Ahsan, Sinha, and Srinivasan (2020) studied the motives of knowledge-intensive Indian firms’ international expansion based on resource-based considerations and the locational advantages offered by host countries. They identified firm characteristics associated with strategic asset-seeking, opportunity-seeking, and market-seeking motives. In this replication study, we examine Ahsan et al.'s (2020) model in the Chinese context. Based on our improved empirical model, our findings reveal some similarities but more importantly some key differences in the antecedents of internationalization motives between Indian and Chinese firms. Drawing on insights from prior studies, we propose that these differences can be attributed to differences in absorptive capacity, international expansion scales and patterns, ownership type, and the home institutional contexts in which Indian and Chinese firms operate. Overall, this replication study demonstrates the importance of contextualizing international business research.

Big data has been reported widely to facilitate epidemic prevention and control in health care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, there is still a lack of practical experience in applying it to hospital prevention and control. This study is devoted to the practical experience of design and implementation as well as the preliminary results of an innovative big data-driven COVID-19 risk personnel screening management system in a hospital. Our screening system integrates data sources in four dimensions, which includes Health Quick Response (QR) code, abroad travelling history, transportation close contact personnel and key surveillance personnel. Its screening targets cover all patients, care partner and staff who come to the hospital. As of November 2021, nearly 690 000 people and 5.79 million person-time had used automated COVID-19 risk screening and monitoring. A total of 10 376 person-time (0.18%) with abnormal QR code were identified, 242 person-time with abroad travelling history were identified, 925 person-time were marked based on the data of key surveillance personnel, no transportation history personnel been reported and no COVID-19 nosocomial infection occurred in the hospital. Through the application of this system, the hospital's expenditure on manpower and material resources for epidemic prevention and control has also been significantly reduced. Collectively, this study has proved to be an effective and efficient model for the use of digital health technology in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the data from multiple sources, this system has an irreplaceable role in identifying close contacts or suspicious person, and can significantly reduce the social burden caused by COVID-19, especially the human resources and economic costs of hospital prevention and control. It may provide guidance for clinical epidemic prevention and control in hospitals, as well as for future public health emergencies.

Echinococcus shiquicus is currently limited to the Qinghai–Tibet plateau, a large mountainous region in China. Although the zoonotic potential remains unknown, progress is being made on the distribution and intermediate host range. In this study, we report E. shiquicus within Gansu and Qinghai provinces in regions located not only around the central areas but also the southeast edge of the plateau and describe their genetic relationship with previous isolates from the plateau. From 1879 plateau pikas examined, 2.39% (95% CI 1.79–3.18) were infected with E. shiquicus. The highest prevalence of 10.26% (4.06–23.58) was recorded in Makehe town, Qinghai province. Overall the prevalence was marginally higher in Qinghai (2.5%, CI 1.82–3.43) than in Gansu (2%, CI 1.02–3.89). The cox1 and nad1 genes demonstrated high and low haplotype and nucleotide diversities, respectively. The median-joining network constructed by the cox1–nad1 gene sequences demonstrated a star-like configuration with a median vector (unsampled haplotype) occupying the centre of the network. No peculiar distinction or common haplotype was observed in isolates originating from the different provinces. The presence of E. shiquicus in regions of the southeast and northeast edges of the Qinghai–Tibet plateau and high genetic variation warrants more investigation into the haplotype distribution and genetic polymorphism by exploring more informative DNA regions of the mitochondrial genome to provide epidemiologically useful insight into the population structure of E. shiquicus across the plateau and its axis.

Cysticercosis caused by the metacestode larval stage of Taenia hydatigena formerly referred to as Cysticercus tenuicollis is a disease of veterinary importance that constitutes a significant threat to livestock production worldwide, especially in endemic regions due to condemnation of visceral organs and mortality rate of infected young animals. While the genetic diversity among parasites is found to be potentially useful in many areas of research including molecular diagnostics, epidemiology and control, that of T. hydatigena across the globe remains poorly understood. In this study, analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of adult worms and larval stages of T. hydatigena isolated from dogs, sheep and a wild boar in China showed that the population structure consists of two major haplogroups with very high nucleotide substitutions involving synonymous and non-synonymous changes. Compared with other cestodes such as Echinococcus spp., the genetic variation observed between the haplogroups is sufficient for the assignment of major haplotype or genotype division as both groups showed a total of 166 point-mutation differences between the 12 mitochondrial protein-coding gene sequences. Preliminary analysis of a nuclear protein-coding gene (pepck) did not reveal any peculiar changes between both groups which suggests that these variants may only differ in their mitochondrial makeup.

The time to positivity (TTP) of blood cultures has been considered a predictor of clinical outcomes for bacteremia. This retrospective study aimed to determine the clinical value of TTP for the prognostic assessment of patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia. A total of 167 adult patients with E.coli bacteremia identified over a 22-month period in a 3500-bed university teaching hospital in China were studied. The standard cut-off TTP was 11 h in the patient cohort. The septic shock occurred in 27.9% of patients with early TTP (⩽11 h) and in 7.1% of those with a prolonged TTP (>11 h) (P = 0.003). The mortality rate was significantly higher for patients in the early than in the late group (17.7% vs. 4.0%, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that an early TTP (OR 4.50, 95% CI 1.70–11.93), intensive care unit admission (OR 8.39, 95% CI 2.01–35.14) and neutropenia (OR 4.20, 95% CI 1.55–11.40) were independently associated with septic shock. Likewise, the independent risk factors for mortality of patients were an early TTP (OR 3.80, 95% CI 1.04–12.90), intensive care unit admission (OR 6.45; 95% CI 1.14–36.53), a Pittsburgh bacteremia score ⩾2 (OR 4.34, 95% CI 1.22–15.47) and a Charlson Comorbidity Index ⩾3 (OR 11.29, 95% CI 2.81–45.39). Overall, a TTP for blood cultures within 11 h appears to be associated with worse outcomes for patients with E.coli bacteremia.

The COVID-19 outbreak is ongoing in China. Here, Boltzmann function-based analyses reveal the potential total numbers of COVID-19 deaths: 3,260 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3187–3394) in China; 110 (95% CI, 109–112) in Hubei Province; 3,174 (95% CI, 3095–3270) outside Hubei; 2,550 (95% CI, 2494–2621) in Wuhan City; and 617 (95% CI, 607–632) outside Wuhan.

Animal studies have suggested that mushroom intake can alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, the association between mushroom intake and NAFLD is unknown in humans. We aimed to investigate the association of mushroom intake with NAFLD among Chinese adults. This is a cross-sectional study of 24 236 adults (mean (standard deviation) age: 40·7 (sd 11·9) years; 11 394 men (47·0 %)). Mushroom intake was assessed via a validated FFQ. Newly diagnosed NAFLD was identified based on the results of annual health examinations, including ultrasound findings and a self-reported history of the disease. Multiple logistic models were used to examine the association between mushroom intake and NAFLD. The prevalence of newly diagnosed NAFLD was 19·0 %. Compared with those consuming mushrooms less frequently (≤1 time/week), the fully adjusted OR of newly diagnosed NAFLD were 0·95 (95 % CI 0·86, 1·05) for those consuming 2–3 times/week and 0·76 (95 % CI 0·63, 0·92) for those consuming ≥4 times/week (Pfor trend = 0·01). The inverse association was consistent in subgroups defined by age, sex and BMI. In conclusion, higher mushroom intake was significantly associated with lower prevalence of NAFLD among Chinese adults. Future research is required to understand the causal association between mushroom intake and NAFLD.

Many components in diet have regulated oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction and even balance oestrogen levels. Because these factors are closely associated with depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women, it is considered that dietary factors are able to prevent and control depressive symptoms. On the other hand, a dietary pattern that considers the correlations and synergies between foods and nutrients is expected to have a greater impact on disease risk. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether dietary patterns are associated with depressive symptoms in Chinese postmenopausal women. A cross-sectional study of 2051 postmenopausal women (mean age: 58·8 (sd 7·4) years) was conducted in Tianjin, China. Dietary consumption was assessed by a valid self-administered FFQ. Principal component analysis was used to derive three major dietary patterns: ‘healthy’, ‘sweets’ and ‘traditional Tianjin’ from eighty-eight food items. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and cut-off point of 48 indicating serious depressive symptoms. The association between quartile of dietary patterns and depressive symptoms was assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. The multivariable-adjusted OR of having depressive symptoms for increasing quartile of dietary patterns were as follows: healthy, 1·00, 0·79 (95 % CI 0·49, 1·28), 0·62 (95 % CI 0·37, 1·04) and 0·57 (95 % CI 0·33, 0·97); sweets, 1·00, 0·75 (95 % CI 0·42, 1·3), 1·08 (95 % CI 0·64, 1·81) and 1·66 (95 % CI 1·03, 2·71); and traditional Tianjin, 1·00, 1·02 (95 % CI 0·58, 1·79), 0·96 (95 % CI 0·54, 1·71) and 2·53 (95 % CI 1·58, 4·16), respectively. The present study demonstrated that a healthy dietary pattern was inversely associated with depressive symptoms. On the contrary, greater adherence to sweets and traditional Tianjin dietary patterns was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms.

Underground Nuclear Astrophysics in China (JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background in Jinping underground lab. High current accelerator with an ECR source and detectors were commissioned. JUNA plans to study directly a number of nuclear reactions important to hydrostatic stellar evolution at their relevant stellar energies. At the first period, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of 25Mg(p,γ)26 Al, 19F(p,α) 16 O, 13C(α, n) 16O and 12C(α,γ) 16O near the Gamow window. The current progress of JUNA will be given.

CrFeNiTix (x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 molar ratio) compositionally complex alloys were fabricated by vacuum arc melting to investigate the microstructure, hardness, and compressive properties. The results revealed that CrFeNiTix alloys consisted of the principal face-centered cubic (FCC) phase and body-centered cubic (BCC) solid solution, with an amount of (Ni, Ti)-rich hexagonal close-packed phase. CrFeNiTix alloys exhibited the typical dendrite. Ti0.2 and Ti0.3 alloys were composed of FCC and BCC solid solutions in the dendrite, as well as ε (Ni3Ti) and R (Ni2.67Ti1.33) phases in the inter-dendrite, simultaneously. For Ti0.4, Ti0.5, and Ti0.6 alloys, (Fe, Cr)-rich solid solution separated out and ε phase transformed into R phase gradually. Meanwhile, TEM analysis indicated that Ti0.4 alloy matrix consisted of the principal FCC phase containing (Ni, Ti)-rich intragranular nanoprecipitates. The hardness values of CrFeNiTix alloys were increased with the addition of Ti content and the high compressive strength of CrFeNiTix alloys was maintained, which was attributed to the solid solution strengthening and precipitation hardening.

To improve biped locomotion’s robustness to internal and external disturbances, this study proposes a hierarchical structure with three control levels. At the high level, a foothold sequence is generated so that the Center of Mass (CoM) trajectory tracks a planned path. The planning procedure is simplified by selecting the midpoint between two consecutive Center of Pressure (CoP) points as the feature point. At the middle level, a novel robust hybrid controller is devised to drive perturbed system states back to the nominal trajectory within finite cycles without chattering. The novelty lies in that the hybrid controller is not subject to linear CoM dynamic constraints. The hybrid controller consists of two sub-controllers: an oscillation controller and a smoothing controller. For the oscillation controller, the desired CoM height is specified as a sine-shaped function, avoiding a new attractive limit cycle. However, this controller results in the inevitable chattering because of discontinuities. A smoothing controller provides continuous properties and thus can inhibit the chattering problem, but has a smaller region of attraction compared with the oscillation controller. A hybrid controller merges the two controllers for a smooth transition. At the low level, the desired CoM motion is defined as tasks and embedded in a whole body operational space (WBOS) controller to compute the joint torques analytically. The novelty of the low-level controller lies in that within the WBOS framework, CoM motion is not subject to fixed CoM dynamics and thus can be generalized.

Identifying the relative importance of urban and non-urban land-use types for potential denitrification derived N2O at a regional scale is critical for quantifying the impacts of human activities on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission under changing environments. In this study we used a regional dataset from China including 197 soil samples and six land-use types to evaluate the main predictors (land use, heavy metals, soil pH, soil moisture, substrate availability, functional and broad microbial abundances) of potential denitrification using multivariate and pathway analysis. Our results provide empirical evidence that soils on farms have the greatest potential denitrifying ability (PDA) (10.92±6.08ng N2O-N·g–1 dry soil·min–1) followed by urban soil (6.80±5.35ng N2O-N·g–1 dry soil·min–1). Our models indicate that land use (low vs. high human activity), followed by total nitrogen (TN) and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) was the most important driver of PDA. In addition, our path analysis suggests that at least part of the impacts of land use on potential denitrification were mediated via microbial abundance, soil pH and substrates including TN, dissolved organic carbon and nitrate. This study identifies the main predictors of denitrification at a regional scale which is needed to quantify the impact of human activities on ecosystem functionality under changing conditions.

Barium-rich silicates were recently found in the lower Cambrian black shale sequence of Anhui Province, South China. The Ba silicates can be divided into Ba-poor K-feldspar, Ba-rich K-feldspar and cymrite, on the basis of occurrence and composition. The Ba-poor K-feldspar have low BaO contents (<1.00 wt.%) and occur as sporadic grains in mudstone. In contrast, the Ba-rich K-feldspar have higher BaO contents (1.36–20.51 wt.%) and occur mainly as rims around grains of Ba-poor K-feldspar in mudstone, as void fillings in dolostone, and as grains dispersed in chert. The cymrite is observed only in chert and occurs as dispersed euhedral tabular crystals. Analyses of the Ba-poor K-feldspar and Ba-rich K-feldspar provide compositions that total <100 wt.% and show non-stoichiometry characterized by (Na + K + Ba + Ca)apfu less than 1.00 and (Al + Si)apfu slightly higher than 4.00. Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy has revealed the presence of ${\rm NH}_{\rm 4}^{\rm +} $ and H2O in the Ba-rich K-feldspar, which accounts for the unusual composition of these feldspars. We suggest that the formation processes of the Ba-poor K-feldspar, Ba-rich K-feldspar and cymrite were closely associated with multi-stage hydrothermal fluids enriched in Ba and NH4, consistent with an extensional tectonic setting during the early Cambrian. The Ba-poor K-feldspars might have formed through interactions between pre-existing K-feldspars and hydrothermal fluids. The Ba-rich K-feldspars in mudstone and dolostone formed mainly by precipitation from hydrothermal fluids that infiltrated the sediments, and we suggest the Ba-rich K-feldspars and cymrite in the chert are of exhalative hydrothermal origin.