Search Results (4,606)

Leg-spring hysteresis, the mechanical energy dissipated within the force–length loop during ground contact, is a whole-limb, indirect indicator of stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) function. Whether international-level track-and-field and club-level multi-sport athletes differ in hysteresis responses to drop height, and whether hysteresis is associated with jump height, remains unclear. Here, 40 athletes (15 international-level, 25 club-level) performed bilateral (BLJ), dominant-leg (DOM), and non-dominant-leg (NDOM) drop jumps from 0.26 to 0.42 m. Hysteresis and jump height were computed from three-dimensional kinematics (500 Hz) and ground reaction forces. Group × drop-height interactions were significant for hysteresis in all conditions (partial eta-squared, η²p = 0.647, 0.507, 0.466; p < 0.001): international-level athletes became increasingly negative (net active energy contribution) at 0.42 m, whereas club-level athletes became positive (net dissipation). Between-group differences at 0.42 m were large (Cohen’s d = −1.73, DOM; −1.95, NDOM); jump height was also higher in international-level athletes (d = 1.14–1.77). Pooled, hysteresis was associated with jump height (coefficient of determination, R² = 0.44–0.60), although caliber differences inflate this estimate, and within-group associations were weaker. Hysteresis discriminated reactive-jumping capacity beyond jump height alone; because competitive level was confounded with sport discipline and sex, these differences should not be attributed to caliber per se. Full article

This study examines how government policy shapes the relationship between specialization strategy and business resilience in Indonesia’s cosmetic raw-materials industry. Drawing on the Resource-Based View and resilience theory, cross-sectional survey data from 189 key informants, each representing one supplier firm, were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Specialization Strategy was positively and significantly associated with Business Resilience (β = 0.271, t = 5.286, p < 0.001), and Government Policy also showed a positive direct association with Business Resilience (β = 0.240, t = 4.421, p < 0.001). The interaction between Government Policy and Specialization Strategy was negative and significant (β = −0.089, t = 4.605, p < 0.001), indicating that stronger perceived policy support attenuated, rather than reversed, the positive relationship between Specialization Strategy and Business Resilience. The findings therefore indicate a dual policy role: Government Policy was positively associated with Business Resilience overall, while higher perceived policy support reduced the marginal contribution of Specialization Strategy to resilience. The study contributes to strategic management and administrative science by integrating firm-specific capabilities with external policy conditions in an import-dependent emerging economy. The findings also suggest that industrial policy may be more effective when support instruments are differentiated, adaptive, and aligned with the strategic and operational characteristics of affected firms. Full article

Brackish water utilization provides an alternative strategy for alleviating freshwater scarcity in arid agricultural regions; however, the synergistic regulation of salinity, irrigation, and nitrogen management remains unclear. A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2025 and 2026 to investigate the effects of water–nitrogen–salinity interactions on growth, yield formation, resource use efficiency, and fruit quality of pigment pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) under arid conditions in Xinjiang, China. An L9(3³) orthogonal experimental design was adopted with three levels of brackish water salinity, irrigation amount, and nitrogen application rate. The comprehensive production performance of different management strategies was further evaluated using a combined weighting Cloud–TOPSIS approach. The results showed that water–nitrogen–salinity interactions significantly regulated pigment pepper growth, yield formation, and resource utilization, with consistent responses observed across the two experimental years. Increasing irrigation water salinity reduced leaf chlorophyll content (CHL) and nitrogen balance index (NBI), whereas flavonoid content (FLAV) exhibited an increasing trend under moderate salinity stress. Low-salinity irrigation combined with appropriate water and nitrogen inputs maintained higher photosynthetic capacity and nitrogen nutritional status. Yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) were jointly affected by salinity, irrigation, and nitrogen supply. Excessive salinity significantly reduced crop productivity, while optimized irrigation and nitrogen management alleviated salt stress effects. The T2 treatment (1 g L⁻¹ salinity, 2400 m³ ha⁻¹ irrigation, and 300 kg ha⁻¹ nitrogen application) achieved the highest yield and maintained favorable WUE and PFPN values in both years. Fruit quality responses demonstrated that moderate salinity promoted capsaicinoid accumulation, whereas excessive salinity restricted biomass production and quality improvement. Correlation analysis revealed that photosynthetic nitrogen metabolism indicators were closely associated with yield formation, while flavonoid accumulation showed stronger relationships with quality attributes. The Cloud–TOPSIS evaluation identified T2 as the optimal management strategy under the experimental conditions by balancing yield, quality, and resource use efficiency. These findings indicate that coordinated regulation of irrigation water salinity, water supply, and nitrogen input is essential for achieving efficient brackish water utilization and sustainable pigment pepper production in arid regions. Full article

Emerging industrial agglomeration drives green transformation through knowledge spillovers and economies of scale. However, its effects exhibit pronounced nonlinearity and heterogeneity, shaped by spatial externalities and development stages. This paper investigates 19 Chinese urban agglomerations over the period 2014 to 2023. Kernel density estimation based on enterprise-level Point-of-Interest (POI) data is used to characterize spatial agglomeration patterns across eight emerging sectors. A two-stage dynamic network super-efficiency SBM model decomposes Green Transition Efficiency (GTE) into resource utilization and pollution control sub-stages. An XGBoost-SHAP-GEO analytical framework, combined with partial dependence analysis, then identifies nonlinear driving mechanisms. The main findings are as follows: First, emerging industrial agglomeration intensifies and polarizes toward the eastern coast, whereas GTE displays a “high-west, low-east” pattern. This produces a significant spatial mismatch, rooted in the near-saturation of environmental carrying capacity in eastern regions, where congestion effects exceed knowledge spillover dividends. Second, geographic characteristics constitute the primary factor shaping GTE and operate through nonlinear interactions with industrial agglomeration and R&D investment. Notably, their moderation direction is reversible, suggesting that geographic endowments should be understood as “conditional assets” rather than fixed advantages. Third, nonlinear patterns across sectors are highly heterogeneous. The bio-industry is the only sector to achieve a J-shaped positive breakthrough. Information technology and new materials exhibit persistent inhibition, while related services display an extremely narrow threshold window with the deepest negative reversal. Thus, “moderate agglomeration” is a multidimensional concept that shifts dynamically with industry type and regional endowment. Fourth, driving mechanisms display stage-dependent evolution. The incubation stage relies on natural endowments and basic industrial pull, with the green bottleneck residing in resource utilization efficiency. The growth stage faces multiple tensions from coexisting positive and negative effects. The optimization stage shifts toward R&D innovation and industrial greening, marking a qualitative transformation from MAR externalities to Jacobs externalities. In addition, the non-significant linear coefficient in the 2SLS instrumental variable test is consistent with the inverted U-shaped nonlinear finding, further validating the necessity of a nonlinear analytical framework. These findings provide differentiated governance evidence for balancing industrial agglomeration with green sustainable development. Full article

Previous studies have indicated that changes in LYPLA1 expression affect the proliferation and differentiation of fetal sheep myoblasts; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined transcriptional responses to LYPLA1 overexpression and knockdown in primary myoblasts derived from one Hu sheep fetus and explored the involvement of PI3K-Akt signaling in LYPLA1-associated proliferation. RNA sequencing showed that no differentially expressed genes remained significant after false discovery rate correction following LYPLA1 knockdown, whereas LYPLA1 overexpression yielded 362 significant genes, including 219 upregulated and 143 downregulated genes. Exploratory enrichment analysis of nominally significant candidate genes implicated extracellular and immune-related functions, steroid hormone biosynthesis, PPAR signaling, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, and PI3K-Akt signaling. Pharmacological inhibition with 0.5 μM PI3K/AKT-IN-1 partially attenuated the increases in EdU-positive cells and Cyclin D1 mRNA levels associated with LYPLA1 overexpression. These findings indicate that LYPLA1 overexpression is associated with broad transcriptional changes in ovine myoblasts and suggest that PI3K-Akt signaling contributes to the associated proliferative phenotype. However, the underlying mechanism requires further validation. Full article

RNA large language models (RNA LLMs) show potential for predicting viral RNA–RNA interactions (RRIs), but their ability to transfer between viruses remains unclear. Here, we evaluated three nucleotide language models using vRIC-seq-derived RRI datasets from two members of the Coronaviridae family, SARS-CoV-2 and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV). We compared within-virus five-fold cross-validation with bidirectional cross-virus testing. DNABERT achieved within-virus AUC values of 0.9595 for PDCoV and 0.9741 for SARS-CoV-2. Under cross-virus transfer, its AUC decreased to 0.8372 when trained on PDCoV and tested on SARS-CoV-2 and to 0.8116 in the reverse direction, with corresponding F1 scores of 0.7847 and 0.7617. RNAErnie retained similar but slightly lower cross-virus discrimination, whereas the Nucleotide Transformer approached random discrimination. These results provide a two-virus proof of concept that sequence-based models can retain partially shared discriminative signals across coronavirus genera. They do not establish functional, tropism-related, or receptor-dependent transferability, and broader evaluation across additional viruses and orthogonal structural validation will be required before application to emerging-virus screening. Full article

Light exposure in urban street environments significantly shapes pedestrians’ subjective perception. While previous studies based on street view imagery (SVI) have predominantly regarded sky regions as the sole source of such exposure, glazed facades also contribute significantly through reflected light. Taking the Tianhe District of Guangzhou, China, as the study area, this research utilized luminance extraction and deep learning techniques to process SVIs and constructed an interaction regression model to analyze the channels through which light exposure affects pedestrian perception, as well as the specific role of glazed facades in this process. Key findings include: (1) elevated light exposure negatively affects overall perception, serving as a critical constraint on environmental quality; (2) under equivalent exposure conditions, glazed facades, although their overall main effect on perception remains negative, can partially buffer the perceptual burden induced by sky-dominated exposure; (3) based on these empirical channels, we propose classification and targeted renewal strategies for streets. This study proposes an integrated framework comprising “Sky/Glazed Facades—Light Exposure—Perception”, successfully incorporating reflected light from glazed facades into SVI-based luminous environment research. It reveals the differentiated channels of light exposure effects, providing guidance for both building forms and facade materials across urban blocks. Full article

Ionizing radiation (IR) damage, whether intentional, accidental, or therapeutic, reverberates throughout the body. The FDA has approved the use of palliative care and leukocyte growth factors for hematologic depletion (H-ARS), but no treatments have been approved for gastrointestinal damage (GI-ARS). Synthetic PIF (sPIF) safely replicates endogenous PIF’s preventative, reparatory, and regenerative effects. Specifically relevant for radiation-induced damage, sPIF reduces oxidative stress. Subcutaneous (SC) sPIF prevents LD100/30 mortality at 2 w post-treatment and restores GI function post-6Gy exposure (in mice). Daily SC sPIF for 14 d, starting 24 h post-LD85/40 (7.17 Gy) total-body ɣ-irradiation (TBI), increases survival 2.76-fold (14.7% (5/34) to 40.7% (24/59); p = 0.0036) by 4 w post-therapy. All sPIF-treated mice survived for the first 10 d, while only 80% survived in the sham group (p = 0.0034). The sPIF-treated group reached 50% survival at 23 di, while this figure was reached at 19 d in the sham-treated group, with a 21% delay. Importantly, sPIF delays weight loss for up to 25 d, increasing weight by ~12% above baseline and improving colon architecture; in the sham, both weight and colon recovery failed. sPIF partially prevents declines in hemoglobin and platelets, with no bleeding/sepsis observed, while WBC counts declined. sPIF’s safety and lack of deleterious drug-to-drug interaction were documented in a First-in-Human, FDA-approved clinical trial for autoimmune disease. Chronic FDA-guided toxicology/toxicokinetic studies demonstrated NOAEL and the highest safety margin. Collectively, sPIF safely and significantly increases survival, weight gain, and colon crypt scale, directly supporting its suitability for FDA-ARS animal-rule approval. Full article

This paper extends the classical Merton structural credit risk model by incorporating dynamic refinancing risk into the measurement of bank default risk. The study addresses a key limitation of traditional structural models, which treat default as a function of asset values relative to liabilities but abstract from debt maturity structure and rollover conditions. The proposed framework integrates an issuance-based refinancing ladder, a market-consistent funding curve, and firm-level balance sheet data within a liquidity-adjusted structural model featuring an endogenous default barrier and a refinancing-adjusted distance-to-default measure. Using bank-level data (1564 daily observations, 2020–2026), the results show that, although the institution remains solvent under conventional structural measures, refinancing exposure materially compresses the effective solvency buffer. Short-term refinancing exposure averages R8.1 billion and reaches approximately R19.6 billion during stress periods; the liquidity-adjusted distance to default averages 1.47 (range 0.46–2.15) and the implied probability of default averages 9.5% (range 1.6–32.2%). A Newey–West heteroskedasticity- and autocorrelation-consistent regression that controls for asset volatility and the underlying solvency ratio confirms that the refinancing ratio has a negative and highly statistically significant partial effect on distance to default (coefficient −1.95, t = −7.41, p < 0.001, N = 1564), isolating the liquidity-adjustment channel from concurrent changes in volatility and balance sheet solvency. Stress testing further reveals nonlinear amplification of default risk when funding and refinancing shocks interact. The findings indicate that bank default risk is driven not only by leverage, but also by the interaction between asset values, liability structure, and funding conditions, with implications for credit risk modelling, stress testing, and prudential risk management. Full article

The rapid expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure has increased the importance of improving the user experience alongside expanding charging availability. While previous studies have primarily examined EV adoption from technological, economic, and infrastructural perspectives, limited research has investigated how Human Factors characteristics of charging systems influence users’ continuance intention. This study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by integrating Human Factors constructs as antecedents of behavioral beliefs associated with continuance intention toward public EV charging stations in the Philippines. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 286 EV users in the National Capital Region, and the proposed model was evaluated using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Interface usability significantly influenced both attitude and perceived behavioral control, while participatory ergonomics significantly influenced subjective norm. Physical ergonomics, cognitive ergonomics, and accessibility did not significantly predict their proposed behavioral beliefs. Among the TPB constructs, perceived behavioral control and attitude significantly predicted continuance intention, whereas subjective norm was not significant. Furthermore, interface usability exhibited significant indirect effects on continuance intention through both perceived behavioral control and attitude. The findings demonstrate that Human Factors characteristics contribute selectively to the behavioral mechanisms underlying continued charging-station use, with perceived behavioral control emerging as an important pathway linking the charging experience with continuance intention. The study extends TPB by positioning Human Factors as antecedents of behavioral beliefs in a post-adoption context and highlights the importance of usable, understandable, and manageable charging interactions in supporting continued engagement with public EV charging infrastructure. Full article

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of partial loss of function (LOF) of MSTN on carcass composition and pork quality and determine whether the phenotype was influenced by the IGF2 genotype (IGF2-G3072A). Pigs (N = 44) segregating for the paternally expressed IGF2 G or A alleles were either wild-type (WT) or heterozygous (HET) for a targeted MSTN LOF allele and were harvested at 175 ± 5 days of age. Carcass composition and loin and belly quality traits were analyzed using linear models. Few significant MSTN × IGF2 genotype interactions were detected, indicating that the heterozygous MSTN phenotype was largely independent of IGF2 status. Relative to WT contemporaries, MSTN HET pigs exhibited greater dressing percentage and loin muscle area (p < 0.01) without differences in hot carcass weight or backfat depth, resulting in increased fat-free lean percentage. However, loins from HET pigs were approximately 5 L* units lighter in color (p < 0.01) and exhibited greater drip loss. Marbling scores and extractable lipid content were reduced in both loin and belly, and belly firmness decreased. The IGF2 genotype had similar muscle-deposition effects. These results indicate that partial MSTN LOF improves lean yield but introduces tradeoffs in pork quality, largely independent of IGF2 genotype. Full article

Coordinating air pollution control with carbon mitigation is a central challenge for urban sustainability. However, there is currently a lack of sufficient research on whether digital infrastructure can complement environmental regulations to enhance the synergy of pollution and carbon emission reduction (SPCER). Using the overlapping implementation of China’s Key Air Pollution Control Zones (KAPCZs) and Broadband China (BC) policies as an empirical policy setting, this study applies a partially linear Double Machine Learning framework to panel data for 282 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2023. The results show that the dual-policy pilots significantly improve urban SPCER, while a unified interaction test further provides statistical evidence of a positive synergistic effect between the two policies. Mediation analyses provide evidence consistent with Green Technological Innovation, industrial structure upgrading, and green finance development as potential transmission mechanisms. Formal cross-group tests reveal significant heterogeneity across regions and city characteristics, with larger effects in highly urbanized, low industrial development, non-old industrial base, central, and non-resource-based cities. Spatial Durbin Model estimates further indicate positive spillovers to neighboring cities. These findings demonstrate the potential value of coordinating environmental regulation with digital infrastructure and provide evidence for differentiated policy design and cross-regional collaboration in urban digital–green transitions. Full article

Green digital technologies are increasingly used to improve environmental visibility, resource efficiency, and sustainability-oriented decision-making. However, their association with sustainable business performance may depend on whether firms convert digital resources into organizational capabilities and implemented circular practices. Drawing on the Natural Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Theory, and Institutional Theory, this study examines a moderated serial mediation model in which eco-innovation and circular economy adoption sequentially mediate the relationship between green digital technologies and sustainable business performance, while institutional support moderates the relationship between eco-innovation and circular economy adoption. Survey data were collected from managers and professionals in Saudi industrial and manufacturing firms. Of the 450 questionnaires distributed, 420 were returned, and 386 usable responses remained after data-quality screening and were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 4. The results show that green digital technologies are positively associated with eco-innovation (β = 0.662, p < 0.001) and circular economy adoption (β = 0.263, p < 0.001). Eco-innovation is positively associated with circular economy adoption (β = 0.487, p < 0.001), which, in turn, is strongly associated with sustainable business performance (β = 0.726, p < 0.001). The serial indirect association through eco-innovation and circular economy adoption is significant (β = 0.234, p < 0.001). Institutional support also strengthens the eco-innovation–circular economy adoption relationship, although the interaction is comparatively modest (β = 0.118, p = 0.002). The study contributes by distinguishing eco-innovation as a resource-conversion capability from circular economy adoption as an implemented organizational practice and by identifying institutional support as a boundary condition within Saudi industrial firms. Full article

Ordinary architectural conditions interact through arrangements that static representations often detach from time and use. This study examines six selected Turkish popular films as a mediated comparative corpus of apartments, neighborhood interfaces, mobile (route-vehicle) interiors, and domestic spaces in use. Comparative visual–spatial analysis of 24 scene-clusters traces how spatial domains and boundary/connection devices organize visibility, audibility, access, movement, bodily proximity, and collective attention. We define architectures of exposure as an event-level mismatch between scene-supported expected control over sight, sound, access, or bodily distance and the interactional field enabled by a configuration. A provisional, construction-corpus-derived layered model separates four primary spatial domains from boundary/connection devices, six interactional mechanisms, four control relations, three intensifiers, and contingent outcomes. Ten clusters directly demonstrate the mismatch; three show strategic or transformative widening, six provide partial or qualified evidence, and five delimit the concept through intended permeability or retained control. Cross-case comparison shows that the same device can preserve refusal, transmit distress, enable rescue, or support solidarity, while comparable spatial mechanisms acquire different narrative and ethical significance under comic and non-comic framing. The study contributes a scene-cluster method for treating fiction film as mediated architectural evidence and a diagnostic framework for future observation, acoustic assessment, visibility analysis, and post-occupancy research. Full article

Plantations dominated by different tree species can differ in soil nutrient cycling and microbial community assembly, but corresponding bacterial and fungal patterns have not been characterized for mature plantation stands and a natural secondary forest in the Longmen Mountains of southwestern China. This study compared a natural secondary forest (SF) with four plantations, Magnolia officinalis (MO), Juglans regia (JR), Larix gmelinii (LG), and Cryptomeria japonica (CJ), in the Longmen Mountains of southwestern China, and investigated soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, bacterial and fungal community composition, co-occurrence networks, and predicted functional profiles in the 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers. The results showed that stand type was associated with total nitrogen (TN; p = 0.012), dissolved organic carbon (DOC; p < 0.001), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON; p < 0.001), and urease activity (p = 0.018), whereas pH differed between soil layers (p = 0.024) but not among stand types (p = 0.270). Relative to SF topsoil, DOC was 29.2% higher in JR and 36.1% higher in LG, while DON was 42.0% higher in JR and 51.4% higher in LG. TN and DON also showed stand type × soil layer interactions. None of the bacterial or fungal Chao1, Shannon, or Simpson indices showed significant stand type, soil layer, or interaction effects. In contrast, PERMANOVA indicated that bacterial and fungal community composition differed among the sampled stand types (p < 0.05), and fungal community composition also differed between the two soil layers (p < 0.05), whereas bacterial community composition did not. Paired partial dbRDA indicated that the integrated soil environmental gradients represented by the first three PCA axes were associated with bacterial community composition (R² = 0.083, p = 0.012), whereas the corresponding association was not significant for fungi (R² = 0.080, p = 0.371). Within the retained co-occurrence network analysis, MO had the most complex bacterial network, and JR had the most complex fungal network. PICRUSt2-predicted profiles were dominated by metabolism (38.6%–39.3%), but no bacterial KEGG Level 1 category or FUNGuild trophic-mode category showed a stand type, soil layer, or interaction effect after correction for multiple testing. These findings indicate that differences among the sampled stands were expressed more clearly in active carbon and nitrogen pools and microbial community composition than in alpha diversity or broad predicted functional profiles. Full article