Therapeutic potential of a combination of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) and vitamin D in children with idiopathic short stature

Purpose: To study the effectiveness and clinical significance of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in combination with vitamin D in the treatment of idiopathic short-stature children.Methods: A total of 90 idiopathic short-stature children admitted at Children Health Care Center of Shiyan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Shiyan between March 2017 and March 2020 were assigned to three groups: A, B and C, based on dose of r-hGH given. Group A received r-hGH at a dose of 0.26 mg/kg/week, while groups B and C received r-hGH at doses of 0.35 and 0.42mg/kg/week, respectively. All the patients were given vitamin D along with the r-hGH doses administered. Height, growth rate, bone age, height standard deviation score, fasting blood glucose, thyroid function and treatment effectiveness were determined and compared among the three groups before treatment, and one year after treatment.Results: Significantly higher height standard deviation score, growth rate, bone age, and height were observed in the three groups of patients after one year of treatment than before treatment, with group A < group B < group C (p < 0.05). Fasting blood glucose and thyroid function were not significantly different amongst the three groups after treatment (p < 0.05). Group C showed the highest treatment effectiveness, followed by group B, and then group A (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The use of a combination of r-hGH and vitamin D produces a favorable treatment effectiveness in idiopathic short-stature children. However, further clinical trials are required to validate this treatment strategy

Chord-based Resource Identifier-to-Locator Mapping and Searching for the Future Internet

A great many problems, such as scalability, mapping data searching, high frequency update of mapping data, arise in the future network resource mapping system for its vast data processing need. Future Network Chord (FN Chord), an algorithm based on Chord and aims at solving the resources identity mapping and searching problem, is put forward by taking advantage of the qualities of scalability, rapid searching speed, high searching efficiency and flexible naming of chord in order to solve this problem. What’s more, an extra interest node index table for FN Chord is designed to record the hotspot resource mapping location in the paper. So, the resource searching strategy, which is named as Interest Index Table Future Network Chord (IIT-FN Chord) is proposed to search the resource in the paper. The entropy weight method is used to calculate the node interest level according the interest nodes’ resource item online time and visited times and to renew the interest index table. Moreover, probability replacement method is proposed to replace the outdated item on interest index table with new item. Simulation results show that the algorithm can decrease the average searching latency, average searching hops and thus increases the searching efficiency for the resource searching

Capital structure of Public–Private Partnership projects:a sustainability perspective

Capital is key to achieve the standardized operation of public–private partnership (PPP) projects. The capital structure of PPP projects stresses the structure of equity and debt funds, which are important for securing life-cycle ample funds and achieving the expected outcomes of projects. By incorporating sustainability into PPP projects, the capital structure not only secures current needs of funds, it also focuses on life-cycle stable operations and achieves economic, social, and environmental benefits. This study first set the equity–debt ratio and equity investment ratio of the private sector as the dependent variables and built a selection model of the capital structure of PPP projects from a sustainability perspective using the benefit, cost, and project conditions as core factors based on multi-objective programming and a discounted cash-flow model. Then, the qualitative analysis could be achieved according to the analysis of critical factors that had not been calculated. Afterwards, a selection process which combined the multi-objective programming model with qualitative analysis was proposed to achieve a comprehensive selection of the capital structure of PPP projects from the sustainability perspective. Finally, the process was applied to a real project to verify its rationality and usability. This study not only enriches the theoretical research of PPP projects and provides a new idea on which to build the capital structure selection model, it also proposes a selection process that can provide scientific references for the selection and optimization of the capital structure of PPP projects in practice

Understanding the effects of revegetated shrubs on fluxes of energy, water, and gross primary productivity in a desert steppe ecosystem using the STEMMUS-SCOPE model

Revegetation is one of the most effective ways to combat desertification and soil erosion in semiarid and arid regions. However, the impact of the perturbation of revegetation on ecohydrological processes, particularly its effects on the interplay between hydrological processes and vegetation growth under water stress, requires further investigation. This study evaluated the effects of revegetation on the energy, water, and carbon fluxes in a desert steppe in Yanchi County, Ningxia Province, northwest China, by simulating two vegetated scenarios (shrub-grassland ecosystem and grassland ecosystem) using the STEMMUS-SCOPE (Simultaneous Transfer of Energy, Mass and Momentum in Unsaturated Soil-Soil Canopy Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes) model. The model was validated by field observations from May to September of 2016-2019. The evaluation of revegetation effects relied on comparing simulated fluxes between two vegetated scenarios in 2016 and 2019. In both scenarios, turbulent energy was dominated by latent heat flux, which was stronger in the shrub-grassland ecosystem (+7%). A higher leaf area index and root water uptake of C3 shrubs (Caragana intermedia) resulted in increased carbon fixation (+83%) and transpiration (+72%) of the shrub-grassland ecosystem compared to the C3 grassland ecosystem. Accompanied by a marked increase in root water uptake (+123%), revegetation intensified water consumption beyond the levels of received precipitation. These results highlight the critical importance of considering both energy and water budgets in water-limited ecosystems during ecological restoration to avert soil water depletion.</p

Analysis on the Settlement of Adjacent Buildings Caused by the Underpassing Construction of the Biased Tunnel

Through the simulation analysis of the settlement and deformation law of the surface buildings caused by the construction of the biased tunnel, the following points are obtained: (1) The Peak formula is revised, and the influence range of the biased tunnel is predicted based on the formula. (2) It is concluded that when the tunnel is biased, the position of maximum deformation caused by ground settlement is generally in a parallel area 0.5 times the buried depth from the center line of the tunnel. (3) Through the double-layer verification of simulation analysis and monitoring measurement data, prior to the construction of buildings with similar weak foundations, their foundations should be reinforced in advance. (4) In the process of this simulation, the complicated influence of water pressure on tunnel excavation was not considered, which can be further optimized in the later stage

Dual hydrophobic modifications toward anion exchange membranes with both high ion conductivity and excellent dimensional stability

Abstract(#br)Anion exchange membrane (AEMs) as a kind of important functional material are widely used in many fields including fuel cell, electrodialysis and water treatment. However, synthetic AEMs generally suffer a pernicious trade-off: high ion-conductive AEMs lack dimensional stability and vice versa. Herein we demonstrate a versatile strategy to prepare the AEMs with both high ion conductivity and excellent dimensional stability ( i.e. , low swelling ratio) via hydrophobic crosslinking and introducing hydrophobic chains. The hydrophobic length of crosslinkers has great influence on construction of highly efficient ion channels in the AEMs. Amazingly, the hydrophilic poly (phenylene oxide) (PPO) AEM crosslinked by 1,8-diaminooctane has the highest hydroxide conductivity that is further improved to 157.2 mS cm −1 (10% increases) with a low swelling ratio of 12.9% at 80 °C by introducing hydrophobic PPO backbone. This AEM not only overcomes the trade-off between the ion conductivity and the dimensional stability of crosslinked AEMs, but also breaks the upper bound between the ion conductivity and the water uptake. The newly developed strategy of hydrophobic dual-modifications promises to be an effective approach to develop the high-performance AEMs

Keragaman Genetik Dan Pendugaan Jumlah Gen Ketahanan Kacang Panjang (Vigna Sinensis L.) Terhadap Penyakit Kuning

Penyakit kuning pada kacang panjang berdampak pada penurunan produksi. Gejala serangan diawali dari gejala daun keriting serta mengakibatkan polong berwarna kuning. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui nilai heritabilitas dan ragam genetik serta menduga jumlah gen pengendali ketahanan kacang panjang terhadap penyakit kuning. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Kabupaten Kediri pada bulan April sampai Juli 2013. Bahan penelitian adalah populasi UB 715 A (P1), Hitam Putih (P2), populasi F1 dan populasi F2. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, populasi UB 715 A (P1 ) menunjukkan respon tahan terhadap penyakit kuning, populasi Hitam Putih (P2) menunjukkan respon rentan, dan populasi F1 dan F2 menunjukkan respon sedang. Karakter jumlah polong dan jumlah biji per tanaman memiliki keragaman yang sempit sedangkan karakter panjang polong, bobot segar polong, umur berbunga, dan umur panen memiliki keragaman yang luas. Karakter panjang polong dan jumlah biji per polong memiliki nilai heritabilitas rendah, sedangkan karakter jumlah polong, bobot segar polong, umur berbunga, dan umur panen memiliki nilai heritabilitas tinggi. Rasio sifat ketahanan terhadap penyakit kuning pada populasi F2 adalah 9 tahan : 3 sedang : 4 rentan yang berarti ketahanan terhadap penyakit kuning dikendalikan oleh dua gen dengan aksi gen epistasis resesif

Towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in the Internet of Things (IoT): Opportunities and Challenges

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), possessing the capacity to comprehend, learn, and execute tasks with human cognitive abilities, engenders significant anticipation and intrigue across scientific, commercial, and societal arenas. This fascination extends particularly to the Internet of Things (IoT), a landscape characterized by the interconnection of countless devices, sensors, and systems, collectively gathering and sharing data to enable intelligent decision-making and automation. This research embarks on an exploration of the opportunities and challenges towards achieving AGI in the context of the IoT. Specifically, it starts by outlining the fundamental principles of IoT and the critical role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in IoT systems. Subsequently, it delves into AGI fundamentals, culminating in the formulation of a conceptual framework for AGI's seamless integration within IoT. The application spectrum for AGI-infused IoT is broad, encompassing domains ranging from smart grids, residential environments, manufacturing, and transportation to environmental monitoring, agriculture, healthcare, and education. However, adapting AGI to resource-constrained IoT settings necessitates dedicated research efforts. Furthermore, the paper addresses constraints imposed by limited computing resources, intricacies associated with large-scale IoT communication, as well as the critical concerns pertaining to security and privacy