The blueprint for service transformation at the City University of Hong Kong Library:The project for RFID applications as the starting point

With the rapid development of information and communication technologies,it is now time for libraries to re-position their service norms.From a traditional service mode that is manual-based,libraries should now become functionally more versatile through the provision of multifaceted services via different channels and modes such as self-services,digital libraries,and value-added services.The Run Run Shaw Library at the City University of Hong Kong,through strategic space planning between campuses,e-resources collection development,space re-organization,staff deployment,and innovative new services,has formulated a blueprint for its service transformation.Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) technology,offering opportunities for the Library to improve its service quality,has become a core element of the blueprint.Two pilot projects focusing on the application of Ultra High Frequency RFID and High Frequency RFID technologies respectively in the library environment have been initiated.To achieve the best results,the Library has taken into consideration different factors,such as time,space,budget,manpower,and organizational structure.Careful coordination of these different factors has generated the greatest synergy.

An In-Depth Analysis of Road Fatal Crash Patterns and Discussions in Ho Chi Minh City

Although there has been a slight decrease in road traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries in recent years, HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City) will continue to encounter challenges in mitigating and preventing road crashes. This study analyzes road crash data from the past five years, obtained from the Road-Railway Police Bureau (PC08) and TSB (Traffic Safety Board) in HCMC. This analysis gives us valuable insights into road crash patterns, characteristics, and underlying causes. This comprehensive understanding serves as a scientific foundation for developing cohesive strategies and implementing targeted solutions to address road traffic safety issues more effectively in the future.

Neuropeptide cholecystokinin:a key neuromodulator for hippocampal functions

Spatial memory is crucial for survival within external surroundings and wild environments.The hippocampus,a critical hub for spatial learning and memory formation,has received extensive investigations on how neuromodulators shape its functions(Teixeira et al.,2018;Zhang et al.,2024).However,the landscape of neuromodulations in the hippocampal system remains poorly understood because most studies focus on classical monoamine neuromodulators,such as acetylcholine,serotonin,dopamine,and noradrenaline.The neuropeptides,comprising the most abundant neuromodulators in the central nervous system,play a pivotal role in neural information processing in the hippocampal system.Cholecystokinin(CCK),one of the most abundant neuropeptides,has been implicated in regulating various physiological and neurobiological statuses(Chen et al.,2019).CCK-A receptor(CCK-AR)and CCK-B receptors(CCK-BR)are two key receptors mediating the biological functions of CCK,both of which belong to class-A sevenfold transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors(Nishimura et al.,2015).CCK-AR preferentially reacts to sulfated CCK,whereas CCK-BR binds both CCK and gastrin with similar affinities(Ding et al.,2022).The expression patterns of CCK-AR and CCK-BR are distinct,implying that CCK has various functions in target regions.For instance,CCK-AR is widely expressed in the GI and brain subregions and is hence implicated in the control of digestive function and satiety regulation.Conversely,CCK-BR is abundantly and widely distributed in the central nervous system,which majorly regulates anxiety,learning,and memory(Ding et al.,2022).However,the roles of endogenous CCK and CCK receptors in regulating hippocampal function at electrophysiological and behavioral levels have received less attention.

Bioinspired Ultrasensitive Flexible Strain Sensors for Real‑Time Wireless Detection of Liquid Leakage

Liquid leakage of pipeline networks not only results in considerableresource wastage but also leads to environmental pollution and ecological imbalance.In response to this global issue, a bioinspired superhydrophobic thermoplastic polyurethane/carbon nanotubes/graphene nanosheets flexible strain sensor (TCGS) hasbeen developed using a combination of micro-extrusion compression molding andsurface modification for real-time wireless detection of liquid leakage. The TCGSutilizes the synergistic effects of Archimedean spiral crack arrays and micropores,which are inspired by the remarkable sensory capabilities of scorpions. This designachieves a sensitivity of 218.13 at a strain of 2%, which is an increase of 4300%. Additionally, it demonstrates exceptional durability bywithstanding over 5000 usage cycles. The robust superhydrophobicity of the TCGS significantly enhances sensitivity and stability indetecting small-scale liquid leakage, enabling precise monitoring of liquid leakage across a wide range of sizes, velocities, and compositionswhile issuing prompt alerts. This provides critical early warnings for both industrial pipelines and potential liquid leakage scenariosin everyday life. The development and utilization of bioinspired ultrasensitive flexible strain sensors offer an innovative and effectivesolution for the early wireless detection of liquid leakage.

MONOTONICITY,CONVEXITY AND INEQUALITIES INVOLVING THE GENERALIZED ELLIPTIC INTEGRALS

We establish the monotonicity and convexity properties for several special functions involving the generalized elliptic integrals, and present some new analytic inequalities.

ON THE BOTTLENECK CAPACITY EXPANSION PROBLEMS ON NETWORKS

This article considers a class of bottleneck capacity expansion problems. Such problems aim to enhance bottleneck capacity to a certain level with minimum cost. Given a network G（V,A,C^-） consisting of a set of nodes V = {v1,v2,... ,vn}, a set of arcs A C {（vi,vj） ｜ i = 1,2,...,n; j = 1,2,...,n} and a capacity vector C. The component C^-ij of C is the capacity of arc （vi, vj）. Define the capacity of a subset A′ of A as the minimum capacity of the arcs in A, the capacity of a family F of subsets of A is the maximum capacity of its members. There are two types of expanding models. In the arc-expanding model, the unit cost to increase the capacity of arc （vi, vj） is ωij. In the node-expanding model, it is assumed that the capacities of all arcs （vi, vj） which start at the same node vi should be increased by the same amount and that the unit cost to make such expansion is wi. This article considers three kinds of bottleneck capacity expansion problems （path, spanning arborescence and maximum flow） in both expanding models. For each kind of expansion problems, this article discusses the characteristics of the problems and presents several results on the complexity of the problems.

Correlation of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 expression with clinical outcomes of colorectal cancer patients of different race/ethnicity

AIM： To evaluate the role of N-myc downstream- regulated gene 1 （NDRG1） expression in prognosis and survival of colorectal cancer patients with different ethnic backgrounds. METHODS： Because NDRG1 is a downstream target of p53 and hypoxia inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α）, we examined NDRG1 expression together with p53 and HIF-1α by irnmunohistochernistry. A total of 157 colorectal cancer specimens including 80 from Japanese patients and 77 from US patients were examined. The correlation between protein expression with clinicopathological features and survival after surgery was analyzed. RESULTS： NDRG1 protein was significantly increased in colorectal tumor compared with normal epithelium in both Japanese and US patient groups. Expression of NDRG1 protein was significantly correlated with lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, depth of invasion, histopathological type, and Dukes＇ stage in Japanese colorectal cancer patients. NDRG1 expression was correlated to histopathological type, Dukes＇ stage and HIF-1α expression in US-Caucasian patients but not in US-African American patients. Interestingly, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that NDRG1 expression correlated significantly with poorer survival in US-African American patients but not in other patient groups. However, in p53-positive US cases, NDRG1 positivity correlated significantly with better survival. In addition, NDRG1 expression also correlated significantly with improved survival in US patients with stages Ⅲ and IV tumors without chemotherapy. In Japanese patients with stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ tumors, strong NDRG1 staining in p53- positive tumors correlated significantly with improved survival but negatively in patients without chemotherapy. CONCLUSION： NDRG1 expression was correlated with various clinicopathological features and clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer depending on the race/ethnicity of the patients. NDRG1 may serve as a biological basis for the disparity of clinical outcomes of colorectal cancer patients with different ethnic backgrounds.

MONOTONICITY AND INEQUALITIES FOR THE GENERALIZED DISTORTION FUNCTION

The authors prove some monotonicity properties of functions involving the generalized Agard distortion function ηg（a,t）, and obtain some inequalities for ηk（a, t） and relative distortion functions.

Comparative study on pharmacokinetics and toxicity of intravitreal and sub-Tenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide in ocular tissues

AIM:To compare the differences in kinetics,distribution,and toxicity of triamcinolone acetonide(TA)between the injection methods,sub-Tenon and intravitreal injections in rabbit ocular tissues.METHODS:TA was injected into the vitreous or the sub-Tenon in rabbits.For pharmacokinetic study,rabbits were sacrificed periodically and then TA in blood and ocular tissues(retina/choroids,vitreous,and aqueous humor)were measured over 91 d.For toxicological study,clinical signs,slit-lamp microscopic examination,ophthalmological test were performed.The eyeballs and surrounding tissues were collected and fixed with glutaraldehyde-formalin solution,and then paraffin embedded for histological investigation.RESULTS:Higher levels of TA were distributed in the intraocular tissues when injected into the vitreous compared to the sub-Tenon.Conversely,TA level was remarkably lower in the rabbits which received intravitreal TA injections than those treated with sub-Tenon injection throughout the study period in plasma.Optical discharge probably caused by systemic circulation of TA was observed by receiving sub-Tenon TA injection.Meanwhile,technicassociated toxicological ocular symptoms and findings were more frequently observed in intravitreal injection than in sub-Tenon injection.CONCLUSION:There are significant differences in kinetics and distribution of TA in vitreous body,aqueous humor and plasma,between the two injection methods.Although further study is needed to explain the species difference between human and rabbit,it is assumed that the difference in the frequency of intraocular pressure elevation and cataract formation by TA between the two injection methods are directly related to the TA concentrations in aqueous humor and vitreous body in each injection methods.Systemic toxicity and technic-associated toxicity are also closely related to kinetics of TA in plasma and each injection method itself,respectively.

Stabilization for Equal-Order Polygonal Finite Element Method for High Fluid Velocity and Pressure Gradient

This paper presents an adapted stabilisation method for the equal-order mixed scheme of finite elements on convex polygonal meshes to analyse the high velocity and pressure gradient of incompressible fluid flows that are governed by Stokes equations system.This technique is constructed by a local pressure projection which is extremely simple,yet effective,to eliminate the poor or even non-convergence as well as the instability of equal-order mixed polygonal technique.In this research,some numerical examples of incompressible Stokes fluid flow that is coded and programmed by MATLAB will be presented to examine the effectiveness of the proposed stabilised method.

Closed form stress distribution in 2D elasticity for all boundary conditions

This paper applies a Hamiltonian method to study analytically the stress distributions of orthotropic two-dimensional elasticity in （x. z） plane for arbitrary boundary conditions without beam assumptions. It is a method of separable variables for partial differential equations using displacements and their conjugate stresses as unknowns. Since coordinates （x, z） can not be easily separated, an alternative symplectic expansion is used. Similar to the Hamiltonian formulation in classical dynamics, we treat the x coordinate as time variable so that z becomes the only independent coordinate in the Hamiltonian matrix differential operator. The exponential of the Hamiltonian matrix is symplectic. There are homogenous solutions with constants to be determined by the boundary conditions and particular integrals satisfying the loading conditions. The homogenous solutions consist of the eigen-solutions of the derogatory zero eigenvalues （zero eigen-solutions） and that of the well-behaved nonzero eigenvalues （nonzero eigen-solutions）. The Jordan chains at zerO eigenvalues give the classical Saint-Venant solutions associated with aver- aged global behaviors such as rigid-body translation, rigid-body rotation or bending. On the other hand, the nonzero eigen-solutions describe the exponentially decaying localized solutions usually ignored by Saint-Venant＇s principle. Completed numerical examples are newly given to compare with established results.

Effect of multi-velocity-difference in traffic flow

Based on the optimal velocity models, an extended model is proposed, in which multi-veloclty-dllterence aheacl is taken into consideration. The damping effect of the multi-velocity-difference ahead has been investigated by means of analytical and numerical methods. Results indicate that the multi-velocity-difference leads to the enhancement of stability of traffic flow, suppression of the emergence of traffic jamming, and reduction of the energy consumption.

LOW VELOCITY RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITE PLATE WITH EMBEDDED SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY

This paper analyzes the characteristics of utilizing shape memory e?ect (SME) of shape memory alloy (SMA) in improving the low velocity impact resistance performance of com- posite plate by using ?nite element method. The constitutive relation for SMA hybrid composite plates is presented. The analytic model of ?nite element for SMA composite plate subjected to low velocity impact is established. The modi?ed Hertz’s contact law is used to determine the impact contact force. The computing procedures for solving the ?nite element equation using Newmark direct integration method are given. The numerical modelling results show that the SMA can e?ectively improve the low velocity impact resistance performance of composite plate.

Dioxyxanthones from Polygala hongkongensis and Their Cytotoxicity

Two new dioxyxanthones, polyhongkongenoxanthones A and B（1 and 2） were isolated from the herbs of Polygala hongkongensis, together with six known xanthones. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence. The isolates were tested for their cytotoxicity against three tumor cell lines（HepG2, GLC-82 and MCF-7, HepG2=human hepatocellular carcinoma cells; GLC-82=human lung carcinoma cells; MCF-7= human breast carcinoma cells） by MTT assay, among which polyhongkongenoxanthone B（2）, 1,7-dihydroxy-2,3- methylenedioxyxanthone（3） and 1,7-dihydroxy-3,4,8-trimethoxyxanthone（6） are potential antitumor candidate due to their significant cytotoxic effects on the three cell lines..

Boosting corticospinal system synaptic plasticity to recover motor functions

An importa nt strategy to promote voluntary movements after motor system injury is to strengthen the connections between the motor cortex and muscles by taking advantage of the plasticity of the corticospinal motor system.Many neuromodulation approaches are directed to activate the spinal cord and peripheral axons to strengthen muscle activation.We discuss in this perspective that,the cortex and spinal cord should be ta rgeted together to enhance cortex-to-musclefunction(Amer and Martin,2022).

Mechanistic action of the acute toxicity of Bajitian(Morinda officinalis)in zebrafish embryos

Objectives:To investigate acute toxicity of Bajitian(Morinda officinalis)in zebrafish embryos.Methods:Zebrafish embryos at 48-h post fertilization(hpf)were exposed to Bajitian ethanol extract for72 h.The causative action of a delay in yolk sac absorption by Bajitian was investigated by RT-PCR analysis of lipid metabolism-related microsomal triglyceride transfer protein(MTP),apolipoprotein CII(ApoC2)and lipogenesis-related liver x receptor(LXR)genes.The effect of Bajitian eliciting an inflammatory response was studied by exposing 72 hpf myeloperoxidase(MPO):GFP transgenic zebrafish embryos to Bajitian extract for 4 h.Assessment was done by TUNEL,caspase-3/7,and RT-PCR analysis of the apoptosis related pathway B-cell lymphoma 2 associated X protein(Bax),Nuclear factor kappa-lightchain-enhancer of activated B cells(NF-k B)genes,neutrophil development-related stem cell leukaemia(SCL)and transcription factor PU.1 genes,to reveal the causative action of Bajitian reducing neutrophils.Results:RT-PCR analysis found that Bajitian extract had no effect on the expression of MTP or ApoC2 genes,but upregulated LXR gene,which might explain the delay in yolk sac absorption.Analysis of the inflammatory response showed that compared with negative controls,Bajitian extract significantly(P<.05)reduced the number of neutrophils in MPO:GFP embryos.TUNEL,caspase-3/7,and RT-PCR analysis of Bax and NF-k B genes found that Bajitian extract did not trigger the cell apoptosis.Further RT-PCR analysis found that Bajitian extract did not affect SCL expression,but did lead to down-regulation of PU.1.The inhibition of neutrophil development/differentiation may explain the decline in the total number of neutrophils following Bajitian treatment,which could be attributed to the anti-inflammatory effects found clinically for this drug.Conclusions:This study demonstrated that Bajitian caused a delay in yolk sac absorption and a decrease neutrophil in zebrafish embryos,which may be related to the inhibition of neutrophil development.

Establishing the Method for Assessing Flood Vulnerability in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam A Case Study in District 6

Urban flooding has impacted siginficantly on people＇s living： economic development, environmental pollution, etc.. It has been the serious problem of many cities in file world, especially in urban areas in developing countries because urbanization is too fast but lack of adaptive management planning and infrastructure. In Vietnam, the big cities, such as HCM （Ho Chi Minh） City, Hanoi, etc. have also been influenced severely by floods. By early 2017, HCM City has 171 flooded sites assigned by the district level; 40 submergence points assigned by Steering Center of Flooding Control Program, and 9 tidal flooded points. The paper will establish a suitable method for assessing flood vulnerability in HCM City from natural, social and environmental aspects. The results of a case study in District 6 show that there are four wards with high vulnerability and 10 wards with average vulnerability.

Resilient power grid for smart city

Modern power grid has a fundamental role in the operation of smart cities.However,high impact low probability extreme events bring severe challenges to the security of urban power grid.With an increasing focus on these threats,the resilience of urban power grid has become a prior topic for a modern smart city.A resilient power grid can resist,adapt to,and timely recover from disruptions.It has four characteristics,namely anticipation,absorption,adaptation,and recovery.This paper aims to systematically investigate the development of resilient power grid for smart city.Firstly,this paper makes a review on the high impact low probability extreme events categories that influence power grid,which can be divided into extreme weather and natural disaster,human-made malicious attacks,and social crisis.Then,resilience evaluation frameworks and quantification metrics are discussed.In addition,various existing resilience enhancement strategies,which are based on microgrids,active distribution networks,integrated and multi energy systems,distributed energy resources and flexible resources,cyber-physical systems,and some resilience enhancement methods,including probabilistic forecasting and analysis,artificial intelligence driven methods,and other cutting-edge technologies are summarized.Finally,this paper presents some further possible directions and developments for urban power grid resilience research,which focus on power-electronized urban distribution network,flexible distributed resource aggregation,cyber-physical-social systems,multi-energy systems,intelligent electrical transportation and artificial intelligence and Big Data technology.

Synthesis, Characterization and Cytotoxicity of Ammine/Methylamine Platinum(Ⅱ) Complexes with Carboxylates

Seven novel platinum （Ⅱ） complexes [ Pt（Ⅱ） （NH3） （CH3NH2）X2] （Ⅰ-Ⅶ ） （ X： CH3COO^-, CH2CICOO^- , CHCI2COO^- , C6H5-COO^- , p-CH3O--C6H4-COO^- , p-NH2-C6H4-COO^- , p-NO2--C6H4- COO^-） were prepared and characterized by means of elemental analysis, molar conductivity, thermal analysis, IR, UV, and ^1H NMR spectrometries. The cytotoxicity against HCT-8, BGC-823, MCF-7, EJ, and HL-60 cell lines increases in the following sequence： cisplatin 〉 Ⅳ 〉 Ⅴ 〉 Ⅵ 〉 Ⅶ 〉 Ⅰ 〉 Ⅱ 〉 Ⅲ. Moreover, the complexes （ Ⅰ --Ⅻ） display substantially greater activities agaist EJ and HL-60 cell lines than those against the cell lines from other carcinomas. They can induce a concentration-dependent accumulation of HL-60 cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle as cisplatin. There is no significant correlation between total DNA platination levels and cytotoxicity of the complexes.