How does digital technology affect total factor productivity in manufacturing industries? Empirical evidence from China

Extensive studies have discussed the relationship between digital technology and total factor productivity (T.F.P.) in manufacturing industries, but far less attention is paid to the nonlinear relationship. Based on the panel data of China’s manufacturing industries and matching data of National Intellectual Property Public Service Network from 2000 to 2019, this article aims to explore how digital technology affects T.F.P. in manufacturing industries. The result demonstrates that a significant inverted U-shaped relationship is between digital technology and T.F.P. The threshold in high technology manufacturing industries is larger than that in low and middle technology manufacturing industries. With the progress of digital technology, the expenditure of technology and equipment upgrading is increasing. However, the marginal return of technology and equipment is decreasing, besides technology innovation. The case of China perhaps provides new insights into manufacturing industries in developing country to gain sustainable development

The volatility spillover effect of the European Union (EU) carbon financial market

Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions provided by our colleagues. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers, whose comments have helped us improve the manuscript. Funding This research is partially funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71473010), Capacity Building of Science and Technology Innovation Services (Research Category) in 2019—Beijing Basic Research Business Expenses in Beijing University of Technology (011000546320503) and (011000546320532). Data availability The Data availability come from Table A1. Data source.Peer reviewedPostprin

Investment efficiency of the new energy industry in China

This paper evaluates the investment efficiency of the new energy industry in China and investigates factors that explain variations in investment efficiency across firms and over time. Applying a four-stage semi-parametric DEA analysis framework to a sample of listed new energy firms over the period 2012-2015, we find that the overall investment efficiency of the new energy industry is relatively low, with an average total technical efficiency of 44%, pure technical efficiency of 48%, and scale efficiency of 90%. We also find that new energy firms’ investment efficiency is affected by both macroeconomic conditions and firm-specific characteristics. Our results are robust and have significant implications for policy makers and firm managers

The Impact of Green Technology Innovation on Carbon Emissions in the Context of Carbon Neutrality in China: Evidence from Spatial Spillover and Nonlinear Effect Analysis

The Paris agreement is a unified arrangement for the global response to climate change and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its long-term goal is to hold the global average temperature rise well below 2 °C. China is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 through various measures, one of which is green technology innovation (GTI). This paper aims to analyze the levels of GTI in 30 provinces in mainland China between 2001 and 2019. It uses the spatial econometric models and panel threshold models along with the slack based measure (SBM) and Global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) index to analyze the spatial spillover and nonlinear effects of GTI on regional carbon emissions. The results show that GTI achieves growth every year, but the innovation efficiency was low. China’s total carbon dioxide emissions were increasing at a marginal rate, but the carbon emission intensity was declining year by year. Carbon emissions were spatially correlated and show significant positive agglomeration characteristics. The spatial spillover of GTI plays an important role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In the underdeveloped regions in China, this emission reduction effect was even more significant

LGR5+ epithelial tumor stem-like cells generate a 3D-organoid model for ameloblastoma

Ameloblastoma (AM) is a benign but locally aggressive tumor with high recurrences. Currently, underlying pathophysiology remains elusive, and radical surgery remains the most definitive treatment with severe morbidities. We have recently reported that AM harbors a subpopulation of tumor epithelial stem-like cells (AM-EpiSCs). Herein, we explored whether LGR5+ epithelial cells in AM possess stem-like cell properties and their potential contribution to pathogenesis and recurrence of AM. We found that LGR5 and stem cell-related genes were co-expressed in a subpopulation of AM epithelial cells both in vivo and in vitro, which were enriched under 3D-spheroid culture. As compared to LGR5− counterparts, LGR5+ AM epithelial cells showed increased expression of various EMT- and stemness-related genes, and functionally, exhibited increased capacity to form 3D-spheroids and generate human tumor 3D organoids, which recapitulated the histopathologic features of distinct subtypes of solid AM, thus, contributing a useful human tumor platform for targeted therapeutic screening. Treatment with a selective BRAFV600E inhibitor, vemurafenib, unexpectedly enriched the subpopulation of LGR5+ AM-EpiSCs in tumor 3D organoids, which may have explained therapeutic resistances and recurrences. These findings suggest that LGR5+ AM-EpiSCs play a pivotal role in pathogenesis and progression of AM and targeted inhibition of both BRAF and LGR5 potentially serves a novel nonsurgical adjuvant therapeutic approach for this aggressively benign jaw tumor. © 2020, The Author(s)

Pro-angiogenic Role of Danqi Pill Through Activating Fatty Acids Oxidation Pathway Against Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Energy metabolism disorders, including a reduction in fatty acids oxidation and upregulation of glycolysis pathway, are involved in the process of CAD. Therapeutic angiogenesis has become a promising treatment for CAD. Traditional Chinese medicines, such as Danqi Pill (DQP), have been proven to be effective in treating CAD in China for many years. However, the pro-angiogenic effects of DQP based on fatty acids oxidation are still unknown and the mechanism is worthy of investigation. In this study, left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was ligated to induce the CAD models in vivo, and cardiac functions were examined using echocardiography. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were subjected to H2O2-induced oxidative stress in vitro. The effects of DQP on CAD rat models and in vitro HUVEC were detected. Our results showed that DQP had cardio-protective effects in rat model. The intensity of capillaries in the marginal area of infarction of the rat heart was increased remarkably in DQP group, and the expression of PPARα and VEGF-2 were increased. The key enzymes involved in the transportation and intake of fatty acids, including CPT1A and CD36, both increased. In H2O2-induced endothelial cells injury models, DQP also showed protective roles and promoted capillary-like tube formation. DQP up-regulated key enzymes in fatty acids oxidation in H2O2-treated HUVEC. In addition, inhibition of CPT1A compromised the pro-angiogenic effects of DQP. In conclusion, fatty acids oxidation axis PPARα-CD36-CPT1A was involved in the pro-angiogenic roles of DQP against CAD. Cardiac CPT1A may serve as a target in therapeutic angiogenesis in clinics

Dominant 100,000-year precipitation cyclicity in a late Miocene lake from northeast Tibet

East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation received by northern China over the past 800 thousand years (ky) is characterized by dominant 100-ky periodicity, mainly attributed to CO2 and Northern Hemisphere insolation–driven ice sheet forcing. We established an EASM record in the Late Miocene from lacustrine sediments in the Qaidam Basin, northern China, which appears to exhibit a dominant 100-ky periodicity similar to the EASM records during the Late Quaternary. Because evidence suggests that partial or ephemeral ice existed in the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Miocene, we attribute the 100-ky cycles to CO2 and Southern Hemisphere insolation–driven Antarctic ice sheet forcing. This indicates a >6–million year earlier onset of the dominant 100-ky Asian monsoon and, likely, glacial and CO2 cycles and may indicate dominant forcing of Northern Hemisphere climate by CO2 and Southern Hemisphere ice sheets in a warm world.This work was funded by the national key research and development program of China (2016YFE0109500), the (973) National Basic Research Program of China (grant no. 2013CB956400), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDB03020400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 41422204, 41172329, and 41290253), and the U.S. NSF (grant no. 1545859)

Apostle–Auriga: Effects of stellar feedback subgrid models on the evolution of angular momentum in disc galaxies

Utilizing the Apostle–Auriga simulations, which start from the same zoom-in initial conditions of Local Group-like systems but run with different galaxy formation subgrid models and hydrodynamic solvers, we study the impact of stellar feedback models on the evolution of angular momentum in disc galaxies. At z = 0, auriga disc galaxies tend to exhibit higher specific angular momenta compared to their cross-matched apostle counterparts. By tracing the evolution history of the Lagrangian mass tracers of the in-situ star particles in the z = 0 galaxies, we find that the specific angular momentum distributions of the gas tracers from the two simulations at the halo accretion time are relatively similar. The present-day angular momentum difference is mainly driven by the physical processes occurring inside dark matter haloes, especially galactic fountains. Due to the different subgrid implementations of stellar feedback processes, auriga galaxies contain a high fraction of gas that has gone through recycled fountain (∼65 per cent) which could acquire angular momentum through mixing with the high angular momentum circumgalactic medium (CGM). In apostle, however, the fraction of gas that has undergone the recycled fountain process is significantly lower (down to ∼20 per cent for Milky Way-sized galaxies) and the angular momentum acquisition from the CGM is marginal. As a result, the present-day auriga galaxies overall have higher specific angular momenta

Research on Investment Efficiency and Policy Recommendations for the Culture Industry of China Based on a Three-Stage DEA

The China State Council promulgated the “Culture Industry Promotion Plan” on 26 September 2009, raising the status of the culture industry to that of a strategic industry. This paper applies a three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to investigate the efficiency of investments made in the culture industry in 2011 in China. The results show that the overall efficiency of the culture industry in China is still at a relatively low level. The scale of companies in the culture industry is a key factor restricting development. The external environment has a great influence on this efficiency; the efficiency gap between the eastern, central and western areas is obvious and reflects the degree of the environmental impact on the culture industry in these regions. The western region will experience progress if the environment changes. In contrast, the central and eastern regions will see less progress. This paper proposes the following corresponding policy recommendations based on the analysis. (1) China should focus on expanding the scale of culture industry enterprises. (2) We need to accelerate the market-oriented reform of cultural institutional mechanisms. (3) We should pay attention to the efficiency gap between cultural industries in the eastern, central and western areas. We should use government power to support the development of cultural industries in the western region

Forecasting the Allocation Ratio of Carbon Emission Allowance Currency for 2020 and 2030 in China

Many countries and scholars have used various strategies to improve and optimize the allocation ratios for carbon emission allowances. This issue is more urgent for China due to the uneven development across the country. This paper proposes a new method that divides low-carbon economy development processes into two separate periods: from 2020 to 2029 and from 2030 to 2050. These two periods have unique requirements and emissions reduction potential; therefore, they must involve different allocation methods, so that reduction behaviors do not stall the development of regional low-carbon economies. During the first period, a more deterministic economic development approach for the carbon emission allowance allocation ratio should be used. During the second period, more adaptive and optimized policy guidance should be employed. We developed a low-carbon economy index evaluation system using the entropy weight method to measure information filtering levels. We conducted vector autoregressive correlation tests, consulted 60 experts for the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, and we conducted max-min standardized data processing tests. This article presents first- and second-period carbon emission allowance models in combination with a low-carbon economy index evaluation system. Finally, we forecast reasonable carbon emission allowance allocation ratios for China for the periods starting in 2020 and 2030. A good allocation ratio for the carbon emission allowance can help boost China’s economic development and help the country reach its energy conservation and emissions reduction goals