Phase transition of a one-dimensional Ising model with distance-dependent connections

The critical behavior of Ising model on a one-dimensional network, which has long-range connections at distances $l>1$ with the probability $\Theta(l)\sim l^{-m}$, is studied by using Monte Carlo simulations. Through studying the Ising model on networks with different $m$ values, this paper discusses the impact of the global correlation, which decays with the increase of $m$, on the phase transition of the Ising model. Adding the analysis of the finite-size scaling of the order parameter $[]$, it is observed that in the whole range of $0<m<2$, a finite-temperature transition exists, and the critical exponents show consistence with mean-field values, which indicates a mean-field nature of the phase transition.Comment: 5 pages,8 figure

The impact of e-commerce on environmental sustainability targets in selected European countries

E-commerce plays a crucial role in the digital economy. E-commerce can reduce costs and boost economic growth. Therefore, the global rate of E-commerce is increasing very fast, which has implications for the digital economy. This study analyses the impact of e-commerce on environmental sustainability. The empirical analysis employed OLS, 2SLS, GMM, and panel quantile regression methods using panel data of 10 European economies spanning over 2002–2019. Carbon emissions and GHG emissions measure environmental sustainability. The results from OLS, 2SLS and GMM show that e-commerce negatively impacts carbon emissions. The panel quantile regression results also show that e-commerce negatively impacts carbon emissions at the middle and higher quantiles. This study recommends that environmental sustainability programs pay attention to policies encouraging e-commerce

Clinical implications in the shift of syndecan-1 expression from the cell membrane to the cytoplasm in bladder cancer

Background To determine the diagnostic and prognostic capability of urinary and tumoral syndecan-1 (SDC-1) levels in patients with cancer of the urinary bladder. Methods SDC-1 levels were quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 308 subjects (102 cancer subjects and 206 non-cancer subjects) to assess its diagnostic capabilities in voided urine. The performance of SDC-1 was evaluated using the area under the curve of a receiver operating characteristic curve. In addition, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining assessed SDC-1 protein expression in 193 bladder specimens (185 cancer subjects and 8 non-cancer subjects). Outcomes were correlated to SDC-1 levels. Results Mean urinary levels of SDC-1 did not differ between the cancer subjects and the non-cancer subjects, however, the mean urinary levels of SDC-1 were reduced in high-grade compared to low-grade disease (p < 0.0001), and in muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) compared to non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) (p = 0.005). Correspondingly, preliminary data note a shift from a membranous cellular localization of SDC-1 in normal tissue, low-grade tumors and NMIBC, to a distinctly cytoplasmic localization in high-grade tumors and MIBC was observed in tissue specimens. Conclusion Alone urinary SDC-1 may not be a diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer, but its urinary levels and cellular localization were associated with the differentiation status of patients with bladder tumors. Further studies are warranted to define the potential role for SDC-1 in bladder cancer progression

Investigation of CCL18 and A1AT as potential urinary biomarkers for bladder cancer detection

BACKGROUND: In this study, we further investigated the association of two biomarkers, CCL18 and A1AT, with bladder cancer (BCa) and evaluated the influence of potentially confounding factors in an experimental model. METHODS: In a cohort of 308 subjects (102 with BCa), urinary concentrations of CCL18 and A1AT were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In an experimental model, benign or cancerous cells, in addition to blood, were added to urines from healthy controls and analyzed by ELISA. Lastly, immunohistochemical staining for CCL18 and A1AT in human bladder tumors was performed. RESULTS: Median urinary protein concentrations of CCL18 (52.84 pg/ml vs. 11.13 pg/ml, p < 0.0001) and A1AT (606.4 ng/ml vs. 120.0 ng/ml, p < 0.0001) were significantly elevated in BCa subjects compared to controls. Furthermore, the addition of whole blood to pooled normal urine resulted in a significant increase in both CCL18 and A1AT. IHC staining of bladder tumors revealed CCL18 immunoreactivity in inflammatory cells only, and there was no significant increase in these immunoreactive cells within benign and cancerous tissue and no association with BCa grade nor stage was noted. A1AT immunoreactivity was observed in the cytoplasm of epithelia cells and intensity of immunostaining increased with tumor grade, but not tumor stage. CONCLUSIONS: Further development of A1AT as a diagnostic biomarker for BCa is warranted