We examine how mandatory disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) impacts firm performance and social externalities. Our analysis exploits China's 2008 mandate requiring firms to disclose ...CSR activities, using a difference-in-differences design. Although the mandate does not require firms to spend on CSR, we find that mandatory CSR reporting firms experience a decrease in profitability subsequent to the mandate. In addition, the cities most impacted by the disclosure mandate experience a decrease in their industrial wastewater and SO2 emission levels. These findings suggest that mandatory CSR disclosure alters firm behavior and generates positive externalities at the expense of shareholders.
Summary
Target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling is a nutrient‐sensing pathway controlling metabolism and lifespan. Although TOR signaling can be activated by a metabolite of diacylglycerol (DAG), ...phosphatidic acid (PA), the precise genetic mechanism through which DAG metabolism influences lifespan remains unknown. DAG is metabolized to either PA via the action of DAG kinase or 2‐arachidonoyl‐sn‐glycerol by diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL). Here, we report that in Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans, overexpression of diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL/inaE/dagl‐1) or knockdown of diacylglycerol kinase (DGK/rdgA/dgk‐5) extends lifespan and enhances response to oxidative stress. Phosphorylated S6 kinase (p‐S6K) levels are reduced following these manipulations, implying the involvement of TOR signaling. Conversely, DAGL/inaE/dagl‐1 mutants exhibit shortened lifespan, reduced tolerance to oxidative stress, and elevated levels of p‐S6K. Additional results from genetic interaction studies are consistent with the hypothesis that DAG metabolism interacts with TOR and S6K signaling to affect longevity and oxidative stress resistance. These findings highlight conserved metabolic and genetic pathways that regulate aging.
Abstract
Interest in bringing p- and n-type monolayer semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) into contact to form rectifying pn diode has thrived since it is crucial to control the ...electrical properties in two-dimensional (2D) electronic and optoelectronic devices. Usually this involves vertically stacking different TMDs with pn heterojunction or, laterally manipulating carrier density by gate biasing. Here, by utilizing a locally reversed ferroelectric polarization, we laterally manipulate the carrier density and created a WSe
2
pn homojunction on the supporting ferroelectric BiFeO
3
substrate. This non-volatile WSe
2
pn homojunction is demonstrated with optical and scanning probe methods and scanning photoelectron micro-spectroscopy. A homo-interface is a direct manifestation of our WSe
2
pn diode, which can be quantitatively understood as a clear rectifying behavior. The non-volatile confinement of carriers and associated gate-free pn homojunction can be an addition to the 2D electron–photon toolbox and pave the way to develop laterally 2D electronics and photonics.
Due to its low cost, environmentally friendly process, and lack of secondary contamination, the photodegradation of dyes is regarded as a promising technology for industrial wastewater treatment. ...This technology demonstrates the light-enhanced generation of charge carriers and reactive radicals that non-selectively degrade various organic dyes into water, CO2, and other organic compounds via direct photodegradation or a sensitization-mediated degradation process. The overall efficiency of the photocatalysis system is closely dependent upon operational parameters that govern the adsorption and photodegradation of dye molecules, including the initial dye concentration, pH of the solution, temperature of the reaction medium, and light intensity. Additionally, the charge-carrier properties of the photocatalyst strongly affect the generation of reactive species in the heterogeneous photodegradation and thereby dictate the photodegradation efficiency. Herein, this comprehensive review discusses the pseudo kinetics and mechanisms of the photodegradation reactions. The operational factors affecting the photodegradation of either cationic or anionic dye molecules, as well as the charge-carrier properties of the photocatalyst, are also fully explored. By further analyzing past works to clarify key active species for photodegradation reactions and optimal conditions, this review provides helpful guidelines that can be applied to foster the development of efficient photodegradation systems.
Enriched PD-L1 expression in cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) contributes to CSC immune evasion. However, the mechanisms underlying PD-L1 enrichment in CSCs remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that ...epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) enriches PD-L1 in CSCs by the EMT/β-catenin/STT3/PD-L1 signaling axis, in which EMT transcriptionally induces N-glycosyltransferase STT3 through β-catenin, and subsequent STT3-dependent PD-L1 N-glycosylation stabilizes and upregulates PD-L1. The axis is also utilized by the general cancer cell population, but it has much more profound effect on CSCs as EMT induces more STT3 in CSCs than in non-CSCs. We further identify a non-canonical mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) activity of etoposide, which suppresses the EMT/β-catenin/STT3/PD-L1 axis through TOP2B degradation-dependent nuclear β-catenin reduction, leading to PD-L1 downregulation of CSCs and non-CSCs and sensitization of cancer cells to anti-Tim-3 therapy. Together, our results link MET to PD-L1 stabilization through glycosylation regulation and reveal it as a potential strategy to enhance cancer immunotherapy efficacy.
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•Polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) cause pulmonary cytotoxicity by inducing ROS.•PS-MPs is associated with impaired pulmonary barrier by depleting ZO proteins.•PS-MPs inhalation ...increases the risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Microplastics (MPs) have become a global environmental concern. Recent studies have shown that MPs, of which the predominant type is often polystyrene (PS; known as PS-MPs), can extend to and affect remote, sparsely inhabited areas via atmospheric transport. Although exposure to inhaled MPs may induce lung dysfunction, further experimental verification of the pulmonary toxic potential of MPs and the mechanism underlying the toxicity is needed. Here we used normal human lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells to clarify the association between pulmonary toxicity and PS-MPs. Results revealed that PS-MPs can cause cytotoxic and inflammatory effects in BEAS-2B cells by inducing reactive oxygen species formation. PS-MPs can decrease transepithelial electrical resistance by depleting zonula occludens proteins. Indeed, decreased α1-antitrypsin levels in BEAS-2B cells suggest that exposure to PS-MPs increases the risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and high concentrations of PS-MPs can induce these adverse responses. While low PS-MP levels can only disrupt the protective pulmonary barrier, they may also increase the risk for lung disease. Collectively, our findings indicate that PS-MP inhalation may influence human respiratory health.
Summary
The Orchidaceae is a diverse and ecologically important plant family. Approximately 69% of all orchid species are epiphytes, which provide diverse microhabitats for many small animals and ...fungi in the canopy of tropical rainforests. Moreover, many orchids are of economic importance as food flavourings or ornamental plants. Phalaenopsis aphrodite, an epiphytic orchid, is a major breeding parent of many commercial orchid hybrids. We provide a high‐quality chromosome‐scale assembly of the P. aphrodite genome. The total length of all scaffolds is 1025.1 Mb, with N50 scaffold size of 19.7 Mb. A total of 28 902 protein‐coding genes were identified. We constructed an orchid genetic linkage map, and then anchored and ordered the genomic scaffolds along the linkage groups. We also established a high‐resolution pachytene karyotype of P. aphrodite and completed the assignment of linkage groups to the 19 chromosomes using fluorescence in situ hybridization. We identified an expansion in the epiphytic orchid lineage of FRS5‐like subclade associated with adaptations to the life in the canopy. Phylogenetic analysis further provides new insights into the orchid lineage‐specific duplications of MADS‐box genes, which might have contributed to the variation in labellum and pollinium morphology and its accessory structure. To our knowledge, this is the first orchid genome to be integrated with a SNP‐based genetic linkage map and validated by physical mapping. The genome and genetic map not only offer unprecedented resources for increasing breeding efficiency in horticultural orchids but also provide an important foundation for future studies in adaptation genomics of epiphytes.
A high breakdown voltage of 11.7 V is achieved for a GeSn ultrathin (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sim </tex-math></inline-formula>2 nm) body nanosheet p-channel field-effect ...transistor. This voltage is 5.7 V higher than that for a 10-nm GeSn nanosheet. The large effective bandgap associated with the quantum confinement in the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sim </tex-math></inline-formula>2-nm Ge<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{9}} </tex-math></inline-formula>Sn<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{1}} </tex-math></inline-formula> channel is responsible for the enhanced breakdown voltage. An extremely scaled Ge<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{9}} </tex-math></inline-formula>Sn<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{1}} </tex-math></inline-formula> ultrathin body with channel thickness reduced to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sim </tex-math></inline-formula>2 nm is realized through the co-optimization of low-temperature epitaxy and selective isotropic etching. As-grown Ge<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{9}} </tex-math></inline-formula>Sn<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{1}} </tex-math></inline-formula> channel layers as thin as 4 nm sandwiched by Ge<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{97}} </tex-math></inline-formula>Sn<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">_{{0}.{03}} </tex-math></inline-formula>/Ge caps are carefully designed for ultrathin bodies. Radical-based highly selective isotropic dry etching is adopted to etch the caps and sacrificial layers and to release the GeSn ultrathin body channels. In addition, owing to strong quantum confinement in the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sim </tex-math></inline-formula>2-nm ultrathin body, a high <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{I}_{\text {ON}}/{I}_{\text {OFF}} </tex-math></inline-formula> ratio of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\ge 1.7 \times 10^{{7}} </tex-math></inline-formula> at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">{V}_{\text {DS}} </tex-math></inline-formula> = -0.5 V is achieved.
Controlling ferroic orders (ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity) by optical methods is a significant challenge due to the large mismatch in energy scales between the order parameter ...coupling strengths and the incident photons. Here, we demonstrate an approach to manipulate multiple ferroic orders in an epitaxial mixed-phase BiFeO3 thin film at ambient temperature via laser illumination. Phase-field simulations indicate that a light-driven flexoelectric effect allows the targeted formation of ordered domains. We also achieved precise sequential laser writing and erasure of different domain patterns, which demonstrates a deterministic optical control of multiferroicity at room temperature. As ferroic orders directly influence susceptibility and conductivity in complex materials, our results not only shed light on the optical control of multiple functionalities, but also suggest possible developments for optoelectronics and related applications.The remote, non-volatile and reversible optical control of ferroic orders is challenging. Here, using laser illumination, multiple orders in epitaxial mixed-phase BiFeO3 are manipulated deterministically using a thermally driven flexoelectric effect.
The micro/nano positioning system discussed in this paper includes a piezoelectric actuator (PEA) and flexure-hinge-based positioning mechanism. Due to the existence of the hysteretic nonlinearity in ...the PEA and the friction in the system, the accurate positioning of the piezo-actuated positioning system calls applicable control schemes for practical applications. To this end, an implementable adaptive controller is developed in the paper, where a minimized parameterization hysteresis model is employed to reduce the computational load. The formulated adaptive control law guarantees the global stability of the controlled positioning system, and the positioning error can approach to zero asymptotically. The advantages of the proposed method making on-line implementation feasible are that the traditional inversion of the hysteresis does not need to be constructed directly; the real values of the parameters of the positioning system neither need to be identified nor measured; only the parameters in the formulation of the controller are estimated online. Comparison with the feedforward plus proportional-integral feedback control scheme is conducted and experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
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