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Environmental information disclosure (EID) is an important embodiment of corporate social responsibility. With the awakening of public awareness of environmental protection and the increasing pressure of environmental preservation, enterprises tend to strategically manipulate environmental information for the pursuit of profit, which will consequently lead to environmental information disclosure falsification (EIDF) and disruption of both the market regulatory order and the development of green economy. In this article, support vector machine (SVM) technique is applied to construct the detection model of corporate EIDF. Based on the theory of "public pressure," the detection indicators will be improved from three aspects: public pressure, corporate governance, and financial indicators. The training set and test set are constructed by combining the manually collected cases of environmental administrative penalties from 2015 to 2019 with the indicator information of nonfinancial listed enterprises in China's A-share market, and the SVM detection performance is compared with the logistic regression of the benchmark model. To solve the problem of category imbalance, we have introduced the Borderline-SMOTE oversampling technique. Based on the detection results of SVM and Borderline-SMOTE, we find that the Borderline-SMOTE-SVM model has the best detection performance, surpassing the SVM and logistic regression models. These conclusions have constructive policy implications for regulatory agencies, investors, the third-party service sector, enterprises, and government policy-making to achieve high-quality corporate EID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture content is an important factor affecting the geotechnical properties of solidified municipal sludge (MMS). Typical municipal sludge in China was chosen to investigate the effects of initial moisture content (defined as w 0 ) on geotechnical properties of MMS solidified by self-developed CERSM solidifying agent. In addition, the microstructure changes of solidified sludge samples in this study were explored with scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Mechanical experiment results showed that the unconfined compressive strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle of the MMS increased with the decrease in initial moisture content, but the permeability coefficient changed oppositely. The permeability coefficient of solidified sludge samples was between 10−8 and 10−10 cm/s. But after the drying-saturated process, the permeability coefficient of MMS can be increased up to 4 times, mainly due to the formation of a considerable number of microconnected pores and microcracks in the process of drying. The research results are of great significance to the safe disposal and utilization of municipal sewage sludge in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether and to what extent ownership structure and corporate governance affect productive efficiency in a sample of 744 publicly listed manufacturing firms in China between 1999 and 2006. The paper finds that firm efficiency, as estimated using stochastic frontier analysis and data envelopment analysis, is negatively related to state ownership while positively related to public and employee share ownership. In addition, the relationship between ownership concentration and firm efficiency is U-shaped, indicating that the largest shareholder may engage in tunneling activities. As the identity of the largest shareholder changes from government, government-controlled legal entity to other types of legal entity, firm efficiency significantly improves. These results provide strong evidence that political interferences have reduced firm efficiency. Moreover, firms with more independent board are more efficient, supporting the argument that board of directors can be an effective internal governance mechanism. Furthermore, provincial market development, a proxy for the strength of external governance mechanism, is positively related to firm efficiency. Overall, the findings illustrate that restructuring state-owned enterprises via improvements in corporate governance has enhanced firm efficiency, but partial privatization without transfer of ownership and control from the state to the public remains a major source of inefficiency in corporate China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examine the impact of bank finance and financial risk on technological innovation. • We applied advanced time series methods for analysis in the Chinese banking sector. • Bank financing has a positive relationship with technological innovation. • Non-bank financing, R&D, real GDP promote technological innovation. • Financial risk index shows a negative relationship with technological innovation. The industrial revolution 4.0 has caused an abrupt change in society and has changed the way we live. The importance of banking finance in affecting technological innovation is a topic of great interest in recent years. This endeavor empirically examines the impact of bank financing and financial risk on technological innovation in the case of China from 1990 to 2017. We use Maki cointegration and Bayer-Hanck cointegration to serve this purpose and the estimation cointegration regression (FMOLS) method. The results show that bank financing, non-bank financing, real GDP, research and development (R&D), and Financial Risk Index (FRI) are important to explain technological innovation in China. Our results further show that an increase in financial risk alters the relationship between bank financing and technological innovation. High financial risk is a big hurdle in bank financing, leading to technological innovation in China. Moreover, we find an increase in financial risk alters the relationship between non-bank financing and technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of older adults is rising rapidly in China. Various concerns such as chronic diseases, financial inadequacy, and a feeling of loneliness have adversely affected the mental health of older adults, and this has become an important public health and social issue. To realize healthy aging, the Nineteenth National People's Congress of China put forth the Healthy China strategy, speeding up the promotion activities of mental health and pension measures, carrying out public welfare pension insurance for the entire population, and contributing to the mental health of older adults. This study used data from China Family Panel Studies. This study mainly uses the random effect estimation method (random effect, RE) and the feasible generalized least squares estimation method (FGLS) to control for heterogeneity to explore the impact of social and commercial pension insurance on the mental health of older adults, the moderating effect of social capital on pension insurance, and the mental health of older adults. The results showed that social pension insurance is proportional to the mental health of older adults, whereas commercial pension insurance is inversely proportional to mental health. Social capital had a significant moderating effect on pension insurance. When a country develops an aging economy, the emphasis on social capital helps make targeted industrial development suggestions. The government's expansion of insurance coverage is crucial for improving the mental health of older adults., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chai, Li, Jin, Lu, Cui and He.)

Interconnection is the priority direction of the Belt and Road initiative, which can provide substantial assistance to win-win cooperation. This study establishes a new indicator system from the five dimensions of policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people-to-people, evaluates the connect index of 63 Belt and Road countries from 2013 to 2020 based on the DEMATEL-ANP method which removes the potential subjective interference and interaction between indicators, and predicts the trend of the connect index by using the grey model. The findings indicate that the five dimensions of the Belt and Road connectivity have unevenly developed, among which the policy coordination has achieved the least. Singapore, Russia, and Malaysia have the highest connect index, and we can find that the 10 countries with the highest connect index are basically from East Asia & Pacific and Europe & Central Asia, which possess large economic and geographical differences. Moreover, there are 17 "omission areas" characterized by low national income, poor infrastructure, low population density, and small land areas along the Belt and Road. Finally, the Silk Road Economic Belt is facing structural imbalances in connectivity, and the relation features "proximity but not affinity" between China and its neighboring countries. These conclusions are friendly cautions and have constructive policy implications for the Belt and Road countries to achieve high-quality interconnection.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the level of and changes in the 1,5-anhydroglucitol × glycated hemoglobin A 1c /100 (AH index, AHI) associated with different glucose metabolism statuses and to evaluate the islet function and insulin sensitivity of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with different AHI levels., Methods: Of the 3562 subjects enrolled in this study, 1697 had T2DM. The disposition index (DI) was the product of islet secretion function and insulin sensitivity-related indexes., Results: The mean AHI level was 1.0 (0.7-1.3) in the general population, while the mean AHI level in the T2DM group was 0.8 (0.5-1.2), which was significantly lower than that in the impaired glucose regulation and normal glucose tolerance group (both 1.2 (0.9-1.5), both P < 0.01). We further divided patients with T2DM into four subgroups according to the quartile of AHI. The results showed that with the increase in AHI level, the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) decreased, while HOMA-β, insulin generation index, insulin sensitivity index, and DI increased (all P for trend  < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the odds ratios for a low DI for increasing levels of AHI were 1.00, 0.22 (0.16-0.29), 0.16 (0.11-0.22), and 0.09 (0.06-0.13), showing a decreasing trend (P for trend  < 0.05)., Conclusion: The AHI could reflect the variation in glycemic disorder and the function of islet β cells. The lower the AHI, the worse the glycemic disorder, as well as the islet β-cell function.

Background: Clinical and basic investigations have indicated a significant association between circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and cardiovascular disease; however, the relationship between GDF15 and lower extremity atherosclerotic disease (LEAD) has been less studied. The present study aimed to explore the association between GDF15 and LEAD in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Considering that obesity is an important factor associated with circulating GDF15 levels, whether the relationship between serum GDF15 levels and LEAD is affected by body mass index (BMI) was also analysed., Methods: A total of 376 hospitalized T2DM patients were enrolled (161 with LEAD and 215 without LEAD). A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the serum GDF15 levels. The femoral intima-media thickness (F-IMT) and LEAD were assessed by ultrasonography., Results: Patients with LEAD had significantly higher serum GDF15 levels than those without LEAD, regardless of whether their BMI was < 25 kg/m 2 or ≥ 25 kg/m 2 (both P < 0.05). Serum GDF15 levels were independently positively related to the F-IMT (standardized β = 0.162, P = 0.002). After adjusting for confounding factors, per 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in the serum GDF15 levels was significantly related to an approximately 1.4-fold increased risk of LEAD in the total population (P < 0.05). Regardless of whether the BMI was < 25 kg/m 2 or ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , this association remained significant, with approximately 1.6- and 1.4-fold increased risks of LEAD, respectively (both P < 0.05)., Conclusions: High serum GDF15 levels were significantly correlated with an increased risk of LEAD in T2DM patients, and this relationship was independent of BMI.

Background: In recent years, the rapid development of mobile medical technology has provided multiple ways for the long-term management of chronic diseases, especially diabetes. As a new type of management model, smartphone apps are global, convenient, cheap, and interactive. Although apps were proved to be more effective at glycemic control, compared with traditional computer- and Web-based telemedicine technologies, how to gain a further and sustained improvement is still being explored., Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an app-based interactive management model by a professional health care team on glycemic control in Chinese patients with poorly controlled diabetes., Methods: This study was a 6-month long, single-center, prospective randomized controlled trial. A total of 276 type 1 or type 2 diabetes patients were enrolled and randomized to the control group (group A), app self-management group (group B), and app interactive management group (group C) in a 1:1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was the change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA 1c ) level. Missing data were handled by multiple imputation., Results: At months 3 and 6, all 3 groups showed significant decreases in HbA 1c levels (all P<.05). Patients in the app interactive management group had a significantly lower HbA 1c level than those in the app self-management group at 6 months (P=.04). The average HbA 1c reduction in the app interactive management group was larger than that in the app self-management and control groups at both months 3 and 6 (all P<.05). However, no differences in HbA 1c reduction were observed between the app self-management and control groups at both months 3 and 6 (both P>.05). Multivariate line regression analyses also showed that the app interactive management group was associated with the larger reduction of HbA 1c compared with groups A and B at both months 3 and 6 (all P>.05). In addition, the app interactive management group had better control of triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at both months 3 and 6 compared with baseline (both P<.05)., Conclusions: In Chinese patients with poorly controlled diabetes, it was difficult to achieve long-term effective glucose improvement by using app self-management alone, but combining it with interactive management can help achieve rapid and sustained glycemic control., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02589730; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02589730., (©Lei Zhang, Xingxing He, Yun Shen, Haoyong Yu, Jiemin Pan, Wei Zhu, Jian Zhou, Yuqian Bao. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 09.12.2019.)

Background & Aims: Serum adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) is closely correlated to metabolic disorders such as obesity and insulin resistance (IR). Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a typical feature of IR in the liver. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between serum A-FABP levels and NAFLD., Methods: The study enrolled 728 subjects with normal glucose tolerance from communities. Serum A-FABP levels were measured using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The liver fat content was assessed by ultrasonography. The fatty liver index (FLI) was calculated to quantify the degree of liver steatosis. The upper quartile of homoeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in the total population was defined as IR. Adipose tissue insulin resistance (Adipo-IR) was calculated to evaluate the impaired suppression of lipolysis in IR., Results: Serum A-FABP levels were significantly higher in subjects with NAFLD than in those without (P < 0.01). Moreover, subjects with IR had higher levels of A-FABP than those without (P < 0.01). The proportion of IR or NAFLD and the levels of fasting free fatty acid (FFA) or Adipo-IR displayed an upward trend as A-FABP increased (P for trend < 0.05). After adjusting for gender, age, body fat, metabolic factors and liver enzymes, A-FABP was independently correlated with NAFLD (P < 0.01). A-FABP was a positive determinant of FLI (P = 0.006)., Conclusions: Serum A-FABP levels were significantly elevated in NAFLD patients among a population with normal glucose tolerance. Serum A-FABP levels were independently correlated with NAFLD after adjusting for confounding factors., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelationships between three bone-derived factors [serum osteocalcin (OCN), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 23, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels] and body fat content and distribution, in order to reveal the potential endocrine function of bone in the development of obesity., Methods: We recruited 1179 people (aged 59.5 ± 6.2 years) from communities in Shanghai. Serum OCN levels were determined using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Serum FGF23 and NGAL levels were determined using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The abdominal fat distribution, including visceral fat area (VFA), was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Visceral obesity was defined as a VFA ≥ 80 cm 2 ., Results: Serum OCN levels were inversely correlated with body fat parameters, while FGF23 and NGAL were positively correlated (P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounders, waist circumference (W) and VFA had a closer relationship with serum OCN, FGF23, and NGAL levels than body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (fat%, all P < 0.05). The risk of visceral obesity significantly increased with higher FGF23 and/or NGAL levels, as well as with reduced OCN levels (all P < 0.05). In addition, serum OCN, FGF23, and NGAL levels were independently associated with visceral obesity (all P < 0.01). The relationships persisted among subjects with normal glucose tolerance or subjects with hyperglycaemia (both P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Compared to the indicators of overall adiposity such as BMI or fat%, visceral adiposity indicators (W or VFA) were more closely related to serum OCN, FGF23 and NGAL levels. There was no interaction among the relationship of three bone-derived factors with visceral obesity, which revealed the independent relationship of endocrine function of skeleton with body fat.

Background: Recent studies have discussed the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and glycated albumin (GA) level. However, the extent of the influence of BMI on GA remains uncertain. We investigated the associations between BMI and GA, glycated hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) and GA/HbA 1c , and to analyze the influence of obesity on GA, HbA 1c , and GA/HbA 1c in both Chinese diabetic and non-diabetic populations., Methods: A total of 2562 participants, including 1177 men and 1385 women (age 20-80 y), were enrolled. Each subject underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Serum GA was detected using a liquid enzyme method, and HbA 1c was assayed using high-performance liquid chromatography., Results: In the diabetic patients (n = 1223), the GA, HbA 1c, and GA/HbA 1c levels were 16.7 ± 3.0%, 6.6 ± .9% (49 ± 9 mmol/mol), and 2.51 ± .33, respectively. In the non-diabetic subjects (n = 1339), the GA, HbA 1c, and GA/HbA 1c concentrations were 13.8 ± 1.7%, 5.6 ± .4% (38 ± 4 mmol/mol), and 2.47 ± .31, respectively. Decreasing trends in the GA and GA/HbA 1c concentrations and an increasing trend in the HbA 1c concentration (all P for trend <.05) were found to accompany with the increase in BMI, regardless of diabetes status. Multiple regression analysis revealed that BMI was independently related to HbA 1c in the non-diabetic population (standardized β = .158, P < .001); however, the relationship disappeared in the diabetic population (P > .05). Moreover, in the diabetic and non-diabetic populations, BMI was negatively correlated with GA (standardized β = -.167 and - .231, both P < .001) and GA/HbA 1c (standardized β = -.273 and - .310, both P < .001). Further analysis showed that a 1 kg/m 2 increment in BMI was associated with a .13% decrease in the absolute value of GA., Conclusions: In both diabetic and non-diabetic populations, GA and GA/HbA 1c levels are independently and negatively associated with BMI. For every 1 kg/m 2 increment in BMI, the absolute value of GA decreases approximately .13%., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In previous epidemiological screening in China, glycated albumin (GA) was mostly detected during the fasting state. This strict restriction causes some problems with diabetes screening. It is unclear if GA could help improve the efficiency of screening for diabetes for subjects who are not in the fasting state. The present study analyzed the differences between fasting and postload (30, 60, 120, and 180 min) GA levels. A total of 691 participants were enrolled in the present study. The Bland-Altman difference plots revealed that 95.4, 94.8, 93.6, and 93.9% of data points were within the limits of agreement for each time point. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the areas under the curve (AUC) for baseline GA and postload GA for every time point were 0.822 (95% CI 0.791-0.849), 0.821 (95% CI 0.790-0.848), 0.833 (95% CI 0.803-0.860), 0.840 (95% CI 0.811-0.867), and 0.840 (95% CI 0.810-0.867), with sensitivities of 67.5, 68.1, 69.3, 71.6, and 69.3%, respectively. There was no difference between the baseline and postload GA levels in either AUC or sensitivity (all p > 0.05). In conclusion, postload serum GA levels were in good agreement with those at baseline, and thus, it may be reasonable to employ nonfasting measurements of GA levels for diabetes screening.

Background: Recently, basic and clinical studies have provided evidence supporting the relationship between circulating levels of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 23 and the development of atherosclerosis. Given that diabetes is an established risk factor for lower extremity atherosclerotic disease (LEAD), the goal of the present study was to explore the relationship between serum FGF23 levels and LEAD, as well as the related factors, in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)., Methods: A total of 401 hospitalized T2DM patients (201 subjects with LEAD and 200 subjects without LEAD) were enrolled in this study. Serum FGF23 levels were determined by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Femoral intima-media thickness (F-IMT) and lower limb atherosclerotic plaque were assessed through color Doppler ultrasound., Results: The median (interquartile range) serum FGF23 levels in the entire study population was 42.08 (35.59-49.17) pg/mL. Subjects with LEAD had significantly higher serum FGF23 levels compared with those without LEAD (44.00 [37.54-51.30] pg/mL versus 40.42 [32.61-48.23] pg/mL, P < 0.001). Logistic regression showed that serum FGF23 levels were independently and positively correlated with the presence of LEAD (odds ratio 1.039, 95% confidence interval 1.012-1.067, P = 0.004). In addition, multiple liner regression analysis revealed that serum FGF23 levels were positively associated with F-IMT (standardized β = 0.175, P < 0.001). Furthermore, this relationship remained significant after additional adjustment for gender and factors potentially affecting serum FGF23 levels (serum calcium, serum phosphorus, and glomerular filtration rate), respectively (both P < 0.01)., Conclusions: In Chinese patients with T2DM, serum FGF23 levels were independently and positively correlated with the presence of LEAD.