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Cooperative Technology Transfer (CTT) is a technology transfer model where universities and enterprises jointly participate throughout the entire process of technology transfer activities. Most discussions focus on its mechanisms and influencing factors, yet a framework to guide CTT projects in practice is still lacking. This study proposes an assessment model based on the life-cycle of CTT projects, covering the initial cooperation relationship, project management during the mid-term, and technological achievements at the end. The model was evaluated by 14 experts first and then validated through two CTT projects in China. Gray Relation Analysis was employed to calculate the weights of different factors based on their relative importance, while the Dempster–Shafer theory was utilized to combine evidence from various sources and address the uncertainty in the assessment. The results of the case analysis indicate that the attitudes of universities and enterprises are considered critical in influencing the success of CTT projects, while management issues that arise during the projects can pose potential risks. This research serves as an applied exploration and has three functions. Firstly, the model can be used as a feasibility study before the project commences. Secondly, it can be utilized to analyze and improve potential issues during the project. Finally, it can be used for a post-project experience summary.

With an emphasis on combining individual and environmental factors in entrepreneurship, this study aims to explore the relationship between the perception of the institutional environment, risk-taking propensity, and start-up readiness by drawing on the institutional theory and human capital theory. This study collected data online and finally got 580 respondents aged 18 to 40. Through SmartPLS software, results reveal that perceived regulatory and cognitive environments influence risk-taking propensity, and risk-taking propensity influences start-up readiness. Moreover, prior entrepreneurial experience positively moderates the relationship between risk-taking propensity and start-up readiness. However, we do not find the direct and moderating effects of entrepreneurship education. This study theoretically contributes to institutional theory, human capital theory, and entrepreneurial behavior with a self-developed construct –“start-up readiness.” This study also provides practical implications for educators and policymakers based on the findings. This study was limited to one personality trait and future research could examine other traits. In addition, more future studies can adopt this measurement scale to measure the entrepreneurial behavior of people in different regions and other human capital factors are worth studying in future research.

We investigate an active dual-control metamaterial leveraging electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), exploiting near-field interactions between electric and magnetic dipole resonances. Our hybrid strip element, combining metal and vanadium dioxide, generates electric dipole resonance, while split-ring resonators integrating metal and photosensitive silicon induce magnetic dipole resonance. Simulations confirm coupling validity and demonstrate dynamic adjustability of EIT via temperature and light intensity changes. EIT modulation transitions between transparent and non-resonant states due to temperature fluctuations, or resonant states with varying light intensity. Temperature adjustments dominate when both factors are altered. Analysis via a coupled oscillator model reveals modulation of damping rates as the origin of disappearance curve variations. This innovative design enhances tunable EIT metamaterial versatility, with implications for high transmission ratios and adaptable slow-light effects in terahertz applications.

Management consulting (MC) has been heavily involved in emerging business opportunities in mainland China. However, there are no well-known local MC project management models to help evaluate whether an MC project can be successful or not. This paper reports a model for the self-assessment of management consulting projects, which has been validated by 15 experts and 13 cases. The new model, with seven factors that are critical to the success of MC projects, was developed from a literature review. The model was then verified by developing a questionnaire that was sent to 15 experts and using Dempster–Shafer theory to obtain the weight of each part of the model. The model was applied to 13 real cases to verify its effectiveness in evaluating an MC project. This new MC model can help consulting teams to conduct assessments in the early and middle stages, and evaluate in the late stage, of consulting projects, and also can help teams improve the probability of project success and client satisfaction. It can be used by consultants, client companies, or both.

Entrepreneurship is a tool for driving economic and social progress. Especially in Hong Kong, the government has recently taken steps to encourage young people to engage in entrepreneurship. However, Hong Kong youths’ entrepreneurial intentions are still low. The objective of this study is to empirically explore the impacts of personality traits on start-up preparation among Hong Kong youths through the constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Through a multi-channel survey, we finally collected 230 valid respondents aged 18 to 40. In addition, this study used SmartPLS software to conduct confirmatory factor analysis for the measurement model as well as path analysis for the structural model. This study’s results suggested that creativity, risk-taking propensity, need for achievement, and internal locus of control influence TPB models’ components and indirectly influence start-up preparation through TPB models’ components. Also, attitude and perceived behavioral control influence intention, and intention influences preparation. Furthermore, prior entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurship education positively influence preparation. In conclusion, this study revealed the mediating effects of TPB components between four personality traits and start-up preparation. Finally, this study had theoretical implications by providing the influence of six personality traits on youths’ entrepreneurial intention and preparation through the TPB model and the human capital theory. This study also had practical implications by providing suggestions for the government and higher education institutions.

Experimentally detectable signature of an axion insulator remains elusive. Here, the authors predict a topological phase diagram of MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n heterostructure, where the chiral hinge mode induced by the surface anomalous Hall conductivity is identified as a signature of an axion insulator state.

Rapid identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of bacteria are key interventions to curb the spread and emergence of antimicrobial resistance. The current gold standard identification and AST methods provide comprehensive diagnostic information but often take 3 to 5 days. Here, a compound Raman microscopy (CRM), which integrates Raman spectroscopy and stimulated Raman scattering microscopy in one system, is presented and demonstrated for rapid identification and AST of pathogens in urine. We generated an extensive bacterial Raman spectral dataset and applied deep learning to identify common clinical bacterial pathogens. In addition, we employed stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to quantify bacterial metabolic activity to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility. For proof-of-concept, we demonstrated an integrated assay to diagnose urinary tract infection pathogens, S. aureus and E. coli. Notably, the CRM system has the unique ability to provide Gram-staining classification and AST results within ~3 h directly from urine samples and shows great potential for clinical applications.

Objectives: The main aim was to investigate the association between retinal microvascular metrics using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and carotid artery stenosis (CAS) in an aging Chinese cohort.Methods: In this cross-sectional and observational study, 138 eyes of 138 participants were examined. Indices of the microcirculation measured by OCTA included mean vessel density (VD), skeleton density (SD), vessel diameter index (VDI), fractal dimension (FD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) of the superficial retinal layer (SRL) and deep retinal layer (DRL), and peripapillary vessel caliber. The correlation of these indices with the carotid atherosclerotic lesions including carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and common carotid artery (CCA) plaque was assessed.Results: A total of 72 of 138 eyes demonstrated an increased (≥1 mm) CIMT, and 32 of the eyes presented common carotid plaques. Macular VD, SD, and FD were decreased with the increasing CCA caliber diameter (p < 0.05, respectively). Superficial and deep macular FDs were negatively associated with CIMT as well as the existence of CCA plaques (p < 0.05, respectively).Conclusion: Changes in retinal microvasculature accessed by OCTA may be used as one of the non-invasive early indicators to monitor asymptomatic CAS.

Emergent quantum phenomena such as quantized anomalous Hall effect may be realized in magnetic topological materials. Here, Hu et al. discovered an intrinsic natural heterostructural Z2 antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi4Te7 with low out-of-plane saturation fields.

How to select the right suppliers has become a crucial strategic decision for manufacturing companies facing various performance measures. This study proposed a hybrid selection model integrating factor analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM), and the fuzzy Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution to (TOPSIS) design a supplier selection model. The study distilled 70 original selection criteria from the relevant literature and identified eight main influencing factors based on factor analysis. The relevance of factors was evaluated by SEM and the performance of suppliers assessed by fuzzy TOPSIS. The model was applied in a manufacturing company in China to verify its practical significance. By combining different methods, the model can select relevant and important supplier selection criteria and include unquantifiable, incomplete, and vague information in the decision model. The hybrid model merges the advantages of each method and takes into account of uncertainty associated with supplier selection process.

The impact of personal characteristics on entrepreneurial intention is a classic topic in the field of entrepreneurship research. Previous research mostly used simple linear models, leading to a gap in the study on the interrelationship among personal characteristics and their systematic influence on entrepreneurial intention. This study investigates the interrelationship among the four specific entrepreneurial characteristics (i.e., need for achievement, locus of control, risk-taking propensity, and creativity) and their systematic influence on the entrepreneurial intention of engineering students. The research data is from 210 engineering students via a survey. Logistic regression and path analysis were used for data analysis. The findings suggest that creativity and risk-taking directly influence entrepreneurial intention while the need for achievement and the locus of control influence it indirectly. Implications for entrepreneurship education are finally discussed.

Dye-doped polymer microdroplet resonators were fabricated by injecting dye solutions into a low refractive index UV curable polymer. The self-assembled microdroplets had the various sizes ranging from 5 to 200 μm. Pumped by a pulse laser, whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) lasing emission from the microresonators was achieved. Experimental results show that the microresonators had the advantages of high-Q factors, low lasing thresholds, and good long-term stabilities. The injection method can provide a promising approach for fabricating the high-Q WGM microresonators, which had some potential applications in the fields of tunable microlasers and on-chip biosensing system.

Topological magnets are a new family of quantum materials providing great potential to realize emergent phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect and the axion-insulator state. Here, we present our discovery that the stoichiometric ferromagnet MnBi_{8}Te_{13} with natural heterostructure MnBi_{2}Te_{4}/(Bi_{2}Te_{3})_{3} is an unprecedented “half-magnetic topological insulator,” with the magnetization existing at the MnBi_{2}Te_{4} surface but not at the opposite surface terminated by triple Bi_{2}Te_{3} layers. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements unveil a massive Dirac gap at the MnBi_{2}Te_{4} surface and a gapless Dirac cone on the other side. Remarkably, the Dirac gap (about 28 meV) at the MnBi_{2}Te_{4} surface decreases monotonically with increasing temperature and closes right at the Curie temperature, thereby representing the first smoking-gun spectroscopic evidence of a magnetization-induced topological surface gap among all known magnetic topological materials. We further demonstrate theoretically that the half-magnetic topological insulator is desirable to realize the surface anomalous Hall effect, which serves as direct proof of the general concept of axion electrodynamics in condensed matter systems.

The recently discovered intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi_{2}Te_{4} has been met with unusual success in hosting emergent phenomena such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect and the axion insulator states. However, the surface-bulk correspondence of the Mn-Bi-Te family, composed by the superlatticelike MnBi_{2}Te_{4}/(Bi_{2}Te_{3})_{n} (n=0,1,2,3…) layered structure, remains intriguing but elusive. Here, by using scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy techniques, we unambiguously assign the two distinct surface states of MnBi_{4}Te_{7} (n=1) to the quintuple-layer (QL) Bi_{2}Te_{3} termination and the septuple-layer (SL) MnBi_{2}Te_{4} termination, respectively. A comparison of the experimental observations with theoretical calculations reveals diverging topological behaviors, especially the hybridization effect between the QL and SL, on the two terminations. We identify a gap on the QL termination, originating from the hybridization between the topological surface states of the QL and the bands of the SL beneath, and a gapless Dirac-cone band structure on the SL termination with time-reversal symmetry. The quasiparticle interference patterns further confirm the topological nature of the surface states for both terminations, continuing far above the Fermi energy. The QL termination carries a spin-helical Dirac state with hexagonal warping, while at the SL termination, a strongly canted helical state from the surface lies between a pair of Rashba-like splitting bands from its neighboring layer. Our work elucidates an unprecedented hybridization effect between the building blocks of the topological surface states and also reveals the termination-dependent time-reversal symmetry breaking in a magnetic topological insulator.

Subcritical water extraction (SWE) has been employed for the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials with cost-effectiveness, less consuming time, and environmental sustainability. To explore the effects of thermal processing during SWE, total organic content (TOC), total sugar, polysaccharides, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (ABTS and DPPH assays) of eight aqueous extracts have been quantitatively investigated. The results indicated that elevated temperatures indeed resulted in significant changes in the constituents and antioxidant activities of okara extracts. Among them, the extract obtained at 220°C exhibited the highest total phenolic, flavonoid content, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging activity, and ABTS [2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate)] radical-scavenging activity. However, phenolic compounds were destroyed after the treatment above 230°C, suggesting that any polymer processing is improper to undertake at higher than this value to achieve the high antioxidant activity. Moreover, a significant positive correlation between TPC or TFC and antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS) values was detected.

The recall rates of various products these years have triggered a new round of interests in the impacts of supplier involvement (SI) and customer involvement (CI) on new product performance (NPP). However, existing literature looks at either SI or CI but not both. Most supply chain management papers focus on SI and NPP while research in marketing field focuses on CI and NPP. Additionally, the NPP has not been elaborated into detail dimensions in these previous studies. This research investigates the impact of both SI and CI on the three dimensions of NPP, namely new product quality and reliability, time to market and product innovativeness. The research was based on the data from over 600 manufacturers in 21 countries. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the simultaneous impact of SI and CI on NPP. The results show that SI influences all the three dimensions of NPP while CI influences quality and reliability. The research also reveals that companies pay more attention to CI than SI. It seems that more efforts in both academic and practical fields are needed to enhance SI in relation to NPD. The research suggests that both SI and CI should be implemented in new product development process. It is not a two-party issue but a three-party-issue.

In line with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Hong Kong government has introduced policies aimed at encouraging young Hong Kong residents to pursue their careers and establish businesses in mainland cities located in the GBA. While recent studies have focused on the mobility of Hong Kong youths to GBA cities, the factors that influence their migration entrepreneurial intention (MEI) in GBA remain unclear. As such, the primary objective of this study is to establish a conceptual framework to identify the relationships between personal factors, perception of the environment of GBA cities, and MEI. This study adopted an online survey using Google Forms to collect data from Hong Kong youths aged 18 to 40 between May and July 2022. Based on responses from 230 validated participants, the chi-square test revealed that those with majors in management, business, and economics have a high MEI. Those with prior entrepreneurial experience have a high MEI and those with entrepreneurship family background have a high MEI. Regarding environmental factors, binary logistic regression analysis indicated that unfamiliarity with the business environment, such as business law and regulations, tax, legal protection of products and services, mainland lifestyles, business competitions, and social security, do not significantly influence MEI. However, concerns about credibility resulting from a business failure, worried about the local working relationships, and raising funds were found to negatively influence MEI. Finally, this study provides theoretical implications for extant entrepreneurship research and practical implications for policymakers and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]