Reveal flocking of birds flying in fog by machine learning

We study the first-order flocking transition of birds flying in low-visibility conditions by employing three different representative types of neural network (NN) based machine learning architectures that are trained via either an unsupervised learning approach called "learning by confusion" or a widely used supervised learning approach. We find that after the training via either the unsupervised learning approach or the supervised learning one, all of these three different representative types of NNs, namely, the fully-connected NN, the convolutional NN, and the residual NN, are able to successfully identify the first-order flocking transition point of this nonequilibrium many-body system. This indicates that NN based machine learning can be employed as a promising generic tool to investigate rich physics in scenarios associated to first-order phase transitions and nonequilibrium many-body systems.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Possible open-charmed pentaquark molecule Ωc(3188)\Omega_c(3188) --- the DΞD \Xi bound state --- in the Bethe-Salpeter formalism

We study the $S$-wave $D\Xi$ bound state in the Bethe-Salpeter formalism in the ladder and instantaneous approximations. With the kernel generated by the hadronic effective Lagrangian, two open-charmed bound states, which quantum numbers are $I=0$, $J^P=(\frac{1}{2})^-$ and $I=1$, $J^P=(\frac{1}{2})^-$, respectively, are predicted as new candidates of hadronic pentaquark molecules in our formalism. If existing, they could contribute to the broad 3188 eV structure near the five new narrow $\Omega_c$ states observed recently by the LHCb Collaboration.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Impulsive problems for fractional differential equations with boundary value conditions

AbstractWe consider impulsive problems for a fractional differential equation with boundary value conditions. Natural formulae of a solution for our problem are introduced, which can be regarded as a novelty item. Some related new existence results are established by applying fixed point methods via a generalized singular Gronwall inequality. Examples are given to illustrate the results

Dipsacus asperoides (Xue Duan) inhibits spinal cord injury-induced inflammatory responses in rats

Purpose: To investigate the effect of Dipsacus asperoides (Xue Duan), a traditional Chinese medicine, on rats with spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods: In this study a total of 40 adult rats were used after inducing SCI where Xue Duan was applied on experimental group and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was administered in corresponding control groups. Intraperitoneal administration of both compounds for a period of four weeks (28 days) was carried out at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day. Bright field microscopy was performed on the tissues.Results: Bright Field microscopy of tissue sections showed significant reduction in cavity area that resulted from injury, that is from 0.19 ± 0.05 mm2 to 0.09 ± 0.03 mm2 (p < 0.01) in untreated and treated groups respectively. Similarly western blotting results showed a decrease in the expression of NF-kB p65 and I-kBα (p < 0.01). These two compounds are important in increasing secondary pathophysiology in SCI. The results for MPO activity also revealed significantly reduced infiltration of leukocytes to the injury site (p < 0.01).Conclusion: This study reveals the positive effect of the plant material in reducing inflammation in rats with traumatic SCI.Keywords: IKK/NF-kB pathway, MPO activity, Spinal cord injury, Inflammation, Xue Duan, Dipsacus asperoide

Effects of Dynamic Icons on the Perceived Usability in the Travel App

With the advancements in hardware and information technology, the use of dynamic icons in travel app interfaces to convey information has become increasingly common. The goal is to provide users with a novel experience that was not available in the static interfaces of the past. However, it remains unclear whether the availability and utilization of dynamic icons actually enhance the usability of apps and if it is done with genuine consideration for users\u27 benefit. This study aims to investigate how users perceive and use dynamic icons in the context of human-computer interaction, using a travel app as the research object. We propose a user-centered subjective and objective hybrid evaluation methodology to examine the perceived usability of dynamic icons, taking into account different evaluation characteristics at various usability levels. Our results indicate no significant statistical difference between the perceived usability of dynamic icons and static icons. We employed two indicators, perceived ease and subjective priority, to evaluate the perceived usability of dynamic icons. The findings show that the perceived ease of dynamic icons is higher than that of static icons, with an increase of 3.72% (I) and 3.09% (II) in respective studies, but with a reduction of 13.19% compared to static icons in study III. We conclude that although the perceived usability of dynamic icons may not be significantly different from static icons, they exhibit higher objective usability in users\u27 decision-making behavior

Ehrenfest's scheme and microstructure for regular-AdS black hole in the extended phase space

The regular (Bardeen)-AdS (BAdS) black hole (BH) in the extended phase space is taken as an example for investigating the BH phase transition grade from both macroscopic and microscopic points of view. The equation of state and thermodynamic quantities of this BH are obtained. It is found that the BAdS BH phase space in the extended phase space should be a second-order phase transition near the critical point by verifying the Ehrenfest's equation, and the possibility of its first-order phase transition can be ruled out by the entropy continuity and the heat capacity mutation. The critical exponents from the microscopic structure are analytically and numerically presented with the Landau continuous phase transition theory by introducing a microscopic order-parameter.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure