Search Results (369)

With the increasing application of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in multiple fields, the path planning problem has become a key challenge in the optimization domain. This paper proposes an Improved Artificial Lemming Algorithm (IALA), which incorporates three strategies: the optimal information retention strategy based on individual historical memory, the hybrid search strategy based on differential evolution operators, and the local refined search strategy based on directed neighborhood perturbation. These strategies are designed to enhance the algorithm’s global exploration and local exploitation capabilities in tackling complex optimization problems. Subsequently, comparative experiments are conducted on the CEC2017 benchmark suite across three dimensions (30D, 50D, and 100D) against eight state-of-the-art algorithms proposed in recent years, including SBOA and DBO. The results demonstrate that IALA achieves superior performance across multiple metrics, ranking first in both the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the Friedman ranking test. Analyses of convergence curves and data distributions further verify its excellent optimization performance and robustness. Finally, IALA and the comparative algorithms are applied to eight 3D UAV path planning scenarios and two amphibious UAV path planning models. In the independent repeated experiments across the eight scenarios, IALA attains the optimal performance 13 times in terms of the two metrics, Mean and Std. It also ranks first in the Monte Carlo experiments for the two amphibious UAV path planning models. Full article

This study presents an integrated decision support system (DSS) designed to optimize real-time reservoir operation during typhoons by balancing flood control and water supply. The system combines ensemble quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) from WRF/MM5 models, a physically based rainfall–runoff model (KW-GIUH), and a three-stage optimization algorithm for reservoir release decisions. Eighteen ensemble rainfall members are processed to generate 6 h inflow forecasts, which serve as inputs for determining adaptive outflow strategies that consider both storage requirements and downstream flood risks. The DSS was tested using historical typhoon events—Talim, Saola, Trami, and Kong-rey—at the Tseng-Wen Reservoir in Taiwan. Results show that the KW-GIUH model effectively reproduces hydrograph characteristics, with a coefficient of efficiency around 0.80, while the optimization algorithm successfully maintains reservoir levels near target storage, even under imperfect rainfall forecasts. The mean deviation of reservoir water levels from the recorded to the target values is less than 0.18 m. The system enhances operational flexibility by adjusting release rates according to the proposed outflow index and flood-stage classification. During major storms, the DSS effectively allocates storage space for incoming floods while maximizing water retention during recession periods. Overall, the integrated framework demonstrates strong potential to support real-time reservoir management during extreme weather conditions, thereby improving both flood mitigation and water-supply reliability. Full article

Background: Hygiene and food-safety training is a critical public health strategy for preventing contamination and promoting safe food-handling practices in community settings. This study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of In-person, Online, and Hybrid instructional modes in enhancing hygiene and food-safety competencies among trainees in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Methods: Using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design, performance was measured at 12, 24, and 36 months across four domains: Personal Health & Hygiene, Food Hazards, Cleaning and Sanitation, and Good Manufacturing Practices. A total of 384 students met all inclusion criteria and completed the full series of evaluations. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were employed. Results: Competency scores increased significantly over time in all instructional modes (p < 0.001). Hybrid learners demonstrated the highest early longitudinal gains at 12 months (mean score, M = 20.88), compared with In-person (M = 10.28) and Online (M = 10.57). At 36 months, Online learners achieved the highest performance (M = 19.50), indicating stronger long-term retention. Effect size analysis using eta squared (η²) showed large effects for Cleaning and Sanitation (η² = 0.196), Good Manufacturing Practices (η² = 0.115), and overall performance (η² = 0.138). Standardized Mean Change (SMC) indicated substantial improvement across modes, with Hybrid showing the greatest early change (SMC = 41.76 at 12 months) and Online exhibiting the strongest long-term improvement (SMC = 38.80 at 36 months). Training Efficiency Index (TEI) identified In-person instruction as most efficient (TEI = 30.55), followed by Online (29.49) and Hybrid (19.56). Linear Mixed-Effects Regression confirmed significant main effects of Time (β = 4.82, p < 0.001) and Mode (β = 3.97, p < 0.001), as well as a significant Time × Mode interaction (β = −1.42, p < 0.01). Conclusions: The findings indicate that Hybrid instruction supports rapid early competency gains, while Online instruction yields superior long-term mastery of hygiene and food-safety competencies. These results provide evidence-based guidance for optimizing hygiene training programs in community and public health contexts. Full article

Background: Among many deleterious effects on the well-being of children and youth, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a surge in youth mental health distress. This, coupled with pre-existing prolonged wait times for mental health care, highlighted the need for accessible community-based mental health supports. The Healthy Living Project (HELP) is a virtual lifestyle change support program aimed at promoting positive lifestyle changes and improved mental well-being among youth with mental distress. A pilot feasibility study explored youth engagement with HELP e-resources, and preliminary mental health and lifestyle measures over a 3-month period. Methods: Youth were enrolled in a 3-month pilot of the HELP e-resource. Feasibility metrics (recruitment, retention, and platform engagement) were documented, while exploratory self-reported data on emotional and behavioral difficulties, youth quality of life, sedentary behavior (screen time), sleep hygiene, and physical activity were assessed at baseline and 3 months. Results: Twenty-three youth (mean age 15.7 years, SD 1.7) completed baseline assessments and started the intervention, with ten participants retained by the end of the study. Compared with non-completers (n = 13), study completers (n = 10) tended to report higher quality of life and healthier habits (lower screen time, improved sleep hygiene, and higher activity). Ongoing access to HELP over 3 months was associated with suggestive trends toward improvement in emotional and behavioral difficulties and sleep hygiene. Engaged participants who received screen time education tended to report lower screen times as compared to unengaged counterparts. Conclusions: This study provides early insights into the implementation and acceptability of HELP e-resources among youth experiencing mental distress, with suggestive trends toward potential benefit. Low recruitment and high attrition preclude definitive conclusions, and the findings should be interpreted as exploratory. Lessons from this pilot will inform the design of a subsequent trial to more rigorously evaluate feasibility and the potential impact of HELP on youth with mental distress. Full article

Offensive-language detection systems that perform well at a given point in time often degrade as linguistic patterns evolve, particularly in dialectal Arabic social media, where new terms emerge and familiar expressions shift in meaning. This study investigates temporal linguistic drift in Saudi-dialect offensive-language detection through a systematic evaluation of continual-learning approaches. Building on the Saudi Offensive Dialect (SOD) dataset, we designed test scenarios incorporating newly introduced offensive terms, context-shifting expressions, and varying proportions of historical data to assess both adaptation and knowledge retention. Eight continual-learning configurations—Experience Replay (ER), Elastic Weight Consolidation (EWC), Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA), and their combinations—were evaluated across five test scenarios. Results show that models without continual-learning experience a 13.4-percentage-point decline in F1-macro on evolved patterns. In our experiments, Experience Replay achieved a relatively favorable balance, maintaining 0.812 F1-macro on historical data and 0.976 on contemporary patterns (KR = −0.035; AG = +0.264), though with increased memory and training time. EWC showed moderate retention (KR = −0.052) with comparable adaptation (AG = +0.255). On the SimuReal test set—designed with realistic class imbalance and only 5% drift terms—ER achieved 0.842 and EWC achieved 0.833, compared to the original model’s 0.817, representing modest improvements under realistic conditions. LoRA-based methods showed lower adaptation in our experiments, likely reflecting the specific LoRA configuration used in this study. Further investigation with alternative settings is warranted. Full article

The aim of this study was to accurately meet the demand of real-time detection of seedling shortage in large-scale seedling production and solve the problems of low precision of traditional models and insufficient adaptability of mainstream lightweight models. This study proposed a Light-YOLO-Pepper seedling shortage detection model based on the improvement of YOLOv8n. This model was based on YOLOv8n. The SE (Squeeze-and-Excitation) attention module was introduced to dynamically suppress the interference of the nutrient soil background and enhance the features of the seedling shortage area. Depth-separable convolution (DSConv) was used to replace the traditional convolution, which can reduce computational redundancy while retaining core features. Based on K- means clustering, customized anchor boxes were generated to adapt to the hole sizes of 72-unit (large size) and 128-unit (small size and high-density) seedling trays. The results show that the overall mAP@0.5, accuracy and recall rate of Light-YOLO-Pepper model were 93.6 ± 0.5%, 94.6 ± 0.4% and 93.2 ± 0.6%, which were 3.3%, 3.1%, and 3.4% higher than YOLOv8n model, respectively. The parameter size of the Light-YOLO-Pepper model was only 1.82 M, the calculation cost was 3.2 G FLOPs, and the reasoning speeds with regard to the GPU and CPU were 168.4 FPS and 28.9 FPS, respectively. The Light-YOLO-Pepper model was superior to the mainstream model in terms of its lightweight and real-time performance. The precision difference between the two seedlings was only 1.2%, and the precision retention rate in high-density scenes was 98.73%. This model achieves the best balance of detection accuracy, lightweight performance, and scene adaptability, and can efficiently meet the needs of embedded equipment and real-time detection in large-scale seedling production, providing technical support for replanting automation. Full article

Background: Eye tracking technology can be utilized to identify early markers of autism. Several neurodivergent features of social attention have been revealed by eye tracking studies in ASD toddlers. Our aim was to develop stimulus material that elicits highly distinctive gaze patterns in toddlers at low and high risk for autism as indicated by ADOS (i.e., scoring below and above the ADOS cut-off point). Additionally, we sought to identify the variables most effective in differentiating between these groups. Methods: In our research, we analyzed the data of 74 toddlers between 12 and 30 months. Children were divided into two groups based on their ADOS scores: the lower ADOS (lrADOS) group included those scoring below the ADOS cut-off point (n = 42; mean age = 22.5 ± 5.0 months), while the higher ADOS (hrADOS) group comprised children scoring above the cut-off (n = 32; mean age = 23.3 ± 4.8 months). We recorded eye gaze data during the presentation of dynamic social attention stimuli with a self-developed eye tracking device. We used two types of social attention stimuli: joint attention (ostensive) and preferential looking paradigm. We analyzed the area of interest based on the gaze–time ratio. To ensure sufficient robustness, we selected gaze retention interval (GRI) variables characterized by broader spatial and temporal parameters compared to traditional fixation-based measures. Results: As anticipated, we observed significant differences between the two groups across most variables. Typically, within the preferential paradigm, the distinct indicators of the social domain were higher on average in the lrADOS group compared to the hrADOS group, while the non-social domain exhibited the opposite trend. The results of correlations with ADOS scores indicated that the social ratio in the preferential paradigm exhibited the strongest negative correlation. Notably, there were higher effect sizes within the hrADOS group in comparison to the lrADOS group when correlation with ADOS scores was tested separately for each group. Conclusions: We developed stimulus materials and eye tracking variables that, thanks to their robustness, appear promising even when dealing with noisy eye tracking data typical of young children. In the preferential paradigm, beyond AOI ratio measures, GRI variables show promise in distinguishing between toddler groups with higher vs. lower ADOS scores. Furthermore, they may be related to severity based on their marked and significant correlations with ADOS scores. Especially when used in combination, these variables appear well-suited to capturing characteristics indicative of an elevated likelihood of autism. Full article

Background/Objectives: The utility of routine gastric tube (GT) placement following gastrectomy in gastric cancer (GC) patients with pyloric obstruction remains controversial. This practice conflicts with Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) principles, and its value in this high-risk subgroup is unclear. This study aimed to compare the clinical and economic outcomes of routine versus selective gastric tube use in these patients, and to identify predictors for prolonged gastric tube retention. Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted on 133 GC patients with pyloric obstruction who underwent gastrectomy. Patients were stratified into GT (n = 63) and non-GT (n = 70) groups. Primary outcomes included 30-day complications, 90-day mortality, hospitalization duration, and costs. Univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to identify predictors of prolonged GT retention. Results: Routine GT use provided no clinical benefit, with similar 30-day complication (22.2% vs. 22.9%, p = 0.945) and 90-day mortality (1.6% vs. 0%, p = 0.290) rates. However, it was associated with a significantly prolonged postoperative hospital stay (8.8 ± 2.5 vs. 8.0 ± 4.2 days, p = 0.034) and a mean cost increase of ¥5900 per patient (p = 0.006). A dose–response relationship was evident: each additional day of GT retention correlated with 0.57 extra hospital days (r = 0.567, p < 0.001) and ¥3600 in added costs (r = 0.360, p = 0.004). Multivariable analysis identified longer preoperative fasting time (Adjusted HR = 1.27 per hour, 95% CI: 1.10–1.45, p = 0.001) and GLIM-defined malnutrition (Adjusted HR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.02–4.17, p = 0.045) as independent predictors for prolonged GT retention. Conclusions: Routine GT placement after gastrectomy in obstructed GC patients increases healthcare costs and prolongs hospitalization without improving clinical outcomes. Preoperative fasting duration and nutritional status are key predictors for prolonged GT need. A selective GT strategy, guided by these parameters, is recommended to optimize recovery and resource utilization, aligning with ERAS principles. Full article

Background: Lidocaine, classified as an amide-type agent, and tetracaine, designated as an ester-type agent, are frequently co-formulated for dermatologic procedures. Despite the extensive literature on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of these substances, there is a paucity of head-to-head comparisons of intravenous (IV) and topical administration in the same preclinical model. Absolute bioavailability (F%) is imperative for optimizing formulation design and safety. Methods: A single-dose, single-sequence, three-period pilot study was performed in male Göttingen mini-pigs. The first period of the study involved the intravenous bolus administration of lidocaine HCl and tetracaine HCl, with a dosage of 1 mg/kg for each agent. In Period 2, the topical application of Pliaglis (a combination of 7% lidocaine and 7% tetracaine, with a concentration of 10 g/100 cm² and a duration of 60 min) was utilized. In Period 3, the pharmacokinetic profile of Z4T4L4 (a formulation comprising 4% lidocaine HCl and 4% tetracaine HCl) was assessed under the same experimental conditions. Blood samples were collected up to 24 h after the administration of the drug; skin biopsies were obtained 90 min after the application of the test substance. Plasma and skin concentrations were measured by means of validated liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). PK parameters were derived using a noncompartmental analysis approach, while F% was calculated through AUC comparison with IV dosing. Results: Subsequent to intravenous administration, the mean elimination half-lives of lidocaine and tetracaine were determined to be 1.62 h and 1.85 h, respectively. Pliaglis demonstrated higher skin concentrations of lidocaine (358 μg/g) and tetracaine (465 μg/g) compared to Z4T4L4 (33.6 μg/g and 46.1 μg/g, respectively). Despite lower skin levels, Z4T4L4 produced higher F% (lidocaine: 1.98% vs. 1.41%; tetracaine: 3.34% vs. 1.26%). The time to maximum plasma concentration (T_max) for lidocaine was found to be 2–4 h (Pliaglis) and 2–8 h (Z4T4L4), while for tetracaine, it was 1–8 h (Pliaglis) and 2–8 h (Z4T4L4). Conclusions: In this preliminary study, which included three subjects, Z4T4L4 exhibited a numerical tendency towards increased systemic bioavailability in comparison with Pliaglis. This observation was noted despite the fact that Z4T4L4 resulted in markedly lower skin concentrations. Due to the exploratory nature of the pilot study (n = 3), observed differences are reported as numerical trends. The data suggest that Z4T4L4 may enhance systemic absorption while reducing skin retention, highlighting a potential formulation-dependent dissociation between local concentration and systemic bioavailability. These preliminary findings provide in vivo evidence of a divergence between eutectic-based tissue retention and enhancer-driven systemic flux. This highlights that formulation design fundamentally dictates the safety profile of local anesthetics, necessitating a balance between local efficacy and systemic safety. Full article

Memory function is susceptible to decline with age, stress, and neurological diseases, highlighting the importance of exploring effective and sustainable strategies to enhance memory consolidation. Epinephrine plays a key role in memory consolidation; acute, moderate elevations enhance memory, while chronic high levels are inhibitory. Given the limitations of pharmacological interventions, this study aims to investigate exercise as a non-pharmacological means to promote post-learning memory consolidation by inducing acute epinephrine release, focusing on its mechanisms and optimized implementation strategies. This narrative review systematically reviews evidence from neurophysiology, molecular biology, and behavioral experiments and finds that exercise can safely and controllably activate the sympathetic–adrenal system, leading to a rapid rise in epinephrine. The release kinetics align highly with the critical time window for memory consolidation. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise implemented within 30 min post-learning can significantly improve memory retention. The mechanisms involve not only epinephrine enhancing synaptic plasticity and LTP by activating hippocampal β-adrenergic receptors, but also synergistic effects across multiple systems, such as promoting osteocalcin signaling, upregulating BDNF expression, inducing neurogenesis, and optimizing cerebral metabolism and blood flow. Evidence suggests that exercise, as a non-pharmacological intervention, significantly enhances post-learning memory consolidation through the precise modulation of epinephrine release and multi-system synergy, offering both high efficacy and safety. Future research should focus on developing precise exercise prescriptions based on individual characteristics and leveraging wearable devices and digital technologies to improve intervention adherence and applicability, promoting its widespread use in educational and clinical settings. Full article

Supervised ECG-based sleep apnea detection typically depends on large and fully annotated datasets, yet the rarity and cost of labeling apneic events often lead to substantial annotation scarcity in practice. This study provides a controlled evaluation of how such scarcity degrades classification performance and, as a key contribution, investigates whether a constrained, morphology-preserving ECG augmentation framework can compensate for reduced apnea-label availability. Using the PhysioNet Apnea–ECG dataset, we simulated seven levels of label retention ($r=5$–$100\%$) and trained a lightweight CNN–BiLSTM model under both subject-dependent (SD) and subject-independent (SI) five-fold protocols. Offline augmentation was applied only to apnea segments and consisted of simple, physiologically motivated time-domain perturbations designed to retain realistic cardiac and respiratory dynamics. Across both evaluation settings, augmentation substantially mitigated performance loss in the low- and mid-scarcity regimes. Under SI evaluation, the mean F1-score improved from 0.57 to 0.72 at $r=5\%$ and from 0.63 to 0.76 at $r=10\%$, with scores at $r=10$–$40\%$ (0.75–0.77) approaching the full-label baseline of 0.79. Temporal and spectral analyses confirmed preservation of P–QRS–T morphology and respiratory modulation without distortion. These results demonstrate that simple and interpretable ECG augmentations provide an effective and reproducible baseline for data-efficient apnea screening and offer a practical path toward scalable annotation and robust single-lead deployment under label scarcity. Full article

Although intensified flotation cells have been introduced as fast-kinetic and plug-flow-type flotation machines, there is limited empirical verification and information about their fluid flow patterns and dispersion regimes. The present communication paper investigates this for an Imhoflot^TM G-06 cell operated in an open-circuit mode using an impulse method to measure and model the residence time of a liquid–gas system. For experimental measurements, a concentrated KCl solution was employed, and water conductivity was monitored for 20 min. By fitting several relevant models, such as large and small tanks in series (LSTS), Weller, N-Mixer, and perfect mixer, to the experimental data, it was revealed that the N-Mixer represented the dispersion pattern the best (N = 1.3–1.6). Further, the obtained practical mean retention time (MRT) of 4.11 ± 0.16 min was somewhat aligned with the theoretical value, i.e., 5.0 min per pass, indicating a back-calculated gas hold-up magnitude of 18%–22% in the separator. These results provide an in-depth perception of scale-up procedures and requirements for cell modification. Full article

Soil conservation technologies are widely studied for their effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) preservation, yet their impact on the composition of soil organic matter (SOM) remains underinvestigated. This study evaluated the effects of two non-inversion tillage systems, MP and NT, on agro-physical and chemical properties and SOM composition (including water-extractable matter) in Haplic Chernozem Pachic. After 12 years, non-inversion tillage showed no significant differences in SOC, WEOC, and soil structure condition compared to MP. Only NT treatment distinctly enhanced the coefficient of soil structuring (K_str) and mean diameter of water-stable aggregates (MWD_WSA), by 1.5 and 2 times, respectively. Differences in SOM composition were clearly pronounced between treatments in the 0–10 cm layer. Non-inversion tillage favored microbial-derived stable SOM, whereas NT enriched SOM with fresh plant material. Our findings revealed that non-inversion tillage shifts the composition of SOM toward recalcitrant components even more than MP due to limited fresh OM input and enhanced mineralization of unprotected SOM during tillage. This poses carbon loss risks. Periodic moldboard plowing may be a way to improve carbon retention in non-inversion tillage, as it allows plant residues to be incorporated into the soil profile and replenish organic matter. Full article

The study was conducted to determine the apparent total tract digestibility, the rate of digesta passage, growth performance, and physicochemical properties of the digesta of Windsnyer pigs fed on increasing levels of potato hash silage. Diets were formulated to contain 0, 80, 160, 240, 320, and 400 g potato hash silage/kg of diet. Pigs were randomly assigned to six diets according to a completely randomised design. Six pigs were allocated to each dietary treatment. All diets were blended with chromic oxide (Cr₂O₃) to calculate apparent total tract digestibility and rate of passage. Pigs were fed diets containing different levels of potato hash silage for 5 d, following 7 d of adaptation. Thereafter, pigs were subjected to a 35-day growth performance experiment. Thirty-six pigs were slaughtered and eviscerated to determine digesta characteristics and gut compartment weights. There was a positive correlation (p < 0.05) between mean retention time and each of digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein. There was a quadratic increase (p < 0.05) in digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, fibre and feed intake as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. Average daily gain and gain-to-feed ratio decreased linearly (p < 0.05) in pigs as levels of potato hash silage increased. The swelling capacity (SWC) of the digesta from ileum decreased linearly (p < 0.05) as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. The SWC of the digesta from the caecum increased linearly (p < 0.05) as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. The water holding capacity (WHC) of the stomach digesta decreased linearly (p < 0.05) as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. The WHC of the digesta from the ileum and caecum displayed negative quadratic responses (p < 0.05) as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. The WHC of digesta from the proximal colon showed a linear decline (p < 0.05) as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. The WHC of digesta from the distal colon increased linearly (p < 0.05) as dietary levels of potato hash silage increased. The results indicated that Windsnyer pigs can effectively utilise potato hash silage in diets until the 240 g/kg inclusion level beyond which total tract digestibility and feed intake are compromised. Full article

Accurate suction control underpins thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) characterization of unsaturated soils, yet conventional polyethylene-glycol (PEG) osmotic methods suffer from membrane degradation, polymer intrusion, and marked temperature sensitivity. This study evaluates a potassium-neutralized poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) hydrogel (PP) as a high-suction osmotic medium for water-retention testing of compacted kaolin using a sealed cell with a grade-42 filter paper separator (no semi-permeable membrane). The water-activity–suction relation of PP was calibrated with a chilled-mirror hygrometer (WP4C) over the high-suction domain, and temperature effects were assessed between 20–30 °C. The PP imposed stable target suctions across the practical engineering range, with cross-validation to WP4C of R² ≈ 0.985 and RMSE ≈ 0.09 MPa, and exhibited modest thermal sensitivity (~2–3% per 10 °C). Mass–time records showed a two-regime equilibration (rapid first-day moisture loss then slowing to asymptote), with time to 95% equilibrium t₉₅ ≈ 3–7 days depending on suction, and equilibrium within ~2 weeks under a normalized mass change, ${\displaystyle \frac{1}{m}}\left|{\displaystyle \frac{∆m}{∆t}}\right|<{\displaystyle \frac{0.1\%}{24h}}$ criterion. The resulting kaolin water-retention curves are smooth soil moisture factor (SMF) reproducible, and exhibited minor wetting–drying hysteresis (~20–25% gap at matched suctions). Collectively, the results indicate that PP provides a practical, membrane-free (in the semi-permeable sense) and accurate means to control high-range suction for unsaturated soil testing, showing only modest suction variations within the tested 20–30 °C range, while mitigating long-standing PEG limitations and simplifying laboratory workflows. Full article