An energetic binder based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene(HTPB),doped with different ratios of nitrocellulose(NC)(10%,20%,30%,and 50%),was developed to study the effect of NC doping on the thermal decomposition b...An energetic binder based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene(HTPB),doped with different ratios of nitrocellulose(NC)(10%,20%,30%,and 50%),was developed to study the effect of NC doping on the thermal decomposition behavior of a composite propellant(CP)comprising ammonium nitrate(AN)as an oxidizer and magnesium(Mg)as a fuel.Optimization of the propellant formulation was conducted using Chemical Equilibrium with Applications-National Aeronautics and Space Administration(CEA-NASA)software,which demonstrated an increase in specific impulse by 12.09 s when the binder contained 50%NC.Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)analysis confirmed the excellent compatibility between the components,and density measurements revealed an increase of 6.4%with a higher NC content.Morphological analysis using optical microscopy showed that NC doping improved the uniformity and compactness of the surface,reduced cavities,and achieved a more homogeneous particle distribution.Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)analysis indicated a decrease in the decomposition temperature of the propellant as the NC content increased,while kinetic studies revealed a 48.68%reduction in the activation energy when 50%NC was incorporated into the binder.These findings suggest that the addition of NC enhances combustion efficiency and improves overall propellant performance.This study highlights the potential of the new HTPB-NC energetic binder as a promising approach for advancing solid propellant technology.展开更多
Advanced DriverAssistance Systems(ADAS)technologies can assist drivers or be part of automatic driving systems to support the driving process and improve the level of safety and comfort on the road.Traffic Sign Recogn...Advanced DriverAssistance Systems(ADAS)technologies can assist drivers or be part of automatic driving systems to support the driving process and improve the level of safety and comfort on the road.Traffic Sign Recognition System(TSRS)is one of themost important components ofADAS.Among the challengeswith TSRS is being able to recognize road signs with the highest accuracy and the shortest processing time.Accordingly,this paper introduces a new real time methodology recognizing Speed Limit Signs based on a trio of developed modules.Firstly,the Speed Limit Detection(SLD)module uses the Haar Cascade technique to generate a new SL detector in order to localize SL signs within captured frames.Secondly,the Speed Limit Classification(SLC)module,featuring machine learning classifiers alongside a newly developed model called DeepSL,harnesses the power of a CNN architecture to extract intricate features from speed limit sign images,ensuring efficient and precise recognition.In addition,a new Speed Limit Classifiers Fusion(SLCF)module has been developed by combining trained ML classifiers and the DeepSL model by using the Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions and ensemble learning’s voting technique.Through rigorous software and hardware validation processes,the proposedmethodology has achieved highly significant F1 scores of 99.98%and 99.96%for DS theory and the votingmethod,respectively.Furthermore,a prototype encompassing all components demonstrates outstanding reliability and efficacy,with processing times of 150 ms for the Raspberry Pi board and 81.5 ms for the Nano Jetson board,marking a significant advancement in TSRS technology.展开更多
NEM®?brand eggshell membrane is a novel dietary supplement that has been clinically shown to alleviate arthritis joint pain and stiffness;however the mechanism of action is not well understood. Preliminary evi...NEM®?brand eggshell membrane is a novel dietary supplement that has been clinically shown to alleviate arthritis joint pain and stiffness;however the mechanism of action is not well understood. Preliminary evidence from an?in vitro?study of?NEM®?indicated that the mechanism of action may be based on the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines.?In vivo?studies were therefore initiated to evaluate the effects of?NEM®?on pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines following oral administration in rats.?NEM®?was administered daily at doses of 6.13 mg/kg bw/day (Study 1), 10.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 2), or at doses of 0 (control), 26.0 or 52.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 3) by oral gavage for 7 consecutive days. Inflammation was induced in the Study 3 rats by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide. Changes in plasma cytokine levels from baseline following 7 days of oral supplementation with?NEM®?at 6.13 mg/kg bw/ day (Study 1) were statistically significant at Day 8 for IL-2, TIMP-1 and VEGF, at Day 21 for IL-10, and at Day 35 for MCP-1, MCP-3 and TIMP-1, and at 10.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 2) were statistically significant at Day 8 for VEGF, at Day 21 for MIP-1β, MIP-2 and VEGF, and at Day 35 for MCP-3, MIP-1β, MIP-2 and VEGF. Changes in serum cytokine levels versus control at 26.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 3) were statistically significant at all time-points for IL-1β?and at 1.5 hours for IL-10, and at 52.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 3) were statistically significant at 1.5 hours for IFN-γ, IL-1β?and IL-10, and at 3 hours for IL-1β, and at 24 hours for IL-10. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that oral supplementation with?NEM®?can influence both early-phase pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-1β?and TNF-α?(Study 3), as well as later-phase cytokines like MCP-1, MIP-1α?&?β, RANTES and VEGF (Study 1 & 2). These studies provide a possible basis for the mechanism of action of?NEM®?in vivo.展开更多
This paper considers the use of the inherent structural characteristics of power system networks for improving the reactive power reserve margins for both topologically weak and strong networks. The inherent structura...This paper considers the use of the inherent structural characteristics of power system networks for improving the reactive power reserve margins for both topologically weak and strong networks. The inherent structural characteristics of the network are derived from the Schur complement of the partitioned Y-admittance matrix using circuit theory representations. Results show that topologically strong networks, operating close to the upper voltage limit could be made to increase their loadability margin by locating reactive power compensators close to generator sources, whereas topologically weak (ill conditioned) networks could be made to operate within the feasible operating limits by locating reactive power compensators on buses farther from generator sources.展开更多
Background: As the population of people aged 65 and older increases, greater attention is being paid to issues surrounding skin aging. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an oral unhydrolyzed eggshell...Background: As the population of people aged 65 and older increases, greater attention is being paid to issues surrounding skin aging. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an oral unhydrolyzed eggshell membrane (ESM) ingredient (branded Ovolux™) versus placebo on both objective and subjective markers of skin aging in middle-aged and senior adults, and also to assess the possible benefits of Ovolux™ on the health of hair and fingernails. Methods: Sixty-three healthy, men and women (aged 35 - 66) were randomly assigned to receive either oral ESM 300 mg (n = 32) or placebo (n = 31) once daily for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was any statistically significant improvement in skin elasticity in the anterior region of the temporal fossa of the face versus placebo evaluated at 12 weeks of treatment based upon measurements taken with the Cutometer® MPA 580 multi-probe system. Secondary endpoints were improvement in skin firmness, viscoelasticity, hydration, or trans-epidermal water loss versus placebo. Additional secondary endpoints were any improvement in skin, hair, or fingernail subjective parameters versus placebo as determined via Patient’s Assessments. Results: Supplementation with Ovolux™ ESM produced a significant absolute treatment effect (TEabs) versus placebo after both six weeks (TEabs +8.4%, p = 0.019) and twelve weeks of treatment (TEabs +12.2%, p = 0.002) for the primary outcome measure total elasticity (R2). There were also significant treatment responses versus placebo for the objective measures of firmness (R0), net elasticity (R5), and viscoelasticity (R6) at both timepoints (R0: Week 6, −23.9%;Week 12, −16.8%) (R5: Week 6, +9.5%;Week 12, +10.6%) (R6: Week 6, −17.9%;Week 12, −17.7%), as well as for skin hydration versus placebo at both 6 weeks (+8.3%) and 12 weeks (+8.6%) of treatment. There were also significant improvements in the ESM treatment group versus placebo in the subjective measures of skin appearance, skin texture, overall skin health, hair texture, and overall hair health as determined by patient assessments. Conclusions: Ovolux™ provided significant broad-based improvements in critical biomechanical skin properties versus placebo, including elasticity, firmness, and viscoelasticity. These effects, along with improvement in skin hydration, were observed as early as 6 weeks and continued through the end of the 12-week study. Treatment with ESM was reported to be well-tolerated. Ovolux™ ESM appears to be a natural solution to help skin to resist the epidermal thickening, the dermal thinning, and the skin laxity and elastosis found in intrinsically aging skin. The Clinical Trial Registration number is: NCT06148337.展开更多
Global land cover(LC)maps have been widely employed as the base layer for a number of applications including climate change,food security,water quality,biodiversity,change detection,and environmental planning.Due to t...Global land cover(LC)maps have been widely employed as the base layer for a number of applications including climate change,food security,water quality,biodiversity,change detection,and environmental planning.Due to the importance of LC,there is a pressing need to increase the temporal and spatial resolution of global LC maps.A recent advance in this direction has been the GlobeLand30 dataset derived from Landsat imagery,which has been developed by the National Geomatics Center of China(NGCC).Although overall accuracy is greater than 80%,the NGCC would like help in assessing the accuracy of the product in different regions of the world.To assist in this process,this study compares the GlobeLand30 product with existing public and online datasets,that is,CORINE,Urban Atlas(UA),OpenStreetMap,and ATKIS for Germany in order to assess overall and per class agreement.The results of the analysis reveal high agreement of up to 92%between these datasets and GlobeLand30 but that large disagreements for certain classes are evident,in particular wetlands.However,overall,GlobeLand30 is shown to be a useful product for characterizing LC in Germany,and paves the way for further regional and national validation efforts.展开更多
The model studied in this paper is a stochastic extension of the so-called neuron model introduced by Hodgkin and Huxley. In the sense of rough paths, the model is perturbed by a multiplicative noise driven by a fract...The model studied in this paper is a stochastic extension of the so-called neuron model introduced by Hodgkin and Huxley. In the sense of rough paths, the model is perturbed by a multiplicative noise driven by a fractional Brownian motion, with a vector field satisfying the viability condition of Coutin and Marie for R× [0, 1]3. An application to the modeling of the membrane potential of nerve fibers damaged by a neuropathy is provided.展开更多
文摘An energetic binder based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene(HTPB),doped with different ratios of nitrocellulose(NC)(10%,20%,30%,and 50%),was developed to study the effect of NC doping on the thermal decomposition behavior of a composite propellant(CP)comprising ammonium nitrate(AN)as an oxidizer and magnesium(Mg)as a fuel.Optimization of the propellant formulation was conducted using Chemical Equilibrium with Applications-National Aeronautics and Space Administration(CEA-NASA)software,which demonstrated an increase in specific impulse by 12.09 s when the binder contained 50%NC.Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)analysis confirmed the excellent compatibility between the components,and density measurements revealed an increase of 6.4%with a higher NC content.Morphological analysis using optical microscopy showed that NC doping improved the uniformity and compactness of the surface,reduced cavities,and achieved a more homogeneous particle distribution.Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)analysis indicated a decrease in the decomposition temperature of the propellant as the NC content increased,while kinetic studies revealed a 48.68%reduction in the activation energy when 50%NC was incorporated into the binder.These findings suggest that the addition of NC enhances combustion efficiency and improves overall propellant performance.This study highlights the potential of the new HTPB-NC energetic binder as a promising approach for advancing solid propellant technology.
文摘Advanced DriverAssistance Systems(ADAS)technologies can assist drivers or be part of automatic driving systems to support the driving process and improve the level of safety and comfort on the road.Traffic Sign Recognition System(TSRS)is one of themost important components ofADAS.Among the challengeswith TSRS is being able to recognize road signs with the highest accuracy and the shortest processing time.Accordingly,this paper introduces a new real time methodology recognizing Speed Limit Signs based on a trio of developed modules.Firstly,the Speed Limit Detection(SLD)module uses the Haar Cascade technique to generate a new SL detector in order to localize SL signs within captured frames.Secondly,the Speed Limit Classification(SLC)module,featuring machine learning classifiers alongside a newly developed model called DeepSL,harnesses the power of a CNN architecture to extract intricate features from speed limit sign images,ensuring efficient and precise recognition.In addition,a new Speed Limit Classifiers Fusion(SLCF)module has been developed by combining trained ML classifiers and the DeepSL model by using the Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions and ensemble learning’s voting technique.Through rigorous software and hardware validation processes,the proposedmethodology has achieved highly significant F1 scores of 99.98%and 99.96%for DS theory and the votingmethod,respectively.Furthermore,a prototype encompassing all components demonstrates outstanding reliability and efficacy,with processing times of 150 ms for the Raspberry Pi board and 81.5 ms for the Nano Jetson board,marking a significant advancement in TSRS technology.
文摘NEM®?brand eggshell membrane is a novel dietary supplement that has been clinically shown to alleviate arthritis joint pain and stiffness;however the mechanism of action is not well understood. Preliminary evidence from an?in vitro?study of?NEM®?indicated that the mechanism of action may be based on the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines.?In vivo?studies were therefore initiated to evaluate the effects of?NEM®?on pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines following oral administration in rats.?NEM®?was administered daily at doses of 6.13 mg/kg bw/day (Study 1), 10.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 2), or at doses of 0 (control), 26.0 or 52.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 3) by oral gavage for 7 consecutive days. Inflammation was induced in the Study 3 rats by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide. Changes in plasma cytokine levels from baseline following 7 days of oral supplementation with?NEM®?at 6.13 mg/kg bw/ day (Study 1) were statistically significant at Day 8 for IL-2, TIMP-1 and VEGF, at Day 21 for IL-10, and at Day 35 for MCP-1, MCP-3 and TIMP-1, and at 10.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 2) were statistically significant at Day 8 for VEGF, at Day 21 for MIP-1β, MIP-2 and VEGF, and at Day 35 for MCP-3, MIP-1β, MIP-2 and VEGF. Changes in serum cytokine levels versus control at 26.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 3) were statistically significant at all time-points for IL-1β?and at 1.5 hours for IL-10, and at 52.0 mg/kg bw/day (Study 3) were statistically significant at 1.5 hours for IFN-γ, IL-1β?and IL-10, and at 3 hours for IL-1β, and at 24 hours for IL-10. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that oral supplementation with?NEM®?can influence both early-phase pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-1β?and TNF-α?(Study 3), as well as later-phase cytokines like MCP-1, MIP-1α?&?β, RANTES and VEGF (Study 1 & 2). These studies provide a possible basis for the mechanism of action of?NEM®?in vivo.
文摘This paper considers the use of the inherent structural characteristics of power system networks for improving the reactive power reserve margins for both topologically weak and strong networks. The inherent structural characteristics of the network are derived from the Schur complement of the partitioned Y-admittance matrix using circuit theory representations. Results show that topologically strong networks, operating close to the upper voltage limit could be made to increase their loadability margin by locating reactive power compensators close to generator sources, whereas topologically weak (ill conditioned) networks could be made to operate within the feasible operating limits by locating reactive power compensators on buses farther from generator sources.
文摘Background: As the population of people aged 65 and older increases, greater attention is being paid to issues surrounding skin aging. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an oral unhydrolyzed eggshell membrane (ESM) ingredient (branded Ovolux™) versus placebo on both objective and subjective markers of skin aging in middle-aged and senior adults, and also to assess the possible benefits of Ovolux™ on the health of hair and fingernails. Methods: Sixty-three healthy, men and women (aged 35 - 66) were randomly assigned to receive either oral ESM 300 mg (n = 32) or placebo (n = 31) once daily for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was any statistically significant improvement in skin elasticity in the anterior region of the temporal fossa of the face versus placebo evaluated at 12 weeks of treatment based upon measurements taken with the Cutometer® MPA 580 multi-probe system. Secondary endpoints were improvement in skin firmness, viscoelasticity, hydration, or trans-epidermal water loss versus placebo. Additional secondary endpoints were any improvement in skin, hair, or fingernail subjective parameters versus placebo as determined via Patient’s Assessments. Results: Supplementation with Ovolux™ ESM produced a significant absolute treatment effect (TEabs) versus placebo after both six weeks (TEabs +8.4%, p = 0.019) and twelve weeks of treatment (TEabs +12.2%, p = 0.002) for the primary outcome measure total elasticity (R2). There were also significant treatment responses versus placebo for the objective measures of firmness (R0), net elasticity (R5), and viscoelasticity (R6) at both timepoints (R0: Week 6, −23.9%;Week 12, −16.8%) (R5: Week 6, +9.5%;Week 12, +10.6%) (R6: Week 6, −17.9%;Week 12, −17.7%), as well as for skin hydration versus placebo at both 6 weeks (+8.3%) and 12 weeks (+8.6%) of treatment. There were also significant improvements in the ESM treatment group versus placebo in the subjective measures of skin appearance, skin texture, overall skin health, hair texture, and overall hair health as determined by patient assessments. Conclusions: Ovolux™ provided significant broad-based improvements in critical biomechanical skin properties versus placebo, including elasticity, firmness, and viscoelasticity. These effects, along with improvement in skin hydration, were observed as early as 6 weeks and continued through the end of the 12-week study. Treatment with ESM was reported to be well-tolerated. Ovolux™ ESM appears to be a natural solution to help skin to resist the epidermal thickening, the dermal thinning, and the skin laxity and elastosis found in intrinsically aging skin. The Clinical Trial Registration number is: NCT06148337.
基金The authors would also like to acknowledge the support and contribution of COST Action TD1202‘Mapping and the Citizen Sensor’as well as COST Action IC1203‘European Network Exploring Research into Geospatial Information Crowdsourcing’(ENERGIC).
文摘Global land cover(LC)maps have been widely employed as the base layer for a number of applications including climate change,food security,water quality,biodiversity,change detection,and environmental planning.Due to the importance of LC,there is a pressing need to increase the temporal and spatial resolution of global LC maps.A recent advance in this direction has been the GlobeLand30 dataset derived from Landsat imagery,which has been developed by the National Geomatics Center of China(NGCC).Although overall accuracy is greater than 80%,the NGCC would like help in assessing the accuracy of the product in different regions of the world.To assist in this process,this study compares the GlobeLand30 product with existing public and online datasets,that is,CORINE,Urban Atlas(UA),OpenStreetMap,and ATKIS for Germany in order to assess overall and per class agreement.The results of the analysis reveal high agreement of up to 92%between these datasets and GlobeLand30 but that large disagreements for certain classes are evident,in particular wetlands.However,overall,GlobeLand30 is shown to be a useful product for characterizing LC in Germany,and paves the way for further regional and national validation efforts.
文摘The model studied in this paper is a stochastic extension of the so-called neuron model introduced by Hodgkin and Huxley. In the sense of rough paths, the model is perturbed by a multiplicative noise driven by a fractional Brownian motion, with a vector field satisfying the viability condition of Coutin and Marie for R× [0, 1]3. An application to the modeling of the membrane potential of nerve fibers damaged by a neuropathy is provided.
