The Profitability Of The U.S. Food Supply Chain: Financial Indicators, Cross-Section And Time-Series Effects

This study examines the U.S. agribusiness’ profitability from 1986 to 2008. By using regression analysis, we model accounting returns as a function of diverse financial indicators. To select the explanatory variables we further decompose the DuPont equation and perform some ad hoc transformations to model return on investment (rather than return on equity). In addition, using a two-way fixed effects model, we test within sectors and time effects of returns. We compare time effects with the three most recent economic recessions

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare workers on early gastrointestinal cancer in China

ObjectiveGastrointestinal cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in China, and its early screening is largely recommended by healthcare workers. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) of healthcare workers on early gastrointestinal cancer (EGC).MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on healthcare workers who volunteered to participate from 30 hospitals in China between September and December 2022. A self-administered questionnaire including 37 questions was developed.ResultsA total of 545 completed questionnaires were finally obtained. Healthcare workers had moderate knowledge level [9.22 ± 1.80 (65.88±12.89%), total score: 14], positive attitude [21.84 ± 2.67 (91.01 ± 11.14%), total score: 24], and excellent practice level [19.07 ± 4.43 (79.47 ± 18.44%), total score: 24] on EGC. Pearson's correlation analysis suggested that knowledge score was positively correlated with attitude (r = 0.264, P < 0.001) and practice score (r = 0.140, P = 0.001), and higher attitude score was significantly correlated with higher practice score (r = 0.380, P < 0.001), which were supported and reinforced by structural equation modeling. In addition, subgroup analysis showed that knowledge scores might be influenced by sex, age, education, type of hospital, type of occupation, professional title, and years of working (all P < 0.05); attitude scores might be influenced by years of working (P < 0.05); and practice scores were statistically distinct among groups of different sex, department, and years of working (all P < 0.05).ConclusionHealthcare workers have moderate knowledge level, positive attitude, and excellent practice levels on EGC. Good knowledge and positive attitude might be correlated with excellent practice. KAP level might be influenced by sociodemographic characteristics

Research on bearing capacity of cross-type truss boom with variable cross-section of Crawler cranes

The web crossed truss boom is one of the commonly used truss boom structures of crawler cranes. However, the existing calculations fail to consider the limiting effect of the web members' bending resistance on the chord members, and cannot give full play to the load-bearing capacity of the existing structure. This paper takes the top section of the Crawler crane truss boom as the research object. The single-span truss theoretical model is established according to Timoshenko's elastic stability theory. And the theoretical critical load of the variable cross-section boom is obtained with full consideration of the limitation of the web member's bending resistance on the chord members. The finite element method simulation model is compared and verified. Compared with a large number of simulation experiments and theoretical calculations, it can be concluded that the theoretical calculations in this article are highly consistent with the simulation results, verified the assumptions that the web members' bending resistance help to improve the bending resistance of the chord members, and this will provide certain reference to the engineering designers

Genome-Wide Identification and Immune Response Analysis of Serine Protease Inhibitor Genes in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

In most insect species, a variety of serine protease inhibitors (SPIs) have been found in multiple tissues, including integument, gonad, salivary gland, and hemolymph, and are required for preventing unwanted proteolysis. These SPIs belong to different families and have distinct inhibitory mechanisms. Herein, we predicted and characterized potential SPI genes based on the genome sequences of silkworm, Bombyx mori. As a result, a total of eighty SPI genes were identified in B. mori. These SPI genes contain 10 kinds of SPI domains, including serpin, Kunitz_BPTI, Kazal, TIL, amfpi, Bowman-Birk, Antistasin, WAP, Pacifastin, and alpha-macroglobulin. Sixty-three SPIs contain single SPI domain while the others have at least two inhibitor units. Some SPIs also contain non-inhibitor domains for protein-protein interactions, including EGF, ADAM_spacer, spondin_N, reeler, TSP_1 and other modules. Microarray analysis showed that fourteen SPI genes from lineage-specific TIL family and Group F of serpin family had enriched expression in the silk gland. The roles of SPIs in resisting pathogens were investigated in silkworms when they were infected by four pathogens. Microarray and qRT-PCR experiments revealed obvious up-regulation of 8, 4, 3 and 3 SPI genes after infection with Escherichia coli, Bacillus bombysepticus, Beauveria bassiana or B. mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV), respectively. On the contrary, 4, 11, 7 and 9 SPI genes were down-regulated after infection with E. coli, B. bombysepticus, B. bassiana or BmNPV, respectively. These results suggested that these SPI genes may be involved in resistance to pathogenic microorganisms. These findings may provide valuable information for further clarifying the roles of SPIs in the development, immune defence, and efficient synthesis of silk gland protein

Bone Marrow Fibrosis at Diagnosis and during the Course of Disease Is Associated with TP53 Mutations and Adverse Prognosis in Primary Myelodysplastic Syndrome

The prognostic significance of bone marrow fibrosis (MF) grade in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is still debated and the molecular changes remain unclear. In our large cohort, a normal reticulum was found in 211 (25.9%) patients, whereas MF1, MF2 and MF3 were detected in 478 (58.7%), 90 (11.1%) and 35 (4.3%) patients at initial diagnosis, respectively. Patients with MF often correlated with some poor prognostic characteristics, including older age, anemia, unfavorable karyotype, higher BM blast and a higher IPSS-R category. For the entire cohort, the median OS was not reached, 30, 16 and 15 months for patients with MF 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. After adjusting for IPSS-R, the hazard ratio for mortality was 1.56 (95% CI, 1.18–2.06) for patients with MF1, 2.29 (95% CI, 1.61–3.27) for patients with MF2 and 2.75 (95% CI, 1.69–4.49) for patients with MF3 compared with those with MF0. The mutational landscape of 370 patients showed that TP53, U2AF1 and KMT2D mutations were more frequent in patients with MF2-3. In addition, of the 408 patients with MF0-1, 62 patients (15.1%) progressed to MF2-3 during the follow-up interval. The clinical features, mutation landscape and prognosis of patients with progressed fibrosis were similar to those of patients with MF2-3 at diagnosis. We concluded that BM fibrosis (MF1, 2 and 3) was an adverse prognosis feature in primary MDS and correlated with TP53 mutations both at the time of initial diagnosis and during the course of the disease. Therefore, BM fibrosis should be included in the revised prognostic scoring system and carefully considered in treatment selection

Optical Design for Aberration Correction of Ultra-Wide Spectral Range Echelle Spectrometer

The echelle grating spectrometer, with a wide spectral range and high-resolution spectral analysis, is one of the best tools for fine spectral measurement. Nevertheless, it suffers from excessive residual aberrations and a large overall size. In this study, the design and implementation of a novel asymmetric Czerny–Turner ultra-wide spectral range achromatic echelle spectrometer are described. The echelle spectrometer has three channels, and it uses an off-axis parabolic mirror to obtain collimated light without aberrations. Three sets of gratings and dispersive prisms with different coatings are utilized as cross-dispersion elements to acquire two-dimensional images containing spectral information. Suitable detectors are selected according to the requirements of each channel, and three sets of coaxial focusing lenses are designed separately to minimize the aberration. The results of the simulation analysis by ZEMAX indicate that in the entire operating band (200–1100 nm), the root mean square radius of the dispersion spots is ≤ 2.2 μm, all of which are located within the limited range of the size of the detector, thus ensuring that the system’s spectral resolution reaches 0.02 nm at 200 nm, 0.04 nm at 650 nm, and 0.1 nm at 1100 nm

Optical Design for Aberration Correction of Ultra-Wide Spectral Range Echelle Spectrometer

The echelle grating spectrometer, with a wide spectral range and high-resolution spectral analysis, is one of the best tools for fine spectral measurement. Nevertheless, it suffers from excessive residual aberrations and a large overall size. In this study, the design and implementation of a novel asymmetric Czerny–Turner ultra-wide spectral range achromatic echelle spectrometer are described. The echelle spectrometer has three channels, and it uses an off-axis parabolic mirror to obtain collimated light without aberrations. Three sets of gratings and dispersive prisms with different coatings are utilized as cross-dispersion elements to acquire two-dimensional images containing spectral information. Suitable detectors are selected according to the requirements of each channel, and three sets of coaxial focusing lenses are designed separately to minimize the aberration. The results of the simulation analysis by ZEMAX indicate that in the entire operating band (200–1100 nm), the root mean square radius of the dispersion spots is ≤ 2.2 μm, all of which are located within the limited range of the size of the detector, thus ensuring that the system’s spectral resolution reaches 0.02 nm at 200 nm, 0.04 nm at 650 nm, and 0.1 nm at 1100 nm