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This paper takes the establishment of the Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone (GFPZ) in 2017 as a natural experiment, adopts the data of a-share industrial listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2020, and utilizes the difference-in-differences (DID) method to carry out empirical tests. The results show that (1) GFPZ policy significantly improves the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of enterprises, and the positive effect is mainly realized by improving the external financing ability and green-technology innovation level of enterprises. (2) There is heterogeneity in the impact of GFPZ policy on the ESG performance of firms with different equity natures and internal control levels. (3) Green finance promotes active corporate social responsibility, and it can further improve environmental governance in the regions where it operates. This paper provides a useful supplement to the comprehensive understanding of green-finance policy effects and ESG impact factors, and it is of great significance in mitigating the negative environmental and social externalities caused by the excessive pursuit of economic benefits by enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the impact of digital finance on the breakthrough innovation of enterprises with a sample of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2022. It is found that digital finance can promote corporate breakthrough innovation, and presents certain structural heterogeneity characteristics. The mechanism test shows that digital finance has the dual attributes of a financing platform and a social platform, which can promote breakthrough innovation by alleviating corporate financing constraints and expanding corporate social networks. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the role of digital finance in promoting breakthrough innovation is characterized by regional heterogeneity, with digital finance playing a greater role in promoting breakthrough innovation in provinces with a low level of development of the banking sector, provinces with a high level of development of the capital market sector, and the central region. In addition, the degree of firms' external financing dependence and the degree of product market competition can strengthen the positive effect of digital finance on firms' breakthrough innovation. This paper enriches the related research on the impact of digital finance on enterprise innovation, and provides theoretical basis and policy insights on how digital finance can better assist the innovation-driven development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation plays a crucial role in improving the quality development of companies in this era of digital economy with ever-changing technologies. This paper empirically investigates the impact of corporate digital transformation on total factor productivity and the mechanism of action, using A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011–2021 as the research sample, and found that the digital transformation of companies significantly improves total factor productivity, with the plausibility of the findings being verified by a series of robustness tests. Based on the heterogeneity study, it is found that such effect is stronger for private companies, non-high-tech companies, and companies with a high degree of industry competition. The mechanism test indicates that digital transformation facilitates total factor productivity through four ways: strengthening company technological innovation, reducing operational costs, increasing resource allocation efficiency, and improving human capital structure. The findings of this paper support a better understanding of the micro effects of digital transformation and provide empirical evidence for policy formulation and adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on 908 consumer questionnaire data from 15 urban areas in Shanghai, we use the binary logit model to empirically analyze the impact of traceability label trust on consumers' traceable pork purchase behavior and the moderating effect of food safety identification. After constructing the theoretical analysis framework, this paper verifies it from the two aspects of statistical analysis and econometric analysis and tests the robustness of the final results. The results show that: first, traceability label trust has a significant positive impact on consumers' traceability pork behavior. Second, food safety identification can significantly strengthen and promote this process. Third, consumers' purchasing behavior is significantly positively affected by traceable pork consumption scenarios and price labels, but the permanent elderly in the composition of family members significantly negative impact on it. Therefore, we put forward relevant policy suggestions, such as strengthening the knowledge popularization and publicity based on the advantageous commodity attributes of traceable pork, carrying out food safety knowledge popularization education, and enhancing consumers' risk perception and food safety identification ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior literature finds senior executives can influence auditor decision making. However, few studies have discussed the impact of employee's personal characteristics. Our research aims to fill the above research gaps by examining the impact of employee level education on audit costs. Taking A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2006 to 2021 as the research object, this paper examines the impact of employee education on audit fees. It is found that highly educated employees can effectively reduce the audit fees borne by the company, but the implementation of the Labor Protection Law weakens this inhibitory effect. In the case of low marketization level and weak Confucian culture intensity, employee education level has a more significant inhibitory effect on audit fees of listed companies. This study provides a basis for empirical research on the impact of employee attributes on auditor decision making, provides a new research perspective on the impact of labor protection law at the corporate micro level, and enriches the theoretical research on corporate governance rooted in traditional Chinese culture. We contribute to the practice that implications for evaluating the effectiveness of adopting labor protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the relationship between air pollution and total factor productivity and new pathways, This paper examines the impact of air pollution on total factor productivity of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 2015 and 2019. It investigates this relationship by considering two pathways: investor sentiment and government attention. The findings indicate that air pollution suppresses total factor productivity of firms. However, air pollution stimulates investor sentiment, which in turn increases R&D investment and total factor productivity, reducing to some extent the dampening effect of air pollution on total factor productivity. There exists a notable positive correlation between air quality and government attention, acting as a mediating variable. This implies that air pollution has the potential to capture the attention of governmental entities, leading to the implementation of appropriate measures aimed at managing and mitigating the occurrence of air pollution caused by industrial enterprises.And the relevant governments should formulate a series of policies to meet the different needs of different enterprises. These two approaches have varying impacts depending on the type of enterprises, thus governments should develop laws to cater to the various demands of different types of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, countries worldwide are embracing digital strategies, enabling enterprises to utilize digital technology, digital supply chains, blockchain, and additional digital measures to increase their competitiveness. This paper analyzed the correlation between the digital transformation of manufacturing export enterprises and their business and export performance, focusing on China's manufacturing export enterprises through empirical analysis. The study investigated the influence of digital transformation on enterprise performance. Using the Resource Based View theory and Trade theory, hypotheses were proposed and regression models were developed to analyze a sample of 1007 enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock markets from 2012 to 2019. The study conducted regression analysis, intermediate effect test, robustness test, stage lag, and heterogeneity analysis. The study found that (1) Manufacturing export enterprises listed in the stock market implemented digital transformation, leading to a significant positive impact on their overall performance. (2) Digital transformation led to cost reduction, improved R&D intensity, and enhanced human resources, among other benefits for enterprise performance. (3) According to the fractal analysis, non-state-owned enterprises exhibited more favorable effects on enterprise performance, and the digital transformation of manufacturing export companies in developed regions had a more significant impact on their performance. Finally, the study's empirical results yielded pertinent proposals for digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the sample of major asset restructuring transactions of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2018, this paper uses Logit model to examine the impact of auditors ' cooperation experience with independent financial advisors on the reliability of performance commitments, and to examine the moderating effect of management overconfidence on the relationship between the two. The results show that the cooperation experience between auditors and independent financial advisors is significantly positively correlated with the reliability of performance commitment, and the closer the cooperation experience is, the easier the performance commitment will be realized, this has played a financial intermediary team effect. Further analysis shows that in the context of management overconfidence, the positive relationship between financial intermediaries ' cooperation experience and the reliability of performance commitment is stronger. The research results enrich the research on the influencing factors of M & A performance commitment and the economic consequences of financial intermediaries ' cooperation, and help the transaction subjects to rationally view performance commitment and regulators to improve policies and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On March 15, 2022, the volume of trade of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) 50 ETF option contracts and the CSI 300 ETF option contracts exceeded 10 million for the first time, of which 5,707,400 50 ETF options were traded, and SSE 50 ETF options, as the main force, has become one of the most active ETF option varieties in the world after seven years of vigorous development. The SSE 50 ETF options receive highlights in risk-free arbitrage, hedging, risk management and other aspects. In order to give full play to the function of the SSE 50 ETF options, it is necessary to conduct studies on their pricing. This paper adopts the traditional classical models for pricing European-style options, the BSM model and the volatility model, to price call options and put options of the SSE ETF, and meanwhile analyzes the volatility of the SSE 50 ETF. The empirical results suggest that (1) the volatility of SSE 50 ETF has a weak leverage effect or no leverage effect, which converges with the existence of the inverse leverage effect of the SSE index; (2) the BSM model will underestimate the price of SSE 50 ETF options and is only ideal for pricing in-the-money (ITM) options; while out-of-the-money (OTM) options are highly influenced by time value and therefore cannot be accurately priced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the peer and economic effects of corporate poverty alleviation behavior. Using the data of A-share non-financial listed corporates in Shanghai and Shenzhen of China from 2016 to 2020, the empirical analysis of this study finds that: corporate poverty alleviation behavior has significant peer effects; the guidance of local poverty alleviation policies weakens the peer effects of corporate poverty alleviation behavior; compared to private enterprises, the poverty alleviation behavior of the peer firms has a more significant impact on state-owned enterprises; and corporate poverty alleviation behavior can result in the backflow of economic benefits and achieve the organic unity of economic and social benefits. The purpose of this paper is to explore the peer effects of corporate poverty alleviation behaviors through empirical analysis using available public data. The results of the study not only increase the motivation of corporate to participate in poverty alleviation from a peer effects perspective, but also reveal key factors for sustaining corporate poverty alleviation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of sustainable development policies, the ESG performance of Chinese manufacturing enterprises is still generally poor. As the leading enterprises in the manufacturing industry, state-owned enterprises should take the lead in responding to the national call for sustainable development and actively explore the path to improve their ESG performance. This study aims to explore whether and how state-owned manufacturing enterprises can improve their poor ESG performance through digital transformation in the digital economy. This study takes Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share state-owned listed manufacturing enterprises as the research sample and constructs an unbalanced panel. OLS regression analysis is used to empirically test the impact of digital transformation on the ESG performance of the sample firms. Further attempts are made to discuss the influence mechanism of digital transformation from the perspectives of dynamic capabilities and the institutional environment through stepwise and hierarchical regression methods, respectively. The study shows that, firstly, digital transformation is an important influencing factor in promoting the improvement of enterprises' ESG performance, and at the same time, there are significant structural differences in this influence. Second, under the dynamic capability perspective, digital transformation can improve corporate ESG performance through an absorptive feedback mechanism, matching response mechanism, and innovation efficiency enhancement mechanism. Third, from the perspective of the institutional environment, the informal system has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance, i.e., the informal system and digital transformation have a synergistic governance effect on corporate ESG performance. The moderating effect of the formal institutional environment on digital transformation and ESG performance is not significant. The findings of the study clarify the controversy over the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance of manufacturing state-owned enterprises and enrich the research on the influencing factors of corporate ESG performance. It also provides a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for manufacturing SOEs to improve ESG performance and lead to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of performance feedback (performance expectation surplus, performance expectation deficit) on corporate ESG performance, and this paper also to investigate the role of environmental strategy as a mechanism in the impact of enterprises' performance feedback on corporate ESG performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used data from 3679 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period 2009–2021 and also measured the intensity of corporate environmental strategies through analysis. Finally, we used a fixed effects model to test the research hypothesis. Findings: This study shows that enterprise performance feedback positively affects corporate ESG performance and that environmental strategy plays a significant mechanistic role in enterprise performance feedback and corporate ESG performance. Overall, performance expectation surplus negatively affects ESG performance, performance expectation deficit positively affects ESG performance, and the mechanism of environmental strategy plays a significant role in performance expectation deficit and ESG performance. Practical implications: The results of this study can help enterprises establish a scientific environmental management system, strengthen the supervision of enterprise environmental management, and have certain reference significance for enterprises to speed up the implementation of environmental protection measures. Originality/Value: This study adds to the literature by describing corporate ESG performance using performance feedback theory and explaining the inherent role of enterprise performance feedback in corporate ESG performance utilizing environmental strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of technologies such as cloud computing and big data, various levels of government departments in the country have successively introduced digital subsidy policies to promote enterprises' digital transformation. However, the effectiveness of these policies and their ability to truly achieve policy objectives have become pressing concerns across society. Against this backdrop, this paper employs a moderated mediation effects model to empirically analyze the incentive effects of financial subsidies on the digital transformation of A-share listed manufacturing companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2013 to 2022. The research findings indicate a significant promotion effect of financial subsidies on the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises, especially demonstrating a notable incentive impact on the digital transformation of large enterprises, non-asset-intensive enterprises, technology-intensive enterprises, and non-labor-intensive enterprises. However, the incentive effect on the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), asset-intensive enterprises, non-technology-intensive enterprises, and labor-intensive enterprises is not significant. Notably, the expansion of financial subsidies positively influences the augmentation of R&D investment within manufacturing enterprises, subsequently providing indirect encouragement for their digital transformation. Additionally, the incorporation of the degree of marketization implies its potential to moderate both the direct and indirect impacts of financial subsidies on enterprise digital transformation. This study enriches the research on the mechanism of the role of financial subsidies in digital transformation and provides empirical evidence on how market participation influences the effects of financial subsidies, thereby assisting policymakers in comprehensively understanding the impact of financial subsidy policies on different types of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, taking the 14837 annual audit reports of 4159 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2017 to 2020 as samples, and taking the information entropy value of KAM disclosures and the type of audit opinion as the agent indexes of the explanatory variable and the interpreted variable respectively, whether the disclosure of KAMs could improve audit quality had been empirically tested and analyzed. The results shown that: (1) The regression coefficient of information entropy value of KAMs disclosure was 0.1785, which shown a significant positive correlation, and was established at the level of 1% significance, that was to say, KAMs disclosure can improve audit quality. (2) The marginal effect coefficient was only 0.0081, which meant that there was some information redundancy in the KAMs disclosure and the enhancement effect on audit quality was weak. (3) In the robustness test, the interpreted variable was respectively replaced by audit cost (taking the natural logarithm of audit cost) and manipulated accrual profit (taking the absolute value of manipulated accrual profit), the regression coefficients of information entropy of KAMs were 0.0852 and 0.0017 respectively, which shown a significant positive correlation and were consistent with the results of the main regression test. (4) Further research shown that whether the industry in which the audited company was located and whether the audit institution was one of the international Big Four would affect the disclosure of KAMs, and then affect the audit quality in the same direction. The implementation effect of the new audit reporting standards was supported by these test evidences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of economic globalization, urban agglomerations have become growth poles and core areas of economic development. By building knowledge innovation networks in urban agglomerations, we can effectively improve the strength of inter-city knowledge innovation links and better realize the integrated and synergistic development of the region. This study selected core cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration as the study area, constructed the knowledge innovation network based on inter-city dissertation cooperation data from 2010 to 2020, and analyzed the characteristics and evolution of its knowledge network by combining social network analysis and geospatial analysis. The research results show that: (1) with changes in policies and investment in scientific research and innovation, intra-regional thesis cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration has been increasing and the scale of the knowledge innovation cooperation network is growing; (2) in addition to the core cities radiating innovation resources outward to drive the development of other node cities, other cities are continuously improving their own innovation capabilities, taking the initiative to strengthen knowledge innovation cooperation with core cities and enhancing their own position in the network; (3) there are no longer isolated cities within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and a multi-core knowledge network structure centered on Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou has initially formed, but the network is still spatially heterogeneous; (4) there are still problems within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration such as uneven development of knowledge innovation and low participation of peripheral cities, which need to be addressed jointly by all regions. The article concludes with some suggestions for countermeasures to provide a reference for the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration to continuously strengthen intra-regional knowledge cooperation in the future, enhance regional competitiveness, and ultimately achieve synergistic development among cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of innovation dividends, whether investors, as the main participants in the capital market, can tolerate enterprise innovation activities is the key to whether the capital market can help enterprises innovate. This paper takes the listed companies of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares in China that disclosed quantitative performance forecasts from 2016 to 2021 as samples, obtains the market reaction of performance forecasts through the event study method and uses them as proxy variables of investors' short-term performance expectations, and uses multiple regression analysis to explore the impact of corporate R&D on investors' short-term performance expectations. The results are as follows: (1) corporate R&D investment significantly reduces investors' short-term performance expectations (that is, investors have a significant tolerance effect on enterprises with higher R&D investment); (2) the increase in the shareholding ratio of institutional investors weakens the tolerance effect; and (3) with the implementation of China's innovation-driven strategy, the tolerance effect of its capital market on enterprise R&D gradually increases, especially for high-tech companies, but has a low tolerance effect on state-owned companies' R&D risk. The results show that investors in China's capital market are not completely rational in their response to corporate R&D, and investors are willing to bear more short-term performance losses for high R&D investment, which is consistent with prospect theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 15-minute community life circle (15min-CLC) strategy is one of Shanghai's important methods for building a global city and facing a society with a more diverse population structure in the future. In the existing research, the balance between the construction of the life circle and the needs of the people in the life circle still needs to be further fulfilled. This paper is based on the city's multi-source large data set including 2018 AutoNavi POI (Point of Interests), OSM (OpenStreetMap) road network data and LandScan population data set, and evaluates the current status of Shanghai's 15min-CLC through the fusion of kernel density estimation, service area analysis and other statistical models and proposes relevant optimization suggestions. The results show that there are the following shortcomings: (1) From the perspective of different types of infrastructure service facilities, the spatial construction of Shanghai's overall life service facilities and shopping service facilities needs to be optimized. (2) From the perspective of comprehensive evaluation, the comprehensive service convenience of infrastructure service facilities in the downtown area is relatively high, while the comprehensive service convenience of urban infrastructure service facilities in the suburbs and outer suburbs is relatively low; The diversity of basic service facilities in the 15min-CLC in the downtown area is more consistent with the population distribution; However, in the peripheral areas of the urban area, too many infrastructure service facilities have been constructed. Based on the above shortcomings and the perspective of supply and demand matching, relevant optimization strategies are proposed in different regions and different types of infrastructure service facilities: (1) focus on the construction of basic service facilities in the urban fringe and urban-rural areas, improve the full coverage of the basic service facilities, and appropriately reduce the number of basic service facilities in the downtown area. (2) The development of community business models can be used to promote the development of new life service facilities and shopping service facilities. (3) Improve community medical institutions through facility function conversion, merger and reconstruction, etc. (4) Optimize the hierarchical basic service facility system and improve the population supporting facilities of basic service facilities in the 15min-CLC. This paper incorporates people's needs and concerns on the living environment into the 15min-CLC evaluation model, and uses Shanghai as an example to conduct research, summarizes the existing shortcomings, and proposes corresponding optimization strategies based on the matching of supply and demand. This article attempts to explore a replicable 15min-CLC planning model, so that it can be extended to the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, to provide reference for further research on the 15min-CLC, and to promote urban construction under the concept of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the impact of local government debt on enterprise innovation based on 2011–2017 A-share non-financial enterprise data from Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. The results show that the relationship between government debt and enterprise innovation relationship follows an inverted U-shaped pattern. Endogeneity processing and robustness test result confirm the results of the model built for this study. Heheterogeneity analysis finds that the inflection points of local government debt in large enterprises, non-SOEs (non-state-owned enterprises) and poorly financialized regions are lower. Financing constraints and corporate profits play a part of the intermediary effect in the inverted U-shaped relationship between local government debt and enterprise innovation. Further research shows that Digital finance plays a moderating role in the impact of local government debt on enterprise innovation. Therefore, to keep local government debt scale compliant and to maximize the efficiency of digital finance are of great significance in terms of boosting enterprise innovation and improve economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the antecedents that affect the team innovation performance can better promote the organization to research the potential factors to enhance the organizational innovation competitiveness. Drawing upon information processing theory, we develop a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between team pro-social rule breaking and team innovation performance. A three-wave field study is constructed from two large manufacturing enterprises from 82 team leaders and their 382 subordinates in Shanghai, China. The results reveal that team pro-social rule breaking is positively related to team innovation performance through team reflexivity. In addition, the relationship between team pro-social rule breaking and team innovation performance via team reflexivity is positive only when team learning orientation is high. The implications, limitations, and future research directions of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although clear cell sarcoma of kidney (CCSK) is rare, it is the second most common renal tumor in children after Wilms' tumor. NWTS and SIOP are two major groups which had made tremendous efforts on renal tumors, but the strategies are different, for NWTS follows the upfront surgery principle providing definite pathology and the SIOP follows the upfront chemotherapy principle, each has its own advantages. Here we aimed to evaluate the outcomes of CCSK in China following NWTS strategies to analyze the prognostic factors. Methods: For this multicenter retrospective study, a total of 54 patients were enrolled from three children's hospitals, between April 2003 and December 2021. Treatment comprised upfront radical nephrectomy, followed by radiotherapy and intensive chemotherapy. Clinical records were regularly updated. Prognostic factors and survival rates were evaluated. Results: The 54 enrolled patients had a median age of 37 months (range, 4 months to 11.4 years). The stage distribution was 16% stage I (n = 9), 30% stage II (n = 16), 39% stage III (n = 21), and 15% stage IV (n = 8). Among stage IV, metastasis sites included the lung (n = 6), bone (n = 1), and intra-orbital/cervical lymph node (n = 1). After a median follow-up of 5.6 years, the 5-year event-free survival (EFS) was 82.4±5.4%, and overall survival was 88.1±4.6%. The EFS was 100% for stage I, 93.8 ±6.1% for stage II, 71.1±10.0% for stage III, and 68.6±18.6% for stage IV. Univariate analysis revealed that staging (III/IV), tumor rupture, and inferior vena cava tumor thrombus were inferior prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor rupture was independent poor prognostic factor (P = 0.01, HR 5.9). Among relapsed patients, relapse occurred a median of 11 months after diagnosis (range, 4–41 months), and 50% (4/8) achieved a second complete remission after multiple treatment. None of the six lung metastasis patients received lung RT, only one patient developed a relapse and was salvaged by RT after relapse. Conclusions: Tumor rupture was independent poor prognostic factor. Upfront surgery of NWTS strategies can make a definite pathology diagnosis, but how to reduce tumor rupture during surgery is important especially in developing countries. The outcomes of patients with stage I–III CCSK in China were comparable to findings in other developed countries. Better outcomes were achieved in stage IV CCSK by using an intensive chemotherapy regimen including carboplatin, which require further confirmation by AREN0321. Lung RT may be safely omitted in selected patients who achieve a compete radiographic response after 6 weeks of systemic treatment (including surgery). Treatment should be encouraged even in CCSK cases with metastasis and relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation industry has entered a new stage from quantity expanding to structure optimization, quality and efficiency improvement, and from respective governance to integrative development. This indicates that the traditional corridor mode allocation dominated by quantity equilibrium can no longer meet the requirements of the new stage. In this paper, we propose a multi-entity programming model based on the economic equilibrium between supply and demand. It not only ensures the economic equilibrium in the market, but also maximizes the social benefits of the whole system, thereby realizing the sustainable development of the transportation system. Also, the Globalsearch algorithm and intlinprog algorithm are designed to solve the problem. The actual case of Beijing-Shanghai corridor shows that the model and algorithms are effective, providing decision support for the optimal allocation of regional transport network resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of insurance investment funds are derived from policy liability debt funds. It differs from other institutional investors in a number of ways, including investment size, horizon, duration, risk, and so on. However, only a small portion of the extant literature focuses on in-depth and extensive analysis of Insurance Institutional Investors' holdings (IIIs). This study analyses the impact of shareholding by insurance institutions on the value of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies in China's capital market. The paper offers three major contributions. First, we discovered that long-term equity-holding IIIs have both value selection and value creation functions. Second, the value creation function becomes more significant among long-term stock-holding IIIs with an increase in the period during which they retain the company's shares; Third, fast-in and fast-out (FIFO) IIIs have a value-inhibiting effect on the held company and serve a value selection role, rather than a value creation function. This study provides more insight on the lack of academic interest in insurance institutions and serves as a foundation and reference for the design of regulatory policies for insurance institutions' involvement in stock markets. It also gives empirical evidence for corporations to accurately analyze shareholding by insurance institutions. Furthermore, since this study concentrates on China's capital market, it can serve as a benchmark for other nations, particularly, those designated as developing market economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As shared accommodation has become one of the most important market developments in the tourism industry, numerous contributions have emerged regarding travelers' motivations to choose shared accommodation. A debated question, however, resides in the heterogeneity of travelers based on motivations. This paper aims to reconcile opposing perspectives by comparing motivation segmentation at two distinct phases of the adoption of this accommodation option: (i) before the first travel–potential users showing interest (n = 420) and (ii) after the first travel–current users (n = 420). Factor analysis, combined with clustering, is applied to both samples to identify underlying motivations and traveler segments. Interestingly, we find that factors defining choice motivations are relatively stable throughout the adoption process, but the heterogeneity of motivations among travelers is higher in users, increasing from three to six clusters. This suggests that travelers' motivations are dynamic and dependent on the phase of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the underlying factors driving the onset of myopia, specifically the role of the ciliary muscle's contraction in the elongation of the axial length of the eye. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted utilizing data from three ophthalmic centers in Shanghai and Beijing. Both Chinese and Caucasian children were involved. The axial length of the subjects' eyes was measured in both relaxed and contracted state of the ciliary muscle. A comprehensive mechanical model was also developed to observe the influence of ciliary muscle contraction on the axial length. Results: This study included a sample of 198 right eyes of 198 myopic children. Of these, 97 were male and 101 were female, 126 were of Chinese ethnicity and 72 were Caucasian. The age of onset for myopia ranged from 5.9 to 16.9 years old. The axial length of the eye decreased 0.028 ± 0.007mm following dilation, indicating relaxation of the ciliary muscle (t paired student = 15.16, p = 6.72 x 10−35). In contrast, ciliary muscle contraction resulted in an increase in axial length. Considering proportionality, a significant 90.4% (179 eyes) exhibited a reduced axial length, while a minor 9.6% (19 eyes) demonstrated an increase post-mydriasis. Finite element modeling demonstrated that muscle contraction caused a tension force that transmits towards the posterior pole of the eye, causing it to extend posteriorly. Conclusion: The contraction of the ciliary muscle leads to an extension of the axial length. This could potentially be the initiating factor for myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the Novy model improved by value-added trade data to measure the cost of inter-provincial trade in the Yangtze River Delta and, on this basis, uses the differential decomposition method to explore the promoting effect of inter-provincial trade costs on the development of inter-provincial trade in the Yangtze River Delta. The results show that the inter-provincial trade costs of the provinces/municipalities in the Yangtze River Delta have increased and decreased, but the changes are small, and there are significant differences in sectoral and bilateral trade costs; the results of the differential decomposition show that the contribution of inter-provincial trade costs to inter-provincial trade development in the Yangtze River Delta is much lower than that of economic growth. Therefore, the Yangtze River Delta should deepen the division of labor and cooperation, give full play to the radiation and leading role of Shanghai as an economic center, and accelerate the digital innovation transformation of the service industry to reduce inter-provincial trade costs and achieve a higher level of integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure upon local governments to redeem their debt could affect government fiscal ability. It could consequently affect their fiscal policies on corporations, which might distort corporate innovation. Based on the data of Chinese Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies and the local government implicit short-term debt financed by local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) in 31 provinces, this paper shows that local government debt (LGD) negatively affects corporate R&D investment in China, thereby suggesting a strong crowding-out effect. The crowding-out effect is more pronounced when the firm is a non-state-owned enterprise (NSOE), the firm's size is small, the firm's age is young, or the firm is in the lower market competition. This paper provide evidence by interacting the terms that local government actions, such as consumption of fiscal resources, strengthening tax collection efforts, or consumption of credit resources, might partially account for the crowding-out effect. This study illustrates the innovation costs of local government debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National key rural tourism villages (NKRTVs) can lead to the high-quality development of rural tourism, and their spatial distribution is influenced by a variety of factors. However, existing studies have neglected the fact that influencing factors can have different directions and effects in different geographic spaces. This study investigates 156 NKRTVs in the Yangtze River Delta region of China as the research object and employs ArcGIS spatial analysis technology to examine their spatial distribution characteristics. Additionally, two new indicators of land and culture are introduced to enhance the index system of influencing factors. A geographically weighted regression model is utilized to identify the spatial heterogeneity of various factors that affect the spatial distribution of NKRTVs. The results of this study indicate the following: (1) The spatial distribution of NKRTVs in the Yangtze River Delta region is characterized by "small clustering and large dispersion." The spatial distribution exhibits strong spatial correlation, with Shanghai serving as the primary spatial clustering core and Huangshan city forming a secondary spatial clustering subcore. The distribution of NKRTVs is relatively scattered in other areas, with obvious differences in the spatial distribution of cold and hot spots. (2) The results of the geographically weighted regression model show that with the change in spatial location, the influence effect of each influencing factor on the spatial distribution of NKRTVs has obvious spatial differences. Based on the spatial heterogeneity of the influencing factors, this study proposes targeted suggestions for the development of rural tourism in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection and social obligation fulfillment have become hot subjects as the "dual carbon" approach has been developed and deepened. The ESG system is consistent with China's current policies, abandoning the traditional business philosophy of economic supremacy in favor of comprehensively measuring corporate social responsibility and sustainable development capability across three dimensions: environmental (E), social (S), and corporate governance (G), which receive widespread attention from all sectors of society. Based on observational data from A-share listed businesses in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2020, this study empirically evaluates the influence and mechanism of ESG on government subsidies. The research results indicate that enterprises can receive more government subsidies by improving ESG performance. Mechanism analysis found that corporate transparency plays a positive mediating role in the process of ESG affecting government subsidies. Further research on political affiliation and property rights has found that companies without political affiliation are more inclined to receive more government subsidies by improving ESG performance, and the impact of political affiliation and ESG performance on government subsidies is mutually complementary. Enterprises with different property rights have different strengths of motivation to increase government subsidies by improving ESG performance. State owned enterprises (excluding central enterprises) are the strongest, followed by non-state-owned enterprises, and central enterprises are the weakest. Therefore, enterprises should be further encouraged to strengthen ESG construction, improve the quality of ESG information disclosure, improve resource allocation efficiency, and promote high-quality development of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a dynamic environment and increasing competition, innovation is the key for companies to gain long-term growth. And narcissism, as an important psychological factor influencing CEOs to make corporate decisions, has a significant impact on corporate innovation strategies. This study explores localized dimensions and ways of measuring narcissism among Chinese CEOs. Based on the upper echelons theory, using data from R&D-intensive firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2015–2020, this study empirically examines the effect of CEO narcissism on exploratory and exploitative innovation and the mediating role of corporate social responsibility. The results show that: CEO narcissism has a positive effect on corporate ambidextrous technological innovation and a more significant effect on exploratory innovation; the mediating role of corporate social responsibility is all verified. These findings provide a reference for listed companies to select and hire CEOs scientifically and rationally, and have important implications for companies to develop long-term innovation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inefficiency observed in investment within state-owned enterprises presents a significant practical challenge that can affect the sustainable development of China's economy. To address this issue, this study comprehensively explores the intricate mechanisms underlying the governance implications of mixed ownership on the investment efficiency of listed companies. Drawing on unbalanced panel data encompassing Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange A-share listed companies in China spanning the period from 2008 to 2022, this study employs a fixed-effects model to unveil the nuanced ways in which mixed ownership influences investment efficiency through the lens of agency costs. This study transcends the boundaries of traditional agency conflicts between managers and shareholders. It delves deeper, illuminating the diverse effects of agency conflicts between significant controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. The results revealed a noteworthy positive correlation between mixed ownership and investment efficiency, and verified the intermediary role of agency costs between mixed ownership and investment efficiency, which is an important result of our research. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the relationship between the two can be affected by external events, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, investment efficiency is not the most concerned issue for enterprises. The findings have practical implications for practitioners and policymakers, as they offer avenues for optimizing investment strategies and fostering efficient and effective corporate governance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to understand how consumers perceive amenities and their impact on promoting positive consumer emotions and comprehend the role of amenities in fostering urban consumption. We collected over 120,000 comments spanning 60 months (2015–2019) from 18 urban shopping centers in Shanghai. By applying text mining methods, we constructed a panel data model on the perception of four types of amenities and consumer emotions. Results indicate that different perceptions of amenities yield significantly different effects on consumer emotions. Specifically, we found that perceptions of cultural and safeguarded amenities significantly influence consumer emotions, albeit with different directions of impact. In contrast, perceptions of commercial and natural amenities did not significantly affect consumer emotions. The findings of this study provide a key reference for how to scientifically plan and reasonably introduce the types of amenities in urban consumption space, so as to reflect the promoting effect of amenities on urban consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ESG has emerged as a prominent method for evaluating enterprises, gaining increasing importance in recent years. It assesses a company's ability to promote sustainable economic development and fulfill its social responsibilities, encompassing three non-financial dimensions: environmental, social, and corporate governance. Regulatory authorities, industry associations, and investment institutions worldwide have placed growing emphasis on a company's ESG performance. From the perspective of career concern, this study conducted a multiple regression analysis using data from Chinese A-share companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2020. It used CEO shareholding and CEO political affiliation as moderating variables to examine the impact of CEO career concerns on the corporate environment, society, and corporate governance performance. Empirical testing of whether CEO career concerns promote or suppress the ESG performance in enterprises. The findings of this study reveal that CEOs with heightened career concerns tend to impede the ESG performance of their respective enterprises. Additionally, CEO shareholding and political affiliations exert a negative moderating influence on the relationship between CEO career concerns and ESG performance. This research significantly extends the investigation into factors influencing ESG performance, offering fresh perspectives that could inform improved CEO oversight, foster corporate transformation, and enhance ESG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a review of related concepts and theories this study investigates the different impacts of research and development (R&D) innovation and political background on corporate growth in a particular context. Unlike other studies, we integrate these two factors. We empirically analyze 6079 sets of data from 1292 A-share private manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2012 to 2019. The results show that these factors directly impact corporate growth and have heterogeneous effects at different enterprise growth levels. We find the effect of R&D innovation on corporate growth is more pronounced for young firms. These findings highlight the need for firms to adjust their investments in R&D innovation and political backgrounds at different stages of development to adapt to different markets and political environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the effect of coronary stent policies implemented in Shanghai on the risk of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) inpatients based on real-world data. Methods: Two retrospective cohorts of inpatients with a first diagnosis of ACS who had undergone PCI for the first time in the previous year in Shanghai hospitals were examined (one for the postpolicy period and the other for the prepolicy period). χ2 tests were used to compare categorical variables between the two cohorts. Single- and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) between the two cohorts. Results: A total of 31,760 ACS patients were included in this study. The proportion of ACS inpatients who had at least one bid-winning stent and 3 or more coronary stents implanted for first-time PCI in the postpolicy cohort was higher than that in the prepolicy cohort (86.52% vs. 55.67% and 6.27% vs. 4.39%, respectively; all p values < 0.0001). The single- and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models revealed that the unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios for MACEs at 1 year after PCI for the postpolicy cohort relative to the prepolicy cohort were 0.869 (P<0.0001) and 0.814 (P = 0.0007), respectively. Conclusions: The implementation of coronary stent policies changed coronary stent utilization but had no significant adverse effects on the risk of PCI among ACS patients in Shanghai in the short term. However, the reasons for changes in the number of coronary stents implanted should be analyzed and addressed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation, based on digital technologies, has triggered economic growth in many industries and brought about production and service transformation in the manufacturing sector. As an important source of innovation output and a driving force for national economic development, it is of great significance to study the impact of digital transformation on innovation output in manufacturing companies. This study analyzes the effects of digital transformation on the quality, quantity, and overall innovation output of manufacturing companies from both the macro provincial-level digital transformation and micro enterprise-level digital transformation perspectives. Additionally, using data from manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2012 to 2022, this study empirically tests the mechanism through which digital transformation affects innovation output from the perspectives of internal transaction costs and external transaction costs. The results show that digital transformation promotes overall improvement in innovation output of manufacturing companies and leads to improvements in both the quality and quantity of innovation output. Furthermore, the study finds that the effect of digital transformation on innovation output has a nonlinear characteristic under different levels of market competitiveness and market freedom. The mediation analysis reveals that the influence of digital transformation on innovation output can be attributed to the reduction of internal transaction costs and the enhancement of external transaction efficiency. In terms of digital policy formulation, it is necessary to coordinate the development of diverse and innovative digital infrastructure at the macro level with the micro-level ecosystems of enterprises, in order to reduce transaction costs within and outside innovative entities. Ultimately, it is essential for the government to foster a conducive free market environment that enhances transaction efficiency and timely regulates the excessive competition resulting from oligopolistic monopolies, thus maximizing the potential of digital transformation in promoting innovation output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation is an emerging development opportunity for enterprises in the digital economy and comprehensively reflects the application of digital technology to production, operation, and management strategies. This study used data on A-share listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2007 to 2022 to examine the relationship between the digital transformation of enterprises and information efficiency of the capital market. Findings revealed that digital transformation can improve the information efficiency of the capital market and that environmental uncertainty plays a more significant regulatory role. The greater the environmental uncertainty, the more enterprises with a high degree of digital transformation can promote the information efficiency of the capital market. Additional analysis showed that the promotional effect of digital transformation on the information efficiency of the capital market is better for non-state-owned enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises. This study provides detailed insights into digital transformation and capital market information efficiency, which enriches the research related to the economic consequences of digital transformation and demonstrates the theoretical and practical value of corporate digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imbalance between supply and demand of elderly care resources in the Yangtze River Delta is increasing. By the older adult agglomeration, spatial cluster analysis, hotspot analysis, and coupling coordination model, this study explores the spatial coupling relationship between older adults and elderly care resources in the Yangtze River Delta in 2020 from the perspective of a supply-and-demand balance. The results demonstrate that: (1) population aging is mainly in the moderate aging stage, followed by the primary aging stage; (2) there are significant spatial differences in elderly care resources on the urban scale in the Yangtze River Delta; and (3) elderly care resources and the older adults in the Yangtze River Delta are mostly highly coupled. However, Nantong, with the highest degree of aging, has a serious mismatch in life service resources and ecological environment resources. The social security resources and medical resources of provincial capital cities with low aging are mismatched. Medical and health resources in underdeveloped areas are seriously mismatched. The social security resources are barely matched in Shanghai. A path for optimizing the spatial allocation of elderly care resources is proposed. This research offers a decision-making reference for coordinating elderly care resources distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a multilevel model, nesting firm observations within industry and province groups, to investigate the influences on corporate contributions to poverty alleviation while considering the industrial and provincial contexts. Using a sample of Chinese firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 2016 and 2019, we find that Herfindah-Hirschman Index (HHI) does not affect corporate contribution. The results show a significantly negative relationship between industry dynamism and a firm's substantial poverty contributions, as well as a significantly positive relationship between number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in industry and the likelihood and extent of a firm's contributions. Moreover, a firm's likelihood to participate in anti-poverty activities and make substantial contributions is affected by more intense government intervention and lower per capita GDP. A province's poverty rate is positively associated with the extent of corporate investments in poverty alleviation. Additional analyses note that firms competitive in an industry that is less dynamic environment are more likely to invest funds into poverty alleviation instead of material contribution. Moreover, for firms headquartered in an industry with more SOEs and in provinces with a stronger government, a higher poverty rate and lower per capita GDP mean it is more likely for them to make both monetary and material contributions for anti-poverty campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive strategy plays an important role in achieving superior profits, but there is still much to be explored in terms of the effect on firm growth. This study focuses on exploring the relationship between competitive strategy and firm growth in emerging economies. We focus on how the development zone policies moderate this relationship. This study uses a two-way fixed-effect model to analyze data for 527 manufacturing firms listed in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2012-2021. Our empirical analysis showed that there is a significant positive relationship between low-cost strategy and firm growth and a significant negative relationship between differentiation strategy and firm growth. Compared with national development zones, firms in provincial development zones choose low-cost strategies that are more conducive to growth. Compared with provincial development zones, firms in national development zones choose differentiation strategies that are more conducive to growth. These findings contribute to understanding the mechanisms by which competitive strategy affects firm growth in different regional institutional contexts in emerging economies. The results of the study also have reference value for the government to optimize the development zone policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intercity daily flow of long stay international visitors (LSIV) reflects the economic globalisation and regional integration of a region. We made the first attempt to use mobile phone data to identify international visitors who stayed longer than one month in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in 2019, analysed the spatial patterns of LSIV, and revealed the impact factors associated with the daily intercity flow of LSIV. We discussed spatial dependence using multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR), and performed cluster analysis to understand the combination effects. The results show that enterprises have the largest effect, AQI and administrative hierarchy have relatively low effects, and income, imports and exports do not have any significant effect. Overall, the economically developed eastern regions of the YRD region are more attractive for daily travel by LSIV, with the Shanghai metropolitan area being the most attractive. Our findings provide new insights into the relationship between the intercity daily flow of LSIV and the urban economy and society in the delta region to help suggest planning recommendations to enhance the globalisation development strategy and provide a better environment for international visitors in the delta region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many nations, efforts to prevent and control COVID-19 have been significantly impeded by the SARS-CoV-2 virus ongoing mutation. The Omicron strain, a more recent and prevalent strain, has had more significant detrimental effects in countries worldwide. To investigate the impact of the Omicron BA.2 strain on vaccine efficacy, we proposed a model with vaccination and immunological decline in this research. Then, we fitted our model based on the number of daily new instances reported by the government in Jilin and Shanghai, China. We estimated the effective reproduction number Re = 4.71 for the Jilin and Re = 3.32 for Shanghai. Additionally, we do sensitivity analysis to identify the critical factors affecting the effective reproduction number Re. It was found that vaccination rate, effectiveness rate, and declining rate had a significant effect on Re. Further, we investigate the relevant parameter thresholds that make Re lower than unity. Finally, rich numerical experiments were then carried out. We observed that even when vaccine efficiency was not high, increasing vaccination rates had a significant effect on early disease transmission, that limiting social distance was the most economical and rational measure to control the spread of disease, and that for a short period, reducing immune decline was not significant in curbing disease transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In March 2022, a severe outbreak of COVID-19 broke out in Shanghai, with the virus spreading rapidly. In the most severe two months, more than 50,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19. For this reason, Shanghai adopted three-district hierarchical management, requiring corresponding people to stay at home to contain the spread of the virus. Due to the requirements of prevention and control management, the diet, exercise and mental health of the corresponding population are affected to a certain extent. Objectives: This article aimed to understand the population in the diet, exercise and psychological changes. Methods: This study carried out the research by distributing the electronic questionnaire and carried out the statistical analysis. Results: People reduced the intake of vegetables and fruits (P = 0.000<0.05), people did about an hour less exercise per week on average (P = 0.000<0.05), the number of steps they took per day decreased by nearly 2000 steps (P = 0.012<0.05), and there were significant changes in the way they exercised. Conclusion: In terms of psychological state, people have some depression, anxiety and easy to feel tired after lockdown. This study can also provide reference for policy adjustment and formulation of normalized epidemic management in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textual analysis and the Entropy-TOPSIS method are used in this research to create a measure of corporate environmental protection, and multiple regressions are used to find out how digitalization affects corporate environmental protection. The research sets up a theoretical framework for how corporate digitalization affects environmental protection and looks into how external financing constraints and an organization's own financial position play a role in the middle. The research then looks at how outside factors like the business environment of the market and the level of competition in the industry affect the relationship. Using a threshold regression approach, the research also examines the change in the impact of digitalization on environmental protection after investor sentiment crosses the threshold from the distinct perspective of investor sentiment. Our research provides theoretical support for environmental protection by corporations and government policy direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) has become a buzzword in investment circles as ecological damage and climate warming occur. ESG assessment is one of the important institutions of the green financial system, which plays a significant part in boosting corporate green development. We use the number of green patent applications and green patent citations to measure corporate green innovation and analyze the micro-green effects of the ESG score system using the panel fixed effects models, which means that we explore the impact of the ESG scores on corporate green innovation performance, the specific mechanism of this effect, and the asymmetry of this impact under different moderation effects by using Chinese listed A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010–2019 as our research sample. We find that ESG positively affects corporate green innovation; the higher the ESG evaluation, the more it improves firms' green innovation performance. The promotion effect is reflected quantitatively and qualitatively and remains valid after several robustness tests. In addition, the contribution of ESG to corporate green innovation is achieved through two main paths improving corporate investment efficiency and government-enterprise relations. Corporate black attributes inhibit the contribution of ESG to green innovation, while green attributes strengthen the contribution of ESG to green innovation performance. Our study demonstrates the importance of corporate participation in environmental, social, and governance practices for corporate green innovation, which is beneficial for achieving win-win environmental, social, and economic results. Furthermore, our research completes the research on the effects of corporate green performance and green finance. It can provide empirical references for promoting corporate green development and improving the ESG evaluation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In March 2022, the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 spread rapidly in Shanghai, China. The city adopted strict non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) measures, including lockdown (implemented on March 28 in Pudong and April 1 in Puxi) and blanket PCR testing (April 4). This study aims to understand the effect of these measures. Methods: We tabulated daily case counts from official reports and fitted a two-patch stochastic SEIR model to the data for the period of March 19 to April 21. This model considered two regions in Shanghai, namely Pudong and Puxi, as the implementation of control measures in Shanghai was carried out on different dates in these regions. We verified our fitting results using the data from April 22 to June 26. Finally, we applied the point estimate of parameter values to simulate our model while varying the dates of control measure implementation, and studied the effectiveness of the control measures. Results: Our point estimate for the parameter values yields expected case counts that agree well the data for both the periods from March 19 to April 21 and from April 22 to June 26. Lockdown did not significantly reduce the intra-region transmission rates. Only about 21% cases were reported. The underlying basic reproduction number R0 was 1.7, and the control reproduction number with both lockdown and blanket PCR testing was 1.3. If both measures were implemented on March 19, only about 5.9% infections would be prevented. Conclusions: Through our analysis, we found that NPI measures implemented in Shanghai were not sufficient to reduce the reproduction number to below unity. Thus, earlier intervention only has limited effect on reducing cases. The outbreak dies out because of only 27% of the population were active in disease transmission, possibly due to a combination of vaccination and lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The panel data of 50 new energy vehicle enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2012 to 2021 are selected to empirically analyze the impact of government subsidies on the innovation of new energy vehicle enterprises and to further discuss the differences between such an impact in different forms and regions. The study finds that, first, government subsidies have a certain promotion effect on the innovation of new energy vehicle enterprises, and an inverted U-shaped relationship exists thereof. Second, at the enterprise level, government subsidies have a significant effect on the innovation of non-state enterprises, downstream vehicle enterprises, and enterprises with lower establishment years, and the inverted-U trend is evident. Third, at the regional level, government subsidies have a more significant effect on the innovation of enterprises in non-eastern regions and low-environmental regulation regions, and the inverted-U-shaped relationship trend is more apparent. The study establishes the nonlinear relationship between government subsidies and the innovation of new energy vehicle enterprises through empirical research, which expands the theory of enterprise innovation and has a certain guiding significance for improving the innovation capability of new energy vehicle enterprises in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal solid waste (MSW) sorting not only reduces the total quantity of domestic waste but also has positive effects on urban air quality. In this study, using a careful identification strategy and air quality data at the monitoring station level in Shanghai, we estimate the causal effect of the MSW sorting policy on urban air quality. The results show that after the MSW sorting policy was implemented, the air quality index (AQI), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) decreased significantly by 2.71%, 2.07% and 3.62%, respectively. We also find a positive spillover effect from the Shanghai MSW sorting policy on the air quality of adjacent cities. The implementation of this policy has triggered changes in residents' behaviors. However, the government needs further efforts to maintain the sustainability of MSW sorting policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipping emissions have aroused wide concern in the world. In order to promote the implementation of emission regulations, this study develop a ship based sniffing technique to perform remote measurement of the SO2, NOx and CO2 from ships entering and leaving Shanghai port at the open sea. The ship emission prediction model, Smoke diffusion model and source identification model were developed to automatically analyze the emission data and screen the object ship source based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) system. The fueling documents of the detected ship were obtained from maritime sector and the results precision of the sniffer technique was evaluated by comparing the measured Fuel sulfur content (FSC) with actual value deduced from fueling documents. The influences of wind speed and direction, object ship parameters and monitoring distance on the identification of object ship and accuracy of the calculated FSC were thoroughly investigated and the corresponding correction factors under different conditions were deduced. The modified emission factor ratio of CO2 to NOx were proposed in order to improve the accuracy. It is demonstrated that with wind speed higher than 2 m/s and test distance shorter than 400m, the sniffer technique exhibit high efficiency and accuracy for the remote emissions measurement of ship upwind with detection rate higher than 90% and test error of FSC below 15%. To reduce the influence of the wind direction, at least two sniffer systems were required to guarantee that at least one station is in the downwind of the ship lane. Based on the results and discussion, a novel sniffer monitoring system with two buoy based sniffing stations placed close to each side of the ship lane far off shore was proposed to realize the remote monitoring of ship emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market competition is considered to have a significant impact on product diversification, but related issues are rarely discussed on a city scale. To analyze the diversification of export commodities and export market of 270 Chinese cities, this study uses data from 2000 to 2017 based on the commodity concentration index, market concentration index, export similarity index, spatial stratified heterogeneity, and the Almon lag model. The study's findings are: (1) The diversification of exports in most Chinese cities increased, which was higher in more developed cities in the southeast than in less developed ones in the northwest. With time, the degree of commodity and market diversification in some developed southeast Chinese cities (e.g., Shanghai) declined. This indicates the difference in and complexity of the evolution of export development in hundreds of Chinese cities between 2000 and 2017. (2) The export competition between cities became increasingly fierce, which effectively urged most of them to improve their export diversification levels. Facing increasing export competition pressure, 81.11% of the total number of cities will enhance the diversification of export commodities to cope with challenges posed by other cities. But only 56.67% will further expand the export market when the pressure of export competition increases. The biggest contribution of this study is the finding that for most Chinese cities, when export competition from other domestic cities increases, increasing diversification of products becomes a wise choice. However, the influence of competition on the diversification degree of the city's export market is relatively weak. This study provides not only a new perspective for existing research on urban export trade, but also valuable information for cities to form a more profitable and robust trading system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer is the most inheritable cancer with approximately 42% of disease risk attributed to inherited factors by studies of twins, indicating the importance of additional genetic screening to identify predisposition variants. However, only DNA damage repair (DDR) genes have been investigated thoroughly in prostate cancer. To determine the comprehensive germline mutation landscape in Chinese prostate cancer patients, we performed whole exome sequencing in 100 Han Chinese patients with prostate cancer in Hong Kong and identified deleterious germline mutations. A total of 36 deleterious germline variants in 25 genes were identified in 29% patients. Variants were found in eight pathways, including DNA methylation, DDR, and tyrosine-protein kinase. These findings were validated in an independent Chinese cohort of 167 patients with prostate cancer in Shanghai. Seven common deleterious-variant-containing genes were found in discovery cohort (7/25, 28%) and validation cohort (7/28, 25%) with three genes not described before (LDLR, MYH7 and SUGCT) and four genes previously reported (FANCI, ITGA6, PABPC1 and RAD54B). When comparing with that of a cohort of East Asian healthy individuals, 12 non-DDR novel potential predisposition genes (ADGRG1, CHD4, DNMT3A, ERBB3, GRHL1, HMBS, LDLR, MYH7, MYO6, NT5C2, NUP98 and SUGCT) were identified using the discovery and validation cohorts, which have not been previously reported in prostate cancer patients in all ethnic groups. Taken together, this study reveals a comprehensive germline mutation landscape in Chinese prostate cancer patients and discovers 12 novel non-DDR predisposition genes to lay the groundwork for the optimization of genetic screening. Author summary: Prostate cancer is the most inheritable cancer with about 42% of disease risk attributed to inherited factors, indicating the importance of additional genetic screening to identify predisposition variants. However, only DNA damage repair (DDR) genes have been studied thoroughly in prostate cancer. To determine the comprehensive germline mutation landscape in Chinese prostate cancer patients, we performed whole exome sequencing in 100 Han Chinese patients with prostate cancer in Hong Kong and identified deleterious germline mutations. A total of 36 deleterious germline variants in 25 genes were identified in 29% patients. Variants were found in eight pathways, including DNA methylation, DDR, and tyrosine-protein kinase. These findings were validated in an independent Chinese cohort of 167 patients with prostate cancer in Shanghai. Seven common deleterious-variant-containing genes were found in discovery cohort and validation cohort with three genes not described before (LDLR, MYH7 and SUGCT) and four genes previously reported. When comparing with that of a cohort of East Asian healthy individuals, 12 non-DDR novel potential predisposition genes were identified using the discovery and validation cohorts, which have not been previously reported in prostate cancer patients in all ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]