How Does Foreign Equity Right Impact Manufacturing Enterprise Innovation Behaviors? Mediation Test Based on Technology Introduction

The impacts of FDI (foreign direct investment) on the innovation of Chinese local enterprises have always been the focus of attention, but few studies have explored the impacts of foreign shareholding on enterprise innovation behaviors through the micro level. Based on the survey data regarding the manufacturing sector of China enterprises conducted by the World Bank in 2012, this paper conducts an empirical study on the relationship between foreign shareholding and enterprise innovation behaviors. The research findings include two aspects; that is, (1) foreign shareholding has significantly positive impacts on enterprise innovation behaviors; (2) technology introduction plays a complete mediating effect in foreign shareholding and enterprise innovation behaviors. On the basis of considering sample selective bias and endogenous problems, the propensity score matching (PSM) method is further applied to evaluate the impacts of foreign shareholding on enterprise innovation behaviors. After putting the endogenous problems and sample selective bias under control, the above conclusions are still robust. Thus, under the current complicated international situation, enterprises should be encouraged to attract foreign investment under moderate control, with a view to accelerating the promotion of enterprise innovation activities through the technology introduction brought about by foreign shareholding

Study on static softening behavior and hot working performance of Fe-0.2C-7Mn steel

Static softening behavior and hot working performance of medium Mn steel (Fe-0.2C-7Mn) are studied by 2-step and interrupt hot compression test with a Gleeble-3500 thermal-mechanical simulator. The results show that static softening behavior of the steel exhibits obvious sensitivity to the deformation temperature, inter-pass time and strain rate. But deformation temperature has a more significant effect on the static recrystallization (SRX) grain size than strain rate. 3D hot working processing maps are established, that low temperature and medium strain rate (850 °C ∼ 925 °C and 0.02 s ^−1  ∼ 0.3 s ^−1 ) are the preferred thermal deformation conditions for the test steel. Microstructure observations indicate that both static recovery (SRV) and SRX occur within inter-pass time, and SRV is the predominant mechanism in determining softening fraction. The microstructure is composed of film-like α at room temperature, and most of the nucleation of SRX preferably take place at triple junctions of grains or prior grain boundaries. Besides, high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) migration produce twin boundaries during grain growth and the main nucleation mechanism of the SRX is strain-induced boundary migration. The kinetics model of static softening is established and the experimental values are consistent with predicted ones, which proves the reliability of the model

CRISPR/Cas9-Derived Mutations Both Inhibit HIV-1 Replication and Accelerate Viral Escape

Cas9 cleaves specific DNA sequences with the assistance of a programmable single guide RNA (sgRNA). Repairing this broken DNA by the cell’s error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) machinery leads to insertions and deletions (indels) that often impair DNA function. Using HIV-1, we have now demonstrated that many of these indels are indeed lethal for the virus, but that others lead to the emergence of replication competent viruses that are resistant to Cas9/sgRNA. This unexpected contribution of Cas9 to the development of viral resistance is facilitated by some indels that are not deleterious for viral replication, but that are refractory to recognition by the same sgRNA as a result of changing the target DNA sequences. This observation illustrates two opposite outcomes of Cas9/sgRNA action, i.e., inactivation of HIV-1 and acceleration of viral escape, thereby potentially limiting the use of Cas9/sgRNA in HIV-1 therapy

Synthesis of phosphatidylcholine in rats with oleic acid-induced pulmonary edema and effect of exogenous pulmonary surfactant on its <i>De Novo</i> synthesis

<div><p>In mammals, oleic acid (OA) induces pulmonary edema (PE), which can initiate acute lung injury (ALI) and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Pulmonary surfactant (PS) plays a key role in a broad range of treatments for ARDS. The aim of the present investigation was to assess changes in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) from choline and determine the effect of exogenous PS on its <i>de novo</i> synthesis in rats with OA-induced PE. Experimental rats were randomized into three groups, including a control group, OA-induced PE group, and OA-induced group treated with exogenous PS (OA-PS). Twenty-four rats were sacrificed 4 h after induction of the OA model, and tissue was examined by light and electron microscopy to assess the severity of ALI using an established scoring system at the end of the experiment. After 15 μCi ³H-choline chloride was injected intravenously, eight rats in each group were sacrificed at 4, 8, and 16 h. The radioactivity of ³H incorporated into total phospholipid (TPL) and desaturated phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) was measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue (LT) using a liquid scintillation counter and was expressed as counts per minute (CPM). Results showed that TPL, DSPC, and the ratio of DSPC/total protein (TP) in lung tissue decreased 4 h after challenge with OA, but the levels recovered after 8 and 16 h. At 8 h after injection, ³H-TPL and ³H-DSPC radioactivity in the lungs reached its peak. Importantly, ³H-DSPC CPM were significantly lower in the PS treatment group (LT: Control: 62327 ± 9108; OA-PE: 97315 ± 10083; OA-PS: 45127 ± 10034, <i>P</i> < 0.05; BALF: Control: 7771 ± 1768; OA-PE: 8097 ± 1799; OA-PE: 3651 ± 1027, <i>P</i> < 0.05). Furthermore, DSPC secretory rate (SR) in the lungs was significantly lower in the PS treatment group at 4 h after injection (Control: 0.014 ± 0.003; OA-PE: 0.011 ± 0.004; OA-PS: 0.023 ± 0.006, <i>P</i> < 0.05). Therefore, we hypothesize that exogenous PS treatments may adversely affect endogenous <i>de novo</i> synthetic and secretory phospholipid pathways via feedback inhibition. This novel finding reveals the specific involvement of exogenous PS in endogenous synthetic and secretory phospholipid pathways during the treatment of ARDS. This information improves our understanding of how PS treatment is beneficial against ARDS and opens new opportunities for expanding its use.</p></div

Electron microscopy observations of pulmonary surfactant layer (PSL) and vascular endothelial cells.

<p>A and D: Normal control group, B and E: OA-PE group, C and F: OA-PS treatment group. A, B, C: PSL; D, E, F: vascular endothelial cells.</p

Changes in ³H-TPL and ³H-DSPC levels in LT and BALF.

<p>A: Changes in ³H-TPL and ³H-DSPC levels in LT. B: Changes in ³H-TPL and ³H-DSPC levels in BALF. C: Changes in TPL SR and DSPC SR.</p

Combining UAV-Based Vegetation Indices and Image Classification to Estimate Flower Number in Oilseed Rape

Remote estimation of flower number in oilseed rape under different nitrogen (N) treatments is imperative in precision agriculture and field remote sensing, which can help to predict the yield of oilseed rape. In this study, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with Red Green Blue (RGB) and multispectral cameras was used to acquire a series of field images at the flowering stage, and the flower number was manually counted as a reference. Images of the rape field were first classified using K-means method based on Commission Internationale de l&rsquo;&Eacute;clairage (CIE) L*a*b* space, and the result showed that classified flower coverage area (FCA) possessed a high correlation with the flower number (r2 = 0.89). The relationships between ten commonly used vegetation indices (VIs) extracted from UAV-based RGB and multispectral images and the flower number were investigated, and the VIs of Normalized Green Red Difference Index (NGRDI), Red Green Ratio Index (RGRI) and Modified Green Red Vegetation Index (MGRVI) exhibited the highest correlation to the flower number with the absolute correlation coefficient (r) of 0.91. Random forest (RF) model was developed to predict the flower number, and a good performance was achieved with all UAV variables (r2 = 0.93 and RMSEP = 16.18), while the optimal subset regression (OSR) model was further proposed to simplify the RF model, and a better result with r2 = 0.95 and RMSEP = 14.13 was obtained with the variable combination of RGRI, normalized difference spectral index (NDSI (944, 758)) and FCA. Our findings suggest that combining VIs and image classification from UAV-based RGB and multispectral images possesses the potential of estimating flower number in oilseed rape

Alveolar structure and schematic design of isotope tracing.

<p>³H-labeled methyl chloride choline is involved in surfactant phospholipid synthesis of alveolar type II cells. The level of ³H in phospholipids was monitored to detect the amount originating from endogenous phospholipid synthesis. The radioactivity of TPL and DSPC in BALF and LT indicates the total content of ³H-labeled choline chloride incorporated into TPL and DSPC, which reflects the newly synthesized TPL and DSPC and the body’s ability to synthesize PC. The secretory rate of TPL was expressed as the ratio of radioactivity in BALF and the whole lung (BALF+LT). The secretory rates of TPL and DSPC indicate the ability of alveolar type II epithelial cells to secrete PC into the alveolar space.</p

Changes in TPL and DSPC in lung tissue.

<p>Changes in TPL and DSPC in lung tissue.</p