Search Results (41)

Background/Objectives: Blunt cardiac injury (BCI) is a severe medical condition that may arise as a result of various traumas, including motor vehicle accidents and falls. The main objective of this study was to explore the role and underlying mechanisms of the TRPV4 gene in BCI. Elucidating the function of TRPV4 in BCI may reveal potential novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of this condition. Methods: Rats in each group, including the SD control group (SDCON), the SD blunt-trauma group (SDBT), the TRPV4 gene-knockout control group (KOCON), and the TRPV4 gene-knockout blunt-trauma group (KOBT), were all freely dropped from a fixed height with a weight of 200 g and struck in the left chest with a certain energy, causing BCI. After the experiment, the levels of serum IL-6 and IL-1β were detected to evaluate the inflammatory response. The myocardial tissue structure was observed by HE staining. In addition, cardiac transcriptome analysis was conducted to identify differentially expressed genes, and metabolomics studies were carried out using UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS technology to analyze metabolites. The results of transcriptomics and metabolomics were verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Results: Compared with the SDCON group, the levels of serum IL-6 and IL-1β in the SDBT group were significantly increased (p < 0.001), while the levels of serum IL-6 and IL-1β in the KOBT group were significantly decreased (p < 0.001), indicating that the deletion of the TRPV4 gene alleviated the inflammation induced by BCI. HE staining showed that myocardial tissue injury was severe in the SDBT group, while myocardial tissue structure abnormalities were mild in the KOBT group. Transcriptome analysis revealed that there were 1045 upregulated genes and 643 downregulated genes in the KOBT group. These genes were enriched in pathways related to inflammation, apoptosis, and tissue repair, such as p53, apoptosis, AMPK, PPAR, and other signaling pathways. Metabolomics studies have found that TRPV4 regulates nucleotide metabolism, amino-acid metabolism, biotin metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, fructose and mannose metabolism, etc., in myocardial tissue. The combined analysis of metabolic and transcriptional data reveals that tryptophan metabolism and the protein digestion and absorption pathway may be the key mechanisms. The qRT-PCR results corroborated the expression of key genes identified in the transcriptome sequencing, while Western blot analysis validated the protein expression levels of pivotal regulators within the p53 and AMPK signaling pathways. Conclusions: Overall, the deletion of the TRPV4 gene effectively alleviates cardiac injury by reducing inflammation and tissue damage. These findings suggest that TRPV4 may become a new therapeutic target for BCI, providing new insights for future therapeutic strategies. Full article

Wild waterfowl are considered to be the reservoir of avian influenza, but their distinct annual life cycle stages and their contribution to disease dynamics are not well understood. Studies of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus have primarily focused on wintering grounds, where human and poultry densities are high year-round, compared with breeding grounds, where migratory waterfowl are more isolated. Few if any studies of avian influenza have focused on the molting stage where wild waterfowl congregate in a few selected wetlands and undergo the simultaneous molt of wing and tail feathers during a vulnerable flightless period. The molting stage may be one of the most important periods for the perpetuation of the disease in waterfowl, since during this stage, immunologically naïve young birds and adults freely intermix prior to the fall migration. Our study incorporated empirical data from virological field samplings and markings of Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides) on their breeding grounds in Mongolia in an integrated agent-based model (ABM) that included susceptible–exposed–infectious–recovered (SEIR) states. Our ABM results provided unique insights and indicated that individual movements between different molting wetlands and the transmission rate were the key predictors of HPAI perpetuation. While wetland extent was not a significant predictor of HPAI perpetuation, it had a large effect on the number of infections and associated death toll. Our results indicate that conserving undisturbed habitats for wild waterfowl during the molting stage of the breeding season could reduce the risk of HPAI transmission. Full article

Automated Compliance Checking (ACC) has emerged as a critical tool for enforcing legal regulations across various domains. This paper contributes to ongoing research in Semantic Web technologies, particularly focusing on the execution of SHACL-SPARQL rules on RDF data. The RDF, being one of the most widely used knowledge representation (KR) formats, serves as the foundation of our approach, ensuring compatibility with existing standards and enhancing interoperability. Our research enhances the aggregate and temporal aspects of ACC by addressing the limitations of traditional ACC methodologies, which often fall short in managing the nuanced temporal and aggregate requirements essential for legal reasoning. Through a case study analysis of selected regulations with aggregate and temporal facets in LI 2204, which regulates local content and participation in Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry, this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed solution in achieving these dimensions of ACC. The findings underscore the potential of Semantic Web technologies to transform ACC practices by moving towards standardized, interoperable solutions. All source codes are freely available online together with instructions to locally reproduce the simulations. Full article

To investigate the influencing factors and intrinsic relationships between potato impact force and impact damage during potato soil separation, a testing system for potato impact force was established. The impact force test system is composed of a base, a height adjustment device, a simple separation screen, a soil storage tank, an impact force sensor, and so on. By allowing potatoes to fall freely to simulate the collision process, impact force data are collected, and a high-speed camera is used to locate the impact position and analyze the degree of damage. Through the response surface analysis method, the influencing factors and laws of the impact force and impact damage during the collision process between potatoes and rods under soil and no-soil conditions were studied. The results of the response surface analysis indicate that when the screen inclination is within the range of 14.12° to 14.77°, falling height ranges from 453.83 mm to 500 mm, screen rod spacing falls within 36.50 mm to 40 mm, and the screen rod material is rubber. Potatoes can still be at a relatively low damage level when enduring a large impact force. This study has significant implications for reducing potato impact damage during harvesting, enhancing economic benefits in the potato industry, and advancing the technical level of potato harvesting equipment. In the future, based on the results of this study, further exploration can be made to optimize the design of potato harvesting equipment so as to better reduce the damage to potatoes during harvesting and subsequent processing processes and promote the sustainable development of the potato industry. Full article

Quantum and classical mechanics are fundamentally different theories, but the correspondence principle states that quantum particles behave classically in the appropriate limit. For high-energy periodic quantum systems, the emergence of the classical description should be understood in a distributional sense, i.e., the quantum probability density approaches the classical distribution when the former is coarse-grained. Following a simple reformulation of this limit in the Fourier space, in this paper, we investigate the macroscopic behavior of freely falling quantum particles. To illustrate how the method works and to fix some ideas, we first successfully apply it to the case of a particle in a box. Next, we show that, for a particle bouncing under the gravity field, in the limit of a high quantum number, the leading term of the quantum distribution corresponds to the exact classical distribution plus sub-leading corrections, which we interpret as quantum corrections at the macroscopic level. Full article

In this study, we defined screening maps for Italy that classify sites based on their potential for triggering landslides. To this end, we analyzed seismic hazard maps and hazard disaggregation results on a national scale considering four spectral periods (0.01 s, 0.2 s, 0.5 s, and 1.0 s) and three return periods (475, 975, and 2475 years). First, joint distributions of magnitude ($M$) and distance ($R$) from hazard disaggregation were analyzed by means of an innovative approach based on image processing techniques to find all modal scenarios contributing to the hazard. In order to obtain the $M$-$R$ scenarios controlling the triggering of earthquake-induced landslides at any computation node, mean and modal $M$-$R$ pairs were compared to empirical curves defining the $M$-$R$ bounds associated with landslide triggering. Three types of landslides were considered (i.e., disrupted slides and falls, coherent slides, and lateral spreads and flows). As a result, screening maps for all of Italy showing the potential for triggering landslides based on the level of seismic hazard were obtained. The maps and the related data are freely accessible. Full article

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic limited access to community fall prevention programs, thus establishing the need for virtual interventions. Herein, we describe the feasibility, effectiveness, and acceptability of a virtual, multicomponent fall prevention program (MOVing FREEly). Methods: A team of clinical falls prevention experts developed a six-week multicomponent fall prevention exercise and education class for older community-dwelling adults at risk of falling. Feasibility was measured through class attendance; effectiveness was measured through changes in performance measures, self-report of falling risk, and concern about falling; acceptability was assessed through questionnaires completed immediately upon program completion and at a three-month follow up. Results: A total of 32 patients participated in the MOVing FREEly program. Attendance for education and exercise classes on average was greater than 80% with little attrition. Patient reported reduced concern of falling, improvement in the falls efficacy scale—international (FES-I) short form, and had statistically significant improvement in 30 s sit-to-stand and single-leg balance tests. The program was well received by participants, saving them significant time and costs of travel. Conclusions: A virtual, multicomponent fall prevention program is feasible and acceptable and effective as reducing falling risk. Future studies can explore the ability of this program to reduce falling incident and injury. Full article

After finding a solution for the Hayward regular black hole (HRBH) in massive gravity, we embed the (3+1)-dimensional HRBHs both in massless and in massive gravities into (5+2)- and (6+3)-dimensional Minkowski spacetimes, respectively. Here, massive gravity denotes that a graviton acquires a mass holographically by broken momentum conservation in the HRBH. The original HRBH has no holographically added gravitons, which we call ‘massless’. Making use of newly found embedding coordinates, we obtain desired Unruh temperatures and compare them with the Hawking and local fiducial temperatures, showing that the Unruh effect for a uniformly accelerated observer in a higher-dimensional flat spacetime is equal to the Hawking effect for a fiducial observer in a black hole spacetime. We also obtain freely falling temperatures of the HRBHs in massless and massive gravities seen by freely falling observers, which remain finite even at the event horizons while becoming the Hawking temperatures in asymptotic infinity. Full article

Recently, a hypothesis providing a detailed equation for the Plantower CF_1 algorithm for PM_2.5 has been published. The hypothesis was originally validated using eight independent Plantower sensors in four PurpleAir PA-II monitors providing PM_2.5 estimates from a single site in 2020. If true, the hypothesis makes important predictions regarding PM_2.5 measurements using CF_1. Therefore, we test the hypothesis using 18 Plantower sensors from four datasets from two sites in later years (2021–2023). The four general models from these datasets agreed to within 10% with the original model. A competing algorithm known as “pm2.5 alt” has been published and is freely available on the PurpleAir API site. The accuracy, precision, and limit of detection for the two algorithms are compared. The CF_1 algorithm overestimates PM_2.5 by about 60–70% compared to two calibrated PurpleAir monitors using the pm2.5 alt algorithm. A requirement that the two sensors in a single monitor agree to within 20% was met by 85–99% of the data using the pm2.5 alt algorithm, but by only 22–74% of the data using the CF_1 algorithm. The limit of detection (LOD) of the CF_1 algorithm was about 10 times the LOD of the pm2.5 alt algorithm, resulting in 71% of the CF_1 data falling below the LOD, compared to 1 % for the pm2.5 alt algorithm. Full article

Land-use maps are thematic materials reflecting the current situation, geographical diversity, and classification of land use and are an important scientific foundation that can assist decision-makers in adjusting land-use structures, agricultural zoning, regional planning, and territorial improvement according to local conditions. Spectral reflectance and radar signatures of time series are important in distinguishing land-use types. However, their impact on the accuracy of land-use mapping and decision making remains unclear. Also, the many spatial and temporal heterogeneous landscapes in southern Xinjiang limit the accuracy of existing land-use classification products. Therefore, our objective herein is to develop reliable land-use products for the highly heterogeneous environment of the southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region using the freely available public Sentinel image datasets. Specifically, to determine the effect of temporal features on classification, several classification scenarios with different temporal features were developed using multi-temporal Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and terrain data in order to assess the importance, contribution, and impact of different temporal features (spectral and radar) on land-use classification models and determine the optimal time for land-use classification. Furthermore, to determine the optimal method and parameters suitable for local land-use classification research, we evaluated and compared the performance of three decision-tree-related classifiers (classification and regression tree, random forest, and gradient tree boost) with respect to classifying land use. Yielding the highest average overall accuracy (95%), kappa (95%), and F₁ score (98%), we determined that the gradient tree boost model was the most suitable for land-use classification. Of the four individual periods, the image features in autumn (25 September to 5 November) were the most accurate for all three classifiers in relation to identifying land-use classes. The results also show that the inclusion of multi-temporal image features consistently improves the classification of land-use products, with pre-summer (28 May–20 June) images providing the most significant improvement (the average OA, kappa, and F₁ score of all the classifiers were improved by 6%, 7%, and 3%, respectively) and fall images the least (the average OA, kappa, and F₁ score of all the classifiers were improved by 2%, 3%, and 2%, respectively). Overall, these analyses of how classifiers and image features affect land-use maps provide a reference for similar land-use classifications in highly heterogeneous areas. Moreover, these products are designed to describe the highly heterogeneous environments in the study area, for example, identifying pear trees that affect local economic development, and allow for the accurate mapping of alpine wetlands in the northwest. Full article

A class of exact (non-perturbative) models of strong gravitational waves based on Shapovalov type III spacetimes and Einstein’s vacuum equations is obtained. Exact solutions are found for the trajectories of particles and radiation in a gravitational wave in privileged coordinate systems. Exact solutions are obtained for the equations of geodesic deviation and tidal acceleration of particles in a gravitational wave in privileged coordinate systems. An explicit analytical law of transition from a privileged coordinate system to a synchronous reference system associated with a freely falling observer with an explicit selection of time and spatial coordinates is obtained. An explicit form of the metric of a gravitational wave in a synchronous frame of reference is obtained. For a synchronous frame of reference, the trajectories of particles and radiation, the deviation of geodesics, and tidal accelerations in a gravitational wave are obtained. The presented methods and approaches are applicable both to Einstein’s general theory of relativity and to modified theories of gravity. Full article

The re-deposition of detached dust during online pulse-jet cleaning is an important issue encountered during filter regeneration. To reduce dust re-deposition, multi-pulsing jet cleaning schemes were designed and experimentally tested. A pilot-scale pulse-jet cleaning dust collector was built with one vertically installed pleated filter cartridge. The effects of pulse duration and interval on the pulse pressure were tested, and the dust re-deposition rate and mechanism were studied and analyzed. It was found that, for the single-pulsing jet, the pulse duration had a critical value of approximately 0.080 s in this test, above which the pulse pressure remained at approximately 0.75 kPa and did not increase further. For the multi-pulsing jet with a small pulse interval (less than approximately 0.10 s), the pulse flows superimposed and reached a higher pulse pressure with a slight inhibition of dust re-deposition. For the multi-pulsing jet with a long pulse interval (over 0.15 s), dust re-deposition was clearly inhibited. The re-deposition rate decreased from 63.8% in the single-pulsing scheme to 24.4% in the multi (five)-pulsing scheme with the same total pulse duration of 0.400 s. The multi-pulsing scheme lengthens the duration of reverse pulse flow, resulting in more elapsed time for the detached dust to freely fall, and inhibiting the re-deposition of dust. The elapsed time in the five-pulsing jet scheme with the recommended pulse duration of 0.080 s and interval of 0.25 s was 2.8 times higher than that of the single-pulsing jet with the same total pulse duration. Full article

In recent years, the air-drop launch technology of near-space UAVs has attracted much attention. Between downfall from the carrier and the flight control system’s initiation, the UAV presents free-fall movement. This free-fall process is very important for the control effect of the flight control system and is also crucial for the safety of the UAV and the carrier. Focus is required on two important dynamic parameters of the UAV: the moment of inertia and the center of mass position. In this paper, we used a quasi-steady model proposed by predecessors to address the flat-plate falling problem with modifications to describe the freely falling motion of the wing. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were used to simulate the free-fall movement of the wing with various parameters, and the wing release behavior was analyzed to check the quasi-steady model. Research shows that the movement characteristics of the falling wing are mostly reflected in the longitudinal plane, and the developed quasi-steady analytical model can more accurately describe the dynamic behavior of free-fall to some extent. By using CFD methods, we further investigated the aerodynamic performance of the free-fall wing. The results show that the wing mainly presents tumbling and fluttering motion. Changing the moment of inertia around the tumbling axis changes the tumbling frequency and the time point as the wing enters tumbling. In contrast, changing the position of the center of mass significantly changes the form of falling and makes the free-fall motion more complex. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully configure the center of mass in the UAV design process. Full article

Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (chemobrain) and muscle wasting (cachexia) are persisting side effects which adversely affect the quality of life of cancer survivors. We therefore investigated the efficacy of physical exercise as a non-pharmacological intervention to reverse the adverse effects of chemotherapy. We examined whether physical exercise in terms of voluntary wheel running could prevent chemotherapy-induced cognitive and motor impairments in mice treated with the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib. Adult male BALB/c mice were subdivided into runner and non-runner groups and orally administered with sorafenib (60 mg/kg) or vehicle continuously for four weeks. Mice could freely access the running wheel anytime during sorafenib or vehicle treatment. We found that sorafenib treatment reduced body weight gain (% of change, vehicle: 3.28 ± 3.29, sorafenib: −9.24 ± 1.52, p = 0.0004), impaired hippocampal-dependent spatial memory in the Y maze (exploration index, vehicle: 35.57 ± 11.38%, sorafenib: −29.62 ± 7.90%, p < 0.0001), increased anhedonia-like behaviour in the sucrose preference test (sucrose preference, vehicle: 66.57 ± 3.52%, sorafenib: 44.54 ± 4.25%, p = 0.0005) and impaired motor skill acquisition in rotarod test (latency to fall on day 1: 37.87 ± 8.05 and day 2: 37.22 ± 12.26 s, p > 0.05) but did not induce muscle wasting or reduce grip strength. Concomitant voluntary running reduced anhedonia-like behaviour (sucrose preference, sedentary: 44.54 ± 4.25%, runners: 59.33 ± 4.02%, p = 0.0357), restored impairment in motor skill acquisition (latency to fall on day 1: 50.85 ± 15.45 and day 2: 168.50 ± 37.08 s, p = 0.0004), but failed to rescue spatial memory deficit. Immunostaining results revealed that sorafenib treatment did not affect the number of proliferating cells and immature neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), whereas running significantly increased cell proliferation in both vehicle- (total Ki-67⁺ cells, sedentary: 16,687.34 ± 72.63, exercise: 3320.03 ± 182.57, p < 0.0001) and sorafenib-treated mice (Ki-67⁺ cells in the ventral DG, sedentary: 688.82.34 ± 38.16, exercise: 979.53 ± 73.88, p < 0.0400). Our results suggest that spatial memory impairment and anhedonia-like behaviour precede the presence of muscle wasting, and these behavioural deficits are independent of the changes in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Running effectively prevents body weight loss, improves motor skill acquisition and reduces anhedonia-like behaviour associated with increased proliferating cells and immature neurons in DG. Taken together, they support physical exercise rehabilitation as an effective strategy to prevent chemotherapy side effects in terms of mood dysregulation and motor deficit. Full article

The unmanned aerial–underwater vehicle (UAUV) is a new type of vehicle that can fly in the air and cruise in water and is expected to cross the free water surface several times to perform continuous uninterrupted observation and sampling. To analyze the hydrodynamic and motion characteristics of the vehicle, the whole water-entry process of a multi-degree-of-freedom UAUV with various velocity and pitch angle was investigated through a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method. The computational domain was meshed by trimmer cells. The relative movement between the vehicle and fluid domain was simulated using moving reference frame overset mesh to delineate the interaction region around vehicle body. To reduce the computational cost, adaptive mesh refinement and adaptive time-stepping strategy were used to capture the slamming pressure accurately with reasonable computational effort. First, convergence study is considered. Simulations of the vehicle with various initial velocities and different pitch angles were performed. The variable physical properties were analyzed, and detailed results through the time-varying force and velocity were shown. Initial velocity and pitch angle are found to significantly influence hydrodynamic behavior, including the time-varying force, while thickness ratio has a great impact on added mass and pressure. The results show that higher entry velocity results in greater peak vertical force. The transverse hydrodynamic characteristics for oblique water entry of the vehicle with varies pith angle are quite different. Full article