Multi-Stakeholder Business Models： Designing Out Wicked Problems

The paper is a part of an ongoing study, labelled as ＂Designing out wicked problems＂ - a design science research （DSR） study with the purpose of developing, implementing, and evaluating a methodology framework for designing multi-stakeholder business models. The objective of the current paper is to evaluate the business model design framework within a DSR framework. The research is conducted as three-year case study at three sites： The Danish police, with a key player in the Danish energy sector, and the municipality of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The research method is action research, with a structure of planning-action-evaluation process conducted with the case owners - as well as design science methodology, where an artifact （the multi-stakeholder business model design concept） is created, evaluated and altered to improve its functionality. The finding of this study is that the maturity of the application domain - the type of problem the concept is trying to solve - as well as of the concept itself, is low. The conclusion is thus that the knowledge contribution of the study is of a unique invention character which will lay the foundation for further evaluation and research.

Inherent Complexities of a Multi-stakeholder Approach to Building Community Resilience

Enhancing community resilience has increasingly involved national and regional governments adopting a multi-stakeholder approach because of the potential interagency benefits. This has led to questions about how best to involve stakeholder groups in translating community resilience policies into practice. This exploratory study contributes to this discussion by addressing two key areas that are fundamental in the concerted effort to build community resilience to natural hazards:(1) stakeholder understanding of community resilience as a concept;and(2) the difficulties associated with the processes of risk assessment and preparedness that stakeholders face locally in building community resilience. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 25 practitioners and experts within Scotland’s resilience community, and were analyzed through an inductive approach to thematic analysis. These data show how the interpretation of community resilience differs across stakeholder groups. Analysis of the data reveals challenges around the nature of the risk assessment and its role in shaping risk perception and communication. Significant complications occur in communicating about low probability-high consequence events, perceived territoriality, competing risk prioritizations, and the challenges of managing hazards within a context of limited resources. The implications of these issues for policy and practice are also discussed.

Log-normal censored regression model detecting prognostic factors in gastric cancer:A study of 3018 cases

AIM:To investigate the efficiency of Cox proportional hazard model in detecting prognostic factors for gastric cancer.METHODS:We used the log-normal regression model to evaluate prognostic factors in gastric cancer and compared it with the Cox model.Three thousand and eighteen gastric cancer patients who received a gastrectomy between 1980 and 2004 were retrospectively evaluated.Clinic-pathological factors were included in a log-normal model as well as Cox model.The akaike information criterion (AIC) was employed to compare the efficiency of both models.Univariate analysis indicated that age at diagnosis,past history,cancer location,distant metastasis status,surgical curative degree,combined other organ resection,Borrmann type,Lauren's classification,pT stage,total dissected nodes and pN stage were prognostic factors in both log-normal and Cox models.RESULTS:In the final multivariate model,age at diagnosis,past history,surgical curative degree,Borrmann type,Lauren's classification,pT stage,and pN stage were significant prognostic factors in both log-normal and Cox models.However,cancer location,distant metastasis status,and histology types were found to be significant prognostic factors in log-normal results alone.According to AIC,the log-normal model performed better than the Cox proportional hazard model (AIC value:2534.72 vs 1693.56).CONCLUSION:It is suggested that the log-normal regression model can be a useful statistical model to evaluate prognostic factors instead of the Cox proportional hazard model.

Coordinated Control Architecture for Motion Management in ADAS Systems

Advanced driver assistance systems(ADAS) seek to provide drivers and passengers of automotive vehicles increased safety and comfort. Original equipment manufacturers are integrating and developing systems for distance keeping, lane keeping and changing and other functionalities. The modern automobile is a complex system of systems. How the functionalities of advanced driver assistance are implemented and coordinated across the systems of the vehicle is generally not made available to the wider research community by the developers and manufactures. This paper seeks to begin filling this gap by assembling open source physics models of the vehicle dynamics and ADAS command models. Additionally, in order to facilitate ADAS development and testing without having access to the details of ADAS, a coordinated control architecture for motion management is also proposed for distributing ADAS motion control commands over vehicle systems. The architecture is demonstrated in a case study where motion is coordinated between the steering and the braking systems, which are typically used only for a single functionality. The integrated vehicle and system dynamics using the coordinated control architecture are simulated for various driving tasks. It is seen that improved trajectory following can be achieved by the proposed coordinated control architecture. The models, simulations and control architecture are made available for open access.

Analysis the Dynamics of SIHR Model: Covid-19 Case in Djibouti

The Covid-19 epidemic is an emerging infectious disease of the viral zoonosis type caused by the coronavirus strain SARS-CoV-2, it is classified as a human-to-human communicable disease and is currently a pandemic worldwide. In this paper, we propose conceptual mathematical models of the epidemic dynamics of four compartments. We have collected data from the Djibouti health ministry. We study the positivity, boundedness, existence and uniqueness of the weak solution. Next, we define the Basic reproduction number by the method of the DFE and EEP. Then, we study the local and global stability and the bifurcation analysis of equilibrium to examine its epidemiological relevance. Finally, we analyze the fit of the data in comparison with the result of our mathematical results, to validate the model and estimate the important model parameters and prediction about the disease. We consider the real cases of Djibouti from 15th March to 15th May 2021.

Sustainable school projects as the education tool for delivering sustainability

In the past ten years,many exemplar projects are completed in China to encourage the sharing of knowledge and experience of sustainability.Many of these projects are landmark buildings,and because they can attract more public attentions,they raise more awareness of sustainable development.However,school projects are rarely mentioned in the news and annual inspirational project lists.The fundamental point of this paper is to challenge the common concept in China that school buildings are only used exclusively by children in formal education.According to the paper's review of the school schemes in England and Wales,not only the inspirational sustainable schools created the opportunities and responsibilities to accelerate positive changes,but also they developed a vision of an asset that supports lifelong learning and sustainable lifestyles for the whole community.In this paper,the definition of a 'sustainable school' is summarised by comparing the statements and concepts in England and Wales.Moreover,a wide range of benefits gained by project stakeholders and communities are also demonstrated through case studies.In the end,lessons and innovations which can be learnt by Chinese school projects are concluded.The illustrations provided by this paper do not aim to solve all issues of promoting a sustainable school in China,but to open people's minds to the impacts of their actions,and to build the knowledge and cooperative framework to promote public sustainable projects.

Zavkhan River and Its Catchment Area Delineation Using Satellite Image

The purpose of this research is to define initial parameters of Khyargas Lake-Zavkhan River and its catchment area using satellite images. The study has been done by two datasets: 1) Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) at a horizontal spatial resolution of 90 meters, 2) The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) at a horizontal spatial resolution of 30 meters, using two different models of ArcHydro and Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) softwares. Main methods of models, that were used in this research are the Deterministic-8, the steepest slope, the spread, the seek computations and the trace analysis. Moreover, input data of the modeling are digital elevation model (DEM) and lake position, outlet location of the river. DEM based ArcHydro model was run on the both datasets, and ILWIS model was run on SRTM data. Several intermediate results were produced while the models run, and initial parameters of the Zavkhan River, its catchment area have been defined at the end of the model. Moreover, final results of the models were compared with each other and with the result of previous research, and with the reality. The result of this study can be used in baseline and advanced research on the catchment area. Besides of that, the result can define a spatial boundary of study on Zavkhan River and its catchment area. Moreover, it would have support for decision-making on ground and surface water resource, distribution and management. Further research, which will cover the entire territory of Mongolia, has to be done using same methodology. The 332nd decision on “River catchment areas of Mongolia” of the Minister of Nature, Environment and Tourism in 2009 has to renew, if a result of that study would be accepted from vocational organization and experts.

Automatic Sleep Spindle Detection with EEG Based on Complex Demodulation Method and Decision Tree Model

Sleep spindle is the characteristic waveform of electroencephalogram (EEG) which is important for clinical diagnosis. In this study, an automatic sleep spindle detection method was developed. The EEG signals were recorded based on the standard polysomnogram (PSG) measurement. A preprocessing procedure is introduced to exclude the unnecessary data segments and normalized the necessary data segments. Complex demodulation method is adopted to detect the candidate sleep spindle waveforms and calculate the features. The sleep spindles are recognized based on a decision tree model. Finally, the detected sleep spindles were utilized to amend the sleep stage recognition results. The sleep EEG data from 3 patients with sleep disorders were analyzed. The obtained results showed that the detected sleep spindles in EEG signal improved the accuracy of sleep stage recognition.

Is Chemokine Receptor CCR9 Required for Synovitis in Rheumatoid Arthritis? Deficiency of CCR9 in a Murine Model of Antigen-Induced Arthritis

Objectives: Monocytes/macrophages accumulate in the synovial membrane in rheumatoid arthritis and play a key role in disease pathogenesis, contributing to inflammation, cartilage destruction and bone erosion. Identification of molecules involved in monocyte/macrophage recruitment in inflammation is crucial for development of therapeutic interventions. Chemokine receptor CCR9 is up-regulated on these cells in peripheral blood and synovium of rheumatoid patients. This study investigated the course of antigen-induced arthritis in CCR9 deficient C57BL/6 mice in comparison to wild type animals to determine whether CCR9 is critical for disease severity and progression. Methods: Methylated bovine serum albumin was used for induction of uni-lateral arthritis by direct injection into the knee joints of preimmunized animals. Arthritis is confined to the injected joint allowing comparison with the normal opposing joint. Clinical severity of arthritis was assessed by measuring swelling in the arthritic joint in comparison to the normal joint. Histological analysis was performed to assess the extent of leukocyte infiltration and cartilage depletion. Results: Levels of swelling were not significantly different between wild type and CCR9 deficient mice. Similarly there was no significant difference in histological severity of arthritis when comparing CCR9-deficient mice to wild type mice. Conclusions: CCR9 was not required for development of synovial inflammation and cartilage destruction in the anti-gen-induced model of arthritis in C57BL/6 mice in this study. This may reflect a true lack of a pathogenic role of CCR9 on monocyte/macrophage function in vivo or it may reflect differences in the current antigen-induced arthritis model when compared to human RA.

Mathematical Modeling of the Influence of the Wind Field Structure in the Atmosphere on the Cloud Formation Processes

The state of the physics of convective clouds and cloud seeding is discussed briefly. It is noted that at the present time there is a transition from the stage of investigation of “elementary” processes in the clouds to the stage of studying the formation of macro- and microstructural characteristics of clouds as a whole, taking into account their system properties. The main directions of the development of cloud physics at the upcoming stage of its development are discussed. The paper points out that one of these areas is the determination of the structure-forming factors for the clouds and the study of their influence on their formation and evolution. It is noted that one of such factors is the interaction of clouds with their surrounding atmosphere, and the main method of studying its role in the processes of cloud formation is mathematical modeling. A three-dimensional nonstationary model of convective clouds is presented with a detailed account of the processes of thermohydrodynamics and microphysics, which is used for research. The results of modeling the influence of the wind field structure in the atmosphere on the formation and evolution of clouds are presented. It is shown that the dynamic characteristics of the atmosphere have a significant effect on the formation of macro- and microstructural characteristics of convective clouds: the more complex the structure of the wind field in the atmosphere (i.e., the more intense the interaction of the atmosphere and the cloud), the less powerful the clouds are formed.

Payments for watershed ecosystem services:mechanism,progress and challenges

Introduction:Payment for watershed ecosystem services(PWES),a policy instrument for compensating for the externality of watershed ecosystem/environmental services,has gained in policy importance in China over the past two decades.Many scholars and researchers have contributed to the conceptualization of this policy framework by developing operational mechanisms as well as compensation standards for PWES.Outcomes:This article reviews 27 PWES schemes piloted in China and in 10 other countries,with a particular emphasis on successful cases of land-use conversion programs,such as the Paddy Land to Dry Land Program and Sloping Land Conversion Program that have been implemented in China.Discussion:By comparing different cases,the authors attempt to answer the following questions:what were the ecological and institutional contexts in which these schemes were established and how did they work?What were the actual efficiencies and impacts of these piloted schemes?Which scheme worked better in certain ecological,socio-economic,and institutional contexts?Conclusion:Based on case studies,the authors draw the following conclusions about Chinese PWES:(1)to establish an acceptable standard for a PWES program,it is necessary to estimate the economic and social costs regarding the livelihoods of households;(2)multistakeholder negotiation mechanism for PWES,including intermediaries,such as the local government,NGO/NPOs,village committees,and user associations,should be used;(3)ES,non-market services,should acquire positive externalities to accomplish an optimal win–win pattern concerning both environmental goals and the livelihoods of local resource users.

Abstract principal component analysis

We present the basic idea of abstract principal component analysis(APCA)as a general approach that extends various popular data analysis techniques such as PCA and GPCA.We describe the mathematical theory behind APCA and focus on a particular application to mode extractions from a data set of mixed temporal and spatial signals.For illustration,algorithmic implementation details and numerical examples are presented for the extraction of a number of basic types of wave modes including,in particular,dynamic modes involving spatial shifts.

Selecting the Appropriate Urban Biodiversity Restoration Indices based on the Pressure-State-Response Model and a Multi-scale Management Problem Investigation in Zhuhai City

Urban biodiversity is now recognized as playing a critical role in supporting global biodiversity.However,it is important to note that biodiversity is a systematic and holistic concept and prior studies have not generally focused on cross-border or multi-scale management problems.On one hand,the ecosystems of cities are interconnected with adjacent cities by natural landscapes,so they are like mosaics instead of being isolated.Urban biodiversity research demands the consideration of the continuity within an ecosystem.On the other hand,both active protection and passive restoration strategies for urban biodiversity should not only be developed by researchers or municipal government agencies,but more importantly,they should consider the real ecosystem management problems faced by multi-scale departments in order to build a practicable Pressure-State-Response(PSR)model.The solutions for these issues should be included in the analysis to form a complete and more effective urban biodiversity strategy.The study in this paper offers an answer to whether different scales of cities or districts should adopt the same biodiversity strategy;and therefore,the decision depends on whether the places are of the same importance to the global or regional ecosystem,or whether the ecological elements are connected to the adjacent cities/districts and the problems that multiple stakeholders care about.

Formation and utilization of water resources of Tarim River

The Tarim River is a typical inland river in arid area without runoff yield of itself, and water resources are all supplied by its headstreams. The method of time series analysis is applied to annual runoff series of three headstreams, namely the Aksu River, Yarkant River and Hotan River to analyze their dynamic variations. A model is established to estimate water consumption in the headstream areas. Quantitative results indicate that both total annual runoff of headstreams and water consumption in the headstream areas have an increasing trend. The dynamic trends of annual runoff of hydrologic stations along the mainstream of the Tarim River are also presented to estimate the intermittence drying-up time at each station. Water consumption model of the mainstream area is used to analyze the characteristics of water consumption in the upper and middle reaches. It is shown that water consumption in each river reach of the mainstream decreases with the decrement of inflow and increases with human activities.