In the behavioral theory of the firm, decision-makers' interpretation of performance feedback information is the fundamental intermediate step between the evaluation of performance and the consequent strategic decision-making. However, such interpretations can be shaped or even distorted by the cognitive lens taken by decision-makers, such as their time concept in terms of biased cognitions of the importance and imminence of the future over the present. This study focuses on the role of a specific temporal bias (the time concept expressed in languages) in shaping the response to performance feedback. On the basis of the baseline proposition of a positive relationship between the underperformance duration (a temporal dimension of performance feedback) and acquisition behavior, we theorize and empirically examine how the future-time reference (FTR) of languages under different conditions shapes the way firms respond to repeated performance shortfalls. Using a sample of 12,309 firms from 12 countries between 2007 and 2019, we find that the FTR weakens the connection between the underperformance duration and subsequent acquisitions. Moreover, slack resources strengthen, whereas political stability weakens, this moderating effect of FTR on the underperformance duration–firm acquisition relationship.

We demonstrated a method to improve the output performance of a Ti:sapphire laser in the long-wavelength low-gain region with an efficient stimulated Raman scattering process. By shifting the wavelength of the high-gain-band Ti:sapphire laser to the long-wavelength low-gain region, high-performance Stokes operation was achieved in the original long-wavelength low-gain region of the Ti:sapphire laser. With the fundamental wavelength tuning from 870 to 930 nm, first-order Stokes output exceeding 2.5 W was obtained at 930–1000 nm, which was significantly higher than that directly generated by the Ti:sapphire laser, accompanied by better beam quality, shorter pulse duration and narrower linewidth. Under the pump power of 42.1 W, a maximum first-order Stokes power of 3.24 W was obtained at 960 nm, with a conversion efficiency of 7.7%. Furthermore, self-mode-locked modulations of first- and second-order Stokes generation were observed in Ti:sapphire intracavity solid Raman lasers for the first time.

Natural sepiolite has great potential for application in wound healing, haemostasis and medicines. This paper introduces a versatile solid-state sintering technique for preparing sepiolite-based nanocomposites with enhanced antibacterial properties, and the physical, structural, rheological and antibacterial properties of which were determined to be enhanced. The incorporation of nanosized Ag and metal oxides into sepiolite composites results in a notable improvement in their antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison to the unmodified sepiolite. With a low silver content of just 5%, the sepiolite–Ag composite achieves an antibacterial rate of ~100%. Furthermore, the rheological properties exhibited by the sepiolite composites are noteworthy, suggesting their suitability for use in wound-dressing applications due to their exceptional workability. The methodology employed in this research has the potential to offer a viable substitute for the production of economical and effective natural antibacterial nanocomposites.

Trauma is a significant health issue that not only leads to immediate death in many cases but also causes severe complications, such as sepsis, thrombosis, haemorrhage, acute respiratory distress syndrome and traumatic brain injury, among trauma patients. Target protein identification technology is a vital technique in the field of biomedical research, enabling the study of biomolecular interactions, drug discovery and disease treatment. It plays a crucial role in identifying key protein targets associated with specific diseases or biological processes, facilitating further research, drug design and the development of treatment strategies. The application of target protein technology in biomarker detection enables the timely identification of newly emerging infections and complications in trauma patients, facilitating expeditious medical interventions and leading to reduced post-trauma mortality rates and improved patient prognoses. This review provides an overview of the current applications of target protein identification technology in trauma-related complications and provides a brief overview of the current target protein identification technology, with the aim of reducing post-trauma mortality, improving diagnostic efficiency and prognostic outcomes for patients.

The Wood Snipe Gallinago nemoricola is one of the least known shorebird species, and its habitat associations are very poorly understood. Here we provide the first assessment of the habitat use of the Wood Snipe during the breeding season. Between May and July 2021 at a 4-km2 alpine meadow in Sichuan province, China, we conducted population surveys and behavioural observations to identify sites where breeding Wood Snipe occurred and foraged. We quantified the habitat characteristics and food resource availability of these sites and compared them with randomly selected “background” sites. Comparison between 34 occurrence sites and 25 background sites indicated that during the breeding season, Wood Snipes are not distributed evenly across alpine meadow habitats, but preferred habitats in the lower part (3,378–3,624 m) of the alpine meadow with intermediate levels of soil moisture. In addition, comparison between 17 foraging sites and 24 background sites showed that the Wood Snipe tended to forage at sites with higher soil fauna abundance. We found weak evidence for denser vegetation cover at its height and no evidence for other biotic habitat variables such as vegetation composition or other abiotic habitat variables such as slope, soil penetrability, or disturbance level to influence Wood Snipe habitat associations. Our results suggest that the actual distribution range of the Wood Snipe during the breeding season may be smaller than expected from the extent of apparently suitable habitat. We advise caution in evaluating the potential habitat availability and distribution of the Wood Snipe, and call for further research to better understand the ecology of this rare species to inform its conservation.

This study aimed to analyze the clinical effects of microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) surgery combined with an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) regimen in the treatment of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients with different etiologies. In total, 128 NOA patients participated in this study, in which they received infertility treatment by micro-TESE surgery combined with an ICSI regimen, and all patients were divided into three groups [the Klinefelter syndrome (KS), the idiopathic and the secondary NOA groups]. In addition, the sperm retrieval rate (SRR), fertilization rate, embryo development status and clinical treatment effects were analyzed. Among the 128 NOA patients, the SRR of KS NOA patients was 48.65%, those of idiopathic and the secondary patients were 33.82% and 73.91%, respectively. Regardless of etiologies, there was no correlation with age, hormone value or testicular volume. Further analysis showed that the SRR of the KS group was positively related with testosterone (T) values, and the SRR of the secondary group had a positive relationship with follicle-stimulating hormone or luteinizing hormone values. In the subsequent clinical treatment, the retrieved sperm was subjected to ICSI and achieved good treatment effects, especially in the secondary group, and the implantation rate (55.56%) and clinical pregnancy rate (68.42%) were both higher than those of the idiopathic group (28.75% and 40.00%) and KS group (22.05% and 30.77%). Micro-TESE surgery combined with ICSI insemination is the most effective treatment regimen for NOA patients. The SRR of NOA patients with different etiologies are related to certain specific factors, and micro-TESE surgery seems to be the ideal and only way to have biological children.

The tectonic evolution of the Sibumasu Block during the Permian remains controversial, and Permian faunas and their paleobiogeographic affinities provide some insight into its paleogeographic and tectonic evolutionary histories. In this paper, a new brachiopod fauna dominated by Spinomartinia prolifica Waterhouse, 1981 is described from the uppermost part of the Taungnyo Group in the Zwekabin Range, eastern Myanmar. This brachiopod fauna includes 23 species and its age is well constrained as late Kungurian by the associated conodonts, i.e., Vjalovognathus nicolli Yuan et al., 2016 and Mesogondolella idahoensis (Youngquist, Hawley, and Miller, 1951), contrary to the late Sakmarian age given to the same brachiopod faunas previously reported from southern Thailand and Malaysia. Based on comprehensive comparisons of the Cisuralian brachiopod faunas and other data in different parts of the Sibumasu Block, we consider that they are better subdivided into two independent stratigraphic assemblages, i.e., the lower (earlier) Bandoproductus monticulus-Spirelytha petaliformis Assemblage of a Sakmarian to probably early Artinskian age, and the upper (younger) Spinomartinia prolifica-Retimarginifera alata Assemblage of a late Kungurian age. The former assemblage is a typical cold-water fauna, mainly composed of Gondwanan-type genera, e.g., Bandoproductus Jin and Sun, 1981, Spirelytha Fredericks, 1924, and Sulciplica Waterhouse, 1968. The latter assemblage is strongly characterized by an admixture of both Cathaysian and Gondwanan elements, as well as some genera restricted to the Cimmerian continents. Notably, the spatial distribution pattern of these two separate brachiopod assemblages varies distinctly. The Sakmarian cold-water brachiopod faunas have been found in association with glacial-marine diamictites throughout the Sibumasu Block including both the Irrawaddy and Sibuma blocks. In contrast, the Kungurian biogeographically mixed brachiopod faunas are only recorded in the Irrawaddy Block, unlike the Sibuma Block that contains a contemporaneous paleotropical Tethyan fusuline fauna. Thus, it appears likely that by the end of Cisuralian (early Permian), the Sibumasu Block comprised the Irrawaddy Block in the south with cool climatic conditions, and the Sibuma Block in the north with a temperate to warm-water environment, separated by the incipient Thai-Myanmar Mesotethys.

Pareto distribution is an important distribution in extreme value theory. In this paper, we consider parallel systems with Pareto components and study the effect of heterogeneity on skewness of such systems. It is shown that, when the lifetimes of components have different shape parameters, the parallel system with heterogeneous Pareto component lifetimes is more skewed than the system with independent and identically distributed Pareto components. However, for the case when the lifetimes of components have different scale parameters, the result gets reversed in the sense of star ordering. We also establish the relation between star ordering and dispersive ordering by extending the result of Deshpande and Kochar [(1983). Dispersive ordering is the same as tail ordering. Advances in Applied Probability 15(3): 686–687] from support $(0, \infty )$ to general supports $(a, \infty )$, $a > 0$. As a consequence, we obtain some new results on dispersion of order statistics from heterogeneous Pareto samples with respect to dispersive ordering.

The geometry of compound sessile drops at equilibrium on a flat substrate can exhibit a variety of complicated morphological configurations. In this paper, we first investigate the configuration boundaries of the compound sessile drops in a wide parameter space, where a specific configuration is not stable outside its boundaries. Then, we focus on the transitions among the axisymmetric configurations, i.e. encapsulation, lens and collars. The configuration transitions result from the variation of the wettability of the substrate and the volume ratio of the two component droplets. With the help of theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, we obtain previously unidentified criteria for the onset of configuration transition, identify the irreversible and reversible configuration transitions, reveal the dynamic behaviours of configuration transitions that are not accessible to theoretical analysis, and provide a further step towards the ultimate purpose of such work, which is the controllable reconfiguration of the compound sessile drops.

We numerically investigate the mechanism resulting in fate change of a hydrophobic sphere impacting onto a confined pool, that is, at the same impact speed, it does not submerge in a wide pool but does in a narrow pool. We find that the reflection of the impact-induced gravity-capillary waves from the pool boundary is responsible for this phenomenon. In particular, the return of the wave to the symmetry axis may coincide with the rising of the impacting sphere to the water surface, which corresponds to the critical conditions of the fate change. Moreover, for the spheres at the onset of submersion in a wide pool, our analysis suggests that this scenario also accounts for an interesting observation in the numerical simulations. That is, the effective pool size $S_{c}$, beyond which the submersion of impacting spheres is no longer affected by the pool size $S$, is mainly dependent on the sphere diameter, no matter whether the surface waves are the capillary or gravity waves. For $S<S_{c}$, two important pool sizes ($S_{w,1}$ and $S_{w,2}$, and $S_{w,2}\geqslant S_{w,1}$) are identified at the same impact speed, and the sphere submersion takes place at $S_{w,1}\leqslant S\leqslant S_{w,2}$. Based on the flow features identified in simulations, a scaling law is proposed to correlate the Weber number and Bond number with $S_{w}$. The theoretical prediction is shown to agree well with the numerical results.

Resistant starch (RS) was recently approved to exert a powerful influence on gut health, but the effect of RS on the caecal barrier function in meat ducks has not been well defined. Thus, the effect of raw potato starch (RPS), a widely adopted RS material, on microbial composition and barrier function of caecum for meat ducks was determined. A total of 360 Cherry Valley male ducks of 1-d-old were randomly divided and fed diets with 0 (control), 12, or 24 % RPS for 35 d. Diets supplemented with RPS significantly elevated villus height and villus height:crypt depth ratio in the caecum. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated that the diet with 12 % RPS had a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and the butyrate-producing bacteria Faecalibacterium, Subdoligranulum, and Erysipelatoclostridium were enriched in all diets. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were significantly increased in the 24 % RPS diet v. the control diet. When compared with the control diet, the diet with 12 % RPS was also found to notably increase acetate, propionate and butyrate contents and up-regulated barrier-related genes including claudin-1, zonula occludens-1, mucin-2 and proglucagon in the caecum. Furthermore, the addition of 12 % RPS significantly reduced plasma TNF-α, IL-1β and endotoxin concentrations. These data revealed that diets supplemented with 12 % RPS partially improved caecal barrier function in meat ducks by enhancing intestinal morphology and barrier markers expression, modulating the microbiota composition and attenuating inflammatory markers.

Magnesium alloys usually lack “operative deformation slip mechanisms” because of their hexagonal close-packed structure. Therefore, the mechanical behavior of magnesium alloys at different temperatures is dictated by other deformation mechanisms such as twinning, detwinning, secondary twinning, or dynamic recrystallization (DRX). Twinning and DRX can affect the development of grain size and orientation distribution, as well as the deformation behavior of magnesium alloys. The current understanding of the mechanisms and mechanics of these different deformation modes and their implementation in crystal plasticity-based modeling are highlighted in this article. Future directions in the development of constitutive models are also discussed.

A Pickering emulsion was prepared via synergistic stabilization of a lipase and palygorskite particles. The optimum conditions for the stabilization of the Pickering emulsion, such as the concentrations of the palygorskite particles and lipase, were explored. The morphology of emulsion droplets was examined using digital optical microscopy and polarizing optical microscopy. The palygorskite–lipase co-stabilized Pickering emulsions were investigated by determination of the adsorption rate, pH and zeta potential of the aqueous dispersion, as well as by determining the contact angle values of the lipase solution on a palygorskite disc that was immersed in toluene. The catalytic performance of the immobilized lipase in the Pickering emulsion was studied via the investigation of its thermal stability, storage stability and reusability. The immobilized lipase showed greater stability than the free lipase. The lipase immobilized by Pickering emulsion retained a high level of activity even after seven periods of recycling.

Difference-in-differences is a widely used evaluation strategy that draws causal inference from observational panel data. Its causal identification relies on the assumption of parallel trends, which is scale-dependent and may be questionable in some applications. A common alternative is a regression model that adjusts for the lagged dependent variable, which rests on the assumption of ignorability conditional on past outcomes. In the context of linear models, Angrist and Pischke (2009) show that the difference-in-differences and lagged-dependent-variable regression estimates have a bracketing relationship. Namely, for a true positive effect, if ignorability is correct, then mistakenly assuming parallel trends will overestimate the effect; in contrast, if the parallel trends assumption is correct, then mistakenly assuming ignorability will underestimate the effect. We show that the same bracketing relationship holds in general nonparametric (model-free) settings. We also extend the result to semiparametric estimation based on inverse probability weighting. We provide three examples to illustrate the theoretical results with replication files in Ding and Li (2019).