To determine the patterns and influencing factors of the mechanical properties of millet stems from different varieties during the maturity period, this study employed a complete block experiment method and conducted shearing and bending tests on millet stems using the INSTRON5544 electronic universal material testing machine. The research investigated the variation in the shear strength, specific shear energy, bending strength, elastic modulus, and bending stiffness at different internode positions of the stems of Changza 466, Zhangza 16, and Jingu 21 during their maturity period. The results indicated that the variety had a significant impact on the mechanical properties of millet stems: from largest to smallest, the order of shear and bending forces was Jingu 21, Zhangza 16, and Changza 466. The shear strength and bending strength of Jingu 21 were the greatest among the three stem samples. The internode position significantly affected the shear mechanical properties of the millet stems, showing a general trend of decreasing shear strength with ascending internode position. The effect of the internode position on the bending stiffness was highly significant, whereas its impact on the bending strength and elastic modulus was not significant. The shear strength of the millet stems ranged from 3.866 ± 1.086 to 6.953 ± 2.208 MPa, significantly lower than the bending strength, which ranged from 18.934 ± 4.374 to 34.286 ± 6.875 MPa. The lowest shear strength and specific shearing energy, recorded at the fifth internode, were 4.028 ± 1.918 MPa and 15.097 ± 12.633 MJ/mm², respectively. Jingu 21 and Changza 466 exhibit better lodging resistance than Zhangza 16. It is recommended to use a cutting-type platform for harvesting millet stems, with the cutting height set at the fifth internode position. This study provides a theoretical basis for the design of millet harvesting machinery and the selection of harvest parameters. Full article

Blockchain-based battery tracking offers solutions to issues like information asymmetry, counterfeit battery risk, and technical barriers in assessing battery condition. This paper aims to identify the drivers behind manufacturers adopting blockchain for battery tracking and assess whether a mutually beneficial outcome exists. We develop a game model featuring two competing manufacturers, and extend it to include asymmetric competition and battery quality considerations. Equilibrium solutions reveal two main incentives for manufacturers to adopt blockchain: reverse profit compensation and enhancement of battery quality. Blockchain traceability facilitates retired battery recovery in a large-scale market, even when adoption costs outweigh reuse savings and collection prices are low. If one manufacturer implements blockchain, reducing blockchain costs or expanding the market can lead to a “win-win” outcome for competitors. Our findings offer novel managerial insights into manufacturers’ blockchain adoption decisions. Full article

Kombucha is a traditional beverage obtained by the microbial fermentation of tea using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts. In addition to several documented functional properties, such as anti-inflammatory activity and antioxidant activity, kombucha is often credited with high levels of vitamins, including riboflavin. To our knowledge, the vitamin B2 content in traditionally prepared kombucha has been determined in only two studies, in which the concentration measured by the HPLC technique ranged from 2.2 × 10⁻⁷ to 2.1 × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³. These unexplained differences of three orders of magnitude in the vitamin B2 content prompted us to determine its concentration during the cultivation of kombucha under very similar conditions by spectrofluorimetry. The B2 concentrations during the 10-day fermentation of black tea ranged from 7.6 × 10⁻⁸ to 3.3 × 10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³. Full article

Huge amounts of Au and Ag are recovered from the hazardous waste lead anode slime. The conventional extraction of precious metals from lead anode slime is based on pyrometallurgical and electrolytic processes, which are seriously conditioned by the separation of harmful elements As and Sb. In this paper, an innovative and efficient oxidation–vacuum volatilization–carbon reduction process was proposed to separate and enrich Ag and Au from lead anode slime. Before vacuum volatilization, selective oxidation of the lead anode slime was performed. Then, vacuum volatilization and vacuum carbon reduction were used to obtain a gold- and silver-rich alloy. The feasibility of the process was verified experimentally and theoretically. The effects of temperature and time on vacuum volatilization separation and reduction enrichment were investigated. The experimental results showed that the Ag content in the resulting gold- and silver-rich alloy was as high as 67.58%, Au was as high as 4287 g/t, and the efficiencies for the recovery of Ag and Au from the lead anode slime were 99.25% and 99.91%, respectively. The gold- and silver-rich alloy can be directly used to produce Ag ingots. Moreover, no gas or wastewater was discharged in this process, so Ag and Au were recovered in a sustainable and cleaner manner. Full article

The lab-made ferrite-aluminium layered double oxide (Fe/Al LDO) nanoparticles were used as reinforcement in the production of copper matrix composite coatings via the electrodeposition route in this study. The Cu coatings electrodeposited galvanostatically without and with low concentrations of Fe/Al LDO nanoparticles were characterized by SEM (morphology), AFM (topography and roughness), XRD (phase composition and texture), Vickers microindentation (hardness), and the static sessile drop method (wettability). All Cu coatings were fine-grained and microcrystalline with a (220) preferred orientation, with a tendency to increase the grain size, the roughness, and this degree of the preferred orientation with increasing the coating thickness. The cross-section analysis of coatings electrodeposited with Fe/Al LDO nanoparticles showed their uniform distribution throughout the coating. Hardness analysis of Cu coatings performed by application of the Chicot-Lesage (C-L) composite hardness model showed that Fe/Al LDO nanoparticles added to the electrolyte caused a change of the composite system from “soft film on hard cathode” into “hard film on soft cathode” type, confirming the successful incorporation of the nanoparticles in the coatings. The increase in roughness had a crucial effect on the wettability of the coatings, causing a change from hydrophilic reinforcement-free coatings to hydrophobic coatings obtained with incorporated Fe/Al LDO nanoparticles. Full article

Achieving precise individual localization within densely crowded scenes poses a significant challenge due to the intricate interplay of occlusions and varying density patterns. Traditional methods for crowd localization often rely on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to generate density maps. However, these approaches are prone to inaccuracies stemming from the extensive overlaps inherent in dense populations. To overcome this challenge, our study introduces the Hierarchical Inverse Distance Transformer (HIDT), a novel framework that harnesses the multi-scale global receptive fields of Pyramid Vision Transformers. By adapting to the multi-scale characteristics of crowds, HIDT significantly enhances the accuracy of individual localization. Incorporating Focal Inverse Distance techniques, HIDT adeptly addresses issues related to scale variation and dense overlaps, prioritizing local small-scale features within the broader contextual understanding of the scene. Rigorous evaluation on standardized benchmarks has unequivocally validated the superiority of our approach. HIDT exhibits outstanding performance across various datasets. Notably, on the JHU-Crowd++ dataset, our method demonstrates significant improvements over the baseline, with MAE and MSE metrics decreasing from 66.6 and 253.6 to 59.1 and 243.5, respectively. Similarly, on the UCF-QNRF dataset, performance metrics increase from 89.0 and 153.5 to 83.6 and 138.7, highlighting the effectiveness and versatility of our approach. Full article

Insect development is intricately governed by hormonal signaling pathways, yet the pivotal upstream regulator that potentiates hormone activation remains largely elusive. The migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, exhibits population density-dependent phenotypic plasticity, encompassing traits such as flight capability, body coloration, and behavior. In this study, we elucidated a negative correlation between population density and ontogenetic development during the nymphal stage of locusts. We found that the level of density influences the developmental trajectory by modulating transcript abundance within the ecdysone signaling pathway, with knockdown of the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) resulting in developmental delay. Transcriptomic analysis of locust brains across solitary and gregarious phases revealed significant differential expression of genes involved in various pathways, including protein synthesis, energy metabolism, hormonal regulation, and immunity. Notably, knockdown experiments targeting two energy regulators, adipokinetic hormone (AKH) and insulin-like polypeptide 1 (ilp1), failed to elicit changes in the developmental process in solitary locusts. However, knockdown of immunoglobulin (IG) significantly shortened the developmental time in higher-density populations. Collectively, our findings underscore the regulatory role of population density in determining developmental duration and suggest that an immune-related gene contributes to the observed differences in developmental patterns. Full article

Developing highly active and durable platinum-based catalysts is crucial for electrochemical renewable energy conversion technologies but the limited supply and high cost of platinum have hindered their widespread implementation. The incorporation of non-noble metals, particularly copper, into Pt catalysts has been demonstrated as an effective solution to reduce Pt consumption while further promoting their performance, making them promising for various electrocatalytic reactions. This review summarizes the latest advances in PtCu-based alloy catalysts over the past several years from both synthetic and applied perspectives. In the synthesis section, the selection of support and reagents, synthesis routes, as well as post-treatment methods at high temperatures are reviewed. The application section focuses not only on newly proposed electrochemical reactions such as nitrogen-related reactions and O₂ reduction but also extends to device-level applications. The discussion in this review aims to provide further insights and guidance for the development of PtCu electrocatalysts for practical applications. Full article

This article discusses the impact of the aggressive environment on the pattern of pore distribution, strength, and mass absorption of investigated samples. For this purpose, a physical and numerical research model has been developed based on Fick’s second law and Zhurcov’s theory. Consequently, computer tomography research revealed that pore redistribution was revealed in test samples due to exposure. The degradation model is proposed assuming that in the first stage of interaction between concrete constructions and aggressive medium, the product of interaction is accumulated in the surface of structures and pores. Interaction products in the form of needle-shaped crystals grow in time and create additional stress in the body of the structure, resulting in partial distribution of the surface of the structure due to the growth. In this state, the excretion of dissolved substances (in the form of citrate and calcium acetate), leaching of Ca(OH)₂, and decalcination of CSH lead to a decrease in the strength of cement stone. Based on the developed numerical models, the dependences of aggressive environment impact on the on the parameters of the structure of cement composites at different exposure times were obtained. For the samples obtained during the activation of Portland cement in the electromagnetic mill, energy parameters of the destruction process are 1.85–2.2 times heavier than the control compositions. The samples obtained by activating Portland cement in the electromagnetic mill have a higher susceptibility to an aggressive environment (they absorb 1.8 times more energy per unit of time for structure transformation). However, the higher U-energy barrier (1.85 times greater than the control composition) provides both a longer term of exploitation and a lower kinetics of the change in the strength of the material. Full article

The railway fastener, as a crucial component of railway tracks, directly influences the safety and stability of a railway system. However, in practical operation, fasteners are often in low-light conditions, such as at nighttime or within tunnels, posing significant challenges to defect detection equipment and limiting its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. To address this issue, this study proposes an unsupervised low-light image enhancement algorithm, CES-GAN, which achieves the model’s generalization and adaptability under different environmental conditions. The CES-GAN network architecture adopts a U-Net model with five layers of downsampling and upsampling structures as the generator, incorporating both global and local discriminators to help the generator to preserve image details and textures during the reconstruction process, thus enhancing the realism and intricacy of the enhanced images. The combination of the feature-consistency loss, contrastive learning loss, and illumination loss functions in the generator structure, along with the discriminator loss function in the discriminator structure, collectively promotes the clarity, realism, and illumination consistency of the images, thereby improving the quality and usability of low-light images. Through the CES-GAN algorithm, this study provides reliable visual support for railway construction sites and ensures the stable operation and accurate operation of fastener identification equipment in complex environments. Full article

The interaction of programmed death-1 (PD-1) on T lymphocytes with its ligands Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) and Programmed Death Ligand 2 (PD-L2) on tumor cells and/or tumor-associated macrophages results in inhibitory signals to the T-cell receptor pathway, consequently causing tumor immune escape. PD-L1/PD-L2 are currently used as predictive tissue biomarkers in clinical practice. Virtually PD-L1 levels expressed by tumor cells are associated with a good response to immune checkpoint blockade therapies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. These therapies restore T-cell antitumor immune response by releasing T-lymphocytes from the inhibitory effects of tumor cells. Immune checkpoint therapies have completely changed the management of patients with solid cancers. This therapeutic strategy is less used in hematological malignancies, although good results have been achieved in some settings, such as refractory/relapsed classic Hodgkin lymphoma and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma. Variable results have been obtained in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphomas. Immunohistochemistry represents the main technique for assessing PD-L1 expression on tumor cells. This review aims to describe the current knowledge of PD-L1 expression in various types of lymphomas, focusing on the principal mechanisms underlying PD-L1 overexpression, its prognostic significance and practical issues concerning the evaluation of PD-L1 immunohistochemical results in lymphomas. Full article

In this work, we analyzed the morphology and genetic structure of Teucrium montanum, T. capitatum and their hybrid T. × rohlenae from three syntopic populations. A morphometric study showed that the parents and their hybrids exhibited continuous morphological variation, with the hybrid positioned exactly between the parents. Genetic analysis revealed that plants morphologically identified as T. × rohlenae are fertile hybrids that produce hybrid swarms dominated by later-generation hybrids. This suggests that introgression, rather than speciation, is the more likely outcome of hybridization between these plant species. The extent and direction of gene flow between the two species differed markedly between the three syntopic localities. At the Trilj locality, it was clearly unidirectional, with T. capitatum playing the dominant role. At the Sićevo locality, gene flow was slightly asymmetric, favoring the genetic background of T. capitatum, while at the Sliven site, it was completely asymmetric in the opposite direction. The extreme case of unidirectional gene flow was observed at the Trilj locality where plants morphologically identified as T. montanum could not be genetically distinguished from T. capitatum. This suggests that interspecific hybridization occurred long ago, leading to introgression and cryptic hybrids, blurring of species boundaries and generating evolutionary noise. Full article

Heifer conception rate to the first service (HCR1) is defined as the number of heifers that become pregnant to the first breeding service compared to the heifers bred. This study aimed to identify loci associated and gene sets enriched for HCR1 for heifers that were bred by artificial insemination (AI, n = 2829) or were embryo transfer (ET, n = 2086) recipients, by completing a genome-wide association analysis and gene set enrichment analysis using SNP data (GSEA-SNP). Three unique loci, containing four positional candidate genes, were associated (p < 1 × 10⁻⁵) with HCR1 for ET recipients, while the GSEA-SNP identified four gene sets (NES ≥ 3) and sixty-two leading edge genes (LEGs) enriched for HCR1. While no loci were associated with HCR1 bred by AI, one gene set and twelve LEGs were enriched (NES ≥ 3) for HCR1 with the GSEA-SNP. This included one gene (PKD2) shared between HCR1 AI and ET services. Identifying loci associated or enriched for HCR1 provides an opportunity to use them as genomic selection tools to facilitate the selection of cattle with higher reproductive efficiency, and to better understand embryonic loss. Full article

Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been increasingly recognized for its capability to study microstructural changes in the neuropathology of brain diseases. However, the optimal DTI metric and its diagnostic utility for a variety of spinal cord diseases are still under investigation. Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of DTI metrics for differentiating between cervical spondylosis, myelitis, and spinal tumors. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed DTI scans from 68 patients (22 with cervical spondylosis, 23 with myelitis, and 23 with spinal tumors). DTI indicators, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD), were calculated. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare these indicators, followed by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of each indicator across disease pairs. Additionally, we explored the correlations of DTI indicators with specific clinical measurements. Results: FA values were significantly lower in tumor patients compared to those with cervical spondylosis (p < 0.0001) and myelitis (p < 0.05). Additionally, tumor patients exhibited significantly elevated MD and RD values relative to the spondylosis and myelitis groups. ROC curve analysis underscored FA’s superior discriminative performance, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.902 for differentiating tumors from cervical spondylosis, and an AUC of 0.748 for distinguishing cervical myelitis from spondylosis. Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was observed between FA values and Expanded Disability Status Scores (EDSSs) in myelitis patients (r = −0.62, p = 0.002), as well as between FA values and Ki-67 scores in tumor patients (r = −0.71, p = 0.0002). Conclusion: DTI indicators, especially FA, have the potential in distinguishing spondylosis, myelitis, and spinal cord tumors. The significant correlation between FA values and clinical indicators highlights the value of FA in the clinical assessment and prognosis of spinal diseases and may be applied in diagnostic protocols in the future. Full article

In the past, scholars have studied the creep of UHPC, mainly in compression and tension but not bending creep. In this research, 20 ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) beams were tested for bending creep under long-term loading, and the changes of beam deflection, temperature, and humidity with time were obtained for 445 days of continuous loading. The deflection patterns of UHPC beams with time were analyzed for different steel fiber content, curing systems, water/binder ratio, sand/binder ratio, and stress levels. The results showed that steel fiber had an obvious inhibition effect on initial deflection, but a dosage of steel fiber too high would offset part of the inhibition effect of steel fiber on creep. The use of heat treatment had a better inhibition of creep in the later stage of UHPC, but heat treatment must be matched with necessary moisture content, and hot water maintenance was the most efficient. Both a high water/binder ratio and high stress level increased the bending creep of the specimen. Bending creep increased with the increase in the sand/binder ratio. Therefore, attention should be paid to the total amount and ratio of cementitious materials and fine aggregates in UHPC. Full article

The misdiagnosis of headache disorders is a serious issue, and AI-based headache model diagnoses with external validation are scarce. We previously developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based headache diagnosis model using a database of 4000 patients’ questionnaires in a headache-specializing clinic and herein performed external validation prospectively. The validation cohort of 59 headache patients was prospectively collected from August 2023 to February 2024 at our or collaborating multicenter institutions. The ground truth was specialists’ diagnoses based on the initial questionnaire and at least a one-month headache diary after the initial consultation. The diagnostic performance of the AI model was evaluated. The mean age was 42.55 ± 12.74 years, and 51/59 (86.67%) of the patients were female. No missing values were reported. Of the 59 patients, 56 (89.83%) had migraines or medication-overuse headaches, and 3 (5.08%) had tension-type headaches. No one had trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias or other headaches. The models’ overall accuracy and kappa for the ground truth were 94.92% and 0.65 (95%CI 0.21–1.00), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F values for migraines were 98.21%, 66.67%, 98.21%, and 98.21%, respectively. There was disagreement between the AI diagnosis and the ground truth by headache specialists in two patients. This is the first external validation of the AI headache diagnosis model. Further data collection and external validation are required to strengthen and improve its performance in real-world settings. Full article

The blood counts of α thalassemia carriers (α-thal) are similar to those of β thalassemia carriers, except for Hemoglobin A₂ (Hb A₂), which is not elevated. The objective of this study was to determine whether mathematical formulas are effective for detecting suspected α-thal. The data were obtained from the database of the prevention program for detecting couples at risk for having a child with hemoglobinopathy. Red Blood Cells (RBC) indices were analyzed using mathematical formulas, and the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. Among 1334 blood counts suspected of α-thal analyzed, only the Shine and Lal and the Support Vector Machine formulas revealed high sensitivity and NPV. Sensitivity was 85.54 and 99.33%, and NPV was 98.93 and 99.93%, respectively. Molecular defects were found in 291, and 81 had normal α genes. Molecular analysis was not performed in 962 of the samples. Based on these results, mathematical formulas incorporating one of these reliable formulas for detecting suspected α or β thalassemia carriers in the program of the automatic analyzers can flag these results, increase the awareness of the primary physicians about the carrier risk, and send an alert with a recommendation for further testing. Full article

In response to the global rise in antibiotic resistance and the prevalence of bacterial biofilm-related infections, the antibacterial efficacy of methanolic, ethanolic, and aqueous extracts of 18 Lamiaceae plants from Serbia was evaluated. The total coumarins and triterpenes were detected spectrophotometrically, while a microdilution assay measured their effects on bacterial growth. Additionally, the impact of these extracts was assessed on Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 adhesion and invasion in human fibroblasts and biofilm formation and degradation. The alcoholic extracts had the highest phytochemical content, with Teucrium montanum and Lavandula angustifolia being the richest in coumarins and triterpenes, respectively. Gram-positive bacteria, particularly Bacillus subtilis, were more susceptible to the extracts. Hyssopus officinalis ethanolic and Sideritis scardica methanolic extracts inhibited bacterial growth the most efficiently. Although the extracts did not inhibit bacterial adhesion, most ethanolic extracts significantly reduced bacterial invasion. Origanum vulgare and H. officinalis ethanolic extracts significantly inhibited biofilm formation, while Teucrium chamaedrys extract was the most active in biofilm degradation. This study significantly contributes to the literature by examining the antibacterial activity of Lamiaceae extracts, addressing major literature gaps, and underscoring their antibacterial potential, particularly Satureja montana and O. vulgare ethanolic extracts, linking their efficacy to coumarins and triterpenes. Full article

The requirement for high-performance and energy-saving materials motivated the researchers to develop novel composite materials. This investigation focuses on utilizing aluminum alloy (A383) as the matrix material to produce hybrid metal matrix composites (HMMCs) incorporating boron carbide (B₄C) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) through a cost-effective stir casting technique. The synthesis of HMMCs involved varying the weight fractions of B₄C (2%, 4%, and 6%) and MWCNT (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%). The metallographic study was carried out by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) mapped with EDS analysis. The results indicated a uniform dispersion and robust interfacial interaction between aluminum and the reinforced particles, significantly enhancing the mechanical properties. Micro-hardness and wear characteristics of the fabricated HMMCs were investigated using Vickers microhardness testing and the pin-on-disc tribometer setup. The disc is made of hardened chromium alloy EN 31 steel of hardness 62 HRC. The applied load was varied as 10N, 20N, 30N with a constant sliding speed of 1.5 m/s for different sliding distances. The micro-hardness value of composites reinforced with 1.5 wt% MWCNT and 6 wt% B₄C improved by 61% compared to the base alloy. Additionally, the wear resistance of the composite material improved with increasing reinforcement content. Incorporating 1.5% CNT and 6% B₄C as reinforcements results in the composite experiencing about a 40% reduction in wear loss compared to the unreinforced aluminum alloy matrix. Furthermore, the volumetric wear loss of the HMMCs was critically analyzed with respect to different applied loads and sliding distances. This research underscores the positive impact of varying the reinforcement content on the mechanical and wear properties of aluminum alloy-based hybrid metal matrix composites. Full article

High-molecular-weight poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-lactide) (PLLA-PEG-PLLA) is a flexible and biodegradable bioplastic that has promising potential in flexible food packaging but it has no antibacterial ability. Thus, in this work, the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnOs) which have antimicrobial activity on various properties of PLLA-PEG-PLLA was determined. The addition of nano-ZnOs enhanced the crystallization, tensile, UV-barrier, and antibacterial properties of PLLA-PEG-PLLA. However, the crystallization and tensile properties of nanocomposite films decreased again as the nano-ZnO increased beyond 2 wt%. The nano-ZnO was well distributed in the PLLA-PEG-PLLA matrix when the nano-ZnO content did not exceed 2 wt% and exhibited some nano-ZnO agglomerates when the nano-ZnO content was higher than 2 wt%. The thermal stability and moisture uptake of the PLLA-PEG-PLLA matrix decreased and the film’s opacity increased as the nano-ZnO content increased. The PLLA-PEG-PLLA/ZnO nanocomposite films showed good antibacterial activity against bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. It can be concluded that nano-ZnOs can be used as a multi-functional filler of the flexible PLLA-PEG-PLLA. As a result, the addition of nano-ZnOs as a nucleating, reinforcing, UV-screening, and antibacterial agent in the flexible PLLA-PEG-PLLA matrix may provide protection for both the food and the packaging during transportation and storage. Full article

In numerical simulations, achieving high accuracy without significantly increasing computational cost is often a challenge. To address this issue, this paper proposes an improved finite volume Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) scheme for structured grids. By employing a single-point quadrature rule to perform flux integration on the control volume faces, this scheme is designed for use in NUAA-Turbo three-dimensional fluid solvers based on structured grids, utilizing RANS and RANS/LES coupling to simulate turbomachinery flows. Firstly, the new WENO scheme is validated against classical numerical test cases to evaluate its stability and reliability in handling discontinuities, double Mach reflection problems, and Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability. Compared to the original scheme, this improved finite-volume WENO scheme demonstrates better stability near discontinuities and more effectively resolves flow features at the same grid resolution. Next, for engineering applications related to turbomachinery, such as compressor and turbine characteristics, calculations using RANS are performed and the results obtained with WENO-ZQ3 and WENO-JS3 are compared. Finally, the new fifth-order WENO scheme is applied to RANS/LES coupling simulations of turbine wake and film cooling. The results indicate that the improved finite-volume WENO scheme provides better stability and accuracy in engineering applications. For instance, the average error in calculating compressor efficiency characteristics is reduced from 0.76% to 0.05%, the error in turbine vane pressure distribution compared to the experimental values is within 1%, and the error in film cooling efficiency centerline distribution compared to the experimental values is within 3%. Additionally, the qualitative results of turbine wake and film cooling show that even with a small number of grid points, more detailed flow physics can be captured, thereby reducing computational costs in aerodynamic applications. Full article

In the last decades, electromechanical actuators started to be introduced in transport aircraft for primary and secondary flight control surfaces. Some innovative architectures have been proposed in the literature to use these actuators for high-lift devices (flaps and slats). The state-of-the-art architecture is built with a central mechanical shaft powered by a power distribution unit connected to ballscrew actuators that actuate the flap and slat surfaces. New innovative concepts have the potential to improve the state-of-the-art architectures. However, there is a lack of quantitative results for such innovative architectures. A new methodology is proposed to preliminarily estimate performance and reliability aspects of conventional and innovative architectures. This allows quantitative comparisons to finally be obtained. The methodology is applied to a new architecture that uses electromechanical actuators for flaps and slats, providing results in terms of performance and reliability and comparing them to the current state-of-the-art high-lift devices. Results show that the new architecture is lighter than the reference one and can be more reliable. This is achieved thanks to the removal of the mechanical links among components, which allows each control surface to be deployed independently from the others. This highly increases the operational reliability of the system. Two cases are analyzed, with and without actuator jamming. This provides more realistic results since this failure mode is currently the main reason why electromechanical actuators are not being used for more applications. The innovative architecture outperforms the conventional one in the case where the electromechanical actuators are not affected by the jamming failure mode. Full article