OWNERSHIP AND INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION CONTROL: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

This study explores the differences in pollution control performances of industrial enterprises with various ownerships in China - State owned (SOE), collectively or community owned (COE), privately owned (POE), foreign directly invested (FDI) companies as well as joint ventures. A survey was conducted of approximately 1000 industrial firms in three provinces in China, which collects the detailed firm-level information in the year of 1999. Personal interviews of enterprises managers were also conducted in these samples, and subjective information was collected. Analyses have been performed on the differences in receiving and reacting to environmental regulatory enforcement, community pressure, environmental services, and internal environmental management among different ownerships. The determinants of the industrial pollution emissions in China are identified in the econometrical analyses. The results show that FDI and COE have better environmental performances, while SOEs and the POEs in China are the worst.Environmental Economics and Policy,

The impact of environmental performance rating and disclosure: an empirical analysis of perceptions by polluting firms'managers in China

Environmental performance rating and disclosure has emerged as a substitute or complement for traditional pollution regulation, especially in developing countries. Using data from China's Green Watch program, this study extends previous research on performance rating and disclosure by considering firms'perceptions of public and market responses to their ratings. The results suggest that the Green Watch has significantly increased market and stakeholder pressures on managers to improve their firms’ environmental performance. More specifically, controlling for the characteristics of locations, firms, and individual managers, the analysis finds that firms with better ratings perceive positive impacts on market competitiveness, overall market value, and relationships with different stakeholders, while the firms with bad ratings are more likely to perceive deterioration. Among these factors, managers perceive a more active role for markets than for stakeholder relations.Markets and Market Access,Microfinance,Water and Industry,Brown Issues and Health,Green Issues

Environmental performance rating and disclosure : an empirical investigation of China's green watch program

Environmental performance rating and disclosure has emerged as an alternative or complementary approach to conventional pollution regulation, especially in developing countries. However, little systematic research has been conducted on the effectiveness of this emerging policy instrument. This paper investigates the impact of a Chinese performance rating and disclosure program, Green Watch, which has been operating for 10 years. To assess the impact of Green Watch, the authors use panel data on pollution emissions from rated and unrated firms, before and after implementation of the program. Controlling for the characteristics of firms and locations, time trend, and initial level of environmental performance, the analysis finds that firms covered by Green Watch improve their environmental performance more than non-covered firms. Bad performers improve more than good performers, and moderately non-compliant firms improve more than firms that are significantly out of compliance. The reasons for these different responses seem to be that the strengths of incentives that the disclosure program provides to the polluters at different levels of compliance are different and the abatement costs of achieving desired levels of ratings are different for different firms.Water and Industry,Brown Issues and Health,Green Issues,Pollution Management&Control,Energy Production and Transportation

Factors That Influence the Intention to Use Self-Diagnosis Apps in Vietnam

  The research is financed by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, No. 2019M661701 Abstract Background: mHealth, which stands for Mobile Health, is a new concept that has emerged in recent years to talk about a new type of e-health. In mHealth medical activities are supported by mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones and these devices assist in tracking health status, support medical treatment, and support scientific research. The devices used in mHealth are not only limited to mobile phones but also includes laptops with wireless connection and hand-held wristbands that can collect and transmit information about the surrounding environment and the health status of the user. Using smartphones apps for medical and healthcare purposes is rapidly increasing. Some benefits of mHealth are connecting doctors and patients without meeting, tracking personal health data on smartphones, and performing treatments using the mHealth apps. Methods: In this study, the factors that influence the intention to use self-diagnostic apps in Vietnam were examined. The research model was based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and The Use of Technology model (UTAUT2) as well as the Theory of Perceived Risk (TPR). Data were collected through an online questionnaire and SPSS version 20 was employed to conduct regression analysis of the data of 482 respondents. Results: The results revealed performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and social influence had a positive impact on the intention to use self-diagnostic apps. Furthermore, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and hedonic motivation had a strong impact on users’ intentions to use apps. While perceived risk had a negative effect, price value had no effect on users’ intention to use the apps. Conclusions: An examination of the factors that influence individuals’ intention to use self-diagnostic apps in Vietnam can help app developers and marketers adjust their marketing strategies to meet customers’ needs. Keywords: Diagnosis; mHealth; apps; UTAUT2; Vietnam DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/72-06 Publication date:March 31st 202

INFLUENCE OF RARE-EARTH DOPING ON THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF HIGH VOLTAGE GRADIENT ZnO VARISTORS

The influence of rare-earth doping on the electrical properties of ZnO varistors was investigated. In a lower doping region, the electrical properties were greatly improved with the increase of rare-earth contents. The highest voltage gradient value of 1968.0 V/mm was obtained with a rare-earth concentration of 0.06 mol. %. The microstructure of samples with different amounts of rare-earth oxides was examined and the notable decrease of grain size was identified as the origin for the increased voltage gradient. The doped rare-earth oxides dissolved at the grain boundaries and the excessive doping reduced the voltage across the single grain/grain boundary from 2.72 V to 0.91 V. The poor electrical properties in a higher doping region resulted from the degeneration of grain boundaries and the decrease of block density

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Suppresses Meningitic E. coli K1 Penetration across Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro and Protects Neonatal Rats against Experimental Hematogenous Meningitis

The purpose of this study was to examine prophylactic efficacy of probiotics in neonatal sepsis and meningitis caused by E. coli K1. The potential inhibitory effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) on meningitic E. coli K1 infection was examined by using (i) in vitro inhibition assays with E44 (a CSF isolate from a newborn baby with E. coli meningitis), and (ii) the neonatal rat model of E. coli sepsis and meningitis. The in vitro studies demonstrated that LGG blocked E44 adhesion, invasion, and transcytosis in a dose-dependent manner. A significant reduction in the levels of pathogen colonization, E. coli bacteremia, and meningitis was observed in the LGG-treated neonatal rats, as assessed by viable cultures, compared to the levels in the control group. In conclusion, probiotic LGG strongly suppresses meningitic E. coli pathogens in vitro and in vivo. The results support the use of probiotic strains such as LGG for prophylaxis of neonatal sepsis and meningitis

Planimetría de alta resolución del dolmen de Menga (Antequera, Málaga) mediante escaneado láser terrestre, levantamiento 3D y fotogrametría

Dielectric metasurfaces can achieve flexible beam manipulations. Herein, we study dielectric metasurfaces with different refractive indices, periods, incident angles, and cross-sectional shapes to determine the metasurface working mechanisms. Perfect transmission mainly depends on multipolar interference that can be used to control the transmission modes through the hybrid periods, hybrid cross sections, and multilayers. Perfect reflection is strongly influenced by the period of the metasurface and occurs only when the period is shorter than incident wavelength, which can be attributed to the lattice coupling. Furthermore, lattice coupling can be classified into two types with distinct properties: vertical mode and horizontal mode coupling. The vertical mode appears when the effective wavelength matches the feature size, whereas the horizontal mode only appears when the incident wavelength is close to the period. The horizontal mode is sensitive to the incident angle. The revealed functioning mechanisms enable further practical applications of metasurfaces

Beam Manipulation Mechanisms of Dielectric Metasurfaces

Dielectric metasurfaces can achieve flexible beam manipulations. Herein, we study dielectric metasurfaces with different refractive indices, periods, incident angles, and cross-sectional shapes to determine the metasurface working mechanisms. Perfect transmission mainly depends on multipolar interference that can be used to control the transmission modes through the hybrid periods, hybrid cross sections, and multilayers. Perfect reflection is strongly influenced by the period of the metasurface and occurs only when the period is shorter than incident wavelength, which can be attributed to the lattice coupling. Furthermore, lattice coupling can be classified into two types with distinct properties: vertical mode and horizontal mode coupling. The vertical mode appears when the effective wavelength matches the feature size, whereas the horizontal mode only appears when the incident wavelength is close to the period. The horizontal mode is sensitive to the incident angle. The revealed functioning mechanisms enable further practical applications of metasurfaces

Optimal Acquisition and Inventory Control for a Remanufacturing System

Optimal acquisition and inventory control can often make the difference between successful and unsuccessful remanufacturing. However, there is a greater degree of uncertainty and complexity in a remanufacturing system, which leads to a critical need for planning and control models designed to deal with this added uncertainty and complexity. In this paper, a method for optimal acquisition and inventory control of a remanufacturing system is presented. The method considers three inventories, one for returned item and the other for serviceable and recoverable items. Taking the holding cost for returns, recoverable and remanufactured products, remanufacturing cost, disposal cost, and the loss caused by backlog into account, the optimal inventory control model is established to minimize the total costs. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the proposed methods

Current Standards and Recent Advances in Biomarkers of Major Endocrine Tumors

The complexity of endocrine tumor diagnosis stems from its variable symptoms and presentation that may mimic many other disease states, or display asymptomatic properties for a prolonged amount of time. Early and accurate disease identification is needed for better patient prognosis. The key to this may be in using validated biomarkers with enhanced sensitivity and specificity. Several biomarkers are consistently used across various endocrine tumor types, possibly indicating a deeper pathophysiological mechanism behind endocrine cancer genesis and development. For example, carbohydrate antigen (CA) is measured in both pancreatic adenocarcinoma as well as ovarian cancer for diagnosis, surveillance, and risk stratification. The discovery of measuring miRNAs that are highly expressed in malignant tumors is also a novel strategy across multiple endocrine tumor types, and is propelling the future advancement of biomarker development. This review introduces currently utilized biomarkers in some of the commonly known endocrine tumors, including thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, pancreatic, and gonadal carcinoma, as well as future research directions