The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for composite vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) is a complex, highly coupled, and nonlinear system which is sensitive to external disturbances and model uncertainties. The composite VTOL UAV system consists of a multi-rotor section and a fixed-wing section. To improve observation accuracy, the compensation function observer (CFO) uses a new structure that includes velocity information. The CFO is utilised to estimate the uncertainty and the external disturbances of the system model, which performs superior estimation accuracy compared to the extended state observer (ESO). In the modeling process of the VTOL UAV, the aerodynamic moment is calculated by means of the cross-product operation of force and force arm, which solves the problem of over-reliance on aerodynamic parameters in the traditional modeling approach. The controlled object is refined by CFO, and model compensation control (MCC) is used to realise the velocity and attitude control of the composite VTOL. The numerical simulation of MATLAB/Simulink and hardware-in-loop simulation (HIL) of Rflysim were implemented, and which were used to compare the MCC, active disturbance rejection control (ADRC), and proportion integration differentiation (PID). The simulation results confirm the superiority of MCC in controlling composite VTOL UAVs in terms of anti-disturbance and tracking speed.

Egyptology has been changing. At least in the way its practitioners present their findings to a broad public audience. A selection of recent publications for general-interest readership represents something of a reorientation of perspectives on the (Western-led) archaeological ‘discovery’ of Pharaonic Egyptian remains, and the opening up of a subtle counter-narrative, which is something of an anti-archaeology. Rather than attempting to reconstruct what might positively be said of ancient events, their causes and motivations, Egyptologists are increasingly owning up to what is not known or what happened in the aftermath of the ‘main event’ that conditions the nature of the evidence we have at our disposal.

The mountain communities of late-first millennium bc Italy have been regarded as non-urban societies that reverted to city life mainly owing to Roman intervention. A growing body of archaeological evidence is uncovering the diversity of settlement forms and dynamics in the region's pre-Roman past, which included sites encompassing a range of functions and social agents. This article presents an in-depth, microscale analysis of one such site, Monte Vairano in Samnium, drawing on perspectives from comparative urbanism. Monte Vairano developed urban characteristics such as a complex socioeconomic profile and political cohesion, as well as potentially more unique features such as an apparently balanced distribution of wealth. These results can shed further light on the diversity of ancient urbanization and its sociopolitical implications in late-first millennium bc Italy and the Mediterranean.

Natural disasters, such as the eruption of the “Tajogaite” volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, might have a high impact on the mental health of those who experience them. This study aims to evaluate the mental state of La Palma’s population on the acute phase of the event as well as two and seven months later. The main hypothesis was that levels of anxiety will decrease in time, while depression and perceived stress levels will remain stable. Levels of depression, anxiety, perceived stress and psychological well-being were measured, as well as their relationship and certain demographic variables such as age, gender and residential situation. Results showed that anxiety and perceived stress significantly decreased with time, but depression and well-being remained stable. Moreover, higher levels of depression could be partly explained by higher anxiety and perceived stress, previous pharmacological treatment, and lower levels of well-being. Also, being a woman, higher levels of perceived stress, living in a region affected by the eruption, and previous pharmacological treatment significantly predicted higher anxiety; being a woman, higher levels of anxiety and lower levels of well-being significantly predicted higher perceived stress. Finally, higher levels of well-being could be partly explained by lower levels of depression and perceived stress, and not living alone. This study was able to identify particularly vulnerable groups during natural disasters, such as the eruption of a volcano. This is important to provide early psychological care to those who need it in these situations.

We find solutions that describe the levelling of a thin fluid film, comprising a non-Newtonian power-law fluid, that coats a substrate and evolves under the influence of surface tension. We consider the evolution from periodic and localized initial conditions as separate cases. The particular (similarity) solutions in each of these two cases exhibit the generic property that the profiles are weakly singular (that is, higher-order derivatives do not exist) at points where the pressure gradient vanishes. Numerical simulations of the thin film equation, with either periodic or localized initial condition, are shown to approach the appropriate particular solution.

Shark vertebrae and their centra (vertebral bodies) are high-performance structures able to survive millions of cycles of high amplitude strain despite lacking a repair mechanism for accumulating damage. Shark centra consist of mineralized cartilage, a biocomposite of bioapatite (bAp), and collagen, and the nanocrystalline bAp's contribution to functionality remains largely uninvestigated. Using the multiple detector energy-dispersive diffraction (EDD) system at 6-BM-B, the Advanced Photon Source, and 3D tomographic sampling, the 3D functionality of entire centra were probed. Immersion in ethanol vs phosphate-buffered saline produces only small changes in bAp d-spacing within a great hammerhead centrum. EDD mapping under in situ loading was performed an entire blue shark centrum, and 3D maps of bAp strain showed the two structural zones of the centrum, the corpus calcareum and intermedialia, contained opposite-signed strains approaching 0.5%, and application of ~8% nominal strain did not alter these strain magnitudes and their spatial distribution.

The fluvial capture of endorheic basins represents a milestone in basin chronology, implying a profound disequilibrium that triggers critical geomorphological, sedimentological, paleogeographic, and even paleoecological transformations. The primary goal of many geomorphological studies is to determine the timing of endorheic-to-exorheic transitions with the objective of unveiling the dynamics that follow the capture event. The age of the Guadix-Baza Basin capture in the Central Betic Cordillera (S Spain) remains a subject of controversy, with proposed estimates ranging from 17 to 600 ka. In this study, we present new 234U/230Th and optically stimulated luminescence ages from exorheic deposits exposed within the basin's main fluvial valley, the Guadiana Menor River. We acquired the oldest numerical age recorded to date for a postcapture deposit within the basin. This age corresponds to a travertine platform formed 240.8 ± 25 ka on a surface level that was already incised into the glacis surface at approximately 250 m. Using these data, we estimate that basin capture took place earlier than ca. 240 ka, plus the time required for the river to incise 250 m to the position of the travertine. Furthermore, the proximity of the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal (781 ka) to the top of the endorheic succession and the ages of the paleontological sites (> ca. 750 ka) throughout the basin suggest that the capture could have occurred earlier than the oldest previously proposed age of 600 ka.

Scientists have the epistemic responsibility of producing knowledge. They also have the social responsibility of aligning their research with the needs and values of various societal stakeholders. Individual scientists may be left with no guidance on how to prioritize and carry these different responsibilities. As I will argue, however, the responsibilities of science can be harmonized at the collective level. Drawing from debates in moral philosophy, I will propose a theory of the collective responsibilities of science that accounts for the internal diversity of research groups and for their different responsibilities.

The aim of this study is to track the evolution in the use of the markers nenny, non + verb (non fait ‘no, it doesn’t’) and non in its absolute use between the middle of the 15th century and the end of the 18th. In Middle French, non already covers all the uses of the old markers nenny and non fait, but it remains in the minority. In Pre-Classical French (1550–1650), the frequency of nenny and non fait decreases considerably and, in Classical French (1650–1789), they become archaic. In the mid-17th century, non definitively assumes the functions of the medieval markers, which disappeared. The analysis of the temporal distribution of these markers helps to date the transition from ancient to modern uses. Several studies of phonetic, morphological and syntactic phenomena have also aimed to date the turning point between the medieval and the “classical” language, which occurs during the so-called “pre-classical” period. This research also seeks to contribute to the debate on the position of the boundary between Pre-Classical and Classical French on the basis of pragmatic criteria. The results support placing this boundary within the decade 1620–1630, as other studies did for morphosyntactic phenomena.

An association between antibiotic prescribing in upper respiratory infection and improved patient satisfaction has been documented, though data are mixed. Following implementation of a multifaceted antimicrobial stewardship bundle, no difference in patient satisfaction was observed between groups, despite a reduction in antibiotic prescribing from 28.3% to 14.1%.

Although resilient youth provide an important model of successful adaptation to adversity, we know relatively little about the origins of their positive outcomes, particularly the role of biological mechanisms. The current study employed a series of methylome-wide association studies to identify methylomic biomarkers of resilience in a unique sample of 276 twins within 141 families residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results revealed methylome-wide significant differentially methylated probes (DMPs) for social and academic resilience and suggestive DMPs for psychological resilience and resilience across domains. Pathway analyses informed our understanding of the biological underpinnings of significant differentially methylated probes. Monozygotic twin difference analyses were then employed to narrow in on DMPs that were specifically environmental in origin. Our findings suggest that alterations in the DNA methylome may be implicated in youth resilience to neighborhood adversity and that some of the suggestive DMPs may be environmentally engendered. Importantly, our ability to replicate our findings in a well-powered sample was hindered by the scarcity of twin samples with youth exposed to moderate to substantial levels of adversity. Thus, although preliminary, the present study is the first to identify DNA methylation biomarkers of academic and social resilience.

A fixed-time control strategy based on adaptive event-triggered communication and force estimators is proposed for a class of teleoperation systems with time-varying delays and limited bandwidth. Two force estimators are designed to estimate the operator force and environment force instead of force sensors. With the position, velocity, force estimate signals, and triggering error, an adaptive event-triggered scheme is designed, which automatically adjusts the triggering thresholds to reduce the access frequency of the communication network. With the state information transmitted at the moment of event triggering while considering the time-varying delays, a fixed-time sliding mode controller is designed to achieve the position and force tracking. The stability of the system and the convergence of tracking error within a fixed time are mathematically proved. Experimental results indicate that the control strategy can significantly reduce the information transmission, enhance the bandwidth utilization, and ensure the convergence of tracking error within a fixed time for teleoperation systems.