Search Results (5,151)

Texture image retrieval based on subjective visual descriptions remains a significant challenge due to the “semantic gap”, where conventional Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) methods rely on low-level features or reference images that often diverge from human perception. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a reference-free, perception-driven retrieval framework that enables users to query textures directly via abstract perceptual attributes. First, we constructed a human-centric perceptual feature space through controlled psychophysical experiments, quantifying 12 explicit texture attributes (e.g., granularity, directionality) using a 9-point Likert scale. Second, addressing the variability in visual sensitivity across user demographics, we developed a user-adaptive mechanism incorporating dual perceptual libraries tailored for art-major and non-art-major groups. Retrieval is formulated as a perception-aligned similarity optimization problem within this normalized space. Experimental evaluations on the Describable Textures Dataset (DTD) demonstrate that our method achieves superior perceptual consistency compared to both handcrafted descriptors (GLCM, LBP, HOG) and deep learning baselines (VGG16, ResNet50). Notably, the framework attained high PAP@3 performance across both user groups, validating its effectiveness in decoding fuzzy human intent without the need for query images. This work provides a robust solution for semantic-based texture retrieval in human–computer interaction scenarios. Full article

Src family tyrosine kinases regulate oocyte maturation and fertilization in many species, yet their physiological roles in Xenopus laevis (X. laevis) remain incompletely defined. Here, we generated three X. laevis Src (xSrc) constructs with defined point mutations allowing for selective immunochemical detection and controlled modulation of kinase activity: wild type (xSrcWT, Arg121His), constitutively active (xSrcKA, Arg121His/Tyr526Phe), and kinase-negative (xSrcKN, Arg121His/Lys294Met). Capped mRNAs were microinjected into immature oocytes, and effects on meiotic maturation and egg activation were analyzed. All constructs produced detectable Src protein within 4–5 h after injection without inducing progesterone-independent maturation. Following progesterone treatment, MAP kinase phosphorylation, CDK1 activation, and germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) occurred normally in all groups, although xSrcKA-expressing oocytes showed a modest but reproducible acceleration of MAPK activation and GVBD. Global tyrosine phosphorylation analysis revealed increased phosphorylation of several proteins, including a prominent ~50 kDa substrate, specifically in xSrcKA oocytes. After maturation, oocytes were subjected to artificial activation. xSrcKN-expressing oocytes responded normally to Ca²⁺ ionophore (A23187), indicating that Src activity is not required for direct Ca²⁺-mediated activation. In contrast, xSrcKN oocytes exhibited markedly reduced activation in response to hydrogen peroxide or Cathepsin B, which stimulate membrane-associated signaling pathways. These findings demonstrate that Src kinase activity is required for membrane signal-mediated egg activation but is dispensable for activation driven by direct intracellular Ca²⁺ elevation. Collectively, our results identify Src kinase as a positive regulator of progesterone-induced meiotic maturation and a critical mediator of specific fertilization-like activation pathways in X. laevis. Full article

As a core power supply component of the more electric aircraft (MEA), the reliability of the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) is of paramount importance. Phase current reconstruction technology can enhance the redundancy of current sensors, thereby improving system reliability. However, owing to the generally high engine speeds in MEAs, the employment of traditional d-axis current–zero control not only induces DC-link voltage fluctuations but also leads to inaccurate DC-link sampling points and distortion in the reconstructed current. In this paper, a lead-angle flux-weakening control strategy is introduced into the PMSG rectification system. This approach guarantees the normal operation of the current loop when the rotational speed exceeds the rated speed of the PMSG, ensuring the accuracy of the sampling points for phase current reconstruction. To further enhance the reconstruction accuracy, a phase current reconstruction technology based on a linear extended state observer (LESO) is proposed. The LESO not only filters the reconstructed current but also ensures that the observer performance remains robust against PMSG parameter perturbations. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through Hardware-in-the-Loop results. Full article

A thorough understanding of the effects induced by continuous curved pipe jacking on adjacent underground facilities is paramount for ensuring both safety and operational efficiency during construction. This study posits a three-stage analytical framework designed to calculate the displacement of existing objects resulting from sequential vertical curved rectangular pipe jacking. The methodology involves the following stages: first, the stresses at the object surface must be derived based on classical Mindlin’s solutions; second, the displacements at arbitrary points of the object must be determined using the Winkler foundation model, wherein soil–object interactions are modeled as elastic springs to transform displacements into normal and shear forces; and third, the rigid-body displacement and rotation of objects, caused by aggregate forces, must be calculated by kinematic analysis. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed through comparison with a reduced-scale experimental test, and a parametric study discussing the influence of key factors, including Poisson’s ratio and object geometry, is presented. Full article

To date, radiographically identifying the bony landmarks relevant to diagnosing the complete C6 aplasia of the caudal lamina ventralis (C6 aCLV4) has not been described. Furthermore, a gross study has identified C6 aCLV4 as the main correlation between transposition of the CLV from C6 to C7, where coinciding neck pain was commonly reported. This study aimed to identify C6 aCLV4 in radiographs, where the outcome might benefit equine practitioners in isolating neck pain. Initially, the relevant bony landmarks were radiographically determined from a normal C6 by applying a lateral 30° dorsal–ventral oblique view. From here, the caudal border of the transverse process (TP) projecting from the vertebral body became the defining point of reference due to the image clearly demarcating the adjacent CLV. In C6 aCLV4 cases, the CLV is completely aplastic caudal to the TP. Twenty mixed-breed horses (13 males/7 females) aged 3–22 years radiographically demonstrated a C6 aCLV4, which was confirmed by their corresponding gross morphology. During this process three anomalous variations became apparent—in the longus colli muscle, C7 foramen transversarium, and vertebral artery. Therefore, this study demonstrates effective techniques for identifying C6 aCLV4 in horses, where the results might assist veterinarians in diagnosing neck pain while providing anatomical clarity. Full article

The objective of this paper is to rigorously define the Kadec-Klee property for modular spaces endowed with a sequential convergence structure, and to demonstrate that this property leads to normal structure in such spaces. Consequently, we establish that the Kadec-Klee property defined herein implies the corresponding fixed point property for these spaces. These results are new in the modular space setting. Furthermore, given that the examined class of spaces encompasses Banach spaces, modular function spaces, and various other types of spaces, our theory offers a comprehensive, unified framework for exploring the interconnections between the Kadec-Klee property, normal structure, and the fixed point property. Full article

The rise of SIM cloning, identity spoofing, and covert manipulation in mobile and IoT networks has created an urgent need for continuous post-registration verification. This work introduces an unsupervised deep learning framework for detecting behavioral anomalies in SIM-tagged network flows by modeling the intrinsic structure of benign behavioral descriptors (TTL, timing drift, payload statistics). A Temporal Deep Autoencoder (TDAE) combining Conv1D layers and an LSTM encoder is trained exclusively on normal traffic and used to identify deviations through reconstruction error, enabling one-class (label-free) training. For deployment, alarms are set using an unsupervised quantile threshold ${\tau }_{\alpha }$ calibrated on benign traffic with a false-alarm budget; ${\tau }^{*}$ is reported only as a diagnostic reference for model comparison. To ensure realism, a large-scale corpus of 3.6 million SIM-tagged flows was constructed by enriching public IoT traffic with pseudo-operator identifiers (synthetic SIM tags derived from device identifiers) and controlled anomaly injections. Cross-domain experiment transfer under SIM-grouped protocol: Training on clean Cassavia-like traffic and testing on attack-rich Guarascio-like flows yields a PR-AUC of 0.93 for the proposed Conv-LSTM Temporal Deep Autoencoder, outperforming Dense Autoencoder, Isolation Forest, One-Class SVM, and LOF baselines. Conversely, the reverse direction collapses to PR-AUC $\approx 0.5$, confirming the absence of data leakage and the validity of one-class behavioral learning. Sensitivity analysis shows that performance is stable around the unsupervised quantile operating point. Overall, the proposed framework provides a lightweight, interpretable, and data-efficient behavioral verification layer for detecting cloned or unauthorized SIM activity, complementing existing registration mechanisms in next-generation telecom and IoT ecosystems. Full article

A novel type of ultra-high-performance concrete–normal concrete (UHPC-NC) superimposed sandwich slab is introduced, which eliminates the need for conventional longitudinal reinforcement. This sandwich slab consists of a prefabricated thin UHPC layer at the bottom, a cast-in-place NC layer at the top, and an extruded polystyrene foam core that provides both acoustic and thermal insulation. The resulting lightweight composite sandwich structure is integrated with web walls reinforced by a three-dimensional truss reinforcement system. The flexural performance is examined through four-point bending tests and compared with that of a fully UHPC sandwich slab of identical structural configuration and casting progress. Relative to the fully UHPC slab, the UHPC-NC slab demonstrates superior flexural structural integrity, significantly reduces costs and improves construction efficiency. The ductility coefficient of the UHPC-NC slab reaches 3.23, which is superior to the UHPC slab. This indicates that it has a stronger collaborative working ability with the rebars and the compressed concrete. Comprehensive analytical, numerical, and experimental investigations into the flexural behavior of the proposed UHPC-NC sandwich slab yield accurate evaluation of cracking and ultimate load capacities, thereby offering valuable guidance for the engineering application of this innovative superimposed sandwich slab system. Full article

MASH is a progressive liver disease closely associated with cellular senescence, which is present in more than 80% of hepatocytes in patients who develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although MASH affects both sexes, the incidence of MASH-related HCC is two to four times higher in males. Our group has previously described two apoptotic switches during MASH progression and HCC development, implicating the ATP1A1 signalosome in the late switch. Here, we investigated the role of ATP1A1 and sex-specific differences in the early apoptotic switch during preclinical MASH progression. Male and female C57BL/6J mice (7 weeks old) were fed normal mouse chow (NMC) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12, 24, or 48 weeks (n = 5/sex/group). Total body weight (TBW) and body composition were assessed by serial measurement and echo-MRI. Plasma was analyzed by non-targeted metabolomics and glutathione profiling using LC-MS/MS. NAFLD activity scores (NAS), hepatic senescence, and apoptosis were quantified in liver tissue. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism and R. Males gained greater TBW and lean and fat mass than females (p < 0.05). At 24 W, males demonstrated higher GSH:GSSG ratios and lower ophthalmate levels than females (p < 0.05), consistent with altered redox balance. HFD-fed females showed increased succinic and deoxycholic acid levels, whereas males exhibited higher butyric acid levels across all time points (p < 0.05). Males had a higher mTOR 1 expression at 24 W and P53 at 12 W compared to females on HFD, but a lower Grb2 expression at 24 W (p < 0.05). By 24 W, males had lower fibrosis scores and reduced apoptotic activity compared with females (p < 0.05), despite similar levels of cellular senescence. The expression of ATP1A1, survivin, and SMAC did not differ by sex or diet, although an upregulation trend in both ATP1A1 and survivin was noted in the male-HFD group. There is sexual dimorphism in the response to HFD during the transition from senescence to the apoptosis-first apoptotic switch in MASH progression. Full article

This work examines the results of research into internal combustion engine malfunction using the example of a vehicle control group of a specific transport company during the warranty and post-warranty periods. Studies have established that the most frequently encountered distribution laws for random variables during vehicle operation are normal, Weibull, log-normal, and exponential, and research has determined the patterns of units’ malfunctions and the internal combustion engine parts. The reliable operation of vehicles is achieved by maintaining a stock of spare parts, the size and range of which play an important part in the ensuing costs. It is important to forecast the need for spare parts to improve the efficiency of vehicle operation. A common drawback of forecasting methods, from the point of view of material resource management is the limited consideration of important factors such as the spare parts’ delivery time from the moment of ordering, the time frame for performing the repair work, and the spare parts’ cost. We determined that 65.7% of spare parts are delivered within one day, and 15.7% are delivered within 2 weeks. Further, it takes up to 3 h for the replacement of 82.45% of the spare parts. To determine the need for spare parts, it is important to consider the actual operational reliability and the listed factors to enable optimizing the repair fund of the motor transport enterprise and increase the efficiency of use of rolling stock. Full article

This paper proposes a novel motion-aware framework to address key challenges in 4D millimeter-wave radar detection for autonomous driving. While existing methods struggle with sparse point clouds and dynamic object characterization, our approach introduces three key innovations: (1) A Bird’s Eye View (BEV) fusion network incorporating velocity vector decomposition and dynamic gating mechanisms, effectively encoding motion patterns through independent XY-component convolutions; (2) a gradient-aware multi-task balancing scheme using learnable uncertainty parameters and dynamic weight normalization, resolving optimization conflicts between classification and regression tasks; and (3) a two-phase progressive training strategy combining multi-frame pre-training with sparse single-frame refinement. Evaluated on the TJ4D benchmark, our method achieves 33.25% mean Average Precision (mAP)_3D with minimal parameter overhead (1.73 M), showing particular superiority in pedestrian detection (+4.16% AP) while maintaining real-time performance (24.4 FPS on embedded platforms). Comprehensive ablation studies validate each component’s contribution, with thermal map visualization demonstrating effective motion pattern learning. This work advances robust perception under challenging conditions through principled motion modeling and efficient architecture design. Full article

This study examined the role of vaginolysin (VLY), a virulence factor of the bacterium Gardnerella vaginalis (GV), in bacterial vaginosis (BV). In a group of 112 women with BV (diagnosis on the Nugent scale ≥7 points) and 122 control cases with normal microbiota, VLY levels, the state of the vaginal microecology (colposcopy, laboratory markers, pH), GV genotypes (clades 1–4), and clinical symptoms were assessed. It was found that GV also occurs in healthy women, but VLY levels are significantly higher in BV and correlate with inflammatory markers (e.g., leukocyte esterase) and symptom severity. However, the relationship is nonlinear: low and moderate VLY levels have little effect on symptoms, while high levels cause a sharp increase in symptoms. Thus, VLY is potentially important for the pathophysiology and clinical assessment of BV. Full article

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is an emerging medical health monitoring technology. However, WBANs encounter critical challenges in balancing reliability, energy efficiency, and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for life-critical medical data. The design of its Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol has challenges since dynamic body-shadowing effects and heterogeneous traffic patterns. In this paper, we propose the Nash Bargaining Rate-optimization MAC (NBR-MAC), a hybrid MAC protocol that integrates TDMA-based Guaranteed Time Slots (GTS) with CSMA/CA-based contention access. Unlike traditional schemes, we model the rate allocation as an Asymmetric Nash Bargaining Game, introducing a rigorous disagreement point to guarantee minimum service for critical nodes. The utility function is normalized to resolve dimensional inconsistencies, incorporating sensor priority, buffer status, and channel quality. The Nash Bargaining solution is derived after proving convexity and verifying the axioms. Superframe time slots are allocated based on sensor data priority. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed protocol enhances transmission success ratio and throughput while reducing packet age and energy consumption under different load conditions. Full article

Accurate statistical inference for zero-inflated and highly skewed data requires confidence interval procedures with a strong finite-sample performance. The delta–inverse Gaussian distribution provides a flexible framework for modeling such data by combining a point mass at zero with an inverse Gaussian distribution for positive observations, making it suitable for application in various fields such as traffic mortality, insurance, and environmental studies. This paper develops and compares several confidence interval estimation methods for the difference and the ratio of two variances from independent delta–IG distributions. The proposed approaches include adjusted generalized confidence intervals, fiducial confidence intervals, Bayesian credible intervals, the method of variance estimates recovery, and normal approximation methods used as benchmarks. The finite-sample performance of these methods is evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations under various parameter configurations and both balanced and unbalanced sample sizes, with an emphasis on coverage probability and interval width. The simulation results show that AGCI and MOVER generally achieve coverage probabilities close to the nominal level while producing relatively narrow intervals. The MOVER performs particularly well when zero-inflation probabilities are equal, whereas AGCI is more effective when they differ. Illustrative real-data examples are provided to demonstrate practical implementations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Indocyanine green (ICG) is an FDA-approved, near-infrared fluorescent dye widely used for tumor imaging. This study aimed to evaluate the photodynamic efficacy and selectivity of ICG as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy (PDT) against MCF-7 breast cancer cells in 2D monolayers and 3D collagen-embedded cell cultures that simulate ECM diffusion, and to confirm direct generation of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) as the primary cytotoxic species. Methods: MCF-7 breast adenocarcinoma cells and HMEC normal mammary epithelial cells were cultured in 2D monolayers, with MCF-7 cells additionally grown in 3D collagen type I matrices to mimic tumor environments. Cells were incubated with 50 µM ICG for 30 min, washed, and irradiated with a 780 nm diode laser at 39.8 mW/cm². Cell viability was quantified using the Muse^® Count & Viability assay at multiple time points, while ICG uptake and penetration were assessed via flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, and confocal imaging. Direct ¹O₂ production was measured through its characteristic 1270 nm phosphorescence using time-resolved near-infrared spectrometry. Results: ICG-PDT reduced MCF-7 viability to 58.3 ± 7.4% in 2D cultures (41.7% cell kill, p < 0.0001) and 70.2 ± 10.7% in 3D cultures (29.8% cell kill, p = 0.0002). In contrast, normal HMECs maintained 91.0 ± 1.3% viability (only 9% reduction, p = 0.08), resulting in a therapeutic index of approximately 4.6. IC₅₀ values in 2D MCF-7 cultures decreased over time from 51.4 ± 3.0 µM at 24 h to 27.3 ± 3.0 µM at 72 h. ICG uptake was higher in 2D (78%) than in 3D (65%) MCF-7 cultures, with diffusion in 3D collagen exhibiting linear depth-dependent penetration. Notably, the singlet-oxygen phosphorescence signal, though weak and requiring highly sensitive detectors, provided direct evidence of efficient ¹O₂ generation. Conclusions: ICG as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy using clinically compatible parameters is highly cytotoxic to MCF-7 breast cancer cells while largely sparing HMECs in 2D cell culture. Direct spectroscopic evidence confirms efficient ¹O₂ generation, which contributes significantly to the cytotoxicity. The reduced efficacy in 3D versus 2D models highlights the importance of penetration barriers also present in solid tumors. These results support further preclinical and clinical investigation of ICG as a dual imaging-and-therapy (theragnostic) agent for selective photodynamic treatment of breast cancer. Full article