Escalating anthropogenic activities have caused heavy metal contamination in the environmental matrices.Due to their recalcitrant and toxic nature,their occurrence in high titers in the environment can threaten surviv...Escalating anthropogenic activities have caused heavy metal contamination in the environmental matrices.Due to their recalcitrant and toxic nature,their occurrence in high titers in the environment can threaten survival of biotic components.To take the edge off,remediation of metal-contaminated sites by phytoremediators that exhibit a potential to withstand heavy metal stress and quench harmful metals is considered an eco-sustainable approach.Despite the enormous potential,phytoremediation technique suffers a setback owing to high metal concentrations,occurrence of multiple pollutants,low plant biomass,and soil physicochemical status that affect plants at cellular and molecular levels,inducing morphological,physiological,and genetic alterations.Nevertheless,augmentation of soil with microorganisms can alleviate the challenge.A positive nexus between microbes,particularly plant growth-promoting microorganisms(PGPMs),and phytoremediators can prevent phytotoxicity and augment phytoremediation by employing strategies such as production of secondary metabolites,solubilization of phosphate,and synthesis of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid(ACC)deaminase and phytohormones.Microbes can mediate tolerance in plants by fortifying their antioxidant machinery,which maintains redox homeostasis and alleviates metal-induced oxidative damage in the plants.Associated microbes can also activate stress-responsive genes in plants and abridge metal-induced toxic effects.An in-depth exploration of the mechanisms employed by plant-associated microbes to trigger tolerance in phytoremediators is crucial for improving their phytoremediation potential and real-world applications.The present article attempts to comprehensively review these mechanisms that eventually facilitate the development of improved/new technology for soil ecosystem restoration.展开更多
The interdependency among water, food, and energy (WEF) in the GCC countries is strongly and closely interlinked, and is intensifying as demand for resources increases with population growth and changing consumption p...The interdependency among water, food, and energy (WEF) in the GCC countries is strongly and closely interlinked, and is intensifying as demand for resources increases with population growth and changing consumption patterns, and are expected to be further compounded by the impacts of climate change. Therefore, integrated management of the three sectors is crucial to reduce trade-offs and build synergies among them. This paper presents a comprehensive framework to assess the WEF nexus in Kuwait as a representative case for the GCC countries. The framework consists of three main steps: 1) evaluating the influence of socio-economic development and climate change on water, energy, and food resources;2) generating scenario-based projections;and 3) conducting an extensive quantitative nexus analysis. The WEF interlinkages in Kuwait are modelled quantitatively using the Q-Nexus model, and current critical interdependencies are evaluated. Then, various WEF-Nexus scenarios were conducted for the year 2035 to explore the effects of management interventions in one sector on the other two sectors. The main findings are that per capita municipal water consumption is a major influencer on the WEF-nexus due to the heavy reliance on thermal desalination in municipal water supply in Kuwait, which is attributed to its energy intensity, financial cost, GHGs emissions, and environmental impacts on the marine and air environments. To reduce WEF trade-offs, mitigate risks, and build synergies among the three sectors, it is important to shift the current policy focus on supply-side management approach to the demand-side management and efficiency approaches.展开更多
BACKGROUND Health utility assessments have been developed for various conditions,including chronic liver disease.Health utility scores are required for socio-economic evaluations,which can aid the distribution of nati...BACKGROUND Health utility assessments have been developed for various conditions,including chronic liver disease.Health utility scores are required for socio-economic evaluations,which can aid the distribution of national budgets.However,the standard health utility assessment scores for specific health conditions are largely unknown.AIM To summarize the health utility scores,including the EuroQOL 5-dimensions 5-levels(EQ-5D-5L),EuroQol-visual analogue scale,short from-36(SF-36),RAND-36,and Health Utilities Index(HUI)-Mark2/Mark3 scores,for the normal population and chronic liver disease patients.METHODS A systematic literature search of PubMed and MEDLINE,including the Cochrane Library,was performed.Meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan software.Multiple means and standard deviations were combined using the StatsToDo online web program.RESULTS The EQ-5D-5L and SF-36 can be used for health utility evaluations during antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.HUI-Mark2/Mark3 indicated that the health utility scores of hepatitis B patients are roughly 30% better than those of hepatitis C patients.CONCLUSION The EQ-5D-5L is the most popular questionnaire for health utility assessments.Health assessments that allow free registration would be useful for evaluating health utility in patients with liver disease.展开更多
BACKGROUND Mortality after hepatectomy has decreased,and the quality of various surgical approaches to hepatectomy have been evaluated.Various assessments of quality of life(QOL)after hepatectomy have been developed a...BACKGROUND Mortality after hepatectomy has decreased,and the quality of various surgical approaches to hepatectomy have been evaluated.Various assessments of quality of life(QOL)after hepatectomy have been developed and investigated in different clinical settings.AIM To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine two clinical topics:Laparoscopic hepatectomy vs open hepatectomy,and preoperative QOL status vs postoperative QOL status.METHODS A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and MEDLINE,including the Cochrane Library Central.The following inclusion criteria were set for inclusion in this meta-analysis:(1)Studies comparing preoperative QOL and postoperative QOL;and(2)Studies comparing QOL between laparoscopic hepatectomy and open hepatectomy.RESULTS A total of 8 articles were included in this meta-analysis.QOL was better after laparoscopic hepatectomy than after open hepatectomy.CONCLUSION The outcomes of evaluations of QOL after hepatectomy can depend on the type of questionnaire used,the timing of the assessment,and the etiology of the hepatic disease.展开更多
The aim of this study was to identify the potential antibacterial effects of gatifloxacin on periodontal pathogens including Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingi-valis, and Prevotella intermedia....The aim of this study was to identify the potential antibacterial effects of gatifloxacin on periodontal pathogens including Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingi-valis, and Prevotella intermedia. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of gatifloxacin and its bactericidal effects were investigated. Gatifloxacin inhibited the growth of all three kinds of periodontopathic bacteria tested in broth. The MIC value of 2.5 nM was found to be the most effective in inhibiting A. actinomycetemcomitans. An adenosine triphosphate biolumi-nescence assay revealed that gatifloxacin exhibited bactericidal effects on the tested bacteria in a time-dependent manner. The safety of gatifloxacin in mammalian cells was evaluated by assessing the viability of normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells treated with gatifloxacin. Almost all NHDF cells survived after 2-d culture, while 81% of the cells survived after 4-d culture when treated with 1.0 × 10<sup>3</sup> nM gatifloxacin. These results indicate that gatifloxacin is a possible drug for local administration to prevent periodontal infection.展开更多
Reconstructing a three-dimensional(3D)environment is an indispensable technique to make augmented reality and augmented virtuality feasible.A Kinect device is an efficient tool for reconstructing 3D environments,and u...Reconstructing a three-dimensional(3D)environment is an indispensable technique to make augmented reality and augmented virtuality feasible.A Kinect device is an efficient tool for reconstructing 3D environments,and using multiple Kinect devices enables the enhancement of reconstruction density and expansion of virtual spaces.To employ multiple devices simultaneously,Kinect devices need to be calibrated with respect to each other.There are several schemes available that calibrate 3D images generated frommultiple Kinect devices,including themarker detection method.In this study,we introduce a markerless calibration technique for Azure Kinect devices that avoids the drawbacks of marker detection,which directly affects calibration accuracy;it offers superior userfriendliness,efficiency,and accuracy.Further,we applied a joint tracking algorithm to approximate the calibration.Traditional methods require the information of multiple joints for calibration;however,Azure Kinect,the latest version of Kinect,requires the information of only one joint.The obtained result was further refined using the iterative closest point algorithm.We conducted several experimental tests that confirmed the enhanced efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method for multiple Kinect devices when compared to the conventional markerbased calibration.展开更多
With the recent development of big data technology that collects and analyzes various data,the technology that continuously collects and analyzes the observed data is also drawing attention.Moreover,its importance is ...With the recent development of big data technology that collects and analyzes various data,the technology that continuously collects and analyzes the observed data is also drawing attention.Moreover,its importance is growing in data collection in areas where people cannot access.In general,it is not easy to properly deploy IoT wireless devices for data collection in these areas,and it is also inappropriate to use general wheel-based mobile devices for relocation.Recently,researches have been actively carried out on hopping moving models in place of wheel-based movement for the inaccessible regions.The majority of studies,however,so far have unrealistic assumptions that all IoT devices know the overall state of the network and the current state of each device.Moreover,various physical terrain environments,such as coarse gravel and sand,can change from time to time,and it is impossible for all devices to recognize these changes in real-time.In this paper,with the migration success rate of IoT hopping devices being relocated,the method of estimating the varying environment is proposed.This method can actively reflect the changing environment in real-time and is a realistic distributed environment-based relocation protocol on behalf of non-realistic,theory-based relocation protocols.Also,one of the significant contributions of this paper is to evaluate its performance using the OMNeT++simulation tool for the first time in the world to reflect actual physical environmental conditions.Compared to previous studies,the proposed protocol was able to actively reflect the state of the surrounding environment,which resulted in improved migration success rates and higher energy efficiency.展开更多
Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)have been successfully employed in the field of image classification.However,CNN trained using images from several years ago may be unable to identify how such images have changed ove...Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)have been successfully employed in the field of image classification.However,CNN trained using images from several years ago may be unable to identify how such images have changed over time.Cross-age face recognition is,therefore,a substantial challenge.Several efforts have been made to resolve facial changes over time utilizing recurrent neural networks(RNN)with CNN.The structure of RNN contains hidden contextual information in a hidden state to transfer a state in the previous step to the next step.This paper proposes a novel model called Hidden State-CNN(HSCNN).This adds to CNN a convolution layer of the hidden state saved as a parameter in the previous step and requires no more computing resources than CNN.The previous CNN-RNN models perform CNN and RNN,separately and then merge the results.Therefore,their systems consume twice the memory resources and CPU time,compared with the HSCNN system,which works the same as CNN only.HSCNN consists of 3 types of models.All models load hidden state ht−1 from parameters of the previous step and save ht as a parameter for the next step.In addition,modelB adds ht−1 to x,which is the previous output.The summation of ht−1 and x is multiplied by weight W.In model-C the convolution layer has two weights:W1 and W2.Training HSCNN with faces of the previous step is for testing faces of the next step in the experiment.That is,HSCNN trained with past facial data is then used to verify future data.It has been found to exhibit 10 percent greater accuracy than traditional CNN with a celeb face database.展开更多
Social media have become an important communication tool and backstage for the dissemination of information for Honduran migrants seeking political asylum and international refugee status in the United States at the O...Social media have become an important communication tool and backstage for the dissemination of information for Honduran migrants seeking political asylum and international refugee status in the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. This nonmainstream structure of communication can be conceived as a type of counterargument to international border policies. In this essay, I examine how Bartolo Fuentes’s <em>Caminata del Migrante</em> post digitally informed migrant decision making processes, enforced migrant solidarity, and spurred a digital heterotopia providing a back and forth sharing of opinions and information between migrants, political actors, advocacy groups, and the press.展开更多
Clarity and preciseness in the use of language is crucial when communicating mathematical and probabilistic ideas. Lack of these can make even the simplest problem difficult to understand and solve. One such problem i...Clarity and preciseness in the use of language is crucial when communicating mathematical and probabilistic ideas. Lack of these can make even the simplest problem difficult to understand and solve. One such problem is the Monty Hall problem. In the past, a controversy was stirred among professional mathematicians when trying to reach a consensus on a solution to the problem. The problem still creates confusion among some of those who are asked to solve it for the first time. We purport to demonstrate the use of more precise language of basic conditional probability could have prevented the controversy.展开更多
The present study was conducted primarily,to determine the diversity of basidiomycetous fungi and their taxonomy,in the northeastern side of Quezon Protected Landscape,bordering the municipalities of Pagbilao,Padre Bu...The present study was conducted primarily,to determine the diversity of basidiomycetous fungi and their taxonomy,in the northeastern side of Quezon Protected Landscape,bordering the municipalities of Pagbilao,Padre Burgos and Atimonan in Quezon province,Southern Philippines.Ten quadrats measuring 10 m×15 m with an interval of 50 m were established from a transect line set up from the baseline to the peak of the landscape.Species of basidiomycetous fungi were pre-identified in the field.Substratum,form,texture,size,color and other noteworthy characteristics were recorded during the time of collection.Confirmation of identities was done using published textbooks,literature and consultation with mycology expert.A total of 863 individuals of basidiomycetous fungi were collected and identified belonging to 19 different families,31 genera and 53 species.Polyporaceae family has the highest number of species representing 30%of the total number of individuals documented.Most of the species belong to Hexagonia and Polyporus genera.The current research revealed that most of the substrates used by these fungal organisms are woody substrate,specifically rotten woods.The results of Shannon-Wiener diversity index showed that the area has a high basidiomycetous fungal diversity.There was also a high species richness of these fungal organisms,but there was a low dominance and the species were not evenly distributed in the area.As this area is open for hikers,it is recommended that a continuous monitoring of the macrofungi community be done for sustainability and conservation.展开更多
The film Tiny Tme tries to disassemble the generation after 1980s. After the city occupation cluster sign, the new group has gradually become the mainstream of modem urban life, a time to give mixed characteristics.
The aim of this study was to identify the potential antibacterial effects of gatifloxacin on one of canine periodontal pathogens, Porphyromonas gulae. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of gatifloxacin and it...The aim of this study was to identify the potential antibacterial effects of gatifloxacin on one of canine periodontal pathogens, Porphyromonas gulae. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of gatifloxacin and its bactericidal effects were investigated. Gatifloxacin inhibited the growth of the canine periodontopathic bacteria tested in broth. An MIC of 50 nM was found to be effective in inhibiting P. gulae. On performing adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence assay, gatifloxacin was found to exhibit bactericidal effects on the tested bacteria in a concentration-dependent manner. The safety of gatifloxacin in mammalian cells was evaluated by assessing the viability of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem (BMMS) cells treated with gatifloxacin. Almost over 80% of BMMS cells survived after a 3-day culture when treated with 100 nM of gatifloxacin. These results indicate that locally administered gatifloxacin has the potential for being used to prevent canine periodontal infection.展开更多
BACKGROUND Minimally invasive hepatectomy techniques have developed rapidly since 2000.Pure laparoscopic liver resection(LLR)has become the primary approach for managing liver tumors and procuring donor organs for liv...BACKGROUND Minimally invasive hepatectomy techniques have developed rapidly since 2000.Pure laparoscopic liver resection(LLR)has become the primary approach for managing liver tumors and procuring donor organs for liver transplantation.Robotic liver resection(RLR)has emerged during the last decade.The technical status of RLR seems to be improving.AIM To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the short-term clinical outcomes of LLR and RLR over two 5-year periods.METHODS A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and Medline,including the Cochrane Library.The following inclusion criteria were set for the meta-analysis:(1)Studies comparing LLR vs RLR;and(2)Studies that described clinical outcomes,such as the operative time,intraoperative bleeding,intraoperative conversion rate,and postoperative complications.RESULTS A total of 25 articles were included in this meta-analysis after 40 articles had been subjected to full-text evaluations.The studies were divided into early(n=14)and recent(n=11)groups.In the recent group,the operative time did not differ significantly between LLR and RLR(P=0.70),whereas in the early group the operative time of LLR was significantly shorter than that of RLR(P<0.001).CONCLUSION The initial disadvantages of RLR,such as its long operation time,have been overcome during the last 5 years.The other clinical outcomes of RLR are comparable to those of LLR.The cost and quality-of-life outcomes of RLR should be evaluated in future studies to promote its routine clinical use.展开更多
‘Selfie’taking was introduced to the common people by smartphones and has become a common practice across the globe in no time.With technological advancement and the popularity of smartphones,selfie-taking has grown...‘Selfie’taking was introduced to the common people by smartphones and has become a common practice across the globe in no time.With technological advancement and the popularity of smartphones,selfie-taking has grown rapidly within a short time.In light of the new trend set by the generation,this study aimed to explore reasons for selfie-taking and selfie-posting on social media and their effects on the social and psychological lives of young adults.A purposive sampling method was adopted to select 20 Indian citizens,between 18 and 24 years.The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.Selfie-taking and posting on social media give positive feelings,and it acts as a mood modifier dependent mostly on the favourability and feedback about the post which in turn affects emotions and self-satisfaction.展开更多
The Paris Agreement’s differentiation architecture is a key feature of the international climate regime,enabling countries to submit climate action plans based on their unique national circumstances.The study is desi...The Paris Agreement’s differentiation architecture is a key feature of the international climate regime,enabling countries to submit climate action plans based on their unique national circumstances.The study is designed to investigate the impact of the Paris Agreement differentiation architecture on LDCs from Africa engagement in the UNFCCC process.The study adopted an exploratory research design and adopted a census approach to get a sample size of 66 negotiators from 33 LDCs in the Africa Group of Negotiators(AGN)for questionnaire administration.This paper presents part of the results of the research focused on how the Paris Agreement differentiation architecture inad vertently prevails over the unity of the developing countries and consequently drives collective ambition.The study notes the divide and rule elements of the Paris Agreement through strategic coordination challenges between AGN and LDCs from Africa;the LDCs from Africa’s divergent interests from AGN and G77 and China;and the LDCs’appropriation of new friends and partnerships.Consequently,LDCs from Africa are covertly and unassumingly redefining the concept of climate justice by transcending the traditional divide between developed and developing countries that characterized the preParis climate regime in calling for accountability for climate action.The study reveals that the Paris Agreement differentiation system contributes to the weakening of the unity of developing nations in their negotiations in the UNFCCC process,as revealed by how LDCs from Africa participate in the climate negotiations un der the current climate regime.The study further found that LDCs from Africa’s positions and tactics differ from those of other developing countries by opting to use nonstate actors and sometimes collaborating with developed countries.LDCs from Africa have tactfully been indifferent to Africa Group of Negotiators(AGN)interests such as the African Special Circumstances Agenda.While most developing countries have opposed the agenda,the position taken by LDCs from Africa is interesting because these parties come from AGN,which originated and owns this position.The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States(CELAC)growing role in climate discussions,with aspirations to become a formal negotiating group,adds to the diplomatic complexity of the developing countries,which is mainly attributable to the Paris Agreement differentiation framework.The Paris Agreement has resulted in fractured solidarity among developing nations,with developing country groups split into subtle selfinterested entities that only use formal coalitions when it suits them.However,the unintended impact of the fissure is that LDCs from Africa and the rest of the LDCs are constantly pushing both developed and emerging economies for enhanced ambition,which is the primary purpose of the Paris Agreement.The deepened association with developed countries and nonstate actors,especially civil society organizations,is helping LDCs from Africa to push for ambition through lobbying advocacy and enhancing their capacity in negotiations through the inclusion of nonstate actors.Further,this development has enabled LDCs from Africa and others to reshape and redefine the concept of climate justice by advocating for a combined consideration of both historical responsibility and the current actions which ultimately brings emerging developing countries into the fold of accountability The study draws recommendations for LDCs from Africa to ensure unity of developing countries to keep negotiating as one for climate ambition while maintaining flexibility for individual parties to pursue their interests in alignment with the new climate regime.展开更多
Equity and fairness are fundamental principles in climate negotiations under the UNFCCC,essential for incentivizing active and effective participation of all parties involved.Historically,the principle of Common But D...Equity and fairness are fundamental principles in climate negotiations under the UNFCCC,essential for incentivizing active and effective participation of all parties involved.Historically,the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities(CBDR-RC)has been used to define the fairness and equitability of the international climate process which placed considerable accountability on developed nations on account of their historical responsibility for climate change and their capacity to address the problem.However,the Paris Agreement marked a shift toward a more inclusive global approach,requiring all countries to submit climate action plans tailored to their unique circumstances.Under the Paris Agreement,developing countries which were historically inculpable are also required to take comparable climate action alongside developed countries albeit in accordance with their socio-economic uniqueness.The study examined how Least Developed Countries(LDCs),from Africa,a sub-set of the developing countries within the African Group of Negotiators(AGN)perceive fairness and equity within the Paris Agreement framework.Using exploratory research,focused informant interviews and questionnaire to LDCs negotiators from Africa found that these countries acknowledge the retention of preferential provisions—such as flexible reporting requirements and targeted financial support—in the Paris Agreement as an important element in their consideration of fairness and equitability of the regime given their socio-economic status,vulnerability,and susceptibility to negative impacts to climate change have not improved since 1997.On the other hand,the study found that LDCs from Africa continue to face an avalanche of structural and systematic challenges in international climate negotiations which include inadequate representation,limited access to scientific information,and power imbalances with developed and emerging developing countries which necessitated the retention of the flexibilities and preferential conditions in the current climate regime.About 75% of the LDCs from Africa negotiators think that the retention of flexibilities enables them to participate in climate action in accordance with their abilities while allowing space to participate in their sustainable development and socio-economic pursuits without any restraining obligations.Despite these challenges,African LDCs from Africa,have developed ambitious NDCs,with 80% adopting economywide and long-term low-carbon strategies.Their commitment to implementation of the critical parts of the Paris Agreement relies heavily on targeted and preferential provision of international cooperation,reflecting both their trust in the UNFCCC and the crucial role that perceptions of fairness and equity play in sustaining this trust.To address the structure and system challenges,African LDCs have adopted innovative negotiation strategies to enhance their influence and achieve significant breakthroughs in climate diplomacy.African LDCs hold mixed views on the Paris Agreement’s approach to differentiation.While they acknowledge the Paris Agreement’s efforts to mobilize climate ambition through NDCs and provide flexibilities and preferential support for implementation,many strongly believe it falls short in delivering true fairness and equity.The research identified the Paris Agreement’s Achilles heel as its inability to effectively and practically incentivize climate ambition among parties as anticipated by the objectives of the treaty.Sixty-five percent(65%)of respondents attribute this failure to the lack of enforcement mechanisms and self-differentiation which leaves parties without sufficient motivation to independently and ambitiously determine their contributions.When asked whether the shortcomings of the Paris Agreement could lead to frustration among parties and questioning its effectiveness and pushing for a new treaty,70%of African LDCs viewed this scenario as unlikely.However,Papua New Guinea’s recent decision to boycott climate negotiations in Baku,Azerbaijan,due to unfulfilled climate finance commitments,highlights the growing frustration among parties over the gap between the promise of the Paris Agreement and its actual delivery especially to developing countries.The study found that African LDCs generally view the Paris Agreement as equitable,given its recognition of their vulnerabilities and its emphasis on broadening global climate action to include emerging economies and nonstate actors.Though LDCs from Africa welcome the inclusion of the emerging developing countries to take up enhanced commitments almost comparable to developed countries,though they also feel that treating these countries as developed is equally unfair.The study found that the agreement falls short in critical areas,particularly in failing to mobilize climate ambition particularly mitigation and climate finance to support the achievement of the 1.5℃ temperature goal and efforts to build adaptation and resilience of the most affected.These challenges significantly impede the efforts of LDCs to implement their ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs),particularly in mitigation,which is almost entirely reliant on international cooperation and support.To bridge these gaps,the study is making recommendations for urgent reforms in the UNFCCC process that would ensure meaningful inclusion of LDCs and the successful achievement of global climate goals.展开更多
The nonlinear activation functions in the deep CNN(Convolutional Neural Network)based on fluid dynamics are presented.We propose two types of activation functions by applying the so-called parametric softsign to the n...The nonlinear activation functions in the deep CNN(Convolutional Neural Network)based on fluid dynamics are presented.We propose two types of activation functions by applying the so-called parametric softsign to the negative region.We use significantly the well-known TensorFlow as the deep learning framework.The CNN architecture consists of three convolutional layers with the max-pooling and one fullyconnected softmax layer.The CNN approaches are applied to three benchmark datasets,namely,MNIST,CIFAR-10,and CIFAR-100.Numerical results demonstrate the workability and the validity of the present approach through comparison with other numerical performances.展开更多
The Song Dynasty has been known in history for its great commercial success due to a series of events in the dynasty.In order to explain the reasons for economic success,this paper attempts to use factors such as poli...The Song Dynasty has been known in history for its great commercial success due to a series of events in the dynasty.In order to explain the reasons for economic success,this paper attempts to use factors such as political stability,discovery of new rice species in the South,the introduction of paper money by merchants from Sichuan in the South of China,and the increase in iron production especially in the North.Specialisation of products is also discussed separately but into details.A further mention of characteristics of the internal and international trade is also highlighted in this paper.An introduction of how the Song dynasty was founded and its distinct political,social and cultural characteristics,are delved into.Also the separation of northern Song Dynasty from the southern Song dynasty will be discussed.The paper concludes with combined interpretations from the famous“Qing Ming Shag He Tu”painting.This painting gives a somewhat illustrated evidence of the vibrancy of the Song Dynasty’s commercialisation recorded in history.展开更多
BACKGROUND Surgical site infections(SSIs)increase mortality,hospital stays,additional medical treatment,and medical costs.Subcutaneous drains prevent SSIs in gynecological and breast surgeries;however,their clinical i...BACKGROUND Surgical site infections(SSIs)increase mortality,hospital stays,additional medical treatment,and medical costs.Subcutaneous drains prevent SSIs in gynecological and breast surgeries;however,their clinical impact in abdominal surgery remains unclear.AIM To investigate whether subcutaneous drains were beneficial in abdominal surgery using a systematic review and meta-analysis.METHODS The database search used PubMed,MEDLINE,and the Cochrane Library.The following inclusion criteria were set for the systematic review:(1)Randomized controlled trial studies comparing SSIs after abdominal surgery with or without subcutaneous drains;and(2)Studies that described clinical outcomes,such as SSIs,seroma formation,the length of hospital stays,and mortality.RESULTS Eight studies were included in this meta-analysis.The rate of total SSIs was significantly lower in the drained group(54/771,7.0%)than in the control group(89/759,11.7%),particularly in gastrointestinal surgery.Furthermore,the rate of superficial SSIs was slightly lower in the drained group(31/517,6.0%)than in the control group(49/521,9.4%).No significant differences were observed in seroma formation between the groups.Hospital stays were shorter in the drained group than in the control group.CONCLUSION Subcutaneous drains after abdominal surgery prevented SSIs and reduced hospital stays but did not significantly affect seroma formation.The timing of drain removal needs to be reconsidered in future studies.展开更多
基金the financial support from the project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation on the Young Scientist Laboratory within the framework of the Interregional Scientific and Educational Center of the South of Russia(No.FENW-2024-0001)the Strategic Academic Leadership Program of the Southern Federal University,Russia(Priority 2030)the Science and Engineering Research Board,Govt.of India for providing financial assistance(SERB/EEQ/2021/000735)。
文摘Escalating anthropogenic activities have caused heavy metal contamination in the environmental matrices.Due to their recalcitrant and toxic nature,their occurrence in high titers in the environment can threaten survival of biotic components.To take the edge off,remediation of metal-contaminated sites by phytoremediators that exhibit a potential to withstand heavy metal stress and quench harmful metals is considered an eco-sustainable approach.Despite the enormous potential,phytoremediation technique suffers a setback owing to high metal concentrations,occurrence of multiple pollutants,low plant biomass,and soil physicochemical status that affect plants at cellular and molecular levels,inducing morphological,physiological,and genetic alterations.Nevertheless,augmentation of soil with microorganisms can alleviate the challenge.A positive nexus between microbes,particularly plant growth-promoting microorganisms(PGPMs),and phytoremediators can prevent phytotoxicity and augment phytoremediation by employing strategies such as production of secondary metabolites,solubilization of phosphate,and synthesis of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid(ACC)deaminase and phytohormones.Microbes can mediate tolerance in plants by fortifying their antioxidant machinery,which maintains redox homeostasis and alleviates metal-induced oxidative damage in the plants.Associated microbes can also activate stress-responsive genes in plants and abridge metal-induced toxic effects.An in-depth exploration of the mechanisms employed by plant-associated microbes to trigger tolerance in phytoremediators is crucial for improving their phytoremediation potential and real-world applications.The present article attempts to comprehensively review these mechanisms that eventually facilitate the development of improved/new technology for soil ecosystem restoration.
文摘The interdependency among water, food, and energy (WEF) in the GCC countries is strongly and closely interlinked, and is intensifying as demand for resources increases with population growth and changing consumption patterns, and are expected to be further compounded by the impacts of climate change. Therefore, integrated management of the three sectors is crucial to reduce trade-offs and build synergies among them. This paper presents a comprehensive framework to assess the WEF nexus in Kuwait as a representative case for the GCC countries. The framework consists of three main steps: 1) evaluating the influence of socio-economic development and climate change on water, energy, and food resources;2) generating scenario-based projections;and 3) conducting an extensive quantitative nexus analysis. The WEF interlinkages in Kuwait are modelled quantitatively using the Q-Nexus model, and current critical interdependencies are evaluated. Then, various WEF-Nexus scenarios were conducted for the year 2035 to explore the effects of management interventions in one sector on the other two sectors. The main findings are that per capita municipal water consumption is a major influencer on the WEF-nexus due to the heavy reliance on thermal desalination in municipal water supply in Kuwait, which is attributed to its energy intensity, financial cost, GHGs emissions, and environmental impacts on the marine and air environments. To reduce WEF trade-offs, mitigate risks, and build synergies among the three sectors, it is important to shift the current policy focus on supply-side management approach to the demand-side management and efficiency approaches.
基金Supported by Grants-in-Aid from JSPS KAKENHI,No.JP 20K10404(to Mizuguchi T)and No.JP 21K10715(to Ishinuki T)the Hokkaido Hepatitis B Litigation Orange Fund,No.2059198(to Mizuguchi T)and No.2136589(to Harada K)+14 种基金Terumo Life Science Foundation,No.2000666Pfizer Health Research Foundation,No.2000777the Viral Hepatitis Research Foundation of Japan,No.3039838Project Mirai Cancer Research Grants,No.202110251Takahashi Industrial and Economic Research Foundation,No.12-003-106Daiichi Sankyo Company,No.2109540Shionogi and Co.,No.2109493MSD,No.2099412Takeda Pharmaceutical Company,No.2000555Sapporo Doto Hospital,No.2039118Noguchi Hospital,No.2029083Doki-kai Tomakomai Hospital,No.2059203Tsuchida Hospital,No.2000092Shinyu-kai Noguchi Hospital,No.2029083(to Mizuguchi T)the Yasuda Medical Foundation,No.28-1(to Ishinuki T).
文摘BACKGROUND Health utility assessments have been developed for various conditions,including chronic liver disease.Health utility scores are required for socio-economic evaluations,which can aid the distribution of national budgets.However,the standard health utility assessment scores for specific health conditions are largely unknown.AIM To summarize the health utility scores,including the EuroQOL 5-dimensions 5-levels(EQ-5D-5L),EuroQol-visual analogue scale,short from-36(SF-36),RAND-36,and Health Utilities Index(HUI)-Mark2/Mark3 scores,for the normal population and chronic liver disease patients.METHODS A systematic literature search of PubMed and MEDLINE,including the Cochrane Library,was performed.Meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan software.Multiple means and standard deviations were combined using the StatsToDo online web program.RESULTS The EQ-5D-5L and SF-36 can be used for health utility evaluations during antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.HUI-Mark2/Mark3 indicated that the health utility scores of hepatitis B patients are roughly 30% better than those of hepatitis C patients.CONCLUSION The EQ-5D-5L is the most popular questionnaire for health utility assessments.Health assessments that allow free registration would be useful for evaluating health utility in patients with liver disease.
基金Supported by Grant-in-Aid from JSPS KAKENHI,No.JP 20K10404(to Mizuguchi T)the Hokkaido Hepatitis B Litigation Orange Fund,No.2059198+9 种基金Terumo Life Science Foundation,No.2000666Pfizer Health Research Foundation,No.2000777Daiichi Sankyo Company,No.2109540Shionogi and Co.,No.2109493MSD,No.2099412Takeda,No,2000555Sapporo Doto Hospital,No.2039118Noguchi Hospital,No.2029083Doki-kai Tomakomai Hospital,No.2059203and Tsuchida Hospital,No.2069231.
文摘BACKGROUND Mortality after hepatectomy has decreased,and the quality of various surgical approaches to hepatectomy have been evaluated.Various assessments of quality of life(QOL)after hepatectomy have been developed and investigated in different clinical settings.AIM To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine two clinical topics:Laparoscopic hepatectomy vs open hepatectomy,and preoperative QOL status vs postoperative QOL status.METHODS A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and MEDLINE,including the Cochrane Library Central.The following inclusion criteria were set for inclusion in this meta-analysis:(1)Studies comparing preoperative QOL and postoperative QOL;and(2)Studies comparing QOL between laparoscopic hepatectomy and open hepatectomy.RESULTS A total of 8 articles were included in this meta-analysis.QOL was better after laparoscopic hepatectomy than after open hepatectomy.CONCLUSION The outcomes of evaluations of QOL after hepatectomy can depend on the type of questionnaire used,the timing of the assessment,and the etiology of the hepatic disease.
文摘The aim of this study was to identify the potential antibacterial effects of gatifloxacin on periodontal pathogens including Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingi-valis, and Prevotella intermedia. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of gatifloxacin and its bactericidal effects were investigated. Gatifloxacin inhibited the growth of all three kinds of periodontopathic bacteria tested in broth. The MIC value of 2.5 nM was found to be the most effective in inhibiting A. actinomycetemcomitans. An adenosine triphosphate biolumi-nescence assay revealed that gatifloxacin exhibited bactericidal effects on the tested bacteria in a time-dependent manner. The safety of gatifloxacin in mammalian cells was evaluated by assessing the viability of normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells treated with gatifloxacin. Almost all NHDF cells survived after 2-d culture, while 81% of the cells survived after 4-d culture when treated with 1.0 × 10<sup>3</sup> nM gatifloxacin. These results indicate that gatifloxacin is a possible drug for local administration to prevent periodontal infection.
基金supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Korea Government(MSIT)(Grant No.NRF-2022R1A2C1004588).
文摘Reconstructing a three-dimensional(3D)environment is an indispensable technique to make augmented reality and augmented virtuality feasible.A Kinect device is an efficient tool for reconstructing 3D environments,and using multiple Kinect devices enables the enhancement of reconstruction density and expansion of virtual spaces.To employ multiple devices simultaneously,Kinect devices need to be calibrated with respect to each other.There are several schemes available that calibrate 3D images generated frommultiple Kinect devices,including themarker detection method.In this study,we introduce a markerless calibration technique for Azure Kinect devices that avoids the drawbacks of marker detection,which directly affects calibration accuracy;it offers superior userfriendliness,efficiency,and accuracy.Further,we applied a joint tracking algorithm to approximate the calibration.Traditional methods require the information of multiple joints for calibration;however,Azure Kinect,the latest version of Kinect,requires the information of only one joint.The obtained result was further refined using the iterative closest point algorithm.We conducted several experimental tests that confirmed the enhanced efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method for multiple Kinect devices when compared to the conventional markerbased calibration.
基金This work was supported by Research Assistance Program(2019)in the Incheon National University and the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)grant funded by the Ministry of Science,ICT&Future Planning(No.NRF-2019R1G1A1007832).
文摘With the recent development of big data technology that collects and analyzes various data,the technology that continuously collects and analyzes the observed data is also drawing attention.Moreover,its importance is growing in data collection in areas where people cannot access.In general,it is not easy to properly deploy IoT wireless devices for data collection in these areas,and it is also inappropriate to use general wheel-based mobile devices for relocation.Recently,researches have been actively carried out on hopping moving models in place of wheel-based movement for the inaccessible regions.The majority of studies,however,so far have unrealistic assumptions that all IoT devices know the overall state of the network and the current state of each device.Moreover,various physical terrain environments,such as coarse gravel and sand,can change from time to time,and it is impossible for all devices to recognize these changes in real-time.In this paper,with the migration success rate of IoT hopping devices being relocated,the method of estimating the varying environment is proposed.This method can actively reflect the changing environment in real-time and is a realistic distributed environment-based relocation protocol on behalf of non-realistic,theory-based relocation protocols.Also,one of the significant contributions of this paper is to evaluate its performance using the OMNeT++simulation tool for the first time in the world to reflect actual physical environmental conditions.Compared to previous studies,the proposed protocol was able to actively reflect the state of the surrounding environment,which resulted in improved migration success rates and higher energy efficiency.
基金This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)grant in 2019(NRF-2019R1G1A1004773).
文摘Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)have been successfully employed in the field of image classification.However,CNN trained using images from several years ago may be unable to identify how such images have changed over time.Cross-age face recognition is,therefore,a substantial challenge.Several efforts have been made to resolve facial changes over time utilizing recurrent neural networks(RNN)with CNN.The structure of RNN contains hidden contextual information in a hidden state to transfer a state in the previous step to the next step.This paper proposes a novel model called Hidden State-CNN(HSCNN).This adds to CNN a convolution layer of the hidden state saved as a parameter in the previous step and requires no more computing resources than CNN.The previous CNN-RNN models perform CNN and RNN,separately and then merge the results.Therefore,their systems consume twice the memory resources and CPU time,compared with the HSCNN system,which works the same as CNN only.HSCNN consists of 3 types of models.All models load hidden state ht−1 from parameters of the previous step and save ht as a parameter for the next step.In addition,modelB adds ht−1 to x,which is the previous output.The summation of ht−1 and x is multiplied by weight W.In model-C the convolution layer has two weights:W1 and W2.Training HSCNN with faces of the previous step is for testing faces of the next step in the experiment.That is,HSCNN trained with past facial data is then used to verify future data.It has been found to exhibit 10 percent greater accuracy than traditional CNN with a celeb face database.
文摘Social media have become an important communication tool and backstage for the dissemination of information for Honduran migrants seeking political asylum and international refugee status in the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. This nonmainstream structure of communication can be conceived as a type of counterargument to international border policies. In this essay, I examine how Bartolo Fuentes’s <em>Caminata del Migrante</em> post digitally informed migrant decision making processes, enforced migrant solidarity, and spurred a digital heterotopia providing a back and forth sharing of opinions and information between migrants, political actors, advocacy groups, and the press.
文摘Clarity and preciseness in the use of language is crucial when communicating mathematical and probabilistic ideas. Lack of these can make even the simplest problem difficult to understand and solve. One such problem is the Monty Hall problem. In the past, a controversy was stirred among professional mathematicians when trying to reach a consensus on a solution to the problem. The problem still creates confusion among some of those who are asked to solve it for the first time. We purport to demonstrate the use of more precise language of basic conditional probability could have prevented the controversy.
文摘The present study was conducted primarily,to determine the diversity of basidiomycetous fungi and their taxonomy,in the northeastern side of Quezon Protected Landscape,bordering the municipalities of Pagbilao,Padre Burgos and Atimonan in Quezon province,Southern Philippines.Ten quadrats measuring 10 m×15 m with an interval of 50 m were established from a transect line set up from the baseline to the peak of the landscape.Species of basidiomycetous fungi were pre-identified in the field.Substratum,form,texture,size,color and other noteworthy characteristics were recorded during the time of collection.Confirmation of identities was done using published textbooks,literature and consultation with mycology expert.A total of 863 individuals of basidiomycetous fungi were collected and identified belonging to 19 different families,31 genera and 53 species.Polyporaceae family has the highest number of species representing 30%of the total number of individuals documented.Most of the species belong to Hexagonia and Polyporus genera.The current research revealed that most of the substrates used by these fungal organisms are woody substrate,specifically rotten woods.The results of Shannon-Wiener diversity index showed that the area has a high basidiomycetous fungal diversity.There was also a high species richness of these fungal organisms,but there was a low dominance and the species were not evenly distributed in the area.As this area is open for hikers,it is recommended that a continuous monitoring of the macrofungi community be done for sustainability and conservation.
文摘The film Tiny Tme tries to disassemble the generation after 1980s. After the city occupation cluster sign, the new group has gradually become the mainstream of modem urban life, a time to give mixed characteristics.
文摘The aim of this study was to identify the potential antibacterial effects of gatifloxacin on one of canine periodontal pathogens, Porphyromonas gulae. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of gatifloxacin and its bactericidal effects were investigated. Gatifloxacin inhibited the growth of the canine periodontopathic bacteria tested in broth. An MIC of 50 nM was found to be effective in inhibiting P. gulae. On performing adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence assay, gatifloxacin was found to exhibit bactericidal effects on the tested bacteria in a concentration-dependent manner. The safety of gatifloxacin in mammalian cells was evaluated by assessing the viability of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem (BMMS) cells treated with gatifloxacin. Almost over 80% of BMMS cells survived after a 3-day culture when treated with 100 nM of gatifloxacin. These results indicate that locally administered gatifloxacin has the potential for being used to prevent canine periodontal infection.
基金Supported by Grants-in-Aid from JSPS KAKENHI,No.JP 20K10404(to Mizuguchi T)the Hokkaido Hepatitis B Litigation Orange Fund,No.2059198+10 种基金Terumo Life Science Foundation,No.2000666Pfizer Health Research Foundation,No.2000777the Viral Hepatitis Research Foundation of Japan,No.2000638Daiichi Sankyo Company,No.2109540Shionogi and Co.,No.2109493MSD,No.2099412Takeda,No.2000555Sapporo Doto Hospital,No.2039118Noguchi Hospital,No.2029083Doki-kai Tomakomai Hospital,No.2059203Tsuchida Hospital,No.2069231.
文摘BACKGROUND Minimally invasive hepatectomy techniques have developed rapidly since 2000.Pure laparoscopic liver resection(LLR)has become the primary approach for managing liver tumors and procuring donor organs for liver transplantation.Robotic liver resection(RLR)has emerged during the last decade.The technical status of RLR seems to be improving.AIM To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the short-term clinical outcomes of LLR and RLR over two 5-year periods.METHODS A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed and Medline,including the Cochrane Library.The following inclusion criteria were set for the meta-analysis:(1)Studies comparing LLR vs RLR;and(2)Studies that described clinical outcomes,such as the operative time,intraoperative bleeding,intraoperative conversion rate,and postoperative complications.RESULTS A total of 25 articles were included in this meta-analysis after 40 articles had been subjected to full-text evaluations.The studies were divided into early(n=14)and recent(n=11)groups.In the recent group,the operative time did not differ significantly between LLR and RLR(P=0.70),whereas in the early group the operative time of LLR was significantly shorter than that of RLR(P<0.001).CONCLUSION The initial disadvantages of RLR,such as its long operation time,have been overcome during the last 5 years.The other clinical outcomes of RLR are comparable to those of LLR.The cost and quality-of-life outcomes of RLR should be evaluated in future studies to promote its routine clinical use.
文摘‘Selfie’taking was introduced to the common people by smartphones and has become a common practice across the globe in no time.With technological advancement and the popularity of smartphones,selfie-taking has grown rapidly within a short time.In light of the new trend set by the generation,this study aimed to explore reasons for selfie-taking and selfie-posting on social media and their effects on the social and psychological lives of young adults.A purposive sampling method was adopted to select 20 Indian citizens,between 18 and 24 years.The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.Selfie-taking and posting on social media give positive feelings,and it acts as a mood modifier dependent mostly on the favourability and feedback about the post which in turn affects emotions and self-satisfaction.
文摘The Paris Agreement’s differentiation architecture is a key feature of the international climate regime,enabling countries to submit climate action plans based on their unique national circumstances.The study is designed to investigate the impact of the Paris Agreement differentiation architecture on LDCs from Africa engagement in the UNFCCC process.The study adopted an exploratory research design and adopted a census approach to get a sample size of 66 negotiators from 33 LDCs in the Africa Group of Negotiators(AGN)for questionnaire administration.This paper presents part of the results of the research focused on how the Paris Agreement differentiation architecture inad vertently prevails over the unity of the developing countries and consequently drives collective ambition.The study notes the divide and rule elements of the Paris Agreement through strategic coordination challenges between AGN and LDCs from Africa;the LDCs from Africa’s divergent interests from AGN and G77 and China;and the LDCs’appropriation of new friends and partnerships.Consequently,LDCs from Africa are covertly and unassumingly redefining the concept of climate justice by transcending the traditional divide between developed and developing countries that characterized the preParis climate regime in calling for accountability for climate action.The study reveals that the Paris Agreement differentiation system contributes to the weakening of the unity of developing nations in their negotiations in the UNFCCC process,as revealed by how LDCs from Africa participate in the climate negotiations un der the current climate regime.The study further found that LDCs from Africa’s positions and tactics differ from those of other developing countries by opting to use nonstate actors and sometimes collaborating with developed countries.LDCs from Africa have tactfully been indifferent to Africa Group of Negotiators(AGN)interests such as the African Special Circumstances Agenda.While most developing countries have opposed the agenda,the position taken by LDCs from Africa is interesting because these parties come from AGN,which originated and owns this position.The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States(CELAC)growing role in climate discussions,with aspirations to become a formal negotiating group,adds to the diplomatic complexity of the developing countries,which is mainly attributable to the Paris Agreement differentiation framework.The Paris Agreement has resulted in fractured solidarity among developing nations,with developing country groups split into subtle selfinterested entities that only use formal coalitions when it suits them.However,the unintended impact of the fissure is that LDCs from Africa and the rest of the LDCs are constantly pushing both developed and emerging economies for enhanced ambition,which is the primary purpose of the Paris Agreement.The deepened association with developed countries and nonstate actors,especially civil society organizations,is helping LDCs from Africa to push for ambition through lobbying advocacy and enhancing their capacity in negotiations through the inclusion of nonstate actors.Further,this development has enabled LDCs from Africa and others to reshape and redefine the concept of climate justice by advocating for a combined consideration of both historical responsibility and the current actions which ultimately brings emerging developing countries into the fold of accountability The study draws recommendations for LDCs from Africa to ensure unity of developing countries to keep negotiating as one for climate ambition while maintaining flexibility for individual parties to pursue their interests in alignment with the new climate regime.
文摘Equity and fairness are fundamental principles in climate negotiations under the UNFCCC,essential for incentivizing active and effective participation of all parties involved.Historically,the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities(CBDR-RC)has been used to define the fairness and equitability of the international climate process which placed considerable accountability on developed nations on account of their historical responsibility for climate change and their capacity to address the problem.However,the Paris Agreement marked a shift toward a more inclusive global approach,requiring all countries to submit climate action plans tailored to their unique circumstances.Under the Paris Agreement,developing countries which were historically inculpable are also required to take comparable climate action alongside developed countries albeit in accordance with their socio-economic uniqueness.The study examined how Least Developed Countries(LDCs),from Africa,a sub-set of the developing countries within the African Group of Negotiators(AGN)perceive fairness and equity within the Paris Agreement framework.Using exploratory research,focused informant interviews and questionnaire to LDCs negotiators from Africa found that these countries acknowledge the retention of preferential provisions—such as flexible reporting requirements and targeted financial support—in the Paris Agreement as an important element in their consideration of fairness and equitability of the regime given their socio-economic status,vulnerability,and susceptibility to negative impacts to climate change have not improved since 1997.On the other hand,the study found that LDCs from Africa continue to face an avalanche of structural and systematic challenges in international climate negotiations which include inadequate representation,limited access to scientific information,and power imbalances with developed and emerging developing countries which necessitated the retention of the flexibilities and preferential conditions in the current climate regime.About 75% of the LDCs from Africa negotiators think that the retention of flexibilities enables them to participate in climate action in accordance with their abilities while allowing space to participate in their sustainable development and socio-economic pursuits without any restraining obligations.Despite these challenges,African LDCs from Africa,have developed ambitious NDCs,with 80% adopting economywide and long-term low-carbon strategies.Their commitment to implementation of the critical parts of the Paris Agreement relies heavily on targeted and preferential provision of international cooperation,reflecting both their trust in the UNFCCC and the crucial role that perceptions of fairness and equity play in sustaining this trust.To address the structure and system challenges,African LDCs have adopted innovative negotiation strategies to enhance their influence and achieve significant breakthroughs in climate diplomacy.African LDCs hold mixed views on the Paris Agreement’s approach to differentiation.While they acknowledge the Paris Agreement’s efforts to mobilize climate ambition through NDCs and provide flexibilities and preferential support for implementation,many strongly believe it falls short in delivering true fairness and equity.The research identified the Paris Agreement’s Achilles heel as its inability to effectively and practically incentivize climate ambition among parties as anticipated by the objectives of the treaty.Sixty-five percent(65%)of respondents attribute this failure to the lack of enforcement mechanisms and self-differentiation which leaves parties without sufficient motivation to independently and ambitiously determine their contributions.When asked whether the shortcomings of the Paris Agreement could lead to frustration among parties and questioning its effectiveness and pushing for a new treaty,70%of African LDCs viewed this scenario as unlikely.However,Papua New Guinea’s recent decision to boycott climate negotiations in Baku,Azerbaijan,due to unfulfilled climate finance commitments,highlights the growing frustration among parties over the gap between the promise of the Paris Agreement and its actual delivery especially to developing countries.The study found that African LDCs generally view the Paris Agreement as equitable,given its recognition of their vulnerabilities and its emphasis on broadening global climate action to include emerging economies and nonstate actors.Though LDCs from Africa welcome the inclusion of the emerging developing countries to take up enhanced commitments almost comparable to developed countries,though they also feel that treating these countries as developed is equally unfair.The study found that the agreement falls short in critical areas,particularly in failing to mobilize climate ambition particularly mitigation and climate finance to support the achievement of the 1.5℃ temperature goal and efforts to build adaptation and resilience of the most affected.These challenges significantly impede the efforts of LDCs to implement their ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs),particularly in mitigation,which is almost entirely reliant on international cooperation and support.To bridge these gaps,the study is making recommendations for urgent reforms in the UNFCCC process that would ensure meaningful inclusion of LDCs and the successful achievement of global climate goals.
文摘The nonlinear activation functions in the deep CNN(Convolutional Neural Network)based on fluid dynamics are presented.We propose two types of activation functions by applying the so-called parametric softsign to the negative region.We use significantly the well-known TensorFlow as the deep learning framework.The CNN architecture consists of three convolutional layers with the max-pooling and one fullyconnected softmax layer.The CNN approaches are applied to three benchmark datasets,namely,MNIST,CIFAR-10,and CIFAR-100.Numerical results demonstrate the workability and the validity of the present approach through comparison with other numerical performances.
文摘The Song Dynasty has been known in history for its great commercial success due to a series of events in the dynasty.In order to explain the reasons for economic success,this paper attempts to use factors such as political stability,discovery of new rice species in the South,the introduction of paper money by merchants from Sichuan in the South of China,and the increase in iron production especially in the North.Specialisation of products is also discussed separately but into details.A further mention of characteristics of the internal and international trade is also highlighted in this paper.An introduction of how the Song dynasty was founded and its distinct political,social and cultural characteristics,are delved into.Also the separation of northern Song Dynasty from the southern Song dynasty will be discussed.The paper concludes with combined interpretations from the famous“Qing Ming Shag He Tu”painting.This painting gives a somewhat illustrated evidence of the vibrancy of the Song Dynasty’s commercialisation recorded in history.
基金Supported by Grants-in-Aid from JSPS KAKENHI,No.JP 21K10715 and No.JP 20K10404Northern Advancement Center for Science&Technology,No.T-2-2+9 种基金the Yasuda Medical Foundation,No.31010316the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications,No.41111042Taiju Life Social Welfare Foundation,No.50811490Japan Keirin Autorace Foundation,No.2023M-378Project Mirai Cancer Research Grants,No.31010269Takahashi Industrial and Economic Research Foundation,No.50411278Sapporo Doto Hospital,No.50311211Noguchi Hospital,No.40310551Doki-kai Tomakomai Hospital,No.40710739Tsuchida Hospital,No.50811478.
文摘BACKGROUND Surgical site infections(SSIs)increase mortality,hospital stays,additional medical treatment,and medical costs.Subcutaneous drains prevent SSIs in gynecological and breast surgeries;however,their clinical impact in abdominal surgery remains unclear.AIM To investigate whether subcutaneous drains were beneficial in abdominal surgery using a systematic review and meta-analysis.METHODS The database search used PubMed,MEDLINE,and the Cochrane Library.The following inclusion criteria were set for the systematic review:(1)Randomized controlled trial studies comparing SSIs after abdominal surgery with or without subcutaneous drains;and(2)Studies that described clinical outcomes,such as SSIs,seroma formation,the length of hospital stays,and mortality.RESULTS Eight studies were included in this meta-analysis.The rate of total SSIs was significantly lower in the drained group(54/771,7.0%)than in the control group(89/759,11.7%),particularly in gastrointestinal surgery.Furthermore,the rate of superficial SSIs was slightly lower in the drained group(31/517,6.0%)than in the control group(49/521,9.4%).No significant differences were observed in seroma formation between the groups.Hospital stays were shorter in the drained group than in the control group.CONCLUSION Subcutaneous drains after abdominal surgery prevented SSIs and reduced hospital stays but did not significantly affect seroma formation.The timing of drain removal needs to be reconsidered in future studies.
