This work presents a compact microwave sensor for noninvasive blood glucose monitoring based on a substrate-integrated waveguide loaded with a complementary split-ring resonator on RO4350. The sensing principle uses shifts in resonance frequency and changes in S-parameters to track the dielectric dispersion of glucose-containing tissue. The resonator is constructed using Substrate-Integrated Waveguide (SIW) technology, which mimics the propagation characteristics of a conventional rectangular waveguide. To validate its versatility, the sensor implements three practical sample delivery modes: direct liquid contact with the sensing surface, a glass tube holder mounted over the active region, and a non-invasive fingertip interface. Electromagnetic simulations and benchtop measurements confirm clear glucose-dependent frequency shifts with stable matching and insertion levels. Across the physiological range of 20 to 200 mg·dL⁻¹, the sensor exhibits clear glucose-dependent resonance shifts in all configurations. In direct contact mode, the resonance frequency shifts from 10.83 GHz to 10.45 GHz with sensitivities up to 2.47 MHz per mg·dL⁻¹. The tube configuration shows a shift from 10.49 GHz to 10.38 GHz with sensitivity up to 0.80 MHz per mg·dL⁻¹, while reducing contamination. In the non-invasive fingertip mode, the resonance shifts from 2.56 GHz to 2.52 GHz with sensitivities up to 0.25 MHz per mg·dL⁻¹. These results confirm the sensor’s compactness, reliability, and suitability for portable, low-cost glucose monitoring. The results indicate that the proposed sensor can support practical continuous or spot monitoring and offers a clear path toward portable and low-cost glucose assessment.

Homogeneously charged compression ignition is a promising combustion process that is proven to increase combustion efficiency and decrease exhaust emissions when compared to Otto or Diesel engine efficiencies and emissions. The HCCI process can be considered an advancement on the path to sustainability. However, improper control of the start of combustion causes the efficiency of the engine to drop significantly. The reason for this efficiency drop is that an early start of combustion causes the piston on the upward stroke to experience increased cylinder pressure after the combustion process is complete. The piston must further compress the cylinder content until it reaches the top dead center. During this process, the piston still experiences an increased gas force on the way towards TDC, having to invest extra disadvantageous work into the compression stroke, causing a negative work area in the pressure–volume diagram of the engine. The present study introduces the negative work area in the p-V diagram of an HCCI engine. It describes the phenomenon and explores the reasons behind it. It also investigates some of the factors affecting the negative work area in the p-V diagram.

Nowadays, data sets are spreading continually, generated by different devices and systems. In most cases, these data are stored, and the service providers don't use the information they contain, what even more they delete these data to save space. However, these data are processable with the modern devices and methods, and we can use them for obtaining information. This paper presents a possible application of the digital raw materials, taking the public transport passengers boarding and alighting information as a base. Based on these, we are able to deduce the characteristics of the stop point's environment since the different land usage yields dissimilar stop usage with well-defined peak hours. With the help of distance measurement and classification techniques it is possible to define how similar are the stop points to predefined patterns and we can create stop point groups which define separated zones. The paper shows a usage method of distance measurement methods and classification in public transportation and presents the background of this kind of land-use zone distribution technic.

Capabilities of the auditory memory system were tested in a serious game application developed for the Android mobile platform. Participants played the well-known game of finding pairs by flipping and remembering objects on cards arranged in a matrix structure. Visual objects were replaced by iconic auditory events (auditory icons, earcons). Total time and different error rates were recorded and the effect of training was also evaluated. Results indicate that training contributes to a better performance and human voice samples are the easiest to remember.

The design of inductors is not an easy and cheap task considering the dimensions, the nominal value of inductance, the quality factor and the impedance of the component. Before the beginning of manufacturing a new type of inductors, a lot of trial components have to produce, have to measure and have to try out. Finite element modeling is a well-tried process to examine engineering products before manufacturing them. To reduce the cost and the time of the design process, in the paper a finite element model has been built up to simulate inductors. In the paper the model is presented, which is able to simulate the important attributes of the component, for example the inductance, the impedance and the quality factor. The comparison of the experimental and the simulated attributes of the inductor will also be shown. By using the built up model the development possibilities of the inductor have been examined through the modification of the winding.

In this study reliability based limit analysis is used to determine the ultimate capacity of laterally loaded piles. The aim of this study is to evaluate the lateral load capacity of free-head and fixed-head long pile when plastic limit analysis is considered. In addition to the plastic limit analysis to control the plastic behaviour of the structure, uncertain bound on the complementary strain energy of the residual forces is also applied. This bound has significant effect for the load parameter. The solution to reliability-based problems is based on a direct integration technique and the uncertainties are assumed to follow Gaussian distribution. The optimization procedure is governed by the reliability index calculation.

Background: PT (Patellar Tendinopathy) is a degenerative disorder of the tendons induced via extended overstretching or overuse of the tendons instead than usual inflammation. In the past, humans have centered on a number of strategies of treating PT such as ultrasound and surgical treatment. However, they did no longer genuinely consider the effectiveness of eccentric, isometric, or HSR (Heavy Slow Resistance Training) education for PT; They did now not really outline the stage of PT to beautify the uniformity of the find out about participants; They did no longer immediately examine the affects of isometric, eccentric, and HSR training. This systematic assessment chosen eccentric, isometric, and heavy gradual resistance coaching for the remedy of patellar tendinopathy and their respective prognostic effects will supply valuable, top notch evidence-based insights as properly as vital facts and advice for future scientific administration of patellar tendinopathy. Methods: A thorough and comprehensive search was conducted across the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases, encompassing a wide range of relevant journals and sources, in order to perform a rigorous systematic review and network meta-analysis, ensuring the inclusion of all pertinent and high-quality studies. The selected studies satisfied predetermined eligibility requirements, which included: (1) PT patients included in the studies; (2) use of eccentric, isometric, and heavy slow resistance training as interventions; and (3) evaluation of VISA-P (Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment Patella Questionnaire) outcome measures. The effect magnitude was measured using the standard mean difference. The risk of bias inherent in each of the studies that were meticulously selected and included in the comprehensive analysis was rigorously evaluated and assessed using the well-established Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, ensuring the robustness and reliability of the research findings. Results: Three scientific databases yielded a total of 1460 studies, of which 7 were included in the final analysis. The findings indicated that eccentric training (0.01 in Rank 1 and 0.06 in Rank 8) is the worst method for increasing VISA-P level in patients with patellar tendinopathy, while moderate resistance slow training (0.25) and Rank 1 and Rank 8 are the best options. Conclusions: While heavy slow resistance is more suited for attaining long-term improvements in knee function, progressive tendon-loading exercises combined with isometric training or moderate slow resistance training are more beneficial than eccentric training alone. Eccentric training gives a greater range of exercise venues and doesn't require any additional training equipment. The inability to directly compare the effects of heavy slow, eccentric, and isometric resistance training constitutes a significant drawback of this review. This limitation stems from the scarcity of research that compares the outcomes of these various therapeutic approaches. To address this constraint, future research endeavors should strive to conduct comparative studies of these strategies. By doing so, they can aim to bridge this evaluation gap and facilitate a more effective and comprehensive assessment of their respective efficacies.

The idea of multi-hazard interactions and risk assessment, particularly in relation to both natural hazards and hazards triggered by anthropogenic processes, has been widely used, especially in recent decades. Numerous areas worldwide, as well as various sectors, face exposure to multiple hazards. These hazards encompass natural phenomena like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and more. In comparison, the human-induced or anthropogenic processes associated with infrastructure development, along with other potential human activities such as, land and cover use change, contribute to the overall hazard landscape. Both natural hazards and anthropogenic-induced directly led to infrastructure collapse and loss of functionality with other consequences for human lives, economy, beside the environment impacts. Limited studies have been conducted on the implementation of the comprehensive multi-hazard interaction approach, which is globally or regionally required, along with detailed studies on the interaction between different multi-hazard sources and their interrelationships in short-term or long-term scenarios. The current research aims to review previous literature and studies on the multi-hazard interaction approach, methodologies of visualization and classification, as well as explores the potential of multi-hazard associated with road networks, infrastructures, and dams. The research utilizes simulation various models and tools such as, Geographic Information System (GIS) beside Remote Sensing (Rs) techniques. The current study concludes that using multi-hazard maps, hazard matrix, and fragility curves represents highly valuable and very useful and flexible tools for implementing and visualization hot spot areas exposure by multi-hazard consequences and vulnerability analysis for short and long-term scenarios. In addition, the current review highlighted for development a holistic conceptual framework for multi-hazard and risk assessment associated with hydraulic structures such as dams, road networks and infrastructures with hazard exposure analysis to be used as tools for a decision support system (DSS) in order to develop urban resilience, risk management and hazard mitigations.

Background: Sustainability in supply chain management (SCM) practices is becoming increasingly important as environmental responsibility and social concerns, as well as enterprises’ competitiveness in terms of innovation, risk, and economic performance, become increasingly urgent. This paper aims to identify and prioritize concepts for implementing sustainable supply chains, drawing on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and green supply chain management (GSCM) techniques. Corporate supply chain managers across various industries, markets, and supply chain segments brainstormed management practices to enhance the sustainability of their supply chains. Four industry sectors were surveyed across five different value chain segments. Methods: A group concept mapping (GCM) approach incorporating multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used. A hierarchy of practices is proposed, and hypotheses are developed about achievability and impact. Results: A decision-making matrix prioritizes eight solution concepts based on two axes: impact (I) and ease of implementation (EoI). Conclusions: Eight concepts are prioritized based on the optimal effectiveness of implementing the solutions. Pattern matching reveals differences between emerging and developed markets, as well as supply chain segments, that decision-makers should be aware of. By analyzing supply chains from a multi-part perspective, this research goes beyond empirical studies based on a single industry, geographic region, or example case.