A Hybrid Algorithm for Gas Source Locating Based on Unmanned Vehicles in Dynamic Gas Environment

A new method for locating hazardous gas source based on unmanned vehicles is presented in this paper. Based on the gas sensors and unmanned vehicles, the research on the gas source location algorithm, using the gas concentration of several detection sites as heuristic information, is carried out. When the available information is less, such that the gas diffusion model is unknown, the algorithm can locate the gas leakage source quickly. The proposed algorithm combines particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Nelder–Mead simplex method. Compared with the standard PSO, the proposed algorithm has fewer iterations and faster convergence speed. Finally, the feasibility of the algorithm is verified by digital simulation experiments

Assessment of a 10-year dog deworming programme on the transmission of Echinococcus multilocularis in Tibetan communities in Sichuan Province, China

International audienceHuman alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is considered a neglected zoonotic disease by the World Health Organization (WHO). The causative pathogen, Echinococcus multilocularis, lives as an adult tapeworm in the intestinal tract of canines. AE was identified as an emerging public health issue in Tibetan communities of Shiqu County 20 years ago. On St. Lawrence Island, Alaska (USA), in the 1980s peri-domestic transmission of E. multilocularis was controlled by regular deworming of owned dogs over a 10-year period. In Tibetan communities, on the Tibetan Plateau, control of E. multilocularis transmission is challenging due to the continental setting, complex epidemiology, disease ecology, geography, and socio-cultural factors. However, a control programme based on deworming owned dogs using praziquental (PZQ) has been carried out since 2006. Assessment was conducted in townships where baseline data were available 10 years prior. Purging of dogs by oral administration of arecoline was used to measure E. multilocularis prevalence, trapping small mammals around communities was employed to assess the change in infection of pikas and voles, and analyis of human AE abdominal ultrasound-based data was used to understand the change in prevalence in the past decade. After 10 years (2006-2016) of deworming owned dogs (definitive host) to control the disease, assessment was conducted in townships where baseline data were available. In all three evaluated townships, the E. multilocularis prevalence in owned dogs was significantly (P<0.01) reduced from 7.23% (25/346) during 2000-2003 to 0.55% (1/181) in 2016. Human AE ultrasound-based prevalence (adjusted for age and sex) in five evaluated townships decreased significantly (P<0.01) from 6.25% (200/3,198) during 2000-2002 to 3.67% (706/19,247) during 2015-2017. The 2016 prevalence of E. multilocularis metacestodes in small mammal intermediate hosts was not significantly different from the prevalence in 2008. The control programme was effective in reducing E. multilocularis infection in owned dogs and human AE prevalence, but did not significantly impact infection in wildlife intermediate hosts

Oxidation-resistant all-perovskite tandem solar cells in substrate configuration

The superstate configuration in all-perovskite tandem solar cells is disadvantageous for long-term stability. Here, the authors reverse the processing order and demonstrate substrate configuration to bury oxidizable narrow-bandgap perovskites, and achieve efficiency of 25.3% with long stability