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The total synthesis of the indole alkaloid (-)-andranginine has been achieved in 10 steps. Key reactions of the synthesis include a nucleophilic addition of acetylenyl anion to chiral

C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) can be used to assess the prognosis of various diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between CAR on the prognosis of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). This study included 155 SFTS patients from the Public Health Clinical Center of Dalian from January to December 2021. They were divided into survival and deceased groups based on the clinical prognosis. The independent risk factors for poor prognosis of SFTS patients at an early stage were determined by Cox regression. The efficacy of CAR prediction was assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A total of 155 patients were included in this study, with an average age of 61.98± 11.70 years, including 77 males and 65 females. The mortality rate of the patients enrolled in this study was 14.19%. Multivariate Cox regression indicated that CAR (hazard ratio = 2.585, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.405-4.753, p = 0.002) could be an independent predictor for prognosis in SFTS patients at an early stage. CAR had an AUC of 0.781 (95% CI, 0.665-0.898, p = 0.000), a cutoff value of 0.57, a sensitivity of 0.77, and a specificity of 0.80, with better predictive efficacy, compared to neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). High levels of CAR are associated with poor prognosis in SFTS patients, and CAR can be used as an independent predictor for SFTS patients.

With the reform of the international intellectual property system, the intellectual property rules in regional trade agreements are gradually leading the development of the international intellectual property system. On September 16, 2021, China formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The CPTPP intellectual property rules will have a profound impact on China's intellectual property legal system. CPTPP stipulates the drug patent link system, and China is also trying to build a drug patent link system. In order to integrate with CPTPP intellectual property rules and build a drug patent link system in line with China's national conditions, it is suggested to further clarify the patent availability standards of pharmaceutical inventions, simplify the drug marketing approval procedures and improve the patent invalidation procedures.

A convenient and straightforward entry to 3-bromoindoles via palladium-catalyzed oxidative C–H activation/annulation of N-alkylanilines and bromoalkynes has been established.

A novel Pd-catalyzed acetalization/cyclization of enynones and alcohols for the construction of dihaloalkenyl dihydrofuran derivatives is described.

An intramolecular anaerobic Mukaiyama hydration-initiated tandem reduction/condensation/acyl migration/aromatization reaction was developed, which enabled the rapid construction of indole-fused 8-10 membered lactones starting from cyclic 2-allyl-2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1,3-diketones. A nitro substituent in the substrates acted as both an oxygen source in the Mukaiyama hydration step and a nitrogen source in a tandem indole ring construction step. Our reaction features mild conditions, atom economy, and inexpensive reagents and it can be conveniently scaled up to a gram scale in modest yields. A rational reaction mechanism was also proposed based on previous reports and control experiments.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the available literature on the relationship between servitization strategy and firm performance, which identifies the main streams and theoretical foundations of research and provides guidelines for future research in this area.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the relationship between servitization strategy and manufacturing firm performance by gathering and analyzing existing research published between 1988 and 2019 through bibliometric analysis and content analysis, and then unpacking the processes and impacts servitization has on firm performance.FindingsThis paper analyzes the evolution of the concept and servitization strategy of manufacturing organizations, and the relationship between servitization strategy and manufacturing company performance. Then, the authors establish an integrated theoretical framework aimed at conveying the factors and providing a practical reference.Practical implicationsThe paper establishes an integrated theoretical framework on servitization and firm performance. The results of the systematic analysis of the literature can be used to inform managers about implementing servitization. Managers need to measure the benefits of servitization from two aspects: financial performance and non-financial performance. And managers need to consider some internal and external influencing factors to achieve a strategic–environmental–organizational fit that will bring better benefits to the firm.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the existing research in three different ways. First, the study perfects the gap of research on the range of all of the factors within the relationship between servitization strategy and manufacturing company performance. Second, the study demonstrates a clear indication of how existing studies’ differences influence the research outcomes. Third, this paper proposes research problems and future research directions.

Cyber–physical systems and data-driven techniques have potentials to facilitate the prediction and control of product quality, which is one of the two most important issues in modern industries. In this article, we integrate random forest (RF) with Bayesian optimization for quality prediction with large-scale dimensions data, selecting crucial production elements by information gain, and then utilizing sensitivity analysis to maintain product quality. Horizontal empirical experiments are performed to verify the superiorities of RF embedded within Bayesian optimization over classical RF, support vector machine, logistic regression, decision tree, and even background propagation neural network. Besides, we find fewer but critical features handled by RF-Bayesian optimization can realize satisfactory forecast accuracy as well as cost-effective computing time, where we interpret it with Herbert A. Simon’s management decision theory and Pareto principle. Consequently, the results could provide managerial insights and operational guidance for product quality prediction and control at the real-life process industry.

In this study, optimal sensor placement (OSP) is investigated to select the best-suited sensor configurations for a multirotary-joint solar power satellite (MJ-SPS). To accurately realize the OSP and reduce the computational costs, three sensor specifications are considered, namely, number, edge effect, and measurement degree of freedom. As an important initial input for the sensor placement study, the dynamic analysis of the MJ-SPS is proposed. Six OSP methods are investigated to select the best sensor layout for MJ-SPS. The edge effect of the sensor location is noted in the final sensor placement results. In addition, three standards and two novel criteria i.e., sensor distribution, and similarity of sensor locations, have been added to evaluate the effectiveness of the sensor configurations. The OSP of the MJ-SPS is discussed and compared using the results of these assessments. Different numbers of sensors and orders of modal shape are compared, emphasizing the importance of this work for the MJ-SPS and OSP methods.

PurposeWith the rise of service economy, many companies are attempting to gain a competitive advantage through service innovation. However, the existing research has not drawn consistent conclusions about the relationship between service innovation and firm performance. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative review on the service innovation-performance relationship based on research findings reported in the extant literature.Design/methodology/approachStudies from 46 peer-reviewed articles were sampled and analyzed. A meta-analytic approach was adopted to conduct a quantitative review on the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the effects of any potential moderators were further explored.FindingsThe results found that service innovation has a significant positive impact on firm performance. Additionally, the relationship between service innovation and firm performance is influenced by measurement moderators (economic region and performance measurement), and contextual moderators (firm type, innovation type, customer factors and attitudes toward risk).Originality/valueThe meta-analysis has been used to explore the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the findings have contributed to the literature on service innovation, as well as providing future research directions.

Background Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus (SFTSV) is an emerging tick-borne phlebovirus with a high fatality rate. Previous studies have demonstrated the poor prognostic role of eosinophils (EOS) and basophils (BAS) in predicting multiple viral infections. This study aimed to explore the role of EOS and BAS in predicting prognosis of patients with SFTS. Methodology A total of 194 patients with SFTS who were admitted to Yantai City Hospital from November 2019 to November 2021 were included. Patients’ demographic and clinical data were collected. According to the clinical prognosis, they were divided into survival and non-survival groups. Independent risk factors were determined by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Findings There were 171 (88.14%) patients in the survived group and 23 (11.86%) patients in the non-survived group. Patients’ mean age was 62.39 ± 11.85 years old, and the proportion of males was 52.1%. Older age, neurological manifestations, hemorrhage, chemosis, and increased levels of laboratory variables, such as EOS% and BAS% on admission, were found in the non-survival group compared with the survival group. EOS%, BAS%, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), direct bilirubin (DBIL), and older age on admission were noted as independent risk factors for poor prognosis of SFTS patients. The combination of the EOS% and BAS% had an area under the curve (AUC) of (0.82; 95% CI: 0.725, 0.932, P = 0.000), which showed an excellent performance in predicting prognosis of patients with SFTS compared with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and both exhibited a satisfactory performance in predicting poor prognosis compared with De-Ritis ratio (AST/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio). EOS% and BAS% were positively correlated with various biomarkers of tissue damage and the incidence of neurological complications in SFTS patients. Conclusion EOS% and BAS% are effective predictors of poor prognosis of patients with early-stage SFTS. The combination of EOS% and BAS% was found as the most effective approach.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered a promising technology for the sustainable management of current large quantities of animal waste. However, the efficiency and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood, particularly regarding the different characteristics of different types of animal wastes. The present study investigated the methane production, community structure, microbial viability, and enzymatic activity following mesophilic and thermophilic AD of four types of animal waste, including carnivores (lion), herbivores (elephant), and omnivores (hippopotamus and orangutan). Methane yield obtained with thermophilic AD of four animals was higher than mesophilic ones. The methane yields of lion manure under the mesophilic and thermophilic AD were 0.326 L/g VS and 0.391 L/g VS, respectively, higher than that of herbivore and omnivore waste. Bacteria were divided into low-DNA (LDNA) and high-DNA (HDNA) bacteria by flow cytometry based on DNA content. Compared with mesophilic AD, thermophilic AD had higher cells density, which has the same trend with methane production. The results showed that the live LDNA bacteria abundance was increased by 98.6% in orangutan manure AD system after heating up to 55 ℃. However, most of the dead bacteria were HDNA, indicating sensitivity of HDNA cells to environmental conditions. For functional enzymes, the activities of dehydrogenase, phosphotransacetylase and protease were enhanced in the thermophilic AD system of all kinds of animal manure. Nevertheless, the acetate kinase activities of herbivorous animal manure and coenzyme F420 activities of omnivorous animal manure had been inhibited at high temperatures.

Non-Truck Operating Common Carrier platform is a pioneering work in road transportation. However, there is no reasonable evaluation standard for the scientific pricing of freight routes, which has become an urgent problem to be solved for these platforms. This paper first evaluates the real data by combining the principal component analysis model and obtains the main factors affecting the price of the route, including transportation cost, platform transaction mode, the number of uncertain factors of tasks, drivers' preference/business scenario, the complexity of the execution process, transaction difficulty and renewal status. On the other hand, this paper presents a comprehensive evaluation model of principal components to evaluate the price in the historical transaction data of freight lines. Combined with the actual situation, this paper establishes a multiple regression model and solves it by using the least square method to obtain the mathematical relationship of route pricing. The results show that the research in this paper can effectively reduce the cost of transportation, improve the speed of transactions, and have a certain guiding role for the development of the Non-Truck Operating Common carrier industry.

The transformation of manufacturing enterprises from traditional manufacturing to service-oriented manufacturing is one of the most important ways to upgrade and enhance competitiveness. Whether the manufacturing enterprise outsources the service business to the producer service providers or internalize the service business is an important problem in the transformation process. Based on the profit function of manufacturing enterprises and producer service providers, this paper establishes a two-party asymmetric evolution game model, explores the rules of manufacturing enterprises and producer service providers to implement servitization strategies, and uses MATLAB simulation to deeply study the influence of relevant factors on the implementation of servitization strategy in cooperation between manufacturing enterprises and producer service enterprises. The results show that the successful implementation of service outsourcing strategies in manufacturing enterprises depends on manufacturers’ own conditions and the market environment. The elasticity of demand for service product quality in external markets, and the cost coefficient of enterprises in providing service products are both positively related to the willingness of manufacturing enterprises and producer service providers to cooperate in implementing servitization strategies. The loss caused by unsuccessful cooperation is negatively related to the willingness of cooperation between the two parties.

In modern society, smoking has become prominent especially with the introduction of a new smoking method of e-cigarettes. The utilization of e-cigarettes in the US has significantly increased due to the reduction in the use of the traditional smoking of the cigarettes. Most of the research has been done on factors such as perception of e-cigarettes and the characteristics and incidence of electronic-cigarette use in the US. It has left a research gap on the relationship between education level and e-cigarette smoking habits. This study aims at finding out the effects of the level of education on e-cigarette smoking habits of young adults between 18 to 44 in New York City. The research method used was a mixed method which involved quantitative technique. Data were collected using the 2017 Community Health Survey (CHS) cross section survey where participants were asked questions through phone calls. It was found that race, age, gender, education levels, and marital status have a relationship with the likelihood of having tried an e-cigarette in the past 12 months in New York City.

With the rise of the service economy, many companies are attempting to gain a competitive advantage through service innovation. However, the existing research on the factors influencing service innovation appears to be scattered, lacking comprehensive and systematic understanding, and failing to find any causal relationship between factors and the importance of each factor. Hence, this paper will systematically identify and analyze the factors that influence service innovation based on a service ecosystems perspective in manufacturing enterprises. This paper uses a set of factors that influence service innovation through an analysis of the existing service innovation literature, and uses the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method to more accurately quantify the causal relationship of each factor and to identify the key influencing factors. The results show that customer participation, frontline employee participation, information technology capability, knowledge sharing, senior management support, and market turmoil are the key influencing factors. This study explores the key factors influencing service innovation in manufacturing enterprises, and discriminates the causal relationship between various factors. This study contributes to the literature on service innovation, provides future research directions and helps managers to more easily achieve service innovation.