This study focuses on the impact of trade in environmental goods (green trade) on the environment. We found that green trade can decrease pollution levels by exploiting a panel of 277 Chinese cities from 2004 to 2013 and using the instrumental variable (IV) strategy. However, total trade openness is far less favorable to the environment. We also found that both green imports and exports are conducive to the Chinese environment, while ordinary green trade performs better than green processing trade. Nevertheless, the effects of green trade are restricted by a city's purchasing power and absorptive capacity, as well as the classifications of environmental goods. Furthermore, green trade mainly promotes local green technological progress to benefit the environment.

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer-related mortality. Metastasis is a process through which cancer spreads from its initial location to other sections of the body. Cancer cells' epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), anoikis resistance, cell migration, and angiogenesis are all well-known steps in this process. Investigating the molecular processes that govern cancer metastatic progression may lead to more effective diagnostic and treatment strategies. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently discovered to have a vital more than 200 nucleotides. A rising body of research indicates that lncRNAs have a role in a wide range of biological processes and diseases, including cancer. The usage of LncRNA in cancer metastasis has been widely researched. However, according to current studies, lncRNA is mostly associated with the EMT process. This review focuses on the processes behind lncRNA involvement in cancer metastasis.

The study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on African exchange rates, employing a panel dataset over the period 2016-2022 from 13 African economies and employing pooled OLS estimator. The findings reveal a noteworthy positive correlation between COVID-19 levels and exchange rates within the region. However, this association necessitates deeper exploration due to its multifaceted implications, including economic disruptions, government interventions, global market interconnections, regional stability perceptions, and investor behavior. Economic indicators, such as GDP, inflation rate, real interest rate, and unemployment rate, significantly influence exchange rates. While GDP positively impacts exchange rates through economic growth, investor confidence, and trade strength, controlled inflation fosters investor confidence and export competitiveness, positively affecting exchange rates. Moreover, a pronounced positive impact of the real interest rate indicates economic stability, attracting investment and contributing to currency appreciation. Conversely, high unemployment negatively affects exchange rates, signaling economic weaknesses and eroding investor confidence. These findings emphasize nuanced policy responses for managing health crisis-induced economic disruptions and suggest future research directions focusing on specific country-level analyses and multifaceted factors influencing currency valuations within African economies.

Cardiovascular disease is still a disease with high incidence rate and mortality. Although advanced technology continues to increase our understanding of cardiovascular disease, its diagnosis and treatment still have limitations. As an emerging interdisciplinary method, nanotechnology has shown enormous clinical application potential. Nanomaterials have unique physical and chemical properties, which help to improve the sensitivity and specificity of biosensor technology and molecular imaging technology in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. This paper first summarizes the versatility of nanomaterials, the physicochemical adjustability of biomolecular engineering, the design strategy of nanoparticles in cardio cerebral Vascular disease, the application of nanomaterials in the diagnosis and treatment of common cardiovascular diseases, and the use of nanomaterials can significantly improve the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and therapeutic effect. Subsequently, the article summarized various nanomaterials. Finally, the article demonstrated the potential of the antioxidant/anti-inflammatory and photoelectric/photothermal properties of nanomaterials to be directly applied to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

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.

Cancer, a pervasive threat to human health, presents formidable challenges to traditional treatment approaches. Tumor immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for combating malignancies by bolstering the body's immune response to thwart tumor metastasis and recurrence. Nonetheless, the intricacies of tumors, patient heterogeneity, and the presence of tumor-immunosuppressive microenvironments have limited the overall efficacy of immunotherapy, achieving only approximately a 20% success rate. In recent years, nanomaterials have garnered increasing attention in the realm of tumor immunotherapy due to their inherent advantages, such as excellent biocompatibility, precise targeting, and controlled drug release. Nanomaterials empower immunostimulatory molecules and therapeutic agents with the ability to specifically target tumors, amplify drug accumulation at tumor sites, facilitate local immune modulation, alleviate immunosuppressive microenvironments, and thereby enhance the effectiveness of tumor immunotherapy. This review provides an overview of the current state of immunotherapy and offers insights into the ongoing research progress surrounding various nanomaterials aimed at augmenting the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Historically, increased credit union competition in Idaho and Montana has caused commercial banks to offer higher deposit rates to savers and lower loan rates to borrowers. Data are collected for the second quarter of 2018 to examine whether that pattern still holds true. Unlike prior studies, empirical results indicate that credit union competition no longer exerts statistically reliable impacts on deposit rates or loan rates in this northern Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Potential contributing factors include bank and thrift consolidation in recent years, the low interest rate environment prevailing during the late 2010s, and greater emphasis on non-interest forms of intermediary competition in the banking markets that comprise this regional economy.

The very nature of work, labor market composition, and skill requirements are severely affected by technology-driven transformations currently underway with the 4^th industrial revolution (4IR). The effect of 4IR technologies on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and the contribution of TVET to the labor market is explicit. The paper presents the findings of a study that investigated whether TVET institutions are prepared to face the challenges of 4IR. The data for the study were collected by surveying 428 teachers from 15 countries in Asia and the Pacific engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the tertiary level. The findings of our study undoubtedly bring greater attention to the initiatives of TVET in these countries in preparing the workforce for job roles necessitated in the 4IR. The findings can also be used to frame policy recommendations for the growth of economies.

Despite the status of the United States as one of the world’s economic superpowers, the country is plagued by child poverty. The issue of child poverty is most prominent in rural, majority-minority communities, where years of limited opportunity, often created by systematic oppression, have created a vicious cycle of economic despair. There are a number of policies that have been explored which could limit the effects of child poverty, most notably the Expanded Child Tax Credit (ECTC), which was introduced as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. This paper uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to thoroughly examine this policy (ECTC) and its potential to both cut child poverty in the short term and increase educational attainment and economic mobility in the long term for recipients. The ECTC program ended in 2022 and only lasted in a short period. By examining the impacts of a similar and long-standing but less accessible and generous program, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), on educational attainment in specific communities we can theorize and determine the significance the Expanded CTC would have. We use EITC program as a proxy of ECTC and reach inference of the long-term impact of ECTC program on children’s education attainment. The result of this research indicates a number of benefits of the Expanded Child Tax Credit, including its potential to cut child poverty and increase educational attainment, its impact on future economic prosperity in rural, majority-minority communities, and the policy’s ability to decrease economic disparities between non-metro and metropolitan areas.

Approximately 28 million individuals in the United States face the risk of developing precancerous colonic adenomas (polyps) and potentially progressing to colorectal cancer (CRC). While a promising strategy for CRC prevention involves pharmacological intervention, such as cancer chemoprevention or interception, currently, there are no FDA-approved drugs capable of preventing the formation or progression of adenomas to adenocarcinoma. Numerous clinical, epidemiological, and preclinical studies have offered compelling evidence supporting the efficacy of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in CRC chemoprevention. However, the prolonged use of NSAIDs is not FDA-approved due to potential life-threatening toxicities resulting from cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition and the depletion of physiological prostaglandins. Despite indications that the COX inhibitory activity of NSAIDs may not be essential for their antineoplastic effects, the absence of a well-defined target impeded the development of derivatives that do not inhibit COX. Earlier research suggests that the inhibition of cyclic guanosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase (cGMP PDE) may be responsible, at least in part, for the antineoplastic activity of the NSAID sulindac. This could potentially offer a novel target for CRC chemoprevention. To identify the cGMP PDE isozyme(s) contributing to the antineoplastic activity of sulindac, we synthesized a chemically diverse library of over 1500 compounds, all sharing the indene scaffold of sulindac. Subsequently, we screened these compounds for their impact on cancer cell growth and PDE inhibitory activity. From this screening, a series of lead compounds emerged. These compounds lacked COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory activity, surpassing sulindac in potency to inhibit CRC cell growth. Importantly, they demonstrated greater selectivity by not affecting normal cell growth. Through chemical optimization, we identified several development candidates that selectively inhibit PDE5 and/or PDE10. These compounds activate cGMP/PKG signaling, suppressing Wnt/β-catenin transcription. This action counters the growth advantages resulting from APC or CTNNB1 mutations, which are responsible for most human CRCs. This review delves into the scientific literature supporting PDE5 and/or PDE10 as potential targets for CRC chemoprevention or interception. Our findings suggest a promising avenue for developing drugs that may effectively intervene in the progression of colorectal cancer, offering hope for improved preventive strategies in the future.

This paper specifically underscores the disparities among various ESG rating systems in China, highlighting their varied interpretations and emphasis on corporate financial factors. Analyzing data on Chinese listed firms from 2009-2022, we observe that while company size and leverage ratio uniformly correlate with ESG scores across rating agencies such as Bloomberg, Huazheng, Wind, and Hexun, the influence of factors like return on assets, cash flow, company age, and Tobin's Q is markedly inconsistent among these agencies. For instance, while operational cash flow and company age are positively associated with ESG ratings from Bloomberg, Huazheng, and Wind, they hold an inverse relationship with Hexun's ratings. This divergence underscores the unique data collection, weighting, and evaluation methodologies employed by each rating system. The study emphasizes the criticality of comprehending the nuances of each rating agency's approach when interpreting ESG scores and crafting ESG strategies. Moreover, it advocates for integrating insights from multiple rating systems to cater to the diverse expectations of stakeholders.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by human production activities has increased year by year, and the greenhouse effect has also increased. A series of problems, such as global warming, melting of the Antarctic continent, sea level rise and frequent occurrence of extreme climate, have attracted the attention of countries all over the world. As a developing country with the fastest economic growth rate, China's rapid economic growth is inseparable from the contribution of manufacturing industry. As an important engine of China's economic development, manufacturing industry inevitably brings environmental problems and a large number of greenhouse gas emissions while promoting rapid economic development. Therefore, manufacturing has become a major area for China to achieve its carbon emission reduction targets. With the "Made in China" to the world, the export trade of manufacturing industry plays a decisive role in China's total export trade and even the global trade. But whether the huge export demands will affect carbon emissions. Through the empirical study on carbon emissions of China's manufacturing export trade, the paper found that the increase of export demand of manufacturing industry will indeed bring a significant increase in carbon emissions, but also affected by some other factors. Finally, it provides reference for the high-quality development and export of China's manufacturing industry under the background of the target of “dual-carbon”.

Liquidity can be a real phenomenon for execution of the financial holding. Its risk falls in debate to impose a conditional cost on the counterparty. The time-varying liquidity is often linked to the expected fundamental value of an investment. In this work, the microblogging-based informed transaction is examined as a determinant of the liquidity-facilitating cost. Most importantly, this study investigates the economic blockade era and post-pandemic uncertainty. The sentiment indicators were found to be determinants of liquidity. These findings were consistent in the post-pandemic period. However, the investor pessimistic sentiment was a priced risk factor in liquidity during the economic blockade period. Based on the Bayesian theorem, a relativeness was reported between sentiment indicators and the liquidity-facilitating cost. The same findings were depicted in environments of the pandemic era. Nevertheless, the posterior probability indicated an occurrence of the liquidity-associated cost in response to the pessimistic sentiments during the economic blockade period. This quantification may have potential implications in terms of exploring liquidity from the microblogging perceptive.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a prevalent progressive neurodegenerative condition affecting millions globally. Research has found that individuals with PD have a reduced risk of certain cancers, such as colon, lung, and rectal cancers, but an increased risk of brain cancer. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of advanced PD diagnostic methods and for investigating the relationships between risk factors, such as lifestyle due to handedness associated with various types of cancers. Recent ad- vancements in magnetic resonance imaging have enhanced PD diagnosis, reducing misdiagnosis and facilitating more accurate disease progression monitoring. Nevertheless, challenges exist, particularly in the distinction of PD between left-handed and right-handed patients over time. This survey provides an overview of contemporary deep learning-based imag- ing analysis methodologies, encompassing both non-longitudinal and lon- gitudinal contexts. We also explore existing limitations and prospects for refinement to gain deeper insights. These insights are poised to inform the development of personalized treatment strategies for PD patients while elucidating the current disparities between deep learning models and their efficacious implementation in clinical practice.

In this study, we examined the efficiency of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), DASH, EOS, and MONERO from March 1, 2018, to March 1, 2023. We separated the sample into four subperiods for this purpose: a Tranquil period that includes the period from March 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019; a First Wave that includes the year 2020; a Second Wave that includes the year 2021; and a fourth subperiod that includes Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022-2023. The results are mixed, with some cryptocurrencies exhibiting equilibrium and others exhibiting autocorrelation and predictability in their pricing. When the sample is divided into subperiods, most digital currencies have long memories in their returns during the Tranquil period, BTC, LTC, and XRP exhibit efficiency during the First Wave of the pandemic, while BTC, ETH, and MONERO indicate efficiency during the Second Wave. Most assessed digital currencies showed equilibrium by 2022, with the exception of ETH and MONERO, which exhibit long memories, and LTC, which demonstrates anti-persistence. These results hold significance for investors in these alternative markets, as they suggest that some cryptocurrencies may be more predictable and therefore potentially profitable, whereas others may require greater caution and risk management strategies.

The vigorous development of the digital economy provides a new research perspective for alleviating local financial pressure. Based on the provincial panel data from 2013 to 2020, the mediating effect model and threshold regression model were used to explore the effect and mechanism of the digital economy on local fiscal pressure. The research shows that the digital economy has a significant alleviating effect on local financial pressure by increasing fiscal revenue, and this alleviating effect has a threshold effect on entrepreneurial activity. From the perspective of dimension, the alleviating effect of the digital economy development environment on local financial pressure is better than that of digital industrialization and industrial digitization. From a regional perspective, the digital economy has the most apparent impact on the western region. In addition, the quantile regression results show that with the increase in financial pressure, the easing effect of the digital economy shows an inverted U-shaped change. Therefore, in order to effectively alleviate the financial pressure on local governments, China should continue to promote the development of the digital economy, take multiple measures to increase entrepreneurial activity, and encourage various regions to implement differentiated digital economy development strategies according to local conditions.

Reckless behavior by business leaders can be a systemic risk for individual firms and the economies in which the firms exist. We propose that a synthesis of behavioral economics, in particular prospect theory, and the study of psychopathy may help researchers better understand why some business leaders engage in high-risk criminal activity. We propose that psychopathy is associated with an abnormal response to negative consequences. Where traditional Prospect Theory proposes that people are loss avoidant, we propose that people high on the trait of psychopathy may be more motivated by gains and will be risk seeking in high reward/high risk situations for which most people will avoid risk. We propose two empirical study designs that may be used to test the framework in the future.

Electricity price volatility in developing economies, particularly Nigeria, presents a significant challenge to sustainable development. In this paper, we examine the macroeconomic drivers of electricity prices (ELP) in Nigeria based on annual data spanning 1980-2022 and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) procedure. Our model estimates the long-run and short-run impacts of population growth (PG), economic growth (GDP), crude oil price (COPR), and electricity consumption (ELC) on electricity prices (ELP). The empirical findings reveal a positive and long-run effect of PG on ELP, indicating that rising demand from a growing population increases electricity prices. In the short-run, ELC surprisingly co-moved with ELP, which may be attributable to price-sensitive demand within specific consumer segments or periods. Furthermore, GDP and COPR exert positive effects on ELP, indicating that economic growth drives energy consumption and prices, and the cost-driven impact of fossil fuel dependence in electricity generation. These findings shed light on the complex interplay of demographic, economic, and energy market-related forces driving electricity prices in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper proposes some policy suggestions based on the empirical findings.

Entrepreneurs are important actors in economic activities and creators of social wealth. Excellent entrepreneurs contribute their wisdom to the accumulation of social wealth and the promotion of high-quality economic and social development. The business environment is the main manifestation of the soft power of cities and regional economic development, and a better business environment can effectively attract enterprises and promote their sustainable growth. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009-2019 as a research sample, the following research conclusions were drawn: (1) A better business environment helps enhance entrepreneurship. (2) A better business environment promotes entrepreneurship by reducing rent-seeking expenses and corporate credit costs. (3) Compared to traditional enterprises, high-tech enterprises are better able to enjoy the benefits brought by business environment optimization and further enhance entrepreneurship. When competition is low, entrepreneurs face lower rent-seeking expenses, which is conducive to stimulating entrepreneurship. The businessenvironment can promote fairness and bring more equal financing opportunities for enterprises, which has a higher impact on entrepreneurship for the group facing higher financing constraints. This study meticulously analyzes the impact ofthebusiness environment on entrepreneurship, providing references for the next steps of optimizing the business environment and enhancing entrepreneurship.

There is a considerable amount of debate on the impact of capital liberalization on economic performance. Using Three-Stage Least Squares (3SLS) estimation technique introduced by Zellner and Theil (1962), we synthesize studies on the determinants of governance and capital flows. We find evidence of a revolving door relationship. Foreign aid has a negative impact on governance and, thereby reduces capital inflows since bad governance hinders capital inflows. The need to fill the gap created by private capital outflows encourages inflow of foreign aid, which in turn harms governance. Therefore, capital liberalization could grease a revolving door and undermine economic development in the aid receiving countries.