Table tennis competition is voted as one of the most popular competitive sports. The referee umpires the competition mainly based on visual observation and experience, which may make misjudgments on ...competition results due to the referee’s subjective uncertainty or imprecision. In this work, a novel intelligent umpiring system based on arrayed self-powered acceleration sensor nodes was presented to enhance the competition accuracy. A sensor node array model was established to detect ball collision point on the table tennis table. This model clearly illuminated the working mechanism of the proposed umpiring system. And an improved particle swarm optimization (level-based competitive swarm optimization) was applied to optimize the arrayed sensor nodes distribution by redefining the representations and update rules of position and velocity. The optimized results showed that the number of sensors decreased from 58 to 51. Also, the reliability of the optimized nodes distribution of the table tennis umpiring system has been verified theoretically. The results revealed that our system achieved a precise detection of the ball collision point with uniform error distances below 3.5 mm. Besides, this research offered an in-depth study on intelligent umpiring system based on arrayed self-powered sensor nodes, which will improve the accuracy of the umpiring of table tennis competition.
Cell size control and homeostasis is a long-standing subject in biology. Recent experimental work provides extensive evidence for a simple, quantitative size homeostasis principle coined adder (as ...opposed to sizer or timer). The adder principle provides unexpected insights into how bacteria maintain their size without employing a feedback mechanism. We review the genesis of adder and recent cell size homeostasis study on evolutionarily divergent bacterial organisms and beyond. We propose new coarse-grained approaches to understand the underlying mechanisms of cell size control at the whole cell level.
Microporous organic nanotubes (MONs) hold considerable promise for designing molecular-sieving membranes because of their high microporosity, customizable chemical functionalities, and favorable ...polymer affinity. Herein, we report the use of MONs derived from covalent organic frameworks to engineer 15-nm-thick microporous membranes via interfacial polymerization (IP). The incorporation of a highly porous and interpenetrated MON layer on the membrane before the IP reaction leads to the formation of polyamide membranes with Turing structure, enhanced microporosity, and reduced thickness. The MON-modified membranes achieve a remarkable water permeability of 41.7 L m
h
bar
and high retention of boron (78.0%) and phosphorus (96.8%) at alkaline conditions (pH 10), surpassing those of reported nanofiltration membranes. Molecular simulations reveal that introducing the MONs not only reduces the amine molecule diffusion toward the organic phase boundary but also increases membrane porosity and the density of water molecules around the membrane pores. This MON-regulated IP strategy provides guidelines for creating high-permeability membranes for precise nanofiltration.
The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is a valuable simplified tool to predict mortality. However, the results of previous studies are inconsistent and controversial. To summarize the evidence ...regarding the association of GNRI levels with the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality, we conducted this meta-analysis. Relevant studies were identified through a systematic electronic literature search. We estimated combined hazard ratios (HRs) to assess the association between GNRI and the risk of mortality by using a meta-analysis method. The Cochrane Q test and the inconsistency statistic were used to assess the between-study heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed. Twenty-six observational studies involving 17 097 participants were identified in this meta-analysis. With the highest category used as the reference group, the lowest-category GNRI was significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause (HR: 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.22-1.43) and CV (HR = 2.10, 95% confidence interval: 1.72-2.57) mortality. Subgroup analyses based on the participant ethnicity, age, and the duration of the follow-up period did not substantially change the main results. In summary, a lower GNRI is associated with an elevated risk of both all-cause and CV mortality. Given the significant heterogeneity among the included studies, further investigations with larger sample sizes are required to confirm the value of the GNRI in predicting mortality and to explore the combined effects of malnutrition and mortality.
This meta-analysis was undertaken to investigate the relationship between hematological indices and autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs). PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searchedfor studies ...of ARDs and hematological indices. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated with confidence interval (CI) of 95%. 18 studies were included in our meta-analysis. Compared to the healthy control group, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was increased in patients with ankylosing spongdylitis(AS), Behçet's disease(BD), andrheumatoid arthritis(RA)(SMD = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.47; SMD = 1.90; 95% CI: 0.13 to 3.67; SMD = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.23 to 1.28). Platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was found increased in RA and SLE (SMD = 33.91; 95% CI: 20.50 to 47.32; SMD = 59.11; 95% CI: 4.46 to 113.76). Mean platelet volume (MPV)was irrelevant to BD and SLE by comparing with the healthy control group respectively. (SMD = 0.24; 95% CI: -0.49 to 0.97; SMD = -0.15; 95% CI: -1.77 to 1.48). Red cell distribution width (RDW) was not related to AS (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI: -0.37, 1.55). Our findings indicated that NLR had a strong association with AS, BD, and RA. PLR was also related to RA and SLE. NLR and PLR could be recommended as inexpensive diagnostic biomarkers for ARDs.
It is important to improve the identification accuracy of the operating status of elevator traction machines. The distribution difference of the time-frequency signals utilized to identify operating ...circumstances is modest, making it difficult to extract features from the vibration signals of traction machines under various operating conditions, leading to low recognition accuracy. A novel method for identifying the operating status of traction machines based on signal demodulation method and convolutional neural network (CNN) is proposed. The original vibration time-frequency signals are demodulated by the demodulation method based on time-frequency analysis and principal component analysis (DPCA). Firstly, the signal demodulation method based on principal component analysis is used to extract the modulation features of the experimentally measured vibration signals. Then, The CNN is used for feature vector extraction, and the training model is obtained through multiple iterations to achieve automatic recognition of the running state. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively extract feature parameters under different states. The diagnostic accuracy is up to 96.94%, which is about 16.61% higher than conventional methods. It provides a feasible solution for identifying the operating status of elevator traction machines.
With potential commercial applications, inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have received wide‐spread attentions as they are compatible with tandem devices and processed at low‐temperature. ...Nevertheless, their efficiencies remain unsatisfactory due to insufficient film quality on hydrophobic hole transport layer and limited hole‐blocking capability of the electron transport layer. Herein, 1,3,5‐Tris(1‐phenyl‐1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐yl)benzene (TPBi), an n‐type semiconductor, is incorporated into the antisolvent to simultaneously regulate the grain growth and charge transport of perovskite films. TPBi facilitates the crystallization of perovskites along (100) orientation. Besides, TPBi is mainly distributed near the top surface of perovskite film and enhances the hole‐blocking capability of the area adjacent to the surface. The superior properties of this film lead to a remarkable improvement in the open‐circuit voltage of inverted PSCs. The champion device achieves a high power conversion efficiency of 21.79% while keeping ≈92% of its initial value after 1000 h storage in the ambient atmosphere. This work provides an effective way to evidently promote the performance of inverted PSCs and illustrates its underlaying mechanism.
1,3,5‐Tris(1‐phenyl‐1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐yl)benzene (TPBi) is introduced via an antisolvent engineering to regulate the growth of perovskite film. Upon the incorporation of TPBi, the perovskite film obtains a higher crystallinity and enhanced hole blocking capability on the surface. The TPBi‐incorporated perovskite solar cell delivers a high efficiency of 21.79% and keeps ≈92% of the initial value after 1000 h in the ambient atmosphere.
It is generally assumed that the allocation and synthesis of total cellular resources in microorganisms are uniquely determined by the growth conditions. Adaptation to a new physiological state leads ...to a change in cell size via reallocation of cellular resources. However, it has not been understood how cell size is coordinated with biosynthesis and robustly adapts to physiological states. We show that cell size in Escherichia coli can be predicted for any steady-state condition by projecting all biosynthesis into three measurable variables representing replication initiation, replication-division cycle, and the global biosynthesis rate. These variables can be decoupled by selectively controlling their respective core biosynthesis using CRISPR interference and antibiotics, verifying our predictions that different physiological states can result in the same cell size. We performed extensive growth inhibition experiments, and we discovered that cell size at replication initiation per origin, namely the initiation mass or unit cell, is remarkably invariant under perturbations targeting transcription, translation, ribosome content, replication kinetics, fatty acid and cell wall synthesis, cell division, and cell shape. Based on this invariance and balanced resource allocation, we explain why the total cell size is the sum of all unit cells. These results provide an overarching framework with quantitative predictive power over cell size in bacteria.
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•The initiation mass, or unit cell, is invariant under extensive growth inhibition•The general growth law explains the origin of the nutrient growth law•Cell size can be controlled and predicted for any growth condition in E. coli
Si et al. provide a quantitative coordination principle of bacterial cell size control under any growth condition. Initiation mass or unit cell is invariant despite extensive growth inhibition. This leads to the general growth law that cell size is the sum of all unit cells, explaining the origin of the nutrient growth law from the 1950s.
Vibration signal analysis of the traction machine is an important part of the current rotating machinery state recognition technology, and its feature extraction is the most critical step. In this ...study, the time-frequency characteristics of the vibration of the traction machine under different elevator running directions, running speeds and load weights are analyzed. The novel demodulation method based on time-frequency analysis and principal component analysis (DPCA) is used to extract the periodic modulated wave signal. In order to compare different influence of background noise and unknown frequency influence, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) methods are used to extract the characteristics of the traction machine vibration signal, respectively. Under different load conditions, it is difficult to observe the obvious differences and similarities of the vibration signals of the traction machine by time-frequency method. However, the DPCA demodulation method provides a guarantee for the reliability and accuracy of the state identification of the traction machine.
Aiming at solving the problem of incomplete saliency detection and unclear boundaries in infrared multi-target images with different target sizes and low signal-to-noise ratio under sky background ...conditions, this paper proposes a saliency detection method for multiple targets based on multi-saliency detection. The multiple target areas of the infrared image are mainly bright and the background areas are dark. Combining with the multi-scale top hat (Top-hat) transformation, the image is firstly corroded and expanded to extract the subtraction of light and shade parts and reconstruct the image to reduce the interference of sky blurred background noise. Then the image obtained by a multi-scale Top-hat transformation is transformed from the time domain to the frequency domain, and the spectral residuals and phase spectrum are extracted directly to obtain two kinds of image saliency maps by multi-scale Gauss filtering reconstruction, respectively. On the other hand, the quaternion features are extracted directly to transform the phase spectrum, and then the phase spectrum is reconstructed to obtain one kind of image saliency map by the Gauss filtering. Finally, the above three saliency maps are fused to complete the saliency detection of infrared images. The test results show that after the experimental analysis of infrared video photographs and the comparative analysis of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve and Area Under the Curve (AUC) index, the infrared image saliency map generated by this method has clear target details and good background suppression effect, and the AUC index performance is good, reaching over 99%. It effectively improves the multi-target saliency detection effect of the infrared image under the sky background and is beneficial to subsequent detection and tracking of image targets.
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