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We explore the effects of voluntary environmental regulation (VER) and mandatory environmental regulation (MER) on green innovation (GI) and further assess the moderating effects of foreign direct investment (FDI). The results indicate that (1) Both VER and MER have positive local and spillover effects on GI. (2) VER can improve GI more effectively than MER. (3) FDI can enhance the effects of both VER and MER on GI. (4) In the long term, VER has positive local and spillover effects on GI, and FDI enhances these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rubber–sand mixture (RSM), an environmentally friendly material, has been used in the pavement subgrade. Previous studies investigate the cyclic response of RSM with various rubber contents by triaxial devices under traffic loads without principal stress rotation (PSR). However, single-lane and multilane traffic moving loads generate unidirectional and multidirectional PSR, respectively, which may lead to more permanent deformation of the subgrade than the loads without PSR. To further understand the load–deformation relationship of RSM under the traffic loads, a series of cyclic drained tests involving the uni- and multidirectional PSR were performed on RSM and pure sand. The rubber contents determined by volume varied from 10% to 30%, and the specimens were consolidated under various stress levels to obtain different densities. The results indicate that multilane traffic loads generally produce more permanent vertical strain than single-lane traffic loads. The permanent vertical strain reduces with increasing rubber content, while a higher rubber content results in a larger plastic shear strain. In addition, an energy-based approach was employed to investigate the relationship between shakedown behavior and dissipated energy. The dissipated energy within one cycle tends to decline with loading cycles. The difference in dissipated energy between two different loading cycles is below a certain value when shakedown occurs. The findings provide an understanding of the stress–strain response of RSM under various traffic conditions and recommend a rubber content for RSM-subgrade design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well recognized that the liquefaction resistance is closely related to the consolidation stress in soils. However, previous studies investigated the effects of unidirectional consolidation loads rather than multi-directional consolidation loads on liquefaction resistance. In this study, two types of granular materials, spherical glass beads and irregularly-shaped sands, are tested under undrained conditions with the uni- and bi-directional loads to investigate the liquefaction resistance. The effects of consolidation loads on liquefaction resistance can be explained in terms of material anisotropy. In simple shear tests, the stress- and strain-controlled loading paths are adopted for the consolidation and the undrained shear process, respectively. The results indicate that the liquefaction resistances of both materials consolidated under the multi-directional consolidation loads are higher than those consolidated under the linear loads. More consolidation loading cycles induce a better liquefaction resistance of the specimens at a given relative density. In addition, the influence of consolidation stress on liquefaction resistance is demonstrated by the anisotropy of specimens. Cyclic vertical stress, unidirectional shear stress, and bidirectional shear stress applied during consolidation produce greater isotropy and improve the liquefaction resistance of the specimen compared with the monotonic vertical stress, and their effects align with an increasing order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the undrained shear strength has been widely studied for evaluating the factor of safety in slope, the effects of the initial shear stress induced by slope inclination are not fully understood. Some studies begin considering the conditions where the secondary shear direction along the direction of slope inclination, namely unidirectional shears. In the submarine environment, however, two directions are required to properly evaluate the true multidirectional shear strength because of the random direction of the wave and seismic load. This paper reports the bi-directional shear behavior of the Leighton Buzzard sand (Fraction B) from a specifically designed experimental program. The stress-strain relation, pore water pressure development, and flow liquefaction line are discussed. The test results show that the stress ratio at the peak of the stress-strain curve, called the gradient of flow liquefaction line, is unique for given vertical consolidation stress regardless of the direction and amount of initial shear stress. Though the sand behavior varies between different shear methods (bi-directional and unidirectional shear), the stress ratio at the initiation of instability is almost identical. Therefore, the total shear strength for submarine slopes under bi-directional shear conditions can be predicted through the constant gradient value of flow liquefaction line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objectives: Geriatric patients who sustain hip fractures and are taking factor Xa inhibitors (Xa-I) experience surgical delay. Our institution developed a pharmacokinetic protocol to formally guide and expedite surgical timing for these patients. The protocol is based on the patient's renal function and timing of last Xa-I dose. For patients with impaired renal function, longer wait times are recommended. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of this protocol for patients with geriatric hip fracture taking Xa-I., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Setting: Level 1 trauma center., Patients/participants: A total of 164 patients aged 65 and older who were taking Xa-I before admission and underwent hip fracture surgery; 68 patients in the Standard group (2014-2018) and 96 patients in the Expedited group (2020-2022, after protocol implementation)., Intervention: Hip fracture surgery., Main Outcome Measurements: Time to surgery (TTS), transfusion rate, blood loss, 90-day complication rates., Results: The median TTS was significantly shorter in the Expedited group (28.6 hours, interquartile range 21.3 hours) than in the Standard group (44.8 hours, interquartile range 21.1 hours) ( P < .001). There were no differences in overall transfusion rates. Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that time to surgery was not predictive of transfusion rate in all patients (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.99-1.02, P = .652). There were no differences in blood loss or rates of 90-day complications., Conclusion: Geriatric patients with hip fractures and taking factor Xa inhibitors may warrant earlier surgery without an increased risk of transfusion or bleeding., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III., Competing Interests: All authors have read and complied with the ethical approval/informed consent requirements. All ethics statements have been added to the Materials and Methods section in the manuscript. The authors report no conflict of interest related to the research or manuscript. No funding was received for this study., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association.)