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In addressing the issue of climate change, the Chinese government has established a definitive objective to attain its peak carbon emissions by 2030 and strive for carbon neutrality by 2060. This effort aims to progressively achieve a state of net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In the given scenario, this research examines challenges in promoting low-carbon manufacturing (LCM) within the Chinese automotive sector, specifically in the context of Green Tech projects. In view of greater emphasis on environmental sustainability and technological innovation, this study aims to uncover challenges restraining the adoption of LCM in one of the world's largest automotive markets, China. A three-step methodology was adopted by incorporating a literature review, the Delphi method, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), and MICMAC analysis. In the first stage, relevant articles were selected scientifically to identify the main challenges in previous studies by following the relevant keyword criteria. Further, challenges identified from the comprehensive literature review were screened through the Delphi method, and finally, challenges were modeled and clustered through ISM and MICMAC analysis. Data collected from the experts highlight that "difficulties in the transition towards energy efficient technologies", "insufficient operational efficiency", and "information imbalances and asymmetry" were the most critical challenges that hinder LCM initiatives in the automotive industry. This research serves as a valuable resource for academia, industry professionals, and policymakers in the quest to adopt LCM in the dynamic context of the Chinese automotive sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically tested the relationship between sub-dimensions of employees' lean construction (LC) competence and construction safety performance (SP), while incorporating organizational LC competence as a mediator. Data were collected from 710 employees on 300 construction projects. The hypothesis model was validated using multiple regression analysis. The results show that employees' cognitive competence can positively influence construction SP both directly and indirectly via organizational LC competence. However, employees' social competence had a direct negative effect on construction SP, but it can have an indirect positive effect on construction SP via organizational LC competence. Coincidentally, employees' continuous improvement competence had no direct effect on construction SP, but it can have an indirect positive impact via organizational LC competence. This article clarifies the definition of LC competence and empirically validates its influence on construction SP, enriching LC management theory and guiding managers on how to improve construction SP in LC practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study the spillover effects of financial stress among five important financial markets (bond, stock, foreign exchange, interbank, and real estate markets) in China, and explore the important determinants of financial stress spillover level among the markets and the impact of the Chinese stress spillover situation on the European markets. Our findings are as follows: First, there is a significant stress spillover effect among the five markets, and the total financial stress spillover index (TSSI) is very high during the global financial crisis. Generally, the stock and real estate markets are the major transmitters of stress spillover, and the interbank and bond markets are the major receivers. Second, the most macro factors have significant impacts on the financial stress spillover level among the markets, especially CPI index, the Chinese economic policy uncertainty index and VIX index. And the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic in China and the world has a significant impact on the TSSI, especially from March 2020 to August 2020. Finally, the TSSI can significantly increase the volatility of French stock market, Italian stock market and German government bond market, especially during the Sino-US trade war and the COVID-19 epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ultrasound-triggered sonodynamic therapy (SDT), as a noninvasive approach, has attracted considerable attention in a wide variety of malignant tumors and other diseases. Over the past 2 decades, the number of scientific publications on SDT has increased rapidly. However, there is still a lack of one comprehensive report that summarizes the global research trends and knowledge landscapes in the field of SDT in detail. Thus, we performed a bibliometric analysis on SDT from 2000 to 2021 to track the current hotspots and highlight future directions. Methods: We collected publications on SDT research from the Web of Science Core Collection database. The annual number of publications and citations, major contributors, popular journals, international collaborations, co-cited references and co-occurrence keywords were analyzed and visualized with CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R-bibliometrix. Results: A total of 701 publications were included. The annual publication output increased from 5 in 2000 to 175 in 2021, and the average growth rate was 18.4%. China was the most productive country with 463 documents (66.05%), and Harbin Medical University was the most prolific institution (N = 73). Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology published the most papers related to SDT. Materials Science, and Chemistry were the research areas receiving the most interest. All the keywords were divided into four different clusters including studies on mechanisms, studies on drug delivery and nanoparticles, studies on cancer therapy, as well as studies on ultrasound and sonosensitizers. In addition to nanomaterials-related studies including nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, nanosheets, liposomes, microbubble and TiO2 nanoparticle, the following research directions such as immunogenic cell death, metal-organic framework, photothermal therapy, hypoxia, tumor microenvironment, chemodynamic therapy, combination therapy, tumor resistance, intensity focused ultrasound, drug delivery, and Staphylococcus aureus also deserve further attention and may continue to explode in the future. Conclusion: SDT has a bright future in the field of cancer treatment, and nanomaterials have increasingly influenced the SDT field with the development of nano-technology. Overall, this comprehensive bibliometric study was the first attempt to analyze the field of SDT, which could provide valuable references for later researchers to better understand the global research trends, hotspots and frontiers in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This longitudinal study aimed to identify the trajectories and the predictors among sociodemographic and psychosocial variables at baseline of vicarious traumatization (VT) in Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: A total of 544 Chinese college students enrolled in a public University in central China, majored in Clinical Medicine, Nursing, Musicology, Physics, etc., participated in this longitudinal study lasting 19 months. Three-wave (wave 1: February 2020; wave 2: November 2020; wave 3: September 2021) of data were collected. Resourcefulness Scale and the 10-item Kessler scale (K10) were only assessed in the first-wave survey, and the Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was repeatedly measured in all three-wave surveys. A link to an online survey created by Questionnaire Star (https://www.wjx.cn/) was sent to the students to collect data. The Growth mixture modeling (GMM) and multiple logistic regression were used to identify the trajectories of VT and predictors for the distinct trajectories. Results: The incidence of VT at each wave varied from 9.9% at wave 1, 4.0% at wave 2, to 2.6% at wave 3. Three trajectories of VT were the mediumlevel escalating group (3.0%), medium-level maintaining group (32.3%), and the low-level descending group (64.7%). Seniors (OR = 1.575, 95% CI: 1.059-2.341; OR = 1.161, 95% CI: 1.043-1.293) and those with poor mental health status (OR = 1.101, 95% CI: 1.030-1.177; OR = 1.083, 95% CI: 1.060-1.106) at baseline were more likely to be classified into the mediumlevel escalating group and medium-level maintaining group, respectively. Additionally, females (OR = 3.601, 95% CI: 1.311-9.887) were more likely to be included in the medium-level escalating group. Conclusion: Targeted psychological interventions are urgently needed for students vulnerable to VT. Further studies with more representative samples, longer period of follow-up, and predictors based on scientific theoretical framework, are needed to update the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the quest to strengthen resilient and sustainable recovery in the post-COVID-19 era, there is a huge requirement for manufacturing firms to adopt green finance which is dominated by green bond issuance. Nevertheless, published studies that provide insights on factors that influence the issuance of green bonds within manufacturing firms in the post-COVID-19 era and the impact on sustainable outcomes are currently non-existent. Therefore, this study analyzed the interrelationships that exist between the influencing factors of green bond issuance within manufacturing firms using decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and data from Nigerian manufacturing firms. Then, a structural model of their importance levels was illustrated using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) while their impact on manufacturing sustainability outcomes was estimated with the aid of evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS). The study results highlight the key influencing factors of green bond issuance as environmental competencies, policy framing, low corruption, public awareness, and government support thereby signifying the criticality of strong institutions in facilitating green finance in the post-pandemic era. Besides, the study results demonstrate that green finance can significantly strengthen manufacturing sustainability in the post-COVID-19 era via green bonds by enhancing sustainable waste management, technological growth, and quality improvement as well as reducing carbon emissions. The study findings can provide a reference to decision-makers in manufacturing enterprises to predict scenarios and enact policies that facilitate the success of green finance in the post-COVID-19 era to further develop a low-carbon economy and increase competitive edge., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

We characterize the debt risk and bank risk of local governments in China with a dynamic factor model that decomposes 31 provincial data of China into country, regional, and idiosyncratic components. The result shows the presence of co-movement between local government debt risk and bank risk. The country, regional, and province factors explain 62%, 16%, and 22% of local government debt risk, respectively, and 28%, 8%, and 64% of commercial bank risk, respectively. Sub-sample analysis reveals that the country factor has become less volatile and its importance typically increases across all provinces after the reform of local government debt financing pattern (e.g., the introduction of Document No. 43). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To summarise the lessons learned from implementing a dental undergraduate research programme over the past eleven years and identify key elements to guarantee the success of dental undergraduate research in the future. Material and Methods: An overview of 80 research projects from 2007 to 2017 was provided, consisting of 239 participating undergraduates and 47 faculty advisors. Students' academic performance was compared between participating and non‐participating undergraduates. An anonymous questionnaire was designed and distributed to participants, with VAS satisfaction assessment, Likert‐scale items and open‐ended questions. Questions focused on overall satisfaction, motivation, benefits to student career development and essential elements for the dental undergraduate research programme in the future. Results: The undergraduate participants had significantly better scores of GPAs (3.41 vs 3.21; P < 0.0001), obtained more awards on the honour rolls (0.53 vs 0.30; P = 0.0171) and published more peer‐reviewed articles (1.62 vs 1.31; P = 0.0253) than non‐participants. Seventy‐two undergraduates (75.79%) and thirty‐eight advisors (80.85%) responded to the questionnaire. The overall satisfaction was scored as 78.18/100 and 72.36/100 amongst advisors and students, respectively. Interest was considered the best motivation for participation by students (3.81/5.00) and advisors (4.00/5.00). The research programme was beneficial to students' overall career development. Essential roles played by the dental school, faculty and undergraduates were suggested to improve the research environment. Conclusion: The dental undergraduate research programme has positive effects on students' academic performance. The support of the dental school, the engagement of qualified faculty, the interest and autonomy of students and camaraderie amongst these three key elements are essential for the research programme in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thyroid dysfunction is closely related to arrhythmia. However, the relationship between sensitivity to thyroid hormone and risk of arrhythmia remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between the thyroid system complex index and risk of arrhythmia in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD)., Methods: This large, multicenter study included 28,413 patients with CHD. Central sensitivity to thyroid hormone was assessed by calculating the thyroid feedback quantile-based index (TFQI). Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between sensitivity to thyroid hormone and risk of arrhythmia. This study also assessed the relationship between sensitivity to thyroid hormone and risk of arrhythmia in different sexes, ages, and glucose regulation and blood lipid states., Results: Of the 28,413 participants, 8935 (31.4%) patients with CHD had arrhythmia. There was a remarkable association between TFQI and risk of arrhythmia (odds ratio [OR]: 0.783; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.735-0.836). Furthermore, the association between the TFQI and risk of arrhythmia in women (OR: 0.731; 95% CI: 0.667-0.802) was stronger than that in men (OR: 0.894; 95% CI: 0.816-0.910), as well as higher in elder (OR: 0.779; 95% CI: 0.721-0.843) than middle-aged (OR: 0.789; 95% CI: 0.703-0.886) patients. Furthermore, the association was strong in the state of diabetes (OR: 0.635; 95% 0.569-0.709) and dyslipidemia (OR: 0.706; 95% CI: 0.644-0.774)., Conclusion: There is a remarkable association between sensitivity to thyroid hormone and risk of arrhythmia in patients with CHD, which is more pronounced among women and the elderly. The association is also stronger in CHD patients with dyslipidemia or diabetes., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Pteridium (the bracken) is a genus of common and widely distributed ferns throughout the world. The variation patterns of morphology in the genus are highly complex and no consensus has been reached among taxonomists regarding the number of species as well as subdivision of the variable species. To address the question of how many species and subspecies of Pteridium occur in Asia, 75 populations were sampled in Bolivia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and Peru. Sequence data of three chloroplast DNA regions, rps4-trnSGGA, rpll6 and trnSGCU-trnGUCC and the genotype data of three microsatellite loci were collected. The newly generated sequence data combined with the sequences already available from GenBank for samples from all over the world were subjected to several phylogenetic analyses and species delimitation tests. The results support recognition of two diploid species, P. aquilinum in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa and P. esculentum in South America and Australia. Evidence was found to recognize one Asian tetraploid species, P. semihastatum. The Eurasian occurrences of P. aquilinum can be further subdivided into subsp. aquilinum occurring in Africa, Europe and Asia Minor; subsp. japonicum occurring from East Asia to eastern Europe; subsp. wightianum occurring from central China to Malesia (Malay Peninsula, New Caledonia, New Zealand) and northern Australia. The North American subsp. latiusculum was also found in India. Some local "species" recorded in Flora of China likely represent hybrids between subsp. japonicum and subsp. wightianum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asplenium normale complex contains the widespread A. normale and several geographically restricted spe-cies: A. boreale, A. hobdyi, A. kiangsuense, A. oligophlebium and A. shimurae. The taxonomy of this group is unclear with some entities treated infraspecifically or as synonyms. Furthermore, the existence of diploids and tetraploids in this species complex is suggestive of reticulate evolution. In order to formulate a natural classification and to investigate the relationships in this complex, phylogenetic analyses of plastid and nuclear sequence data and inference of ploidy level were used to assess the distinctiveness of putative taxonomic units and their relationships. The Asplenium normale complex was recovered as a monophyletic group comprising six principal chloroplast lineages. The results support the hypothesis that A. normale s.l. contains several species. Based on our inferences, we outline an improved species classification recognizing three diploid and four tetraploid entities. Incongruence of chloroplast and nuclear phytogenies was interpreted to be a result of recurrent reticulation events in the A. normale complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of Yunnan Baiyao (YB) on hemostatic parameters measured by thromboelastography (TEG) in apparently healthy cats administered 1 capsule of YB orally twice daily for 1 week., Design: Prospective study of client-owned cats at a small animal specialty hospital., Setting: One private referral center., Animals: Twenty client-owned adult cats were prospectively enrolled., Interventions: All cats underwent echocardiographic examination by the same board-certified cardiologist to rule out occult cardiomyopathy. Blood samples were collected for analysis of baseline CBC, fibrinogen, and kaolin-activated TEG values. Cats were administered 1 capsule (250 mg/capsule) of YB twice daily orally for 1 week and the physical examination, CBC, fibrinogen, and TEG were re-evaluated. Any side effects attributed to YB were noted at this time., Measurements and Main Results: Three cats were excluded as 2 cats were identified with underlying cardiomyopathy and another cat had a cystic mass in the cranial mediastinum identified via echocardiography. Seventeen cats were treated with YB; however, 1 cat could not complete the study due to severe vomiting associated with YB administration. The remaining 16 cats completed the study, although 2 additional cats experienced transient vomiting. Yunnan Baiyao administration was associated with a significant decrease in HCT and red blood cell count, although no cat became anemic. None of the TEG parameters significantly changed compared to baseline after 1 week of YB therapy., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest YB at a dose of 1 capsule orally twice daily in cats fails to produce any significant change in hemostatic parameters as measured by TEG, although it did significantly reduce HCT and red blood cell count. Yunnan Baiyao was tolerated for most of the cats, although 3 of 17 (17.6%) cats experienced vomiting. Clinicians should be aware of these effects before considering the use of YB in cats., (© Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2019.)