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SUMMARYMonitoring and modeling ground surface deformation are crucial for the dynamic assessment of geothermal resources and sustainable exploitation in a geothermal field. In this study, we extract the deformation in the Yangbajing geothermal field by the small baseline-synthetic aperture radar interferometry (SBAS-InSAR) method using 141 Sentinel-1A images collected between March 2017 and November 2021. The InSAR result indicates both uplift and subsidence in the geothermal field. Subsequently, we use a dual-source model combining a dipping ellipsoid and a rectangular surface to model the shallow reservoir that contracted to cause the complex subsidence field in the north of the geothermal field. The shallow reservoir that expanded to cause the uplift in the south is modeled by an ellipsoid source. The parameters inversion is processed by the nonlinear Bayesian inversion method which has been applied to search the optimal parameters setting in a priori space and evaluate the uncertainties by the confidence intervals. To validate our inversion results, we collect the data from 31 wells including extraction and injection wells, detailed tectonic survey data and geothermal isotherms of the Yangbajing geothermal field. The modeled shallow reservoir in the north is within a 140 °C ground isotherm and a 160 °C underground isotherm. The thickness and depth of the reservoir slightly exceed the data from producing wells, probably due to the structural subsidence of the reservoir. The geometric structure is consistent with the channel faults that control the formation and development of the shallow reservoirs. The modeled reservoir under the rebound area in the south is also validated by comparing the data. Furthermore, we estimate the volume loss and recovery of the contracting and expanding reservoirs. We analyse the deformation mechanisms by considering the tectonic formation, the reservoir structure, and the extraction and rechargeability of the reservoirs. This research suggests the deformation pattern of shallow porous reservoirs that have similar layer composition and tectonic structure elsewhere in the world. Moreover, it provides a theoretical model to explore the parameters and volume change of geothermal reservoirs in plateau-embedded basins around the world. Our work is significant for the conservation and development of geothermal energy in geothermal fields that experience deformation, both subsidence and uplift.

A new species of Diploderma is described from the upper Salween River Valley in eastern Tibet, China based on morphological and genetic data. The new species is morphologically most similar and phylogenetically closely related to D. laeviventre, but it can be easily diagnosed by having distinct conical scales on the post rictal region of the head, distinctively keeled ventral head and body scales, and different coloration of gular spots and dorsolateral stripes in both sexes. The taxonomic discovery further highlights the underestimated diversity of the genus and the importance of habitat conservation of the neglected hot-dry valley ecosystems in the Hengduan Mountain Region of China.

Amolops splendissimus Orlov and Ho, 2007 and A. caelumnoctis Rao and Wilkinson, 2007 were described almost simultaneously from either side of the China-Vietnam border. The two species share a strong morphological resemblance, and their taxonomic distinctiveness has been questioned, yet no one has confirmed the taxonomic relationship and status between the two taxa. To resolve this taxonomic issue, we collected additional topotypic and near-topotypic specimens of A. splendissimus and A. caelumnoctis from both China (A. caelumnoctis: Wenshan County, Yunnan Province; type locality Luchun County, Yunnan Province), and Vietnam (A. splendissimus: Tam Duong District, Lai Chau Province; type locality Mount Ky Quan San, Bat Xat, Lao Cai Province). Molecular analysis based on a 16S rRNA fragment revealed minimal genetic divergences between the two taxa (0.0%–0.4% uncorrected p-distance), and both species are closely related to A. viridimaculatus (2.1%–2.3%) and A. medogensis (3.5%–3.7%). Morphological comparisons between the newly collected specimens and the original descriptions of both species further support the lack of distinctiveness of the two species, hence, we conclude that A. caelumnoctis is a junior synonym of A. splendissimus.

Inflation expectations of firms affect their micro-decision-making behaviors and therefore impact the macro-economy. Thus, a deep understanding of how firms form inflation expectations benefits the achievement of central bank’s policy objectives on macro-economic sustainability and development. In this paper, we focus on the inflation expectations of firms from surveys. Specifically, the Naïve Expectation, Adaptive Expectation, Rational Expectation, VAR, and Heterogeneous Static Expectation formation models are adopted to test the models being used by firms to form inflation expectations. Empirically, this paper reveals the heterogeneity between the formation mechanisms of households and firms. Then, empirical results reject the rational expectation hypothesis of firms’ inflation expectations, which means that they are not perfectly rational. Finally, we find that the inflation perception is a non-negligible factor in forming firms’ inflation expectations. Therefore, central banks’ monetary policies that aiming to formulate firms’ inflation perceptions can be a useful tool in regulating their inflation expectations, which are expected to benefit the stability of the macro-economy.

This paper firstly puts forward to employ investor attention obtained from Google trends to explain and forecast carbon futures return in the European Union-Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). Our empirical results show that investor attention is a granger cause to changes in carbon return. Furthermore, investor attention generates both linear and non-linear effects on carbon return. The results demonstrate that investor attention shows excellent explanatory power on carbon return. Moreover, we conduct several out-of-sample forecasts to explore the predictive power of investor attention. The results indicate that incorporating investor attention indeed improve the accuracy of out-of-sample forecasts both in short and long horizons and can generate significant economic values. All results demonstrate that investor attention is a non-negligible pricing factor in carbon market.

Yan, Fang, Liu, Xiaolong, Zhang, Yinpeng, Yuan, Zhiyong (2021): Direct development of the bush frog Raorchestes longchuanensis (Yang and Li 1978) under laborary conditions in Southern China. Journal of Natural History 55 (1-2): 125-132, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2021.1895349, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2021.1895349

This study performed comprehensive investigations of the complex interconnections between investor attention and cotton futures price volatility under different term structures. In this paper, in-sample analysis, out-of-sample forecast, influencing mechanisms, as well as nonlinear connections are fully explored using several linear model specifications. The results can be summarized as follows: first, investor attention is the Granger causality of the cotton futures volatility and shows significant linear impacts on cotton volatility; second, models incorporated with investor attention significantly improve the prediction accuracy of cotton volatility in the long term compared with the commonly used AR benchmark model; third, the influence of investor attention on cotton volatility may occur through open interest; and fourth, investor attention presents nonlinear impacts on cotton volatility as well. Overall, the results of this article can provide strong supporting evidence for the important roles of investor attention in asset pricing applications.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are major causes of numerous life-threatening human diseases. In the present study, we synthesized a series of phenylacrylamide derivatives as novel anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. Biological evaluation showed that compound 6a could more potently protect HBZY-1 mesangial cells from H2O2-caused oxidative stress than positive controls resveratrol and sulforaphane by dose- and time-dependently impairing the ROS accumulation. Preliminary anti-oxidant mechanism studies indicated that compound 6a could activate Nrf2 and increase the protein and mRNA expression of downstream anti-oxidant enzymes, ie. NQO-1, HO-1, GCLM and GCLC. Notably, 6a could inhibit the production of NO and the activity of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated HBZY-1 mesangial cells, indicating its potential anti-inflammatory activity. Interestingly, both effects could be significantly attenuated by Nrf2 inhibitor TRG, HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP or GCL inhibitor BSO at non-toxic concentrations, confirming that the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of 6a is related to the activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway. These results, together with the relatively safety profile, indicated that compound 6a could be a promising lead to develop novel anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agents, thus preventing diseases induced by oxidative stress and inflammation.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide public health issue. Search for novel non-nucleoside anti-HBV agents is of great importance. In the present study, a series of quinazolinones derivatives (4a-t and 5a-f) were synthesized and evaluated as novel anti-HBV agents. Among them, compounds 5e and 5f could significantly inhibit HBV DNA replication with IC50 values of 1.54 μM and 0.71 μM, respectively. Interestingly, the selective index values of 5f was higher than that of lead compound K284–1405, suggesting 5f possessed relatively safety profile than K284–1405. Notably, 5e and 5f exhibited remarkably anti-HBV activities against lamivudine and entecavir resistant HBV strain with IC50 values of 1.90 and 0.84 μM, confirming their effectiveness against resistant HBV strain. In addition, molecular docking studies indicated that compounds 5e and 5f could well fit into the dimer-dimer interface of HBV core protein dominated by hydrophobic interactions. Notably, their binding modes were different from the lead compound K284–1405, which may be attributed to the additional substituent groups in the quinazolinone scaffold. Taken together, 5e and 5f possessed novel chemical structure and potent anti-HBV activity against both drug sensitive and resistant HBV strains, thus warranting further research as potential non-nucleoside anti-HBV candidates.

The Bitcoin market has become a research hotspot after the outbreak of Covid-19. In this paper, we focus on the relationships between the Bitcoin spot and futures. Specifically, we adopt the vector autoregression-dynamic correlation coefficient-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (VAR-DCC-GARCH) model and vector autoregression-Baba, Engle, Kraft, and Kroner-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (VAR-BEKK-GARCH) models and calculate the hedging effectiveness (HE) value to investigate the dynamic correlation and volatility spillover and assess the risk reduction of the Bitcoin futures to spot. The empirical results show that the Bitcoin spot and futures markets are highly connected; second, there exists a bi-directional volatility spillover between the spot and futures market; third, the HE value is equal to 0.6446, which indicates that Bitcoin futures can indeed hedge the risks in the Bitcoin spot market. Furthermore, we update the data to the post-Covid-19 period to do the robustness checks. The results do not change our conclusion that Bitcoin futures can hedge the risks in the Bitcoin spot market, and besides, the post-Covid-19 results indicate that the hedging ability of Bitcoin futures increased. Finally, we test whether the gold futures can be used as a Bitcoin spot market hedge, and we further control other cryptocurrencies to illustrate the hedging ability of the Bitcoin futures to the Bitcoin spot. Overall, the empirical results in this paper will surely benefit the related investors in the Bitcoin market.

This paper adds to the growing literature of cryptocurrency and behavioral finance. Specifically, we investigate the relationships between the novel investor attention and financial characteristics of Bitcoin, i.e., return and realized volatility, which are the two most important characteristics of one certain asset. Our empirical results show supports in the behavior finance area and argue that investor attention is the granger cause to changes in Bitcoin market both in return and realized volatility. Moreover, we make in-depth investigations by exploring the linear and non-linear connections of investor attention on Bitcoin. The results indeed demonstrate that investor attention shows sophisticated impacts on return and realized volatility of Bitcoin. Furthermore, we conduct one basic and several long horizons out-of-sample forecasts to explore the predictive ability of investor attention. The results show that compared with the traditional historical average benchmark model in forecasting technologies, investor attention improves prediction accuracy in Bitcoin return. Finally, we build economic portfolios based on investor attention and argue that investor attention can further generate significant economic values. To sum up, investor attention is a non-negligible pricing factor for Bitcoin asset.

Oxidative stress plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of various human diseases. In this study, a series of bifendate derivatives bearing acrylamide moiety were synthesized and evaluated as anti-oxidant agents. Biological evaluation indicated that compounds 6a and 6e displayed more potent cytoprotective effect against H2O2-induced HBZY-1 mesangial cells death than lead compound bifendate and positive control resveratrol and sulforaphane. Preliminary anti-oxidant mechanism studies showed that compound 6e could diminish the ROS accumulation by dose- and time-dependently activating Nrf2 and increasing the expression of downstream detoxification enzymes NQO-1, HO-1, GCLM and GCLC at protein and mRNA levels, thus displaying potent anti-oxidant activity. Interestingly, the Nrf2 activating effect of 6e is achieved, at least partly, in Michael acceptor and Keap1-dependent manners. These results, together with the low intrinsic cytotoxicity, suggested that compound 6e might be a promising lead for the development of novel anti-oxidant agents to prevent diseases induced by oxidative stress.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) and metastasis are major causes of mortality in patients with cancer. We recently reported a bifendate derivative bearing a dibenzo[c,e]azepine scaffold (4i) as a P-gp and BCRP-medicated MDR reversal agent. As a continuation of the previous research, its ability to inhibit cancer metastasis was investigated in MDA-MB-231 cells in the present work. Wound-healing and chamber migration assays showed that 4i could significantly attenuate the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells. Additionally, 4i obviously suppressed the invasive activity of MDA-MB-231 cells, thus displaying potential anti-metastasis activity. Preliminary mechanism studies indicated that the anti-metastasis activity of 4i was associated with the inhibitory effect on the activity and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9. These results, together with the previous findings, suggest that compound 4i could be a promising lead for the development of novel anti-cancer agents with anti-MDR and metastatic activities.

As a continuation of our previous work, a series of new phenyl acrylamide derivatives (4Aa-g, 4Ba-t, 5 and 6a-c) were designed and synthesized as non-nucleoside anti-HBV agents. Among them, compound 4Bs could potently inhibit HBV DNA replication in wild-type and lamivudine (3TC)/entecavir resistant HBV mutant strains with IC50 values of 0.19 and 0.18 μM, respectively. Notably, the selective index value of 4Bs was above 526, indicating the favorable safety profile. Interestingly, unlike nucleoside analogue 3TC, 4Bs could significantly inhibit 3.5 kb pgRNA expression. Molecular docking study revealed that 4Bs could fit well into the dimer-dimer interface of HBV core protein by hydrophobic, π–π and H-bond interactions. Considering the potent anti-HBV activity, low toxicity and diverse anti-HBV mechanism from that of nucleoside anti-HBV agent 3TC, compound 4Bs might be a promising lead to develop novel non-nucleoside anti-HBV therapeutic agents, and warranted further investigation.

As a continuation of earlier works, a series of novel quinazolinone derivatives (5a-s) were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro anti-HBV and anti-hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HCC) activities. Among them, compounds 5j and 5k exhibited most potent inhibitory effect on HBV DNA replication in both drug sensitive and resistant (lamivudine and entecavir) HBV strains. Interestingly, besides the anti-HBV effect, compound 5k could significantly inhibit the proliferation of HepG2, HUH7 and SK- cells, with IC50 values of 5.44, 6.42 and 6.75 μM, respectively, indicating its potential anti-HCC activity. Notably, the in vitro anti-HCC activity of 5k were more potent than that of positive control 5-fluorouracil and sorafenib. Further studies revealed that compound 5k could induce HepG2 cells apoptosis by dose-dependently upregulating Bad and Bax expression and decreasing Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl protein level. Considering the potent anti-HBV and anti-HCC effect, compound 5k might be a promising lead to develop novel therapeutic agents towards HBV infection and HBV-induced HCC.

Based on the prices selected from European Energy Exchange (EEX) from 2013 to 2018, we investigate the inter-correlation of carbon spot and futures markets. Specifically, we adopt the widely used DCC-GARCH model and VAR-BEKK-GARCH model to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the carbon market, i.e., the dynamic correlation and volatility spillover between carbon spot and carbon futures. Moreover, we develop a hedge strategy based on the VAR-BEKK-GARCH model and calculate the hedging effectiveness (HE) value to evaluate the strategy performance. The empirical results show that (i) during our sample period, carbon spot and futures markets are highly correlated, (ii) carbon spot overflows to the futures market and vice versa, and (iii) the HE value is equal to 0.9370, indicating a good performance for the hedging strategy. Then, we provide further discussion on the relationship between carbon spot and futures markets by replacing our dataset with the data of phase II. The results do not change our conclusions on the dynamic correlation and volatility spillover. However, the HE value of phase III is higher than that of phase II, which indicates that the carbon futures market of phase III is not only an available market to hedge risk from the contemporaneous carbon spot market but also has a better hedge effectiveness than phase II.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) and metastasis are major causes of mortality in patients with cancer. We recently reported a bifendate derivative bearing a dibenzo[c,e]azepine scaffold (4i) as a P-gp and BCRP-medicated MDR reversal agent. As a continuation of the previous research, its ability to inhibit cancer metastasis was investigated in MDA-MB-231 cells in the present work. Wound-healing and chamber migration assays showed that 4i could significantly attenuate the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells. Additionally, 4i obviously suppressed the invasive activity of MDA-MB-231 cells, thus displaying potential anti-metastasis activity. Preliminary mechanism studies indicated that the anti-metastasis activity of 4i was associated with the inhibitory effect on the activity and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9. These results, together with the previous findings, suggest that compound 4i could be a promising lead for the development of novel anti-cancer agents with anti-MDR and metastatic activities.

Based on carbon spot prices selected from seven carbon pilots, we assess the financial performances related to carbon volatility in China on the overall perspective. According to the results, the Chinese carbon market fluctuated severely at the beginning of carbon trading, but has stabilised in general, despite several dramatic changes related to ‘yearly compliance events’. Long-term memory exists in the volatility series. Moreover, asymmetry exists in the Chinese carbon market, and volatility reacts more severely to good news than to bad news. Finally, we discuss our empirical results, and make certain suggestions regarding firms’ awareness, international cooperation and individual investors not only for policy makers in China but also for other developing countries who are contemplating either commencing carbon trading or improving the current market.

As an ongoing search for potent non-nucleoside anti-HBV agents with novel structures, we described a series of phenyl propionamide derivatives (3a-b, 4a-e, 7a-g, 8a-h and 9a-b) by pharmacophore fusion strategy in the present work. All the compounds exhibited an anti-HBV activity to some extent. Among them, compounds 8d and 9b displayed most potent anti-HBV activity with IC50 values on HBV DNA replication of 0.46 and 0.14 μM, respectively. And the selective index values of 8d and 9b were more than 217.39 and 153.14, suggesting that 8d and 9b exhibited favorable safety profiles. Interestingly, 8d and 9b possessed significantly antiviral activities against lamivudine and entecavir resistant HBV mutants with IC50 values of 0.77 and 0.32 μM. Notably, preliminary anti-HBV action mechanism studies showed that 8d could inhibit intracellular HBV pgRNA and RT activity of the HBV polymerase. Molecular docking studies suggested that compound 8d could fit into the dimer-dimer interface of HBV core protein by hydrophobic interaction. In addition, in silico prediction of physicochemical properties showed that 8d conformed well to the Lipinski's rule of five, suggesting its potential for use as a drug like molecule. Taken together, 8d possessed significantly anti-HBV activity, low toxicity, diverse anti-HBV mechanism and favorable physicochemical properties, and warranted further investigation as a promising non-nucleoside anti-HBV candidate.

Carbon allowances traded in the EU-Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) were initially designed as an economic motivation for efficiently curbing greenhouse as emissions, but now it mimics quite a few characteristics of financial assets, and have now been used as a candidate product in building financial portfolios. In this study, we examine the time-varying correlations between carbon allowance prices with other financial indices, during the third phase of EU-ETS. The results show that, at the beginning of this period, carbon price was still strongly corrected with other financial indices. However, this connection was weakened over time. Given the relative independence of carbon assets from other financial assets, we argue for the diversification benefits of including carbon assets in financial portfolios, and building such portfolios, respectively, with the traditional global minimum variance (GMV) strategy, the mean-variance-OGARCH (MV-OGARCH) strategy, and the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) strategy. It is shown that the portfolio built with the MV-OGARCH strategy far out-performs the others and that including carbon assets in financial portfolios does help reduce investment risks.

By means of three-point bending method, the fracture toughness and fracture energy of cement stabilized macadam were measured respectively. The test results indicate that, with the increase of curing period, the fracture toughness and the fracture energy are increasing gradually. As the increase of cement content, the peak vertical load and fracture toughness of the specimen is increasing gradually, however, the fracture energy is decreasing gradually.

Grey-markov forecasting model of traffic volume was founded by applying the model of GM (1,1) and Markov random process theory. The model utilizes the advantages of Grey-markov GM (1,1) forecasting model and Markov random process in order to discover the developing and varying tendency of the forecasting data sequences of traffic volume. The analysis of an example indicates that the grey-markov model has good forecasting accuracy and excellent applicability in predicting traffic volume.