The patterns and driving forces of dengue invasions in China.

BACKGROUND: Global connectivity and environmental change pose continuous threats to dengue invasions from worldwide to China. However, the intrinsic relationship on introduction and outbreak risks of dengue driven by the landscape features are still unknown. This study aimed to map the patterns on source-sink relation of dengue cases and assess the driving forces for dengue invasions in China. METHODS: We identified the local and imported cases (2006-2020) and assembled the datasets on environmental conditions. The vector auto-regression model was applied to detect the cross-relations of source-sink patterns. We selected the major environmental drivers via the Boruta algorithm to assess the driving forces in dengue outbreak dynamics by applying generalized additive models. We reconstructed the internal connections among imported cases, local cases, and external environmental drivers using the structural equation modeling. RESULTS: From 2006 to 2020, 81,652 local dengue cases and 12,701 imported dengue cases in China were reported. The hotspots of dengue introductions and outbreaks were in southeast and southwest China, originating from South and Southeast Asia. Oversea-imported dengue cases, as the Granger-cause, were the initial driver of the dengue dynamic; the suitable local bio-socioecological environment is the fundamental factor for dengue epidemics. The Bio8 [odds ratio (OR) = 2.11, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.67-2.68], Bio9 (OR = 291.62, 95% CI: 125.63-676.89), Bio15 (OR = 4.15, 95% CI: 3.30-5.24), normalized difference vegetation index in March (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.06-1.51) and July (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00-1.07), and the imported cases are the major drivers of dengue local transmissions (OR = 4.79, 95% CI: 4.34-5.28). The intermediary effect of an index on population and economic development to local cases via the path of imported cases was detected in the dengue dynamic system. CONCLUSIONS: Dengue outbreaks in China are triggered by introductions of imported cases and boosted by landscape features and connectivity. Our research will contribute to developing nature-based solutions for dengue surveillance, mitigation, and control from a socio-ecological perspective based on invasion ecology theories to control and prevent future dengue invasion and localization.

Study on standardization for Interoperable Metaverse

The rapid development of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and networks, and the sudden appearance of the metaverse, triggered by COVID-19, are both expected and concerned. Along with criticism that it is somewhat exaggerated, it is receiving a lot of attention in that it can provide a foundation for social and economic activities in the virtual world. In this paper, we present the new driving force that re-emerged the metaverse, and analysis on the related standardization status. By the analysis on that, we propose the interface and interworking model required to make the metaverse interoperable with each other. © 2023 Global IT Research Institute (GiRI).

Recent progress in microfluidic biosensors with different driving forces

Microfluidic biosensors integrating fluid control, target recognition, as well as signal transduction and output, have been widely used in the field of disease diagnosis, drug screening, food safety and environmental monitoring in the past two decades. As the central part and technical characteristics of microfluidic biosensors, the fluid control is not only associated with accuracy and convenience of the sensors, but also affects the material selection and working mode of the sensors. This review summarizes the fluid driving forces for microfluidic biosensors, including gravity, capillary force, centrifugal force, pressure, light, sound, electrical, and magnetic forces. Then, the recent advances in microfluidic biosensors for the detection of viruses, cells, nucleic acids, proteins and small molecules are discussed. Finally, we propose the current challenges and future perspectives of microfluidic biosensors. We hope this review can provide readers with a new perspective to understand the technical characteristics and application potential of microfluidic biosensors.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

Driving forces and variation in water footprint before and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Fujian Province of China.

The COVID-19 outbreak has injured the global industrial supply chain, especially China as the world's largest manufacturing base. Since 2020, China has implemented a rigorous lockdown policy, which has sternly damaged sectoral trade in export-oriented coastal areas. Fujian Province, which mainly processes imported materials, has a more profound influence. Although the COVID-19 lockdown has had some detrimental consequences on the world economy, it also had some favorable benefits on the global ecology. Previous studies have shown that the lockdown has altered the physical water quantity and quality, but the lack of total, virtual, and physical water research that combines water quantity and water quality simultaneously to pinpoint the subject and responsibility of water resources consumption and pollution. This research quantified the physical, virtual, and total water consumption and water pollution among 30 sectors in Fujian Province based on the theory of water footprint and the Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment model. SDA model was then used to investigate the socioeconomic elements that underpin variations in the water footprint. The results show that after the lockdown, the physical water quantity and the physical grey WF in Fujian Province decreased by 2.6 Gm3 (-6.7%) and 0.4 Gm3 (-1.3%) respectively. The virtual water quantity decreased by 2.3 Gm3 (-4.5%), whereas the virtual grey WF rose by 1.5 Gm3 (4.3%). The total water quantity dropped by 3.3 Gm3 (-4.9%), while the grey WF increased by 1.2 Gm3 (2.5%), i.e. the COVID-19 lockdown decreases physical water quantity and improves local water quality. More than 50% of the water comes from virtual water trade outside the province (virtual water is highly dependent on external), and around 60% of the grey WF comes from physical sewage in the province. The COVID-19 lockdown reduced water outsourcing across the province (paid nonlocally decrease) but increased pollution outsourcing (paid nonlocally increase). And gross capital formation's contribution to the growth in water footprint will continue to rise. As a result, this study suggested that Fujian should take advantage of sectoral trade network to enhance the transaction of green water-intensive intermediate products, reduce the physical water consumption of blue water-intensive sectors, and reduce the external dependence on water consumption. Achieving the shared responsibility of upstream and downstream water consumption and reducing the external dependence on water in water-rich regions is crucial to solving the world's water problems. This research provides empirical evidence for the long-term effects of COVID-19 lockdown on the physical and virtual water environment.

Personal GHG emissions accounting and the driving forces decomposition in the past 10 years

Personal greenhouse gas (PGHG) emissions were crucial for achieving carbon peak and neutrality targets. The accounting methodology and driving forces identification of PGHG emissions were helpful for the quantification and the reduction of the PGHG emissions. In this study, the methodology of PGHG emissions was developed from resource obtaining to waste disposal, and the variations of Shanghainese PGHG emissions from 2010 to 2020 were evaluated, with the driving forces analysis based on Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model. It showed that the emissions decreased from 3796.05 (2010) to 3046.87 kg carbon dioxides (CO2) (2014) and then increased to 3411.35 kg CO2 (2018). The emissions from consumptions accounted for around 62.1% of the total emissions, and that from waste disposal were around 3.1%, which were neglected in most previous studies. The PGHG emissions decreased by around 0.53 kg CO2 (2019) and 405.86 kg CO2 (2020) compared to 2018 and 2019, respectively, which were mainly affected by the waste forced source separation policy and the COVID-19 pandemic. The income level and consumption GHG intensity were two key factors influencing the contractively of GHG emissions from consumption, with the contributing rate of 169.3% and − 188.1%, respectively. Energy consumption was the main factor contributing to the growth of the direct GHG emissions (296.4%), and the energy GHG emission factor was the main factor in suppressing it (− 92.2%). Green consumption, low carbon lifestyles, green levy programs, and energy structure optimization were suggested to reduce the PGHG emissions. © 2023, The Author(s).

Communication in the corona pandemic: New driving forces of digital mediatization in fundamentally changed everyday life

The article explores the question of how and on which social fields the pandemic promoted the metaprocess of mediatization and which driving forces contributed to it. Therefore, it discusses whether it is possible to gain insights into the metaprocess on the basis of the course of mediatization in the pandemic. The pandemic is understood as a contemporary event that makes communicative change tangible in a concrete context and allows to identify driving forces of mediatization. The paper classifies changes in communicative practices that occur in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as mediatization phenomena. From a process-oriented perspective, the article discusses whether the changed media communication in the pandemic can be understood as a driving force of mediatization and whether it entails a new degree of mediatization. Finally, it introduces the term extensive mediatization to describe the media induced social transformations. Based on a synopsis of the identified driving forces, it is illustrated that its course can be described as highly dynamic. © Kathrin Friederike Müller.

Singapore's Journey as a Digit-all-ized and Innovative Smart Nation Toward Sustainability

Change is the only constant in life. Hence, the transformation into a more complex form, at best, serves the very purpose of both natural and artificial development. Singapore's exceptional journey of becoming a crucial international commercial and financial hub paved the way toward being the frontrunner in creating a Smart Nation by embracing digitalization as the main driving force. At the same time, both its environmental and national security is highly dependent on innovation and international cooperation. This paper aims to present how Singapore embarked, among the first, on the digital pathway to ensure sustainability and reinforce resilience, as well as where it stands in the process of shaping its future by safeguarding the achievements of the welfare state (fair distribution of wealth, opportunity through education, highly developed healthcare system, social equality and responsibility). The creation of its digital identity is fueled by a vibrant digital economy and regulated by an effective digital government, enhanced by a sophisticated digital infrastructure. A holistic examination of different aspects of the city-state's digital transformation, validated with relevant qualitative and quantitative data, appears to be vital in determining the ideal trajectory of maintaining its benchmark status. This research also highlights the correlation between digitalization, the propagation of artificial intelligence in all spreads of life, and, as a consequence, the evolution of consumer trends due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the generation change amid the comprehensive set of regional and global challenges ahead. © 2022 IEEE.

Coronavirus disease 2019 scenarios for a long-term strategy under fundamental uncertainty.

Early on, scientists have pointed out that coronavirus disease 2019 is most likely here to stay, although its course and development are uncertain. This requires a long-term strategy of living with the virus. However, the urgency of new waves of infection and the emergence of new variants have invoked an approach of acute crisis management over and over, hindering the design of a structural approach for the long term. Exploratory scenarios can provide scientific strategic guidance to policy processes to be better prepared in this situation of fundamental uncertainty. We have therefore developed five scenarios, which describe the possible long-term development of the pandemic from an epidemiological, virological, and broader societal perspective. These scenarios are based on four driving forces that are both important and uncertain: immunity, vaccination, mutations, and human behavior. The scenarios are (1) return to normal, (2) flu+, (3) external threat, (4) continuous struggle, and (5) worst case. Working with scenarios is crucial for appropriate public communication and provides guidance for anticipating the various conceivable possibilities for the further course of the pandemic.

The Third Path: A New Approach to Industry-based Undergraduate Engineering and Technical Education in the United States

The driving forces changing how we work and the jobs that we do are impacting organizations of all sizes across all sectors. The global pandemic has accelerated the pace of change and disruption to a level not experienced before. The combination of Industry 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and COVID-19 are creating a new sense of urgency to drive collaboration between industry and education. In 2022, academic institutions offer three paths to prospective engineering students, which students qualify for via standardized testing;Path 1) 4-year bachelor degrees with “R1” research focus: typically following on to postgraduate degrees and careers in research or academia. Path 2) 2-year associate degree (community college): typically leading to a career based on a technical skill or trade. Path 3) 4-year bachelor degree with industry focus: typically leading to careers in technical-based industries This paper presents a new approach to the “third path,” the industry-based bachelor degrees. The new approach is an alternative to the traditional programs currently offered by the majority of engineering schools in the United States. The traditional academic approach is failing to fill the talent pipeline. Academic policies and practices are unable to keep pace with the exponential growth of technology, the evolving motivations of a four-generation workforce (soon to be 5 generation) and the unpredictable development of new engineering business models [1-4]. The global competitiveness of the United States is at risk, the stakes are too high to stay on the traditional course. The authors contend that paths 1 and 2, despite shortcomings of their own, are in far better shape than the third path, so they are not addressed in this paper. This paper, written more like a position paper, proposes a new model for the third path;it is based on extensive research that was discussed in prior publications by the same authors [10,11,24-26]. The Third Path model proposes revised roles for the four key stakeholders involved in undergraduate engineering and technical education. The stakeholders are: 1) Industry (United States), 2) Academic institutions, 3) Federal and State Governments, and most importantly 4) next-generation student-engineers and technicians. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

From Biotechnology to Bioeconomy: A Review of Development Dynamics and Pathways

Based on the logistic growth model, the relationship between technology innovation and the evolution of economic forms was analyzed, and the main characteristics and basic laws of the five economic forms of hunter–gatherer, agriculture, industry, information, and bioeconomy were summarized. Based on a comprehensive and intensive scan of the latest bioeconomy development strategies of various countries, we summarized their two main driving forces from the technological supply side and economic and social demand side, as well as their four distinctive features, namely the comprehensiveness of science and technology innovation, the aggregation of industrial development, the globalization of development goals, and strong policy dependence. Finally, we proposed countermeasures to design the implementation path of the bioeconomy and improve the quality of the bioeconomy factor supply in terms of the development and application of biotechnology, the upgradation of bioindustry clusters, the positive policy environment, and the theorization of the bioeconomy.

Exploring the role of spatial configuration and human behavior on the spread of the epidemic: A study of factors that affect Covid-19 spreading in the city

This research explores how exterior public space - defined through the configuration of the city - and human behavior affect the spread of disease. In order to understand the virus spreading mechanism and influencing factors of the epidemic which accompany residents' movement, this study attempts to reproduce the process of virus spreading in city areas through computer simulation. The simulation can be divided into residents' movement simulation and the virus spreading simulation. First, the Agent-based model (ABM) can effectively simulate the behavior of the individual and crowd;real location data - uploaded by residents via mobile phone applications - is used as a behavioral driving force for the agent's movement. Second, a mathematical model of infectious diseases is constructed based on SIR (SEIR) Compartmental models in epidemiology. Finally, by analyzing the simulation results of the agent's movement in the city and the virus spreading under different conditions, the influence of multiple factors of city configuration and human behavior on the virus spreading process is explored, and the effectiveness of countermeasures such as social distancing and lockdown are further demonstrated. © Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture Annual Conference, ACADIA 2021.

Research on the Transformation of Traditional Foreign Trade Enterprises to Cross-Border ECommerce

There has been increasingly widespread economic trade activities on the Internet - cross-border e-commerce with global reach, a profound commercial revolution in international trade. In 2020, COVID-19 has broken out and brought a huge impact to the global economy and a severe test to China's traditional foreign trade enterprises. However, cross-border ecommerce unleashes its huge potential, showing a leading role in the innovative development of foreign trades. Supported by advanced technologies, cross-border e-commerce has become an important driving force in the transformation and upgrading of China's traditional foreign trade enterprises, with low operating costs, high efficiency, flexible operation and high profitability. This paper analyzed the connotation and characteristics of cross-border e-commerce, and elaborated on the problems faced by Chinese traditional foreign trade enterprises in the process of transforming into cross-border e-commerce, and put forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for the problems faced. © 2021 IEEE.

A Novel Stance based Sampling for Imbalanced Data

While the world is suffering from coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), a parallel battle with Infodemic, the proliferation of fake news online is also taking place. The spread of fake news during this global pandemic COVID-19 has dangerous consequences. This is the driving force behind this study. Relying on incorrect information obtained from the internet or social media can be fatal. According to a World Health Organization survey, at least 800 people have lost their lives because of COVID-19 misinformation during this time, highlighting the accurate automated classification of fake news. However, the data at disposal for classification is imbalanced. The Internet has a vast repository of authentic healthcare news, whereas Fake News on COVID-19 healthcare is not abundant. This imbalance leads to incorrect classification. The paper studies alternative approaches to text sampling. In this paper, we propose a stance based sampling method for balancing news data. The disparity between the title and content of news items is utilized to sample data points selectively and rectify the imbalance. The key findings are that the proposed stance-based sampling strategies enhance categorisation task performance consistently for varying degrees of imbalance. The proposed techniques can better detect misleading news in the health care sector. © 2022, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications. All Rights Reserved.

Developing Digital Governance for Managing the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Case Study India

India is currently reeling under the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Its brutal ascent in April and May 2021 has stretched the country's health infrastructure beyond limits while causing unparalleled adversity to the citizens. It is natural to ask if better digital governance would have helped to mitigate this wave. The Paper first highlights that emerging technologies and liberalized regulations have become the driving force for digital transformation of government. It then critically explores whether Government of India's Digital Governance solutions to manage the growing challenges of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic meet the expectations of the stakeholders. Based on the analysis, the Paper uses a globally accepted framework to fine tune the specific areas where the government needs to do better. In conclusion, it recommends adopting an overarching citizen-focused governance to increase the pace of transformation so as to successfully overtake the virus spread that is moving at tragic speed. © 2021 ACM.

Critical policy drivers for Modular integrated Construction projects in Hong Kong

Given the increased importance of identifying the critical Policy Driving Forces (PDFs) to uptake Modular integrated Construction (MiC) practices in Hong Kong (HK), this study aims to identify and examine the critical PDFs associated with MiC projects in HK from the perspective of industry experts. After drawing on the plentiful relevant literature and conducting a pilot study, an expert opinion survey was conducted to gather the necessary data for this study. The collected data were analysed using relevant significance analysis and factor analysis to identify critical PDFs and appropriate groupings. The results revealed 23 critical PDFs under seven critical components in three stages of the MiC process. Regulative PDFs show the highest criticality for up-taking the MiC in the initiation and planning and design phases, while Greater Bay Area development PDFs are critical in the construction phase. The PDF related to the COVID-19 pandemic is the only critical PDF that appeared in all three stages. As the first study that explores PDFs for MiC uptake throughout all project phases, this study contributes substantially to theory and practice while better informing policymakers on how to initiate MiC-related policies to boost MiC practice in HK, where MiC is achieving greater prominence in application.