Earlier studies have reaffirmed the pivotal role played by the private sectors in China's development, so the growth of private enterprises deserves more attention. This paper carries out a series of ...empirical studies based on the motives for holding cash. It is found that private enterprises were forced to maintain a high level of cash holdings to deal with financing constraints, while SOEs accumulate cash proactively for larger financial flexibility. In such context, credit discrimination remains an urgent problem pending Chinese financial system reform solutions.
Alkene hydrocarbonation reactions have been developed to supplement traditional electrophile-nucleophile cross-coupling reactions. The branch-selective hydroalkylation method applied to a broad range ...of unactivated alkenes remains challenging. Herein, we report a NiH-catalysed proximal-selective hydroalkylation of unactivated alkenes to access β- or γ-branched alkyl carboxylic acids and β-, γ- or δ-branched alkyl amines. A broad range of alkyl iodides and bromides with different functional groups can be installed with excellent regiocontrol and availability for site-selective late-stage functionalization of biorelevant molecules. Under modified reaction conditions with NiCl
(PPh
)
as the catalyst, migratory hydroalkylation takes place to provide β- (rather than γ-) branched products. The keys to success are the use of aminoquinoline and picolinamide as suitable directing groups and combined experimental and computational studies of ligand effects on the regioselectivity and detailed reaction mechanisms.
Autophagy is a highly conserved intracellular degradation pathway that breaks down damaged macromolecules and/or organelles. It is involved in plant development and senescence, as well as in biotic ...and abiotic stresses. However, the autophagy process and related genes are largely unknown in citrus. In this study, we identified 35 autophagy-related genes (
autophagy-related genes (
) of
, Cs) in a genome-wide manner from sweet orange (
). Bioinformatic analysis showed that these CsATGs were highly similar to
ATGs in both sequence and phylogeny. All the
were randomly distributed on nine known (28 genes) and one unknown (7 genes) chromosomes. Ten
were predicted to be segmental duplications. Expression patterns suggested that most of the
were significantly up- or down-regulated in response to drought; cold; heat; salt; mannitol; and excess manganese, copper, and cadmium stresses. In addition, two
members,
and
, were cloned from sweet orange and ectopically expressed in
. The
and
transgenic plants showed enhanced tolerance to osmotic stress, salt, as well as drought (
) or cold (
), compared to wild-type plants. These results highlight the essential roles of
genes in abiotic stresses.
In utero exposure to phthalates may have adverse effects on pregnant women and their offsprings. Therefore, the exposure level of these substances among individuals, particularly among sensitive ...population, is of concern. The objective of the present study is to characterize urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites at multiple time points during pregnancy in Chinese women. A total of 3455 pregnant women were included from Ma'anshan Birth Cohort in China. Spot urine samples in the morning (8:00–10:00) and questionnaires were obtained at three separate visits (approximately in 10, 26, and 34 gestational weeks). Seven phthalate metabolites from urine samples were analyzed, including monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monobutyl phthalate (MBP), mono benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), mono (2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) and mono (2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP). Geometric means of concentrations were ranged from 0.05 to 41.0ng/mL for all the metabolites mentioned above. No individual exposure level was above the 95th percentiles for all the seven phthalates. On the three separate visits, 0.5%, 0.9% and 1.2% of the participants had coexposure to above the 75th percentiles for all metabolites. Taken these visits together, a total of 29 urine samples had concentrations above the 95th percentiles, while 3.0%–5.6% of urine levels were above 75th percentiles for at least one specific phthalate metabolite. We observed moderate intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranging from 0.44 to 0.56 for MBzP, MEHP and MEP, and lower ICCs, from 0.28 to 0.32, for MMP, MBP, MEOHP and MEHHP. Sampling season was associated with concentrations of all phthalate metabolites, showing heavier exposure was more likely to occur during summer. In summary, phthalate exposure is prevalent in Chinese pregnant women. However, throughout pregnancy coexposure to multiple phthalates at the upper percentile of exposure is infrequent. Mild to moderate temporal stability indicates that a single measurement in spot urine collected in the morning (8:00–10:00) seems not enough to describe throughout pregnancy phthalate exposure. Urinary levels vary by sampling seasons, which should be taken into consideration in future analyses.
The unadjusted and creatinine-adjusted concentrations of urinary phthalate metabolites. Display omitted
•Phthalate exposure is prevalent in Chinese pregnant women.•Coexposure to multiple phthalates at high-doses is infrequent among Chinese pregnant women.•Throughout pregnancy exposure to one specific phthalate at high-dose is infrequent.•Exposure to phthalates during pregnancy is mild to moderate temporal stability.•Urinary levels of all the phthalate metabolites vary by sampling seasons.
Phosphorus removal is important for the control of eutrophication, and adsorption is an efficient treatment process. In this study, three modified inorganic-bentonites: hydroxy-aluminum pillared ...bentonite (Al-Bent), hydroxy-iron pillared bentonite (Fe-Bent), and mixed hydroxy-iron–aluminum pillared bentonite (Fe–Al-Bent), were prepared and characterized, and their phosphate adsorption capabilities were evaluated in batch experiments. The results showed a significant increase of interlayer spacing, BET surface area and total pore volume which were all beneficial to phosphate adsorption. Phosphate adsorption capacity followed the order: Al-Bent
>
Fe-Bent
>
Fe–Al-Bent. The adsorption rate of phosphate on the adsorbents fits pseudo-second-order kinetic models (
R
2
=
1.00, 0.99, 1.00, respectively). The Freundlich and Langmuir models both described the adsorption isotherm data well. Thermodynamic studies illustrated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. Finally, phosphate adsorption on the inorganic pillared bentonites significantly raised the pH, indicating an anion/OH
− exchange reaction.
Time-reversal invariant topological insulator is widely recognized as one of the fundamental discoveries in condensed matter physics, for which the most fascinating hallmark is perhaps a spin-based ...topological protection, the absence of scattering of conduction electrons with certain spins on matter surface. Recently, it has created a paradigm shift for topological insulators, from electronics to photonics, phononics and mechanics as well, bringing about not only involved new physics but also potential applications in robust wave transport. Despite the growing interests in topologically protected acoustic wave transport, T-invariant acoustic topological insulator has not yet been achieved. Here we report experimental demonstration of anomalous Floquet topological insulator for sound: a strongly coupled metamaterial ring lattice that supports one-way propagation of pseudo-spin-dependent edge states under T-symmetry. We also demonstrate the formation of pseudo-spin-dependent interface states due to lattice dislocations and investigate the properties of pass band and band gap states.
Understanding the influence of vegetation on flow and sediment transport is essential to wetland protection and restoration projects. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the sediment ...pickup (or entrainment) over bare and vegetated beds with model vegetation (i.e., cylinder arrays) of different solid volume fractions, ϕ $\phi $, and diameters, d $d$. For the vegetated beds, measured pickup rate was closely correlated with turbulent kinetic energy, kt ${k}_{t}$, and τ $\tau $‐based model developed for bare channels significantly underestimated the pickup rate measured in vegetated channels. Building on previous theoretical analyses and observations, this study proposed two kt ${k}_{t}$‐based predictions for pickup rate that include the impact of both bed‐ and vegetation‐generated turbulence. The new models improve the prediction of pickup rate within vegetated regions.
Plain Language Summary
Aquatic vegetation abounds in rivers, lakes, and coastal regions. It plays an important role in ecosystems, for example, it enhances water quality, stabilizes riverbanks, and promotes soil carbon storage. During the past decades, however, the area of vegetated ecosystems has significantly decreased, leading to a growing interest in wetland restoration. To improve restoration outcomes, it is essential to understand how vegetation impacts flow and sediment motion. This study revealed that traditional models describing sediment erosion in bare channels underestimated by orders of magnitude the erosion rate in vegetated regions. This was attributed to the influence of vegetation‐generated turbulence on sediment erosion. New predictions for sediment erosion rate that incorporate the influence of turbulence were proposed and validated. The new description of erosion can improve the modeling of landscape evolution and marsh restoration.
Key Points
Time‐averaged bed‐shear stress models significantly underestimated sediment pickup rate in vegetated channels
New turbulence‐based models predicted sediment pickup rate in both bare and vegetated channels
Pickup rate resulting in either suspended load or bedload can be described by the same law
This research depicts the linkage of public leadership on public health delivery (PHD) and collaborative administration. The research is also focused to examine the effect of public leadership on ...public health delivery through the intervening variable of collaborative administration by using both social information processing theory and collaboration theory.
This research is based on quantitative method. Data was collected from 464 public hospital administration in the context of Pakistan. This study evaluated data using SPSS, AMOS, and PROCESS Macro.
Public leadership has a positive profound effect on public health delivery and collaborative administration, and that collaborative administration significantly promotes public health delivery. The outcomes also exposed that public leadership has substantial influence on public health delivery through intervening collaborative administration.
Whilst public leadership demonstrated positive outcomes on public health delivery and collaborative administration, there is a need for more rigor studies on collaborative governance leadership, collaborative ethics and collaborative norms in the public health service.
We sought to explore the prevalence and immediate clinical implications of acute myocardial injury in a cohort of patients with COVID-19 in a region of China where medical resources are less stressed ...than in Wuhan (the epicentre of the pandemic).
We prospectively assessed the medical records, laboratory results, chest CT images and use of medication in a cohort of patients presenting to two designated covid-19 treatment centres in Sichuan, China. Outcomes of interest included death, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), need for mechanical ventilation, treatment with vasoactive agents and classification of disease severity. Acute myocardial injury was defined by a value of high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) greater than the normal upper limit.
A total of 101 cases were enrolled from January to 10 March 2020 (average age 49 years, IQR 34-62 years). Acute myocardial injury was present in 15.8% of patients, nearly half of whom had a hs-TnT value fivefold greater than the normal upper limit. Patients with acute myocardial injury were older, with a higher prevalence of pre-existing cardiovascular disease and more likely to require ICU admission (62.5% vs 24.7%, p=0.003), mechanical ventilation (43.5% vs 4.7%, p<0.001) and treatment with vasoactive agents (31.2% vs 0%, p<0.001). Log hs-TnT was associated with disease severity (OR 6.63, 95% CI 2.24 to 19.65), and all of the three deaths occurred in patients with acute myocardial injury.
Acute myocardial injury is common in patients with COVID-19 and is associated with adverse prognosis.
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