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This study investigated the effects of additives on fermentation quality, in vitro digestibility and microbial communities of Korshinsk peashrub (Caragana korshinskii Kom.) silages at different maturity stages. Korshinsk peashrub was harvested at budding (S1) and blooming (S2) stages, and ensiled without additives (CON), or with 5% molasses (M0), or a combination of 5% molasses and either L. plantarum CLP (M1) or L. plantarum L694 (M2). Each treatment was triplicated and ensiled for 60 days. Delayed harvest increased water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), neutral detergent fibre (aNDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) in silages at S2 stage, whereas crude protein (CP) was lower in silages at S1 stage. Compared with the CON group, the additives treated silages had lower pH, greater lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and WSC concentrations (p <.05). Application of molasses alone or in combination with CLP had a noticeable effect on bacterial communities, with an increase in Lactobacillus in silages at both stages, whereas M2 silages presented more unfavourable microorganisms. Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed that LA concentration in silage was positively correlated with Lactobacillus relative abundance at both stages, while ammonia nitrogen (NH3‐N) concentration was positively correlated with the relative abundances of unclassified‐f‐Enterobacteriaceae and Enterobacter. In conclusion, delayed harvest could result in greater WSC and aNDF but lower CP in Korshinsk peashrub silage. Low WSC is the primary limiting factor affecting silage quality, and ensiling with molasses accelerated lactic acid fermentation in Korshinsk peashrub silage, providing a high‐quality forage resource for livestock production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid expansion of social networks has generated a growing need for scalable algorithms capable of effectively predicting links. Link prediction is a crucial area of study within complex networks research. Link prediction aims to predict future connections between nodes from the current snapshot of the network and plays a vital role in estimating the growth of social networks. This article introduces an improved approach to link prediction in social networks by exploiting an extended version of local random walk as semi-local random walk (SLRW) for multilayer social networks. Here, taking into account the connectivity and structural similarity of the involved nodes, we propose the SLRW method to acquire nodes sequence with the highest similarity. Also, SLRW metric includes a distributed technique to identify the nearest neighbours by considering the extended neighbourhood concept. To ensure optimal performance, we conduct extensive studies on various hyperparameters of the proposed metric. The experimental results conducted on different datasets demonstrate that the proposed metric achieves improvements in the field of link prediction compared to the state-of-the-art baselines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to conduct a comprehensive study employing bibliometric and social network analysis to explore scholarly publications in artificial intelligence (AI). A co-authorship network analysis of countries/regions and institutions, a thematic analysis based on the co-occurrence of keywords, and a Spearman rank correlation test of social network analysis are conducted using VOSviewer and SPSS, respectively. According to the research power analysis, the United States and China are the most significant contributors to the relevant publications and hold dominant positions in the co-authorship network. Universities play a crucial role in promoting and carrying out relevant research. AI has been increasingly applied to address new problems and challenges in various fields in recent years. The Spearman rank correlation analysis indicates that research performance in AI is significantly and positively correlated with social network indicators. This article reveals a systematic picture of the research landscape of AI, which can provide a potential guide for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of the low removal efficiency of fine particles in the flue gases of the metallurgy process, a chemical agglomeration pretreatment method was studied. The coagulant solution of xanthan gum, konjac gum, and their mixtures was selected to research the reunion effects of and the efficiency of gravitational dust removal of fine dust in the gas of the converter flue using a self-built experimental platform. Moreover, the effects of wetting agent type, dust concentration, pressure, and flue gas velocity on the fine grain removal efficiency were investigated. The results showed that the mixed solution of 1 g/L mixed gum and 0.5 g/L SDS had the most obvious effect on the particle size increasing of fine dust particles and the best removal effect when the flue gas velocity was 10 m/s. There was a peak particle size of 85.32 μm increased about eight times larger, and the removal efficiencies reached 51.46% for PM2.5 and 53.13% for PM10. The Box–Behnken experimental design combined with a response surface analysis method was used to optimize the parameters of the mixed gum concentration, pressure, and flue gas velocity. The optimal removal conditions were 1 g/L, 0.4 MPa, and 10 m/s. The results of this study can provide efficient methods and technical support for pre-processing and efficient removal of fine particles in heavy-polluting industries such as steel making. This will promote the green development of the metallurgical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to its hollow stem, ensiling triticale presents a challenge as it may cause an overabundance of oxygen during the fermentation process. This study investigated the effects of Bacillus coagulans (BC) and Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) on the fermentation characteristics, microbial community, and aerobic stability of ensiled triticale. Fresh triticale was wilted at a dry matter content of 350 g/kg. The experiment was arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design, with both BC and commercial LP added at 0 or 1 × 106 cfu/g of fresh weight (FW) of chopped triticale. Results: After 60 days of ensiling, the pH, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) of inoculated groups were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05), especially in the LP + BC treatment (P < 0.05). The lactic acid (LA) concentration, lactic acid/acetic acid (LA/AA), and aerobic stability were also higher (P < 0.05) in the LP + BC treatment than in other treatments. The bacterial diversity was reduced, and the richness was increased by the application of LP and BC individually (P < 0.05). Compared with the control silage, LP-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus (P < 0.05), while BC-treated silage had higher Bacillus and Pediococcus (P < 0.05). The LP + BC-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Enterococcus, and Serratia (P < 0.05). Bacillus was negatively correlated with NDF (P < 0.05) and AA (P < 0.05). Lactobacillus was positively correlated with LA (P < 0.05) and LA/AA but negatively with pH and NH3-N (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The combination of BC and LP may lead to improved ensiled triticale fermentation quality and aerobic stability by inducing alterations in the composition of bacterial communities, which is crucial for the efficient utilization of triticale resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the conference papers published by double first‐class universities from mainland China between 2006 and 2019. The main findings are as follows: first, the number of conference papers from different double first‐class universities varied greatly, with the annual numbers of papers in the China Proceedings of Conferences Full‐text Database (CPCD) and in the Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) fluctuating during this period. Second, most of the top 10 disciplines of the papers in the CPCD and CPCI were in the natural sciences, with only two in the social sciences. The CPCD papers and CPCI papers had some overlap in their disciplinary distributions. Third, the CPCD and CPCI papers differed little in total number, with the number of CPCI papers being slightly higher than the number of CPCD papers. With the introduction of new regulations from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), there will likely be an increase in the number of Chinese‐language conference papers in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key component of Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway, Smad2 has many crucial roles in a variety of cellular processes, but it cannot bind DNA without complex formation with Smad4. In the present study, the molecular mechanism in the progress of myogenesis underlying transcriptional regulation of SMAD2 and SMAD4 had been clarified. The result showed the inhibition between SMAD2 and SMAD4, which promotes and inhibits bovine myoblast differentiation, respectively. Further, the characterization of promoter region of SMAD2 and SMAD4 was analyzed, and identified C/EBPβ directly bound to the core region of both SMAD2 and SMAD4 genes promoter and stimulated the transcriptional activity. However, C/EBPβ has lower expression in myoblasts which plays vital function in the transcriptional networks controlling adipogenesis, while the overexpression of C/EBPβ gene in myoblasts significantly increased SMAD2 and SMAD4 gene expression, induced the formation of lipid droplet in bovine myoblasts, and promoted the expression of adipogenesis-specific genes. Collectively, our results showed that C/EBPβ may play an important role in the trans-differentiation and dynamic equilibrium of myoblasts into adipocyte cells via promoting an increase in SMAD2 and SMAD4 gene levels. These results will provide an important basis for further understanding of the TGFβ pathway and C/EBPβ gene during myogenic differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment explored the effects of different proportions of sweet sorghum silage as a substitute for corn silage on dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield, milk quality, apparent digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters, serum amino acid profile, and rumen microbial composition of dairy cows. A total of 32 mid‐lactation Holstein dairy cows with similar body weights and parities were randomly divided into four treatments: 100% corn silage +0% sorghum silage (CON), 75% corn silage +25% sorghum silage (CS1), 50% corn silage +50% sorghum silage (CS2), and 25% corn silage +75% sorghum silage (CS3). The milk yield was increased (linear, p =.048) as the proportion of sweet sorghum increased. Linear (p =.003) and quadratic (p =.046) increased effects were observed in milk fat as corn silage was replaced with sorghum silage. Compared with the CON diet group, the CS2 and CS3 diet groups had lower dry matter (DM) (linear, p <.001), ether extract (EE) (linear, p <.001), and gross energy (GE) (linear, p =.001) digestibility of the dairy cows. The ruminal fluid aspartate (Asp) level decreased (linear, p =.003) as the proportion of sweet sorghum increased. Linear (p <.05) and quadratic (p <.05) increased effects were observed for the contents of threonine (Thr), glycine (Gly), valine (Val), leucine (Leu), tyrosine (Tyr), and histidine (His) in rumen fluid with the replacement of corn silage with sorghum silage. Cows fed the CS3 diet had greater Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, and Prevotella ruminicola content/copy number than those fed the CON diet (p <.05). In conclusion, feeding sorghum silage as a replacement for corn silage could increase the milk yield and fat, promote the growth of rumen microbes, and provide more rumen fluid amino acids for the body and microbial utilization. We believe that sorghum silage is feasible for dairy cows, and it is reasonable to replace corn silage with 75% sorghum silage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Dry matter loss (DM loss) occurs during silage production, with the potential to reach up to 4–20% due to the aerobic respiration. Lower water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and a higher buffering capacity can contribute to this; however, the presence of Bacillus can help create an anaerobic environment, which is more conducive to the growth of anaerobic bacteria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Bacillus coagulans (BC) as an inoculant for silage fermentation. The results showed that adding BC increased the fermentation quality of alfalfa silage, especially when applied together with Lactobacillus plantarum (LP). This was evidenced by a reduction in the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents, as well as an increase in Lactobacillus abundance and a decrease in Enterococcus abundance after 60 d of fermentation. Additionally, the application of LP, BC, and their combination stimulated cofactor and vitamin metabolism abundance, whilst suppressing drug resistance: antimicrobial pathway abundance. Thus, BC could be considered a viable bioresource for improving fermentation quality. This study aimed to investigate the potential of Bacillus coagulans (BC) as an inoculant in alfalfa silage fermentation. Fresh alfalfa was harvested at a dry matter (DM) content of 329.60 g/kg fresh weight (FW), and inoculated without (CON) or with BC (1 × 106 CFU/g FW), Lactobacillus plantarum (LP, 1 × 106 CFU/g FW), and their combinations (LP+BC, 1 × 106 CFU/g FW, respectively). Samples were taken at 3, 7, 14, 30, and 60 d, with three replicates for each. The prolonged ensiling period resulted in a decrease in pH values and an increase in lactic acid (LA) concentrations in alfalfa silages. After 60 d of fermentation, the application of BC and LP decreased the pH values and increased LA concentrations in treated silages, especially when their combination was applied. Application of BC preserved more water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), and further application of BC increased WSC in LP+BC-treated silage compared to LP-treated silage. There was no significant difference in the crude protein (CP) content between the CON and treated silages, however, the BC and LP treatments reduced the ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration, especially when their combination was applied. Additionally, the BC and LP-treated silages had lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) when compared to the CON silage (p < 0.001). Inoculants also increased Lactobacillus abundance and decreased Enterococcus abundance after 60 d of fermentation. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between LA concentration and Lactobacillus abundance. It was noteworthy that LP, BC, and their combination increased the relative abundances of carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, cofactors, and vitamin metabolism, decreasing the relative abundances of amino acid metabolism and drug resistance: antimicrobial. Therefore, the inclusion of BC increased the fermentation quality of alfalfa silage, with the optimal combination being LP+BC. According to the findings, BC could be considered a viable bioresource for improving fermentation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The depressed appetite at parturition might induce the changes in the composition and quantity of rumen microbiota. At present, little is known about the influence of parturition on the levels of rumen microbiota and their fermentation ability in dairy cows. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of parturition on composition and quantity of bacterial communities and concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) with 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and targeted GC–MS/MS metabolomics. The results showed that parturition altered the levels of rumen bacteria and their fermentation ability. The findings provide a better understanding of the effect of parturition on rumen digestive function. The rumen fluids from ten cows at Day 3~5 before calving and Day 0 after calving were collected to analyze the composition and quantity of bacterial communities and concentrations of SCFAs. The results showed that the relative abundances of unidentified Lachnospiraceae, Acetitomaculum, Methanobrevibacter, Olsenella, Syntrophococcus, Lachnospira, and Lactobacillus genera were significant increased (p < 0.05), while that of unidentified-Prevotellaceae was notably decreased after calving (p < 0.05). In addition, the concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and caproic acid obviously decreased after calving (p < 0.01). Our findings show that parturition altered the rumen microbiota and their fermentation ability in dairy cows. This study defines a rumen bacteria and metabolic profile of SCFAs associated with parturition in dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The preoperative diagnosis of microvascular invasion (MVI) for the solitary small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) is crucial for the decision of surgical strategies. Purpose: To compare the kinetic parameters and diagnostic effects of two contrast agents for preoperatively predicting MVI of sHCC on multiphase enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and Methods: Two groups of patients with known solitary sHCC underwent an enhanced MRI examination before hepatic resection: Data A (n = 61) patients underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI, and Data B (n = 41) patients had a normal contrast agent. The two sets of data were processed in the same way. Arterial peritumoral enhancement measured from multiphase enhanced MRI was analyzed using quantitative kinetic parameters, including initial signal enhancement (SE1), peak signal enhancement (SEpeak), and calculation of the signal enhancement ratio (SER). Results: The statistical analysis showed that the average SE1 and SER (Data A) for the MVI-positive group were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those in the MVI-negative group. The SER (Data B) and SEpeak showed no significant difference for either group. In Data A, the receiver operating characteristic analysis between the two groups had an area under the curve of 0.74 and 0.71 for SE1 and SER, respectively, which was higher than that of Data B. The different contrast agents had the same enhancement curve trend. Conclusion: Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI had a better quantitative kinetic parameter analysis effect for arterial peritumoral enhancement on predicting MVI of sHCC in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea tree oil (TTO) is a plant‐derived additive with anti‐inflammatory, bactericidal, and growth‐promoting properties. However, little is known about the effects of TTO on intestinal amino acid transport and immune function in goats. Twenty‐four Ganxi goats (initial body weight of 13.5 ± 0.70 kg) were randomly allotted two treatments and fed either control (CON) or CON+TTO (0.2 ml/kg) diet. The addition of TTO to the diet significantly decreased (p <.05) tumor necrosis factor‐α content and increased (p <.05) interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) content in goat serum; significantly decreased (p <.05) IL‐12, and increased (p <.05) IL‐2 content in goat ileal mucosa; significantly increased (p <.05) secreted IgA content in the jejunal and ileal mucosa; significantly upregulated (p <.05) IL‐2 and downregulated (p <.05) IL‐12 at the mRNA level in the ileal mucosa; significantly elevated the levels of serine, arginine, and total amino acids in the ileal mucosa (p <.05); significantly upregulated (p <.05) SLC1A1 and SLC7A1 in the ileum; and significantly enhanced (p <.05) the protein expression of Claudin‐1 in the ileal mucosa. In summary, adding 0.2 ml/kg of TTO to the diet enhanced SLC1A1 and SLC7A1 mRNA expression in the ileal mucosa, and SLC1A1 and SLC7A1 could transport serine and arginine from the chyme to the ileal mucosa. Thus, increased serine and arginine content in the mucosa could improve intestinal immunity. TTO supplementation upregulated the expression of IL‐2 and Claudin‐1 in goat ileal mucosa, and enhanced immune function in the intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the influence of mixture composition on the biomass yield and early establishment of legume–grass mixtures. The legume species alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. (A)), white clover (Trifolium repens L. (WC)), and red clover (Trifolium pratense L. (RC)) and grass species orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L. (O)), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. (TF)), and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. (PR)) were grown in monocultures and in different legume–grass mixtures. Legume–grass mixtures (M1: WC + O + TF; M2: A + O + TF; M3: A + WC + O + TF; M4: RC + WC + O + TF; M5: A + WC + O + TF + PR; M6: RC + WC + O + TF + PR; and M7: A + RC + WC + O + TF + PR) were sown in a legume–grass seeding ratio of 3:7. The results showed that M2 had the greatest two-year average biomass yield (12.92 t ha−1), which was significantly (p < 0.05), 4.7%, 5.4%, 15.8%, and 29.1% greater than that of WC monoculture, M7, M4, and M1, respectively. The grass biomass yield proportions of all mixtures significantly decreased, while legume biomass yield proportions significantly increased in the second year compared to the first year of establishment. The land-equivalent ratio values of M2 and M4 were greater than 1 in each cutting period. The competition rate of grasses gradually decreased with prolonged establishment time. Overall, the biomass yield, legume and grass biomass yield proportions, land equivalent ratio, and competition rate data highlighted that M2 is the best choice to achieve greater productivity and early establishment in southwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) on the lipid deposition of the intramuscular preadipocytes (IMPs) in a co‐culture system of the Tan sheep cells. The SMSCs and IMPs from Tan sheep were separated and cultured. After the two kinds of cells were separated and cultured, they were inoculated onto a transwell cell chamber co‐culture plate for co‐cultivation. When the cell density reached more than 90%, the cells were induced to differentiate. After the induction of the SMSCs differentiation for 8 days, the level of the IMPs differentiation and the expression levels of the differentiation marker genes and the key enzymes of the lipid metabolism were assessed. The results showed that the number and area of the lipid droplets in the IMPs in the co‐culture system were significantly reduced compared to those in the IMPs culture alone (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the expression levels of the PPARγ, c/EBPα, ACC, FAS mRNA in the IMPs were significantly decreased (p < 0.05); the expression level of aP2 mRNA was decreased, but the difference was not significant (p > 0.05).These findings indicate that the SMSCs of the Tan sheep in the co‐culture system inhibited the lipid deposition by the IMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the effects of microbial inoculants and growth stage on fermentation quality, microbial community, and in vitro degradability of Caragana silage from different varieties. Caragana intermedia (CI) and Caragana korshinskii (CK) harvested at the budding (BU) and blooming (BL) stages were used as raw materials to prepare silage, respectively. The silages at each growth stage were treated for ensiling alone (control), with 5% rice bran (RB), a combination of RB with commercial Lactobacillus plantarum (RB + LP), and a combination of RB with a selected strain Lactobacillus plantarum L694 (RB + L694). The results showed that the crude protein (CP) content of CI was higher than that of CK, and delay in harvest resulted in greater CP content in Caragana at BL stage. After 60 days of fermentation, the concentrations of lactic acid (LA) in the RB + L694 treatments were higher than those in control treatments (p < 0.05), while the pH, concentrations of NH3-N, neutral detergent fiber with the addition of α-amylase (aNDF) were lower than those in control treatments (p < 0.05). RB + L694 treatments could decrease acid detergent fiber (ADF) content except in CIBL. In CK silages, adding RB + L694 could reduce bacterial diversity and richness (p < 0.05). Compared with the control, RB + L694 treatment contained higher Lactobacillus and Enterobacter (p < 0.05). In vitro NDF and DM degradability (IVNDFD and IVDMD) was mostly affected by growth period, and additive RB + l694 treatment had higher IVDMD and lower IVNDFD than other treatments (p < 0.05). Consequently, the varieties, growth stages, and additives could influence the fermentation process, while the blooming stage should be selected in both Caragana. Furthermore, the results showed that RB and L. plantarum could exert a positive effect on fermentation quality of Caragana silage by shifting bacterial community composition, and RB + L694 treatments outperformed other additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to present a longitudinal and visualising study using bibliometric approaches to depict the emerging trends and research hotspots within the mobile information system domain. Design/methodology/approach: Publications included in the Web of Science (WoS) database for 2001–2021 are reviewed and analysed on various aspects through coauthorship, cocitation and co-occurrence analysis. The analyses are conducted using VOSViewer, a scientific visualisation software program. Findings: Academic publications related to mobile information systems fluctuated at a low level during the initial part of the 21st century and have grown rapidly in number in the past decade. The USA and China are the leading contributors to these publications and hold dominant positions in the obtained collaboration network. Computer science, engineering and telecommunications are the top three research areas in which mainstream mobile information system research occurs. Moreover, medical informatics and health-care science services have gradually become new research hotspots. Originality/value: This study provides a systematic and holistic account of the developmental landscape of the mobile information system domain. This study provides a good basis for analysing the evolution of research in mobile information systems and may serve as a potential foundation for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycium barbarum residue contains abundant bioactive nutrients which can be used as feed supplement. The fermentation treatment of plant residue can promote the utilization of nutrients, rumen digestion, and the growth and immunity of animals. Based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) metabolomics and in-depth transcriptome analysis, the study tested the mechanisms of Lycium barbarum residue (RW) and fermented Lycium barbarum residue (RFW) on meat quality and immunity of sheep. Fifty-four Tan sheep were randomly divided into control, RFW or RW treatments. Data showed that RFW and RW increased the carcass weight, fat content, ash content and reduced the cooking loss of lamb. RFW performed more significant effects on activating immune-related genes than those of RW. The expression of chemokines and immune-related pathways, such as signaling pathways of interleukin-17 signaling pathway and NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, were elevated in sheep fed RFW. RW increased the diversity in rumen metabolites, especially compositions of lipids, organic acids and organ heterocyclic compounds. RFW affected numerous compounds which are closely correlated with the activation of immune genes. In conclusion, RFW could represent a valuable strategy to improve growth performance and immunity of sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducted a comparative analysis of the conference publications published by Chinese scholars from 2006 to 2019. The main results are as follows. First, the conference papers are unevenly distributed among the 31 provincial administrative regions. The annual number of conference papers published by scholars from different regions fluctuated during the study period. Second, there are different disciplinary distributions of China Proceedings of Conferences Full‐text Database (CPCD) papers and Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) papers, and the CPCI publications have a relatively centralized disciplinary distribution. Third, it is noteworthy that there are more CPCD papers than CPCI papers. With the introduction of the new science and technology evaluation standards of the Ministry of Science and Technology, there should be more conference papers in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile cloud computing (MCC) has been widely used in every aspect of our society, bringing both advantages and challenges. However, the adoption of MCC technology is still at an early stage of implementation in the governments. To promote the adoption and diffusion of MCC in the government area, exploring the determinants and influence mechanisms of mobile cloud computing-based government (m-Gov cloud) adoption has become the focus in academic and industry. Based on the technology-organization-environment framework and trust theory at the organizational level, an integrated model including the determinants on the adoption of m-Gov cloud is proposed, and 93 survey samples from China are used to analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that provider competence, organizational readiness, external pressure, and trust of m-Gov cloud have significant effects on m-Gov cloud adoption. Perceived benefit, perceived risk, and provider competence have significant effects on m-Gov cloud trust. The m-Gov cloud trust plays an indirect-only (full) mediation and a complementary (partial) mediation effect between perceived benefit, provider competence, and m-Gov cloud adoption, respectively, while perceived risk has no significant direct and indirect effect on m-Gov cloud adoption. The findings provide a new research perspective and practice insights to promote the implementation of solutions based on the idea of mobile cloud computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, IoV-based services and vehicles have come to the forefront as part of the growing market for the automobile industry. Since IoV-based services and vehicles were introduced, they have been expected to grow rapidly. However, contrary to optimistic expectations for future market growth, the IoV-based services and vehicles market has appeared to hit a roadblock and remains at an early market stage. Therefore, research of the determinants leading to consumers' intention to accept and purchase IoV-based services and vehicles is significant for either academics or practitioners. Drawing upon the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology acceptance model (UTAUT2), the perceived risk theory, and the initial trust model, we developed an integrated conceptual model and explored what and how various determinant antecedent conditions fit together on consumer intention to accept IoV-based services and vehicles. The proposed model and hypotheses were assessed by both symmetric (partial least square structural equation modeling, PLS-SEM) and asymmetric (fsQCA) approaches using online survey datasets with 362 Chinese consumers. The findings suggest that PLS-SEM and fsQCA are complementary analytical techniques providing comparable results. PLS-SEM results indicate that performance expectancy, price value, habit, and initial trust have significant effects on behavioral intention to accept IoV services. Despite other determinants, e.g., effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and perceived risk, have no significant effect. FsQCA results reveal twelve different configurations of determinants resulting in a high level of behavioral intention to accept IoV services, and eight causal paths equifinally leading to the negation of behavioral intention to accept IoV services. These findings suggest that several conditions that were not significant in PLS-SEM are sufficient conditions when combined with other conditions. This study enriches relevant research studies on IoV-based services acceptance and provides relevant insights and marketing suggestions for incentivizing consumers to accept the IoV-based services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, IoV-based services and vehicles have come to the forefront as part of the growing market for the automobile industry. Since IoV-based services and vehicles were introduced, they have been expected to grow rapidly. However, contrary to optimistic expectations for future market growth, the IoV-based services and vehicles market has appeared to hit a roadblock and remains at an early market stage. Therefore, research of the determinants leading to consumers' intention to accept and purchase IoV-based services and vehicles is significant for either academics or practitioners. Drawing upon the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology acceptance model (UTAUT2), the perceived risk theory, and the initial trust model, we developed an integrated conceptual model and explored what and how various determinant antecedent conditions fit together on consumer intention to accept IoV-based services and vehicles. The proposed model and hypotheses were assessed by both symmetric (partial least square structural equation modeling, PLS-SEM) and asymmetric (fsQCA) approaches using online survey datasets with 362 Chinese consumers. The findings suggest that PLS-SEM and fsQCA are complementary analytical techniques providing comparable results. PLS-SEM results indicate that performance expectancy, price value, habit, and initial trust have significant effects on behavioral intention to accept IoV services. Despite other determinants, e.g., effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and perceived risk, have no significant effect. FsQCA results reveal twelve different configurations of determinants resulting in a high level of behavioral intention to accept IoV services, and eight causal paths equifinally leading to the negation of behavioral intention to accept IoV services. These findings suggest that several conditions that were not significant in PLS-SEM are sufficient conditions when combined with other conditions. This study enriches relevant research studies on IoV-based services acceptance and provides relevant insights and marketing suggestions for incentivizing consumers to accept the IoV-based services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a comparative study of the scientific publications of the 31 province‐level regions of Mainland China during 2006–2018. The main results are as follows. First, the four indices, ordered by total number of papers indexed, across all provinces, are the Science Citation Index (SCI), Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD), Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI), and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). The number of international publications from these regions shows an increasing trend, while the number of domestic research outputs shows a fluctuating trend. Second, the international and domestic publications produced by these regions greatly improved over the study period. Third, different regions vary greatly not only in research output but also in research preference. The top five preferred disciplines of international and domestic academic achievement are very different; the former all belong to the natural sciences, while more than 7 of 10 of the latter belong to the social sciences. Moreover, the adjacency matrices of the similarity of the 31 regions show that there is some correlation between the research spotlight of a region and its economic and cultural patterns. In general, scientific research in China has developed rapidly in recent years, and different regions vary greatly not only in research achievement but also in research preference. Key points: Scientific output is unevenly distributed between Chinese provinces, with Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hubei, and Shaanxi each contributing almost half total output.The majority of Chinese‐authored articles in international journals are in STM areas, with national journals capturing the majority of social science articles.Beijing has the highest number of articles in Q1 and Q2 journals within Web of Science, followed by Jiangsu and then Shanghai.The different regions of china specialize in different academic disciplines, with some universities excelling social sciences and others in pure and applied sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a comparative study of the scientific publications of double first‐class universities based on international and domestic Chinese databases from 2006 to 2018. The main results are as follows. Quantitatively, the absolute total number of articles published by Chinese universities has increased. Specifically, the number of international publications in the natural and social sciences from double first‐class universities showed an increasing trend, but the number of domestic journal articles showed the reverse trend. Moreover, based on the number of papers published by each university over the years, we recognized that the ranking changes of universities fall into four categories: rising, declining, stable, and fluctuating. Qualitatively, the international and domestic publications issued by double first‐class universities greatly improved from 2006 to 2018. Moreover, scientific publications, either international or domestic, were unevenly distributed among the double first‐class universities. In general, the double first‐class universities developed rapidly in recent years and play an important role in the development of science and technology in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to present a longitudinal and visualizing study using scientometric approaches to depict the historical changes in the academic community, intellectual base and research hotspots within the business domain. Design/methodology/approach: Two mapping methods are used, namely, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis. Both the co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis in this study are conducted using CiteSpace, a Java-based scientific visualization software. Findings: This paper detects changes in academic communities in 24 business journals chosen by the University of Texas at Dallas as leading journals (UTD24) and identifies the research hotspots such as corporate governance, organizational research and capital research. Many authors and academic communities appear in two or even three periods, which indicates the lasting academic vitality of scholars in this field. This paper determines the evolution of scholars' research interests by identifying high-frequency keywords during the entire period. Originality/value: This paper reveals a systematic and holistic picture of the developmental landscape of the business domain, which can provide a potential guide for future research. Furthermore, based on empirical data and knowledge visualization, the intellectual structure and evolution of the business domain can be identified more objectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to now, a large amount of trajectory data have been collected by trusted servers because of the wide use of location-based services. One can extract useful information via an analysis of trajectory data. However, the privacy of trajectory bodies risks being inadvertently divulged to others. Therefore, the trajectory data should be properly processed for privacy protection before being released to unknown analysts. This paper proposes a privacy protection scheme for publishing the trajectories with personalized privacy requirements based on the translocation of trajectory points. The algorithm not only enables the published trajectory points to meet the personalized privacy requirements regarding desensitization and anonymity but also preserves the positions of all trajectory points. Our algorithm trades the loss in mobility patterns for the advantage in the similarity of trajectory distance. Related experiments on trajectory data sets with personalized privacy requirements have verified the effectiveness and the efficiency of our algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the mining of key nodes from the flow of knowledge in science and technology journals to technology patents at the community level. The knowledge flow network is established with spatial dimensions based on technological patent citations, scientific journals, and cooperation among researchers. The extensity centrality-Newman and commonly used degree indices are applied to isolate the nodes which occupy important positions among communities in the knowledge flow network. Suggestions are proffered accordingly to make full use of the key nodes' roles as "bridges" to promote knowledge flow from science and technology journals to technology patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacity uncertainty is a common issue in the transportation planning field. However, few studies discuss the intermodal routing problem with service capacity uncertainty. Based on our previous study on the intermodal routing under deterministic capacity consideration, we systematically explore how service capacity uncertainty influences the intermodal routing decision. First of all, we adopt trapezoidal fuzzy numbers to describe the uncertain information of the service capacity, and further transform the deterministic capacity constraint into a fuzzy chance constraint based on fuzzy credibility measure. We then integrate such fuzzy chance constraint into the mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model proposed in our previous study to develop a fuzzy chance-constrained programming model. To enable the improved model to be effectively programmed in the standard mathematical programming software and solved by exact solution algorithms, a crisp equivalent linear reformulation of the fuzzy chance constraint is generated. Finally, we modify the empirical case presented in our previous study by replacing the deterministic service capacities with trapezoidal fuzzy ones. Using the modified empirical case, we utilize sensitivity analysis and fuzzy simulation to analyze the influence of service capacity uncertainty on the intermodal routing decision, and summarize some interesting insights that are helpful for decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wa'ergang section in South China has been proposed as a potential Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of Stage 10, the uppermost stage of the Cambrian System. In this study, high-resolution C-isotopic compositions are reported and we identified three large negative δ13C excursions, namely N1, N2 and N3, at Wa'ergang. The N1 is located just above the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of Lotagnostus americanus, corresponding to the possible base of the Proconodontus posterocostatus conodont Zone. The N2 was identified within the Micragnostus chuishuensis trilobite Zone and the Proconodontus muelleri conodont Zone. The N3 is located in the lowermost part of the Leiagnostus cf. bexelli – Archaeuloma taoyuanense trilobite Zone or Eoconodontus conodont Zone. The N1 and N2 can be correlated with the negative δ13C excursions preceding the Top of Cambrian Carbon Isotope Excursion (TOCE) observed globally. The N3 can be correlated with the TOCE or the HEllnmaria–Red Tops Boundary (HERB) Event. The inter-basinal correlation of N1 and L. americanus strongly supports that the base of Stage 10 may be best defined by the FAD of L. americanus. We also used a box model to quantitatively explore the genesis of the negative δ13C excursions from South China. Our numerical simulations suggest that weathering of the organic-rich sediments on the platform, probably driven by intermittent sea level fall and/or the oxygenation of the Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) reservoir in seawater, may have contributed to the generation of the negative δ13C excursions observed in the Stage 10 at Wa'ergang in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Promoting knowledge diffusion and reducing the delay between scientific research and technology patents is important to achieve success in the highly competitive global environment. This paper studies the time delay between scientific research and technology patents, and focuses on the key components of time in the promotion of knowledge transformation. Based on United States Patent and Trademark Office patent data, we apply periodical citation distribution models to the patent process. The results show that our transfer function model is better than others, and is suitable for calculating the delay between basic scientific research activities and technology patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon the periodical publication delay model and the Weibull distribution model, we develop an improved model and conduct an exploratory analysis to characterize patent grant delay, and learn the crux of the problem. In order to test the effect of the new model, we perform an experiment based on a database of four technological fields from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The results show that the new model can improve the fitting effect, and is suitable for calculating the time delay between patent application and grant. In addition, we apply the improved model in two different technological fields to study the changing rules in the last two decades by comparing the results, and obtain some valuable information. For a theoretical contribution, we deduce the examination probability under steady-state conditions, extend the periodical publication delay model from a negative exponential distribution to a Weibull distribution, and overcome the shortcomings of the original model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sampling method has been paid much attention in the field of complex network in general and statistical physics in particular. This paper proposes two new sampling methods based on the idea that a small part of vertices with high node degree could possess the most structure information of a complex network. The two proposed sampling methods are efficient in sampling high degree nodes so that they would be useful even if the sampling rate is low, which means cost-efficient. The first new sampling method is developed on the basis of the widely used stratified random sampling (SRS) method and the second one improves the famous snowball sampling (SBS) method. In order to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of two new sampling methods, we compare them with the existing sampling methods in three commonly used simulation networks that are scale-free network, random network, small-world network, and also in two real networks. The experimental results illustrate that the two proposed sampling methods perform much better than the existing sampling methods in terms of achieving the true network structure characteristics reflected by clustering coefficient, Bonacich centrality and average path length, especially when the sampling rate is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community structure is one of the important properties of social networks in general and in particular the citation networks in the field of scientometrics. A majority of existing methods are not proper for detecting communities in a directed network, and thus hinders their applications in the citation networks. In this paper, we provide a novel method which not only overcomes the above mentioned disability, but also has a relative low algorithm time complexity which facilitates the application in large scale networks. We use the concept of Shannon entropy to measure a network's information and then consider the process of detecting communities as a process of information loss. Based on this idea, we develop an optimal model to depict the process of detecting communities and further introduce the principle of dynamic programming to solve the model. A simulation test is also designed to examine the model's accuracy in discovering the community structure and identifying the optimal community number. Finally, we apply our method in a citation network from the journal Scientometrics and then provide several insights on promising research topics through the detected communities by our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on methods to study the distribution of an author's collaborative relationships among different communities in co-authorship networks. Based on the index of extensity centrality, we propose a new index and name it extensity centrality-Newman (Cext-N). Drawing upon a data set of three top journals (MISQ, ISR, JMIS) between 2010 and 2012 in Information Systems, we verify and describe the application and value of our approach. Due to the fact that the starting points among Cext-N and classical indices are quite different and a single index is not advocated in scientific evaluation, we can select the indices in actual application by considering their starting points to ensure the value of each index is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, mRNA vaccines hold great promise because of their low risk of insertional mutagenesis, high potency, accelerated development cycles, and potential for low-cost manufacture. In past years, several mRNA vaccines have entered clinical trials and have shown promise for offering solutions to combat emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as rabies, Zika, and influenza. Recently, the successful application of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 has further validated the platform and opened the floodgates to mRNA vaccine's potential in infectious disease prevention, especially in the veterinary field. In this review, we describe our current understanding of the mRNA vaccines and the technologies used for mRNA vaccine development. We also provide an overview of mRNA vaccines developed for animal infectious diseases and discuss directions and challenges for the future applications of this promising vaccine platform in the veterinary field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aims to provide systematic research method for investigating emerging trends and new developments, by using business journals. Topics include focus on co-citation networks, landmark articles and domain-level citation trends; replacement of strategic alliance, organisational mortality, and organisational adaptation by social media, price informativeness and network communities; and use of dual-map representations to explore the knowledge diffusion patterns.