Evolution of Financial Ecosystem from the CAS and EGT Perspective

In recent years, there is a large amount of literature that studies the theory of business ecosystem, but there is rarely literature on the financial system which plays a critical role in the good running of the enterprise. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to address the evolution of financial ecosystem from an ecological and dynamic perspective. In order to provide a better presentation of the evolutionary process, based on complex adaptive system (CAS) theory and evolutionary game theory (EGT), this paper analyzed the adaptability of financial ecosystem and built an evolutionary game model of financial ecosystem to confirm the point of the view. The results show that the evolution of financial ecosystem is a dynamic adaptive process. Under the assumption of limited rationality, the financial ecosystem gradually finds the optimal strategy through adaptive learning, and finally the evolution reaches an equilibrium stage

Bis[2-(benzyl­idene­amino)­phen­yl] disulfide

In the title mol­ecule, C26H20N2S2, the two benzene rings connected by a disulfide chain form a dihedral angle of 84.9 (1)°, and the two benzene rings in the two benzyl­idene­amino­phenyl fragments form dihedral angles of 34.4 (1) and 32.8 (1)°. The crystal structure exhibits weak inter­molecular C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds, which link the mol­ecules into chains along [101]

Oil-in-water Pickering emulsions via microfluidization with cellulose nanocrystals: 1. Formation and Stability

Oil-in-water Pickering emulsions were successfully prepared via high-energy microfluidization using cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) as interfacial stabilizers. The influence of microfluidization pressure, CNC concentration, and oil type on droplet size and emulsion stability was determined. Under optimized homogenization conditions, CNC formed and stabilized emulsions based on corn, fish, sunflower, flax, orange, and MCT oils. The droplet size decreased with increasing microfluidization pressure from 9 to 17 kpsi, but then increased slightly at 19 kpsi. The creaming stability of the emulsions increased with CNC concentration, which was mainly attributed to the decrease in droplet size (mean particle diameter \u3c 1 μm at CNC-to-oil ratios greater than 1:10) and slightly increased viscosity. The Pickering emulsions were stable to droplet coalescence, presumably due to strong electrostatic and steric repulsions between the lipid droplets carrying adsorbed nanoparticles. The Pickering emulsions had good stability over a range of environmental stresses: pH 3 to 10; NaCl ≤ 100 mM; temperature from 30 to 90 °C. Droplet flocculation was, however, observed under more acidic conditions (pH 2) and at high ionic strength (200–500 mM NaCl), owing to electrostatic screening. Our results indicate that microfluidization is an effective method for forming CNC-stabilized Pickering emulsions suitable for utilization in the food industry

Effect of straw retention and mineral fertilization on P speciation and P-transformation microorganisms in water extractable colloids of a Vertisol

Water extractable colloids (WECs) serve as crucial micro particulate components in soils, playing a vital role in the cycling and potential bioavailability of soil phosphorus (P). Yet, the underlying information regarding soil P species and P-transformation microorganisms at the microparticle scale under long-term straw retention and mineral fertilization is barely known. Here, a fixed field experiment (~13 years) in a Vertisol was performed to explore the impacts of straw retention and mineral fertilization on inorganic P, organic P and P-transformation microorganisms in bulk soils and WECs by sequential extraction procedure, P K-edge X-ray absorptions near-edge structure (XANES), 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and metagenomics analysis. In bulk soil, mineral fertilization led to increases in the levels of total P, available P, acid phosphatase (ACP), high-activity inorganic P fractions (Ca2-P, Ca8-P, Al-P, and Fe-P) and organic P (orthophosphate monoesters and orthophosphate diesters), but significantly decreased the abundances of P cycling genes including P mineralization, P-starvation response regulation, P-uptake and transport by decreasing soil pH and increasing P in bulk soil. Straw retention had no significant effects on P species and P-transformation microorganisms in bulk soils but brought increases for organic carbon, total P, available P concentrations in WECs. Furthermore, straw retention caused greater change in P cycling genes between WECs and bulk soils compared with the effect of mineral fertilization. The abundances of phoD gene and phoD-harbouring Proteobacteria in WECs increased significantly under straw retention, suggesting that the P mineralizing capacity increased. Thus, straw retention could potentially accelerate the turnover, mobility and availability of P by increasing the nutrient contents and P mineralizing capacity in microscopic colloidal scale

Effects of Physical Synergistic Enzymatic Treatment on Structural Characteristics of Highland Barley Starch

In order to study the effect of physical synergistic enzymatic treatment on the structural characteristics of highland barley starch, ultrasonic and pressure heat were combined with pullulanase to treat highland barley starch. The particle morphology, crystal structure, functional group structure and particle size of treated samples were determined. The results showed that the contents of resistant starch and amylose were increased while amylopectin was decreased. The original structure of starch granules of highland barley was seriously damaged by the modification, showing a clumped structure, rough surface, full of wrinkles, cracks and holes, and the polarized cross disappeared. It was also found that the average particles size of highland barley starch and the number of large particles increased. Meanwhile, the crystallinity of highland barley starch changed from A-type crystal to B-, C- and V-type which lead to the crystallinity increased. The modified treatment did not produce new chemical groups and chemical bonds, but changed the internal structure of barley starch rearrangement. In addition, compared to untreated, the order degree (DO) of the modified barley starch increased, and the value of DO treated with pullulanase was the largest. The modification treatment made the starch molecules into smaller particles then formed more denser and larger starch crystals

MicroRNA-483 amelioration of experimental pulmonary hypertension.

Endothelial dysfunction is critically involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and that exogenously administered microRNA may be of therapeutic benefit. Lower levels of miR-483 were found in serum from patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), particularly those with more severe disease. RNA-seq and bioinformatics analyses showed that miR-483 targets several PAH-related genes, including transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), TGF-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2), β-catenin, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Overexpression of miR-483 in ECs inhibited inflammatory and fibrogenic responses, revealed by the decreased expression of TGF-β, TGFBR2, β-catenin, CTGF, IL-1β, and ET-1. In contrast, inhibition of miR-483 increased these genes in ECs. Rats with EC-specific miR-483 overexpression exhibited ameliorated pulmonary hypertension (PH) and reduced right ventricular hypertrophy on challenge with monocrotaline (MCT) or Sugen + hypoxia. A reversal effect was observed in rats that received MCT with inhaled lentivirus overexpressing miR-483. These results indicate that PAH is associated with a reduced level of miR-483 and that miR-483 might reduce experimental PH by inhibition of multiple adverse responses

The Structural, Electronic, and Optical Properties of Ge/Si Quantum Wells: Lasing at a Wavelength of 1550 nm

The realization of a fully integrated group IV electrically driven laser at room temperature is an essential issue to be solved. We introduced a novel group IV side-emitting laser at a wavelength of 1550 nm based on a 3-layer Ge/Si quantum well (QW). By designing this scheme, we showed that the structural, electronic, and optical properties are excited for lasing at 1550 nm. The preliminary results show that the device can produce a good light spot shape convenient for direct coupling with the waveguide and single-mode light emission. The laser luminous power can reach up to 2.32 mW at a wavelength of 1550 nm with a 300-mA current. Moreover, at room temperature (300 K), the laser can maintain maximum light power and an ideal wavelength (1550 nm). Thus, this study provides a novel approach to reliable, efficient electrically pumped silicon-based lasers

Ligand-assisted cation-exchange engineering for high-efficiency colloidal Cs1−xFAxPbI3 quantum dot solar cells with reduced phase segregation

The mixed caesium and formamidinium lead triiodide perovskite system (Cs1−xFAxPbI3) in the form of quantum dots (QDs) offers a pathway towards stable perovskite-based photovoltaics and optoelectronics. However, it remains challenging to synthesize such multinary QDs with desirable properties for high-performance QD solar cells (QDSCs). Here we report an effective oleic acid (OA) ligand-assisted cation-exchange strategy that allows controllable synthesis of Cs1−xFAxPbI3 QDs across the whole composition range (x = 0–1), which is inaccessible in large-grain polycrystalline thin films. In an OA-rich environment, the cross-exchange of cations is facilitated, enabling rapid formation of Cs1−xFAxPbI3 QDs with reduced defect density. The hero Cs0.5FA0.5PbI3 QDSC achieves a certified record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.6% with negligible hysteresis. We further demonstrate that the QD devices exhibit substantially enhanced photostability compared with their thin-film counterparts because of suppressed phase segregation, and they retain 94% of the original PCE under continuous 1-sun illumination for 600 h