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This paper examines strategies aimed at improving search procedures in multimodal, low-dimensional domains. Here, low-dimensional domains refers to a maximum of five dimensions. The present analysis assembles strategies to form an algorithm named S-EPSO, which, at its core, locates and maintains multiple optima without relying on external niching parameters, instead adapting this functionality internally. The first proposed strategy assigns socio-emotional personalities to the particles forming the swarm. The analysis also introduces a technique to help them visit secluded zones. It allocates the particles of the initial distribution to subdomains based on biased decisions. The biases reflect the subdomain’s potential to contain optima. This potential is established from a balanced combination of the jaggedness and the mean-average interval descriptors developed in the study. The study compares the performance of S-EPSO to that of state-of-the-art algorithms over seventeen functions of the CEC benchmark, and S-EPSO is revealed to be highly competitive. It outperformed the reference algorithms 14 times, whereas the best of the latter outperformed the other two 10 times out of 30 relevant evaluations. S-EPSO performed best with the most challenging 5D functions of the benchmark. These results clearly illustrate the potential of S-EPSO when it comes to dealing with practical engineering optimization problems limited to five dimensions.

Random walk (RW) methods are recurring Monte Carlo methods used to model convective and diffusive transport in complex heterogeneous media. Many applications can be found, including fluid mechanic, hydrology and chemical reactors modeling. These methods are easy to implement, very versatile and flexible enough to become appealing for many applications because they generally overlook or deeply simplify the building of explicit complex meshes required by deterministic methods. RW provides a good physical understanding of the interactions between the space scales of heterogeneities and the transport phenomena under consideration. In addition, they can result in efficient upscaling methods, especially in the context of flow and transport in fractured media. In the present study, we review the applications of RW to several situations that cope with diverse spatial scales and different insights into upscaling problems. The advantages and downsides of RW are also discussed, thus providing a few avenues for further works and applications.

The article focuses on the potential of carpooling in West Africa, highlighting several key findings. The study analyzes the specific challenges faced by users and carpooling platforms in the region, including the popularity of carpooling, trust and security issues, and the difficulty of finding reliable carpooling partners. By examining different forms of carpooling present in the region, the article highlights formal and informal carpooling models, taking into account differences between urban and rural areas. The analysis provides solutions to overcome the trust, security, and unknown factors specific to West Africa. Through a literature review and a survey conducted with 300 individuals in Cotonou and Abomey-Calavi, Benin, the article examines existing forms of carpooling, the challenges faced, and the issue of the unknown in the region. The study considers socio-economic, cultural, and environmental factors that influence mobility in West Africa, providing insights for the future development of carpooling in the region. The results emphasize that carpooling offers an interesting alternative solution for road users in a region where traffic congestion is a major problem and motorization rates are relatively low. The article contributes to a better understanding of the challenges of carpooling in West Africa and proposes development prospects for this practice that is still not widespread in the region.

This paper presents an FEA modeling strategy for predicting the cutting forces generated during linear wood machining. The objective is to determine both the forces and paths of cracks propagating in elastoplastic and anisotropic materials. The model combines a bilinear representation of the material strain-stress relation and the Hill yield function. The proposed procedure also integrates the displacement extrapolation method to evaluate the stress intensity factors. It establishes the cutting forces from the contact pressures between the tool and the chip. These pressures are determined using the penalty method. The validation phase compares the model predictions with average experimental forces and shows correspondence levels higher than 91% and 92% for low (0.085e10 −3 m/s) and high (6.8 m/s) wood-feeding speeds, respectively. The developed model maintains a high precision degree over a large range of feeding-velocity. This study demonstrates that the resistive force between the chip and the tool surface is a function of both the rake angle φ and the coefficient of friction (COF). The friction force prompts a self-energizing effect, which increases the resistive force. On the other hand, larger φ amplitudes reduce this effect. Furthermore, the rake angle φ defines the crack propagation mode. Larger φ amplitudes favor the opening mode, whereas smaller values promote the shear mode. The COF amplitude also influences the surface quality, with larger COFs producing more profound cutting dimples. Thus, reducing the COF should result not only in lower cutting forces but also in a better surface quality of machined parts.

Biogeochemical reactions occur unevenly in space and time, but this heterogeneity is often simplified as a linear average due to sparse data, especially in subsurface environments where access is limited. For example, little is known about the spatial variability of groundwater denitrification, an important process in removing nitrate originating from agriculture and land use conversion. Information about the rate, arrangement, and extent of denitrification is needed to determine sustainable limits of human activity and to predict recovery time frames. Here, we developed and validated a method for inferring the spatial organization of sequential biogeochemical reactions in an aquifer in France. We applied it to five other aquifers in different geological settings located in the United States and compared results among 44 locations across the six aquifers to assess the generality of reactivity trends. Of the sampling locations, 79% showed pronounced increases of reactivity with depth. This suggests that previous estimates of denitrification have underestimated the capacity of deep aquifers to remove nitrate, while overestimating nitrate removal in shallow flow paths. Oxygen and nitrate reduction likely increases with depth because there is relatively little organic carbon in agricultural soils and because excess nitrate input has depleted solid phase electron donors near the surface. Our findings explain the long-standing conundrum of why apparent reaction rates of oxygen in aquifers are typically smaller than those of nitrate, which is energetically less favorable. This stratified reactivity framework is promising for mapping vertical reactivity trends in aquifers, generating new understanding of subsurface ecosystems and their capacity to remove contaminants.

BackgroundFew studies have compared the outcomes of bridging intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) before mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with those of direct MT in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO). This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of direct endovascular treatment (EVT) and bridging IVT followed by EVT in Chinese patients with acute basilar artery occlusion BAO.MethodsThis subanalysis derived from the prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial of the ATTENTION study, included 221 patients with acute BAO categorized into two groups based on whether they received bridging IVT before MT: MT alone or combined IVT+MT. The primary endpoint was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score distribution at 90 days. Secondary outcomes included mRS scores within different ranges (0–1, 0–2, and 0–3) at the 90-day point and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at 24 hours and 3 days post-intervention. Safety outcomes encompassed intracranial hemorrhage incidence based on the Heidelberg classification criteria (any intracerebral hemorrhage) and mortality assessment at 90 days.ResultsDirect and bridging IVT before EVT yielded similar primary outcomes. No significant difference in 90-day mRS scores (median, 4.5 vs 4; adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 0.95 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.79 to 1.15]; p=0.624) was observed between the two groups. Regarding safety outcomes, no significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of death within 90 days or any intracranial hemorrhage within 24 hours.ConclusionsIn patients with acute BAO, those treated with bridging IVT before EVT did not demonstrate any advantages in enhanced safety and efficacy outcomes compared with those treated with direct EVT.