bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Smart cities governance in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region: A systematic review of the literature
Authors: Duca Federica , Mutua Amy , Tetley-Brown Lucille , Karuri-Sebina Geci , Backhouse Judy 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Urban scholarship and practices surrounding 'smart' cities address the growing datafication of urban life and governance, a process that has mixed outcomes, particularly for African cities. For this reason, this paper offers a systematic review of literature on smart cities in the South African Development Community (SADC) countries, with a focus on understanding the complexities of urban dynamics and governance within the region. It takes as its starting point the SmartCityZA collection in the uKESA repository, expanded and triangulated with a Scopus search. The novelty of this literature review is that it is constituted by policy documents and reports, as well as academic papers. This was done purposefully to interrogate not only the state of smart city knowledge in SADC but also the state of smart city practice in the region. The review found five important themes regarding smart governance in the region: (1) the social development promises of the smart city, (2) institutionalising smart city governance, (3) smart cities and digital citizenship, (4) smart city [as] infrastructure and (5) approaches to ‘smarting’ the city. The study recommends more attention to smart city agendas and to impacts from the digitalisation and datafication of urbanism, but also suggests more considered local and governance-oriented lenses for such agendas if they are to be relevant for communities in the SADC region. It concludes that whilst smart cities governance literature is plentiful in South Africa, more empirical research is needed, particularly in the other SADC countries.
Origin Vs Destination commodity Taxation with Heteregeneous Agents
Authors: BIKOB NICOLAS DJOB LI NGUE 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

In this paper, we set up a model allowing the comparison between origin and destination commodity taxation when there are distortions created by monopolistic competition. In this setting firms produce competitively, differentiated goods that are part of international trade using skilled and unskilled labours. The level of tax in one country affects the levels of wages of the skilled labor in the overall economy, thus the relocation of firms between countries and the return to capital. We make a comparison between destination and origin principles under monopolistic competition and show that the choice between origin and destination tax principle in this setting depends on which between high skilled or low skilled labors is used intensively, to be more accurate, when the ratio of the skilled labor intensity factor over the elasticity of substitution between any two variety is smaller than one-half, then the tax rate is higher (less subsidy) under the origin principle, whereas the opposite is true when the previous ratio exceeds one-half.
JEL Classifications: D43. F12. H21 .
Transcutaneous Versus Blood Gas Measurement of CO2 in Neonates: Variation by Method and Racial Group
Authors: Reichert Lara , Scott Samantha , Dugan Taylor , Setzen Sean , Feustel Paul , Pezzano Chad 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objective: Transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitors are used to non-invasively monitor blood CO2 levels in acute care settings, however, their accuracy has been shown to vary. We studied the correlation between transcutaneous monitors and arterial, capillary, and venous CO2 blood gas measurements in neonates. We also sought to examine any variability across different racial groups.
Design and Setting: Retrospective chart review at a level 4 NICU conducted at Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York, USA.
Patients: Twenty-four NICU patients who underwent transcutaneous CO2 monitoring were studied over a 1-year period.
Interventions: None
Measurements and Main Results: Arterial, venous, and capillary CO2 measurements that occurred within one hour of transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitor measurement were collected. Arterial measurements maintained the highest degree of difference from transcutaneous values (degree of bias 9.3 torr). Venous monitoring and transcutaneous monitoring yielded the lowest degree of bias (-.46 torr), though this sample size was the lowest of our blood gas types. Capillary point-of-care testing values yielded an intermediate bias (4.12 torr). Greater agreement existed when blood gas PCO2 values increased over time for a given patient. No difference in the amount of bias was appreciated between racial groups.
Conclusions: Transcutaneous CO2 monitoring in neonatal patients is within the accepted manufacturer range of error when compared to blood gas analysis, and can be considered an accurate, noninvasive method of monitoring. Capillary point of care analysis is an efficient means of confirming transcutaneous monitoring and had better agreement than the more invasive arterial gases.
A Low-Light Image Enhancement Algorithm Based on Improved Pyramid Diffusion Model
Authors: Hu Xin , Wang Jinhua , He Ning , Wang Donghui 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Images captured in low-light conditions often suffer from poor visibility, high noise levels, and significant detail loss. These issues can severely hinder subsequent visual tasks like object detection and facial recognition. Therefore, low-light image enhancement is a crucial yet challenging problem in computer vision, aiming to recover high-quality images.Pyramid-based Diffusion Model, a type of generative model capable of modeling and generating high-dimensional data distributions, have recently been explored for low-light image enhancement. However, a common limitation of diffusion models is the potential loss of detail in small areas due to the forward noising and reverse denoising process. To address this, the proposed algorithm integrates a novel attention mechanism that progressively utilizes depthwise separable convolution units with expanding convolutional kernels. This approach effectively enhances the network's ability to handle larger receptive fields, leading to better detail preservation. Furthermore, the algorithm incorporates a dual interpolation sampling method for improved detail recovery. Additionally, a new combination optimization model for loss functions is adopted. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the baseline network (which lacks color correction methods) on both subjective and objective evaluation metrics across LOL-v1, LOL-v2, and other unpaired datasets. This performance surpasses current mainstream low-light enhancement algorithms.
Spatial monitoring of open caissons via computervision approach
Authors: Wang Qunwei , Li Qun , Zhang Youliang 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Monitoring of the open caissons during the sinking process is a crucial aspect in construction projects. Traditional methods such as Electric Level have limitations in providing continuous monitoring throughout the sinking process. To address this challenge, this paper introduces a novel approach utilizing computer vision and linear intensity change model for 3D reconstruction of open caissons and real-time monitoring of the caisson sinking. In this proposed approach, RGB-D camera was firstly calibrated for the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. Then 3D coordinates of the open caisson were obtained via the calibrated IR sensors of RGB-D camera. Subsequently, the spatial visual image of the open caisson for display was calculated using RGB sensors and the 3D coordinates. During sinking, multiple RGB sensors combined with a linear intensity change model were used for monitoring settlement displacement. The spatial visual image of the open caisson was updated with the data of the settlement and out-plane displacement. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach are validated by examples. This innovative monitoring solution has the potential to revolutionize the construction process in open caisson, ensuring timely detection of any deviations and facilitating proactive decision-making for optimal project outcomes.
Combination Therapy Synergism Prediction for Virus Treatment Using Machine and Deep Learning Models
Authors: Majidifar Shayan , Zabihian Arash , Hooshmand Mohsen 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Combining different therapies synergistically is an essential aspect of developing effective treatments. Although there is a wealth of research on computational prediction for new combination therapies, there is limited to no research on combination therapies in the treatment of viral diseases. This paper proposes AI-based models for predicting novel antiviral combinations to treat virus diseases synergistically. To do this, we assembled a comprehensive dataset comprising information on viral strains, drug compounds, and their known interactions. As far as we know, this is the first dataset and learning model on combination therapy for viruses. Our proposal includes a deep model and two machine learning models to optimize combination therapy. The machine learning models showed the highest performance among all methods, and the predicted values were validated by t-test, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed methods. One of the predicted combinations of acyclovir and ribavirin has been experimentally confirmed to have a synergistic antiviral effect against herpes simplex type-1 virus, as described in the literature.
Cardiovascular disease and breast cancer risk: a Multivariate Mendelian randomization
Authors: liu xiaolin , wang shan , lv hongwei , chen enli , Yu Jing 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

A potential link between stenotic cardiovascular disease (ischemic stroke, peripheral artery disease, unstable angina) and the risk of breast cancer has been identified in clinical practice. However, it is unclear whether there is a causal relationship between the two. In this study, we applied univariate (UVMR) and multivariate Mendelian randomization (MVMR) to explain the possible link between stenotic cardiovascular disease and breast cancer pathogenesis at the genetic level, and pointed out that the study of the correlation between lipid metabolism and the pathogenesis of pan-cancerous species, such as breast cancer, is an innovative direction of basic experiments. Objective: This study explored the causal effect between a history of stenotic cardiovascular disease and the risk of breast cancer. Methods: Genome⁃wide association study (GWAS) data were selected from breast cancer (n = 8,013) and ischemic stroke (n = 159,840), Peripheral artery disease (n = 44,986), and unstable angina pectoris (n = 18,152), which corresponded to the same ethnicity and were from different regions. In this study, causal effects were assessed using inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR ⁃ Egger regression, and weighted median (WM); UVMR and MVMR studies were conducted using several other methods as supplements. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using Cochran's Q test, MR⁃Egger regression intercept term, MR⁃PRESSO, and leave-one-out method to assess the stability and reliability of the results. Results: In UVMR, ischemic stroke, peripheral artery disease, and unstable angina were positively associated with lower risk of breast cancer; in MVMR, unstable angina was independently and significantly causally associated with lower risk of breast cancer (OR = 0.996,95% CI:0.992–0.999, P = 0.007) . Conclusion:This study found that people with stenotic cardiovascular disease have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, and in addition, there may be some unique correlation between unstable angina and the pathogenesis of breast cancer. There may be a correlation between the collection of stenotic cardiovascular disease genes and the pathogenesis of pan-cancer species. Lipid metabolism-related gene collections or molecular pathways may be relevant to the pathogenesis of breast cancer and possibly pan-cancer.
Domain-specific Digital Twin Platforms: Concept, Evaluation Framework and Case Study
Authors: Tang Zhao , Zhuang Dayuan , Zhang Jianjun 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

As digital twin (DT) applications continue to proliferate across diverse industries, a noticeable gap exists in the availability of evaluation methods or frameworks to aid in the selection and development of DT platforms, particularly for Domain-specific application. To address this gap, this paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation framework for DT platforms, with a focus on Domain-specific application. The framework uses the Best-Worst Method and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method (BWM-FCE) to assess the performance, user experience, and economic effects of DT platforms. The proposed framework is applied to a case study of a high-speed railway DT platform and compared with other evaluation methods (Analytic Hierarchy Process and Best-Worst Method-Set Pair Analysis). The results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed framework and highlight its potential for guiding the development and selection of DT platforms for Domain-specific applications.
Synergistic enhancement of photocatalytic properties in ternary Cu2O/TiO2@Ti3C2Tx MXene composites
Authors: Fang Jing , Xu Tianxiang , Tan Lidan , Zhu Hui , Li Xuanke , Cong Ye 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Water pollution has always been an inescapable challenge in the development of human society. Photocatalytic technology is regarded to be a promising strategy for water pollution control. In this work, a novel Cu2O/TiO2@Ti3C2Tx MXene photocatalyst is constructed to obtain diverse electron transport pathways, thereby promoting charge separation and achieving superior photocatalytic performance. The synergistic effects of composite photocatalytic materials are instrumental in degrading organic dyes under visible light. The successful construction of a heterojunction structure between Cu2O and in situ generated TiO2 mitigates charge recombination post-separation, significantly extending the lifetime of photogenerated carriers. Additionally, the incorporation of Ti3C2Tx serves as an effective conductive medium, facilitating the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges within the material. Therefore, the Cu2O/TiO2@Ti3C2Tx MXene composites exhibit exceptional photocatalytic activity, showcasing the best performance, achieving a degradation rate of 71.5% after 3 h of visible light irradiation. These findings underscore the potential of this new compound in enhancing photocatalytic organic degradation, highlighting the promising application prospects of photocatalytic materials.
Nephrotic syndrome and adrenoleukodystrophy in a 5-year-old boy
Authors: nicolescu corina ramona , Lavocat Marie-Pierre , Stephan Jean-Louis 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Nephrotic syndrome is a common condition characterized by filtration of large amounts of protein, hypoalbuminemia, reduced plasma oncotic pressure, sodium retention, and edema. The mechanism(s) responsible for sodium retention in this condition is still controversial. Two different pathophysiological pathways have been proposed to explain edema formation: activation of neurohumoral effector mechanisms, including the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, or abnormal intrinsic/primary renal sodium retention.
A 5-year-old boy with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy presented with bilateral leg swelling, massive proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia. Minimal change disease was diagnosed. The patient was initially treated with corticosteroids and experienced several relapses. The progression of fractional excretion of sodium correlated with proteinuria and undetectable aldosterone levels. This unusual finding suggests that the mechanism of tubular sodium avidity in this child with mineralocorticoid insufficiency was independent of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.
Summary/what’s new - Our observation of the co-occurrence of nephrotic syndrome and adrenoleukodystrophy, which has not been previously reported, may confirm that intrarenal factors (separately from or in addition to aldosterone) are responsible for sodium reabsorption.
Tracing procedural justice at UNFCCC conferences through side events and interest group dynamics
Authors: Xie Judy Jingwei , Escher Nora , Dunn Matilda E. , Yu Yurong , Staffell Iain , Rogelj Joeri 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Procedural justice is essential in climate negotiation spaces to ensure inclusivity and transparency in a global challenge. However, annual Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are increasing in size and complexity, which makes discourse and organisational relationships more uneven and harder to understand. Here, we analyse UNFCCC COP side events during 2003-2023 using topic modelling to understand the evolution of discourse and topic framing. We use participant nomination data to investigate how incumbent business interest groups access COPs and evaluate the relationships between side event organisers and speakers. Among energy side events, we identified growing interests in fossil fuels, marked by a uniquely collaborative organisation network of mainly NGOs. Incumbent corporations gain access to COPs through NGOs in developed countries and through governments in developing countries, with limited presence leading UNFCCC side events. We show the importance of systematically tracing and considering processes at COP as a first step to improving procedural justice at the highest level of global climate governance.
Survival of drug-resistant metastatic papillary thyroid cancer under drug treated conditions via upregulation of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 1
Authors: Kim Seok-Mo , Park Keunwan , Yun Hyeok Jun , Kim JungMin , Choi Kyung Hwa , Park Ki Cheong 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is a general thyroid cancer subtype, however, PTC may develop metastasize or become recurrent via anti-cancer drug resistance, rendering it practically incurable. Therefore, effective and reliable clinical approaches are urgently required.
Methods: In this study, we demonstrated the coordinated upregulation of SERCA1 in metastatic PTC under anti-cancer drug treated conditions. SERCA1, in turn, is transcriptionally upregulated by CaMK2α via nuclear translocated NFκB. we propose a clinical approach that screens novel drug candidates based on target identification and numerous survival-involved gene validation in a patient-derived anti-cancer drug-resistant mediated lymph node metastatic PTC model. Results of lymph node metastatic PTC was compared to anti-cancer drug sensitive and main mass PTC on in vitro and in vivo model.
Results: Consequently, we identified sarco/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium ATPase 1 (SERCA1) in patient-derived metastatic PTC cells. SERCA1 was considerably increase under anti-cancer drug treated conditions such as sorafenib or lenvatinib by CaMK2α mediated nuclear translocated NFκB. SERCA is a critical component in cytosolic free calcium regulation. However, a cardiac dysfunction was inevitable in vivo because of non-specific inhibition of SERCA isoforms by conventional SERCA inhibitors. This study aimed to design a therapeutic approach with decrease of cardiac dysfunction via SERCA1-isoform specific inhibition by novel small molecules, CKP1 and CKP2 under severe ER stress condition in patient-derived metastatic papillary thyroid cancer. These novel SERCA1-specific inhibitors were remarkably increased tumor shrinkage in the patient-derived metastatic PTC xenograft tumor model without cardiac dysfunctionwhen combination treatment with anti-cancer drug, such as sorafenib and lenvatinib. Conclusively, these findings are clinically significant for novel combinatorial strategy development for effective refractory cancer cell treatments, especially in the case of anti-cancer drug-resistant mediated recurrent and metastatic cancer.
Conclusions
Here, we showed that increase of SERCA1 by CaMK2α mediated nuclear translocated NFκB was fundamentally responsible for cellular resistant for cytotoxic stress under sorafenib or levatinib treatment. These outcomes suggest progress for the novel combinatorial scheme that uses targeted therapy to treat malignant cancer cells, such as anti-cancer drug-resistant cancer cells.
Six phase inverter topology and control algorithm research with boost function
Authors: Xu Yeting , Qian Hongjiang , Qiu Xiaochu 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Multi-phase motors are widely used in electric vehicles, aerospace, ship traction and other important systems. Conventional six-phase voltage inverters have the limitation that they can only step down the voltage, with the maximum magnitude of the output line voltage being 0.5 times that of the direct current (DC) side voltage. In order to overcome this limitation and thus meet some special occasions where the output voltage is much higher than the input DC voltage, it is necessary to consider alternative solutions. This paper proposes a split-source inverter (SSI) impedance network for an asymmetric six-phase voltage source inverter with an improved four-vector SVPWM and carrier-based modulation (CBM) algorithm. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the inverter process of DC-AC (alternating current) boosting can be achieved under the same switching state, and that the output voltage level of the inverter is adjustable. Furthermore, the DC-side capacitor voltage exhibits a faster boosting speed and smaller fluctuation. The feasibility of the boost function of the six-phase voltage source inverter is demonstrated.
Biosorption of Cd 2+ ions onto peel of Artocarpus nobilis Fruit: intra-particle diffusion and isotherm studies
Authors: Kotabewatta P. A. , Priyantha N. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

The metal Cd, a toxic heavy metal, has a tendency to accumulate through food chains, causing health problems to various organisms; its removal from contaminated water systems is thus needed to safeguard the biosphere. Characterization experiments on the fruit peel of Artocarpus nobilis, an endemic plant to Sri Lanka, reveal that the surface of the biosorbent is negative, and that organic functional groups such as carboxylic acids, its derivatives and phenolic compounds present in the biosorbent undergo deprotonation showing strong affinity toward positively charged Cd2+ ions in aqueous medium. Systematic investigation conducted on the biosorbent shows its effectiveness as a biosorbent for Cd2+, leading to an excellent removal of 88% in batch experiments under optimized conditions of 150 min shaking time, 15 min settling time, 5.5–7.0 pH range at 150 rpm rotation speed. The extent of removal of Cd2+ is independent of both the heating time and heating temperature. Fitting of equilibrium biosorption data on linearized Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models leads to the regression coefficients of 0.976 and 0.896, respectively, and the biosorption capacity based on the former model is 1.37×104 mg kg−1. Moreover, dynamic adsorption models are also successfully fitted to the Cd2+ removal data taken under dynamic conditions. The effect of boundary layer thickness explained by the intra-particle diffusion model could be considered in extending the removal of Cd2+ at large-scale.