Cooperative Search by Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Nonconvex Environment

This paper presents a distributed cooperative search algorithm for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with limited sensing and communication capabilities in a nonconvex environment. The objective is to control multiple UAVs to find several unknown targets deployed in a given region, while minimizing the expected search time and avoiding obstacles. First, an asynchronous distributed cooperative search framework is proposed by integrating the information update into the coverage control scheme. And an adaptive density function is designed based on the real-time updated probability map and uncertainty map, which can balance target detection and environment exploration. Second, in order to handle nonconvex environment with arbitrary obstacles, a new transformation method is proposed to transform the cooperative search problem in the nonconvex region into an equivalent one in the convex region. Furthermore, a control strategy for cooperative search is proposed to plan feasible trajectories for UAVs under the kinematic constraints, and the convergence is proved by LaSalle’s invariance principle. Finally, by simulation results, it can be seen that our proposed algorithm is effective to handle the search problem in the nonconvex environment and efficient to find targets in shorter time compared with other algorithms

Clinical and molecular profiling of EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinomas transformation to small cell lung cancer during TKI treatment

IntroductionSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) transformation serves as a significant mechanism of resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. To address this clinical challenge, we conducted a retrospective analysis at Zhejiang University School of Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital, focusing on patients with EGFR sensitizing mutations.MethodsA total of 1012 cases were included in this retrospective analysis. The cohort primarily consisted of patients with EGFR sensitizing mutations. Biopsy-confirmed small cell transformation was observed in seven patients, accounting for 0.7% of the cases. All patients in this subset were initially diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma (ADC), with four cases classified as poorly differentiated and three as moderately to poorly differentiated ADC. EGFR exon 19 deletions were identified in five of these cases. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed on seven cases, revealing mutations in the tumor protein p53 (TP53) gene in four cases and loss of the retinoblastoma1 (RB1) gene in three cases.ResultsThe median duration from the initial diagnosis to small cell transformation was 35.9 months (interquartile range: 12.1–84 months). Following small cell transformation during EGFR inhibition, all patients received etoposide/platinum-based treatment, leading to a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 4.7 months (interquartile range: 2.7–10.1 months). Notably, most patients in this series had poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas at the outset. TP53 mutations and RB1 loss were common genetic alterations observed in patients with small cell transformation in this cohort.DiscussionThe findings underscore the clinical significance of SCLC transformation as a resistance mechanism to EGFR TKIs in NSCLC with EGFR mutations. The observed genetic alterations, including TP53 mutations and RB1 loss, suggest potential associations with the transformation process and warrant further investigation. Understanding the genetic landscape and clinical outcomes in patients experiencing small cell transformation can contribute to improved strategies for managing resistance in EGFR-mutant NSCLC

Growth of large-area single- and bi-layer graphene by controlled carbon precipitation on polycrystalline Ni surfaces

We report graphene films composed mostly of one or two layers of graphene grown by controlled carbon precipitation on the surface of polycrystalline Ni thin films during atmospheric chemical vapor deposition(CVD). Controlling both the methane concentration during CVD and the substrate cooling rate during graphene growth can significantly improve the thickness uniformity. As a result, one- or two- layer graphene regions occupy up to 87% of the film area. Single layer coverage accounts for 5-11% of the overall film. These regions expand across multiple grain boundaries of the underlying polycrystalline Ni film. The number density of sites with multilayer graphene/graphite (>2 layers) is reduced as the cooling rate decreases. These films can also be transferred to other substrates and their sizes are only limited by the sizes of the Ni film and the CVD chamber. Here, we demonstrate the formation of films as large as 1 in2. These findings represent an important step towards the fabrication of large-scale high-quality graphene samples

The Influence of Brand Logo Frame on Brand Character and Consumer’s Brand Evaluation

This paper proposes that the different border shapes of brand logos (rectangle and rounded rectangle) cause the differences in the evaluation of brand personality by consumers, which further affects the evaluation of brand by consumers. At the same time, this process is regulated by product category. If product category and brand personality are in the same direction, the border shape of brand logo will generate positive brand evaluation. In this paper, two experiments were designed to verify the hypothesis respectively and to guess the results of data analysis. However, due to the time problem, complete data has not been collected for analysis. This paper provides marketing inspiration for brand identification and deepens the related research on brand identification and brand evaluation

MS data (part 2) of compounds from the culture broth of T.versicolor and G.applanatum

MS data (part 2) of compounds from the culture broth of T.versicolor and G.applanatum <br

The impact of continuity of care on quality of life in children with asthma : A literature review

Aim: To describe the impact of continuity of care on the quality of life in children withasthma.Methods: This is a descriptive literature review, which includes qualitative research onthe changes in the quality of life of asthma children aged 0-18 years under the influenceof nursing continuity. The two authors ultimately searched for 9 matching articles usingPubMed and Cinahl and analyzed and summarized the data through a literature review.Results: Through the summary and analysis of the selected 9 articles, it was found thatcontinuity of care has a certain positive effect on improving the quality of life ofchildren with asthma.Discussion: The results of this review indicate that continuity of care may be positiveand effective in improving the quality of life of children with asthma. Nurses candevelop plans based on the different situations of different patients, carry out differentforms of continuity of care, and propose specific intervention measures to make thecontinuity of care more specific, thereby better improving their quality of life.Keywords: Continuity of care; Quality of life; Children with asthma