Achieving of sandwich-like laminated composite materials for robust superhydrophobicity, rapid photochromism and photo-mask writable media

Photochromic materials with anti-water properties have impressed practical values, but their applications are severely hindered by poor stability and slow colour-switching rate. Inspired by the superhydrophobicity of lotus leaf and...

Hybrid Transshipment Policy and Ordering Model for Multiple Periods with Customer Switching Behaviour

The interaction of a hybrid transshipment policy and customer switching behaviour will exacerbate the complexity of the structure of a hybrid transshipment policy. To cope with this problem, a discrete-time dynamic programming model framework with customer switching behaviour is developed. Based on this framework, we demonstrate that the retailer can obtain more profits with a hybrid transshipment than without one. Next, the existence of a reactive and preventive transshipment policy is shown, respectively. We further analyse the structural property of the holdback policy of reactive transshipment and give the threshold of customer switching rate when always rejecting the request. Meanwhile, a dominant preventive transshipment policy is formulated by which the retailer can control the inventory regardless of the influence of the preventive transshipment policy of the other as long as the inventory is observed by developing an easy-to-implement optimal hybrid transshipment strategy. In addition, the existence of an ordering Nash equilibrium of two retailers is proven. Then, we also illustrate the existence of a transshipment area and analyse the impact of the transshipment cost and switching rate on ordering, the hybrid transshipment policy, and profit by using numerical examples. Finally, we find that the retailer is more willing to adjust inventory by ordering when there is a lower transshipment price and adjust inventory by hybrid transshipment when there is a higher transshipment price.

Design and Implementation of High Frequency and Low-Power Phase-locked Loop

Phase-locked loop (PLL) operates at a high frequency and due to the increased switching rate of the circuits, the power consumption is high. Designing a PLL which consumes less power without compromising the frequency of operation is essential. The sub-components of PLL such as the phase frequency detector, charge pump, loop filter, voltage-controlled oscillator, and the frequency divider have to be designed for reduced power consumption. The proposed PLL along with its sub-components have been designed using the CMOS 180nm technology library in the Cadence Virtuoso and simulated using Cadence Spectre with a supply voltage of 1.8V resulting in a 20% reduction in power with a higher frequency of operation compared to the reference PLL architecture. The capture range and lock range of the proposed PLL are 2.09 to 2.14 GHz and 1 to 3.5GHz, respectively. The designed PLL consumes less power and operates at a higher frequency.

Absorbed driven diffusion can provide positive heat and work output

We investigate overdamped Brownian motion in a fluctuating potential on a one-dimensional interval bordered by absorbing boundaries. The potential switches randomly between the ∨-shaped and the ∧-shaped form and is symmetric with respect to the origin. We derive exact expressions describing the absorption process, dynamics and stochastic energetics of the particle. The mean absorption time can exhibit a pronounced minimum as the function of the potential switching rate. Moreover, there exists a parameter region where both the output work and the released heat are positive. We give a plausible explanation for this phenomenon based on typical statistical features of absorbed trajectories. The presented analytical method can be generalized to other models based on dichotomous switching between two potential shapes.

Adherence to Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Patients With Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Cross-National Comparison in Six European Countries (2008–2015)

Aims: To describe and compare the adherence to different direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in eight European databases representing six countries.Methods: Longitudinal drug utilization study of new users (≥18 years) of DOACs (dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban) with a diagnosis of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (2008–2015). Adherence was examined by estimating persistence, switching, and discontinuation rates at 12 months. Primary non-adherence was estimated in BIFAP and SIDIAP databases.Results: The highest persistence rate was seen for apixaban in the CPRD database (81%) and the lowest for dabigatran in the Mondriaan database (22%). The switching rate for all DOACs ranged from 2.4 to 13.1% (Mondriaan and EGB databases, respectively). Dabigatran had the highest switching rate from 5.0 to 20.0% (Mondriaan and EGB databases, respectively). The discontinuation rate for all DOACs ranged from 16.0 to 63.9% (CPRD and Bavarian CD databases, respectively). Dabigatran had the highest rate of discontinuers, except in the Bavarian CD and AOK NORDWEST databases, ranging from 23.2 to 64.6% (CPRD and Mondriaan databases, respectively). Combined primary non-adherence for examined DOACs was 11.1% in BIFAP and 14.0% in SIDIAP. There were differences in population coverage and in the type of drug data source among the databases.Conclusion: Despite the differences in the characteristics of the databases and in demographic and baseline characteristics of the included population that could explain some of the observed discrepancies, we can observe a similar pattern throughout the databases. Apixaban was the DOAC with the highest persistence. Dabigatran had the highest proportion of discontinuers and switchers at 12 months in most databases (EMA/2015/27/PH).

The influence of background turbulence on Ahmed-body wake bistability

The discovery of wake bistability has generated an upsurge in experimental investigations into the wakes of simplified vehicle geometries. Particular focus has centred on the probabilistic switching between two asymmetrical bistable wake states of a square-back Ahmed body; however, the majority of this research has been undertaken in wind tunnels with turbulence intensities of less than $1\,\%$ , considerably lower than typical atmospheric levels. To better simulate bistability under on-road conditions, in which turbulence intensities can easily reach levels of $10\,\%$ or more, this experimental study investigates the effects of free-stream turbulence on the bistability characteristics of the square-back Ahmed body. Through passive generation and quantification of the free-stream turbulent conditions, a monotonic correlation was found between the switching rate and free-stream turbulence intensity.

Acute Effect of Betel Quid Chewing on Brain Network Dynamics: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Betel quid (BQ) is one of the most popular addictive substances in the world. However, the neurophysiological mechanism underlying BQ addiction remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether and how BQ chewing would affect brain function in the framework of a dynamic brain network model. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected from 24 male BQ-dependent individuals and 26 male non-addictive healthy individuals before and promptly after chewing BQ. Switching rate, a measure of temporal stability of functional brain networks, was calculated at both global and local levels for each scan. The results showed that BQ-dependent and healthy groups did not significantly differ on switching rate before BQ chewing (F = 0.784, p = 0.381, analysis of covariance controlling for age, education, and head motion). After chewing BQ, both BQ-dependent (t = 2.674, p = 0.014, paired t-test) and healthy (t = 2.313, p = 0.029, paired t-test) individuals showed a significantly increased global switching rate compared to those before chewing BQ. Significant corresponding local-level effects were observed within the occipital areas for both groups, and within the cingulo-opercular, fronto-parietal, and cerebellum regions for BQ-dependent individuals. Moreover, in BQ-dependent individuals, switching rate was significantly correlated with the severity of BQ addiction assessed by the Betel Quid Dependence Scale scores (Spearman's rho = 0.471, p = 0.020) before BQ chewing. Our study provides preliminary evidence for the acute effects of BQ chewing on brain functional dynamism. These findings may provide insights into the neural mechanisms of substance addictions.

Epigenetically Inherited Mutation Rates Predicted to Maximize Adaptation Rates

The mutation rate is an important determinant of evolutionary dynamics. Because the mutation rate determines the rate of appearance of beneficial and deleterious mutations, it is subject to second-order selection. The mutation rate varies between and within species and populations, increases under stress, and is genetically controlled by mutator alleles. The mutation rate may also vary among genetically identical individuals: empirical evidence from bacteria suggests that the mutation rate may be affected by translation errors and expression noise in various proteins (1). Importantly, this non-genetic variation may be heritable via transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Here we investigate how the inheritance mode of the mutation rate affects the rate of adaptive evolution on rugged fitness landscapes. We model an asexual population with two mutation rate phenotypes, non-mutator and mutator. An offspring may switch from its parental phenotype to the other phenotype. The rate of switching between the mutation rate phenotypes is allowed to span a range of values. Thus, the mutation rate can be interpreted as a genetically inherited trait when the switching rate is low, as an epigenetically inherited trait when the switching rate is intermediate, or as a randomly determined trait when the switching rate is high. We find that epigenetically inherited mutation rates result in the highest rates of adaptation on rugged fitness landscapes for most realistic parameter sets. This is because an intermediate switching rate can maintain the association between a mutator phenotype and pre-existing mutations, which facilitates the crossing of fitness valleys. Our results provide a rationale for the evolution of epigenetic inheritance of the mutation rate, suggesting that it could have been selected because it facilitates adaptive evolution.