When Internet of Things meets Metaverse: Convergence of Physical and Cyber Worlds

In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) is studied in the context of the Metaverse to provide users immersive cyber-virtual experiences in mixed reality environments. This survey introduces six typical IoT applications in the Metaverse, including collaborative healthcare, education, smart city, entertainment, real estate, and socialization. In the IoT-inspired Metaverse, we also comprehensively survey four pillar technologies that enable augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), namely, responsible artificial intelligence (AI), high-speed data communications, cost-effective mobile edge computing (MEC), and digital twins. According to the physical-world demands, we outline the current industrial efforts and seven key requirements for building the IoT-inspired Metaverse: immersion, variety, economy, civility, interactivity, authenticity, and independence. In addition, this survey describes the open issues in the IoT-inspired Metaverse, which need to be addressed to eventually achieve the convergence of physical and cyber worlds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

STUDY ON LOW SPEED IMPACT PERFORMANCE OF FIBER-METAL LAMINATES

Two kinds of aluminum alloy sheets, AL5052 and AL6061, and basalt fiber cloth are selected to be laid as symmetrical and alternate layers to manufacture fiber-metal laminates with different structures. The bending and low-speed impact performance of the laminate structure are tested and compared; the laminate low-speed impact simulation model is established to study the influence of laminates fiber layup methods on the low-speed impact resistance; the thickness of aluminum alloy plates were optimized with multiple objectives to obtain the best thickness values of each layer of aluminum alloy plates; the optimal laminate structure is applied to the external panel of a car door for column collision simulation analysis. The results show: compared with the original door, the energy absorption characteristics and weight reduction effect of the fiber metal laminate door have been improved obviously

Measurement and Correlation of the Solubility of β-Cyclodextrin in Different Solutions at Different Temperatures and Thermodynamic Study of the Dissolution Process

A new improved formulation was studied to improve the rehydration properties of freeze-dried dumplings. To provide basic data for industrial applications, the solubility capabilities of β-Cyclodextrin in sucrose, NaCl, and a mixed solution were measured at temperatures ranging from 303.15 to 353.15 K using a laser monitoring method. The experimental values indicated that the solubility of β-Cyclodextrin in solvents increased with increasing temperature. The simplified Apelblat model, Apelblat model, and λh model were employed to analyze the experimental results using correlation tests. The relative average deviation (RAD) values between the experimental and calculated values were less than 0.095, 0.075, and 0.103 for the simplified Apelblat equation, Apelblat equation, and λh equation, respectively. Apparent thermodynamic analysis of β-Cyclodextrin dissolution was also performed at the mean temperature using the model parameters of Apelblat equation. Furthermore, thermodynamic properties of the solution process, including the enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy, were also calculated and analyzed. This study provides the basic data for applications in industrial production, and is specifically of great significance for the improved formulation of freeze-dried dumplings

The Impact of Accessibility of Urban Central Parks on Housing Prices of Fuzhou

The paper analysed the impact of accessibility of urban parks within the third ring on housing prices of Fuzhou through network analysis and SPSS correlation analysis based on data of sources like remote-sensing image, web crawling and urban road network, discovering that: (1)The density of residence within the third ring of Fuzhou decreases from the centre to the edges; (2) The housing price, ranging between 18000 and 28000 RMB/ m2, peaks in the city centre; (3) For houses within the third ring of Fuzhou, Gulou District enjoys the greatest access to urban parks while Cangshan District is the poorest in this regard. (4) The residence within the third ring of Fuzhou could be rated as A or A- in terms of access to urban parks, with an overall excellence performance; (5) The walking distance to the parks is significantly correlated with the housing price. The shorter the distance, the higher the price. Regarding this, the paper proposed the following suggestions: (1) Revise the routes to Gaogai Mountain Park by increasing entrances and exists to improve its accessibility; (2) Improve the transportation network and increase footpaths to the park, thus shortening the distance between the park and the surrounding residences

Gender differences in the relationship between alcohol consumption and insomnia in the northern Chinese population.

BackgroundInsomnia is one of the main symptoms of sleep disorders. Previous studies have suggested that alcohol intake is associated with several adverse health outcomes. The association between alcohol consumption and insomnia has been addressed in several studies with different results. However, whether gender may modify the association between alcohol consumption and insomnia is not clear. This study will focus on gender differences in the relationship between alcohol consumption and insomnia.MethodsThe final study includes 8081 subjects aged between 18 and 65 years from the Jidong cohort. The data on alcohol consumption is collected by questionnaires, and insomnia problems are assessed using the entire 8-item Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS-8). Logistic analysis is used to evaluate the association between alcohol consumption and insomnia.ResultsAmong the 8081 participants in this study, 2618 (32.4%) are alcohol drinkers, including 2424 males and 194 females. The prevalence of insomnia is 9.6% in the male and 10.6% in the female. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of mild-to-moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers for insomnia are 1.27 (1.02-1.58) and 1.02 (0.79-1.32), respectively. Heavy alcohol consumption is significantly correlated with insomnia in the female, after controlling for potential confounding factors (OR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.28-3.49, p for interaction = 0.002).ConclusionA significant association between alcohol consumption and insomnia is found in females, but not in males from the northern Chinese population

Ultrastructure of Placenta of Gravidas with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Objectives. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) leads to an abnormal placental environment which may cause some structural alterations of placenta and affect placental development and function. In this study, the ultrastructural appearances of term placentas from women with GDM and normal pregnancy were meticulously compared. Materials and Methods. The placenta tissues of term birth from 10 women with GDM and 10 women with normal pregnancy were applied with the signed informed consent. The morphology of fetomaternal interface of placenta was examined using light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results. On LM, the following morphological changes in villous tissues were found in the GDM placentas when compared with the control placentas: edematous stroma, apparent increase in the number of syncytial knots, and perivillous fibrin deposition. On TEM, the distinct ultrastructural alterations indicating the degeneration of terminal villi were found in the GDM placentas as follows: thickening of the basal membrane (BM) of vasculosyncytial membrane (VSM) and the VSM itself, significantly fewer or even absent syncytiotrophoblastic microvilli, swollen or completely destroyed mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, and syncytiotrophoblasts with multiple vacuoles. Conclusion. Ultrastructural differences exist between GDM and control placentas. The differences of placenta ultrastructure are likely responsible for the impairment of placental barrier and function in GDM

A Comprehensive 6A Framework for Improving Patient Self-Management of Hypertension Using mHealth Services: Qualitative Thematic Analysis

BackgroundHypertension affects over 15% of the world’s population and is a significant global public health and socioeconomic challenge. Mobile health (mHealth) services have been increasingly introduced to support hypertensive patients to improve their self-management behaviors, such as adherence to pharmacotherapy and lifestyle modifications. ObjectiveThis study aims to explore patients’ perceptions of mHealth services and the mechanisms by which the services support them to self-manage their hypertension. MethodsA semistructured, in-depth interview study was conducted with 22 outpatients of the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from March to May 2019. In 2015, the hospital introduced an mHealth service to support community-dwelling outpatients with self-management of hypertension. Content analysis was conducted by following a grounded theory approach for inductive thematic extraction. Constant comparison and categorization classified the first-level codes with similar meanings into higher-level themes. ResultsThe patient-perceived mechanisms by which the mHealth service supported their self-management of hypertension were summarized as 6A: access, assessment, assistance, awareness, ability, and activation. With the portability of mobile phones and digitization of information, the mHealth service provided outpatients with easy access to assess their vital signs and self-management behaviors. The assessment results gave the patients real-time awareness of their health conditions and self-management performance, which activated their self-management behaviors. The mHealth service also gave outpatients access to assistance, which included health education and self-management reminders. Both types of assistance could also be activated by abnormal assessment results, that is, uncontrolled or deteriorating blood pressure values, discomfort symptoms, or not using the service for a long period. With its scalable use to handle any possible information and services, the mHealth service provided outpatients with educational materials to learn at their own pace. This led to an improvement in self-management awareness and ability, again activating their self-management behaviors. The patients would like to see further improvements in the service to provide more useful, personalized information and reliable services. ConclusionsThe mHealth service extended the traditional hypertension care model beyond the hospital and clinician’s office. It provided outpatients with easy access to otherwise inaccessible hypertension management services. This led to process improvement for outpatients to access health assessment and health care assistance and improved their awareness and self-management ability, which activated their hypertension self-management behaviors. Future studies can apply the 6A framework to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of mHealth services for outpatients to self-manage chronic conditions

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Expressions of VEGF-A and VEGFR-2 in placentae from GDM pregnancies

The detailed clinical information of 10 cases for TEM exam from each group. (DOCX 15 kb