The impacts of economy policy uncertainty on peer effects of firms R&D investment: Based on LDA machine learning and regression statistical modeling approach.

The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model is used to extract the text themes of newspaper news and construct the Chinese Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) Index. On this basis, based on the relevant data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2020, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of EPU on peer effects of firms R&D investment, and finds that EPU will aggravate the peer effects of firms R&D investment. Furthermore, the moderating effect of manager's motivation to maintain reputation on the process of EPU influencing the peer effects of firms R&D investment was tested, and the mechanism of EPU influencing the peer effects of firms R&D investment through financial frictions was verified.

The impact of decentralization of health services at the municipal level on health outcomes: evidence from China.

Objectives: Under the system of health decentralization, there are differences in the level of expenditure decentralization at different levels of government, and their impact on residents' health may also be different. This paper is one of the first to evaluate the effect of decentralization of health services at the municipal level from a multi-dimensional health perspective. Data and methods: This paper uses the data of expenditure decentralization of health services at the municipal level to match the panel data from the China Household Panel Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018, and uses the logit model, ordered logit model and two-way fixed effects model to empirically analyze the impact of health decentralization at the municipal level on health outcomes. Results: Based on the perspective of multi-dimensional health, from the three aspects of physical health, depression status and cognitive ability, the six sub-indicators of self-rated health, BMI standards, depression scores (summation method), depression scores (factor method), phrase test scores and mathematics test scores are discussed separately. The results show that the decentralization of health services at the municipal level has a significant promotion effect on the multi-dimensional health of residents. Conclusion: The decentralization of health services at the municipal level has important theoretical significance for promoting the reasonable division of medical and health powers and expenditure responsibilities between provincial and municipal governments, improving the efficiency of health expenditure funds, and establishing a fiscal system that matches financial resources.

Cost-effectiveness of sotagliflozin for the treatment of patients with diabetes and recent worsening heart failure.

Aim: To assesses the cost-effectiveness of sotagliflozin for the treatment of patients hospitalized with heart failure and comorbid diabetes. Materials & methods: A de novo cost-effectiveness model with a Markov structure was created for patients hospitalized for heart failure with comorbid diabetes. Outcomes of interest included hospital readmissions, emergency department visits and all-cause mortality measured over a 30-year time horizon. Baseline event frequencies were derived from published real-world data studies; sotagliflozin's efficacy was estimated from SOLOIST-WHF. Health benefits were calculated quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Costs included pharmaceutical costs, rehospitalization, emergency room visits and adverse events. Economic value was measured using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results: Sotagliflozin use decreased annualized rehospitalization rates by 34.5% (0.228 vs 0.348, difference: -0.120), annualized emergency department visits by 40.0% (0.091 vs 0.153, difference: -0.061) and annualized mortality by 18.0% (0.298 vs 0.363, difference: -0.065) relative to standard of care, resulting in a net gain in QAYs of 0.425 for sotagliflozin versus standard of care. Incremental costs using sotagliflozin increased by $19,374 over a 30-year time horizon of the patient, driven largely by increased pharmaceutical cost. Estimated ICER for sotagliflozin relative to standard of care was $45,596 per QALY. Conclusion: Sotagliflozin is a cost-effective addition to standard of care for patients hospitalized with heart failure and comorbid diabetes.

Urban-Rural Disparities in the Association Between Home- and Community-Based Service Utilization and Levels of Disability Among Chinese Older Adults With Disabilities.

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) are optimal ways to deal with disability problems among older adults. This study aims to analyze urban-rural disparities in the relationship between HCBS utilization and levels of disability among Chinese older adults with disabilities, so as to meet the long-term care needs of them. In applying the Andersen Behavioral Model, bivariate analysis and multivariate regression models were employed using data from 843 older adults with disabilities from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). After adjusting covariates, disability levels among Chinese older adults with disabilities were significantly correlated with HCBS utilization in urban areas but not in rural areas. The urban-rural disparities may be due to the low utilization of HCBS in rural areas (only 11.2%) among older adults with disabilities compared with their urban counterparts (22.7%).

[Change and Prediction of Water Purification Function in the South Bank of Hangzhou Bay in the Past 20 Years].

The investigation of regional water purification functionality and its influencing factors holds significant pragmatic implications in understanding the potential of regional water purification, guiding context-specific regional comprehensive planning schemes, and environmental conservation measures. The study site, situated along the southern coast of Hangzhou Bay, represents a prototypical region characterized by intricate land-sea interactions that bear substantial economic and ecological functions. By assimilating a meticulously collected topographical and land-use dataset, in conjunction with site-specific meteorological records, the water purification model embedded within the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) framework was employed to scrutinize the spatiotemporal dynamics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads, discharges, and removals within the southern coast of Hangzhou Bay. The prime objective of this study was to unravel the differentials in water purification functionality under diverse developmental scenarios. The investigation unearthed distinct temporal discrepancies in N and P discharges and removals over two temporal dimensions. Relative to the benchmark year 2000, the total N load experienced a reduction of 276.72 t, whereas the N discharge and removals decreased by 140.86 and 137.86 t, respectively, in the year 2020. In contrast, the total P load observed an increase of 93.65 t, accompanied by a surge in P discharge and removals by 28.91 and 64.74 t, respectively. Spatially, the distribution pattern of N and P discharges exhibited a general inclination of elevated values in the northern region and subdued values in the southern region, with certain pockets in the southern region exhibiting pronounced peaks, intimately associated with land-use typologies. Simulation analyses conducted under distinct scenarios unveiled that under the natural development priority scenario, the N and P discharges within the study area amounted to 1 682.36 and 115.50 t, respectively. Conversely, under the scenario emphasizing economic development, the regional N and P discharges showed an approximate escalation of 83.02% and 79.93%, correspondingly. In contrast, under the scenario emphasizing environmental conservation, the regional N and P discharges exhibited a notable decline of approximately 79.96% and 56.44%, respectively. Hence, the scenario prioritizing the amalgamation of environmental conservation and development effectively reduced the N and P discharges within the region, bolstering the water purification functionality. The results derived from this study furnish a solid theoretical foundation for effectuating region-specific planning schemes fostering coordinated economic and ecological advancement within the study area.

New findings in prognostic factor assessment for adenocarcinoma of transverse colon: a comparison study between competing-risk and COX regression analysis.

Purpose: Competing-risk analysis was used to accurately assess prognostic factors for cancer-specific death in patients with adenocarcinoma of transverse colon (ATC), and the results were compared with those from a conventional Cox regression analysis. Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with ATC between 2000 and 2019 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. The crude mortality rates of patients with ATC were calculated and their differences were tested using the Gray's test, respectively. In performing multivariate analysis, the Cox regression model and the subdistribution hazard function (SD) in competing risk analysis were utilized, respectively. Results: This study included 21,477 eligible patients. The SD model indicated that age, etc. are actual independent prognostic factors. In contrast to previous recognition, the results of the Cox regression showed false-positives for sex and Carcinoembryonic antigen, and underestimated point-estimates in the stage and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage due to competing events. A detailed comparison of treatment revealed that the larger surgical scopes were prognostic risk factors compared with the smaller scope of local tumor excision, partial colectomy, or segmental resection. Patients treated with external proton beam radiotherapy had an increased risk compared with those with no radiotherapy and internal radiotherapy. Conclusions: After comparing the results of the two methods and mitigating the significant bias introduced by Cox regression, we found independent factors that really affect the prognosis of ATC. On the other hand, in terms of ATC, a larger surgical scope and external proton beam radiotherapy may not improve the long-term survival of patients. Therefore, when faced with ATC patients, these differences should be noted and treated differently from common colorectal cancer patients. Thus, clinicians are able to give more targeted treatment plans and prognostic assessments.

The Effect of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Stereotype Threat on Inhibitory Control in Individuals with Different Household Incomes.

Previous studies have discussed the impact of the socioeconomically disadvantaged stereotype threat (SDST) on inhibitory control. But the specific influences of the SDST on inhibitory control in different household income groups are not clear. We hypothesized that the SDST had different effects on inhibitory control in individuals with distinct household income, and the attribution of stimuli would influence it as well, especially the currency value of the stimuli. To investigate it, two studies were conducted, which required inhibiting their motor responses. Specifically, Study 1 explored the influence of the SDST on basic inhibitory control. Study 2 analyzed the influence of the SDST on inhibitory control when the input stimuli included currency values and monetary conception. The results revealed that the inhibitory control ability was worse in the lower income group but not during the processing of stimuli with currency value. For the effect of the SDST, it found that there was a negative effect on those with a lower household income and a positive effect on those with a higher household income. Based on the findings, the effect of the SDST on inhibitory control in human beings is not stable; instead, it varies depending on the traits of the stimuli in different tasks and of the individuals themselves.

Quartet protein reference materials and datasets for multi-platform assessment of label-free proteomics.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative proteomics is an indispensable tool in life science research. However, there is a lack of reference materials for evaluating the reproducibility of label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based measurements among different instruments and laboratories. RESULTS: Here, we develop the Quartet standard as a proteome reference material with built-in truths, and distribute the same aliquots to 15 laboratories with nine conventional LC-MS/MS platforms across six cities in China. Relative abundance of over 12,000 proteins on 816 mass spectrometry files are obtained and compared for reproducibility among the instruments and laboratories to ultimately generate proteomics benchmark datasets. There is a wide dynamic range of proteomes spanning about 7 orders of magnitude, and the injection order has marked effects on quantitative instead of qualitative characteristics. CONCLUSION: Overall, the Quartet offers valuable standard materials and data resources for improving the quality control of proteomic analyses as well as the reproducibility and reliability of research findings.

Effect assessment of a type of xeno-free and serum-free human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells culture medium by proliferation and differentiation capacities.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) possess broad prospects in pre-clinical research. In vitro amplification of hMSCs requires appropriate medium to reach the number of seed cells with clinical significance. However, the uncertainty of the heterologous components of the traditional fetal bovine serum (FBS) culture medium has great safety risks. Moreover, existing commercial hMSCs medium is very expensive, therefore a safer and more optimal hMSCs medium is urgently needed. Accordingly, we developed five components adipose-derived hMSCs (hADMSCs) medium without xenogenic components, named E5 SFM. which is mainly composed of knockout serum replacement (KSR), and additionally four components such as fibroblast growth factor and transferrin. Here, we mainly compared the E5 SFM with traditional FBS-containing medium and a commercial medium by surface markers testing, proliferation assay as well as osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation assessment. We demonstrated that hADMSCs cultured in the E5 SFM showed similar morphological characteristics and immunophenotypes to those in other media. Notably, cell proliferative capability was similar to that in the commercial medium, but higher than that in the FBS-containing medium and other media. Additionally, their capabilities of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation were significantly higher than those of other media. Consequently, we concluded that the E5 SFM medium can not only effectively promote cell proliferation of hMSCs, but also has optimal differentiative capacity and clear and simple ingredients.

Assessing the longitudinal relationship between whole egg consumption and cognition in Chinese older adults.

BACKGROUND: Given China's fast-growing aging population, cognitive decline is a leading public health concern. Eggs are an affordable food rich in several shortfall nutrients that may benefit cognitive health. AIM: This study assessed the longitudinal relationship between whole egg consumption and cognition among older adults in China. METHODS: Individual-level data of 4737 Chinese adults 55+ years came from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1997-2006 waves. Daily egg consumption was measured using 3-day 24-h dietary recalls. Cognitive functioning was assessed with immediate and delayed recall of a 10-word list, counting backward from 20, and serial 7 subtraction. Multivariate mixed-effects regressions were performed to estimate the longitudinal associations between daily whole egg consumption and cognitive functioning in older Chinese adults. RESULTS: Approximately 46% of CHNS participants were whole egg consumers, and their daily intake averaged 47.4 g. The overall cognitive functioning test scores, separate scores for cognitive functioning subdomains, and the prevalence of cognitive impairment at the baseline were modestly higher among whole egg consumers than nonconsumers. However, after adjusting for individual characteristics, multivariate mixed-effects regressions did not find daily whole egg consumption to be associated with cognitive functioning among CHNS participants. By contrast, several demographic and socioeconomic factors, such as age, education attainment, and health insurance coverage, were found to correlate with older Chinese adults' cognition. CONCLUSION: This study has measurement and design limitations. Future research should investigate the causal impact of habitual egg intake on different domains of cognition using experimental designs with an extended follow-up period.

Decomposition and decoupling analysis of multi-sector CO2 emissions based on LMDI and Tapio models: Case study of Henan Province, China.

The peak carbon dioxide emissions at the provincial level is the foundation for achieving the national target of carbon emission peak, thus it is important to analyze the characteristics of provincial CO2 emissions. However, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis and research on quantifying the contributions of the driving factors to decoupling at the provincial level. Therefore, taking Henan Province as the research object, this study establishes the decoupling effort model by combining the traditional LMDI model and Tapio model based on compiling the CO2 emission inventories from 2006 to 2019. The results showed that total CO2 emissions increased from 2006 to 2011, and decreased after 2011 in Henan Province. Raw coal was the primary fuel source of Henan's CO2 emissions, and the sector of "power and heat production" was the major industrial source, accounting for above 45% of the total emissions. Economic output and energy intensity were the major factors promoting and restraining the increase in Henan's CO2 emissions, respectively. In terms of the decoupling state, Henan achieved the transformation from weak decoupling to strong decoupling from 2006 to 2019. Industry presented a strong decoupling condition, while weak decoupling was detected in the agriculture sector during the study period. The changing trend of energy intensity decoupling effort was consistent with that of total decoupling effort, indicating that energy intensity is a crucial factor in achieving decoupling. This study is helpful to grasp the CO2 emission characteristics of Henan Province and provide the theoretical basis for formulating emission mitigation measures of peak carbon dioxide emissions in Henan and other provinces.

Unveiling the impact of Belt and Road Initiative on green innovation: empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises.

Building a green silk road is an important practice in implementing the UN 2030 sustainable development goals. However, several countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) feature challenging geographic circumstances and delicate ecological environments, which give rise to significant ecological and environmental protection challenges. Considering that green innovation is closely related to sustainable development, this study uses the BRI as a quasi-natural experiment and incorporates data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2008 to 2019 to assess the effect of investments in BRI countries on green innovation. The empirical findings show that the BRI significantly increases the green innovation of enterprises that are involved in foreign investments by alleviating financing constraints. This is accomplished through measures such as government subsidy incentives and overseas income spillover, as well as by enhancing productivity through optimized resource allocation and reverse technology spillover. Notably, the green innovation effect of the BRI is particularly significant in driving green innovation among enterprises with low pollution levels and those in technology-intensive industries. Furthermore, investment in BRI countries in closer proximity to China's institutional framework and with lower levels of economic development can take advantage of a similar innovation environment and gradient industrial transfer advantages, respectively, thus contributing to the improvement of advanced green innovation. Overall, this analysis sheds light on the beneficial effects of BRI investments on green innovation and offers strong empirical support and insightful policy recommendations for China's pursuit of a green Belt and Road.

Occurrence of N-nitrosodimethylamine in roasted Alaska pollock fillets during processing and storage and preliminary cancer risk assessment.

BACKGROUND: Dried and salt-fermented fish products are important sources of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) exposure for human. As a potent carcinogen, NDMA was frequently detected in roasted Alaska pollock fillet products (RPFs), which is among the most common fish products in China. Until now, the occurrence and development of NDMA and its precursors (nitrites, nitrates and dimethylamine) in RPFs during processing and storage were not well elucidated, and safety evaluation of this fish product is also urgently needed. RESULTS: The presence of precursors in the raw material was verified and significant increase of nitrates and nitrites during processing was observed. NDMA was found generated during pre-drying (3.7 µg kg-1 dry basis) and roasting (14.6 µg kg-1 dry basis) process. Continuous increase in NDMA content can also be found during storage, especially at higher storage temperature. The 95th percentile of Monte Carlo simulated cancer risk (3.73 × 10-5 ) surpassed the WHO threshold (1.00 × 10-5 ) and sensitivity analysis implies the risk was mainly attributable to NDMA level in RPFs. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of NDMA in RFPs was mainly a result of endogenous factors originating in Alaska pollock during processing and storage rather than exogenous contamination, and temperature played a pivotal role. The preliminary risk assessment results suggest that long-term consumption of RPFs would impose potential health risks for consumers. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Rapid and Direct Assessment of Asphalt Volatile Organic Compound Emission Based on Carbon Fiber Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Due to the complicacy of asphalt fumes, the analytical methods for investigating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are very limited. In this study, a direct and real-time analysis method based on carbon fiber ionization mass spectrometry (CFI-MS), an ambient mass spectrometric technique, was established and successfully applied in the analysis of asphalt VOCs. The asphalt VOCs can be directly detected in the open atmosphere without the collection step of asphalt fumes, and the mass spectra of one asphalt sample can be obtained in a few seconds in both positive and negative ion modes. By investigating the mass spectral changes of asphalt fumes at different heating temperatures ranging from 50 to 200 °C, the temperature factor of asphalt fume emission was demonstrated in this work. The research results demonstrate that the complexity of asphalt fumes is positively related to the applied temperature. Moreover, the VOCs of saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes fractions were also analyzed by the direct analysis method. The result shows that aromatics contribute most to the emission of VOCs. In addition, the obtained mass spectra combined with the principal component analysis method show the great potential to quickly screen VOC inhibitors of asphalt materials.

A Review of 3D Printing Technology in Pharmaceutics: Technology and Applications, Now and Future.

Three-dimensional printing technology, also called additive manufacturing technology, is used to prepare personalized 3D-printed drugs through computer-aided model design. In recent years, the use of 3D printing technology in the pharmaceutical field has become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to the successful commercialization of Spritam® in 2015, there has been a succession of Triastek's 3D-printed drug applications that have received investigational new drug (IND) approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Compared with traditional drug preparation processes, 3D printing technology has significant advantages in personalized drug manufacturing, allowing easy manufacturing of preparations with complex structures or drug release behaviors and rapid manufacturing of small batches of drugs. This review summaries the mechanisms of the most commonly used 3D printing technologies, describes their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and applications in the pharmaceutical industry, analyzes the progress of global commercialization of 3D printed drugs and their problems and challenges, reflects the development trends of the 3D printed drug industry, and guides researchers engaged in 3D printed drugs.

Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Lockdown on Vertical Distributions of NO2 and HCHO From MAX-DOAS Observations and Machine Learning Models.

Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic led to major reductions on air pollutant emissions in modern history. To date, there has been no comprehensive assessment for the impact of lockdowns on the vertical distributions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO). Based on profiles from 0 to 2 km retrieved by Multi-AXis-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy observation and a large volume of real-time data at a suburb site in Shanghai, China, four types of machine learning models were developed and compared, including multiple linear regression, support vector machine, bagged trees (BT), and artificial neural network. Ultimately BT model was employed to reproduce NO2 and HCHO profiles with the best performance. Predictions with different meteorological and surface pollution scenarios were conducted from 2017 to 2019, for assessing the corresponding impacts on the changes of NO2 and HCHO profiles during COVID-19 lockdown. The simulations illustrate that the NO2 decreased in 2020 by 43.8%, 45.5%, and 44.6%, relative to 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. For HCHO, the lockdown-induced situation presented the declines of 28.6%, 32.1%, and 10.9%, respectively. In the comparisons of vertical distributions, NO2 maintained decreasing at all altitudes, while HCHO decreased at low altitudes and increased at high altitudes. During COVID-19 lockdown, the reduction of NO2 and HCHO from the variation of surface pollutants was dominated below 0.5 km, while the relevant meteorological factors played a more significant role above 0.5 km.

Age-Dependent Behavioral and Metabolic Assessment of App NL-G-F/NL-G-F Knock-in (KI) Mice.

Mitochondria play a crucial role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) onset and progression. Traditional transgenic AD mouse models which were widely used in the past decades share a common limitation: The overexpression of APP and overproduction of amyloid-beta (Aß) are accompanied by other APP peptide fragments, which could introduce artificial and non-clinically relevant phenotypes. Here, we performed an in-depth and time-resolved behavioral and metabolic characterization of a clinically relevant AD mouse model engineered to express normal physiological levels of APP harboring humanized Swedish (K670N/M671L), Beyreuther/Iberian (I716F), and Arctic (E693G) mutations (App NL-G-F/NL-G-F ), termed APP knock-in (APPKI) mice. Our result showed that APPKI mice exhibited fear learning deficits at 6-m age and contextual memory deficit at 12-m age. Histopathological analysis revealed mild amyloidosis (6E10) accompanied by microgliosis (Iba1) as early as 3 months, which progressed significantly together with significant astrocytosis at 6 and 12 m. We further analyzed hippocampal mitochondrial dysfunction by multiple assays, while 3-m APPKI mice brain mitochondrial function remains a similar level as WT mice. Significant mitochondrial dysfunction characterized by decreased ATP production and higher membrane potential with subsequent overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed in mitochondria isolated from 7-m APPKI mice hippocampal tissue. Morphologically, these mitochondria were larger in volume with a decreased level of mitochondrial fusion protein mitofusin-2 (MFN2). At 12 months, APPKI mice exhibit a significantly decreased total mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in isolated hippocampal mitochondria detected by high-resolution respirometry. These data indicate early mitochondrial dysfunction in the brain at pre-symptomatic age in the App NL-G-F/NL-G-mice, which may play a key role in the progression of the disease. Moreover, the identified behavioral and bioenergetic alterations in this clinically relevant AD mouse model provide a valuable tool to optimize the temporal component for therapeutic interventions to treat AD.

Predictive Analysis of the Pro-Environmental Behaviour of College Students Using a Decision-Tree Model.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pro-environmental behaviour contributes to the achievement of the SDGs, and UNESCO considers college students as major contributors. There is a scarcity of research on college student pro-environmental behaviour and even less on the use of decision trees to predict pro-environmental behaviour. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the validity of applying a modified C5.0 decision-tree model to predict college student pro-environmental behaviour and to determine which variables can be used as predictors of such behaviour. To address these questions, 334 university students in Guangdong Province, China, completed a questionnaire that consisted of seven parts: the Perceived Behavioural Control Scale, the Social Identity Scale, the Innovative Behaviour Scale, the Sense of Place Scale, the Subjective Norms Scale, the Environmental Activism Scale, and the willingness to behave in an environmentally responsible manner scale. A modified C5.0 decision-tree model was also used to make predictions. The results showed that the main predictor variables for pro-environmental behaviour were willingness to behave in an environmentally responsible manner, innovative behaviour, and perceived behavioural control. The importance of willingness to behave in an environmentally responsible manner was 0.1562, the importance of innovative behaviour was 0.1404, and the perceived behavioural control was 0.1322. Secondly, there are 63.88% of those with high pro-environmental behaviour. Therefore, we conclude that the decision tree model is valid in predicting the pro-environmental behaviour of college student. The predictor variables for pro-environmental behaviour were, in order of importance: Willingness to behave in an environmentally responsible manner, Environmental Activism, Subjective Norms, Sense of Place, Innovative Behaviour, Social Identity, and Perceived Behavioural Control. This study establishes a link between machine learning and pro-environmental behaviour and broadens understanding of pro-environmental behaviour. It provides a research support with improving people's sustainable development philosophy and behaviour.

Eco-efficiency assessment of industrial parks in Central China: a slack-based data envelopment analysis.

Industrial parks have made important contributions to China's economic development, but they have caused serious pollution to the environment. With the promotion of China's sustainable development, improving the eco-efficiency of industrial parks has gradually become the focus of attention. In this study, a slack-based data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) model, which included three input indicators and six output indicators, was applied to assess the eco-efficiencies of 18 industrial parks in Central China. The ecological development level of different industrial parks in Central China was uneven, and their efficiency scores ranged from 0.06 to 1. Next, the most sensitive input and output variables are identified by sensitivity analysis, and it is concluded that land and water consumption will have a significant impact on the evaluation results of the model. Then, the influencing factors of eco-efficiency are discussed, and it was found that a reasonable energy structure and industrial structure, as well as high industrial added value, would increase the eco-efficiency of industrial parks. Finally, based on the findings, policy recommendations for improving the eco-efficiency of industrial parks are put forward, including fulfilling government responsibilities, adjusting energy and industrial structures, and improving the high-quality development of the parks.

A simple, rapid and low-cost qPCR assay for evaluating the severity of exosomal PD-L1-mediated T cell exhaustion in blood samples.

A novel dual-aptamer activated proximity-induced qPCR assay was developed for the quantitative analysis of exosomal PD-L1 on T cell-exosome complexes in blood samples.