Institutional Shareholders and Firm ESG Performance: Evidence from China

It is a noteworthy phenomenon that institutional investors care more about the ESG performance of the firms in their portfolios in China. Exploring the role of institutional shareholders in firms’ ESG performance is vital for corporate sustainable growth. Using a sample of publicly listed firms from 2013 to 2020 in China, through the OLS model, order logistic model, and tobit model, we found that firms with higher institutional ownership had better ESG performance, especially in the environmental (E) aspect. The positive effect of institutional investors on ESG performance is more pronounced in SOE firms, and firms in low pollution industries. Furthermore, mechanism tests suggest that institutional shareholders can incentivize firms to engage in ESG by affecting management change and board voting

Multi-Sensor Fusion of SDGSAT-1 Thermal Infrared and Multispectral Images

Thermal infrared imagery plays an important role in a variety of fields, such as surface temperature inversion and urban heat island effect analysis, but the spatial resolution has severely restricted the potential for further applications. Data fusion is defined as data combination using multiple sensors, and fused information often has better results than when the sensors are used alone. Since multi-resolution analysis is considered an effective method of image fusion, we propose an MTF-GLP-TAM model to combine thermal infrared (30 m) and multispectral (10 m) information of SDGSAT-1. Firstly, the most relevant multispectral bands to the thermal infrared bands are found. Secondly, to obtain better performance, the high-resolution multispectral bands are histogram-matched with each thermal infrared band. Finally, the spatial details of the multispectral bands are injected into the thermal infrared bands with an MTF Gaussian filter and an additive injection model. Despite the lack of spectral overlap between thermal infrared and multispectral bands, the fused image improves the spatial resolution while maintaining the thermal infrared spectral properties as shown by subjective and objective experimental analyses

Aqueous Binder Enhanced High-Performance GeP5 Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

GeP5 is a recently reported new anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), it holds a large theoretical capacity about 2300 mAh g−1, and a high rate capability due to its bi-active components and superior conductivity. However, it undergoes a large volume change during its electrochemical alloying and de-alloying with Li, a suitable binder is necessary to stable the electrode integrity for improving cycle performance. In this work, we tried to apply aqueous binders LiPAA and NaCMC to GeP5 anode, and compared the difference in electrochemical performance between them and traditional binder PVDF. As can be seen from the test result, GeP5 can keep stable in both common organic solvents and proton solvents such as water and alcohol solvents, it meets the application requirements of aqueous binders. The electrochemistry results show that the use of LiPAA binder can significantly improve the initial Coulombic efficiency, reversible capacity, and cyclability of GeP5 anode as compared to the electrodes based on NaCMC and PVDF binders. The enhanced electrochemical performance of GeP5 electrode with LiPAA binder can be ascribed to the unique high strength long chain polymer structure of LiPAA, which also provide numerous uniform distributed carboxyl groups to form strong ester groups with active materials and copper current collector. Benefit from that, the GeP5 electrode with LiPAA can also exhibit excellent rate capability, and even at low temperature, it still shows attractive electrochemical performance

Sequencing and characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Thinopyrum obtusiflorum (DC.) Banfi, 2018 (Poaceae)

In this study, the mitochondrial genome of Thinopyrum obtusiflorum was sequenced, assembled, and annotated. The complete circular mitogenome of Th. obtusiflorum is 390,725 bp in length and the overall A + T content of mitogenome is 55.61%. It harbors 33 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 21 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), six ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and 20 simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Th. obtusiflorum is a sister to the clade including Aegilops speltoides, Triticum aestivum, and Triticum aestivum cultivar Chinese Yumai in the Triticeae

Asymmetric Behavior of Positive and Negative Electrodes in Carbon/Carbon Supercapacitors and Its Underlying Mechanism

The existing asymmetric behavior of positive and negative electrodes has been early observed experimentally in carbon/carbon supercapacitors, however, the understanding of its working mechanism is still lacking. In this paper, experiment and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were integrated to investigate this phenomenon and its underlying origins. Two different electrolytes, tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEABF₄)/propylene carbonate (PC) and lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆)/PC, were employed in the electrochemical measurements. Regardless of whether anions are smaller than cations or not, the positive electrode where anions adsorbed possesses a larger capacitance than the negative electrode. This asymmetric behavior in electrolyte LiPF₆/PC is more distinct than in TEABF₄/PC. MD simulations were carried out to render a full-length understanding that the ion motion and desolvation as well as the size of solvated ions are the main factors accounting for the asymmetric behavior. As unbalanced capacitances of two identical electrodes can impose restrictions on the operating potential window of the device and consequently its energy density, this work would shed light on asymmetric behavior of electrodes in carbon/carbon supercapacitors and have the potential to give a new strategy to balance the capacitance of two electrodes in symmetric supercapacitors

Highly Stretchable Waterproof Fiber Asymmetric Supercapacitors in an Integrated Structure

Fiber supercapacitors have attracted tremendous attention as promising power source candidates for the next generation of wearable electronics, which are flexible, stretchable, and washable. Although asymmetric fiber supercapacitors with a high energy density have been achieved, their stretchability is no more than 200%, and they still face mechanical instability and an unreliable waterproof structure. This work develops a highly integrated structure for a waterproof, highly stretchable, and asymmetric fiber-shaped supercapacitor, which is assembled by integrating a helix-shaped asymmetric fiber supercapacitor into a bifunctional polymer. The asymmetric fiber supercapacitor demonstrates a working voltage of 1.6 V, a high energy density of 2.86 mW h/cm³, has unchanged capacitance after being immersed in water for 50 h, and retains 95% of its initial capacitance after 3000 cycles of stretching–releasing at a maximum strain of 400%. The extraordinary waterproof capability, the large stretching strain, and excellent stretching stability are attributed to the highly integrated structure design, which can also simplify the assembly process of stretchable, waterproof fiber supercapacitors

Drought and its ecological risk bundle from the perspective of watershed hydrological cycle

The mechanisms underlying the impacts of climate change and vegetation dynamics on hydrological drought in humid regions are still lacking. In this study, we connected the four components of meteorology-soil-vegetation-runoff to investigate the spatio-temporal response relationship between vegetation growth and different drought types. Based on the Variable Infiltration Capacity model and the Self-organizing Map Algorithm, we proposed ecological risk bundles at the grid scale to characterize the potential impacts of different types and levels of drought on vegetation. Furthermore, we quantified the driving impact of temporal and spatial changes in vegetation coverage on the propagation of meteorological-hydrological drought. The study found that the centers of gravity for the occurrence frequencies of extreme and mild drought shifted towards regions where vegetation growth was influenced by climate change. In certain regions of the watershed, vegetation exhibits significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in its response to stress caused by different drought types. From 2004 to 2014, the stress on vegetation caused by moderate and mild meteorological droughts weakened, while soil moisture stress intensified after 2014. Simultaneously, the impacts of climate change and vegetation growth on runoff reached 48.25 % and 35.13 % respectively, and their synergistic effects triggered changes in the risk of co-concurrent return periods for hydrological drought events. Under the 100-year design return period, the co-occurrence return period of runoff shifted from its natural state of 162.9 years to 52.8 years, and the joint return period reversed its scenario, becoming shorter than the co-occurrence return period