Is state-owned enterprise merging private enterprise "market choice" or "space crowding" ? -Based on the motives of equity transfer of mixed-ownership enterprises.

Many state-owned enterprises have mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with private enterprises, which has caused private enterprises to worry about their living space being squeezed. Based on 572 data records about equity transfers of Chinese listed companies extracted from CSMAR4.0 from 2013 to 2020, this paper categorized ownership structures into three categories: privatization of state-owned enterprises (Category 1), state-owned enterprises merging private enterprises (Category 2), and state-owned enterprises merging state-owned enterprises (Category 3). The categorical regression of ex-ante equity transfer motivation revealed that the motives for Category 1 conformed to the phenomenon of the "pretty girl gets married first" and "embezzlement view." Category In contrast, the motives for Category 2 conformed to the "fiscal revenue view." The categorical regression of ex-post equity transfer motivation showed that all three types significantly improved various efficiencies and represented an optimal allocation of resources. Moreover, it was revealed that the transfer of equity to state-owned enterprises by inefficient private firms in Category 2 also significantly improved enterprise efficiency. Thus, it can be considered as a rational behavior of market selection and never squeezed the space crowding. Further analysis showed that the efficiency improvement is due to the symbiotic development relationship rather than the antagonistic relationship between heterogeneous shareholders. Therefore, it is suggested to initiate market-oriented reform by actively developing ownership mixed-ownership economy and adhering to the "two unwavering" basic economic system.

Quantifying the electron-donating and -accepting capacities of wastewater for evaluating and optimizing biological wastewater treatment processes.

Biological processes have been widely used for the treatment of both domestic and industrial wastewaters. In such biological processes, pollutants are converted into pollution-free substances by microorganisms through oxidation-reduction reactions. Thus, how to quantify the internal oxidation-reduction properties wastewaters and seek out targeted countermeasures is essential to understand, operate, and optimize biological wastewater treatment systems. So far, no such approach is available yet. In this work, a novel concept of electron neutralization-based evaluation is proposed to describe the internal oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater. Pollutants in wastewater are defined as electron donor substances (EDSs) or electron acceptor substances (EASs), which could give or accept electrons, respectively. With such an electron neutralization concept, several parameters, i.e., electron residual concentration (R), economy-related index (E and Er), and economical evaluation index (Y and Yr), are defined. Then, these parameters are used to evaluate the performance and economic aspects of currently applied wastewater treatment processes and even optimize systems. Three case studies demonstrate that the proposed concept could be effectively used to reduce wastewater treatment costs, assess energy recovery, and evaluate process performance. Therefore, a new, simple, and reliable methodology is established to describe the oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater and assess the biological wastewater treatment processes.

Weight-based dosing in medication use: what should we know?

BACKGROUND: Weight-based dosing strategy is still challenging due to poor awareness and adherence. It is necessary to let clinicians know of the latest developments in this respect and the correct circumstances in which weight-based dosing is of clinical relevance. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using PubMed. RESULTS: Clinical indications, physiological factors, and types of medication may determine the applicability of weight-based dosing. In some cases, the weight effect may be minimal or the proper dosage can only be determined when weight is combined with other factors. Medications within similar therapeutic or structural class (eg, anticoagulants, antitumor necrosis factor medications, P2Y12-receptor antagonists, and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies) may exhibit differences in requirements on weight-based dosing. In some cases, weight-based dosing is superior to currently recommended fixed-dose regimen in adult patients (eg, hydrocortisone, vancomycin, linezolid, and aprotinin). On the contrary, fixed dosing is noninferior to or even better than currently recommended weight-based regimen in adult patients in some cases (eg, cyclosporine microemulsion, recombinant activated Factor VII, and epoetin α). Ideal body-weight-based dosing may be superior to the currently recommended total body-weight-based regimen (eg, atracurium and rocuronium). For dosing in pediatrics, whether weight-based dosing is better than body surface-area-based dosing is dependent on the particular medication (eg, methotrexate, prednisone, prednisolone, zidovudine, didanosine, growth hormone, and 13-cis-retinoic acid). Age-based dosing strategy is better than weight-based dosing in some cases (eg, intravenous busulfan and dalteparin). Dosing guided by pharmacogenetic testing did not show pharmacoeconomic advantage over weight-adjusted dosing of 6-mercaptopurine. The common viewpoint (ie, pediatric patients should be dosed on the basis of body weight) is not always correct. Effective weight-based dosing interventions include standardization of weight estimation, documentation and dosing determination, dosing chart, dosing protocol, order set, pharmacist participation, technological information, and educational measures. CONCLUSION: Although dosing methods are specified in prescribing information for each drug and there are no principal pros and cons to be elaborated, this review of weight-based dosing strategy will enrich the knowledge of medication administration from the perspectives of safety, efficacy, and pharmacoeconomics, and will also provide research opportunities in clinical practice. Clinicians should be familiar with dosage and administration of the medication to be prescribed as well as the latest developments.

Seasonal variation of diet and time budget of Eastern hoolock gibbons (Hoolock leuconedys) living in a northern montane forest.

Most gibbons dwell in the tropical forests of Southeastern Asia, but eastern hoolock gibbons (Hoolock leuconedys) survive in high montane forest ranging from 1,600 to 2,700 m a.s.l. in Gaoligongshan (>24°30'N), Yunnan, China. To assess the behavioral adaptations of hoolock gibbons to the montane forest, we related temperature and food availability within the habitat to the seasonal behavioral patterns of a family group and a solitary female between August 2010 and September 2011 in Nankang, Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve. The maximum temperature was 29.2 °C and the minimum temperature was -0.3 °C during the period. The monthly mean temperature was <10 °C between December and February, making Nankang the coldest gibbon habitat reported so far. Nonfig fruit and fig availability declined to nearly zero in cold months. The family group increased resting and decreased travel and social behaviors when the monthly mean temperature was low. Compared with other gibbon populations, the hoolock gibbons spent proportionally less time feeding on figs and other fruit than other gibbon populations except Nomascus concolor and Symphalangus syndactylus. Only 36 species of plants provided nonfig fruit or figs, which is less than the number of fruit species consumed by any other gibbon population observed during a similar period of time (about 1 year). Hoolock gibbons shifted their diet to leaves and increased feeding time when fruit was not available. We conclude that diet flexibility and an energy-conserving strategy during the cold season when fruit is scarce have enabled the hoolock gibbons to survive in a northern montane forest.

Modeling assessment for ammonium nitrogen recovery from wastewater by chemical precipitation.

Chemical precipitation to form magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) is an effective technology for recovering ammonium nitrogen (NH4(+)-N). In the present research, we investigated the thermodynamic modeling of the PHREEQC program for NH4(+)-N recovery to evaluate the effect of reaction factors on MAP precipitation. The case study of NH4(+)-N recovery from coking wastewater was conducted to provide a comparison. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to assist in understanding the relative significance of reaction factors and the interactive effects of solution conditions. Thermodynamic modeling indicated that the saturation index (SI) of MAP followed a polynomial function of pH. The SI of MAP increased logarithmically with the Mg2+/NH4+ molar ratio (Mg/N) and the initial NH4(+)-N concentration (CN), respectively, while it decreased with an increase in Ca2+/NH4+ and CO3(2-)/NH4+ molar ratios (Ca/N and CO3(2-)/N), respectively. The trends for NH4(+)-N removal at different pH and Mg/N levels were similar to the thermodynamic modeling predictions. The RSM analysis indicated that the factors including pH, Mg/N, C(N), Ca/N, (Mg/N)x (CO3(2-)/N), (pH)2, (Mg/N)2, and (C(N))2 were significant. Response surface plots were useful for understanding the interaction effects on NH4(+)-N recovery.