Search Results (541)

A rock-socketed pile model load test was conducted for the renovation project of the dangerous old bridge at Shaoping Bridge. The experiment focused on the core parameter of the roughness factor (RF) of the pile body, revealing its influence on the bearing characteristics. The study delved into the load–displacement relationship, ultimate bearing capacity evolution, axial force transmission mechanism, average lateral resistance performance characteristics, and pile–soil relative displacement law of test piles in complex rock formations under different RF values. The research results indicated the following: The test pile exhibited typical brittle failure. At the moment of failure, the load at the pile head dropped abruptly, resulting in a steep drop in its load–displacement curve. Under ultimate load conditions, the average attenuation amplitudes of axial force in the four test piles decreased progressively in Rock Layer I, II, and III, measuring 26.96%, 14.86%, and 10.84%, respectively. The average side resistance distribution along the pile shaft showed a single-peak pattern, peaking in Rock Layer I. Increasing RF effectively enhanced the bearing capacity of test piles. However, a higher RF value does not necessarily yield better results, as it exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with bearing capacity. Under the specific conditions of this study, the highest bearing capacity among the tested RF values was observed at RF = 0.168; beyond this threshold, performance actually declined. The pile-top load was primarily shared by side resistance and end bearing resistance. Both components initially increased and then decreased with increasing RF, where the end bearing resistance accounted for 43.64~49.47% of the upper load. Full article

Background: Attractiveness plays an important role in social interactions. However, it remains unclear whether presenting attractiveness information across multiple sensory modalities facilitates attractiveness evaluation, and how cross-modal congruency modulates this process. Methods: The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate these questions. Participants judged the attractiveness of voices presented alone or paired with faces that were congruent or incongruent in attractiveness. Results: Significant differences were found between unimodal and audiovisual conditions, as well as between congruent and incongruent pairs, during both early perceptual (N1) and later evaluative (P3) stages. Both audiovisual conditions elicited larger N1 amplitudes than the auditory-only condition, and congruent pairs produced larger N1 amplitudes than incongruent pairs. At a later stage, the auditory-only condition produced larger P3 amplitudes than the audiovisual conditions. Furthermore, the interaction between voice attractiveness and visual context on P3 amplitudes was significant. Audiovisual incongruent pairs elicited larger P3 amplitudes than congruent pairs, but only when the voice was unattractive. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that redundant visual cues of attractiveness both accelerate and alter the perception of auditory attractiveness. These audiovisual integration effects occur across different processing stages and may reflect enhanced processing efficiency in multisensory social perception. Full article

L-shaped steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) columns are commonly used as edge and corner members in bridge piers and high-rise buildings. However, systematic experimental evidence on their dynamic behavior and detailing effects under lateral impact remains limited. This study presents a parametric drop-weight impact program on seven SRC columns with built-in L-shaped steel sections. The effects of impact velocity (v), axial compression ratio (n = 0–0.2), and stirrup spacing in the non-densified region (s = 100–200 mm) were examined in terms of damage evolution, impact-response indices (Fmax, Fave, Δmax, Δres, T), and energy absorption efficiency (η = E_ab/E). The results show that impact velocity was the dominant parameter governing both response amplitude and damage severity. Increasing v from 7.67 to 9.90 m/s increased Δmax and Δres by 92.6% and 144.3%, respectively, while η increased from 60.7% to 74.6%. Within the investigated range, axial compression improved resistance and suppressed residual deformation. As n increased from 0 to 0.2, Fmax and Fave increased by 17.5% and 30.4%, respectively, whereas Δres decreased by 32.1%. The effect of stirrup spacing on η was non-monotonic. The intermediate spacing (s = 150 mm) yielded the highest energy absorption ratio (60.7%) and the most balanced overall response among the tested cases, rather than representing a definitive optimum. No global buckling of the embedded steel section was observed, and all specimens maintained overall structural integrity under high-energy impact. These results provide experimental evidence for the response assessment and preliminary transverse detailing of asymmetric SRC columns under lateral impact. Full article

Background/Objectives: The processing and evaluation of behavior, actions or events that go against social (moral) norms can be assumed to operate on mental representations of the world and of how people typically behave. These mechanisms and representations may therefore be shared by the processing of meaning in general. The current study investigated whether the processing of deviations of morality can be distinguished from processing of semantic inconsistencies. Methods: Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from English speakers while they read short written texts in English for comprehension. Texts contained words that constituted moral violations, semantic violations and neutral controls depending on the context, allowing for a direct comparison. Results: Using trial-based analyses, we found different ERP responses to semantic and moral violations: the moral violation elicited a long-lasting, posterior Late Positive Component (LPC) starting at around 300 ms, whereas the semantic violation elicited a positivity that started later and was descriptively more frontally distributed. Furthermore, the LPC amplitudes could be explained by the moral acceptance scores over and above plausibility scores, but not vice versa. Conclusions: The outcomes are compatible with the view that the processing of moral deviations engages at least some mechanisms that are different from the processing of semantic deviations. Full article

In ecologically fragile and geomorphologically complex mountainous regions, ensuring a smooth transition from poverty alleviation to multidimensional sustainable rural development remains a key issue in regional governance. Focusing on the Qinba Mountains, a typical former contiguous poverty-stricken region in China covering 18 prefecture-level cities in six provinces, this study uses 2009–2023 prefecture-level panel data to examine the spatiotemporal evolution and driving mechanisms of coordinated rural revitalization. An integrated framework of “multi-dimensional evaluation–spatiotemporal tracking–attribution diagnosis” is developed by combining the improved AHP–entropy-weight TOPSIS method, the Coupling Coordination Degree (CCD) model, spatial Markov chains, spatial autocorrelation, and the Geodetector. The results show pronounced subsystem asynchrony. Livelihood and Well-being Security (U5) improves steadily, while Level of Industrial Development (U1), Civic Virtues and Cultural Vibrancy (U3), and Rural Governance (U4) also rise but with clear spatial differentiation; by contrast, Quality of Human Settlements (U2) fluctuates in stages under ecological fragility. Overall, the coupling coordination level advances from the Verge of Imbalance to Intermediate Coordination, yet the regional pattern remains uneven, with eastern basin cities leading and western deep mountainous cities lagging. State transitions display both policy responsiveness and path dependence: the probability of retaining the original state ranges from 50.0% to 90.5%; low-level neighborhoods reduce the upward transition probability to 25%, whereas medium-to-high-level neighborhoods raise the upward transition probability of low-level cities from 36.36% to 53.33%. Spatial dependence is also evident, with Global Moran’s I increasing, with fluctuations, from 0.331 in 2009 to 0.536 in 2023; high-value clusters extend along the Guanzhong Plain–Han River Valley corridor, while low-value clusters remain relatively locked in mountainous border areas. Driving mechanisms show clear stage-wise succession. At the single-factor level, the explanatory power of Road Network Density (F6) declines from 0.639 to 0.287, whereas Terrain Relief Amplitude (F1) becomes the dominant background constraint in the later stage (q = 0.772). Multi-factor interactions are generally enhanced. In particular, the traditional infrastructure-led pathway weakens markedly, with F1 ∩ F6 = 0.055 in 2023, while the interaction between terrain and consumer market vitality becomes dominant, with F1 ∩ F7 = 0.987 in 2023. On this basis, three major pathways are identified: government fiscal intervention and transportation accessibility improvement, capital agglomeration and market demand stimulation, and human–earth system adaptation and ecological value realization. These findings provide quantitative evidence for breaking spatial lock-in and improving cross-regional resource allocation in ecologically constrained mountainous regions. Full article

Numerosity can be represented in symbolic formats and non-symbolic dot arrays. How numerosity load unfolds across WM encoding/maintenance and test-stage comparison within a single paradigm remains unclear, especially within the tested 4–6 range. We used a delayed match-to-sample task manipulating numerosity (4–6) and match status, with two test blocks (dot–digit and dot–dot). Behaviorally, a higher numerosity reduced accuracy and increased RTs in both blocks, with larger costs in dot–dot; the mismatch reliably slowed RTs. At sample onset, occipital P1 and N1 amplitudes decreased with increasing numerosity, consistent with greater perceptual/processing demands at higher load, with the strongest differences at the high end of the range. During the delay, numerosity modulation was temporally specific, emerging in the 450–650 ms posterior window and remaining significant after FDR correction across the four consecutive delay windows. At the test, the mismatch elicited a more negative N2 in both blocks (larger in dot–dot), while numerosity also modulated N2 only in dot–dot, showing a monotonic increase in negativity with load. Controlling for condition-mean logRT did not eliminate these N2 effects. P3 showed no reliable modulation, whereas a later positive component was enhanced by mismatch selectively in dot–dot. Together, these results indicate stage-differentiated effects: numerosity load impacts early encoding and a circumscribed maintenance interval, whereas mismatch effects arise primarily during the test-stage comparison, with additional late evaluative activity when formats are aligned. Full article

Accurate quantification of groundwater evapotranspiration (ET_g) is essential for reliable water resource assessment. Existing methods for estimating ET_g from water table fluctuation largely rely on one-dimensional simplifications that neglect transient groundwater flow. However, in areas with shallow water table and topographic relief, where transient groundwater flow often occurs, the validity and accuracy of this simplification remain inadequately evaluated. In this study, we used HYDRUS-2D to construct a 50 m-long sandy hillslope with a 0.05 gradient to investigate ET_g based on the water table fluctuation (WTF) method under transient groundwater flow conditions. The results indicate that periodic evapotranspiration generates water table fluctuations along the hillslope that exhibit amplitude attenuation and temporal phase lag, features not captured by 1D models. Ignoring transient groundwater flow leads to a systematic underestimation of ET_g by up to 85% in sandy soil near the topographic lows. Furthermore, we found that both the decoupling depth and the extinction depth are significantly amplified by lateral groundwater flow, by up to 66% and 51%, respectively, compared with 1D estimates derived from the Shah method. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating transient flow processes into ET_g estimation to improve the accuracy of water balance assessments and ecohydrological predictions, particularly in areas with shallow water tables and topographic relief. Full article

The Bayan Obo Mining District, recognized as the largest rare-earth resource base worldwide, has experienced significant surface instability due to intensive mining and large-scale dumping activities. To address the challenges posed by complex geological conditions and mining-induced disturbances, this study employs dual-ascending Sentinel-1A C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) datasets (Path 11 and Path 113) and applies the Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique to retrieve time-series deformation along the line-of-sight (LOS) direction for each track. Through temporal normalization and spatial matching, paired LOS observations from the two tracks were established. Based on the SAR observation geometry and under the assumption that the north–south component is negligible, a LOS projection model was constructed and a geometric decomposition was performed to derive the east–west and vertical two-dimensional deformation fields. The results indicate that the study area is generally stable, while significant subsidence occurs in the northern pit and adjacent waste-dump zones, with local maximum rates approaching 50 mm/year, predominantly controlled by the vertical component. The two-dimensional deformation analysis reveals that vertical displacement dominates surface motion, whereas east–west movement shows smaller amplitudes but clear directional concentration. In particular, the east–west slopes exhibit slightly higher velocities, suggesting a lateral adjustment tendency along this direction, likely related to the overall east–west geometric configuration of the open-pit and waste-dump areas. Time-series observations further reveal that precipitation-related surface deformation occurs with an approximate two-month delay, reflecting the hydrological–mechanical coupling processes of rainfall infiltration, pore-water pressure propagation, and dump-material consolidation. Overall, this study reveals the multi-dimensional deformation characteristics and precipitation-driven stage-wise response of the mining area, demonstrating the effectiveness of the dual-ascending SBAS-InSAR for two-dimensional deformation monitoring in highly disturbed environments, and providing a scientific basis for surface stability assessment and geohazard prevention. Full article

Wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) is a representative implementation of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), enabling reliable gas component analysis with concentration-related information derived from harmonic component extraction, while offering enhanced noise immunity for trace gas sensing in open environments. However, due to the strong coupling between laser wavelength and intensity, wavelength modulation inevitably introduces residual amplitude modulation (RAM), which significantly degrades measurement accuracy. To address this issue, this study introduces a RAM suppression algorithm based on multiple harmonic component decoupling (MHCD), using the second-harmonic lateral peak inclination angle (LPIA) as a characteristic indicator. Unit harmonic operators for the first, second, and third harmonics are designed, and an original harmonic reconstruction model is established via linear superposition of harmonic components. The optimal harmonic component ratio is determined at the composite operator with the maximum cross-correlation coefficient, and RAM noise is eliminated through a multi-harmonic decoupling matrix. Repetitive measurements on 22 mm pharmaceutical vials with 4% oxygen concentration demonstrate that MHCD reduces the second-harmonic LPIA from 18.07° to 8.56°. Concentration discrimination experiments conducted on seven groups of 22 mm vials with 2% concentration steps (0–12%) show that MHCD increases the true positive rate by 6–11% and decreases the false positive rate by 4–9%, confirming its effectiveness for pharmaceutical online inspection applications. Full article

Background: Pumping in Laser-class sailing is a dynamic propulsion technique used in marginal wind conditions and characterized by repetitive, coordinated oscillations of the sailor–sail system. Despite its practical relevance, its biomechanical and ergonomic demands remain insufficiently characterized. Methods: A mixed-methods framework was applied combining questionnaire data, kinematic analysis, ergonomic assessment, and musculoskeletal modelling. Thirty-six competitive Laser sailors completed a Borg CR-10-based questionnaire on perceived discomfort/fatigue across body regions at predefined time points (during pumping, immediately after training, and the following day). A controlled land-based multi-angle video acquisition was used to reconstruct a standardized pumping posture and parameterize a digital human model in DELMIA^® for postural/kinematic analysis. Ergonomic risk was assessed using REBA, and muscle activity was estimated using the AnyBody^® Modeling System (simulation-derived normalized muscle activity across 129 muscles). Results: the simulation identified high neuromuscular demand in the trunk and shoulder complex, with several deep trunk stabilizers and the left latissimus dorsi reaching 100% modeled normalized muscle activity. Marked lateral asymmetry was observed, with right-sided trunk dominance and left-sided shoulder dominance. Kinematic analysis showed substantial joint excursions, with large lumbar motion amplitudes, while REBA yielded a score of 11 (Very-High Risk). Questionnaire data indicated a high prevalence of pumping-related musculoskeletal discomfort (72.2%), most frequently involving the lower back, shoulders, and knees. A dissociation was observed between modeled muscle activity and perceived fatigue, with the lower limbs rated as most fatigued despite lower modeled activation than the trunk. Conclusions: Findings identify the deep trunk stabilizers, latissimus dorsi, and lower extremities as key regions involved in pumping, with marked lateral asymmetry and high ergonomic risk. They support targeted training, injury-prevention, and ergonomic strategies to improve performance and reduce injury risk in competitive sailing. Full article

Background/Objectives: The dichotic listening test (DLT) is widely used to assess auditory attention and hemispheric language lateralization, with the right-ear advantage (REA) representing a robust behavioral phenomenon. Although the REA is often attributed to structural asymmetries in auditory pathways and left-hemisphere dominance for speech processing, the neural mechanisms by which selective attention modulates this asymmetry remain unclear. This study examined how directed auditory attention influences the REA and its neural correlates using magnetoencephalography (MEG)-based auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs). Methods: Fifteen right-handed participants performed directed-attention dichotic listening tasks during MEG recording. One participant was excluded from MEG analyses due to excessive noise contamination, resulting in 14 participants included in neural analyses. Participants attended to either the left or right ear throughout each session and reported the perceived stimulus from the attended ear. Dichotic speech stimuli were amplitude-modulated at 35 Hz and 45 Hz for frequency tagging. ASSR amplitudes were extracted from the left and right auditory cortices and analyzed in relation to behavioral accuracy using correlation analyses and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: Behavioral accuracy was significantly higher during right-ear attention than left-ear attention, indicating a residual REA. ASSR amplitudes tended to be higher during left-ear attention. Importantly, during left-ear attention, ASSR amplitude in the left auditory cortex showed a significant positive correlation with behavioral accuracy, whereas no such association was observed during right-ear attention. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the REA reflects a dynamic interaction between structural auditory asymmetry and top-down attentional control, with successful left-ear listening relying on compensatory recruitment of the left auditory cortex. Full article

On 8 February 2025, an Mw 7.6 strike-slip earthquake ruptured the Swan Islands Transform Fault in the northern Caribbean near its junction with the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center, providing an important offshore case for investigating rupture dynamics along oceanic transform faults. In this study, we jointly apply teleseismic high-frequency back-projection and low-frequency finite-fault full-waveform inversion to image the multi-scale spatiotemporal evolution of the rupture process. Back-projection results reveal a two-stage rupture characterized by an initial sub-shear propagation lasting approximately 20 s, followed by rapid acceleration to supershear velocities of ~5–6 km/s and westward propagation over ~80–100 km. Finite-fault inversion shows that coseismic slip is primarily concentrated within ~20 km west of the epicenter, with a peak slip of ~5.6 m and an overall rupture duration of ~40 s. Comparison between high-frequency radiation and low-frequency slip indicates that the most seismic moment was released during the early slow rupture stage, whereas the later fast-propagating segment produced enhanced high-frequency energy but relatively small slip. These observations reveal a pronounced along-strike complementary relationship between slip amplitude and rupture speed, suggesting a transition in rupture dynamics controlled by variations in fault strength, fracture energy, and/or geometric complexity. By combining high-frequency back-projection with low-frequency finite-fault inversion, we obtain a more complete view of the rupture process of offshore earthquakes, which helps clarify rupture propagation characteristics, including supershear behavior, along oceanic transform faults. Full article

Background/Objectives: The perceived-time-based model posits that time perception is a critical factor in intertemporal decision-making; however, the mechanisms underlying this influence remain inadequately explored. Despite growing behavioral and neuroimaging findings, no study has directly compared the temporal neural dynamics of individuals who overestimate or underestimate time during intertemporal choices. Methods: This study screened participants with time overestimation or underestimation to examine differences in their electroencephalogram (EEG) activity during an intertemporal choice task. Results: Behavioral results revealed that the time overestimation group selected the smaller-sooner (SS) option at a higher rate than the time underestimation group, exhibiting a myopic decision-making tendency. EEG results revealed that, compared to the time overestimation group, the time underestimation group exhibited a more pronounced N2 amplitude, an enhanced P300 amplitude, and greater beta band oscillations. Within the time overestimation group, the larger-later (LL) option elicited a more negative N2 amplitude than the SS option. Conversely, in the time underestimation group, the LL option elicited a more positive P300 amplitude than the SS option. Conclusions: The results indicate that, during intertemporal decision-making, the time overestimation group experienced more conflict in the LL option, demonstrating lower cognitive control and fewer cognitive resources. This tendency may be driven by a hot system, resulting in more impulsive choices. Full article

Background: Bulbar dysfunction is a major complication of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study aimed to develop and validate a simple, smartphone-based task for the objective assessment of tongue movements and to examine their association with clinical variables. Methods: 37 ALS patients and 20 age- and sex-matched controls performed a tongue lateralization task, recorded with a smartphone. A deep-learning U-Net++-based model was used for segmentation and feature extraction. The frequency and maximum amplitude of tongue movements were quantified. Clinical measures included the ALS Functional Rating Scale-revised (ALSFRS-r) bulbar sub-scores, tongue fasciculations, jaw jerk, and tongue “spasticity”. Between-group differences and associations between tongue metrics and clinical features were assessed. Results: The U-Net++-based model achieved robust segmentation performance. Patients showed lower tongue movement frequency than controls (0.14 vs. 0.40, t = −9.58, p < 0.001). Normalized frequency was associated with dysarthria (t = −3.13, p = 0.003) but not dysphagia (t = −1.05, p = 0.30). Normalized frequency (t = 2.77, p = 0.009) and tongue “spasticity” (t = −2.57, p = 0.015) were both associated with speech performance in a multiple-regression model (R = 0.51, adjusted R² = 0.43). Conclusions: Our method provides an objective, minimally invasive measure of bulbar function in ALS, which correlates with clinical ratings and may detect subtle impairments not captured by standard assessments. This approach offers a promising tool for remote monitoring and may support more effective disease management. Full article

This paper presents the design and experimental evaluation of a bio-inspired gecko robot, focusing on mechanical design, vision-based obstacle perception, and rhythmic locomotion control as enabling technologies for future obstacle avoidance in complex environments. The robot features a 17-degrees-of-freedom mechanical structure with a flexible spine and multi-jointed limbs, providing a physical basis for adaptive locomotion. For perception, a custom obstacle detection dataset was constructed from the robot’s onboard camera view and used to train a YOLOv5-based detection model. Experimental results show that the trained model achieves a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.979 and a maximum F1-score of 0.97 at an optimal confidence threshold, demonstrating reliable real-time obstacle perception under diverse indoor conditions. For motion control, a central pattern generator (CPG) based on Hopf oscillators is implemented to generate rhythmic locomotion. Experimental evaluations confirm stable diagonal gait generation, with coordinated joint trajectories oscillating at 1 Hz. The flexible spine exhibits periodic lateral deflection with peak amplitudes of ±15°, ±10°, and ±8° across spinal joints, enhancing locomotion continuity and turning capability. Physical robot experiments further demonstrate smooth straight-line crawling enabled by the coupled limb–spine motion. While visual perception and CPG-based locomotion are experimentally validated as independent subsystems, their real-time closed-loop integration is not implemented in this study. Instead, this work establishes a system-level framework and experimental baseline for future perception–motion coupling, providing a foundation for closed-loop obstacle avoidance and autonomous navigation in bio-inspired gecko robots. Full article