Reconfigurable mechanism-based metamaterials for ternary-coded elastic wave polarizers and programmable refraction control

Elastic metamaterials with unusual elastic properties offer unprecedented ways to modulate the polarization and propagation of elastic waves.However,most of them rely on the resonant structural components,and thus are frequency-dependent and unchangeable.Here,we present a reconfigurable 2D mechanism-based metamaterial which possesses transformable and frequency-independent elastic properties.Based on the proposed mechanism-based metamaterial,interesting functionalities,such as ternarycoded elastic wave polarizer and programmable refraction,are demonstrated.Particularly,unique ternary-coded polarizers,with 1-trit polarization filtering and 2-trit polarization separating of longitudinal and transverse waves,are first achieved.Then,the strong anisotropy of the proposed metamaterial is harnessed to realize positive-negative bi-refraction,only-positive refraction,and only-negative refraction.Finally,the wave functions with detailed microstructures are numerically verified.

A novel one-time-programmable memory unit based on Schottky-type p-GaN diode

In this work,a novel one-time-programmable memory unit based on a Schottky-type p-GaN diode is proposed.During the programming process,the junction switches from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance state through Schottky junction breakdown,and the state is permanently preserved.The memory unit features a current ratio of more than 10^(3),a read voltage window of 6 V,a programming time of less than 10^(−4)s,a stability of more than 108 read cycles,and a lifetime of far more than 10 years.Besides,the fabrication of the device is fully compatible with commercial Si-based GaN process platforms,which is of great significance for the realization of low-cost read-only memory in all-GaN integration.

Pixelated non-volatile programmable photonic integrated circuits with 20-level intermediate states

Multi-level programmable photonic integrated circuits(PICs)and optical metasurfaces have gained widespread attention in many fields,such as neuromorphic photonics,opticalcommunications,and quantum information.In this paper,we propose pixelated programmable Si_(3)N_(4)PICs with record-high 20-level intermediate states at 785 nm wavelength.Such flexibility in phase or amplitude modulation is achieved by a programmable Sb_(2)S_(3)matrix,the footprint of whose elements can be as small as 1.2μm,limited only by the optical diffraction limit of anin-house developed pulsed laser writing system.We believe our work lays the foundation for laser-writing ultra-high-level(20 levels and even more)programmable photonic systems and metasurfaces based on phase change materials,which could catalyze diverse applications such as programmable neuromorphic photonics,biosensing,optical computing,photonic quantum computing,and reconfigurable metasurfaces.

National Social Investment Programmes in Nigeria:A Descriptive Analysis of the Socio-Economic Contributions of N-Power Programme in Benue State

This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry through the execution of various welfare or social intervention programmes,but not much successes were recorded.Learning from the mistakes of the past regimes,and by way of deliberate state policy,the Buhari’s government initiated a multi-pronged social investment policy,one of which is the N-power programme that came onboard in 2016,which also doubles as the subject of this study.To achieve the goal of this study,a combination of desktop research and survey design was employed.Questionnaires were administered to 390 respondents through a combination of stratified and random sampling techniques.The results of the survey were matched with that of the secondary data obtained through online websites and other related sources.The result indicated that N-Power made positive contributions to the socio-economic life of the beneficiaries in Benue State:specifically,the scheme contributed in poverty eradication,employment generation,skills acquisitions and capacity building.However,some aspect of our findings revealed that the programme has a number of challenges such as:inadequate cash support,delay in monthly cash transfer to beneficiaries,distance participants had to move to their work stations,absence of posting in N-Teach scheme,and lack of adequate working tools amongst others.To salvage this problem the paper recommended the following solutions:expansion of the scheme to cover N-Teach and other aspects,increment in the monthly cash transfer to cushion the high rate of inflation,support for the participants/beneficiaries in transportation and logistics,enrolment of more youth into the various schemes,proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the schemes amongst others.

Teaching Reform and Exploration of Practical Courses Based on Programmable Control

As the country continues to promote the development of intelligent manufacturing,all industries are carrying out enterprise automation upgrading,the Pearl River Delta Intelligent Manufacturing Conference held in March 2024 provides a direction guide for each enterprise on how to integrate the intelligent manufacturing technology into each link and provide direction guidance for enterprises to create new models and new business formats.College teachers,in focusing on the teaching process,should closely match the enterprise and social needs and cultivate excellent students.As the core controller of automation control,the application of programmable controllers in teaching is particularly important.In practical classes,by setting progressive difficulty,project guidance,team collaboration,and other links,students can master the automation equipment design of programmable control in repeated practice.

Low-loss chip-scale programmable silicon photonic processor

Chip-scale programmable optical signal processors are often used to flexibly manipulate the optical signals for satisfying the demands in various applications,such as lidar,radar,and artificial intelligence.Silicon photonics has unique advantages of ultra-high integration density as well as CMOS compatibility,and thus makes it possible to develop large-scale programmable optical signal processors.The challenge is the high silicon waveguides propagation losses and the high calibration complexity for all tuning elements due to the random phase errors.In this paper,we propose and demonstrate a programmable silicon photonic processor for the first time by introducing low-loss multimode photonic waveguide spirals and low-random-phase-error Mach-Zehnder switches.The present chip-scale programmable silicon photonic processor comprises a 1×4 variable power splitter based on cascaded Mach-Zehnder couplers(MZCs),four Ge/Si photodetectors,four channels of thermally-tunable optical delaylines.Each channel consists of a continuously-tuning phase shifter based on a waveguide spiral with a micro-heater and a digitally-tuning delayline realized with cascaded waveguide-spiral delaylines and MZSs for 5.68 ps time-delay step.Particularly,these waveguide spirals used here are designed to be as wide as 2μm,enabling an ultralow propagation loss of 0.28 dB/cm.Meanwhile,these MZCs and MZSs are designed with 2-μm-wide arm waveguides,and thus the random phase errors in the MZC/MZS arms are negligible,in which case the calibration for these MZSs/MZCs becomes easy and furthermore the power consumption for compensating the phase errors can be reduced greatly.Finally,this programmable silicon photonic processor is demonstrated successfully to verify a number of distinctively different functionalities,including tunable time-delay,microwave photonic beamforming,arbitrary optical signal filtering,and arbitrary waveform generation.

Development of the Life Gatekeeper suicide prevention training programme in China:a Delphi study

Background Youth suicide has been a pressing public mental health concern in China,yet there is a lack of gatekeeper intervention programmes developed locally to prevent suicide among Chinese adolescents.Aims The current Delphi study was the first step in the systematic development of the Life Gatekeeper programme,the first gatekeeper programme to be developed locally in China that aims to equip teachers and parents with the knowledge,skills and ability to identify and intervene with students at high risk of suicide.Methods The Delphi method was used to elicit a consensus of experts who were invited to evaluate the importance of training content,the feasibility of the training delivery method,the possibility of achieving the training goals and,finally,the appropriateness of the training materials.Two Delphi rounds were conducted among local experts with diversified professional backgrounds in suicide research and practice.Statements were accepted for inclusion in the adjusted training programme if they were endorsed by at least 80%of the panel.Results Consensus was achieved on 201 out of 207 statements for inclusion into the adapted guidelines for the gatekeeper programme,with 151 from the original questionnaire and 50 generated from comments of the panel members.These endorsed statements were synthesised to develop the content of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.Conclusions This Delphi study provided an evidence base for developing the first gatekeeper training programme systematically and locally in China.We hope that the current study can pave the way for more evidence-based suicide prevention programmes in China.Further study is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.

Design of Gas Sensors Circuits with in-System Programmable Ddevices

In-system programmable devices are products that combined modern electronic techniques and semiconductor techniques.They are indispensable devices in designing modern circuits and systems.This paper presents two practical circuits designed with programmable devices and its design method.By introducing programmable devices into gas sensor circuits,we can further improve system reliability,stability,sensitivity and integration degree,and enhance flexibility of system design.

Programmable Logic Controller Block Monitoring System for Memory Attack Defense in Industrial Control Systems

Cyberattacks targeting industrial control systems(ICS)are becoming more sophisticated and advanced than in the past.A programmable logic controller(PLC),a core component of ICS,controls and monitors sensors and actuators in the field.However,PLC has memory attack threats such as program injection and manipulation,which has long been a major target for attackers,and it is important to detect these attacks for ICS security.To detect PLC memory attacks,a security system is required to acquire and monitor PLC memory directly.In addition,the performance impact of the security system on the PLC makes it difficult to apply to the ICS.To address these challenges,this paper proposes a system to detect PLC memory attacks by continuously acquiring and monitoring PLC memory.The proposed system detects PLC memory attacks by acquiring the program blocks and block information directly from the same layer as the PLC and then comparing them in bytes with previous data.Experiments with Siemens S7-300 and S7-400 PLC were conducted to evaluate the PLC memory detection performance and performance impact on PLC.The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system detects all malicious organization block(OB)injection and data block(DB)manipulation,and the increment of PLC cycle time,the impact on PLC performance,was less than 1 ms.The proposed system detects PLC memory attacks with a simpler detection method than earlier studies.Furthermore,the proposed system can be applied to ICS with a small performance impact on PLC.

Sustainable Learning of Computer Programming Languages Using Mind Mapping

In the current era of information technology,students need to learn modern programming languages efficiently.The art of teaching/learning program-ming requires many logical and conceptual skills.So it’s a challenging task for the instructors/learners to teach/learn these programming languages effectively and efficiently.Mind mapping is a useful visual tool for establishing ideas and connecting them to solve problems.This research proposed an effective way to teach programming languages through visual tools.This experimental study uses a mind mapping tool to teach two programming environments:Text-based Programming and Blocks-based Programming.We performed the experiments with one hundred and sixty undergraduate students of two public sector universities in the Asia Pacific region.Four different instructional approaches,including block-based language(BBL),text-based languages(TBL),mind map with text-based language(MMTBL)and mind mapping with block-based(MMBBL)are used for this purpose.The results show that instructional approaches using a mind mapping tool to help students solve given tasks in their critical thinking are more effective than other instructional techniques.

High-Bandwidth,Low-Power CMOS Transistor Based CAB for Field Programmable Analog Array

This article presents an integrated current mode configurable analog block(CAB)system for field-programmable analog array(FPAA).The proposed architecture is based on the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS)transistor level design where MOSFET transistors operating in the saturation region are adopted.The proposed CAB architecture is designed to implement six of thewidely used current mode operations in analog processing systems:addition,subtraction,integration,multiplication,division,and pass operation.The functionality of the proposed CAB is demonstrated through these six operations,where each operation is chosen based on the user’s selection in the CAB interface system.The architecture of the CAB system proposes an optimized way of designing and integrating only three functional cells with the interface circuitry to achieve the six operations.Furthermore,optimized programming and digital tuning circuitry are implemented in the architecture to control and interface with the functional cells.Moreover,these designed programming and tuning circuitries play an essential role in optimizing the performance of the proposed design.Simulation of the proposed CMOS Transistor Based CAB system is carried out using Tanner EDA Tools in 0.35μm standard CMOS technology.The design uses a±1.5 V power supply and results in maximum 3 dB bandwidth of 34.9 MHz and an approximate size of 0.0537 mm2.This demonstrates the advantages of the design over the current state-of-the-art designs presented for comparison in this article.Consequently,the proposed design has a clear aspect of simplicity,low power consumption,and high bandwidth operation,which makes it a suitable candidate for mobile telecommunications applications.

NewBee: Context-Free Grammar (CFG) of a New Programming Language for Novice Programmers

Learning programming and using programming languages are the essential aspects of computer science education.Students use programming languages to write their programs.These computer programs(students or practitioners written)make computers artificially intelligent and perform the tasks needed by the users.Without these programs,the computer may be visioned as a pointless machine.As the premise of writing programs is situated with specific programming languages,enormous efforts have been made to develop and create programming languages.However,each program-ming language is domain-specific and has its nuances,syntax and seman-tics,with specific pros and cons.These language-specific details,including syntax and semantics,are significant hurdles for novice programmers.Also,the instructors of introductory programming courses find these language specificities as the biggest hurdle in students learning,where more focus is on syntax than logic development and actual implementation of the program.Considering the conceptual difficulty of programming languages and novice students’struggles with the language syntax,this paper describes the design and development of a Context-Free Grammar(CFG)of a programming language for the novice,newcomers and students who do not have computer science as their major.Due to its syntax proximity to daily conversations,this paper hypothesizes that this language will be easy to use and understand by novice programmers.This paper systematically designed the language by identifying themes from various existing programming languages(e.g.,C,Python).Additionally,this paper surveyed computer science experts from industry and academia,where experts self-reported their satisfaction with the newly designed language.The results indicate that 93%of the experts reported satisfaction with the NewBee for novice,newcomer and non-Computer Sci-ence(CS)major students.

Jointly Promoting Human Rights Development and Firmly Rejecting Hegemonic Acts—Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

China is an advocate and practitioner of the spirit of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,and actively participates in and contributes to global human rights governance.Over the past 30 years,China has continuously promoted the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in China and globally,leading to historic achievements in China’s human rights endeavors.

Beijing Peaceland Foundation Holds Technical Exchanges and Training Programme of Rescue and Disaster Relief in Tanzania

From November 4th to 12th,2023,the Beijing Peaceland Foundation organised a technical exchanges and training Programme of rescue and disaster relief in Tanzania.The training included first aid,fire prevention,rescues in water areas and mountainous regions,drone application,etc.

Clinical effects of a traditional Chinese medicine nursing programme to intervene in gastric pain of the spleen and stomach with Qi deficiency

BACKGROUND Gastroparesis is a common digestive disorder characterized by delayed gastric emptying,which can lead to symptoms such as nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,and poor appetite.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has been used for centuries to treat gastrointestinal disorders,including gastroparesis.TCM theory suggests that spleen and stomach qi deficiency syndrome is one of the main pathogenic factors in gastroparesis.Nursing care plays an important role in the treatment of gastroparesis,and TCM nursing interventions have shown promising results in improving patient outcomes.However,there is limited research on the clinical effectiveness of TCM nursing interventions for gastroparesis with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome.This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of TCM nursing intervention in the treatment of gastroparesis with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome and to compare it with routine nursing interventions.AIM To analyze the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine nursing intervention in the treatment of gastric paraplegia with spleen stomach deficiency syndrome.METHODS From January 2020 to July 2021,80 patients with gastroparesis of spleen stomach qi deficiency type diagnosed in our hospital were selected for the study.The 80 patients were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group,with 40 cases in each group.During the treatment period,the control group received routine nursing interventions,while the experimental group received traditional Chinese medicine nursing procedures.Compare the nursing effects of the two groups and observe the changes in traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores,pain levels,and sleep quality before and after treatment.RESULTS After treatment,comparing the treatment effects of the two groups,the total effective rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group,with statistical significance(P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the TCM symptom score,visual analogue scale(VAS)score,and Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI)score between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05).However,after treatment,the TCM syndrome scores,VAS scores,and PSQI scores of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group,with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).CONCLUSION In the clinical nursing intervention of patients with mild gastroparesis due to spleen and stomach qi deficiency,the traditional Chinese medicine nursing plan has good clinical application value and nursing effect,and has a good effect on improving patients’pain and sleep quality.

基于5G多接入边缘计算的云化PLC系统架构设计与应用

随着工业控制系统对柔性化、扁平化的要求不断提升,以PLC为构建基础的传统工业控制网络在大规模接入、算力提升和部署灵活性方面均受到限制.针对这些问题,融合5G网络和边缘计算技术,设计了基于5G多接入边缘计算的云化PLC系统架构,阐述了该架构的运行机制和所涉及的关键技术;在此基础上,进行PLC系统的云化部署和调试,实现了工业现场、企业数据中心、5G网络和边缘网络的集成;最后,通过在某汽车制造公司产线改造过程中的应用,验证了所提架构的有效性.

2011—2020年四川省实施结核病防治规划的卫生经济学评价

目的:评估2011—2020年四川省结核病防治经费投入产生的社会效益,为制定新时期中长期发展规划提供参考依据。方法:采用回顾性研究方法,从“结核病管理信息系统”和“传染病监测”系统中收集四川省2011—2020年(“十二五”和“十三五”期间)涂阳肺结核患者治疗转归情况和肺结核患者劳动人口比例,结合四川省统计年鉴和全国结核病防治规划终期评估规划自评调查表等获取经费资料和人均国内生产总值(GDP),采用卫生经济学中常用的成本-效果、成本-效用、成本-效益等3种分析方法估算10年间结核病防治经费投入的社会效果、社会效用和社会效益,并对比分析“十二五”和“十三五”期间的估算结果。结果:2011—2020年,四川省共投入结核病防治经费76032.60万元,成功治疗涂阳肺结核患者160167例,避免了696899名健康人受到传染,挽救了1155277个伤残调整寿命年(disability adjusted life year,DALY),为社会节约医疗费用6.05亿元,挽回社会经济损失约370.32亿元。每投入1091.01元即可避免1名健康人被传染,每投入658.13元即可挽回1个DALY,每投入1元即可产生49.50元的社会经济效益。“十三五”期间带来的总社会效益(209.22亿元)较“十二五”期间(167.14亿元)增长了25.18%[(209.22-167.14)/167.14],但政府每投入1元的结核病防治经费产生的社会效益(47.56元)较“十二五”期间(52.17元)减少了4.61元。结论:2011—2020年间各级政府和国际项目对四川省结核病防控工作投入的经费产生了较好的社会效果、效用和效益。建议在保持目前经费投入力度的基础上,各级政府进一步加大投入,尤其对病原学阳性肺结核患者的发现和治疗管理力度,以期产生更高的社会效益。

ChatGPT对程序员职业的双重影响

ChatGPT的诞生开启了一场波及各行业的技术革命,人工智能在机械性的工作中展示了巨大的潜能,以至于威胁到一些工作岗位的存续,也引发了各行各业和学者们的热烈讨论。软件开发者--—大众口中的程序员,正站在这场技术革命的十字路口,ChatGPT得天独厚的能力既完美地匹配了程序员的工作,同时也威胁到本属于人类的工作岗位。但是这些威胁并非来自技术本身,而是技术的所有者在规范不健全的当下,对他人权利的侵犯。以ChatGPT为代表的人工智能技术不会夺走全部人类的工作,而是会对这些工作加以改变、改善,然而这一切的前提是对人工智能的发展进行正确的引导和规范。如何提升对这种尖端技术的监管能力,如何在发展技术的同时保障人们的权利,将是决定人工智能未来的关键。

基于PLC技术的联合收割机电气控制系统设计

以联合收割机电气控制系统为研究对象,利用可编程控制器(PLC)对联合收割机电气控制系统进行改进,以提高联合收割机运行效率和可靠性。通过对联合收割机的工作原理和液压作动系统进行分析,基于可编程控制器(PLC)进行联合收割机电气系统整体设计,并对电气系统的运行效果进行测试分析。试验结果表明:系统运行可靠,能够获得良好的收割效果,可将收割损失率控制在2%以内,验证了系统运行过程稳定性。

碳中和目标下全球清洁能源消纳的风险识别与规避路径研究

加快向清洁能源转型是二十一世纪的全球目标,在碳中和目标约束下,清洁能源消纳的机遇与挑战并存。本文聚焦不同类别的清洁能源消纳风险,对此进行识别并讨论其风险规避路径。通过深入分析极端天气风险、资源分布的均衡性、消纳技术的特点与应用、政策不确定性、市场及投资环境等情况,发现清洁能源消纳面临多维度、强交叉性风险。鉴于此,提出一套针对性的综合策略,从而促进清洁能源的稳健发展并加速其全球化消纳,包括强化国际合作、选择消纳技术演进路径、加强跨区域政策及监管,构建灵活高效的能源市场等。通过这些策略,旨在为实现清洁能源的广泛应用与可持续消纳提供实用路径,进而支持全球碳中和目标的达成。