An Empirical Study of the Impact of the Change in Real Effective Exchange Rate on China\u27s Inflow of Foreign Direct Investment

With the development of worldwide economic and globalization, China plays an important role in international trade. Since the reform and openness and five years\u27 plan , China’s economy became the second largest in the world. During the period of economic development, Foreign Direct Investment became an important part of improving market socialism in China. In this paper, I use monthly data on foreign direct investment (FDI) in China and the index of real effective exchange rate (REER) of the Chinese RMB for the period from Jan 2008 to Nov 2017. I develop a statistical model to test the causality between FDI and REER in order to make reasonable recommendations based on the research findings from the perspective of the Chinese government

Tuning 2D perovskite–graphene layered composite for photocatalysis †

The augmentation of photocatalytic activity in layered perovskite oxides via the integration of graphene-like materials presents a promising pathway for the optimization of solar energy conversion. The electron-rich nature of graphene, coupled with its high electron conductivity, functions as an effective photosensitizer, thereby enhancing visible light harvesting. In this investigation, we have, for the first time, assembled ultrathin exfoliated Dion–Jacobson perovskite layers with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layers, resulting in a high surface area layered nanocomposite, achieved through a tailored electrostatic approach. To further refine the electron properties of the layered perovskite–reduced graphene oxide composites, we have explored the use of various lanthanides as A-site cations in the Dion–Jacobson perovskites, including LaNb2O7 (LNO), PrNb2O7 (PNO), and NdNb2O7 (NNO). The synthesized composites demonstrate exceptional performance in photocatalytic H2 production, with rGO/NNO exhibiting the highest activity, achieving a hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 835 μmol g−1 under light illumination, attributable to optimal interfacial effects. Our experimental and theoretical analyses indicate that hydrogen production is predominantly influenced by the A-site cation charge density at the materials' interface, as dictated by the charge transfer dynamics. This research potentially contributes to the comprehension and enhancement of photocatalytic processes for applications in solar energy conversion

Atypical radio pulsations from magnetar SGR 1935+2154

Magnetars are neutron stars with extremely strong magnetic fields, frequently powering high-energy activity in X-rays. Pulsed radio emission following some X-ray outbursts have been detected, albeit its physical origin is unclear. It has long been speculated that the origin of magnetars' radio signals is different from those from canonical pulsars, although convincing evidence is still lacking. Five months after magnetar SGR 1935+2154's X-ray outburst and its associated Fast Radio Burst (FRB) 20200428, a radio pulsar phase was discovered. Here we report the discovery of X-ray spectral hardening associated with the emergence of periodic radio pulsations from SGR 1935+2154 and a detailed analysis of the properties of the radio pulses. The complex radio pulse morphology, which contains both narrow-band emission and frequency drifts, has not been seen before in other magnetars, but is similar to those of repeating FRBs - even though the luminosities are many orders of magnitude different. The observations suggest that radio emission originates from the outer magnetosphere of the magnetar, and the surface heating due to the bombardment of inward-going particles from the radio emission region is responsible for the observed X-ray spectral hardening.Comment: 47 pages, 11 figure

Forecast Research on Multidimensional Influencing Factors of Global Offshore Wind Power Investment Based on Random Forest and Elastic Net

Recently, countries around the world have begun to develop low-carbon energy sources to alleviate energy shortage and cope with climate change. The offshore wind power has become a new direction for clean energy exploration. However, the accuracy of offshore wind power investment is still an urgent problem due to its complexity. Therefore, this paper investigates offshore wind power investment to improve the investment forecasting accuracy. In this study, the random forest (RF) algorithm was used to screen out the key factors influencing multi-dimensional global offshore wind power investment, and the elastic net (EN) was optimized using the ADMM algorithm and used in the global offshore wind power investment forecast model. The results show that the adoption of the random forest algorithm can effectively screen out the key influencing factors of global offshore wind power investment. Water depth, offshore distance and sweeping area have the most influence on the investment. Moreover, compared with other models, the elastic net optimized by ADMM can better reflect the changing trend of global offshore wind power investment, with smaller errors and a higher regression accuracy. The application of the RF–EN combined model can screen out effective factors from complex multi-dimensional influencing factors, and perform high-precision regression analysis, which is conducive to improving the global offshore wind power investment forecast. The conclusion obtained can set a more reasonable plan for the future construction and investment of global offshore wind power projects

Surrogate modeling and optimization for the unequal diameter radial diffuser of stratified thermal energy storage tanks

Abstract Stratified thermal energy storage (TES) tanks are widely used in thermal power plants to enhance the electric power peak load shifting capability and integrate high renewable energy shares. In this study, a data‐driven surrogate modeling and optimization study of the unequal diameter radial diffuser previously proposed by the present authors is conducted. First, based on the orthogonal experimental design, numerical experiments are performed to generate the performance database. Then, the database is used to establish the data‐driven surrogate model via the support vector machine. Subsequently, the single‐objective optimization and multiobjective optimization of an unequal diameter radial diffuser are conducted using the genetic algorithm. For the single‐objective optimization, the optimal thermocline thickness is 0.829 m when the diameter ratio of the long baffle and the tank is 0.426, the diameter ratio of the short baffle and the long baffle is 0.823, and the distance between the two baffles is 228.51 mm. For multiobjective optimization, the obtained Pareto optimal solutions are obtained. Under the premise of maintaining excellent thermal stratification, the selected Point C can reduce the steel cost by 88.1%. The research results are helpful for designing efficient and economical unequal diameter radial diffusers for TES tanks

Mutation of Glycosylation Sites in BST-2 Leads to Its Accumulation at Intracellular CD63-Positive Vesicles without Affecting Its Antiviral Activity against Multivesicular Body-Targeted HIV-1 and Hepatitis B Virus

BST-2/tetherin blocks the release of various enveloped viruses including HIV-1 with a “physical tethering” model. The detailed contribution of N-linked glycosylation to this model is controversial. Here, we confirmed that mutation of glycosylation sites exerted an effect of post-translational mis-trafficking, leading to an accumulation of BST-2 at intracellular CD63-positive vesicles. BST-2 with this phenotype potently inhibited the release of multivesicular body-targeted HIV-1 and hepatitis B virus, without affecting the co-localization of BST-2 with EEA1 and LAMP1. These results suggest that N-linked glycosylation of human BST-2 is dispensable for intracellular virion retention and imply that this recently discovered intracellular tethering function may be evolutionarily distinguished from the canonical antiviral function of BST-2 by tethering nascent virions at the cell surface