Search Results (232)

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate and compare maternal and fetal outcomes between pregnancies in women aged 40 and over and those in women under 40 years of age at a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Necmettin Erbakan University Medical Faculty Hospital, analyzing data from 345 women aged 40 and over and 366 women under 40 who delivered between January 2015 and December 2024. Maternal and perinatal outcomes—including mode of delivery, gestational age, birth weight, and complications such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and postpartum hemorrhage—were compared between the two groups. Results: Women aged 40 and over had significantly higher rates of cesarean section (73% vs. 36.1%, p < 0.0001), preterm delivery (27.8% vs. 18%, p = 0.002), and gestational diabetes (14.8% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.002). Additionally, these women had a higher incidence of preeclampsia (13% vs. 5.7%, p = 0.001) and postpartum hemorrhage (18% vs. 10.5%, p = 0.003). Despite these increased risks, the 5 min APGAR score was significantly higher in the ≥40 age group (median 8 vs. 7, p < 0.0001). The incidence of chromosomal abnormalities was significantly higher in patients≥ 40 years, with 5 cases (1.4%) reported, compared to no cases (0%) in the <40 age group (p = 0.025). Conclusions: This study shows that pregnancies in women aged 40 and above carry higher maternal and fetal risks compared to younger women. Complications such as preterm labor, cesarean delivery, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia occur more frequently in this group. However, with careful prenatal care, positive neonatal outcomes are often achievable, highlighting the need for age-specific management and early risk detection. Full article

Background/Objectives: Recent changes in obstetric practices and population demographics have prompted a re-evaluation of labor patterns. This study aimed to characterize labor patterns in a Greek pregnant population using ultrasound and compare them with established labor curves. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at the Third Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, over a two-year period (December 2022 to June 2024). Transabdominal ultrasound was used to determine the fetal head position and transperineal ultrasound was used to measure angle of progression (AoP) and head–perineum distance (HPD) during labor. Maternal and labor characteristics, including body mass index (BMI), parity, labor duration, and mode of delivery, were recorded. Statistical analysis included mixed linear models to assess the relationship between AoP, HPD, and cervical dilatation. Results: In total, 500 parturients were included in this study. Women entered the active phase of labor approximately 5 h before delivery, with AoP increasing sharply and HPD decreasing rapidly at this point. Cesarean section (CS) cases showed a slower increase in AoP compared to vaginal deliveries (VDs), with CS cases having a mean AoP of 117.9° (95% CI: 111.6–124.2°) at full dilation, compared to 133.4° (95% CI: 130.6–136.2°) in VD. HPD values declined more slowly in CS cases, with a mean HPD of 45.1 mm (95% CI: 40.6–49.6 mm) at full dilation, compared to 36.4 mm (95% CI: 34.3–38.5 mm) in VD. Epidural analgesia was associated with steeper increases in AoP and decreases in HPD in the final 2.5 h before delivery, while oxytocin administration accelerated these changes in the last 3–4 h. The mean time to delivery was 3.19 h (95% CI: 2.80–3.59 h) when AoP reached 125° and 3.92 h when HPD was 40 mm (95% CI: 3.53–4.30 h). BMI in women who gave birth via CS was significantly higher compared to VD (32.03 vs. 29.94 kg/m², p-value: 0.008), and the total duration of labor was shorter in VD compared to CS and operative vaginal delivery (OVD) (8 h vs. 15 h, p-value < 0.001 and 8 h vs. 12 h, p-value < 0.001, respectively). Birthweight was also lower in VD compared to CS (3103.09 g vs. 3267.88 g, p-value: 0.05). Conclusions: This study provides the first ultrasonographic characterization of labor patterns in a Greek population, highlighting the utility of ultrasound in objectively assessing labor progression. Full article

Background: Physical exercise during pregnancy is strongly recommended due to its well-established benefits for both mother and child. However, its impact on the pelvic floor remains insufficiently studied. This study aimed to evaluate pelvic floor adaptations to a structured prenatal exercise program using transperineal ultrasound, and to assess associations with the duration of the second stage of labor and mode of delivery. Methods: This is a planned secondary analysis of a randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) (NCT04563065) including women with singleton pregnancies at 12–14 weeks of gestation. Participants were randomized to either an exercise group, which followed a supervised physical exercise program three times per week, or a control group, which received standard antenatal care. Transperineal ultrasound was used at the second trimester of pregnancy and six months postpartum to measure urogenital hiatus dimensions at rest, during maximal pelvic floor contraction, and during the Valsalva maneuver, to calculate hiatal contractility and distensibility and to evaluate levator ani muscle insertion. Regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between urogenital hiatus measurements and both duration of the second stage of labor and mode of delivery. Results: A total of 78 participants were included in the final analysis: 41 in the control group and 37 in the exercise group. The anteroposterior diameter of the urogenital hiatus at rest was significantly smaller in the exercise group compared to controls (4.60 mm [SD 0.62] vs. 4.91 mm [SD 0.76]; p = 0.049). No other statistically significant differences were observed in static measurements. However, contractility was significantly reduced in the exercise group for both the latero-lateral diameter (8.54% vs. 4.04%; p = 0.012) and hiatus area (20.15% vs. 12.55%; p = 0.020). Distensibility was similar between groups. There were no significant differences in the duration of the second stage of labor or mode of delivery. Six months after delivery, there was an absolute risk reduction of 32.5% of levator ani muscle avulsion in the exercise group compared to the control group (53.3% and 20.8%, respectively; p = 0.009). Conclusions: A supervised exercise program during pregnancy appears to modify pelvic floor morphology and function, reducing the incidence of levator ani muscle avulsion without affecting the type or duration of delivery. These findings support the safety and potential protective role of prenatal exercise in maintaining pelvic floor integrity. Full article

The agricultural products trade network is essentially a complex adaptive system formed by nonlinear interactions between countries. Based on the complex system theory, this study reveals the dynamic self-organization law of the RCEP regional agricultural products trade network by using the panel data of RCEP agricultural products export trade from 2000 to 2023, combining social network analysis (SNA) and the temporal exponential random graph model (TERGM). The results show the following: (1) The RCEP agricultural products trade network presents a “core-edge” hierarchical structure, with China as the core hub to drive regional resource integration and ASEAN countries developing into secondary core nodes to deepen collaborative dependence. (2) The “China-ASEAN-Japan-Korea “riangle trade structure is formed under the RCEP framework, and the network has the characteristics of a “small world”. The leading mode of South–South trade promotes the regional economic order to shift from the traditional vertical division of labor to multiple coordination. (3) The evolution of trade network system is driven by multiple factors: endogenous reciprocity and network expansion are the core structural driving forces; synergistic optimization of supply and demand matching between economic and financial development to promote system upgrading; geographical proximity and cultural convergence effectively reduce transaction costs and enhance system connectivity, but geographical distance is still the key system constraint that restricts the integration of marginal countries. This study provides a systematic and scientific analytical framework for understanding the resilience mechanism and structural evolution of regional agricultural trade networks under global shocks. Full article

Background and Objectives: For many patients, the induction-to-delivery interval is shorter with Propess than with Prostin E2. However, some patients also require Prostin E2 to sufficiently boost their dinoprostone levels to achieve cervical change and vaginal delivery. In this study, we compared the efficacy of different timings of Prostin E2 administration after Propess use. Materials and Methods: This single-institution retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 2020 and August 2023. The inclusion criterion was an unfavorable cervix (Bishop score ≤ 6) after Propess use for 8 h. We divided the patients into three groups based on the addition of Prostin E2 at the 8th (group 1), 12th (group 2), and 24th (group 3) hour after Propess insertion. The primary outcome was the cesarean section rate. The secondary outcomes were the induction-to-birth interval, Bishop score at 24 h, neonatal outcomes, and the predictors of labor induction duration. Results: A total of 63 patients were analyzed across three groups based on the timing of Prostin E2 administration (8, 12, and 24 h). The gestational age differed significantly between groups (p < 0.001), with the highest age being observed in the 24 h group. The 8 h group had the shortest induction-to-birth interval (p < 0.001) and the highest Bishop scores after 24 h of Propess use (p < 0.001). Blood loss was lowest in the 12 h group (p = 0.027). No significant differences were found in relation to the mode of birth, tachysystole, neonatal birth weight, or Apgar scores. A multivariable analysis identified gestational age (β = 3.33; p = 0.015) and Bishop score after 24 h of PGE2 (β = −1.99; p < 0.001) as being independent predictors of labor duration. Conclusions: administering Prostin E2 to patients who had a poor response after Propess use was safe; additionally, adding it at the 8th hour after Propess initiation could result in a shorter induction-to-birth interval. Full article

This paper aims to enhance operational efficiency in the labor-intensive production of composite wind turbine blades, which are critical components of renewable energy systems. The study was conducted at a wind energy facility in Türkiye, integrating the Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) methodology with a Multi-Mode Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (MRCPSP) model to reduce production cycle time and optimize labor utilization. An operational time analysis was used to identify and classify non-value-adding activities. SMED principles were then adapted to the fixed-position manufacturing environment, enabling the conversion of internal setup activities into external ones and facilitating task parallelization. These improvements significantly increased productivity and labor efficiency. Subsequently, a scheduling model was developed to optimize the sequence of operations while accounting for activity precedence and resource constraints. As a result, the proposed approach reduced cycle time by 28.6% and increased average labor utilization from 68% to 87%. Scenario analyses confirmed the robustness of the model under varying levels of workforce availability. The findings demonstrate that integrating lean manufacturing techniques with optimization-based scheduling can yield substantial efficiency gains without requiring major capital investment. Moreover, the proposed approach offers practical insights into workforce planning and production scheduling in renewable energy manufacturing environments. Full article

The quality of machined marine propellers plays a critical role in underwater propulsion performance. Precision casting is the predominant manufacturing technique; however, deformation of wax models and rough blanks during manufacturing frequently cause deviations in the dimensions of final products and, thus, affect propellers’ performance and service life. Current inspection methods primarily involve using coordinate measuring machines and sampling. This approach is time-consuming, has high labor costs, and cannot monitor manufacturing quality in real-time. This study developed a real-time online automated measurement system containing a high-resolution CITIZEN displacement sensor, a four-degree-of-freedom measurement platform, and programmable logic controller-based motion control technology to enable rapid, automated measurement of blade deformation across the wax model, rough blank, and final product processing stages. The measurement data are transmitted in real time to a cloud database. Tests conducted on a standardized platform and real propeller blades confirmed that the system consistently achieved measurement accuracy to the second decimal place under the continual measurement mode. The system also demonstrated excellent repeatability and stability. Furthermore, the continuous measurement mode outperformed the single-point measurement mode. Overall, the developed system effectively reduces labor requirements, shortens measurement times, and enables real-time monitoring of process variation. These capabilities underscore its strong potential for application in the smart manufacturing and quality control of marine propellers. Full article

This study investigates the complex dynamics of new-type urbanization in resource-based county-level cities, using Wuan City in Hebei Province, China, as a representative case. As China pursues a high-quality development agenda, cities historically dependent on resource extraction face profound challenges in achieving sustainable and inclusive urban growth. This research employs a multi-method approach—including Theil index analysis, industrial shift-share analysis, a Cobb–Douglas production function model, and a composite urbanization index—to quantitatively diagnose the constraints on Wuan’s development and assess its transformation efforts. Our empirical results reveal a multifaceted situation: while the urban–rural income gap has narrowed, rural income streams remain fragile. The shift-share analysis indicates that although Wuan’s traditional industries have regained competitiveness, the city’s economic structure is still burdened by a persistent negative structural component, hindering diversification. Furthermore, the economy exhibits characteristics of a labor-intensive growth model with inefficient capital deployment. These underlying issues are reflected in a comprehensive urbanization index that, after a period of rapid growth, has recently stagnated, signaling the exhaustion of the city’s traditional development mode. In response, Wuan attempts an “industrial transformation-driven new-type urbanization” path. This study details the three core strategies being implemented: (1) incremental population urbanization through development at the urban fringe and in industrial zones; (2) in situ urbanization of the existing rural population; and (3) the cultivation of specialized “characteristic small towns” to create new, diversified economic nodes. The findings from Wuan offer critical, actionable lessons for other resource-dependent regions. The case demonstrates that successful urban transformation requires not only industrial upgrading but also integrated, spatially aware planning and robust institutional support. We conclude that while Wuan’s model provides a valuable reference, its strategies must be adapted to local contexts, emphasizing the universal importance of institutional innovation, human capital investment, and a people-centered approach to achieving resilient and high-quality urbanization. Full article

The harvesting of castor is highly seasonal and labor-intensive, necessitating a reliance on mature mechanical harvesting equipment. Castor harvesting machinery is a weak link in the castor industry chain, severely constraining the development of China’s castor industry. This article elaborates on the current status of the castor industry and the harvesting modes, which mainly include combined harvesting and segmented harvesting. It systematically summarizes the harvesting platforms, cleaning technologies, and shelling technologies of castor harvesting machinery in China and internationally. It analyzes the main structural forms and working principles of the harvesting platforms of castor harvesters. The cleaning technologies and different types of shelling technologies of harvesters are also analyzed and summarized. Finally, this article identifies the existing problems in castor harvesting in China and provides an outlook on future development trends. It suggests that China’s castor cultivation will strengthen the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy, while harvesting will develop in the direction of combined harvesting. In the future, the focus will be on the development of high-efficiency harvesting, specialized low-loss shelling machines, and breakthroughs in key core technologies to promote the development of mechanized castor harvesting technology in China. Full article

This study presents an innovative hybrid geothermal air conditioning system that combines conventional air-based heat exchange with ground heat exchange technology. The system features a ground heat exchanger placed downstream from the outdoor unit heat exchanger, requiring minimal modifications to conventional air conditioners through the addition of bypass flow paths and a four-way valve. This design ensures that the ground heat exchanger consistently operates after the outdoor unit heat exchanger in both cooling and heating modes. The researchers evaluated the proposed system’s performance through both computational simulation (1D-CAE) and experimental testing. Simulation results demonstrated significant efficiency improvements, with the hybrid system achieving a coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.51 compared to just 1.24 for conventional air conditioners under extreme temperature conditions (38 °C). The experimental validation with a shallow-buried (20 cm) ground heat exchanger confirmed an approximately 20% COP improvement across various ambient temperatures. The main advantages of this hybrid system over conventional geothermal systems include reduced installation costs due to shorter borehole lengths, separate air conditioning units and underground piping, and compatibility with existing control systems. The design addresses skilled labor shortages while enabling large-scale demonstration operations with minimal initial investment. Future work will focus on optimizing the burial depth and conducting long-term durability testing to advance practical implementation. Full article

Free trade zone (FTZ) policies and port integration play critical roles in advancing international shipping and port development. While Free trade zones (FTZs) promote trade liberalization and attract investment to support port infrastructure, port integration helps alleviate excessive competition, reduce redundant labor, and minimize resource inefficiencies. Given these dynamics, it is important to examine how FTZs and port integration differentially shape shipping capacity and port competitiveness across China’s coastal provinces. To this end, this study introduces a comprehensive evaluation framework for port competitiveness, which considers both port operation–related factors and the external environment. The framework employs a combination of principal component analysis and the entropy weight method to assess port competitiveness in coastal regions. The findings reveal that comprehensive port service capacity and management efficiency capacity have the most significant influence on port competitiveness, outweighing the impact of other evaluated indicators. It also reveals that the development of China’s coastal ports is regionally unbalanced, with strong competitiveness in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Bohai Rim clusters, moderate development in the southeastern cluster, and relatively weak performance in the Beibu Gulf cluster. Both FTZ and port integration policies can promote port competitiveness to some extent, especially for professional technical support and services, digital management, and overall management efficiency. The dynamics of port competitiveness under the FTZs are higher than those under port integration. The research results deepen the understanding of the roles of FTZ and port integration policies in promoting the competitiveness of ports in various regions and provide insights for ports to seize opportunities and enhance development. The reinforcement of industrial synergies with neighboring regions and the formation of complementary development patterns enhance their overall competitiveness. Exploring new modes aligned with the advancement of FTZs and port integration can further stimulate regional economic development and support national opening-up strategies. Full article

Monitoring the blast furnace shaft static pressure is crucial for maintaining a stable ironmaking process. Traditional rule-based methods and manual inspections suffer from high labor costs and inconsistent standards. This article proposes a new unsupervised anomaly detection framework that combines adversarial autoencoder with variational mode decomposition (VMD). Firstly, using VMD combined with sample entropy calculation and clustering algorithm, the trend, period, and other components of multidimensional signals are extracted, and then these components are integrated into an improved adversarial training autoencoder to detect global and local anomalies. The proposed method has an accuracy of 0.95, a recall rate of 0.91, and an F1 score of 0.93. Which demonstrates the method effectively captures multi-scale anomalies including value bias, morphological changes, and sudden fluctuations, while providing analysts with interpretable anomaly detail diagnosis. Full article

With the rapid development of e-commerce, warehousing and logistics systems are facing the dual challenges of increasing order processing demand and green and low-carbon transformation. Traditional manual and single-robot scheduling methods are not only limited in efficiency, but will also make it difficult to meet the strategic needs of sustainable development due to their high energy consumption and resource redundancy. Therefore, in order to respond to the sustainable development goals of green logistics and resource optimization, this paper replaces the traditional mobile handling robot in warehousing and logistics with a composite robot composed of a mobile chassis and a robotic arm, which reduces energy consumption and labor costs by reducing manual intervention and improving the level of automation. Based on the traditional contract net protocol framework, a distributed task allocation strategy optimization method based on an improved genetic algorithm is proposed. This framework achieves real-time optimization of the robot task list and enhances the rationality of the task allocation strategy. By combining the improved genetic algorithm with the contract net protocol, multi-robot multi-task allocation is realized. The experimental results show that the improvement strategy can effectively support the transformation of the warehousing and logistics system to a low-carbon and intelligent sustainable development mode while improving the rationality of task allocation. Full article

Concentration gradient generation plays a pivotal role in advancing applications across drug screening, chemical synthesis, and biomolecular studies, yet conventional methods remain constrained by labor-intensive workflows, limited throughput, and inflexible gradient control. This study presents a novel multilayer microfluidic chip leveraging shear flow-driven partitioning–recombination mechanisms to enable the flexible and high-throughput generation of concentration gradient droplets. The chip integrates interactive upper and lower polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers, where sequential fluid distribution and recombination are achieved through circular and radial channels while shear forces from the oil phase induce droplet formation. Numerical simulations validated the dynamic pressure-driven concentration gradient formation, demonstrating linear gradient profiles across multiple outlets under varied flow conditions. The experimental results revealed that the shear flow mode significantly enhances mixing uniformity and droplet generation efficiency compared to continuous flow operations, attributed to intensified interfacial interactions within contraction–expansion serpentine channels. By modulating hydrodynamic parameters such as aqueous- and oil-phase flow rates, this system achieved tunable gradient slopes and droplet sizes, underscoring the intrinsic relationship between flow dynamics and gradient formation. The proposed device eliminates reliance on complex channel networks, offering a compact and scalable platform for parallelized gradient generation. This work provides a robust framework for optimizing microfluidic-based concentration gradient systems, with broad implications for high-throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry, and precision biomolecular assays. Full article

Portuguese society has evolved and transformed, and with it, social models: family structures have changed, with smaller households replacing the traditional nuclear family; labor models have shifted, with a significant increase in telecommuting and a surge of digital nomadism; and consumption patterns have altered, with some domestic activities being transferred from the home to the city. In light of these transformations, this article proposes a critical examination of housing models developed in Lisbon over recent decades, comparing them with dwellings built since the mid-20th century. Through selected case studies, it questions the adequacy of contemporary housing programs in addressing present-day social structures and living patterns. Methodologically, the paper firstly proposes an analysis of Portuguese social models and their transformation through census data and social sciences studies, followed by a critical review of contemporary urban housing models through spatial analysis of selected urban dwellings of the last 70 years, through the redrawing and visual comparison of the plans. The study adopts a spatial analysis of representative collective dwellings built in Lisbon since the 1950s, chosen for their prevalence, sectoral diversity, data availability, and the city’s central role in Portuguese housing development and research. The research concludes that there has been a perpetuation of anachronistic dwelling models in Lisbon, limiting adaptability to diverse living modes, and suggests a new approach to dwelling design, promoting undetermined and ambiguous spatial configurations that allow for greater adaptability to an evolving society, changing practices, and living arrangements. Full article