Inspired by findings of sensorimotor coupling in humans and animals, there has recently been a growing interest in the interaction between action and perception in robotic systems 1. Here we consider ...perception and action as two serial information channels with limited information-processing capacity. We follow 2 and formulate a constrained optimization problem that maximizes utility under limited information-processing capacity in the two channels. As a solution we obtain an optimal perceptual channel and an optimal action channel that are coupled such that perceptual information is optimized with respect to downstream processing in the action module. The main novelty of this study is that we propose an online optimization procedure to find bounded-optimal perception and action channels in parameterized serial perception-action systems. In particular, we implement the perceptual channel as a multi-layer neural network and the action channel as a multinomial distribution. We illustrate our method in a NAO robot simulator with a simplified cup lifting task.
Nursing is a high-stress occupation that can have an impact on mental health, particularly for neonatal nurses. Job-related stress factors and work-related behaviors have played a critical role in ...nurses' mental health. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of mood disorders and the impact of social factors, lifestyle on mood disorders among neonatal nurses.
A total of 260 participants comprising neonatal nurses and nurses who work in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) were recruited. Data were collected using a validated generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire, patient health questionnaire-9, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and social factors and lifestyle assessments.
In total, 49.23% of neonatal nurses exhibited mood disorders, particularly a combination of depression and anxiety. Female, poor interpersonal relationships and unhappy marital status, preference for smoking, alcohol, irregular diet, and poor sleep were common in neonatology nurses who exhibited mood disorders; preference for coffee and tea were lower in neonatology nurses without mood disorders (all
< 0.05). Interpersonal relationships, marital status, irregular diet, and poor sleep were independent factors associated with mood disorders among neonatal nurses (all
< 0.05). Mood disorders presented as functional dyspepsia (FD) among 50.78% of the participants (
< 0.05). Poor sleep and preference for smoking were common among neonatal nurses who had FD with mood disorders (all
< 0.05). Furthermore, the preference for sugary beverages was lower in participants with FD and mood disorders (
< 0.05). Poor sleep was independently associated with FD with mood disorders in neonatology nurses (
< 0.05).
Prevalence of anxiety and depression was higher among neonatal nurses. Furthermore, most cases of mood disorders presented as FD. Thus, social factors and lifestyle have an impact on mood disorders which can manifest through somatic symptoms.
This study investigated the effects of denitrification sludge EPS enhanced (DS-EPSCN) by a fluctuating carbon and nitrogen ratio (C/N) cultivation strategy on the properties of Anammox granules under ...extreme acid or alkaline shock. The results showed that the DS-EPSCN significantly improved the nitrogen removal performance of low-density Anammox granular sludge (Granules-L) and high-density Anammox granular sludge (Granules-H) under extreme acid shock (pH 5.0). The contents of high-molecular-weight substances (such as aromatic proteins and polysaccharides) in the DS-EPSCN rose markedly, contributing to a substantial increase in the flocculation efficiency under acidic conditions and increasing the granule stability. In addition, abundant amounts of N-butyryl-dl-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) and N-hexanoyl-dl-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) in the DS-EPSCN promoted the granule activity. However, under extreme alkaline shock (pH 10.5), the flocculation efficiency of the DS-EPSCN was poor, and the addition of DS-EPSCN had no influence on the stability of the granules but improved the activity of the Granules-H. The reason was that the release mechanism of the endogenous acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signals in the Granules-H was activated by the exogenous C4-HSL and C6-HSL in the DS-EPSCN under alkaline conditions, leading to increased Granules-H activity. This research provides a novel approach to enhance the resistance of Anammox granular sludge to extreme pH shock.
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•DS-EPSCN enhanced the property of granules-L and granules-H in extreme acid shock.•DS-EPSCN promoted the activity of granules-H under extreme alkaline shock.•Fluctuating C/N ratio cultivation increased the AHLs content in DS-EPSCN.•Fluctuating C/N ratio cultivation improved the flocculation efficiency of DS-EPSCN.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A comprehensive study on the microstructural evolution of a new type Al–Zn–Mg–Cu–Er–Zr alloy during homogenization was conducted by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, transmission ...electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results show that serious segregation exists in as-cast alloy, and the primary phases are T(AlZnMgCu), S(Al2CuMg) and Al8Cu4Er, which preferentially locate in the grain boundary regions. The soluble T(AlZnMgCu) and S(Al2CuMg) phases dissolve into the matrix gradually during single-stage homogenized at 465 °C with prolonging holding time, but the residual Al8Cu4Er phase cannot dissolve completely. Compared with the single-stage homogenization, both a finer particle size and a higher volume fraction of L12-structured Al3(Er, Zr) dispersoids can be obtained in the two-stage homogenization process. A suitable homogenization scheme for the present alloy is (400 °C, 10 h)+(465 °C, 24 h), which is consistent with the results of homogenization kinetic analysis.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Odor emissions from intensive livestock farms have attracted increased attention due to their adverse impacts on the environment and human health. Nevertheless, a systematic summary regarding the ...characteristics, sampling detection, and control technology for odor emissions from livestock farms is currently lacking. This paper compares the development of odor standards in different countries and summarizes the odor emission characteristics of livestock farms. Ammonia, the most common odor substance, can reach as high as 4100 ppm in the compost area. Sampling methods for point and area source odor emissions are introduced in this paper, and odor analysis methods are compared. Olfactometers, odorometers, and the triangle odor bag method are usually used to measure odor concentration. Odor control technologies are divided into three categories: physical (activated carbon adsorption, masking, and dilution diffusion), chemical (plant extract spraying, wet scrubbing, combustion, non-thermal plasma, and photocatalytic oxidation), and biological (biofiltration, biotrickling, and bioscrubbing). Each technology is elucidated, and the performance in the removal of different pollutants is summarized. The application scopes, costs, operational stability, and secondary pollution of the technologies are compared. The generation of secondary pollution and long-term operation stability are issues that should be considered in future technological development. Lastly, a case analysis for engineering application is conducted.
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•Odor types and concentration distributions from livestock farms were summarized.•Various odor sampling and detection methods were compared.•The performance and application scope of control technologies were evaluated.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In this study, based on the first-principles calculations, we systematically investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of the transition metal–oxide-incorporated 2D g-C
3
N
4
nanosheet ...(labeled C
3
N
4
–TM–O, TM = Sc–Mn). The results suggest that the TM–O binds to g-C
3
N
4
nanosheets strongly for all systems. We found that the 2D C
3
N
4
–TM–O framework is ferromagnetic for TM = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, while it is antiferromagnetic for TM = Mn. All the ferromagnetic systems exhibit the half-metallic property. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulations based on the Heisenberg model suggest that the Curie temperatures (
T
c
) of the C
3
N
4
–TM–O (TM = Sc, Ti, V, Cr) framework are 169 K, 68 K, 203 K, and 190 K, respectively. Based on Bader charge analysis, we found that the origin of the half-metallicity at Fermi energy can be partially attributed to the transfer of electrons from TM atoms to the g-C
3
N
4
nanosheet. In addition, we found that not only electrons but also holes can induce half-metallicity for 2D g-C
3
N
4
nanosheets, which may help to understand the origin of half-metallicity for graphitic carbon nitride.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
ABSTRACT A new astrophysical reaction rate for 12C( , γ)16O has been evaluated on the basis of a global R-matrix fitting to the available experimental data. The reaction rates of 12C( , γ)16O for ...stellar temperatures between 0.04 ≤ T9 ≤ 10 are provided in a tabular form and by an analytical fitting expression. At T9 = 0.2, the reaction rate is (7.83 0.35) × 1015 cm3 mol−1 s−1, where stellar helium burning occurs.
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•The fundamental phenotypic variations of defoliation traits among 383 cotton accessions were revealed.•The defoliants had little penalty on yield and fiber quality.•Two significantly ...associated loci were dissected, and key candidate genes, GhLRR and GhCYCD3;1, were clarified.•The combining of two favorable haplotypes improved sensitivity to defoliant.•The favorable haplotype frequency was generally increased in high latitudes in China for adaptation to the local environment.
Defoliation by applying defoliants before machine picking is an important agricultural practice that enhances harvesting efficiency and leads to increased raw cotton purity. However, the fundamental characteristics of leaf abscission and the underlying genetic basis in cotton are not clearly understood.
In this study, we aimed to (1) reveal the phenotypic variations in cotton leaf abscission, (2) discover the whole-genome differentiation sweeps and genetic loci related to defoliation, (3) identify and verify the functions of key candidate genes associated with defoliation, and (4) explore the relationship between haplotype frequency of loci and environmental adaptability.
Four defoliation-related traits of 383 re-sequenced Gossypium hirsutum accessions were investigated in four environments. The genome-wide association study (GWAS), linkage disequilibrium (LD) interval genotyping and functional identification were conducted. Finally, the haplotype variation related to environmental adaptability and defoliation traits was revealed.
Our findings revealed the fundamental phenotypic variations of defoliation traits in cotton. We showed that defoliant significantly increased the defoliation rate without incurring yield and fiber quality penalties. The strong correlations between defoliation traits and growth period traits were observed. A genome-wide association study of defoliation traits identified 174 significant SNPs. Two loci (RDR7 on A02 and RDR13 on A13) that significantly associated with the relative defoliation rate were described, and key candidate genes GhLRR and GhCYCD3;1, encoding a leucine-rich repeat (LRR) family protein and D3-type cell cyclin 1 protein respectively, were functional verified by expression pattern analysis and gene silencing. We found that combining of two favorable haplotypes (HapRDR7 and HapRDR13) improved sensitivity to defoliant. The favorable haplotype frequency generally increased in high latitudes in China, enabling adaptation to the local environment.
Our findings lay an important foundation for the potentially broad application of leveraging key genetic loci in breeding machine-pickable cotton.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
The low-quality factor is a key bottleneck for the engineering and commercial application of graphene nanoelectromechanical resonators at room temperature. The hypothesis in dissipation ...dominated by the ohmic loss is difficult to cover this phenomenon. Mechanical loss may still be on the list of the main causes for the quality factor stress-modulation characteristics of graphene resonators. The dissipation dilution theory reveals the intrinsic energy and dissipation mechanism of the traditional high-stress silicon-based resonator, which may also be applied to two-dimensional (2D) materials if dominated by mechanical loss. Based on Zener’s model of anelasticity, combined with the edge-corrected mode shape, the stress dilution mechanism of the bending potential dissipation of the graphene resonator is revealed. On this basis, the resonator dissipation is decomposed into boundary dissipation and non-boundary dissipation parts, and the steep rise phenomenon of the bending dissipation density (curvature) in the boundary region is analyzed through theoretical calculation. The analysis reveals that boundary dissipation is dominant in bending dissipation. To effectively suppress the boundary dissipation, a novel design of a graphene resonator via soft-clamped phononic crystal (PnC) is proposed. The existence of localized mode (LM) and effective suppression of boundary dissipation are verified in the simulations of both triangular and honeycomb PnC lattices. The theoretical model developed in this paper provides a new window into the dissipation properties of graphene nanoelectromechanical resonators, and the design of graphene resonators via soft-clamped PnC is expected to provide a new route toward high-quality factors at room temperature.
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