Effects of different orthokeratology lens designs on slowing axial length elongation in children with myopia

AIM:To elucidate whether differences exist in the impact on retarding the elongation of axial length(AL)among children with myopia when utilizing orthokeratology(ortho-k)lenses employing the corneal refractive therapy(CRT)design versus those employing the vision shaping treatment(VST)design.METHODS:This retrospective clinical trial aimed to collect and analyze AL data from individuals who wore ortho-k lenses for three years.A total of 654 subjects were enrolled and prescribed one of the three specific brands of ortho-k lenses:CRT,Euclid,and Mouldway.The study’s primary focus was to compare the rates of AL elongation and myopic progression across these three brands of ortho-k lenses.RESULTS:In the 3-year follow-up,the AL elongation exhibited variations of 0.73±0.36 mm in the CRT lens group,0.59±0.37 mm in the Euclid lens group,and 0.63±0.38 mm in the Mouldway lens group.A noteworthy disparity emerged between the CRT and Mouldway groups(P<0.01),as well as between the CRT and Euclid groups(P<0.001).Additionally,it was observed that 32.1%of participants who wore CRT lenses experienced a decelerated progression of myopia,in contrast to 47.2%in the Euclid group and 44.4%in the Mouldway group.Statistical analyses revealed a statistically significant distinction between the CRT and Euclid groups(P<0.01),and similarly,the CRT group demonstrated a statistically significant difference when compared to the Mouldway group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Ortho-k lenses represent a pragmatic strategy for mitigating the advancement of myopia.In contradistinction to ortho-k lenses utilizing the CRT design,those employing the VST design exhibited a more favorable impact regarding retarding AL elongation.

Novel heart valve leaflet designs with stiff polymeric materials and biomimetic kinematics

Despite continuous efforts to improve the robustness of cardiac valve implants,neither bioprosthetic nor mechanical valves fulfill both hemodynamic and durability requirements.This study discussed novel flexible leaflet designs,focusing on polymeric materials with proven hemocompatibility,such as polyether ether ketone,of much higher stiffness than native tissue,aiming at optimal valve implants.A biomimetic valve with a single-curvature belly-curve(B-C)was used as a reference for new design variants with a double-curvature B-C with varying radii.Soft(13.2 MPa)and stiff(2.4 GPa)leaflet materials and different thicknesses were studied using lean simulations and in vitro experiments under physiologic hemodynamic conditions.The performance was assessed using opening pressure(OP)and orifice area(OA).The latter was determined by a newly developed automatized image processing tool.Experimental trends are in agreement with simulations and demonstrated that a buckling-inspired double-curvature leaflet design significantly enhances the trileaflet valve opening behavior,which is particularly advantageous for stiffer leaflet materials.Compared to the reference,the best-performing variant showed an OP improvement of 47%and 44%based on simulations and experiments,respectively.In contrast,the achieved mean pressure differential was directly comparable to state-of-the-art bioprosthetic valves.The OA was slightly reduced for new variants but still in the satisfying range.

Theoretical Research and Practical Application of the Rural Cultural Enhancement by Creative Designs Under Rural Vitalization-A Case Study of Shanxi Province

To revive the nation,the rural area must be revitalized.Every regional cultural and creative industry has its own development path and practical mode.From the perspective of rural revitalization,this paper conducts research on the development model of cultural and creative design,and analyzes the significance of the integration of creative design with rural regional culture.Based on the current situation of rural cultural and creative development in Shanxi Province,this study proposes to form a brand communication chain through the integration between cultural design and rural culture,and the establishment of cultural and creative brands,furthermore,to establish trending topics through multiple channels.Finally,the important practical significance of cultural and creative design in promoting rural economic development and enhancing rural culture value is discussed in this design strategy,so as to actively help the new journey of rural revitalization.

Relative Efficiencies of Optimal Designs in Four Dimensions Constructed Using Balanced Incomplete Block Designs

Experimentally, the best design gives estimates of the desired effects and contrasts with maximum precision. Efficiency as a discriminating factor enables comparison of designs. The goal of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is the determination of the best settings of the in-put variables for a maximum (or a minimum) response within a region of interest, R. This calls for fitting a model that adequately represents the mean response since such a model, is then used to locate the optimum. D-, A-, E- and T-Optimal designs of a rotatable design of degree two in four dimensions constructed using balanced incomplete block designs (BIBD) when the number of replications is less than three times the number of pairs of treatments occur together in the design and their relative efficiencies to general designs are presented. D-optimal design had 88 runs after replicating the factorial part twice and the axial part thrice with an optimal variance of 0.6965612 giving an efficiency of 97.7% while for A- and T-optimal designs they are formed with 112 runs each obtained by replicating the factorial part two times and axial part six times. Their optimal variances are 0.05798174 and 1.29828 respectively, with efficiency of 71.8% for A-optimal and 87.5% for T-optimal design. E-optimal design was found to be the most efficient design with an only 32 runs comprising only of the factorial part and with an optimal variance of 0.4182000, attaining an efficiency of approximately 1%. This study proposes the adoption of the E-optimal design in estimating the parameters of a rotatable second-order degree model constructed using BIBD for less costs and time saving.

Analysis of Roadbed Pavement Designs for Highway Reconstruction and Upgrading

This paper focuses on the route and roadbed pavement design in highway reconstruction and upgrading projects.It discusses the importance of project design for highway reconstruction and upgrading,highlighting key aspects of route design and roadbed pavement design.The analysis reveals that the main design considerations in these projects include controlling factors of route reconstruction,expansion,and upgrading,as well as route plan design and longitudinal section design combined with roadbed pavement.In roadbed pavement design,it is crucial for designers to thoroughly collect existing data and make reasonable use of the current roadbed and pavement to develop a comprehensive design scheme.This analysis aims to provide a reference for the reasonable design of such projects.

A New Result on Regular Designs under Baseline Parameterization

The study on designs for the baseline parameterization has aroused attention in recent years. This paper focuses on two-level regular designs for the baseline parameterization. A general result on the relationship between K-aberration and word length pattern is developed.

Study on Designs of New Ecological Architecture—With Plant Architecture as a Study Case

Through elaborating the concept of plant architecture, analyzing and summarizing its design principles and material selection, this study tries to offer a new approach for architectural designs in China.

Correlation between the rock mass properties and maximum horizontal stress:A case study of overcoring stress measurements

Understanding the mechanical properties of the lithologies is crucial to accurately determine the horizontal stress magnitude.To investigate the correlation between the rock mass properties and maximum horizontal stress,the three-dimensional(3D)stress tensors at 89 measuring points determined using an improved overcoring technique in nine mines in China were adopted,a newly defined characteristic parameter C_(ERP)was proposed as an indicator for evaluating the structural properties of rock masses,and a fuzzy relation matrix was established using the information distribution method.The results indicate that both the vertical stress and horizontal stress exhibit a good linear growth relationship with depth.There is no remarkable correlation between the elastic modulus,Poisson's ratio and depth,and the distribution of data points is scattered and messy.Moreover,there is no obvious relationship between the rock quality designation(RQD)and depth.The maximum horizontal stress σ_(H) is a function of rock properties,showing a certain linear relationship with the C_(ERP)at the same depth.In addition,the overall change trend of σ_(H) determined by the established fuzzy identification method is to increase with the increase of C_(ERP).The fuzzy identification method also demonstrates a relatively detailed local relationship betweenσ_H and C_(ERP),and the predicted curve rises in a fluctuating way,which is in accord well with the measured stress data.

Emerging structures and dynamic mechanisms ofγ-secretase for Alzheimer’s disease

γ-Secretase,called“the proteasome of the membrane,”is a membrane-embedded protease complex that cleaves 150+peptide substrates with central roles in biology and medicine,including amyloid precursor protein and the Notch family of cell-surface receptors.Mutations inγ-secretase and amyloid precursor protein lead to early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease.γ-Secretase has thus served as a critical drug target for treating familial Alzheimer’s disease and the more common late-onset Alzheimer’s disease as well.However,critical gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms of processive proteolysis of substrates,the effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations,and allosteric modulation of substrate cleavage byγ-secretase.In this review,we focus on recent studies of structural dynamic mechanisms ofγ-secretase.Different mechanisms,including the“Fit-Stay-Trim,”“Sliding-Unwinding,”and“Tilting-Unwinding,”have been proposed for substrate proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein byγ-secretase based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations.While an incorrect registry of the Notch1 substrate was identified in the cryo-electron microscopy structure of Notch1-boundγ-secretase,molecular dynamics simulations on a resolved model of Notch1-boundγ-secretase that was reconstructed using the amyloid precursor protein-boundγ-secretase as a template successfully capturedγ-secretase activation for proper cleavages of both wildtype and mutant Notch,being consistent with biochemical experimental findings.The approach could be potentially applied to decipher the processing mechanisms of various substrates byγ-secretase.In addition,controversy over the effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations,particularly the issue of whether they stabilize or destabilizeγ-secretase-substrate complexes,is discussed.Finally,an outlook is provided for future studies ofγ-secretase,including pathways of substrate binding and product release,effects of modulators on familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations of theγ-secretase-substrate complexes.Comprehensive understanding of the functional mechanisms ofγ-secretase will greatly facilitate the rational design of effective drug molecules for treating familial Alzheimer’s disease and perhaps Alzheimer’s disease in general.

On Creative Agritourism Designs in Beijing,China

Concept of agritourism was analyzed and it was stressed that significance of agritourism has been highlighted as the living standards are improved, then concept of creative agritourism design was introduced due to the need of improving grade of agritourism and developing competitive tourism products. Creative design of agritourism was taken as the key point of agritourism planning, its significance was analyzed, and it was stressed that novel, special and comfortable tourist products and experience should be developed. On this basis, agritourism development and problems of Beijing City were introduced, foundation of creative resources in Beijing was analyzed, then content of the creative agritourism design was discussed under supervision principles of natural and cultural creative designs. Creative agritourism design was specifically elaborated from the following aspects:creative and strategic cultural planning, enhancement of humanistic and natural landscapes, constructed landscapes, design of tourism cultures, scientific and technological originality, festival and event planning, planning and design of tourist products, design of propaganda materials and website.

PASS DESIGNS OF 3-ROLL STANDS

The pass design formulae and method of calculation according to the characters of 3-roll stands pass are presented.

Influence of bio-inspired flow channel designs on the performance of a PEM fuel cell

Performance of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)is appreciably affected by the channel geometry.The branching structure of a plant leaf and human lung is an efficient network to distribute the nutrients in the respective systems.The same nutrient transport system can be mimicked in the flow channel design of a PEMFC,to aid even reactant distribution and better water management.In this work,the effect of bio-inspired flow field designs such as lung and leaf channel design bipolar plates,on the performance of a PEMFC was examined experimentally at various operating conditions.A PEMFC of 49 cm2 area,with a Nafion 212 membrane with a 40%catalyst loading of 0.4 mg·cm-2 on the anode side and also 0.6 mg·cm-2 on the cathode side is assembled by incorporating the bio-inspired channel bipolar plate,and was tested on a programmable fuel-cell test station.The impact of the working parameters like reactants’relative humidity(RH),back pressure and fuel cell temperature on the performance of the fuel cell was examined;the operating pressure remains constant at 0.1 MPa.It was observed that the best performance was attained at a back pressure of 0.3 MPa,75°C operating temperature and 100%RH.The three flow channels were also compared at different operating pressures ranging from 0.1 MPa to 0.3 MPa,and the other parameters such as operating temperature,RH and back pressure were set as 75°C,100%and 0.3 MPa.The experimental outcomes of the PEMFC with bio-inspired channels were compared with the experimental results of a conventional triple serpentine flow field.It was observed that among the different flow channel designs considered,the leaf channel design gives the best output in terms of power density.Further,the experimental results of the leaf channel design were compared with those of the interdigitated leaf channel design.The PEMFC with the interdigitated leaf channel design was found to generate 6.72%more power density than the non-interdigitated leaf channel design.The fuel cell with interdigitated leaf channel design generated5.58%more net power density than the fuel cell with non-interdigitated leaf channel design after considering the parasitic losses.

Effects of Biomimetic Surface Designs on Furrow Opener Performance

The effects of biomimetic designs of tine furrow opener surface on equivalent pressure and pressure in the direction of motion on opener surface against soil were studied by finite element method (FEM) simulation and the effects of these designs on tool force and power requirements were examined experimentally.Geometrical structures of the cuticle surfaces of dung beetle (Copris ochus Motschulsky) were examined by stereoscopy.The structures of the cuticle surfaces and Ultra High Mo- lecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) material were modeled on surface of tine furrow opener as biomimetic designs.Seven furrow openers were analyzed in ANSYS program (a FEM simulation software).The biomimetic furrow opener surfaces with UHMWPE structures were found to have lower equivalent pressure and pressure in the direction of motion as compared to the conventional surface and to the biomimetic surfaces with textured steel-35 structures.It was found that the tool force and power were increased with the cutting depth and operating speed and the biomimetic furrow opener with UHMWPE tubular section ridges showed the lowest resistance and power requirement against soil..

Machine-Learning-Assisted Optimization and Its Application to Antenna Designs: Opportunities and Challenges

With the rapid development of modern wireless communications and radar, antennas and arrays are becoming more complex, therein having, e.g., more degrees of design freedom, integration and fabrication constraints and design objectives. While fullwave electromagnetic simulation can be very accurate and therefore essential to the design process, it is also very time consuming, which leads to many challenges for antenna design, optimization and sensitivity analysis(SA). Recently, machine-learning-assisted optimization(MLAO) has been widely introduced to accelerate the design process of antennas and arrays. Machine learning(ML) methods, including Gaussian process regression, support vector machine(SVM) and artificial neural networks(ANNs), have been applied to build surrogate models of antennas to achieve fast response prediction. With the help of these ML methods, various MLAO algorithms have been proposed for different applications. A comprehensive survey of recent advances in ML methods for antenna modeling is first presented. Then, algorithms for ML-assisted antenna design, including optimization and SA, are reviewed. Finally, some challenges facing future MLAO for antenna design are discussed.

Joint Transceiver Designs for Full-Duplex MIMO SWIPT Systems Based on MSE Criterion

For the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer(SWIPT), the full-duplex MIMO system can achieve simultaneous transmission of information and energy more efficiently than the half-duplex. Based on the mean-square-error(MSE) criterion, the optimization problem of joint transceiver design with transmitting power constraint and energy harvesting constraint is formulated. Next, by semidefinite relaxation(SDR) and randomization method, the SDRbased scheme is proposed. In order to reduce the complexity, the closed-form scheme is presented with some simplified measures. Robust beamforming is then studied considering the practical condition. The simulation results such as MSE versus signal-noise-ratio(SNR), MSE versus the iteration number, well prove the performance of the proposed schemes for the system model.

CONSTRUCTING UNIFORM DESIGNS WITH TWO- OR THREE-LEVEL

When the number of runs is large, to search for uniform designs in the sense of low-discrepancy is an NP hard problem. The number of runs of most of the available uniform designs is small （≤50）. In this article, the authors employ a kind of the so-called Hamming distance method to construct uniform designs with two- or three-level such that some resulting uniform designs have a large number of runs. Several infinite classes for the existence of uniform designs with the same Hamming distances between any distinct rows are also obtained simultaneously. Two measures of uniformity, the centered L2-discrepancy （CD, for short） and wrap-around L2-discrepancy （WD, for short）, are employed.

Flag-transitive point-primitive 2-(v,k,4) symmetric designs and two dimensional classical groups

Let D be a 2-（v, k, 4） symmetric design and G be a flag-transitive point-primitive automorphism group of D with X ≥G ≤Aut（X） where X ≌ PSL2（q）.Then D is a 2-（15,8,4） symmetric design with X = PSL2（9） and Xx = PGL2（3） where x is a point of D.

Adaptive designs for sequential experiments

Various adaptive designs have been proposed and applied to clinical trials, bio assay, psychophysics, etc.Adaptive designs are also useful in high cost engineering trials.More and more people have been paying attention to these design methods. This paper introduces several broad families of designs, such as the play-the-winner rule, randomized play-the-winner rule and its generalization to the multi-arm case, doubly biased coin adaptive design, Markov chain model.

Discounted Iterative Adaptive Critic Designs With Novel Stability Analysis for Tracking Control

The core task of tracking control is to make the controlled plant track a desired trajectory.The traditional performance index used in previous studies cannot eliminate completely the tracking error as the number of time steps increases.In this paper,a new cost function is introduced to develop the value-iteration-based adaptive critic framework to solve the tracking control problem.Unlike the regulator problem,the iterative value function of tracking control problem cannot be regarded as a Lyapunov function.A novel stability analysis method is developed to guarantee that the tracking error converges to zero.The discounted iterative scheme under the new cost function for the special case of linear systems is elaborated.Finally,the tracking performance of the present scheme is demonstrated by numerical results and compared with those of the traditional approaches.

APPLICATION OF MINIMUM PROJECTION UNIFORMITY CRITERION IN COMPLEMENTARY DESIGNS

In this article, we consider the characterization problem in design theory. The objective is to characterize minimum projection uniformity for two-level designs in terms of their complementary designs. Here, the complementary design means a design in which all the Hamming distances of any two runs are the same, which generalizes the concept of a pair of complementary designs in the literature. Based on relationships of the uniformity pattern between a pair of complementary designs, we propose a minimum projection uniformity （MPU） rule to assess and compare two-level factorials.