We investigate how directors’ positions within board interlocking networks influence their monitoring behaviors from a social network perspective. We argue that the effectiveness of directors’ monitoring of a firm's management depends on their ability to overcome the information barrier and their motivation to develop a public reputation in the directorship market. We further contend that network centrality can supplement directors’ existing information set and facilitate reputation spillover, leading to an increase in the extent of their dissent on boards. We analyze the unique individual-director-level data of Chinese firms and find that directors occupying positions of greater centrality in the board interlock network are more likely to dissent. We then examine the underlying mechanisms of information and reputation through two moderators: firm transparency and media mention of a director. We also find that the effect of network centrality on dissent is weaker for independent directors. Our study advances the corporate governance literature by examining the micro-foundations of board monitoring and providing a social network perspective.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT) is associated with aberrant changes in epigenetic reprogramming that impede the development of embryos, particularly during zygotic genome activation. Here, we characterized epigenetic patterns of H3K4me3, H3K9me3, and H3K27me3 in mouse NT embryos up to the second cell cycle (i.e. four-celled stage) during zygotic genome activation. In vivo fertilized and parthenogenetically activated (PA) embryos served as controls. In fertilized embryos, maternal and paternal pronuclei exhibited asymmetric H3K4me3, H3K9me3, and H3K27me3 modifications, with the paternal pronucleus showing delayed epigenetic modifications. Higher levels of H3K4me3 and H3K9me3 were observed in NT and PA embryos than in fertilized embryos. However, NT embryos exhibited a lower level of H3K27me3 than PA and fertilized embryos from pronuclear stage 3 to the four-celled stage. Our finding that NT embryos exhibited aberrant H3K4me3, H3K9me3, and H3K27me3 modifications in comparison with fertilized embryos during early zygotic genome activation help to unravel the epigenetic mechanisms of methylation changes in early NT reprogramming and provide an insight into the role of histone H3 in the regulation of cell plasticity during natural reproduction and somatic cell NT.

In this paper, the assembly problem of circular-rectangular compound peg and hole parts in automatic assembly is proposed for the first time, and an automatic assembly method based on six-dimensional force sensor is summarized. Firstly, according to the quasi-static equilibrium condition, the contact states are summarized. It is concluded that there are 7 categories of 44 contact states in insertion stage and the forces conditions to maintain each contact state; Secondly, according to the analysis of the force/moment relationship, the jamming diagram is drawn, and the conditions of jamming are analyzed. Thirdly, the assembly strategy is discussed, including contact state recognition strategy, hole searching strategy, and pose adjustment strategy. Finally, combined with impedance control, the assembly theory is verified in ADAMS, and the assembly with minimum clearance of 0.1 mm is achieved.

Third-generation semiconductors, such as ZnO and GaN, exhibit strong piezoelectric polarization due to the lack of inversion symmetry. The piezotronic effect observed in these semiconductors was proposed for tuning carrier transport in electronic devices by utilizing the induced piezoelectric potential as a virtual gate. This novel concept allows effective interactions between micro-/nanoelectronic devices and external mechanical stimuli. Piezotronics provide a promising approach for designing future electronic devices beyond Moore’s Law with potential for developing smart sensors, environment monitoring systems, human–machine interaction elements, and other transducers. In this article, we review recent progress in piezotronics using one-dimensional materials, heterojunctions, and large-scale arrays. We provide guidance for future piezotronic devices based on these materials.

It has been proposed that within the Tarim Basin tectonic activity has been limited since Triassic time. However, on the basis of magnetostratigraphy from the eastern Tarim Basin, which defines the chronology of sedimentation and structural evolution of the basin, we show that the basin interior has been uplifted and partitioned during Quaternary. The magnetostratigraphy was constructed from 2228 samples that yielded acceptable inclination values. Characteristic remnant magnetization (ChRM) with both normal (N1–N11) and reversed (R1–R11) polarity was isolated by thermal demagnetization. The data correlate best with polarity chrons C3r to C1n, which range from 5.39 Ma to recent on the geological time scale 2004 (GTS2004). An abrupt decrease in the sedimentation rate is observed at 1.77 Ma in the Ls1 core. This change does not overlap with known Pleistocene climate-change events. We attribute this sedimentation rate decrease to a structurally controlled local decrease in accommodation space where basin basement uplifts occur. This period of sedimentary environmental change reveals that structural partitioning in the basement of the Tarim Basin occurred since ~ 1.77 Ma, and we speculate that tilting of the Southeast Uplift (a sub-basin unit) within the Tarim Basin began in early Pleistocene time.

Arid Central Asia (ACA) lies on a major climatic boundary between the mid-latitude westerlies and the northwestern limit of the Asian summer monsoon, yet only a few high-quality reconstructions exist for its climate history. Here we calibrate a new organic geochemical proxy for lake temperature, and present a 45-yr-resolution temperature record from Hurleg Lake at the eastern margin of the ACA in the northern Tibetan Plateau. Combination with other proxy data from the same samples reveals a distinct warm–dry climate association throughout the record, which contrasts with the warm–wet association found in the Asian monsoon region. This indicates that the climatic boundary between the westerly and the monsoon regimes has remained roughly in the same place throughout the Holocene, at least near our study site. Six millennial-scale cold events are found within the past 9000 yr, which approximately coincide with previously documented events of northern high-latitude cooling and tropical drought. This suggests a connection between the North Atlantic and tropical monsoon climate systems, via the westerly circulation. Finally, we also observe an increase in regional climate variability after the mid-Holocene, which we relate to changes in vegetation (forest) cover in the monsoon region through a land-surface albedo feedback.

Vegetation changes during the late Quaternary in the dune fields of northern China are not well understood. We investigated organic carbon stable isotopic composition of surface soils, related mainly to the ratio of C3 and C4 plants, across a range of arid to subhumid climates in this region. Isotopic composition is weakly related to both temperature and moisture (multiple R2 = 0.53), with the highest δ13C (greatest C4 abundance) in the warm, subhumid Horqin dune field. In late Quaternary, eolian stratigraphic sections of the Mu Us and Horqin dune fields, but not in the much colder Otindag dune field, δ13C is higher in organic carbon from paleosols than in eolian sands. This contrast, most evident for paleosols recording a major early to middle Holocene phase of dune stabilization, is interpreted as evidence for expansion of C4 plants due to increased effective moisture, high temperature because of high insolation, and decreased disturbance related to eolian erosion and deposition.

The large prehistoric city of Liangzhu and its associated earthen dike emerged on the Yangtze delta-coast after two millennia of occupation in this area by scattered communities. Details of its development have been widely discussed in the literature. Our results reveal that the city was selectively built at the head of an embayment backed by hills, with close access to food, freshwater and timber, and with protection from coastal hazards. Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating shows that it was built around 4.8–4.5 ka, and the earthen dike was constructed a little later at ~ 4.1 ka. During this time, saltwater wetlands were changing to freshwater in response to rapid coastal progradation as the postglacial sea-level rise stabilized. This facilitated rice farming and furthered the development of the city with elaborate city planning. The younger large-scale earthen dike and artificial ponds possibly suggest increasing demand for flood mitigation and irrigation.

We investigate the distribution of archaeal lipids in a 5.8-m-long sedimentary core recovered from Lake Qinghai to extract regional hydroclimate and temperature signals since the last deglaciation for this important region. The paleohydrology was reconstructed from the relative abundance of thaumarchaeol (%thaum) and the archaeol and caldarchaeol ecometric (ACE) index. The %thaum-inferred lake-level record was extended to deglaciation, showing three periods (11.9–13.0, 14.1–14.7 and 15.1–17.2 cal ka BP) with relatively higher lake levels than those during the early Holocene. The ACE record demonstrates three periods (10.6–11.2, 13.2–13.4 and 17.4–17.6 cal ka BP) of elevated salinity when the lake was shallow. Filtered TEX86 record based on archaeal lipid distributions corresponded to relatively higher lake levels, implying that a certain lake size is required for using the TEX86 paleothermometer. At 1–4 cal ka BP, the reconstructed temperature fluctuated significantly and correlated negatively with inferred lake level, indicating that lake temperature and hydrological change might be coupled during this period. We attribute this co-variance to the importance of summer temperature in controlling evaporation for this arid/semi-arid region. Moreover, our results indicate that archaeal lipids have potential in reconstructing paleoclimate patterns from lacustrine sedimentary cores, but the data should be interpreted with care.

Understanding crop water use in mixed crops over sole cropping is vital for developing optimum water management systems for crop production. In this study, a two-year field experiment with typical maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] relay strip intercropping (2:2 maize-to-soybean rows; 200 cm bandwidth) was carried out in the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. The quantitative effects of various planting patterns on the water-use efficiency (WUE) and water distribution were investigated. Our results indicated that soil volumetric water content and soil evaporation in the intercropping systems showed decreasing trends in the order: maize row (MM) < maize-to-soybean row (MS) < soybean row (SS). The highest leaf transpiration (1.91 and 2.07 mmol m−2 s−1) for the intercropped maize was measured in each of the two years in the 20 cm maize narrow-row planting pattern and decreased thereafter. Opposite trend was observed for the intercropped soybean; the highest soybean leaf transpiration (7.01 and 6.80 mmol m−2 s−1 for 2013 and 2014, respectively) was recorded in the 70 cm. The WUE of maize and soybean intercrops was lower than that of sole crop counterparts. However, the maximum group water use efficiency (GWUE) of 26.08 and 26.20 kg ha−1 mm−1 in the 40–50 cm maize narrow-row planting pattern was, respectively, 39.6% and 23% higher compared with that of sole crops. The water equivalent ratio (WER) values ranged from 1.60–1.79, suggesting better crop water use in the intercrops over sole cropping. Planting patterns provided by 40–50 cm maize narrow-row spacing were considered the most efficient in terms of maximum total yields, GWUE and WER. These results suggest that an appropriate reduction in the spacing of narrow maize row with wide soybean row could be an efficient crop management method to achieve optimal WUE and homogeneous water distribution in maize–soybean intercropping systems.

In this work, the improved (G′/G)-expansion method is proposed for constructing more general exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equation with the aid of symbolic computation. In order to illustrate the validity of the method we choose the RLW equation and SRLW equation. As a result, many new and more general exact solutions have been obtained for the equations. We will compare our solutions with those gained by the other authors.

In this article, we introduce the notion of the Markov chain fields on the generalized Bethe trees or generalized Cayley trees, and some strong limit theorems on the frequencies of states and ordered couples of states, including the Shannon–McMillan theorem on Bethe tree TB,N and Cayley tree TC,N, are obtained. In the proof, a new technique in the study of the strong limit theorem in probability theory is applied.