Ni-hydrotalcite loading on carbon as co-catalyst for fermentative hydrogen production

The influence of Ni-hydrotalcite (HT) loading on the activity and stability of Ni-HT supported on activated carbon (Ni-HT/AC) was investigated for fermentative hydrogen production. The basic sites of Ni-HT loading on AC support significantly boosted the catalytic performance with the initial faster rate. The combined function catalyst of Ni-HT/AC facilitates the rapid decomposition of saccharides and high selectivity to fructose that attained the maximum hydrogen production within 24 h. The optimum dose of Ni-HT/AC at 8.33 g/L showed a 25.84% increment over the control. In addition, shortening the lagging phase time at 1.50 h was achieved. The high adsorption capacity of lactic acid was induced with the basic sites of Ni-HT/AC. However, a deactivation of the Ni-HT/AC during prolonged fermentation was associated with metabolites formation, causing the leaching of Mg²⁺ ions from the surface of AC supported Ni-HT and reducing surface basicity of Ni-HT/AC.     

负压吸引技术应用于大面积烧伤患者围术期的效果探究

目的:探究环磷酸腺苷联合负压吸引技术应用于大面积烧伤患者围术期的效果及肾保护作用探究。方法:选择2018年12月到2020年12月于医院治疗的120例大面积烧伤患者为研究对象,以随机数字表法对患者分组,60例患者为研究组,60例患者为对照组,对照组给予负压吸引技术治疗,研究组在此基础上给予环磷酸腺苷治疗,治疗前、后测定两组患者干扰素-γ(IFN-γ)、白细胞介素-2(IL-2)、白细胞介素-10(IL-0)、白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、可溶性血管细胞粘附分子-1(sVCAM-1)、一氧化氮(NO)、内皮素(ET-1)、血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)、胱抑素C(Cys-C)、肌酐(Scr)、血尿素氮(BUN)、肾损伤分子-1(KIM-1)水平,记录两组患者手术时间、麻醉苏醒时间、住院时间。结果:研究组IFN-γ、IL-6水平低于对照组(P<0.05),研究组患者IL-2、IL-10水平高于对照组(P<0.05),研究组NO、VEGF水平高于对照组(P<0.05),研究组患者sVCAM-1、ET-1水平低于对照组(P<0.05),研究组患者Cys-C、Scr、BUN、KIM-1水平低于对照组(P<0.05),研究组手术时间低于对照组(P>0.05),研究组麻醉苏醒时间、住院时间低于对照组(P<0.05)。结论:环磷酸腺苷联合负压吸引技术应用于大面积烧伤围术期患者,可降低患者IFN-γ、IL-6水平,提升患者IL-2、IL-10水平,抑制患者炎症,改善患者血管内皮功能,降低患者Cys-C、Scr、BUN、KIM-1水平,减少患者肾功能损伤,减少患者麻醉苏醒时间及住院时间。     

Determination of supercapacitor parameters based on fractional differential equations

In this paper, we estimate the parameter values of a fractional-order model of supercapacitors involving fractional derivatives of Liouville-Caputo, Caputo-Fabrizio, and Atangana-Baleanu and fractional conformable derivative in the Liouville-Caputo sense. We present the exact solution of the considered model using the properties of the Laplace transform operator together with the convolution theorem. They developed numerical simulations using each one of the fractional derivatives; the results were compared graphically with experimental data obtained from different supercapacitors using standard laboratory equipment. The nonlocal parameters involved in the equivalent electrical circuit for the supercapacitor model are recalculated for each fractional derivative using a particle swarm optimization algorithm for generating optimal solutions.     

Cornus officinalis vinegar reduces body weight and attenuates hepatic steatosis in mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

This study aimed to determine the main bioactive components of Cornus officinalis vinegar (COV) and assess the effects of COV on the body weight (BW) and hepatic steatosis in a nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mouse model. Seven-week-old KM female mice were divided into five treatment groups: (1) Normal control (NC) group, (2) high fat diet (HFD) group, (3) low concentration treatment group (3.5% COV), (4) medium concentration treatment group (5.0% COV), and (5) high concentration treatment group (6.5% COV). Mice in the NC group were fed with a normal chow diet, and those in the other four groups were fed with a HFD known for causing obesity for 10 weeks. Then, mice in the three COV treatment groups were orally administered with COV once a day for 6 weeks. Results showed that the contents of loganin and morroniside in COV reached 16.82 and 51.17 µg/ml, respectively, and COV also contained multiple organic acids. COV significantly reduced BW, abdominal fat weight, liver weight, and the levels of glucose, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of serum and increased the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol of serum (p < 0.05). COV also improved the liver function and anti-oxidant activity of liver (p < 0.05). COV treatments increased the interleukin-10 expression and reduced the tumor necrosis factor-α expression in the liver tissue of NAFLD mice (p < 0.05). Histopathological observation revealed that COV suppressed hepatic lipid accumulation and steatosis. The results suggest that COV may contribute to the alleviation of NAFLD and obesity.     

Mathematical foundations of moral preferences

One-shot anonymous unselfishness in economic games is commonly explained by social preferences, which assume that people care about the monetary pay-offs of others. However, during the last 10 years, research has shown that different types of unselfish behaviour, including cooperation, altruism, truth-telling, altruistic punishment and trustworthiness are in fact better explained by preferences for following one''s own personal norms—internal standards about what is right or wrong in a given situation. Beyond better organizing various forms of unselfish behaviour, this moral preference hypothesis has recently also been used to increase charitable donations, simply by means of interventions that make the morality of an action salient. Here we review experimental and theoretical work dedicated to this rapidly growing field of research, and in doing so we outline mathematical foundations for moral preferences that can be used in future models to better understand selfless human actions and to adjust policies accordingly. These foundations can also be used by artificial intelligence to better navigate the complex landscape of human morality.     

Modified OFS-RDS bat algorithm for IFS encoding of bitmap fractal binary images

This work is an extension of a previous paper (presented at the Cyberworlds 2019 conference) introducing a new method for fractal compression of bitmap binary images. That work is now extended and enhanced through three new valuable features: (1) the bat algorithm is replaced by an improved version based on optimal forage strategy (OFS) and random disturbance strategy (RDS); (2) the inclusion of new similarity metrics; and (3) the consideration of a variable number of contractive maps, whose value can change dynamically over the population and over the iterations. The first feature improves the search capability of the method, the second one improves the reconstruction accuracy, and the third one computes the optimal number of contractive maps automatically. This new scheme is applied to a benchmark of two binary fractal images exhibiting a complex and irregular fractal shape. The graphical and numerical results show that the method performs very well, being able to reconstruct the input images with high accuracy. It also computes the optimal number of contractive maps in a fully automatic way. A comparative work with other alternative methods described in the literature is also carried out. It shows that the presented method outperforms the previous approaches significantly.     

Deep reinforcement learning-based safe interaction for industrial human-robot collaboration using intrinsic reward function

Aiming at human-robot collaboration in manufacturing, the operator's safety is the primary issue during the manufacturing operations. This paper presents a deep reinforcement learning approach to realize the real-time collision-free motion planning of an industrial robot for human-robot collaboration. Firstly, the safe human-robot collaboration manufacturing problem is formulated into a Markov decision process, and the mathematical expression of the reward function design problem is given. The goal is that the robot can autonomously learn a policy to reduce the accumulated risk and assure the task completion time during human-robot collaboration. To transform our optimization object into a reward function to guide the robot to learn the expected behaviour, a reward function optimizing approach based on the deterministic policy gradient is proposed to learn a parameterized intrinsic reward function. The reward function for the agent to learn the policy is the sum of the intrinsic reward function and the extrinsic reward function. Then, a deep reinforcement learning algorithm intrinsic reward-deep deterministic policy gradient (IRDDPG), which is the combination of the DDPG algorithm and the reward function optimizing approach, is proposed to learn the expected collision avoidance policy. Finally, the proposed algorithm is tested in a simulation environment, and the results show that the industrial robot can learn the expected policy to achieve the safety assurance for industrial human-robot collaboration without missing the original target. Moreover, the reward function optimizing approach can help make up for the designed reward function and improve policy performance.     

Fuzzy approximation-based adaptive control of nonstrict feedback stochastic nonlinear systems with time-varying state constraints

This article develops an approximation-based fuzzy control scheme for nonstrict feedback stochastic nonlinear systems (NFSNS) with time-varying state constraints. The difficulty in constructing controller is how to conquer the algebraic loop problem caused by nonstrict feedback structure, as well as prevent the state constraints from violating. To dispose the time-varying state constraints, time-varying barrier Lyapunov function is incorporated into the backstepping design framework. The lumped uncertainties of NFSNS are approximated by the fuzzy logic systems. By virtue of fuzzy basis function, the algebraic loop problem is effectively handled. Theoretical analysis shows that the predefined state constraints are not violated and all signals of the closed-loop systems are bounded. Finally, simulation results substantiate the validity of the devised method.     

Asthma‐related outcomes associated with indoor air pollutants among schoolchildren from four informal settlements in two municipalities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

The health impact of indoor air pollution in informal settlement households has not been extensively studied in South Africa. This cross‐sectional study investigated the association between asthma and common indoor exposures among schoolchildren from four informal settlements located in two municipalities in the Western Cape Province. A total of 590 children, aged 9‐11 years, were recruited. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was administered to caregivers. Pulmonary function assessment included spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). Phadiatop test for atopy was done. The prevalence of doctor‐diagnosed asthma was 3.4% (n = 20) among whom only 50% were on treatment. The prevalence of current wheeze was 12.9%, and 17.6% had airway obstruction (FEV₁ < lower limit of normal), while 10.2% had airway inflammation (FeNO > 35 ppb). In adjusted logistic regression models, dampness, visible mold growth, paraffin use for cooking, and passive smoking were associated with a twofold to threefold increased risk in upper and lower airway outcomes. The strongest association was that of visible mold growth with rhinitis (adjusted odds ratio—aOR 3.37, 95% CI: 1.69‐6.71). Thus, there is a need for improved diagnosis of childhood asthma and Indoor Air Quality in informal settlement households.