The Research of the Balanced Development of China's Urban-rural Spatial Integration Based on the Evolution of Regional Spatial Structure

The general law of regional spatial evolution is researched.In the process of the evolution of four stages,namely the early stage of traditional agriculture and industrialization,the middle stage of industrialization,the later stage of industrialization and post-industrialization,the types of space are homogenized space,polarized space,pole-axis space and integrated space respectively;the choosing of the spatial location is influenced by economy,society and environment,and the spatial structure extends along with three-dimensional space.Based on the fact that China's urban-rural spatial structure evolution develops rapidly,and the outstanding characteristics of dual structure becomes the main obstacle to urban-rural balanced development,the thesis poses the countermeasures of China's urban-rural spatial integrated balanced development.It points out that the healthy development of socio-economy is the external environment of realizing urban-rural spatial integration;the urban-rural coordinated planning is the prerequisite of realizing urban-rural spatial integration;fulfilling the governmental function is the key to realizing urban-rural spatial integration;promoting agricultural industrialization is the approach to realizing urban-rural spatial integration;perfecting social security system is the basis of realizing urban-rural spatial integration.

Spatial Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Bed-and-breakfasts(B&Bs)from the Perspective of Urban-rural Differences:A Case Study of Jiaodong Peninsula,China

There are significant differences between urban and rural bed-and-breakfasts(B&Bs)in terms of customer positioning,economic strength and spatial carrier.Accurately identifying the differences in spatial characteristics and influencing factors of each type,is essential for creating urban and rural B&B agglomeration areas.This study used density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise(DBSCAN)and the multi-scale geographically weighted regression(MGWR)model to explore similarities and differences in the spatial distribution patterns and influencing factors for urban and rural B&Bs on the Jiaodong Peninsula of China from 2010 to 2022.The results showed that:1)both urban and rural B&Bs in Jiaodong Peninsula went through three stages:a slow start from 2010 to 2015,rapid development from 2015 to 2019,and hindered development from 2019 to 2022.However,urban B&Bs demonstrated a higher development speed and agglomeration intensity,leading to an increasingly evident trend of uneven development between the two sectors.2)The clustering scale of both urban and rural B&Bs continued to expand in terms of quantity and volume.Urban B&B clusters characterized by a limited number,but a higher likelihood of transitioning from low-level to high-level clusters.While the number of rural B&B clusters steadily increased over time,their clustering scale was comparatively lower than that of urban B&Bs,and they lacked the presence of high-level clustering.3)In terms of development direction,urban B&B clusters exhibited a relatively stable pattern and evolved into high-level clustering centers within the main urban areas.Conversely,rural B&Bs exhibited a more pronounced spatial diffusion effect,with clusters showing a trend of multi-center development along the coastline.4)Transport emerged as a common influencing factor for both urban and rural B&Bs,with the density of road network having the strongest explanatory power for their spatial distribution.In terms of differences,population agglomeration had a positive impact on the distribution of urban B&Bs and a negative effect on the distribution of rural B&Bs.Rural B&Bs clustering was more influenced by tourism resources compared with urban B&Bs,but increasing tourist stay duration remains an urgent issue to be addressed.The findings of this study could provide a more precise basis for government planning and management of urban and rural B&B agglomeration areas.

Influence of Transportation Accessibility on Urban-rural Income Disparity and Its Spatial Heterogeneity

Transportation accessibility has been treated as an important means of reducing the urban-rural income disparity.However,only a few studies have examined the effects of different types of transportation accessibility on urban-rural income disparity and their spatial heterogeneity.Based on data from 285 prefecture-level(and above)Chinese cities in 2000,2005,2010,2015,and 2020,this study uses spatial econometric models to examine how highway accessibility and railway accessibility influence the urban-rural income disparity and to identify their spatial heterogeneity.The result reveals that highway accessibility and railway accessibility have‘coreperiphery’ring-like circle structures.The urban-rural income disparity exhibits strong spatial clustering effects.Both highway accessibility and railway accessibility are negatively associated with urban-rural income disparity,and the former having a greater effect size.Moreover,there is a substitution effect between highway accessibility and railway accessibility in the whole sample.Furthermore,these associations differ in geographic regions.In the central region,highway accessibility is more important in reducing the urban-rural income disparity,but its effect is weakened with the increase of railway accessibility.In the western region,railway accessibility has a larger effect on narrowing the urban-rural income disparity,and this effect is strengthened by the increase of highway accessibility.We conclude that improving transportation accessibility is conducive to reducing the urban-rural income disparity but its effect is spatial heterogenetic.Highways and railways should be developed in a coordinated manner to promote an integrated transport network system.

Mapping and measuring urban-rural inequalities in accessibility to social infrastructures

Equal access to social infrastructures is a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development,but has long been a great challenge worldwide.Previous studies have primarily focused on the accessibility to social infras-tructures in urban areas across various scales,with less attention to rural areas,where inequality can be more severe.Particularly,few have investigated the disparities of accessibility to social infrastructures between urban and rural areas.Here,using the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration,China,as an example,we investigated the inequality of accessibility in both urban and rural areas,and further compared the urban-rural difference.Accessibility was measured by travel time of residents to infrastructures.We selected four types of social infrastructures including supermarkets,bus stops,primary schools,and health care,which were funda-mentally important to both urban and rural residents.We found large disparities in accessibility between urban and rural areas,ranging from 20 min to 2 h.Rural residents had to spend one to two more hours to bus stops than urban residents,and 20 min more to the other three types of infrastructures.Furthermore,accessibility to multiple infrastructures showed greater urban-rural differences.Rural residents in more than half of the towns had no access to any infrastructure within 15 min,while more than 60%of the urban residents could access to all infrastructures within 15 min.Our results revealed quantitative accessibility gap between urban and rural areas and underscored the necessity of social infrastructures planning to address such disparities.

Dynamic Identification and Evolution of Urban-suburban-rural Transition Zones Based on the Blender of Natural and Humanistic Factors: A Case Study of Chengdu, China

Urban-suburban-rural(U-S-R)zones exhibit distinctive transitional characteristics in interaction between human and nature.U-S-R transition zones(U-S-RTZ)are also highlighting the function diversity and landscape heterogeneity across territorial spaces.As a super megacity in western China,Chengdu’s rapid urbanization has driven the evolution of U-S-R spaces,resulting in a sequential structure.To promote the high-quality spatial development of urban-rural region in a structured and efficient manner,it is essential to con-duct a scientific examination of the multidimensional interconnection within the U-S-RTZ framework.By proposing a novel identifica-tion method of U-S-RTZ and taking Chengdu,China as a case study,grounded in a blender of natural and humanistic factors,this study quantitatively delineated and explored the spatial evolutions of U-S-RTZ and stated the optimization orientation and sustainable devel-opment strategies of the production-living-ecological spaces along the U-S-R gradients.The results show that:1)it is suitable for the quantitative analysis of U-S-RTZ by established three-dimensional identification system in this study.2)In 1990-2020,the urban-sub-urban transition zones(U-STZ)in Chengdu have continuously undergone a substantial increase,and the scale of the suburban-rural transition zones(S-RTZ)has continued to expand slightly,while the space of rural-ecological transition zones(R-ETZ)has noticeably compressed.3)The landuse dynamics within U-S-RTZ has gradually increased in 1990-2020.The main direction of landuse transition was from farmland to construction land or woodlands,with the expansion of construction land being the most significant.4)R-ETZ primarily focus on ecological functions,and there is a trade-off relationship between the production-ecological function within the S-RTZ,and in the U-STZ,production-living composite functions are prioritized.This study emphasizes the importance of elastic planning and precise governance within the U-S-RTZ in a rapid urbanization region,particularly highlighting the role of suburbs as landscape corridors and service hubs in urban-rural integration.It elucidates to the practical implications for achieving high-quality development of integrated U-S-R territorial spaces.

Spatial pattern of urban-rural integration in China and the impact of geography

Urban-rural integration (URI) is a global challenge that is highly related to inequalities, poverty, economic growth, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has evaluated the extent of URI and explored its influencing factors, but urban-rural linkages are seldom incorporated in evaluation systems, and geographical factors are rarely recognized as the influencing factors. We construct a URI framework including regional economy, rural development, urban-rural linkage, and urban-rural gap. Based on a dataset consisting of 1,669 counties in China in 2020, we reveal the spatial pattern of URI and find a high correlation between the spatial pattern of URI and the relief degree of land surface (RDLS). Using structural equation modeling, we discover that topography has direct ( − 0.18, p < 0.001) and indirect ( − 0.17, p < 0.001) effects on URI. The indirect negative effects are mediated through the infrastructure, and the combination of localized advantages and modern technical conditions could mitigate the negative impact of topography. Finally, we identify 742 counties as lagging regions in URI, which can be clustered into eight types. Our findings could facilitate policy designing for those countries striving for integrated and sustainable development of urban and rural areas.

Development of Sustainable Urban-Rural Integration:Dongtan Case Study

The environmental impact issues,such as global warming and expansion of the urban zone,seem more serious and have become the biggest defining challenges of the 21st century.Climate change can lead to water shortages,desertification,land degradation,air pollution,rising sea levels,accelerated deforestation,and exacerbated economic pressures.Global urban growth greatly impacts changes in sociability,humanity,and the environment of the Earth.The human presence,especially in cities,seriously affects resource use and waste disposal,and they are consuming natural resources faster than the planet can sustain during urbanization,changing how people live.China,with a population of 1.3 billion,has seen tens of millions of people living in the countryside migrate to cities,especially megacities,since the 1980s.As a result of its decision to industrialize and urbanize to boost the economy,China has become the world’s second-largest consumer of energy.In recent years,China’s government has quickly recognized the lessons of“limits to growth”and has taken action by initiating the construction process in Dongtan,Shanghai,China.They are making efforts to build urban-rural integration communities to promote sustainable development.Based on a literature review focusing on Dongtan,research questions are raised according to the research objective:(1)What are the challenges of sustainable development in urban-rural integration?(2)What practices has Dongtan implemented for sustainable development,or how is sustainable development being applied to Dongtan?(3)What are the social,political,environmental,and economic concerns regarding the sustainable development of Dongtan?The sustainable urban-rural integration concerns the ecological,economic,environmental,and psychological aspects of urban-rural integration design and management.The overall objective is to promote sustainable development in economic,social,ecological,and spatial dimensions.It will be a liveable,complete community that makes economic,environmental,and social sense locally while also contributing to national and global sustainable development.It will serve as a compelling model for how to build sustainable urban-rural integration worldwide.

Spatial Boundary Definition of Urban-rural Fringe in Beijing City

Through reviewing domestic and overseas literatures about the definition of urban-rural fringe,it can be found that the combination of qualitative and quantitative definition methods has become a dominant one.This paper makes out the principle and basis,uses the data of villages and towns,and establishes an index system from three angles:population,land use and landscape.And then the gravitational model is applied to define the urban-rural fringe with Beijing as an example.

A new approach towards the sustainability of urban-rural integration:The development strategy for central villages in the Abbasiya District of Iraq using GIS techniques

The development of rural areas usually has a positive impact on the urban-rural integration. This study explores an innovative approach to stimulate rural development by proposing qualified villages as central villages that can provide basic urban services for their residents and residents of neighboring villages. This approach can contribute to overcoming the various problems that rural areas faced at the social, economic, and environmental levels. It seeks to achieve spatial sustainability of rural areas, representing a new approach by integrating urban development methods to revitalize rural villages. The study analyzed 15 villages belonging to Abbasiya District of AL Kufa City in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. Based on the GIS techniques and the analysis of urban service indicators(village population, percentage of urban building materials used in villages, distance between village and health centers, distance between village and main roads, nature of economic activity, distance between village and educational institutions, distance between village and drinking water sources, number of communication towers, and distance between village and urban administrative center), this study proposed that Abu Gharb and Albu Ghraib can served as central villages in Abbasiya District in the future. This study establishes a new rural spatial structure to achieve rural sustainable development, improves the development status of rural areas, and provides a theoretical basis for the government and relevant institutions to use urban service indicators, achieving rural sustainable development and formulating relevant development policies in Abbasiya District.

Spatial Patterns of Soil Heavy Metals in Urban-Rural Transition Zone of Beijing

To identify the main sources responsible for soil heavy metal contamination, 70 topsoils were sampled from the Daxing County in the urban-rural transition zone of Beijing. The concentrations of heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, As, Se, Hg, and Co; the soil texture; and the organic matter content were determined for each soil sample. Descriptive statistics and geostatistics were used to analyze the data, and Kriging analysis was used to estimate the unobserved points and to map the spatial patterns of soil heavy metals. The results showed that the concentrations of all the soil heavy metals exceeded their background levels with the exception of As and Se. However, only the Cd concentration in some areas exceeded the critical value of the national soil quality standard. The semivariance analysis showed that the spatial correlation distances for soil Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, As, Ni, and Co ranged from 4.0 to 7.0 km, but soil Se, Pb, and Hg had a larger correlation distance. Soil Co, Se, Cd, Cu and Zn showed a strong spatial correlation, whereas the other soil heavy metals showed medium spatial correlation. Soil heavy metal concentrations were related to soil texture, organic matter content, and the accumulation of heavy metals in the soils, which was because of air deposition and use of water from the Liangshui, Xinfeng, and Fenghe rivers that are contaminated by wastewater and sewage for the purpose of irrigation of fields. Hence, a comprehensive treatment plan for these rivers should be formulated.

Spatial analysis of the osteoarthritis microenvironment: techniques, insights, and applications

Osteoarthritis(OA)is a debilitating degenerative disease affecting multiple joint tissues,including cartilage,bone,synovium,and adipose tissues.OA presents diverse clinical phenotypes and distinct molecular endotypes,including inflammatory,metabolic,mechanical,genetic,and synovial variants.Consequently,innovative technologies are needed to support the development of effective diagnostic and precision therapeutic approaches.Traditional analysis of bulk OA tissue extracts has limitations due to technical constraints,causing challenges in the differentiation between various physiological and pathological phenotypes in joint tissues.This issue has led to standardization difficulties and hindered the success of clinical trials.Gaining insights into the spatial variations of the cellular and molecular structures in OA tissues,encompassing DNA,RNA,metabolites,and proteins,as well as their chemical properties,elemental composition,and mechanical attributes,can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the disease subtypes.Spatially resolved biology enables biologists to investigate cells within the context of their tissue microenvironment,providing a more holistic view of cellular function.Recent advances in innovative spatial biology techniques now allow intact tissue sections to be examined using various-omics lenses,such as genomics,transcriptomics,proteomics,and metabolomics,with spatial data.This fusion of approaches provides researchers with critical insights into the molecular composition and functions of the cells and tissues at precise spatial coordinates.Furthermore,advanced imaging techniques,including high-resolution microscopy,hyperspectral imaging,and mass spectrometry imaging,enable the visualization and analysis of the spatial distribution of biomolecules,cells,and tissues.Linking these molecular imaging outputs to conventional tissue histology can facilitate a more comprehensive characterization of disease phenotypes.This review summarizes the recent advancements in the molecular imaging modalities and methodologies for in-depth spatial analysis.It explores their applications,challenges,and potential opportunities in the field of OA.Additionally,this review provides a perspective on the potential research directions for these contemporary approaches that can meet the requirements of clinical diagnoses and the establishment of therapeutic targets for OA.

Spatial-temporal Evolution of the Urban-rural Coordination Relationship in Northeast China in 1990-2018

To comprehensively understand the law of urban-rural relationship and propose scientific measures of urban-rural coordinated development in Northeast China,this study uses the coupling coordination degree model and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)model to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns and the corresponding driving mechanisms of its urban-rural coordination since 1990.The results are as follows.First,the urban-rural coupling coordination degree in Northeast China was very low and improved slowly,but its stages of evolution is a good interpretation of the strategic arrangements of China's urbanization.Second,the urban-rural coupling coordination degree in Northeast China had spatial differences and was characterized by central polarization,converging on urban agglomeration,which was high in the south and low in the north.Moreover,the gap between the north and south weakened.Third,the spatial-temporal evolution of the urban-rural coordination relationship in Northeast China was influenced by pulling from the central cities,pushing from rural transformation,and government regulations.The influence intensity of the three mechanisms was weak,but the pulling from the central cities was stronger than that of the other two mechanisms.Furthermore,the spatial difference between the three mechanisms determines the spatial pattern and its evolution of the urban-rural coordination relationship in Northeast China.Fourth,to promote the development of urban-rural coordination in Northeast China,it is essential to advance urban-rural economic correlation,enhance the government^role in regulating and guiding,and adopt different policies for each region in Northeast China.

Time series prediction of reservoir bank landslide failure probability considering the spatial variability of soil properties

Historically,landslides have been the primary type of geological disaster worldwide.Generally,the stability of reservoir banks is primarily affected by rainfall and reservoir water level fluctuations.Moreover,the stability of reservoir banks changes with the long-term dynamics of external disastercausing factors.Thus,assessing the time-varying reliability of reservoir landslides remains a challenge.In this paper,a machine learning(ML)based approach is proposed to analyze the long-term reliability of reservoir bank landslides in spatially variable soils through time series prediction.This study systematically investigated the prediction performances of three ML algorithms,i.e.multilayer perceptron(MLP),convolutional neural network(CNN),and long short-term memory(LSTM).Additionally,the effects of the data quantity and data ratio on the predictive power of deep learning models are considered.The results show that all three ML models can accurately depict the changes in the time-varying failure probability of reservoir landslides.The CNN model outperforms both the MLP and LSTM models in predicting the failure probability.Furthermore,selecting the right data ratio can improve the prediction accuracy of the failure probability obtained by ML models.

FPGA-based position reconstruction method for neutron beam flux spatial distribution measurement in BNCT

A new measurement method for the spatial distribution of neutron beam flux in boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is being developed based on the two-dimensional Micromegas detector.To address the issue of long processing times in traditional offline position reconstruction methods,this paper proposes a field programmable gate array based online position reconstruction method utilizing the micro-time projection chamber principle.This method encapsulates key technical aspects:a self-adaptive serial link technique built upon the dynamical adjustment of the delay chain length,fast sorting,a coordinate-matching technique based on the mapping between signal timestamps and random access memory(RAM)addresses,and a precise start point-merging technique utilizing a circular combined RAM.The performance test of the selfadaptive serial link shows that the bit error rate of the link is better than 10-12 at a confidence level of 99%,ensuring reliable data transmission.The experiment utilizing the readout electronics and Micromegas detector shows a spatial resolution of approximately 1.4 mm,surpassing the current method’s resolution level of 5 mm.The beam experiment confirms that the readout electronics system can obtain the flux spatial distribution of neutron beams online,thus validating the feasibility of the position reconstruction method.The online position reconstruction method avoids traditional methods,such as bubble sorting and traversal searching,simplifies the design of the logic firmware,and reduces the time complexity from O(n2)to O(n).This study contributes to the advancement in measuring neutron beam flux for BNCT.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Urban-rural Construction Land in Rural Industrialized Areas in China:Case Studies in Changyuan City and Xinxiang County of Henan Province

Since China’s reform and opening up in 1978,the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization in China had led to dramatic changes in the pattern of urban-rural land use.In this paper,we focused on the rural industrialized areas in central China(Xinxiang County and Changyuan City of Henan Province).We used the average nearest neighbor index,spatial statistical analysis,and a structural equation model to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of urban-rural construction land based on multisource spatial data and survey data.The results showed that:1)from 1975 to 2019,the spatial distribution of urban-rural construction land in rural industrialized areas had evolved from homogeneous distribution to local agglomeration.In terms of comparative analysis of cases,the spatial distribution of urban-rural construction land in Changyuan City had shown a trend from diffusion to agglomeration,and Xinxiang County had overall shown a spatial change from homogenization to agglomeration and then to regional integration development.2)The hot spots with increased urban-rural construction land significantly expanded,and they had a high degree of spatial overlap with industrial development.Among them,Xinxiang County was concentrated in central and marginal areas,and Changyuan was mainly concentrated in central urban areas.3)From the evolution of spatial proximity of urban-rural construction land,rural industrialized areas generally decline,showing the characteristics of internal differentiation in the rate of change.4)Industrial development,social economy,the policy environment,and urban development played a positive role in promoting the expansion of urban-rural construction land in rural industrialized areas.To promote the optimal use of regional land and the integrated development of urban-rural areas,we should combine the advantages of regional endowment,formulate development strategies according to local conditions,and adjust the way that land is used in a timely manner.

Characterization and spatial analysis of coseismic landslides triggered by the Luding Ms 6.8 earthquake in the Xianshuihe fault zone, Southwest China

On September 5, 2022, a magnitude Ms 6.8 earthquake occurred along the Moxi fault in the southern part of the Xianshuihe fault zone located in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau,resulting in severe damage and substantial economic loss. In this study, we established a coseismic landslide database triggered by Luding Ms 6.8 earthquake, which includes 4794 landslides with a total area of 46.79 km^(2). The coseismic landslides primarily consisted of medium and small-sized landslides, characterized by shallow surface sliding. Some exhibited characteristics of high-position initiation resulted in the obstruction or partial obstruction of rivers, leading to the formation of dammed lakes. Our research found that the coseismic landslides were predominantly observed on slopes ranging from 30° to 50°, occurring at between 1000 m and 2500 m, with slope aspects varying from 90° to 180°. Landslides were also highly developed in granitic bodies that had experienced structural fracturing and strong-tomoderate weathering. Coseismic landslides concentrated within a 6 km range on both sides of the Xianshuihe and Daduhe fault zones. The area and number of coseismic landslides exhibited a negative correlation with the distance to fault lines, road networks, and river systems, as they were influenced by fault activity, road excavation, and river erosion. The coseismic landslides were mainly distributed in the southeastern region of the epicenter, exhibiting relatively concentrated patterns within the IX-degree zones such as Moxi Town, Wandong River basin, Detuo Town to Wanggangping Township. Our research findings provide important data on the coseismic landslides triggered by the Luding Ms 6.8 earthquake and reveal the spatial distribution patterns of these landslides. These findings can serve as important references for risk mitigation, reconstruction planning, and regional earthquake disaster research in the earthquake-affected area.

Thinking about Value Realization of Ecological Products under the Background of Urban-rural Integration in Chengdu“Western Control”Area

Chengdu's development strategy of“western control”has laid a solid ecological background for 8 western districts,cities and counties and cultivated good ecological resources.The integrated urban-rural development in the new era will realize the balanced development of urban and rural areas and give full play to the value of rural ecological resources through the“powerful combination”of urban and rural areas.To realize the urban-rural integration and high-quality rural development in Chengdu“western control”area,it is necessary to enhance the awareness of ecological resources and ecological products,and carry out unified planning of ecological infrastructure,ecological material products and ecological service products in the whole“western control”area.Meantime,ecological restoration must be carried out scientifically,and scene design for value transformation of ecological products should be implemented innovatively.

Estimation-free spatial-domain image reconstruction of structured illumination microscopy

Structured illumination microscopy(SIM)achieves super-resolution(SR)by modulating the high-frequency information of the sample into the passband of the optical system and subsequent image reconstruction.The traditional Wiener-filtering-based reconstruction algorithm operates in the Fourier domain,it requires prior knowledge of the sinusoidal illumination patterns which makes the time-consuming procedure of parameter estimation to raw datasets necessary,besides,the parameter estimation is sensitive to noise or aberration-induced pattern distortion which leads to reconstruction artifacts.Here,we propose a spatial-domain image reconstruction method that does not require parameter estimation but calculates patterns from raw datasets,and a reconstructed image can be obtained just by calculating the spatial covariance of differential calculated patterns and differential filtered datasets(the notch filtering operation is performed to the raw datasets for attenuating and compensating the optical transfer function(OTF)).Experiments on reconstructing raw datasets including nonbiological,biological,and simulated samples demonstrate that our method has SR capability,high reconstruction speed,and high robustness to aberration and noise.

Design of Protograph LDPC-Coded MIMO-VLC Systems with Generalized Spatial Modulation

This paper investigates the bit-interleaved coded generalized spatial modulation(BICGSM) with iterative decoding(BICGSM-ID) for multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) visible light communications(VLC). In the BICGSM-ID scheme, the information bits conveyed by the signal-domain(SiD) symbols and the spatial-domain(SpD) light emitting diode(LED)-index patterns are coded by a protograph low-density parity-check(P-LDPC) code. Specifically, we propose a signal-domain symbol expanding and re-allocating(SSER) method for constructing a type of novel generalized spatial modulation(GSM) constellations, referred to as SSERGSM constellations, so as to boost the performance of the BICGSM-ID MIMO-VLC systems.Moreover, by applying a modified PEXIT(MPEXIT) algorithm, we further design a family of rate-compatible P-LDPC codes, referred to as enhanced accumulate-repeat-accumulate(EARA) codes,which possess both excellent decoding thresholds and linear-minimum-distance-growth property. Both analysis and simulation results illustrate that the proposed SSERGSM constellations and P-LDPC codes can remarkably improve the convergence and decoding performance of MIMO-VLC systems. Therefore, the proposed P-LDPC-coded SSERGSM-mapped BICGSMID configuration is envisioned as a promising transmission solution to satisfy the high-throughput requirement of MIMO-VLC applications.

Evaluation of COVID-19 Cases and Vaccinations in the State of Georgia, United States: A Spatial Perspective

This study evaluates the distribution of COVID-19 cases and mass vaccination campaigns from January 2020 to April 2023. There are over 235,000 COVID-19 cases and over 733,000 vaccinations across the 159 counties in the state of Georgia. Data on COVID-19 was acquired from usafact.org while the vaccination records were obtained from COVID-19 vaccination tracker. The spatial patterns across the counties were analyzed using spatial statistical techniques which include both global and local spatial autocorrelation. The study further evaluates the effect of vaccination and selected socio-economic predictors on COVID-19 cases across the study area. The result of hotspot analysis reveals that the epicenters of COVID-19 are distributed across Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb counties. It was also affirmed that the vaccination records followed the same pattern as COVID-19 cases’ epicenters. The result of the spatial error model performed well and accounted for a considerable percentage of the regression with an adjusted R squared of 0.68, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) 387.682 and Breusch-Pagan of 9.8091. ESDA was employed to select the main explanatory variables. The selected variables include vaccination, population density, percentage of people that do not have health insurance, black race, Hispanic and these variables accounted for 68% of the number of COVID-19 cases in the state of Georgia during the study period. The study concludes that both COVID-19 cases and vaccinated individuals have spatial peculiarities across counties in Georgia state. Lastly, socio-economic variables and vaccination are very important to reduce the vulnerability of individuals to COVID-19 disease.