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Task conflict is prevalent among construction project parties, however, how task conflict affects construction project performance still lacks a comprehensive investigation. Against this background, this study adopts an uncertainty management perspective to conduct an integrative model including both positive and negative mediators as well as one moderator to investigate the link between task conflict and construction project performance. Using 206 samples from the Chinese construction industry, the proposed hypotheses are empirically examined. Results suggest that project commitment (effect size = –0.046) negatively mediates the link between task conflict and project performance, whereas knowledge integration (effect size = 0.053) has a positive mediating effect. What’s more, task reflexivity is found to mitigate the negative effects of task conflict on both project commitment (coefficient of interaction item = 0.12) and knowledge integration (coefficient of interaction item = 0.08). It is also found that task reflexivity changes the direction and strength of the link from task conflict to project performance by both project commitment (from –0.155 to 0.069) and knowledge integration (from –0.049 to 0.052). These findings provide a holistic understanding of the relationship between task conflict and construction project performance, thus contributing to construction project management theoretically and practically.

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the developmental potential of 0PN, 1PN, and 2PN zygotes in IVF cycles and compare their clinical outcomes.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study involving IVF patients. Blastocyst formation rates were assessed with 0PN, 1PN, and 2PN zygotes. Subsequently, we collected clinical outcome data following the transfer of these zygotes.ResultsThe overall blastulation rate was similar between 0PN (29.6%) and 2PN (32.1%) zygotes, but 1PN zygotes exhibited a significantly lower blastulation rate (17.0%) compared to both 0PN and 2PN zygotes. Similarly, the overall rate of good-quality blastulation was comparable between 0PN (15.3%) and 2PN (17.5%) zygotes, while 1PN zygotes showed a significantly lower rate (7.0%) compared to both 0PN and 2PN. Clinical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, implantation, and live birth rates were similar among single blastocyst frozen embryo transfers (FET) of 0PN, 1PN, and 2PN. Additionally, no significant differences were observed between single- and double-blastocyst FET of 0PN and 2PN.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that 0PN and 2PN zygotes have comparable developmental potential, while 1PN embryos exhibit lower developmental potential. Blastocyst FET outcomes appear similar among 0PN, 1PN, and 2PN zygotes.

Purpose The consequences of severe traumatic injury extend beyond hospital admission and have the potential for long-term functional, psychological, and economic sequalae. This study investigated patient outcomes 6 months following major trauma. Methods Using the National Trauma Registry, database of patients who were admitted between 2016–18 in a tertiary trauma hospital for major trauma [Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16] a review was performed on 6-month outcomes [including functional outcomes, self-reported state of health and outcome scores (EuroQol-5 Dimension score and Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended)]. Result There were 637 patients who were treated for major trauma (ISS ≥ 16); the median age was 64 years (range 16–100) and 435 (68.3%) patients were male. The most common injury mechanisms included falling from height (56.5%) and motor vehicle accident (27.0%). The median ISS was 24 (range 16–75). After 6 months, 87.6% of responders were living at home, 25.0% were back to work, and 55.1% were ambulating independently. The median self-rated state of health was 73 at baseline and 64 at 6 months. Age and length of stay were independent predictors of return to ambulation using multivariate analysis. Age, Abbreviated Injury Scale external, Glasgow Coma Scale on Emergency Department arrival, heart rate, and need for transfusion were independent predictors of failure to return to work at 6 months using multivariate analysis. Charlson Comorbidity Index, Glasgow Coma Scale on arrival, temperature, pain and need for inpatient rehabilitation were independent predictors of mortality at 6 months. Conclusion Recovery from major trauma is multi-faceted and requires a team-based approach well beyond discharge.

Spontaneous aortic thrombosis is exceedingly rare, and optimal treatment remains uncertain. We present an unusual case of a spontaneous aortic thrombus at the renal artery level in a patient undergoing active cisplatin treatment for urothelial carcinoma. Management included catheter-directed thrombolysis followed by thrombectomy. An open cutdown was performed on the left common femoral artery (CFA), with right groin access via a 6-Fr sheath. Clamping of the left superficial and deep femoral arteries, along with balloon occlusion of the right common iliac artery, prevented distal embolization. A Coda balloon introduced via direct left CFA puncture with a 20-Fr sheath was positioned above the aortic thrombus. After inflation, clots were trawled to the sheath, “sandwiching” the clots before removal of the balloon and sheath via the left groin. Post-operatively, the patient recovered well and received continued therapeutic anticoagulation.

Pancreatic pseudocyst (PP) is a known complication of pancreatitis. When a rupture occurs, patients often become haemodynamically unstable and require emergency surgery for source control. Conventionally, such a procedure is carried out through open technique due to patient, surgeon and technical factors. We present two cases of emergency laparoscopic surgery performed for ruptured PP. Our first patient was a 53-year-old male with a ruptured 17.6 cm pancreatic body pseudocyst who underwent a laparoscopic washout, adhesiolysis, necrosectomy, distal pancreatectosplenectomy and cholecystectomy. The second patient was a 66-year-old male with a ruptured 11 cm pancreatic body pseudocyst who underwent laparoscopic surgery, subsequently converted to hand-assisted surgery. We compare our cases with the existing literature and discuss pertinent management considerations. In conclusion, we demonstrated that emergency laparoscopic adhesiolysis, necrosectomy and distal pancreatosplenectomy are feasible and safe for the management of ruptured pseudocyst when performed by an experienced surgeon. However, further studies are needed to determine the advantages or limitations of the minimally invasive surgical approach for the management of these complicated cases.

Aortoiliac vascular injury during lumbar disc surgery is potentially life-threatening, but occasionally presents with delayed-onset symptoms. This is a case report of a fistulized pseudoaneurysm presenting with claudication. A 73-year-old female presented with swelling of the left leg and short-distance claudication. Two months prior, she had undergone discectomy for the management of right foot drop caused by an L4-L5 herniated lumbar disc. The left ankle-brachial index was 0.71. Computed tomography angiography revealed a 31 mm×20 mm pseudoaneurysm of the left common iliac artery fistulized to the left common iliac vein. The patient was successfully treated with stent graft placement.

In order to solve the problem that the relative permeability of the permalloy is missing and difficult to measure accurately in an extremely weak magnetic field (EWMF,

Hollow-cup motors are usually used in spacecraft because of their low power consumption and high control accuracy. However, because the air-gap between the permanent magnets (PMs) and the rotor of the hollow-cup motor is uniform, the sinusoidal characteristic of the air-gap magnetic field waveform is inferior and the total harmonic distortion (THD) is large, resulting in torque ripple. For the large air-gap hollow-cup motor, the existing methods for optimizing the sinusoidal characteristics of the air gap magnetic field change the shape of PMs, but the changed PMs are difficult to manufacture and magnetize, resulting in the methods being limited and not being able to achieve the ideal optimization effect for the hollow-cup motor. Based on the characteristics of the inner rotor and outer rotor rotating synchronously during operation, a new structure design of the hollow-cup motor with an eccentric inner rotor is proposed instead of changing the PMs’ shape. Firstly, the mathematical model of the hollow-cup motor is established. Then, the FEM shows that the inner rotor’s eccentricity can bring the air-gap magnetic field waveform closer to the ideal sinusoidal waveform and can effectively reduce the THD. Finally, a prototype with the optimal eccentricity value is made for experimental verification.

The adaptability of organizations to their environment has always been a key concern in both organizational theory and management practice. Different from the single perspective of previous studies, this research adopts an integrated, outside-in perspective. Employing an agent-based simulation model (ASM) and a multiple regression model (MRM), we examine the impact of the intensity of exploitative and exploratory practice on organizational adaptability, as well as the moderating effect of environmental dynamism and organizational absorptive capacity. The results of the research show that (1) the stable environment prefers organizations with a practice strategy of high exploitation and low exploration; (2) environmental dynamism inhibits the impact of both exploitative and exploratory practices on organizational adaptability; and (3) organizational absorptive capacity significantly reinforces the link between the intensity of exploitative practice, as well as exploratory practice, and organizational adaptability. The study investigates the external alignment of organizational exploratory and exploitative practices with environmental dynamism and internal fit with absorptive capacity. The findings provide new insight into the question of how organizations can resist the erosion of environmental dynamism through strategic alignment and capacity development.

Organizational learning is an important approach for organizations to improve knowledge levels and enhance adaptability to a complex environment. In this paper, based on the exact recreation of March’s classical model on organizational learning, we conduct research systematically on the impacts of different rate combinations of two typical organizational practices, socialization and codification, on the level of organizational knowledge. Environmental dynamism and system openness are taken into account, as contextual variables. The result shows that (1) accelerating codification and slowing down socialization can achieve better outcomes in a stable environment and closed system. (2) Moderate system openness is beneficial for organizational knowledge when in a stable environment. (3) Environmental turbulence has obvious negative effects on organizational knowledge, and the adjustment of rates of socialization and codification only works temporarily, when in the closed system. (4) System openness can relieve the negative correlation between environmental turbulence and organizational knowledge. Furthermore, we discuss some challenges in how to apply research findings in this paper to organizational actual operations and also provide a few suggestions for further studies. Our paper enriches relative literature on March’s agent-based model, and some results and conclusions obtained in the paper can provide a helpful reference for follow-up researches in this domain.

Background: Laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy is the current epitome of living kidney donation surgery. We review our experience in living-donor nephrectomies over the last 19 years, transitioning from open surgery to hand-assisted laparoscopy to full laparoscopic techniques. Methods: We retrospectively identified all living-donor nephrectomies performed at our institution from 1976 to 2018. The donors were categorised according to surgical techniques: open (ODN), hand-assisted laparoscopy (HALDN) and full laparoscopy (LDN). We reviewed changes in donor demographics over the years. Surgical outcomes between groups were compared from 2000 to 2018. We also compared the outcomes of LDN between different time periods to evaluate our learning curve. Results: A total of 214 living-donor nephrectomies were performed between 2000 and 2018. The majority were left sided (93%) and had single renal artery anatomy (90%). There were 22 ODN, 20 HALDN and 163 LDN cases. The mean operating time was 84±43, 151±32 and 179±37 minutes for ODN, HALDN and LDN, respectively ( p

The trio of perineal soft tissue tumour, anorectal malformation (ARM) and external genitalia abnormality is exceedingly rare. We present a case of a three-month-old infant who presented with bilateral undescended gonads, ARM and perineal mass. Chromosomal study showed a male profile and ultrasound of his groin suggested right intra-abdominal testis, with the left gonad not visualised. He underwent a period of rectal washouts via the perineal fistula before undergoing elective limited posterior sagittal anorectoplasty. He subsequently underwent left single stage orchidopexy, right first stage orchidopexy and excision of the perineal lump at 10 month of age. Histology revealed lobules of adipocytes with intervening fibrous septae with focal areas of myxoid stroma, suggestive of a lipoblastoma. He then underwent second stage right orchidopexy six month later and no recurrence was noted. Only two cases of perineal soft tissue tumour associated with ARM and external genital abnormality were previously reported. It is likely that the large size of the perineal mass contributed to mal-descent of both testes. We postulate that the constellation of anomalies in our patient falls into the category of the urorectal septum malformation sequence.

Governmental governance is an emerging concept in the area of governance and is critical to the success of megaprojects. The aims of this study are to investigate the impact of governmental governance on megaproject performance and to identify the most critical component of governmental governance. To achieve these goals, a conceptual framework of governmental governance and a comprehensive framework of megaproject performance were established first, followed by proposing a research hypothesis that governmental governance could contribute to megaproject performance. To test the hypothesis, data collected by a questionnaire administered to 239 professionals were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results showed that governmental governance could contribute to megaproject performance significantly. It also reported that “public monitoring and scrutiny” was the most critical latent variable of governmental governance on megaproject performance, followed by “systemic risk management,” “regulatory oversight,” “construction of clean government,” “strategic planning,” and “institutional design.” This study has contributed to the body of knowledge of governmental governance by investigating its impact on megaproject performance. The findings from this study are useful to the industry as well, because they can enhance practitioners’ understanding of governmental governance, which could help them improve their management of megaprojects eventually.

Over the past two decades, project governance has attracted increasing attention from researchers and practitioners worldwide and has become an important research area of project management. However, an inclusive quantitative and systematic analysis of the state-of-the-art recently available research in this field is still missing. This study attempts to map the global research on project governance through a state-of-the-art review. A total of 285 bibliographic records were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database and analyzed by the visual analytic tool—CiteSpace. The results indicated that there has been an increasing research interest in project governance. The most productive and the most highly cited author in the area of project governance is Müller R., and most of the existing project governance research achievements are from Australia, China, USA, and Norway. By synthetically analyzing the keywords, future research might focus on governance of megaprojects and project success. Additionally, 9 knowledge domains of project governance were identified, including conceptual framework, public projects, governance structure, governance context, megaproject governance, contractual and relational governance, sustainability, portfolio governance, and project success. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by mapping the existing project governance research. It is particularly helpful to new and early-stage researchers who plan to do research on project governance, as it can provide them an overview of project governance research, including key authors, main institutions, hot topics, and knowledge domains. Moreover, the findings from the study are beneficial to industry practitioners as well, as they can help industry practitioners understand the latest development of governance theory and practice and thereby help them locate the best governance strategies for project management.

With the rapid growth of the construction industry in China in recent years, its impact on society and the environment is increasing, as well as the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In order to understand the CSR awareness and CSR practices of Chinese domestic construction enterprises, this study conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the CSR reports of China’s leading 100 domestic construction enterprises. The results show that the Chinese construction industry’s CSR awareness is generally poor and CRS practices mainly involve corporate governance, environmental management, occupational health and development, economic responsibility, community development, and overseas responsibility. State-owned enterprises are more concerned with community responsibility, while private enterprises pay more attention to economic and employee development. These findings not only reveal the CSR awareness and CSR practices of Chinese domestic construction enterprises but also provide practical implications for construction enterprises in other countries to integrate CSR into their corporate governance system and strengthen their CSR practices.

As a result of growing complexities in the construction industry, system dynamics modeling (SDM) has been increasingly used in construction management (CM) research to explore complicated causal relationships at the various levels of construction and management processes. Given the rapid growth of SDM applications over the past two decades, a systematic review is needed to ascertain the state of the art and further trends in the area. This paper provides the results of a systematic analysis of 103 papers from 41 selected peer-reviewed journals from 1997 to 2016. The contributions of the papers are first analyzed, structured and formulated in terms of the year of publication, software involved, the combined use with other methods, and research design. With the assistance of the a keyword co-occurrence network analysis, eight research topics involving different internal and external complexities are identified, including: (1) sustainability, (2) project planning and control, (3) performance and effectiveness, (4) strategic management, (5) site and resource management, (6) risk analysis and management, (7) knowledge management, and (8) organization and stakeholder management. The analysis results reveal the pivotal role of SDM in streamlining different complicated casual relationships at the activity, project, and industry levels across the eight topics and its significant potential in uncovering the impact of complicated contextual conditions on project planning and control, effectiveness and performance, strategic management, and sustainability at the project and industry levels. Lastly, trends and recommendations for SDM applications are provided for future CM research. This paper provides a state of the art of SDM in CM applications and insights into opportunities and useful references for the future. First published online 22 August 2019

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element-binding protein (CREB) is overexpressed and has an oncogenic role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Interleukin enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) has become research hotspot in liver cancer recently. However, it is still unclear whether and how CREB and ILF2 interact with each other. And how this interaction exerts its role in occurrence and development of liver cancer is still unclear. Here, we found that ILF2 directly bound with CREB, and this binding was essential for the malignant phenotypes of liver cancer cells. Moreover, we found that ILF2 acted as one of the upstream proteins of CREB and promoted CREB only in the protein level, whereas ILF2 expression was not regulated by CREB. Mechanistically, ILF2 bound to the pKID domain of CREB and stimulated its phosphorylation at Ser133. Taken together, our study finds a novel interaction between CREB and ILF2 in liver cancer, and this interaction might play a role in the diagnosis and remedy of liver cancer.

Table of contents 01 The eco-toxicological effects of cadmium stress on five ornamental plants Zhouli Liu, Wei Chen, Xingyuan He, Shuai Yu, Weihang Ding 02 Study on the formation and release mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide in Longtan coal mine Jianjun Liu, Yuliang Wu, Kaixiang Fan 03 Coral bleaching in the North Reef of China’s Xisha Islands in 2014 Yuanchao Li, Xinqing Zheng, Shiquan Chen, Haiqun Xie 04 Soil chemical characteristics in a Cunninghamia lanceolata stand suffering from ice-snow damage Jie Li, Zhuomin Wang, Li Xue 05 Diversity of understory vegetation was under a Cunninghamia lanceolata stand suffering from ice-snow damage Zhiyang Lie, Weilong Huang, Tongtong Zhou, Li Xue 06 The effect of water, nitrogen and harvesting time on yield and biomass allocation of Helianthus tuberosus L. Kai Gao, Tiexia Zhu 07 The vertical variation of microbial communities in the sediment of sea cucumber pond Weiteng Mao, Pei Yu, Xinfang Lv, Yunchun Li 08 Indicating significances of alpine plant functional groups to environmental change Peixi Su, Rui Shi 09 Research on the daily CH4 fluxes of soil in summer mangrove community at Yingluogang of Guangxi, China Yong Jiang, Xingbin Chen, Shichu liang 10 Beach protection structures in middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River Junfeng Xu 11 Social responsibility management of large dam project with owner as core: an empirical case in China Jiwei Zhu, Zhao Zhai, Linan Zhou, Yun Le, Li Cao 12 The ecological function value assessment analysis of urban waterfront Jiwei Zhu, Ping Lu, Zhiqian Huang, Bei Zhou 13 Mechanism of diurnal osmotic potential changes and adjustment of three Caragana species in different habitats of the Inner Mongolia Plateau Zhirong Zheng, Shihai Lv, Chaoyang Feng 14 Biodiversity of phytoplankton and environmental influences analysis of Longfeng Wetland, China Nan Song, Yan Liu, Xinxin Lu, Yawen Fan 15 The effect of human activities on culturable soil microbes from Yaoquan Mountain in Wudalianchi, China Jianfei Guan, Jihua Wang, Xueping Zhang

Being an insidious risk to construction projects, collusion has attracted extensive attention from numerous researchers around the world. However, little effort has ever been made to assess collusion, which is important and necessary for curbing collusion in construction projects. Specific to the context of China, this paper developed an artificial neural network model to assess collusion risk in construction projects. Based on a comprehensive literature review, a total of 22 specific collusive practices were identified first, and then refined by a two-round Delphi interview with 15 experienced experts. Subsequently, using the consolidated framework of collusive practices, a questionnaire was further developed and disseminated, which received 97 valid replies. The questionnaire data were then utilized to develop and validate the collusion risk assessment model with the facilitation of artificial neural network approach. The developed model was finally applied in a real-life metro project in which its reliability and applicability were both verified. Although the model was developed under the context of Chinese construction projects, its developing strategy can be applied in other countries, especially for those emerging economies that have a significant concern of collusion in their construction sectors, and thus contributing to the global body of knowledge of collusion.

The Delphi method has been used as a main research method by a growing number of researchers in the Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) field in the past two decades. Although a number of studies are available on the use of Delphi, few researchers fully examine the potential of the Delphi method in the combined use of statistical techniques, which is an inevitable trend for future Delphi research. This paper aims to review the combined use of Delphi and other quantitative methods in the CEM field based on a structured literature review of 88 relevant papers. All of the 88 papers are systematically identified from ten well-known peer-reviewed CEM journals published in the period of 1990–2012. Topic coverage, application requirements, and statistical techniques in the 88 Delphi papers are reviewed. The mix use of the Delphi method with three advanced modelling methods, such as Fuzzy sets, Analytical Hierarchy Process, and Analytical Network Process is also examined. These review results provide practical references for researchers having interests in applying Delphi method in CEM research. First published online: 21 Jan 2016

In this article, hybrid factor is proposed for hybrid magnetic bearing. The hybrid factor is defined as the ratio of the force produced by the permanent magnet and the forces produced by the permanent magnet and current in hybrid magnetic bearing. It is deduced from a certain radial hybrid magnetic bearing using its important parameters such as the current stiffness and displacement stiffness at first and then the dynamic model of magnetically suspended rotor system is established. The relationship between structural parameters and control system parameters is analyzed based on the hybrid factor. Some influencing factors of hybrid factor in hybrid magnetic bearing, such as the size of the permanent magnet, length of air gap, and area of the stator poles, are analyzed in this article. It can be concluded that larger hybrid factor can be caused by the smaller power loss according to the definition of hybrid factor mentioned above. Meanwhile, the hybrid factor has a maximum value, which is related to control system parameters such as proportional factor expect for structural parameters. Finally, the design steps of parameters of hybrid magnetic bearing can be concluded.

Retinal Müller cells are major producers of inflammatory and angiogenic cytokines which contribute to diabetic retinopathy (DR). Over-activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway has been shown to play an important pathogenic role in DR. However, the roles of Müller cell-derived Wnt/β-catenin signaling in retinal neovascularization (NV) and DR remain undefined. In the present study, mice with conditional β-catenin knockout (KO) in Müller cells were generated and subjected to oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. Wnt signaling was evaluated by measuring levels of β-catenin and expression of its target genes using immunoblotting. Retinal vascular permeability was measured using Evans blue as a tracer. Retinal NV was visualized by angiography and quantified by counting pre-retinal nuclei. Retinal pericyte loss was evaluated using retinal trypsin digestion. Electroretinography was performed to examine visual function. No abnormalities were detected in the β-catenin KO mice under normal conditions. In OIR, retinal levels of β-catenin and VEGF were significantly lower in the β-catenin KO mice than in littermate controls. The KO mice also had decreased retinal NV and vascular leakage in the OIR model. In the STZ-induced diabetic model, disruption of β-catenin in Müller cells attenuated over-expression of inflammatory cytokines and ameliorated pericyte dropout in the retina. These findings suggest that Wnt signaling activation in Müller cells contributes to retinal NV, vascular leakage and inflammation and represents a potential therapeutic target for DR.

The classical Stackelberg game is extended to boundedly rational price Stackelberg game, and the dynamic duopoly game model is described in detail. By using the theory of bifurcation of dynamical systems, the existence and stability of the equilibrium points of this model are studied. And some comparisons with Bertrand game with bounded rationality are also performed. Stable region, bifurcation diagram, The Largest Lyapunov exponent, strange attractor, and sensitive dependence on initial conditions are used to show complex dynamic behavior. The results of theoretical and numerical analysis show that the stability of the price Stackelberg duopoly game with boundedly rational players is only relevant to the speed of price adjustment of the leader and not relevant to the follower’s. This is different from the classical Cournot and Bertrand duopoly game with bounded rationality. And the speed of price adjustment of the boundedly rational leader has a destabilizing effect on this model.

Background: Pure laparoscopic donor hepatectomy (L‐DH) has seen a rise in uptake in recent years following the popularization of minimally invasive modality for major hepatobiliary surgery. Our study aimed to determine the safety and compare the perioperative outcomes of L‐DH with open donor hepatectomy (O‐DH) and laparoscopic non donor hepatectomy (L‐NDH) based on our single institution experience. Methods: Eighty of 113 laparoscopic hemi‐hepatectomies performed between 2015 and 2022 met study inclusion criteria. Of these, 11 were L‐DH. PSM in a 1:2 ratio of L‐DH versus L‐NDH and 1:1 ratio of L‐DH versus O‐DH were performed, identifying patients with similar baseline clinicopathological characteristics. Results: After 2:1 matching, the L‐DH cohort were significantly younger (P < 0.001) and had lower ASA scores (P < 0.001) than the L‐NDH cohort. L‐DH was associated with a longer median operating time (P < 0.001) and shorter median postoperative stay (P < 0.001) than L‐NDH. After 1:1 matching, there were no significant differences in baseline demographic between the L‐DH and O‐DH cohorts. L‐DH was associated with lower median blood loss (P = 0.040) and shorter length of stay compared to O‐DH (P = 0.004). There were no significant differences in recipient outcomes for both cohorts. Conclusion: L‐DH can be adopted safely by surgeons experienced in L‐NDH and ODH. It is associated with decreased blood loss and shorter length of stay compared to O‐DH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]