Equity Markets, Financial Integration and Competitive Convergence

We expect a firm's competitive advantage to manifest itself in a return on invested capital that is higher than the opportunity cost of capital. Deviations of returns from the cost of capital are a signal for competitive entry or for exit, while the speed of convergence indicates the strength of competitive forces. It is widely believed that, in some sense, the world is becoming more competitive, and that this is may be the effect of globalisation, facilitated by innovations in information technology. It also be the effect of determined actions by governments over two or three decades, to deregulate and open up markets to competition. So for example, in Europe one purpose of both the common currency and the Single Market project was to accelerate the process of economic convergence and, presumably, of competitive convergence. This paper examines the process of competitive convergence in profitability of listed companies in 7 countries of the European Union. We cast our examination of the convergence process in terms of three questions. The first is whether, and to what extent, we observe convergence in profitability through time. The second question is whether there are national differences in the extent of convergence or the speed at which it takes place. Thirdly, we look at the dynamics of convergence through time to see whether there is evidence that convergence in profitability has become more rapid, by which we mean above average or below average profitability persists for a shorter space of time because of increases in competition. The extent to which this can be related to economic and monetary convergence in the European Union remains an open question

Dynamic Optimal Production Strategies Based on the Inventory-Dependent Demand under the Cap-and-Trade Mechanism

Cap-and-trade system is the most popularly applied mechanism that is currently recognized to be effective in stimulating the enterprises to environmentally friendly operate through emission reduction. In this paper, we consider a single company whose carbon emission is generated from not only its production process but also its inventory management activity. A continuous optimal control model is used to find the optimal dynamic production policy on the objective of profit maximization with respect to the cap-and-trade mechanism. Some properties of the strategies are derived concerning the timing of production rate adjustment and the length of the decision duration period. The capacitated strategy is also discussed, in which different combinations of different decision intervals of different production rates are explicitly explored. The impact of various factors on the length of these intervals is qualitatively described. Through the sensitivity analysis, we further discuss the impact of product prices on the positions of the switch time points between the decision intervals. Company’s performance including profit and emission is numerically compared in the situation of joining or not joining the cap-and-trade system

Discovery of Potential Inhibitors of Aldosterone Synthase from Chinese Herbs Using Pharmacophore Modeling, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies

Aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) is a key enzyme for the biosynthesis of aldosterone, which plays a significant role for the regulation of blood pressure. Excess aldosterone can cause the dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and lead to hypertension. Therefore, research and development of CYP11B2 inhibitor are regarded as a novel approach for the treatment of hypertension. In this study, the pharmacophore models of CYP11B2 inhibitors were generated and the optimal model was used to identify potential CYP11B2 inhibitors from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database (TCMD, Version 2009). The hits were further refined by molecular docking and the interactions between compounds and CYP11B2 were analyzed. Compounds with high Fitvalue, high docking score, and expected interactions with key residues were selected as potential CYP11B2 inhibitors. Two most promising compounds, ethyl caffeate and labiatenic acid, with high Fitvalue and docking score were reserved for molecular dynamics (MD) study. All of them have stability of ligand binding which suggested that they might perform the inhibitory effect on CYP11B2. This study provided candidates for novel drug-like CYP11B2 inhibitors by molecular simulation methods for the hypertension treatment.</jats:p

RetiGen:Framework leveraging domain generalization and test-time adaptation for multi-view retinal diagnostics

Domain generalization techniques involve training a model on one set of domains and evaluating its performance on different, unseen domains. In contrast, test-time adaptation optimizes the model specifically for the target domain during inference. Both approaches improve diagnostic accuracy in medical imaging models. However, no research to date has leveraged the advantages of both approaches in an end-to-end fashion. Our paper introduces RetiGen, a test-time optimization framework designed to be integrated with existing domain generalization approaches. With an emphasis on the ophthalmic imaging domain, RetiGen leverages unlabeled multi-view color fundus photographs—a critical optical technology in retinal diagnostics. By utilizing information from multiple viewing angles, our approach significantly enhances the robustness and accuracy of machine learning models when applied across different domains. By integrating class balancing, test-time adaptation, and a multi-view optimization strategy, RetiGen effectively addresses the persistent issue of domain shift, which often hinders the performance of imaging models. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in both domain generalization and test-time optimization. Specifically, RetiGen increases the generalizability of the MFIDDR dataset, improving the AUC from 0.751 to 0.872, a 0.121 improvement. Similarly, for the DRTiD dataset, the AUC increased from 0.794 to 0.879, a 0.085 improvement. The code for RetiGen is publicly available at https://github.com/RViMLab/RetiGen.</p

Optimizing Alarm Management in the NICU: Designing Interfaces for supporting nurses to customize Alarm Limits

In the realm of healthcare, the effective management of alarm systems within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is of paramount importance to ensure patient safety and reduce alarm fatigue among nurses. This study presents a comprehensive exploration of designing interfaces tailored to nurses' needs for adjusting alarm limits, aimed at enhancing their decision-making and patient care. Leveraging a multidisciplinary approach, this project amalgamates insights from nursing practices, user-centered design, and data visualization.Drawing on meticulous literature review, direct observations, interviews, and user surveys, the project meticulously dissected the intricacies of nurses' interactions with alarm systems. This investigation highlighted the necessity for a dashboard that not only reduces the cognitive load on nurses but also empowers them to make informed decisions based on alarm data. The resulting system interfaces offer data customization and visualization capabilities, facilitating rapid and accurate alarm limit adjustments.Therefore, this project has generated interfaces that involves tracking, analyzing, and visualizing the data logged by the nurses in response to alarms and their evaluations, thus supports nurses in adjusting alarm limits for an individual patient.The evaluation of the designed interfaces through two kinds of questionnaires reflects a promising usability score, with nuanced insights about nurses' varying levels of comfort and trust with the interface. Future recommendations include personalized information delivery based on experience levels, Leverage machine learning algorithms and so on.Design for Interactio

Zhuangzi’s <i>De</i> 德 and Transcendence: The Temporal Order of “Ten Suns Rose in the Sky at Once” in the <i>Qiwu lun</i> 齊物論

The phrase shiri bing chu 十日並出 (ten suns rose in the sky at once) from the Qiwu lun 齊物論 can also be interpreted as shiri dai chu 十日代出 (ten suns alternately appearing). Here, “ten suns rose in the sky at once” is not merely a spatial concept but also a temporal one. Thus, the concept of De 德 (virtue), connected to the idea of “ten suns shining together,” is a transcendent force with its own inner sense of time. It acts as the foundation for all things to exist and grow continuously. Under the endless cycle of day and night and the nourishing power of tiande 天德 (heavenly virtue), everything flourishes according to its true nature. Here, De combines two aspects: mingde 明德 (luminous virtue) and xuande 玄德 (inconspicuous virtue). “luminous virtue” focuses on order and building, highlighting the uniqueness within human growth. “inconspicuous virtue” emphasizes harmony and equalizing with all things, revealing our shared connection with the world. These two concepts are not opposites. The highest goal of luminous virtue lies in mysterious virtue, which itself contains the roots of luminous virtue. Both work together to reflect the natural flow of the Dao 道 (the Way), thus demonstrating that Zhuangzi’s philosophy is not merely about criticism or deconstruction—it has a deeply constructive side. Virtue transcends both individuality and universality. Human nature holds both virtues. By balancing the order of growth and equalizing with all things, we can harmonize our uniqueness with our shared bonds, revealing our true value in both action and spirit

Impact Analysis of Brake Pad Backplate Structure and Friction Lining Material on Disc-Brake Noise

This study proposes a three-layer brake pad design, on which a six-DOF dynamic model of brake disc-brake pad is established, and the factors affecting the system instability are analyzed. The analysis shows that the change of mass and stiffness of the brake pad will affect the stability of the system. From the linear complex eigenvalue analysis, the unstable vibration modes of the brake system are predicted, and the effectiveness of the complex mode analysis model is verified by the brake system bench test. Brake pads with different structural shapes are designed, and their influence on the stability of the brake system is analyzed. The results show that the design of the three-layer structure and the slotting design of the brake pad can effectively reduce the occurrence of the brake squeal, especially that of the high-frequency squeal noise