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Distribution statistics apodization with cross-correlation applied to medical ultrasound imaging
The hidden role of glomalin-related soil protein in mediating soil organic carbon dynamics in response to urbanization
Abstract Urbanization can alter soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, while glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) is crucial for SOC sequestration. However, whether and how GRSP mediates the response of SOC to urbanization remains unclear. We investigated 184 soil samples by analyzing GRSP and its C-functional structures along an urban expansion gradient using redundancy analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) in Nanchang, China. Four C-functional groups of GRSP were characterized using infrared spectroscopy, including aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, proteins, and polysaccharides/nucleic acids. Average GRSP and SOC contents were 2.38 and 16.76 g·kg⁻¹, respectively, and both decreased significantly during urbanization ( p < 0.05). Crucially, the relative abundance of the fourC-functional groups of GRSP exhibited a more pronounced decline with urbanization than that of bulk soil C-functional groups, providing a mechanistic basis for its sensitivity. SEM indicated that GRSP was significantly associated with the pathway linking urbanization and SOC, suggesting that urbanization may be indirectly associated with SOC variation through changes in soil properties (e.g., enzyme activities) and GRSP. This study suggests that GRSP content and its C-functional structure may serve as potential biochemical indicators of urbanization-associated changes in SOC dynamics. It provides a biochemical tool for assessing soil carbon vulnerability in urban ecosystems.
Application of ultrasound combined with microbubbles in conversion therapy for advanced liver cancer
A cross-varietal comparative analysis of mesocarp microstructure influencing physical and sensory attributes in date palm fruits
The quality and reliability of short videos about diabetic foot on TikTok and Bilibili: a cross-sectional study
AQP1 knockdown inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth and invasion and weakens the oncogenic activity of exosomal GPC1 in a mouse model
Translation, cultural adaptation, and psychometric evaluation of the NASA-TLX questionnaire among various occupational groups of Persian speakers
Abstract Mental workload is a critical determinant of employee performance, safety, and well-being. The NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) is one of the most widely used instruments for assessing perceived mental workload; however, a validated Persian version for occupational settings has been lacking. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the NASA-TLX in a Persian-speaking occupational population. The original NASA-TLX was translated and culturally adapted following established guidelines. Content validity was evaluated using the Content Validity Index (CVI) and modified Kappa coefficients. Structural validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis, and known-groups validity was examined by comparing three occupational groups. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Agreement between the weighted and unweighted scoring methods was assessed using Pearson’s correlation and Bland–Altman analysis. A total of 605 participants completed the Persian NASA-TLX. Content validity was excellent (I-CVI range: 0.88–1.00; S-CVI/Ave: 0.92; modified Kappa: 0.87–1.00). Exploratory factor analysis supported a unidimensional structure, explaining 73.1% of the total variance. Known-groups analysis demonstrated significant differences in perceived workload across occupational groups. Internal consistency was excellent (α = 0.922), and test–retest reliability was high (ICC = 0.841–0.913). Bland–Altman analysis demonstrated acceptable agreement while identifying a systematic difference between the two scoring methods. The Persian NASA-TLX provides a valid and reliable instrument for assessing perceived mental workload in Persian-speaking occupational settings. The findings support its use for ergonomic assessment, occupational research, and cross-cultural workload comparisons. The unweighted scoring method may be suitable for routine field applications, whereas the weighted method remains preferable when a more detailed workload profile is required.
Dynamics analysis of a novel conservative chaotic system and its application in image encryption
A novel multi-criteria group decision-making technique in traffic flow and safety assessment using interval-valued complex spherical fuzzy soft set
Extreme temperature and infant deaths in rural Spain, 1920–1950: a case-crossover analysis
Simulation study on nonlinear permeability characteristics of coalbed methane mining driven by mixed N2/CO2 pressure
Federated TinyML and digital twin framework for secure and resilient IoMT-based ICU monitoring
Vehicle lane change prediction with explainable soft mask attention mechanism and heterogeneous information encoder
Abstract Lane-change intention prediction is critical for intelligent vehicles, and driver decisions depend on the perception and processing of driving context information. Despite advances in deep learning in this domain, further exploration of the driving context processing remains essential. This study proposes a soft mask attention mechanism to adaptively enhance or suppress input features from target and surrounding vehicles. After that, the masked features are extracted using a heterogeneous information encoder, thereby differentiating between target and surrounding vehicle information processing. The encoded features are then integrated using a multi-head attention mechanism, and the lane change probabilities are output through convolution operations and decoder layers. Experiments demonstrate: (1) The proposed SMILE-LC (Soft Mask Information with Lane-based Encoding for Lane Change) achieves optimal prediction performance across all perception ranges with strong efficiency and generalization. (2) The soft mask attention mechanism intuitively reveals the information processing patterns in prediction model. The target vehicle’s lateral acceleration is the most critical feature, while the position information of surrounding vehicles is more important than their velocity and acceleration. (3) The heterogeneous information encoder significantly improves lane change prediction performance, and the proposed lane-based encoding strategy outperforms other encoding architectures. These results can significantly advance the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and enhance lane-change safety.
Prevalence and associated factors of depression, anxiety, and stress among women of childbearing age in Lorestan, Iran: a cross-sectional study
A simulation-based investigation of the production routes of the positron-emitting radionuclide 128Cs using GEANT4, TALYS, and EMPIRE codes for medical applications
Sexual experience of urostomy patients with bladder cancer: a qualitative explorative study
A facile and effective approach to prepare К-carrageenan / polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel as a potential wound dressing
Abstract Since К-carrageenan (КC) can be crosslinked by potassium cations while polyvinyl alcohol ( PVA) can be crosslinked by borated anions, the present work was undertaken to crosslink the КC/PVA blends in one step using potassium tetraborate tetrahydrate (PTB) as a crosslinker for forming КC/PVA/PTB hydrogels. Factors affecting crosslinking of that blends such as PTB concentration, steeping time in PTB aqueous solution, КC/PVA weight ratio, and crosslinker type were studied. The results indicated that the optimal conditions for preparing the КC/PVA/PTB gels are: КC/PVA weight ratio, 1; PTB concentration, 4%; and steeping time, 8 h. Among boric acid, potassium chloride, borax, and PTB as potential crosslinkers for the КC/PVA (50/50) matrix, the later, i.e. PTB, achieves the highest crosslinking magnitude and produces KC/PVA/PTB gel having a superior liquid-holding capacity (1020%) as well as high gel fraction (98.6%) properties. The chemical structure of the formed КC/PVA/PTB gel was confirmed using FTIR analysis. The potential application of the КC/PVA/PTB gel as wound dressings was investigated by treating non-woven cotton fabric samples with КC/PVA (50/50) matrices in absence and presence of curcumin or silver nano-particles (Ag-NPs) as bio-additives followed by crosslinking with PTB. The prepared dressings exhibits superior antibacterial activities as well as significant mechanical properties expressed in the good tensile strength, elongation at break, elastic modulus, stiffness, air permeability, and porosity properties. Besides, the treated fabric exhibits moderate cytotoxicity. The prepared Ag-NPs were evaluated via UV–Vis, TEM, and XRD analysis whereas the prepared dressings were characterized using SEM and EDX analysis.