Strong aftershocks traffic light system: A case study of the 8 January 2022 MS6.9 Menyuan earthquake, Qinghai Province, China

Strong aftershocks, especially the disaster-causing M≥5.0 kind, are a key concern for mitigation of seismic risks because they often lead to superimposed earthquake damage. However, the real-time forecasting results of the traditional probability prediction models based on statistics are usually far from accurate and therefore unsatisfactory. Borrowing an idea from the foreshock traffic light system (FTLS), which is based on observations of decreasing b-values or increasing differential stress just before a strong aftershock, we constructed a strong aftershock traffic light system (SATLS) that uses data-driven technology to improve the reliability of time sequence b-value calculations, and analyzed the b-value variations of strong aftershocks in the China continent. We applied this system to the MS6.9 Menyuan earthquake occurred on 8 January 2022. The earthquake occurrence rates before the largest aftershock (MS5.2) forecast by the Omi-R-J model were too low, although the model could accurately forecast aftershock rates for each magnitude interval in most time-periods. However, reliable b-values can be calculated using the time-sequence b-value data-driven (TbDD) method, and the results showed that the b-values continued declining from 1.3 days before the MS5.2 aftershock and gradually recovered afterward. This would suggest that the stress evolution in the focal area can provide data for deciding when to post risk alerts of strong aftershocks. In the process of building the SATLS, we studied thirty-four M≥6.0 intraplate earthquake sequences in the China continent and concluded that the differences between the b-values of the aftershock sequences and of the background events, △b = bafter - bbg = ±0.1, could be used as thresholds to determine whether M≥5.0 aftershocks would occur. The △b value obtained using the events before the MS5.2 aftershock of the MS6.9 Menyuan sequence was about -0.04, which would have caused the SATLS to declare a yellow alert, but there would have been some gap expected before a red alert was triggered by the b-value difference derived from the events associated with this strong aftershock. To accurately forecast a strong aftershock of M≥5.0, a deeper understanding of the true b-value and a detailed description of the stress evolution state in the source area is necessary

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Vision based eccentricity measurement of auto-hub and its simulation

Conference Name:2012 2nd International Conference on Frontiers of Manufacturing Science and Measuring Technology, ICFMM 2012. Conference Address: Xi'an, China. Time:June 12, 2012 - June 13, 2012.Control Engineering and Information Science Research Association; Int. Front. Sci. Technol. Res. Assoc.; Trans Tech Publications; Chin-Yi University of TechnologyA machine vision based measurement system of auto-hub's eccentricity between the center circle and the pitch circle of bolt holes is proposed in this article. Pictures of all bolt holes are shot when the auto-hub is rotating. The eccentricity can be calculated by tiling these pictures to a global image. There are some error factors in the system such as run-out of rotation center, inclined platform, rotation angle error, tilted auto-hub's surface, roundness of the center hole and angle between bolt holes uneven. Mathematical models of these error factors are studied. By stimulating all these error factors, run-out of rotation center has the greatest impact and some key parameters are given in mechanical system design. 漏 (2012) Trans Tech Publications

Solution-processed bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on an oligothiophene derivative

Organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells based on a dicyanovinyl-substituted oligothiophene as a donor and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as an acceptor were fabricated and characterized. The oligothiophene derivative can absorb long wavelength photons of the solar radiation, which makes the solar cells with an optimized weight ratio of 1:1.4 have a decent short-circuit current density (12.4 mA/cm(2)) and open-circuit voltage (0.88 V) under AM 1.5G illumination with an intensity of 100 mW/cm(2). A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.7% is achieved, which is among the best PCEs of solution processed small molecule BHJ solar cells.Original Publication:Bin Yin, Liying Yang, Yongsheng Liu, Yongsheng Chen, Qingjin Qi, Fengling Zhang and Shougen Yin, Solution-processed bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on an oligothiophene derivative, 2010, Applied Physics Letters, (97), 2, 023303.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3460911Copyright: American Institute of Physicshttp://www.aip.org

Relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality along the elevation gradient in alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Exploring the spatial pattern of biodiversity in different dimensions and its relationship with ecosystem multifunctionality was one of the hot topics in ecological research, and elevation was an important topographic factor affecting biodiversity changes. The maintenance mechanism of ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) relationship between different dimensions of biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality in alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was still unclear. This paper investigates the elevation patterns of species, functions, and phylogenetic diversity of plant communities in alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their effects on EMF using factor analysis and the radial basis function (RBF) neural network model. The results showed that (1) the species and phylogenetic diversity indices (except MPD index) increased and then decreased with elevation; the functional diversity indices FRic and FEve showed a decreasing trend with elevation, while FDiv showed the opposite. (2) Ecosystem multifunctional indices for the five elevation gradients were 3000 m > 3250 m > 3500 m > 3750 m > 4000 m. There were significant correlations between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Species richness, Simpson, FRic, and FDiv increased with increasing EMF, but the relationship between phylogenetic diversity and EMF was insignificant. (3) Among the biodiversity indices, species richness and functional richness indices had a greater impact on EMF and were also important drivers to explain changes in EMF, followed by PD indices. The high biodiversity of alpine meadows can contribute to the supply of multifunctional ecosystems, making them healthier and more stable

Vision-based deformation measurement of loaded Three-Ring Chain

Conference Name:2nd International Conference on Mechatronics and Intelligent Materials 2012, MIM 2012. Conference Address: GuiLin, China. Time:May 18, 2012 - May 19, 2012.The deformation measurement of loaded Three-Ring Chains is of great significance for production safety. In this study, a machine vision system for measuring deformation of loaded Three-Ring chains is developed. The measuring system uses a back diffuse light illumination and a CMOS industrial camera. A measurement algorithm based on sub-pixel edge extraction, contour segmentation, contour fitting is designed. The system can measure the long axis length of outer diameter (OLL) of the each ring of loaded three-ring chains. For the visual system, the absolute error is 0.004 mm, the standard deviation is 0.0024 mm. For the whole system, the absolute error is less than 0.015 mm, the relative error to the full-length of chain is less than 0.25 %, the relative error to the total amount of the stretching deformation is less than 2%. 漏 (2012) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland