Protecting Suzhou: Study of the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in the Cities along China’s Grand Canal

With economic and social development, China has lifted its people out of poverty and is continuing to work hard on the road to a well-off society for all. In such a historical period, China is paying increasing attention to cultural construction while developing the economy. How to protect China’s cultural heritage and create economic and social benefits at the same time is a huge concern of the national government. Nowhere is the tension between China’s cultural preservation and economic development more apparent than at the country’s World Heritage List sites. The Grand Canal, known as the Jing- Hang Grand Canal (京杭大运河) in Chinese, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2014. Since then, the Grand Canal itself has been systematically protected; however, the heritage sites along the Grand Canal have been not only facing development opportunities, but also experiencing commercialization and uncontrolled tourism that threaten their significance and integrity. Taking Suzhou as an example, this research summarizes the current status of heritage protection for Grand Canals sites in Suzhou, China, in light of the successful promotion of the Grand Canal’s World Heritage designation in 2014. The research also develops recommendations that will help other cities and towns along the Grand Canal in China develop preservation and development plans better to balance the relationship between historic preservation and social development and promote the joint development of regional culture and economy. In addition, analysis and case studies are also conducted on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism and the further impact on historic preservation. This research will also put forward some suggestions for the preservation of cultural heritage along the Grand Canal in the post-pandemic era

Rietveld refinement of KLaTiO4 from X-ray powder data

Potassium lanthanum titanate(IV), KLaTiO4, has been synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction. It crystallizes isotypically with the NaLnTiO4 (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Y and Lu) family. Five of the six atoms in the asymmetric unit (one K, one La, one Ti and two O atoms) are situated on sites with 4mm symmetry, whereas one O atom has 2mm. site symmetry. The crystal structure can be described as being composed of single layers of distorted corner-sharing TiO6 octa­hedra extending parallel to (001). The layers are alternately separated by K+ and La3+ cations along [001]. The coordination number of both K+ and La3+ cations is nine, resulting in distorted KO9 and LaO9 polyhedra

Interferon Consensus Sequence-Binding Protein 8, a Tumor Suppressor, Suppresses Tumor Growth and Invasion of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Interacting with the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

Background/Aims: Interferon consensus sequence-binding protein 8 (IRF8) belongs to a family of interferon (IFN) regulatory factors that modulates various important physiological processes including carcinogenesis. As reported by others and our group, IRF8 expression is silenced by DNA methylation in both human solid tumors and hematological malignancies. However, the role of IRF8 in lung carcinoma remains elusive. In this study, we determined IRF8 epigenetic regulation, biological functions, and the signaling pathway involved in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: IRF8 expression were determined by Q- PCR. MSP and A+T determined promotor methylation. MTS, clonogenic, Transwell assay, Flow cytometry, three-dimensional culture and AO/EB stain verified cell function. In vivo tumorigenesis examed the in vivo effects. By Chip-QPCR, RT-PCR, Western blot and Immunofluorescence staining, the mechanisms were studied. Results: IRF8 was significantly downregulated in lung tumor tissues compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Furthermore, methylation-specific PCR analyses revealed that IRF8 methylation in NSCLC was a common event, and demethylation reagent treatment proved that downregulation of IRF8 was due to its promoter CpG hypermethylation. Clinical data showed that the IRF8 methylation was associated with tumor stage, lymph node metastasis status, patient outcome, and tumor histology. Exogenous expression of IRF8 in the silenced or downregulated lung cancer cell lines A549 and H1299 at least partially restored the sensitivity of lung cancer cells to apoptosis, and arrested cells at the G0/G1 phase. Cell viability, clonogenicity, and cell migration and invasive abilities were strongly inhibited by restored expression of IRF8. A three-dimensional culture system demonstrated that IRF8 changed the cells to a more spherical phenotype. Moreover, ectopic expression of IRF8 enhanced NSCLC chemosensitivity to cisplatin. Furthermore, as verified by Chip-qPCR, immunofluorescence staining, and western blotting, IRF8 bound to the T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF /LEF) promoter, thus repressing β-catenin nuclear translocation and its activation. IRF8 significantly disrupted the effects of Wnt agonist, bml284, further suggesting its involvement in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Conclusion: IRF8 acted as a tumor suppressor gene through the transcriptional repression of β-catenin-TCF/LEF in NSCLC. IRF8 methylation may serve as a potential biomarker in NSCLC prognosis

How can insect-based food appeal to consumers in the Swedish market? : A qualitative study on identifying major factors that impact purchasing insect-based food and examining how novel companies can penetrate the Swedish market.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the main factors that both positively and negatively influence consumers purchasing behavior in terms of insect-based food. By investigating the factors, the study aimed to shed light on how insect-based food can seamlessly penetrate the Swedish market with the use of marketing strategies. In order to further facilitate the study, a qualitative research with an inductive approach was selected. With the foundation of formulated questions, the semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain deeper insights in relation to the study. The interviewees included Swedish residents in the age range of 20-40 and 13 individual interviews were carried out to ensure the quality of data. The study identified some major contributing factors: sustainability, product quality and availability. These major factors, therefore, created a need for potential marketing strategies, which primarily focuses on extensive information sharing and green labelling

Research on the State of Charge of Lithium-Ion Battery Based on the Fractional Order Model

Accurate estimation of the state of charge (SOC) of lithium batteries is paramount to ensuring consistent battery pack operation. To improve SOC estimation accuracy and suppress colored noise in the system, a fractional order model based on an unscented Kalman filter and an H-infinity filter (FOUHIF) estimation algorithm was proposed. Firstly, the discrete state equation of a lithium battery was derived, as per the theory of fractional calculus. Then, the HPPC experiment and the PSO algorithm were used to identify the internal parameters of the second order RC and fractional order models, respectively. As discovered during working tests, the parameters identified via the fractional order model proved to be more accurate. Furthermore, the feasibility of using the FOUHIF algorithm was evaluated under the conditions of NEDC and UDDS, with obvious colored noise. Compared with the fractional order unscented Kalman filter (FOUKF) and integer order unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithms, the FOUHIF algorithm showed significant improvement in both the accuracy and robustness of the estimation, with maximum errors of 1.86% and 1.61% under the two working conditions, and a terminal voltage prediction error of no more than 5.29 mV

Value of C-ROSE During EBUS-TBNA to Obtain the Tissue Sample in the Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

Background and objective Most of the patients with lung and (or) mediastinal occupying lesions are considered to be primary lung cancer clinically, and endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a commonly useful operation to obtain the tissue sample and get definitive diagnosis of pathological tissues. In the EBUS-TBNA process, cytological rapid on-site evaluation (C-ROSE) is a useful technology. The purpose of our study is to discuss the value of C-ROSE in the diagnosis of lung cancer by EBUS-TBNA sampling. Methods Retrospective analysis of 141 cases clinical data who were performed with EBUS-TBNA and suspected diagnosis primary lung cancer, which were found have mediastinal and (or) lung lesions (including the enlargement of the lymph nodes/mass) by computed tomography (CT). Among these patients, 81 patients were in the C-ROSE group and 60 patients were in the No C-ROSE group. The message of puncture and complication of EBUS-TBNA with or without C-ROSE were compared. At the same time, we analysis the sensitivity and specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of C-ROSE combined with EBUS-TBNA in that of the diagnosis of lung cancer. Results We found no statistical difference of the needle passes between C-ROSE group and No C-ROSE group. But in C-ROSE group, specimen qualified rate and diagnostic yields were signicantly higher than No C-ROSE group (98.77% vs 90.00%, 88.89% vs 75.00%, P<0.05), the incidence of complications in the C-ROSE group was signicantly lower than that in the No C-ROSE group (1.23% vs 11.67%, P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of C-ROSE combined with EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of lung cancer are 92.21%, 100.00%, 100.00% and 40.00%. Conclusion EBUS-TBNA combined with C-ROSE can improve the specimen qualified rate and diagnostic rate, also can reduce the complications thus worthy of further promotion