Sustainability accounting is crucial for corporate transparency and responsibility, but its relationship with firm characteristics in Shanghai, China’s financial center, remains poorly understood. ...This study uses a descriptive-analytical methodology to examine the impact of firm size, industry type, and profitability on sustainability accounting practices. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of 43 studies provide insights into the extent and drivers of sustainability reporting. The findings reveal a positive association between firm size (r = 0.389) and profitability (r = 0.327) with sustainability reporting. Larger, more profitable firms, including state-owned enterprises, exhibit extensive sustainability accounting practices. However, the effect of industry type is inconclusive (r = 0.061), indicating a contingent relationship dependent on firm-specific contexts. The study suggests implementing regulations mandating minimum sustainability disclosure for large and profitable enterprises. Capacity-building initiatives for small private firms and the adoption of integrated reporting policies can enhance transparency. These outcomes contribute contemporary insights into corporate sustainability accounting in China’s evolving landscape. The implications extend to policy development and collaborative efforts to expand sustainability measurement and disclosure in Shanghai. Tailoring regulatory initiatives to firm profiles, such as size and profitability, enhances sustainability accounting practices. Targeted capacity-building programs, assurance mandates, and integrated reporting regulations improve the quality and usefulness of sustainability accounting information. Collaboration with the investor community is crucial for mainstreaming sustainability measurement and disclosure. This study deepens the understanding of sustainability accounting practices in Shanghai, an emerging economy financial hub. It provides insights for policy development, emphasizing firm and sector-specific factors driving sustainability accounting. Policymakers can promote transparency and responsibility by considering firms’ unique characteristics, fostering a more sustainable business environment.
The field of sustainability accounting aims to integrate environmental, social, and governance factors into financial reporting. With the growing importance of sustainability practices, emerging ...technologies have the potential to revolutionize reporting methods. However, there is a lack of research on the factors influencing the adoption of blockchain and cloud-based sustainability accounting in China. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to examine the key drivers and barriers to technology adoption for sustainability reporting among Chinese businesses. Through a systematic literature review, gaps in knowledge were identified. Primary data was collected through an online survey of firms, followed by in-depth case studies. The findings of the study reveal a positive relationship between company size and reporting behaviors. However, size alone is not sufficient to predict outcomes accurately. The industry type also has significant but small effects, although its impact on reporting behaviors varies. The relationship between profitability and reporting behaviors is intricate and contingent, requiring contextual examination. The adoption of blockchain technology is positively associated with capabilities, resources, skills, and regulatory factors. On the other hand, cloud computing adoption is linked to resources, management support, and risk exposures. However, the specific impacts of industry on adoption remain inconclusive. This study aims to offer empirical validation of relationships, shedding light on the intricate nature of interactions that necessitate nuanced conceptualizations incorporating contextual moderators. The findings underscore the importance of providing customized support and adaptable guidance to accommodate the evolving practices in sustainability accounting. Moreover, the assimilation of technology and organizational changes highlights the need for multifaceted stakeholder cooperation to drive responsible innovation and address the challenges posed by digital transformations in this field.
The real-time, accurate, and refined monitoring of urban green space status information is of great significance in the construction of urban ecological environment and the improvement of urban ...ecological benefits. The high-resolution technology can provide abundant information of ground objects, which makes the information of urban green surface more complicated. The existing classification methods are challenging to meet the classification accuracy and automation requirements of high-resolution images. This paper proposed a deep learning classification method for urban green space based on phenological features constraints in order to make full use of the spectral and spatial information of green space provided by high-resolution remote sensing images (GaoFen-2) in different periods. The vegetation phenological features were added as auxiliary bands to the deep learning network for training and classification. We used the HRNet (High-Resolution Network) as our model and introduced the Focal Tversky Loss function to solve the sample imbalance problem. The experimental results show that the introduction of phenological features into HRNet model training can effectively improve urban green space classification accuracy by solving the problem of misclassification of evergreen and deciduous trees. The improvement rate of F1-Score of deciduous trees, evergreen trees, and grassland were 0.48%, 4.77%, and 3.93%, respectively, which proved that the combination of vegetation phenology and high-resolution remote sensing image can improve the results of deep learning urban green space classification.
With the development of the revolutionary tide of new technology, our production scale is gradually expanding. Manual production has been unable to meet the requirements of industrial production. In ...order to improve production efficiency and welding quality, we developed a welding robot. Because it has the characteristics of high production efficiency, stable welding quality and large practical demand. It is developing most rapidly. With the development of PLC technology, we gradually apply it to the development of welding robot. Its advantages of good ductility, low cost and convenient maintenance can bring great value to industrial production.
The North China Plain (NCP) frequently experiences heavy haze pollution, particularly during wintertime. In winter 2015–2016, the NCP region suffered several extremely severe haze episodes with air ...pollution red alerts issued in many cities. We have investigated the sources and aerosol evolution processes of the severe pollution episodes in Handan, a typical industrialized city in the NCP region, using real-time measurements from an intensive field campaign during the winter of 2015–2016. The average (±1σ) concentration of submicron aerosol (PM1) during 3 December 2015–5 February 2016 was 187.6 (±137.5) µg m−3, with the hourly maximum reaching 700.8 µg m−3. Organic was the most abundant component, on average accounting for 45 % of total PM1 mass, followed by sulfate (15 %), nitrate (14 %), ammonium (12 %), chloride (9 %) and black carbon (BC, 5 %). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) with the multilinear engine (ME-2) algorithm identified four major organic aerosol (OA) sources, including traffic emissions represented by a hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA, 7 % of total OA), industrial and residential burning of coal represented by a coal combustion OA (CCOA, 29 % of total OA), open and domestic combustion of wood and crop residuals represented by a biomass burning OA (BBOA, 25 % of total OA), and formation of secondary OA (SOA) in the atmosphere represented by an oxygenated OA (OOA, 39 % of total OA). Emissions of primary OA (POA), which together accounted for 61 % of total OA and 27 % of PM1, are a major cause of air pollution during the winter. Our analysis further uncovered that primary emissions from coal combustion and biomass burning together with secondary formation of sulfate (mainly from SO2 emitted by coal combustion) are important driving factors for haze evolution. However, the bulk composition of PM1 showed comparatively small variations between less polluted periods (daily PM2. 5 ≤ 75 µg m−3) and severely polluted periods (daily PM2. 5 > 75 µg m−3), indicating relatively synchronous increases of all aerosol species during haze formation. The case study of a severe haze episode, which lasted 8 days starting with a steady buildup of aerosol pollution followed by a persistently high level of PM1 (326.7–700.8 µg m−3), revealed the significant influence of stagnant meteorological conditions which acerbate air pollution in the Handan region. The haze episode ended with a shift of wind which brought in cleaner air masses from the northwest of Handan and gradually reduced PM1 concentration to < 50 µg m−3 after 12 h. Aqueous-phase reactions under higher relative humidity (RH) were found to significantly promote the production of secondary inorganic species (especially sulfate) but showed little influence on SOA.
Main conclusion
Thirty CcMYB were identified to involve in flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis in pigeon pea genome. A comprehensive analysis of gene structure, phylogenetic relationships, distribution ...on chromosomes, gene duplication, and expression patterns was performed.
MYB transcription factor is one of the largest gene families in plants and plays critical roles in plant growth and development, as well as resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. However, the function of
MYB
genes in pigeon pea (
Cajanus cajan
) remains largely unknown. Here, 30
R2R3-MYB
which involved flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis were identified in the pigeon pea genome and were classified into five groups based on phylogenetic analysis. Simultaneously, another 122 key enzyme genes from biosynthetic pathways of flavonoid and lignin were identified and all of them were mapped on 11 chromosomes with the co-linearity relationship. Among these genes, the intron/exon organization and motif compositions were conserved and they have undergone a strong purifying selection and tandem duplications during evolution. Expression profile analysis demonstrated most of these genes were expressed in different tissues and responded significantly to MeJA, RNA-seq analysis revealed clear details of genes varied with time of induction. Ten key genes from the phenylpropanoid pathway were selected to further verify whether they responded to induction under different abiotic stress conditions (UV-B, cold, heat, salt, drought, and GA
3
). This study elaborates on potential regulatory relationships between
R2R3-MYB
genes and some key genes involved in flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis under MeJA treatment, as well as adding to the understanding of improving abiotic stress tolerance and regulating the secondary metabolism in woody crops. A simplified discussion model for the different regulation networks involved with flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis in pigeon pea is proposed.
Identifying the changes and relationships between regional eco-environment quality and landscape pattern in an urban agglomeration have a great significance in realizing sustainable development goal. ...However, limited research has been performed to understand the spatiotemporal change of eco-environment quality, the variation of landscape pattern, and their relationship in an urban agglomeration. This study selected the Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ) urban agglomeration as the study area. A comprehensive index, the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), was utilized to understand the eco-environment spatiotemporal change and landscape pattern variation at class-level and landscape-level of JJJ during 2001~2015, then, their relationship was explored. The major conclusions were as follows: (1) The average RSEI value of JJJ increased from 0.43 to 0.46, which represented that the eco-environment of JJJ had improved in the fourteen years. Among it, the improved region was mainly located in Zhangjiakou city, while the degraded region was mainly distributed in the eastern Hebei plain. (2) The landscape characteristics of entire JJJ eco-environment were becoming more aggregated, connected, diverse, and regular. However, fair, moderate, and good grades were getting more concentrated and continuous; poor grade indicated a more fragmented and disconnected trend; excellent grade displayed an expanded and concentrated situation. (3) Human factors have an increasing influence on regional eco-environment changes. (4) Fair, moderate, and good grades showed a more dominant and stronger influence on the variation of landscape pattern in JJJ. Specifically, the fair grade had a positive correlation with the variation of landscape pattern, while moderate and good grades had a negative one. All of these conclusions could be valuable information for relevant decision-makers in managing or achieving the optimal eco-environment landscape pattern.
Zeaxanthin and lutein have a wide range of pharmacological applications. In this study, we conducted systematic experimental research to optimize antioxidant extraction based on detection, ...extraction, process amplification, and purification. An ultrasonic-assisted method was used to extract zeaxanthin and lutein with high efficiency from corn gluten meal. Firstly, the effects of solid-liquid ratio, extraction temperature, and ultrasonic extraction time on the extraction of zeaxanthin were investigated in single-factor experiments. The optimization extraction parameters of zeaxanthin and lutein with ethanol solvent were obtained using the response surface methodology (RSM) as follows: liquid-solid ratio of 7.9:1, extraction temperature of 56 °C, and extraction time of 45 min. The total content of zeaxanthin and lutein was 0.501%. The optimum extraction experimental parameters were verified by process amplification, and we confirmed that the parameters of the extraction process optimized using the RSM design are reliable and precise. Zeaxanthin and lutein from crude extract of corn gluten were separated and purified using silica gel column chromatography with the purity of zeaxanthin increasing from 0.28% to 31.5% (about 110 times) and lutein from 0.25% to 16.3% (about 65 times), which could be used for large-scale industrial production of carotenoids.
Doxorubicin (DOX) is a chemotherapeutic drug, while its clinical use is greatly limited by the life-threatening cardiotoxicity. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification participates in varieties of ...cellular processes. Nonetheless, it remains elusive whether m6A modification and its methyltransferase METTL3 are involved in the progression of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC).
Mice were administrated with DOX (accumulative dosage of 20 mg/kg) repeatedly to establish a chronic DIC model. Cardiomyocyte-specific conditional METTL3 knockout mice were employed to evaluate the effects of altered m6A RNA modification on DIC. The effects of METTL3 on cardiomyocyte ferroptosis were also examined in response to DOX stimulation.
DOX led to increased levels in m6A modification and METTL3 expression in cardiomyocytes in a c-Jun-dependent manner. METTL3-knockout mice exhibited improved cardiac function, remodeling and injury following DOX insult. Besides, inhibition of METTL3 alleviated DOX-induced iron accumulation and ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes, whereas METTL3 overexpression exerted the opposite effects. Mechanistically, METTL3 promoted m6A modification of TFRC mRNA, a critical gene governing iron uptake, and enhanced its stability through recognition of the m6A reader protein, IGF2BP2. Moreover, pharmacological administration of a highly selective METTL3 inhibitor STM2457 effectively ameliorated DIC in mice.
METTL3 plays a cardinal role in the etiology of DIC by regulating cardiac iron metabolism and ferroptosis through TFRC m6A modification. Inhibition of METTL3 might be a potential therapeutic avenue for DIC.
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Exploring the regional eco-environmental quality (EEQ) and its driving factors is of great significance for regional management. Although existing studies have paid much attention to evaluate EEQ, ...few studies have been performed to investigate the spatiotemporal variations of EEQ and its driving factors in different ecosystem service regions (ESR) at an urban agglomeration scale. In this study, we selected Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration (JJJ) as the study area to evaluate its EEQ, analyze its spatiotemporal variations, and investigate potential driving factors explanatory power based on the geographical detector methods in different ESR during 2001∼2015. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) The EEQ of JJJ had improved from 2001 to 2015, with the average RSEI increased from 0.43 to 0.46; among them, Bashang Plateau and Western Hebei Ecosystem Service Region (BWHE) had the highest RSEI change rate (±26.19%) and the highest NTEDI value (0.13), while Central Hebei Plain Ecosystem Service Region (CHPE) had the lowest RSEI change rate (-5.41%) and the lowest NTEDI value (-0.02). (2) The EEQ of JJJ had strong spatial agglomeration effects, with the global Moran's I increased from 0.82 to 0.88. Spatially, the LL regions mainly changed into the HH regions in the northwestern part, while in the central and eastern areas, some isolated LL regions displayed an aggregated trend. (3) In terms of the driving factors, soil type and elevation were primary factors in explaining the variations of EEQ. Specifically, natural factors explained the highest variations in BWHE. The interaction of topographical and socio-economic factors had high explanatory power in Yanshan and Taihang Mountain Ecosystem Service Region (YTME) and CHPE; To Bohai and Coastal Ring Ecosystem Service Region (BCRE), the interaction of meteorological and socio-economic factors accounted for the high variations of EEQ. All these findings could provide more valuable advice for relevant policy-makers.
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