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Abstract This paper assesses the influence of technology transfer on the performance and sustainability of standard gauge railway in developing countries, particularly in Kenya. Using the integrated technology transfer model, the researcher gathered data through a semi-structured questionnaire from 165 Kenyan international students in China. The study used correlation and hierarchical models for content analysis. The findings show that effective technology transfer contributes positively to the performance and sustainability of standard gauge railway. Further, the results show areas of improvement that guarantee efficient rail technology transfer and are useful to advance the knowledge of technology transfer and offer a theoretical foundation of technology innovation transfer mechanisms. The study recommends collaborative efforts to promote local institutions to enhance local expertise of rail maintenance through curriculum reviews and establishing local technology transfer offices. Highlights • Sustainable rail transport is a key milestones for sustainable development. • Rail technology transfer bridge the innovation gap between countries. • Effective technology transfer ensures uniform rail design specification worldwide. • The transferor's and transferee's capability guarantees effective technology transfer. • Knowledge and skill gap on rail technology can affect its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought severely affects the yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), which is mainly grown in arid and semi-arid regions. Melatonin plays an important role in various types of stress resistance in plants, including drought resistance. However, the molecular mechanism through which melatonin affects drought tolerance remains largely unknown. In this study, we revealed that melatonin (100 μM) significantly improved drought resistance during the maturation stage of Chinese Spring, Shi4185, and Hanxuan10 varieties, but not Chang6878. Further physiological, transcriptomic, and proteomic data analysis at the wheat seedling stage revealed that melatonin increased jasmonic acid (JA) content, upregulating the expression of JA genes (LOX1.5 and LOX2.1) and two transcription factors (HY5 and MYB86) under drought conditions. It also upregulated genes related to lignin biosynthesis (4CL2 , P5CS1 , and CCR2) as well as starch and sucrose metabolism (PME53 and SUS4). Additionally, melatonin alleviated photosynthetic and cell membrane damage caused by drought stress through maintaining low levels of hydrogen peroxide. The current results elucidate melatonin-regulated pathways in wheat and provide evidence for using melatonin as a potential biostimulant to improve wheat drought resistance under field conditions in the future. • Melatonin treatment enhanced wheat drought tolerance both at seedling and maturation stages. • Melatonin alleviated photosynthetic and cell membrane damage by maintaining low H 2 O 2 levels under drought stress condition. • Melatonin increased jasmonic acid (JA) and lignin content under drought condition. • JA and lignin synthesis- and starch and sucrose metabolism genes were upregulated under drought stress condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37075-x. Correction to: I Nature Communications i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37075-x, published online 21 March 2023 In the Acknowledgements section of this article, the grant number relating to the National Natural Science Foundation of China given for Dabo Guan was incorrectly given as 7224100119 and should have been 72242105. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose This study aims to ascertain the magnitude to which real corporate responsibility (CR), ethics and accountability practices exist in Kenyan corporations.Design/methodology/approach The insights of qualitative and quantitative approaches are investigated through descriptive and exploratory study carried out on 193 Kenyan companies in the corporate sector and 5 focus groups discussions comprising 9 members each.Findings The paper divulged that current practices on CR, ethics and accountability are relatively low, as only senior managers underwent training on ethics; accountability was broadly perceived as resources accounting instead of actual accountability; and responsibility is highly skewed toward senior management at the expense of stakeholders and society in which they thrive.Research limitations/implications The concept of sustainability has not been emphasized as a dimension of CR, ethics and accountability. Fresh opportunities of inquiry are extended considering this aspect.Practical implications This study affirms practices that have a positive effect on corporate stakeholders, communities and environment.Social implications This study strives to develop approaches of managing and controlling, ensuring that the welfare of stakeholders and society as a whole is uplifted and sustained.Originality/value The conception of CR, ethics and accountability practices signifies a theoretical innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There can be large carbon transfers between climate alliances of states and others. • States joining climate agreements specialize in less carbon-intensive production. • We discuss the challenges of extending agreements and potential carbon leakage. • We discuss options that could lead to incrementally deeper sustainable cooperation. • We suggest that subnational targets include embodied in the supply chain. Subnational and non-governmental actors are expected to provide important contributions to broader climate actions. A consistent and accurate quantification of their GHG emissions is an important prerequisite for the success of such efforts. However, emissions embodied in domestic and international supply chains, that can undermine the effectiveness of climate agreements, add challenges to the quantification of emissions originating from the consumption of goods and services produced elsewhere. We examine emission transfers between the states that have joined the U.S. Climate Alliance (USCA) and others. Our results show that states pledging to curb emissions consistent with the Paris Agreement were responsible for approximately 40% of total U.S. territorial GHG emissions. However, when accounting for transferred emissions through international and interstate supply chains of the products they consume, the share of Alliance states increased to 52.4% of the national total GHG emissions. The consumption-based emissions for some Alliance states, such as Massachusetts and New York, could be more than 1.5 times higher than their production-based emissions. Our detailed sectoral analysis highlights the challenges facing such agreements to extend cooperation in the future for larger joint benefit given the potential for carbon leakage from member states implementing stricter environmental policies that could lead to higher emissions from non-member states. It is critical for these arrangements to pay close attention to transferred emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China actively promotes the interest rate liberalization reform and the explicit deposit insurance construction. Based on a panel data of 73 countries, this paper examines the impact of interest rate liberalization and the explicit deposit insurance on bank risk. The results shows that interest rate liberalization does not necessarily improve bank risk. Whether the interest rate liberalization will improve the bank risk depends on the net effect it brings. The explicit deposit insurance will help to reduce the bank risk after the interest rate liberalization, and enhance banking sector stability. Therefore, we should not overstate the risk of interest rate liberalization on banking and slow down the pace of reform. In stead, we should speed up the construction of explicit deposit insurance, which will help to reduce bank risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spiropachysine A is the extracted compound of traditional Chinese ethnic medicine Pachysandra axillaries Franch. var. styiosa (Dunn) M. Cheng. Spiropachysine A is the primary active steroidal alkaloids (SAs) widely used to facilitate blood circulation and relieve pain and inflammation. Few previous studies have investigated the anti-cancer activity of Spiropachysine A to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its molecular mechanism remains unknown.Purpose: This study aims to investigate the anti-cancer activity of Spiropachysine A and the underlying mechanisms by inducing methuosis in vitro and in vivo.Methods: Here, the activity of Spiropachysine A against cancer was evaluated by the experiments with MHCC-97H cells and the xenografted mice model. The cell proliferation was examined using MTT assay, and cell morphological characteristics were observed by microscope cellular imaging. The effects of autophagy, paraptosis, and oncosis on cytoplasmic vacuolisation were detected using immunofluorescence staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and western blotting (WB). The cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were analysed by flow cytometry. Hematoxylin eosin (H & E) staining was used to observe the pathological changes of the tissues.Results: The in vitro and in vivo results indicated that Spiropachysine A could inhibit HCC cells proliferation (IC50 = 2.39 ± 0.21 μM against MHCC-97H cells) and tumor growth (TGI = 32.81 ± 0.23% at 25 mg/kg and 50.32 ± 0.26% at 50 mg/kg). The morphological changes of the treated cells showed that cell proliferation inhibition caused by Spiropachysine A was associated with numerous cytoplasmic vacuolization. Mechanistically, Spiropachysine A-induced methuosis rather than autophagy or arapaptic because the autophagy flux was blocked, leading to the increased LC3-II/I value and an accumulation of selective autophagy substrate p62. And, there was no activation of the regulatory parapaptic MAPK pathway. Additionally, the TEM and Lucifer yellow (LY) accumulation data confirmed that Spiropachysine A significantly triggered methuosis instead of oncosis. Further, the study indicated that the anti-proliferative activity of Spiropachysine A was independent of PCD since no alterations in apoptosis and cell cycle arrest-related proteins were observed after Spiropachysine A treatment. Impressively, the increased expression of Rac1 was observed in Spiropachysine A-treated MHCC-97H cells and its xenograft tumours, confirming that Spiropachysine A inhibited cell proliferation and induced methuosis through Ras/Rac1 signal pathways.Conclusions: Spiropachysine A was collectively identified as a novel methuosis inducer that suppresses HCC in vitro and in vivo. The underlying mechanisms might be involved in the Ras/Rac1 pathway. Such data predict that Spiropachysine A is a promising candidate for developing novel chemotherapeutic agents as a methuosis inducer for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food manufacturers are increasingly demanding novel natural emulsifiers. In the current study, physicochemical properties of pectin were obtained from Premna puberula Pamp. (PP) were studied systematically to develop natural emulsifiers further. The structural characterisation was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance. We discovered that PP was high-methoxy pectin with rich arabinose and galactose side chains (Ara + Gal)/Rha = 3.27 and M η = 292.25 kDa) and was mainly amorphous material with a small amount of microcrystalline structure. Moreover, PP exhibited an excellent thermal stability and shear thinning phenomenon, a characteristic of non-Newtonian fluids. It exhibited significantly considerable emulsification performance. Additionally, its gelling properties and antioxidant effects were better than commercial pectins (citrus pectin and apple pectin). Therefore, P. puberula containing homogalacturonan (32.57%) and rhamnogalacturonan-I (36.45%) is a potential source of natural emulsifier and rheological modifier, which can be used in a variety of products. [Display omitted] 1. Pectic polysaccharides were extracted from leaves of Premma puberula Pamp (PP). 2. The structure was detected by GC-MS, SEM, XRD, FTIR and NMR. 3. PP was a high-methoxy pectin containing HG (32.57%) and RG-I (36.45%). 4. PP had good thermostability, rheological, emulsifying, gelling properties and antioxidant effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oxidative stress is considered to be a pathological factor of various neurodegenerative diseases. Studies have confirmed the antioxidant activity of T. vernicifluum. However, the main active components responsible for antioxidant activity remain unknown.Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the activities of vernicidin B on oxidative stress injury induced by H2O2 in SH-SY5Y cells, and the underlying mechanism of vernicidin B in oxidative stress-related neurological diseases is further discussed.Methods: Various separation methods were used to isolate and identify the compounds in an EtOAc extract of T. vernicifluum. The structures of the isolates were clarified by HR-TOF-MS and 1D/2D NMR data and compared with findings in previous literature. The MTT assay was used to evaluate the potential antioxidant activity of the isolated flavonoids. The apoptosis rate, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and mitochondrial potential were measured by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscope. The levels of related proteins were detected by Western blotting.Results: Four new flavan-3,4-diols (1-4, vernicidins A-D) and 11 known flavonoids (5-15) were purified from the EtOAc extract of T. vernicifluum. Among these compounds, vernicidin B showed the most promising potential for protecting SH-SY5Y cells from H2O2-induced oxidative stress. Moreover, pretreatment with vernicidin B decreased ROS production and mitochondrial membrane potential and significantly attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistically, the antioxidant stress activities of vernicidin B were confirmed to be related to the IL-6/Nrf2 cross-talks pathway and its downstream pathways, including PI3K/Akt/mToR-Gsk3β, JAK2/STAT3 and MAPKs.Conclusions: Our findings suggested that vernicidin B can improve the oxidative stress injury induced by H2O2 through IL-6/Nrf2 cross-talks pathway, indicating that it may be a potential candidate drug for the treatment of oxidative stress-related neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The closed-loop supply chain has been receiving increasing attention in recent years. Supply chain coordination and remanufactured products quality control are two fundamental factors for the closed-loop supply chain to obtain a competitive advantage. Besides, fierce competition brings more uncertainty to the market demand. Supply chain members tend to show the characteristics of loss aversion, which could affect them in making quality decisions. Therefore, this paper attempts to coordinate the closed-loop supply chain under remanufactured products quality control with a loss-averse manufacturer and a loss-averse retailer. Under remanufactured product quality control, expected utility function of manufacturers and retailers are established under centralized decision and decentralized decision respectively. According to the principle of utility maximization, the optimal choices of manufacturers and retailers are obtained. Further, by analyzing and comparing the optimal decisions in decentralized and centralized cases, it is found that the closed-loop supply chain cannot achieve coordination. Therefore, the wholesale price and the quality cost-sharing contract are introduced which is proved to be able to harmonize the supply chain. Finally, the impacts of the parameters change on the optimal quality level and remanufactured product price under two typical decision structures are presented through the sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 5-parameter Morse potential (5-MP) of an O–Pd system and the improved extended LEPS potential of an O2–Pd system were constructed. The adsorption and dissociation of oxygen atoms and oxygen molecules on flat and stepped palladium single crystal surfaces were studied detailedly, and the data of adsorption sites, adsorption geometry, binding energy, eigenvibration, dissociative mechanism, etc. were obtained. Theoretical results show that the high-symmetry sites are the preferred adsorption sites for tilted adsorption of oxygen molecules, and the tilted angle depends on the number of atoms per unit surface area. Meanwhile, a variety of dissociation pathways are analyzed in detail related to the O2–Pd(111) system. These results show that the adsorptive dissociation of oxygen molecules on the Pd(111) hollow site is precursor-mediated, on the Pd(111) bridge site is direct dissociation and on the Pd(111) top site is not only depended on the translational energy, but also depended on the vibrational energy. Moreover, the role of the step defect for oxygen atoms and oxygen molecules is also discussed related to flat surface. Theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental results, and explain well the divergence [N. Salanov and V. N. Bibin, Surf. Sci.441 (1999) 399; P. D. Nolan, B. R. Lutz, P. L. Tanaka and C. B. Mullins, Surf. Sci.419 (1998) L107] related to the O2 dissociation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice–rape rotation is a widely practiced cropping system in China. However, changes in soil properties and management could change the bioavailability of Cd, In order to explore the occurrence state, transportation and transformation characteristics of heavy metals Cd and Zn in rice-rape rotation system in Guizhou karst area with high background value of Cd. In the karst rice–rape rotation area, the physical and chemical properties of soil, chemical specifications and activities of Cd and Zn at different soil depths and during various crop growth stages, and the bioaccumulation of Cd and Zn in different tissues of rice and rape were studied by field experiment and laboratory analysis. The bioaccumulation of Cd and Zn and the effects of physical and chemical soil properties on the activities and bioavailabilities of Cd and Zn during rice–rape rotation were explored. The findings revealed that soil particle size, composition, pH, redox potential, soil organic matter, and Cd and Zn contents varied dramatically, especially in deep soils. The physical and chemical properties of the deep and surface soils were significantly related to the bioaccumulation of Cd and Zn. Cd and Zn are activated during crop rotation. Cd was easier to be enriched in rice, while Zn was easier to be enriched in rape. The correlation between Cd and Zn contents in Brassica campestris L and their enrichment abilities were not significant, but that in Oryza sativa L were significant. During rice-rape rotation, the chemical speciations and activities of Cd and Zn changed with the changes of soil properties and waterlogging environment. This study had important basic guiding significance for the evaluation, prevention and control of heavy metal pollution, and improving soil quality in different rotation systems in karst areas, and was conducive to promoting the safe production of rape and rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A scenario framework is proposed to explore combined effects of economic structure adjustment and emission efficiency improvement. • The proposed indicator can measure the technical feasibility of achieving the reduction potential. • China's emission intensity can be reduced by 81.39% compared with 2005 levels. • The scenario analysis helps achieve 2030 mitigation pledges and 2060 carbon neutrality. China has committed to decreasing its emission intensity by 60% to 65% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. It is of great importance to evaluate the CO 2 emission reduction potential to quantify the amount of CO 2 emissions that can be less generated and the amount that should be balanced out. Economic structure adjustment and CO 2 emission efficiency improvement will contribute to mitigating CO 2 emissions, which always happen simultaneously in the real world. However, few studies consider these issues simultaneously, which can lead to inaccurate estimation. A scenario analysis framework is proposed to estimate their combined effects, and an indicator is proposed to measure the technical feasibility of achieving the reduction potential. A set of scenarios are designed based on this framework and we find that: (1) to achieve carbon neutrality, 6161.16 Mt of CO 2 emissions of China can be less generated compared to 2017 levels by significantly increasing its tertiary industry share to high-income entities' level and adopting the most advanced technology to improve emission efficiency; the remaining 2732.40 Mt of CO 2 emissions should be removed by carbon offsetting. Regarding emission intensity, 81.39% can be reduced compared with the 2005 level; and (2) Technical feasibility analysis shows Sichuan, Chongqing, and Anhui have the largest technical barriers in achieving the reduction potential. The proposed scenario analysis framework can provide a reference not only for China to achieve the emission mitigation pledges, but for countries with significant technological differences and structure adjustment to formulate mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the association between technology innovation, environmental sustainability and its impact on small business performance. Samples of 204 small businesses and hierarchical regression models were used in the analysis. The results of the survey show that technological innovation affects environmentally friendly owners who have a positive impact on the performance of the company. Successful companies that support environmental community projects and social well-being beyond their economic responsibilities can bring greater financial success. Innovation from management and employee participation in environmental protection practices can improve the company's performance and enhance its image to stakeholders. The findings of this paper enhance existing theories and contribute to the establishment of sustainable practices in developed and developing countries. • Sustainable development requires economic growth without depletion of natural resources. • Environmental sustainability relates to the social impact of business activities and its environment. • SMEs have raised environment and social concerns in both developing and developed countries. • Technology innovation acts as a catalysts for sustainable development. • SMEs are indebted to innovate by developing strategies friendly to their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the physical effects of air pollution on humans are well documented, there may be even greater impacts on the emotional state and health. Surveys have traditionally been used to explore the impact of air pollution on people's subjective well-being (SWB). However, the survey techniques usually take long periods to properly match the air pollution characteristics from monitoring stations to each respondent's SWB at both disaggregated spatial and temporal levels. Here, we used air pollution data to simulate fixed-scene images and psychophysical process to examine the impact from only air pollution on SWB. Findings suggest that under the atmospheric conditions in Beijing, negative emotions occur when PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 µm) increases to approximately 150 AQI (air quality index). The British observers have a stronger negative response under severe air pollution compared with Chinese observers. People from different social groups appear to have different sensitivities to SWB when air quality index exceeds approximately 200 AQI. Air pollution can affect people's emotional status and well-being. Here, the authors simulate fixed-scene images to show that under the atmospheric conditions in Beijing, negative emotions occur when air quality index of PM2.5 increases to approximately 150. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Given that it was a once-in-a-century emergency event, the confinement measures related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused diverse disruptions and changes in life and work patterns. These changes significantly affected water consumption both during and after the pandemic, with direct and indirect consequences on biodiversity. However, there has been a lack of holistic evaluation of these responses. Here, we propose a novel framework to study the impacts of this unique global emergency event by embedding an environmentally extended supply-constrained global multi-regional input-output model (MRIO) into the drivers-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework. This framework allowed us to develop scenarios related to COVID-19 confinement measures to quantify country-sector-specific changes in freshwater consumption and the associated changes in biodiversity for the period of 2020–2025. The results suggest progressively diminishing impacts due to the implementation of COVID-19 vaccines and the socio-economic system's self-adjustment to the new normal. In 2020, the confinement measures were estimated to decrease global water consumption by about 5.7% on average across all scenarios when compared with the baseline level with no confinement measures. Further, such a decrease is estimated to lead to a reduction of around 5% in the related pressure on biodiversity. Given the interdependencies and interactions across global supply chains, even those countries and sectors that were not directly affected by the COVID-19 shocks experienced significant impacts: Our results indicate that the supply chain propagations contributed to 79% of the total estimated decrease in water consumption and 84% of the reduction in biodiversity loss on average. Our study demonstrates that the MRIO-enhanced DSPIR framework can help quantify resource pressures and the resultant environmental impacts across supply chains when facing a global emergency event. Further, we recommend the development of more locally based water conservation measures—to mitigate the effects of trade disruptions—and the explicit inclusion of water resources in post-pandemic recovery schemes. In addition, innovations that help conserve natural resources are essential for maintaining environmental gains in the post-pandemic world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese cities are core in the national carbon mitigation and largely affect global decarbonisation initiatives, yet disparities between cities challenge country-wide progress. Low-carbon transition should preferably lead to a convergence of both equity and mitigation targets among cities. Inter-city supply chains that link the production and consumption of cities are a factor in shaping inequality and mitigation but less considered aggregately. Here, we modelled supply chains of 309 Chinese cities for 2012 to quantify carbon footprint inequality, as well as explored a leverage opportunity to achieve an inclusive low-carbon transition. We revealed significant carbon inequalities: the 10 richest cities in China have per capita carbon footprints comparable to the US level, while half of the Chinese cities sit below the global average. Inter-city supply chains in China, which are associated with 80% of carbon emissions, imply substantial carbon leakage risks and also contribute to socioeconomic disparities. However, the significant carbon inequality implies a leveraging opportunity that substantial mitigation can be achieved by 32 super-emitting cities. If the super-emitting cities adopt their differentiated mitigation pathway based on affluence, industrial structure, and role of supply chains, up to 1.4 Gt carbon quota can be created, raising 30% of the projected carbon quota to carbon peak. The additional carbon quota allows the average living standard of the other 60% of Chinese people to reach an upper-middle-income level, highlighting collaborative mechanism at the city level has a great potential to lead to a convergence of both equity and mitigation targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]