On the role of financial inclusion in terms of promoting a sustainable environment, very limited number of studies are available in the existing literature. These studies do not directly address or ...link financial inclusion with carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, this study aims to specifically investigate the effects of financial inclusion on carbon dioxide emissions along with the role of globalization and renewable electricity generation for the case of the emerging seven economies over the 2004–2016 period. This study uses panel quantile regression analysis for estimations, which takes into account the non‐normality issue of the data. The long‐run relationships among carbon dioxide emissions, financial inclusion, renewable electricity generation, globalization, and economic growth are confirmed by Kao and Johansen panel cointegration tests. Besides, the results from quantile regression analysis confirmed that financial inclusion is linked with carbon dioxide emission reductions at the 25th and 50th quantiles; however, it cannot explain the variations in the carbon dioxide emission levels at the 75th and 95th quantiles. Moreover, globalization and renewable energy electricity are found to curb carbon dioxide emissions at all quantiles. Further, the results confirmed the EKC hypothesis for E7 countries at all the quantiles. In line with these findings, this study recommends enhancing financial inclusivity, promoting globalization, elevating renewable electricity generation capacities, and ensuring greener economic growth to lower down the carbon dioxide emission levels across the E7 countries.
A novel flame retardant additive with phosphazene and phosphaphenanthrene groups hexa-4-(p-hydroxyanilino-phosphaphenanthrene-methyl)-phenoxyl-cyclotriphosphazene defined as CTP-DOPO was successfully ...synthesized from hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-aminophenol and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene 10-oxide (DOPO). Its chemical structure was well characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR). The prepared flame retardant additive CTP-DOPO was incorporated into diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) to prepare flame retardant epoxy resins thermosets. The flame retardant properties, thermal degradation behavior and combustion behavior of the DGEBA thermosets cured by 4, 4′ -Diamino-diphenyl sulfone (DDS) were investigated by limiting oxygen index (LOI), vertical burning test (UL-94), thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectrometry (TG-IR) and cone calorimeter tests. The structure and surface morphology of the char residues after cone calorimeter tests was measured by FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that DGEBA/CTP-DOPO thermosets successfully passed UL-94 V-0 flammability rating and its LOI value dramatically increased from 21.7% for cured pure DGEBA to 36.6% when the loading amount of CTP-DOPO was 10.6 wt % and the phosphorus content was only 1.1 wt % in thermosets, which indicated that the prepared CTP-DOPO possessed excellent flame retardancy for DGEBA thermoset. The TG-IR results indicated that the introduction of CTP-DOPO stimulated epoxy resins matrix decomposed and char forming ahead of time, which led to a higher residual char and thermal stability for epoxy resins thermosets at high temperature. The cone calorimeter tests revealed that the incorporation of CTP-DOPO effectively reduced the combustion parameters of DGEBA thermosets, such as heat release rate (HRR), total heat release (THR), smoke production rate (SPR) and total heat production (TSP), and so on. The SEM results showed that the phosphazene and phosphaphenanthrene groups in CTP-DOPO obviously stimulated the formation of the intumescent, compact and strong char layer, which enhanced the flame retardany of the DGEBA matrix during combustion. Therefore, the underlying materials were protected from further degradation and combustion and resulted in the efficient flame retardancy for EDGEBA thermoset.
Polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells (PSCs) are currently attracting a great deal of attention and gaining increasing importance, having already shown great promise as renewable, ...lightweight and low-cost energy sources. Recently, the power-conversion efficiency of state-of-the-art PSCs has exceeded 8% in the scientific literature. However, to find viable applications for this emerging photovoltaic technology, further enhancements in the efficiency towards 10% (the threshold for commercial applications) are urgently required. Here, we demonstrate highly efficient PSCs with a certified efficiency of 9.2% using an inverted structure, which simultaneously offers ohmic contact for photogenerated charge-carrier collection and allows optimum photon harvest in the device. Because of the ease of use and drastic boost in efficiency provided by this device structure, this discovery could find use in fully exploiting the potential of various material systems, and also open up new opportunities to improve PSCs with a view to achieving an efficiency of 10%.
The development of new approaches to tree-level parameter extraction for forest resource inventory and management is an important area of ongoing research, which puts forward high requirements for ...the capabilities of single-tree segmentation and detection methods. Conventional methods implement segmenting routine with same resolution threshold for overstory and understory, ignoring that their lidar point densities are different, which leads to over-segmentation of the understory trees. To improve the segmentation accuracy of understory trees, this paper presents a multi-threshold segmentation approach for tree-level parameter extraction using small-footprint airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data. First, the point clouds are pre-processed and encoded to canopy layers according to the lidar return number, and multi-threshold segmentation using DSM-based (Digital Surface Model) method is implemented for each layer; tree segments are then combined across layers by merging criteria. Finally, individual trees are delineated, and tree parameters are extracted. The novelty of this method lies in its application of multi-resolution threshold segmentation strategy according to the variation of LiDAR point density in different canopy layers. We applied this approach to 271 permanent sample plots of the University of Kentucky’s Robinson Forest, a deciduous canopy-closed forest with complex terrain and vegetation conditions. Experimental results show that a combination of multi-resolution threshold segmentation based on stratification and cross-layer tree segments merging method can provide a significant performance improvement in individual tree-level forest measurement. Compared with DSM-based method, the proposed multi-threshold segmentation approach strongly improved the average detection rate (from 52.3% to 73.4%) and average overall accuracy (from 65.2% to 76.9%) for understory trees. The overall accuracy increased from 75.1% to 82.6% for all trees, with an increase of the coefficient of determination R2 by 20 percentage points. The improvement of tree detection method brings the estimation of structural parameters for single trees up to an accuracy level: For tree height, R2 increased by 5.0 percentage points from 90% to 95%; and for tree location, the mean difference decreased by 23 cm from 105 cm to 82 cm.
High-speed water entry is a transient hydrodynamic process that is accompanied by strongly compressible flow, free surface splash, cavity evolution and other nonlinear hydrodynamic phenomena. To ...address these problems, a novel fluid–structure interaction (FSI) scheme based on the immersed boundary method is proposed which is suitable for strongly compressible multiphase flows. In this scheme, considering the multiphase interfaces at the immersed boundary, an improved immersed boundary method for effectively suppressing the non-physical force oscillation is proposed. Additionally, a quaternion-based six degrees of freedom motion system is used to describe rigid body motion, and the multiphase flow Eulerian finite element method is applied as the fluid solver. Using analytical solutions, experimental data and literature data, the accuracy and robustness of the FSI scheme are validated. Finally, the high-speed water entry of the slender body with different noses is investigated, and the hydrodynamic loads including the axial and normal drag forces and the bending moment are extensively discussed. The hydrodynamic load and motion trajectory are determined by the nose configuration. The tail slamming phenomenon is the primary focus, and it is revealed that its formation is primarily related to the pitch moment formed at the stage of crossing the free surface. Tail slamming also causes violent impact loads, especially bending moments, which may cause slender projectiles to break off. Finally, to combine the features of the flat and hemispherical noses, the water entry of the projectile with a truncated hemispherical nose is simulated and discussed.
Radiotherapy for breast cancer often involves some incidental exposure of the heart to ionizing radiation. The effect of this exposure on the subsequent risk of heart disease is uncertain. We ...performed a meta-analysis to investigate the link between radiotherapy and long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with breast cancer.
We performed a literature search using MEDLINE (January 1966 to January 2015) and EMBASE (January 1980 to January 2015) with no restrictions. Studies that reported relative risk (RR) estimates with 95%CIs for the associations of interest were included. Pooled effect estimates were obtained by using random-effects meta-analysis. Thirty-nine studies involving 1 191 371 participants were identified. Patients who received left-sided radiotherapy, as compared with those receiving right-sided radiotherapy, experienced increased risks of developing coronary heart disease (RR 1.29, 95%CI 1.13-1.48), cardiac death (RR 1.22, 95%CI 1.08-1.37) and death from any cause (RR 1.05, 95%CI 1.01-1.10). In a comparison of patients with radiotherapy and without radiotherapy, the RRs were 1.30 (95%CI 1.13-1.49) for coronary heart disease and 1.38 (95%CI 1.18-1.62) for cardiac mortality. Radiotherapy for breast cancer was associated with an absolute risk increase of 76.4 (95%CI 36.8-130.5) cases of coronary heart disease and 125.5 (95%CI 98.8-157.9) cases of cardiac death per 100 000 person-years. The risk started to increase within the first decade for coronary heart disease and from the second decade for cardiac mortality.
Exposure of the heart to ionizing radiation during radiotherapy for breast cancer increases the subsequent risk of coronary heart disease and cardiac mortality.
The poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) highlights the need for novel strategies against this disease. Our previous study suggested the involvement of CCL2 and tumor ...associated macrophages (TAMs) in esophageal carcinogenesis. Despite the recognition of TAMs as a promising target for cancer treatment, mechanisms underlying its infiltration, activation and tumor-promotive function in ESCC remain unknown.
Human esophageal tissue array and TCGA database were used to evaluate the clinical relevance of CCL2 and TAMs in ESCC. F344 rats and C57BL/6 mice were treated with N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA) to establish orthotopic models of esophageal carcinogenesis. CCL2/CCR2 gene knockout mice and macrophage-specific PPARG gene knockout mice were respectively used to investigate the role of infiltration and polarization of TAMs in ESCC. CCL2-mediated monocyte chemotaxis was estimated in malignantly transformed Het-1A cells. THP-1 cells were used to simulate TAMs polarization in vitro. RNA-sequencing was performed to uncover the mechanism.
Increasing expression of CCL2 correlated with TAMs accumulation in esophageal carcinogenesis, and they both predicts poor prognosis in ESCC cohort. Animal studies show blockade of CCL2-CCR2 axis strongly reduces tumor incidence by hindering TAMs recruitment and thereby potentiates the antitumor efficacy of CD8
T cells in the tumor microenvironment. More importantly, M2 polarization increases PD-L2 expression in TAMs, resulting in immune evasion and tumor promotion through PD-1 signaling pathway.
This study highlights the role of CCL2-CCR2 axis in esophageal carcinogenesis. Our findings provide new insight into the mechanism of immune evasion mediated by TAMs in ESCC, suggesting the potential of TAMs-targeted strategies for ESCC prevention and immunotherapy.
Source location privacy is a major problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). WSNs are usually deployed in random areas with no protection. The source location reveals valuable information about ...targets. If an adversary locates the source node by analyzing the traffic mode, a target can be easily attacked. In this paper, a scheme based on the cloud using multi-sinks (CPSLP) is proposed to address the issue of source location privacy. The authors propose a scheme that changes packet destinations randomly in each transmission. In addition, multiple sinks are adopted to create many routing paths. The introduction of an intermediate node renders the routing path more random and flexible. Then, a cloud-shaped fake hotspot is created to add fake packets into the WSN to confuse the adversary and provide a comprehensive privacy location. Each valuable packet is routed through a path that is quite difficult for the hotspot-locating adversary to find directly. Simulation results illustrate that the CPSLP scheme can prevent adversarial capture and maintain a high level of privacy protection at the same time. The energy consumption in this scheme exerts limited influence on the network lifetime compared with a cloud-based scheme and an all-direction random routing algorithm scheme.
Among several new technologies, such as social and cognitive mobile computing, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) constitute the founding pillar of the industrial Internet of Things. These networks are ...expected to play an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Social and cognitive mobile computing requires the sharing of data recorded by sensor nodes. However, the data can be vulnerable to attacks. It is of utmost importance to protect the users privacy while ensuring the security of the WSNs. This investigation is focused on the source-location privacy (SLP) of WSNs. This article proposes a dynamic multipath privacy-preserving routing (DMPPR) scheme based on multiple sinks for protecting the privacy. Different from single sink schemes, the technique of using multiple sink nodes to protect SLP is discussed in this article. Furthermore, a packet-slicing transmission scheme that generates a large number of dynamic routings based on multiple sink nodes is adopted for transmitting the packets. Local adversaries are considered, and to cope with these adversaries, a transmission loop, constructed using real and fake packets, is proposed to confuse the adversaries during the source detection process. The aim is to break the sociality between the sensor nodes. Simulations performed in MATLAB show that the proposed method outperforms similar existing schemes in terms of the secure time, adversary's capture probability, and node utilization ratio. Moreover, the DMPPR scheme also reduces energy consumption by allowing more nodes in the nonhotspot areas to participate in the packet transmission process.
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