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Compact octagonal MIMO antenna system for broadband applications with enhanced isolation and wideband performance
Abstract This work introduces a compact and novel MIMO antenna system with close spacing and exceptional isolation, tailored for broadband usage across frequencies from 3.7 to 11 GHz. The antenna configuration consists of two octagonal radiators, each individually powered by a 50 Ω microstrip line. The use of a modified ground structure ensures a wideband frequency range. A key novelty of this design is the incorporation of a strategically placed stub (25.6875 × 0.5 mm2) between the radiating sections, which significantly enhances inter-port isolation, achieving over 15 dB despite the minimal 3 mm port separation—an improvement over conventional MIMO antennas. This design enables high isolation without increasing antenna size, making it highly efficient for compact wireless systems. Performance evaluation, including fabrication and testing, demonstrates a strong alignment between simulation and experimental data. Metrics such as envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain (DG), and channel capacity loss (CCL) were analyzed to assess MIMO efficiency. The proposed antenna is ideal for broadband wireless systems with a peak gain of 6.5 dBi and excellent resonance, offering superior isolation and compactness compared to existing designs.
Optimizing drawing frame variables to enhance polyester spun yarn quality using soft computing techniques
Relationship between breastfeeding duration and the development of malocclusion and dental caries in children
Underwater drone-based eDNA metabarcoding reveals regional differences in fish communities and early detection of alien species around the Korean Peninsula
Efficacy of transanal drainage tubes in postoperative anastomotic leakage in patients with laparoscopic anterior rectal resection without diverting stoma
Abstract To assess whether transanal drainage tubes (TDT) protect against anastomotic leakage (AL) in patients without diverting stomas (DS) after laparoscopic anterior rectal resection (LAR). In the TDT group, after anastomosis of the sigmoid colon to the rectum, a 32F silicone tube was inserted through the anus with the tip of the tube exceeding the anastomosis by more than 5 cm. The tube was secured around the anus with a skin suture and a drainage bag was attached. It was left in place for 3–5 days postoperatively in the TDT group. In the No-TDT group, no transanal silicone tube drainage was used after the anastomosis. A total of 927 patients (620 in the no-TDT group and 307 in the TDT group) were included in the analysis, and a total of 50 (5.4%) patients were observed to develop AL. After using propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce baseline feature imbalances between the two groups, there were 287 patients in both groups, and the mean retention time of TDT was (4.7 ± 1.2) d. The incidence of AL in the TDT group was significantly lower than that in the no-TDT group (3.8% vs. 8.0%, with a the incidence of AL in the TDT group was significantly lower than that in the non-TDT group (3.8% vs. 8.0%, P = 0.034), but the incidence of AL classification was similar (P = 0.709). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of postoperative complications and postoperative recovery. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that TDT was found to be an independent protective factor for postoperative AL (OR 0.437, 95% CI 0.207–0.923, P = 0.030). The elective use of TDT is a simple and effective protective measure for the prevention of AL in patients without stoma after LAR surgery, helping to reduce the probability of AL. This may be a potential alternative DS method for the appropriate population.
Preliminary study on the spread of air-borne pollutants in urban environment: a CFD simulation approach
Abstract The spreading of pollutants within urban areas, particularly from traffic emissions, poses a significant health risk. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has emerged as a key tool in understanding how pollutants spread within a city. In particular, the large-eddy simulation (LES) approach allows us to capture the complex time-dependent behaviour of the 3D flow field due to buildings in a dense urban environment. This work utilizes the CFD tool MGLET (Multi Grid Large Eddy Turbulence) to model the transport of pollutants within a selected domain in Munich city. MGLET offers a feature of simulating transport of multiple passive scalar quantities simultaneously. This facilitates the individual analysis of emissions from each major street in the domain of interest, providing detailed insights into their respective impacts. Additionally, MGLET utilizes the Immersed Boundary Method to resolve 3D building geometries, removing the need to generate body-fitted grids, which tends to be highly time-consuming. The streets are defined by area sources, and the emission rates for each street are defined by the average traffic flow rate. This high-fidelity approach offers a detailed analysis, allowing us to identify local features such as recirculation zones in street canyons and pinpoint the streets that contribute most significantly to pollution at specific locations. The insights from CFD studies can empower policymakers to craft legislation tailored to local pollution control efforts, thus enhancing the quality of life in urban areas. Ultimately, the accurate prediction of pollutant concentration is critical, as it directly impacts the health and well-being of urban residents, highlighting the urgent need for effective pollution control measures.
The shaping of terrestrial planets by late accretions
Action recognition using part and attention enhanced feature fusion
Hierarchical Information-guided robotic grasp detection
Abstract With the advancement of deep learning, robotic grasping has seen widespread application in fields, becoming a critical component in enhancing automation. Accurate and efficient grasping capabilities not only significantly boost productivity but also ensure safety and reliability in complex and dynamic environments. However, current approaches, particularly those based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs), often neglect the hierarchical information inherent in the data and lead to challenges in complex environments with abundant background information. Moreover, these methods struggle to capture long-range dependencies and non-local self-similarity, critical for accurate grasp detection. To address these issues, we propose GraspFormer, a novel method for robotic grasp detection. GraspFormer features a unique Encoder-Decoder framework that incorporates a Grasp Transformer Block designed to model long-range dependencies while avoiding background interference. Our approach also designs hierarchical information-guided self-attention (HIGSA) and an adaptive deep channel modulator (DCM) to enhance feature interactions and competition. Extensive experiments demonstrate that GraspFormer achieves performance comparable to state-of-the-art methods. The code is available at https://github.com/shine793/Hierarchical-Information-guided-Robotic-Grasp-Detection .
Exploring the occupational biases and stereotypes of Chinese large language models
Abstract Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming various aspects of our daily lives and work through their generated content, known as Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC). To effectively harness this change, it is essential to understand the limitations within these models. While extensive prior research has addressed biases in OpenAI’s ChatGPT, limited attention has been given to biases present in Chinese Large Language Models (C-LLMs). This study systematically examines biases in five representative C-LLMs. We collected 90 Chinese surnames derived from authoritative demographic statistics and 12 occupations covering various professional sectors as input prompts. Each prompt was generated three times by the C-LLMs, resulting in a dataset comprising 16,200 generated personal profiles. We then evaluated these profiles for biases regarding gender, region, age, and educational background. Our findings reveal that the content produced by each examined C-LLMs exhibits significant gender and regional biases, as well as age and educational stereotypes. Notably, while most models can generate some unbiased content, ChatGLM stands out as the exception. In contrast, Tongyiqianwen is the only model that may refuse to generate certain content, due to its strong privacy protection mechanisms. We also further analyze the underlying mechanisms of bias formation by examining different stages of the model lifecycle and considering the unique characteristics of the Chinese linguistic and sociocultural context. This paper will contribute substantially to the literature on biases in C-LLMs and provide important insights for users aiming to utilize these models more effectively and ethically.
Genetic landscape of Romanian children with inborn errors of immunity via gene panels, exome, and genome sequencing
A plastic analysis of Griffith crack problem in 1D hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals
NOX4 as an emerging prognostic and immunological biomarker across pan-cancer analyses
TLR7 deficiency enhances inflammation in the URT but reduces LRT immunity following influenza A infection
Abstract Immune responses in the upper respiratory tract (URT) following influenza A virus (IAV) infection can influence disease severity, and subsequently inflammation and lung tissue damage in the lower respiratory tract (LRT). This study investigated the role of toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), a key pattern recognition receptor that senses viral RNA and triggers antiviral and proinflammatory signaling to activate immune responses, in specifically shaping URT and LRT immune responses to IAV infection. Wild type C57Bl/6 and TLR7 knockout (TLR7 KO) mice were infected with the H3N2 IAV strain Hk-X31, and key immune responses in the nasal tissue (URT) and lower airways and lung tissue (LRT) measured after acute infection. We found reduced body weight loss, and increased type II/III interferons and proinflammatory cytokines in the URT of TLR7 KO mice; while LRT inflammation was reduced. TLR7 was essential for activating immune responses in the LRT but played a more selective role in the URT, primarily influencing monocytes, pDCs and B cells. Our data suggest that TLR7 plays a critical role in the transition of inflammation from the URT to the LRT during IAV infection, making it a promising therapeutic target to modulate disease severity.
Temporal trends in sex differences in dementia care—results from the Swedish registry for cognitive/dementia disorders, SveDem
Abstract The Swedish Registry for Cognitive/Dementia Disorders (SveDem) follows the quality and equity of dementia care across Sweden. In this study, we investigated temporal trends in sex-based differences in the provision of dementia care. Outcomes were diagnostic work-up, assessments performed by health care professionals, medication use, and social support (defined as initiating contact with a social worker and/or support to relatives). Revisions in dementia diagnosis between baseline and follow-up were evaluated as a marker of diagnostic stability. We included 100,534 individuals diagnosed with dementia between 2008 and 2021 (median age 80 years, 58% women). Dementia registrations rose from 2008 to 2014, then declined after 2015. Alzheimer’s dementia was more frequent in women than men (35% versus 17%), while vascular dementia was less frequent (17% versus 21%). Small differences were observed in dementia care outcomes between sexes. Where differences reached statistical significance, effect sizes were minimal. Dementia diagnosis was revised in 5% of men and 4% of women over a median period of 11 months between baseline and first follow-up. Our results revealed negligible temporal trends in sex-based differences in dementia care among individuals included in the SveDem. However, as SveDem covers only about one third of Sweden’s dementia population, findings may not fully represent national trends.
Effective coverage of child immunisation service in Ethiopia
Abstract Vaccines are one of the safest and most cost-effective interventions to prevent disease and disabilities worldwide. Yet, nearly 19 million children do not receive basic vaccines and most of them are from low and middle-income countries. The Sustainable Development Goal 3 aims at eliminating preventable deaths of newborns and under-five children by 2030. However, Ethiopia has a high child mortality rate, and most of them are from preventable causes. Quality provision of immunisation could reduce vaccine-preventable morbidity and mortality. Despite this, the quality-adjusted coverage of immunisation services in Ethiopia has not been well-documented. We used the Kids’ record from the 2019 Ethiopian Demographic and Survey (EDHS) and the health facility recode from the 2021–2022 Ethiopian Service Provision Assessment (ESPA). The EDHS and ESPA data were linked using administrative boundary linkage using administrative regions and city administrations. The crude coverage was weighted before linking with the ESPA dataset. Health facilities which provide child immunisation services were included. The quality of immunisation service provision was constructed from 14 indicators. The quality of immunisation was calculated as the sum of the availability of items in each domain, divided by the total number of items in the domain, and finally multiplied by 100. The effective coverage was measured as the product of contact coverage and quality of immunisation service provision. We use STATA 17 for analysis. A total of 951 respondents who have a live children aged 12–23 month were included. The national effective coverage of immunisation was 34.3% (95% Confidence interval (CI): 33.0, 35.5) with a large variation in different regions, ranged from 14.8% in Afar to 83.5% in Addis Ababa. The crude coverage of immunisation services was 39.6% (95% CI: 36.5, 42.7), ranged from 19.2% in Afar to 87.39% in Addis Ababa. The overall score for quality of immunisation service was 82% (95% CI: 80.44, 83.51). The quality ranged from 74.6% in SNNPR to 95.5% in Addis Ababa. The quality of immunisation varies with the managing authority of health facilities, private facilities had the highest quality (90% (95% CI: 85.35, 95.36)) and government facilities scored the lowest quality (82% (95% CI: 80.06, 83.22)). There was low effective coverage of immunisation services provision in Ethiopia. The effective coverage was lower in the pastoral regions (Afar and Somali). Government facilities and facilities in rural areas had lower-quality immunisation services. Facilities in SNNPR and Afar region had low-quality of immunisation service. Policymakers should focus on improving the quality of government facilities and the facilities in rural areas and pastoral regions to improve immunisation services.