Weakly-coupled mode division multiplexing(MDM)technique is considered a promising candidate to enhance the capacity of an optical transmission system,in which mode multiplexers/demultiplexers(MMUX/MDEMUX)with low inse...Weakly-coupled mode division multiplexing(MDM)technique is considered a promising candidate to enhance the capacity of an optical transmission system,in which mode multiplexers/demultiplexers(MMUX/MDEMUX)with low insertion loss and modal crosstalk are the key components.In this paper,a low-modal-crosstalk 4-mode MMUX/MDEMUX for the weakly-coupled triple-ring-core few-mode fiber(TRC-FMF)is designed and fabricated with side-polishing processing.The measurement results show that a pair of MMUX/MDEMUX and 25 km weakly-coupled TRC-FMF MDM link achieve low modal crosstalk of lower than−17.5 dB and insertion loss of lower than 11.56 dB for all the four modes.Based on the TRC-FMF and all-fiber MMUX/MDEMUX,an experiment for 25 km real-time 4-mode 3-λwavelength division multiplexing(WDM)-MDM transmission is conducted using commercial 400G optical transport network(OTN)transceivers.The experimental results prove weakly-coupled MDM techniques facilitate a smooth upgrade of the optical transmission system.展开更多
Real-time polarization medium-wave infrared(MIR)optical imaging systems enable the acquisition of infrared and polarization information for a target.At present,real-time polarization MIR devices face the following pro...Real-time polarization medium-wave infrared(MIR)optical imaging systems enable the acquisition of infrared and polarization information for a target.At present,real-time polarization MIR devices face the following problems:poor real-time performance,low transmission and high requirements for fabrication and integration.Herein,we aim to improve the performance of real-time polarization imaging systems in the MIR waveband and solve the above-mentioned defects.Therefore,we propose a MIR polarization imaging system to achieve real-time polarization-modulated imaging with high transmission as well as improved performance based on a pixel-wise metasurface micro-polarization array(PMMPA).The PMMPA element comprises several linear polarization(LP)filters with different polarization angles.The optimization results demonstrate that the transmittance of the center field of view for the LP filters is up to 77%at a wavelength of4.0μm and an extinction ratio of 88 d B.In addition,a near-diffraction-limited real-time MIR imaging optical system is designed with a field of view of 5°and an F-number of 2.The simulation results show that an MIR polarization imaging system with excellent real-time performance and high transmission is achieved by using the optimized PMMPA element.Therefore,the method is compatible with the available optical system design technologies and provides a way to realize real-time polarization imaging in MIR wavebands.展开更多
Due to their significant correlation and redundancy,conventional block cipher cryptosystems are not efficient in encryptingmultimedia data.Streamciphers based onCellularAutomata(CA)can provide amore effective solution...Due to their significant correlation and redundancy,conventional block cipher cryptosystems are not efficient in encryptingmultimedia data.Streamciphers based onCellularAutomata(CA)can provide amore effective solution.The CA have recently gained recognition as a robust cryptographic primitive,being used as pseudorandom number generators in hash functions,block ciphers and stream ciphers.CA have the ability to perform parallel transformations,resulting in high throughput performance.Additionally,they exhibit a natural tendency to resist fault attacks.Few stream cipher schemes based on CA have been proposed in the literature.Though,their encryption/decryption throughput is relatively low,which makes them unsuitable formultimedia communication.Trivium and Grain are efficient stream ciphers that were selected as finalists in the eSTREAM project,but they have proven to be vulnerable to differential fault attacks.This work introduces a novel and scalable stream cipher named CeTrivium,whose design is based on CA.CeTrivium is a 5-neighborhood CA-based streamcipher inspired by the designs of Trivium and Grain.It is constructed using three building blocks:the Trivium(Tr)block,the Nonlinear-CA(NCA)block,and the Nonlinear Mixing(NM)block.The NCA block is a 64-bit nonlinear hybrid 5-neighborhood CA,while the Tr block has the same structure as the Trivium stream cipher.The NM block is a nonlinear,balanced,and reversible Boolean function that mixes the outputs of the Tr and NCA blocks to produce a keystream.Cryptanalysis of CeTrivium has indicated that it can resist various attacks,including correlation,algebraic,fault,cube,Meier and Staffelbach,and side channel attacks.Moreover,the scheme is evaluated using histogramand spectrogramanalysis,aswell as several differentmeasurements,including the correlation coefficient,number of samples change rate,signal-to-noise ratio,entropy,and peak signal-to-noise ratio.The performance of CeTrivium is evaluated and compared with other state-of-the-art techniques.CeTrivium outperforms them in terms of encryption throughput while maintaining high security.CeTrivium has high encryption and decryption speeds,is scalable,and resists various attacks,making it suitable for multimedia communication.展开更多
Distributed speech recognition (DSR) applications have certain QoS (Quality of service) requirements in terms of latency, packet loss rate, etc. To deliver quality guaranteed DSR application over wirelined or wireless...Distributed speech recognition (DSR) applications have certain QoS (Quality of service) requirements in terms of latency, packet loss rate, etc. To deliver quality guaranteed DSR application over wirelined or wireless links, some QoS mechanisms should be provided. We put forward a RTP/RSVP transmission scheme with DSR-specific payload and QoS parameters by modifying the present WAP protocol stack. The simulation result shows that this scheme will provide adequate network bandwidth to keep the real-time transport of DSR data over either wirelined or wireless channels.展开更多
Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection in the world. Today, there is growing evidence that HPV can be transmitted early in life, and one potential rout...Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection in the world. Today, there is growing evidence that HPV can be transmitted early in life, and one potential route is mother-to-child transmission. Data on this route of HPV transmission are scarce in Africa and particularly in Burkina Faso, where no data on the subject are yet available. The aim of our study was to estimate the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HPV infection and to identify circulating genotypes. Methodology: Cervico-uterine samples were collected from 100 full-term pregnant women and, buccal samples were obtained from their newborns at Hopital Saint Camille de Ouagadougou (HOSCO) by the specialist physician. HPV DNA amplification and genotyping were performed by PCR followed by hybridization using the HPV Direct Flow Chips kit, detecting 36 genotypes including 18 high-risk and 18 low-risk. Results: The prevalence of HPV in newborns was 8% (8/100). Six (6) HPV-positive neonates had HPV-positive mothers, while 2 HPV-positive neonates had HPV-negative mothers. The vertical transmission rate was 26.09% (6/23). Mother-newborn genotypes were concordant. However, the genotype profile of the newborns was more restricted than that of the mothers. Conclusion: HPV DNA was found in 8% of newborns in our study. The genotype profile of the mother-newborn pair was concordant. Asymptomatic HPV infection in a pregnant woman could constitute a risk factor for vertical transmission.展开更多
To address the impact of wind-power fluctuations on the stability of power systems,we propose a comprehensive approach that integrates multiple strategies and methods to enhance the efficiency and reliability of a sys...To address the impact of wind-power fluctuations on the stability of power systems,we propose a comprehensive approach that integrates multiple strategies and methods to enhance the efficiency and reliability of a system.First,we employ a strategy that restricts long-and short-term power output deviations to smoothen wind power fluctuations in real time.Second,we adopt the sliding window instantaneous complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise(SW-ICEEMDAN)strategy to achieve real-time decomposition of the energy storage power,facilitating internal power distribution within the hybrid energy storage system.Finally,we introduce a rule-based multi-fuzzy control strategy for the secondary adjustment of the initial power allocation commands for different energy storage components.Through simulation validation,we demonstrate that the proposed comprehensive control strategy can smoothen wind power fluctuations in real time and decompose energy storage power.Compared with traditional empirical mode decomposition(EMD),ensemble empirical mode decomposition(EEMD),and complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise(CEEMDAN)decomposition strategies,the configuration of the energy storage system under the SW-ICEEMDAN control strategy is more optimal.Additionally,the state-of-charge of energy storage components fluctuates within a reasonable range,enhancing the stability of the power system and ensuring the secure operation of the energy storage system.展开更多
The real-time detection and instance segmentation of strawberries constitute fundamental components in the development of strawberry harvesting robots.Real-time identification of strawberries in an unstructured envi-r...The real-time detection and instance segmentation of strawberries constitute fundamental components in the development of strawberry harvesting robots.Real-time identification of strawberries in an unstructured envi-ronment is a challenging task.Current instance segmentation algorithms for strawberries suffer from issues such as poor real-time performance and low accuracy.To this end,the present study proposes an Efficient YOLACT(E-YOLACT)algorithm for strawberry detection and segmentation based on the YOLACT framework.The key enhancements of the E-YOLACT encompass the development of a lightweight attention mechanism,pyramid squeeze shuffle attention(PSSA),for efficient feature extraction.Additionally,an attention-guided context-feature pyramid network(AC-FPN)is employed instead of FPN to optimize the architecture’s performance.Furthermore,a feature-enhanced model(FEM)is introduced to enhance the prediction head’s capabilities,while efficient fast non-maximum suppression(EF-NMS)is devised to improve non-maximum suppression.The experimental results demonstrate that the E-YOLACT achieves a Box-mAP and Mask-mAP of 77.9 and 76.6,respectively,on the custom dataset.Moreover,it exhibits an impressive category accuracy of 93.5%.Notably,the E-YOLACT also demonstrates a remarkable real-time detection capability with a speed of 34.8 FPS.The method proposed in this article presents an efficient approach for the vision system of a strawberry-picking robot.展开更多
Blockchain technology has witnessed a burgeoning integration into diverse realms of economic and societal development.Nevertheless,scalability challenges,characterized by diminished broadcast efficiency,heightened com...Blockchain technology has witnessed a burgeoning integration into diverse realms of economic and societal development.Nevertheless,scalability challenges,characterized by diminished broadcast efficiency,heightened communication overhead,and escalated storage costs,have significantly constrained the broad-scale application of blockchain.This paper introduces a novel Encode-and CRT-based Scalability Scheme(ECSS),meticulously refined to enhance both block broadcasting and storage.Primarily,ECSS categorizes nodes into distinct domains,thereby reducing the network diameter and augmenting transmission efficiency.Secondly,ECSS streamlines block transmission through a compact block protocol and robust RS coding,which not only reduces the size of broadcasted blocks but also ensures transmission reliability.Finally,ECSS utilizes the Chinese remainder theorem,designating the block body as the compression target and mapping it to multiple modules to achieve efficient storage,thereby alleviating the storage burdens on nodes.To evaluate ECSS’s performance,we established an experimental platformand conducted comprehensive assessments.Empirical results demonstrate that ECSS attains superior network scalability and stability,reducing communication overhead by an impressive 72% and total storage costs by a substantial 63.6%.展开更多
In recent years,frequent fire disasters have led to enormous damage in China.Effective firefighting rescues can minimize the losses caused by fires.During the rescue processes,the travel time of fire trucks can be sev...In recent years,frequent fire disasters have led to enormous damage in China.Effective firefighting rescues can minimize the losses caused by fires.During the rescue processes,the travel time of fire trucks can be severely affected by traffic conditions,changing the effective coverage of fire stations.However,it is still challenging to determine the effective coverage of fire stations considering dynamic traffic conditions.This paper addresses this issue by combining the traveling time calculationmodelwith the effective coverage simulationmodel.In addition,it proposes a new index of total effective coverage area(TECA)based on the time-weighted average of the effective coverage area(ECA)to evaluate the urban fire services.It also selects China as the case study to validate the feasibility of the models,a fire station(FS-JX)in Changsha.FS-JX station and its surrounding 9,117 fire risk points are selected as the fire service supply and demand points,respectively.A total of 196 simulation scenarios throughout a consecutiveweek are analyzed.Eventually,1,933,815 sets of valid sample data are obtained.The results showed that the TECA of FS-JX is 3.27 km^(2),which is far below the standard requirement of 7.00 km^(2) due to the traffic conditions.The visualization results showed that three rivers around FS-JX interrupt the continuity of its effective coverage.The proposed method can provide data support to optimize the locations of fire stations by accurately and dynamically determining the effective coverage of fire stations.展开更多
With the development of underwater sonar detection technology,simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM)approach has attracted much attention in underwater navigation field in recent years.But the weak detection abil...With the development of underwater sonar detection technology,simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM)approach has attracted much attention in underwater navigation field in recent years.But the weak detection ability of a single vehicle limits the SLAM performance in wide areas.Thereby,cooperative SLAM using multiple vehicles has become an important research direction.The key factor of cooperative SLAM is timely and efficient sonar image transmission among underwater vehicles.However,the limited bandwidth of underwater acoustic channels contradicts a large amount of sonar image data.It is essential to compress the images before transmission.Recently,deep neural networks have great value in image compression by virtue of the powerful learning ability of neural networks,but the existing sonar image compression methods based on neural network usually focus on the pixel-level information without the semantic-level information.In this paper,we propose a novel underwater acoustic transmission scheme called UAT-SSIC that includes semantic segmentation-based sonar image compression(SSIC)framework and the joint source-channel codec,to improve the accuracy of the semantic information of the reconstructed sonar image at the receiver.The SSIC framework consists of Auto-Encoder structure-based sonar image compression network,which is measured by a semantic segmentation network's residual.Considering that sonar images have the characteristics of blurred target edges,the semantic segmentation network used a special dilated convolution neural network(DiCNN)to enhance segmentation accuracy by expanding the range of receptive fields.The joint source-channel codec with unequal error protection is proposed that adjusts the power level of the transmitted data,which deal with sonar image transmission error caused by the serious underwater acoustic channel.Experiment results demonstrate that our method preserves more semantic information,with advantages over existing methods at the same compression ratio.It also improves the error tolerance and packet loss resistance of transmission.展开更多
Objective China is among the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis(TB)worldwide,and TB remains a public health concern.Kashgar Prefecture in the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region is considered as one of th...Objective China is among the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis(TB)worldwide,and TB remains a public health concern.Kashgar Prefecture in the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region is considered as one of the highest TB burden regions in China.However,molecular epidemiological studies of Kashgar are lacking.Methods A population-based retrospective study was conducted using whole-genome sequencing(WGS)to determine the characteristics of drug resistance and the transmission patterns.Results A total of 1,668 isolates collected in 2020 were classified into lineages 2(46.0%),3(27.5%),and 4(26.5%).The drug resistance rates revealed by WGS showed that the top three drugs in terms of the resistance rate were isoniazid(7.4%,124/1,668),streptomycin(6.0%,100/1,668),and rifampicin(3.3%,55/1,668).The rate of rifampicin resistance was 1.8%(23/1,290)in the new cases and 9.4%(32/340)in the previously treated cases.Known resistance mutations were detected more frequently in lineage 2 strains than in lineage 3 or 4 strains,respectively:18.6%vs.8.7 or 9%,P<0.001.The estimated proportion of recent transmissions was 25.9%(432/1,668).Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that sex,age,occupation,lineage,and drug resistance were the risk factors for recent transmission.Despite the low rate of drug resistance,drug-resistant strains had a higher risk of recent transmission than the susceptible strains(adjusted odds ratio,1.414;95%CI,1.023–1.954;P=0.036).Among all patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis(DR-TB),78.4%(171/218)were attributed to the transmission of DR-TB strains.Conclusion Our results suggest that drug-resistant strains are more transmissible than susceptible strains and that transmission is the major driving force of the current DR-TB epidemic in Kashgar.展开更多
The purpose of this research work is to investigate the numerical solutions of the fractional dengue transmission model(FDTM)in the presence of Wolbachia using the stochastic-based Levenberg-Marquardt neural network(L...The purpose of this research work is to investigate the numerical solutions of the fractional dengue transmission model(FDTM)in the presence of Wolbachia using the stochastic-based Levenberg-Marquardt neural network(LM-NN)technique.The fractional dengue transmission model(FDTM)consists of 12 compartments.The human population is divided into four compartments;susceptible humans(S_(h)),exposed humans(E_(h)),infectious humans(I_(h)),and recovered humans(R_(h)).Wolbachia-infected and Wolbachia-uninfected mosquito population is also divided into four compartments:aquatic(eggs,larvae,pupae),susceptible,exposed,and infectious.We investigated three different cases of vertical transmission probability(η),namely when Wolbachia-free mosquitoes persist only(η=0.6),when both types of mosquitoes persist(η=0.8),and when Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes persist only(η=1).The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Wolbachia in reducing dengue and presenting the numerical results by using the stochastic structure LM-NN approach with 10 hidden layers of neurons for three different cases of the fractional order derivatives(α=0.4,0.6,0.8).LM-NN approach includes a training,validation,and testing procedure to minimize the mean square error(MSE)values using the reference dataset(obtained by solving the model using the Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method(ABM).The distribution of data is 80% data for training,10% for validation,and,10% for testing purpose)results.A comprehensive investigation is accessible to observe the competence,precision,capacity,and efficiency of the suggested LM-NN approach by executing the MSE,state transitions findings,and regression analysis.The effectiveness of the LM-NN approach for solving the FDTM is demonstrated by the overlap of the findings with trustworthy measures,which achieves a precision of up to 10^(-4).展开更多
The phase behavior of gas condensate in reservoir formations differs from that in pressure-volume-temperature(PVT)cells because it is influenced by porous media in the reservoir formations.Sandstone was used as a samp...The phase behavior of gas condensate in reservoir formations differs from that in pressure-volume-temperature(PVT)cells because it is influenced by porous media in the reservoir formations.Sandstone was used as a sample to investigate the influence of porous media on the phase behavior of the gas condensate.The pore structure was first analyzed using computed tomography(CT)scanning,digital core technology,and a pore network model.The sandstone core sample was then saturated with gas condensate for the pressure depletion experiment.After each pressure-depletion state was stable,realtime CT scanning was performed on the sample.The scanning results of the sample were reconstructed into three-dimensional grayscale images,and the gas condensate and condensate liquid were segmented based on gray value discrepancy to dynamically characterize the phase behavior of the gas condensate in porous media.Pore network models of the condensate liquid ganglia under different pressures were built to calculate the characteristic parameters,including the average radius,coordination number,and tortuosity,and to analyze the changing mechanism caused by the phase behavior change of the gas condensate.Four types of condensate liquid(clustered,branched,membranous,and droplet ganglia)were then classified by shape factor and Euler number to investigate their morphological changes dynamically and elaborately.The results show that the dew point pressure of the gas condensate in porous media is 12.7 MPa,which is 0.7 MPa higher than 12.0 MPa in PVT cells.The average radius,volume,and coordination number of the condensate liquid ganglia increased when the system pressure was between the dew point pressure(12.7 MPa)and the pressure for the maximum liquid dropout,Pmax(10.0 MPa),and decreased when it was below Pmax.The volume proportion of clustered ganglia was the highest,followed by branched,membranous,and droplet ganglia.This study provides crucial experimental evidence for the phase behavior changing process of gas condensate in porous media during the depletion production of gas condensate reservoirs.展开更多
While the interaction between information and disease in static networks has been extensively investigated,many studies have ignored the characteristics of network evolution.In this study,we construct a new two-layer ...While the interaction between information and disease in static networks has been extensively investigated,many studies have ignored the characteristics of network evolution.In this study,we construct a new two-layer coupling model to explore the interactions between information and disease.The upper layer describes the diffusion of disease-related information,and the lower layer represents the disease transmission.We then use power-law distributions to examine the influence of asymmetric activity levels on dynamic propagation,revealing a mapping relationship characterizing the interconnected propagation of information and diseases among partial nodes within the network.Subsequently,we derive the disease outbreak threshold by using the microscopic Markov-chain approach(MMCA).Finally,we perform extensive Monte Carlo(MC)numerical simulations to verify the accuracy of our theoretical results.Our findings indicate that the activity levels of individuals in the disease transmission layer have a more significant influence on disease transmission compared with the individual activity levels in the information diffusion layer.Moreover,reducing the damping factor can delay disease outbreaks and suppress disease transmission,while improving individual quarantine measures can contribute positively to disease control.This study provides valuable insights into policymakers for developing outbreak prevention and control strategies.展开更多
The automatic collection of power grid situation information, along with real-time multimedia interaction between the front and back ends during the accident handling process, has generated a massive amount of power g...The automatic collection of power grid situation information, along with real-time multimedia interaction between the front and back ends during the accident handling process, has generated a massive amount of power grid data. While wireless communication offers a convenient channel for grid terminal access and data transmission, it is important to note that the bandwidth of wireless communication is limited. Additionally, the broadcast nature of wireless transmission raises concerns about the potential for unauthorized eavesdropping during data transmission. To address these challenges and achieve reliable, secure, and real-time transmission of power grid data, an intelligent security transmission strategy with sensor-transmission-computing linkage is proposed in this paper. The primary objective of this strategy is to maximize the confidentiality capacity of the system. To tackle this, an optimization problem is formulated, taking into consideration interruption probability and interception probability as constraints. To efficiently solve this optimization problem, a low-complexity algorithm rooted in deep reinforcement learning is designed, which aims to derive a suboptimal solution for the problem at hand. Ultimately, through simulation results, the validity of the proposed strategy in guaranteed communication security, stability, and timeliness is substantiated. The results confirm that the proposed intelligent security transmission strategy significantly contributes to the safeguarding of communication integrity, system stability, and timely data delivery.展开更多
Short-range ordering(SRO)is one of the most important structural features of high entropy alloys(HEAs).However,the chemical and structural analyses of SROs are very difficult due to their small size,complexed composit...Short-range ordering(SRO)is one of the most important structural features of high entropy alloys(HEAs).However,the chemical and structural analyses of SROs are very difficult due to their small size,complexed compositions,and varied locations.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)as well as its aberration correction techniques are powerful for characterizing SROs in these compositionally complex alloys.In this short communication,we summarized recent progresses regarding characterization of SROs using TEM in the field of HEAs.By using advanced TEM techniques,not only the existence of SROs was confirmed,but also the effect of SROs on the deformation mechanism was clarified.Moreover,the perspective related to application of TEM techniques in HEAs are also discussed.展开更多
Electric vehicles use electric motors, which turn electrical energy into mechanical energy. As electric motors are conventionally used in all the industry, it is an established development site. It’s a mature technol...Electric vehicles use electric motors, which turn electrical energy into mechanical energy. As electric motors are conventionally used in all the industry, it is an established development site. It’s a mature technology with ideal power and torque curves for vehicular operation. Conventional vehicles use oil and gas as fuel or energy storage. Although they also have an excellent economic impact, the continuous use of oil and gas threatened the world’s reservation of total oil and gas. Also, they emit carbon dioxide and some toxic ingredients through the vehicle’s tailpipe, which causes the greenhouse effect and seriously impacts the environment. So, as an alternative, electric car refers to a green technology of decarbonization with zero emission of greenhouse gases through the tailpipe. So, they can remove the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and solve the world’s remaining non-renewable energy storage problem. Pure electric vehicles (PEV) can be applied in all spheres, but their special implementation can only be seen in downhole operations. They are used for low noise and less pollution in the downhole process. In this study, the basic structure of the pure electric command vehicle is studied, the main components of the command vehicle power system, namely the selection of the drive motor and the power battery, are analyzed, and the main parameters of the drive motor and the power battery are designed and calculated. The checking calculation results show that the power and transmission system developed in this paper meets the design requirements, and the design scheme is feasible and reasonable.展开更多
Introduction: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is one of the leading causes of mortality among women of reproductive age and Mother to Child Transmission of Human immunodeficiency virus is still a challenge affectin...Introduction: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is one of the leading causes of mortality among women of reproductive age and Mother to Child Transmission of Human immunodeficiency virus is still a challenge affecting many countries. Globally, an estimation of 180,000 children under 15 years acquire the Human immunodeficiency virus every day, and more than 90% of those infections are due to Mother to Child Transmission. The study sought to explore the experiences of mothers on the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission-HIV services at Mtendere Clinic, Lusaka. Materials and Methods: Qualitative interpretive phenomenology study design was employed using in-depth interviews to collect data from a sample that was selected using purposive sampling technique. Thirteen participants were recruited, and these were HIV-positive mothers at least between the ages of 15 and 49 years and enrolled in the Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV program. The in-depth interviews were audiotape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed using thematic method. Findings: Three main themes that emerged are;living with HIV, support system and barriers to utilization of Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV services. Most of the participants expressed having acquired knowledge from the program, and received counselling and support from spouses, family as well as health personnel at Mtendere health facility which culminated into a positive experience and enhanced their uptake of the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission-HIV services. However, barriers to service utilization were identified and these included fear of stigma, negative attitudes from health workers, long waiting times, lack of support and lack of transport to the health facility. Conclusion: Interventions such as community awareness campaigns on Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV, male involvement and implementing mother-to-mother peer support strategies in Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV service utilization should be prioritized so as to alleviate stigma and enhancing a positive experience for these mothers thus reducing on the Mother to Child HIV Transmission burden and mortality rates.展开更多
基金supported in part by the ZTE Industry-University-Institute Cooperation Funds.
文摘Weakly-coupled mode division multiplexing(MDM)technique is considered a promising candidate to enhance the capacity of an optical transmission system,in which mode multiplexers/demultiplexers(MMUX/MDEMUX)with low insertion loss and modal crosstalk are the key components.In this paper,a low-modal-crosstalk 4-mode MMUX/MDEMUX for the weakly-coupled triple-ring-core few-mode fiber(TRC-FMF)is designed and fabricated with side-polishing processing.The measurement results show that a pair of MMUX/MDEMUX and 25 km weakly-coupled TRC-FMF MDM link achieve low modal crosstalk of lower than−17.5 dB and insertion loss of lower than 11.56 dB for all the four modes.Based on the TRC-FMF and all-fiber MMUX/MDEMUX,an experiment for 25 km real-time 4-mode 3-λwavelength division multiplexing(WDM)-MDM transmission is conducted using commercial 400G optical transport network(OTN)transceivers.The experimental results prove weakly-coupled MDM techniques facilitate a smooth upgrade of the optical transmission system.
基金Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.SKLA02020001A05)。
文摘Real-time polarization medium-wave infrared(MIR)optical imaging systems enable the acquisition of infrared and polarization information for a target.At present,real-time polarization MIR devices face the following problems:poor real-time performance,low transmission and high requirements for fabrication and integration.Herein,we aim to improve the performance of real-time polarization imaging systems in the MIR waveband and solve the above-mentioned defects.Therefore,we propose a MIR polarization imaging system to achieve real-time polarization-modulated imaging with high transmission as well as improved performance based on a pixel-wise metasurface micro-polarization array(PMMPA).The PMMPA element comprises several linear polarization(LP)filters with different polarization angles.The optimization results demonstrate that the transmittance of the center field of view for the LP filters is up to 77%at a wavelength of4.0μm and an extinction ratio of 88 d B.In addition,a near-diffraction-limited real-time MIR imaging optical system is designed with a field of view of 5°and an F-number of 2.The simulation results show that an MIR polarization imaging system with excellent real-time performance and high transmission is achieved by using the optimized PMMPA element.Therefore,the method is compatible with the available optical system design technologies and provides a way to realize real-time polarization imaging in MIR wavebands.
文摘Due to their significant correlation and redundancy,conventional block cipher cryptosystems are not efficient in encryptingmultimedia data.Streamciphers based onCellularAutomata(CA)can provide amore effective solution.The CA have recently gained recognition as a robust cryptographic primitive,being used as pseudorandom number generators in hash functions,block ciphers and stream ciphers.CA have the ability to perform parallel transformations,resulting in high throughput performance.Additionally,they exhibit a natural tendency to resist fault attacks.Few stream cipher schemes based on CA have been proposed in the literature.Though,their encryption/decryption throughput is relatively low,which makes them unsuitable formultimedia communication.Trivium and Grain are efficient stream ciphers that were selected as finalists in the eSTREAM project,but they have proven to be vulnerable to differential fault attacks.This work introduces a novel and scalable stream cipher named CeTrivium,whose design is based on CA.CeTrivium is a 5-neighborhood CA-based streamcipher inspired by the designs of Trivium and Grain.It is constructed using three building blocks:the Trivium(Tr)block,the Nonlinear-CA(NCA)block,and the Nonlinear Mixing(NM)block.The NCA block is a 64-bit nonlinear hybrid 5-neighborhood CA,while the Tr block has the same structure as the Trivium stream cipher.The NM block is a nonlinear,balanced,and reversible Boolean function that mixes the outputs of the Tr and NCA blocks to produce a keystream.Cryptanalysis of CeTrivium has indicated that it can resist various attacks,including correlation,algebraic,fault,cube,Meier and Staffelbach,and side channel attacks.Moreover,the scheme is evaluated using histogramand spectrogramanalysis,aswell as several differentmeasurements,including the correlation coefficient,number of samples change rate,signal-to-noise ratio,entropy,and peak signal-to-noise ratio.The performance of CeTrivium is evaluated and compared with other state-of-the-art techniques.CeTrivium outperforms them in terms of encryption throughput while maintaining high security.CeTrivium has high encryption and decryption speeds,is scalable,and resists various attacks,making it suitable for multimedia communication.
文摘Distributed speech recognition (DSR) applications have certain QoS (Quality of service) requirements in terms of latency, packet loss rate, etc. To deliver quality guaranteed DSR application over wirelined or wireless links, some QoS mechanisms should be provided. We put forward a RTP/RSVP transmission scheme with DSR-specific payload and QoS parameters by modifying the present WAP protocol stack. The simulation result shows that this scheme will provide adequate network bandwidth to keep the real-time transport of DSR data over either wirelined or wireless channels.
文摘Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection in the world. Today, there is growing evidence that HPV can be transmitted early in life, and one potential route is mother-to-child transmission. Data on this route of HPV transmission are scarce in Africa and particularly in Burkina Faso, where no data on the subject are yet available. The aim of our study was to estimate the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HPV infection and to identify circulating genotypes. Methodology: Cervico-uterine samples were collected from 100 full-term pregnant women and, buccal samples were obtained from their newborns at Hopital Saint Camille de Ouagadougou (HOSCO) by the specialist physician. HPV DNA amplification and genotyping were performed by PCR followed by hybridization using the HPV Direct Flow Chips kit, detecting 36 genotypes including 18 high-risk and 18 low-risk. Results: The prevalence of HPV in newborns was 8% (8/100). Six (6) HPV-positive neonates had HPV-positive mothers, while 2 HPV-positive neonates had HPV-negative mothers. The vertical transmission rate was 26.09% (6/23). Mother-newborn genotypes were concordant. However, the genotype profile of the newborns was more restricted than that of the mothers. Conclusion: HPV DNA was found in 8% of newborns in our study. The genotype profile of the mother-newborn pair was concordant. Asymptomatic HPV infection in a pregnant woman could constitute a risk factor for vertical transmission.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51677058)。
文摘To address the impact of wind-power fluctuations on the stability of power systems,we propose a comprehensive approach that integrates multiple strategies and methods to enhance the efficiency and reliability of a system.First,we employ a strategy that restricts long-and short-term power output deviations to smoothen wind power fluctuations in real time.Second,we adopt the sliding window instantaneous complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise(SW-ICEEMDAN)strategy to achieve real-time decomposition of the energy storage power,facilitating internal power distribution within the hybrid energy storage system.Finally,we introduce a rule-based multi-fuzzy control strategy for the secondary adjustment of the initial power allocation commands for different energy storage components.Through simulation validation,we demonstrate that the proposed comprehensive control strategy can smoothen wind power fluctuations in real time and decompose energy storage power.Compared with traditional empirical mode decomposition(EMD),ensemble empirical mode decomposition(EEMD),and complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise(CEEMDAN)decomposition strategies,the configuration of the energy storage system under the SW-ICEEMDAN control strategy is more optimal.Additionally,the state-of-charge of energy storage components fluctuates within a reasonable range,enhancing the stability of the power system and ensuring the secure operation of the energy storage system.
基金funded by Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation(No.2208085ME128)the Anhui University-Level Special Project of Anhui University of Science and Technology(No.XCZX2021-01)+1 种基金the Research and the Development Fund of the Institute of Environmental Friendly Materials and Occupational Health,Anhui University of Science and Technology(No.ALW2022YF06)Anhui Province New Era Education Quality Project(Graduate Education)(No.2022xscx073).
文摘The real-time detection and instance segmentation of strawberries constitute fundamental components in the development of strawberry harvesting robots.Real-time identification of strawberries in an unstructured envi-ronment is a challenging task.Current instance segmentation algorithms for strawberries suffer from issues such as poor real-time performance and low accuracy.To this end,the present study proposes an Efficient YOLACT(E-YOLACT)algorithm for strawberry detection and segmentation based on the YOLACT framework.The key enhancements of the E-YOLACT encompass the development of a lightweight attention mechanism,pyramid squeeze shuffle attention(PSSA),for efficient feature extraction.Additionally,an attention-guided context-feature pyramid network(AC-FPN)is employed instead of FPN to optimize the architecture’s performance.Furthermore,a feature-enhanced model(FEM)is introduced to enhance the prediction head’s capabilities,while efficient fast non-maximum suppression(EF-NMS)is devised to improve non-maximum suppression.The experimental results demonstrate that the E-YOLACT achieves a Box-mAP and Mask-mAP of 77.9 and 76.6,respectively,on the custom dataset.Moreover,it exhibits an impressive category accuracy of 93.5%.Notably,the E-YOLACT also demonstrates a remarkable real-time detection capability with a speed of 34.8 FPS.The method proposed in this article presents an efficient approach for the vision system of a strawberry-picking robot.
文摘Blockchain technology has witnessed a burgeoning integration into diverse realms of economic and societal development.Nevertheless,scalability challenges,characterized by diminished broadcast efficiency,heightened communication overhead,and escalated storage costs,have significantly constrained the broad-scale application of blockchain.This paper introduces a novel Encode-and CRT-based Scalability Scheme(ECSS),meticulously refined to enhance both block broadcasting and storage.Primarily,ECSS categorizes nodes into distinct domains,thereby reducing the network diameter and augmenting transmission efficiency.Secondly,ECSS streamlines block transmission through a compact block protocol and robust RS coding,which not only reduces the size of broadcasted blocks but also ensures transmission reliability.Finally,ECSS utilizes the Chinese remainder theorem,designating the block body as the compression target and mapping it to multiple modules to achieve efficient storage,thereby alleviating the storage burdens on nodes.To evaluate ECSS’s performance,we established an experimental platformand conducted comprehensive assessments.Empirical results demonstrate that ECSS attains superior network scalability and stability,reducing communication overhead by an impressive 72% and total storage costs by a substantial 63.6%.
基金support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.52204202)the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No.2023JJ40058)the Science and Technology Program of Hunan Provincial Departent of Transportation (No.202122).
文摘In recent years,frequent fire disasters have led to enormous damage in China.Effective firefighting rescues can minimize the losses caused by fires.During the rescue processes,the travel time of fire trucks can be severely affected by traffic conditions,changing the effective coverage of fire stations.However,it is still challenging to determine the effective coverage of fire stations considering dynamic traffic conditions.This paper addresses this issue by combining the traveling time calculationmodelwith the effective coverage simulationmodel.In addition,it proposes a new index of total effective coverage area(TECA)based on the time-weighted average of the effective coverage area(ECA)to evaluate the urban fire services.It also selects China as the case study to validate the feasibility of the models,a fire station(FS-JX)in Changsha.FS-JX station and its surrounding 9,117 fire risk points are selected as the fire service supply and demand points,respectively.A total of 196 simulation scenarios throughout a consecutiveweek are analyzed.Eventually,1,933,815 sets of valid sample data are obtained.The results showed that the TECA of FS-JX is 3.27 km^(2),which is far below the standard requirement of 7.00 km^(2) due to the traffic conditions.The visualization results showed that three rivers around FS-JX interrupt the continuity of its effective coverage.The proposed method can provide data support to optimize the locations of fire stations by accurately and dynamically determining the effective coverage of fire stations.
基金supported in part by the Tianjin Technology Innovation Guidance Special Fund Project under Grant No.21YDTPJC00850in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.41906161in part by the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin under Grant No.21JCQNJC00650。
文摘With the development of underwater sonar detection technology,simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM)approach has attracted much attention in underwater navigation field in recent years.But the weak detection ability of a single vehicle limits the SLAM performance in wide areas.Thereby,cooperative SLAM using multiple vehicles has become an important research direction.The key factor of cooperative SLAM is timely and efficient sonar image transmission among underwater vehicles.However,the limited bandwidth of underwater acoustic channels contradicts a large amount of sonar image data.It is essential to compress the images before transmission.Recently,deep neural networks have great value in image compression by virtue of the powerful learning ability of neural networks,but the existing sonar image compression methods based on neural network usually focus on the pixel-level information without the semantic-level information.In this paper,we propose a novel underwater acoustic transmission scheme called UAT-SSIC that includes semantic segmentation-based sonar image compression(SSIC)framework and the joint source-channel codec,to improve the accuracy of the semantic information of the reconstructed sonar image at the receiver.The SSIC framework consists of Auto-Encoder structure-based sonar image compression network,which is measured by a semantic segmentation network's residual.Considering that sonar images have the characteristics of blurred target edges,the semantic segmentation network used a special dilated convolution neural network(DiCNN)to enhance segmentation accuracy by expanding the range of receptive fields.The joint source-channel codec with unequal error protection is proposed that adjusts the power level of the transmitted data,which deal with sonar image transmission error caused by the serious underwater acoustic channel.Experiment results demonstrate that our method preserves more semantic information,with advantages over existing methods at the same compression ratio.It also improves the error tolerance and packet loss resistance of transmission.
基金funded by the National Key R&D Program of China [2022YFC2305200]Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region [2021A01D145 and 2022D01A115]Applied Technology Research and Development Programing Project of Kashgar Prefecture [KS2021031 and KS2021034]。
文摘Objective China is among the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis(TB)worldwide,and TB remains a public health concern.Kashgar Prefecture in the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region is considered as one of the highest TB burden regions in China.However,molecular epidemiological studies of Kashgar are lacking.Methods A population-based retrospective study was conducted using whole-genome sequencing(WGS)to determine the characteristics of drug resistance and the transmission patterns.Results A total of 1,668 isolates collected in 2020 were classified into lineages 2(46.0%),3(27.5%),and 4(26.5%).The drug resistance rates revealed by WGS showed that the top three drugs in terms of the resistance rate were isoniazid(7.4%,124/1,668),streptomycin(6.0%,100/1,668),and rifampicin(3.3%,55/1,668).The rate of rifampicin resistance was 1.8%(23/1,290)in the new cases and 9.4%(32/340)in the previously treated cases.Known resistance mutations were detected more frequently in lineage 2 strains than in lineage 3 or 4 strains,respectively:18.6%vs.8.7 or 9%,P<0.001.The estimated proportion of recent transmissions was 25.9%(432/1,668).Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that sex,age,occupation,lineage,and drug resistance were the risk factors for recent transmission.Despite the low rate of drug resistance,drug-resistant strains had a higher risk of recent transmission than the susceptible strains(adjusted odds ratio,1.414;95%CI,1.023–1.954;P=0.036).Among all patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis(DR-TB),78.4%(171/218)were attributed to the transmission of DR-TB strains.Conclusion Our results suggest that drug-resistant strains are more transmissible than susceptible strains and that transmission is the major driving force of the current DR-TB epidemic in Kashgar.
文摘The purpose of this research work is to investigate the numerical solutions of the fractional dengue transmission model(FDTM)in the presence of Wolbachia using the stochastic-based Levenberg-Marquardt neural network(LM-NN)technique.The fractional dengue transmission model(FDTM)consists of 12 compartments.The human population is divided into four compartments;susceptible humans(S_(h)),exposed humans(E_(h)),infectious humans(I_(h)),and recovered humans(R_(h)).Wolbachia-infected and Wolbachia-uninfected mosquito population is also divided into four compartments:aquatic(eggs,larvae,pupae),susceptible,exposed,and infectious.We investigated three different cases of vertical transmission probability(η),namely when Wolbachia-free mosquitoes persist only(η=0.6),when both types of mosquitoes persist(η=0.8),and when Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes persist only(η=1).The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Wolbachia in reducing dengue and presenting the numerical results by using the stochastic structure LM-NN approach with 10 hidden layers of neurons for three different cases of the fractional order derivatives(α=0.4,0.6,0.8).LM-NN approach includes a training,validation,and testing procedure to minimize the mean square error(MSE)values using the reference dataset(obtained by solving the model using the Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method(ABM).The distribution of data is 80% data for training,10% for validation,and,10% for testing purpose)results.A comprehensive investigation is accessible to observe the competence,precision,capacity,and efficiency of the suggested LM-NN approach by executing the MSE,state transitions findings,and regression analysis.The effectiveness of the LM-NN approach for solving the FDTM is demonstrated by the overlap of the findings with trustworthy measures,which achieves a precision of up to 10^(-4).
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52122402,12172334,52034010,52174051)Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(Nos.ZR2021ME029,ZR2022JQ23)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.22CX01001A-4)。
文摘The phase behavior of gas condensate in reservoir formations differs from that in pressure-volume-temperature(PVT)cells because it is influenced by porous media in the reservoir formations.Sandstone was used as a sample to investigate the influence of porous media on the phase behavior of the gas condensate.The pore structure was first analyzed using computed tomography(CT)scanning,digital core technology,and a pore network model.The sandstone core sample was then saturated with gas condensate for the pressure depletion experiment.After each pressure-depletion state was stable,realtime CT scanning was performed on the sample.The scanning results of the sample were reconstructed into three-dimensional grayscale images,and the gas condensate and condensate liquid were segmented based on gray value discrepancy to dynamically characterize the phase behavior of the gas condensate in porous media.Pore network models of the condensate liquid ganglia under different pressures were built to calculate the characteristic parameters,including the average radius,coordination number,and tortuosity,and to analyze the changing mechanism caused by the phase behavior change of the gas condensate.Four types of condensate liquid(clustered,branched,membranous,and droplet ganglia)were then classified by shape factor and Euler number to investigate their morphological changes dynamically and elaborately.The results show that the dew point pressure of the gas condensate in porous media is 12.7 MPa,which is 0.7 MPa higher than 12.0 MPa in PVT cells.The average radius,volume,and coordination number of the condensate liquid ganglia increased when the system pressure was between the dew point pressure(12.7 MPa)and the pressure for the maximum liquid dropout,Pmax(10.0 MPa),and decreased when it was below Pmax.The volume proportion of clustered ganglia was the highest,followed by branched,membranous,and droplet ganglia.This study provides crucial experimental evidence for the phase behavior changing process of gas condensate in porous media during the depletion production of gas condensate reservoirs.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 72174121 and 71774111)the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learningthe Project for the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, China (Grant No. 21ZR1444100)
文摘While the interaction between information and disease in static networks has been extensively investigated,many studies have ignored the characteristics of network evolution.In this study,we construct a new two-layer coupling model to explore the interactions between information and disease.The upper layer describes the diffusion of disease-related information,and the lower layer represents the disease transmission.We then use power-law distributions to examine the influence of asymmetric activity levels on dynamic propagation,revealing a mapping relationship characterizing the interconnected propagation of information and diseases among partial nodes within the network.Subsequently,we derive the disease outbreak threshold by using the microscopic Markov-chain approach(MMCA).Finally,we perform extensive Monte Carlo(MC)numerical simulations to verify the accuracy of our theoretical results.Our findings indicate that the activity levels of individuals in the disease transmission layer have a more significant influence on disease transmission compared with the individual activity levels in the information diffusion layer.Moreover,reducing the damping factor can delay disease outbreaks and suppress disease transmission,while improving individual quarantine measures can contribute positively to disease control.This study provides valuable insights into policymakers for developing outbreak prevention and control strategies.
文摘The automatic collection of power grid situation information, along with real-time multimedia interaction between the front and back ends during the accident handling process, has generated a massive amount of power grid data. While wireless communication offers a convenient channel for grid terminal access and data transmission, it is important to note that the bandwidth of wireless communication is limited. Additionally, the broadcast nature of wireless transmission raises concerns about the potential for unauthorized eavesdropping during data transmission. To address these challenges and achieve reliable, secure, and real-time transmission of power grid data, an intelligent security transmission strategy with sensor-transmission-computing linkage is proposed in this paper. The primary objective of this strategy is to maximize the confidentiality capacity of the system. To tackle this, an optimization problem is formulated, taking into consideration interruption probability and interception probability as constraints. To efficiently solve this optimization problem, a low-complexity algorithm rooted in deep reinforcement learning is designed, which aims to derive a suboptimal solution for the problem at hand. Ultimately, through simulation results, the validity of the proposed strategy in guaranteed communication security, stability, and timeliness is substantiated. The results confirm that the proposed intelligent security transmission strategy significantly contributes to the safeguarding of communication integrity, system stability, and timely data delivery.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51971017,52271003,52071024,52001184,and 52101188)the National Science Fund for distinguished Young Scholars,China(No.52225103)+3 种基金the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China(No.51921001)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2022YFB4602101)the Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges NSFC(No.52061135207)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,China(No.FRF-TP-22-130A1)。
文摘Short-range ordering(SRO)is one of the most important structural features of high entropy alloys(HEAs).However,the chemical and structural analyses of SROs are very difficult due to their small size,complexed compositions,and varied locations.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)as well as its aberration correction techniques are powerful for characterizing SROs in these compositionally complex alloys.In this short communication,we summarized recent progresses regarding characterization of SROs using TEM in the field of HEAs.By using advanced TEM techniques,not only the existence of SROs was confirmed,but also the effect of SROs on the deformation mechanism was clarified.Moreover,the perspective related to application of TEM techniques in HEAs are also discussed.
文摘Electric vehicles use electric motors, which turn electrical energy into mechanical energy. As electric motors are conventionally used in all the industry, it is an established development site. It’s a mature technology with ideal power and torque curves for vehicular operation. Conventional vehicles use oil and gas as fuel or energy storage. Although they also have an excellent economic impact, the continuous use of oil and gas threatened the world’s reservation of total oil and gas. Also, they emit carbon dioxide and some toxic ingredients through the vehicle’s tailpipe, which causes the greenhouse effect and seriously impacts the environment. So, as an alternative, electric car refers to a green technology of decarbonization with zero emission of greenhouse gases through the tailpipe. So, they can remove the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and solve the world’s remaining non-renewable energy storage problem. Pure electric vehicles (PEV) can be applied in all spheres, but their special implementation can only be seen in downhole operations. They are used for low noise and less pollution in the downhole process. In this study, the basic structure of the pure electric command vehicle is studied, the main components of the command vehicle power system, namely the selection of the drive motor and the power battery, are analyzed, and the main parameters of the drive motor and the power battery are designed and calculated. The checking calculation results show that the power and transmission system developed in this paper meets the design requirements, and the design scheme is feasible and reasonable.
文摘Introduction: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is one of the leading causes of mortality among women of reproductive age and Mother to Child Transmission of Human immunodeficiency virus is still a challenge affecting many countries. Globally, an estimation of 180,000 children under 15 years acquire the Human immunodeficiency virus every day, and more than 90% of those infections are due to Mother to Child Transmission. The study sought to explore the experiences of mothers on the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission-HIV services at Mtendere Clinic, Lusaka. Materials and Methods: Qualitative interpretive phenomenology study design was employed using in-depth interviews to collect data from a sample that was selected using purposive sampling technique. Thirteen participants were recruited, and these were HIV-positive mothers at least between the ages of 15 and 49 years and enrolled in the Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV program. The in-depth interviews were audiotape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed using thematic method. Findings: Three main themes that emerged are;living with HIV, support system and barriers to utilization of Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV services. Most of the participants expressed having acquired knowledge from the program, and received counselling and support from spouses, family as well as health personnel at Mtendere health facility which culminated into a positive experience and enhanced their uptake of the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission-HIV services. However, barriers to service utilization were identified and these included fear of stigma, negative attitudes from health workers, long waiting times, lack of support and lack of transport to the health facility. Conclusion: Interventions such as community awareness campaigns on Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV, male involvement and implementing mother-to-mother peer support strategies in Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV service utilization should be prioritized so as to alleviate stigma and enhancing a positive experience for these mothers thus reducing on the Mother to Child HIV Transmission burden and mortality rates.