This study examines the role of news sentiments in the GCC equity markets’ connectedness. We collected news titles for the period from 22nd June 2006 until 31st December 2020 from Gulf News, which is the most widely read English newspaper in the Arab World. We filter these news titles using a carefully designed list of keywords that capture public sentiment on matters related to financial markets. Next, we classify the news titles to compute the geographically distinguished sentiment indexes that allow for a detailed analysis of the source of news sentiment spillovers to compare the impact of domestic versus regional sentiments on the equity markets of GCC countries. Our quantile regression results reveal that equity markets in the GCC are most sensitive to news sentiments when underperforming. Moreover, our results from the connectedness approach suggest that the UAE equity markets are most influenced by domestic sentiments, whilst the KSA equity market is most influenced by regional sentiments from the other GCC countries. Mixed results are found for other countries. The time-varying component of this study also shows that the influence of news spillovers intensified during the major crises events, including the COVID-19 outbreak.

Competitive balance indicates the degree of control participating teams have over a sports competition. Supporters look for excuses to justify their team’s defeat and the triumph of their rivals. If the competition has required a preliminary qualifying group stage, they will argue that the winning team was in an "easy group" from the start, and their team was unlucky to be in a "difficult group". It is therefore of interest to determine what is an "easy group" and what is a "difficult group". This is directly related to the concept of competitive balance. We have a wide range of indices to measure competitive balance. We will use the Distance to Competitive Balance, a standardized index that complies cardinality property. The perfectly unbalanced distribution is the truncated cascade, which allows the maximum value of concentration to be obtained. We focus our attention on the UEFA Champions League, before and after competition, and we measure the competitive balance of the qualifying stage groups between the 1999/2000 and 2022/2023 seasons. The composition of the UEFA Champions League groups seems to be balanced and has no influence on which team will be the champion. A highly competitive group will be more "difficult" in terms of qualifying than a highly concentrated one. Supporters say that their team was unlucky to be in a “difficult” group, but the data does not prove them right.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen, and its presence in medical environments and water bodies has attracted widespread attention. Traditional detection methods are usually time-consuming and cumbersome, so it is necessary to develop a rapid and sensitive detection technology. DNase can specifically recognize and cut DNA molecules complementary to its substrate sequence. The researchers took advantage of this property to design various DNase-based sensors for detecting the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These sensors usually use DNase as a recognition element to identify target strains by hybridizing with specific DNA sequences. When the target strain is present, DNase is activated and begins to catalyze the cleavage reaction, producing a detectable signal. This DNase-based sensor has the advantages of rapidity, high sensitivity, and high specificity. In addition, the researchers also explored combining DNase with nanomaterials, fluorescent dyes, etc. to further improve the performance of the sensor. These improvements have improved the detection ability of the sensor in complex samples, laying the foundation for practical applications. With the continuous improvement of technology, these sensors are expected to be widely used in medical, environmental monitoring and other fields, and provide more efficient and convenient solutions for bacterial detection. This study reviewed the research progress of DNase-based sensors for the rapid detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The long-term low level of residents' property income is not only detrimental to the wealth accumulation of farmers, but also aggravates the urban-rural income imbalance. This paper uses an empirical approach to explore the mechanism of digital literacy's impact on farm households' property income. The main findings of this paper are as follows: (1) Digital literacy and its sub-dimensions can significantly increase the level of farmers' property income, with the strongest contribution of digital information acquisition literacy. (2) Digital literacy has a greater boosting effect on the property income of farm households with low education level heads, low physical capital households, and villages with better economic development. (3) Digital literacy increases the property income of farm households mainly through expanding social capital and improving risk preferences. The innovation of this paper is to construct a digital literacy evaluation index system based on a micro perspective that fits the behavioral characteristics of farmers, and reveal the impact and mechanism of digital literacy and its sub-dimensions on farmers' property income. This study expands the theoretical research related to digital literacy and farmers' property income, and provides a scientific basis for the choice of strategies to enhance the digital literacy of the majority of farmers, which is important for promoting wealth accumulation of farmers and achieving common prosperity.

Nanozyme with biomimetic enzyme activity has the advantages of good catalytic performance, high stability, and is not easily affected by temperature. However, the application of tumor microenvironment (TME) in the tumor is limited due to its low catalytic activity. Herein, a multifunctional nanozyme based on CuCoP with multivalent metal ions (Cu+/Cu2+ and Co2+/ Co3+) provides an innovative strategy for constructing acid-responsive cancer therapy. CuCoP has excellent photothermal properties (photothermal conversion efficiency of 66.9%) as well as glutathione (GSH) peroxidase activity and high photo-enhanced peroxidase-like (POD) enzyme activity in weak acid TME. CuCoP can consume the overexpressed GSH, thus alleviating the antioxidant capacity of the tumor, and reduces Cu2+/ Co3+ to Cu+/ Co 2+. Subsequently, the generated Cu+/Co2+ will react with endogenous H2O2 to generate cytotoxic hydroxyl radical (•OH), which have high catalytic efficiency in weakly acidic TME. Crucially, the synergistic effect of PTT and the cascade reaction of bimetallic atoms with GSH and H2O2 can effectively reduce antioxidant capacity, inhibit tumors and trigger effective immune cell death (ICD) process, which caused a strong immune response and inhibit tumor recurrence and metastasis. As a novel bimetallic sulfide nanoenzyme triggered by TME, CuCoP has great research value in cancer therapy.

This study analyzes how the presence and the composition of nomination committees could influence innovation. Specifically, we focus on the committee size, the frequency of meetings, and the presence of independent and female members. Innovation is measured by (1) the firm’s ability to produce innovations such as new or improved products/processes and the number of patents, and (2) innovation expenditures (R&D spending and the number of scientists and experts per R&D teams). This study is drawn on firms listed on the SBF120 index, between 2002 and 2016. It provides the following results: First, the presence of nomination committees is negatively associated with the number of patent applications and the number of scientists and engineers in R&D teams. Furthermore, most of the nomination committee’s attributes (such as the presence of independent and women members) have no significant association with innovation proxies. We show, also, that large nomination committees are prone to increase innovation income (such as the R&D expenditures and the number of scientists and experts per R&D teams) as well as the number of filed patents. Turning to the committee functioning provides evidence that the frequency of meetings could reduce asymmetric information regarding innovation projects and lead to an increase of R&D expenses. This article brings practical insights to board structures issues. This study contributes to the current debate on how boards should be organized, specifically; the nomination committees. It shows that boards should pay attention to the nomination committee features as they could undermine innovation projects, specifically in innovation-sensitive industries.

The study explores online consumers’ impulse buying intentions and behaviors on live streaming platforms. Unlike traditional shopping modes, the development of real-time video streaming provides online consumers with a distinct approach to interacting with live streamers and browsing online products in real-time, potentially causing their impulse buying intentions. To understand online consumers’ impulse buying intentions and behaviors, the paper establishes the research model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model and analyses influencing factors from attitude, subject norm and perceived control aspects. Through the data analysis based on the partial least squares path modelling and variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the research results show that, three factors positively affect online consumers’ impulse buying intentions and lead to their final behaviors. Meanwhile, control variables, including gender, age, and income level, demonstrate insignificant effects across the model. Unlike existing literature, the current study displays the distinct features of live streaming platforms and discovers online consumers’ impulse buying intention based on the TPB model. The results are helpful for related scholars and departments to pay more attention to the live shopping environment and understand online consumers’ impulse buying issues.

The aim of this article is to model a negotiation between shareholders in high-technology-risk industries and local residents on the safety investments to be implemented. The methodology used is a Nash bargaining model, with a DE curve representing shareholders' dividend demands and an NS curve representing the safety demands of local residents' associations. The model is used to determine the level of safety investment required. One of the main results is that the estimation of a higher accident risk is accompanied by both a higher safety investment and a higher dividend payout. The most obvious implication of this result is that it is undoubtedly necessary to give greater weight to local residents in investment decision-making, in order to improve the well-being of all stakeholders.

The paper focuses on younger online viewers’ motivation to watch video game live streaming on live streaming platforms. Unlike existing scholars, it analyses younger online viewers’ watching motivation through a positive perspective and draws on the Play-Others-Downtime theory (P-O-D theory) and the motivation theory to establish the research model. By analysing 397 samples based on the variance-based structural equation modelling and partial least squares path modelling (SEM-PLS), the results present that younger viewers’ entertainment, social and leisure purposes positively affect their watching motivation. Control variables (i.e., gender, education background, and income level) demonstrate insignificant effects across the model. Considering the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, watching video game live streaming is essential entertainment and social activities for younger adults. Future studies should identify the positive impact of video game live streaming and guide younger viewers to participate appropriately in this activity.

This paper examines the link between informality and corruption, two interlinked phenomena that have negative impacts on economic development. The paper presents a neoclassical model simulation that illustrates how informality can drive corruption in the economy, emphasizing the incentives for corruption in an economy with informal and formal sectors. The model provides insights into the mechanisms that promote corruption and how policymakers can reduce it through formalisation. The paper reviews the existing literature on informality and corruption, highlighting the empirical evidence and theoretical models that support the relationship between the two. The research finds that countries with larger informal sectors tend to have higher levels of corruption. The study contributes to the ongoing debate on how to reduce corruption and promote formalisation, which are crucial for sustainable economic growth.

Given the rapid development of live streaming commerce in China, this study focuses on the interactivity and sociability of live streaming shopping activities and explores online consumers’ real-time interaction intentions and trust-building behaviours with online merchants. To discover the real-time interaction between online consumers and online merchants, this study builds a research model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Through the data analysis based on the partial least squares path modelling and variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the key findings state that, three factors, including attitude, subject norm, and perceived control, positively affect online consumers’ real-time interaction intentions and lead them to build trust with online merchants. Meanwhile, control variables, including gender, age, and educational background, demonstrate insignificant effects across the model. Unlike existing literature, the current study pays much attention to the interactive characteristics of live streaming shopping activities and can provide some valuable suggestions both for online consumers and online merchants, which can promote the co-development of the commercial and social aspects of live streaming platforms.

The claim that “there is no third way” besides the economic models of capitalism and communism has faced a challenge from a new and growing body of research into a “third way” economic paradigm known as democratic planning. In this paper, we explore one of these democratic planning models–Robin Hahnel and Michael Albert’s model of a participatory economy, focusing in particular on its allocation mechanism–a non-market, non-command-planning procedure known as “participatory planning.” This procedure has recently been implemented in computer programs to explore its feasibility, the encouraging results of which have been published elsewhere and which we summarize here. But I present here for the first time the detailed algorithms and related pseudocode powering all of these computer programs for others to consider, examine, and build as their own programs. I also describe future directions for this avenue of research.

Objective: The DSS was utilized to construct colitis model of mouse. The colitis mice were colonized with gut microbiota. The effects of gut microbial metabolites on colitis were studied. The mechanisms of gut microbial metabolites to improve intestinal immunity were also further explored. Methods: The male BALB/c mice were selected to construct colitis mouse model with DSS and colonized with gut microbiota. The content of short-chain fatty acids in intestinal metabolites of mice during modeling were detected with GC-MS. After the mice were sacrificed, the colon tissue was stained to observe the colitis in different groups of mice. The contents of IL-22 and IL-17 in colon tissue was determined with ELISA method. To study the mechanism of relieving colitis, qRT-PCR and western blotting were used to study the horizontal of Ffar2 gene and pSTAT3 and pAKT in colon tissue, respectively. The congenital lymphocytes were isolated and purified, and the migration ability of the congenital lymphocytes was examined by cell scratch plane migration test. Results: The colonization of the gut microbiota had significant effects on the contents of short-chain fatty acids in the intestinal metabolites of colitis mice, of which the effect on the content of acetic acid and butyric acid was more significant. The colonization of gut microbiota could effectively relieve colitis in mice and effectively promote the secretion of IL-22 in colon tissue. Studying the remission mechanism indicated that colonization of gut microbiota with colitis could effectively promote the expression of Ffar2 gene in colon tissue and increase the expression of pSTAT3 and pAKT protein. The migration ability of the lymphocyte was significantly upregulated in the model group compared with the other groups, demonstrating that DSS can effectively activate the lymphocyte; The migration of congenital lymphocyte in the experimental group was significantly alleviated than that in the model group, but it was up-regulated than that in the positive control group, and the colonic tissue of the positive control group was similar to that of the normal group. Conclusion: The short-chain fatty acids in the intestinal flora metabolites can promote the gene expression of the metabolite-sensitive receptor Ffar2. The effective combination of short-chain fatty acids and Ffar2 receptors can promote the phosphorylation of STAT3 and AKT proteins, effectively promote the secretion of IL-22 in intestinal ILC3 cells, alleviate colitis in mice, and thereby improve their intestinal immune function.

I present a theoretical model and an empirical approach for jointly estimating the effectiveness of fiscal policy and the stochastic process of sovereign interest rate shocks. The theoretical model has features relevant to small open and emerging economies. Interest rate shocks affect the ability of firms to finance payroll expenses. This theoretical feature creates a propagation mechanism for interest rate shocks and affects government spending multipliers. This paper proposes a strategy for jointly estimating government spending multipliers and the interest rate shock process parameters.

We develop a four-party model involving banks, merchants, consumers, and platform firms to explain why large shopping malls can offer interest-free installment services to consumers. Using a collaboration between an online shopping platform firm and multiple banks to issue co-branded credit cards as a natural experiment, we find that consumers’ spending on the platform fulfills the requirements for merchants and banks to choose a four-way model. This study highlights the pivotal role of platform firms in the credit card market.

This study delves into the intricate interconnections among the financial sector, macroeconomic dynamics, and the advancement of sustainable energy production in South Asia. Utilizing data from 1987 to 2022 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the research employs the Structural Vector Autoregressive (SVAR) method to analyze financial market responses. The findings reveal nuanced insights into the complex relationship between economic and environmental factors, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the region's intricate nexus between financial markets and sustainable energy initiatives. In the Economic Growth model, the negative coefficient for CO2 emissions underscores environmental concerns, indicating an inverse relationship with economic growth. Conversely, positive coefficients for non-fossil energy production, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, stock exchange value, and domestic credit emphasize their positive impact on economic growth. A positive GDP coefficient in the CO2 emission model signifies heightened carbon emissions with economic growth, while a negative coefficient for non-fossil energy production suggests potential environmental benefits. The nearly unitary positive coefficient for Gross Fixed Capital Formation highlights its significant role in driving carbon emissions. The Non-Fossil Energy Production model reveals an inverse relationship between GDP and clean energy, suggesting a potential reliance on fossil fuels during economic growth. Positive coefficients for CO2 emissions, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, stock exchange value, and domestic credit highlight factors influencing non-fossil energy production. Long-run stable coefficients affirm variable significance, while a negative error correction term suggests convergence in developing countries. These models offer nuanced insights into the intricate relationships among economic, environmental, and energy variables, guiding sustainable development policies in South Asia.

I will show that if the propensity to consume from savings satisfies appropriate conditions, the debt-GDP ratio will not grow infinitely large and fiscal collapse will not occur. Using a basic macroeconomic model, with an overlapping generations model in mind, we show the following results: 1) The budget deficit including interest payments on the government bonds equals an increase in the savings from a period to the next period. 2) If the savings in the first period is positive, we need budget deficit to maintain full employment under constant prices or inflation in the later periods. 3) Under an appropriate assumption about the propensity to consume from savings, the debt-GDP ratio converges to a finite value. It does not diverge to infinity. The larger the propensity to consume from savings, the smaller the budget deficit required to achieve full employment. The larger the propensity to consume from savings, the less likely it is that the debt-GDP ratio will become large.

Motivated by the Blackorby-Schworm (1993) observation that market outcomes may differ from those originating in market-actor optimization, this paper claims that the number of banks in the market is larger than the number justified by bank profit maximization alone or in combination with bank depositor welfare maximization. This claim is made within the context of bilateral monopoly banks and intertemporal utility maximization by bank depositors. The basic policy implication towards bank population rationalization is a minimization of the deviation away from the optimal interest rate margin at every stage of the business cycle. It is meant to be an acyclical policy though the target of optimal bank population is attainable by active countercyclical policy as well. The nature of this policy issue makes the use of macroprudential measures imperative, jointly perhaps with a fiscal-monetary policy mix. A dynamic version of the model in a Cournot environment is akin to the modeling of Minsky's hypothesis of financial fragility.

This paper provides a thorough review of the shifting landscape of economic analysis, spotlighting recent trends and predicting future paths. While traditional economic models remain key for interpreting economic activity, they are being supplemented by fresh methods and cross-disciplinary viewpoints. The increased attention to inequality studies, using advanced statistical techniques and unique data sources, underscores the growing emphasis on fairness and distribution within economic analysis. The incorporation of behavioral elements into economic models also expands our comprehension of economic decision-making and market results. Notably, the emergence of computational economics-integrating artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and machine learning into economic scrutiny-represents a major development. Often referred to as ’smart economics,’ this field employs technology to formulate, address complex economic dilemmas, and perceive economic activity in unconventional ways. Yet, the application of AI and machine learning in economics introduces new hurdles around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the transparency of model outcomes. The impact of the digital revolution on economic analysis is significant, as the advent of computational economics and the surge of big data are transforming research techniques and policy implications. Concurrently, the advent of the circular economy indicates a radical shift in our perspective on economic sustainability, carrying considerable implications for environmental policy and business tactics.  In the future, it’s anticipated that these trends will further modify the realm of economic analysis, with AI and machine learning integration, emphasis on sustainability and fairness, and the influence of big data becoming more pronounced. As these changes take place, it’s imperative for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to remain adaptable and flexible, prepared to capitalize on the opportunities and tackle the challenges these trends present.

With the development of information technology and its application in environmental governance, the role of the internet in improving energy efficiency and reducing energy-saving potential (ESP) has attracted more attention. In this study, the slack-based model (SBM) and the unexpected model, along with the entropy method, were applied to measure China's energy-saving potential and internet development. Further, we empirically analyzed the direct effect, mediating effect, threshold effect, and regional heterogeneity of the internet on ESP. Our conclusion shows that there is a significant spatial correlation between internet penetration and ESP. Internet penetration has become an important tool for reducing ESP, but this effect shows regional heterogeneity. Human capital accumulation, financial development, and industrial upgrading are important influencing mechanisms, but indirect effects are weaker than direct effects. The impact of internet penetration on ESP is non-linear, and for improving human capital accumulation, financial development, and industrial upgrading, the role of internet popularization in energy conservation is more obvious.