Cooperative Effect Research Articles

Cross-Border Institutional Trust in Post-Pandemic Times. The Role of EU b-solutions Initiative

ABSTRACT Mutual trust is an important element in starting cross-border processes, and institutional trust is vital to forging sound and effective cross-border cooperation. It is widely debated that the recent covidfencing process in Europe chipped away existing long and medium-term cross-border institutional ties, in most European borders, at least for some time. The fundamental point is that the sudden closing of national borders also revealed how important are effective and well-functioning cross-border institutions to direct the reopening of such borders into functional cross-border areas. To appreciate more in-depth the importance of cross-border institutional trust in post-pandemic times, this article analyses to what extent the EU b-solutions initiative contributes to reinforcing it along European cross-border regions. The analysis concluded that this EU initiative reinforces cross-border institutional trust by enhancing institutional capacity building, institutional knowledge sharing and stability/credibility as well as territorial integration in EU border regions. However, only a few European cross-border regions have benefited the most from this institutional support by b-solutions: the Benelux, plus Germany and France, as well as the Iberian cross-border areas.

Methodological approaches to the functioning of the passenger transportation market: Airline, road and railway segments

Passenger transportation plays a critical role in ensuring efficient functioning of the economy, as it provides labour mobility, access to markets, cultural, and social services, and promotes the development of international tourism and social integration. Thus, the purpose of the research was to analyse methodological foundations of the functioning of the passenger transportation market and to assess the war impact on the condition and development of air, bus, and rail passenger transportation. With the help of the bibliographic method, key scientific papers have been analysed in the article to study the theoretical foundation and identify problematic issues, calling for improvement and development. Using the generalisation method, leading organisations, ensuring the functioning of the passenger transportation market, have been identified and summarised, and the general principles of its functioning have been formulated. Using comparative and grouping methods, methodological approaches to air, bus, and rail passenger transportation in the context of economic, regulatory, technological, ecological, and social foundations have been proposed. The necessary prerequisites for the effective functioning of the passenger transportation market have been determined by grouping the most significant aspects, such as liberalisation and competition, state regulation and standardisation, investments and innovations, as well as effective cooperation between stakeholders in the field of passenger transportation. Using tabular and graphical methods, the war impact on air, bus, and rail passenger transportation has been considered through the lens of the caused damage, the amount of destruction, and the necessary restoration and reduction of passenger traffic. The peculiarities of enterprise operation in wartime have been identified with the emphasis on strategically important features of functioning and development, and patterns in passenger transportation have been revealed with the help of the content analysis method. The results of the research can be useful for specialists in the field of passenger transportation and tourism when analysing the passenger transportation market, forming strategies, and considering development trends

Step-wise evolution of azole resistance through copy number variation followed by KSR1 loss of heterozygosity in Candida albicans.

Antimicrobial drug resistance poses a global health threat, requiring a deeper understanding of the evolutionary processes that lead to its emergence in pathogens. Complex evolutionary dynamics involve multiple mutations that can result in cooperative or competitive (clonal interference) effects. Candida albicans, a major fungal pathogen, displays high rates of copy number variation (CNV) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH). CNV and LOH events involve large numbers of genes and could synergize during evolutionary adaptation. Understanding the contributions of CNV and LOH to antifungal drug adaptation is challenging, especially in the context of whole-population genome sequencing. Here, we document the sequential evolution of fluconazole tolerance and then resistance in a C. albicans isolate involving an initial CNV on chromosome 4, followed by an LOH on chromosome R that involves KSR1. Similar LOH events involving KSR1, which encodes a reductase in the sphingolipid biosynthesis pathway, were also detected in independently evolved fluconazole resistant isolates. We dissect the specific KSR1 codons that affect fluconazole resistance and tolerance. The combination of the chromosome 4 CNV and KSR1 LOH results in a >500-fold decrease in azole susceptibility relative to the progenitor, illustrating a compelling example of rapid, yet step-wise, interplay between CNV and LOH in drug resistance evolution.

Game-Theoretic Expert Importance Evaluation Model Guided by Cooperation Effects for Social Network Group Decision Making

Game-Theoretic Expert Importance Evaluation Model Guided by Cooperation Effects for Social Network Group Decision Making

Independence or cooperation? Evaluating emission reduction strategies in non-competitive and competitive environments

This study combines a dynamic game and the Nash bargaining model to discuss the choice of manufacturers’ emission reduction strategies independently or in cooperation with cleantech firms under the cap-and-trade mechanism. The models comprise one manufacturer and one cleantech firm in a non-competitive environment, and two manufacturers with different emission reduction capacities in a competitive environment. The results show that competition will produce significant substitution effects, and some sensitivity analyses of the disadvantaged manufacturer tend to be opposite to those under a non-competitive environment. On the contrary, cooperation will bring significant positive impacts, carbon reduction rates will be improved after cooperating with cleantech firms. However, when profits are concerned, the Nash equilibrium model (C, C) may fall into a prisoner’s dilemma choice, while cleantech firms with low technical improvement capacities can drive it to become a Pareto optimality strategy, which will cause false prosperity in the cleantech industry. Given this, the objective of carbon neutrality and the cooperation model with the same cleantech firm is further extended, showing effective cooperation and improvement to provide new perspectives into emission reduction strategies.

Analysis of Community and Stakeholder Relationships in the Development of Cigadung Creative Tourism Urban Village

This study examines local communities and stakeholders in the establishment of Cigadung Creative Tourism Urban Village in Bandung City. The success of Cigadung Creative Tourism Urban Village depends on effective cooperation between the local population, government, and tourism sector. This study uses qualitative descriptive research method included observation, interviews, and document analysis. The results demonstrated that local communities, especially Pokdarwis, are essential to tourism planning, management, and destination marketing. Government assistance and partnership with academics and businesses have helped this tourism urban community succeed. However, party coordination issues must be resolved by open communication and collaboration. This research sheds light on sustainable tourism development dynamics that can be used to benefit local welfare and culture.

Cross-border regulatory cooperation and cash holdings: Evidence from US-listed foreign firms

We investigate the effect of cross-border regulatory cooperation on the cash holdings of firms cross-listed on US stock exchanges. The staggered adoption of the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) facilitates cooperation among securities regulators around the world and expands their enforcement capabilities against foreign firms. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that US-listed foreign firms significantly reduce their cash holdings after their home countries sign the MMoU, suggesting that the threat of increased SEC enforcement induced by regulatory cooperation disciplines corporate insiders from stockpiling cash holdings to enjoy private benefits of control. Information opacity and the cost of capital are two of the channels through which the threat of increased SEC enforcement affects cash holdings. The reduction in cash holdings is more pronounced for foreign firms from countries with weaker governance. After the MMoU, foreign firms make faster cash adjustments toward target levels, they reduce cash by making payouts, and their cash is valued more by investors.

Application of International Law in Tackling Money Laundering

Money laundering has become a complex and challenging global issue, this complexity is compounded by its cross-border nature, which demands effective international cooperation in its handling and the application of international law to be key to comprehensively combating trafficking and preventing the proliferation of proceeds of crime. International law related to trafficking has evolved rapidly in recent decades. Beginning with the 1988 Vienna Convention on Psychotropic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, various international legal instruments have been formulated to define trafficking, criminalize its perpetrators, and strengthen cooperation between states. For example the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) of 2000 and Recommendation 40 of the FATF, In 2022, the Center for Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis (PPATK) fully disclosed the amount of Money Laundering (TPPU) which reached IDR 183.88 trillion. Indonesia has ratified various international legal instruments related to TPPU and implemented them in national regulations. Law Number 23 of 2003 concerning Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing is the main legal basis in Indonesia. PPATK, as a UIF (Financial Intelligence Unit), plays an important role in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information related to TPPU to relevant authorities.

Recovery of methyl methacrylate from waste poly (methyl methacrylate) pellets using a low-temperature plasma and zeolites

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma method with zeolite catalysts was applied to waste poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) pellets to retrieve methyl methacrylate (MMA), methacrylic acid, and methanol at a relatively low temperature. Waste PMMA pellets were provided in the form of post-industrial recycled (PIR) PMMA. Three types of zeolite catalysts such as HY, H-zeolite socony mobil-5 (HZSM-5), and H-mobil composition of matter-22 (HMCM-22) were tested to assess their catalytic performance for retrieval under plasma irradiation. By conducting comparative examples such as non-catalytic, catalytic, and plasma-assisted non-catalytic thermolysis reactions, the cooperative effects of the DBD plasma discharge and zeolite catalyst were investigated. HMCM-22 was found to be more effective, especially for the retrieval of MMA. In the cases of non-catalytic and catalytic thermolysis at 300 °C, conversions of PMMA were found 50.9 % and 52.6 %, respectively. By contrast, plasma-assisted non-catalytic thermolysis showed that the PMMA conversion improved by up to 90.6 %, whereas the yield of MMA was relatively low (34.6 %). Using zeolite catalysts in the plasma bed also improved PMMA conversion by up to nearly 90 %. The liquid products yields were comparable for HY and HZSM-5. By contrast, HMCM-22 afforded the highest liquid product yield. Notably, the HMCM-22 case showed highest MMA yield at nearly 53.1 %, which seems highly related to a large amount of Brønsted acid sites. More importantly, the byproducts having odor issue such as methyl pyruvate and 2,3-butanedione were not produced in such a plasma-assisted catalytic or non-catalytic conversion method.

Highly stable Tb(III) metal-organic framework derived from a new benzothiadiazole functionalized ligand for fluorescence recognition of ascorbic acid

Because ascorbic acid (AA) is one of the basic elements to maintain the normal physiological functions of human body, it is urgent to develop a material that can achieve efficient, rapid and in-situ detection for AA. A new fluorescence organic compound 4′,4′′′-(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-4,7-diyl)bis([1,1′-biphenyl]-4-carboxylic acid) (H2BTBC) based on benzothiadiazole group has been synthesized, which can detect Fe3+ ions by fluorescence turn-off effect with a detection limit of 0.015 μM, as well as recognize linear amines by fluorescence turn-on effect. Moreover, a highly stable Tb(III) metal–organic framework has been solvothermally prepared with H2BTBC, namely {[(CH3)2NH2]2[Tb2(BTBC)4]∙solvents}n (JXUST-39), which can selectively detect AA among biological fluids by fluorescence enhancement effect with a detection limit of 0.077 μM. In addition, the mechanism for JXUST-39 detecting AA is possibly the cooperative effect of absorbance-caused enhancement and charge transfer between JXUST-39 and AA. Moreover, LED lamp beads, fluorescent films and fluorescent detection test paper based on JXUST-39 were prepared to achieve portable detection via fluorescence enhancement effect.

One-Pot synthesis of amino acid-based functional hyper-crosslinked ionic polymers as heterogeneous catalysts for efficient fixation of CO2 with epoxides

The exploitation of multifunctional heterogeneous catalysts for efficient CO2 fixation has been an urgent task in recent years. Herein, three novel amino acid-based hyper-crosslinked ionic polymers (HIPs) with different pendant groups have been constructed via simultaneously Friedel-Crafts alkylation and quaternization reactions in a one-pot manner. The obtained HIPs showed a luxuriant meso/microporous morphology and perfect thermal and chemical stability that are of great importance for practical application. Furthermore, they also showed an excellent CO2 uptake capacity up to 25.17 cm3/g that benefits from N-rich porphyrin units and the amino pendant in the polymer skeleton. Meanwhile, the obtained amino acid-based HIPs can efficiently catalyze the cycloaddition of various epoxides with CO2 under mild conditions without solvents, cocatalysts, and transition metals. Among them, the HIP-His-1 shows the best performance to achieve 99 % product yield with 99 % selectivity for pure CO2 and can also convert diluted CO2 (15 %CO2 and 85 %N2) with satisfactory performance. Moreover, it also shows an exciting reusability which can maintain 91 % of its catalytic yield and 99 % of the selectivity after 5 cycles. The cooperative effects of hydrogen-bond donors (HBDs) and nucleophilic anions during the catalytic process are proposed based on theoretical calculations and this will provide new inspiration for the design and application of HIPs on CO2 conversion.

Porous Supramolecular Crystalline Probe that Detects Non-Covalent Interactions Involved in Molecular Recognition of Furanic Compounds.

Selective separation and conversion of furan-based biomass-derived compounds, which are closely related to biorefineries, is currently an important issue. To improve their performance, it is important to deepen the understanding of non-covalent interactions that act on the molecular recognition of furanic compounds on separation or catalyst matrices. Here, a new method is reported to comprehensively visualize such intermolecular interactions using a porous supramolecular crystalline probe with polar and non-polar binding sites within a low-symmetric nanochannel consisting of four isomeric PdII 3-macrocycles. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the crystals including 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, or 2-acetylfuran reveals a variety of interactions involving their furan rings and polar substituents. It is also found that cooperative and competitive effects between guest and solvent molecules significantly change their recognition mode.

Stability and Hopf Bifurcation of a Delayed Prey-Predator System with Fear, Hunting Cooperative, and Allee Effect

The effect of fear, the hunting cooperative process, and Allee's impact on the behavior of an ecological system are investigated and discussed. The impact of the delay of the prey's response to the predation risk is included. The Leslie-Gower growth is used to describe the growth of the predator population. Firstly, the solutions' existence, positivity, and boundedness within the limits of a suitable region in the parametric space for all time are studied. The stability of all equilibrium points under the surrounding environmental effects is established. Moreover, the occurrence of a Hopf bifurcation is discovered. The stability of the bifurcating periodic dynamic and their dynamical properties are studied. Finally, the obtained theoretical results are confirmed and validated utilizing numerical simulation. It is observed that the system possesses a bi-stable behavior and a Hopf bifurcation.

Curcumin Acts Synergistically with Metformin to Inhibit Autophagy and Promote Pyroptosis in Hepatic Stellate Cells

Background: Hepatic stellate cells play a critical role in liver fibrosis progression through activation and proliferation. Autophagy and pyroptosis have both been reported to play key roles in the activation of HSCs. Objectives: This study aimed to observe the effects of cooperation between curcumin and metformin regarding the regulation of autophagy and pyroptosis in HSCs. Methods: HSCs (line LX-2) and rat T-6 cells were treated with either curcumin or curcumin and metformin combined. The vitality and proliferation of HSCs were then measured, as were the expressions of microtubule-associated light chain 3 (LC3) and ubiquitin-binding protein 62 (P62) to investigate autophagy. The autophagosomes in the HSC cells were quantified using transmission electron microscopy. The pyroptosis-related proteins gasdermin D (GSDMD) and caspase-1 were also measured, as were the expression levels of the inflammatory cytokines lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Results: When combined with metformin, curcumin significantly reduced the activities of the LX-2 and T-6 cells and significantly induced pyroptosis, as observed by flow cytometry. Furthermore, the expressions of GSDMD and caspase-1 were higher in the curcumin+metformin treatment group than in the curcumin group, and more LDH and 1L-1β were released. Conclusion: When combined with metformin, curcumin can inhibit autophagy and proliferation activity in the HSCs, promote pyroptosis, and play a role in delaying the process of liver fibrosis.

Advancing reinforcement of sustainable gypsum composites: High-performance design by reusing waste materials

This study tends to optimize and develop an innovative gypsum material by incorporating hybrid waste compounds. Using a Doehlert design, this work explores the effects of introducing paper (X1), polystyrene (X2), and polyester fibers (X3), as well as their interactions, on gypsum's thermophysical and mechanical behavior. Bulk density, thermal conductivity, flexural strength, compressive strength, and the fire resistance test were performed on the developed formulations. Statistical analysis emphasizes the significant influence of all process variables on gypsum properties. Polyester fibers notably enhance flexural strength when combined with the cooperative effect of paper and polystyrene wastes, which strike a balance between physical and mechanical characteristics. The optimum formulation parameters lead to a significant 33% decrease in bulk density, a 43% reduction in thermal conductivity, a notable 42% increase in flexural strength, and a significant reduction in compressive strength of around 50%, but still meet the 2 MPa standard. The new samples show ductile behavior, highlighting gypsum's potential as a load-bearing material with excellent thermal insulation properties and impressive fire resistance. This research significantly improves our understanding of the effectiveness of a gypsum compound incorporating waste in a hybrid manner, bringing this approach into line with sustainable development objectives.

Shape prior-constrained deep learning network for medical image segmentation

We propose a shape prior representation-constrained multi-scale features fusion segmentation network for medical image segmentation, including training and testing stages. The novelty of our training framework lies in two modules comprised of the shape prior constraint and the multi-scale features fusion. The shape prior learning model is embedded into a segmentation neural network to solve the problems of low contrast and neighboring organs with intensities similar to the target organ. The latter can provide both local and global contexts to address the issues of large variations in patient postures as well as organ’s shape. In the testing stage, we propose a circular collaboration framework strategy which combines a shape generator auto-encoder network model with a segmentation network model, allowing the two models to collaborate with each other, resulting in a cooperative effect that leads to accurate segmentations. Our proposed method is evaluated and demonstrated on the ACDC MICCAI’17 Challenge Dataset, CT scans datasets, namely, in COVID-19 CT lung, and LiTS2017 liver from three different datasets, and its results are compared with the recent state of the art in these areas. Our method ranked 1st on the ACDC Dataset in terms of Dice score and achieved very competitive performance on COVID-19 CT lung and LiTS2017 liver segmentation.

Development of inter-territorial interaction and cooperation in the field of waste management

Aim. To build a system of inter-territorial interaction and cooperation in the sphere of waste management.Objectives. To develop a model of interterritorial interaction and cooperation in the sphere of waste management; to offer directions and forms of interterritorial interaction and cooperation in the investigated sphere.Methods. The author used the methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization and classification, as well as modeling. Legislative acts of the Russian Federation (RF), data of official governmental sites of the RF and the Republic of Bashkortostan, scientific articles, monographs, periodicals in the field of ecological monitoring of territories, data of the public-law company “Russian Ecological Operator” (PPC “REO”), statistical collections devoted to the researched subject served as a methodological basis for model building.Results. The author of the article proposes a model of inter-territorial interaction and cooperation, which includes the definition of ratings of regions, forms and directions, assessment of risks and effectiveness of inter-territorial interaction and cooperation. It is argued that interaction and cooperation in this area can be realized through participation in investment for the creation of infrastructure facilities for waste management; through participation in tenders on the electronic trading platform for the purchase of secondary raw materials; construction of eco-industrial parks, allowing to reduce to the maximum the amount of waste going to landfill; awareness-raising activities to popularize the principles of closed-cycle economy; eco-volunteering, creation of an eco-monitoring system.Conclusions. The model of interterritorial interaction and cooperation in the sphere of waste management proposed by the author allows to improve its quality, to ensure the efficiency of territorial development, viability of waste management infrastructure, full utilization of the potential of regions and the sphere of waste management.

Effect of terminal substituents on intramolecular charge transfer in one- and two-photon absorption of zinc phthalocyanine derivatives

Zinc phthalocyanine derivatives have unique structure and photophysical properties, which make them a remarkable potential in the fields of optoelectronics as well as biomedicine. In order to reveal the effect of the terminal substituents on the electron transition mechanisms, one-photon absorption (OPA) and two-photon absorption (TPA) processes of three zinc phthalocyanines modified with different terminal substituents (PcZn-0, PcZn-1 and PcZn-2) have been analyzed by using density-functional theory (DFT) in combination with the sum-over-states (SOS) model, the visualization of the transition density matrix (TDM) as well as charge density difference (CDD) calculations. Red-shifted OPA absorption peaks with enhanced intensities, have been observed in molecules PcZn-1, PcZn-2 with long terminal substituents. However, for TPA process, a more effective charge transfer over almost the entire molecule has been observed in PcZn-1 molecule with 4-methoxybenonic acid as terminal substituents. When H-atoms in the hydroxyl groups of four terminal 4-Methoxybenzoic acid groups were substituted by dispersed red-one chains, a limited range of intramolecular charge transfer and localized excitation inside the dispersed red-one chain were observed, leading to a localized excitation absorption peak and expanding the wavelength region of TPA response. Furthermore, terminal substituents with conjugated branches exhibit a stronger cooperative effect between the terminal chains and shows larger TPA response. On the contrary, excessive dihedral angles between different groups can weaken the conjugation degree of molecules and affect intramolecular charge transfer as well as TPA response.

High-throughput Screening for Cushing Disease: Therapeutic Potential of Thiostrepton via Cell Cycle Regulation.

Cushing disease is a life-threatening disorder caused by autonomous secretion of ACTH from pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Few drugs are indicated for inoperative Cushing disease, in particular that due to aggressive PitNETs. To explore agents that regulate ACTH-secreting PitNETs, we conducted high-throughput screening (HTS) using AtT-20, a murine pituitary tumor cell line characterized by ACTH secretion. For the HTS, we constructed a live cell-based ACTH reporter assay for high-throughput evaluation of ACTH changes. This assay was based on HEK293T cells overexpressing components of the ACTH receptor and a fluorescent cAMP biosensor, with high-throughput acquisition of fluorescence images. We treated AtT-20 cells with compounds and assessed ACTH concentrations in the conditioned media using the reporter assay. Of 2480 screened bioactive compounds, over 50% inhibition of ACTH secreted from AtT-20 cells was seen with 84 compounds at 10 μM and 20 compounds at 1 μM. Among these hit compounds, we focused on thiostrepton (TS) and determined its antitumor effects in both in vitro and in vivo xenograft models of Cushing disease. Transcriptome and flow cytometry analyses revealed that TS administration induced AtT-20 cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, which was mediated by FOXM1-independent mechanisms including downregulation of cyclins. Simultaneous TS administration with a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor that affected the cell cycle at the G0/1 phase showed cooperative antitumor effects. Thus, TS is a promising therapeutic agent for Cushing disease. Our list of hit compounds and new mechanistic insights into TS effects serve as a valuable foundation for future research.

Structural Ni0-Niδ+ Pair Sites for Highly Active Hydrogenation of Nitriles to Primary Amines.

Supported metal pair sites have sparked interest due to their tremendous potential as bifunctional catalysts. Here, we report the structural Ni0-Niδ+ pair sites constructed in a well-defined nanocrystal phase of Ni3P. These Ni0-Niδ+ pair sites exhibited a remarkable product formation rate of 123 molBA/molmetal/h for the hydrogenation of benzonitrile (BN) to benzylamine (BA). The heterogeneity of surface Ni atoms over the Ni3P crystal created two types of metal centers, Ni0 and Niδ+, with a specific spatial distance of 4-5 Å. The Ni0 site acted as the center for H2 activation, while the Niδ+ site served as the adsorption and activation center for the C ≡ N group. The highly efficient cooperation effect of Ni0-Niδ+ pair sites resulted in a TOF of 2915 h-1 in BN hydrogenation, which is 2.4 and 9.7 times higher than that over the mono-Ni0 and -Niδ+ sites, respectively.