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Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending enables individuals and small companies to finance and invest without the intermediation of financial institutions. However, this business model is also associated with high delinquency risk and a lack of risk monitoring and control capabilities. This paper explores the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, smart contract technologies, and the Continuous Risk Monitoring and Assessment (CRMA) framework to re-engineer risk monitoring and control for P2P lending. We conducted a case study of a large Chinese P2P lending company to identify problems in its current risk monitoring and control processes and to design an IoT-smart contract CRMA system to continuously monitor and respond to delinquency risk via real-time data collection, automatic loan settlement, and in-time risk disclosure. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M40; M41; M49.

Currently, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting is mostly voluntary, granting companies the discretion to choose the information to disclose and the standards to follow, resulting in a lack of comparability across ESG reports. Efforts to combine standards for global comparability are static and may not fit the everchanging, industry-specific nature of ESG topics. This paper proposes a hybrid methodology for extracting simplified, ex post, and dynamic taxonomies based on existing ESG standards and reports to improve the comparability of ESG reporting. This hybrid methodology, which combines text mining techniques with manual processing, balances the efficiency of automatic processes with the effectiveness of human judgment. An example of deriving a simplified environmental taxonomy from European companies’ ESG reports and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards illustrates the proposed methodology. The methodology could help regulators to develop comparable taxonomies and detect greenwashing and enable various stakeholders to compare companies’ ESG performance.

In this study, a dynamic constitutive model for woven-carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) is formulated by combining dynamic tensile test data and fitting curves and incorporating variation rules established for the modulus of elasticity, strength, and fracture strain with respect to the strain rate. The dynamic constitutive model is then implemented with finite element software. The accuracy and applicability of the dynamic constitutive model are evaluated by comparing the numerically predicted load–displacement curves and strain distributions with the test data. The stress distribution, failure factor, modulus, and strength of the material under dynamic tension are also explored. The results show that the response simulated with the dynamic constitutive model is in good agreement with the experimental results. The strain is uniformly distributed during the elastic phase compared with the DIC strain field. Subsequently, it becomes nonuniform when stress exceeds 600 MPa. Then, the brittle fracture occurs. With the increase in the strain rate, the input modulus decreased, and the tensile strength increased. When the displacement was 0.13 mm, the simulation model was damaged at a low strain rate, and the stress value was 837.8 MPa. When it reached the high strain rate of 800 s−1, no failure occurred, and the maximum stress value was 432.5 MPa. For the same specimen, the strain rate was the smallest on both clamped ends, and the modulus and strength were large at the ends and small in the middle. The fitting curve derived from the test data was completely input into the dynamic constitutive model to better capture the dynamic change in the material properties.

To analyze the tensile properties for the single-strap butt joint of a carbon fiber reinforced composite, a finite element model was established using no. 22 and no. 185 materials based on LS-DYNA with the test data and the theoretical solutions reported by Li et al. Then, the tensile properties influenced by three factors were analyzed, i.e., the connection strength, the failure mode of the composite, and the adhesive stress. The results show that the adhesive interface of 0° stacking can greatly improve the tensile strength and reduce the composite matrix tensile damage. With the increase of the adhesive thickness, the connection strength decreases first and then increases. As for the overlap length, its increase is conductive to the tensile strength but detrimental to the lightweight design. Therefore, these factors should be taken into consideration when designing the joint.

To study the compressive mechanical properties of a new type of brazed aluminum honeycomb plate (BAHP), tensile tests on single- and brazed-cell walls as well as compression tests in the out-of-plane, in-plane longitudinal, and transverse directions were conducted. Compared to the material properties of a traditional glued aluminum honeycomb plate (GAHP), those of the single- and brazed-cell walls of the BAHP are entirely different. Therefore, their characteristics should be considered separately when performing theoretical and simulation analysis. Under out-of-plane compression, the core of the BAHP did not debond, owing to its higher strength than that of the GAHP. In comparison, under in-plane compression in the longitudinal and transverse directions, the load&ndash, displacement characteristics, ultimate load, and failure modes also differed, and there was no large-scale cracking. Considering the characteristics of the BAHP, a strength prediction method was proposed. The simulation results demonstrated that the model built based on the new method was highly consistent with the experimental results. Defects with uneven height and debonding will cause the overall instability, and the degree of defects will influence the strength and instability displacement, which have little impact on the elastic stage. Moreover, the model considering defects is closer to the test results.

To study the compressive mechanical properties of a new type of brazed aluminum honeycomb plate (BAHP), tensile tests on single- and brazed-cell walls as well as compression tests in the out-of-plane, in-plane longitudinal, and transverse directions were conducted. Compared to the material properties of a traditional glued aluminum honeycomb plate (GAHP), those of the single- and brazed-cell walls of the BAHP are entirely different. Therefore, their characteristics should be considered separately when performing theoretical and simulation analysis. Under out-of-plane compression, the core of the BAHP did not debond, owing to its higher strength than that of the GAHP. In comparison, under in-plane compression in the longitudinal and transverse directions, the load–displacement characteristics, ultimate load, and failure modes also differed, and there was no large-scale cracking. Considering the characteristics of the BAHP, a strength prediction method was proposed. The simulation results demonstrated that the model built based on the new method was highly consistent with the experimental results.

The dynamic tensile properties and failure modes of moulded 2 × 2 braided CFRP were investigated by using a high-speed hydraulic tester, combined with a high-speed camera and digital image correlation technology. The test is under six strain rates (1 s−1, 10 s−1, 100 s−1, 250 s−1, 500 s−1, and 800 s−1) and three stacking sequences ([0/90]12, [0/90/±45]3s, and [±45]12). Failure of the fibre and matrix at fracture was observed via SEM. The stress-strain responses under different strain rates were discussed, as well as the variation laws governing the elastic modulus, tensile strength, and fracture strain with respect to strain rate. The results show that the elastic modulus increased by 10%–30% with an increase in strain rate and the ±45° direction had a higher strain rate sensitivity. The tensile strength increased by 30%–40%; however, the change in fracture strain varied with different stacking sequences.

Braided composites are widely used in engineering, but there is little research on the bimodulus constitutive relation of tension and compression. In this paper, a bimodulus constitutive model suitable for two-dimensional (2D) 2 × 2 braided carbon fibre composites is proposed. The modulus prediction method and stress rotation formula were optimised and verified. According to the tension and compression tests and two stacking sequences that were conducted, the degrees of deviation of the moduli were found. To identify the underlying cause of the modulus deviation, two unit cell models were built with different stacking angles. By changing the fibre volume fraction and braiding angle of the unit cell models, the tensile and compressive moduli under the influence of these two parameters were obtained. As the fibre volume fraction and braiding angle increased, the deviation degree of the two moduli increased. When the braiding angle was small, the tensile modulus was greater than the compressive modulus, while when the braiding angle was relatively large, the compressive modulus was greater than the tensile modulus.

Deregulation of the TAM (TYRO3, AXL, and MERTK) family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) has recently been demonstrated to predominately promote survival and chemoresistance of cancer cells. Intramembrane proteolysis mediated by presenilin/gamma-secretase is known to regulate the homeostasis of some RTKs. In the present study, we demonstrate that AXL, but not TYRO3 or MERTK, is efficiently and sequentially cleaved by alpha-and g-secretases in various types of cancer cell lines. Proteolytic processing of AXL redirected signaling toward a secretase-mediated pathway, away from the classic, well-known, ligand-dependent canonical RTK signaling pathway. TheAXL intracellular domain cleavage product, but not full-length AXL, was further shown to translocate into the nucleus via a nuclear localization sequence that harbored a basic HRRKK motif. Of interest, we found that the g-secretase-uncleavable AXL mutant caused an elevated chemoresistance in non-small-cell lung cancer cells. Altogether, our findings suggest thatAXL can undergo sequential processing mediated by various proteases kept in a homeostatic balance. This newly discovered post-translational processing ofAXL may provide an explanation for the diverse functions of AXL, especially in the context of drug resistance in cancer cells.-Lu, Y., Wan, J., Yang, Z., Lei, X., Niu, Q., Jiang, L., Passtoors, W. M., Zang, A., Fraering, P. C., Wu, F. Regulated intramembrane proteolysis of the AXL receptor kinase generates an intracellular domain that localizes in the nucleus of cancer cells. FASEB J. 31, 1382-1397 (2017). www.fasebj.org

In order to study the interfacial adhesive material simulation method of a sandwich structure with aluminum alloy panels and a low-density foam core under edgewise compression condition, two finite element models were defined using material model no. 185 (MAT 185) adhesive element and tiebreak contact, respectively, by LS-DYNA. Under the conditions of different loading rates, and element sizes, the effects of peak load, energy absorption, failure mode of adhesive layer and the influence degree of the changing condition on the calculated results were compared between the two models, and then compared with the experiment results and theoretical results. The higher the loading rate was, or the smaller the element size was, the higher the peak load was. The simulation results obtained using MAT 185 were closer to the experimental results under the edgewise compression condition.