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Using the InCites tool of Thomson Reuters, this study compares normalized citation impact values calculated for China, Japan, France, Germany, United States, and the UK throughout the time period from 1981 to 2010. InCites offers a unique opportunity to study the normalized citation impacts of countries using (i) a long publication window (1981 to 2010), (ii) a differentiation in (broad or more narrow) subject areas, and (iii) allowing for the use of statistical procedures in order to obtain an insightful investigation of national citation trends across the years. Using four broad categories, our results show significantly increasing trends in citation impact values for France, the UK, and especially Germany across the last thirty years in all areas. The citation impact of papers from China is still at a relatively low level (mostly below the world average), but the country follows an increasing trend line. The USA exhibits a stable pattern of high citation impact values across the years. With small impact differences between the publication years, the US trend is increasing in engineering and technology but decreasing in medical and health sciences as well as in agricultural sciences. Similar to the USA, Japan follows increasing as well as decreasing trends in different subject areas, but the variability across the years is small. In most of the years, papers from Japan perform below or approximately at the world average in each subject area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the phenomenon of international servicification of manufacturing from the period 1995 to 2011. By applying empirical techniques of Social Network Analysis and graph theory, we find that the network of flows of intermediate services embodied in manufacturing exports is still slightly dense and would not correspond to a traditional centre-periphery structure. The mapping shows a numerous, highly cohesive group of countries, with China, the USA and Germany as central economies and an increasing leading role of Asian economies, which would indicate their commitment to upgrading within global value chains. We go a step further by empirically analysing the impact of the countries' centrality in the global network of intermediate services on manufacturing competitiveness. Our findings reveal that, together with the level of embodiment of intermediate services into manufacturing exports, who the providers of those services inputs are is a key determining factor for manufacturing competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is a follow-up of a prior study examining a broad range of longitudinal predictors of dimensional positive mental health (PMH) and negative mental health (NMH), using cross-cultural data from the Bochum Optimism and Mental Health (BOOM) study. The present study sought to expand prior findings on positive mental health predictors to a longer longitudinal timeframe. The analysis, specifically, tests our prior model using a third time point, The following positive constructs were examined in relation to later positive mental health: resilience, social support, social rhythm, family affluence, physical health and expectations for fertility. Negative predictors depression, anxiety, and stress were also examined in relation to time 3 positive mental health. Participants included university student samples from Germany (N = 591) and China (N = 8,831). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the effects of predictors on mental health. In China, three of the six salutogenic predictors (social rhythm regularity, positive mental health, resilience) at baseline were predictive of positive mental health at both follow-ups with generally small, but significant effects. Social support at baseline predicted more, and stress and anxiety predicted less positive mental health at follow-up 1, with generally small effects. Depression at baseline predicted less positive mental health at follow-up 2. In Germany, two of the six salutogenic predictors (positive mental health, social support) at baseline were predictive of positive mental health at both follow-ups, with generally small effects. Pathogenic predictors were not predictive of positive mental health at either follow-up. According to multi group analysis, the paths from positive mental health baseline to positive mental health follow-up 1 (FU1) as well as the path positive mental health FU1 to positive mental health follow-up 2 (FU2) were found to differ between Germany and China. All other paths could be seen as equivalent in Germany and China. Results indicate prediction of positive mental health over an extended period of time, and in particular by salutogenic predictors. Pathogenic predictors were also (negatively) predictive of PMH, but with more mixed results, underscoring the differential prediction of PMH from salutogenic and pathogenic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), identified in China at the end of December 2019 and causing the disease COVID-19, has meanwhile led to outbreaks all over the globe with about 2.2 million confirmed cases and more than 150,000 deaths as of April 17, 2020. In this work, mathematical models are used to reproduce data of the early evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany, taking into account the effect of actual and hypothetical non-pharmaceutical interventions. Systems of differential equations of SEIR type are extended to account for undetected infections, stages of infection, and age groups. The models are calibrated on data until April 5. Data from April 6 to 14 are used for model validation. We simulate different possible strategies for the mitigation of the current outbreak, slowing down the spread of the virus and thus reducing the peak in daily diagnosed cases, the demand for hospitalization or intensive care units admissions, and eventually the number of fatalities. Our results suggest that a partial (and gradual) lifting of introduced control measures could soon be possible if accompanied by further increased testing activity, strict isolation of detected cases, and reduced contact to risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines a broad range of longitudinal predictors of dimensional positive mental health (PMH) and negative mental health (NMH), using data from the BOOM study. Participants were drawn from university student samples in Germany (1,608), Russia (677) and China (12,057). A structural equation model was conducted with four groups of predictors and PMH/NMH as criteria (outcomes). Five of the six salutogenic predictors were predictive of both positive mental health (positively) and negative mental health, as measured by depression (negatively). Pathogenic predictors anxiety and depression were related to future depression, but not to positive mental health. Stress at baseline was related to both future positive mental health (negatively) and future depression (positively). Being male in this study was associated with increased future depression. Results hold across Germany, Russia, and China. Results support the conceptualization of positive and negative mental health as related, but independent dimensions across three cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccination coverage rates for seasonal influenza are not meeting national and international targets. Here, we investigated whether the 2009/2010 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza affected the uptake of influenza vaccines. Methodology/Principal Findings: In December 2009/January 2010 and April 2010, 500 randomly selected members of the general public in Germany, France, the United States, China, and Mexico were surveyed by telephone about vaccination for seasonal and A/H1N1 pandemic influenza. Also, in April 2010, 100 randomly selected general practitioners were surveyed. Adult vaccine coverage in December 2009/January 2010 for A/H1N1 pandemic and seasonal influenza were, respectively, 12% and 29% in France, 11% and 25% in Germany, 41% and 46% in the US, 13% and 30% in Mexico, and 12% and 10% in China. Adult uptake rates in April 2010 were higher in Mexico but similar or slightly lower in the other countries. Coverage rates in children were higher than in adults in the US, Mexico, and China but mostly lower in Germany and France. Germans and French viewed the threat of A/H1N1 pandemic influenza as low to moderate, whereas Mexicans, Americans, and Chinese viewed it as moderate to serious, opinions generally mirrored by general practitioners. The recommendation of a general practitioner was a common reason for receiving the pandemic vaccine, while not feeling at risk and concerns with vaccine safety and efficacy were common reasons for not being vaccinated. Inclusion of the A/H1N1 pandemic strain increased willingness to be vaccinated for seasonal influenza in the United States, Mexico, and China but not in Germany or France. Conclusions/Significance: The 2009/2010 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic increased vaccine uptake rates for seasonal influenza in Mexico but had little effect in other countries. Accurate communication of health information, especially by general practitioners, is needed to improve vaccine coverage rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of globalization has separated the production and consumption of products spatially, and the international trade of products has become a carrier of embodied carbon trade. This paper adopted the perspective of value-added trade to calculate the amount of embodied carbon trade of China from 2006 to 2015 and perform a structural decomposition analysis of the changes in China's embodied carbon trade. This study found that: (1) China's embodied carbon exports are much larger than its embodied carbon imports, and there are differences between countries. China imported the largest amount of embodied carbon from South Korea, and it exported the largest amount of embodied carbon to the United States. (2) The structural decomposition analysis shows that changes in the value-added carbon emission coefficient during the study period would have caused China's embodied carbon trade to decrease, and changes in value-added trade would have caused China's embodied carbon trade to increase. Therefore, countries trading with China need to strengthen their cooperation with China in energy conservation, emission reduction, and product trade. In order to accurately reflect China's embodied carbon trade, it is necessary to calculate embodied carbon trade from the perspective of value-added trade., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Industrial robots are a strategic future technology and an important part of the development of artificial intelligence, and they are a necessary means for the intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry. Based on global industrial robot trade data from 1998 to 2017, this paper applies the dynamic complex network analysis method to reveal the spatial and temporal variation characteristics and trade status evolution of the global industrial robot trade network. The results show that the global industrial robot network density has steadily increased, and the industrial robot trade has been characterized by 'diversification'. The number of major industrial robot exporters in the world is increasing, and the import market is increasingly diversified. The export market structure is relatively tight, the centrality of the global industrial robot trade network shows a downward trend, and the dissimilarity of the 'core-edge' clusters decreases year by year. The trade status of 'catch-up' countries represented by China has rapidly increased. However, Japan, Germany, and Italy are still in the central position of the industrial robot trade. Moreover, trade of the 'catch-up' countries' is dominated by imports, and exports of industrial robot products are insufficient. Finally, policy suggestions are provided according to the results., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.