Robust Regulation Research Articles

Economic growth and environmental sustainability: The role of foreign direct investment and technological innovation on carbon emissions in Ghana

Debates on foreign direct investment, technological innovation and carbon emission seem unsettling in the literature. We contribute to the literature by investigating the relationships between foreign direct investment, technological innovation, and carbon emissions in Ghana. Using the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) method, the analysis reveals that foreign direct investment contributes to reduced emissions in the short run but significantly increases carbon emissions in the long run, aligning with the pollution haven hypothesis. This indicates that Ghana may have a robust environmental regulation that ensures eco-friendly foreign direct investments in the short run, with weak enforcement of regulations resulting in high emissions in the long term. Technological innovation in the Ghanaian context contributes to increased CO2 emissions. However, the interaction effect of foreign direct investments and technological innovation reduces carbon emissions, emphasizing the importance of aligning foreign investments with sustainable technological advancements in Ghana. The study also identifies the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) effect, where emissions rise with economic growth but decelerate at higher GDP levels. The findings underscore the need for stronger environmental regulations and a shift towards sustainable, cleaner energy and technological development to mitigate the environmental impacts of economic growth in Ghana and similar developing countries.

Seasonal Changes in Salicylic and Jasmonic Acid Levels in Poplar with Differing Stress Responses

Poplars are essential tree species with critical roles in wood production, ecological conservation, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation. Plants of different poplar populations exhibit varying responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, largely driven by phytohormones—key regulators of plant growth and stress responses. Phytohormones control fundamental processes such as cell division, growth, tissue differentiation, organ development, and resistance to environmental challenges such as temperature extremes and drought. In this study, we conducted a quantitative analysis of phytohormone levels in the leaves of two populations of poplar species from the same geographical region over a one-year period, covering the early, mid, and late growth stages. Our results revealed that salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) concentrations in the stress-resistant poplar (RP) increased significantly during the late growth stage (September), particularly in response to elevated pathogen pressure and fluctuating climatic conditions. In contrast, the susceptible poplar (SP) consistently exhibited lower levels of SA and JA across all growth stages, particularly during the mid-growth stage (characterized by high temperatures and low precipitation) and the late growth stage, when pathogen stress typically intensifies. The limited increase in phytohormone levels in the SP suggests a weaker defense response compared with the RP. These findings demonstrate that climatic factors significantly influence the phytohormonal dynamics in poplars, with the RP exhibiting more robust regulation of SA and JA to mitigate both biotic and abiotic stresses. This study provides a theoretical framework for better understanding the resistance mechanisms in Populus and offers insights for improving stress tolerance in future breeding programs.

The Focus and Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Arab Emirates

Through in-depth interviews with public- and private-sector decision-makers, this qualitative study investigated modern corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its future path in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Quality education, health and well-being, environment, community development, circular economy, alignment with national priorities, consumer protection and public-private partnerships were discovered as core CSR priorities. Participants identified economic diversification, rebranding, increased environmental stability, strengthened corporate citizenship, improved regulation, and widespread differentiation as future focuses in the evolution of CSR in the UAE. The current and future emphasis of CSR is propelled by the UAE’s sustainable development objectives and human capital strategy. Transparent regulations, robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, and innovative strategies can distinguish responsible companies apart in the UAE. Nevertheless, it is expected that CSR will be further integrated into key business activities, aligning with evolving national economic visions, collaboration between sectors, and orientation towards a long-term impact on society. In deed the reputations of companies are enhanced through rigorous adherence to ESG standards, transparency regulations, and innovative approaches. Hence, there has been a strategic shift towards environmental sustainability, stakeholder capitalism, and robust regulation, shaping a highly competitive, impact-focused CSR environment in the UAE, consistent with economic diversification plans.

Supervised and Revocable Decentralized Identity Privacy Protection Scheme

Decentralized identity represents an innovative approach based on blockchain to achieve effective identity management. This method utilizes decentralized identifiers and verifiable credential to enable trusted authentication, free circulation of identity information, and self-sovereign control over identity data functionalities. The current decentralized identity systems rely on entirely anonymous identifiers, lacking robust identity regulation. Furthermore, they face challenges such as identity attribute leakage during verifiable credential presentation and the issuers' struggle to reliably revoke credentials. To address these issues, efficient and practical schemes have been designed based on BBS signature, zero-knowledge proof, dynamic accumulator and blockchain technology: one for decentralized identifiers management and the other for verifiable credential privacy protection, both of which are supervised and revocable. The former ensures the privacy of subject identity while achieving regulatability and revocability of identity data by regulator. The latter facilitates selective disclosure of anonymous credentials and reliable revocation. A security analysis shows that the proposed scheme meets anonymity, non-forgeability, regulatory reliability, and revocability reliability, and offers comprehensive and effective privacy protection measures. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithms designed operate at a millisecond level, which satisfies the demands of blockchain identity management scenarios.

A regulatory module mediating temperature control of cell-cell communication facilitates tree bud dormancy release.

The control of cell-cell communication via plasmodesmata (PD) plays a key role in plant development. In tree buds, low-temperature conditions (LT) induce a switch in plasmodesmata from a closed to an open state, which restores cell-to-cell communication in the shoot apex and releases dormancy. Using genetic and cell-biological approaches, we have identified a previously uncharacterized transcription factor, Low-temperature-Induced MADS-box 1 (LIM1), as an LT-induced, direct upstream activator of the gibberellic acid (GA) pathway. The LIM1-GA module mediates low temperature-induced plasmodesmata opening, by negatively regulating callose accumulation to promote dormancy release. LIM1 also activates expression of FT1 (FLOWERING LOCUS T), another LT-induced factor, with LIM1-FT1 forming a coherent feedforward loop converging on low-temperature regulation of gibberellin signaling in dormancy release. Mathematical modeling and experimental validation suggest that negative feedback regulation of LIM1 by gibberellin could play a crucial role in maintaining the robust temporal regulation of bud responses to low temperature. These results reveal genetic factors linking temperature control of cell-cell communication with regulation of seasonally-aligned growth crucial for adaptation of trees.

Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Neuron-Glia Communications in the Central Nervous System.

Communication between neurons and glia significantly influences the development maturation, plasticity, and disease progressions of the nervous system. As a new signaling modality, extracellular vesicles display a diverse role for robust functional regulation of neurons through their protein and nucleic acid cargoes. This review highlights recent breakthroughs in the research of signaling mechanisms between glia and neurons mediated by extracellular vesicles that are important for neural development, axonal maintenance, synaptic functions, and disease progression in the mammalian nervous system. We will discuss the biological roles of extracellular vesicles released from neurons, astroglia, microglia, and oligodendroglia in the nervous system and their implications in neurodegenerative disorders.

Targeted dynamic phospho-proteogenomic analysis of gastric cancer cells suggests host immunity provides survival benefit

Despite of massive emergence of molecular targeting drugs, the mainstay of advanced gastric cancer (GC) therapy is DNA-damaging drugs. Using a reverse-phase protein array-based proteogenomic analysis of a panel of eight GC cell lines, we identified genetic alterations and signaling pathways, potentially associated with resistance to DNA-damaging drugs, including 5-fluorouracil (5FU), cisplatin, and etoposide. Resistance to cisplatin and etoposide, but not 5FU, was negatively associated with global copy number loss, vimentin expression, and caspase activity, which are considered hallmarks of previously established EMT subtype. The segregation of 19,392 protein expression time courses by sensitive and resistant cell lines for the drugs tested revealed that 5FU-resistant cell lines had lower changes in global protein dynamics, suggesting their robust protein level regulation, compared to their sensitive counterparts, whereas the cell lines that are resistant to other drugs showed increased protein dynamics in response to each drug. Despite faint global protein dynamics, 5FU-resistant cell lines showed increased STAT1 phosphorylation and PD-L1 expression in response to 5FU. In publicly available cohort data, expression of STAT1 and NFκB target genes induced by proinflammatory cytokines was associated with prolonged survival in GC. In our validation cohort, total lymphocyte count (TLC), rather than PD-L1 positivity, predicted a better relapse-free survival rate in GC patients with 5FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy than those with surgery alone. Moreover, TLC+ patients who had no survival benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy were discriminated by expression of IκBα, a potent negative regulator of NFκB. Collectively, our results suggest that 5FU resistance observed in cell lines may be overcome by host immunity or by combination therapy with immune checkpoint blockade.

Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control of Four-Phase Interleaved Boost Converter

This paper presents a novel control method that integrates super-twisting sliding mode (STSM) voltage control with proportional-integral (PI) current control for a four-phase interleaved boost converter (IBC) in fuel cell applications. The STSM control, employed in the outer voltage loop, provides robust voltage regulation by generating precise reference currents for each phase. The conventional PI control in the inner current loop utilizes these reference currents to generate pulse width modulation (PWM) signals for each phase. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is evaluated through comprehensive simulation studies in MATLAB/Simulink, demonstrating an improvement in dynamic performance and enhanced robustness compared to conventional methods. Quantitative analysis shows that the output voltage quickly rises to the reference voltage within approximately 0.25 seconds in the proposed STSM-PI control method and improves transient response by 16 times compared to the conventional PI-PI method. This integrated STSM-PI control strategy offers significant advancements in reliability and efficiency making it a promising solution for high-performance fuel cell power systems.

Building an Ethical and Trustworthy Biomedical AI Ecosystem for the Translational and Clinical Integration of Foundation Models.

Foundation Models (FMs) are gaining increasing attention in the biomedical artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem due to their ability to represent and contextualize multimodal biomedical data. These capabilities make FMs a valuable tool for a variety of tasks, including biomedical reasoning, hypothesis generation, and interpreting complex imaging data. In this review paper, we address the unique challenges associated with establishing an ethical and trustworthy biomedical AI ecosystem, with a particular focus on the development of FMs and their downstream applications. We explore strategies that can be implemented throughout the biomedical AI pipeline to effectively tackle these challenges, ensuring that these FMs are translated responsibly into clinical and translational settings. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of key stewardship and co-design principles that not only ensure robust regulation but also guarantee that the interests of all stakeholders-especially those involved in or affected by these clinical and translational applications-are adequately represented. We aim to empower the biomedical AI community to harness these models responsibly and effectively. As we navigate this exciting frontier, our collective commitment to ethical stewardship, co-design, and responsible translation will be instrumental in ensuring that the evolution of FMs truly enhances patient care and medical decision-making, ultimately leading to a more equitable and trustworthy biomedical AI ecosystem.

Mechanism design of EVs fast charging rights for enhanced vehicle-to-grid regulation

With the advancement of policy initiatives and technological developments, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interactions have emerged as a critical focus within power system research. Despite numerous current studies on V2G, the exploration of incentive mechanisms to encourage user participation in these systems remains comparatively underdeveloped. This study proposes an innovative demand response (DR) incentive mechanism for electric vehicles (EVs) grounded in the regulation of fast charging powers via strategically assigning and allocating virtual points defined as fast charging right (FCR). The primary objective of this mechanism is to meet the power regulation requirements of DR while simultaneously balancing the grid’s response costs and accommodating the charging demands of EV users. Through simulation and comparative analysis with the existing pilot DR incentive mechanisms, the results demonstrate that the proposed mechanism outperforms the current model in three critical aspects: power regulation efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and user experience. In addition, this paper investigates the performance of the incentive mechanisms in both online and offline scheduling environments. The findings reveal that the FCR mechanism maintains robust power regulation performance even under online scheduling conditions.

Robust position regulation of a 2-DOF experimental helicopter using higher order super twisting sliding mode control

This study presents a third-order super twisting sliding mode control algorithm for robust position regulation of a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) experimental helicopter. The proposed approach explores high-order sliding mode control, offering advantages such as finite-time convergence and continuous control signals. The controller is implemented and validated on the Quanser Aero 2 platform, an inherently unstable and nonlinear system that presents significant challenges for control design including cross-coupling effects, model uncertainties, and external disturbances. Extensive simulations and experimental results are presented to validate the efficacy and robustness of the proposed control strategy. They highlight the controller's ability to achieve precise position control while significantly mitigating the chattering phenomenon, a common drawback associated with traditional sliding mode control. This study contributes to the field of nonlinear control systems by demonstrating the potential of high-order sliding mode control in managing nonlinear, coupled dynamic systems. The successful implementation on a real-world platform underscores the practical applicability of the proposed method in aerospace and robotics applications.

Robust internal model‐based control for linear‐time‐invariant systems

AbstractThis article addresses robust output regulation for systems affected by disturbances generated by an uncertain exosystem as well as matched external disturbances. The robustness of the feedback loop is achieved by combining internal model based control with sliding mode control, resulting in a structurally simple controller. The design of the proposed controller is presented first for the full information problem, that is, the disturbances generated by the exosystem and the state‐information is available for the control algorithm. This requirement is relaxed in the second step of the controller design, where the observer‐based robust output feedback‐loop structure is developed. Results from a comparative simulation study are presented to illustrate the advantages and the effectiveness of the proposed controller concept.

The impact of digital finance on green economic development: A literature review

Green economic development has become an essential pathway to achieving high-quality economic growth, while digital finance represents a prominent trend in global financial advancement. The rapid expansion of digital finance in China has spurred extensive research in this domain. This study systematically combes the literature on digital finance and green economic development. Initially, it delineates the conceptual definition of digital finance, measurement indices and the conceptual definition of green economic development, identifies the key influencing factors. Subsequently, it synthesizes empirical findings on how digital finance influences the growth of green economy from economic, environmental, and energy perspectives. The economic perspective is divided into macroeconomic impacts, mechanisms of influence, and microeconomic aspects; the environmental perspective focuses on the pollution effects and carbon emission reduction attributable to digital finance, and the energy perspective reviews literature on improvements in energy efficiency and reductions in energy intensity driven by digital finance. Finally, the paper offers a comprehensive summary of current research trends and future directions in the field. It emphasizes the need for enhanced digital finance index systems, robust risk control and regulation, and a balanced approach to fostering a genuine green economy. Additionally, it highlights potential future research avenues, such as the effects of digital finance on government policies, foreign trade, environmental pollution, and energy utilization.

NR2F2 Reactivation in Early-life Adipocyte Stem-like Cells Rescues Adipocyte Mitochondrial Oxidation.

In humans, perinatal exposure to an elevated omega-6 (n6) relative to omega-3 (n3) Fatty Acid (FA) ratio is associated with the likelihood of childhood obesity. In mice, we show perinatal exposure to excessive n6-FA programs neonatal Adipocyte Stem-like cells (ASCs) to differentiate into adipocytes with lower mitochondrial nutrient oxidation and a propensity for nutrient storage. Omega-6 FA exposure reduced fatty acid oxidation (FAO) capacity, coinciding with impaired induction of beige adipocyte regulatory factors PPARγ, PGC1α, PRDM16, and UCP1. ASCs from n6-FA exposed pups formed adipocytes with increased lipogenic genes in vitro, consistent with an in vivo accelerated adipocyte hypertrophy, greater triacylglyceride accumulation, and increased % body fat. Conversely, n6-FA exposed pups had impaired whole animal 13C-palmitate oxidation. The metabolic nuclear receptor, NR2F2, was suppressed in ASCs by excess n6-FA intake preceding adipogenesis. ASC deletion of NR2F2, prior to adipogenesis, mimicked the reduced FAO capacity observed in ASCs from n6-FA exposed pups, suggesting that NR2F2 is required in ASCs for robust beige regulator expression and downstream nutrient oxidation in adipocytes. Transiently re-activating NR2F2 with ligand prior to differentiation in ASCs from n6-FA exposed pups, restored their FAO capacity as adipocytes by increasing the PPARγ-PGC1α axis, mitochondrial FA transporter CPT1A, ATP5 family synthases, and NDUF family Complex I proteins. Our findings suggest that excessive n6-FA exposure early in life dampens an NR2F2-mediated induction of beige adipocyte regulators, resulting in metabolic programming that is shifted towards nutrient storage.

Continuous-time robust frequency regulation in isolated microgrids with decentralized fixed structure μ-synthesis and comparative analysis with PID and FOPID controllers

Isolated microgrids, which are crucial for supplying electricity to remote areas using local energy sources, have garnered increased attention due to the escalating integration of renewable energy sources in modern microgrids. This integration poses technical challenges, notably in mitigating frequency deviations caused by non-dispatchable renewables, which threaten overall system stability. Therefore, this paper introduces decentralized fixed structure robust μ-synthesis controllers for continuous-time applications, surpassing the limitations of conventional centralized controllers. Motivated by the increasing importance of microgrids, this work contributes to the vital area of frequency regulation. The research challenge involves developing a controller that not only addresses the identified technical issues but also surpasses the limitations of conventional centralized controllers. In contrast to their centralized counterparts, the proposed decentralized controllers prove more reliable, demonstrating enhanced disturbance rejection capabilities amidst substantial uncertainties, represented through normalized co-prime factorization. The proposed controllers are designed using the D-K iteration technique, incorporating performance weight filters on control actions to maintain low control sensitivity and ensure specific frequency band operation for each sub-system. Importantly, the design considers unstructured uncertainty up to 40%, addressing real-world uncertainties comprehensively. Rigorous robust stability and performance tests underscore the controller's superiority, demonstrating its robustness against elevated uncertainty levels. Robust stability is verified for all controllers, with the proposed controller showing robust stability against up to 171% of the modeled uncertainty. Notably, the controller boasts a fixed structure with lower order compared to other H-infinity controllers, enhancing its practical implementation. Comparative analyses against Coronavirus Herd Immunity Optimizer tuned Proportional-Integral-Derivative (CHIO-PID) controller and CHIO tuned Fractional-Order Proportional-Integral-Derivative (CHIO-FOPID) controller further validate the superior performance of the proposed solution, offering a significant step towards ensuring the stability and reliability of microgrid systems in the face of evolving energy landscapes.

Analysing Consequences of Aquaculture in Coastal Water Bodies of Ba Ria– Vung Tau, Vietnam on Sustainable Development Goals for Environmental Management

Aquaculture is vital for global food security and economic growth, particularly in coastal regions like Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Vietnam. This province has seen significant aquaculture growth, with production rising from 10,687 tons in 2010 to 20,486 tons in 2022. Key species farmed include brackish water shrimp, marine finfish, and mollusks, using methods such as cage culture, pond farming, and Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). However, aquaculture poses environmental challenges, including conflicts over coastal space, waste management, and habitat degradation. Species like oysters and mussels help improve water quality and support balanced ecosystems, while marine finfish farming can cause nutrient overload and eutrophication. Sustainable practices like IMTA, waste management, and sustainable feed use are essential to mitigate these impacts. Aligning aquaculture with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), is crucial for sustainable coastal management. This requires robust regulations, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the integration of scientific research into policy. By ensuring aquaculture practices support SDGs, Ba Ria – Vung Tau can enhance environmental stewardship, economic resilience, and the sustainable coexistence of human activities with marine ecosystems.

Multiagent Soft Actor–Critic Learning for Distributed ESS Enabled Robust Voltage Regulation of Active Distribution Grids

Multiagent Soft Actor–Critic Learning for Distributed ESS Enabled Robust Voltage Regulation of Active Distribution Grids

Psychological Operations During the Russian War of Aggression in Ukraine

Abstract The article analyzes the way and motivation of the Russian Federation to carry out psychological operations in the war of aggression that it has unleashed in Ukraine from the perspective of the information environment. These operations are specific to the cognitive layer of the information environment and are aimed at influencing the perceptions, behavior, and decisions of both the Ukrainian population and the international community by using disinformation, propaganda, and manipulation. By analyzing these operations, it highlights how Russia has exploited the lack of robust regulation of social networks. The analysis underlines the importance of developing effective strategies to counter these operations by increasing information resilience and strengthening protection mechanisms against harmful external influences.

Adaptive event-triggered robust output regulation for uncertain switched T-S fuzzy systems

This paper focuses on the adaptive event-triggered robust output regulation issue for uncertain switched Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy systems with unknown exosystems and model uncertainty. The purpose is to pursue the output regulationcharacteristic and the disturbances suppression characteristic. First, an event-triggered mechanism is introduced to ease the communication burden. Then, on the basis of the event-triggered program, an adaptive event-triggered robust output regulation control law is developed to battle the uncertainty and disturbances. Further, constraints are arrived to force the solvability of the adaptive event-triggered robust output regulation issue for uncertain switched Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy systems by virtue of the average dwell-time way. In the end, a simulation instance with a mass–spring-damping model employed is arranged to showcase the practicality and effectiveness of the developed control methodology.

Towards sustainable development: Can green digital finance become an accelerator for reducing pollution and carbon emissions in China?

As a fusion of financial ''digitalization'' and ''greening'', green digital finance is crucial for ecological quality enhancement. Based on panel data from 285 cities in China spanning 2011 to 2021, this study aims to examine the synergistic impact of Green Digital Finance (GDFO) on Pollution and Carbon Reduction (PCR). The two-way fixed effect model, moderated effect model, and threshold model are employed to study the direct, transmission, and non-linear effects of GDFO on PCR. Results indicate that GDFO significantly enhances PCR in urban areas, and this conclusion remains valid after several robustness tests. Mechanically, encouraging green technology innovation, promoting industrial structure upgrading, and enhancing financial supervision are effective channels for strengthening the impact of GDFO on PCR. At varying levels of green digital finance and financial supervision, the marginal impact of GDFO on PCR exhibits double threshold characteristics in the form of "U-shaped" and "inverted U-shaped". Furthermore, the impact of GDFO on PCR is more pronounced in the eastern and western regions, resource cities, and cities with a high level of financial development, excellent digital infrastructure, and robust environmental regulation. This study offers theoretical support and empirical evidence for deepening the GDFO to promote PCR at the city level.