Triple digital divide and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Chinese adults:a disparity analysis

Background The triple digital divide refers to the lack of internet access,use and knowledge among specific populations.In China,middle-aged and older adults and those living in rural areas or various regions of the country are more likely to have limited internet access and skills and,thus,have less accessibility to internet services.Few longitudinal studies have explored the association between the digital divide and the progression of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.Significantly,none of the existing studies have estimated this long-term relationship from a disparity perspective.Aims This study investigates the association between the triple digital divide and depressive symptom trajectories among middle-aged and older adults in China during a 10-year follow-up period from 2011 to 2020.Methods The sample for this secondary analysis comprises 3019 urban and 10427 rural respondents selected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study baseline survey in 2011.Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.Employing longitudinal mixed-effects models,this study explored the association between the triple digital divide and depressive symptom trajectories among middle-aged and older Chinese adults by examining gender,rural-urban and regional disparities in this relationship.Results Our findings revealed a significant association between the triple digital divide and increasing trajectories of depressive symptoms,showing significant disparities based on gender,rural-urban dwelling and regional location.Notably,for both male and female participants who resided in urban areas or the central region of the country,their ability to use the internet,coupled with enhanced internet skills and greater access to internet services,was found to have a mitigating effect on the increasing trajectories of depressive symptoms.Conclusions To alleviate some of the confounding influences on the trajectory of depression in middle-aged and older adults,policymakers in China should continue to prioritise the development of internet technology,foster easy access to the internet to ensure it is'elder-friendly',provide internet skill training platforms for this population and broaden access to various internet services appropriate for them.Additionally,the implementation of tailored interventions to address depression,especially targeting the more vulnerable cohorts,such as middle-aged and older women,those residing in rural areas and the western regions,is crucial.Such tailored approaches are essential for addressing the disparities and challenges associated with the triple digital divide.

Analysis of Mobile and Internet Network Coverage: Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves and Concept of Digital Divide in Burundi

Mobile and Internet network coverage plays an important role in digital transformation and the exploitation of new services. The evolution of mobile networks from the first generation (1G) to the 5th generation is still a long process. 2G networks have developed the messaging service, which complements the already operational voice service. 2G technology has rapidly progressed to the third generation (3G), incorporating multimedia data transmission techniques. It then progressed to fourth generation (4G) and LTE (Long Term Evolution), increasing the transmission speed to improve 3G. Currently, developed countries have already moved to 5G. In developing countries, including Burundi, a member of the East African Community (ECA) where more than 80% are connected to 2G technologies, 40% are connected to the 3G network and 25% to the 4G network and are not yet connected to the 5G network and then still a process. The objective of this article is to analyze the coverage of 2G, 3G and 4G networks in Burundi. This analysis will make it possible to identify possible deficits in order to reduce the digital divide between connected urban areas and remote rural areas. Furthermore, this analysis will draw the attention of decision-makers to the need to deploy networks and coverage to allow the population to access mobile and Internet services and thus enable the digitalization of the population. Finally, this article shows the level of coverage, the digital divide and an overview of the deployment of base stations (BTS) throughout the country to promote the transformation and digital inclusion of services.

The Formation Logic of the Digital Divide and Feasible Ways to Cross It:An Access-Based Analysis

How enterprises overcome the digital divide in a digital economy is a topic related to efficiency and fairness.The formation of the digital divide has showcased a certain level of objectivity and is also influenced by the characteristics of enterprises themselves.Based on the model that expands the information and communication technology(ICT)access,concept,we explored the digital divide’s formation logic of the digital divide and feasible ways to cross it.Our findings shed light on its formation logic,which includes elements of the subjective will of enterprises to transform,the fear of transformation,the dependence on development paths,and the cost of using digital technology,all of which have contributed to disparities in enterprises’motivational access.In addition,differences in the construction of digital infrastructure,financial strengths,business models,and heterogeneity in cluster networks have led to differences in enterprises’material access.The absorptive capacity of enterprises has affected their skill access,while the management capability influences the application access of enterprises.We also found that crossing the digital divide requires the joint efforts of governments,markets,and enterprises in the four access dimensions.

Innovation in the Public Sector in the Start-up Nation:Challenges of Technology,Bureaucracy,and Digital Divide

Innovation provides opportunities to all countries,as advancement in technology and globalization of economic markets encourage global competition and increase the role of governments in gaining a strategic competitive advantage while boosting economic growth and productivity.According to the OECD,innovation can make a difference in addressing developmental challenges and providing catalyst for countries to accelerate business processes and practices that improve public service efficiency.The public sector plays a significant role in modern economies and innovation is a necessary condition for improving government services to the public and creating a competitive economy.Israel is known as the“start-up nation”,but innovation policies and strategies relating to the public sector are less developed than those of business innovation due to lack of innovation culture,digital divide,and bureaucracy.The research examines innovation in the public sector in Israel compared to other OECD countries.It is argued that despite the enormous influence of high-tech and start-ups on the economy and gross of national product,the flourishing technology sector has not contributed to other sectors of the economy and the performance of the public service lags behind the private sector in terms of innovation and efficiency.The research concludes that implementing Israel’s success in business innovation into the public sector requires long-run strategic investments and public policies to increase the supply and quality of human capital and infrastructure.The goal should be to narrow digital divide with other developed countries and advance the technological capabilities and productivity of the public service.

Does digitalization mitigate regional inequalities?Evidence from China

Regional inequality significantly influences sustainable development and human well-being.In China,there exists pronounced regional disparities in economic and digital advancements;however,scant research delves into the interplay between them.By analyzing the economic development and digitalization gaps at regional and city levels in China,extending the original Cobb-Douglas production function,this study aims to evaluate the impact of digitalization on China's regional inequality using seemingly unrelated regression.The results indicate a greater emphasis on digital inequality compared to economic disparity,with variable coefficients of 0.59 for GDP per capita and 0.92 for the digitalization index over the past four years.However,GDP per capita demonstrates higher spatial concentration than digitalization.Notably,both disparities have shown a gradual reduction in recent years.The southeastern region of the Hu Huanyong Line exhibits superior levels and rates of economic and digital advancement in contrast to the northwestern region.While digitalization propels economic growth,it yields a nuanced impact on achieving balanced regional development,encompassing both positive and negative facets.Our study highlights that the marginal utility of advancing digitalization is more pronounced in less developed regions,but only if the government invests in the digital infrastructure and education in these areas.This study's methodology can be utilized for subsequent research,and our findings hold the potential to the government's regional investment and policy-making.

Digital仿真测试在改进数字逻辑课程教学中的应用探究--基于与Logisim软件的比较

针对数字逻辑课程教材中的一处错误,提出使用Digital仿真软件进行测试的改进方案。分析表明:Digital仿真软件能用于组合逻辑电路与时序逻辑电路的测试;其不仅可使用真值表实现测试,还可用测试语句构建大规模的复杂测试用例,更适用于数字逻辑课程教学中设计题目的测试。进一步与Logisim软件比较表明:Digital软件测试功能更强,波形观察方便,更有助于实验和测试;考虑了电源和接地、外接端子均为双向连接,Digital软件所构建和仿真的电路更加符合实际;其RAM器件类型更多,有助于仿真完整的计算机系统。据此提出,在数字电路和计算机组成原理等硬件课程教学中推广使用Digital软件。

Digital signal acquisition system for complex nuclear reaction experiments

A digital data-acquisition system based on XIA LLC products was used in a complex nuclear reaction experiment using radioactive ion beams.A flexible trigger system based on a field-programmable gate array(FPGA)parametrization was developed to adapt to different experimental sizes.A user-friendly interface was implemented,which allows converting script language expressions into FPGA internal control parameters.The proposed digital system can be combined with a conventional analog data acquisition system to provide more flexibility.The performance of the combined system was veri-fied using experimental data.

Alexa,let's train now!——A systematic review and classification approach to digital and home-based physical training interventions aiming to support healthy cognitive aging

Background:There is mounting evidence that regular physical activity is an important prerequisite for healthy cognitive aging.Consequently,the finding that almost one-third of the adult population does not reach the recommended level of regular physical activity calls for further public health actions.In this context,digital and home-based physical training interventions might be a promising alternative to center-based intervention programs.Thus,this systematic review aimed to summarize the current state of the literature on the effects of digital and home-based physical training interventions on adult cognitive performance.Methods:In this pre-registered systematic review(PROSPERO;ID:CRD42022320031),5 electronic databases(PubMed,Web of Science,Psyclnfo,SPORTDiscus,and Cochrane Library)were searched by 2 independent researchers(FH and PT)to identify eligible studies investigating the effects of digital and home-based physical training interventions on cognitive performance in adults.The systematic literature search yielded 8258 records(extra17 records from other sources),of which 27 controlled trials were considered relevant.Two reviewers(FH and PT)independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias using a modified version of the Tool for the assEssment of Study qualiTy and reporting in EXercise(TESTEX scale).Results:Of the 27 reviewed studies,15 reported positive effects on cognitive and motor-cognitive outcomes(i.e.,performance improvements in measures of executive functions,working memory,and choice stepping reaction test),and a considerable heterogeneity concerning study-related,population-related,and intervention-related characteristics was noticed.A more detailed analysis suggests that,in particular,interventions using online classes and technology-based exercise devices(i.e.,step-based exergames)can improve cognitive performance in healthy older adults.Approximately one-half of the reviewed studies were rated as having a high risk of bias with respect to completion adherence(≤85%)and monitoring of the level of regular physical activity in the control group.Conclusion:The current state of evidence concerning the effectiveness of digital and home-based physical training interventions is mixed overall,though there is limited evidence that specific types of digital and home-based physical training interventions(e.g.,online classes and step-based exergames)can be an effective strategy for improving cognitive performance in older adults.However,due to the limited number of available studies,future high-quality studies are needed to buttress this assumption empirically and to allow for more solid and nuanced conclusions.

Natural Disaster Risk Monitoring for Immovable Cultural Relics Based on Digital Twin

Natural disaster risk monitoring is an important task for disaster prevention and reduction.In the case of immovable cultural relics,however,the feedback mechanism,risk factors,monitoring logic,and monitoring indicators of natural disaster risk monitoring are complex.How to achieve intelligent perception and monitoring of natural disaster risk for immovable cultural relics has always been a focus and a challenge for researchers.Based on the analysis of the concepts and issues related to the natural disaster risk of immovable cultural relics,this paper proposes a framework for natural disaster risk monitoring for immovable cultural relics based on the digital twin.This framework focuses on risk monitoring,including the physical entities of natural disaster risk for immovable cultural relics,monitoring indicators,and virtual entity construction.A platform for monitoring the natural disaster risk of immovable cultural relics is proposed.Using the Puzhou Ancient City Site as a test bed,the proposed concept can be used for monitoring the natural disaster risk of immovable cultural relics at different scales.

From Digital Human Modeling to Human Digital Twin: Framework and Perspectives in Human Factors

The human digital twin(HDT)emerges as a promising human-centric technology in Industry 5.0,but challenges remain in human modeling and simulation.Digital human modeling(DHM)provides solutions for modeling and simulating human physical and cognitive aspects to support ergonomic analysis.However,it has limitations in real-time data usage,personalized services,and timely interaction.The emerging HDT concept offers new possibilities by integrating multi-source data and artificial intelligence for continuous monitoring and assessment.Hence,this paper reviews the evolution from DHM to HDT and proposes a unified HDT framework from a human factors perspective.The framework comprises the physical twin,the virtual twin,and the linkage between these two.The virtual twin integrates human modeling and AI engines to enable model-data-hybrid-enabled simulation.HDT can potentially upgrade traditional ergonomic methods to intelligent services through real-time analysis,timely feedback,and bidirectional interactions.Finally,the future perspectives of HDT for industrial applications as well as technical and social challenges are discussed.In general,this study outlines a human factors perspective on HDT for the first time,which is useful for cross-disciplinary research and human factors innovation to enhance the development of HDT in industry.

基于GS1 Digital Link的Web编码构建与案例应用

为探索GS1 Digital Link技术在产品物流中的应用潜力,分析研究了GS1系统和GS1 Digital Link的基本结构、编码特点以及技术优势,充分利用GS1 Digital Link技术可以为产品从源头到零售整个物流过程提供相关对象的Web地址编码的特点,以鲜活大闸蟹物流过程为例,构建了基于GS1 Digital Link的鲜活大闸蟹Web编码,为实现产品营销与追溯提供了标准化、动态化、多样化的编码数据支撑。

Comprehensive Survey of the Landscape of Digital Twin Technologies and Their Diverse Applications

The concept of the digital twin,also known colloquially as the DT,is a fundamental principle within Industry 4.0 framework.In recent years,the concept of digital siblings has generated considerable academic and practical interest.However,academia and industry have used a variety of interpretations,and the scientific literature lacks a unified and consistent definition of this term.The purpose of this study is to systematically examine the definitional landscape of the digital twin concept as outlined in scholarly literature,beginning with its origins in the aerospace domain and extending to its contemporary interpretations in the manufacturing industry.Notably,this investigationwill focus on the research conducted on Industry 4.0 and smartmanufacturing,elucidating the diverse applications of digital twins in fields including aerospace,intelligentmanufacturing,intelligent transportation,and intelligent cities,among others.

Semantic Consistency and Correctness Verification of Digital Traffic Rules

The consensus of the automotive industry and traffic management authorities is that autonomous vehicles must follow the same traffic laws as human drivers.Using formal or digital methods,natural language traffic rules can be translated into machine language and used by autonomous vehicles.In this paper,a translation flow is designed.Beyond the translation,a deeper examination is required,because the semantics of natural languages are rich and complex,and frequently contain hidden assumptions.The issue of how to ensure that digital rules are accurate and consistent with the original intent of the traffic rules they represent is both significant and unresolved.In response,we propose a method of formal verification that combines equivalence verification with model checking.Reasonable and reassuring digital traffic rules can be obtained by utilizing the proposed traffic rule digitization flow and verification method.In addition,we offer a number of simulation applications that employ digital traffic rules to assess vehicle violations.The experimental findings indicate that our digital rules utilizing metric temporal logic(MTL)can be easily incorporated into simulation platforms and autonomous driving systems(ADS).

Digital Twin Modeling Enabled Machine Tool Intelligence:A Review

Machine tools,often referred to as the“mother machines”of the manufacturing industry,are crucial in developing smart manufacturing and are increasingly becoming more intelligent.Digital twin technology can promote machine tool intelligence and has attracted considerable research interest.However,there is a lack of clear and systematic analyses on how the digital twin technology enables machine tool intelligence.Herein,digital twin modeling was identified as an enabling technology for machine tool intelligence based on a comparative study of the characteristics of machine tool intelligence and digital twin.The review then delves into state-of-the-art digital twin modelingenabled machine tool intelligence,examining it from the aspects of data-based modeling and mechanism-data dual-driven modeling.Additionally,it highlights three bottleneck issues facing the field.Considering these problems,the architecture of a digital twin machine tool(DTMT)is proposed,and three key technologies are expounded in detail:Data perception and fusion technology,mechanism-data-knowledge hybrid-driven digital twin modeling and virtual-real synchronization technology,and dynamic optimization and collaborative control technology for multilevel parameters.Finally,future research directions for the DTMT are discussed.This work can provide a foundation basis for the research and implementation of digital-twin modeling-enabled machine tool intelligence,making it significant for developing intelligent machine tools.

Digital twin driven and intelligence enabled content delivery in end-edge-cloud collaborative 5G networks

The rapid development of 5G/6G and AI enables an environment of Internet of Everything(IoE)which can support millions of connected mobile devices and applications to operate smoothly at high speed and low delay.However,these massive devices will lead to explosive traffic growth,which in turn cause great burden for the data transmission and content delivery.This challenge can be eased by sinking some critical content from cloud to edge.In this case,how to determine the critical content,where to sink and how to access the content correctly and efficiently become new challenges.This work focuses on establishing a highly efficient content delivery framework in the IoE environment.In particular,the IoE environment is re-constructed as an end-edge-cloud collaborative system,in which the concept of digital twin is applied to promote the collaboration.Based on the digital asset obtained by digital twin from end users,a content popularity prediction scheme is firstly proposed to decide the critical content by using the Temporal Pattern Attention(TPA)enabled Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)model.Then,the prediction results are input for the proposed caching scheme to decide where to sink the critical content by using the Reinforce Learning(RL)technology.Finally,a collaborative routing scheme is proposed to determine the way to access the content with the objective of minimizing overhead.The experimental results indicate that the proposed schemes outperform the state-of-the-art benchmarks in terms of the caching hit rate,the average throughput,the successful content delivery rate and the average routing overhead.

Accelerating the Digitalization Process in Rural China and Promoting Common Prosperity

Under the historical background of promoting agricultural and rural modernization in an all-round way,this paper deeply analyzes the practical significance of digital construction in rural China,and explores the problems in the digitalization level of rural infrastructure,farmers digitalization awareness and accomplishment,and agricultural digital system.Countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from four aspects:digital village construction policy system,rural digital infrastructure construction,rural digital talent cultivation system,and agricultural digital system,and the rural digital construction of Huzhou City is taken as an example,in order to further realize the goal of empowering rural farmers with digital technology for common prosperity.

Digitalization’s Effects on Income Growth and Distribution-Evidence from the CHDES Database

Using the CHDES database,we created the CIDI to comprehensively quantify digital adoption at the individual level and examine digitalization’s impact on individual income.Empirical analysis results indicate that increasing the CIDI by one standard deviation(0.13)improves individual income by 5.93 percentage points,which remains true after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests.In the heterogeneity analysis,we discovered that when digital adoption grows,residents in the countryside and county seats can earn more money through internet business operations and other channels.This helps to decrease the urban-rural income divide,but it has also pushed those digitally skilled into high-paying sectors,widening the income gaps between sectors.In the mechanism analysis,we developed an income function that takes into account the individual level of digitalization to show that digitalization can boost income by increasing working hours or labor participation and adjusting the portfolio of individual material,human,and social capital.In this paper,we have expanded the system for measuring the individual levels of digitalization by offering basic data,research methodology,and policy suggestions for the digital economy’s inclusive development.

A survey on blockchain-enabled federated learning and its prospects with digital twin

Digital Twin(DT)supports real time analysis and provides a reliable simulation platform in the Internet of Things(IoT).The creation and application of DT hinges on amounts of data,which poses pressure on the application of Artificial Intelligence(AI)for DT descriptions and intelligent decision-making.Federated Learning(FL)is a cutting-edge technology that enables geographically dispersed devices to collaboratively train a shared global model locally rather than relying on a data center to perform model training.Therefore,DT can benefit by combining with FL,successfully solving the"data island"problem in traditional AI.However,FL still faces serious challenges,such as enduring single-point failures,suffering from poison attacks,lacking effective incentive mechanisms.Before the successful deployment of DT,we should tackle the issues caused by FL.Researchers from industry and academia have recognized the potential of introducing Blockchain Technology(BT)into FL to overcome the challenges faced by FL,where BT acting as a distributed and immutable ledger,can store data in a secure,traceable,and trusted manner.However,to the best of our knowledge,a comprehensive literature review on this topic is still missing.In this paper,we review existing works about blockchain-enabled FL and visualize their prospects with DT.To this end,we first propose evaluation requirements with respect to security,faulttolerance,fairness,efficiency,cost-saving,profitability,and support for heterogeneity.Then,we classify existing literature according to the functionalities of BT in FL and analyze their advantages and disadvantages based on the proposed evaluation requirements.Finally,we discuss open problems in the existing literature and the future of DT supported by blockchain-enabled FL,based on which we further propose some directions for future research.

Assessment and Visualization of Ki67 Heterogeneity in Breast Cancers through Digital Image Analysis

The Ki67 index (KI) is a standard clinical marker for tumor proliferation;however, its application is hindered by intratumoral heterogeneity. In this study, we used digital image analysis to comprehensively analyze Ki67 heterogeneity and distribution patterns in breast carcinoma. Using Smart Pathology software, we digitized and analyzed 42 excised breast carcinoma Ki67 slides. Boxplots, histograms, and heat maps were generated to illustrate the KI distribution. We found that 30% of cases (13/42) exhibited discrepancies between global and hotspot KI when using a 14% KI threshold for classification. Patients with higher global or hotspot KI values displayed greater heterogenicity. Ki67 distribution patterns were categorized as randomly distributed (52%, 22/42), peripheral (43%, 18/42), and centered (5%, 2/42). Our sampling simulator indicated analyzing more than 10 high-power fields was typically required to accurately estimate global KI, with sampling size being correlated with heterogeneity. In conclusion, using digital image analysis in whole-slide images allows for comprehensive Ki67 profile assessment, shedding light on heterogeneity and distribution patterns. This spatial information can facilitate KI surveys of breast cancer and other malignancies.

A Survey of Digital Content Required for STD Prevention Education Taught by School Nurses

Purpose: In recent years, there has been concern in Japan about the increase in STDs among adolescents aged 15 - 19. In order to prevent STDs and guide adolescents toward desirable sexual behavior, this study’s goal was to examine the actual state of STD prevention education taught by school nurses as part of the school curriculum, as well as the kinds of digital content they wish to have for teaching on the subject. Method: An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed by email and leaflet. Targeting the 100 valid responses received from the surveyed school nurses, descriptive statistics were made for each survey item and comparisons were made between the early- and mid-career groups based on years of experience. Results: 70.0% of respondents reported teaching about STDs in Health & Physical Education classes. School nurses in the early-career group used ready-made materials, while the mid-career group used both ready-made and self-made materials. 95% of respondents reported that they had little or no knowledge of STDs, while 84% reported that they were “good” or “fairly good” at teaching classes on sexuality. Both groups reported difficulty with the topics of “phimosis” and “nocturnal emissions” in the physiological category, “sexual behavior” in the “sex-adjacent” category, and “sexual and reproductive issues” in the psychosocial category. Respondents expressed a need for digital content covering the topics of “sexual violence”, “sexual abuse”, “sexually transmitted diseases”, and “how to turn down sex”. The mid-career group desired digital content for more items than the early-career group, with significant differences in the pathogens involved in sexually transmitted diseases and sex-adjacent items. 32.0% of respondents answered that they had done self-study for sex education classes in the past three years, and both groups desired self-study on “sexually transmitted diseases”, with the mid-career group significantly higher than the early-career group on “cervical cancer & HPV”, “emergency contraceptives”, and “media literacy”. Conclusion: Health & Physical Education is the main subject that covers STDs, and pre-existing materials are commonly used. It is expected that this is due to nurses’ busy schedules and the fact that only one school nurse is assigned to each school. The data collected suggested that nurse teachers want categorized digital content that can be used in the classes they are responsible for, rather than educational content on topics they are not comfortable with. In addition, given the changing environment surrounding sex, it was clear that they wish to understand the realities and needs of the high school students they teach, and desire self-study opportunities to improve their teaching methods.