Key Link Research Articles

Social responsibility in the context of balancing economic interests

The article focuses on the fact that social responsibility, being a multi-level phenomenon, should be considered as a system in which the social responsibility of the individual is a key link. In the socio-economic conditions of the functioning of the Russian economy, which have radically changed over the past year due to the special military operation and large-scale sanctions pressure from Western countries, it is more important than ever to make informed decisions. This necessitates the need to increase the social responsibility of all participants in economic activity. Forming and increasing the social responsibility of each of the participants in socio-economic relations is impossible without understanding and finding a balance of economic interests that lie at the basis of this system.

Research Progress in Stress-Induced Senescence of Renal Tubular Cells in Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Renal tubulointerstitial injury is an important pathophysiological basis that contributes to the progression of DN to end-stage renal disease. Stress-induced senescence of renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) forms a key link that causes tubulointerstitial injury. In recent years, it has been reported that organelles, such as endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and lysosomes, in RTECs are damaged to varying degrees in DN, and that their functional imbalance may lead to stress-induced senescence of RTECs, thereby causing sustained cellular and tissue-organ damage, which in turn promotes the progression of the disease. However, the core mechanism underlying changes in the senescence microenvironment caused by stress-induced senescence of RTECs in DN is still not understood. In addition, the mechanism by which organelles lose homeostasis also needs to be further investigated. Herein, we described the specific pathophysiological mechanisms of renal tubular injury, stress-induced senescence of RTECs, and their association with organelles in the context of DN in order to provide reference for the next-step research, as well as the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Antibiotic therapy of acne and antibiotic resistance: State of the art

Acne is one of the most common dermatoses, with 117 million people diagnosed with the disease each year. Acne has a complex multifactorial genesis, including genetic predisposition and the influence of exposome factors. The direct mechanisms of the disease are associated with increased sensitivity of sebaceous glands to androgens, sebum hyperproduction, impaired keratinization at the mouth of hair follicles, and inflammation, in the induction of which Propionobacterium acnes is involved.
 The treatment of acne is complex, and one of its strategies is to regulate the number and activity of P. acnes through the use of antibacterial therapy. Antibacterial drugs have been used in the treatment of acne since the 1950s. They are included in a number of clinical guidelines and expert consensus documents for the treatment of the disease. However, the use of antibacterial drugs is limited by the formation of antibiotic resistance. Antibacterial drugs resistance in acne was first noted in the 1970s and was labeled as a global problem in the 2000s. The rapid increase in antibiotic resistance has prompted the development of strategies to prevent it and limit the use of antibacterial drugs in acne.
 This review presents information on the efficacy and place of antibacterial drugs in the treatment of acne, the epidemiology and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, and strategies to overcome it. The authors consider and substantiate the effectiveness of a fixed combination of adapalene 0.1% and benzoyl peroxide 2.5%, based on the effect on the key links in the pathogenesis of acne, synergism of action and suppression of even antibiotic-resistant strains of P. acnes.

Multiplexing Quantum and Classical Channels of a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) System by Using the Attenuation Method

The primary goal in this paper is to verify the possibility of combining a quantum channel into a single optical fiber with other classical channels by using the so-called attenuation method. Since the quantum channel is very weak in terms of power, combining it into a single fiber with much more powerful classical channels is challenging. Thus, sufficiently high-quality filtering is important to avoid possible crosstalk. A second and more difficult problem to address is the interference caused by Raman noise, which increases with the fiber length and is also dependent on the input power of the classical channel. Thus, in this paper the focus is on the possibility of suppressing the Raman noise effect, both in advance by means of wavelength positioning and by means of installed optical components. Such phenomena must be considered in the route design, as the quantum channel must be placed at a suitable wavelength with respect to the classical channels. The influence of other nonlinear phenomena has been neglected. In this paper, a practical experiment aimed at building a fully functional multiplexed quantum key distribution link is also described.

Strategic Transition to Sustainability: A Cybernetic Model

As the importance of the transition to sustainable development is increasingly recognised by individuals, organisations, and society as a whole, there is a growing need to examine its impact at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. There is an urgent imperative to ensure the sustainability of growing economic inequalities, a degraded environment, and people living in uneven conditions in different societies. The authors, therefore, highlight the strategic role and essential contribution of organisations, and universities/higher education institutions in particular, in achieving sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Universities/higher education institutions play a key role in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, and they form the crucial architecture of contemporary practices in national economies and beyond. Policy makers, university/higher education institution governors, managers, and professors shape students and create new social contexts, and these must be oriented towards sustainability. This paper aims to explore the strategic role of organisations, in particular, universities/higher education institutions, as a key link between personal and social responsibility and, thus, as a powerful enabler of sustainable development. The authors examine the strategic transition to sustainability of two higher education institutions, the University of Maribor and the University of Economics—Varna, and conduct a qualitative case study research to develop a cybernetic model of the university’s/higher education institution’s transition to sustainability, which reflects the organisation’s growing commitment to achieving the Sustainability Development Goals. The model includes seven successive stages: pre-awareness, awareness, focusing, implementation, reaching out, transparency and disclosure, and continuous improvement. The study shows that sustainable development, i.e., sustainability governance, management, and operations, are indispensable for implementing the strategic concept of sustainability in an organisation and for achieving the strategic transition to sustainability as explained in the proposed cybernetic model.

A Performance Analysis of a Litchi Picking Robot System for Actively Removing Obstructions, Using an Artificial Intelligence Algorithm

Litchi is a highly favored fruit with high economic value. Mechanical automation of litchi picking is a key link for improving the quality and efficiency of litchi harvesting. Our research team has been conducting experiments to develop a visual-based litchi picking robot. However, in the early physical prototype experiments, we found that, although picking points were successfully located, litchi picking failed due to random obstructions of the picking points. In this study, the physical prototype of the litchi picking robot previously developed by our research team was upgraded by integrating a visual system for actively removing obstructions. A framework for an artificial intelligence algorithm was proposed for a robot vision system to locate picking points and to identify obstruction situations at picking points. An intelligent control algorithm was developed to control the obstruction removal device to implement obstruction removal operations by combining with the obstruction situation at the picking point. Based on the spatial redundancy of a picking point and the obstruction, the feeding posture of the robot was determined. The experiment showed that the precision of segmenting litchi fruits and branches was 88.1%, the recognition success rate of picking point recognition was 88%, the average error of picking point localization was 2.8511 mm, and an overall success rate of end-effector feeding was 81.3%. These results showed that the developed litchi picking robot could effectively implement obstruction removal.

From Marketing to Supply Chain Management: A More Flexible Supply Chain System Through Increased Costs

The combination of marketing and supply chain management can maximize the benefits of enterprises. However, this method is not very common in all enterprises nowadays, mainly due to the unattainable coordination ability and flexible supply chain. It is already known that the factors limiting the flexibility of the supply chain are basically related to its three key links: procurement, operations and logistics. This paper assumes a positive relationship between sales revenue and operating cost and obtains their relationship through linear regression analysis and correlation analysis on Carnival Corporation & Plcs worldwide data from 2008 to 2022. Finally, positive relationships were found and confirmed, as well as highly correlated results. The results show that the factor restricting the supply chain to achieve better marketing response lies in cost control. Better operating costs and logistics costs can achieve better sales revenue and profit sources.

Research on Development of Financial Management Informatization Based on Cloud Computing Taking the Application of HUAWEI CLOUD as an Example

With the development of the digital economy, enterprises' demand for rapid processing of large amounts of data is increasing, cloud computing is growing in all industries, while the financial management information in the Ministry of Finance is rarely studied. Therefore, by analyzing the application of HUAWEI CLOUD in the financial management of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Finance, this paper studies the development of cloud-based financial management informatization. This paper mainly analyzes in detail the key links of digital construction of HUAWEI Cloud, the organizational form of government affairs system based on HUAWEI CLOUD, the construction of the financial management system and effect evaluation. According to the links summarized above, it builds a comprehensive HUAWEI CLOUD financial management system. It is found that the financial management sharing service platform of Huawei Financial Cloud makes the overall organizational structure of the Department of finance clearer. The platform helps to share the repetitive and non-technical basic work for the finance and accounting staff so that it can promote the staff's work efficiency. Then the Department of finance realizes the transformation of finance from transactional processing and objective reflection to value creation. The above results indicate that the Department of Finance makes full use of cloud computing technology to promote financial management information has profound economic significance. In contrast, cloud computing still leaves problems to be solved. We believe that with the improvement of technology, financial management will be further integrated with new technology.

The study on the main factors affecting the response analysis of nuclear fuel transport cask drop

The nuclear fuel transport cask is an important transport equipment in the nuclear power industry. Rational design requires the structure to maintain integrity and tightness after experiencing severe accident conditions such as a 9 m drop. Therefore, the design and analysis are the key links of container forensics. The calculation of drop analysis involves many factors such as nonlinear material constitutive, complex contact, high strain rate, and large deformation which brings great challenges to the reliability of simulation analysis. Summarizing and sorting out the key factors in the design and analysis of transport casks can solve the practical needs of engineering and guide the analysis and calculation of transport cask drop. This study considered the perspectives of impact limiter design, assembly clearance, analysis model, environmental factors, dropping angle, and the calculation and comparison of buffer materials' dispersion. A two-degree-of-freedom vibration system was used to simulate the impact of clearance collision, and a beam model was applied for the investigation of the response of assemblies. The considerations of the analysis model and the impact of the environment on buffer materials were expounded. Finally, the main conclusions are as follows: the dispersion of buffer materials should be considered in the design. The wood with low compressive strength will cause greater compression deformation, and the wood with high compressive strength will cause greater peak acceleration. The frequency, mass, and clearance of the internal components and the container all affect the acceleration response of the internal structure. The acceleration response is sensitive to the angle under the side and end drop conditions.

Full Operating Range Optimization Design Method of LLC Resonant Converter in Marine DC Power Supply System

The marine DC power supply system is the key to a ship’s power supply, which needs to convert the energy from storage batteries or distributed power generation units into stable DC voltage for electric propulsion or the ship’s electronics. The LLC resonant converter can be used as the key power conversion link in the marine DC power supply system due to its ability to realize electrical isolation in a high-power environment and soft switching within a wide load range. Aiming at the problem of sudden changes in voltage gain at a high switching frequency under light load conditions and the problem of insufficient voltage gain under heavy load conditions due to the parasitic parameters of power devices (mainly referring to the junction capacitor), this paper first proposes a full operating range performance optimization design method. By adding an auxiliary circuit that can be opened according to the operating conditions and a multi-objective particle swarm parameter optimization method that considers the converter loss and voltage gain under heavy load conditions, the performance of the LLC resonant converter can be improved in a full range of operating conditions. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by an experimental prototype and compared with the conventional methods and existing solutions to highlight the superiority of the proposed method in this paper.

Arbuscular mycorrhizae mitigate negative impacts of soil biodiversity loss on grassland productivity

Grassland degradation decreases ecosystem productivity and diminishes soil biodiversity, leading to the loss of beneficial microorganisms. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a critical role in ecosystem functioning, being a key link between plant and microbial communities, soil, and vegetation. Here, we evaluated the potential of increasing the productivity of degraded grassland by AMF inoculation.A gradient of soil biodiversity: complete sterilization, low, moderate, and high biodiversity was established using the dilution-to-extinction approach. Grassland microcosms under greenhouse conditions were inoculated with three AMF taxa in an increasing diversity: no AMF, single AMF taxa, and all three AMF taxa together.The loss of soil biodiversity decreased plant community productivity, primarily due to reduced biomass of legumes and non-N2-fixing forbs. AMF inoculation raised plant community productivity by 190%, mainly attributed to the greater biomass of legumes and non-N2-fixing forbs. This positive effect of AMF inoculation was particularly pronounced on soils with low biodiversity, where soil mutualists were absent. The biomass of grasses remained independent of AMF inoculation. This differential responsiveness to mycorrhiza was mainly due to the distinctive plant traits of each plant functional group. Inoculating with a single AMF was more beneficial for plant biomass production than inoculation with multiple AMF under lower levels of soil biodiversity, probably due to high functional redundancy among AMF taxa.In conclusion, AMF inoculation reduced the adverse impact of soil degradation and biodiversity loss on plant biomass and vegetation development, highlighting the key roles and importance of AMF for grassland restoration.

Research Progress and Prospects on Hydrogen Damage in Welds of Hydrogen-Blended Natural Gas Pipelines

Hydrogen energy represents a crucial pathway towards achieving carbon neutrality and is a pivotal facet of future strategic emerging industries. The safe and efficient transportation of hydrogen is a key link in the entire chain development of the hydrogen energy industry’s “production, storage, and transportation”. Mixing hydrogen into natural gas pipelines for transportation is the potential best way to achieve large-scale, long-distance, safe, and efficient hydrogen transportation. Welds are identified as the vulnerable points in natural gas pipelines, and compatibility between hydrogen-doped natural gas and existing pipeline welds is a critical technical challenge that affects the global-scale transportation of hydrogen energy. Therefore, this article systematically discusses the construction and weld characteristics of hydrogen-doped natural gas pipelines, the research status of hydrogen damage mechanism, and mechanical property strengthening methods of hydrogen-doped natural gas pipeline welds, and points out the future development direction of hydrogen damage mechanism research in hydrogen-doped natural gas pipeline welds. The research results show that: ① Currently, there is a need for comprehensive research on the degradation of mechanical properties in welds made from typical pipe materials on a global scale. It is imperative to systematically elucidate the mechanism of mechanical property degradation due to conventional and hydrogen-induced damage in welds of high-pressure hydrogen-doped natural gas pipelines worldwide. ② The deterioration of mechanical properties in welds of hydrogen-doped natural gas pipelines is influenced by various components, including hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. It is necessary to reveal the mechanism of mechanical property deterioration of pipeline welds under the joint participation of multiple damage mechanisms under multi-component gas conditions. ③ Establishing a fundamental database of mechanical properties for typical pipeline steel materials under hydrogen-doped natural gas conditions globally is imperative, to form a method for strengthening the mechanical properties of typical high-pressure hydrogen-doped natural gas pipeline welds. ④ It is essential to promptly develop relevant standards for hydrogen blending transportation, welding technology, as well as weld evaluation, testing, and repair procedures for natural gas pipelines.

Countermeasures of Hotel Industry for Tourism Crisis Management Under the Influence of Epidemic Situation

On a global scale, the epidemic has had a great impact on tourism, and the hotel industry, as a key component of tourism, has also been seriously affected. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the epidemic on the hotel industry and put forward coping strategies to help the hotel industry effectively cope with the tourism crisis. First of all, the epidemic has led to a sharp decline in tourism, a sharp drop in the occupancy rate of the hotel industry and a sharp drop in income. In order to meet this challenge, the hotel industry needs to adopt the strategy of diversified income sources and reduce its dependence on the traditional tourism market. Secondly, the hotel industry should formulate more flexible cancellation policies to meet customer needs. Third, the hotel industry should strengthen cleaning and hygiene measures to ensure the health and safety of customers when they check in. This includes regular disinfection of guest rooms and public areas, provision of hand sanitizer, masks and other sanitary products. A transparent cleaning policy can improve the trust of customers. In addition, digital technology plays a key role in crisis management. Finally, staff training is the key link to deal with the crisis. This paper studies the coping strategies of crisis management in the hotel industry under the influence of epidemic situation, which is helpful for the hotel industry to tide over the crisis, maintain business sustainability and prepare for future uncertainty.

Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases: the focus on primary prevention.

Views on the etiopathogenesis of atherosclerosis are subject to evolution. In addition to the classic well-known risk factors, new ones related to mental state, social life and environment are being discovered. Both acute and chronic stress stimulate inflammatory processes. Due to the change in lifestyle and eating habits, the accumulation of risk factors in childhood is an increasing problem. Knowledge of risk factors allows for effective primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The effectiveness of prevention increases when the activities cover the largest possible part of the society, and access to a doctor is easy. Therefore, government programs are being implemented offering patients easier access to diagnostics of cardiovascular diseases at the level of primary health care, which enables faster identification of people at the greatest cardiovascular risk. Easier access to primary care and a good doctor-patient relationship improve patient compliance. In this situation, the importance of the family doctor as a key link in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases is increasing.

An IoT-Based Intelligent Selection of Multidomain Feature for Smart Healthcare Using Reinforcement Learning in Schizophrenia

Currently, the health industry by the Internet of Things (IoT) is developing rapidly, and Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal has become a bridge for human-machine communication. EEG signal feature selection is a key link in brain nerves research and has important practical application value. Therefore, we propose an IoT-based Intelligent Selection of Multi-domain Feature for multimodal transformer EEG signal using reinforcement learning in Schizophrenia. First of all, the features of the multimodal EEG signal sequence by the IoT were extracted from time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain; Second, the average pooling layer was added to improve the design of the transformer model for deep feature extraction of EEG signal; finally, reinforcement learning was introduced to run operation with the extracted features as input and the improved transformer model as agent. At the same time, entropy and Pearson correlation coefficient calculation were introduced to select feature subsets, and feature intelligent selection of EEG signal in multiple domains was completed through interaction between the agent and the environment. Experiments were performed on DEAP, EEG Motor Movement/Imagery Data set, BCI2008 competition data set and data set of a hospital. The results show that the feature extraction and feature visualization effect of the proposed algorithm is good, and the feature selection precision is as high as about 90%, and the average time is only about 13 seconds. These findings indicate the feasibility of the proposed feature intelligent selection algorithm in the study of EEG signal in schizophrenia, which provides a good basis for further study on the integration of IoT with the healthy industry.

Endothelial to mesenchymal transition in the interleukin-1 pathway during aortic aneurysm formation

ObjectiveEndothelial to mesenchymal transition may represent a key link between inflammatory stress and endothelial dysfunction seen in aortic aneurysm disease. Endothelial to mesenchymal transition is regulated by interleukin-1β, and previous work has demonstrated an essential role of interleukin-1 signaling in experimental aortic aneurysm models. We hypothesize that endothelial to mesenchymal transition is present in murine aortic aneurysms, and loss of interleukin-1 signaling attenuates this process. MethodsMurine aortic aneurysms were created in novel CDH5-Cre lineage tracking mice by treating the intact aorta with peri-adventitial elastase. Endothelial to mesenchymal transition transcription factors as well as endothelial and mesenchymal cell markers were analyzed via immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence (n = 10/group). To determine the role of interleukin-1 signaling, endothelial-specific interleukin-1 receptor 1 knockout and wild-type mice (n = 10/group) were treated with elastase. Additionally, C57/BL6 mice were treated with the interleukin-1 receptor 1 antagonist Anakinra (n = 7) or vehicle (n = 8). ResultsElastase treatment yielded greater aortic dilation compared with controls (elastase 97.0% ± 34.0%; control 5.3% ± 4.8%; P < .001). Genetic deletion of interleukin-1 receptor 1 attenuated aortic dilation (control 126.7% ± 38.7%; interleukin-1 receptor 1 knockout 35.2% ± 14.7%; P < .001), as did pharmacologic inhibition of interleukin-1 receptor 1 with Anakinra (vehicle 146.3% ± 30.1%; Anakinra 63.5% ± 23.3%; P < .001). Elastase treatment resulted in upregulation of endothelial to mesenchymal transition transcription factors (Snail, Slug, Twist, ZNF) and mesenchymal cell markers (S100, alpha smooth muscle actin) and loss of endothelial cell markers (vascular endothelial cadherin, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, von Willebrand factor). These changes were attenuated by interleukin-1 receptor 1 knockout and Anakinra treatment. ConclusionsEndothelial to mesenchymal transition occurs in aortic aneurysm disease and is attenuated by loss of interleukin-1 signaling. Endothelial dysfunction through endothelial to mesenchymal transition represents a new and novel pathway in understanding aortic aneurysm disease and may be a potential target for future treatment.

Cullin-3 intervenes in muscle atrophy in the elderly by mediating the degradation of nAchRs ubiquitination

Sarcopenia involves in the loss of muscle mass associated with aging, which is the major cause of progressive muscle weakness and deterioration in older adults. Muscle atrophy is a direct presentation of sarcopenia, and it greatly contributes to the decline in quality of life among older adults. Neuromuscular junction (NMJ) stability is the key link to maintain muscle function. Besides, the degenerative change of NMJ promotes the process of muscle atrophy in the elderly. Based on previous transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analyses of aged muscle, this study used the 18-month-old aged mouse model and the 6-month-old young mouse model to deliberate the role and underlying mechanisms of Cullin-3 (Cul3) in age-related muscle atrophy. The results of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunoblotting analysis showed that the expression of CUL3 increased in aged muscle tissue, while the expression level of postsynaptic membrane nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) decreased significantly, which manfested a negative correlation. Meanwhile, immunofluorescence demonstrated that Cul3 was highly expressed in senile muscle NMJ. The results of ubiquitin indicated that the ubiquitin level of aged muscle nAChRs was evidently increased. Co-immunoprecipitation furtherly verified the correlation between Cul3 and nAChRs. Taken together, Cul3 may mediate the ubiquitination degradation of nAChRs protein at the NMJ site in aged mice, leading to NMJ degeneration and accelerated atrophy of fast-twitch muscle fibers in aged muscle. As a prominent element to maintain the stability of NMJ, Cul3 is supposed to be one of candidate intervention targets in sarcopenia.

Power Generation Performance of CdTe Thin Film Solar Modules in Lhasa

With the increasing energy consumption of buildings, reducing the energy consumption of buildings has become a key link to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) is an important research direction. Based on the CdTe thin film solar modules power generation system on the south-facing wall of a building in Lhasa, the article collected the annual power generation data for 2022. The characteristics and variation patterns of the total monthly power generation and typical monthly daily power generation are analyzed. Furthermore, the correlation between power generation performance and the main influencing factors was analyzed. The differences in power generation characteristics between CdTe thin films solar modules and single crystal silicon solar modules were compared and analyzed. The results show that the annual power generation of the CdTe thin film solar modules power generation system exhibits a “U” shaped distribution, and the power generation in winter is greatly affected by weather conditions. The peak power of 1kWp CdTe thin film solar modules is lower than that of single crystal silicon solar modules. The generation duration is longer than single crystal silicon solar modules. The total power generation is greater than single crystal silicon solar modules.

Research on Construction Quality Control of Expansion joint in Road and Bridge Engineering

The construction technology of Expansion joint is a key link in the construction of highway bridges, which has a great impact on the overall quality of the bridge, so it is very important to strengthen the control of its construction technology. In the future construction of Expansion joint of highway bridges, attention should be paid to the construction operation and the management of construction personnel, so as to effectively ensure the safety of highway traffic and extend the service life of the highway.

Variable Gap MAG Welding Penetration Control Using Rough Set Knowledge Acquisition

The establishment of the correspondence between the important features of the topside weld pool and the penetration state is a key link in penetration control. This article presents a scheme of variable gap welding penetration control based on rough-fuzzy modeling. By utilizing the basic concepts of variable precision rough sets and conditional information entropy, relevant algorithms for attribute reduction and rule extraction in decision information systems are addressed. Raw data for modeling are obtained through current–gap combination experiments, and then rough-set-based knowledge acquisition algorithms are used to generate classification rules for the penetration state. Based on the correspondence between the important features of the topside pool and the penetration state, a fuzzy control model is established. Welding experiments under variable gaps are conducted to examine the proposed control scheme, and the results indicate that the weld has good penetration and meets the requirements of welding specifications.