Spatial clustering algorithms for areal data

The main aim of this thesis is to develop new spatial clustering approaches which can simultaneously identify different areal clusters and guarantee their geographical contiguity. The second aim is to adjust the finite mixture model in order to cope with the issues caused by outliers or singletons (clusters with only one object). In addition, the thesis also aims to extend the applications of these newly proposed spatial clustering techniques from univariate to multivariate space. In Chapter 1, I will review some available clustering techniques in grouping spatial data and will also introduce different types of clustering data and the Glasgow housing market data which will be used in the thesis’s application. At the end of this chapter, I will outline the structure of this thesis. In Chapter 2, I will give the general statistical theory and inference methodologies used across this thesis, including frequentist and Bayesian statistical inferences, multidimensional scaling and the Procrustes transformation. In Chapter 3, I will introduce techniques that could be used in transforming between two types of clustering data introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 4 will define some cluster and graph terminology and will also introduce different clustering techniques, such as hierarchical clustering, Chameleon hierarchical clustering and model-based clustering. In this chapter, I will also cover some techniques used in cluster comparisons, methods for number of clusters decisions and number of dimensions decisions. Chapter 6 will introduce more detail about spatial hierarchical clustering. The simulation results from spatial hierarchical clustering will be used as the reference results for comparison with the results from the proposed novel spatial clustering techniques in later chapters. The newly proposed clustering techniques, Chameleon spatial hierarchical clustering, spatially constrained finite mixture model with noise component or with priors and spatially constrained Bayesian model-based clustering with dissimilarities, in clustering areal data will be introduced in Chapters 7, 8 and 9 respectively. Also, the simulations and the application in Glasgow housing market will be given at the end of each of these three chapters. Chameleon spatial hierarchical clustering combined the spatial contiguity with Chameleon hierarchical clustering, so areas grouped together are spatially contiguous. Spatially constrained finite mixture models incorporate the spatial prior distribution into the classical finite mixture model to deal with the spatial contiguity issue. Also, I will make the spatially constrained finite mixture model more robust by incorporating a uniform distribution to model the noise points or adding prior distributions to the model. In Chapter 9, I will add a spatial prior to the model-based clustering with dissimilarities model and then will use a Bayesian approach to obtain a spatial contiguous clustering. Chapter 10 will be conclusions and discussion about the newly proposed clustering methods

The impact of Fintech on corporate carbon emissions: towards green and sustainable development

Fintech, as the fusion of finance and technology, has not only transformed the traditional financial industry and contributed to reshaping the real economy. But also, it holds the potential to offer a feasible solution for achieving green and sustainable development. This paper investigates the impact of Fintech on corporate carbon emissions (CCEs) by using data from the National Tax Survey Database (NTSD). The results suggest that Fintech development leads to a reduction in CCEs. Our findings remain robust even after using the instrumental variable approach to alleviate endogeneity problems. The mechanism analysis reveals that Fintech reduces CCEs via alleviating financing constraints, improving energy efficiency, and promoting green innovation. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that Fintech dramatically decreases CCEs from coal energy consumption, while increasing CCEs from consuming power and gas energy. Additionally, carbon emissions from state-owned and foreign companies experience a more pronounced reduction through Fintech compared to those from private firms. Furthermore, firms in eastern and middle regions are more vulnerable to Fintech development. Moreover, enterprises in non-high-tech industries and high-polluting industries exhibit noteworthy performance in reducing carbon emissions through Fintech adoption. This research offers policymakers a path to effectively govern CCEs and achieve their carbon reduction targets

Cardiac disorders and structural brain abnormalities are commonly associated with hypospadias in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Ther objective of our study was to use an established cohort of boys to investigate common patterns of malformations in those with hypospadias. We performed a retrospective review of the phenotype of participants in the Deciphering Developmental Disorders Study with neurodevelopmental delay and an 'Abnormality of the genital system'. This group was divided into two subgroups: those with hypospadias and without hypospadias. Associated phenotypes of the two subgroups were compared and analysed. Of the 166 Deciphering Developmental Disorders participants with hypospadias and neurodevelopmental delay, 47 (28%) had cardiovascular and 40 (24%) had structural brain abnormalities. The rate of cardiovascular abnormalities in those with neurodevelopmental delay and genital abnormalities other than hypospadias (N = 645) was lower at 19% (P = 0.001). In addition, structural brain malformations were higher at 24% in the hypospadias group versus 15% in the group without hypospadias (P = 0.002). The constellation of these features occured at a higher rate in the hypospadias group versus the no hypospadias group (P = 0.038). In summary, this is the first study to indicate that cardiovascular and brain abnormalities are frequently encountered in association with hypospadias in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Not only do these associations provide insight into the underlying aetiology but also they highlight the multisystem involvement in conditions with hypospadias

The impact of the new energy demonstration city construction on energy consumption intensity: exploring the sustainable potential of China's firms

As a comprehensive energy transition reform strategy, China's new energy demonstration city (NEDC) pilot policy aims to accelerate the transformation from a fossil fuel-based energy system to a more sustainable energy system. Employing unique data on firms' energy consumption from National Tax Survey Database, this paper investigates how NEDC policy affects firms' energy utilization efficiency based on the difference-in-differences model. We observe that NEDC construction reduces firms' energy consumption intensity (ECI) in the pilot cities. After using the instrumental variable approach to deal with endogeneity problems, the conclusions still hold. The mechanism analysis reveals that the decrease in firms' ECI is driven by offering more tax incentives to enterprises and prompting them to pursue technological innovation. Heterogeneity analysis shows that this negative impact is more prominent for SOEs and high-energy-consuming enterprises; we also observe that this effect is more pronounced for firms in resource-based cities and old-industrial-based cities. Our results provide policy implications for initiating policies in other countries to improve firms' energy utilization performance

Association between extra-genital congenital anomalies and hypospadias outcome

Extra-genital congenital anomalies are often present in cases of hypospadias, but it is unclear whether they have an association with the outcome of hypospadias surgery. The aim of this study was to review all hypospadias cases that had surgery between 2009 and 2015 at a single centre and identify clinical determinants of the surgical outcome. An extra-genital congenital anomaly was reported in 139 (22%) boys and 62 (10%) had more than 1 anomaly. Of the 626 boys, 54 (9%), including 44 with proximal hypospadias, had endocrine as well as limited genetic evaluation. Of these, 10 (19%) had a biochemical evidence of hypogonadism and 5 (9%) had a molecular genetic abnormality. At least 1 complication was reported in 167 (27%) patients, with 20% of complications (most frequently fistula) occurring after 2 years of surgery. The severity of hypospadias and the existence of other anomalies were clinical factors that were independently associated with an increased risk of complications (p < 0.001). In conclusion, complications following surgery are more likely in those cases that are proximal or who have additional extra-genital anomalies. To understand the biological basis of these complications, there is a greater need to understand the aetiology of such cases

Arabidopsis LFR, a SWI/SNF complex component, interacts with ICE1 and activates ICE1 and CBF3 expression in cold acclimation

Low temperatures restrict the growth and geographic distribution of plants, as well as crop yields. Appropriate transcriptional regulation is critical for cold acclimation in plants. In this study, we found that the mutation of Leaf and flower related (LFR), a component of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex (CRC) important for transcriptional regulation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), resulted in hypersensitivity to freezing stress in plants with or without cold acclimation, and this defect was successfully complemented by LFR. The expression levels of CBFs and COR genes in cold-treated lfr-1 mutant plants were lower than those in wild-type plants. Furthermore, LFR was found to interact directly with ICE1 in yeast and plants. Consistent with this, LFR was able to directly bind to the promoter region of CBF3, a direct target of ICE1. LFR was also able to bind to ICE1 chromatin and was required for ICE1 transcription. Together, these results demonstrate that LFR interacts directly with ICE1 and activates ICE1 and CBF3 gene expression in response to cold stress. Our work enhances our understanding of the epigenetic regulation of cold responses in plants

Prevention of Intra-Abdominal Adhesion by Bi-Layer Electrospun Membrane

The aim of this study was to compare the anti-adhesion efficacy of a bi-layer electrospun fibrous membrane consisting of hyaluronic acid-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibrous membrane as the inner layer and PCL fibrous membrane as the outer layer with a single-layer PCL electrospun fibrous membrane in a rat cecum abrasion model. The rat model utilized a cecal abrasion and abdominal wall insult surgical protocol. The bi-layer and PCL membranes were applied between the cecum and the abdominal wall, respectively. Control animals did not receive any treatment. After postoperative day 14, a visual semiquantitative grading scale was used to grade the extent of adhesion. Histological analysis was performed to reveal the features of adhesion tissues. Bi-layer membrane treated animals showed significantly lower adhesion scores than control animals (p < 0.05) and a lower adhesion score compared with the PCL membrane. Histological analysis of the bi-layer membrane treated rat rarely demonstrated tissue adhesion while that of the PCL membrane treated rat and control rat showed loose and dense adhesion tissues, respectively. Bi-layer membrane can efficiently prevent adhesion formation in abdominal cavity and showed a significantly decreased adhesion tissue formation compared with the control

www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms Prevention of Intra-Abdominal Adhesion by Bi-Layer Electrospun Membrane

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the anti-adhesion efficacy of a bi-layer electrospun fibrous membrane consisting of hyaluronic acid-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibrous membrane as the inner layer and PCL fibrous membrane as the outer layer with a single-layer PCL electrospun fibrous membrane in a rat cecum abrasion model. The rat model utilized a cecal abrasion and abdominal wall insult surgical protocol. The bi-layer and PCL membranes were applied between the cecum and the abdominal wall, respectively. Control animals did not receive any treatment. After postoperative day 14, a visual semiquantitative grading scale was used to grade the extent of adhesion. Histological analysis was performed to reveal the features of adhesion tissues. Bi-layer membrane treated animals showed significantly lower adhesion scores than control animals (p &lt; 0.05) and a lower adhesion score compared with the PCL membrane. Histological analysis of the bi-layer membrane treated rat rarely demonstrated tissue adhesion while that of the PCL membrane treated rat and control rat showed loose and dense adhesion tissues, respectively. Bi-layer membrane can efficiently prevent adhesion formation in abdominal cavity and showed a significantly decreased adhesion tissue formation compared with the control