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Financing constraints present a significant challenge for enterprises. Given China's push for the integration of digital technology and the real economy, it is crucial to examine the impact of corporate digital transformation on financing. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019, we construct the digital transformation indicator employing a machine learning approach and find that corporate digital transformation can significantly alleviate financing constraints. The mechanism analysis shows that digital transformation improves corporate financing by reducing information asymmetry and transaction costs on both sides of financing and enhancing corporate performance. Combined with the mechanism analysis, we reveal that digital transformation has a significant effect on the alleviation of financing constraints among firms with private ownership, higher levels of interaction with investors, more developed financial environments and more intermediaries marketed in their locations, higher proportions of highly skilled workers, and better matching of digital technologies used for transformation. We explore micro-level measurement methods of corporate digital transformation, contributes to the literature on the economic consequences of digital transformation, and enriches the research on enterprise responses to financing constraints. The findings have important implications for promoting corporate digital transformation practices and for understanding coping strategies of different firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processing of the three-dimensional circuit on the surface of conformal antennas is mainly performed via manual processing. At present, there is no automatic intelligent equipment for the processing of a similar small-sized circuit with variable curvature in China. Therefore, a high-precision, automated, full-process manufacturing method for three-dimensional circuits with flexible surfaces on conformal antennas of radar equipment has been proposed to improve processing quality and manufacturing efficiency. The processing relationship between solder paste spraying, resistor mounting, and laser welding in the flexible three-dimensional circuit manufacturing process was analyzed. The structure of the new conformal antenna three-dimensional circuit intelligent manufacturing equipment was determined, and simulation verification of the three-dimensional circuit processing was performed using Vericut. The optimal processing parameters were selected based on solid experiments. This method meets the electronic assembly requirements of radar equipment and fills the domestic gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural mechanization services (AMS) have emerged as a viable and effective solution for helping farmers gain access to machinery equipment in developing countries. This study investigates the simultaneous decision‐making regarding multiple mechanization services and the causal impacts of the AMS on land productivity among Chinese smallholders. We find that: (i) The ratio of off‐farm wage to AMS price, or the wage‐rent ratio, has a significant positive effect on AMS adoption; the sequential adoption of AMS starts with power‐intensive followed by control‐intensive production tasks, (ii) Switching to AMS in plowing, transplanting, and harvesting increases rice yield by 48.0 kg, 23.7 kg, and 7.9 kg, respectively, and (iii) The AMS of pesticide spraying significantly decreases yield but the negative effect can be mitigated with professional service providers and effective labor monitoring, highlighting potential moral hazards associated with AMS when monitoring is costly. Simulation illustrates that increased AMS adoption can significantly enhance food security in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2009 land reform in China marks a move toward a more flexible land tenure system in rural areas. This study evaluates the effect of this reform on rental market participation and household welfare in rural China. Using a four‐period nationally representative household‐level panel data during 2010–2016, we find that the 2009 land reform increased rental market participation by 6.6 to 7.0 percentage points on average. The effect varies significantly with village and household characteristics. The welfare impact of rental market participation on rural households depends on the type of participation. Specifically, the households renting in land witness an increase in their aggregated income by 10.7% on average through the expansion of farm production, which is accompanied by an increase in aggregated expenditure by approximately 11.2%. Those leasing out their land lose the portion of income on the farm but the aggregated household income is on average statistically unchanged, possibly due to a higher off‐farm income and the inflow of land rental income. Along with the statistically unchanged aggregated expenditure, the households leasing out land experience no significant welfare changes after the 2009 land reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Guangxi area locates in the southwestern part of the transition zone between Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks, which is an important region because the boundary between two blocks probablycrosses there. We determined LA-ICPMS U-Pb ages for detrital zircons extracted from three sandstone samples in the Sinian-Cambrian strata in this region. The resulting ages are in the range of the Archeozoic and Neoproterozoic, with three notable concentrates at 991 Ma, 974 Ma, and 964 Ma, all of which are coeval to the Grenvillian magmatic activity. The new age distribution is similar to the data reported in the Precambrian strata of the adjacent southwestern Cathaysia Block, suggesting that most of our detrital zircons are likely derived from the Cathaysia Block. Combined with others' research, we are more inclined to accept the opinion that there was not an ocean basin between the two blocks during the Sinian-Cambrian period in Eastern Guangxi area if the timing of collision is the Early Neopro-terzoic. But if the timing of collision is the Early Paleozoic, we conclude that Luzhai uplift (i.e., the uplift between Guilin-Yongfu faultand Lipu fault) beyond the west of Dayaoshan regoin might be one part of southwestern sedimentation boundary of Cathaysia Block and Yangtze Block. We also get a few of detrital zircons with ages of ~590 Ma which probably sourced from northeastern Gondwana and 13 detrital zircons with over 3 000 Ma U-Pb ages which record the early formation of the earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the implications of the border carbon adjustments (BCAs) to the bilateral trade flow of the U.S. to China and India. It says that the economic and the environmental impacts of the imposed trade policies are simulated using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP)-E model. Furthermore, it mentions that the exploration of the impacts of the border adjustments is applicable to the climate change policy in all countries.

Management of poultry farms in China mostly relies on manual labor. Since such a large amount of valuable data for the production process either are saved incomplete or saved only as paper documents, making it very difficult for data retrieve, processing and analysis. An integrated cloud-based data management system (CDMS) was proposed in this study, in which the asynchronous data transmission, distributed file system, and wireless network technology were used for information collection, management and sharing in large-scale egg production. The cloud-based platform can provide information technology infrastructures for different farms. The CDMS can also allocate the computing resources and storage space based on demand. A real-time data acquisition software was developed, which allowed farm management staff to submit reports through website or smartphone, enabled digitization of production data. The use of asynchronous transfer in the system can avoid potential data loss during the transmission between farms and the remote cloud data center. All the valid historical data of poultry farms can be stored to the remote cloud data center, and then eliminates the need for large server clusters on the farms. Users with proper identification can access the online data portal of the system through a browser or an APP from anywhere worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the collapse of the Yanshanian orogenic belt, mantle magma uplift, crustal stretching and thinning, and multiperiod strong magmatic hydrothermal activities occurred during the Eocene in South China. As a complete early Eocene sedimentary record, the lacustrine organic-rich mudstone of the Wenchang Formation in the western Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB) provides an excellent opportunity to understand the early Eocene paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and hydrothermal activities in southern China. By analyzing the organic petrology and geochemistry, the effects of paleoclimate and hydrothermal activity on organic matter (OM) accumulation in organic-rich mudstone in the early Eocene Wenchang Formation were revealed. The bulk geochemical analyses showed that these mudstones are characterized by high OM abundances (1.73–3.20 wt%), dominated by kerogen type II and in the early oil maturity window. Additionally, maceral analyses indicated that the OM sources were mainly lacustrine algae and terrestrial higher plants. The element ratios ((Fe + Mn)/Ti), rare earth element anomalies (δEu* and δCe*) and hydrothermal indicator discrimination diagrams (Zn-Ni-Co and (Cu + Ni + Co) × 10-Fe-Mn triangular plot, etc.) jointly revealed three episodes of hydrothermal activity during early Eocene Wenchang Formation deposition. Intense hydrothermal activity not only brought abundant nutrients and improved the primary productivity of the lake but also released reducing gas via hydrothermal eruption, which further aggravated the hypoxic bottom water conditions, thus promoting the accumulation and preservation of organic matter. In addition, the elemental ratios (Sr/Cu, Rb/Sr, and SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3) indicated a warm paleoclimate in the early Eocene Wenchang Formation. In the period without hydrothermal activity, the humid paleoclimate promoted the prosperity of lake algae and peripheral terrestrial plants, and the high lake level provided excellent organic matter preservation conditions. Therefore, the warm and humid paleoclimate and intermittent hydrothermal activity jointly controlled the formation of lacustrine organic-rich mudstone in the early Eocene Wenchang Formation. • Paleoclimate and hydrothermal activity impacts on OM accumulation was revealed. • The multiperiod hydrothermal activities in early Eocene was found. • Warming event led to good sources and preservation conditions for OM accumulation. • Hydrothermal activity enhanced bioproductivity and aggravated anoxic condition. • Formation model of early Eocene lacustrine organic-rich mudstone was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNA molecules with post-transcriptional regulatory activity in various biological processes. Pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii is one of the main species cultured for marine pearl production in China and Japan. In this study, we constructed two small RNA libraries of mantle central (MC) and mantle edge (ME) from P. f. martensii and obtained 24,175,537 and 21,593,898 clean reads, respectively. A total of 258 miRNAs of P. f. martensii (Pm-miRNA) were identified, and 93 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) including 49 known Pm-miRNAs and 44 novel Pm-miRNAs were obtained from the MC and ME. The target transcripts of these DEMs were obviously enriched in neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway, and others. After over-expression of Pm-miR-124 and Pm-miR-9a-5p in the MC by mimic injection into the muscle of P. f. martensii , nacre exhibited a disorderly growth as detected by scanning electron microscopy. Pm-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha subunit, Pm-neuropeptide Y and Pm-chitin synthase were investigated as the targets of Pm-miR-124; and Pm-tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor 2 and Pm-chitin synthase were investigated as the targets of Pm-miR-9a-5p. These predicted target transcripts were down-regulated after the over-expression of Pm-miR-124 and Pm-miR-9a-5p in MC. This study comprehensively analyzed the miRNAs in mantle tissues to enhance our understanding of the regulatory mechanism underlying shell formation. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop and validate an ideal nomogram and an online calculator for predicting rapid myopia progression risk in children managed with orthokeratology (ortho-k)., Methods: Data of children undergoing ortho-k treatment at Shanghai Children's Hospitals between January 2018 and April 2021 were retrospectively assessed. Potential predictors were screened using univariable analyses and a bidirectional stepwise procedure based on Akaike's information criterion. The final model was constructed using multivariable logistic regression and validated using an internal validation cohort. A nomogram and an online calculator were used to present the final model., Results: In this retrospective study with 1051 eyes of 560 myopia patients, the training cohort included 735 eyes, and the validation cohort included 316 eyes. Among 11 potential predictors of rapid myopia progression considered, the following four variables identified as independent predictive factors were included in the nomogram: age (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-0.79), baseline spherical equivalent (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.31-1.79), pupil diameter (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.32-0.97), and horizontal visible iris diameter (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.33-0.97). The mean concordance statistics for the training and validation cohorts were 0.705 (95% CI 0.664-0.747) and 0.707 (95% CI 0.639-0.774), respectively. The online calculator is publicly available (https://hycalculatoronline.shinyapps.io/dynnomapp/)., Conclusion: This study developed a simple-to-use nomogram and online calculator that predicted rapid myopia progression risk in children treated with ortho-k, who will likely benefit from early intervention and improved surveillance.

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are widely used as plasticizers in industrial and commercial products, and are classified as endocrine-disrupting compounds. In this study, we investigated the contamination characteristics and health risks of PAEs in the soil-plant system in coastal areas of South China. PAEs were detected in soil and plant samples at all 37 sampling sites. The total concentration of the 15 PAEs in soil samples ranged from 0.445 to 4.437 mg/kg, and the mean concentration was 1.582 ± 0.937 mg/kg. The total concentration of the 15 PAEs in plant samples ranged from 2.176 to 30.276 mg/kg, and the mean concentration was 8.712 ± 5.840 mg/kg. Di(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) were the major PAEs compounds in all samples. The selected contaminants exhibited completely different spatial distributions within the study area. Notably, higher concentrations of PAEs were found in the coastal Guangdong Province of South China. The average noncarcinogenic risks of Σ6 PAEs were at acceptable levels via dietary and nondietary routes. However, the noncarcinogenic risks posed by DEHP and DBP at some sampling sites were relatively high. Furthermore, dietary and nondietary carcinogenic risks were very low for BBP, but carcinogenic risks posed by DEHP via diet. The results suggest that PAEs in the coastal soil-plant system in South China, through human risk assessment, will induce some adverse effects on human health, especially in children. This study provides an important basis for risk management of PAEs in agriculture, and safety in coastal areas of South China.