The low-carbon city pilot policy is an environmental regulation aimed at reducing carbon emissions at the municipal level. Previous research mostly focused on evaluating its environmental performance ...and discovered it could enhance pilot cities' low-carbon innovation. However, the effects of the low-carbon city pilot policy on firm-level low-carbon innovation and their economic impact have yet to be investigated. This research uses a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms and the difference-in-difference method to examine the effect of the low-carbon city pilot policy on firms' low-carbon innovation. The baseline regression showed that the low-carbon city pilot policy could greatly encourage low-carbon innovation among firms in pilot cities. The mechanism analysis demonstrated that this improvement effect is attained by easing these firms' financing constraints. According to the heterogeneity analysis, we discovered that state-owned firms and firms situated in pilot zones with municipal secretaries who have larger promotion incentives are more susceptible to this policy. Additionally, the research on this policy's economic impact revealed that, following its adoption, the market value and comparative advantages of the firms in the pilot areas also increased. The findings of this study have implications for the enhancement and national expansion of low-carbon policies adopted at the city level.
The mixed halide perovskites have emerged as outstanding light absorbers for efficient solar cells. Unfortunately, it reveals inhomogeneity in these polycrystalline films due to composition ...separation, which leads to local lattice mismatches and emergent residual strains consequently. Thus far, the understanding of these residual strains and their effects on photovoltaic device performance is absent. Herein we study the evolution of residual strain over the films by depth-dependent grazing incident X-ray diffraction measurements. We identify the gradient distribution of in-plane strain component perpendicular to the substrate. Moreover, we reveal its impacts on the carrier dynamics over corresponding solar cells, which is stemmed from the strain induced energy bands bending of the perovskite absorber as indicated by first-principles calculations. Eventually, we modulate the status of residual strains in a controllable manner, which leads to enhanced PCEs up to 20.7% (certified) in devices via rational strain engineering.
In this article, a model-based sensorless control method which incorporates the orthogonal master-slave adaptive notch filter (ANF) for surface mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor is proposed. ...Since the rotor position estimation is seriously affected by the harmonics of estimated back-electromotive force (EMF), the orthogonal master-slave ANF is designed to deal with this problem. The orthogonal master-slave ANF is developed based on the ANF with frequency adaptation. The theoretical analysis indicates that the orthogonal master-slave ANF can accurately track the specific harmonics and the fundamental wave of back-EMF. Both the satisfactory harmonics elimination and the fast response speed of filter can also be achieved at the same time. Besides, the proposed frequency adaptation algorithm overcomes the dependence of frequency convergence on the signal amplitude and the problem of "double-frequency oscillation" in the estimated frequency. And since the use of frequency adaptation, the phase-locked loop is unnecessary, which simplifies the system and enhances the reliability. The corresponding experimental results under different conditions demonstrate the effectiveness and the superiority of the proposed method.
Abstract
Background
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contribute notably to colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis, stiffness, angiogenesis, immunosuppression and metastasis, and could serve as a ...promising therapeutic target. Our purpose was to construct CAF-related prognostic signature for CRC.
Methods
We performed bioinformatics analysis on single-cell transcriptome data derived from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and identified 208 differentially expressed cell markers from fibroblasts cluster. Bulk gene expression data of CRC was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO databases. Univariate Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage operator (LASSO) analyses were performed on TCGA training cohort (n = 308) for model construction, and was validated in TCGA validation (n = 133), TCGA total (n = 441), GSE39582 (n = 470) and GSE17536 (n = 177) datasets. Microenvironment Cell Populations-counter (MCP-counter) and Estimate the Proportion of Immune and Cancer cells (EPIC) methods were applied to evaluated CAFs infiltrations from bulk gene expression data. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed in tissue microarrays containing 80 colon cancer samples to further validate the prognostic value of the CAF model. pRRophetic and Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) algorithms were utilized to predict chemosensitivity and immunotherapy response. Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the protein expressions.
Results
A nine-gene prognostic CAF-related signature was established in training cohort. Kaplan–Meier survival analyses revealed patients with higher CAF risk scores were correlated with adverse prognosis in each cohort. MCP-counter and EPIC results consistently revealed CAFs infiltrations were significantly higher in high CAF risk group. Patients with higher CAF risk scores were more prone to not respond to immunotherapy, but were more sensitive to several conventional chemotherapeutics, suggesting a potential strategy of combining chemotherapy with anti-CAF therapy to improve the efficacy of current T-cell based immunotherapies. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses verified the CAF model was as an independent prognostic indicator in predicting overall survival, and a CAF-based nomogram was then built for clinical utility in predicting prognosis of CRC.
Conclusion
To conclude, the CAF-related signature could serve as a robust prognostic indicator in CRC, which provides novel genomics evidence for anti-CAF immunotherapeutic strategies.
The Co‐based electrocatalyst is among the most promising candidates for electrochemical oxidation of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). However, the intrinsic active sites and detailed mechanism of this ...catalyst remains unclear. We combine experimental evidence and a theoretical study to show that electrogenerated Co3+ and Co4+ species act as chemical oxidants but with distinct roles in selective HMF oxidation. It is found that Co3+ is only capable of oxidizing formyl group to produce carboxylate while Co4+ is required for the initial oxidation of hydroxyl group with significantly faster kinetics. As a result, the product distribution shows explicit dependence on the Co oxidation states and selective production of 5‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA) and 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) are achieved by tuning the applied potential. This work offers essential mechanistic insight on Co‐catalyzed organic oxidation reactions and might guide the design of more efficient electrocatalysts.
A detailed mechanism for cobalt‐catalyzed electrochemical 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation is revealed. A combined experimental and theoretical study shows that a Co3+ species is capable of oxidizing the formyl group to produce carboxylate but remains inert towards oxidation of the hydroxyl group. In contrast, a Co4+ species is required for the initial oxidation of the hydroxyl group in HMF.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a complex and chronic disorder caused by exposure to a traumatic event, is a common psychological result of current military operations. It causes substantial ...distress and interferes with personal and social functioning. Consequently, identifying the risk factors that make military personnel and veterans more likely to experience PTSD is of academic, clinical, and social importance. Four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) were used to search for observational studies (cross-sectional, retrospective, and cohort studies) about PTSD after deployment to combat areas. The literature search, study selection, and data extraction were conducted by two of the authors independently. Thirty-two articles were included in this study. Summary estimates were obtained using random-effects models. Subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, and publication bias tests were performed. The prevalence of combat-related PTSD ranged from 1.09% to 34.84%. A total of 18 significant predictors of PTSD among military personnel and veterans were found. Risk factors stemming from before the trauma include female gender, ethnic minority status, low education, non-officer ranks, army service, combat specialization, high numbers of deployments, longer cumulative length of deployments, more adverse life events, prior trauma exposure, and prior psychological problems. Various aspects of the trauma period also constituted risk factors. These include increased combat exposure, discharging a weapon, witnessing someone being wounded or killed, severe trauma, and deployment-related stressors. Lastly, lack of post-deployment support during the post-trauma period also increased the risk of PTSD. The current analysis provides evidence of risk factors for combat-related PTSD in military personnel and veterans. More research is needed to determine how these variables interact and how to best protect against susceptibility to PTSD.
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•Short-chain fatty acids are metabolites produced in the intestinal tract.•Two major SCFA signaling mechanisms are promotion of histone acetylation and activation of G-protein-coupled ...receptors.•SCFAs affect the regulation of inflammation, carcinogenesis, intestinal barrier function, and oxidative stress.•SCFAs have a high potential for a therapeutic use in human diseases
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), mainly including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, are metabolites produced during the bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber in the intestinal tract. They are believed to be essential factors affecting host health. Most in vitro and ex vivo studies have shown that SCFAs affect the regulation of inflammation, carcinogenesis, intestinal barrier function, and oxidative stress, but convincing evidence in humans is still lacking. Two major SCFA signaling mechanisms have been identified: promotion of histone acetylation and activation of G-protein-coupled receptors. In this review, we introduce the production and metabolic characteristics of SCFAs, summarize the potential effects of SCFAs on the four aspects mentioned above and the possible mechanisms. SCFAs have been reported to exert a wide spectrum of positive effects and have a high potential for therapeutic use in human-related diseases.
We ran a simulation comparing 3 methods to calculate case-fatality risk for coronavirus disease using parameters described in previous studies. Case-fatality risk calculated from these methods all ...are biased at the early stage of the epidemic. When comparing real-time case-fatality risk, the current trajectory of the epidemic should be considered.
The green credit policy is a crucial tool that the Chinese government adopted to tackle environmental problems by combining environmental regulation and credit policy. This study takes the Green ...Credit Guidelines (GCG) issued in 2012 as a quasi-natural experiment to examine its impact on the export quality of firms. Using data covering Chinese A-share listed firms and the difference-in-difference (DID) method, the empirical research shows that the GCG significantly enhanced the export quality of heavily polluting firms. The mediation analyses indicate that green innovation plays an intermediate role in enhancing the export quality of firms. The heterogeneity analysis of firm characteristics demonstrates that the improvement effect brought by the GCG is significantly reflected in state-owned firms and firms in financially underdeveloped areas. The research results provide implications for firms on how to deal with the green credit policy. In addition, it also serves as an essential reference for developing economies on the successful implementation of market-based environmental regulations.
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As an emerging ultra-wide bandgap compound semiconductor, Ga2O3 has attracted rapidly growing interest due to its unique physical properties for harsh condition applications. Compared ...to Ga2O3’s electrical-characteristic based uses, such as power electronics, photodetectors and solar cells, a much less explored area for Ga2O3 is its promising optical properties and its related scintillation capabilities. Undoped Ga2O3 is a strong scintillator with excellent scintillation characteristics such as fast decay constants and encouraging light yield which is comparable to that of the classic Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) scintillator. The scintillation capability of Ga2O3 can be precisely tuned via a series of approaches including systematic crystal growth control, post-growth annealing, targeted doping, and optimization of operation temperature. Here we summarize exciting progress of Ga2O3 scintillators which have been pursued over the past few years. Our efforts cover a series of growth techniques of Ga2O3 materials as well as discussion of emission mechanisms. Furthermore we dedicate a targeted portion toward the doping strategies to improve the performance of Ga2O3. A detailed analysis is provided to compare the impact of different dopants. Through these efforts, we hope to provide useful perspectives to help accelerate the development of high performance Ga2O3 scintillators.
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