How geopolitical risk affect firms' internationalization performance: Evidence from China.

Geopolitical risks (GPR) arising from wars, terrorist acts and bilateral tensions. It has aroused global attention recently, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has further disrupted normal bilateral trade exchanges. However, this argument is still too general to capture the micro impact of geopolitical risks on internationalization in developing countries. This study examines the impact of GPR on firms' internationalization performance in China. Using Chinese A-share manufacturing listed firms from 2008 to 2019, this study investigates the relationship between GPR and firms' internationalization performance. The main findings are presented as follows. First, GPR has a significantly negative effect on firms' internationalization performance. After I conduct a series of robustness tests, my findings remain valid. Second, GPR have a suppressive effect on firms' internationalization performance mainly through reducing legitimacy and investment freedom. Third, the interaction terms of product diversification, technological diversification and regional diversification with GPR have different statistical significance, and they interact with GPR to affect firms' internationalization performance. In addition, GPR have a more significant inhibitory effect on the firms' internationalization performance in developing countries along the "the Belt and Road" and joint ventures investing. Therefore, this study contributes to a better understanding of GPR and firms' internationalization.

Fusing Diverse Decision Rules in 3D-Radiomics for Assisting Diagnosis of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

This study aimed to develop an interpretable diagnostic model for subtyping of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, including minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC), by integrating 3D-radiomic features and clinical data. Data from multiple hospitals were collected, and 10 key features were selected from 1600 3D radiomic signatures and 11 radiological features. Diverse decision rules were extracted using ensemble learning methods (gradient boosting, random forest, and AdaBoost), fused, ranked, and selected via RuleFit and SHAP to construct a rule-based diagnostic model. The model's performance was evaluated using AUC, precision, accuracy, recall, and F1-score and compared with other models. The rule-based diagnostic model exhibited excellent performance in the training, testing, and validation cohorts, with AUC values of 0.9621, 0.9529, and 0.8953, respectively. This model outperformed counterparts relying solely on selected features and previous research models. Specifically, the AUC values for the previous research models in the three cohorts were 0.851, 0.893, and 0.836. It is noteworthy that individual models employing GBDT, random forest, and AdaBoost demonstrated AUC values of 0.9391, 0.8681, and 0.9449 in the training cohort, 0.9093, 0.8722, and 0.9363 in the testing cohort, and 0.8440, 0.8640, and 0.8750 in the validation cohort, respectively. These results highlight the superiority of the rule-based diagnostic model in the assessment of lung adenocarcinoma subtypes, while also providing insights into the performance of individual models. Integrating diverse decision rules enhanced the accuracy and interpretability of the diagnostic model for lung adenocarcinoma subtypes. This approach bridges the gap between complex predictive models and clinical utility, offering valuable support to healthcare professionals and patients.

Mechanisms of imbalanced testicular homeostasis in infancy due to aberrant histone acetylation in undifferentiated spermatogonia under different concentrations of Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure.

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), identified as an endocrine-disrupting chemical, is associated with reproductive toxicity. This association is particularly noteworthy in newborns with incompletely developed metabolic functions, as exposure to DEHP can induce enduring damage to the reproductive system, potentially influencing adult reproductive health. In this study, we continuously administered 40 µg/kg and 80 µg/kg DEHP to postnatal day 5 (PD5) mice for ten days to simulate low and high doses of DEHP exposure during infancy. Utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), our analysis revealed that varying concentrations of DEHP exposure during infancy induced distinct DNA damage response characteristics in testicular Undifferentiated spermatogonia (Undiff SPG). Specifically, DNA damage triggered mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to acetyl-CoA content alterations. Subsequently, this disruption caused aberrations in histone acetylation patterns, ultimately resulting in apoptosis of Undiff SPG in the 40 µg/kg DEHP group and autophagy in the 80 µg/kg DEHP group. Furthermore, we found that DEHP exposure impacts the development and functionality of Sertoli and Leydig cells through the focal adhesion and PPAR signaling pathways, respectively. We also revealed that Leydig cells regulate the metabolic environment of Undiff SPG via Ptn-Sdc4 and Mdk-Sdc4 after DEHP exposure. Finally, our study provided pioneering evidence that disruptions in testicular homeostasis induced by DEHP exposure during infancy endure into adulthood. In summary, this study elucidates the molecular mechanisms through which DEHP exposure during infancy influences the development of testicular cell populations.

Boosting the Lithium-Ion Transport Kinetics of Sn-Based Coordination Polymers through Ligand Aromaticity Manipulation.

Tin-based compounds are promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries owing to their low charge/discharge voltage and high theoretical capacity but are plagued by both huge volume expansion during cycling and complex synthetic procedures. Constructing a coordination network between Sn and the lithium-active organic matrix can effectively relieve the volume expansion and increase the lithium storage active site utilization. Herein, we report a facile method to prepare two one-dimensional Sn-based coordination polymers [Sn(Hcta)]n (1) and [Sn(Hbtc)]n (2) (H3cta = 1,3,5-cyclohexanetricarboxylic acid, H3btc = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) for lithium storage, which differ only in the aromaticity of the ligand. 2 with an aromatic ligand provided a reversible capacity of 833 mAh g-1 at 200 mA g-1 over 160 cycles, higher than that of 1 without an aromatic ligand due to the quick charge transfer. The reversible lithium storage reactions of metal centers and organic ligands and the volume expansion rate of Sn-based coordination polymers during cycling were studied by detailed characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This research revealed that the structural factor of ligand aromaticity in these Sn-based coordination polymers boosted the utilization of active sites and rapid charge transfer, offering a coordination chemistry strategy for the design and synthesis of advanced anode materials.

Cross-species analysis of transcriptome emphasizes a critical role of TNF-α in mediating MAP2K7/AKT2 signaling in zearalenone-induced apoptosis.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a widespread and transgenerational toxicant that can cause serious reproductive health risks, which poses a potential threat to global agricultural production and human health; its estrogenic activity can lead to reproductive toxicity through the induction of granulosa cell apoptosis. Herein, comparative transcriptome analysis, single-cell transcriptome analysis, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) combined with gene knockout in vivo and RNA interference in vitro were used to comprehensively describe the damage caused by ZEN exposure on ovarian granulosa cells. Comparative transcriptome analysis and WGCNA suggested that the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAP2K7)/ AKT serine/threonine kinase 2 (AKT2) axis was disordered after ZEN exposure in porcine granulosa cells (pGCs) and mouse granulosa cells (mGCs). In vivo gene knockout and in vitro RNA interference verified that TNF-α-mediated MAP2K7/AKT2 was the guiding signal in ZEN-induced apoptosis in pGCs and mGCs. Moreover, single-cell transcriptome analysis showed that ZEN exposure could induce changes in the TNF signaling pathway in offspring. Overall, we concluded that the TNF-α-mediated MAP2K7/AKT2 axis was the main signaling pathway of ZEN-induced apoptosis in pGCs and mGCs. This work provides new insights into the mechanism of ZEN toxicity and provides new potential therapeutic targets for the loss of livestock and human reproductive health caused by ZEN.

Chestnut polysaccharide rescues the damaged spermatogenesis process of asthenozoospermia-model mice by upregulating the level of palmitic acid.

Introduction: In recent years, the quality of male semen has been decreasing, and the number of male infertilities caused by asthenozoospermia is increasing year by year, and the diagnosis and treatment of patients with asthenozoospermia are gradually receiving the attention of the whole society. Due to the unknown etiology and complex pathogenesis, there is no specific treatment for asthenozoospermia. Our previous study found that the administration of chestnut polysaccharide could alter the intestinal microbiota and thus improve the testicular microenvironment, and rescue the impaired spermatogenesis process by enhancing the expression of reproduction-related genes, but its exact metabolome-related repairment mechanism of chestnut polysaccharide is still unclear. Methods and results: In this study, we studied the blood metabolomic changes of busulfan-induced asthenozoospermia-model mice before and after oral administration of chestnut polysaccharide with the help of metabolome, and screened two key differential metabolites (hydrogen carbonate and palmitic acid) from the set of metabolomic changes; we then analyzed the correlation between several metabolites and between different metabolites and intestinal flora by correlation analysis, and found that palmitic acid in the blood serum of mice after oral administration of chestnut polysaccharide had different degrees of correlation with various metabolites, and palmitic acid level had a significant positive correlation with the abundance of Verrucomicrobia; finally, we verified the role of palmitic acid in rescuing the damaged spermatogenesis process by using asthenozoospermia-model mice, and screened the key target gene for palmitic acid to play the rescuing effect by integrating the analysis of multiple databases. Discussion: In conclusion, this study found that chestnut polysaccharide rescued the damaged spermatogenesis in asthenozoospermia-model mice by upregulating palmitic acid level, which will provide theoretical basis and technical support for the use of chestnut polysaccharide in the treatment of asthenozoospermia.

DCABM-TCM: A Database of Constituents Absorbed into the Blood and Metabolites of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) not only maintains the health of Asian people but also provides a great resource of active natural products for modern drug development. Herein, we developed a Database of Constituents Absorbed into the Blood and Metabolites of TCM (DCABM-TCM), the first database systematically collecting blood constituents of TCM prescriptions and herbs, including prototypes and metabolites experimentally detected in the blood, together with the corresponding detailed detection conditions through manual literature mining. The DCABM-TCM has collected 1816 blood constituents with chemical structures of 192 prescriptions and 194 herbs and integrated their related annotations, including physicochemical, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity properties, and associated targets, pathways, and diseases. Furthermore, the DCABM-TCM supported two blood constituent-based analysis functions, the network pharmacology analysis for TCM molecular mechanism elucidation, and the target/pathway/disease-based screening of candidate blood constituents, herbs, or prescriptions for TCM-based drug discovery. The DCABM-TCM is freely accessible at http://bionet.ncpsb.org.cn/dcabm-tcm/. The DCABM-TCM will contribute to the elucidation of effective constituents and molecular mechanism of TCMs and the discovery of TCM-derived drug-like compounds that are both bioactive and bioavailable.

Hydrogen-bonded Complex-based Frameworks for Stable Lithium Storage.

Metal-complex-based materials for lithium storage have attracted great interest due to their highly designable structures with multiple active sites and well-defined lithium transport pathways. Their cycling and rate performances, however, are still constrained by structural stability and electrical conductivity. Herein, we present two hydrogen-bonded complex-based frameworks with excellent lithium storage capability. Multiple hydrogen bonds among the mononuclear molecules result in three-dimensional frameworks that are stable in electrolyte. The origin of the remarkable lithium storage performance of this family was revealed through kinetic analysis and DFT calculations.

Data-driven discovery of dimensionless numbers and governing laws from scarce measurements.

Dimensionless numbers and scaling laws provide elegant insights into the characteristic properties of physical systems. Classical dimensional analysis and similitude theory fail to identify a set of unique dimensionless numbers for a highly multi-variable system with incomplete governing equations. This paper introduces a mechanistic data-driven approach that embeds the principle of dimensional invariance into a two-level machine learning scheme to automatically discover dominant dimensionless numbers and governing laws (including scaling laws and differential equations) from scarce measurement data. The proposed methodology, called dimensionless learning, is a physics-based dimension reduction technique. It can reduce high-dimensional parameter spaces to descriptions involving only a few physically interpretable dimensionless parameters, greatly simplifying complex process design and system optimization. We demonstrate the algorithm by solving several challenging engineering problems with noisy experimental measurements (not synthetic data) collected from the literature. Examples include turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection, vapor depression dynamics in laser melting of metals, and porosity formation in 3D printing. Lastly, we show that the proposed approach can identify dimensionally homogeneous differential equations with dimensionless number(s) by leveraging sparsity-promoting techniques.

Twisted weakly coupled relative humidity sensor coated with a graphene oxide/polyvinyl alcohol composite.

A new coupled fiber optic humidity sensor based on a double-tapered fiber twisted weakly coupled structure coated with a graphene oxide/polyvinyl alcohol (GO/PVA) film has been reported for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The sensor adopts a 2×2 coupler structure with a waist diameter of 20 µm. The GO/PVA composite film is coated in the weakly coupled area to increase the sensitivity of the sensor. The thickness of the coating layer is about 3 µm. The sensor can realize linear sensing in the relative humidity (RH) range of 45%-85%RH with a dynamic response time of 1.9 s and a recovery time of 5.7 s. The sensitivity of the sensor is up to 0.002/%RH, and the linearity of the sensor is as high as 98.65%. Moreover, the sensor has good stability, reversibility, and low-temperature crosstalk.

Phylogenetic analysis based on single-copy orthologous proteins in highly variable chloroplast genomes of Corydalis.

Corydalis is one of the few lineages that have been reported to have extensive large-scale chloroplast genome (cp-genome) rearrangements. In this study, novel cp-genome rearrangements of Corydalis pinnata, C. mucronate, and C. sheareri are described. C. pinnata is a narrow endemic species only distributed at Qingcheng Mountain in southwest China. Two independent relocations of the same four genes (trnM-CAU-rbcL) were found relocated from the typically posterior part of the large single-copy region to the front of it. A uniform inversion of an 11-14-kb segment (ndhB-trnR-ACG) was found in the inverted repeat region; and extensive losses of accD, clpP, and trnV-UAC genes were detected in all cp-genomes of all three species of Corydalis. In addition, a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed based on 31 single-copy orthologous proteins in 27 cp-genomes. This study provides insights into the evolution of cp-genomes throughout the genus Corydalis and also provides a reference for further studies on the taxonomy, identification, phylogeny, and genetic transformation of other lineages with extensive rearrangements in cp-genomes.

[Varieties and standards of Corydalis medicinal plants].

Through literature research and standard retrieval, Corydalis-derived medicinal materials, the origins, and related standards were summarized. Finally, 27 medicinal materials were screened out, involving 71 species(varieties). Among them, only 11 are recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020), National Standard for Chinese Patent Drugs·Tibetan Medicine, Tibetan Medicine Standards, and other local standards, including Corydalis Bungeanae Herba and Corydalis Herba. The names and original plants of the medicinal materials are different in different standards, and the phenomena of "same medicinal material with different names" and "same name for different medicinal materials" are prominent. Most standards only include the traits, microscopic identification, and physico-chemical property identification, with unsound quality criteria. Thus, efforts should be made to strengthen the sorting of Corydalis medicinal plants, herbal textual research, and investigation of the resources and utilization. Moreover, via modern techniques, the chemical components and medicinal material basis of different original plants should be explored and sound quality standards should be established to improve the safety and quality of Corydalis-derived medicinal materials. Summarizing Corydalis medicinal plants, Corydalis-derived medicinal materials, and related standards, this study is expected to provide a reference for the standard formulation, quality evaluation, expansion of drug sources, and rational development and utilization of Corydalis resources.

Simple high-sensitivity optical fiber humidity sensor.

A new optical fiber humidity sensor with high sensitivity is reported. We effectively control the light-intensity changes in a smaller sensing area and achieve a significant increase in sensitivity by adjusting the depth of the evanescent field of the tapered fiber. The sensor is designed with an 8 µm diameter single-mode tapered fiber structure coated with a thickness of a 10 mm length carbomer layer in the tapered area. The average and maximum relative humidity (RH) sensitivities are 2.59 dB/%RH and 5.43 dB/%RH in the range of 68%-90%. To our best knowledge, the sensitivity of the sensor is highest compared with that of the previously reported. Moreover, the fast response time and recovery time of the sensor are ideal. In addition, the proposed humidity sensor has good repeatability and lower-temperature cross talk. Due to the excellent indicators, the proposed sensor has promising potential for highly sensitive RH sensing applications, especially early warning of special environments.

New instrument based on electrostatic sensor array for measuring tribo-electrification charging due to single particle impacts.

In the processing of particulate solids, particle-particle and particle-wall collisions can generate electrostatics. This is called contact/impact/frictional electrification and can lead to many problems such as affecting powder flow and explosion hazards. It is necessary to research the tribo-electrification charging due to single particle impacts on a target as the fundamental understanding of tribo-electrification. A new impact charging test rig based on an electrostatic sensor array that can measure charge transfer caused by a single impact between a particle and a target plane has been designed and established. Combined with the electrostatic sensor array, the compressed sensing algorithm is used to estimate not only the spatial position but also the charge amount of particle. The cross-correlation algorithm is used to determine particle's velocity instead of using other devices such as a photodetector. The new instrument allows single particles impacting target planes at different angles with a velocity exceeding 100 m/s. An oil calibration test rig has been constructed to verify the proposed methods. The estimation errors of the spatial position and charge amount are both within 5% when the particle is located at the central area of the pipeline and the estimation errors of velocities are within 2%. The impact charging experiments show a special initial charge prior to impact for which no net charge transfer would occur for polymer particles, but the charge would completely transfer for metal particles.

Novel Compound Q-1 Alleviates Type II Collagen-Induced Arthritis in Rats through the NF-κB Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Q-1 is a novel compound extracted from the Miao medicine Tiekuaizi. Although Q-1 is known to be a coumarin derivative, its structure has not been deposited in the ACX library. Our previous study showed that Q-1 inhibits the activity of inflammatory cells. This study explores the efficacy of Q-1 in regulating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The findings show that Q-1 acts through the NF-κB signaling pathway. METHODS: The effects of Q-1 were explored using a bovine type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model. The CIA rats were intragastrically administered with high (30 mg·kg-1) or low (15 mg·kg-1) doses of Q-1. The control group was administered with an equal volume of drinking water, while the positive control group was administered with Tripterygium glycoside (9.45 mg·kg-1) for 28 consecutive days. The arthritis indices and ankle joint swelling rates were determined. The levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in serum and sialic acid (SA) in liver homogenate were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The pathological features of the ankle joint were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The IκB, P-IκB, P65, and P-P65 protein levels in synovial tissue were assayed by western blotting. RESULTS: The arthritis index, ankle joint swelling rate, IL-1ß, IL-6, and MCP-1 levels in serum, SA level in liver tissue, and IκB, P-IκB, P65, and P-P65 protein levels in synovial tissues were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the CIA model compared to the control group. RA was successfully replicated by the CIA model, as shown by the joint swelling results and histopathological sections of the ankle. Notably, all the above indicators decreased significantly (P < 0.01) after treatment with Q-1 compared to the model. In addition, animals treated with Q-1 showed lower inflammation in the ankle joints than the model rats. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that Q-1 effectively inhibited RA in rats by downregulating IκB, P-IκB, P65, and P-P65, inhibiting the excessive release of inflammatory factors, and inhibiting the overactivation of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Identification methods of charged particles based on aero-engine exhaust gas electrostatic sensor array.

This paper presents a study of aero-engine exhaust gas electrostatic sensor array to estimate the spatial position, charge amount and velocity of charged particle. Firstly, this study establishes a mathematical model to analyze the inducing characteristics and obtain the spatial sensitivity distribution of sensor array. Then, Tikhonov regularization and compressed sensing are used to estimate the spatial position and charge amount of particle based on the obtained sensitivity distribution; cross-correlation algorithm is used to determine particle's velocity. An oil calibration test rig is established to verify the proposed methods. Thirteen spatial positions are selected as the test points. The estimation errors of spatial positions and charge amounts are both within 5% when the particles are locating at central area. The errors are higher when the particles are closer to the wall and may exceed 10%. The estimation errors of velocities by using cross-correlation are all within 2%. An air-gun test rig is further established to simulate the high velocity condition and distinguish different kinds of particles such as metal particles and non-metal particles.

Secure key distribution based on bidirectional Michelson interferometers.

A scheme based on bidirectional Michelson interferometers to distribute secret keys through the phase of light wave is proposed and demonstrated. The structure uses two optical cable transmission schemes, lasers of short coherent length, random phase drift, polarization random disturbance, and vibration positioning technology to ensure the safe transmission of the secret key. The feasibility of 80 km secret key transmission is verified by experiments. When the secret key is transmitted at the frequency of 200 kHz, the bit error rate is less than 0.3%, and the disturbance positioning accuracy is within $\pm {100}\;{\rm m}$.

A Zinc-Dual-Halogen Battery with a Molten Hydrate Electrolyte.

Halogen redox couples offer several advantages for energy storage such as low cost, high solubility in water, and high redox potential. However, the operational complexity of storing halogens at the oxidation state via liquid-phase media hampers their widespread application in energy-storage devices. Herein, an aqueous zinc-dual-halogen battery system taking the advantages of redox flow batteries (inherent scalability) and intercalation chemistry (high capacity) is designed and fabricated. To enhance specific energy, the designed cell exploits both bromine and chlorine as the cathode redox couples that are present as halozinc complexes in a newly developed molten hydrate electrolyte, which is distinctive to the conventional zinc-bromine batteries. Benefiting from the reversible uptake of halogens at the graphite cathode, exclusive reliance on earth-abundant elements, and membrane-free and possible flow-through configuration, the proposed battery can potentially realize high-performance massive electric energy storage at a reasonable cost.

A Two-Step Markov Processes Approach for Parameterization of Cancer State-Transition Models for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Implementation of organized cancer screening and prevention programs in high-income countries (HICs) has considerably decreased cancer-related incidence and mortality. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), screening and early diagnosis programs are generally unavailable, and most cancers are diagnosed in late stages when survival is very low. Analyzing the cost-effectiveness of alternative cancer control programs and estimating resource needs will help prioritize interventions in LMICs. However, mathematical models of natural cancer onset and progression needed to conduct the economic analyses are predominantly based on populations in HICs because the longitudinal data on screening and diagnoses required for parameterization are unavailable in LMICs. Models currently used for LMICs mostly concentrate on directly calculating the shift in distribution of cancer diagnosis as an evaluative measure of screening. We present a mathematical methodology for the parameterization of natural cancer onset and progression, specifically for LMICs that do not have longitudinal data. This full onset and progression model can help conduct comprehensive analyses of cancer control programs, including cancer screening, by considering both the positive impact of screening as well as any adverse consequences, such as over-diagnosis and false-positive results. The methodology has been applied to breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers for 2 regions, under the World Health Organization categorization: Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRE) and Southeast Asia (SEARB). The cancer models have been incorporated into the Spectrum software and interfaced with country-specific demographic data through the demographic projections (DemProj) module and costing data through the OneHealth tool. These software are open-access and can be used by stakeholders to analyze screening strategies specific to their country of interest.