How to exploit social networks to make internet content spread rapidly and consistently is an interesting question in marketing management. Although epidemic models have been employed to comprehend ...the spread dynamics of internet content, such as viral videos, the effects of advertising and individual sharing on information dissemination are difficult to distinguish. This gap forbids us to evaluate the efficiency of marketing strategies. In this paper, we modify a classic mean-field SIR (susceptible-infected-recovered) model, incorporating the influences of sharing and advertising in viral videos. We mathematically analyze the global stability of the system and propose an agent-based modeling approach to evaluate the efficiency of sharing and advertising. We further provide a case study of music videos on YouTube to show the validity of our model.
Lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) is an excellent electrooptic material due to its low loss, large electrooptic coefficient, linear modulation response, and large modulation bandwidth. In this letter, we ...present the first LiNbO 3 thin-film Mach-Zehnder optical modulator that employs silicon nitride surface ridge optical waveguides. The modulator contains a 1.2-cm-long push-pull phase modulation section and a pair of multimode interferometric 3-dB couplers. It demonstrated V π · L of ~3 V · cm and a 3-dB bandwidth of ~8 GHz.
Mechanical stress plays a critical role in cartilage development and homoeostasis. Chondrocytes are surrounded by a narrow pericellular matrix (PCM), which absorbs dynamic and static forces and ...transmits them to the chondrocyte surface. Recent studies have demonstrated that molecular components, including perlecan, collagen and hyaluronan, provide distinct physical properties for the PCM and maintain the essential microenvironment of chondrocytes. These physical signals are sensed by receptors and molecules located in the cell membrane, such as Ca2+ channels, the primary cilium and integrins, and a series of downstream molecular pathways are involved in mechanotransduction in cartilage. All mechanoreceptors convert outside signals into chemical and biological signals, which then regulate transcription in chondrocytes in response to mechanical stresses. This review highlights recent progress and focuses on the function of the PCM and cell surface molecules in chondrocyte mechanotransduction. Emerging understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate mechanotransduction will provide new insights into osteoarthritis pathogenesis and precision strategies that could be used in its treatment.
In this study, reactive pyrite (FeS2) particles were prepared through a modified hydrothermal method and tested for immobilization of Cr(VI) in contaminated soil and synthetic groundwater. The ...addition of a NaAc buffer in the synthetic process resulted in pyrite particles of greater specific surface area, more uniform size, and more crystalline structure. The particles can effectively immobilize Cr(VI) in both water and a model Chinese loess soil. Over 99.9% of Cr(VI) was rapidly removed from water at pH 6.0 (Initial Cr(VI) = 25 mg/L, FeS2 dosage = 0.48 g/L), and the removal remained high (>82%) even at pH 9.5. Both adsorption and reductive precipitation were found operative in the Cr(VI) immobilization, with ∼66% of Cr immobilized due to reduction. Fe(II) ions associated on the FeS2 surface played a key role in the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), and S22− also facilitated the reductive removal of Cr(VI). The presence of humic acid enhanced Cr(VI) removal at pH 4.0, but the effect was negligible at pH 6.0. Batch kinetic tests showed that treating a Cr(VI)-laden soil with 0.48 g/L (as Fe) of FeS2 decreased the equilibrium water-leachable Cr(VI) by >99.0% at pH 6.0 and by >70.0% at pH 9.0. The distribution coefficient (Kd) value of the pyrite-amended soil was 1477.8 at pH 6.0, which is 306 times higher than that for the untreated soil. Column elution tests showed that installation of a 3-cm reactive layer of FeS2 in a soil column was able to capture the leachable Cr(VI) from the soil, and the retardation factor (Rd) for the 3-cm FeS2 layer sample was 381 times higher than that for the plain soil. The synthetic pyrite particles may serve as a reactive material for effective removal or immobilization of Cr(VI) in contaminated water or soil.
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•Reactive FeS2 particles were prepared via a hydrothermal method with NaAc as a buffer.•The particles offer greater surface area, more uniform size, and higher crystallinity.•FeS2 particles immobilized Cr(VI) in water and soil via both reduction and adsorption.•Installing a 3-cm layer of FeS2 in soil increased the retardation for Cr(VI) by 381 times.•The material performed well under normal pH and dissolved organic matter conditions.
Synthetic pyrite particles were able to effectively immobilize chromate in soil and water through concurrent reductive precipitation and direct adsorption.
Interactive architecture is deemed as a real-time narrative medium, able to reconnect and renew the relationships between participants (users) and the surroundings to help the explore the irown ...motivations,inspirations decisions,and outcomes.The sensor based, human-computer (machine) integrated architecture can transform and uplift people’s daily life in entirely new ways, by strategically unlocking the potentials that technological innovations bring. This paper intends to provide a platform for further research and experimentation in the realm of interactive architecture, to encourage rethinking of the relationship between human desires and responsive space (physical or intangible) through a brief introduction to interactive architecture, and to explain the original interdisciplinary teaching methods utilized in the thesis project. By reviewing conceptual and practical cases and related theories, the readers can have a primary understanding of the particular subject and may also change their way of thinking and doing architecture. As interactive architecture is still in its beginning stage, many explorations and related methodologies need to be put in a theoretical framework. Therefore, the author of this paper strongly suggests formulating a comprehensive framework in order to guide the future generation of architects for sustainable urban development.
•A new methodology for multi-parameter identification of concrete dams is proposed.•For the first time, polynomial chaos expansion and slime mould algorithm are integrated.•A very high computational ...efficiency is achieved using the proposed methodology.
This paper presents a novel methodology that combines polynomial chaos expansion and slime mould algorithm for multi-parameter identification of concrete dams. This methodology not only incorporates the merits of low computational cost in the polynomial chaos expansion and fast convergence of slime mould algorithm, but also considers the priori uncertainty in the input parameters by introducing statistical probability theory. By considering two examples with different complexity, this paper verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method with a univariate simply supported beam model, followed by a complex multivariate dam model to demonstrate its practicability in real engineering problems. In addition, parameter sensitivity analysis of the dam model is conducted at an extremely low cost by polynomial chaos expansion based on Sobol’ indices. Furthermore, the conventional parameter identification methods based on optimization methods directly combined with the finite element model are employed for comparison, highlighting two distinct advantages of the proposed method: (i) the proposed method improves the computational efficiency by nearly 52 times while ensuring a high accuracy, and (ii) the classical non-population optimization algorithm, Bayesian optimization, is used for comparison, revealing the outstanding performance of slime mould algorithm in terms of convergence speed and robustness. The application of the proposed algorithm is not only limited to dams, but also it can be extended to any structure.
This paper concerns the modeling, design, and experimental validation of coherent phase modulated RF/optical link employing an ACP-PPLL linear phase demodulator. From theoretical modeling, the ...closed-form solutions for link gain, noise figure, and SFDR are derived. Then, two examples of link design are addressed: one with 100-MHz and one with 500-MHz bandwidth. Finally, experimental validation was performed using the 100-MHz design. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction.
Diffusional phase-change materials, such as Ge–Sb–Te alloys, are used in rewritable nonvolatile memory devices. But the continuous pursuit of readout/write speed and reduced energy consumption in ...miniaturized devices calls for an optically driven, diffusionless phase change scheme in ultrathin materials. Inspired by optical tweezers, in this work, we illustrate theoretically and computationally that a linearly polarized laser pulse with selected frequency can drive an ultrafast diffusionless martensitic phase transition of two-dimensional ferroelastic materials such as SnO and SnSe monolayers, where the unit-cell strain is tweezed as a generalized coordinate that affects the anisotropic dielectric function and electromagnetic energy density. At laser power of 2.0 × 1010 and 7.7 × 109 W/cm2, the transition potential energy barrier vanishes between two 90°-orientation variants of ferroelastic SnO and SnSe monolayer, respectively, so displacive domain switching can occur within picoseconds. The estimated adiabatic thermal limit of energy input in such optomechanical martensitic transition (OMT) is at least 2 orders of magnitude lower than that in Ge–Sb–Te alloy.
Infertility-related stress can seriously impact the fertility quality of life (QoL) of infertile women. Resilience, as a coping resource, can effectively combat psychological stress. This study aimed ...to evaluate the fertility QoL of infertile women and to examine whether resilience moderates the association of infertility-related stress with fertility QoL.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in northeast of China from December 2017 to February 2018. Out of 559 women outpatients with infertility, 498 (89.1%) completed self-reported questionnaires including the FertiQoL Scale, Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis and simple slope analysis were applied to explore the influencing factors related to fertility QoL as well as to examine the moderating effect of resilience on the association of infertility-related stress with fertility QoL.
The mean FertiQoL score was 64.54 ± 16.90 among the participants. Household monthly income and causes of infertility were significantly related to fertility QoL. In addition, infertility-related stress was negatively related to fertility QoL, and resilience was positively associated with fertility QoL, explaining 36.3% of the variance. Resilience moderated the association of infertility-related stress with fertility QoL. Specifically, the effect of infertility-related stress on fertility QoL varied by low(1 SD below the mean, B = - 0.496, β = - 0.714, P < 0.001), mean (B = - 0.293, β = - 0.422, P < 0.001) and high (1 SD above the mean, B = - 0.090, β = - 0.130, P < 0.001) levels of resilience. The higher resilience was, the weaker the effect of infertility-related stress on fertility QoL was.
Overall, women with infertility in China had relatively low FertiQoL scores. Resilience influenced the association of infertility-related stress with fertility QoL. Infertile patients' psychological status must be addressed and adequate resilience-based interventions such as mindfulness-based skills should be provided to improve fertility QoL of women with infertility.
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