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This paper proposes a consensus model for multi-experts multi-criteria decision making (MEMCDM) problems with probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs), which also considers the regret-rejoice emotions of decision makers (DMs) in their decision-making processes. Additionally, the Dempster-Shafer theory is applied to estimate the probability of the market status which is related to the perceived values of the alternatives. Moreover, an algorithm is given to determine the weight of each DM. Then, a detailed consensus procedure is proposed and an illustrative example is used to show the feasibility of the proposed model. Finally, some comparative analyses are carried out to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed consensus process.

Since the approval of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy targeting CD19 by the FDA, CAR-T cell therapy has received increasing attention as a new method for targeting tumors. Although CAR-T cell therapy has a good effect against hematological malignancies, it has been less effective against solid tumors. In the present study, we selected mesothelin (MSLN/MESO) as a target for CAR-T cells because it is highly expressed by solid tumors but only expressed at low levels by normal tissues. We engineered a third generation MSLN-CAR comprising a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) targeting MSLN (MSLN-scFv), a CD8 transmembrane domain, the costimulatory domains from CD28 and 4-1BB, and the activating domain CD3ζ. In vitro, MSLN-CAR-T cells killed various solid tumor cell lines, demonstrating that it could specifically kill MSLN-positive cells and release cytokines. In vivo, we investigated the effects of MSLN-CAR-T cell therapy against ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancer cell-line-derived xenografts (CDX) and MSLN-positive colorectal and gastric cancer patient-derived xenografts (PDX). MSLN-CAR decreased the growth of MSLN-positive tumors concomitant with significantly increased T cells and cytokine levels compared to the control group. These results indicated that modified MSLN-CAR-T cells could be a promising therapeutic approach for solid tumors., Graphical Abstract, Qian et al. show that MSLN-CAR-T cells targeting MSLN-positive tumors promote anti-tumor efficacy against a diverse panel of tumors both in vitro and in vivo. The CAR-T cells also have a good effect when the tumor burden is high.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell therapy is a new pillar in cancer therapeutics, and has been successfully used for the treatment of cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia and solid cancers. Following immune attack, many tumors upregulate inhibitory ligands which bind to inhibitory receptors on T cells. For example, the interaction between programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) on activated T cells and its ligands (widely known as PD-L1) on a target tumor limits the efficacy of CAR T cells therapy against poorly responding tumors. Here, we use mesothelin (MSLN)-expressing human ovarian cancer cells (SKOV3) and human colon cancer cells (HCT116) to investigate whether PD-1-mediated T cell exhaustion affects the anti-tumor activity of MSLN-targeted CAR T cells. We utilized cell-intrinsic PD-1-targeting shRNA overexpression strategy, resulting in a significant PD-1 silencing in CAR T cells. The reduction of PD-1 expression on T cell surface strongly augmented CAR T cell cytokine production and cytotoxicity towards PD-L1-expressing cancer cells in vitro. This study indicates the enhanced anti-tumor efficacy of PD-1-silencing MSLN-targeted CAR T cells against several cancers and suggests the potential of other specific gene silencing on the immune checkpoints to enhance the CAR T cell therapies against human tumors.

The study examines how alternative health information affects the professional authority of doctors. Drawing on in-depth interviews with mothers in Hong Kong and focusing on child-rearing practices, we find that mothers glean expert knowledge from doctors and experiential knowledge from online resources, social networks, and direct observations. Despite the prevalence of information online and traditional Chinese remedies, mothers do not use experiential knowledge to challenge doctors. Instead, they self-interpret medical advice and set self-determined courses of action based on their own practical situations. Generally, they dichotomize child-rearing and caring issues into medical versus non-medical domains to which they apply expert and experiential knowledge, respectively. How a condition is categorized depends on whether their individualized experiential knowledge is adequate to allow them to manage the health of their child. This study concludes that mothers with alternative health information still respect professional authorities in clinical interactions, which accords with previous sociological studies, but mothers often consider expert knowledge overly generic, so they take initiative to translate generic health-related knowledge into individualized knowledge for their child and determine their own course of action. Our theoretical contribution is to bring situational concerns into the debate of professional authority by revealing how the accumulation of experiential knowledge informs situated action.

Sequential investment problem is a widespread issue in venture capital (VC) process and it is an important key for the success of VC as well. Not only the basic information of projects but also the sunk cost, the network of venture capitalists (VCs), etc., should be considered in the sequential decision-making. In this paper, we study the sequential investment from building a decision-making index system firstly. Then, because of complex and uncertain decision-making circumstance, it is hard for the VCs to give their evaluation information for each alternative as crisp numbers, but it may be easy for them to provide their preferences over each pair of alternatives. Motivated by which, the probabilistic hesitant fuzzy preferences (P-HFPs) are adopted by the VCs in their evaluation process. Moreover, considering the bounded rational psychological characteristic of the VCs in decision-making, the prospect theory has been introduced. Therefore, a prospect consensus with P-HFPs has been constructed due to the grouping of sequential decision-making. It has been applied to a practical case, and an expected consensus under rational framework has been used to analyze the case. The superiority of prospect consensus with P-HFPs has been correspondingly demonstrated in this paper through the comparative analyses of the expected consensus with P-HFPs, the prospect consensus with HFPs and the expected consensus with HFPs.

This study addresses whether firms provide more voluntary disclosures when they redact otherwise mandatorily disclosed contract information and have higher information uncertainty when they redact, and whether the disclosures mitigate this higher uncertainty. Redactions are significantly positively associated with more total, earnings, and non-earnings voluntary disclosures made within 90 days after redaction, and are significantly positively associated with information uncertainty up to 180 days. The disclosures mitigate the higher uncertainty, but do not offset it fully. Regarding contract types, firms provide significantly more disclosures primarily when redactions relate to R&D and license, manufacturing and purchase and sales, and investment contracts, and provide disclosures in anticipation of redactions in R&D and license contracts. We find that the disclosures relating to contract types mitigate the higher information uncertainty associated with redaction. This evidence can inform the SEC in its consideration of the effects on information available to investors of reducing mandatory disclosure.

Coronatine (COR) is a phytotoxin produced by Pseudomonas syringae. Its structure is similar to those of jasmonates (JAs), which play diverse roles in multiple plant biotic and abiotic defenses. However, the biological activity of COR is 1000 times greater than the activity of JA. In addition to being involved in the JA pathway, COR affects plant photosynthetic efficiency. In this study, we examined wheat blade pretreatment with COR. Blades treated with COR remained green longer than those of control plants under drought stress conditions, resulting in less yield loss with COR treatment. To investigate the mechanism of COR in drought resistance further, we employed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis technology and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry to sequester and identify key proteins. Six COR-inducible proteins that are located in the chloroplast and involved directly in photosynthesis were found. The wheat homologue of protein gi|326509937 is degradation of periplasmic proteins 1 (DEGP1) in Arabidopsis, which is a response to photosystem II reparation, and was maintained at a low level with COR treatment. Finally, we measured levels of chlorophyll and photosynthetic performance to reveal the phenotypic effect of COR. Taken together, the results demonstrate that COR enhances drought tolerance by maintaining high photosynthetic performance.

Venture capitalists are confronted with decision-making problems under an uncertain investment circumstance, which lead them to rely heavily on intuition and psychological state to make their decisions in most cases. It has attracted more and more researches to focus on such behaviors of venture capitalists in recent years and along with the development of behavioral finance in venture capital field. Through the review of framework of venture capitalists’ decision-making and the investigation of background of venture capital market in China, we find that the decision-making framework, which is based on the traditional expected utility theory with hypothesis that the investor is completely rational, is inconsistent with reality. Moreover, the decision-making information is often depicted as crisp number with probability that couldn’t express the uncertainty which is the fundamental nature of venture capital circumstance. Therefore, a novel approach that considers both the bounded rationality of venture capitalists and the uncertain circumstance of venture capital in decision-making is urgent to select the promising enterprise in China. Fortunately, prospect theory, as one of the greatest achievement in behavioral finance, thinks that venture capitalists focus on subjective probabilities instead of objective probabilities and show the behavior characterized by risk aversion over gains and risk seeking over losses, which can depict the psychological state of venture capitalists properly. Furthermore, the intuitionistic fuzzy information can express essential uncertainty in venture capital circumstance accurately. Therefore, we adopt Intuitionistic Fuzzy Prospect Theory that integrates both the merits of prospect theory and intuitionistic fuzzy information to aid venture capitalists to make a better decision in the real world. In this paper, the detailed steps of how to select a promising enterprise has been illustrated. Then, a practical example of selecting the promising enterprise for venture capitalists in Ali Capital is provided to exhibit the process of application and exemplify the feasibility of this selecting approach. Meanwhile, from the comparison of ranking results derived by TOPSIS and this approach, we find that the approach proposed in this paper is superior to the TOPSIS in selecting the promising enterprise according to the subsequent funded results of enterprises.

FePt-Cys nanoparticles (FePt-Cys NPs) have been well used in many fields, despite their poor solubility and stability. We synthetized a cysteine surface modified FePt NPs, which exhibited good solubility, stability and biocompatibility. We explored the insight mechanisms of the antitumor effects of this new nanoparticle system in lung cancer cells. In the in vitro study, FePt-Cys NPs induced a reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst, which suppressed the antioxidant protein expression and induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, FePt-Cys NPs prevented the migration and invasion of H1975 and A549 cells. These changes were correlated with a dramatic decrease in MMP-2/9 expression and enhanced the cellular attachment. We demonstrated that FePt-Cys NPs promoted the effects of chemo-radiation through activation of the caspase system and impairment of DNA damage repair. In the in vivo study, no severe allergies or drug-related deaths were observed and FePt-Cys NPs showed a synergistic effect with cisplatin and radiation. In conclusion, with good safety and efficacy, FePt-Cys NPs could therefore be potential sensitizers for chemoradiotherapy.

The scale insect Drosicha corpulenta is a serious pest of various garden trees. A comprehensive knowledge of the insect olfactory system is essential for the design and implementation of efficient semiochemical-based control strategies. Antennae are the primary olfactory organs in insect. To date, the antenna features of D. corpulenta have not been investigated in great detail. In this study, we used scanning electron microscopy to investigate the antennal morphology and sensilla distribution of both sexes of D. corpulenta in detail. The antenna of D. corpulenta exhibit obvious sexual dimorphism: antennae of the male are markedly longer than those of the female. Furthermore, each male flagellomere consists of three globular nodes, in female, however, the flagellomeres one to three are cylindrical, and the following flagellomeres exhibit an asymmetrical swelling at the distal parts except the last flagellomere which is dumbbell-shaped with distal narrowly. Seven types of sensilla were found on the antennae, including three types of sensilla trichodea (ST1, ST2, ST3), three types of sensilla chaetica (SC1, SC2, SC3), and sensilla basiconica (SB). Remarkable sex dimorphism in the sensilla composition of D. corpulenta was also observed. Major differences between the both sexes were found in the type, distribution, number and size of the identified sensilla. We also discuss on the possible functions of these sensilla based on their characteristics. The results of this study provide an important foundation for the studies that link morphological characteristics to insect behavior and should stimulate the development of efficient semiochemial-based control strategies against D. corpulenta.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have been successfully used for the treatment of hematological malignancies including acute and chronic lymphoblastic leukemia. However, results of CAR T cell projects in solid tumors have been less impressive to date, partly because of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). It is widely known that high adenosine production is an important factor causing tumor-induced immunosuppression in TME, and adenosine mediates the suppression of anti-tumor T cell responses via binding and signaling through adenosine 2a receptor (A2aR). Previous studies have shown that adenosine generated by cancer cells significantly inhibits T cell anti-tumor activity through binding and then activating adenosine 2A receptors (A2aRs) of T cells. Based on the previous work, in our study, we evaluated whether A2aR disruption by shRNA could enhance the anti-tumor function of anti-mesothelin (MSLN) CAR T cells both in vitro and in vivo. For this goal above, we used MSLN-positive human ovarian serous carcinoma cells (SKOV3) and human colon cancer cells (HCT116) as target cancer cells while MSLN-negative human ovarian cancer cells (ES2) as non-target cancer cells. We observed that targeting cell-intrinsic A2aR through shRNA overexpression caused significant A2aR disruption in CAR T cells and profoundly increased CAR T cell efficacy in both CAR T cell cytokine production and cytotoxicity towards MSLN-positive cancer cells in vitro. More importantly, in SKOV3 xenograft mouse models, anti-MSLN CAR-T cells significantly reduced the tumor burden compared with non-transduced T cells, and the anti-tumor activity of A2aR-disrupted anti-MSLN CAR-T cells was stronger than that of wild-type anti-MSLN CAR-T cells. Altogether, our study showed enhanced anti-tumor efficacy caused by shRNA-mediated A2aR disruption in anti-MSLN CAR T cells both in vitro and in vivo, which proved that shRNA-mediated modification of gene expression might be an excellent strategy for improving CAR T cell function in immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and could potentially improve the outcome of treatment in clinical trials.

Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) is a common method used to solve complex decision-making problems. One such method, TODIM (TOmada de Decisao Iterativa Multicriterio), is derived from prospect theory, which considers the psychological behaviors of decision makers (DMs). The perceptions of DMs of the alternatives may be uncertain because, for example, of complex decision-making circumstances or their limited knowledge. Therefore, fuzzy sets (FSs) have been used to describe DMs’ vague perceptions. The combination of TODIM with different types of FSs has developed to deal with different uncertain decision-making problems. We systematically analyze TODIM with different types of FSs to show its state and possible future direction. A bibliometric analysis of existing research on this topic is given, followed by an analysis of the dominance function of TODIM, including how to represent a gain or loss, and how to obtain the original and relative weights. We then describe the combination of TODIM with other methods. Applications of current methods are summarized, and some challenges and possible directions of future research are provided. Fuzzy MCDM with the psychological factors of decision makers will surely receive increased attention from researchers and practitioners in the future.

Based on the heterogeneity of innovation quantity and quality, this study investigates the impact of political connections on enterprises' innovation. Using the data of Chinese listed enterprises from 2003 to 2015, we find that political connections have a positive impact on enterprises' innovation quantity, but they are detrimental to innovation quality. We further find that political connections weaken the promotion of government subsidies on innovation quality and even reduce the R&D intensity of enterprises, which serves as an essential determinant of innovation quality. The government can stimulate enterprises' innovation quality by improving marketization, intellectual property protection, and anti-corruption.

CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG-ODN) is not only reported to protect against airway hyper responsiveness but is also known as a potent vaccine adjuvant for anti-tumor therapy. Little is known about the effect of CpG-ODN in mice with radiation-induced lung fibrosis (RILF), a common late stage form of tissue damage that occurs after thorax radiotherapy (RT). Here, we evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of CpG-ODN on the development of RILF. Mice were divided into four groups: (1) RT, single dose of 12Gy to the whole thorax; (2) CpG, only intraperitoneal injection of CpG-ODN for total 5 weeks; (3) RT+CpG, irradiation plus CpG-ODN treatment before and after irradiation for total 5 weeks; and (4) control (CTL): No RT or CpG-ODN treatment. In this study, we found that CpG-ODN treatment attenuated lung fibrosis and collagen deposition by increasing the number of M1 macrophagocytes, levels of Type-2 cytokines and TGF-β. CpG-ODN administration up-regulated the expression of TLR9 and STAT1 phosphorylation and reversed the expression of Type-2 immune response key transcription factor GATA-3. Activation of the JAK-STAT1 signaling pathway further enhanced M1 macrophage differentiation and Type-1 cytokine production. This study reveals the mitigating effect of early exposure to CpG-ODN on lung injury caused by irradiation in mice. The potential mechanism of action may be related to enhancement of Type-1 immunity. In conclusion, CpG-ODN may be a potential therapeutic target to treat RILF.

Anisotropic titanium oxide/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposite was synthesized via a three-step method, and its electrorheological (ER) properties under external applied electric field were researched. Firstly, monodispersed amorphous titanium oxide nanospheres were prepared by a controlled hydrolysis method and then anisotropic titanium oxide peanut-like nanospheres was obtained by using weak acid to etch the monodispersed titanium oxide sphere. At last, the surface of anisotropic TiO 2 was coated with polyaniline (PANI) through an in-situ polymerization method. Then the influence factors on the preparation of anisotropic TiO 2 /polyaniline core/shell structure nanoparticles were discussed deeply, including different kinds and amounts of acid, the amount of aniline, and so on. The morphology and structure of the samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential analysis and X-ray powder diffraction, respectively. The electrorheological behaviors of the anisotropic TiO 2 /polyaniline composite particles are characterized using a rotational rheometer, which shown a good ER activity.

The financial crisis has led to renewed interest in the effects of deregulation on bank governance and incentives provided to bank CEOs. We examine the relation between bank CEO turnover and performance, and whether this relation has been affected by banking deregulation. We find that bank CEO turnover is more (less) sensitive to stock (accounting) performance in the post-deregulation period. We also find that such changes in turnover-performance sensitivity primarily exist in large banks, which are best positioned to exploit growth opportunities, and in banks that expand geographically after deregulation. Our results indicate an increased (decreased) emphasis on stock (accounting) performance in turnover decisions when competition and growth opportunities are greater in the deregulated environment. The findings provide evidence that the information used in board decisions varies with features of the competitive environment.

This study investigates the role of state ownership and corruption expenditure in the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and corporate risk-taking. The finding shows that EPU is significantly positively correlated with corporate risk-taking in China. The state ownership affects the link between EPU and corporate risk-taking, and SOEs are more willing to avoid risks in response to the increases of EPU. Corruption expenditure positively affects the relationship between EPU and corporate risk-taking. Compared with SOEs, non-SOEs have more incentive to respond to an increase of EPU through corruption expenditure. Moreover, China's anti-corruption campaign strongly affects the above effects. Our results are robust to alternative variable measures and endogeneity tests.

The ability of an antagonistic yeast Meyerozyma guilliermondii and an alginate oligosaccharide (AOS), a bio-active compound extracted from brown algae, to control postharvest blue mold and natural infection on mandarin fruit was evaluated. Results indicated that M. guilliermondii and AOS as individual treatments, significantly inhibited blue mold development and natural decay occurrence on mandarin fruit, compared to the untreated, control fruit. The combination of both M. guilliermondii and AOS, however, provided better control than either treatment alone. M. guilliermondii growth in mandarin wounds was not affected by AOS. Further analysis indicated that M. guilliermondii and AOS individually or in combination elevated peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase enzyme activity, as well as total phenolics in mandarin fruit. The ability of AOS to improve the biocontrol efficacy of M. guilliermondii may be partially attributed to defense response induction in mandarin fruit. AOS also reduce water loss in mandarin fruit. Collectively, the data indicated that the combined application of M. guilliermondii and AOS represents an effective method of postharvest disease management in citrus fruit.

As a critical infrastructure, the development of high-speed rail (HSR) inevitably exerts a marked impact on economic growth and sets the stage for different industrial revolutions. In this study, we set out an estimation framework designed to explore whether the spatial-temporal compression effect of HSR has paved the way for the Fourth Industrial Revolution characterized by urban technological innovation and whether HSR has strengthened the technology spillovers from venture capital (VC). The principal findings are as follows: First, the opening of HSR can strengthen urban technological performance, and compared with non-HSR cities, the number of patent applications is higher in HSR cities. Second, considering the heterogeneity of technological innovation, and the results show that the opening of HSR can significantly promote the breakthrough innovation and incremental innovation of cities, and has a more significant impact on the breakthrough innovation. Finally, VC has a highly significant and positive effect on urban technological performance. More notably, our findings suggest that the opening of HSR has a considerable shock effect on the technology spillovers from VC. This study has great practical significance for analyzing the impact of HSR on the transformation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution characterized by urban technological performance.

Previous studies have indicated that mechanical cotton harvesting requires a compact plant habit without fiber yield and quality reduction. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of planting date and plant density on plant habit, yield, early maturity, and fiber quality of cotton in the Yellow River valley region of China, and thus to identify the appropriate planting date and plant density suitable for its mechanical harvesting. Field experiments were conducted in 2013 and 2014 in Hejian, Hebei Province, using a split-plot design with planting date as the main plot and plant density as the subplot. The results indicated that moderately late planting in late April or early May (P2) was appropriate for mechanical harvesting of cotton as relative to P1 (local traditional planting date, 10 d earlier than P2) and P3 (10 d later than P2). P2 showed a 2.4–5.7 cm greater height to the first fruiting branch (from the bottom) and a 4.7–11.3 cm higher lowest boll (harvestable boll nearest to the ground) compared with P1, which is helpful for decreasing yield loss and reducing intake of residual plastic mulch. In addition, P2 produced slightly greater yield than P1 and P3, and the percentage of open bolls in late September for P2 was similar to that of P1 and greater than for P3, suggesting a low risk of late maturity. For plant density, 8.9 plants m−2 (D2) was appropriate for mechanical harvesting compared with 6.6 plants m−2 (D1), the local traditional density for manual harvesting, and 12.3 plants m−2 (D3). D2 showed a 2.5 cm greater height to the first fruiting branch and a 4.2 cm higher lowest boll, and exhibited 2.9–3.6 and 2.6–3.9 cm shorter lengths of lower and middle fruiting branches than D1, respectively. This type of compact plant habit is conducive to efficient mechanical harvesting. Moreover, D2 produced a similar yield to D1 for both the rainy 2013 and the dry 2014, indicating yield stability. Although D3 had a more suitable plant habit for mechanical cotton harvesting, its yield level and maturity varied across years. There were no significant interactions between planting date and plant density in the majority of tested traits. The results will contribute to the development of integrated cotton management for upcoming mechanical harvesting in the Yellow River valley region of China.

： Flower-like Fe2O3/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposite was obtained via a two-steps method. Firstly, monodispersed flower-like iron oxide was synthesized by a high temperature refluxing method. Then flower-like Fe2O3/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposite was further obtained via the in-situ polymerization. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), SQUID MPMS, UV–vis and Haake rheometer were used to investigate its structure, morphology and properties. The obtained Fe2O3/polyaniline nanocomposite reveals an interesting morphological combination of hierarchical and core/shell structure. Its electrorheological (ER) behavior were investigated using a rotational rheometer under different applied electric field strengths when dispersed in silicone oil, which shown an obvious ER activity.

This paper examines the case where a patent holder who is not a producer licenses its quality-enhancing innovation to an upstream firm, which sells its product through a downstream monopoly. It is found that the patent holder prefers a two-part tariff contract, which includes both a fixed-fee and per-unit output royalty. However, the royalty included in the licensing contract makes each firm price at a markup over marginal cost and therefore makes both consumers and the society worse off, if the innovation is small and the supplier is weak. From a welfare perspective, licensing by means of an ad valorem tax is more efficient, as it allows the upstream firm to be less aggressive when trading with the downstream firm.

Hollow polyacene quinone radical (PAQR) submicrospheres are synthesized by a modified solvothermal method. The morphology and structure of the hollow PAQR submicrospheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Haake rotational rheometer, respectively. Meanwhile, both the size and the shell thickness of PAQR hollow submicrospheres could be adjusted by changing the amount of surfactant-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). When PAQR hollow submicrospheres are used as the electrorheological (ER) dispersed materials, good ER effect is achieved. Furthermore, the hollow structure is beneficial to improve the anti-sedimentation property for ER application.

China's overcapacity in the coal industry has become increasingly prominent since 2013, with a severe negative impact on resource allocation and the national economy. The Chinese government has implemented a series of de-capacity policies to resolve overcapacity and improve the total factor productivity (TFP) in the coal industry. In this study, we aim to explore whether the de-capacity policy enhances the TFP growth of China's coal companies. We firstly apply the Super-SBM-Malmquist index method to measure the TFP and its decomposition items (e.g., technical change, efficiency change) of China's coal industry. We then construct the Regression Discontinuity (RD) design to examine the impact of de-capacity policy on the TFP growth of the coal companies. The main results are as follows: (1) After the implementation of the de-capacity policy in 2016, the average TFP growth and technical change of the coal companies have increased significantly. (2) The de-capacity policy can dramatically promote TFP growth and technical change of the coal companies. In contrast, it has a significant and negative effect on efficiency change. (3) The positive impact of de-capacity policy on technical change is more significant than its adverse effects on efficiency change, which is the main reason for the increase in TFP growth. Therefore, the government should give full play to the positive role of administrative means in resolving overcapacity, and promote sustainable technological innovation of the coal industry.

Venture capital (VC) plays an increasingly important role in advancing the technological innovation of enterprises. A growing body of evidence suggests that VC influences the technological performance of enterprises. No known empirical studies have focused on the relationships between geographic distance and the enterprise's technological performance. This study explores whether and how the geographic distance between VC institutions and enterprises influences the enterprise's technological performance from the perspective of the VC's equity backgrounds (governmental, private, and foreign) and investment strategies (independent and joint). The findings and conclusions are as follows: (1) The geographic distance between VC institutions and enterprises has a significantly nonlinear effect on the technological performance of the VC-backed enterprise, and they are negatively correlated when the geographic distance is less than the specified threshold. (2) The influence of geographic distance on the enterprise's technological performance varies with the VC's equity backgrounds. Geographic distance has a more significant impact on the technological performance of governmental VC- and private VC-backed enterprise compared with foreign VC-backed enterprise. (3) For different investment strategies, geographic distance also has a distinct influence on the enterprise's technological performance. When compared with joint VC, the impact of independent VC on the enterprise's technological performance is more influenced by geographic distance.

Objectives To compare the prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia defined by the revised European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) criteria with the initial European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP1) criteria, the Asia Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS), the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS), and the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Sarcopenia Project criteria among Chinese community-dwelling older adults. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Two community health centers in Urumqi, China. Participants A total of 483 participants aged 60 years and older from the community. Measurement Anthropometry, skeletal muscle mass, handgrip strength, 4-m walking speed, and biochemical markers. Questionnaire collected information included demographics, lifestyle, and quality of life. Results The prevalence of EWGSOP2-defined sarcopenia (men: 6.5%; women: 3.3%) was lower than that defined by the EWGSOP1 (men: 22.3%; women 11.7%), AWGS (men: 10.9%; women: 8.0%), and IWGS (men: 24.5%; women: 11.0%) criteria, but higher than FNIH criteria (men: 6.0%; women: 1.7%). The positive percent agreement was lower (men: 15.6%–63.6%; women: 15.2%–40.0%), while negative percent agreement was higher (men: 96.4%–100.0%; women: 97.3%–99.6%). Sex (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12–0.81), education level (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.29–0.83), and body mass index (BMI, OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.62–0.86) were associated with sarcopenia defined by the EWGSOP2 criteria. No consistent pattern of risk factors associated with sarcopenia in EWGSOP2 and four other diagnostic criteria was present. Conclusions and implications The EWGSOP2 criteria did not agree with the EWGSOP1, AWGS, IWGA, and FNIH criteria defining sarcopenia. Risk factors associated with the EWGSOP2-defined sarcopenia have no consistent patterns with the EWGSOP1, AWGS, IWGA, and FNIH criteria. Therefore, the validity of the EWGSOP2 consensus needs to be confirmed in further prospective studies.

Protecting value-relevant information is becoming increasingly important and challenging as we move towards a knowledge-based economy and partners along the supply chain are more closely intertwined. We document three customer-supplier characteristics (i.e., customer R&D intensity, patent cross-citations, customer size) that vary directly with suppliers’ likelihood of redacting mandated disclosures after controlling for supplier’s own proprietary cost concerns. We further use customers’ possession of trade secrets and nondisclosure agreements to capture customers’ known preference for information withholding and find that their suppliers are more likely to redact. The increased likelihood of redaction is concentrated in supply chain and R&D-related information. Overall, our findings highlight that customers’ incentive to protect information, particularly knowledge or value intensive information, can have a significant influence on suppliers’ disclosure strategies.

This study investigates whether incumbents are more likely to withhold mandatory disclosures when rivals modify product portfolio to reposition themselves and whether such redactions preserve product market competitiveness. Using a large sample of hand-collected redactions from new material contracts to capture managers’ decision to withhold information, we find that product market instability and product threat from new rivals vary directly with the likelihood of redactions. We also document that incumbent firms are more likely to redact only when they have higher leverage or less cash holding relative to new rivals. This highlights that new entries will likely post the greatest threat when they are more financially capable than incumbent firms. Furthermore, redacting firms experience higher market share growth, greater market power and larger abnormal returns. Interestingly, these product market outcomes are concentrated in research/development- and license-related information redactions.

Glutaredoxin2 (Grx2) is a mitochondrial isozyme of the cytosolic glutaredoxin1 (thioltransferase or TTase). Both belong to the large oxidoreductase family and play an important role in maintaining thiol/disulfide redox homeostasis in the cells. Grx2 is recently found in the lens where its activities of disulfide reductase and peroxidase, similar to TTase, can protect the lens against oxidative stress. Since other eye tissues are also highly sensitive to oxidative stress, and TTase’s distribution in the eye is known, we focused on this study by investigating the Grx2 distribution in the ocular tissues in comparison to the lens. Fresh porcine eyes were dissected into cornea, iris, ciliary body, the lens, vitreous humor, retina, and optic nerve. Each tissue (pooled from three eyes) was homogenized and processed for mitochondrial isolation. The mitochondrial fraction was analyzed for Grx2 protein using Western blotting with anti-Grx2 antibody, and Grx2 activity using the published procedure. The eye tissues were also measured for Grx2 mRNA expression by RT-PCR with GAPDH as the control. Grx2-rich mouse liver and purified recombinant mouse Grx2 were used as positive controls for the above analyses. It was found that Grx2 was present in all the tested ocular tissues, except vitreous humor. In comparison with the mouse liver, the protein levels of Grx2 in porcine ciliary body and the lens were 27-fold and 0.75-fold, respectively. Comparing to the lens, Grx2 protein was highest in the ciliary body (13.5-fold), followed by retina (9.2-fold), iris and optic nerve (2-fold), and cornea (1.2-fold). Enzyme activity assays showed that the retina had the highest Grx2 specific activity (3.9 mU/mg protein), followed by ciliary body (3.1 mU/mg), the lens (0.58 mU/mg), and optic nerve (0.32 mU/mg). Grx2 gene expression in these ocular tissues was further confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. Grx2 mRNA expression showed the highest in ciliary body, followed by retina, optic nerve, cornea, iris, and the lens. No Grx2 mRNA, protein or enzyme activity could be found in the vitreous humor. The results indicate that Grx2 level was higher in eye tissues rich in vasculature and mitochondria (i.e. ciliary body and retina), corroborating with the levels of mRNA expression and Grx2 activity. The rich presence of Grx2 in these tissues is also consistent with their known sensitivity to oxidative stress.

This study provides evidence on whether investors value tax gross-up provisions for executives, and how the elimination of these provisions changes executive compensation. We examine the market response to tax gross-up eliminations and find investors react favorably to the removal of these provisions, suggesting that on average, investors perceived these agreements as a bad compensation practice that destroyed firm value. Next, we examine whether firms respond to these eliminations by increasing other forms of executive compensation. We find firms eliminating tax gross-up provisions increase bonus but not salary. Broadly, we provide evidence that some features of compensation contracts are not valued by shareholders, and that the elimination of these features can lead to increased firm value.

Earnings asymmetric timeliness captures both accrual and operating cash flow (CFO) asymmetric timeliness. Because recognition of operating cash flows does not reflect differential verification thresholds for recognizing unrealized gains versus losses, CFO asymmetry adds noise or bias to tests of conditional conservatism. We show that CFO asymmetry is predictable in the cross-section, and varies systematically with life-cycle characteristics. Removing CFO from earnings and using accruals-based measures of asymmetric timeliness eliminates several biases that prior studies have attributed to other sources. Moreover, accrual asymmetric timeliness varies in the cross-section as theory predicts. Going forward, we recommend researchers use accruals-based asymmetric timeliness measures when testing for conditional conservatism.

Bionic cactus-like titanium oxide microspheres were synthesized, and their electrorheological (ER) activities under an applied electric field were investigated. Firstly, monodispersed amorphous titanium oxide submicrospheres were fabricated previously using a controlled hydrolysis procedure, and then 3D cactus-like hierarchical titanium oxide microspheres was obtained via a hydrothermal treatment of monodispersed titanium oxide submicrospheres. The morphology and structure of the bionic cactus-like titanium oxide microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Energy-dispersive spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption, respectively. The nanostructure of hierarchical microspheres evaluated with increasing hydrothermal time was studied and complex 3D hierarchical morphological microspheres can be obtained. The ER behaviors of the cactus-like titanium oxide microspheres are characterized using a rotational rheometer.

A series of Cr-doped multiferroelectric FeBiO3 nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile sol gel method. The resultant Cr-doped FeBiO3 was characterized by means of different techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and electrorheological (ER) tests. Under an external electric field, electrorheological properties of the suspension containing such Cr-doped and undoped FeBiO3 particles were investigated by steady shear experiments. It was found that the suspension of Cr-doped FeBiO3 particles possesses a better ER effect than that of pure FeBiO3 particles. Furthermore, different Cr-doped concentration plays an important role on the ER behavior. Combining the dielectric analysis, the enhanced ER effect of Cr-doped FeBiO3 suspension can be attributed to the improved interfacial polarization.

The growth regulator mepiquat chloride (MC) is globally used in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) canopy manipulation to avoid excess growth and yield loss. However, little information is available as to whether the modification of plant architecture by MC is related to alterations in gibberellic acid (GA) metabolism and signaling. Here, the role of GA metabolism and signaling was investigated in cotton seedlings treated with MC. The MC significantly decreased endogenous GA3 and GA4 levels in the elongating internode, which inhibited cell elongation by downregulating GhEXP and GhXTH2, and then reducing plant height. Biosynthetic and metabolic genes of GA were markedly suppressed within 2-10d of MC treatment, which also downregulated the expression of DELLA-like genes. A remarkable feedback regulation was observed at the early stage of MC treatment when GA biosynthetic and metabolic genes expression was evidently upregulated. Mepiquat chloride action was controlled by temporal translocation and spatial accumulation which regulated GA biosynthesis and signal expression for maintaining GA homeostasis. The results suggested that MC application could reduce endogenous GA levels in cotton through controlled GA biosynthetic and metabolic genes expression, which might inhibit cell elongation, thereby shortening the internode and reducing plant height.

The effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and potassium (K) fertilizer on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) yield have been well documented but the role of PGRs on K use efficiency is poorly understood. Our specific objective was to determine whether foliar application of PGRs could improve K use efficiency in field-grown cotton. Field experiments were conducted with or without K at two sites (Beijing and Hebei, China) varying in available soil K during 2010 and 2011, with cotton cvs. Guoxinmian3 (GX3) and SCRC28 as test materials. Foliar application of the PGRs, mepiquat chloride (MC) and Miantaijin [MTJ, a combination of MC with diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (DA-6)] during squaring and flowering periods significantly increased the lint yield and K uptake in most situations at Beijing location and had a consistent tendency to increase lint yield across K fertilizers and years at Hebei location. The partial factor productivity (PFPK) and agronomic efficiency of K (AEK) were enhanced by the application of the PGRs in most situations in Beijing, especially in 2011 and for the cultivar GX3. Although differences in the apparent recovery efficiency of K (REK) between PGRs and control were not significant, a positive and consistent effectiveness of PGRs on REK was observed across sites, years and cultivars. Therefore, the application of PGRs would be a useful practice for improving K nutrition and lowering the cost of K fertilizer input in cotton production.

Shaker-like potassium (K(+)) channels in plants play an important role in K(+) absorption and transport. In this study, we characterized a Shaker-like K(+) channel gene GhAKT1 from the roots of Gossypium hirsutum cv. Liaomian17. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the GhAKT1 belongs to the AKT1-subfamily in the Shaker-like K(+) channel family. Confocal imaging of a GhAKT1-green fluorescent fusion protein (GFP) in transgenic Arabidopsis plants indicated that GhAKT1 is localized in the plasma membrane. Transcript analysis located GhAKT1 predominantly in cotton leaves with low abundance in roots, stem and shoot apex. Similarly, β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity was detected in both leaves and roots of PGhAKT1::GUS transgenic Arabidopsis plants. In roots, the GUS signals appeared in the epidermis, cortex and endodermis and root hairs, suggesting the contribution of GhAKT1 to K(+) uptake. In leaves, GhAKT1 was expressed in differentiated leaf primordial as well as mesophyll cells and veins of expanded leaves, pointing to its involvement in cell elongation and K(+) transport and distribution in leaves. Severe K(+) deficiency did not affect the expression of GhAKT1 gene. GhAKT1-overexpression in either the Arabidopsis wild-type or akt1 mutant enhanced the growth of transgenic seedlings under low K(+) deficiency and raised the net K(+) influx in roots at 100μM external K(+) concentration, within the range of operation of the high-affinity K(+) uptake system. The application of 2mM BaCl2 resulted in net K(+) efflux in roots, and eliminated the differences between GhAKT1-overexpression lines and their acceptors indicating that the K(+) uptake mediated by GhAKT1 is also as Ba(2+)-sensitive as AtAKT1.

The recent economic downturn resulted in firms generating significant tax losses, which they risked losing if they experienced an ownership change. In response, a number of loss firms adopted poison pill plans. We document a significant negative market reaction to the announcement of 62 poison pill adoptions related to net operating losses (NOLs), suggesting that in general investors do not consider management׳s claim that the pills are adopted to preserve a valuable tax asset to be credible. However, we find cross-sectional variation consistent with investors considering whether a pill is legitimately adopted to preserve the NOL or to entrench management.

One of the main instigators leading to cell death and brain damage following ischemia is Ca(2+) dysregulation. Neuronal membrane depolarization results in the activation of voltage-gated Ca(2+) (CaV) channels and intracellular Ca(2+) influx. We investigated the physiological role of the CaV2.1 (P/Q-type) channel in ischemic neuronal injury using CaV2.1 channel α1 subunit mutant mice, rolling Nagoya and leaner mice. The in vivo ischemia model with a complete occlusion of the middle cerebral artery showed that the infarct area at 24h was significantly smaller in rolling Nagoya (27.1±3.5% of total brain volume) and leaner (20.1±3.5%) mice compared to wild-type (42.9±4.5%) mice. In an in vitro Ca(2+) imaging study, oxygen-glucose deprivation using a hippocampal slice induced a significantly slower rate of increase in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) in rolling Nagoya (0.083±0.007/min) and leaner (0.062±0.006/min) mice compared to wild-type (0.105±0.008/min) mice. These results demonstrate that the mutant CaV2.1 channel in rolling Nagoya and leaner mice plays a different protective role in a ([Ca(2+)]i)-dependent manner in ischemic models and indicate that CaV2.1 channel blockers may be used preventively against ischemic injury.

We examine the impact of FAS 166/177 on the quantity and quality of credit card loans of the affected securitization banks. We focus on credit card securitization because its nature makes it most likely to be consolidated back onto the balance sheet after FAS 166/167. Using credit card loans of non-securitization banks as controls, we document the following findings. First, the balance of total managed credit card loans for securitization banks decreases significantly from pre to post-FAS 166/167 period. Second, we find significant lower asset quality for non-securitized credit card loans relative to securitized loans of the same securitization bank prior to the adoption of FAS 166/167. Furthermore, we find significant improvement of the asset quality for credit card loans of the securitization banks after the adoption of FAS 166/167, especially for banks whose regulatory capital ratios are closer to the legal minimum after the adoption of the accounting rules. Overall, our findings suggest that banks have less opportunity to engage in regulatory capital arbitrage after the adoption of FAS 166/167 and adjust their risk taking behavior accordingly.

In this study we examine whether managers' voluntary forecasts of future earnings are consistent with the implicit forecasts of future earnings that underlie a specific mandatory accrual, the valuation allowance. This accrual relies heavily on managerial estimation and is also based, in part, on managers’ private, forward-looking information. Thus, it provides an ideal setting to investigate the interplay between voluntary and mandatory financial disclosures. By examining the consistency between the voluntary and mandatory forecasts, we are also able to provide insight into whether the predictable accrual-related bias in voluntary earnings forecasts carries over into the mandatory forecast embedded in the valuation allowance. We then investigate whether the biased voluntary earnings guidance helps analysts and investors more accurately interpret the information in valuation allowance changes about future earnings expectations. To increase the power of our tests we utilize a sample of loss firms, which frequently record valuation allowances to fully or partially offset deferred tax assets.We first document that more than 62 percent of our sample of loss firms report valuation allowance changes and management earnings guidance that convey the same basic information about future earnings (i.e., either both forecast profit or both forecast loss). Thus, these voluntary and mandatory forecasts are largely consistent with each other. We then provide evidence that managers provide overly pessimistic forecasts for observations whose valuation allowance changes signal bad news about future earnings, but overly optimistic forecasts for observations whose valuation allowance changes signal strong good news about future earnings. Finally, our results suggest that managers' biased earnings forecasts actually help analysts and investors more accurately interpret the information about future earnings in valuation allowance changes. Our findings provide new insights into actions managers can take to improve investor and analyst processing of financial statement-based tax information.