolved features as fine as Group 8, Element 6, corresponding to a 2.2 µm line pair pitch (~1.1 µm line width) and achieved a 2.86 µm axial resolution in air. A through-focus comparison further showed practically useful contrast retention around focus. Additional imaging of onion epidermal tissue and ex vivo porcine corneal tissue demonstrated that the proposed lens could provide interpretable structural images on representative biological samples. Under the tested LF-SD-OCM detection configuration, the selected lens delivered approximately 2.0 dB higher returned signal than the Mitutoyo MY10X-823 objective according to 1.59× larger received signal. Full article

Background: Improper disposal of unused and expired medicines represents an environmental and public health concern. In Romania, Law No. 269/2023 assigned the responsibility for collecting household pharmaceutical waste to public and private hospitals, while operational procedures were further detailed in the Ministry of Health (MoH) Instruction No. 6226/2024. Objectives: This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to the disposal of unused and expired medicines among the general public and community pharmacy staff during the early phase of implementation of the hospital-based medicine take-back system in Romania. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted between 1 and 31 August 2023. Two structured questionnaires were administered: one targeting the general public/patients and another addressing community pharmacy staff. Data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages. Several items allowed multiple responses. Results: Among public respondents (n = 108; predominantly male, 90.7%; urban, 75.0%), household waste disposal was the most frequently reported method (58.3%), followed by pharmacy return (43.5%). Willingness to use a dedicated collection system was very high (96.3%). Among pharmacy staff (n = 71; predominantly female, 78.9%; urban, 74.6%), 40.8% reported no collection activity; where collection occurred, it was typically on demand. Disposal routes included transfer to specialized waste companies (56.3%) and regulated destruction (43.7%). Only 1.4% of pharmacies offered incentives, while 45.4% of the public indicated discounts could motivate returns. Conclusions: Findings indicate an implementation and communication gap during the transition to a hospital-based pharmaceutical waste collection system. Strengthening public communication on official collection points and providing clearer operational guidance may support safer disposal practices. Full article

In the context of the One Health approach, this study assessed the environmental and human health risks posed by 21 chemical elements in soil and in food products (bee pollen, honey, and orange fruits). Data were collected from three cultivated and one uncultivated field, considering the agricultural practices employed. Findings revealed higher metal concentrations in the uncultivated field: Zn > Fe > Pb > Co > Cr > Mn > Ni > Al > Mo > P > B. No significant differences were noted for Ca, Cd, Cu, Sb, Se, and U. The geo-accumulation index indicated moderate Cu accumulation in cultivated fields. Only Hg in uncultivated soil poses a considerable risk at the 95th percentile. Orange fruits showed the lowest metal concentration, whereas bee pollen displayed the highest. In this last product, some elements are present at levels up to 10 times those in other food items, primarily Al, Fe, Zn, and Mn. The hazard quotient for non-genotoxic effects was below 1, indicating low concern. In terms of cancer risk, the levels of Pb and Cd were acceptable, while Ni in beehive products and orange fruits posed a moderate risk. Full article

Docker systems are gaining widespread use due to their consistency, scalability, and ease of application portability, which addresses specific security challenges. Traditional monitoring and intrusion detection systems based on predefined rules often struggle with advanced attack patterns due to a lack of the capability to correlate incoming log messages. This paper proposes a correlation-aware log analysis approach based on a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) large language models, enabling detection of malicious activity by analyzing both individual log entries and their contextual relationships within sequences of logs. The system processes each log in the context of 50 preceding messages, allowing identification of attack patterns that are not observable from isolated logs. To evaluate the approach, we generated a comprehensive dataset based on OWASP Top 10 attack scenarios, enriched with zero-day attacks such as Log4j and React2Shell, deployed in a distributed Docker Swarm environment. Multiple LLMs were evaluated under identical hardware conditions to ensure fair comparison. Experimental results demonstrate that while most models achieve comparable performance on single-log detection, significant differences emerge in contextual analysis. The proposed MoE-based approach demonstrates superior effectiveness, achieving an F1 score from 0.993 to 0.998 for contextual-log analysis. The contribution of this research is the novel use of MoE LLMs for log analysis, the distinct novel attack log dataset, and the unique framework based on offline technology that conserves hardware resources and data privacy. Full article

Background and Objectives: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are found to have a higher risk of dental diseases. Although herbal medicines (HMs) have long been used to treat various conditions, few studies focus on its impact on dental diseases. In this longitudinal cohort study, we assessed the correlation between HM use and risk of dental diseases in RA groups. Materials and Methods: A total of 2359 persons with RA aged 20–80 who were free of dental diseases between 2001 and 2010 were retrospectively enrolled from nationwide register-based data. They were then classified into HMs and non-HMs groups based on whether they ever used combined HMs after RA onset. Incidence rate and hazard ratios (HRs) of dental diseases were estimated for both groups by the end of 2013 via fitting Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Incidence rate of dental disease was reported to be lower in the HMs group than in the non-HMs group (90.21 per 1000 person-years versus 106.94 per 1000 person-years, respectively). RA individuals treated with HMs showed a significantly lower risk of dental diseases, especially dental caries, pulpitis, periodontitis, and stomatitis. Among commonly prescribed formulas, eleven herbal products significantly associated with a lower risk of dental diseases, such as Hai-Piao-Xiao, Yan-Hu-Suo, Chuan-Niu-Xi, Mo-Yao, Olibanum, Bei-Mu, Mu-Gua, Gui-Zhi-Shao-Yao-Zhi-Mu-Tang, Shao-Yao-Gan-Cao-Tang, Xue-Fu-Zhu-Yu-Tang, and Ping-Wei-San. Conclusions: The addition of HMs treatment may have advantages to proactively prevent sequent risk of dental disorders for persons with rheumatic diseases. A deeper exploration focusing on pharmacological action is needed to provide more reliable evidence for the improvement of susceptible individuals’ oral hygiene. Full article

Myositis ossificans (MO) is a benign, self-limiting heterotopic ossification process that typically develops within soft tissues following trauma, although non-traumatic forms have also been described. Despite its benign nature, MO frequently represents a diagnostic challenge, particularly in its early stages when imaging findings may mimic aggressive soft-tissue tumors, leading to unnecessary biopsies or surgical interventions. This narrative review provides an updated overview of the classification, pathophysiology, and imaging features of myositis ossificans, with a specific focus on the time-dependent evolution of radiologic appearances across different imaging modalities. Radiologic findings are discussed according to disease stage, highlighting key diagnostic clues such as the zonal phenomenon and peripheral maturation pattern. In addition, the main entities included in the differential diagnosis are reviewed, with particular emphasis on imaging features that help distinguish myositis ossificans from soft-tissue sarcomas and other calcified or ossified lesions. Finally, current management strategies and the role of imaging in patient follow-up are summarized. A thorough understanding of the evolving imaging spectrum of myositis ossificans is essential for radiologists and clinicians to achieve an accurate diagnosis, guide appropriate management, and avoid overtreatment. Full article

The traditional solid-state method was employed in this study to prepare Mn-Zn ferrite. By adjusting the sintering temperature and the MoO₃ doping ratio, the evolution of its structural and magnetic properties was systematically investigated. Fe₂O₃, MnO, and ZnO were used as the main raw materials, with MoO₃ serving as an additive. MoO₃ was doped at molar ratios ranging from 0 to 1000 ppm under experimental conditions involving a sintering temperature between 1125 °C and 1165 °C and an oxygen concentration of 1.5%. The addition of an appropriate amount of MoO₃ led to an increase in the Q value, which consequently resulted in a reduction in the loss. The formation of a single-phase spinel structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Observations of the surface morphology revealed that the grain size also increased with the increase in MoO₃ content, a trend consistent with the enhanced grain growth kinetics at higher MoO₃ levels. In this study, a Mn-Zn ferrite material with excellent comprehensive performance was successfully prepared under the optimal conditions of a sintering temperature of 1150 °C and a MoO₃ doping concentration of 500 ppm. A Q value of 22.3 was obtained for this material at 25 °C, while a Q value of 15.7 was obtained at 100 °C. At room temperature, a Q value of 192.4 was measured at a test frequency of 500 kHz, and a Q value of 137.2 was measured at 1 MHz. At a frequency of 500 kHz, a loss of 27.1 kW/m³ was observed at 25 °C, and a loss of 53.6 kW/m³ was observed at 100 °C. At a frequency of 1 MHz, a loss of 88.2 kW/m³ was recorded at 25 °C, while a loss of 183.7 kW/m³ was recorded at 100 °C. Additionally, the lattice constant was stabilized in the range of 8.52–8.53 Å, indicating favorable structural stability. Full article

The high-speed and high-Reynolds-number conditions encountered in actual flight, coupled with the performance requirements for both low-speed climb and high-speed cruise, pose challenges for boundary-layer transition prediction and optimization in laminar design. Consequently, there are still relatively few mature and applicable high-speed laminar airfoils available. To address the insufficient validation of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models under actual high-speed and high-Reynolds-number (Re > 10⁷) flight conditions, the practical fidelity of the most commonly used $\gamma -{\tilde{R}e}_{\theta t}$ transition model as well as NASA CFL3D solver is systematically assessed based on NASA HSNLF(1)-0213 and Honda SHM-1 high-speed business jet laminar airfoils. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, since there is no available geometry data for the SHM-1 airfoil, this is the first systematic analysis of this airfoil from a perspective other than the design team. Results demonstrate that the $\gamma -{\tilde{R}e}_{\theta t}$ transition model could accurately capture natural transition and separation-induced transition at Reynolds numbers up to 16.2 × 10⁶, while also exhibiting strong robustness against variations in Mach and Reynolds number. Using the HSNLF(1)-0213 as the baseline airfoil and the design conditions of SHM-1, a multi-objective drag-reduction optimization considering climb and cruise performance was then conducted based on the Isight platform. The optimal airfoil achieves 9.53% climb drag reduction and 9.21% cruise drag reduction, revealing that aft-loading and strong favorable pressure gradients are essential to balance lift characteristics and sustain extensive laminar flow at high Reynolds numbers. Full article

Henan Province, the foremost wheat-producing region in China, frequently experiences drought stress during the wheat seedling stage. Innovating the evaluation methods for drought resistance at this stage and identifying drought-resistant varieties are crucial for the effective utilization of germplasm. This study utilized 55 wheat varieties that have been bred and promoted in Henan Province in recent years as experimental materials. A 15% PEG-6000 solution was employed to simulate drought stress, and the primary morphological indicators of seedlings, relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), and various chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were assessed. The comprehensive drought resistance scores (D values) for each variety were determined by calculating the drought resistance coefficients for each index, employing principal component analysis, and conducting membership function analysis. Based on the cluster analysis of D values, 55 varieties were categorized into four groups: high drought resistance (10), medium drought resistance (28), low drought resistance (16), and drought-sensitive (1). Seven indicators—SPAD, fresh root weight, seedling height, fresh weight of the aboveground part, Fv/Fm, PItotal, and Mo—were selected as evaluation metrics for the drought resistance of wheat through stepwise regression analysis. The comprehensive evaluation system developed in this study, which is based on morphological and photosynthetic fluorescence characteristics, can swiftly and accurately assess the drought resistance of wheat seedlings. The key indicators identified for highly drought-resistant varieties may serve as valuable references for drought-resistant wheat breeding in Henan Province. Full article

In this article, a low-power low-intermediate-frequency (Low-IF) receiver front-end is presented for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) body area network (BAN) applications. The receiver employs an input matching network, an inductorless self-biased inverter-based low-noise transconductance amplifier (LNTA), a single-balanced passive mixer, a common-gate transimpedance amplifier (TIA), and a Gm-C complex filter for image suppression. Native MOS devices are adopted to support low-voltage operation and reduce static power consumption. The interstage on-chip coupling capacitor between the RF front-end and the TIA is removed by aligning the DC operating points of the two stages. The receiver front-end is implemented in a 55 nm standard CMOS process and occupies an active area of 0.081 ${\mathrm{mm}}^2$, excluding bonding pads. Post-layout simulations show that the proposed design achieves 45.2 dB gain, 7.2 dB noise figure, and 28.1 dB image rejection ratio over the 2.4–2.48 GHz band, while consuming 537 $\mathsf{\mu }$W. The proposed front-end is suitable for low-power BLE BAN sensor nodes. Full article