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City reputation is a valuable asset for the local economy and firms in the contemporary society. However, the impact of city reputation on micro-level firms has been largely overlooked by the literature. This paper uses the National Civilized City (NCC) policy in China as a quasi-natural experiment to enhance city reputation. We employ the DID approach to investigate the relationship between city reputation and corporate risk-taking. The result shows that corporate risk-taking significantly increases following the NCC policy adoption. Moreover, information asymmetry can strengthen the positive impact of city reputation on corporate risk-taking. Channel tests show that city reputation improves financial condition and decreases default risk, leading to improved risk-taking tolerance. Overall, our paper indicates that city reputation is an important mechanism to improve corporate financial performance, providing empirical evidence for local governments to pursue the NCC title. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information of the difference in quality between farmed and wild fish is central to better ensuring fish products produced in aquaculture meet regulatory and consumer requirements. Proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and toxic elements contents of farmed and wild Chanodichthys mongolicus were established and compared. Significantly higher crude protein content while lower moisture content in farmed fish compared to wild fish were observed ( P<0.05). The percentages of total amino acids (TAA), total essential amino acids (TEAA), total non-essential amino acids (TNEAA) and total delicious amino acids (TDAA) in farmed fish were all significantly higher than those in the wild equivalent ( P<0.05). Compared to the FAO/WHO recommended reference values, the ratios of TEAA/TAA (39.84%-40.33%) were comparable to 40% and TEAA / TNEAA (66.22%-67.60%) were above 60%. Fatty acid profiles in both farmed and wild C. mongolicus were dominated by monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), with farmed fish contained much more MUFA content compared to wild counterpart ( P<0.05). Notably, wild fish exhibited significantly higher levels of total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) than farmed fish ( P<0.05). The EPA (C) and linoleic acid (C) were the predominant PUFA in wild and farmed C. mongolicus, respectively. Moreover, farmed fish displayed an overall lower toxic element levels (As, Cd, Pb and Hg) in comparison with wild fish, and both were far lower than the established limit standard. In conclusion, our results suggest that the nutritional quality of farmed C. mongolicus was inferior to their wild counterpart with respect to fatty acids nutrition, and therefore further studies should focus on the improving C. mongolicus diet in order to enhance the overall nutritional composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of oxygen consumption rates and asphyxiation points in fish is important to determine appropriate stocking and water quality management in aquaculture. The oxygen consumption rate and asphyxiation point in Chanodichthys mongolicus were detected under laboratory conditions using an improved respirometer chamber. The results revealed that more accurate estimates can be obtained by adjusting the volume of the respirometer chamber, which may avoid system errors caused by either repeatedly adjusting fish density or selecting different equipment specifications. The oxygen consumption rate and asphyxiation point of C. mongolicus increased with increasing water temperature and decreasing fish size. Changes in the C. mongolicus oxygen consumption rate were divided into three stages at water temperatures of 11-33°C: (1) a low temperature oxygen consumption rate stage when water temperature was 11-19°C, (2) the optimum temperature oxygen consumption rate stage when water temperature was 19-23°C, and (3) a high temperature oxygen consumption rate stage when water temperature was > 27°C. The temperature quotients (Q) obtained suggested that C. mongolicus preferred a temperature range of 19-23°C. At 19°C, C. mongolicus exhibited higher oxygen consumption rates during the day when the maximum values were observed at 10:00 and 14:00 than at night when the minimum occurred at 02:00. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanofluid, a new class of solid/liquid mixtures, provided theoretical challenges because the measured effective thermal conductivity containing a few loadings of nanoparticle (<5 vol%) showed greater enhancement than traditional models predicted. The solid-like nanolayer around the nanoparticle acts as a thermal bridge between the particle and the base fluid, so is a key mechanism to enhance heat transfer of nanofluid. Based on the two-dimension Fourier's law in the cylindrical coordinates, we deduced an expression for calculating the effective thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube-based nanofluid considering the interfacial nanolayer, as well as an empirical shape factor. The theoretical predictions on the enhanced thermal conductivity agree quite well with the available experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People start to use heroin in different patterns. This study identified three initial heroin use patterns in a heroin use cohort: No-factor initial pattern (with no factors of initial heroin use), Single-factor initial pattern (with 1 of 3 factors of initial heroin use), and Multiple-factor initial pattern (with 2 or 3 factors of initial heroin use). The cumulative heroin relapse rate was 53.3%, 62.4%, and 72.7% respectively for No-factor, Single-factor, and Multiple-factor initial patterns during the 5-year follow-up. The adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) was 1.401 (95% CI: 1.091–1.799, p = 0.008) in Single-factor initial pattern and 2.381 (95% CI: 1.546–3.668, p < 0.001) in Multiple-factor initial pattern compared to No-factor initial pattern. This study added new evidence to the impact of initial heroin use on long-term relapse risk, which suggested that initial heroin use patterns should not be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostariophysans are the most diverse group of freshwater fishes and feature a pheromone-elicited fright reaction. However, the genetic basis of fright reaction is unclear. Here, we compared vomeronasal type 2 receptor-like (OlfC) genes from fishes having and lacking fright reaction, to provide insight into evolution of pheromonal olfaction in fishes. We found OlfC genes expanded remarkably in ostariophysans having fright reaction compared with fishes lacking fright reaction. Phylogenetic analysis indicates OlfC subfamily 9 expanded specifically in ostariophysans having fright reaction. Principle component and phylogenetic logistic regression analysis partitioned fishes by ecotype (having or lacking fright reaction) and identified OlfC subfamily 9 as being an important factor for fright reaction. Expression levels of expanded OlfC subfamily genes after fright reaction in zebrafish changed more than did genes that had not expanded. Furthermore, evidence of positive selection was found in the expanded OlfC proteins in ostariophysan fishes having fright reaction. These results provide new insight into the genetic basis of fright reaction in ostariophysan fish and will enable future research into the mechanism of action of OlfC proteins. Yang et al. investigate the genetic basis of pheromone-elicited fright behavior in ostariophysan fish. They identify a subfamily of vomeronasal type 2 receptor-like (OlfC) that appears to be under strong positive selection; its transcriptional variation suggests a role in the fright behavior of ostariophysan fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the waste graphite/expanded polystyrene was used as a raw material to prepare recycled graphite/expanded (rGEPS) foam board. A convenient and facile way to regenerate graphite/polystyrene beads was proposed in this work. This can be applied in the further industrial production. The solvent could be recycled, which made the process more efficient and economic. The rGEPS beads were analyzed by TGA, FTIR and XRD. The results indicated that the properties were not deteriorated. Then, the test results of rGEPS foam board, such as water absorption, apparent density, bending strength, compressive strength, thermal conductivity and oxygen index, showed that the properties have reached enterprise standards of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam board. The thermal conductivity was decreased by 13.16% compared with EPS foam board. Therefore, the prepared rGEPS foam board could be considered as a candidate of the thermal insulation materials in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desalination through reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is one of the most popular ways. However, conventional RO membranes meet a trade-off between salt rejection and water flux which limit their comprehensive performance. In this work, sulfonated zirconium (IV)-carboxylate metal–organic framework (MOF) material UiO-66-SO3H was successfully synthesized, and thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) with UiO-66-SO3H-incorporated polyamide (PA) layer was fabricated. Angstrom-sized UiO-66-X ion transport channels with different functional groups in TFN membranes change the membrane morphology and chemistry and accelerate the penetration of water molecules while maintaining the high ion screening effect. As a result, compared to the pristine TFC membrane, the optimized TFN-UiO-66-SO3H membrane exhibited an increase in water molecules permeability to 347% and still maintained a salt rejection with ~ 94.7% under 2000 ppm NaCl solution with reverse osmosis (RO) mode, leading to a great improvement of intrinsic separation properties. The improved performance was owing to the size exclusion effect and hydrophilic nature of UiO-66-SO3H particles. What is more, the additional water migration channels through the incorporated UiO-66-SO3H nanoparticles lead to a boosting water permeation and show optimized performance for desalination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic and technical features are equally important to radio resource allocation in wireless network virtualization (WNV). Regarding virtual resource (VR) as commodity, this paper proposes an effective VR allocation scheme for WNV from the perspective of the market-equilibrium theory. First, physical meaning clear utility functions are defined to characterize the network benefits of user equipments (UEs), infrastructure providers (InPs) and virtual network operators (VNOs) in WNV. Then, the VR allocation problem between one InP and multiple VNOs is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem. To reduce the algorithm complexity, the multiple-objective problem is first decoupled into two single-objective sub-problems. The supplier-layer sub-problem aims to maximize the benefit of the unique InP, while the customer-layer sub-problem aims to maximize the benefits of the multiple VNOs. Both of the separated sub-problems are solved by using standard convex optimization method, and are combined by searching for the equilibrium-price (EP) of the VR market. As a result, the Pareto optimal solution of the original multi-objective problem is found, at which no one (the InP or anyone of the VNOs) can increase its benefit by deviating the EP without hurting others' benefits. The effectiveness of the proposed VR allocation scheme is testified through extensive experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FTIR, TG–DTG, TG–FTIR, and Py–GC–MS were employed to investigate the similarities and differences in the pyrolytic characteristics of Fushun oil shale and its by-products, i.e., semi-coke and residual. The semi-coke was obtained by slowly pyrolyzing the oil shale to 450 °C. The residual was a solid residue prepared by completely extracting the semi-coke with a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and N-methyl pyrrolidon mixture. The pyrolysis of three samples is related to the cleavages of weak bonds (200–400 °C), decomposition of major organic structures (400–600 °C), and the cleavages of 3–4 kinds of chemical bonds. Gaussian fitting methods was used to fit the DTG curves to evaluate the contributions of various covalent bonds to the pyrolysis. The flash pyrolysis products and typical gaseous products were identified, showing the most outstanding performances of the aliphatic compounds. The differences in the pyrolytic characteristics of three samples are mainly attributed to the diverse forms of thermal bitumen. The attendance of thermal bitumen in the semi-coke, especially its light components generated from oil shale pyrolysis, prompts the more active mass loss behaviors at relatively low temperatures, while the absence of thermal bitumen results in a fairly low mass loss of the residual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous researches showed that the dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1) may play a critical role in drug dependence. This research aimed to determine whether DRD1 played a role in development of heroin dependence in Chinese heroin-dependent patients. 465 Chinese Han heroin-dependent subjects and 379 healthy controls were recruited in the Shanghai region. Five single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) of the DRD1 gene were genotyped in all subjects. The results found that the frequencies of DRD1 SNP genotypes or haplotypes were not different between heroin-dependent patients and controls. Among heroin-dependent patients, subjects with rs5326CC and/or rs6882300AA genotypes develop to heroin-dependent more rapidly than those without rs5326CC and/or rs6882300AA genotypes. The results indicated that DRD1 gene polymorphism may not play an important role in the susceptibility of heroin dependence in the Chinese Han population, but it may be associated with the rapidity of heroin dependence development from first drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This review aims to identify whether risky decision-making is increased in substance users, and the impact of substance type, polysubstance use status, abstinence period, and treatment status on risky decision-making. Methods: A literature search with no date restrictions was conducted to identify case-control studies or cross-sectional studies that used behavioral tasks to measure risky decision-making in substance users. A random-effects model was performed. GRADE criteria was used to assess the quality of evidence. Results: 52 studies were enrolled. The result showed that the difference in risky decision-making performance between user groups and control groups was significant (SMD = − 0.590; 95%CI = − 0.849 to − 0.330; p < 0.001; I2 = 93.4%; Pheterogeneity < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that users in the subgroups of alcohol (p < 0.001), tobacco (p < 0.01), cocaine (p < 0.001), opioid (p < 0.001), mixed group (p < 0.01), adult users (p < 0.001), small sample size (p < 0.001), large sample size (p < 0.01), low education (p < 0.001), high education (p < 0.001), short-abstinence period (p < 0.001), long-abstinence period (p < 0.001), without current polysubstance dependence (p < 0.001), and with treatment (p < 0.001) had increased risky decision-making when compared to the controls. On the other hand, elderly substance users with short-abstinence period showed increased risky decision-making. Moreover, current treatment status and polysubstance use may not influence the level of decision-making in substance users. Conclusions: The results show that substance use is associated with impaired risky decision-making, indicating that interventions targeting risky decision-making in substance users should be developed for relapse prevention and rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract : Addiction is associated with high impulsivity. Behavioral impulsivity sets the vulnerability in addiction formation, facilitates drug use, and acts as one most important risk factors for relapse. However, the pattern of individual heterogeneity across addictive disorders for precision medicine is still unclear. We performed network-based analysis using the clinical data of trait impulsivity from 1687 subjects with stimulant and heroin use disorders, as well as Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Based on Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) measurements, the trait impulsivity networks and individual differential impulsivity networks (IDINs) were constructed. The three types of addiction respectively accompany different core impulsivity traits. The global network strength in stimulant use disorder was significantly higher than that in other addiction types, and non-planning impulsivity connections in heroin subjects differed from the rest groups. Based on the individual differential impulsivity networks, these subjects were clustered into three types, as deviated from control subjects. The three deviation patterns were related to addiction type, age, education, and addiction duration. These findings indicated different core impulsivity traits across addictions and heterogeneity of individual trait impulsivity patterns, which supports individualized medicine in managing impulsivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]