Cross-border E-commerce Risk Evaluation from Sellers’ Perspective

While the development of cross-border e-commerce is flourishing, the associated risk factors should not be underestimated. In this paper, we analyze risk in cross-border e-commerce from the external environment and platform construction to establish a cross-border e-commerce risk evaluation index system from sellers\u27 perspective. Subsequently, the weights of the indicators are calculated on account of entropy weight method, and combined with fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to construct a cross-border e-commerce risk evaluation model. The results show that the weight of platform risk is more than environmental risk, and the risk level of cross-border e-commerce from sellers\u27 perspective is low. Finally, we attempt to propose some strategies to prevent risks, hoping to provide some theoretical insights into the issue of risk prevention in cross-border e-commerce

Numerical and experimental study on non-destructive measuring method of axial load and natural frequency of rails

The purpose of this study is to investigate a simple, non-destructive method for monitoring the natural frequencies of the railway tracks subjected to the axial loads. In this study, two kinds of methods are used to obtain the relationship of the axial loads and the natural frequencies. One is the numerical method, and another one is the laboratory experimental method. For the numerical studies, two different numerical analysis methods are used, namely the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis, and the Rayleigh-Ritz method analysis. The laboratory method has two different equipment to collect signals, one is an accelerometer and the other is a microphone sensor. They both are processed by using the dynamic analysis instrument. In order to simply and comprehensively verify the practicality, we consider three simply supported beams, which can be considered as a simplified model of the railway track, with different materials and cross-sections. Through the numerical studies, the critical loads and the natural frequencies of the beams are calculated by using the two methods. The results obtained by using the finite element method show a good agreement with the results obtained by the Rayleigh-Ritz method. Through the experiments, it is proved that the laboratory methods can be used to find the natural frequencies of the beams subjected to the axial loads. The methods used in this study could be put into practical use to simulate and detect the axial load and natural frequency of the railway tracks. With further research, the methods would contribute to development of non-destructive testing methods for the railway tracks

Analysis of Pension Schemes Disclosures of UK - FTSE 100 Companies 2005-2006

This study aims to examine the level and quality of disclosures with regard to pension obligations, with particular focus on principal actuarial assumptions among the FTSE 100 companies under IFRS and UK GAAP in 2005 and 2006. The increasing risks behind the pension liabilities have highlighted the need for more informative and accurate pension disclosures. Investors need more information on pensions in order to understand the underlying risks and adjust their investment decisions accordingly. A sample of 20 of the listed FTSE 100 companies, between 2005 and 2006, was taken to explore the quality of pension disclosures. This study makes original and unique contribution by comparing the sample disclosure scores with the benchmark, Generico, to enable the quality of disclosures to be explored. The study found that there is a general improvement in both the overall levels of pension disclosures and principal actuarial assumptions disclosures, but the quality of the disclosures is still poor in comparison with Generico. This result raises questions regarding pension deficits volatility and suggests that changes in life expectancy, volatility of inflation rates, discount rates and the equity markets are still the key factors for the pension risks. Adoption of IFRS improves the quality of pension disclosures in general. This study also looks for positive correlations between the amount of text units of pension information and disclosure scores. This study further discusses issues related to the uses of language in annual reports, overseas healthcare benefits etc. Finally, some recommendations, about future presentations of corporate pension information, improvement of accounting regulations and potential appealing directions of future research, are presented

Lattice distortion inducing exciton splitting and coherent quantum beating in CsPbI3 perovskite quantum dots

Anisotropic exchange-splitting in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) results in bright-exciton fine-structure-splitting (FSS) important for quantum information processing. Direct measurement of FSS usually requires single/few QDs at liquid-helium temperatures, because of its sensitivity to QD size and shape, whereas measuring and controlling FSS at an ensemble-level seem to be impossible unless all the dots are made to be nearly the same. Here we report strong bright-exciton FSS up to 1.6 meV in solution-processed CsPbI3 perovskite QDs, manifested as quantum beats in ensemble-level transient absorption at liquid-nitrogen to room temperatures. The splitting is robust to QD size and shape heterogeneity, and increases with decreasing temperature, pointing towards a mechanism associated with orthorhombic distortion of perovskite lattice. Effective-mass-approximation calculations reveal an intrinsic "fine-structure gap" that agrees well with the observed FSS. This gap stems from an avoided crossing of bright-excitons confined in orthorhombically-distorted QDs that are bounded by the pseudocubic {100} family of planes

Study on regional stress background and prevention of the rock burst accident on October 20th, 2018 in the Longyun Coal Industry area, Shandong, China

Objective  The stability of underground chambers such as mine tunnels and transportation tunnels is closely related to the stress environment of the surrounding rock mass and the geological conditions of the area. Analyzing the relationship between deep-seated stress and factors such as the orientation and shape of underground chambers can help to proactively mitigate the risks associated with chamber excavation.   Methods  This study, set against the background of the rock burst accident on October 20th in the Longyun Coal Industry area in Shandong, reveals the current stress environment of the shallow crustal layers in western Shandong through in-situ stress measurement and monitoring work.   Results  According to the characteristics of the current ground stress field near the Longyun coal mining area, the study investigates the regional stress background that led to the rock burst accident and proposes corresponding prevention and control suggestions from the perspective of ground stress. The results indicate that the magnitude of the principal stress generally increases linearly with depth within the measurement range, with the maximum horizontal principal stress ranging from 3.48 to 20.76 MPa and a gradient of 0.0182 MPa/m with increasing depth, while the minimum horizontal principal stress ranges from 3.44 to 14.95 MPa with a gradient of 0.0130 MPa/m. The maximum horizontal principal stress azimuth in the area ranges from NE 43°to 89°, with an average azimuth of NE 75°. The tectonic action in the shallow crust is mainly horizontal, but with increasing depth, they gradually transition to vertical.   Conclusion  The triggering mechanism of the rock burst accident in the Longyun Coal Industry area on 20th October is primarily attributed to the vertical stress exceeding the horizontal principal stress, indicating a current extensional stress environment, especially when the tunnel orientation is parallel to the direction of maximum horizontal principal stress. It is suggested that the angle between the tunnel axis and the direction of maximum horizontal principal stress in the Longyun Coal Industry area should be between 60° and 90°, and that the tunnel roof can be designed as an arch-shaped roof to ensure the stability of the tunnel rock mass

Association of ATM Gene Polymorphism with PTC Metastasis in Female Patients

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene is critical in the process of recognizing and repairing DNA lesions and is related to invasion and metastasis of malignancy. The incidence rate of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has increased for several decades and is higher in females than males. In this study, we want to investigate whether ATM polymorphisms are associated with gender-specific metastasis of PTC. 358 PTC patients in Northern China, including 109 males and 249 females, were included in our study. Four ATM single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Association between genotypes and the gender-specific risk of metastasis was assessed by odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) under the unconditional logistic regression analysis. Significant associations were observed between rs189037 and metastasis of PTC in females under different models of inheritance (codominant model: OR=0.15, 95% CI 0.04–0.56, P=0.01 for GA versus GG and OR=0.08, 95% CI 0.01–0.74, P=0.03 for AA versus GG, resp.; dominant model: OR=0.49, 95% CI 0.25–0.98, P=0.04; overdominant model: OR=0.47, 95% CI 0.25–0.89, P=0.02). However, no association remained significant after Bonferroni correction. Our findings suggest a possible association between ATM rs189037 polymorphisms and metastasis in female PTCs