Search Results (239)

The self-consistent field Poisson–Boltzmann framework is applied for analysis of equilibrium partitioning of ampholytic protein-like nanocolloids between buffer solution and weak (pH-sensitive) versus strong polyelectrolyte (polyanionic) brushes with the same net charge per unit area. The position-dependent nanocolloid net charge and the insertion freeenergy profiles are derived as a function of pH and ionic strength in the solution. It is demonstrated that, similar to strong polyelectrolyte brushes, pH-sensitive brushes are capable of the uptake of nanocolloids in the vicinity of the isoelectric point, that is, when the net charge of the colloid in the buffer has either the opposite or the same sign as the ionized monomer units of the brush. At $pI\ge p{K}_{brush}$ and $pH\ge pI$, the particle absorption patterns by similarly (negatively) charged brushes are qualitatively similar in the cases of strong and weak polyelectrolyte brushes, but the freeenergy barrier at the brush periphery is wider for weak than for strong polyelectrolyte brushes, which may cause stronger kinetic hindrance for the nanocolloid uptake by the brush. A decrease in $pH$ below the IEP leads to a monotonic increase in the depth of the insertion freeenergy minimum inside a strong polyelectrolyte brush, whereas for weak polyelectrolyte brushes, a more peculiar trend is predicted: due to competition between the increasing positive charge of the nanocolloid and the decreasing magnitude of the negative charge of the brush, the absorption is weakened at low $pH$. Full article

Meteorological reanalyses are one of the means to assess the solar irradiance reaching the ground. This paper deals with estimates of the hourly means of irradiance in clear-sky conditions provided by the ERA5, JRA-3Q, and MERRA-2 reanalyses. They are compared to coincident ground-based measurements from 28 BSRN stations located worldwide, selected by a new algorithm for detecting cloud-free instants. Although ERA5 most often underestimates measurements, it is quite reliable over time because it captures the temporal variability of measurements well and provides a constant level of uncertainty. JRA-3Q offers a complex pattern with negative and positive biases depending on station and season. It captures well the temporal variability but, as a whole, is not reliable over time. None of the three reanalyses is reliable in space. Because of its use of the mean solar time instead of the true solar time, MERRA-2 suffers many drawbacks over intraday scales. Its statistical indicators exhibit marked patterns depending on the season and station. Its assimilation of aerosol properties offers advantages when compared to the climatologies used in ERA5 and JRA-3Q. This work exposes the strengths and weaknesses of each reanalysis in clear-sky conditions and formulates suggestions to providers for further improvements. Full article

This study investigated the cognitive profiles of Italian university students with dyslexia using the WAIS-IV, comparing them to peers without specific learning disorders. Seventy-one participants took part: 36 with a diagnosis of dyslexia and 35 matched controls. While dyslexic adults showed lower Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores compared to controls, their scores remained within the average range. They showed deficits in Working Memory Index (WMI) and Processing Speed Index (PSI) but performed similarly to controls in Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI). Significant group differences also emerged in Arithmetic Reasoning, Symbol Search, and Coding subtests. Logistic regression identified WMI and PSI as the most reliable predictors of dyslexia, showing a good predictive value in discriminating between adults with and without dyslexia. Additionally, dyslexic adults displayed lower Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) scores relative to their General Ability Index (GAI), and lower FSIQ scores compared to controls. Overall, dyslexic adults exhibit a distinctive cognitive profile with strengths and weaknesses. This pattern can aid in dyslexia diagnosis, particularly in individuals who have compensated through extensive reading experience in a highly regular orthography. Full article

As global electricity demand increases and concerns over fossil fuel usage intensify, renewable energy sources have gained significant attention. Solar energy stands out due to its low installation costs and suitability for deployment. However, solar power generation remains difficult to predict because of its dependence on weather conditions and decentralized infrastructure. To address this challenge, this study proposes a flexible hybrid ensemble (FHE) framework that dynamically selects the most appropriate base model based on prediction error patterns. Unlike traditional ensemble methods that aggregate all base model outputs, the FHE employs a meta-model to leverage the strengths of individual models while mitigating their weaknesses. The FHE is evaluated using data from four solar power plants and is benchmarked against several state-of-the-art models and conventional hybrid ensemble techniques. Experimental results demonstrate that the FHE framework achieves superior predictive performance, improving the Mean Absolute Percentage Error by 30% compared to the SVR model. Moreover, the FHE model maintains high accuracy across diverse weather conditions and eliminates the need for preliminary validation of base and ensemble models, streamlining the deployment process. These findings highlight the FHE framework’s potential as a robust and scalable solution for forecasting in small-scale distributed solar power systems. Full article

This study investigates the impact of mineralogical and petrographic characteristics on the mechanical behavior of granitic and mafic rocks from the Shuangjiangkou (Sichuan Province) and Damiao complexes (Hebei Province) in China. The research methodology combined petrographic investigation, comprising optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) methods, with methodical geotechnical characterization to establish quantitative relationships between mineralogical composition and engineering properties. The petrographic studies revealed three lithologic groups: fine-to-medium-grained Shuangjiangkou granite (45%–60% feldspar, 27%–35% quartz, 10%–15% mica), plagioclase-rich anorthosite (more than 90% of plagioclase), and intermediate mangerite (40%–50% of plagioclase, 25%–35% of perthite). The uniaxial compressive strength tests showed great variations: granite (127.53 ± 15.07 MPa), anorthosite (167.81 ± 23.45 MPa), and mangerite (205.12 ± 23.87 MPa). Physical properties demonstrated inverse correlations between mechanical strength and both water absorption (granite: 0.25%–0.42%; anorthosite: 0.07%–0.44%; mangerite: 0.10%–0.25%) and apparent porosity (granite: 0.75%–0.92%; anorthosite: 0.20%–1.20%; mangerite: 0.29%–0.69%), with positive correlations to specific gravity (granite: 1.88–3.03; anorthosite: 2.67–2.90; mangerite: 2.43–2.99). Critical petrographic features controlling mechanical behavior include the following: (1) mica content in granite creating anisotropic properties, (2) extensive feldspar alteration through sericitization increasing microporosity and reducing intergranular cohesion, (3) plagioclase micro-fracturing and alteration to clinozoisite–sericite assemblages in anorthosite creating weakness networks, and (4) mangerite’s superior composition of >95% hard minerals with minimal sheet mineral content and limited alteration. Failure mode analysis indicated distinct patterns: granite experiencing shear-dominated failure (30–45° diagonal planes), anorthosite demonstrated tensile fracturing with vertical splitting, and mangerite showed catastrophic brittle failure with extensive fracture networks. These findings provide quantitative frameworks that relate petrographic features to engineering behavior, offering valuable insights for rock mass assessment and engineering design in similar crystalline rock terrains. Full article

Maximal and explosive strength—defined as the ability to rapidly generate high levels of force—are widely recognized as critical for performance in strength–power sports such as track and field throwing. However, their interrelationship remains insufficiently examined, particularly in the upper body of elite athletes. This study examined the relationship between early force production (≤250 ms, subdivided into early phase: 0–100 ms; late phase: 100–250 ms) and peak isometric upper-body push and pull force in elite Swedish track and field throwers. A total of 30 athletes (17 females, 13 males; aged 18–34 years), all competing nationally or internationally in discus, hammer, shot put, or javelin, participated in a cross-sectional assessment. Isometric force was measured during bench press (push) and supine bench row (pull) using a custom-built device. Force output was recorded at 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 ms, along with peak force. The results showed a progressive increase in the correlation between force at early time points and peak force. Associations were weak to moderate at 50–100 ms (r = 0.07–0.55) and became strong to very strong at 150–250 ms (r = 0.64–0.92). These patterns were consistent across sexes and test types. The findings suggest that maximal strength becomes increasingly important as force production time extends beyond 100 ms. Coaches may benefit from assessing both early and peak force characteristics to inform strength profiling and guide training focus, though further research is needed to determine their impact on performance. Full article

Inkjet printing has become a primary technique for manufacturing flexible and conformal electronics due to its digital control, design flexibility, and material compatibility. However, its direct deposition nature results in weak adhesion between metal films and substrates, as it mainly relies on van der Waals or capillary forces, which severely limits its broader application in these fields. To address this limitation, we proposed an additive–subtractive manufacturing method based on a water-soluble sacrificial layer. First, the sacrificial material is inkjet-printed onto the substrate. Then, ion sputtering is employed to bombard the surface with high-energy ions, enabling metal atoms to embed into the substrate and form a strongly adhered conductive layer. Finally, the substrate is immersed in water, dissolving the sacrificial layer and detaching the undesired metal, thereby achieving selective retention of the conductive pattern. Experimental results demonstrate that the optimized water-soluble material, with tailored viscosity and surface tension, enables a patterning resolution of ±10 μm. The adhesion strength of the sputtered metal layer is 5.2 times greater than that of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticles. This method was further applied to fabricate conductive patterns on a curved surface with a 91 mm radius confirming its feasibility and adaptability for complex 3D surfaces. Full article

Traditional single neural network-based geo-localization methods for cross-view imagery primarily rely on polar coordinate transformations while suffering from limited global correlation modeling capabilities. To address these fundamental challenges of weak feature correlation and poor scene adaptation, we present a novel framework termed ICT-Net (Integrated CNN-Transformer Network) that synergistically combines convolutional neural networks with Transformer architectures. Our approach harnesses the complementary strengths of CNNs in capturing local geometric details and Transformers in establishing long-range dependencies, enabling comprehensive joint perception of both local and global visual patterns. Furthermore, capitalizing on the Transformer’s flexible input processing mechanism, we develop an attention-guided non-uniform cropping strategy that dynamically eliminates redundant image patches with minimal impact on localization accuracy, thereby achieving enhanced computational efficiency. To facilitate practical deployment, we propose a deep embedding clustering algorithm optimized for rapid parsing of geo-localization information. Extensive experiments demonstrate that ICT-Net establishes new state-of-the-art localization accuracy on the CVUSA benchmark, achieving a top-1 recall rate improvement of 8.6% over previous methods. Additional validation on a challenging real-world dataset collected at Beihang University (BUAA) further confirms the framework’s effectiveness and practical applicability in complex urban environments, particularly showing 23% higher robustness to vegetation variations. Full article

The attributes of Late Paleozoic magmatic events are of paramount significance in elucidating the tectonic evolution of the Ulanhot region, which is located in the middle of the Hegenshan–Heihe tectonic belt (HHTB). This study undertook a comprehensive investigation of the petrography, LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating, whole rock geochemistry, and zircon Hf isotopes of the Early Carboniferous volcanic rocks. The volcanic rocks are predominantly composed of andesite, schist (which protolith is rhyolitic tuff), and rhyolitic tuff. The results of zircon U–Pb dating reveal that the formation ages of volcanic rocks are Early Carboniferous (343–347.4 Ma). Geochemical characteristics indicate that the andesites possess a comparatively elevated concentration of Al₂O₃, alongside diminished levels of MgO and TiO₂, belonging to the high-K calc-alkaline series. The zircon εHf(t) of the andesites range from −13 to 9.4, while the two-stage Hf model ages span from 697 to 1937 Ma. The felsic volcanic rocks have high contents of SiO₂ and Na₂O + K₂O, low contents of MgO and TiO₂, and belong to high-K to normal calc-alkaline series. The zircon εHf(t) values of the felsic volcanic rocks range from −12.8 to 10, while the two-stage Hf model ages span from 693 to 2158 Ma. The Early Carboniferous volcanic rocks exhibit a notable enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs, such as Rb, K, Ba) and light rare earth elements (LREEs), depletion in high-field-strength elements (HFSEs, including Nb, Ta, Ti, Hf), as well as heavy rare earth elements (HREEs). The distribution patterns of the rare earth elements (REEs) demonstrate a conspicuous right-leaning tendency, accompanied by weak negative Eu anomalies. These characteristics indicate that the andesites represent products of multistage mixing and interaction between crustal and mantle materials in a subduction zone setting. The felsic volcanic rocks originated from the partial melting of crustal materials. Early Carboniferous igneous rocks formed in a volcanic arc setting are characteristic of an active continental margin. The identification of Early Carboniferous arc volcanic rocks in the Central Great Xing’an Range suggests that this region was under the subduction background of the oceanic plate subduction before the collision and amalgamation of the Erguna–Xing’an Block and the Songnen Block in the Early Carboniferous. Full article

Myopathic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (RmEDS) is an emerging hybrid phenotype that combines connective and muscle tissue abnormalities. It has been associated with variants of the COL12A1 gene, which are known as Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy-2 (UCMD2; 616470) and Bethlem myopathy-2 (BTHLM2; 616471). Here, we report two splicing mutations of COL12A1 identified in three patients from two unrelated families who present a combination of joint hypermobility and axial, distal, and proximal weakness. The muscular strength of their neck and limb muscles was assessed at 4/5 (MRC); however, when measured with a myometer, the expected percentage by age and sex ranged from 35% to 40% for elbow flexion, 37% to 75% for knee extension, and was 50% for neck flexion. In addition to confirming the characteristic atrophy of the rectus femoris, we presented evidence of involvement of the neck and lumbar muscles through MRI and CT imaging. In vitro studies revealed filamentous disorganization and an altered pattern of collagen XII alpha 1 chain migration due to the skipping of exons 55 and 56 of collagen XII. Additionally, we review the myopathic involvement of COL12-RM in 30 patients across 18 families with dominant mutations and 15 patients from 13 families with recessive mutations. Full article

The torsional behavior during the deformation process of the axial closed die rolling the axial closed rolling (ACDR) forming is studied in this paper using a numerical simulation technique on TC11 titanium alloy. The axial and radial pinch angles, as well as the degree of specimen torsion, increased with the amount of deformation. The orientation distribution function (ODF) maps of the α-phase and β-phase were obtained by Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) treatment of the TC11 titanium alloy. It can be noticed that there were different types of texture with different strengths in the ACDR samples, and in the xz and yz planes, textures in the direction of the column were predominantly of {0001} <2$\overline{1}\overline{1}$0> and {01$\overline{1}$0} <2$\overline{1}\overline{1}$0>; the weaker the texture was, the closer to the edge of the sample. In the xy plane, the texture structure was mainly distributed along the cone direction, and the textures were {$\overline{1}$2$\overline{1}$0} <10$\overline{1}$0> and {01$\overline{1}$0} <2$\overline{1}\overline{1}$0>. However, the closer to the edge position of the specimen, the higher the intensity of the texture, and the texture was {1$\overline{2}$1$\overline{2}$} <1$\overline{2}$16>. The β-phase is mainly distributed as {001} <100>, {110} <1$\overline{1}$0>, and {110} <001> textures within the specimen, and the texture strength is about 8.5 times. However, owing to the small proportion of the β-phase content in the specimen, the distribution pattern of its texture has a weak impact on the texture distribution of the overall specimen. A high degree of isotropy in the radial and tangential tensile properties, with a strength isotropy of over 99 percent and a plasticity isotropy of over 95 percent, resulted from the distribution of texture types with varying strengths and orientations within the ACDR specimens, which weakened the TC11 discs’ overall orientation. Full article

Background: Knee joint immobilization is common after surgery or injury. Whether remaining physically active during immobilization preserves muscle strength and size has not been studied. Objectives: This observational study examined correlations between muscle strength, size, and physical activity (PA) levels during one week of knee joint immobilization. Methods: Nine healthy adults (five males, four females) immobilized their left knee and ambulated with crutches for one week. Ankle accelerometers monitored compliance and tracked PA. Isometric and concentric isokinetic peak torque at 30°/s and 180°/s and vastus lateralis (VL) cross-sectional area (CSA) were assessed before and after immobilization. Bivariate correlations were used to examine relationships between time spent in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous PA, and changes in isometric and concentric isokinetic peak torque, as well as VL CSA. Results: After immobilization, isometric strength declined by 17.1%. Concentric isokinetic peak torque declined by 5.5% at 30°/s and 2.3% at 180°/s. VL CSA declined by 6.7%. There were weak correlations between strength measures and PA levels (r = −0.497–0.574; p = 0.106–0.709). For CSA, an unexpected pattern was found in which greater sedentary time was correlated with decreased atrophy (r = 0.701; p = 0.035), but light (r = −0.673; p = 0.047) and moderate (r = −0.738; p = 0.023) PA levels were correlated with increased atrophy. Vigorous PA had weak correlations with CSA (r = −0.321; p = 0.399). Conclusions: Contrary to our hypothesis, increased PA levels were not correlated with the preservation of strength and were correlated with greater declines in CSA during knee joint immobilization. Full article

A new brazing process for thin-walled stainless steel was proposed by combining green and efficient Ni-Cr-P electrodeposition with brazing technology. Novel information was attained by analyzing the electrodeposited Ni-Cr-P interlayers and the brazed joints and characterizing them using a combination of advanced techniques. The incorporation mechanisms of impurities (i.e., oxygen and carbon) in the Ni-Cr-P interlayers electrodeposited from a Cr(III)–glycine solution were revealed. The oxygen mainly came from the Cr(III)–hydroxy complexes formed by the hydrolysis and olation between Cr(III) complexes and OH⁻ ions near the cathode. Glycine did not directly participate in the cathode reactions but decomposed on the anode surface. These byproducts (carbonyl compounds) were directly incorporated into the interlayers in a molecular pattern, forming a weak link to the metallic chromium. Brazing test results showed that a certain amount of Cr₂O₃ powder, formed by the decomposition of chromium hydroxides in the interlayers under high-temperature catalysis, would cause the degradation of the brazed joints. Using the step-wise brazing method, the brazing sheets were first annealed to eliminate the impurities by utilizing the strong reducing effect of hydrogen and the weak link characteristics between carbonyl compounds and metallic chromium atoms. An excellent joint with a shear strength of 63.0 MPa was obtained by subsequent brazing. The microstructural analysis showed that the brazed seam was mainly composed of a Ni-Fe-Cr solid solution, the Ni₃P eutectic phase, and small quantities of the Ni₅P₂ phase scattered in the Ni₃P eutectic phase. Fracture mode observations showed that the cracks extended along the interface between the brittle P-containing phase and the primary phase, resulting in fracture. Full article

Radiomics involves extracting quantitative features from medical images, resulting in high-dimensional data. Unsupervised clustering has been used to discover patterns in radiomic features, potentially yielding hidden biological insights. However, its effectiveness depends on the selection of dimensionality reduction techniques, clustering methods, and hyperparameter optimization, an area with limited exploration in the literature. We present a novel bootstrapping-based hyperparameter search approach to optimize clustering efficacy, treating dimensionality reduction and clustering as a connected process chain. The hyperparameter search was guided by the Adjusted Rand Index (ARI) and Davies–Bouldin Index (DBI) within a bootstrapping framework of 100 iterations. The cluster assignments were generated through 10-fold cross-validation, and a grid search strategy was used to explore hyperparameter combinations. We evaluated ten unsupervised learning pipelines using both simulation studies and real-world radiomics data derived from multiphase CT images of renal cell carcinoma. In simulations, we found that Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) and Spectral Clustering outperformed the traditional Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-based approach. The best-performing pipeline (NMF followed by K-means clustering) successfully identified all three simulated clusters, achieving a Cramér’s V of 0.9. The simulation also established a reference framework for understanding the concordance patterns among different pipelines under varying strengths of clustering effects. High concordance reflects strong clustering. In the real-world data application, we observed a moderate clustering effect, which aligned with the weak associations to clinical outcomes, as indicated by the highest AUROC of 0.63. Full article

Because of their low density and excellent material properties, lightweight Ti-rich medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) have great potential for application in the aerospace and automotive industries. This study investigated the effects of B doping on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a (Ti₆₅(AlCrNbV)₃₅)_100−xB_x alloy series. The mechanical properties of the alloys were then enhanced through thermomechanical treatment, and the strengthening mechanism was explored by characterizing the alloys’ microstructure and mechanical properties. X-ray diffraction revealed that the (Ti₆₅(AlCrNbV)₃₅)_100−xB_x alloys retained their body-centered cubic structure. However, the addition of B resulted in a rightward shift in the diffraction peaks due to B having a smaller atomic radius compared with the other constituent elements. Weak diffraction peaks corresponding to TiB were discovered in the diffraction patterns for the alloys with 0.4 or 0.6% B content (named B0.4 and B0.6, respectively). The hardness of the homogenized alloys was increased from 321 Hv for the base alloy (B0) to 378 Hv for B0.6. In tensile testing, the homogenized alloy with 0.2% B content (B0.2) exhibited a yield strength of 1054 MPa and 21% elongation, which represented 17% greater strength compared with B0. Conversely, the mechanical properties of B0.4 and B0.6 were poorer due to precipitation at grain boundaries. After thermomechanical treatment, the alloys’ strength and hardness increased with increasing B content despite various heat treatment conditions. The recrystallization behavior of the alloys tended to be delayed by B doping, resulting in an increase in the recrystallization temperature. After recrystallization at 900 °C, the elongation of B0, B0.1, and B0.2 exceeded 20%. Of the (Ti₆₅(AlCrNbV)₃₅)_100−xB_x alloys in the series, B0.2 presents the optimal combination of favorable yield strength and ductility (1275 MPa and 10%, respectively). Full article