Trueratliff0569
The results indicate that under a high initial quantum concentration (e.g., 0.3 q/m3) and no protective measures, SS WR control underestimates the required ventilation rate. The ventilation energy consumption of NSS control is up to 2.5 times as high as that of the SS control.Mathematical programming and meta-heuristics are two types of optimization methods. Meta-heuristic algorithms can identify optimal/near-optimal solutions by mimicking natural behaviours or occurrences and provide benefits such as simplicity of execution, a few parameters, avoidance of local optimization, and flexibility. Many meta-heuristic algorithms have been introduced to solve optimization issues, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Studies and research on presented meta-heuristic algorithms in prestigious journals showed they had good performance in solving hybrid, improved and mutated problems. This paper reviews the sparrow search algorithm (SSA), one of the new and robust algorithms for solving optimization problems. This paper covers all the SSA literature on variants, improvement, hybridization, and optimization. According to studies, the use of SSA in the mentioned areas has been equal to 32%, 36%, 4%, and 28%, respectively. The highest percentage belongs to Improved, which has been analyzed by three subsections Meat-Heuristics, artificial neural networks, and Deep Learning.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began, there were significant concerns for the strength and stability of the emergency medical services (EMS) workforce. These concerns were heightened with the closure of examination centers and the cessation of certification examinations. The impact of this interruption on the EMS workforce is unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on initial EMS certification in the United States. In addition, we evaluated mitigation measures taken to address these interruptions.
This study was a cross-sectional evaluation of the National Certification Cognitive Examination administration and results for emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic candidates. We compared the number of examinations administered and first-attempt pass rates in 2020 (pandemic) to 2019 (control). Descriptive statistics and 2 one-sided tests of equivalence were used to assess if there was a relevant difference of ±5 percentage points.
Total number of examinations administered decreased ssessed. These reductions indicate a potential decrease in the newly certified workforce, but future evaluations will be necessary to assess the presence and magnitude of this impact.
Aquatic macrophyte species abundance and nutrient affinity are used in metrics to assess the trophic condition of lakes and rivers. The development of these indices is often regional, with inter-regional comparisons being complicated by the lack of taxonomic overlap. Here, we use a traits-based approach to expand the geographic scope of existing metrics.
We generalized European trophic affinity values using the response of plant growth form to the light-nutrient gradient, then applied these values to sites in Canada. We evaluated the method's performance against the measured total phosphorus concentration (TP).
Free-floating and emergent growth forms were associated with enriched waters (>0.2 mg/L TP), whereas rosette forms were associated with oligotrophic conditions (<0.05 mg/L TP). The responses were longitudinally consistent, and the site scores among indices were highly collinear. Growth form-based scores were more strongly correlated with TP than were species-based scores (0.42-0.56 versus 0.008-0.25).
We leveraged the ecological relationship between increased surface water nutrient enrichment and the dominance of particular aquatic plant growth forms to generalize aquatic plant trophic indices. We demonstrated an approach for adapting species-based indices to plant traits to facilitate a broader geographic application and simpler data collection, which could be used to develop an easily applied trait-based method of assessing water nutrient status.
We leveraged the ecological relationship between increased surface water nutrient enrichment and the dominance of particular aquatic plant growth forms to generalize aquatic plant trophic indices. We demonstrated an approach for adapting species-based indices to plant traits to facilitate a broader geographic application and simpler data collection, which could be used to develop an easily applied trait-based method of assessing water nutrient status.
Seed recruitment niches along estuarine elevation gradients are seldom experimentally field-tested under tidal regimes of the Pacific Northwest of North America. Addressing this knowledge gap is important to better understand estuary restoration and plant community response to sea level rise.
Germination was tested in marsh organ mesocosms across an elevation gradient (0.5-1.7 m above mean sea level). Seeds were sown on sterile peat moss, and the tops of pipes were secured with horticultural "frost cloth" to ensure no experimental seeds were washed out and no new seeds were introduced. The trials tested artificial and overwinter chilling regimes, as well as the presence and/or absence of a near-neighbor transplant.
had significant elevation-driven germination after overwinter and artificial chilling.
had near-significant germination across elevation after overwinter chilling, and germination in the absence of competition was significantly greater than with a near-neighbor transplant.
had the highest germination rate at higher elevations, which suggests restricted seed recruitment potential and required clonal expansion to extend into lower marsh elevations. selleck kinase inhibitor Identifying species-specific recruitment niches provides insight for restoration opportunities or invasive species monitoring, as well as for estuary migration under sea level rise.
Carex lyngbyei had the highest germination rate at higher elevations, which suggests restricted seed recruitment potential and required clonal expansion to extend into lower marsh elevations. Identifying species-specific recruitment niches provides insight for restoration opportunities or invasive species monitoring, as well as for estuary migration under sea level rise.
A novel control technique was developed to mitigate an invasive siphonous green alga,
(Dichotomosiphonaceae), within a shallow degraded reef flat in O'ahu, Hawai'i.
Replicated treatments of 3% and 10% hydrogen peroxide (H
O
) were administered into individual basal attachments of the bed-forming invasive seaweed on the Paikō reef, O'ahu. Relative electron transport rate maxima (rETR
) were measured using a Walz Diving Pulse Amplitude Modulated Fluorometer in two replicate 100-m
plots in 2020. Over the period of this short-term study, rETR
decreased following injections of either concentration of H
O
in contrast with negative and positive controls.
Compared with existing techniques that have used oxidizing agents in the marine environment in localized areas, the protocol described here has the potential to successfully decrease macroalgal carbon gain, potentially leading to loss of biomass at larger scales.
Compared with existing techniques that have used oxidizing agents in the marine environment in localized areas, the protocol described here has the potential to successfully decrease macroalgal carbon gain, potentially leading to loss of biomass at larger scales.
Invasive plants in wetlands are often ecosystem engineers, mediating changes in ecosystem functions like trophic support. We documented the impacts of
, an invasive plant, on the food web of omnivorous birds (Suisun song sparrows,
) in a tidal wetland of northern California, USA.
We used analysis of natural abundance stable isotopes of
C and
N in song sparrow blood, invertebrate food sources,
seeds, and other marsh plant seeds to inform Bayesian, concentration-dependent mixing models that predicted average song sparrow diets.
Season and plant phenology influenced food source incorporation and isotopic signatures. Song sparrows showed higher isotopic variability in the summer. The observed changes in song sparrow diets were driven by altered invertebrate communities related to seasonal
presence and by shifts from seeds to consumption of invertebrate food sources during the breeding season in the spring and summer.
This study used stable isotope tools and modeling to demonstrate two mechanisms of isotopic influence by
on omnivorous song sparrows. This study can inform site- and species-specific management strategies by demonstrating how changes to the plant community can impact entire trophic systems.
This study used stable isotope tools and modeling to demonstrate two mechanisms of isotopic influence by L. latifolium on omnivorous song sparrows. This study can inform site- and species-specific management strategies by demonstrating how changes to the plant community can impact entire trophic systems.
To explore the feasibility and safety of using the left lateral decubitus position (LLDP) to perform laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) for the treatment of hepatic lesions in segment VI and/or VII.
Clinical data concerning 50 patients underwent LLR including 25 patients in the LLDP and the other 25 patients in the routine operative position (ROP) at Shulan (Hangzhou) Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Shuren University Shulan International Medical College (Hangzhou, China) and Shulan (Quzhou) Hospital between March 2019 and May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. All of the patients underwent LLR while in the LLDP or the ROP for the treatment of hepatic lesions located in segment VI and/or VII.
The preoperative clinical and laboratory parameters were comparable between the two groups (P > 0.05). All patients completed the surgery successfully. There were two patients required conversion to open resection in the ROP comparing with zero in the LLDP. The mean operative time was 256.9 ± 132.7 minutes in LLDP and 255.7 ± 92.1 minutes in ROP, while the median perioperative blood loss was 100 mL (range 50-300 mL) in LLDP and 200 mL (range 50-425 mL), respectively. The postoperative pathological examination showed that margin-negative resection was achieved all of the cases. The important postoperative parameters all returned to normal within five days after the LLR. The mean postoperative hospital stay (15.6 vs 19.3 days; p < 0.05) and the extraction of the drainage tube time (7.8 vs 10.4 days; p < 0.05) were shorter for patients in LLDP.
The LLDP represents a safe and feasible position for performing LLR in selected patients with lesions in segment VI and/or VII. LLR in the LLDP is helpful in terms of the exposure of the surgical field and the recovery of the patient.
The LLDP represents a safe and feasible position for performing LLR in selected patients with lesions in segment VI and/or VII. LLR in the LLDP is helpful in terms of the exposure of the surgical field and the recovery of the patient.
Fewer than 50% of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) recover spontaneously, and without liver transplantation, ACLF is associated with high death rates. Nitric oxide (NO) has a role in the pathogenesis of various liver disorders. We investigated if serum NO level could be used as a biomarker to predict the severity and prognosis of patients with ACLF.
Between January 2018 and September 2020, a retrospective cohort of 120 ACLF patients, as well as healthy and cirrhotic controls, was investigated. The serum NO levels were measured using a commercial ELISA kit, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted.
ACLF patients had significantly higher serum NO levels than healthy and cirrhotic controls. Multivariate analysis indicated that the serum NO level (HR=1.078, 95% CI 1.031-1.126,
<0.01), as well as the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, may be an affordable, easily available, and significant independent predictive marker for mortality. In ACLF patients, a serum NO level of > 53.
