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• The long waves of Kondratiev and Schumpeter have been absent from the current debate on declining business dynamism. • Based on extensive microeconomic data from 1986 to 2018, the study examines how the ICT revolution has influenced business dynamism. • There are two structural breaks in industrial dynamics in Portugal: an upswing in 1993 and a downturn in 2003. • Counterfactual estimates show that entry and survival become more stringent in the mature stage of a technological revolution, thereby reducing entrepreneurship's long-term disruptive potential. Following Schumpeter, several scholars have shown that development follows long-term waves. These waves are prompted by radical innovations, which, until their full potential is exhausted, spread through incremental innovations and continuous learning and imitation processes. However, the discontinuity of technological progress often goes unnoticed in current debates on productivity slowdown, declining business dynamism and increasing market concentration. Our study, based on extensive microeconomic data from 1986 to 2018, examines how the ICT revolution has influenced business dynamism in Portugal. The Bai–Perron estimates show two structural breaks in industrial dynamics: an upswing in 1993 and a downturn in 2003. Our research also shows that during the late 20th century creative destruction was mainly driven by the expanding ICT sector. After 2003, however, firm dynamics became less turbulent, with less entry and job reallocation. Moreover, despite the increasing performance of a typical high-growth young firm, the incidence of startups has declined in the new century. Our results, therefore, suggest that reduced entry and increased exit risk have likely undermined the long-term disruptive potential of transformative entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workforce education and development are key cornerstones in advancing and maturing the Cell & Gene Therapy sector. A skilled worker shortage can significantly impact and delay progress as well as the quality of output for any developer, thereby negatively impacting a patient's access to life-saving treatments. Several roundtable discussions were held at the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) 2023 Annual Meeting to dive deeper into the current state of workforce development and solutions to address this bottleneck. One roundtable discussion was co-hosted by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and ISCT, which focused on the gap analysis provided for the United States Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT) sector, highlighting the lack of skilled workers in manufacturing and quality control. In this manuscript, the roundtable participants continue this conversation, review the roles and staffing requirements in both academic and industry as well as small and large company settings. The adoption of increased manufacturing automation is one promising solution to propel the sector forward. However, automation alone won't replace on-site staff, but will lower the bar to entry for a larger pool of people and require different training. This paper also addresses the workforce development and training paradigm shift as advanced manufacturing techniques are implemented, which will differ considerably based on the type of manufacturing efforts, thus emphasizing the need for a well-thought-out strategy to up-skill and re-skill the technical workforce to adapt to these advancements. Organizations such as ISCT and ARM have a role to play in propelling the field forward, providing awareness and education to stakeholders at all levels, as well as acting as a convener and participating as a key stakeholder in discussions and partnerships between academia and industry towards solutions for training the best personnel for CGT manufacturing. This scope includes novel digital tools and technologies to simplify training to increase access to new talent pools interested in careers in a rapidly advancing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • It elucidates the advantages and disadvantages of three main clearing methods. • Integrating clearing with others enables single-cell analysis of intact tissues. • Tissue clearing provides perspective in therapeutics. The techniques of tissue clearing have been proposed and applied in anatomical and biomedical research since the 19th century. As we all know, the original study of the nervous system relied on serial ultrathin sections and stereoscopic techniques. The 3D visualization of the nervous system was established by software splicing and reconstruction. With the development of science and technology, microscope equipment had constantly been upgraded. Despite the great progress that has been made in this field, the workload is too complex, and it needs high technical requirements. Abundant mistakes due to manual sections were inescapable and structural integrity remained questionable. According to the classification of tissue transparency methods, we introduced the latest application of transparency methods in central and peripheral nerve research from optical imaging, molecular markers and data analysis. This review summarizes the application of transparent technology in neural pathways. We hope to provide some inspiration for the continuous optimization of tissue clearing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacture of artificial heart valves is very challenging owing to their stringent functional requirements. The latest advances in 3D printing technologies hold great promise to revolutionise the manufacture of artificial heart valves. Recent 3D printing innovations go far beyond the fabrication of anatomical moulds, and unlock unprecedented opportunities to manufacture exquisite architectures, hierarchical bioprinting of cells, complex multi-material assembly, and the creation of biomimetic structures. This provides new avenues to enhance the functionality of artificial heart valves with respect to hydrodynamics, durability, biocompatibility, and the ability to be implanted via a minimally invasive transcatheter procedure. 3D printing technologies have the potential to revolutionize the manufacture of heart valves through the ability to create bespoke, complex constructs. In light of recent technological advances, we review the progress made towards 3D printing of heart valves, focusing on studies that have utilised these technologies beyond manufacturing patient-specific moulds. We first overview the key requirements of a heart valve to assess functionality. We then present the 3D printing technologies used to engineer heart valves. By referencing International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Standard 5840 (Cardiovascular implants – Cardiac valve prostheses), we provide insight into the achieved functionality of these valves. Overall, 3D printing promises to have a significant positive impact on the creation of artificial heart valves and potentially unlock full complex functionality. 3D printing technologies have the potential to revolutionize the manufacture of heart valves through the ability to create bespoke, complex constructs. In light of recent technological advances, we review the progress made towards 3D printing of heart valves, focusing on studies that have utilised these technologies beyond manufacturing patient-specific moulds. We first overview the key requirements of a heart valve to assess functionality. We then present the 3D printing technologies used to engineer heart valves. By referencing International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standard 5840 (cardiac valve prostheses), we provide insight into the achieved functionality of these valves. Overall, 3D printing promises to have a significant positive impact on the creation of artificial heart valves and potentially unlock full complex functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapidly increasing aging prevalence, complexity, and heterogeneity pose the scientific and medical communities in front of challenges. These are delivered by gaps between basic and translational research, as well as between clinical practice guidelines to improve survival and absence of evidence on personalized strategies to improve functions, wellbeing and quality of life. The triumphs of aging science sheding more and more light on mechanisms of aging as well as those of medical and technological progress to prolong life expectancy are clear. Currently, and in the next two to three decades, all efforts must be put in a closer interdisciplinary dialogue between biogerontologists and geriatricians to enable real-life measures of aging phenotypes to be used to uncover the physiological – and therefore translational - relevance of newly discovered aging clocks, biomarkers, and hallmarks. [Display omitted] • Aging is not a disease but predisposes to disease and frailty. • Frailty is a multifactorial, complex, dynamic and modifiable state of accelerated aging. • Biological and chronological age may substantially diverge, but clinical decision making and aging science are largely tuned on chronological age and single illness. • To crack the code of aging trajectories during life, deep phenotyping cannot go beyond biomolecular hallmarks as well as physical, psychosocial, functional, and lifestyle-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen supply system (HSS) is an important part to ensure the efficient and reliable operation of fuel cells. As one of the key equipment of hydrogen supply system, the hydrogen circulation pump (HCP) has a significant impact on improving the utilization rate of hydrogen and the output characteristics of fuel cell stacks. Considering the function and operating conditions, this paper proposes the design requirements for HCPs. The principles and characteristics of several mechanical pumps that can be used for hydrogen circulation are introduced, including root pump, claw pump, vortex pump, and centrifugal pump. And the research progress and technical innovation of these four types of HCPs are summarized. Then, the control methods and purge strategies of the hydrogen supply system with an HCP are also summarized. And the performance parameter of HCP products in the current market is compared. Finally, the possible solutions are given to address some challenges faced by the actual operation of HCPs, including hydrogen safety issues, cold start at low temperature, leakage, vibration, and noise. This paper is helpful for researchers to understand the overall research progress of HCP and provide a reference for optimizing the performance and achieving more efficient hydrogen circulation. • Proposing design requirements for hydrogen circulation pumps. • Summarizing the research progress in structural design and performance analysis. • Providing feasible solutions to the challenges faced in actual operation. • Control of hydrogen supply system with a hydrogen circulation pump is complicated. • Water and heat management in hydrogen circulation pumps needs to be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study systematically analyses the nonlinear relationship between China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and reverse green technological progress (RGTP) using fixed effects (FE) model based on panel data for 31 Chinese provinces from 2001 to 2020. We find that the link between China's OFDI and RGTP is an inverted U-shaped curve. In addition, environmental regulation and technology gaps all reduce the height of the inverted U-shaped inflection point. Environmental regulation prolongs the "climb" stage while technology gaps compress the "climb" stage of the inverted U-curve relationship significantly. This result is verified in further robustness tests. The four transmission mechanisms of China's OFDI on RGTP play a positive role: these findings may help policymakers to design more flexible and effective OFDI policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the nexus of market power, innovation and financial fragility by means of a macroeconomic agent based model whose core is the Dixit-Greenwald-Stiglitz (DGS) theory of firm behaviour, which nests the Greenwald-Stiglitz characterization of the firm as a borrower that runs the risk of bankruptcy in the Dixit-Stiglitz monopolistic competition setting. The optimal firm's size is increasing with net worth and productivity. Net worth increases with profits while productivity increases through R&D and innovation. Simulations show that in the presence of market power firms are more innovative and financially robust and less prone to bankruptcy. These features have not surfaced so far in standard characterizations of monopolistic competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, the green economy is seen as a practical way to achieve sustainability. New research using data from the African nations' nexus of institutional quality and technological innovation on renewable energy. This research aims to shed light on how institutional quality spending promotes green technological innovation expansion and institutional quality in the African nations. Therefore, this study examined the effects of technological innovation, established value, renewable energy, vestige oil energy, and financial development on CO2 releases in 24 African nations between 2001 and 2019. A second-generation panel approach was utilized to examine the interdependencies between the variables across time. These methods accounted for heterogeneity and the possible of remaining cross-sectional dependence. Empirical data from the Commonly Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) estimate and the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator suggests that using eco-friendly technical advancement and renewable energy sources significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions. But there are several variables linked to rising CO2 emissions, such as improved institutional frameworks, thriving economies, and a preference for fossil fuels over renewable energy. Based on these findings, we concluded that for African countries to achieve their sustainable development objectives, they need to increase their investment in environmentally friendly technological advances and renewable energy sources. • Green economy key to sustainability worldwide. • Research examines African nations' innovation on renewable energy. • Eco-friendly tech and renewables reduce CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Most papers show that the Paris Agreement (PA) has led to decline in global emissions. • However, it is not clear whether this is due to efficiency gains or economic decline. • We adopt a treatment method to study impact of the PA on global emissions intensity. • Our results show a 4.1% decline in global emissions intensity driven by the PA. • We also find that some countries might be too poor to achieve reductions under the PA. Dozens of studies point to evidence of significant reductions in carbon emissions driven by climate agreements, such as the Paris climate agreement. However, these studies fail to answer a pertinent question, that is, are global carbon emission reductions due to reduced production activities or are production processes becoming more efficient as less carbon is emitted per unit output due to technical progress? Such an understanding is important to evaluate the tension between environmental quality and economic growth. Therefore, drawing on difference-in-differences approaches, our results suggest a significant decline in global carbon emission intensity due to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which is estimated at a 4.1% reduction on average over the sample period. Our evidence also shows that while some countries may be too poor to generate meaningful outcomes from climate agreements, the associated rate of reduction in carbon intensity in others tends to decline above a certain income threshold. These results imply that although there has been a worldwide increase in production efficiency and technical progress, at least owing to the Paris climate agreement, reaching net zero carbon emissions globally requires new approaches, especially for the very poor countries relative the ones at the top of the income ladder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examining impact of internet on allocative efficiency of factors of production. • Study of Chinese manufacturing industry 1998 to 2013 for 29 provinces. • IV based on historical data of landline phones against potential endogeneity. • Internet improves capital and labour allocative efficiency. • Heterogeneous effects in different industries and stronger in low-tech industries. Using data from the Annual Survey of Industrial Firms conducted from 1998 to 2013 in China, this study examines whether the expansion of the Internet improves the allocative efficiency of production factors in manufacturing industry. Allocative efficiency is measured by the deviation of the actual output from the hypothetical efficient output level. We construct an instrumental variable based on historical data to address potential endogeneity. The results highlight that the Internet improves capital and labour allocative efficiency and has heterogeneous effects in different industries. The effect is larger in low-technology industries. As a technology augmenting production factor, the Internet significantly improves the allocative efficiency of capital (labour) in the industries that use capital (labour) intensively. The mechanism analysis reveals that the Internet improves the allocative efficiency of firms by reducing their overhead expenses and raising the exit rate of inefficient firms from the market. This study extends the research on the effect of Internet and explores the causal relationship between the Internet and the allocative efficiency within industries, to highlight the importance of digital technology in economic growth, especially in the context of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, small celestial bodies (SCBs) exploration missions have attracted extensive attention. For the purposes of space resource exploitation and earth defense, revealing the formation and evolution of the solar system and exploring the origin of life, sampling return and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) have become the focus of SCBs exploration missions. Based on this background, this paper attempts to comprehensively illustrate the advances in SCBs resources utilization and exploitation technologies. First, the status of the utilization and exploitation of SCBs is summarized. The classification and resource distribution of SCBs are introduced later and focus on the utilization prospects of SCBs resources. From the four aspects of resource prospecting, exploitation, extraction and storage, transfer and transportation, the technical progress of SCBs mining is discussed. Some typical sampling technologies, such as siliceous aerogel, impact projectile, auger drill and excavating mechanism, pneumatic apparatus and wheel brush sampler, cutter and abrasive tool, laser and electromagnetic device, as well as bionic mining technologies inspired by some animals and plants, are reviewed in detail. According to the research of space mining, the critical points and legal issues involved in the utilization and exploitation of SCBs resources are presented, and future development trends are proposed. Finally, the full paper is summarized. • The status of the utilization and exploitation of SCBs is summarized. • The classification and utilization prospects of SCBs resources are introduced. • The technical progress of SCBs sampling and mining is discussed. • The critical points and issues are presented. • Future development trends are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The aim of the findings is to scrutinize the association between rice production, technical progress and climatic factors from 1985 to 2020 by applying the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach of cointegration. • The study finds that pesticide use and fertilizer used has no impact on the rice production in South Korea. • The expected elasticity of the short-run illustrates that area under rice, and mean temperature during the rice growth has significant positive effect on the rice production. • Climatic factors such as rainfall, wind speed and humidity in the rice growing period is a challenge for rice production in South Korea. Rice is a staple crop that is highly concerned with climate change and technical progress. Therefore, an autoregressive distributed lag approach (ARDL) was applied to measure the association between rice production, technical progress, and climate factors. The current study uses time series data from South Korea, covering a time frame from 1985 to 2020. The bounded F-test provides evidence of existing long-run relations between rice yield, technical factors, and climatic factors. The study finds that in technical inputs only areas under rice have a significant positive impact on rice production. Similarly, in climatic factors, an average temperature has a positive impact on rice production while rainfall, wind speed and humidity during growth have a significant declining impact in long run. The estimated coefficient of the input used in the short run illustrates that area under rice shows inclining flexibility towards rice production whereas in climatic factors, meant temperature shows an inclining impact on rice production while rainfall, wind speed and humidity show a significant declining flexibility towards rice production. The overall diagnostic tests used in the study are satisfactory. The study concludes that government needs to allot arable land to deserving farmers to avoid future food security threats in South Korea. The government and non-government organizations need to come forward and support the farmer awareness program about fertilizer and pesticide use through extension workers and other media sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, China is at a critical stage of economic transformation and pollution control. The environmental pollution control efficiency (PCE) deserves more in-depth study. This paper adopts a three-stage global data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and a global Malmquist index model to measure the PCE and the sources of its changes in China from 1991 to 2019. Study shows that: (1) the overall level of PCE has remained low over the past 29 years, and it has a slowly fluctuating upward trend, with an average annual growth rate of only 0.92 %; (2) the lower pure technical efficiency hinders the effectiveness of environmental pollution control, which is mainly affected by the slow technological progress; and (3) at the provincial level, the overall efficiency of Shanghai and Guangxi has long been above 0.9, while the efficiency of other provinces has been below 0.9 for quite a long time. At the regional level, the Yangtze River Delta is the most effective area, while the Yellow River Basin is the most ineffective area. In consideration of this, we provide specific strategies for improving PCE of each province, from three aspects of increasing the capital input, optimizing the scale structure, and upgrading technology level. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the long-term consequences and the possible channels (mainly, technological progress and human capital accumulation) through which a declining population may eventually sustain long-run economic growth and innovation in advanced economies, we build an endogenous, non-scale growth model with horizontal R&D activity and human capital investment. Population growth and per capita human capital accumulation are linked to each other by means of what in the paper is identified as the 'multiplicative effect' of population. As long as the strength of this effect exceeds a given positive threshold, population growth and per-capita income growth can be negatively correlated. This means that a negative rate of population growth can sustain a positive economic growth rate in the long run. • Human capital investment is embedded into an R&D-based endogenous growth model. • The law of motion of per-capita human capital includes a class-size effect. • Economic growth is simultaneously sustained by R&D– and human capital–investments. • Conditions are found for negative population growth to yield positive macro effects. • We challenge the idea that a declining population is always bad for long-run growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explored the effect of renewable energy, financial development, and technological innovation on the ecological footprint in Brazil using a yearly dataset stretching between 1990 and 2018. The research leverage dynamic autoregressive distributed lag, Bayern and Hank cointegration, and frequency domain causality to explore these interrelationships. The ARDL bounds test outcome confirms a long-run connection between ecological footprint and its drivers. Besides, we employed the Bayern and Hank cointegration, and the outcome resonated with the ARDL bounds test result. Moreover, the dynamic ARDL outcomes disclosed that economic progress worsens the ecosystem whilst renewable energy, trade globalization, and technological innovation lessen the ecological footprint. In addition, no significant interrelationship was found between financial development and ecological footprint. Moreover, with the exemption of financial development, all the exogenous variables can forecast the ecological footprint in Brazil. The study proposes that policymakers in Brazil should undertake investments in research and development in order to achieve technological innovation. Furthermore, since technological innovation has been shown to contribute significantly to lowering the ecological footprint, it is possible to assume that enhancing current technology is the ultimate remedy to Brazil's ecological problems. • Dynamic ARDL applied to Brazil's time series data. • Renewable energy and Technology innovation improve environmental quality. • Trade and globalization also reduce Ecological Footprints (EF). • Economic Growth contributes to higher EF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The productivity paradox still persists in European regions. • Automation and digitalisation enhance the productivity of the adopting sectors. • Sectoral employment reallocation effects offset this positive impact on productivity growth. More than 30 years ago, Robert Solow provided the first evidence of the paradoxical low return of technological progress to productivity. Today, in an era of radical technological changes, characterized by disruptive socio-economic transformations in businesses and society, the puzzle is far from being solved. This paper offers additional reflections on this issue. Stemming from the recognition that in European regions a productivity paradox still persists, this study systematically defines and empirically tests some of the sources that could explain the weak association between the adoption of new technologies and the growth of regional labour productivity. Our findings indicate that, in general, new technologies do have a positive impact on the productivity of the sectors of adoption. The propagation of this effect to the whole regional economy, however, is mitigated by sectoral employment reallocation effects towards less productive sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the penetration of renewable energy sources continues to increase, the stability of the grid is being challenged. Solutions are needed to curb fluctuations in renewable energy generation and ensure a stable electricity supply. As a clean and efficient secondary energy source, hydrogen energy plays an important role in the power system. However, the development of hydrogen energy storage systems is currently limited by technology and costs, making it difficult to scale up. How to invest to make hydrogen storage economical is worth studying. This paper constructs a regional microgrid system, considering the economics of investment by renewable energy generators (REGs) and integrated energy operators (IEOs), and the sensitivity of the payback period under conditions of market adjustment and technological progress. A combination of the Gurobi and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to solve the investment optimization model, and Shapley is used to allocate multi-intelligence benefits. The results show that: (1) the investment returns and payback periods of REG are within a reasonable range; (2) IEO is hardly economical in the presence of market price changes and technological advances. On this basis, this paper constructs a win-win investment model for REG and IEO and explores the distribution of benefits under their cooperation model. The results show an increase in return on investment of 0.34% for REG and 1% for IEO following investments by REG in partnership with IEO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide field, high sensitivity, high resolution, wide bandwidth, and polarization components are constantly pursued by CO molecular line surveys at millimeter wavelengths. Several key science cases that could be focused on by future large-scale molecular surveys have been identified upon the current progress of molecular surveys. A conceptual design for the new-generation multi-beam receiver system is proposed. Combined with the latest technical progress, the key technical solutions to realize the scheme are explained. The new design aims at a receiving scale of 100 beams. Following the newly developed hybrid planar integration technology, a new dual polarization receiving function is realized while inheriting the sideband separation mixing mode. On the basis of multi-line receiving configuration, each receiving sideband is expanded to 8 GHz. Judged from the existing technologies and the newest progress, this conceptual design scheme is fully achievable. Compared with the existing millimeter wave multi-beam receiving equipment, the comprehensive receiving capacity of the new generation millimeter wave multi-beam receiving system is estimated to increase by a factor of 89–178. This design is expected to bring another evolutionary progress for millimeter wave multi-beam receiving capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the macroeconomic impacts of different decarbonization storylines until 2050 using two Computable General Equilibrium models. The modeling shocks are harmonized across models to simulate four decarbonization scenarios through three main drivers: technical development, societal attitude, and policies. The study explores the contribution of each of these drivers to the European decarbonization. The results show that the decarbonization scenarios have moderate effects on GDP; decarbonization scenarios rather result in sectoral shifts. The impact of temperature on labor productivity minimally alters expected growth levels, since larger differences in temperature between the scenarios are only expected to occur in 2100, not yet in 2050. Electricity demand is increasing in all scenarios, particularly with stronger political guidance leading to additional tax and subsidy measures to encourage the use of electricity and discourage fossil-based fuels. When society is a driving factor, it is found that circular business models result in an increase in the service industry but might have a slightly negative impact on overall growth due to stronger spillover effects linked to the manufacturing industry. Technology appears to be the only driver to facilitate decarbonization while maintaining steady economic growth. • We address the macroeconomic effects of five climate scenarios using two CGE models. • We focus on the effects of changes in society, technology, and policy. • We incorporate climate change effects through labor productivity. • Effect of decarbonization on GDP is moderate under given technological improvement. • Decarbonization scenarios result in relatively large sectoral shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maritime industry is constantly facing new challenges and technological advancements, making the adaptation of innovative solutions like digital twins a bridge enhancing safety and efficiency between theoretical models and real-world maritime applications. Digital twin simulators for complex dynamic operation systems such as shipboard cranes, allow the operators to practice demanding operations in a risk-free immersive environment with various scenarios. This paper presents the process of developing a digital twin-based simulation tool designed for shipboard crane operations. It is based on co-simulation using the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) standard. This allows for the integration of the operation scenarios with different physical domain models, including such as the ship, environmental forces, hydraulic power systems, and controllers. In addition, the digital twin has opened up new opportunities for the optimization of maritime systems. It can be used to identify the optimal operating conditions, predict potential risks, and provide onboard support to the operator. A demo crane digital twin is implemented for the Palfinger crane on the Gunnerus research vessel with system validation via a series of marine operations being real-time monitored by the Remote Control Center (RCC). • Co-simulation technology based on the FMI standard integrating the operation scenarios with different physical domain models. • Real-time ship-crane operations monitored by Remote Control Center lying in the collection, transmission, and storage of sensor data for IoT solutions. • System validation using sensor data and offshore pre-operation varying the environmental parameters in demanding operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the integration of Intelligent Process Automation within the domain of business continuity auditing, with a focus on the Portuguese banking sector. In an era marked by rapid technological advancement, organizations are increasingly leveraging automation to reinforce operational efficiency and realize substantial cost savings. Concurrently, auditors play a pivotal role in ensuring seamless transitions amid technological transformations to safeguard business continuity. This research endeavors to bridge the realms of business continuity and intelligent automation, culminating in a comprehensive application that streamlines the audit process. The implemented solution encompasses the automation of critical audit activities, including communication, information requests, and final report submissions, liberating auditors from the chains of repetitive tasks. The incorporation of business intelligence augments this automation framework, enabling a meticulous analysis of key performance indicators within the audit department. This ensures a continuous evaluation of the efficacy of the Annual Audit Plan. Empirical validation of this initiative was achieved through surveys conducted with audit teams from four prominent Portuguese banks. The results unequivocally affirm the potential benefits of this implementation, extending invaluable support to management in the decision-making process, while concurrently alleviating auditors of routine tasks inherent to the audit process. This study not only underscores the transformative potential of intelligent process automation in the audit domain but also offers a replicable framework for organizations seeking to fortify their business continuity efforts through technological integration. The findings hold implications for businesses navigating the dynamic intersection of technology and audit practices, providing a blueprint for harnessing automation for enhanced operational resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • MXenes-based hydrogels are incredible candidates for biomedical applications. • Synthetic approaches on MXene-based hydrogels have been discussed. • Applications of MXene-based hydrogels for bio-imaging, biosensors, bone regeneration, and drug delivery are outlined. • Challenges and future directions pertaining to MXenes-based hydrogels are addressed. Biomaterials have shown noticeable technical progress due to the emergence of 2D substances. The nanomaterial known as 'MXene' is a 2D ceramic-based substance made up of transition-metallic carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides. It is derived via a porcelain 'MAX' phase by removing the 'A' component by carving. MXene was developed as a superior alternative to traditional biological materials, overcoming their limitations. Despite possessing significant characteristics such as a large area of coverage, biocompatibility, water-holding capacity, metal-based conductance, and the capacity to adjust its dimensions, the utilization of MXene is limited in the field of biomedicine owing to its instability in biological niches, inability to endure and regulate pharmaceutical release, and inadequate biological degradation. These drawbacks have prompted the exploration of MXene/Polymer nanocomposites as an alternative. Polymers may be functionalized due to the presence of specific groups on the exterior of MXenes. These nanocomposites, which are polymers customized with MXene, have exceptional characteristics such as an excellent rate of converting light into heat, the ability to target malignant cells selectively, reactivity to external forces, susceptibility to ions, enhanced bactericidal activities, and similar attributes. This review focuses on the novel instances of polymer-functionalized MXene materials used in the growing field of clinical uses. These applications encompass regulated and prolonged administration of medications, antibacterial agents, precise biosensors, broadened imaging for diagnosis, and regeneration of bones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research evaluates the effects of performance benchmarking for public utilities using the Australian experience, providing empirical support for the significance of mechanism design in implementing revenue-cap regulation. We estimate the efficiency and productivity of Australian electricity distribution providers by utilizing the meta-frontier framework with panel data covering the period from 2007 to 2021. Our findings indicate that introducing benchmarking has facilitated technological progress and reduced efficiency gaps among companies. However, there is no statistically significant difference in the average efficiency between the periods before and after the reform, potentially due to strategic behavior exhibited by network service providers. • The average efficiency levels of AustralianDNSP in period of before- and after- 2012 reform are 0.9230 and 0.9280 respectively. • The introduction of benchmarking technique in 2012 promoted the technological progress. • The strategical behaviors of network service providers has led to no statistically significant improvement in efficiency. • We divide Australian DNSPs′ inefficiency in the two sub-periods into cost gap inefficiency and management inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-changing global economy and sudden global public health events have posed challenges to financial resilience worldwide. As its important role in maintaining domestic economic stability, safeguarding national security, and enhancing international status, financial resilience has long been widely studied. However, few studies have empirically explored how technological progress affects financial resilience. Based on data from 30 provinces in China, this study adopts a panel two-way fixed effect model to identify the impact of technological progress on financial resilience and the underlying mechanisms. Results show that technological progress can significantly enhance financial resilience, and this impact is stronger in provinces with large population size, high employment proportion in the tertiary sector, high social consumption capacity, and provinces located in Central China. Further, technological progress have a positive impact on financial resilience through increased asset liquidity and government intervention. • Technological progress can significantly promote financial resilience. • This impact has heterogenetiy in provinces with different population, employment, consumption and geographical location. • Technological progress can enhance financial resilience through increased asset liquidity and government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing sustainable energy technologies (SET) is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality and effectively addressing climate change. Unlike most studies that focus on individual sustainable energy policies, this research constructs a recursive computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with comprehensive sustainable energy modules to analyze the macroeconomic effects of multiple policies related to SET advancement. Covering 8 regions, 13 energy sectors, and 37 intermediate input sectors, the study evaluates the economic and ecological impacts of various SET advancement scenarios from a global economic perspective, aiming for consistent carbon reduction. The findings reveal that : (1) SET implementation reduces electricity costs for residents, optimizes industrial structure, decreases fossil fuel usage, enhances energy use structure, and lowers carbon taxes; (2) the collective impact of renewable energies surpasses that of individual sources, with newer renewables like wind and solar power outperforming traditional ones such as hydropower and nuclear power; and (3) advancements in alternative energy technology have had diverse effects on the global energy environment and economic development. Based on these conclusions, we recommend that: (1) prioritizing the development of solar and wind power in the short term; (2) optimizing SET advancement mechanisms to support progress, including enhancing the market-based price formation for sustainable energy generation and promoting technological innovation and cost reduction; (3) encouraging a synergistic transformation of renewable energy with coal, gas power, and other sources to maximize policy synergies. • A recursive CGE model is constructed, featuring detailed renewable energy modules. • Renewable energy technologies significantly reduce carbon emissions. • The impacts of various renewable energy sources show heterogeneity. • Sole reliance on renewable energy cannot achieve carbon neutrality. • Rural residents stand to benefit greatly from advances in renewable energy technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport infrastructure is an important source of carbon emissions, and different transport infrastructure have varying impacts on urban carbon emissions, which has been lacking in previous research. This study selects 273 cities in China from 2005 to 2020 and applied the spatial Durbin model and mediation effect model to empirically examine the direct impact effects, spatial spillover effects, scale and regional heterogeneity, and indirect pathways of highways, high-speed railways, and urban rail on urban carbon emissions. The results shows that: (1) Overall, high-speed railways have a significant reducing effect on carbon emissions, while highways and urban rail have the opposite effect. (2) Considering spatial spillover effects, highways and high-speed railways can promote carbon emissions reduction in neighboring areas, while urban rail has the opposite effect. (3) For scale heterogeneity, urban rail can reduce carbon emissions in mega-cities, while highways and high-speed railways have the opposite effect. For regional heterogeneity, all three types of transport infrastructure can reduce carbon emissions in western cities, but increase urban carbon emissions in eastern and central regions. (4) Industrial upgrading, technological progress, and population agglomeration are all pathways through which transport infrastructure indirectly affects carbon emissions, but their effects vary for different transport infrastructure. • Urban rail can reduce carbon emissions in mega-cities, while highways and high-speed railways have the opposite effect. • Transportation infrastructure has a significant spatial spillover effect on urban carbon emissions. • Transportation infrastructure has significant differences in carbon emissions across cities of different scales and regions. • The indirect impact path is industrial structure upgrading, technological progress, and population agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the use of fossil fuels has had a harsh impact on the climate, and the frequency and intensity of various extreme weather events have increased, which has triggered an increased the use of renewable energy sources and reflection on technological advances. Many countries are trying to promote renewable energy to reduce their impact on climate change, but the impact of national energy policies in the climate risk framework remains poorly understood. Based on the panel data of 84 developed/developing countries around the world from 2006 to 2019, this paper studies and analyzes the impact of renewable energy use on climate risk. The study found that the increase in the proportion of renewable energy use can reduce the climate risk, and this result is still robust after undergoing robustness tests such as changing variables, samples, and research methods. The findings offer an important solution for European countries, where climate risks are most acute. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the higher the level of economic development, population density and the lower the level of incorruptibility, the weaker the inhibitory effect of renewable energy use on climate risk. The mechanism analysis also shows that the increase in the proportion of renewable energy use can reduce climate risk by reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrogen monoxide (NO), PM2.5 emissions, and the proportion of fossil fuel use, but it does not reduce climate risk by increasing biodiversity. In particular, we find that technological progress has not played a role in the use of renewable energy to reduce climate risk, breaking the stereotype. The policy recommendation of this paper is that under the increasing pressure of climate change, the transition to clean energy is an indispensable option, and the need to accelerate the energy transition becomes more urgent. There is a greater need to further protect biodiversity and enhance technological progress. • The increase in the proportion of renewable energy use can reduce the climate risk. • The mechanism is to reduce CO 2 , CH 4 , NO, PM2.5 emissions and fossil fuels use. • The use of renewable energy cannot reduce climate risks by increasing biodiversity. • The impact of renewable energy use on climate risk is heterogeneous. • Technological progress has not played a role in the use of renewable energy to reduce climate risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane-based operations, especially pressure-driven membrane operations, are today well-established procedures for various applications in the wine industry thanks to their intrinsic properties and undoubted advantages over traditional methods. Emerging membrane processes, such as pervaporation, electrodialysis and osmotic distillation, forward osmosis, membrane contactors, offer new and interesting perspectives to improve quality and develop new products without compromising organoleptic properties. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the use of membrane operations in wine processing. A bibliometric and scientometric analysis has been done to provide the current advances dealing with the application of these operations in different steps of wine manufacture, including clarification, stabilization, concentration, acidification, deacidification and dealcoholization. The current challenges and perspectives are highlighted to guide further advancements of membrane technology in this field. The use of conventional and emerging membrane systems offers interesting opportunities to improve and optimize current practices of the wine processing industry. Considerable progress has been done concerning the development of low-fouling materials, identification of wine molecules responsible for membrane fouling and methods to mitigate such phenomenon in the clarification of wines by microfiltration membranes. Technological progress in electrodialysis makes this process a very attractive method for tartrate stabilization, acidification and deacidification of wines. Different conventional and emerging membrane processes offer valid post-fermentation strategies to remove ethanol in wines while preserving their original characteristics. The global results provide interesting perspectives for a wider implementation of membrane processes in the winemaking industry and to redesign the traditional vinification process under the process intensification strategy. • An overview of membrane technology in wine processing is presented. • Bibliometric and scientometric analysis provide current advances of membrane technology in the field. • Conventional and emerging membrane processes are analyzed. • Current challenges and perspectives are highlighted to guide further advancements. • Interesting perspectives of global results for redesigning the traditional vinification process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital infrastructure serves as a crucial foundation for development in the era of the digital economy. In light of this, this paper takes digital infrastructure construction as its focal point. Utilizing Python technology and the Meta-frontier non-radial directional distance function to calculate the level of digital infrastructure construction and industrial energy efficiency. It then employs a dynamic panel data model to analyze the impact effects and mechanisms of digital infrastructure construction on industrial energy efficiency. Additionally, threshold models and modified gravity models are employed to explore the nonlinear effects and spatial impacts of digital infrastructure construction on industrial energy efficiency. The research findings reveal that the enhancement of digital infrastructure significantly improves industrial energy efficiency. Moreover, indicate a shift in the impact of digital infrastructure construction on industrial energy efficiency from inhibitory to promotional as the level of digital infrastructure construction increases. The mechanism of this effect suggests that digital infrastructure construction can promote the improvement of industrial energy efficiency through green technological innovation and the advancement of industrial structure. Further analysis shows that the spatial network characteristics of digital infrastructure construction notably elevate the level of industrial energy utilization efficiency. This study provides practical policy implications for sustainable development. • Digital infrastructure construction markedly enhances industrial energy efficiency. • There is a non-linear picture of the impact of digital infrastructure construction on industrial energy efficiency. • The effects of green technology innovation and advanced industrial structure are crucial channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a zero-carbon energy, hydrogen energy is widey recognized as playing an important role in reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. Considering the resource and industrial conditions in China, the coal-to-hydrogen coupled with carbon capture and storage (CTHCCS) may be a necessary choice in the early stage of low-carbon hydrogen energy development. This study used real option models to analyze the investment benefits of the representative CTHCCS technology at the national and regional levels in the current and future development scenarios in China, and discusses the impact of uncertainties in carbon price, technological progress, and policy incentives on the CTHCCS investment. The results show that (1) The opportunity for immediate investment in the CTHCCS is not available in China unless the cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology decreases and the carbon price increases significantly. (2) The current CTHCCS investment critical carbon price is 353.3 RMB/t, which will decrease by 45.0%, 73.9% and 57.3% when using the initial investment subsidy, carbon emission reduction subsidy and clean fuel subsidy, respectively. (3) The CTHCCS presents a relatively high investment benefit in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi, highlighting that these areas are key pioneers for "blue hydrogen" production in China. • The real option model is used to evaluate investment decisions for CTHCCS projects. • Uncertainty of carbon price, technology progress and policy subsidy are considered. • Carbon price of 353.3 RMB/t could trigger immediate investment for CTHCCS projects. • Policy incentives lead to a 45–74 % reduction in the CTHCCS critical carbon price. • Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia could be priority areas for blue hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical industry is one of the fundamental industries of economic development. Coordinating the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions (EGCE) is crucial in realizing the carbon neutrality target. The Tapio model and decomposition models are used to assess the degree of decoupling within the Chinese chemical industry and identify pivotal factors impeding progress. The energy efficiency decomposition model explores the crux of failure to achieve strong decoupling. This framework further decomposed the energy intensity to uncover how technical efficiency, technological progress, and input substitution changes affect energy intensity and CO 2 emission. The paper found that the EGCE of the chemical industry were stable in a weak decoupling mode from 2009 to 2019. The reliance on technological progress to reduce energy intensity and emissions is insufficient (accounting for only 18.2%), far below the cumulative contribution from economic growth (accounting for 57.76%), which has become the crux of the strong decoupling failure. Technological advancements drive energy substitution for labour, resulting in 244.41 Mt of cumulative carbon emissions. The improper factor input allocation hinders the desired reduction in energy intensity and carbon emissions. A series of policy implications are proposed based on the insights derived from the decomposition analysis to foster sustainable practices in the chemical industry. [Display omitted] • This study focuses on the decoupling in chemical industry. • The decoupling between economic growth and carbon emissions (EGCE) is explored. • The reasons for the failure of strong decoupling from technical perspective are tested. • The decoupling between EGCE of chemical industry was in a weak decoupling mode. • Technological progress accelerated the substitution of energy for labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study is concerned with the analysis of the determinants of the transition to green energies in Tunisia with a focus on institutional and technological factors. In fact, it affords a deep assessment of the asymmetric effects of technological innovation, government stability, and democracy along with economic growth and non renewable energy on clean energy in Tunisia. The analysis actually covers the 1984/2020 period. Therefore, to perform such analysis the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach along with the spectral causality is used. Actually, the political context is of great importance in Tunisia, because this country has been going through a political transitional stage since the 2010 revolution. The main upshots bring out that a positive variation in government stability has no significant effect on clean energy, however a negative variation decreases renewable energy by 0.521% and 0.535% in both the long and short run, respectively. Similarly, a negative variation in democracy reduces green energies. Moreover, regarding technological innovation, the results suggest that a positive shock boosts green energy while a negative one lessens it in the long run. Furthermore, a positive variation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) positively affects green energy while a negative variation has a negative impact, in the long run. Finally, a positive shock on fossil fuel consumption decreases renewable energies and a negative shock positively affects them, in the long run. Moreover, the results of the causality confirm the presence of a one way causal link from renewable energy to government stability and GDP. In addition, there is bidirectional causality between democracy and renewable energy. Finally, there is a one way causal link from technological innovation and fossil fuel energy to green energy. Therefore, it is crucial that the political parties integrate environmental issues and mainly renewable energies in their political agenda. In addition, policymakers should encourage the creation of research centers devoted to renewable energies, which represent a link between scientific research and green energy industry. • Renewable energy is driven by technological innovation and income. • The democratic transition and government stability in Tunisia have not yet achieved an acceptable level to accelerate the transition to clean energy. • The robustness check is adopted by considering the effect of geopolitical risk on renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate aid is a form of official development assistance that addresses climate change mitigation and adaptation and plays a crucial role in combating climate change. However, existing empirical evidence does not suggest a clear link between climate aid and carbon lock-in. Based on country-level panel data from 77 countries spanning the period 2002–2020, this paper empirically examines the impact of climate aid on carbon lock-in and the four sub-indicators of carbon lock-in. Moreover, we investigate the mediating role of technological progress and potential impact mechanisms. We find that (1) climate aid has a significant restraining effect on carbon lock-in, and is an effective means of inhibiting the four aspects of carbon lock-in, namely, the lock-in of industry, institution, technology, and social behavior. (2) Technological progress not only directly leads to carbon lock-in eradication, but also synergizes with climate aid, suggesting that the combined influence of technological progress and climate aid can enhance the efficacy of efforts to mitigate carbon lock-in. (3) Climate aid promotes carbon lock-in mitigation by accelerating energy structure transition and industrial structure transition, which are two internal impact mechanisms in the nexus between climate aid and carbon lock-in. These findings offer concrete and practical policy implications to facilitate the development of climate aid and carbon lock-in eradication. • This paper estimates the impact of climate aid on carbon lock-in. • Climate aid significantly mitigates carbon lock-in and its four dimensions. • Technological progress can further strengthen the inhibiting effect of climate aid on carbon lock-in. • Climate aid indirectly affects carbon lock-in by promoting energy structure transition and industry structure transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowd counting that aims to estimate the crowd density has recently made significant progress but remains an unsolved problem due to several challenges. In this paper, we propose an Attentive Encoder-Decoder Network (AEDNet) to overcome the notorious scale-variation problem in crowd counting. Our major contributions can be summarized in three aspects. First, we design an Attentive Feature Refinement (AFR) block in the encoder to adaptively extract multi-scale features. AFR compares the spatial information in different scales through the attention mechanism and then adaptively assign importance weights to each point, which highlights the distinctive roles in multi-scale feature extraction. Second, we develop a Separable Non-local Fusion (SNF) block in the decoder with the self-attention mechanism to aggregate multi-scale features from different layers, which not only achieves the sufficient feature fusion by capturing long-range dependencies, but also vastly reduces the computation cost compared to the original non-local operation. Third, we propose a Regional MSE (R-MSE) loss to tackle the pixel-isolation problems in regular MSE loss. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed AEDNet, we conduct extensive experiments on four widely-used crowd counting datasets, and our AEDNet consistently achieves the state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Changes in productivity of small and large firms of automotive industry are analyzed. • The 2008-09 crisis impacted on productivity by reducing technological progress. • The consequences of the crisis were more severe for SMEs. • Suitable policies may be based on environmental regulation, incentive schemes and support to R&D investments. This paper analyzes the changes in productivity of small and large firms operating in the automotive industry in France, Italy and Spain, occurred during the pre-crisis (2001-2008) and post-crisis (2009-2014) periods. To this aim, the Malmquist index as a measure of total factor productivity (TFP) variation is computed, by using the non-parametric technique DEA, integrated by a bootstrap technique proposed by Simar and Wilson (1999). The analysis allows distinguishing among different possible sources of TFP changes, i.e. pure technical efficiency change, scale efficiency change and technological change. The latter comes up to be the main channel through which the global crisis negatively impacted on productivity, presumably by hampering the primary engines of technological change, i.e. research, innovation and investment through reduced availability of financial resources for SMEs, worsened perspectives for firm growth and greater concentration in selected geographical areas of investments by parent companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Behavioral asymmetry between workers and rentiers impacts the decisions of the agents in relation to consumption, savings and capital stock. • A micro-based aggregate version of Kalecki's aphorism was obtained. • Income distribution does not change significantly even though workers leave a bequest. • Confirmation of the results obtained by Baranzini in a two-class life-cycle model in continuous time. • Growth and income distribution; bequest effect on the capital accumulation; Kalecki's aphorism. This article shows how the behavioral asymmetry between workers and rentiers, whether in relation to the possibility of inheriting (or not) assets, or in relation to the magnitude of the inherited assets, impacts the decisions of the agents in relation to consumption, savings and capital stock. An alternative approach to the Baranzini (1991) model is presented for the continuous case, allowing technical progress and introducing behavioral differences between rentiers and workers, not only from the point of view of their initial endowments but also from their preferences. The technical-conceptual framework of the present approach extends Baranzini's original model by emphasizing how agents incorporate the assets into their constraints. A micro-based version of Kalecki's famous aphorism is also obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of new sequencing platforms, technologies, and bioinformatics tools in the past decade fostered key discoveries in human genomics. Among the most recent sequencing technologies, nanopore sequencing (NS) has caught the interest of researchers for its intriguing potential and flexibility. This up-to-date review highlights the recent application of NS in the hematology field, focusing on progress and challenges of the technological approaches employed for the identification of pathologic alterations. The molecular and analytic pipelines developed for the analysis of the whole-genome, target regions, and transcriptomics provide a proof of evidence of the unparalleled amount of information that could be retrieved by an innovative approach based on long-read sequencing. Since the longer a read is, the more overlap it has with other reads, third generation sequencing technology facilitates the assembly of genomic regions and could resolve complex and wide structural variants or regions enriched for repetitive elements. Nanopore sequencing (NS) provides significant advantages for whole-genome studies and, thanks to the ability to span huge regions, it could be exploited to screen specific genes of pathologic relevance affected by unknown rearrangements (i.e., F8 , BCR-ABL) or composed of repetitive elements and high GC content (i.e., CEBPA , FLT3). Owing to the nature of NS technology, the ability to direct sequence-untouched nucleic acids minimizes the bias associated with PCR amplification and enables the simultaneous detection of nucleotide sequence and the epigenetic changes of the template. The rapid workflow required to prepare NS libraries, along with the possibility to set real-time data analysis, allows retrieval of information of clinical utility at whole-genome and target region level in a unique reaction in 24/48 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to measure the relationship between technological progress, renewable energy, and green economic growth (GEG). This study uses a data envelopment analysis (DEA) estimation method to evaluate the association between government expenditure on research and development (R&D), renewable energy deployment, and GEG in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) between 1990 and 2018. The estimates revealed an inconsistent GEG indicator in the analysis, suggesting the lesser impact disposition of public policy. In addition, the energy efficiency ratio of ECOWAS sub-region is under 0.50, implying energy poverty in the sub-region. Many people do not have sufficient energy to heat and cool their homes to enough temperature and meet their basic needs and energy security concerns. This research discovered that a percentage growth increase in renewable energy deployment results in a 3.2% increase in growth in sustainable performance. Alongside an essential effect of one percentage point growth in R&D expenditure boosts economic system sustainable performance to 4.4% combined with a supported effect of one percent. This research reveals that the ECOWAS government expenditure on human resources and R&D of sustainable energy resources would result in a low carbon growth via an advanced technological production process; nevertheless, the impacts are varied in the various countries in ECOWAS. • The study applies a longitudinal dataset of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). • The energy efficiency ratio of the ECOWAS sub-region is under 0.50, implying energy poverty. • Many people don't have access to sufficient and affordable modern energy. • A 1% increase in renewable energy deployment growth results in a 3.2% increase in growth of sustainable performance. • More investment in R&D of sustainable energy resources results in a low-carbon economic growth in ECOWAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Schumpeterian growth model with distance to frontier is developed. • Financial intermediaries save information costs through delegation yet incur agency costs. • Investors thus face a tradeoff between the information and agency cost. • Saving the information costs dominates in the early stages of development. • Economic development is accompanied by a gradual switching from financial intermediaries to markets. This paper studies endogenous change of financial institutions in a Schumpeterian endogenous growth model with uncertain innovation outcome. Technological progress can result from either imitation or innovation. Information about each innovative project can be acquired by paying a fixed cost. Financial intermediaries save the information cost through delegation yet incur an agency cost that results from diversity of opinion. Investors thus face a tradeoff between the information and agency cost. Because the information and agency cost is proportional to the technological frontier and the local technology level respectively, saving the information cost dominates in the early stages of development when the distance to frontier is large. In contrast, avoiding the agency cost dominates as the local technology level approaches the frontier. As a result, economic development is accompanied by a gradual switching of financial structure from intermediaries to markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccine discovery and vaccination against preventable diseases are one of most important achievements of the human race. While medical, scientific & technological advancements have kept in pace and found their way into treatment options for a vast majority of diseases, vaccines as a prevention tool in the public health realm are found languishing in the gap between such innovations and their easy availability/accessibility to vulnerable populations. This paradox has been best highlighted during the unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a two series publication on the vaccine industry's view on how to accelerate the availability of vaccines worldwide, this paper offers a deep dive into detailed proposals to enable this objective. These first-of-its-kind technical proposals gleaned from challenges and learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic are applicable to vaccines that are already on the market for routine pathogens as well as for production of new(er) vaccines for emerging pathogens with a public health threat potential. The technical proposals offer feasible and sustainable solutions in pivotal areas such as process validation, comparability, stability, post-approval changes, release testing, packaging, genetically modified organisms and variants, which are linked to manufacturing and quality control of vaccines. Ultimately these proposals aim to ease high regulatory complexity and heterogeneity surrounding the manufacturing & distribution of vaccines, by advocating the use of (1) Science and Risk based approaches, (2) global regulatory harmonization, (3) use of reliance, work-sharing, and recognition processes and (4) digitalization. Capitalizing & collaborating on such new-world advancements into the science of vaccines will eventually benefit the world by turning vaccines into vaccination, ensuring the health of everyone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With recent technological advancements in sports broadcasting, remote spectators are presented with an enriched experience. These enriched experiences include additional content such as statistics and graphics that support game understanding. However, these technological advancements are often not accessible to on-site sports spectators. In this paper, we explore the opportunities of using situated visualization to enrich on-site sports spectating. Situated visualization techniques allow us to display information in a spatial context to its physical reference and have the potential to close the gap between on-site spectating and content access. With regards to this, we developed a framework for situated visualization focusing on sports spectating. We identified components needed for such a use case and developed two novel situated visualization approaches based on the proposed framework: (1) situated broadcast-styled visualization and (2) situated infographics. To evaluate the visualization approaches and explore user preferences, we conducted a lab study and a subsequent on-site study in a stadium. [Display omitted] • Conceptual framework describing components of on-site situated sports spectating. • Main components of sports situated visualization are Canvas, Content and Context. • Framework led to situated broadcast-style visualization and situated infographics. • Positive responses towards situated infographics and an improved game understanding. • No increase in mental demand recorded for situated infographics despite the benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We model research and development (R and D) decisions in an investment model. • The model predicts higher investments in both R and D for larger firms. • Research intensity, i.e. the R-share in R&D, declines with firm size. • Results from firm-level panel data confirm these predictions. • Specialization of small firms in R benefits their productivity. Corporate research and development constitutes one of the main sources of innovation. Recent research, however, discusses a decline in corporate research and its implications for technological progress. The contribution of this study is to model research & development (R&D) decisions in an R&D investment model that allows the analysis of firms' engagement in research (R) as compared to development (D) activities. The model predicts higher investments in both activities for larger firms, but it also shows that research intensity, i.e. the R-share in R&D, declines with firm size. We test these propositions using data of R&D-active firms over the period from 2000 to 2015. While larger firms invest indeed more in both research and development, results from panel model estimations that account for unobserved heterogeneity across firms show that the relative focus on research decreases with firm size. In addition, the empirical results suggest that, since the returns to research in terms of productivity gains decline with firm size, specialization maximizes overall returns to R and D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the dynamics of technological progress in determining energy intensity not only helps in assessing the relative strength of contributing factors, but also beneficial in designing effective energy policies. The effect of technology on energy intensity was widely discussed, as a whole, without narrowing down to the energy field and considering the technological absorption capacity as well as the heterogeneity. In view of the importance of sustainability in Guangdong province to the Greater Bay Area, this study focused on energy-specific technological progress and investigated the effect of energy-specific technology on energy intensity using a panel dataset covering cities in Guangdong Province for 2005–2017. The empirical evidence shows that energy-specific technology is beneficial in reducing the energy intensity. However, the energy intensity reduction effect is primarily from energy-saving technology rather than the alternative energy technology. From the sources of energy technology, enterprises, rather than from higher education institutions and independent research institutions, are more effective in cutting the energy intensity. In addition, utility-type energy-specific technology shows a stronger reduction effect on energy intensity compared to creation-type. Finally, the study concludes that technological absorption capacity is an important determinant for the effectiveness of energy-specific technology in reducing energy intensity. • Effect of energy-specific technology on energy intensity is investigated particularly. • The total energy-specific technology reduces energy intensity in Guangdong Province significantly. • Reduction effect mainly comes from energy-saving technology of enterprises. • Technological absorption capacity is important to energy intensity mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a macroeconomic agent based model with endogenous innovation-driven growth and knowledge accumulation which aims to analyze the underlying causes of the recent increase in market concentration, by focusing on the interplay of technical change and market power, and the resulting macroeconomic consequences in terms of higher inequality and lower growth. The source of concentration lies in the fact that heterogeneous firms do not have equal access to capital-embodied innovations, as we assume that this depends on the "knowledge gap", i.e., the difference between the degree of capital good's technical advancement and the firm's accumulated technological knowledge. The analysis shows that, in the absence of consistent knowledge spillovers and as long as capital goods remain considerably different from each other, technical progress generates systematic differences in productivity across firms, leading to a reallocation of market shares towards more productive firms. Consequently, as the newly-emerging large firms seek to translate the enhanced market power into higher mark-ups, the resulting shift in the income distribution from wages to profits eventually undermines aggregate demand and growth. Yet, simulation experiments reveal that the evolution of market concentration over time as well as its macroeconomic effects crucially depend on the presence (or lack thereof) of legal entry barriers, which, by influencing the process of diffusion of technological innovations, reinforce (or attenuate) the large firms' ability to consolidate their dominant position and thus exploit their market power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green energy transition from fossil fuels to wind and solar is inevitably driven by environmental and climate policy. How the emission trading scheme (ETS) influences energy transition in China deserves to be analyzed in the context of carbon neutrality. This study analyzes the impact of ETS on neutral and biased technological progress of China's power generation sector by decomposing the power sector by generation technology in a translog cost function. It then analyzes how the ETS pilot policy brings about biased technological progress between different generation technologies using difference-in-differences and synthetic control methods. The results show that ETS pilot policy contributes to green energy transition by bringing about neutral technological progress of China's power generation sector, utilization rate decrease of thermal power capacity and stimulating generation units' upgradation of the thermal power sector. Although China's energy transition is remarked by substitution of thermal power sector with variable renewable energy sector, there is no evidence that ETS pilot policy has contributed to this trend. However, it inhibits innovation of variable renewable energy in pilot regions. It is necessary for the government to take measures to strengthen ETS policies' impact on energy transition through supporting innovation and expansion of the VRE sector. • ETS pilot policy leads to neutral technological progress of power sector in China. • ETS is biased to save input cost of solar and wind power generation. • ETS stimulates investment and upgradation of thermal power generation sector. • Pilot regions with higher carbon prices are inhibited in green innovation due to profit loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies a parabolic-ODE PDE's system which describes the evolution of the physical capital " k " and technological progress " A ", using a meshless method in one and two dimensional bounded domain with regular boundary. The well-known Solow model is extended by considering the spatial diffusion of both capital and technology. Moreover, we study the case in which no spatial diffusion of the technology progress occurs. For such models, we propound schemes based on the Generalized Finite Difference method and prove the convergence of the numerical solution to the continuous one. Several examples show the dynamics of the model for a wide range of parameters. These examples illustrate the accuracy of the numerical method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article focuses on the recent printing technological progress in healthcare, underscoring the significant potential of implantable devices across diverse applications. Printing technologies have widespread use in developing health monitoring devices, diagnostic systems, and surgical devices. Recent years have witnessed remarkable progress in fabricating low-profile implantable devices, driven by advancements in printing technologies and nanomaterials. The importance of implantable biosensors and bioelectronics is highlighted, specifically exploring printing tools using bio-printable inks for practical applications, including a detailed examination of fabrication processes and essential parameters. This review also justifies the need for mechanical and electrical compatibility between bioelectronics and biological tissues. In addition to technological aspects, this article delves into the importance of appropriate packaging methods to enhance implantable devices' performance, compatibility, and longevity, which are made possible by integrating cutting-edge printing technology. Collectively, we aim to shed light on the holistic landscape of implantable biosensors and bioelectronics, showcasing their evolving role in advancing healthcare through innovative printing technologies. • This review summarizes the recent technological progress in healthcare, underscoring the potential of implantable devices. • The importance of implantable biosensors and bioelectronics is emphasized, specifically exploring printing technologies. • This article highlights the need for mechanical and electrical compatibility between bioelectronics and biological tissues. • In addition, the importance of packaging methods is discussed to enhance implantable devices' performance and compatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]