Hybrid Encoder–Decoder Model for Ultra-Short-Term Prediction of Wind Farm Power

The ability to ensure safe and economic operation of power grids is challenging because of the large-scale integration of wind power as a result of its intermittent and fluctuating nature. Accurate wind power prediction is critical to overcome these concerns. This study proposed a novel hybrid encoder–decoder model by combining bidirectional gated recurrent unit, multi-head attention mechanism, and ensemble technique for multi-step ultra-short-term power prediction of wind farms. The bidirectional gated recurrent unit accurately details the complex temporal dependency of input sequence information in the encoder and outputs the encoded vector. To focus on features that contribute more to the output, two types of multi-head attention mechanism, including self-attention and cross-attention, were used in the decoder to decode the encoded vector and obtain the forecast wind power sequence. Furthermore, an ensemble technique was used to integrate forecast results from various individual predictors, which reduced the uncertainty of individual prediction results and improved predictive accuracy. The input data included historical information from the wind farm and future information from numerical weather prediction. The forecast model was validated using actual data, and results showed that it achieved superior accuracy and stability compared with other existing models in four multi-step prediction scenarios (1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-h prediction).

Inventory of Ant Fauna in the Influence Area of a Small Hydropower Plant in the State of Paraná, Brazil

The construction of hydroelectric dams for power generation causes environmental alterations and ecosystem restructuring in directly and indirectly affected areas. This study aimed to survey the ant fauna in the indirect area of influence of a small hydroelectric plant located in Mangueirinha, Paraná State, Brazil. Seven sampling campaigns were conducted, two before and five during the project’s implementation, using pitfall traps as the sampling method. A total of 72 ant species were recorded, belonging to 26 genera and six subfamilies. Species richness and abundance did not differ significantly between the pre-implementation and implementation phases. The Chao1 estimator indicated that actual species richness may be approximately 7.6% higher than observed. These findings contribute to understanding ant biodiversity in areas subject to land-use change in Paraná State. The results highlight the value of using insect species richness and abundance, particularly of bioindicator groups such as ants, for environmental impact monitoring.

Exploring the Sustainable Path of Rural Governance: An Empirical Study on Digital Technology Empowering the “Fengqiao Experience” Model in the New Era

Understanding digital technology and digital inclusive finance in rural governance is key to exploring the sustainable development path of rural governance in China. This study constructs a multidimensional index evaluation system for the “Fengqiao Experience” rural governance model in the new era, measures the model’s rural governance level in 30 provinces in China (2011–2022), and empirically assesses digital technology’s impact on rural governance and its mechanism. The results are as follows: (1) During the sample survey period, the rural governance level of digital technology and “Fengqiao Experience” in 30 provinces in China has improved year by year. (2) Benchmark returns to reality and digital technology significantly promotes the improvement of rural governance levels, which remains valid after using GLS, replacing core explanatory variables, excluding the impact of the epidemic, and excluding municipalities directly under the central government. (3) Digital inclusive finance plays an intermediary role in the digital technology process, enabling rural governance. (4) Digital technology’s impact on rural governance has significant spatial spillover characteristics. Such technology helps improve the level of rural governance both locally and in surrounding areas. This study contributes to the understanding of the mechanism, effect, and regional differences of digital technology-enabled rural governance.

High-Efficiency Wireless Charging System for UAVs Based on PT-Symmetric Principle

To address the limited endurance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the efficiency degradation and instability in traditional wireless charging systems, this study proposes a high-efficiency UAV wireless charging system based on the parity-time (PT) symmetric principle. A non-Hermitian coupled resonator model is established, incorporating a dynamic gain-loss balancing mechanism and real-time parameter feedback control to adaptively compensate for coupling coefficient fluctuations caused by UAV positional deviations, thereby maintaining PT-symmetric phase stability. The receiver coil adopts a planar air-core spiral structure and is integrated beneath the UAV landing gear to minimize interference with aircraft operations. Experimental results show a transmission efficiency of 90.2% at 65 W output power, with both power and efficiency remaining stable in the strong coupling region. The system demonstrates strong robustness against horizontal misalignment and eliminates the need for complex relay structures or high-precision alignment. This work not only provides a theoretical foundation for the application of PT-symmetry in wireless power transfer but also offers a novel technical pathway for enhancing UAV endurance.

Research Progress on Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation Structures and Installation Technologies

Offshore wind power, as an important component of renewable energy, has gradually become one of the key technologies in global energy transition. The development of offshore wind power faces complex technical challenges, including strong wind, waves, currents, foundation bearing capacity, and installation technologies for wind turbines, among other issues. In recent years, with technological advancements, significant breakthroughs have been made in the design of offshore wind power foundation structures, installation technologies, and equipment. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the recent progress in offshore wind power technologies, deeply exploring innovative technologies in areas such as the overall development trends, foundation structures, installation technologies, and equipment of offshore wind power. Special attention is given to the design and safety analysis of wind turbine foundation structures under different foundation conditions, as well as installation technologies for wind power in complex sea conditions and deep-water areas. The paper argues that the applicable depth of fixed foundations is expected to extend beyond 50 m. The jacket foundation remains the mainstream choice for future large-scale wind turbines, with the potential to increase its applicable water depth to 100 m. Furthermore, floating foundations have significant potential for cost reduction and efficiency improvements. Developing entirely new foundation structures and installation technologies suitable for deep-water environments is also a key direction for future development.

State of the Art in Wave Energy Conversion Technologies in China

This paper reviews the advancements in wave energy converter technologies in China, covering device design, performance evaluation, and system control techniques. It highlights power control technologies in wave energy conversion, including adaptive control, model predictive control, clutch control, clamp control, resistive load control, approximate optimal speed control, nonlinear control, and intelligent control methods. Through an analysis of these technologies, the study outlines the future directions and challenges in wave energy development in China, while also proposing potential pathways for optimizing the performance of wave energy conversion devices.

A Strategy for Resisting the Vested Interests Driving the Collapse of the Biosphere and Civilisation

The biosphere and civilisation are facing existential and other major threats: climate change, biodiversity loss, nuclear war, social inequality/injustice, loss of human rights, and autocracy. These threats are driven by politically powerful vested interests supported by an economic system based on the exploitation of the environment and most people for the benefit of a wealthy minority. This article proposes a strategy to resist and weaken state capture, i.e., the influence of the vested interests driving the principal threats, while simultaneously facilitating the transition to a sustainable society. Despite the achievements of diverse community-based non-government organisations (CNGOs) campaigning on specific issues, scientists are now warning of the potential collapse of civilisation. As the threats are linked together in several ways, I propose a strategy to address them together to yield multiple benefits, supplementing campaigns on individual issues. A broad social movement—comprising an alliance between CNGOs devoted to the environment, social justice, human rights, and peace—could exert sufficient political power to expose and defeat the methods of state capture. Simultaneously, the movement could gain widespread community support by campaigning for a well-being economy, including universal basic services and a job guarantee, thus facilitating the transition to an ecologically sustainable, more socially just, and more peaceful civilisation.

Intelligent Rehabilitation and Engineering: Empowering the People with Disabilities

High-Temperature Catalytic Platform Powered by Thermophilic Microorganisms and Thermozymes

Thermophilic microorganisms, capable of thriving under high temperatures, are emerging as key platforms for next-generation industrial biotechnology (NGIB), driving innovations in lignin biorefining, bioplastics synthesis, biodiesel production, and environmental remediation. Enzymes derived from thermophilic microorganisms, thermozymes, exhibit remarkable stability and efficiency under extreme conditions, making them highly suitable for diverse industrial applications. This review highlights recent advances in leveraging thermophilic microorganisms and thermozymes for high-temperature catalysis, focusing on their economic and environmental benefits. It also emphasizes progress in high-throughput screening and artificial intelligence (AI), which have revolutionized the bioprospecting, engineering, and application potential of thermozymes. Challenges and potential solutions for industrial implementation of high-temperature catalytic platforms are also discussed, highlighting their transformative impact on sustainable biotechnology.

Motion Control of Floating Wind-Wave Energy Platforms

Mitigating wave-induced motions in floating multi-body systems is a critical challenge in ocean engineering. For single floating structures, such as floating platforms or vessels, applying active control requires considerable energy. It is also a common solution to add auxiliary structures and a power take-off (PTO) device, thereby forming a multi-body system that utilises passive control. However, the effectiveness of this method is limited due to varying phase differences between control forces and motions, which change across different wave frequencies. The present work proposes a novel semi-active structural control method, which can effectively provide optimised control force to the main body within a multi-body system. The key point of this method is tuning the phases between the forces and motions of floating bodies. Proper tuning can neutralise the main floating body’s wave-induced motion by utilising the wave-induced motion of the auxiliary structure. The controller is developed under an optimal declutching control framework, adjusting the damping coefficients of the PTO system to provide discrete resistance to the target body. A floating semi-submersible (SS) platform equipped with a heave ring as an auxiliary structure is selected and analysed as the case study. The results demonstrate the method’s efficacy in reducing motion for floating wind turbine (FWT) platforms and its applicability to various types of multiple floating bodies. Interestingly, our optimal declutching control can “kill two birds with one stone”. It can simultaneously enhance motion reduction and increase power capture. In the current study, the proposed controller achieved a maximum motion reduction of 30% for the platform.