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2023-01-01 | This paper presents recent research into low-cost flow meter designs to measure dripping leaks for health monitoring of water equipment. Water handling equipment is pervasive in our society, to the point it is often overlooked; including plumbing, faucets, bathtubs, showers, toilets, water heaters, water softeners, filtration systems, dish washers, washing machines, etc. Monitoring of the health and usage of water equipment will be a major contribution to the internet of things, providing information about equipment’s need for maintenance or re-placement to both conserve water and prevent costly flood damage. Detection of leaks and flow rates are core to monitoring the condition of water equipment. However, commercially available flow meters capable of measuring flow on the order of a dripping leak are too expensive for mass deployment in consumer products (>$300). This paper presents parametric studies of low cost in-line flow meter designs, intended to measure extreme low flow rates (<50 ml/min on the order of a dripping leak in ½ inch pipe). Designs were created based on a hybrid of traditional orifice and target meters. Part counts were kept minimal and synthesis methods were kept simple with the goal of minimizing cost. Parametric studies were performed to evaluate the effects of geometric dimensions on the sensitivity, pressure drop, and other traits of the flow meters. Testing was performed both with custom equipment and in the Badger Meter Flow Lab at the Global Water Center in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Results were compared to electromagnetic and mass-based measurements. | Low Flow Rate Measurement and Leak Detection for Health Monitoring of Water Equipment | 10.1007/978-3-031-07322-9_97 |
2023-01-01 | Low-impact development (LID) synchronous with green infrastructure (GI) development is largely being perceived as a favoured approach for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation around mined out lands. While GI-based pathways can provide adequate insights for achieving the targets of land degradation neutrality in the case of mined lands, its crucial and apparent link to the water environment needs consideration to achieve LID in practical terms. The impacts of mining close to riverine environments are known to have spatially far-reaching effects. To detect the same, review the sampling strategy to arrive at the best-possible sampling strategy for effective restorative practices. Supporting this idea, the present study highlights the need of a geospatial modelling and visualization approach to review and design strategic sampling sites with case of River Godavari. The configuration facilitates the rapid investigation of adverse impacts of industrial pollution on land, in water or in air, and it directs the re-evaluation of distribution of the sampling locations to other land uses across the river. Such strategic sampling can provide data as policy handles to plan the nature of response (urgent, short or sustained) and spatial extent of eco-restoration of land and biodiversity. | Selection of Strategic Sampling Sites for River Quality Assessments Near Mined Areas as a Policy Handle for Low-Impact Development and Biodiversity Conservation: A Case Study of River Godavari | 10.1007/978-981-99-0131-9_20 |
2023-01-01 | The radially symmetric body of starfish has major implications on their nervous system including eyes and vision. All the up to 50 arms are structurally identical, and most examined species have a small compound eye basally on the terminal tube foot of each arm. The 20–300 ommatidia of the compound eyes are lens-less but hold approximately 100 photoreceptors with outer segments made of a combination of microvilli and a modified cilium. The eyes support image forming vision but of low spatial resolution and extremely low temporal resolution with flicker fusion frequencies ≤1 Hz. Starfish are color-blind, and vision seems to be based on a single rhabdomeric opsin although many other types of opsins are expressed in their eyes. Starfish also possess extraocular photoreceptors, but little is known about their identity and function. Not many visually guided behaviors are known from starfish so far, but habitat recognition is well documented in a couple of tropical species. More behavioral data are urgently needed, but interestingly, recent data suggest that at least in some situations vision is integrated with olfaction and rheotaxis forming a sensory hierarchy, where olfaction is dominating. Such processing and integration putatively take place in the central nervous system. The eyes are direct extensions of the radial nerve, which constitute the major part of the CNS of starfish and other echinoderms. In general, the echinoderm CNS is enigmatic and the functionality is at best speculative. Here we present new data showing differentiations of the radial nerve along the length of the arms and differences in radial nerve structure between eye-possessing and eyeless species. | Dispersed Vision in Starfish: A Collection of Semi-independent Arms | 10.1007/978-3-031-23216-9_4 |
2023-01-01 | This chapter explains the distribution of bidirectional sex change among teleost fishes, the social context of bidirectional sex change in each mating system, and the adaptive significance. Of a total of 481 hermaphroditic fish species, 69 species have been confirmed to perform bidirectional sex change. Their mating systems are size-assortative monogamy, harem polygyny, or male-territory-visiting (MTV) polygamy. In size-assortative monogamous fish, bidirectional sex change occurs when a new same-sex pair is formed after movements between social groups following mate loss. Widowed individuals tend to prefer pairing with a nearby individual of the same sex rather than moving a longer distance to pair with an individual of the opposite sex. Therefore, bidirectional sex change can increase the reproductive value by reducing the risk of movement to seek a new mate. In haremic and MTV polygamous fish, the size-advantage model predicts protogyny (female-to-male sex change), but reversed (male-to-female) sex change occurs in some specific social situations. In haremic fish, males change back to females when they move to a mating group dominated by a larger male after all females have disappeared from their mating group. The widowed males need not conduct reversed sex change if new females or juveniles immigrate to their mating group or when they can take a female from a neighboring harem. Thus, the widowed males use reversed sex change as a last resort when they cannot gain new mating opportunities in any other way. Such a social context is predicted to be more likely to occur in low-density populations because the number of females in mating groups tends to become small and immigrations rarely occur. Some field studies have supported this low-density hypothesis for reversed sex change. In MTV polygamous fish, a small male, which has performed alternative mating tactics like group spawning, changes sex to perform pair spawning with a larger male. This sex change would be derived from the decrease in advantage of alternative tactics owing to decreased population density. | Bidirectional Sex Change in Fishes | 10.1007/978-981-19-6095-6_5 |
2023-01-01 | Promoting green and low-carbon development has become a global consensus. However, few studies have explored the scientific connotation and influencing factors of inclusive low-carbon development (ILCD). Based on the perspective of inclusive growth and sustainable development, this paper constructs an economic growth-social inclusion-low carbon development (ESC) analytical framework and uses the improved entropy weight method to estimate the ILCD level of 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2020. Kernel density estimation, Moran’s I index, and Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition are used to characterize the spatial and temporal variation patterns, and the variation coefficient and the dynamic spatial Durbin model are used to explore the dynamic spatial convergence characteristics. The results show that (1) ILCD in China is increasing steadily overall, but there is a significant spatial non-equilibrium characteristic of high in the east and low in the west. (2) The overall difference in ILCD shows a trend of fluctuation and narrowing, and the imbalance between regions is the primary source of the overall difference. (3) ILCD has significant path dependence and dynamic spatial convergence characteristics in the whole country and the three regions, and the spatial spillover effect tends to be good neighborliness. The rate of convergence shows a trend of national (4.77%) > western (2.33%) > eastern (1.97%) > central (0.96%), and the spatial convergence of the club is gradually becoming prominent. (4) The factors including economic development, technological innovation, urbanization level and human capital significantly affect ILCD, which also has regional heterogeneous. Therefore, it is necessary to break down administrative and market barriers, strengthen cross-regional cooperation and resource interconnectivity, and bring into play policy synergy to provide decision-making reference for achieving inclusive low-carbon development. | Spatial–temporal differentiation and dynamic spatial convergence of inclusive low-carbon development: evidence from China | 10.1007/s11356-022-22539-2 |
2023-01-01 | Advancement in the transportation sector is a major priority of every country to make it faster, affordable, hassle free, and environment friendly by introducing artificial intelligent (AI) enable hyperloops and electric vehicles (EVs) for fast as well as emission free transportation, respectively. To maintain the sustainability of transportation infrastructure (TI), the essential way is to minimize the negative interaction between earth surface processes and transportation networks. Delineation of river corridor and hydrogeomorphic region as the sensitive zone to anthropogeomorphic changes are essential task for future development of TIs within a river basin. The application of advanced bioengineering techniques is also required to follow to stabilize the slope instability and soil erosion around the road networks. To mitigate the effects of stormwater events on roadside soil erosion and slope failure, Low-impact Development (LID) and Green Road are also required to practice effective rainwater harvesting techniques on the road surface. After the Paris Agreement, there has been a significant improvement in the use of EVs to reduce carbon emissions in the fight against climate change. | Modernization, Sustainability, and Environmental Management of Transportation Infrastructures | 10.1007/978-3-031-37897-3_10 |
2023-01-01 | The Network of Effective Treatment (IoMT) model is used in various clinical trials and other healthcare operations. It is based on a novel set of ultraprecise tiny sensing devices and communication infrastructures, which give unmatched data collecting and ongoing vital sign capabilities. To fully realize the technology’s promise, however, some progress is required. First and foremost, the edge-computing paradigm must be considered. A definite amount of manufacturing in the vicinity of the detector must be permitted to enhance versatility and usability, dependability, and the IoMT terminals’ availability. Second, newer, more techniques for efficient information analysis, such as those that are specially adapted intelligence and deep learning, must be used. IoMT node designers and programmers must overcome severe optimization issues to conduct moderately complicated computing operations on flexible and wearable computing with low-power consumption devices with restricted power and battery lives to achieve these aims. This work investigates the creation of an examination of intellectual data methods for computer systems with limited resources by dynamically controlling the vehicle’s hardware and software configuration and adapting it to the necessary operating mode at runtime. A low-power microcontroller and a neural network model is employed to categorize cardiac data to test this strategy. It is observed that adjusting the node architecture to the strain at execution can be reduced to 50% in power utilization using the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia set as a testbed. A quantized neural network could diagnose arrhythmia disorders with a 98 percent accuracy rate. | A Dynamic Perceptual Detector Module-Related Telemonitoring for the Intertubes of Health Services | 10.1007/978-3-031-23602-0_15 |
2023-01-01 | In intelligent building management, knowing the number of people and their location in a room are important for better control of its illumination, ventilation, and heating with reduced costs and improved comfort. This is typically achieved by detecting people using compact embedded devices that are installed on the room’s ceiling, and that integrate low-resolution infrared camera, which conceals each person’s identity. However, for accurate detection, state-of-the-art deep learning models still require supervised training using a large annotated dataset of images. In this paper, we investigate cost-effective methods that are suitable for person detection based on low-resolution infrared images. Results indicate that for such images, we can reduce the amount of supervision and computation, while still achieving a high level of detection accuracy. Going from single-shot detectors that require bounding box annotations of each person in an image, to auto-encoders that only rely on unlabelled images that do not contain people, allows for considerable savings in terms of annotation costs, and for models with lower computational costs. We validate these experimental findings on two challenging top-view datasets with low-resolution infrared images. | Privacy-Preserving Person Detection Using Low-Resolution Infrared Cameras | 10.1007/978-3-031-25072-9_46 |
2023-01-01 | Smart low-cost housing estate management is a significant issue in developing countries because this kind of estate is evolving in the global South. Hence, this article contributed to this management discussion by proposing a system-thinking model for smart estate management. The model uses the technical and non-technical criteria of smart cities to generate a model for decision-making. The model formulated used different causal loop diagrams for estate smartness evaluation. The proposed framework can help stakeholders in the construction industry make medium and long-term strategic decision-making. The government could use this framework to decide on policies that will be implemented to improve smart housing estates. | Smart Low-Cost Housing Estate Management: A System Thinking Approach | 10.1007/978-3-031-22434-8_19 |
2023-01-01 | The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated the digital transformation in education worldwide and has exposed weaknesses and limitations in laboratory and experimental activities, mainly in the field of engineering. This forced us to provide rapid answers through a change in practice in our renewable energy program, from a conventional hands-on classroom experiment to a remote spectrometry laboratory. In this context, using costly spectrometry equipment that was not adapted to be operated remotely, was not an option. In this paper we describe how we adapted our low-cost spectrometry technology (which is based on a 3D-printed mini-spectrometer and a smartphone) to deploy a remote laboratory as a rapid solution, due to the impossibility of using conventional and costly spectrometers, which work only for on-campus learning. This adaptation was helpful, not only to have several spectrometers available for a higher number of students, but also to allow teachers to prepare asynchronous activities that can be realized without their presence. We applied Internet of Things (IoT) technology for remotely controlling the experiments and used Machine Learning to automatically calibrate our low-cost smartphone spectrometer. We believe that such a low-cost spectrometry remote laboratory can benefit developing countries and enable the development of MOOC and MOOL type courses. | A Low-Cost Spectrometry Remote Laboratory | 10.1007/978-3-031-17091-1_21 |
2023-01-01 | Being the most influential multi-sport event in the world, the Olympic Games creates an increasingly important demonstration effect on the major sectors other than sports in social development. Actively addressing climate change has become an internal requirement for the Olympic Games, which is why the most recent Olympic Games all attached great importance to carbon emission management and adopted a series of targeted low-carbon measures. Beijing and Zhangjiakou are striving to fulfill their commitments made during the bidding process of Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of hosting a low-carbon Olympic Games while actively transitioning towards a low-carbon development path with multiple low-carbon management measures. The pursuit of the two goals at the same time will create a synergy and help the two cities to promote low-carbon philosophies and showcase carbon emission mitigation outcomes on a larger scale. | Low Carbon Management of Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games | 10.1007/978-981-19-7738-1_15 |
2023-01-01 | Low-voltage ride-through capabilities are one among many of the unexplored challenges in integrating photovoltaic (PV) systems into the power grid. The control strategy for the PV system which uses a three-phase single-stage inverter connected to the grid, which consists of the capability of low-voltage ride-through, is proposed in this paper. An intelligent fuzzy logic control method is implemented to adjust the inverter’s performance during the time of operating LVRT. The Fuzzy Logic Control tunes the commands of reference active and reactive power of the inverter to the grid based on the power availability and voltage sag from the PV system. To perform this, the inverter operates in two modes: (i) MPPT—at the period of grid’s normal operation, and (ii) When fault occurs, the PV system takes support of LVRT control. While operating in LVRT mode, active power available at the inverter output injects the required reactive power, hence it provides required voltage support to the grid and improves the inverter’s utilization factor by the grid. The proposed system is simulated in a MATLAB Simulink environment and the results are presented. | Low-Voltage Ride-Through for a Three-Phase Grid-Integrated Single-Stage Inverter-Based Photovoltaic System Using Fuzzy Logic Control | 10.1007/978-981-19-7874-6_14 |
2023-01-01 | The current level of development of industrial poultry farming, genetic potential, productivity, technologies imply the use of feed balanced in all nutritional indicators and produced on the basis of the most advanced technologies of the feed industry. In the structure of the cost of poultry products, the cost of feed is 65–75%. The availability of high-quality and at the same time cheaper compound feeds largely determines the level of development and economy of poultry farming, remaining a priority within the framework of the State program “Development of agriculture and regulation of agricultural products, raw materials and food markets until 2025”. One of the main tasks of the agro-industrial complex of the country is to provide the population with high-quality food. The problems associated with this can be solved only through sustainable growth of production and production of competitive agricultural products. In connection with the task of accelerated import substitution and avoiding the high import dependence of the agro-industrial complex on the supply of certain expensive feed components, the search for local cheap and affordable traditional and non-traditional feed products. | The Use of Non-traditional Feed Products in the Feeding of Broiler Chickens | 10.1007/978-3-031-21219-2_70 |
2023-01-01 | European cities face increasingly more challenges caused by road traffic. Most people use individual cars, but this represents a huge demand on the existing infrastructures. As an alternative, public transportation is a good solution for the environment, safety, and affordability. Therefore, a lot of city centers are already investing in this solution, although one of the main issues pointed out as an obstacle is the lack of real-time information and the unpredictability of its use. To fulfill this necessity, computer vision systems are widely used in this type of application. However, financial costs and topics related to users’ privacy arise which can lead to future problems. ioCity project aims to improve existing solutions by keeping its costs low and its reliability as high as possible by mitigating its negative aspects. The solution developed uses ubiquitous passive technologies; it is pervasive, modular, and maintains the user’s privacy. This work presents the first approach to the conception and implementation of a low-cost system capable of monitoring the occupation rate on a bus with, at least, 70% accuracy. | Public Transportation Occupancy Rate | 10.1007/978-3-031-30514-6_16 |
2023-01-01 | This paper presents a 0.3 V rail-to-rail three stage OTA. Due to the topology of the input stage, to the three gain stages and to subthreshold operation, the proposed OTA exhibits high dc gain in spite of the bulk-driven input. In addition, thanks to the adoption of two fully differential stages and the usage of an additional local common-mode feedback (CMFB) loop, the common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) is greatly improved with respect to other ULV bulk-driven OTAs. The first stage is a bulk-driven Arbel-based stage with rail-to-rail input and doubled transconductance gain. The second stage, is gate-driven to enhance the dc gain. The third stage is again a bulk-driven amplifier and implements the differential to single-ended conversion through a gate-driven current mirror. The proposed OTA has been fabricated in a commercial 130 nm CMOS process from STMicroelectronics. Its area is about 0.002 mm $$^2$$ 2 , and it consumes 30 nW at the supply-voltage of 0.3 V. The DC gain and unit-gain frequency are about 85 dB and 10 kHz, respectively, with a load capacitance of 35 pF. | A 0.3 V Three-Stage Body-Driven OTA | 10.1007/978-3-031-26066-7_4 |
2023-01-01 | Sustainable development in general, or climate protection in particular, has never been a systematic priority of Russian industrial policy. Unlike European countries, up to now the state policy measures for the transition to low-carbon economy in Russia have been of a recommendatory and voluntary nature. Nevertheless, they have created a legal and institutional framework for a consistent industrial policy taking into account the climate and environmental components, including carbon accounting. Despite a serious change in the agenda for the industrial policy of Russia in 2022, caused by additional sanctions, it is highly undesirable to lag behind in this area, since it is necessary both for our own technological development and for international cooperation. The proposed study examines, systematizes, and evaluates some of industrial policy measures in Russia which affect its low-carbon development. | Prospects for Low-Carbon Industrial Policy: The Case of Russia | 10.1007/978-3-031-16477-4_13 |
2023-01-01 | Poultry farming is one of the most precocious branches of animal husbandry. This is the most knowledge-intensive and dynamic branch of the agro-industrial complex. Agricultural poultry is characterized by rapid reproduction rates, intensive growth, high productivity and viability. In order to increase the level of realization of the bioresource potential of poultry, it is necessary to take into account various factors - hereditary and environmental. Full and balanced feeding affects environmental impacts and is the basis for highly productive poultry and effective transformation of nutrients into food. In this regard, an increase in poultry production, as a rule, requires an increase in the intensity of poultry feeding, including through the use of low-cost compound feeds. The quality of the meat obtained determines the widespread use of raw materials for the further production of high-quality products, and in general, will be able to provide the population of our country with full-fledged food products. In the industrial production of poultry products, the value of its cost plays an important role. Since the cost of poultry meat, first of all, consists of the cost of feed, it is important to look for cheaper and more efficient energy sources, balancing diets. In the feeding of poultry, the search for new alternative low-cost feed sources is promising in the field of feeding. | The Effect of Low-Cost Compound Feeds on the Productive Qualities of Broiler Chickens | 10.1007/978-3-031-21219-2_69 |
2023-01-01 | The paper introduces a bulk-driven operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) suitable for ultra-low-power and ultra-low-voltage applications. The amplifier is made up of three gain stages and features inherent class-AB behavior and precise control of the quiescent current of all transistors. Additionally, positive feedback is exploited for the first stage to enhance its transconductance. The OTA entails a single Miller capacitor for frequency compensation, thus saving area occupation. Implemented in a 65 nm standard CMOS technology, the amplifier occupies an area of 10.6⋅10 –3 mm 2 and is powered from 0.3 V with a total quiescent current equal to 8.5 mA. Experimental measurements show a gain-bandwidth product equal to 1.65 MHz and a phase margin equal to 70° when driving a 50-pF load. | 300-mV Bulk-Driven Three-Stage OTA in 65-nm CMOS | 10.1007/978-3-031-26066-7_3 |
2023-01-01 | The outdoor environment is more complex and uncertain than the indoor environment, resulting in the identification of natural landmarks remaining a challenge in the automation process. In the orchard, tree branches not only affect the signal accuracy of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), but also affect the light conditions of the camera, making the recognition accuracy decrease. Thermal camera has the potential under low illumination, it can be used to recognize tree trunks using a deep learning system in different light conditions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use a thermal camera to detect tree trunks at different times of the day under low-light conditions using deep learning. Thermal images were collected from the dense canopies of two types of orchards (conventional and joint training systems) under high-light (12–2 PM), low-light (5–6 PM), and no-light (7–8 PM) conditions in August and September (summertime) in Japan. Thermal imagery datasets were augmented to train, validate, and test using the faster R-CNN, YOLO-v3, and CenterNet deep learning model to detect a tree trunk. A total of 12,876 images were used to train the model, 9270 images were used for training, 2318 images were used to validate, and 1288 images were used to test the model. The mAP of the Faster R-CNN model was 0.8378, YOLO-v3 was 0.4077 and CenterNet was 0.9370 for the testing process. In the comparisons, CenterNet was achieved the highest accuracy in the three methods in tree truck detection using thermal camera. However, based on the analysis of the actual image results, CenterNet may have missed the target. Therefore, results showed that Faster R-CNN was the most suitable method can be used to recognize objects using thermal images in orchards under different lighting conditions. | Potentials of Deep Learning Frameworks for Tree Trunk Detection in Orchard to Enable Autonomous Navigation System | 10.1007/978-981-19-8113-5_10 |
2023-01-01 | In the past, many experimental or clinical studies were carried out to develop promising therapies for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD). Although still a long way from clinical application, many approaches seem promising and may bring a clinical revolution for treatment of neurogenic LUTD. In this chapter, we will discuss research progress, emerging concepts, and potential procedures, and explore new directions in the field of neurogenic LUTD, including intravesical delivery of Botulinum toxin A, tissue-engineered bladder, bioprinting technology, closed-loop neuromodulation, optogenetic neuromodulation, gene therapy, mechanisms of neuromodulation, and biological therapeutics for urinary tract infections (UTIs). | Future Direction for Treatment of Neurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction | 10.1007/978-981-16-7939-1_83-1 |
2023-01-01 | Freshwater fish farming is an important sector of food production, nutrition, livelihood support, employment generation and contribution to national income. Pisciculture in low-land paddy fields in the Moyna block of Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, India is now nationally important for changes in the socio-economic status of the rural community. This study uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing to primarily focus on displaying the current Land Use Land Cover (LULC) pattern in Moyna Block over 20 years. For the years 2000, 2010, and 2020, three Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellite images were used for LULC mapping and other measures. Using ArcGIS and ENVI software, the satellite images are corrected, and LULC classes are identified. The results of this study demonstrate that fisheries overtook agricultural land at a phenomenal rate of growth. This was brought on by the fact that fishing offered more profitable options than paddy cultivation. But there are numerous environmental issues in this region due to the unplanned and uncontrolled expansion of fisheries as well as the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, both the government and the local people must take the quick action required to improve the current situation. | Assessing the Recent Trends of Land Use Pattern with Contemporary Issues by the Use of RS and GIS Techniques: A Case Study on Moyna Block, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal (India) | 10.1007/978-3-031-25914-2_6 |
2023-01-01 | Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are widely expressed cation channels that play an essential role in mediating Ca2+ homeostasis and are considered potential regulators of inflammatory pain. This study investigates the expression of the TRP channel subtypes TRPV1, TRPV4, TRPC6, TRPM2, TRPM8 in lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD) biopsies from patients with chronic low back pain (LBP). We determined the expression of these TRP channel subtypes in the annulus fibrosus (AF) and the nucleus pulposus (NP) from 46 patients with LBP undergoing 1–2 level lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative disc disease. The mRNA transcripts were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and the expression levels were compared against visual analog scale (VAS) and oswestry disability index (ODI) scores (0–100) for pain and disability. A significant positive correlation was demonstrated between VAS score and the mRNA expression of TRPV1, TRPC6, TRPM2, TRPM8 in the AF. We also found a significant positive correlation between ODI scores and expression of TRPV1 and TRPM8. Further, there is a significant positive correlation between TNF-α and TRPV1, TRPM2 and TRPM8 expression in the AF, and IL-6 to TRPV1 in the NP. Interestingly, when investigating treatment response via a 12-month postoperative follow-up ODI, we found a significant correlation between only TRPV1 expression at baseline and the follow-up ODI scores, which indicates this marker could predict the effectiveness of surgery. These results strongly suggest an association between pain, inflammatory mediators, and TRP channel expression in lumbar disc biopsies of patients with chronic LBP. | Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels mRNA transcripts in the lumbar intervertebral discs: biomarkers for inflammation, pain, disability, and clinical outcome | 10.1007/s11010-022-04501-5 |
2023-01-01 | Automatic speech recognition is a rapidly developing area in the field of machine learning and is a necessary tool for controlling various devices and automated systems. However, such recognition systems are more aimed at adults than at the younger generation. The peculiarity of the development of a child’s voice leads to an increase in the error in the recognition of children’s speech in applications developed based on adult speech data. In addition, many applications do not consider the peculiarities of children’s speech and the data used when children communicate between other children and adults. Thus, there is currently a huge demand for systems that understand adult and child speech and can process them correctly. In addition, there is the problem of the lack of these languages, which are part of the agglutinative, i.e. Turkic languages, especially Kazakh language. The difficulty of assembling and developing a high-quality and large case is still an unsolved problem. This paper presents studies of children’s speech recognition based on modified data from adults and their impact on the quality of recognition for Kazakh language. Two models were built, namely the Transformer model and the insert-based model. The results obtained are satisfactory, but still require improvement and expansion of the corpus of children’s speech. | Difficulties Developing a Children’s Speech Recognition System for Language with Limited Training Data | 10.1007/978-3-031-41774-0_33 |
2023-01-01 | As mentioned in earlier chapters, many of chronic wounds are delayed or fail to heal through conventional treatment because attenuated activities of cells responsible for wound healing contribute to the impairment of tissue restoration. Severely impaired activities of cells crucial for wound healing are important factors in non- or delayed-healing wounds. In this chapter, various adjunctive treatment modalities that are used to increase cell activities are described. Information of nutritional support, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, oxygen therapy, low-level laser therapy, ultraviolet light, pain scrambler therapy, a foot massager device, and extracorporeal shockwave therapy is provided. It is important to emphasize that adjunctive therapy alone is unlikely to result in improved healing rates. Adjunctive therapy must be used in conjunction with other standard principles of chronic wound management, including debridement, infection control, pressure off-loading, and revascularization. In addition, research regarding the use of some adjunctive therapies to facilitate wound healing is still limited. Further controlled studies may be needed to determine the most effective treatment parameters. | Adjunctive Therapy | 10.1007/978-981-19-9805-8_13 |
2023-01-01 | Open flow is a key index in deliverability evaluation, which represents the maximum production capacity of gas wells. The slow pressure recovery of gas wells in low permeability and tight gas reservoirs leads to a long deliverability test cycle, which is in contradiction with the gas field gas supply requirements. At the same time, the production mode of downhole throttling in tight gas reservoirs limits the implementation of deliverability test. As a result, less than 10% of gas wells have test data. Aiming at the problems above, a new method for gas well deliverability evaluation of low permeability and tight gas reservoir is established by exploring the coupling relationship between gas well deliverability and wellhead pressure and daily gas production in the early stage under different gas reservoir conditions, based on the correction of test data over the years and the selection of test data that meet the quality requirements. This method is easy to operate, expands the scope of gas well deliverability evaluation, and the accuracy rate reaches 80%, effectively saves the production and management cost of gas field. At the same time, the new method is of great significance to guide the reasonable production system of gas well and accurately evaluate the scale of gas reservoir, and also provides a good reference for the development of the same type of gas field. | A New Fast Deliverability Evaluation Method for Low Permeability Tight Gas Reservoir | 10.1007/978-981-99-1964-2_358 |
2023-01-01 | Compared with traditional agricultural irrigation, water-saving irrigation technology (WSIT) can save water and improve water utilization rate. Therefore, WSIT is important for the sustainable development of agriculture. In China, low-pressure tube irrigation (LPPIT), as an effective WSIT, has been gradually applied to crop irrigation. Pipe layout is important in LPPIT, and it has a significant impact on conveyance efficiency, water saving, construction investment, land occupation, and so on. However, there are few studies on pipe layout in hilly area where LPPIT is suitable and necessary. For this, the paper proposes a method of low-pressure pipe layout in the hilly area. Taking the peach tree irrigation in the hilly area as an example, the proposed method is applied. | Method of Low-Pressure Pipe Layout for Peach Tree Irrigation in Hilly Area | 10.1007/978-981-99-1919-2_6 |
2023-01-01 | The Oriente Foreland Basin in South America is one of the most important oil-producing basins in the piedmont of the Andes, the study area is located in the western slope belt of the foreland slope area, provenances come from the east, develops sea-land interaction facies thin sand, it is easy to develop low relief structural lithologic reservoirs with the mutual configuration of low relief structures on the western slope. In 1996, aiming at low relief structural-thin sand lithologic traps, 3 exploratory wells were drilled but 2 of them were failed. Because of the low relief structural trap, thin reservoirs, complex spatial distribution, and prediction-difficulty, the result difference between structure prediction and actual drilling is big, which once restricted the pace of rolling exploration and development. In 2020, in order to improve the identification precision of low relief structures and thin sand layer, integrated innovative compressive sensing seismic data expanding frequency, anisotropic velocity field modeling, wavelet transform low relief structure identification three technology. The high-resolution processing technology of compressed sensing is used to improve the vertical resolution under the condition of high amplitude preserving and high fidelity, and to improve the interpretation precision of the low relief structure of the reservoir in the time domain (4–10 ms). The anisotropic velocity field modeling technology is used to obtain high-precision time-depth relationship based on VTI correction, improve the precision of the velocity model and the identification of low relief structure. The wavelet transform low relief structure identification technology, using multi scale analysis of local signals to highlight low relief structural details at different scales. Based on the comprehensive use of effective seismic interpretation technology above, the drilling of Well K9 in 2019 was successful, the thickness of the effective oil layer was 9ft, and the stable oil production was 50 t/d. Under the guidance of these achievements, a large number of low relief structures with a closure 22–30ft (4–6ms) and thin sand reservoirs with a thickness 5–12ft (1–2ms) have been drilled, make important breakthroughs in low relief-thin reservoir traps rolling exploration in slope belts, reactivate the rolling development process of old oilfield, and also provides a reference for the subtle oil reservoirs exploration with the same geological genesis and type. | Exploration Practice Technology and Enlightenment of Low Relief Structural-Thins and Oil Reservoirs: Taking K Area in Oriente Forel and Basin, South America as an Example | 10.1007/978-981-99-1964-2_52 |
2023-01-01 | Cystoscopy is a basic urologic skill necessary for the endoscopic evaluation of the lower urinary tract, specifically the urethra and bladder. It is one of the most important diagnostic tools used by urologists to evaluate the lower urinary tract. It is relatively simple and can be performed under local anesthesia as an office procedure in numerous cases, or in the operating room under general anesthesia. There are essentially two types of cystoscopies: rigid (used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes) and flexible (mostly used for diagnostic purposes). It is a very useful means of diagnosis for numerous urologic conditions, and it also has a therapeutic role when needed. Indications for cystoscopy may range from major health-threatening conditions such as bladder cancer or severe hematuria to milder, bothersome conditions such as micturition problems, bladder stones, recurrent lower urinary tract infections, and bladder pain syndrome. This is a simple procedure that every urologist should be able to perform as part of their clinical routine practice, either for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. | Endoscopic Evaluation | 10.1007/978-3-030-71112-2_11-1 |
2023-01-01 | In the fast growing world the life of people is revolving around electronic devices where the battery life and speed of edge devices needs to be continuously extended. Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) is one of the most attractive technologies for extremely low power computing at nanoscale. It is a transistor less computation paradigm that also addresses the problems of device density and interconnection. Being a prominent subsystem within as microprocessors and application specific integrated circuits, an efficient QCA-based design of Adder Subtractor is presented in this paper for future microprocessors. Simulations are performed on QCA designer tool and the results are also compared with previous works which also proves the efficacy of presented work. | Efficient Design of QCA ADD-SUB Subsystem for Future Microprocessors | 10.1007/978-981-19-6383-4_18 |
2023-01-01 | Trees planted in rows have been used as shelterbelts to protect crops from strong winds. Similarly, trees can be used as windbreaks to reduce wind loading on buildings to protect them from wind damages. This hypothesis was tested in this study by conducting a series of wind tunnel tests using scaled-down models of a gable-roofed, low-rise building, and a mature tree, which is taller than the building. The tree was fabricated using steel wires and wool at a length scale of 1:50, similar to the building model, and resulted in a drag coefficient (C d ) of 0.75. Several model trees were installed at various distances upstream with side-by-side, staggered, and V-shaped configurations. Wind loads acting on the building roof were estimated by measuring external wind pressure using a synchronized pressure measurement system (SPMS). The results revealed significant variations in wind pressure with the number of trees, their configurations, and distance to the building. With upstream trees, some areas of the windward roof slope, such as the windward eave, lateral edges, and the area just upstream of the ridge, were subjected to increased negative wind pressure, but its magnitude decreased on the leeward roof slope. Negative wind pressure of the roof became smaller with the increase of separation distance between the building and trees except for densely arranged trees in a row. The results also suggested mature trees increased the roof uplift force by 10–30% compared to the treeless case. Among the tested tree configurations, staggered and linearly arranged sparse trees within a 2D distance should be avoided to alleviate the adverse negative pressure of the roof. Furthermore, this study recommended planting trees in rows at a 3D upstream distance (D = building width) or in a V-shaped configuration if the separation distance is less than 3D to reduce wind loading on the gable roof of a low-rise building. | Influence of Upstream Mature Trees on Wind Loading on the Gable Roof of a Low-Rise Building—A Wind Tunnel Study | 10.1007/978-981-19-2886-4_5 |
2023-01-01 | The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary system, pancreas, and salivary glands. Nuclear medicine is concerned with the evaluation of normal and abnormal functions of the gastrointestinal tract and hepatobiliary system. To date, the role of nuclear medicine in pancreatic disorders is limited to evaluation of its tumors which is dealt with elsewhere in the book. This chapter deals with the gastrointestinal tract, salivary glands, and the hepatobiliary system. It discusses pathophysiologic changes of the most relevant diseases and diagnostic imaging in a correlative approach. The primary purpose of scintigraphic liver imaging includes tissue-specific characterization of hepatic lesions, evaluation of functional liver mass, and evaluation of hepatobiliary function. Advances in instrumentation, e.g., the use of single-photon emission computed tomography/X-ray computed tomography (SPECT/CT), use of pharmacological interventions in conjunction with cholescintigraphy, and development of new radiopharmaceuticals have significantly improved the efficacy of scintigraphic imaging with expanded clinical applications. Scintigraphy has proven extremely useful in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis, chronic gallbladder disease, biliary leaks, biliary obstruction, and biliary atresia. | Digestive System | 10.1007/978-3-031-20646-7_10 |
2023-01-01 | National Climate Action Plans (Voluntary Reduction Plans) | 10.1007/978-3-319-74319-6_424 | |
2023-01-01 | Renewable energies, specifically powertrain technologies for biofuels have systematically promoted low carbon innovations. The paper focuses on a new technology, improving the performance with ethanol. The multilevel perspective framework analyzes the relevance of low carbon technology for the transition to sustainability in the automotive industry and its implications for the environment and innovation. The aims are to analyze technological niche as windows of opportunity of flex fuel engines to reduce local and global emissions and discuss technological changes in infrastructure, markets, regulation, and user practices. The study adopts a qualitative perspective operationalized by a case study at Bosch Latin America and the strategy is appropriate to understand research phenomena in detail. The company was a protagonist in the evolution of flex-fuel vehicles, and currently, the guidelines for the future of mobility imply technologies to improve CO 2 emissions and air quality. The evidence suggests that bioenergy is effective for life cycle decarbonization and compatible with the fleet in circulation, compared to vehicle electrification which affects a small portion of consumers. This study furthers the understanding of the infrastructure that co-involves more sustainable incremental technologies to fuel-efficient vehicles development with sociotechnical systems and the implications of biofuel for sustainable development in developing countries. | Biofuel for Energy Transition: The Bosch Case in Latin America | 10.1007/978-3-031-34436-7_22 |
2023-01-01 | Single-phase open fault may occur when permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) experiences overheat or vibration shock and should be detected timely to prevent system-level shutdown. Traditional detection methods often require large memory space at low speed and inapplicable at light load. To solve this problem, a new detection method based on negative-sequence currents is proposed, which detects the open fault and the fault phase by the magnitude and the phase of the normalized negative-sequence currents. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detects the open fault and its phase rapidly, in 0.1–0.3 times the fundamental period. This method does not need extra hardware or memory space and is applicable to industry. | Single-Phase Open Fault Detection for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Based on Negative-Sequence Currents | 10.1007/978-981-99-0451-8_29 |
2023-01-01 | Due to the influence of global climate, energy, economy and other factors, low-carbon economy has won the consensus of all countries, has risen to the height of national and regional development strategies. At present, China's low-carbon research is still in its infancy, so we should grasp its research status as a whole, so as to make a better in-depth study. Therefore, this paper further analyzes the low-carbon economy based on grey clustering algorithm and big data, and builds a model in this paper. In this paper, the low-carbon economy is analyzed based on the grey clustering algorithm and big data. Simulation results show that the algorithm in this paper has the highest accuracy rate, with the accuracy rate of 88.72%, followed by the GA (genetic algorithm) algorithm with the accuracy rate of 65.74%. Finally, the machine learning algorithm, the accuracy rate is 44.76%. Through the grey clustering algorithm, the concept of low carbon is established, the concept innovation is realized, the idea that “low carbon economy is an important way to implement scientific outlook on development” is earnestly implemented, and the concept, connotation and measures of low carbon economy and the importance and necessity of developing low carbon economy are widely publicized. | Construction of Low-Carbon Economic Model Based on Grey Clustering Algorithm and Big Data | 10.1007/978-3-031-38074-7_18 |
2023-01-01 | In this document, a low-voltage, low-dropout voltage regulator intends process is projected as well as executed by means of 0.25 micron CMOS. This debate three to five volt, 50 mA CMOS small give up a single 1pF compensating capacitor in a linear voltage regulator tentative outcome prove so as to highest yield load current is 50 mA and control yield electrical energy is 2.8 V. The controller provides total weight fleeting reaction by fewer than5mv overshoot in addition to under shoot. The lively outline part be 358.28 × 243.30um. Voltage regulators are used to provide a stable power supply voltage independent of load impedance, input-voltage variations, temperature, and time. Low-dropout regulators are distinguished by their ability to maintain regulation with small differences between supply voltage and load voltage. LDO used for communication and satellite. | Low Power LDO of CMOS Voltage Regulator | 10.1007/978-981-19-8497-6_34 |
2023-01-01 | Earthquake monitoring is a crucial process for human safety. Existing monitoring instruments present a high level of accuracy, along with increased size and cost because of the mechanical sensing elements they rely on. This work proposes an implementation of an earthquake monitoring device either for continuous or for non-continuous monitoring, which combines the recent advances in portable instrumentation systems along with the latest MEMS sensors. The focus is on creating a modern measuring node with improved characteristics, like high accuracy, smart and adaptive functionality, reduced energy consumption, as well as small size and cost. This system is used in a case study, targeting the evaluation and safety of school buildings, demonstrating high-quality characteristics on the acquired earthquake data. | Earthquake Monitoring with MEMS Sensors | 10.1007/978-981-19-7660-5_65 |
2023-01-01 | Due to the fact that capillary pressure is one of the central key elements defining the oil–water flow behavior in porous media with low permeability, it’s of significance to take the dynamic capillarity (e.g., dynamic capillary pressure, i.e., DCP) into account during water flooding process in formations with extremely low permeability. This article studies the effect of DCP on oil–water flow in low permeable formations by performing reservoir simulation based on a new mathematical model included DCP. In addition, taking four different kinds of well patterns (diamond shaped inverted 9-spot well network, rectangular inverted 9-spot well network, 7-spot well pattern and 5-spot well pattern) for examples, the influence of DCP on displacement characteristics of these well patterns is analyzed. The primary results show that, under a given saturation, DCP is greater than quasi-static capillary pressure, thus, for low permeable formations, DCP was too significant to be neglected. In addition, significant effect of DCP on oil–water flow characterization (e.g., the pressure drop loss, degree of oil recovery) is observed. Specifically, DCP causes pressure drop loss to become larger. The faster the production rate is, the greater the amplitude of pressure drop loss will be. The pressure drop loss range from large to small is the diamond shaped inverted 9-spot well pattern > the rectangular inverted 9-spot well pattern > the 7-spot well pattern > the 5-spot well pattern. Meanwhile, a larger capillary dynamic coefficient leads to a lower degree of oil recovery rate and a lower output per well. As a result, the main objective of this research is to give an alternative perspective to study oil–water flow in low permeability reservoirs. | Numerical Study of the Effect of Dynamic Capillary Pressure on Oil–Water Flow in Tight Reservoirs | 10.1007/978-981-19-4067-5_2 |
2023-01-01 | Characterization tests are key to improve the Lithium-Ion batteries performance. Unfortunately, they require expensive equipment that small companies and laboratories can hardly afford. In this paper a novel low-cost battery characterization setup is proposed. It uses an auxiliary battery to strongly reduce the required maximum instrument power and cost. A simulation framework of the proposed setup is developed in Matlab/Simulink environment and is applied to the characterization of a 48 V mild hybrid battery. This case study is used to both explore setup advantages and guide through its sizing. The obtained results show a strong reduction of the power required to the test equipment and a reduction up to about 70% of the energy drawn from the grid. | Low-Cost Lithium-Ion Battery Characterization Setup Based on Auxiliary Batteries | 10.1007/978-3-031-30333-3_20 |
2023-01-01 | The real-time detection of the R peaks of the ECG signal is crucial to provide information on cardiac functionality, and several strategies have been presented in the past. In this work, we adapt the classical Pan and Tompkins (PT) algorithm for efficient execution on low-power microcontroller (MCU) platforms to design a full-fledged heart rate detection system. We target a commercial MCU based on ARM Cortex-M4 and an ultra-low-power solution based on the RISC-V PULP platform. Experimental results show that our approach achieves an accuracy above 99.5%, comparable to the state-of-the-art solutions, and an energy efficiency that is one order of magnitude better than other software solutions. | An Optimized Heart Rate Detection System Based on Low-Power Microcontroller Platforms for Biosignal Processing | 10.1007/978-3-031-16281-7_16 |
2023-01-01 | In the process of water injection development of low permeability reservoirs, unreasonable water injection quality leads to the decrease of reservoir permeability, the increase of water injection pressure and the decrease of water absorption capacity. Taking the low permeability reservoir in Wenxi 3 area of Tuha oilfield as the research object, based on the basic characteristics of the reservoir, the single factor influence simulation experiment of solid particle size, particle concentration, suspended dirty oil and bacteria in injected water on core permeability change was carried out by using the water quality adaptation degree method. The water quality index suitable for this block was preliminarily proposed, and the optimized water quality index was evaluated considering the influence of multiple factors. The results show that the damage rate of core permeability increases with the increase of solid particle size, particle concentration, suspended dirty oil and bacteria content of injected water, and the damage rate of lower permeability increases more obviously. Taking 20% core permeability damage rate as the standard, the water quality index of low permeability reservoir in Wenxi 3 area of Tuha oilfield is recommended: solid particle median ≤ 1.5 μm, particle concentration < 2 mg/L, oil content < 6 mg/L, SRB bacteria is 0/mL. The optimized water quality index can provide a reliable basis for the protection of oil and gas reservoirs and the water quality index of water injection in Tuha Oilfield, and also provide a reference for the formulation of water quality standards for water injection development in other similar blocks. | Research on Optimization of Water Quality Index System for Low Permeability Reservoir Water Injection Development | 10.1007/s10553-023-01484-x |
2023-01-01 | Low-light images are images taken in poorly illuminated environments. Such images suffer from colour distortion, loss of detail and blurriness, which seriously affects the detection accuracy of object detection tasks. In order to improve the accuracy of object detection in low-light images, we propose a low-light image object detection algorithm based on image enhancement. The algorithm is jointly trained on the input side of the YOLOv5 network in combination with an unsupervised low-light enhancement model. The training phase optimises the overall network with the loss of object detection so that the image enhancement results are more favourable for improving the object detection accuracy. In the feature extraction phase, we design a feature enhancement model based on an attention mechanism. Our algorithm is tested on the publicly available ExDark dataset and achieves a mean average precision (mAP) of 79.15%, which is a 4.25% improvement over the baseline. | Research on Object Detection Methods in Low-Light Conditions | 10.1007/978-981-99-6492-5_48 |
2023-01-01 | The robotics industry is rapidly evolving driven by better and cheaper computer chips and affordable 3D printing technologies. All these aspects are a catalyst that helps in building new concepts and prototypes at a lower cost, and easier and faster than ever before. This paper presents the entire process of building an articulated robotic arm with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) and a gripper, all controlled from a designed Arduino command center. The project will go through the 3D designing process and the selection of different actuators. Then, an optimization of the hardware options for controlling the motors and the software to operate the robotic arm is presented. Finally, advantages and drawbacks of the proposed architecture are discussed. | Design of an Assistive Low-Cost 6 d.o.f. Robotic Arm with Gripper | 10.1007/978-981-19-1607-6_4 |
2023-01-01 | Low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades at high altitude present complex flow situations due to presence of separation and subsequent transition. These relatively low Reynolds number flows are challenging to simulate in a computationally affordable framework. Present work addresses this issue by providing solutions of such LPT flows using Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations. The simulations are performed on a cascade with Pratt & Whitney blade T106A. Simulation conditions are based on the experiments carried out at a transitional Re = 51,831 at a relatively high angle of incidence of 45.5°. Simulations were performed using several turbulence and transitional models. The computed results are compared with the experimental data as well as available Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results. All three turbulence models used for the study- Spalart-Allmaras (SA), k-ω SST and Realizable k-є - predict the flow well on the pressure side of the blade but fail to capture the flow on the suction side due to involvement of separation and transition. However, when these simulations are performed with transition models (γ-Re θ and the laminar kinetic energy (LKE)) on the same grid, significant improvements were seen in the prediction of the separation region. Both the models predicted the pressure plateau near the trailing edge of the suction side related to the separation region. A detailed flow analysis, further, suggests that compared to the γ-Re θ model, the LKE model reproduces the separation bubble structure more accurately, close to that obtained from high-resolution direct numerical simulations in the literature. | Transition Modelling For Flow Separation In Low-Pressure Turbine Cascades | 10.1007/978-981-19-7055-9_54 |
2023-01-01 | As an important part of the tractor display interface, the alarm signal plays the role of attracting the driver's attention and pushing important information to the driver under emergency situations. The design level of the alarm signal is related to whether the tractor driver can deal with the abnormal situation effectively, which determines the efficiency and safety of the whole system. Therefore, how to evaluate the alarm signal has become a key issue to be considered in the design of tractor display interface. Based on human situational cognition model, this paper establishes an alarm signal effectiveness evaluation index system for different criticality scenarios, comprehensively evaluates the performance of alarm signals in each stage of situational cognition, explores the effectiveness of multiple alarm signals and combined alarm signals under different criticality scenarios, and proposes alarm signal design strategies applicable to different scenarios. It provides theoretical guidance for the design of alarm signal in display interface. | Research on Designing and Evaluating Alarm Signals for Varying Criticality Scenarios | 10.1007/978-3-031-48044-7_11 |
2023-01-01 | Under the vision of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, clean heat supply as one of the important ways to realize low-carbon transition, will face a broad market, and replacing some conventional heat sources with nuclear energy is an effective means to reduce pollutants and a priority choice to optimize energy structure. Based on the current situation of heat supply in China, this paper first analyzes the necessity of nuclear heat supply (NHS) by megawatt-class nuclear power units from the demand side and supply side respectively. The paper then constructs an economic model and based on the opportunity cost theory, uses the power loss method to carry out financial calculation after apportioning the cost of thermal power. It will analyze the impact of nuclear feed-in/cost tariff, heating load, and distance of heat supply network on the cost-effectiveness of NHS by megawatt-class nuclear power units in the case of low-pressure steam supply, as well as the range of heat price variation caused by related factors within a certain controllable range. The study shows that the cost-effectiveness of NHS is most sensitive to feed-in/cost tariff, and that at the current level of nuclear feed-in/cost tariff, the price of NHS is significantly lower than the price level set by the Development and Reform Commissions in most regions of China. Therefore, NHS by megawatt-class nuclear power units has a very good market prospect in terms of both price competitiveness and policy support. | Analysis of the Economic Prospect of Nuclear Heat Supply by Megawatt-Class Nuclear Power Units from the Perspective of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality | 10.1007/978-981-19-8780-9_58 |
2023-01-01 | Given that the amount of traditional fuel energy is quite small and limited, it is important for the current and future generations to implement new progressive ideas for alternative changes in the fuel and energy sector in the light of environmental education. The main issue in the installation remains the environmental friendliness and economic benefits of these systems. The paper describes the analysis of the ecological feasibility of the operation of the solar thermal supply system by the solar collector. The article uses a calculation method based on data on losses and changes in the quality of the fuel used, taking into account the characteristics of energy and gas treatment plants. That is, a comparison of emissions of harmful substances from installations running on a traditional type of fuel, as opposed to solar energy. Emission factors are determined in accordance with regulatory documents approved by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Indicators of pollutant emissions are determined in accordance with current regulations in Ukraine. | Ecological Expediency of Using Traditional Fuels as Opposed to Solar Energy | 10.1007/978-3-031-14141-6_33 |
2023-01-01 | In this paper, a Lagrangian relaxation approach to the problem of minimization of the total weighted tardiness is presented. The approach can be used both to solve the original problem as well as to obtain a high-quality lower bound for the branch-and-bound method. The problem was further decomposed into upper and lower problems. For the upper problem, an approach using a local-search metaheuristic is proposed instead of a subgradient method from the literature. Several variants of both methods are then implemented and compared through a numerical example using OR library problem instances. The results prove the viability of the metaheuristic approach as with little calibration it is able to match or outperform a refined subgradient method. | Metaheuristic-Based Lagrangian Relaxation for Total Weighted Tardiness Minimization | 10.1007/978-3-031-35173-0_10 |
2023-01-01 | Faced with the impacts of climate change and its resulting consequences on both societal liveability Liveability standards and economic drawbacks, cities and countries are re-evaluating policies regarding urban sustainability. This is reflected in global policy documents such as the Sustainable Development Goal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and the New Urban Agenda New Urban Agenda by the United Nations. Coupled with national strategies, there is a noticeable interest in mitigation Mitigation strategies toward protecting vital urban infrastructure while safeguarding the integrity, efficiency, and performance of the urban economy. Cities and countries with low financial capabilities, such as low-income economies and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Small Island Developing States (SIDS) , cannot afford expensive mitigation Mitigation measures deemed essential to their survival. Faced with this need, they often fall prey to unsustainable, unethical, and dangerous financing Financing mechanisms supporting debt Debt structures that are principally tabled to secure the power of vital infrastructure or their strategic locations on the global map. This chapter explores this conundrum and advances the need for revised financing Financing mechanisms in the wake of climate change. A revised Emissions Trading System Emissions Trading System (ETS) model is proposed to achieve regional decarbonisation Regional Decarbonisation through the use of Smart Contracts Smart Contracts in the Blockchain Blockchain . | Redefining Climate Policy and Economic Resilience in the Consuming World | 10.1007/978-981-99-6624-0_5 |
2023-01-01 | Buzuluk forest is a specially protected area with the status of a National Park. Hydrocarbon deposits have been explored in the region: Gremyachovskoye, Vorontsovskoye, Mogutovskoye, Elshanskoye, Zhuravlevskoye, Neklyudovskoye, Nikiforovskoye. The first three are located on the territory of the forest. Separate wells drilled outside the forest are operated. Settlements are located along the river valleys. They are supplied with water at the expense of the Upper Tatar complex and the Lower Pliocene-Holocene horizon, fed by atmospheric precipitation. Groundwater is practically not protected from pollution. Areas are identified from hazardous to permissible in terms of the content of harmful components, taking into account the lithological composition of the rocks, the results of standard logging, test pumping with measurements of temperature and water level until its restoration. The results of the conducted research should be used for planning and conducting monitoring work on a unique territory for its further prosperity. | Features of the Formation of the Chemical Composition of the Hydrosphere of the Buzuluk Pine Forest | 10.1007/978-3-031-25962-3_60 |
2023-01-01 | Liebherr develops hydrogen fuel injection system solutions to be used in on- and off-highway hydrogen combustions engines. Heavy-duty off-highway applications have partly different requirements compared to on-highway applications. Robustness against dust, dirt & vibrations and other harsh environmental conditions must be given. Additionally higher peak power demand and more dynamic load cycles increase the requirements on the transient performance of the engine. To meet these requirements, Liebherr has developed a complete hydrogen injection system that includes all the components needed for pressure regulation and fuel dosing. Throughout the development, real load cycles of heavy-duty mobile machinery have been considered to properly design the system and its components. This paper will provide detailed insights on the layout, design and functionality of the hydrogen injection system. In particular, the dynamic pressure regulation by means of a gas metering valve is shown and how this approach enables diesel-like transient engine behavior. Furthermore, first test results on the system performance are provided. Additionally an overview on the common platform approach to the Liebherr portfolio of hydrogen fuel injectors for port fuel injection (PFI) and direct injection (DI) incl. actual test results will be given. Liebherr’s approach to hydrogen fuel injection systems are not only limited to heavy duty commercial engines. Also components for large engines are considered in the overall platform approach. | Liebherr’s Approach to Hydrogen Fuel Injection Systems | 10.1007/978-3-658-41477-1_7 |
2023-01-01 | The middle and lower Jurassic coal beds in the southern margin of South Turgay basin are very developed, mainly thin coal strata (>2 m), alternating with mudstone and sandstone. The borehole environment of the coal bearing sections is poor, because the coal beds are easy to collapse and the borehole diameters are seriously expanded. Some sections expand to more than twice the borehole diameters, so the density and acoustic curve are affected by the d borehole diameters, even lower than the lower limit of the theoretical value. Aiming at the complex borehole environment in coal beds, this paper uses the multivariate fitting technology of multi curve to repair the curve distortion caused by borehole expansion, greatly improves the calibration accuracy of synthetic seismograms, and provides a data basis for reservoir prediction. At the same time, according to the logging evaluation process for reservoir prediction research, Xu & White rock physical model is selected to model the P-wave and S-wave velocities. By fine tuning the skeleton point parameters, the model data and the measured data are highly correlated. Through the reservoir sensitivity analysis, it is considered that the P-wave velocity ratio can effectively distinguish lithology and oil-gas potential, but there are still some reservoir overlaps. The P-wave impedance combined with the P-wave velocity ratio can distinguish favorable reservoirs from non-reservoirs to the greatest extent. | Rock Physical Analysis of Middle and Lower Jurassic Coal-Bearing Strata in the Southern Margin of South Turgay Basin | 10.1007/978-981-99-1964-2_83 |
2023-01-01 | Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are a group of respiratory viruses that cause human diseases including bronchitis, croup, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia in infants, children, and immunocompromised individuals. HPIVs, in combination with influenza virus, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus, are responsible for the majority of respiratory viral infections that require medical attention. These viruses were first described in 1956; longitudinal studies of community and family HPIV disease were carried out during the twentieth century. More recently, HPIV has been recognized as an important and serious cause of pneumonia in immunocompromised patients and an important etiology of lower respiratory tract disease in people of all ages. Epidemiologic studies documenting the importance of HPIVs have been mainly conducted in developed countries, but new sensitive molecular diagnostic tools are being utilized to further characterize HPIV disease in diverse populations worldwide. In recent years, the molecular mechanisms of paramyxovirus cell entry and replication are becoming better understood. Paramyxoviruses enter the target cell by binding to a cell surface receptor and then fusing the viral envelope with the target cell membrane, allowing the release of the viral genome into the cytoplasm. Binding and fusion are driven by a viral fusion complex consisting of the receptor-binding protein and the fusion protein. Better understanding of these crucial steps may help advance the development of antiviral therapies. No effective HPIV therapies are currently available, but new HPIV vaccines and antivirals are currently being actively studied in children and immunocompromised individuals. | Paramyxoviruses: Parainfluenza Viruses | 10.1007/978-1-4939-9544-8_25-2 |
2023-01-01 | The lower limits of physical properties are key elements affecting reservoir evaluation and reserves estimation, which are related to the key decision-making of oil and gas reservoir exploration and development. Different from the traditional methods, this paper establishes a method to determine the lower limit of physical properties of gas reservoirs based on the theory of secondary migration and accumulation of natural gas, taking into account the relationship between driving force and resistance, and using the principle of mechanical balance. Considering the gas column height and pore-throat radius, the lower limit of physical properties at different locations of gas reservoir is determined respectively, which is different from the traditional method of taking the fixed lower limit of physical properties for the whole gas reservoir. For gas reservoirs with large structural amplitude difference, this method can more accurately evaluate the geological reserves, which is of great significance to the preparation of gas reservoir development plan, evaluation of reserves producing degree, and tapping the potential of remaining reserves. | A Method for Determining the Lower Limit of Physical Properties of Gas Reservoir by Gas Column Height and Pore Throat Radius | 10.1007/978-981-99-1964-2_164 |
2023-01-01 | This paper discusses the design and implementation of a cable robotic system as a lower limb rehabilitation assistance device for hip surgery patients in the immediate postoperative period. The idea stems from the desire to implement an inexpensive and reliable robot adaptable for home use, to avoid overcrowding in hospital environments and prevent the spread of Covid 19 infection. The design logic has four parts: an estimation of competitors is made, the product specification table is compiled, optimization of the structure is carried out using kinematic and dynamic analyses, and experimental tests are carried out on a prototype. | Design and Operation of a Cable-Driven Robot for Lower-Limb Rehabilitation | 10.1007/978-3-031-25655-4_21 |
2023-01-01 | This paper puts forward a cooperative node selection and resource allocation strategy for search and track applications in radar network. The strategy is proposed to minimize the total energy consumption for searching and multi-target tracking (MTT) tasks by optimizing radar node selection, dwell time and transmit power allocation of multiple radar nodes cooperatively, while satisfying the given search and track requirements and several system resource budgets. We utilize the detection probability as the metric for searching, and the predicted Bayesian Cramér-Rao lower bound (BCRLB) is derived as the criterion for MTT performance, which are both concerned as constraints in the optimization model. Subsequently, a two-step solution algorithm based on the interior point method and cyclic minimization framework is proposed to tackle the underlying optimization problem. Simulation results verify that the proposed strategy consumes the least energy while ensuring the specified search and track performance demands, when compared with other existing algorithms. | Cooperative Node Selection and Resource Allocation for Search and Track Applications in Radar Network | 10.1007/978-981-99-0479-2_120 |
2023-01-01 | A type of parallel driving mechanism (PDM) is proposed in this paper. PDM is different from parallel mechanism and hybrid mechanism, which is composed of the operating mechanism, driving mechanism, and connecting joint. Both the operating mechanism and driving mechanism are connected to the frame which can reduce the inertia at the end of the mechanism and improve the dynamic response. Based on the PDM’s concept, configuration design process of lower-mobility PDM is proposed. In this process, the matching procedure between the driving mechanism, operating mechanism and connecting joint in PDM during configuration design is presented. On this basis, the configuration design of 3–5 degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) PDM is carried out. PDM can enrich the types of mechanisms and provide more configuration options for mechanical equipment. The configuration design process provides theoretical support for developing new PDMs and three PDMs has good potential to be used in different application. | Configuration Design of Lower-Mobility Parallel Driving Mechanisms | 10.1007/978-981-19-9398-5_30 |
2023-01-01 | In man, most chronic wounds present on the lower extremities including the feet caused by vascular conditions and or diabetes mellitus. Venous leg ulcers, mixed-arterio venous leg ulcers, ischemic leg ulcers result from venous and or arterial pathologies. Painful digital ulcers may also occur due to Raynaud’s phenomenon or scleroderma. The prevalence of lower extremity vascular ulcers is increasing due to increasing longevity in many countries including Europe, USA, and China as well as the increasing prevalence of peripheral arterial disease and diabetes. The clinical management of such wounds has benefitted from the use of technology for diagnosis as well as management. Innovative technology has permitted the development as well as the advocacy of sustained compression and offloading, as mainstays for treatment for venous leg ulcers and neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers respectively. Practical experience has led to the development of guidelines for standardized care. However, timely, sustained wound healing remains a clinical challenge: age and associated generalized inflammation, effects on the main cellular directors of healing have been proposed as likely explanations. Are we applying innovative technology appropriately? | The Role of Technology in Managing Vascular Wounds | 10.1007/978-3-031-26110-7_2 |
2023-01-01 | The most frequent natural occurrence in low-lying flat land or floodplain regions is flooding, which not only results in a boost to the soil fertility but is also almost invariably accompanied by a major loss of lives, property, and the economy. The major objective of the present study is to identify areas, which are vulnerable to flood in the Malda District of West Bengal, lying under the lower Gangetic floodplain using the remote sensing, GIS with the integration of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach by applying the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model. Spatial distribution under GIS platform has been employed, and eight relevant parameters have been selected, and weights were given from the calculation of pair matrix of AHP model namely elevation (27.7%), slope (21.5%), distance from river (15.4%), confluence (10.4%), geomorphology (7.6%), soil (5.7%), and LULC (4.1%) for the identification of flood susceptible areas. From the assessment, five flood-susceptible zones have been identified as very least susceptible, least susceptible, moderately susceptible, high susceptible, and very high susceptible. For the validation of MCDM-based model area within and under the curve (AUC) has prepared using the 50 number of flood inventory points. The high AUC value (0.847) indicates that flood susceptibility zonation of Malda District is quite precise and can be useful for planning, mitigating, and reducing future flood inundation problems. | Application of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Assessing Flood Susceptibility of the Tal-Diara and Barind Region in Malda District, India | 10.1007/978-3-031-21086-0_9 |
2023-01-01 | A two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic model is developed for the prediction of the water level in the lower Narmada River and its coastal floodplain passing through the Bharuch city of Gujarat, India. The 2D hydrodynamic model is calibrated for the flood of 2006 with due consideration of upstream (releases from Sardar Sarovar Dam) and downstream (tidal level of the sea) boundary conditions. The resistance coefficient of the floodplain is estimated using Landsat imagery based on the land use land cover pattern. The developed model is validated with independent data from a flood in 2013. The developed model is utilized to predict flood levels for the discharges corresponding to a 100-year return period flood, observed maximum flood and standard project flood of Sardar Sarovar Dam, which is situated upstream of the study area on the Narmada River. The model is further used to study the variation in water levels in the lower Narmada River due to the construction of the proposed Bhadbhut barrage for different gate-opening and embankment scenarios. This will be helpful in determining the height and length of the embankments along the river for flood protection. This is the first study in the lower Narmada River after the completion of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and after reaching its full capacity on September 17, 2019. The methodology proposed in this study for river flood prediction on the coastal floodplain using a 2D hydrodynamic model can be applied to similar geographical conditions. | A 2D hydrodynamic model for river flood prediction in a coastal floodplain | 10.1007/s11069-022-05587-2 |
2022-12-31 | Current energy demand and environmental pollution issues are growing due to global urbanization and development in many countries, leading to amplified energy/material consumption, serious and irreparable damage to the ecosystem with simultaneous waste formation. The world energy demand is mainly accomplished by finite fossil fuel-based reserves, which have a crucial impact on the ecosystem/environment, and consequently, there is a need for a sustainable and/or low-carbon bioeconomy. Hydrogen (H 2 ) generation from renewable biomass/waste is a promising bioenergy system that can generate low-carbon hydrogen and reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 2050. Waste-to-biohydrogen (WtBH) can become a portion of the zero-emissions fuel replacement for natural gas and serve as one of the sustainable cleaner hydrogen sources which are environmentally friendly and economically feasible. In this view, bio-H 2 is considered appropriate because of its high potential as a green, clean, and sustainable carbon-neutral energy source in the emerging low-carbon hydrogen bioeconomy. Nanostructured systems based on renewable biomass/waste sources depict a high potential to produce sustainable and low carbon biohydrogen economy because of their excellent physicochemical structures, such as high efficiency, high surface/volume ratio, non/low-toxicity, high chemical/mechanical stability, biodegradability/biocompatibility, availability, sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and unusual electrical/mechanical and magnetic properties. Renewable biomass and waste materials are extensively considered green sources to prepare greener and more sustainable sorts of mono- or bi-metallic nanomaterials using facile approaches. This review summarizes the deployment of thermochemical and biochemical approaches for WtBH using nanobiocatalysts towards a low-carbon bioeconomy. Graphical Abstract | Integrated approaches for waste to biohydrogen using nanobiomediated towards low carbon bioeconomy | 10.1007/s42114-022-00597-x |
2022-12-30 | This paper presents a semi-analytical approach to assess the structural responses of low-volume roads using StabilRoad stabilizer and its application with cement for low-volume roads. A finite-element response model is developed using ABAQUS to catechize the suitability of this stabilizer on the base and subgrade layer of low-volume flexible pavement sections. Aspects related to strength characteristics, rutting deformation, microscopic behaviour are analyzed. Vertical subgrade stress and surface deflections are considerably reduced with the inclusion of StabilRoad stabilized base. More importantly, this mechanistic-empirical approach clearly demonstrates the potentiality of this stabilizer to be effectively applied in unbound layers of such pavement systems. As of the increase in the intensity of C–S–H peaks, the strength properties of the cement-modified soil mixture are improved with the incorporation of this stabilizer. Considerable reduction in the thickness of the pavement was observed with the introduction of the stabilized base by offsetting to the tune of about 40–50% to that of conventional pavement and thereby saving the overall cost of pavement. | Modelling Response of Soil Stabilized Low Volume Roads by Mechanistic-Empirical Approach | 10.1007/s42947-022-00260-0 |
2022-12-30 | Water vapour is a highly variable constituent of the troposphere; thus, its high-resolution measurements are of great importance to weather prediction systems. The Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are operationally used in the estimation of the tropospheric state and assimilation of the results into the weather models. One of the GNSS techniques of troposphere sensing is tomography which provides 3-D fields of wet refractivity. The tomographic results have been successfully assimilated into the numerical weather models, showing the great potential of this technique. The GNSS tomography can be based on two different approaches to the parameterisation of the model’s domain, i.e. block (voxel-based) or grid (node-based) approach. Regardless of the parameterisation approach, the tomographic domain should be discretised, which is usually performed in a regular manner, with a grid resolution depending on the mean distance between the GNSS receivers. In this work, we propose a new parameterisation approach based on the optimisation of the tomographic nodes’ location, taking into account the non-uniform distribution of the GNSS information in the troposphere. The experiment was performed using a dense network of 16 low-cost multi-GNSS receivers located in Wrocław and its suburbs, with a mean distance of 3 km. Cross-validation of four different parameterisation approaches is presented. The validation is performed based on the Weather Research and Forecasting model as well as radiosonde observations. The new approach improves the results of wet refractivity estimation by 0.5–2 ppm in terms of RMSE, especially for altitudes of 0.5–2.0 km. | Parameterisation of the GNSS troposphere tomography domain with optimisation of the nodes’ distribution | 10.1007/s00190-022-01691-0 |
2022-12-29 | Fruits are highly perishable due to high respiration rate after harvest. This always leads to losses after harvest resulting in farmers not getting good value for their products. The high cost of the conventional refrigerator and the adverse effect on the stored fruits have made evaporative cooling technology for fruit preservation very attractive. The challenge is making it more affordable and effective to farmers using locally sourced materials to store different kinds of fruits. Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate the influence of locally source agro-biomass wetting material on the dynamics of the respiratory heat load of orange stored in a direct evaporative cooler. For this reason, a custom stand-alone direct evaporative cooler designed for the storage of fruits and vegetables was used to store oranges with Jute fibre, palm fruit mesocarp fibre and wood charcoal as agro-biomass humidifiers at 3 to 4.5 m/s air velocity. The evolution of the respiratory heat and heat transfer rate varied with surrounding temperature and air velocity, and the three biomass-wetting materials showed a good response in lowering the ambient air temperature. Orange fruit stored in the DEC showed a very low respiratory heat load of 0.011 to 0.017 W/kg (11 to 17 mW/kg) and a heat transfer load of 0.614 to 0.963 W for the three biomass wetting materials investigated. Comparatively palm fruit mesocarp produced the lowest evaporative cooler temperature, respiratory heat generation and heat transfer rate. The respiratory heat generated by the orange stored in DEC with palm fruit mesocarp fibres was found to be 1.4% and 0.7% lower than jute fibre and wood charcoal respectively at an air speed of 4.5 m/s, whereas it was 11.63% and 17.05% lower at 4 m/s for the two materials. Similarly, at 3 m/s the values were lower by 9.7% and 14.93% for jute fibre and wood charcoal, respectively. Correspondingly, the heat transfer rate for palm fruit mesocarp was lower by 5.4% and 8.32% at 4.5 m/s, 10.24 and 14.17% at 4 m/s and 12.54 and 21.99% at 3 m/s for jute fibre and wood charcoal, respectively. A multi-regression fitting of respiratory heat generation with the cooler temperature surface temperature and air velocity showed a linear relationship with R 2 values of 0.774 to 0.999 for the three biomass wetting materials explored. | The dynamics of respiratory heat load produced by orange using different biomass fibres as wetting materials in a direct evaporative cooling system | 10.1007/s13399-022-03694-5 |
2022-12-29 | Climate affects the natural landscape, the economic productivity of societies, and the lifestyles of its inhabitants. It also influences municipal wastewater treatment. Biological processes are widely employed in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and the prolonged cold conditions brought by the winter months each year pose obstacles to meeting the national standards in relatively cold regions. Therefore, both a systematic analysis of existing technical bottlenecks as well as promising novel technologies are urgently needed for these cold regions. Taking North-east China as a case, this review studied and analyzed the main challenges affecting 20 municipal WWTPs. Moreover, we outlined the currently employed strategies and research issues pertaining to low temperature conditions. Low temperatures have been found to reduce the metabolism of microbes by 58% or more, thereby leading to chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH 4 + -N levels that have frequently exceeded the national standard during the winter months. Furthermore, the extracellular matrix tends to lead to activated sludge bulking issues. Widely employed strategies to combat these issues include increasing the aeration intensity, reflux volume, and flocculant addition; however, these strategies increase electricity consumption by > 42% in the winter months. Internationally, the processes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), granular sludge, and aerobic denitrification have become the focus of research for overcoming low temperature. These have inspired us to review and propose directions for the further development of novel technologies suitable for cold regions, thereby overcoming the issues inherent in traditional processes that have failed to meet the presently reformed WWTP requirements. | Current status of municipal wastewater treatment plants in North-east China: implications for reforming and upgrading | 10.1007/s11783-023-1673-5 |
2022-12-29 | The pyrolytic oil reside (POR) is produced during vacuum pyrolysis of waste tire powder (WTP) at 600 °C. Then, the pyrolytic oil residue is considered as a rheology modifier for bitumen at low temperatures. Characterization of POR showed lower viscosity and flash point with same elemental analysis to neat bitumen. Interestingly, the POR provides high-content resin (~ 20%) and similar C/H to resin part of neat bitumen which caused the increase in ductility. By blending POR with bitumen, penetration increased and softening point decreased. Short-term aging properties (compatibility, retained penetration) displayed improvement in aging resistance. Stiffness curves of bending beam rheometer (BBR) at − 12 °C proposed a winter-flexible binder by adding POR. Also, rotational viscometry (RV) indicated shear-thinning behavior of modified bitumen. The validity of this assumption was confirmed during dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) study. Damping factor considered an enhancement in soft viscous performance of modified bitumen at low temperatures in comparison to neat bitumen. | Rheological Analysis of Bitumen Modified by Waste Tire Powder Pyrolytic Oil Residue | 10.1007/s42947-022-00262-y |
2022-12-29 | The aim of this study is to evaluate how much the changes in the concrete mix design, which enable carbon footprint reduction, are impacting mechanical properties and predicted service life of concrete structure. The starting point of this study was concrete mix used in a recent reinforced concrete Pelješac Bridge in the Adriatic. In the first round of experiments the amount of cement in this initial mix was significantly lowered, without jeopardising workability of the mix. In the second round, the main part of the cement was substituted with the combination of fly ash and limestone or calcined clay and limestone. All supplementary cementitious materials used were sourced in the region of the structure. The calcined clays used in this study were collected locally and found to have a low kaolin content. On all mixes fresh and mechanical properties were tested to ensure that the requested equal or better workability and mechanical stability were reached. Furthermore, on each mix chloride migration was tested to evaluate the resistance of mix to chloride penetration. All mixtures were evaluated based on the overall performance considering mechanical, durability, and carbon footprints. The results indicate that the total cement content had a significant effect on durability and thus service life. The bridge mix design was determined to be ‘over designed,’ as all alternative mixes achieved a similar or higher sustainability index with lower amount of cement. | Does carbon footprint reduction impair mechanical properties and service life of concrete? | 10.1617/s11527-022-02090-9 |
2022-12-29 | Yeast was the first microorganism used by mankind for biotransformation processes that laid the foundations of industrial biotechnology. In the last decade, Pichia pastoris has become the leading eukaryotic host organism for bioproduct generation. Most of the P. pastoris bioprocess operations has been relying on toxic methanol and glucose feed. In the actual bioeconomy era, for sustainable value-added bioproduct generation, non-conventional yeast P. pastoris bioprocess operations should be extended to low-cost and renewable substrates for large volume bio-based commodity productions. In this review, we evaluated the potential of P. pastoris for the establishment of circular bioeconomy due to its potential to generate industrially relevant bioproducts from renewable sources and waste streams in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. Furthermore, we discussed challenges with the second generation P. pastoris platforms and propose novel insights for future perspectives. In this regard, potential of low cost substrate candidates, i.e., lignocellulosic biomass components, cereal by-products, sugar industry by-products molasses and sugarcane bagasse, high fructose syrup by-products, biodiesel industry by-product crude glycerol, kitchen waste and other agri-food industry by products were evaluated for P. pastoris cell growth promoting effects and recombinant protein production. Further metabolic pathway engineering of P. pastoris to construct renewable and low cost substrate utilization pathways was discussed. Although, second generation P. pastoris bioprocess operations for valorisation of wastes and by-products still in its infancy, rapidly emerging synthetic biology tools and metabolic engineering of P. pastoris will pave the way for more sustainable environment and bioeconomy. From environmental point of view, second generation bioprocess development is also important for waste recycling otherwise disposal of carbon-rich effluents creates environmental concerns. P. pastoris high tolerance to toxic contaminants found in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysate and industrial waste effluent crude glycerol provides the yeast with advantages to extend its applications toward second generation P. pastoris strain design and bioprocess engineering, in the years to come. Graphical Abstract | Second generation Pichia pastoris strain and bioprocess designs | 10.1186/s13068-022-02234-7 |
2022-12-28 | Purpose Fruit and vegetable-based industry alone generates 25–30% of phytonutrient-rich wastes. This biomass is usually discarded in landfills, which creates health and ecological hazards. Method Considering this, the main objective of the study was to develop a low-glycemic orange peel cake, apple peel cookies, and individual/triple peel laddus (pomegranate, apple, and orange) using maida, brown rice, and finger millet flour, respectively, and to evaluate their sensorial aspects. The quality of the triple peel laddu mix was analyzed through nutrient value, protein digestibility, antioxidant, and antidiabetic property. Results The results showed that the mean score of overall acceptability of the orange peel cake was towards the category of “liked slightly,” while the apple peel cookies and pomegranate peel laddus scored a maximum score of “liked extremely” by selected panelists using 5-point Likert scale. Furthermore, triple peel laddu mix (g −1 ) showed 5.51% protein, 11.0% fiber, and 74.25 ± 2.06% protein digestibility. Interestingly, triple peel laddu exhibited 82.3 ± 1.07% DPPH radical scavenging activity and 58.4 ± 1.14% alpha-amylase inhibition activity. Furthermore, the shelf life of triple peel laddu mix was retained for 45 days at 4 °C with no observed microbial contamination. Conclusion Conclusively, the utilization of such low-cost fruit peel waste will not only be useful to formulate healthy value-added food products but will also be helpful to manage fruit peel waste. | Valorization of fruit peel waste for the formulation of low-gluten phytonutrient-rich savory snacks | 10.1186/s41110-022-00185-5 |
2022-12-27 | As infrastructure construction advances toward the cold and highland environment, concrete preparation technology and service performance in the cold climate is receiving much attention. The freezing of pore water inside concrete leads to significant changes in its mechanical properties at negative temperatures. Therefore, to ensure the safety of civil engineering structures in cold regions, it is necessary to fully understand the change law and enhancement mechanism of the mechanical properties of concrete and be able to predict mechanical properties at a negative temperature. Since the 1970s, scholars have studied concrete’s negative temperature mechanical properties in different water-content states. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the changes in mechanical properties of concrete at low and ultra-low temperatures and further elucidates the evolution of its compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, and stress-strain relationship at low temperatures. It was found that the main factors affecting the mechanical properties of concrete at low temperatures were temperature and moisture content. The strength of concrete increases significantly with the decrease in temperature and the increase in moisture content. To better understand and predict the mechanical properties of concrete at low temperatures, the best model was suggested by analyzing the prediction models of different researchers and considering the dispersion of the data. Further, based on the G. Wiedemann pore model, the changes in the internal structure of concrete at low temperatures are described in detail, and the mechanism of its mechanical property enhancement is analyzed. | Mechanical properties of concrete at low and ultra-low temperatures- a review | 10.1186/s43065-022-00063-4 |
2022-12-26 | In our study, we constructed a series of inorganic nonmetallic ternary hydrides PSH 6 by first-principles structural screening under pressure of 200 GPa. The structural stability under lower pressure are examined. Focusing on the structural stability, electronic and phonon properties, as well as the possible superconducting properties within the framework of Bardeen—Cooper—Schrieffer (BCS) theory, we show that PSH 6 with space group $$Pm\bar 3m$$ P m 3 ¯ m possesses a superconducting transition temperature of 146 K at 130 GPa. In the pressure range of 100–200 GPa, our work suggests that the ternary phosphorus-sulfur-hydrogen would act as a promising compositional and elemental space for achieving high-temperature superconductivity. | Structural screening of phosphorus sulfur ternary hydride PSH6 with a high-temperature superconductivity at 130 GPa | 10.1007/s11467-022-1227-5 |
2022-12-26 | We have investigated the effect of Au nanoparticles on the low frequency noise and current-voltage of Au/Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles (Nps) based photodetectors (PDs). Besides, 1/f noise of Cu doped ZnO is studied with and without Au Nps conditions and varied bias voltages. The Au/Cu codoped ZnO Nps showed much lower 1/f noise and higher normalized photocurrent to the dark current ratio (NPDR) than Cu doped ZnO Nps and undoped ZnO Nps. This enhancement may be attributed to the effect of localized surface Plasmon resonances (LSPR). Furthermore, the noise equivalent power represents the minimum optical power that a photodetector can distinguish from the noise and the detectivity (D*) is an important parameter in evaluating the ability of a photodetector to detect a weak signal. These parameters were determined using low frequency noise measurements. The observed low frequency noise performances could be used for Au/Cu codoped ZnO Nps based UV photodetectors. | Effects of plasmon resonance on the low frequency noise and optoelectronic properties of Au/Cu codoped ZnO based photodetectors | 10.1007/s11082-022-04401-4 |
2022-12-24 | Background Low temperatures greatly limit the growth of microorganisms. Low-temperature adaptation in microorganisms involves multiple mechanisms. Carotenoids are naturally occurring lipid-soluble pigments that act as antioxidants and protect cells and tissues from the harmful effects of free radicals and singlet oxygen. However, studies on the regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis at low temperatures in microorganisms are limited. In this study, we investigated the correlation between carotenoids and low-temperature adaptation in the cold-adapted strain of Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae YM25235. Results Carotenoid biosynthesis in YM25235 was inhibited by knocking out the bifunctional lycopene cyclase/phytoene synthase gene ( RKCrtYB ) using the established CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system based on endogenous U6 promoters. The carotenoids were extracted with acetone, and the content and composition of the carotenoids were analyzed by spectrophotometry and HPLC. Then, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the growth rate in YM25235 were determined at a low temperature. The results indicated that the carotenoid biosynthesis and ROS levels were increased in the YM25235 strain at a low temperature and inhibition of carotenoid biosynthesis was associated with higher ROS levels and a significant decrease in the growth rate of YM25235 at a low temperature. Conclusions The regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis was associated with low-temperature adaptation in YM25235. Our findings provided a strong foundation for conducting further studies on the mechanism by which YM25235 can adapt to low-temperature stress. | Carotenoid biosynthesis is associated with low-temperature adaptation in Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae | 10.1186/s12866-022-02728-2 |
2022-12-22 | Preclinical studies have recently evaluated the impact of low-dose brain radiation therapy (LD-RT) in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) showing anti-amyloid and anti-inflammatory effects of this treatment. Its effectiveness varied, however, depending on the LD-RT protocol used and the stage when the treatment was applied. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of 10 Gy delivered in five daily fractions of 2 Gy (a protocol previously shown to induce an improvement of cognitive performances) in 9-month-old TgF344-AD rats, modeling at a pre-symptomatic stage of the disease. We showed that at an early stage, LD-RT was able to lower levels of the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO)-mediated neuroinflammation to normal ranges in addition to the secreted CLUSTERIN, another inflammatory protein also involved in Aβ aggregation. In addition, we demonstrated that LD-RT reduces all amyloid forms (~ − 60 to − 80%, P < 0.01 ; soluble and aggregated forms of Aβ 40 , Aβ 42 , and Aβ oligomers ). Interestingly, we showed for the first time that sAPPα levels were improved by the treatment, showing a higher activation of the non-amyloidogenic pathway, that could favor neuronal survival. The current evidence confirms the capacity of LD-RT to successfully modulate two pathological hallmarks of AD, namely amyloid and neuroinflammation, when applied before symptoms onset. | Low-dose brain irradiation normalizes TSPO and CLUSTERIN levels and promotes the non-amyloidogenic pathway in pre-symptomatic TgF344-AD rats | 10.1186/s12974-022-02673-x |
2022-12-21 | Most recent implementations of low-cost electrical conductivity (EC) sensors intended for water quality measurements are based on simple two-pole designs. However, in marine settings, EC often exceeds the range where two-pole sensors provide reliable results. We have developed a simple four-pole EC sensor that relies exclusively on analog-to-digital measurements made using readily available circuit boards (pyboard v.1.1 or Raspberry Pi Pico 2040) programmed using MicroPython. Other than resistors and graphite or wire electrodes, no other electronic components are required for the EC sensor. When combined with a pressure/temperature sensor (MS5803-05), an optional NTC thermistor, batteries, and a waterproof housing constructed using a PVC pipe and a 3-D-printed cap, the device becomes a working conductivity-temperature-depth sensor capable of extended field deployments. Construction is sufficiently simple that undergraduate science students can construct one during three 3-h lab periods. Lab calibrations performed on several prototypes at ECs between 0.18 and 45 mS/cm show that confidence limits as good as about ±3% of EC are possible. Re-calibration of several prototypes 1 year after initial calibration shows that long-term calibration drift is modest. Data collected by the prototypes over several tidal cycles in the Duwamish River, Washington, USA, are in agreement with data from a co-located commercial YSI-EX03 conductivity probe. When distributed across a constructed off-channel wetland in the Duwamish system, the sensors documented large amounts of spatial and temporal variability in EC, highlighting the importance of such wetlands for providing unique temperature/salinity environments potentially valuable for outmigrating juvenile salmon. | Development and validation of an open-source four-pole electrical conductivity, temperature, depth sensor for in situ water quality monitoring in an estuary | 10.1007/s10661-022-10493-y |
2022-12-21 | Background Atherosclerosis is the pathological basis of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis. Ox-LDL leads to endothelial cell (EC) damage and dysfunction through various processes and promotes the occurrence and deterioration of atherosclerosis. High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a protein associated with cellular damage. In the present study, the effect of HMGB1 on ox-LDL-induced EC damage was determined and the underlying mechanism explored. Materials and methods Human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) were exposed to ox-LDL to induce endothelial damage and changes in HMGB1 expression level were detected using western blotting analysis and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. To observe the effect of HMGB1 on ox-LDL-induced damage, the HMGB1 expression was downregulated with siRNA, and cell viability, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis rate were assessed. HUVECs were pretreated with LY294002, an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt pathway, to determine whether the effect of HMGB1 on damage is via the PI3K-Akt pathway. Results The results showed that ox-LDL can upregulate HMGB1 expression in HUVECs and downregulation of HMGB1 expression can prevent ox-LDL-induced damage in HUVECs. Furthermore, the effect of HMGB1 on ox-LDL-induced damage could be promoted by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion The results indicate HMGB1 may be a promising research target to alleviate ox-LDL-induced EC damage. | HMGB1 promotes Ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell damage by inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway | 10.1186/s12872-022-03003-y |
2022-12-20 | This study presents a high common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR), and high power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) current-mode instrumentation amplifier (CMIA) to overcome the limitations of existing differential voltage second-generation current conveyors (DVCCII)-based CMIAs in achieving high CMRR. The design is based on a fully differential second-generation current conveyor block with a novel circuit design following by a current subtracting stage. The CMIA is designed and laid out in 130 nm CMOS technology operating under ± 1.2 V supply voltage in Cadence software. The post-layout simulation results show that the CMIA achieves low-frequency voltage and current CMRR- BW of 228.8 dB–10 kHz and 246 dB–10.6 kHz, respectively, with PSRR + /PSRR- of 108.2 dB/99.7 dB, power consumption of 507 µW, and a core area of 0.0015 mm 2 . The unique quality of the circuit is that, it does not need well-matched active blocks, but inherently improves CMRR, bandwidth, and PSRR; hence it gains an excellent choice for integration. Highly accurate amplifier is designed to detect very weak signals of information (such as biomedical signals), and amplify them for further processing. This circuit has two different input terminals to accommodate both voltage and current signals. The final circuit is very small and consumes low power. Thus, it is a good choice for seamless integration to develop portable systems. | A current mode instrumentation amplifier with high common-mode rejection ratio designed using a novel fully differential second-generation current conveyor | 10.1007/s42452-022-05247-x |
2022-12-20 | The removal of phosphate from wastewater using traditional biological or precipitation methods is a huge challenge. The use of high-performance adsorbents has been shown to address this problem. In this study, a novel composite adsorbent, composed of dolomite-doped biochar and bentonite (DO/BB), was first synthesized via co-pyrolysis. The combination of initial phosphate concentration of 100 mg/L and 1.6 g/L of DO/BB exhibited a high phosphate-adsorption capacity of 62 mg/g with a removal efficiency of 99.8%. It was also stable in complex water environments with various levels of solution pH, coexisting anions, high salinity, and humic acid. With this new composite, the phosphate concentration of the actual domestic sewage decreased from 9 mg/L to less than 1 mg/L, and the total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand also decreased effectively. Further, the cross-flow treatment using a PVC membrane loaded with DO/BB (PVC-DO/BB), decreased the phosphate concentration from 1 to 0.08 mg/L, suggesting outstanding separation of phosphate pollutants via a combination of adsorption and separation. In addition, the removal of phosphate by the PVC-DO/BB membrane using NaOH solution as an eluent was almost 90% after 5 cycles. The kinetic, isotherm and XPS analysis before and after adsorption suggested that adsorption via a combination of electrostatic interaction, complexation and precipitation contributed to the excellent separation by the as-obtained membranes. | Facile fabrication of dolomite-doped biochar/bentonite for effective removal of phosphate from complex wastewaters | 10.1007/s11783-023-1671-7 |
2022-12-20 | Background Plastic waste accumulation is one of the main ecological concerns in the past decades. A new generation of plastics that are easier to degrade in the environment compared to conventional plastics, such as starch-based bioplastics and oxo-biodegradable plastics, is perceived as a solution to this issue. However, the fate of these materials in the environment are unclear, and less is known about how their presence affect the microorganisms that may play a role in their biodegradation. In this study, we monitored the dynamics of bacterial community in soil upon introduction of commercial carrier bags claimed as biodegradable: cassava starch-based bioplastic and oxo-low-density polyethylene (oxo-LDPE). Each type of plastic bag was buried separately in compost soil and incubated for 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. Following incubation, soil pH and temperature as well as the weight of remaining plastics were measured. Bacterial diversity in soil attached to the surface of remaining plastics was analyzed using Illumina high-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 region of 16SrRNA gene. Results After 120 days, the starch-based bioplastic weight has decreased by 74%, while the oxo-LDPE remained intact with only 3% weight reduction. The bacterial composition in soil fluctuated over time with or without the introduction of either type of plastic. While major bacterial phyla remained similar for all treatment in this study, different types of plastics led to different soil bacterial community structure. None of these bacteria were abundant continuously, but rather they emerged at specific time points. The introduction of plastics into soil increased not only the population of bacteria known for their ability to directly utilize plastic component for their growth, but also the abundance of those that may interact with direct degraders. Bacterial groups that are involved in nitrogen cycling also arose throughout burial. Conclusions The introduction of starch-based bioplastic and oxo-LDPE led to contrasting shift in soil bacterial population overtime, which may determine their fate in the environment. | Bacterial dynamics during the burial of starch-based bioplastic and oxo-low-density-polyethylene in compost soil | 10.1186/s12866-022-02729-1 |
2022-12-19 | To evaluate the effect of different ureteroscope positions, saline pumping frequency, laser fiber diameter and ureteral access sheath (UAS) on outflow rate during flexible ureteroscopy (fURS). This study was performed in an anesthetized porcine model. The fURS setup included a manual pumping system, a 9.5 Fr single used-digital flexible ureteroscope and a ureteral access sheath (UAS). Outflow was collected and measured from the UAS during 1 min in all experimental settings. The evaluated variables were the position of the ureteroscope, the pumping frequency (2 s, 3 s or 5 s), the diameter of the used UAS (12/14 Fr or 14/16 Fr) and laser fiber (200 μm or a 272 μm). Ureteroscope position in the lower calyx was associated with significantly lower outflow rate ( p < 0.05). The use of the 14/16 Fr UAS resulted in improved flow in the renal pelvis and upper calyx ( p < 0.05) but not in the lower calyx. The use of a 200 μm laser fiber only improved flow in the upper calyx and when a 14/16 Fr UAS was being used. Pumping frequency did not show a significant correlation with outflow rate. The ureteroscope positioning and UAS size were important determinants of outflow rate through the UAS during fURS, while laser fiber diameter had a limited effect. In the lower calyx the outflow was minimal and was not improved by using a larger UAS. | Determinants of outflow rate through the ureteral access sheath during flexible ureteroscopy: an experimental in vivo study in an anesthetized porcine model | 10.1007/s00240-022-01377-4 |
2022-12-17 | Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) are commonly used to control flooding in urban areas. These structures store and treat stormwater runoff. Several studies in high-income countries have reported the presence of pathogens in runoff water, but it is expected that runoff water in developing countries contains higher pathogen concentrations given their lack of resources to properly manage sewage; this could result in higher risks of infection for people interacting with SUDS. In this study, we investigated pathogen concentrations (i.e., Salmonella spp. and E. Coli O157 ) at the micropool of a SUDS train composed of a grassed swale followed by a dry extended detention basin in Bogotá (Colombia) during a 25-week period. We also estimated the risk of infection with the analyzed pathogens, given the high level of exposure to the detention structure. Additionally, we investigated if any of the physicochemical or meteorological variables were associated with pathogen concentrations at the site. We found that pathogen concentrations greatly exceeded concentrations reported for stormwater runoff in developed countries, namely 1562 CFU/mL, on average, for Salmonella spp. and 9160 CFU/mL, on average, for E. Coli O157. The risk of infection from Salmonella spp. and E. Coli O157 greatly exceeded risks previously reported for recreational waters and SUDS. Pathogen concentrations were associated with precipitation and the concentration of suspended solids in the runoff. Given our findings, it is recommended that SUDS in developing countries should consider potential higher pathogen concentrations in stormwater runoff to reduce exposure. Pathogen concentrations in stormwater runoff may be higher in developing countries. Pathogen concentrations in the SUDS micropool are linked to TSS concentrations. High precipitation events result in high pathogen concentrations in the SUDS. High pathogen concentrations in the micropool yield a high infection risk in children. Understanding pathogen concentrations in stormwater runoff is key to operating SUDS. | Pathogens in Runoff Water Treated by a Sustainable Urban Drainage System in a Developing Country | 10.1007/s40710-022-00610-x |
2022-12-17 | A large amplitude X-mode laser, propagating through a cluster embedded magnetized plasma is parametrically susceptible to decay instability, involving a lower hybrid wave and an upper hybrid wave. The density perturbation associated with the lower hybrid wave couples with the oscillatory velocity of electrons due to the pump laser to produce a nonlinear current that drives the upper hybrid wave. The laser and the upper hybrid wave exert a beat frequency ponderomotive force on electrons and drive the lower hybrid wave. The surface plasmon resonance, modified by the magnetic field, plays a significant role in the response of cluster electrons. For typical laser intensity of 1016 W/cm 2 at 0.8 micron wavelength, magnetic field of 50–100 MG, and substantial density of clusters, the parametric instability grows on sub-picosecond time scale. | Decay instability of X-mode laser in a magnetized plasma embedded with clusters | 10.1007/s11082-022-04335-x |
2022-12-16 | A novel design study of ultra-flattened near-zero dispersion PCF with toluene (C 7 H 8 ) infiltration is proposed. The near-zero ultra-flattened dispersion is achieved by appropriately reducing the diameter of the first ring air-holes in the cladding and increasing the distance from the core to these air-holes. An ultra-flattened chromatic dispersion as small as 0.947 ps/(nm.km) has been obtained over a broadband of 500 nm with a high nonlinear coefficient and very low attenuation of the fundamental modes (about 10 −14 dB/m at the pump wavelength). Two optimized PCFs have been selected for broad-spectrum supercontinuum (SC) generation with low peak power. The first fiber with a lattice constant ( Λ ) 0.9 μm and filling factor ( d 1 / Λ ) 0.45 has an anomalous dispersion regime. The SC spectrum broadens from 800 to 2800 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 1897.3 nm generated by pump pulses centered at a wavelength of 1.55 μm, with input pulse energy of 0.05 nJ and 90 fs duration, corresponding to the peak power of about 0.556 kW. The second proposed fiber ( Λ = 1.0 μm, d 1 / Λ = 0.5) enables SC generation in an all-normal dispersion regime with an FWHM of 1163.7 nm at the same pump pulses as the first fiber with input pulse energy of 0.015 nJ (the peak power of 0.375 kW) in a 5 dB dynamic range. These fibers can be a new class for the next generation of broadband laser sources with a low peak power as cost-effective alternatives to glass core fibers. | Supercontinuum generation in ultra-flattened near-zero dispersion PCF with C7H8 infiltration | 10.1007/s11082-022-04351-x |
2022-12-16 | Reducing carbon emissions during belt grinding is of great significance for environmentally friendly production in the manufacturing industry. In this paper, in order to better grinding aero-engine titanium alloy blades with the abrasive belt, an improved NSGA-II multi-objective optimization algorithm was proposed, which reduced the carbon emissions during the grinding process while ensuring the same surface roughness and material removal rate. Firstly, through analysis and finite element simulation, the model of abrasive belt grinding force is established and the rationality of the model is verified by experiments; furthermore, the carbon emission model of abrasive belt grinding and the multi-objective optimization model based on the improved NSGA-II algorithm are established; finally, the results of the algorithm are verified and compared through numerical simulation and experiments. Compared with the NSGA-II algorithm and the multiple objective particle swarm optimization algorithm, the optimization results of the algorithm in this paper have better diversity and uniformity and can find better non-dominated optimal solutions; the process parameters selected by the algorithm in this paper can more effectively reduce the carbon emissions during grinding. The optimization method proposed in this paper has certain reference significance for engineering practice. | Process parameter optimization model for robotic abrasive belt grinding of aero-engine blades | 10.1007/s00170-022-10626-0 |
2022-12-16 | Electrocardiogram (ECG) can assist doctors in diagnosing many cardiovascular diseases. In order to collect high-quality ECG signals continuously for a long time, low impedance and long-term stability are two essential properties of well-performing ECG electrodes. In this work, we fabricated ECG semidry electrodes with very low impedance and high stability by metalizing the surface of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel with silver nanowires. The PVA hydrogel continuously slow-release electrolyte to infiltrate the stratum corneum while applied, decreasing the stratum corneum’s impedance and minimizing the attenuation of ECG signals. The electrodes can continuously acquire high-quality ECG signals (SNR > 30) within 24 h. Moreover, the signals can be collected during the movement. This semidry electrode can be mass-produced at a low cost, which is very promising for broad applications in scenarios requiring precise ECG monitoring over a long period of time. | A flexible semidry electrode for long-term, high-quality electrocardiogram monitoring | 10.1007/s42114-022-00596-y |
2022-12-16 | Although ecological roofs (vegetated or non-vegetated) provide many benefits, it can also leach substances such as nutrients and metals that can affect downstream aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, this work aims to investigate the rainwater quality from ecological roofs in Recife, located in the Northeast Brazil, using local species in a tropical and humid climate. Using four test cells of 1 m 2 (one non-vegetated filled with expanded clay aggregate, two vegetated with cactus “Coroa-de-Frade” and grass “Grama Esmeralda”, and one control roof), we analyzed thirteen water quality variables regarding irrigation parameters: pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, nitrate, ammonia, phosphate, bicarbonate, carbonate, calcium, magnesium, sulfate, potassium, boron, sodium, and sodium adsorption ratio. We simulated rain events controlling its intensity and analyzed a sample of natural rainwater event. All roofs neutralized the pH. Control and clay roofs were source of bicarbonate and calcium, responsible for more alkaline effluents. Carbonate and ammonia were below the recommended limits for irrigation purposes for all roofs. Green roofs were source of nitrate, ammonia, and boron. Neither roofs were source or sink for sulfate and chloride for all analyzed samples. Regarding the natural rainwater experiment, only green roof with Coroa-de-Frade exceeded the recommend irrigation parameters for potassium and phosphate. A post-treatment is required for irrigation purposes. We recommend a first-flush system followed by a filter with sand and activated carbon. | Effects of ecological roofs in water quality: an experimental study over a humid tropical climate | 10.1007/s40899-022-00804-z |
2022-12-16 | Background and aim Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) induced hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) occurred worldwide and the mortality rate remained high because there were no specific therapies. Defibrotide was effective for HSOS following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. But the pathogenesis of the two types of HSOS were not equivalent. The purpose of this study was to see if defibrotide was also effective in PA induced rat HSOS. Methods First we improved rat HSOS model by using higher dose (230 mg/kg) of monocrotaline (a kind of PA) as the dose of median lethal dose. So drug effectiveness could be assessed by survival time. Next, male SD rats were divided into 5 groups. They were control group, model group, low dose low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) treatment group, high dose LMWH treatment group and defibrotide treatment group. Rats’ survival time, liver function, white blood cell count and cytokines were compared among the groups. The DeLeve score was used to assess the severity of liver pathology. Results The model group exhibited typical liver pathology of HSOS, such as hepatic sinus dilation, congestion, endothelial injury of central lobular vein, coagulative necrosis of hepatocytes and fibrin deposition in the subendothelial. The pathologic characteristics indicated that the model was built up successfully. The survival rate was significantly higher in defibrotide group (81.8%) than model group (43.7%), while the survival rates were similar in the two LMWH groups (62.5% and 75%) and model group. The survival time only be prolonged by defibrotide (P=0.028) but not LMWH (P>0.05). DeLeve score was improved most in the defibrotide group than the two LMWH groups (both P<0.01). Changes in DeLeve score, liver function, plasma level of tumor necrosis factor α and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 exhibited the same trends. Conclusion Defibrotide could improve the outcome of monocrotaline-induced rat HSOS indicating that defibrotide might be a better choice than LMWH in clinical practice. | Defibrotide improved the outcome of monocrotaline induced rat hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome | 10.1186/s12876-022-02523-3 |
2022-12-16 | Background Zoledronic acid is an intravenous, highly potent aminobisphosphonate for use in patients with primary or secondary osteoporosis. Zoledronic acid-induced prolonged side-effects are well known and quite common. However, severe side-effects can be a threat to life. We report a case of severe side-effects induced by zoledronic acid infusion, and its positive effect on long-term back pain. Case presentation In 2012, a 62-year-old white native Finnish woman was operated on for an estrogen and progesterone receptor-positive breast cancer. After radiotherapy, an aromatase inhibitor (letrozole) was started. Nine months after the operation, the patient suffered a low-energy compression fracture of Th XII. She received denosumab to prevent fragility fractures and to improve bone mineral density. Letrozole was discontinued after 5.5 years, and the last denosumab injection was given after 7 years. Six months later, at the age of 71 years, the patient received a single intravenous zoledronic acid infusion. Suddenly, at 10 hours from the infusion, she complained of severe trismus, muscle twitching, spasms, and tingling, matching hypocalcemia and several other symptoms. Her serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was high (163 nmol/L), the concentration of serum calcium and calcium-ion was normal (2.32 mmol/L and 1.23 mmol/L, respectively). However, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was low (1.6). A complete recovery took 2 months. Zoledronic acid infusion also had a positive effect: for many years, the patient had suffered low back pain and strain, which came to an end after this single infusion. Conclusion It is important that the potential patients receive sufficient information about the possibility of side-effects following the administration of intravenous zoledronic acid. To ensure that a zoledronic acid infusion is given as safely as possible, the safety information should include that the patient should not be left without monitoring for a minimum 24 hours after the infusion. Being alone and experiencing serious side-effects may lead to acute cardiac problems. Furthermore, the chronic low back pain and strain that our patient suffered for many years has clearly reduced for 16 months after infusion, so far. We conclude that this is a positive effect of zoledronic acid. | Lessons learned from long-term side effects after zoledronic acid infusion following denosumab treatment: a case report and review of the literature | 10.1186/s13256-022-03695-y |
2022-12-15 | Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) allows for lowering the altitude of spacecraft operations below 250 km, in the so-called Very Low Earth Orbits (VLEOs). Operations in VLEOs will give radical advantages in terms of orbit accessibility, payload performance, protection from radiations, and end-of-life disposal. ABEP combines an intake to collect the residual atmosphere in front of the spacecraft and an electric thruster to ionize and accelerate the atmospheric particles. Such residual gas can be exploited as a renewable resource not only to keep the spacecraft on a VLEO, but also to remove the main limiting factor of spacecraft lifetime, i.e., the amount of stored propellant. Several realizations of the ABEP concept have been proposed, but the few end-to-end experimental campaigns highlighted the need to improve the concept functional design and the representativeness of simulated atmospheric flows. The difficulty in recreating the VLEO environment in a laboratory limits the data available to validate scaling laws and modelling efforts. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the main research and development efforts on the ABEP technology. | A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification | 10.1007/s44205-022-00024-9 |
2022-12-14 | Background Complications of prematurity are the leading cause of neonatal mortality, and the majority of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. Research in these settings has focused on improved outcomes for preterm infants in hospital settings, however, research into the continuation of preterm care in the home after discharge from a neonatal unit is limited. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of caregivers of preterm infants during the initial weeks following discharge from a neonatal unit in Uganda, and the views of healthcare workers (HCWs) on the ability of caregivers to cope. Methods This qualitative study used multiple data collection approaches, namely focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews (IDIs), field observations, and case studies to explore the perceptions and experiences of providing care to preterm infants post-discharge from a neonatal unit in eastern Uganda from the perspectives of caregivers and HCWs. Results We recruited 39 participants with a total of 35 separate sessions including 18 IDIs (12 caregivers and 6 HCWs), 3 FGDs (17 caregivers), and 4 case studies (14 separate IDIs over 5 weeks after discharge, three mothers, and one grandmother). IDIs and FGDs took place at the Mbale Regional Referral Hospital or in participants’ homes. Key themes emerged; preparation for continuing care in the home, psychosocial challenges to providing preterm care in the home, barriers to continuing preterm care in the home, and suggestions for improvement of preterm care in the home. Caregivers had good knowledge and awareness about different aspects of preterm care. Following discharge, caregivers struggled to maintain quality care due to loss of continuous support from the neonatal team, feelings of anxiety and isolation, financial issues, and home responsibilities. Conclusion This study highlights multiple challenges to continuing preterm care in this Ugandan setting. Improved training and education for caregivers, especially in neonatal resuscitation, enhanced and continued support of the caregiver and infant in the home, and increased community involvement following discharge may all be key solutions. These findings are fundamental to improving care in the home for preterm infants in eastern Uganda and similar settings. | ‘They said, let’s teach you how you are going to care for the child at home…’: caregivers’ and healthcare worker’s perceptions and experiences of post-discharge preterm care in eastern Uganda | 10.1186/s12913-022-08894-3 |
2022-12-10 | Simple compound microscopy is widely used across the globe. However, contrast and resolution fascinate students and are difficult to learn due to their limited practical experience. Although the laws of physics have been derived thoroughly, their real implementation in the human body is uncertain. This study quantifies contrast and resolution through human perception and technological tools and assesses the degree of overlap between physics and physiology. Thus, an opaque repository for a compound microscope with a mobile holder is devised to capture the images of Leishman-stained smears and USAF targets. Another receptacle is fabricated to hold coloured filters against a light bulb, which projects on the microscope mirror through a connecting pipe. The images with a different sequence of filters are subjected to analysis by volunteers and using digital image processing techniques. The perception of contrast and resolution through the human eye and digital processing shows an overlap of 82.57% for contrast and 76.40% for resolution. Also, participants opt for contrast (81.66%) against the resolution (75.51%). The preferred sequence of light for contrast and resolution is white > green > blue > red and white > blue > green > red, respectively. Green > blue > red is preceded by white when both contrast and resolution are examined concurrently. Thus, the integrated role of the two disciplines in learning contrast and resolution has been studied and evaluated practically beyond the limits of the textbook on a hands-on basis. Simultaneously, the subjective selection of resolution or contrast using low-cost colour filters is an affordable approach to upgrade a microscope. Graphical abstract Hands-on experiences of learning microscopy while considering basic physics and physiology are characterized. Explaining the human preference for white light and inclination for contrast is highlighted compared to resolution. Economical modifications of a microscope are effective at selecting contrast and resolution subjectively. | Learning and evaluating the overlapping roles of physics and physiology in perceiving contrast and resolution in microscopy | 10.1007/s42452-022-05223-5 |
2022-12-10 | Background The past two decades were associated with innovation and strengthening of malaria control interventions, which have been increasingly adopted at large scale. Impact evaluations of these interventions were mostly performed in moderate or high malaria transmission areas. This study aimed to evaluate the use and performance of malaria interventions in low transmission areas on malaria infections and anaemia. Methods Data from the 2016 Sudan malaria indicator survey was used. Multi-level logistic regression analysis was used to assess the strength of association between real-life community-level utilization of malaria interventions [diagnosis, artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs)] and the study outcomes: malaria infections and anaemia (both overall and moderate-to-severe anaemia). Results The study analysis involved 26,469 individuals over 242 clusters. Malaria infection rate was 7.6%, overall anaemia prevalence was 47.5% and moderate-to-severe anaemia prevalence was 4.5%. The average community-level utilization was 31.5% for malaria diagnosis, 29.9% for ACTs and 35.7% for LLINs. The odds of malaria infection was significantly reduced by 14% for each 10% increase in the utilization of malaria diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) per 10% utilization 0.86, 95% CI 0.78–0.95, p = 0.004). However, the odds of infection was positively associated with the utilization of LLINs at community-level (aOR per 10% utilization 1.20, 95% CI 1.11–1.29, p < 0.001). No association between malaria infection and utilization of ACTs was identified (aOR per 10% utilization 0.97, 95% CI 0.91–1.04, p = 0.413). None of the interventions was associated with overall anaemia nor moderate-to-severe anaemia. Conclusion There was strong evidence that utilization of malaria diagnosis at the community level was highly protective against malaria infection. No protective effect was seen for community utilization of ACTs or LLINs. No association was established between any of the interventions and overall anaemia or moderate-to-severe anaemia. This lack of effectiveness could be due to the low utilization of interventions or the low level of malaria transmission in the study area. Identification and response to barriers of access and low utilization of malaria interventions are crucial. It is crucial to ensure that every suspected malaria case is tested in a timely way, notably in low transmission settings. | Impact of malaria control interventions on malaria infection and anaemia in low malaria transmission settings: a cross-sectional population-based study in Sudan | 10.1186/s12879-022-07926-x |
2022-12-09 | The density of the solar wind plasma near the Earth’s magnetosphere sometimes decreases to only several per cent of the usual value, and such density extrema result in a significant reduction of the dynamic pressure and Alfvén Mach number ( $$M_A$$ M A ) of the solar wind flow. While a symmetric expansion of the Earth’s magnetosphere by the low dynamic pressure was assumed in previous studies, a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation study predicted a remarkable dawn-dusk asymmetry of the magnetospheric shape under low-density solar wind and Parker-spiral interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) configuration. Here, we present observations consistent with the asymmetric deformation of the magnetosphere under low- $$M_A$$ M A solar wind and Parker-spiral IMF conditions, focusing on the significant expansion of the dawn-flank magnetosphere detected by the Geotail spacecraft. A global MHD simulation reproduced the dawnward expansion of the near-Earth magnetosphere, which was consistent with the observation by Geotail. The solar wind flow had a non-negligible dusk-to-dawn component and partly affected the dawnward expansion of the magnetosphere. Local, roughly Alfvénic sunward acceleration of magnetosheath ions at the dawn flank magnetopause suggests magnetosheath plasma entry into the magnetosphere through open field lines generated by magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. At the same time, Cluster 1 and 3, located near the southern polar cusp, also detected continuous antisunward ion jets and occasional sunward jets, which are consistent with the occurrence of magnetic reconnection near the southern cusp. These observations suggest that enhanced plasma acceleration at the dayside magnetopause operates under the low- $$M_A$$ M A solar wind and Parker spiral IMF conditions and that plasma influx across the dawnside magnetopause is at work under such a low- $$M_A$$ M A condition. These results can be helpful in understanding interactions between low- $$M_A$$ M A solar/stellar winds and celestial objects, such as inner planets and exoplanets. Graphic Abstract | Asymmetric deformation of the Earth’s magnetosphere under low Alfvén Mach number solar wind: Observations and MHD simulation | 10.1186/s40623-022-01744-w |
2022-12-09 | Background This study aimed to investigate the association between exposure to diverse indoor microbial aerosols and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) among children aged 1 to 59 months in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods One hundred and seventy-eight (178) hospital-based LRTI cases among under-five children were matched for age (± 3 months), sex and geographical location with 180 community-based controls (under-five children without LRTI). Following consent from caregivers of eligible participants, a child’s health questionnaire, clinical proforma and standardized home-walkthrough checklist were used to collect data. Participant homes were visited and sampled for indoor microbial exposures using active sampling approach by Anderson sampler. Indoor microbial count (IMC), total bacterial count (TBC), and total fungal count (TFC) were estimated and dichotomized into high (> median) and low (≤ median) exposures. Alpha diversity measures including richness ( R ), Shannon ( H ) and Simpson ( D ) indices were also estimated. Conditional logistic regression models were used to test association between exposure to indoor microbial aerosols and LRTI risk among under-five children. Results Significantly higher bacterial and fungal diversities were found in homes of cases ( R = 3.00; H = 1.04; D = 2.67 and R = 2.56; H = 0.82; D = 2.33) than homes of controls ( R = 2.00; H = 0.64; D = 1.80 and R = 1.89; H = 0.55; D = 1.88) p < 0.001, respectively. In the multivariate models, higher categories of exposure to IMC (aOR = 2.67, 95% CI 1.44–4.97), TBC (aOR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.36–4.65), TFC (aOR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.54–4.89), bacterial diversity (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.08–3.24) and fungal diversity (aOR = 3.00, 95% CI 1.55–5.79) were independently associated with LRTI risk among under-five children. Conclusions This study suggests an increased risk of LRTI when children under the age of five years are exposed to high levels of indoor microbial aerosols. | Indoor bacterial and fungal aerosols as predictors of lower respiratory tract infections among under-five children in Ibadan, Nigeria | 10.1186/s12890-022-02271-w |
2022-12-09 | Background Early balanced transfusion is associated with improved outcome in haemorrhagic shock patients. This study describes the implementation and evaluates the safety of a whole blood transfusion program in a civilian helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS). Methods This prospective observational study was performed over a 5-year period at HEMS-Bergen, Norway. Patients in haemorrhagic shock receiving out of hospital transfusion of low-titre Group O whole blood (LTOWB) or other blood components were included. Two LTOWB units were produced weekly and rotated to the HEMS for forward storage. The primary endpoints were the number of patients transfused, mechanisms of injury/illness, adverse events and survival rates. Informed consent covered patient pathway from time of emergency interventions to last endpoint and subsequent data handling/storage. Results The HEMS responded to 5124 patients. Seventy-two (1.4%) patients received transfusions. Twenty patients (28%) were excluded due to lack of consent (16) or not meeting the inclusion criteria (4). Of the 52 (100%) patients, 48 (92%) received LTOWB, nine (17%) received packed red blood cells (PRBC), and nine (17%) received freeze-dried plasma. Of the forty-six (88%) patients admitted alive to hospital, 35 (76%) received additional blood transfusions during the first 24 h. Categories were blunt trauma 30 (58%), penetrating trauma 7 (13%), and nontrauma 15 (29%). The majority (79%) were male, with a median age of 49 (IQR 27–70) years. No transfusion reactions, serious complications or logistical challenges were reported. Overall, 36 (69%) patients survived 24 h, and 28 (54%) survived 30 days. Conclusions Implementing a whole blood transfusion program in civilian HEMS is feasible and safe and the logistics around out of hospital whole blood transfusions are manageable. Trial registration The study is registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry (NCT02784951). | Implementation of a low-titre whole blood transfusion program in a civilian helicopter emergency medical service | 10.1186/s13049-022-01051-z |
2022-12-07 | In this work, we have reported the colossal cyclic stability of oxygen-vacancy-rich LaMnO 3 thin film resistive switching device synthesized by tuning the oxygen partial pressure within the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) chamber with suitably chosen non-inert electrode combination (Ag and ITO). Increasing profile of cyclic endurance even after 11,000 cycles was reported, which can facilitate the fabrication of sustainable device for neuromorphic computation. The base pressure synthesis and electrode materials also help to achieve low operational voltage window of ± 1 V, with SET and RESET voltage as − 0.5 V and 0.8 V, respectively, which is the lowest compared to reports on previous PLD grown LaMnO 3 thin films. The resistive switching is found to be of valance change memory (VCM) type, whereas the conduction mechanism is governed by space charge limited conduction (SCLC). Also, decrease in switching window for high oxygen pressure deposited film confirms crucial role of oxygen vacancy. | Enhanced stability and low operational voltage of resistive switching behavior in defect engineered LaMnO3 film | 10.1007/s00339-022-06265-7 |
2022-12-03 | The global economy’s growths due to industrialization, accompanied by urbanization high rate, have led to severe anthropogenic pollution impacting both the environment and human health. Regarding particularly the aquatic systems’ chemical pollution, as resulting mainly from the release of liquid effluents containing dye molecules and organic pollutants, it is therefore necessary to use innovative processes for treating the polluted water. At first sight, adsorption seemed like an excellent process due to its simplicity and efficiency, but this technique simply moves the dye from an aqueous medium to the adsorbent surface, thus creating sludges which are new pollution forms. Hence, we need to treat this polluted adsorbent in order to recover the removed dye and to reuse once more the adsorbent for others dye removal adsorption cycles. This review focuses on regenerating low-cost adsorbents (LCAs), saturated with dyes, by using different desorbing agents and on exploring their potential to be reused. These low-cost materials have been classified into four classes based on their origin: agricultural solid wastes; industrial by-products and wastes; natural materials; and sea materials and biomasses. Different chemical agents such as acids, bases, salts, organic solvents, alcohols, and chelating reagents have been used as eluents to regenerate the dye-covered adsorbents. Therefore, in the present review citing 210 literature articles, it is demonstrated the excellent regeneration and high reusability of the LCAs suited for dye removal from environmental wastewater. In this review paper, we show that the agricultural solid wastes (39.56%) are the most regenerated and reused, in comparison to, sea materials and biomasses (22.31%), industrial by-products and wastes (18.71%), and natural materials (19.42%). | Regeneration and reusability of non-conventional low-cost adsorbents to remove dyes from wastewaters in multiple consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles: a review | 10.1007/s13399-022-03604-9 |
2022-12-02 | This article reviews the various housing schemes implemented in India post-independence. This year marking the 75 years of independence, the demand for affordable housing for economically weaker sections and low-income group are at stake in the country. In achieving “Housing for all” in the rapidly urbanizing Indian context, Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) technology promises to be environmentally and economically “affordable” consuming significantly fewer quantities of building materials with high embodied energy. Textile reinforced concrete is the most durable, lightweight, and highly ductile structural component with its non-corrosive textiles replacing the conventional steel reinforcement used, and it can be the most feasible solution to the problem of implementing affordable housing in urban India. TRC has been an excellent solution for the retrofitting and strengthening of existing infrastructures paving its progressive research direction of using this as a load-bearing structural component. With a substantially lower carbon footprint than conventional RCC structures, TRC offers better potential for sustainability. Furthermore, this article proposes a futuristic direction to enhance the research on the application of TRC as a structural component for prefabricated low-cost housing. | A state-of-the-art review on sustainable low-cost housing and application of textile reinforced concrete | 10.1007/s41062-022-01010-8 |
2022-12-02 | Background Effective surveillance of microbial communities in the healthcare environment is increasingly important in infection prevention. Metagenomics-based techniques are promising due to their untargeted nature but are currently challenged by several limitations: (1) they are not powerful enough to extract valid signals out of the background noise for low-biomass samples, (2) they do not distinguish between viable and nonviable organisms, and (3) they do not reveal the microbial load quantitatively. An additional practical challenge towards a robust pipeline is the inability to efficiently allocate sequencing resources a priori. Assessment of sequencing depth is generally practiced post hoc, if at all, for most microbiome studies, regardless of the sample type. This practice is inefficient at best, and at worst, poor sequencing depth jeopardizes the interpretation of study results. To address these challenges, we present a workflow for metagenomics-based environmental surveillance that is appropriate for low-biomass samples, distinguishes viability, is quantitative, and estimates sequencing resources. Results The workflow was developed using a representative microbiome sample, which was created by aggregating 120 surface swabs collected from a medical intensive care unit. Upon evaluating and optimizing techniques as well as developing new modules, we recommend best practices and introduce a well-structured workflow. We recommend adopting liquid-liquid extraction to improve DNA yield and only incorporating whole-cell filtration when the nonbacterial proportion is large. We suggest including propidium monoazide treatment coupled with internal standards and absolute abundance profiling for viability assessment and involving cultivation when demanding comprehensive profiling. We further recommend integrating internal standards for quantification and additionally qPCR when we expect poor taxonomic classification. We also introduce a machine learning-based model to predict required sequencing effort from accessible sample features. The model helps make full use of sequencing resources and achieve desired outcomes. Video Abstract Conclusions This workflow will contribute to more accurate and robust environmental surveillance and infection prevention. Lessons gained from this study will also benefit the continuing development of methods in relevant fields. | An improved workflow for accurate and robust healthcare environmental surveillance using metagenomics | 10.1186/s40168-022-01412-x |
2022-12-01 | The Great Barrier Reef Expedition (1928–1929) observed two of the earliest known examples of coral bleaching during a 13-month stay on Low Isles, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The first was during austral summer in February 1929 in a shallow moat and the second during austral winter in June 1929 on a deeper seaward slope. Using Expedition records and modern analytical techniques, we geolocated previously undocumented photographs of bleaching and built a detailed picture of environmental conditions which show that the two episodes were driven by different proximate causes. The February bleaching coincided with highest annual seawater temperatures and Degree Heating Weeks, coupled with early afternoon aerial exposure leading to intense heating in tide pools and corals subjected to high solar insolation. Zooxanthellae densities would also have been at a seasonal low and the corals particularly susceptible to bleaching stress. In contrast in June, the seaward slope, normally submerged during the daytime, was aerially exposed to the afternoon sun and although seawater temperatures were 5 °C cooler than in the summer and despite relatively low sun altitudes and insolation in the winter, bleaching and mortality due to solar radiation was clearly visible on faces of exposed corals oriented towards the sun. Whilst reports of widespread temperature driven coral bleaching are commonplace today in an era of global warming, this paper demonstrates how similar environmental cues were involved a century ago and highlights the additional complexity of coral survival in the intertidal zone. | Coral bleaching at Low Isles during the 1928–1929 Great Barrier Reef Expedition | 10.1007/s00338-022-02327-7 |
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