Search Results (187)

The sequential phases of tissue healing—inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling—demand distinct pharmacokinetic profiles that conventional drug delivery systems fail to provide, creating a “chronotherapy gap” that contributes to chronic wound pathologies. Hydrogels, with their highly tunable network structures, offer a unique platform to program release kinetics in synchrony with these healing timelines. This review systematically examines design strategies for phase-synchronized hydrogel systems, categorized into three hierarchical paradigms: intrinsic network control (crosslinking density, degradation kinetics, and architectural engineering) that pre-programs release profiles; extrinsic/responsive control (endogenous pH/ROS/MMP/glucose and exogenous NIR/ultrasound/electro/magnetic triggers) that enables on-demand phase-shifting; and integrated systems that combine passive spatial compartmentalization with active responsiveness. We survey representative applications across cutaneous wounds, bone defects, cartilage, tendon, myocardial, and neural tissues, highlighting both common design principles and tissue-specific adaptations. Key translational bottlenecks—including in vivo–in vitro discrepancies, cargo stability, sterilization challenges, and regulatory complexity—are critically examined, alongside emerging frontiers such as closed-loop biosensing, artificial intelligence-driven design, and four-dimensional printing. We conclude that the field is evolving from passive drug depots toward active therapeutic synchronizers, where material programming is set to the body’s biological clock, offering a transformative paradigm for regenerative medicine. Full article

Existing metasurface-based radar countermeasures commonly manipulate echoes from metasurface-covered regions, whereas protecting exposed scattering centers that cannot accommodate metasurfaces remains challenging. This paper presents a multi-region time-coding metasurface (MRTCM) architecture for coherent target cancellation and deceptive jamming. The proposed system uses multiple independently controlled metasurface regions distributed over available platform surfaces. Each region generates zeroth-order and higher-order harmonic components through periodic phase modulation, and these components coherently combine with echoes from uncovered areas. The zeroth-order component is invariant under cyclic shifts of the coding sequence, enabling stable cancellation during multi-pulse coherent processing without locking radar-pulse arrival to the start of the coding cycle. Higher-order harmonics can shift the apparent range of the metasurface response and support cancellation at range-separated cells, but require accurate timing and synchronization. Numerical simulations demonstrate more than 40 dB suppression in high-resolution range profiles and validate the cancellation behavior under moving-target detection processing. The MRTCM architecture therefore provides a theoretically grounded framework for electromagnetic protection when full metasurface coverage is impractical. Full article

Facing strict requirements on reliability, power density, vibration and noise for electrified underwater propulsion (EUP) drive motors, this paper investigates dual three-phase winding selection and structural parameter multi-objective optimization of a 24-slot/22-pole surface-mounted permanent magnet (PM) synchronous motor (PMSM). According to winding function theory and magnetomotive force (MMF) harmonic analysis under normal and faulty operation, a double-layer 30° phase-shifted (DL30°) winding is chosen, which is proven to boost torque output and attenuate torque ripple via finite-element (FE) analysis. Key dimensions are globally optimized by the multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm, yielding a 5.36% torque density rise and a 41.46% reduction in torque ripple. Prototype experiments agree well with simulations and validate the design strategy. Full article

Background/Objectives: Although proximal first metatarsal osteotomy is a common treatment for hallux valgus (HV), its effect on dynamic first tarsometatarsal (TMT) joint mobility remains unclear. Previous assessments have largely relied on static radiographic parameters, which may not capture functional joint kinematics. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in first TMT joint mobility during the stance phase of gait using a synchronized ultrasound and three-dimensional motion capture system after combined hallux valgus surgery incorporating proximal first metatarsal osteotomy. Methods: We prospectively studied 23 feet of 21 female patients with symptomatic HV undergoing combined hallux valgus surgery incorporating proximal closing-wedge osteotomy. We also evaluated 11 feet of 11 healthy female volunteers as controls. Per clinical indications, additional concomitant procedures were performed for 21 of the 23 feet. Vertical displacement of the first metatarsal and medial cuneiform as well as the first TMT joint gap was measured throughout the stance phase of gait using a synchronized ultrasound and motion capture system. Pre- and postoperative kinematics (>1 year follow-up) were compared with those in the control group using one-dimensional statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Results: Radiographically, the HV and intermetatarsal angles significantly improved, while sagittal plane parameters showed no significant changes. SPM analysis revealed no significant differences in the first TMT joint gap or first metatarsal displacement among groups. Preoperatively, compared with the controls, HV feet exhibited significantly greater plantar displacement of the medial cuneiform during late terminal stance. Postoperatively, this abnormal displacement was significantly decreased, with no significant difference between groups. Conclusions: Combined hallux valgus surgery incorporating proximal first metatarsal osteotomy was associated with reduced dynamic medial column hypermobility, specifically shifting vertical displacement of the medial cuneiform towards patterns observed in healthy controls during the terminal stance phase. These functional improvements occurred despite minimal changes in static sagittal radiographic alignment. The findings highlight the importance of dynamic assessment for evaluation of postoperative medial column biomechanics. Full article

China pushes forward two key national strategies, namely common prosperity and Healthy China. Many papers have discussed how urban common prosperity and urban healthy development evolve across space, yet most of these works cannot match the practical needs of local high-quality urban construction in Guangdong. This study takes various cities in Guangdong Province as the research area and utilizes multi-source big data from 2010 to 2025 so that it constructs a multidimensional evaluation system for the two major systems. Subsequently, this research employs methods including a deep weighted neural network to conduct empirical analysis. The results show that the urban common prosperity index in Guangdong Province exhibits an overall continuous upward trend. However, common prosperity gradually deviates from the development pattern that matches the economic driving forces. Meanwhile, the prominent advantages of urban healthy development gradually shift from eastern Guangdong to the core area of the Pearl River Delta, which establishes an overwhelming leading position for the Pearl River Delta. Furthermore, the regional development level plays a certain promoting role in healthy development. Spatially, common prosperity and urban healthy development exhibit phased non-linear characteristics, which encompass synchronous growth, growth rate divergence, and trend deviation. This study provides empirical evidence and practical support for Guangdong Province so that policymakers can comprehensively advance common prosperity and healthy city construction. Ultimately, these efforts optimize the regional development layout, which promotes high-quality and sustainable urban development. Full article

Poyang Lake is a typical floodplain lake hydrologically linked to the middle-lower Yangtze River. Its peripheral saucer-shaped sub-lakes undergo seasonal hydrological alternation between isolation and connectivity driven by annual water level fluctuations. To date, the coupling between seasonal hydrological rhythms and zooplankton metacommunity assembly in these saucer floodplain lakes remains poorly understood. In this study, four representative saucer sub-lakes within the Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve (Banghu, Zhonghuchi, Shahu and Dahuchi) were selected as research objects. Seasonal quantitative zooplankton surveys and synchronous hydro-physicochemical monitoring were conducted across four hydrological phases from 2012 to 2013: low-water isolation (spring), high-water connectivity (summer), water recession transition (autumn), and extreme low-water closure (winter). We systematically explored how water level fluctuations regulate zooplankton metacommunity assembly processes. In total, 95 zooplankton species were identified, among which rotifers (68 species) constituted the absolute dominant taxon, and 15 species were identified as year-round absolute dominants exhibiting regular seasonal succession in response to hydrological shifts. Our results demonstrate that hydrological connectivity plays a strong role in regulating the relative strength of species dispersal and environmental filtering. During spring and winter, complete hydrological isolation blocked inter-lake species exchange, making local environmental filtering the main driver of metacommunity assembly. Isolated sub-lakes harbored fewer total species but abundant endemic taxa, accompanied by pronounced spatial community heterogeneity. When water levels exceeded the 17.3 m threshold in summer, full water exchange between sub-lakes and the main lake coincided with widespread species dispersal, which appeared to represent the primary assembly process. The four sub-lakes shared 23 co-occurring species during this period, with highly homogenized community structures and minimal spatial differentiation (Global test: R = 0.47, p = 0.001). In autumn, receding water levels weakened inter-lake connectivity, such that environmental filtering and dispersal jointly structured zooplankton metacommunities; significant spatiotemporal differences were detected in zooplankton density, biomass and α-diversity (p < 0.05). Critical hydro-physicochemical factors of environmental filtering included water temperature, chlorophyll a, pH, electrical conductivity and turbidity, yet the dominant limiting factor varied spatially across sub-lakes due to divergent basin topography and water residence time. Species co-occurrence network analysis revealed that zooplankton communities achieved the highest stability during the fully connected summer phase. In early autumn water drawdown, species association networks became fragmented, and community stability reached its annual minimum. This study elucidates the mechanistic link between floodplain lake hydrological rhythms and zooplankton metacommunity assembly, providing theoretical support and baseline data for wetland biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management of Poyang Lake floodplains. Full article

Western Anatolia is a tectonically and seismically active region shaped by the complex interaction among the Eurasian, African, and Arabian plates. Since the Late Cenozoic, it has been dominated by an extensional tectonic regime. This study investigates the morphotectonic, seismotectonic, and kinematic evolution of the Edremit and Bakırçay basins and their surroundings, located at the intersection zone of the right-lateral strike-slip North Anatolian Fault System (NAFS) and the subduction-zone-driven Aegean Extensional System (AES). Within the scope of this research study, paleostress analyses were conducted using slip data obtained from fault planes, and these data were compared with 240 earthquake focal mechanism solutions reflecting the contemporary seismicity of the region. The findings indicate that both basins underwent a synchronized, two-stage tectonic evolution throughout the Plio-Quaternary period. During the first phase, encompassing the Pliocene, back-arc extensional forces related to slab rollback in the Hellenic subduction zone were dominant, and the main graben-forming processes (NW-SE-trending extension) took place. In the second phase, spanning the Quaternary period, an axis shift occurred as the southern branches of the NAFS reached the region, leading to the development of transtensional pull-apart basin mechanisms dominated by NE-SW-trending extension. Also supported by GPS velocity vectors and paleomagnetic block rotation data, this kinematic model demonstrates that the neotectonic evolution of Northwest Anatolia is governed not only by upper-crustal deformations but also by deep asthenospheric/lithospheric processes, such as slab rollback, lithospheric slab tear, and the NAFS-controlled westward differential escape of the Anatolian block. Full article

Fructan metabolism governs garlic bulb expansion and yield formation. Dynamic carbohydrates and four fructan-metabolizing enzymes (1-FFT, 1-SST, 1-FEH, INV) of ‘Ledu purple garlic’ were tracked over 0–84 days after transplanting. Combined with multivariate statistics and carbon contribution quantification, we analyzed source–sink carbohydrate allocation. Garlic growth was divided into three phases: 0–42 d leaf vegetative growth, 42–56 d synchronous leaf and bulb development, and 56–84 d rapid bulb bulking. Fructan was the dominant storage carbohydrate in bulbs, peaking at 869.81 mg·g⁻¹ DW at harvest. Aerial carbohydrates were degraded and remobilized underground in late growth, while bulb monosaccharides showed bimodal fluctuations. Carbon supply shifted sequentially: mother bulbs supplied carbon at the seedling stage, leaves and pseudostems co-provided photosynthates in the mid-term, and pseudostems became the major temporary remobilizable carbon storage organ during late bulking under this single-site trial with a 14-day sampling interval. Fructan contents and enzyme activities exhibited obvious stage-specific patterns and could act as potential biochemical markers for distinguishing growth stages of ‘Ledu purple garlic’ under the present single-site field trial; their broad applicability across diverse garlic cultivars remains to be verified. 1-FFT was active only in early stages, while bulb 1-SST increased continuously. Day 42 represented the source–sink transition threshold with peak INV activity. Synchronous variation in enzyme activities only hints at coordinated carbohydrate redistribution under this test environment, which may support bulb dry matter accumulation. Full article

In single DC-link current sensor-based phase current reconstruction for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives, the current reconstruction dead zone caused by insufficient active voltage vector duration restricted by driver dead time, switching settling, and Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) latency degrades current sensing accuracy, particularly in low modulation and sector boundary regions. Conventional phase shift methods, while extending the sampling window through Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) pattern modification, inevitably introduce asymmetric switching sequences that generate additional phase current harmonics and may reduce the linear modulation range. This article analytically characterizes the dead zone formation mechanism across the space vector plane and proposes a cross-cycle compensation strategy based on vector approximation. The method replaces the reference voltage vector with the nearest measurable vector in the present switching cycle and compensates for the resulting voltage error in the subsequent cycle, thereby extending the sampling window while preserving precise volt-second balance without extra hardware. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method eliminates the current reconstruction dead zone, achieves high-fidelity phase current reconstruction, and ensures robust dynamic performance under various load conditions and transients. The feasibility and effectiveness of the single current sensor drive are thoroughly validated. Full article

This study investigates the influence of road-induced vertical excitation on air-gap eccentricity in in-wheel permanent magnet synchronous motors. A coupled electromechanical simulation framework is developed by integrating a field-oriented controlled PMSM model, a quarter-vehicle vertical dynamics model, and stochastic road roughness generated according to the ISO 8608. The proposed motor model is validated against experimental data obtained from a dynamometer test bench. Mixed eccentricity conditions are introduced to investigate how road excitation affects air-gap variation and motor current characteristics. A normalized torque-ripple current index is then extracted from the time-domain features of the q-axis current $i_q$, which can be readily calculated from the phase currents and rotor position available in conventional inverter drives without requiring additional sensors. The simulation results reveal that road excitation significantly increases the fluctuation of air-gap eccentricity and amplifies torque-ripple-related current variations compared with no-road conditions. Furthermore, the proposed index increases consistently with eccentricity severity, while rougher road profiles shift the current response toward higher abnormality levels. These findings demonstrate that road–motor coupling has a significant impact on electrical fault signatures and should be considered when developing current-based condition monitoring methods for in-wheel PMSMs. The proposed framework provides a validated basis for evaluating eccentricity faults and supports the development of robust fault diagnosis techniques under realistic vehicle operating conditions. Full article

Subsynchronous oscillation (SSO) is a critical stability issue in grid-following direct-drive wind farms connected to weak grids. To mitigate this issue, this paper proposes a phase-shift subsynchronous damping control strategy based on grid-forming energy storage (GF-ES). First, a small-signal state-space model of a grid-connected wind-storage system incorporating GF-ES is established, and eigenvalue analysis is conducted to examine the effects of GF-ES capacity share, virtual synchronous control parameters, and grid strength on the dominant SSO mode. The results show that, under weak-grid conditions, the coupling among point of common coupling (PCC) voltage disturbances, the wind turbine Phase-Locked Loop (PLL), and grid-side current control reduces system damping, causing the dominant SSO mode around 22.1 Hz to exhibit weak or even negative damping. To enhance damping under low-capacity conditions, a phase-shift subsynchronous damping controller (PS-SDC) is designed, and its additional damping voltage signal is superimposed onto the q-axis voltage command of the GF-ES inner current control loop. Eigenvalue analysis shows that, under conventional virtual synchronous generator (VSG)-controlled GF-ES, increasing the GF-ES capacity share from 2% to 20% shifts the dominant SSO eigenvalue from 1.0128 ± j138.8370 to −1.7111 ± j138.8097, and increases the damping ratio from −0.0073 to 0.0123. At the baseline 10% GF-ES capacity share, the proposed PS-SDC further shifts the dominant eigenvalue from −0.4780 ± j138.8223 to −1.5691 ± j138.8224, increasing the damping ratio from 0.0034 to 0.0113. The small-signal stability boundary is also improved from between 6.5% and 10% GF-ES capacity share to between 4% and 6.5%, demonstrating that the proposed PS-SDC provides enhanced damping capability for the 22.1 Hz dominant SSO mode under weak-grid and low-capacity GF-ES conditions. Full article

We present a short-preamble digital signal processing (DSP) architecture for downstream Alamouti coherent-lite passive optical network (PON) reception using a simplified optical network unit (ONU) receiver. A four-branch gear-shifted least-mean-square (LMS) equalizer uses a large step during quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) preamble training and a small step during decision-directed payload tracking. In 50 GBaud 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) simulations over 20 km single-mode fiber, a 2048-symbol preamble is the first cold-start point whose mean bit-error rate (BER) falls below the selected uncoded BER target of ${10}^{-2}$. A 20-realization-per-point sweep gives a sub-1 dB penalty for 2048 symbols and a mean offline mean-square-error (MSE) settling time below 100 ns, with low-gain locking events retained. However, frame-level reliability improves with longer training: in an indicative 20-frame Monte Carlo test, 13 of 20 frames met the BER target with a 2048-symbol preamble, compared with 17 of 20 using 4096 symbols. For repeated frames to the same ONU after initial acquisition, warm-start tap reuse allows frames 4–5 in the tested sequence to fall below target with 512-symbol preambles, corresponding to a later-frame nominal coded payload rate of 163 Gb/s instead of 123 Gb/s. The results quantify the preamble/reliability/payload-rate trade-off and indicate that downstream Alamouti coherent-lite reception can support short-training equalizer acquisition after preamble synchronization with one balanced detector and one analog-to-digital converter. Full article

The energy transition is leading to increased loading of high-voltage distribution grids (HVDGs), which in turn results in higher active power losses. In addition, the meshed network structure typical for German 110 kV grids enables transit power flows originating from the superimposed transmission grid (TG). These transit power flows may further increase grid loading and active power losses. This paper presents a sensitivity-based mixed-integer quadratic programming (MIQP) approach for active power loss minimization in meshed HVDGs. The proposed methodology achieves near-real-time computation times while maintaining high accuracy by means of a piecewise linearized alternating current (AC) formulation. In addition, losses of static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs) and transformer-reactance variations are explicitly modeled. Reactive power provision by distributed energy resources (DERs) and STATCOMs, as well as discrete tap positions of power transformers (PTs) and phase-shifting transformers (PSTs), are considered as control variables. The proposed approach is validated using hourly snapshots of a real German HVDG provided by a distribution system operator (DSO). The results demonstrate a significant reduction in active power losses together with computation times suitable for near-real-time applications. Full article

Code Index Modulation (CIM) schemes usually rely on large orthogonal spreading codebooks to improve their index-carrying capability, resulting in high codebook resource consumption and a rapidly increasing receiver-side detection complexity. To address this problem, this paper proposes a Cyclic-Shift Code Index Modulation (CSCIM) scheme based on fast cyclic-correlation detection. Unlike conventional CIM, which carries information through the codebook indices of multiple independent spreading codes, CSCIM transforms the index-bearing mechanism from multi-code selection into cyclic-shift state selection of a single spreading code. At the transmitter, index bits control the cyclic-shift offset of a single spreading code to generate candidate index states. A composite frame structure consisting of a Zadoff–Chu (ZC) synchronization header and spread-spectrum data blocks is designed to eliminate code-offset ambiguity during fast correlation acquisition. At the receiver, an FFT-based fast cyclic-correlation mechanism obtains full-shift-domain correlation peaks through a single detection path, and the index information is recovered from the detected peak position. A local spreading code with the corresponding cyclic-shift phase is then generated to complete despreading and symbol decision. The simulation results show that CSCIM exhibits a stable BER reduction trend over both AWGN and flat Rayleigh fading channels, and maintains effective data-detection performance under high-order index configurations. The proposed CSCIM scheme requires only one spreading code sequence to generate all candidate spreading codes, effectively reducing the codebook resource consumption and receiver-side detection complexity while maintaining a competitive BER performance. Full article

Artisanal raw-milk cheese represents a complex biochemical ecosystem where the indigenous microbiota acts as the primary driver of the volatile profile. This study utilizes an innovative synchronized biological relay model to decipher the mechanistic interplay between the successional dynamics of indigenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and the temporal evolution of the volatile metabolome over a 10-week maturation period of an artisanal cow-milk cheese. Utilizing a culture-dependent approach focused on the quantitative enumeration of broad morpho-physiological groups—without species-level identification—integrated with HS-SPME/GC-MS, we characterized the precise shifts from early-stage lactic cocci to dominant rod-shaped lactobacilli. Initial populations at Week 0 consisted of 8.2 log CFU/g of cocci and 4.1 log CFU/g of rod-shaped LAB. Lactic cocci peaked at Week 2 (8.5 log CFU/g) before undergoing mass autolysis down to 7.1 log CFU/g by Week 4, releasing intracellular enzymes that catalyzed a 900% surge in total esters and a 215% increase in volatile alcohols. Concurrently, rod-shaped LAB proliferated to a maximum of 8.6 log CFU/g at Week 6, directly correlating with a 125% increase in total carboxylic acids, prominently driven by a 750% accumulation of hexanoic acid. The late-phase maturation (Weeks 8–10) established a technological equilibrium: volatile sulfur compounds collapsed by over 90% within the first two weeks, initial transient lactones were replaced by a 1200% late-stage increase in dodecalactone, and matrix-sequestered dietary terpenes were liberated via an 8-fold (700%) increase at Week 8. This study introduces an innovative, statistically validated volatilomic framework that equips the dairy sector with an advanced metabolomic tool for rigorous product authentication and targeted flavor optimization, thereby establishing a scientific baseline for the reproducible production of premium, organoleptically superior artisanal cheeses. Full article