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Speckle noise inherent in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images severely degrades image quality and hinders downstream tasks such as interpretation and target recognition. Existing despeckling methods, both traditional and deep learning-based, often struggle to balance effective speckle suppression with structural detail preservation. Although Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models (DDPMs) have shown remarkable potential for SAR despeckling, their computational overhead from iterative sampling severely limits practical applicability. To mitigate these challenges, this paper proposes the Efficient Conditional Diffusion Model (ECDM) for SAR despeckling. We integrate the cosine noise schedule with a joint variance prediction mechanism, accelerating the inference speed by an order of magnitude while maintaining high denoising quality. Furthermore, we integrate wavelet transforms into the encoder’s downsampling path, enabling adaptive feature fusion across frequency bands to enhance structural fidelity. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared to a baseline diffusion model, our proposed method achieves an approximately 20-fold acceleration in inference and obtains significant improvements in key objective metrics. This work contributes to real-time processing of diffusion models for SAR image enhancement, supporting practical deployment by mitigating prolonged inference in traditional diffusion models through efficient stochastic sampling.

Passive multi-frequency microwave sensors are indispensable instruments for worldwide environmental monitoring. However, they often suffer from the issues of poor spatial resolution and the original land–sea transition zone data are contaminated severely. Conventional analytical deconvolution methods enhance the spatial resolution at the expense of noise amplification and Gibbs fluctuations in the land–sea transition zone. In order to enhance the spatial resolution as well as simultaneously enhance the integrity of the Microwave Radiometer data, a method based on Total Variation deconvolution, Bilateral Filter, and data fusion (TVBF+) is proposed. Our method substantially improves data integrity and obtains similar enhanced resolution compared to existing methods. Experiments performed using both simulated and actual microwave radiation Imager (MWRI) data demonstrate the method’s robustness and effectiveness.

Highlights This review presents current advances in flexible tactile sensor research from multifaceted perspectives including mechanisms, materials, structural design, and system integration. It establishes performance-oriented rational design principles for sensors in practical. It summarized the challenges and strategies in translating flexible tactile sensing systems into practical applications, and proposed a research roadmap for future investigations. Since the first design of tactile sensors was proposed by Harmon in 1982, tactile sensors have evolved through four key phases: industrial applications (1980s, basic pressure detection), miniaturization via MEMS (1990s), flexible electronics (2010s, stretchable materials), and intelligent systems (2020s-present, AI-driven multimodal sensing). With the innovation of material, processing techniques, and multimodal fusion of stimuli, the application of tactile sensors has been continuously expanding to a diversity of areas, including but not limited to medical care, aerospace, sports and intelligent robots. Currently, researchers are dedicated to develop tactile sensors with emerging mechanisms and structures, pursuing high-sensitivity, high-resolution, and multimodal characteristics and further constructing tactile systems which imitate and approach the performance of human organs. However, challenges in the combination between the theoretical research and the practical applications are still significant. There is a lack of comprehensive understanding in the state of the art of such knowledge transferring from academic work to technical products. Scaled-up production of laboratory materials faces fatal challenges like high costs, small scale, and inconsistent quality. Ambient factors, such as temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic interference, also impair signal reliability. Moreover, tactile sensors must operate across a wide pressure range (0.1 kPa to several or even dozens of MPa) to meet diverse application needs. Meanwhile, the existing algorithms, data models and sensing systems commonly reveal insufficient precision as well as undesired robustness in data processing, and there is a realistic gap between the designed and the demanded system response speed. In this review, oriented by the design requirements of intelligent tactile sensing systems, we summarize the common sensing mechanisms, inspired structures, key performance, and optimizing strategies, followed by a brief overview of the recent advances in the perspectives of system integration and algorithm implementation, and the possible roadmap of future development of tactile sensors, providing a forward-looking as well as critical discussions in the future industrial applications of flexible tactile sensors.

In this study, desert sand was used as supplementary materials in alkali-activated cements (AAC) with granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and fly ash (FA). For the first time, a systematic investigation was conducted on the effects of various treatment methods and contents of desert sand on the strength and microstructure of AAC. This study also analyzed the X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis (SEM-EDX), Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP), pH values, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) properties of AAC pastes containing differently treated desert sand to uncover the mechanisms by which these treatments and dosages influence mechanical properties of AAC. Untreated desert sand (DS), temperature-treated desert sand (DS-T), and ground desert sand for two different durations (20 mins and 30 mins) all exhibited some pozzolanic activity but primarily acted as fillers in the AAC pastes. Among the samples, DS-T demonstrated the highest pozzolanic activity, though it was still less than that of fly ash (FA). The optimal dosage for the modified desert sands was determined to be 10%. However, The optimal dosage of different modified desert sands is 10%. The flexural strength of DS-G30-10 reaches 6.62 MPa and the compressive strength reaches 72.3 MPa, showing the best comprehensive mechanical properties.

This study primarily investigates the effect of fly ash (FA) content on the mechanical properties and hydration performance of alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag cement (AAGC) and compares the related properties with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Additionally, we examined the hydration products; performed thermal analysis, MIP, and SEM; and determined chemically bound water and pH values of AAGC. The compressive strength of AAGC showed a retrogression phenomenon from 3 to 28 days, with the 14-day and 28-day compressive strengths of AAGC being higher than those of OPC. The AAGC with 20% FA content exhibited the highest 28-day compressive strength (75 MPa). The hydration heat release rate curve of OPC and AAGC was divided into the initial induction period, induction period, acceleration period, deceleration period, and steady period. As FA content increased, the 28-day pore volume of AAGC increased, while pH values and chemically bound water decreased. SEM images of AAGC with low FA content showed more microcracks.

Nanocrystalline cesium tungsten bronze (Cs.sub.xWO.sub.3) exhibits high transparency and near-infrared blocking effect caused by localized surface plasmon resonance and small-polaron absorption, making it a promising transparent heat insulation material. Cs.sub.xWO.sub.3 has certain application in energy-saving coated glass for building, but its application in laminated glass, another widely used building glass, has rarely been studied. The research on laminated glass mainly focuses on safety, but it also has high energy-saving potential, and the research in this area is relatively backward. Compared with the glass coating whose thickness limits the application of thermal insulation materials, the interlayer of laminated glass can introduce both infrared shielding materials and low thermal conductivity materials by virtue of its larger thickness, so as to achieve better thermal insulation effect. Herein, a new type of thermal insulation laminated glass was proposed. For this purpose, two types of thermal insulation nanomaterials, nanocrystalline Cs.sub.xWO.sub.3 and SiO.sub.2 aerogel, were incorporated into polyvinyl butyral (PVB) to prepare PVB/Cs.sub.xWO.sub.3/ SiO.sub.2-aerogel composite for the preparation of laminated glass. The materials containing Cs.sub.xWO.sub.3 exhibited high visible light transmittance (75%) and NIR shielding rate (77%). In addition, when appropriate content of SiO.sub.2 aerogel was added, the thermal insulation was further improved with minimal change in the transmittance spectrum. The PVB/Cs.sub.xWO.sub.3/SiO.sub.2-aerogel achieved both good visible light transmittance and excellent thermal insulation performance, making it a composite material for laminated glass in line with contemporary green energy-saving concepts.

Nanocrystalline cesium tungsten bronze (Cs x WO 3 ) exhibits high transparency and near-infrared blocking effect caused by localized surface plasmon resonance and small-polaron absorption, making it a promising transparent heat insulation material. Cs x WO 3 has certain application in energy-saving coated glass for building, but its application in laminated glass, another widely used building glass, has rarely been studied. The research on laminated glass mainly focuses on safety, but it also has high energy-saving potential, and the research in this area is relatively backward. Compared with the glass coating whose thickness limits the application of thermal insulation materials, the interlayer of laminated glass can introduce both infrared shielding materials and low thermal conductivity materials by virtue of its larger thickness, so as to achieve better thermal insulation effect. Herein, a new type of thermal insulation laminated glass was proposed. For this purpose, two types of thermal insulation nanomaterials, nanocrystalline Cs x WO 3 and SiO 2 aerogel, were incorporated into polyvinyl butyral (PVB) to prepare PVB/Cs x WO 3 / SiO 2 -aerogel composite for the preparation of laminated glass. The materials containing Cs x WO 3 exhibited high visible light transmittance (75%) and NIR shielding rate (77%). In addition, when appropriate content of SiO 2 aerogel was added, the thermal insulation was further improved with minimal change in the transmittance spectrum. The PVB/Cs x WO 3 /SiO 2 -aerogel achieved both good visible light transmittance and excellent thermal insulation performance, making it a composite material for laminated glass in line with contemporary green energy-saving concepts.

At present, there are mainly two kinds of image-based near-field to far-field transformation (NFFFT) algorithms: Hankel method and circular near-field-to-far-field transformation (CNFFFT). Due to the approximation in the measurement distance, the accuracy of Hankel method is lower than that of CNFFFT. However, the implementation of CNFFFT is complex and time-consuming. It is necessary to determine the detailed relationship between the transformation error and the near-field test distance for both algorithms to provide a basis for the choice of which algorithm to use. In this paper, the effect of the near-field test distance approximation of the two algorithms is obtained by simulating 4, 5, and 9 scattering point models. Meanwhile, an accurate comparison method for two NFFFT algorithms under different test distances is proposed.

This study is dedicated to the development of a new type of cesium tungsten bronze energy-saving laminated glass and explores its application in insulating glass combinations, offering innovative ideas and practical solutions for advancing energy-saving glass technology. Experimental results show that both CsxWO3 (CWO) dispersions exhibit good visible light transmittance and near-infrared shielding properties, with CWO1 demonstrating superior shielding in the 650–950 nm range, attributed to differences in shape and size distribution and verified by simulations using the Drude–Lorentz model and the finite element method.