Regeneration Scheme Research Articles

Investigating the Influence of Age-Friendly Community Infrastructure Facilities on the Health of the Elderly in China

Global population aging has become a continuous and irreversible trend. Most of the elderly in China prefer “aging in place” owing to the influence of traditional concepts and social welfare, but many communities, as a basic place for the elderly to live, generally lack age-friendly infrastructure facilities. Based on the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study database, this study applies the propensity score matching method to empirically investigate the influence of the infrastructure facilities on the health of the elderly in China. The results show that adding elevators, installing bathing facilities, supplying gas or natural gas, and changing squatting toilets into sitting toilets, positively influence the health of the elderly, but there are some differences. The order of the degree of impact on self-rated health (SRH) was elevator > toilet type > kitchen gas supply > bathing facility, while that of activities of daily living (ADL) was bathing facility > toilet type > elevator > kitchen gas supply. Elderly people with different personal characteristics and family status have different degrees of ownership for the infrastructure facilities. It is suggested that age-friendly regeneration schemes be developed according to the different impacts and demands of the facilities.

Long non‑coding RNA SNHG5 promotes osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells via mediating miR‑23b‑3p/Runx2 axis.

The treatment of bone loss due to periodontitis has posed a great challenge for physicians for decades. Therefore, it is of extraordinary significance to identify an effective regeneration scheme for alveolar bone. This study aimed to investigate long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 5 (SNHG5) whether sponges microRNA-23b-3p (miR-23b-3p) to achieve the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs). Results revealed that the expression of SNHG5 was upregulated whereas that of miR-23b-3p was downregulated in osteogenic hPDLSCs. Alizarin red staining assays and qRT-PCR demonstrated that SNHG5 silencing or miR-23b-3p overexpression inhibits hPDLSCs osteogenic differentiation and vice versa. In addition, miR-23b-3p partially abolished the promotive effect of SNHG5 on osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs. Dual luciferase report and RNA pulldown assay verified that miR-23b-3p is a regulatory target of SNHG5 and that Runx2 is a gene target of miR-23b-3p. In brief, the results demonstrate that SNHG5 promotes the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs by regulating the miR-23b-3p/Runx2 axis. Our study provides novel mechanistic insights into the critical role of lncRNA SNHG5 as a miR-23b-3p sponge to regulate Runx2 expression in hPDLSCs and may serve as a potential therapeutics target for periodontitis.

Information in Streetscapes—Research on Visual Perception Information Quantity of Street Space Based on Information Entropy and Machine Learning

Urban street space is a critical reflection of a city’s vitality and image and a critical component of urban planning. While visual perceptual information about an urban street space can reflect the composition of place elements and spatial relationships, it lacks a unified and comprehensive quantification system. It is frequently presented in the form of element proportions without accounting for realistic factors, such as occlusion, light and shadow, and materials, making it difficult for the data to accurately describe the complex information found in real scenes. The conclusions of related studies are insufficiently focused to serve as a guide for designing solutions, remaining merely theoretical paradigms. As such, this study employed semantic segmentation and information entropy models to generate four visual perceptual information quantity (VPIQ) measures of street space: (1) form; (2) line; (3) texture; and (4) color. Then, at the macro level, the streetscape coefficient of variation (SCV) and K-means cluster entropy (HCK) were proposed to quantify the street’s spatial variation characteristics based on VPIQ. Additionally, we used geographically weighted regression (GWR) to investigate the relationship between VPIQ and street elements at the meso level as well as its practical application. This method can accurately and objectively describe and detect the current state of street spaces, assisting urban planners and decision-makers in making decisions about planning policies, urban regeneration schemes, and how to manage the street environment.

Brownfield regeneration and the shifting of financial risk: between plans and reality in public-private partnerships

ABSTRACT Internationally, brownfield regeneration projects are delivered through public-private partnerships that form complex legal and structural delivery mechanisms. Utilizing private-sector finance and skills is an accepted practice to reduce financial risk for the public sector while delivering profits for the private sector. This article explores three international brownfield regeneration schemes. It highlights how and why financial risk remains within the public sector from the outset or returns to the public sector over time, despite the initial rhetoric for this burden to be carried mainly by the private sector. The analysis improves the empirical understanding of financial risk dynamics in brownfield regeneration.

Energy regeneration of active pendulum system in tall buildings subjected to wind and seismic loads

High power demand of active structural control systems in tall buildings and incapability of energy storage system (ESS) in supplying the demanded power results in a power shortage which, in turn, can adversely affect their performance. Energy regeneration in active structural control systems may contribute to efficient energy management and sustainable power supply in these systems. This paper explores various aspects of energy regeneration of active pendulum system (APS) in tall buildings. A regenerative hybrid passive-active pendulum system (HPAPS) is proposed to control the wind-induced vibrations in a benchmark tall building. The vibration control system includes an APS that incorporates a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to calculate the stabilizing torque. The regeneration system comprises an energy management system (EMS), DC-DC convertor, AC boost rectifier, ESS, and their corresponding controllers which have been carefully modeled and included in the simulations. Furthermore, the system is implemented in a laboratory-scale structure, and extensive shake table tests are carried out to examine the system's performance in the presence of seismic disturbances. The findings of this research are as follows: the proposed APS can well reduce the transmitted vibrations to the structure; the top story’s displacements and accelerations are reduced by 47 and 50 percent respectively in the benchmark model, implying the effectiveness of the active structural control system in enhancing simultaneous structural safety and inhabitants’ comfort. Moreover, the energy regeneration scheme can restore 34 percent of the APS’s power. Experimental results also verify the simulation results where a considerable drop in both the top story’s displacement and acceleration is reported for the test structure under seismic load. Furthermore, 44 percent of the active pendulum power is restored in the battery of the laboratory-scale APS.

Water as an Agent of Urban Regeneration in Postindustrial areas

The aim of the research is to open the discussion of role of water bodies as an agent in the process of urban regeneration. Finding sustainable solutions to foster the regeneration schemes in postindustrial urban areas has become an important and updated subject in field of architecture and urban planning. Considering the importance of water in 21st century and numerous water-related postindustrial urban spaces, it seems crucial to build a regenerative relationship between water bodies and postindustrial urban sites. This paper will try to indicate the water bodies and the potential within using them for regeneration activities. The research is based on a minor body of water to open the discussion so as to introduce water bodies into the urban regeneration processes. In this case, the main conclusion of the research here is the purposefulness of introduction of water bodies as regeneration agents in postindustrial urban areas. Further case-based studies along with desk studies will play the main role in building the basic knowledge for the analytic discussion on the subject.

Estimating a target price to regenerate bio‐oils post hydrogen sulfide removal

AbstractBio‐oils such as conventional soybean, high‐oleic soybean, canola, and sunflower are valuable as bio‐solvents for removing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from natural gas. Preceding bench‐scale studies indicate that more than 90% of H2S can be removed from a gas stream; economic analysis of such a process is necessary to determine the solvent regenerative power required and cost constraints on a to‐be‐determined solvent regeneration scheme. With the goal of processing 1000 kmol·h–1 of sour gas and removing 99.9% of H2S from gas streams with various feed concentrations, the design of an absorption unit to process natural gas using bio‐oils as the absorbing solvent was carried out through equilibrium stage analysis. A graphical method combined with the Kremser method found that a trayed tower with 14 stages, a 2 m diameter, and 8.5 m height could meet these goals successfully with a bio‐solvent flow rate of 120 kmol·h–1. Capital costs were centered on the price of an extraction column designed to meet the desired throughput. Comparison with conventional amine gas treatment was used to set a limit for the cost of treating a unit of gas, and sensitivity analysis explored the relationship between solvent recycle and cost of treating the gas. This study found that the economic viability of using bio‐oils as gas‐sweetening agents depended on developing a solvent regeneration scheme capable of recycling more than 98% of the bio‐oil bio‐solvent. The development of such a scheme is unlikely, and the overall process of using bio‐oils to sweeten sour gas is likely not economically viable. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Exploring the social dynamics of urban regeneration: A qualitative analysis of community members' experiences.

The present paper explores psychological processes that underpin the success of community change in the context of urban regeneration schemes. We adopt a social identity approach to develop an understanding of the ways in which social identity dynamics may impact upon peoples' experiences of regeneration, and what influence these identity processes have on the creation of new communities. Qualitative interviews, using thematic analysis as an analytic technique, were conducted with community members (n= 14) in a recently (2001-2011) regenerated area in the South-West of England. Three overarching themes were identified: Patterns of identification, willingness to engage, and the notion of regeneration as an event. The research overall highlights the central role of group-based identity in understanding the processes of regeneration and how this is experienced by different community members. Findings are discussed in relation to the impact regeneration schemes have on community members' sense of collective self, unity, and engagement. The research highlights the pivotal role of social identity processes in delivering successful and sustainable strategies of urban regeneration.

The regenerative potential of glial progenitor cells and reactive astrocytes in CNS injuries

Cell therapeutic approaches focusing on the regeneration of damaged tissue have been a popular topic among researchers in recent years. In particular, self-repair scarring from the central nervous system (CNS) can significantly complicate the treatment of an injured patient. In CNS regeneration schemes, either glial progenitor cells or reactive glial cells have key roles to play. In this review, the contribution and underlying mechanisms of these progenitor/reactive glial cells during CNS regeneration are discussed, as well as their role in CNS-related diseases.

Model Regeneration Scheme Using a Deep Learning Algorithm for Reliable Uncertainty Quantification of Channel Reservoirs

Abstract Reservoir characterization is one of the essential procedures for decision makings. However, conventional inversion methods of history matching have several inevitable issues of losing geological information and poor performances, when it is applied to channel reservoirs. Therefore, we propose a model regeneration scheme for reliable uncertainty quantification of channel reservoirs without conventional model inversion methods. The proposed method consists of three parts: feature extraction, model selection, and model generation. In the feature extraction part, drainage area localization and discrete cosine transform are adopted for channel feature extraction in near-wellbore area. In the model selection part, K-means clustering and an ensemble ranking method are utilized to select models that have similar characteristics to a true reservoir. In the last part, deep convolutional generative adversarial networks (DCGAN) and transfer learning are applied to generate new models similar to the selected models. After the generation, we repeat the model selection process to select final models from the selected and the generated models. We utilize these final models to quantify uncertainty of a channel reservoir by predicting their future productions. After applying the proposed scheme to three different channel fields, it provides reliable models for production forecasts with reduced uncertainty. The analyses show that the scheme can effectively characterize channel features and increase a probability of existence of models similar to a true model.

‘Transitory urbanism’ for the creative industries in a top-down regeneration process (Nantes, France)

ABSTRACT This article studies the low-cost strategy associated with the provision of temporary spaces for start-up companies in the ‘Quartier de la Création’, a project within the large regeneration scheme: Ile de Nantes. The method, ‘transitory urbanism’, combines urban redevelopment and economic development strategies. We analyse the factors enabling the implementation of this method in practice. We argue that this method illustrates a regeneration strategy – with its limits – slightly different from the three types listed in typology on brownfield regeneration strategies. As ‘transitory urbanism’ happens within a top-down regeneration process, our findings complement the existing literature on planning contexts related to ‘Cultural Brownfields’ in Europe and specifically on ‘transitory urbanism’ as a method. The data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the regeneration process as well as quantitative data collected on the number of jobs in temporary spaces for creative industries. Our main findings is that ‘transitory urbanism’ relies on three main conditions: (1) The SPL status of the redevelopment agency SAMOA; (2) The ‘Precarious Occupation Agreement’; (3) A combination of financing mechanisms that we explain in detail.

All-optical phase-preserving amplitude-regeneration technology based on bidirectional orthogonal-pumped semiconductor optical amplifier configuration

The phase-preserving amplitude regeneration scheme based on the bidirectional orthogonal-pumped semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed in this work. Experimental investigation into the multiple four-wave mixing (FWM) process from the pump, the signal and their corresponding reflective fields is carried out in detail. The regeneration performance obtained from the product between co-propagating fields is also discussed, including its dependence on the signal launch power and the signal quality, to quantify the amplitude regeneration and the phase preserving behaviors. The amplitude distortion is suppressed by 2.2 dB experimentally, confirming the regeneration capability of the proposed scheme. Moreover, the regeneration performance is further investigated for multiple phase shift keying (MPSK) signals through the simulation. According to the numerical results, the operational parameters of the regenerator are the same for advanced modulation formats, proving the robust operation of the proposed bidirectional orthogonal-pumped SOA configuration.

Optimization of grapevine clonal micropropagation

Clonal micro-propagation ensures the production of genetically homogeneous, healthy virus-free planting material. This kind of propagation is influenced by genetic, physiological, hormonal, physical factors, and plant genotype. To increase the success of the process, it is necessary to optimize the methods of clonal micropropagation. The technology of clonal micropropagation of grapevine using a culture of apical meristems with a size of 0.1-0.2 mm was developed, the scheme of plant regeneration was improved, a new biotechnological techniques were developed for all stages of propagation. A method of processing of meristems with an ultrahigh frequency (microwave) electromagnetic field (EMF) in combination with a narrow-band laser was developed. Method for improving recovery from viral and bacterial infections using the growth regulator Emistim, Salicylic acid, the antibiotics Gentamicin and Cefotaxime was found. A method of water therapy was developed. The optimal parameters of intensity and duration of illumination were established. Ways of adaptation of healthy plants to non-sterile environmental conditions were optimised. Methods of testing of viral infection was improved. Techniques of planting healthy seedlings in film, greenhouses and open ground were developed. The creation of unique basic vine nursery in Ust-Donetsk region was the result of conducted studies.

A Mach–Zehnder modulator based novel regenerator for employment in relays used in free space optical communication

AbstractRelay nodes that are proposed for extending the length of free space optical links are generally based upon simple optical amplifiers. In this article, we have proposed an all‐optical relay that performs regeneration of optical signals along with the conventional optical amplification. Our proposed regenerator is based upon a dual‐drive Mach–Zehnder modulator. The optical pulsed signal received at the input of the regenerator is divided into two outputs using an optical splitter. One of the splitter outputs is converted into an electrical signal while the signal in the other path is given as input to the optical modulator. The negative slope of the modulator is used to compress intensity fluctuations over the pulsed optical signal by combining the converted electrical signal with the bias voltage of the modulator. We have compared the performance of our proposed regeneration scheme with the conventional optical amplifier based relay nodes in a free space optical link that is modeled by the Gamma–Gamma channel model. To simulate the effect of medium and strong turbulence of the free space optical link, the refractive index structure parameters chosen for the Gamma–Gamma channel model are and , respectively. It was observed that our proposed dual‐drive Mach–Zehnder modulator based relay significantly improves the receiver sensitivity by 4 dB under strong turbulence conditions and by 0.7 dB under medium turbulence conditions, respectively.

Tissue Engineering Strategies for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.

A peripheral nerve injury (PNI) has severe and profound effects on the life of a patient. The therapeutic approach remains one of the most challenging clinical problems. In recent years, many constructive nerve regeneration schemes are proposed at home and abroad. Nerve tissue engineering plays an important role. It develops an ideal nerve substitute called artificial nerve. Given the complexity of nerve regeneration, this review summarizes the pathophysiology and tissue-engineered repairing strategies of the PNI. Moreover, we discussed the scaffolds and seed cells for neural tissue engineering. Furthermore, we have emphasized the role of 3D printing in tissue engineering.

All-optical 40 channels regenerator based on four-wave mixing

We have proposed a novel multi-channel regeneration scheme for wavelength division multiplexed systems, which is based on four wave mixing in a highly nonlinear fiber. A 40-channel wavelength division multiplexed signal having data rate of 10 Gbps per channel is divided into five groups. Each group is composed of eight channels and requires a single pump laser source and two segments of highly nonlinear fibers to regenerate the eight channels. Therefore, our proposed scheme requires four times lesser number of highly nonlinear fibers compared to the previously proposed techniques. The regeneration performance for all the forty channels is presented through bit error rate analysis at low optical signal to noise ratio of 15 dB. Simulation results show that an average improvement of 4.246 dB, 3.935 dB, 3.72 dB, 2.71 dB and 2.593 dB in receiver sensitivities has been observed for all the five groups of channels, respectively.

Two New Kinds of Interference Alignment Schemes for Cellular $K$-User MIMO Downlink Networks

It is known that interference alignment (IA) plays an important role in improving the degree of freedom (DoF) of multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) systems. However, most of the traditional IA schemes suffer from the high computational complexity and require the global and instantaneous channel state information (CSI), both of which make them difficult to be extended to cellular MIMO systems. To handle these issues, two new IA schemes, i.e., the retrospective interference regeneration (RIR) scheme and the beamforming based distributed retrospective interference alignment (B-DRIA) scheme, are proposed for cellular <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula> -user MIMO downlink networks. For the RIR scheme, it adopts interference elimination algorithm to erase redundant symbols in inter-cell interference (ICI) signals, and then uses interference regeneration algorithm to avoid secondary interference. The RIR scheme obtains greater DoF gain than the retrospective interference alignment (RIA) scheme, but incurs performance degradation when the transceiver antennas ratio (TAR) approaches 1. Therefore, the B-DRIA scheme is further proposed. For the B-DRIA scheme, the cellular beamforming matrix is introduced to eliminate the ICI, and meanwhile distributed RIA algorithm is adopted to align inter-user interference (IUI). The simulation results show that the B-DRIA scheme obtains larger DoF than the RIR scheme locally. Specifically, when TAR approaches 1, two schemes obtain the same DoF. While TAR approaches 2, the DoF of the B-DRIA scheme is superior than the RIR scheme.

Social Influences on Flood Preparedness and Mitigation Measures Adopted by People Living with Flood Risk

This paper aims to analyse evidence, based on one of the largest and most representative samples of households previously flooded or living with flood risk to date, of social patterns in a range of flood resilience traits relating to preparedness prior to a flood (e.g., property adaptations, contents insurance, etc.) and mitigations enacted during and immediately following a flood (e.g., receiving a warning, evacuation into temporary accommodation, etc.). The data were collected from a 2006 survey of 1223 households from a variety of locations across Scotland between one and twelve years after major local floods. Our analysis identifies remarkably few social differences in flood preparedness and mitigation measures, although some aspects of demography, housing and length of residence in an area, as well as personal flood history, are important. In light of this finding, we argue that social differences in vulnerability and resilience to flooding arise from deep-seated socio-economic and socio-spatial inequalities that affect exposure to flood risk and ability to recover from flood impacts. The engrained, but well-meaning, assumption in flood risk management that impoverished households and communities are lacking or deficient in flood preparedness or mitigation knowledge and capabilities is somewhat pejorative and misses fundamental, yet sometimes invisible, social stratifications play out in subtle but powerful ways to affect households’ and communities’ ability to avoid and recover from floods. We argue that general poverty and inequality alleviation measures, such as tax and welfare policy and urban and community regeneration schemes, are likely to be as, if not more, important in alleviating social inequalities in the long-term impacts of floods than social targeting of flood risk management policy.

Fluoride removal by hybrid cation exchanger impregnated with hydrated Al(III) oxide nanoparticles (HCIX-Al) with novel closed-loop recyclable regeneration system

A high concentrations of fluoride (F-) in groundwater limits drinking water supplies and results in fluorosis for hundreds of millions of people globally. A novel F- selective adsorbent (HCIX-Al) with a closed-loop regeneration system was developed, characterized, and assessed for its effectiveness in F- removal using both synthetic and natural groundwater. The system used an inexpensive polymeric macroporous cation exchanger doped with hydrous aluminum oxide (HAlO) nanoparticles. The HAlO nanoparticles were loaded into the matrix of the polymer phase by ion-exchange reactions between Al3+ and Ca2+ ions that bind with sulfonic acid functional groups of the cation exchangers. Hydrogen ions were generated in-situ during the HAlO formation process, creating acidic conditions inside the polymeric phase, which significantly increased F- sorption capacity (maximum sorption capacity = 5.75 mg/g at pH 7.5). While most other aluminum oxide-based F- selective sorbents suffer from low F- removal capacity at neutral to alkaline pH of typical groundwater, the HCIX-Al exhibited high F- sorption capacity even using alkaline (pH 8.5) groundwater. The treated water had a pH greater than 6.5 and non-detectable levels of aluminum (detection limit 0.002 mg/L), which complies with drinking water regulations. The HCIX-Al material can be reused by conditioning the exhausted material with a closed-loop regeneration chemical containing a recyclable 12% AlCl3 solution. The F- was precipitated from the regeneration system as CaF2 using lime at pH 11. This material, including a novel regeneration scheme, offered high F- removal capacity, cost-effectiveness, and provided a sustainable defluoridation process.

The effects of social housing regeneration schemes on employment: The case of the Glasgow Stock Transfer

Regeneration is an internationally popular policy for improving distressed neighbourhoods dominated by large social housing developments. Stimulating employment is often touted as a secondary benefit, but this claim has rarely been evaluated convincingly. In 2003, Glasgow City Council transferred ownership of its entire social housing stock to the Glasgow Housing Association and over £4 billion was invested in physical repairs, social services and other regeneration activities. Using a linked census database of individuals (Scottish Longitudinal Study), we evaluate the causal effect of the Stock Transfer on employment in Glasgow through a quasi-experimental design that exploits idiosyncrasies and changes in Glasgow’s administrative boundaries. We find that the Stock Transfer had a positive effect on employment for Glasgow residents who were not living in transferred social housing stock. We establish that this effect was mainly accomplished through the local employment multiplier effect of capital spending rather than through any other programmatic elements of the Stock Transfer. Exploratory analysis shows heterogeneous effects: individuals who were over 21, female, living with dependent children and with less education were less likely to benefit from the intervention. We did not find significant subgroup effects by neighbourhood deprivation.