Banks are at the core of economic functioning in various countries and are the cause of their development in various fields. In a changing environment, they must deal with certain risks and maintain financial stability as the ultimate objective. The primary objective of this study is to examine the correlation between credit risk and bank stability within the Tunisian banking sector, with a specific focus on understanding the moderating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this, we employ several econometric techniques, including panel unit root and cointegration tests, panel Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS). Our empirical analysis relies on a panel dataset that encompasses a comprehensive sample of 8 Tunisian banks over 2000-2020. The results of our analysis unveil a significant negative relationship between credit risk and bank stability, indicating that higher levels of credit risk exert a detrimental effect on the overall stability of Tunisian banks. Furthermore, our study highlights that this adverse impact is further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that the pandemic acts as a moderator. The findings of this study hold substantial implications for policymakers, regulators, and bank managers in Tunisia. They emphasize the critical importance of implementing robust risk management practices to mitigate credit risk and bolster bank stability. Additionally, the research underscores the need to consider the unique challenges introduced by external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when assessing the overall stability of the banking system.

Renewable energy has become a crucial topic in recent years as the world is moving towards environment friendly and sustainable energy sources. The aim of this research paper is to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of renewable energy resources such as geothermal, hydro, solar and wind energy in comparison to typical and traditional energy resources such as oil and coal. This paper focuses on the current state of renewable energy adoption, the benefits and drawbacks of all types of renewable energy resources, and the challenges faced in implementing renewable energy on a large scale. Through a comprehensive literature review, this paper discusses the methodologies and results of various studies conducted to understand the potential of renewable energy sources by secondary means. This research paper also presents an original analysis of renewable energy data to identify the most efficient and cost-effective renewable energy source. The results of this study indicate that renewable energy sources can be an effective and efficient replacement for traditional energy sources, but they face significant challenges in adoption and implementation. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and policy changes that can support the growth of renewable energy sources.

The clean energy revolution is a global concern. Cross-border collaboration is crucial for sharing knowledge, pooling resources, and tackling complex challenges on a global scale. International partnerships can accelerate innovation by drawing on diverse knowledge and experience from different regions. Access to capital is a key driver of innovation and entrepreneurship in clean energy. Institutional investors and financial institutions increasingly recognize the potential for high returns from the clean energy sector. This research aimed to understand whether "dirty" energies, such as the Brent Crude Spot, WTI, FTSE 350 Oil, Gas & Coal, EURO STOXX Oil & Gas, influence the formation of sustainable energy prices, namely Geothermal Index, Solar Energy Index, NASDAQ OMX Bio Clean Fuels Index, Wind Energy Index, WilderHill Clean Energy Index, during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. When comparing the two sub-periods, the results show that the level of autocorrelation in price formation has increased, i.e., the mean rhoDCCA went from 32 to 45, the weak correlation coefficients without trend decreased from 30 to 19, and the anti-persistence has also decreased from 8 to 4. The strong rhoDCCA increased from 2 to 4; during the Tranquil period, the FTSE 350 / EURO STOXX Oil index pairs had a rhoDCCA of 0.76. While in the Stress subperiod, the NASDAQ OMX Bio / Solar Energy pairs had a slope of 0.70, and the FTSE 350 / EURO STOXX Oil indices had a rhoDCCA of 0.91. Evidence shows a notable dissociation between fossil energy prices and sustainable energy sources. This dissociation is characterized by various degrees of influence between fossil energy prices and sustainable energy indices, from low to moderate. This dissociation between fossil energy prices and sustainable energy prices suggests that investments in sustainable energy can offer diversification opportunities.

This study delves into the complex relationship between China's international trade and economic growth, specifically focusing on emission intensity and its environmental ramifications within the context of energy efficiency. The primary objective is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how China's international trade dynamics influence economic growth, emphasizing emission intensity and employing a model that considers the nonlinear impact of trade on output. Through this model, structural breakpoints are identified, revealing distinct outcomes for China amidst positive and negative shocks from 1972 to 2021. The study uncovers the dual nature of the energy sector, acting both as a source of environmental degradation and a potential avenue for positive change through increased efficiency. Complex interplays among economic activities, inflation, and investment on carbon intensity are revealed. Additionally, the varying effects of export volume on carbon emissions intensity across lag thresholds underscore the significance of global trade dynamics for environmental sustainability. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of balancing economic prosperity with environmental responsibility, advocating for carefully balanced policies that foster sustainable growth. Recommendations include considering the dual nature of the energy sector and implementing policies promoting increased efficiency. Policymakers are urged to adopt growth models prioritizing environmental responsibility, balancing economic activities, inflation, and investment to mitigate carbon intensity while acknowledging the diverse effects of global trade dynamics on environmental sustainability.

Considering that housing is the single biggest asset for most households, owning a home may create barriers to entrepreneurship for young people who generally accumulate relatively little wealth due to a short-term career and low income. Using longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) survey, our empirical work suggests that homeowners are associated with significantly less propensity for entrepreneurial engagement and the negative homeownership effect on entrepreneurship is much larger for younger homeowners. These findings are robust to omitted variable bias, reverse causality and model misspecification. We explore the mechanism through which capital constraints related to housing purchase may more affect younger homeowners from starting entrepreneurial activities. We find strong supportive evidence for this mechanism.

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.

Economic globalization has intensified economic volatility around the world, and the importance of economic resilience has become increasingly prominent in the face of rising uncertainty due to frequent domestic and foreign shocks. Based on provincial panel data in China from 2008-2019, a comprehensive indicator system is constructed to measure regional economic resilience (RER), and the impact of financial driver (FD) on RER is explored from staged, pathway and non-linear perspectives. The main findings are as follows. (1) Both national and regional levels of FD and RER show an upward trend, and the impact of FD on RER has an “inverted-U” shape: as the capacity of FD increases, its impact on regional economic resilience shifts from promoting to inhibiting. The RER has significant spatial agglomeration characteristic. (2) Interestingly, staged analysis shows FD can significantly promote RER only when it is in the “recovery stage”. (3) The pathway analysis of its effect on regional economic resilience shows the following characteristics: financial scale > financial efficiency > financial deepening. (4) From different regions, there are significant differences in the effect of FD on the promotion of regional economic resilience: central region > western region > eastern region. Finally, the corresponding suggestions were provided.

The digital economy based on digital technology is an important force for high-quality economic growth and industrial transformation, and has great potential for value creation. Based on the data of 30 provinces in China from 2007 to 2017, this paper uses entropy method to calculate the industrial green transformation (IGT), and empirically analyzes the impact of Digital economy on IGT. The DE can significantly reduce IGT of local and neighboring areas after excluding the influence of macro system factors and replacing the spatial weight matrix. The DE can indirectly reduce the IGT by accelerating the accumulation of human capital, and green technology innovation. The impact of digital economy on IGT is a non-linear relationship. With the further improvement of environmental regulation, financial development and intellectual property protection, the role of digital economy in IGT is more obvious. To this end, it is necessary to speed up the construction and improvement of digital infrastructure, build an integrated layout of "digital infrastructure", give full play to the radiating role of the digital economy, and implement differentiated development paths based on regional comparative advantages.

Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2011 to 2019 for a total of 9 years, this paper uses the entropy method to construct a comprehensive measure of the digital economy and common prosperity. We theoretically analyzed the impact mechanism of the digital economy on common prosperity using the econometric model. The study found that the digital economy can significantly promote the realization of common prosperity. The digital economy has a significant impact on the development and sustainability of common prosperity. The results of the impact mechanism show that the digital economy promotes common prosperity by increasing entrepreneurial activity. Heterogeneity research shows that the role of digital economy in promoting common prosperity changes with different regions. Specifically, the digital economy in the central and western regions can significantly promote the realization of common prosperity, but this impact is not significant in the eastern region. From the regression results of the digital economy, we can see that industrial digitalization and digital infrastructure play a greater role in promoting common prosperity. Economic openness affects the promotion of digital economy to common prosperity. The conclusion of this work provides an important research reference for the development of digital economy and the realization of common prosperity.

As a reversible post-transcriptional modification, N6-methyladeno sine is the most common form of RNA modification in eukaryotic mRNA. Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are a subpopulation of cells with self-renewal ability and differentiation potential, have been regarded to be one of the roots of tumor occurrence, recurrence, and metastasis. Currently, numerous studies have demonstrated that m6A RNA modification is critically implicated in the regulation of CSCs stemness or the CSC-like traits of cancer cells. This review summarized the effects of m6A RNA modification-related enzymes and underlying mechanisms contributing to CSCs or cancer cell stemness, which may provide novel targets and research directions for the specifical elimination of CSCs or cancer cells with stemness.

This research investigates the determinants of women's empowerment within households in a developing country. The investigation specifically focuses on the impact of employment and fertility, considering constraints imposed by family rules that play a pivotal role in shaping women's empowerment. The theoretical framework outlined in this study posits a simplistic model demonstrating that, within the prevailing family structure and household composition, earned income and fertility may bear significant relevance. Utilizing data extracted from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey, we engage in estimating the level of female empowerment, operationalized as the extent of female authority over household expenditures. Notably, our empirical approach accounts for the endogeneity of employment and fertility through a two-stage estimation process. This involves leveraging information on family rules—representative of a family's cultural norms—pertaining to work and childbearing. Our empirical findings affirm the viability of family-specific rules as instruments to estimate and subsequently predict employment and fertility. Importantly, the evidence gleaned underscores the critical role of selecting valid threat options in theoretical analyses of women's empowerment.

Cancer, a global health menace, continues to pose significant challenges in terms of incidence and mortality, necessitating innovative therapeutic strategies. Despite existing treatments, the limitations persist, prompting a quest for novel approaches. The emergence of immunotherapy marked a transformative era in solid tumor treatments, yet its efficacy is constrained by adverse effects. Concurrently, the integration of advanced technologies into cancer treatment explores the vast potential residing at the molecular level through gene analysis and manipulation. This review articulates the role of state-of-the-art genome editing technology, notably clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR-Cas9), in overcoming the constraints of immunotherapy for cancers. Unveiling the intricacies of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing, the review introduces the formidable CRISPR toolbox. A spotlight is cast on the transformative impact of CRISPR-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) on cancer immunotherapy, encompassing knockout and knock-in strategies. The utilization of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in pre-clinical cancer research has demonstrated notable success; however, its transition to the clinical setting remains in the nascent stages of development. This review aims to elucidate the fundamental aspects of CRISPR technology and offer a comprehensive survey of its existing applications while outlining its prospective role in the realm of cancer therapies. Through an exploration of CRISPR's mechanisms, current applications, and anticipated future potentials, this review provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of CRISPR-based cancer treatment strategies.

Green innovation, driven by China's new development concept, plays a crucial role in high-quality economic development. In line with the green development trend, businesses increasingly prioritize whether their corporate environmental responsibilities (CER) can effectively enhance corporate green innovation (CGI) levels. This paper examines the influence and mechanism of CER on CGI using a dynamic perspective, drawing from 1,640 manually-collected panel data of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2017. The primary findings indicate that the impact of CER on CGI possesses phase-specific characteristics and a dual effect of "crowding in" and "crowding out." The current phase of CER negatively affects green innovation, while the lag phase has a positive effect. CER's impact on various CGI types is heterogeneous: specifically, it follows an "inverted-N" trajectory (inhibition-promotion-inhibition) for "strategic green innovation" and has a promotional effect on "substantive green innovation," which is stronger and has a longer time lag. The mechanism analysis reveals that financing constraints play a critical mediating role. A heterogeneity analysis based on multiple dimensions (ownership, industry, and location) suggests that CER has a more significant driving force for CGI among state-owned firms, high-polluting industries, and enterprises in inland areas. Finally, the paper presents corresponding suggestions for government and corporate entities.

Carbon emissions trading is essential for reducing carbon emissions, and its role in regional carbon unlocking needs further clarification. This study uses the difference-in-differences (DID) model and synthetic control model (SCM) to evaluate the carbon unlocking effect of China’s six pilot carbon trading provinces. This study found that (1) carbon lock-in effects in China are mainly influenced by technology lock-in and fixed input lock-in; (2) each province’s overall carbon lock-in level presents a decreasing trend yearly, and the regional distribution presents characteristics of “low in the east and high in the west”; (3) carbon emissions trading pilot policies effectively promote the carbon unlocking effect in pilot regions overall, with Guangdong having the most significant unlocking effect. Conversely, Beijing, Hubei, Chongqing, and Shanghai also had different degrees of carbon unlocking. Finally, (4) an assessment of impact mechanisms indicates that technology and institutions have a significant mediating role in effectively promoting carbon unlocking under the carbon trading policy. Conversely, social behavior has an inverse effect, and fixed assets are not affected by the policy. This study demonstrates the carbon unlocking effect of carbon emissions trading and provides a quantitative reference for implementing carbon emissions trading policies and determining carbon unlocking paths.

In the context of digital economy, Hebei Province, as an important province in central China, has a huge manufacturing base and potential, and the development of digital economy has driven the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry to a certain extent. In order to better play the driving role of digital economy in the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry, this paper establishes an intermediary effect model based on three intermediary variables: enterprise resource allocation ability, enterprise cost and enterprise innovation ability, and conducts an empirical study on the panel data of 11 prefecture-level cities in Hebei Province from 2017 to 2022. The mechanism of digital economy driving manufacturing upgrading in Hebei Province was discussed. The results show that: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between the development of digital economy and the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry, which indicates that the development of digital economy has a direct driving effect on the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry; (2) There is also a positive correlation between the development of digital economy and the resource allocation ability and innovation ability of enterprises, indicating that the development of digital economy can improve the resource allocation ability and innovation ability of enterprises, and is conducive to the stable development of enterprises in the future; (3) Enterprise resource allocation ability and enterprise innovation ability play a significant intermediary role in the relationship between digital economy development and the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry, indicating that digital economy can indirectly accelerate the transformation of manufacturing enterprises' R & D achievements by improving enterprises' resource allocation ability and innovation ability, thus improving enterprises' market competitiveness and increasing enterprises' earnings. Drive the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. Based on this research conclusion, the government should give full play to the role of guidance and support, and introduce relevant policies to help the digital economy drive the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing enterprises. Manufacturing enterprises should seize the tide of the development of the digital economy, use digital technology to improve their resource allocation ability and innovation ability, enhance core competitiveness, and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of enterprises.

In order to avoid the real economy development lags behind and the deterioration of ecological problems in the process of traditional urbanization, China has been promoting city-industry deep integration, but the connection between city-industry integration and green economic growth, especially the spatial effect, has not been systematically explained. Based on the panel data from 2007 to 2018, this paper constructs an evaluation index system and uses the SEEA method to measure city-industry integration (CII) level and green economy growth (GEG) level. Then, by employing spatial Durbin model and intermediary effect model, it further systematically investigates the spatial impact of CII on GEG and the potential mechanism. The study found that: (1) On the whole, CII shows “slow-steady integration” trend, but regional heterogeneity was obvious and accompanied by “slow gap expansion”. GEG experienced “sharp increase” with “polarization” characteristic. (2) CII can directly promote regional GEG (with a marginal effect of 0.689), more effectively than traditional urbanization, and CII has obvious spatial spillover effects on GEG in both “local effect” and “neighboring effect”. (3) Interestingly, technological innovation and consumption structure upgrading are significant mediating mechanisms. (4) The direct positive effect of CII shows the regional imbalance characteristic. Finally, the corresponding policy implications are put forward.

The dynamic patterns of technology adoption among firms clustered by size are investigated to assess the implications arising from the digital divide. Using data from the “Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Enterprises (IUTICE)" dataset for 2003-2022, provided by the Portuguese Institute of Statistics, the research centers on three key variables – internet connectivity, website presence, and computer usage – which are examined across a spectrum of firms’ scales, shedding light on the evolving trends in technology adoption. Employing a combination of descriptive statistical analysis, trend assessment, and cross-sectional comparisons, this research shows noteworthy insights. Interestingly, the adoption rates for all three technology variables exhibit a consistent upward trajectory, indicative of a movement towards digitalization within the business landscape. Smaller firms have demonstrated notable strides, manifesting a reduction in the technology adoption disparity relative to their larger counterparts. The findings underscore the influential roles played by resource constraints and digital competencies in shaping technology adoption trajectories, and their correspondence with the Resource-Based View (RBV) framework underscores the role of organizational resources and capabilities on the digital divide. The ramifications extend beyond individual firms, resonating with the global scholarly discourse and advocating for equitable integration of technology. As firms, irrespective of size, grapple with the challenges posed by the digital era, this study provides deep insights that can guide the formulation of strategies aimed at cultivating an inclusive and technologically empowered business environment.

The objective of this study is to explore the link between the financial sector, macroeconomic fluctuations, and sustainable energy production in South Asia. It evaluates existing research, identifies gaps, and suggests future directions. The study emphasizes the need to understand how economic activities influence the environment and how environmental factors impact economic and financial outcomes. It also examines financial market responses to understand the manifestation of economic and environmental factors, using data from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka spanning 1987 to 2022. The results show that investment in green energy is essential for developing countries. The study suggests that the relationship between the region's stock market, GDP, carbon emissions, and green energy is complex, with a negative response to domestic credit indicating potential obstacles to investment, such as policy barriers or insufficient incentives. Mixed responses highlight the need for credit directed towards sustainable projects. Variations in responses across economic indicators may indicate policy challenges or structural issues, necessitating a reassessment of government policies to incentivize sustainable investments and promote green technology adoption. These results imply that policymakers should precisely assess the environmental ramifications of economic growth and stock market activities. This presents an opportunity to craft policies that guide investments toward cleaner technologies and industries, aligning economic growth with sustainable practices. Policymakers and financial institutions should explore ways to incentivize green energy investments and promote sustainable economic growth.

The stages of liver fibrosis can reflect the severity of chronic viral hepatitis and the probability of liver cancer. Biopsy is still regarded as the reference for staging fibrosis, but the invasive method is not suitable for first-line screening. In recent years, noninvasive methods for detecting virus-driven liver fibrosis have been developed rapidly, which mainly include biological (serum biomarkers indexes) and physical (imaging assessment of liver stiffness) strategies. In this review, we introduce these noninvasive methods, enumerate their diagnosis performances and discuss the role of ferroptosis. At last, we propose directions for future researches.

China's carbon emission trading market has been formally established, but few studies have been conducted to analyze the impact of this policy on the regional urbanization level. Therefore, this paper evaluates whether the carbon trading pilot policy can enhance the regional urbanization level in China through the difference-in-differences method and analyzes the mediating role of industrial structure upgrading in this process. The results prove that the carbon trading market policy can accelerate the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure in the region so that it promotes the development of regional urbanization. Moreover, the effects of the policy are concentratedly manifested in the eastern region of China.