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Integrating the behavioral theory of the firm and social capital theory, this study examines how performance shortfalls and executive social relations jointly affect firms' trade-offs between the shared-control entry mode and full-control entry mode. This study argues that, for new overseas entries, performance shortfalls cause firms to prefer the shared-control entry mode. This is attributed to the fact that performance shortfalls increase firms' resource constraints and reduce their information search scope. This, in turn, leads decision-makers to prefer the shared-control entry mode, because that mode requires fewer resources, less information collection, and lower processing capabilities. In addition, guided by social capital theory, this study also finds that the positive effect of performance shortfalls on the shared-control entry mode is weakened when executives have social relations, either overseas or in banks. Further analysis shows that, compared with less-developed economies, firms facing a performance shortfall are more inclined to adopt the shared-control mode to enter developed economies. By clarifying the joint effect of performance shortfalls and executive social relations on firms' overseas equity entry modes, this study deepens the understanding of firms' choices of overseas equity entry modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies involving risk–benefit analysis of trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS‐8201) have indicated the benefit of this treatment, although it may increase the risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and/or pneumonitis in certain patients. This study aimed to assess the safety of DS‐8201. Methods: A search was done for relevant articles in four electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov. All reports published up until November 2, 2022, were included, and study types were restricted to clinical trials; the last search was then updated to January 10, 2023. We also assessed the quality of the literature with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Methodological Index for Non‐Randomized Studies tool, and then performed a meta‐analysis with R version 4.2.1. Results: A total of 1428 patients reported in 13 articles were included in this study. The analysis revealed that the most common all‐grade treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were nausea and fatigue. The most common TEAE of grade 3 or above (grade ≥3) was neutropenia. The incidences of ILD and/or pneumonitis for all‐grade and grade ≥3 TEAEs were 12.5% and 2.2%, respectively. Conclusions: This comprehensive summary of the incidence of TEAEs associated with DS‐8201 in clinical trials provides an important guide for clinicians. The most common TEAEs were gastrointestinal reactions and fatigue; meanwhile, the most common grade ≥3 TEAE was hematological toxicity. ILD and/or pneumonitis were specific adverse drug reactions associated with DS‐8201, of which physicians should be particularly aware for their higher morbidity and rates of grade ≥3 TEAEs. This study aimed to assess the safety of trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS‐8201) with a focus on interstitial lung disease and/or pneumonitis via the method of systematic review and single‐arm meta‐analysis. This comprehensive summary of the incidence of treatment‐emergent adverse events associated with DS‐8201 in clinical trials provides an important guide for clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel exohedral metalloborospherenes Al12Li20&B60 and Al20Li12&B60 with the classical fullerene-like borospherene B60 were theoretically predicted and their structures and properties were studied. Incredibly, the B60 cage (pull electron oxidizer) pulls 50 and 60e− from exohedral metal atoms, forming two super-reduced polyanionic states B6050− and B6060−, respectively. Next, the two super-reduced polyanionic states (push electron oxidizers) owing to their negative electric fields push out the remaining valence electrons of exohedral metal atoms. Accordingly, the metalloborospherenes convert to electride salt molecules 6e−&[(Al3+)12(Li+)20]&B6050− and 12e−&[(Al3+)20(Li+)12]&B6060− due to the pull–push electron oxidation relay. It is known that the loss of electrons by the reducing agent results in an oxidation effect. The mechanism of losing electrons involves not only the pull electron but also the push electron, which results in push electron oxidation. As long as there is enough reducing agents in oxidation–reduction electride systems, the unusual pull–push electron oxidation relay will occur, showing new physical insights. More interestingly, the B60x− (x = 50 or 60) polyanions can also display push electron oxidation for embedded calcium atoms, forming endohedral spherical electride molecules 14e−&[(Al3+)12(Li+)20]&[(Ca6)8+@B6050−] and 22e−&[(Al3+)20(Li+)12]&[(Ca6)10+@B6060−], in which the supernormal pull–push–push electron oxidizing ability of the B60 cage is reflected in the total number of pull–push electrons up to 64 and 82, respectively. Remarkably, these spherical electride molecules have extraordinarily small multiple ionization potential (VIPn, n = 1–22) values, demonstrating a nuclear large-scale effect of the superatomic model on VIPn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The predominant immune cells in solid tumors are M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (M2-like TAMs), which significantly impact the promotion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumors, enhancing stemness and facilitating tumor invasion and metastasis. However, the contribution of M2-like TAMs to tumor progression in gallbladder cancer (GBC) is partially known. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of M2-like TAMs and cancer stem cell (CSC) markers in 24 pairs of GBC and adjacent noncancerous tissues from patients with GBC. Subsequently, GBC cells and M2-like TAMs were co-cultured to examine the expression of CSC markers, EMT markers, and migratory behavior. Proteomics was performed on the culture supernatant of M2-like TAMs. The mechanisms underlying the induction of EMT, stemness, and metastasis in GBC by M2-like TAMs were elucidated using proteomics and transcriptomics. GBC cells were co-cultured with undifferentiated macrophages (M0) and analyzed. The therapeutic effect of gemcitabine combined with a chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) antagonist on GBC was observed in vivo. Results: The expression levels of CD68 and CD163 in M2-like TAMs and CD44 and CD133 in gallbladder cancer stem cells (GBCSCs) were increased and positively correlated in GBC tissues compared with those in neighboring noncancerous tissues. M2-like TAMs secreted a significant amount of chemotactic cytokine ligand 2 (CCL2), which activated the MEK/extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway and enhanced SNAIL expression after binding to the receptor CCR2 on GBC cells. Activation of the ERK pathway caused nuclear translocation of ELK1, which subsequently led to increased SNAIL expression. GBCSCs mediated the recruitment and polarization of M0 into M2-like TAMs within the GBC microenvironment via CCL2 secretion. In the murine models, the combination of a CCR2 antagonist and gemcitabine efficiently inhibited the growth of subcutaneous tumors in GBC. Conclusions: The interaction between M2-like TAMs and GBC cells is mediated by the chemokine CCL2, which activates the MEK/ERK/ELK1/SNAIL pathway in GBC cells, promoting EMT, stemness, and metastasis. A combination of a CCR2 inhibitor and gemcitabine effectively suppressed the growth of subcutaneous tumors. Consequently, our study identified promising therapeutic targets and strategies for treating GBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine whether exploitative and exploratory overseas R&D have independent and significant effects on emerging economy multinational enterprises' (EMNEs') innovation performance and whether top management team (TMT) nationality diversity and openness have a moderating effect on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzes data collected from Chinese-listed manufacturing enterprises for 2007 to 2018. Findings: Empirical results show that both exploitative and exploratory overseas R&D can help improve EMNEs' innovation performance. The authors further find that TMT nationality diversity and TMT openness strengthen the aforementioned relationships. Originality/value: This study presents the first empirical evidence showing whether and when exploitative and exploratory overseas R&D have independent and heterogeneous effects on EMNEs' innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The impact of executive characteristics on firm internationalization has already been extensively explored. However, relatively few studies have examined the critical role of chief executive officer (CEO) personality attributes, and especially CEO openness, in firm internationalization. This research aims to deepen the understanding of firm internationalization, by exploring whether and when CEO openness influences firm internationalization. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of private high-tech listed firms in China is used, with data from 2004 to 2020. Findings: Based on upper echelons theory, this study theorizes and finds that CEO openness will positively influence firm internationalization. Further, based on the behavioral theory of the firm, this study finds that the performance aspiration gap weakens the positive effect of CEO openness on firm internationalization, but also finds that the potential slack strengthens this effect. Originality/value: First, the study reinterprets firm internationalization strategies from the perspective of CEO openness, a personality attribute; CEO openness is an important but so far rarely discussed topic in the field of international business. Second, for the first time, problemistic search and slack search into a research framework are introduced to explore the relationship between CEO characteristics and firm internationalization. This approach can further define the boundary conditions under which CEOs can project their values, preferences and personalities into the process of formulating and implementing a firm's internationalization strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of resources plays a crucial role in mitigating the environmental pollution issue that improper disposal of construction and demolition waste (CDW) causes. However, the slow growth of the recycled building materials market limits the development of CDW resource utilization. Green value co-creation among remanufacturers, construction enterprises, and the public in CDW resource utilization projects is an effective way to address the issue. This study, based on the theory of value co-creation, uses the evolutionary game method to construct an evolutionary game model for CDW resource utilization projects. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) When the degree of green value co-creation is 0.1 or 0.5, the remanufacturer, the construction enterprise, and the public cannot maintain a state of green value co-creation; when the degree of green value co-creation is 0.9, the remanufacturer, the construction enterprise, and the public in the CDW resource utilization project finally reach a stable state of green value co-creation. (2) When the degree of green value co-creation is 0.5, enhancing the green value co-creation willingness of the remanufacturer or the public can lead other CDW resource utilization project stakeholders to participate in green value co-creation. This study contributes to the promotion of stakeholder cooperation in CDW resource utilization projects, thus providing implications for the promotion of CDW resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis is an occupational lung disease because of exposure to silica dust in the workplace. Evidence on the spatiotemporal change of silicosis burden worldwide remains limited. This study utilized data extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 to examine the numbers and age-standardized rates of incidence (ASIR), mortality (ASMR), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) caused by silicosis between 1990 and 2019. Average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) were calculated to evaluate the temporal trends of age-standardized indicators by sex, region, and socio-demographic index (SDI) since 1990. Results indicated an increase in new silicosis cases globally, rising by 64.61% from 84,426 in 1990 to 138,971 in 2019, with a sustained high number of DALYs attributed to this disease. Although the global age-standardized rates of incidence, mortality, and DALYs of silicosis have decreased since 1990, the number of new cases has increased in 168 countries and territories, and the ASIR of silicosis has also risen in 118 countries and territories, primarily in developing countries. Since 1990, the burden of silicosis among the elderly has significantly increased. Countries with higher SDI experienced a more rapid decline in the silicosis burden. Silicosis remains a public health problem that requires significant attention. Programs for prevention and elimination of this public health issue need to be established in more countries and territories. Protecting young workers from silica dust exposure is crucial to prevent the onset of silicosis in their later years and to reduce the disease burden among older workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Association of circulating glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA), a systemic inflammation biomarker, with lung function and respiratory diseases remain to be investigated. We examined the genetic correlation, shared genetics, and potential causality of GlycA (N = 115,078) with lung function and respiratory diseases (N = 497,000). GlycA showed significant genetic correlation with FEV1 (rg = −0.14), FVC (rg = −0.18), asthma (rg = 0.21) and COPD (rg = 0.31). We consistently identified ten shared loci (including chr3p21.31 and chr8p23.1) at both SNP and gene level revealing potential shared biological mechanisms involving ubiquitination, immune response, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, cell growth and differentiation in tissues or cells including blood, epithelium, fibroblast, fetal thymus, and fetal intestine. Genetically elevated GlycA was significantly correlated with lung function and asthma susceptibility (354.13 ml decrement of FEV1, 442.28 ml decrement of FVC, and 144% increased risk of asthma per SD increment of GlycA) from MR analyses. Our findings provide insights into biological mechanisms of GlycA in relating to lung function, asthma, and COPD. Here, the authors observed significant genetic correlation of GlycA with lung function, asthma and COPD and identified ten shared loci revealing potential shared biological mechanisms involving ubiquitination and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gallstone disease (GS) is an important risk factor for Gallbladder cancer (GBC). However, the mechanisms of the progression of GS to GBC remain unclear. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), modulates DNA/RNA/proteins at epigenetic, pre-transcriptional, transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels, and plays a potential therapeutic role in various diseases. This study aims to identify lncRNAs that have a potential impact on GS-promoted GBC progression. Methods and Results: Six GBC patients without GS, six normal gallbladder tissues, nine gallstones and nine GBC patients with GS were admitted to our hospital. The next-generation RNA-sequencing was performed to analyze differentially expressed (DE) lncRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) in four groups. Then overlapping and specific molecular signatures were analyzed. We identified 29 co-DEGs and 500 co-DElncRNAs related to gallstone or GBC. The intersection and concatenation of co-DEGs and co-DElncRNA functionally involved in focal adhesion, Transcriptional misregulation in cancers, Protein digestion and absorption, and ECM-receptor interaction signaling pathways may contribute to the development of gallbladder cancer. Further exploration is necessary for early diagnosis and the potential treatment of GBC. FXYD2, MPZL1 and PAH were observed in both co-DEGs and co-DElncRNA and validated by qRT-PCR. Conclusion: Our data identified a series of DEGs and DElncRNAs, which were involved in the progression of GBC and GS-related metabolism pathways. Compared to GBC, the GS profile was more similar to para-tumor tissues in transcriptome level and lower risk of cancer. Further exploration is necessary from GBC patients with different periods of follow-up gallstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Whether coal mine dust exposure increases cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk was rarely explored. Our objective was to examine the association between coal mine dust exposure and cardiovascular risk. Methods: We estimated cumulative coal mine dust exposure (CDE) for 1327 coal miners by combining data on workplace dust concentrations and work history. We used brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV, a representative indicator of arterial stiffness) and ten-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk to assess potential CVD risk, exploring their associations with CDE. Results: Positive dose-response relationships of CDE with baPWV and ten-year ASCVD risk were observed after adjusting for covariates. Specifically, each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in CDE was related to a 0.27 m/s (95% CI: 0.21, 0.34) increase in baPWV and a 1.29 (95% CI: 1.14, 1.46) elevation in OR (odds ratio) of risk of abnormal baPWV. Moreover, each 1 SD increase in CDE was associated with a 0.74% (95% CI: 0.63%, 0.85%) increase in scores of ten-year ASCVD and a 1.91 (95% CI: 1.62, 2.26) increase in OR of risk of ten-year ASCVD. When compared with groups unexposed to coal mine dust, significant increase in the risk of arterial stiffness and ten-year ASCVD in the highest CDE groups were detected. Conclusion: The study suggested that cumulative exposure to coal mine dust was associated with elevated arterial stiffness and ten-year ASCVD risk in a dose-response manner. These findings contribute valuable insights for cardiovascular risk associated with coal mine dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To explore the association of dietary vitamin intake from food and/or supplement with mortality in US adults with diabetes. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted on 5418 US adults with diabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2018. Vitamin intake from food and supplements was estimated via dietary recall. Sufficient intake from food or food + supplement was defined as ≥ estimated average requirement (EAR) and ≤ tolerable upper intake level (UL), insufficient intake, < EAR; and excess intake, > UL. Medium supplementary intake was classified as > median level and ≤75th percentile; low intake, ≤ median level; and high intake, >75th percentile, as reported by supplement users. Results: A total of 1601 deaths occurred among the participants over a median follow‐up of 11.0 years. Cox regression analysis of the single‐vitamin model demonstrated that sufficient vitamin A and folate intake from food and food + supplement and medium vitamin A and folate intake from supplement; sufficient riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B6 intake from food and food + supplement; and sufficient thiamin and vitamin E intake from food + supplement were significantly associated with reduced all‐cause mortality (all p < 0.05). In the multivitamin model, sufficient vitamin A and folate intake from food and food + supplement, medium vitamin A and folate intake from the supplement, and sufficient niacin intake from food and food + supplement were inversely associated with mortality (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Vitamin A and folate intake from food or supplement and niacin intake from food were significantly associated with reduced mortality in US adults with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC), a highly malignant gastrointestinal tumor, lacks effective therapies. Foxhead box A2 (FOXA2) is a tumor suppressor that is poorly expressed in various human malignancies. This study aimed to ascertain FOXA2 expression in GBC and its relevance to tumor metastasis, and to elucidate its regulatory mechanism with epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) as an entry point, in the hope of providing a potential therapeutic target for GBC. Methods: FOXA2 expression in GBC tissues was first detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC), followed by correlation analysis with clinicopathological characteristics and survival prognosis. Subsequently, the effects of FOXA2 on GBC cell migration and invasion, as well as EMT induction, were evaluated by scratch, Transwell, RT‐PCR, and Western blot assays, together with animal experimentation. Ultimately, mRNA sequencing was carried out to identify the key downstream target genes of FOXA2 in controlling the EMT process in GBC cells, and dual‐luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were used to determine its regulatory mechanism. Results: FOXA2 was underexpressed in GBC tissues and inversely correlated with tumor node metastasis stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor patient prognosis. FOXA2 exerts suppressive effects on EMT and metastasis of GBC in vivo and in vitro. FOXA2 can impede GBC cell migratory and invasive functions and EMT by positively mediating serine protein kinase inhibitor B5 (SERPINB5) expression. Conclusion: FOXA2 directly binds to the SERPINB5 promoter region to stimulate its transcription, thereby modulating the migration and invasion behaviors of GBC cells as well as the EMT process, which might be an effective therapeutic target against GBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a fatal human malignancy with a poor prognosis. Corosolic acid (CRA) is a triterpenoid, has been reported to have inhibitory effects on tumor growth. However, the role of CRA on PC has not been explored. Here, we aimed to uncover the molecular mechanisms of CRA in PC progression. Methods: Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, cell apoptosis and senescence were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), LDH, flow cytometry and senescence associated-β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) assay. Levels of relevant proteins and oxidative stress (OS) markers were evaluated by Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A xenograft tumor model was established to explore the in vivo effects of CRA on PC. Results: We found that CRA inhibited PC cell viability and promoted LDH release in a dose-dependent manner, but had no significant effect on human normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells HPDE6C7. CRA increased OS-induced cell apoptosis and senescence in HAPC and SW1990 cells. And CRA decreased the levels of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and elevated the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and senescence-associated proteins P21 and P53. Besides, CRA decreased tumor growth in xenograft models. Furthermore, CRA inactivated the Janus kinase-2 (JAK2)/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in HAPC and SW1990 cells. Functional experiments demonstrated that activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway by the JAK2 activator coumermycin A1 (C-A1) or the STAT3 activator colivelin (col) reduced the contribution effect of OS, apoptosis and senescence by CRA. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings indicated that CRA exerted anti-cancer effects in PC by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatigue driving is a serious threat to road safety, which is why accurately identifying fatigue driving behavior and warning drivers in time are of great significance in improving traffic safety. However, accurately recognizing fatigue driving is still challenging due to large intra-class variations in facial expression, continuity of behaviors, and illumination conditions. A fatigue driving recognition method based on feature parameter images and a residual Swin Transformer is proposed in this paper. First, the face region is detected through spatial pyramid pooling and a multi-scale feature output module. Then, a multi-scale facial landmark detector is used to locate 23 key points on the face. The aspect ratios of the eyes and mouth are calculated based on the coordinates of these key points, and a feature parameter matrix for fatigue driving recognition is obtained. Finally, the feature parameter matrix is converted into an image, and the residual Swin Transformer network is presented to recognize fatigue driving. Experimental results on the HNUFD dataset show that the proposed method achieves an accuracy of 96.512%, thus outperforming state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pricing decisions for construction and demolition waste recycling are severely hampered by consumer uncertainty in assessing the value of recycled building materials. This paper uses a construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling utilization model that consists of a building materials manufacturer and a building materials remanufacturer and compares both the prices and the profits under different carbon tax scenarios, i.e., consumer risk-averse and risk-neutral scenarios. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) The optimal price of traditional products is always negatively correlated with consumer risk aversion. Unlike traditional products, the optimal price of recycled building materials is negatively related to the degree of consumer risk aversion in the case of a low carbon tax; the opposite conclusion is obtained in the case of a high carbon tax. (2) When the abatement cost coefficient is below the threshold and the carbon tax is low, the profits of the building materials manufacturer and remanufacturer show a U-shaped trend with consumer risk aversion; in the case of a high carbon tax, the profits of the two enterprises are positively correlated with consumer risk aversion. In addition, when the abatement cost coefficient is above the threshold, there is an interval in which the profits of the building materials manufacturer are positively correlated with consumer risk aversion in the case in which the carbon tax satisfies this interval. In all the other cases, there is a U-shaped trend in profits and consumer risk aversion levels for both the building materials manufacturer and the remanufacturer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a fatal human malignancy with a poor prognosis. Corosolic acid (CRA) is a triterpenoid, has been reported to have inhibitory effects on tumor growth. However, the role of CRA on PC has not been explored. Here, we aimed to uncover the molecular mechanisms of CRA in PC progression. Methods: Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, cell apoptosis and senescence were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), LDH, flow cytometry and senescence associated-β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) assay. Levels of relevant proteins and oxidative stress (OS) markers were evaluated by Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A xenograft tumor model was established to explore the in vivo effects of CRA on PC. Results: We found that CRA inhibited PC cell viability and promoted LDH release in a dose-dependent manner, but had no significant effect on human normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells HPDE6C7. CRA increased OS-induced cell apoptosis and senescence in HAPC and SW1990 cells. And CRA decreased the levels of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and elevated the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and senescence-associated proteins P21 and P53. Besides, CRA decreased tumor growth in xenograft models. Furthermore, CRA inactivated the Janus kinase-2 (JAK2)/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in HAPC and SW1990 cells. Functional experiments demonstrated that activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway by the JAK2 activator coumermycin A1 (C-A1) or the STAT3 activator colivelin (col) reduced the contribution effect of OS, apoptosis and senescence by CRA. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings indicated that CRA exerted anti-cancer effects in PC by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the pooled prevalence, as well as the spatial and temporal distribution, of urolithiasis among subjects in China. Materials and Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of both Chinese and English databases to retrieve literature pertaining to the prevalence of urolithiasis in the indigenous Chinese population. A random‐effects meta‐analysis model was employed to calculate the pooled prevalence of urolithiasis. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on factors such as time, region, gender, and sample size. Prevalence and spatial distribution maps were created based on provinces and latitude/longitude coordinates. Results: A total of 46 studies conducted in 22 provinces across China were included in this meta‐analysis and the pooled prevalence of urolithiasis, kidney stones, ureteric calculi, urethral and bladder stones were 8.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.6–11.1%), 7.8% (95% CI 5.8–10.0%), 3.2% (95% CI 0.6–5.7%), 0.5% (95% CI 0.1–0.9%). Most of the urolithiasis prevalence screening in China was concentrated between 100° E and 120° E, with higher rates observed in low latitude areas. Subgroup analysis of kidney stones revealed that Guangdong (12.7%) and Guangxi (10.3%) had the highest prevalence, with the eastern developed area exhibiting higher rates compared to the west. The prevalence in males was higher than in females (odds ratio 1.67, 95% CI 1.46–1.92), although the gender gap has significantly reduced since 2006. Moreover, a greater sample size is associated with a decreased prevalence of urolithiasis. Conclusions: The prevalence of urolithiasis is increasing in China, and there are noteworthy regional or provincial disparities in occurrence. It is worth noting that the current number of screening studies in some areas is insufficient. Additional investigations with appropriate sample sizes should be supplemented in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TGF-β is related to the function of T cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, the characteristics of TGF-β affecting the function of CD8+ T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been clearly resolved. Methods: In this study, flow cytometry, mass cytometry, immunohistochemistry, RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high throughput sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were used to study the regulatory effect and molecular mechanism of TGF-β on HCC infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Results: Here, we demonstrated that the overall effect of TGF-β on CD8+ T cells in HCC was to activate p-p38 to induce exhaustion, but it also initiated cell-intrinsic resistance mechanisms: 1) TGF-β upregulated the levels of p-STAT1 (S727) and promoted LAIR2 secretion; 2) the TGF-β-p-STAT1-LAIR2 axis relieved CD8+ T cells from exhaustion, which we called "self-rescue"; 3) this "self-rescue" behavior showed time and dose limitations on TGF-β stimulation, which was easily masked by stronger inhibitory signals; 4) the function of CD8+ T cells was improved by using TAK-981 to amplify "self-rescue" signal. Conclusion: Our study describes a "self-rescue" mechanism of CD8+ T cells in HCC against exhaustion and the good effects from amplifying this signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to disclose the evolutionary mechanism of banks' green credit and construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling enterprises' green technology innovation behavior during the operation period of CDW recycling public–private partnership projects with absorptive capacity theory. The conclusions are as follows. First, the government subsidy coefficient has a positive effect on the evolution of banks to participate in green credit. Second, absorptive capacity and the level of collaboration have a positive effect on the evolution of CDW recycling enterprises to collaborative innovation. Third, CDW recycling enterprises' green technology innovation behavior interacts with banks' green credit participation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many studies have examined the antecedents of firms' strategic change on a micro and meso level, but few studies have explored it from the macrolevel (e.g. economic policy uncertainty) perspective. This research draws attention to the impact of economic policy uncertainty on firms' strategic change. Design/methodology/approach: This research empirically tests hypotheses based on a sample of listed firms in China during the period between 2010 and 2017. Findings: Based on real options theory, the authors theorize and find that economic policy uncertainty will negatively affect firms' strategic change through the mediating effect of CEO turnover. Moreover, organizational inertia will strengthen the negative impact of economic policy uncertainty on CEO turnover and will weaken the positive impact of CEO turnover on firms' strategic change. Originality/value: First, this research contributes to the strategic change literature by demonstrating the important impact of economic policy uncertainty on firms' strategic change. Second, this research expands the literature on the economic consequences of economic policy uncertainty. Third, this research clarifies the path and boundary conditions of economic policy uncertainty affecting strategic change by introducing the mediating effects of CEO turnover and the moderating effects of organizational inertia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the behavioral theory, this study examines how the misalignment between a firm's environmental effort and the level of subsidies received from the government in affecting the firm's investment in non‐environmental R&D. Based on a sample of Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2008 to 2019 and using polynomial regression techniques, our findings reveal that firms in the "low effort‐high subsidies" group exhibit lower non‐environmental R&D intensity compared to firms in the "high effort‐low subsidies" group. This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the interplay between corporate environmental efforts, government subsidies, and non‐environmental R&D investment. The findings suggest the importance of aligning the environmental efforts of firms with subsidy levels from the government to effectively allocate resources for different types of R&D. The implications of this research suggest that firms should carefully consider aligning their environmental efforts with government subsidies to optimize their investment in non‐environmental R&D and overall innovation strategy. Furthermore, the study indicates that firms and governments should prudently balance the relationship between environmental R&D and non‐environmental R&D to avoid any negative impact on the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to re-examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firm innovation. Studies on how EPU affects firm innovation have been inconclusive. The authors clarified the curvilinear relationship between EPU and firm innovation and examined the moderating effects of managerial pay gaps, specifically vertical pay disparity and horizontal pay dispersion. Design/methodology/approach: This study's analyses used data collected from Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2019. Findings: The authors found an inverted U-shaped relationship between EPU and firm innovation. Furthermore, vertical pay disparity strengthens the curvilinear relationship, while horizontal pay dispersion weakens it. Practical implications: First, politicians should avoid adjusting economic policies too frequently because the high EPU levels created by frequent adjustments can inhibit business innovation. Second, firms should be aware that EPU creates opportunities for leapfrogging. In particular, firms can incentivize executives to take advantage of the valuable growth opportunities presented by EPU by widening vertical pay disparities and avoiding excessive horizontal pay dispersion. Originality/value: First, the authors analyze not only the positive effects of lower EPU on firm innovation but also the negative impacts of higher EPU to examine EPU's "double-edged sword" effect on firm innovation. Second, the investigation of vertical pay disparity and horizontal pay dispersion as moderating variables sheds new light on the equivocal research findings regarding the EPU–firm innovation relationship and clarifies the boundary conditions of the double-edged sword effect of EPU on firm innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of sustained loading on the cumulative damage of a newly developed smart cement-based self-healing composite material (SMA-ECC). SMA-ECC is composed of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers. A uniaxial compressive test with five predefined loading levels (0%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% of compressive strength) was conducted on SMA-ECC hollow-cylindrical specimens and ECC control hollow-cylindrical specimens. The cumulative damage was mainly determined by changes in the total water absorption of different groups of specimens during three different periods (not loaded, at a predefined loading level, and after unloading). A normalized water content index was proposed to couple the effects of self-healing, sustained loading, and cumulative damage. The test results indicate that the cumulative water absorption of SMA-ECC was 35% lower than that of ECC, which may indicate less irreparable damage. In addition, the self-healing ability of SMA-ECC specimens under different compression load levels was evaluated through normalized water content analysis. SMA-ECC exhibited a 100% repair rate at load levels of 30% and 40%. At a higher load level of 60%, the repair rate of SMA-ECC was 76%. These results collectively emphasize the significant impermeability and self-healing performance of SMA-ECC after unloading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the seismic strengthening of damaged reinforced concrete (RC) frames using CFRP sheets, this study designed and tested the scaled 2-bay and 2-storey RC frame specimens. After applying a low cyclic horizontal load to simulate the initial damage to the specimen in an earthquake disaster, CFRP was used to strengthen the joints of the damaged RC frame. Pseudo-static tests of strengthened specimens and counterpart specimens were then carried out. Seismic performance, including stiffness, load capacity, ductility and energy dissipation were further analyzed. The failure mode of strengthened RC frame structures showed excellent ductility. The results demonstrated that the strengthening method involving wrapping CFRP can significantly improve the maximum horizontal bearing capacity, initial stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of the non-ductile reinforced concrete frame structure. The average displacement ductility coefficient of strengthened specimen can be enhanced to 3.41 compared with that of counterpart specimen (3.00). The pushover analysis based on the OpenSees model determined that the prototype frame with CFRP strengthening can maintain structural integrity and safety, with its maximum interstorey displacement angle below the limit of seismic specification (i.e., 1/50 in a severe earthquake). This study can contribute to the development of practical and efficient methods for restoring and improving the performance of damaged RC frames in seismic-prone regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the potential causal pathways and temporal relationships of glucose metabolism and diabetes with heart rate variability (HRV). This cohort study was conducted among a sample of 3858 Chinese adults. At baseline and 6 years follow-up, participants underwent HRV measurement (low frequency [LF], high frequency [HF], total power [TP], standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals [SDNN], and square root of the mean squared difference between adjacent normal-to-normal intervals [r-MSSD]) and determination of glucose homeostasis (fasting plasma glucose [FPG] and insulin [FPI], homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]). The temporal relationships of glucose metabolism and diabetes with HRV were evaluated using cross-lagged panel analysis. FPG, FPI, HOMA-IR, and diabetes were cross-sectionally negatively associated with HRV indices at baseline and follow-up (P < 0.05). Cross-lagged panel analyses demonstrated significant unidirectional paths from baseline FPG to follow-up SDNN (β = -0.06), and baseline diabetes to follow-up low TP group (β = 0.08), low SDNN group (β = 0.05), and low r-MSSD group (β = 0.10) (P < 0.05). No significant path coefficients were observed from baseline HRV to follow-up impaired glucose homeostasis or diabetes. These significant findings persisted even after excluding participants who were taking antidiabetic medication. The results support that elevated FPG and the presence of diabetes may be the causes rather than the consequences of HRV reduction over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to hot or cold temperatures was reported to be associated with increased mortality and morbidity of type 2 diabetes, but few studies have estimated the temporal trend and global burden of type 2 diabetes attributable to non-optimal temperature. Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, we collected data on the numbers and rates of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of type 2 diabetes attributed to non-optimal temperature. The joinpoint regression analysis was used to estimate the temporal trends of the age-standardized rate of mortality and DALYs from 1990 to 2019 by average annual percentage change (AAPC). From 1990 to 2019, globally, the numbers of deaths and DALYs of type 2 diabetes attributable to non-optimal temperature increased by 136.13% (95% (uncertainty interval) UI: 87.04% to 277.76%) and 122.26% (95% UI: 68.77% to 275.59%), with the number from 0.05 (95% UI: 0.02 to 0.07) million and 0.96 (95% UI: 0.37 to 1.51) million in 1990 to 0. 11 (95% UI: 0.07 to 0.15) million and 2.14 (95% UI: 1.35 to 3.13) million in 2019. The age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and DALYs rate (ASDR) of type 2 diabetes attributable to non-optimal temperature showed an increasing trend in the high temperature effect and lower (low, low-middle and middle) socio-demographic index (SDI) region, with AAPCs of 3.17%, 1.24%, 1.61%, and 0.79% (all P < 0.05), respectively. The greatest increased ASMR and ASDR were observed in Central Asia, followed by Western Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Meanwhile, the contribution of type 2 diabetes burden attributable to high temperature gradually increased globally and in five SDI regions. In addition, the global age-specific rate of mortality and DALYs of type 2 diabetes attributable to non-optimal temperature for both men and women almost increased with age in 2019. The global burden of type 2 diabetes attributable to non-optimal temperature increased from 1990 to 2019, particularly in high temperature, regions with lower SDI, and the older population. Appropriate temperature interventions are necessary to curb climate change and increasing diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling projects have received increasing attention from national and regional governments, the mechanisms for the evolution of government green development behavior in such projects are not yet clear. From the perspective of ecological compensation for the cross-regional disposal of CDW, this study aims to reveal the evolutionary mechanism of government green development behavior through externality theory. The main findings are as follows. First, the initial probability of government adoption of green development behavior does not affect the final stable state of the system. Second, there is heterogeneity in the effects of the allocation coefficient of ecological benefits and the ecological compensation coefficient on different government green development behavior. Finally, ecological benefits can encourage the government to actively adopt green development behavior. This study introduces for the first time an ecological compensation perspective into the study of CDW project management, which not only enriches the knowledge system of the government green development behavior on project management but also provides a reference for the government to participate in the process of cross-regional disposal of CDW in favor of ecological compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm and upper echelon theory, this study examines the impact of performance shortfall scope on emerging economy enterprises' (EEEs) overseas research and development (R&D). First, this study suggests that the broader the performance shortfall scope is, the less likely EEEs are to implement overseas R&D. Moreover, this study suggests that top management team (TMT) tenure weakens the negative impact of performance shortfall scope on EEEs' overseas R&D. Meanwhile, CEO duality enhances the above relationship. Based on the empirical data pertaining to Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises from 2003 to 2020, this study confirms the arguments put forward. This study is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between performance shortfall scope and EEEs' overseas R&D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous genotype-guided warfarin dosing algorithms have been developed to individualize warfarin doses, but they can only explain 47–52% of the variability. Aim: This study aimed to develop new warfarin algorithms suitable to predict the stable warfarin dose for the Chinese population and to compare their prediction performance with those of the most commonly used algorithms. Method: Multiple linear regression analysis with the warfarin optimal dose (WOD), logarithm (log) WOD, 1/WOD, and WOD , respectively, as the dependent variables were performed to deduce a new warfarin algorithm (NEW-Warfarin). WOD was the stable dose that maintained the international normalized ratio (INR) within the target range (2.0–3.0). Three major genotype-guided warfarin dosing algorithms were selected and compared against NEW-Warfarin predictive performance using the mean absolute error (MAE). Furthermore, patients were divided into five groups according to warfarin indications [atrial fibrillation (AF), pulmonary embolism (PE), cardiac-related disease (CRD), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and other diseases (OD)]. Multiple linear regression analyses were also performed for each group. Results: The regression equation with WOD as the dependent variable had the highest coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.489). The NEW-Warfarin had the best predictive accuracy compared to the three algorithms selected. Group analysis, according to indications, showed that the R2 of the five groups were PE (0.902) > DVT (0.608) > CRD (0.569) > OD (0.436) > AF (0.424). Conclusion: Dosing algorithms based on warfarin indications are more suitable for predicting warfarin doses. Our research provides a novel strategy to develop indication-specific warfarin dosing algorithms to improve the efficacy and safety of warfarin prescribing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxicologic studies have reported propylene oxide (PO) exposure may harm the respiratory system, but the association between PO exposure and lung function and potential mechanism remains unclear. What is the association between PO exposure and lung function and potential mediating mechanism? Urinary PO metabolite [N-Acetyl-S-(2-hydroxypropyl)-L-cysteine (2HPMA)] as PO internal exposure biomarker and lung function were measured for 3,692 community residents at baseline and repeated at 3-year follow up. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between urinary 2HPMA and lung function were assessed by linear mixed model. Urinary 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, urinary 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α, and plasma protein carbonyls as biomarkers of oxidative DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and protein carbonylation, respectively, were measured for all participants to explore their potential roles in 2HPMA-associated lung function decline by mediation analysis. After adjustment for potential covariates, each threefold increase in urinary 2HPMA was cross sectionally associated with a 26.18 mL (95% CI, −50.55 to −1.81) and a 21.83 mL (95% CI, −42.71 to −0.95) decrease in FVC and FEV 1 , respectively, at baseline (all P <.05). After 3 years of follow up, 2HPMA was observed to be longitudinally associated with FEV 1 /FVC decline. No significant interaction effect of smoking or passive smoking was observed (P interaction >.05), and the associations between 2HPMA and lung function indexes were persistent among participants who were not smoking and those who were not passive smoking in both baseline and follow-up evaluations. We observed urinary 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine partially mediated the associations of 2HPMA with FVC (mediation proportion, 5.48%) and FEV 1 (mediation proportion, 6.81%), and plasma protein carbonyl partially mediated the association between 2HPMA and FEV 1 (mediation proportion, 3.44%). PO exposure was associated with lung function decline among community residents, and oxidative DNA damage and protein carbonylation partially mediated PO exposure-associated lung function decline. Further attention on respiratory damage caused by PO exposure is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the seismic behavior of a precast concrete frame with buckling-restrained braces (BRBs-PC frame) and analyzes the structural failure mode caused by the horizontal force of BRBs. Two half-scale PC frames, with and without BRBs, were designed and tested using a pseudo-static test. During the test, the BRBs-PC frame exhibited a failure mode of beam-hinge with BRBs. When the BRBs-PC frame yielded, the ratio of the BRB's energy dissipation to total energy dissipation was 65%. Cracks appeared on the column's superimposed surfaces. The ultimate bearing capacity and energy dissipation of the BRBs-PC frame were significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative bolt-connected precast concrete (PC) shear wall structural system has recently been proposed for middle and high-rise buildings in seismic regions. As a further research step, this paper aims to investigate the seismic behavior of PC coupled shear wall with different types of dissipative coupling beams. The quasi-static cyclic tests on two PC coupled shear wall specimens with friction-based coupling beam (FCB) and yielding-based coupling beam (YCB) were conducted. Moreover, nonlinear finite element models of the specimens were established and validated with the experimental results. The results demonstrated that the proposed dissipative coupling beams can effectively couple the wall panels in elastic field, whilst they can sustain large plastic deformation adding to the structural assembly a relevant source of energy dissipation under thresholded actions. Whilst the specimen with YCB exhibited large overstrength in plastic field, the specimen with FCB provided a more stable plateau capacity associated to enhanced deformation capacity, ductility and energy dissipation. Moreover, the FCB resulted practically undamaged and immediately reusable at the end of the test, whilst the YCB was found highly plasticized and locally torn. In addition, the detailed finite element models of the test specimens accurately predicted the experimental behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron overload has been associated with acute/chronic organ failure, but whether iron overload induces liver injury remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to assess the relationship between urinary iron and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT, a biomarker for liver injury), and investigate the potential mediating roles of lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage in such association. Levels of urinary iron, serum ALT, and urinary biomarkers of lipid peroxidation (8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α [8-iso-PGF2α]) and oxidative DNA damage (8-hydroxy-deoxyguano-sine [8-OHdG]) were measured among 5386 observations of 4220 participants from the Wuhan-Zhuhai cohort. The relationships of urinary iron with serum ALT and risk of hyperALT were evaluated by linear mixed model and logistic regression model, respectively. The mediating roles of 8-iso-PGF2α and 8-OHdG were assessed by mediation analyses. This cross-sectional analysis found that urinary iron was positively associated with ALT (β = 0.032; 95% CI: 0.020, 0.044) and hyperALT prevalence (OR = 1.127; 95% CI: 1.065, 1.192). After 3 years of follow-up, participants with persistent high iron levels had increased risk of developing hyperALT (RR = 3.800; 95% CI: 1.464, 9.972) when compared with those with persistent low iron levels. In addition, each 1% increase in urinary iron was associated with a 0.146% (95% CI: 0.128%, 0.164%) increase and a 0.192% (95% CI: 0.154%, 0.229%) increase in 8-iso-PGF2α and 8-OHdG, respectively. Urinary 8-iso-PGF2α (β = 0.056; 95% CI: 0.039, 0.074) was positively associated with ALT, while the association between 8-OHdG and ALT was insignificant. Furthermore, increased 8-iso-PGF2α significantly mediated 22.48% of the urinary iron-associated ALT increment. Our study demonstrated that iron overload was significantly associated with liver injury, which was partly mediated by lipid peroxidation. Controlling iron intake and regulating lipid peroxidation may help in preventing liver injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on nationally representative samples from US, we aimed to assess the associations of vitamins with hearing loss, vision disorder and sleep problem. A total of 25,312, 8425 and 24,234 participants were included in this study to investigate the relationship of vitamins with hearing loss, vision disorder and sleep problem from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, respectively. Vitamins including niacin, folic acid, vitamin B6, A, C, E and carotenoids were considered in our study. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between all included dietary vitamin intake concentrations and the prevalence of specific outcomes. Increased lycopene (odds ratio [OR]: 0.904, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.829–0.985) intake was associated with a deceased prevalence of hearing loss. Higher dietary intake of folic acid (OR: 0.637, 95% CI: 0.443–0.904), vitamin B6 (0.667, 0.465–0.947), alpha-carotene (0.695, 0.494–0.968), beta-carotene (0.703, 0.505–0.969) and lutein + zeaxanthin (0.640, 0.455–0.892) were associated with a decreased prevalence of vision disorder. The inversely associations of sleeping problem with niacin (OR: 0.902, 95% CI: 0.826–0.985), folic acid (0.882, 0.811–0.959), vitamin B6 (0.892, 0.818–0.973), vitamin C (0.908, 0.835–0.987), vitamin E (0.885, 0.813–0.963) and lycopene (0.919, 0.845–0.998) were also observed. Our findings provide evidence that increased specific vitamin intake is associated with decreased prevalence of hearing loss, vision disorder and sleep problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in the field of project management has focused on recycling construction and demolition waste (CDW). However, the problem of how to compensate for the performance of CDW recycling public–private partnership (PPP) projects during the operation period has not been resolved. This paper aims to reveal the compensation mechanism during the operation period of CDW recycling PPP projects considering the two-stage performance of recycling and remanufacturing. This paper takes CDW recycling PPP projects as the research object and uses the Stackelberg game and principal-agent theory to establish and solve the master-slave game decision model of CDW recycling PPP projects. The main conclusions are as follows. When social welfare is maximized, the performance compensation coefficients in the recycling and remanufacturing stages are the same and have homogeneity. In addition, the compensation policy positively promotes the two-stage performance, social capital profit and social welfare of the recycling and remanufacturing of CDW recycling PPP projects. This paper not only broadens the application knowledge system of the relevant knowledge of project management in the field of CDW recycling but also provides new evidence for principal-agent theory from the operation stage of CDW recycling PPP projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic management scholars have shown increasing interest in explaining strategic change from the perspective of cognitive bias. However, most studies focus on individual cognitive bias but pay little attention to group cognitive bias. This study introduces a typical group cognitive bias (group polarization) to explain strategic change decisions made by the board of directors. Following the theory of group polarization, we argue that, when the average prior strategic change experienced in performance decline by board directors is relatively high (or low), the focal strategic change in performance decline will become even higher (or lower). We further contend that the proportion of female directors and board versus CEO power as the contingencies can mitigate this group polarization effect. Our hypotheses were strongly supported by a longitudinal sample of Chinese publicly listed companies during 2008–2018. The study's framework and findings contribute to the contextualization of social psychology research on group polarization in the study of board's strategic decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inefficiencies in the construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling supply chain constrain green innovation in the construction industry. However, existing studies have not analyzed the innovation behavior of recyclers in CDW recycling public-private partnership (PPP) projects from the perspective of innovation diffusion theory. To reveal the mechanism of recyclers' innovation behavior in CDW recycling PPP projects in which recyclers and remanufacturers jointly participate in the operation stage, this study uses a Stackelberg game to analyze the optimal innovation strategy choice and total profit of the CDW recycling supply chain among the two innovation paths of green independent innovation and green imitation innovation under the combined effects of technology spillover, consumer green sensitivity, and government price subsidies to consumers. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) Remanufacturers and recyclers can improve their own innovation level and profit through technology spillover. (2) The total profit of the CDW recycling supply chain changes dynamically with the level of spillover. (3) The government price subsidy to consumers does not always improve the total profit of the CDW recycling supply chain. (4) The effect of consumers' green sensitivity on the total profit of the CDW recycling supply chain shows heterogeneity with the innovation path of recyclers and the level of technological spillover. This study not only enriches the theoretical study of the green supply chain but also provides a basis for decision-making for recyclers and governments in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the chloride ion corrosion resistance of proposed innovative self-healing concrete based on shape memory alloys (SMA) and engineering cementitious composites (ECC), a total of 2 kinds of 22 specimens were prepared. Chloride ion corrosion tests of self-healing SMA-ECC concrete under dry-wet cycles were carried out. It was found that the chloride ion erosion depths of SMA-ECC were significantly smaller than that of MC, and the growth rate of erosion depth of SMA-ECC was obviously smaller than that of MC after 15 dry-wet (dry and wet) corrosion cycles. The chloride ion content of SMA-ECC vanished at the erosion depth more than 10 mm, which was consistent with the test result of AgNO3 solution color-rendering test. Test results indicate that, compared to marine concrete (MC), SMA-ECC has a better chloride ion corrosion resistance behavior. Moreover, the chloride ion concentration of SMA-ECC at a chloride ion erosion depth of less than 10 mm decreased more significantly than that of MC, indicating that almost all chloride salt solution reacted in the outer layer of SMA-ECC, which is consistent with the conclusions of 4.1 and 4.2. Finally, based on the erosion distribution of chloride ions and Fick's second law, a calculation model describing the relationship between the apparent chloride ion diffusion coefficient and the boundary condition of the chloride ion content was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationships of exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with vitamin D and kidney function remain unclear. Our analyses included 6070 adults from 2003 to 2010 survey cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to explore associations of six VOCs with serum vitamin D, albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The results suggested that dibromochloromethane was positively associated with ACR, and chloroform was inversely associated with ACR. U-shaped associations of toluene, m-/p-xylene, bromodichloromethane, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene with ACR were observed. Toluene, m-/p-xylene, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene were associated with eGFR in U-shaped manners, while bromodichloromethane and chloroform were inversely associated with eGFR. Elevation in 1,4-dichlorobenzene was associated with decrease in vitamin D, while chloroform and m-/p-xylene were in U-shaped associations with vitamin D. VOCs mixture was U-shaped associated with ACR, inversely associated with eGFR, and inversely associated with vitamin D. Vitamin D was in a U-shaped association with ACR. Vitamin D significantly interacted with VOCs on the two kidney parameters. In the US adult population, exposures to VOCs were associated with kidney function and serum vitamin D level decline, and the serum vitamin D may have interaction effects with VOCs exposures on kidney function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective * To study the prevalence of mouth opening restriction in oral cancer patients by meta-analysis. Methods * China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Data (Wanfang), Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Ovid, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science/SciSearch, and ClinicalTrials. gov were searched for observational studies about the prevalence rate of restricted mouth opening in oral cancer patients (including prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies). The time limit for retrieval was from the database establishment to April 30th, 2022. The obtained documents were independently screened and extracted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the literature quality evaluation was performed by using methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS). The data were combined with the mouth-opening-restricted prevalence rate as the outcome indicator, the meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 15.0 software, and the subgroup analysis was performed based on the detection time, tumor site, and tumor stage. The evidence quality of outcome indicators was evaluated by using GRADE profiler 3.6 software according to GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) system. Results * A total of 3 719 documents were obtained during the initial examination, and 18 documents were finally included, including 2 701 objects. The meta-analysis results showed that the total prevalence rate of mouth opening restriction in oral cancer patients was 42.7% (95%CI 27.0%-59.1%). The results of subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence rates of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer before surgery, and 3 months, 6 months and 1 year or more after surgery were 29.6% (95%CI 9.0%- 55.8%), 75.2% (95%CI 68.3%-81.5%), 59.1% (95%CI 38.8%-77.9%) and 22.3% (95%CI 2.0%-54.3%), respectively. The prevalence rates of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer at T1-T2 stage and T3-T4 stage were 38.6% (95%CI 26.0%-52.0%) and 99.6% (95%CI 93.9%- 100.0%) respectively. The prevalence rates of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer in the retromolar triangle, the gingiva, the tongue, the salivary gland, the floor of mouth and the lip were 93.1% (95%CI 68.5%-100.0%), 68.1% (95%CI 52.9%-81.7%), 46.1% (95%CI 11.6%-82.7%), 26.1% (95%CI 15.9%-37.5%), 21.9% (95%CI 0.7%-54.0%), and 3.1% (95%CI 0-9.3%), respectively. The GRADE system for evidence quality grading indicated that the quality of evidence for outcome indicator was extremely low. Conclusion * The total prevalence rate of mouth opening restriction in patients with oral cancer is high, nearly 50%; the patients at 3 months after surgery, at 6 months after surgery, at T3 - T4 stage or whose tumor located in the retromolar triangle have higher prevalence rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global prevalence trend and regional differences of coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) remain unclear. This study aimed to provide systematic and comprehensive evidence for the global prevalence of CWP. Literature research for studies that reported prevalence of CWP was conducted in PubMed, CNKI, and Web of Science. The identified studies were strictly screened according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of CWP in different periods and regions was calculated. A total of 37 studies were included after screening, and data from the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program was additionally included in the meta-analysis. The global pooled prevalence of CWP decreased from 23.33% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.03%, 28.62%) before 1970 to 6.00% (95% CI: 4.11%, 7.90%) in 1981-1990, but indicated a rebound (10.35%, 95% CI: 8.08%, 12.62%) in 1991-2000 and finally dropped to 2.29% (95% CI: 2.06%, 2.51%) in 2011-2020. In the recent 30 years, the top three pooled prevalence of CWP was found in Europe, China, and the USA, respectively. Few articles have reported the prevalence in developing regions, but available evidence indicated that the prevalence in developing regions was much higher than that in developed regions. Higher pooled prevalence was observed in studies which reported larger number of miners in collieries, older average age of miners, underground collieries, and longer dust exposure time. The global prevalence of CWP indicates a rebound in 1990s, but the overall trend is downward in the recent 60 years. The prevention and treatment of CWP should be currently emphasized in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a new challenge of stabilizing a classical fullerene-like borospherene composed of five- and six-membered rings, we take the lead to theoretically present a novel exohedral metalloborospherene Mg12Li8&B36 molecule (D6h). It features 12 η5(pentahapto)-Mg atoms and 8 η6-Li atoms capping 12 pentagonal faces and 8 hexagonal faces of classical fullerene-like borospherene D6h B36, respectively. Due to the pull-push electron transfer relay, the molecule is converted to an electride molecule (Mg2+)12(Li+)8&B3630− + 2e− with two excess electrons and an extraordinary high-valent B3630− polyanion with a full-shell electronic configuration, performing the stabilization of the classical fullerene-like B36 cage. As further findings emerge from this study, both the (Mg12Li8&B36)2+ cation (D6h) and the Mg12Li6&B36 salt (D6h) have higher stability than electride Mg12Li8&B36. Furthermore, embedding a metal atom pair in the boron cage of Mg12Li8&B36 leads to new endohedral electride molecules (Mg2+)12(Li+)8&(Mn+2@B3630−) + (2 + 2n) e− (M = Li, n = 1 and Be, n = 2). The embedded metal atom pair plays a prominent role in adding excess electrons. Notably, the Mg12Li8&B36 electride molecule can serve as both electron donor and electron acceptor and consequently acts as an electron reservoir. Encouragingly, Mg12Li8&B36 and its endohedral derivatives can be used as efficient external electric field manipulated second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) switches with high sensitivity and reversibility. In this sense, embedding a metal atom pair in the B36 cage provides a new strategy to manipulate NLO switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatigue driving behavior recognition in all-weather real driving environments is a challenging task. Accurate recognition of fatigue driving behavior is helpful to improve traffic safety. The facial landmark detector is crucial to fatigue driving recognition. However, existing facial landmark detectors are mainly aimed at stable front face color images instead of side face gray images, which is difficult to adapt to the fatigue driving behavior recognition in real dynamic scenes. To maximize the driver's facial feature information and temporal characteristics, a fatigue driving behavior recognition method based on a multi-scale facial landmark detector (MSFLD) is proposed. First, a spatial pyramid pooling and multi-scale feature output (SPP-MSFO) detection model is built to obtain a face region image. The MSFLD is a lightweight facial landmark detector, which is composed of convolution layers, inverted bottleneck blocks, and multi-scale full connection layers to achieve accurate detection of 23 key points on the face. Second, the aspect ratios of the left eye, right eye and mouth are calculated in accordance with the coordinates of the key points to form a fatigue parameter matrix. Finally, the combination of adaptive threshold and statistical threshold is used to avoid misjudgment of fatigue driving recognition. The adaptive threshold is dynamic, which solves the problem of the difference in the aspect ratio of the eyes and mouths of different drivers. The statistical threshold is a supplement to solve the problem of driver's low eye threshold and high mouth threshold. The proposed methods are evaluated on the Hunan University Fatigue Detection (HNUFDD) dataset. The proposed MSFLD achieves a normalized mean error value of 5.4518%, and the accuracy of the fatigue driving recognition method based on MSFLD achieves 99.1329%, which outperforms that of state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis is one of the most severe occupational diseases worldwide and is characterized by silicon nodules and diffuse pulmonary fibrosis. However, specific treatments for silicosis are still lacking at present. Therefore, elucidating the pathogenesis of silicosis plays a significant guiding role for its treatment and prevention. The occurrence and development of silicosis are accompanied by many regulatory mechanisms, including epigenetic regulation. The main epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of silicosis include DNA methylation, non-coding RNA (ncRNA), and histone modifications. In recent years, the expression and regulation of genes related to silicosis have been explored at epigenetic level to reveal its pathogenesis further, and the identification of aberrant epigenetic markers provides new biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of silicosis. Here, we summarize the studies on the role of epigenetic changes in the pathogenesis of silicosis to give some clues for finding specific therapeutic targets for silicosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence suggests that Bacillus coagulans TBC169 can improve intestinal motility.Aim: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of Bacillus coagulans TBC169 probiotics in promoting the recovery of intestinal function after gynecological laparoscopic surgery.Method: Patients who underwent laparoscopic surgeries due to gynecological diseases were randomly assigned to the high-dose, conventional-dose, and the placebo-control groups (1:1:1 ratio). The primary outcome was the time to the first passage of flatus time (FFT). Secondary outcomes were the time to the first defecation (FDT), the time to the first bowel sounds (TFBS), the duration of hospital stay (DHS), and the incidence of postoperative adverse events (AEs).Results: Compared to the placebo-control group, shorter FFT values were observed in the conventional-dose (23.15 h vs. 29.10 h, P < 0.05) and high-dose (19.15 h vs. 29.10 h, P < 0.001) groups. Similar trends were observed regarding TFBS in the conventional-dose (18.50 h vs. 21.10 h, P < 0.05) and high-dose (15.20 h vs. 21.10 h, P < 0.001) groups. There were no significant differences in FFT and TFBS between the intervention groups. Compared to the placebo-control group, lower incidences of postoperative adverse events were observed in the conventional-dose (12.50% vs. 40.00%, P < 0.05) and the high-dose (5.00% vs. 40.00%, P < 0.001) groups. However, there were no significant differences between these intervention groups.Conclusion: Bacillus coagulans TBC169 probiotics can accelerate intestinal function recovery, and reduce postoperative adverse events in patients after gynecological laparoscopic surgery. The study protocol was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200059518). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]