Search Results (1,499)

Background and Objectives: Posterior chamber phakic implantable contact lenses (Phakic-ICL) are widely used for refractive correction due to their efficacy and safety, including minimal corneal endothelial cell loss. The Collamer-based EVO+ Visian implantable contact lens (ICL), manufactured from Collamer, which is a blend of collagen and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), has demonstrated excellent long-term biocompatibility and optical clarity. Recently, hydrophilic acrylic Phakic-ICLs, such as the Implantable Phakic Contact Lens (IPCL), have been introduced. This study investigated the material differences among Phakic-ICLs and their interaction with fibronectin (FN), which has been reported to adhere to intraocular lens (IOL) surfaces following implantation. The aim was to compare Collamer, IPCL, and LENTIS lenses (used as control) in terms of FN distribution and cell adhesion using a small number of explanted Phakic-ICLs. Materials and Methods: Three lens types were analyzed: a Collamer Phakic-ICL (EVO+ Visian ICL), a hydrophilic acrylic IPCL, and a hydrophilic acrylic phakic-IOL (LENTIS). FN distribution and cell adhesion were evaluated across different regions of each lens. An in vitro FN-coating experiment was conducted to assess its effect on cell adhesion. Results: All lenses demonstrated minimal FN deposition and cellular adhesion in the central optical zone. A thin FN film was observed on the haptics of Collamer lenses, while FN adhesion was weaker or absent on IPCL and LENTIS surfaces. Following FN coating, Collamer lenses supported more uniform FN film formation; however, this did not significantly enhance cell adhesion. Conclusions: Collamer, which contains collagen, promotes FN film formation. Although FN film formation was enhanced, the low cell-adhesive properties of HEMA resulted in minimal cell adhesion even with FN presence. This characteristic may contribute to the long-term transparency and biocompatibility observed clinically. In contrast, hydrophilic acrylic materials used in IPCL and LENTIS demonstrated limited FN interaction. These material differences may influence extracellular matrix protein deposition and biocompatibility in clinical settings, warranting further investigation. Full article

This study presents the development and validation of an AI-based system for detecting chainsaw sounds, integrated into a fixed-wing VTOL UAV. The system employs a convolutional neural network trained on log-mel spectrograms derived from four sound classes: chainsaw, music, electric drill, and human voices. Initial validation was performed through ground testing. Acoustic data acquisition is optimized during cruise flight, when wing-mounted motors are shut down and the rear motor operates at 40–60% capacity, significantly reducing noise interference. To address residual motor noise, a preprocessing module was developed using reference recordings obtained in an anechoic chamber. Two configurations were tested to capture the motor’s acoustic profile by changing the UAV’s orientation relative to the fixed microphone. The embedded system processes incoming audio in real time, enabling low-latency classification without data transmission. Field experiments confirmed the model’s high precision and robustness under varying flight and environmental conditions. Results validate the feasibility of real-time, onboard acoustic event detection using spectrogram-based deep learning on UAV platforms, and support its applicability for scalable aerial monitoring tasks. Full article

Ozone pollution decreases rice yield and quality in general, but how ozone stress changes grain-filling capacity is unclear. A chamber experiment was conducted to compare the effects of ozone exposure during the rice growth season on the grain-filling capacity and quality of spikelets located on the upper primary rachis (superior spikelets, SS) and the lower secondary rachis (inferior spikelets, IS). Ozone stress significantly decreased filled grain percentage by 41.4% and grain mass by 10.2% in IS, but had little effect on grain-filling capacity in SS. Consistent with the reduction in grain mass, ozone stress decreased grain volume, mainly due to reduced grain thickness, and IS was reduced more than SS. After removing the hull, brown rice obtained from ozone treatment exhibited higher proportions of immature and abnormal kernels, resulting in a substantially lower proportion of perfect kernels. Under ozone stress, the proportion of perfect kernels was only one-third in IS, compared with two-thirds in SS. Ozone stress affected the pasting properties of brown rice for both SS and IS, as shown by the decreased amylose content, and the increased maximum viscosity, minimum viscosity, final viscosity, setback, and peak time of the rapid visco analyzer profile. Out of fourteen traits related to nutritional quality of brown rice, only five showed significant increases under ozone stress, and they were the concentrations of albumin, prolamin, sulfur, copper, and manganese. The differential ozone responses between SS and IS were rather small for rice pasting properties and chemical compositions as shown by very few significant interactions between ozone and grain position. It is concluded that ozone stress during plant growth imposed more adverse effects on IS than SS in terms of grain-filling capacity and appearance quality, suggesting an enlarged asynchronous grain-filling pattern in rice panicles under ozone pollution. Strategies to improve the grain-filling capacity of IS are needed to mitigate ozone-induced damage to rice production. Full article

In this article, we present an overview of our investigations on the formation and behavior of space charge structures in an argon discharge plasma on gridded and smooth spherical hollow electrodes with and without orifices. Four experiments are described, in which we have used the following: (1) one spherical gridded sphere with one orifice, (2) one hollow smooth stainless steel sphere with two opposing orifices, (3) two smooth polished stainless steel spherical electrodes without orifices, (4) two smooth polished stainless steel spherical electrodes with opposing orifices. The experiments were conducted at the University of Innsbruck in a stainless steel cylindrical chamber (the former Innsbruck DP machine—IDP), and at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi (Romania) in a Pyrex Vacuum Chamber (PCH). As diagnostics, we have used mainly optical emission spectroscopy to determine electron temperature and density. Full article

Mabroom dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are recognized as one of the most important crops in Qatar. Fresh fruit dates are susceptible to mould and post-harvest spoilage, resulting in a significant financial loss. Octanoic fatty acid (OFA) has been shown to regulate the growth of mould-causing organisms such as fungi and bacteria. It is known to have antibacterial properties. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the in vitro effect of OFA on the post-harvest pathogens of Mabroom fruits. Fresh, apparently healthy, and fully ripe Mabroom dates were obtained from the National Agriculture and Food Corporation (NAFCO). The chosen fruits were packed in sterile, well-ventilated plastic boxes and transported to the lab under controlled conditions. The fruits were distributed into five groups (G1 to G5). The groups G1, G2, and G3 received 1%, 2%, and 3.5% OFA, respectively, while G4 was left untreated and G5 was washed only with tap water as a positive control treatment. Each group contained 200 g of fresh and healthy semi-soft dates. The samples were then dried and incubated in a humidity chamber at 25 °C ± 2 for seven days. The signs and symptoms of decay were monitored and recorded. The presence of pathogens was confirmed via phenotypic and microscopic-based methods. The results showed a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) among the groups. OFA at 3.5% had the strongest inhibitory action against post-harvest pathogens, followed by OFA2%. However, there were no differences (p ≤ 0.05) between OFA1% and the control groups. Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Rhizopus spp., and Botrytis spp. were most abundant in the control group, followed by OFA2% and OFA1%, respectively. In conclusion, octanoic fatty acid at 3.5% may improve the quality of date fruits through its high antimicrobial activity, reduce the effect of post-harvest decay, minimize the loss of date fruits during storage, and improve the sustainability of date fruits. Further experiments are necessary to confirm the effectiveness of OFA as a green solution for sustainable date fruit production. Full article

In precision cotton seeding, the toothed-disk precision seeder often experiences issues with missed seeding and multiple seeding. To promptly detect and address these abnormal seeding conditions, this study develops a modular photoelectric sensing monitoring system. Initially, the monitoring time window is divided using the capacitance sensing signal between two seed drop ports. Concurrently, a photoelectric monitoring circuit is designed to convert the time when seeds block the sensor into a level signal. Subsequently, threshold segmentation is performed on the time when seeds block the photoelectric path under different seeding states. The proposed spatiotemporal joint counting algorithm identifies, in real time, the threshold type of the photoelectric sensor’s output signal within the current monitoring time window, enabling the differentiation of seeding states and the recording of data. Additionally, an STM32 micro-controller serves as the core of the signal acquisition circuit, sending collected data to the PC terminal via serial port communication. The graphical display interface, designed with LVGL (Light and Versatile Graphics Library), updates the seeding monitoring information in real time. Compared to photoelectric monitoring algorithms that detect seed pickup at the seed metering disc, the monitoring node in this study is positioned posteriorly within the seed guide chamber. Consequently, the differentiation between single seeding and multiple seeding is achieved with greater accuracy by the spatiotemporal joint counting algorithm, thereby enhancing the monitoring precision of the system. Field test results indicate that the system’s average accuracy for single-seeding monitoring is 97.30%, for missed-seeding monitoring is 96.48%, and for multiple-seeding monitoring is 96.47%. The average probability of system misjudgment is 3.25%. These outcomes suggest that the proposed modular photoelectric sensing monitoring system can meet the monitoring requirements of precision cotton seeding at various seeding speeds. Full article

Aerosol uniformity in the mixing chamber is one of the key factors in evaluating performance of aerosol samplers and accuracy of aerosol monitors which could output the direct reading of particle size or concentration. For obtaining high uniformity and a stable test aerosol sample during evaluation, a portable mixing chamber, where the sample and clean air were dual-vortex turbulent mixed, was designed. By using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle motion within the mixing chamber was illustrated or explained. By adjusting critical structure parameters of chamber such as height and diameter, the flow field structure was optimized to improve particle mixing characteristics. Accordingly, a novel portable aerosol mixing chamber with length and inner diameter of 0.7 m and 60 mm was developed. Through a combination of simulations and experiments, the operating conditions, including working flow rate, ratio of carrier/dilution clean air, and mixture duration, were studied. Finally, by using the optimized parameters, a mixing chamber with high spatial uniformity where variation is less than 4% was obtained for aerosol particles ranging from 0.3 μm to 10 μm. Based on this chamber, a standardized testing platform was established to verify the sampling efficiency of aerosol samplers with high flow rate (28.3 L·min⁻¹). The obtained results were consistent with the reference values in the sampler’s manual, confirming the reliability of the evaluation system. The testing platform developed in this study can provide test aerosol particles ranging from sub-micrometers to micrometers and has significant engineering applications, such as atmospheric pollution monitoring and occupational health assessment. Full article

Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) is an important cool-season turfgrass species widely used for golf course putting greens; however, it experiences a summer stress-induced quality decline in the U.S. transition zone and other regions with similar climates. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of five amino acid biostimulants on creeping bentgrass drought and heat stress tolerance. The five biostimulants, including Superbia, Amino Pro V, Siapton, Benvireo, and Surety, at the rate of 0.22 g of N m⁻², were applied biweekly to foliage, and the treatments were arranged in a randomized block design with four replications and were subjected to 56 days of heat and drought stress in growth chamber conditions. The amino acid biostimulants Superbia and Amino Pro V improved the turf quality, photochemical efficiency (PE), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), chlorophyll content, antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase activity, root growth, and viability and suppressed leaf H₂O₂ levels when compared to a control. Among the treatments, Superbia and Amino Pro V exhibited greater beneficial effects on turf quality and physiological fitness. The results of this study suggest that foliar application of amino acid biostimulants may improve the summer stress tolerance of cool-season turfgrass species in the U.S. transition zone and other regions with similar climates. Full article

This study proposes a deep learning-based, non-contact method for detecting elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) by integrating Scheimpflug images with corneal biomechanical features. Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, requires accurate IOP monitoring for early diagnosis and effective treatment. Traditional IOP measurements are often influenced by corneal biomechanical variability, leading to inaccurate readings. To address these limitations, we present a multi-modal framework incorporating CycleGAN for data augmentation, Swin Transformer for visual feature extraction, and the Kolmogorov–Arnold Network (KAN) for efficient fusion of heterogeneous data. KAN approximates complex nonlinear relationships with fewer parameters, making it effective in small-sample scenarios with intricate variable dependencies. A diverse dataset was constructed and augmented to alleviate data scarcity and class imbalance. By combining Scheimpflug imaging with clinical parameters, the model effectively integrates multi-source information to improve high IOP prediction accuracy. Experiments on a real-world private hospital dataset show that the model achieves a diagnostic accuracy of 0.91, outperforming traditional approaches. Grad-CAM visualizations identify critical anatomical regions, such as corneal thickness and anterior chamber depth, that correlate with IOP changes. These findings underscore the role of corneal structure in IOP regulation and suggest new directions for non-invasive, biomechanics-informed IOP screening. Full article

The increasing demand for versatile and sustainable propulsion systems has intensified research into green propellants and advanced thrust modulation technologies. This study presents the development and testing of a throttleable rocket engine utilizing 98% hydrogen peroxide by mass as the oxidizer and butyl alcohol (as isomers n-butanol) as the fuel. Combining the environmental benefits of green propellants with variable thrust capabilities, the system addresses the challenges of modern space missions. Butyl alcohol was selected for its low toxicity, safety, storability, and favorable combustion performance, making it a strong candidate for future applications. The engine was designed to deliver a nominal thrust of 6 kN with the capability to throttle down to 1.2 kN. Experiments investigated the effects of pintle injector positions, supply pressures, and combustion chamber parameters on performance. Results demonstrated stable and efficient combustion across a wide operating range, highlighting the critical role of injector design and chamber geometry in ensuring consistent thrust and combustion efficiency. This research validates the potential of hydrogen peroxide and butyl alcohol as a sustainable propellant pair, particularly for planetary landers requiring precise thrust modulation for controlled descent. It marks a significant step in advancing sustainable propulsion technologies, contributing to the future of planetary exploration and interplanetary mission capabilities. Full article

Solar fuels production requires developing redox active materials with porous structures able to withstand thermochemical cycles with enhanced thermal stability under concentrated solar irradiation conditions. The mechanical performance of 3D-printed, macroporous black zirconia gyroid structures, coated with redox-active ceria, was assessed for their suitability in solar thermochemical cycles for CO₂ and H₂O splitting. Experiments were conducted using a 1.5 kW solar furnace to supply the high-temperature concentrated heat to a windowed reaction chamber to carry out thermal redox cycling under realistic on-sun conditions. The ceria coating on ceramic structures improved the thermal stability and redox efficiency while minimizing the quantity of the redox material involved. Crushing strength measurements showed that samples not directly exposed to the concentrated solar flux retained their mechanical performance after thermal cycling (~10 MPa), while those near the concentrated solar beam focus exhibited significant degradation due to thermal stresses and the formation of Ce_xZr_1−xO₂ solid solutions (~1.5 MPa). A Weibull modulus of 8.5 was estimated, marking the first report of such a parameter for fused filament fabrication (FFF)-manufactured black zirconia with gyroid architecture. Failure occurred via a damage accumulation mechanism at both micro- and macro-scales. These findings support the viability of ceria-coated cellular ceramics for scalable solar fuel production and highlight the need for optimized reactor designs. Full article

Mesoporous silicon dioxide films have been shown to be well suited as adhesion-promoting interlayers for generating high-strength polymer–metal interfaces. These films can be fabricated via microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using the precursor hexamethyldisiloxane and oxygen as working gas. The resulting mesoporous structures enable polymer infiltration during overmolding, which leads to a nanoscale form-locking mechanism after solidification. This mechanism allows for efficient stress transfer across the interface and makes the resulting adhesion highly dependent on the morphology of the deposited film. To gain a deeper understanding of the underlying deposition mechanisms and improve process stability, this work investigates the growth behavior of mesoporous silica films using a multiple regression analysis approach. The seven process parameters coating time, distance, chamber pressure, substrate temperature, flow rate, plasma pulse duration, and pause-to-pulse ratio were systematically varied within a Design of Experiments framework. The resulting films were characterized by their free surface area, mean agglomerate diameter, and film thickness using digital image analysis, white light interferometry, and atomic force microscopy. The deposited films exhibit a wide range of morphological appearances, ranging from quasi-dense to dust-like structures. As part of this research, the free surface area varied from 15 to 55 percent, the mean agglomerate diameter from 17 to 126 nm, and the film thickness from 35 to 1600 nm. The derived growth model describes the deposition process with high statistical accuracy. Furthermore, all coatings were overmolded via injection molding and subjected to mechanical testing, allowing a direct correlation between film morphology and their performance as adhesion-promoting interlayers. Full article

Offshore cranes equipped with active motion compensation (AMC) systems play a vital role in marine engineering tasks such as offshore wind turbine maintenance, subsea operations, and dynamic load positioning under wave-induced disturbances. These systems rely on complex hydraulic actuators whose strongly nonlinear dynamics—often described by differential-algebraic equations (DAEs)—impose significant computational burdens, particularly in real-time applications like hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation, digital twins, and model predictive control. To address this bottleneck, we propose a neural network-based surrogate model that approximates the actuator dynamics with high accuracy and low computational cost. By approximately reducing the original DAE model, we obtain a lower-dimensional ordinary differential equations (ODEs) representation, which serves as the foundation for training. The surrogate model includes three hidden layers, demonstrating strong fitting capabilities for the highly nonlinear characteristics of hydraulic systems. Bayesian regularization is adopted to train the surrogate model, effectively preventing overfitting. Simulation experiments verify that the surrogate model reduces the solving time by 95.33%, and the absolute pressure errors for chambers $p_1$ and $p_2$ are controlled within 0.1001 MPa and 0.0093 MPa, respectively. This efficient and scalable surrogate modeling framework possesses significant potential for integrating high-fidelity hydraulic actuator models into real-time digital and control systems for offshore applications. Full article

The elemental exchange fluxes at the sediment–water interface play a crucial role in Earth’s climate regulation, environmental change, and ecosystem dynamics. Accurate in situ measurements of these fluxes depend heavily on the performance of marine incubation devices, particularly their ability to achieve full mixing without causing sediment resuspension. This study presents a novel parameter calibration method for a marine in situ incubation device using a combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and laboratory experiments. The influence of the stirring paddle’s rotational speed on flow field distribution, complete mixing time, and sediment resus-pension was systematically analyzed. The CFD simulation results were validated against existing device data and actual experimental measurements. The deviation in complete mixing time between simulation and experiment was within −9.23% to 9.25% for 20 cm of sediment and −9.4% to 9.1% for 15 cm. The resuspension tests determined that optimal mixing without sediment disturbance occurs at rotational speeds of 25 r/min and 35 r/min for the two sediment depths, respectively. Further analysis showed that the stirring paddle effectively creates a uniform flow field within the chamber. This CFD-based calibration method provides a reliable approach to parameter tuning for various in situ devices by adjusting boundary conditions, offering a scientific foundation for device design and deployment, and introducing a new framework for future calibration efforts. Full article

The massive heavy oil reserves in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta depend on steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) for their economic exploitation. Even though SAGD has been successful in highly viscous oil recovery, it is still a costly technology because of the large energy input requirement. Large water and natural gas quantities needed for steam generation imply sizable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and extensive post-production water treatment. Several methods to make SAGD more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable have been attempted. Their main goal is to reduce steam consumption whilst maintaining favourable oil production rates and ultimate oil recovery. Oil saturation within the steam chamber plays a critical role in determining both the economic viability and resource efficiency of SAGD operations. However, accurately quantifying the residual oil saturation left behind by SAGD remains a challenge. In this experimental research, sand pack Expanding Solvent SAGD (ES-SAGD) coinjection experiments are reported in which Pentane -C₅H₁₂, and Hexane -C₆H₁₄ were utilised as an additive to steam to produce Long Lake bitumen. Each solvent is assessed at three different constant concentrations through time using experiments simulating SAGD to quantify their impact. The benefits of single-component solvent coinjection gradually diminish as the SAGD process approaches its later stages. ES-SAGD pentane coinjection offers a smaller improvement in recovery factor (RF) (4% approx.) compared to hexane (8% approx.). Between these two single-component solvents, 15 vol% hexane offered the fastest recovery. The obtained data in this research provided compelling evidence that the coinjection of solvent under carefully controlled operating conditions, reduced overall steam requirement, energy consumption, and residual oil saturation allowing proper adjustment of oil and water relative permeability curve endpoints for field pilot reservoir simulations. Full article