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Abstract Questions of unfairness and inequity pose critical challenges to the successful deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare settings. In AI models, unequal performance across protected groups may be partially attributable to the learning of spurious or otherwise undesirable correlations between sensitive attributes and disease-related information. Here, we introduce the Attribute Neutral Framework, designed to disentangle biased attributes from disease-relevant information and subsequently neutralize them to improve representation across diverse subgroups. Within the framework, we develop the Attribute Neutralizer (AttrNzr) to generate neutralized data, for which protected attributes can no longer be easily predicted by humans or by machine learning classifiers. We then utilize these data to train the disease diagnosis model (DDM). Comparative analysis with other unfairness mitigation algorithms demonstrates that AttrNzr outperforms in reducing the unfairness of the DDM while maintaining DDM’s overall disease diagnosis performance. Furthermore, AttrNzr supports the simultaneous neutralization of multiple attributes and demonstrates utility even when applied solely during the training phase, without being used in the test phase. Moreover, instead of introducing additional constraints to the DDM, the AttrNzr directly addresses a root cause of unfairness, providing a model-independent solution. Our results with AttrNzr highlight the potential of data-centered and model-independent solutions for fairness challenges in AI-enabled medical systems.

Given the current low level of public participation and limited channels of participation in Chinese urban planning. Social media has become an important platform for public participation in China. Taking the banyan tree relocation and felling incident in Guangzhou City as an example. This paper explores how social media-facilitated public participation can effectively influence urban planning decisions through case study and discourse power analysis. It is found that place attachment may serve as a significant motivator for public participation in urban planning. Social media plays a dual role in this process. On one hand, it can improve the effectiveness of public participation in urban planning and ultimately fulfil the role of advancing democratic government decision-making. On the other hand, the paper reveals challenges such as information homogenization, emotionalized communication, and elite dominance. These issues underscore the need for further improvements in regulatory mechanisms and technical support. Therefore, future urban planning policies should take people's emotions into account, and also need to accelerate the construction of improved systems, mechanisms and technologies for social media public participation to achieve high-level public participation goals.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the bureaucratization of native officers led to a more systematic expansion of Chinese official facilities in frontier areas, resulting in large-scale changes in the local landscape. This expansion is a distinct chapter in the history of ancient urban construction. For the Dali region, where the central government took the lead during the Ming dynasty, this paper compares the construction history of defense, administration, rituals, and education in different periods and discusses changes of Chinese official facilities in the context of the bureaucratization of native officers. The results show the following: 1. The primary concern of the appointed officials was to establish cities and create safe and stable strongholds to demonstrate the authority of the center. 2. The official facilities of administration, sacrifice, and education are all around the official controlled road. In addition, they gradually extended to various areas to control Dali. 3. Through the building of administrative facilities to implement central control, sacrificial facilities to achieve ideological infiltration and educational facilities to implement basic education development, Dali gradually converged with the Central Plains. 4. The political strategy of the appointed officials toward Dali was as follows: build offices – schools -walls – temples.

Abstract The rapidly evolving landscape of biomarkers for colorectal cancer (CRC) necessitates an integrative, updated repository. In response, we constructed the Colorectal Cancer Biomarker Database (CBD), which collected and displayed the curated biomedicine information for 870 CRC biomarkers in the previous study. Building on CBD, we have now developed CBD2, which includes information on 1569 newly reported biomarkers derived from different biological sources (DNA, RNA, protein, and others) and clinical applications (diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis). CBD2 also incorporates information on nonbiomarkers that have been identified as unsuitable for use as biomarkers in CRC. A key new feature of CBD2 is its network analysis function, by which users can investigate the visible and topological network between biomarkers and identify their relevant pathways. CBD2 also allows users to query a series of chemicals, drug combinations, or multiple targets, to enable multidrug, multitarget, multipathway analyses, toward facilitating the design of polypharmacological treatments for CRC. CBD2 is freely available at http://www.eyeseeworld.com/cbd.

Ag nanoparticles were successfully prepared using a liquid reduction method with a suitable mixture reductant of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ethylene glycol (EG). OP-10 as a dispersing agent, was used to prepare the conductive Ag ink. Ag nanoparticles with an average particle size of 40 nm were prepared while the ratio of PEG to EG was 1:2. Meanwhile, the Ag particles had a narrow size distribution and great dispersion performance. The effects of paper substrates, sintering temperature, and sintering time on the conductivity of the printed Ag ink pattern were also studied. It was found that Lucky porous high glossy photo paper was a good candidate as the printing substrate. The resistivity of the printed pattern could reach 5.1 x 10-3 Ω⋅cm after heated at 100 °C for 2 h. Hence, the printed pattern showed good conductivity which led to the LED light being on. Furthermore, the Ag nanoparticle ink could be printed to form any pattern as required that still showed good electrical conductivity after being sintered under low-temperature. This could provide new possibilities for the preparation of flexible electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main objective of the current study was to examine the anticancer effects of Curzerenone - a naturally occurring sesquiterpene against gemcitabine-resistant lung carcinoma cells. The effects of Curzerenone on mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis, ROS, and ERK/MAPK and NF-kB signalling pathways were also investigated in the present study., Methods: Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) and DAPI staining as well as flow cytometry using annexin V apoptosis assay. The effects on reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were examined by flow cytometry. Protein expression was examined by western blotting., Results: It was found that Curzerenone induced potent antiproliferative effects against the gemcitabine-resistant lung cancer cells and exhibited an IC50 of 24 µM. The anticancer effects of curzerenone were due to the induction of apoptosis which was also associated with alteration of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax,Bcl-2). Curzerenone also caused ROS-mediated alterations in the MMP. Curzerenone induced cell death in gemcitabine-resistant lung cancer cells by activating p38 MAPK/ERK signalling pathway while NF-kB pathway was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner., Conclusions: In conclusion, the current results strongly indicate that Curzerenone may prove a potential anticancer drug candidate against drug-resistant lung cancer.