Who buys new energy vehicles in china? Assessing social-psychological predictors of purchasing awareness, intention, and policy

This paper investigates the salience of social-psychological factors in explaining why drivers purchase (or fail to purchase) New Energy Vehicles (NEVs)—including hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles—in China. A questionnaire measuring six dimensions (including attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, low-carbon awareness and policy) was distributed in Tianjin, where aggressive policy incentives for NEVs exist yet adoption rates remain low. Correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analyses are applied data collected through 811 valid questionnaires. We present three main findings. First, there is an “awareness-behavior gap” whereby low-carbon awareness has a moderating effect on purchasing behavior via psychological factors. Second, subjective norms has a stronger influence on intention to purchase New Energy Vehicles than other social-psychological factors. Third, acceptability of government policies has positive significant impact on adoption of New Energy Vehicles, which can provide reference potential template for other countries whose market for New Energy Vehicles is also in an early stage

The Lattices of Group Fuzzy Congruences and Normal Fuzzy Subsemigroups on E

The aim of this paper is to investigate the lattices of group fuzzy congruences and normal fuzzy subsemigroups on E-inversive semigroups. We prove that group fuzzy congruences and normal fuzzy subsemigroups determined each other in E-inversive semigroups. Moreover, we show that the set of group t-fuzzy congruences and the set of normal subsemigroups with tip t in a given E-inversive semigroup form two mutually isomorphic modular lattices for every t∈0,1

Set-theoretic solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation and regular *-semibraces

As generalizations of inverse semibraces introduced by Catino, Mazzotta and Stefanelli, Miccoli has introduced regular $\star$-semibraces under the name of involution semibraces and given a sufficient condition under which the associated map to a regular $\star$-semibrace is a set-theoretic solution of the Yang-Baxter equation. From the viewpoint of universal algebra, regular $\star$-semibraces are (2,2,1)-type algebras. In this paper we continue to study set-theoretic solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation and regular $\star$-semibraces. We first consider several kinds of (2,2,1)-type algebras that induced by regular $\star$-semigroups and give some equivalent characterizations of the statement that they form regular $\star$-semibraces. Then we give sufficient and necessary conditions under which the associated maps to these (2,2,1)-type algebras are set-theoretic solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. Finally, as analogues of weak braces defined by Catino, Mazzotta, Miccoli and Stefanelli, we introduce weak $\star$-braces in the class of regular $\star$-semibraces, describe their algebraic structures and prove that the associated maps to weak $\star$-braces are always set-theoretic solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. The result of the present paper shows that the class of completely regular, orthodox and locally inverse regular $\star$-semigroups is a source of possibly new set-theoretic solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. Our results establish the close connection between the Yang-Baxter equation and the classical structural theory of regular $\star$-semigroups.40page

Transdermal delivery of traditional Chinese medicine patch vs. NSAIDs patch for alleviating inflammation and relieving pain for early-stage knee osteoarthritis: a retrospective case control study

BackgroundThe effects of transdermal delivery of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patch for early-stage knee osteoarthritis (EKOA) is unclear.ObjectiveThis study is aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of a type of TCM topical drug-Xiaotong patch with NSAIDs topical drug-flurbiprofen patch to treat EKOA.MethodsThis retrospective case control study included 42 EKOA patients from October 2023 to September 2024. Patients were divided into Xiaotong patch group and flurbiprofen patch group. The baseline characteristics, such as demographic and epidemiological information were collected. The main outcome measured was the alteration in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score following treatment. The secondary outcomes included inflammatory markers, like cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).ResultsThe 42 EKOA patients were divided into two groups averagely. They received the transdermal patch therapy daily for 14 days. The primary outcome-pain assessment based on VAS score showed a prominent decrease in both groups compared with the values before treatment (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between groups after treatment (P > 0.05). For the secondary outcomes, TNF-α and ESR were included for evaluating the pre- and post-treatment findings. The results also indicated the inflammatory conditions were alleviated by transdermal delivery of drugs from TCM patch or NSAIDs patch. Similarly, the data showed a comparable anti-inflammatory effect between groups (P > 0.05).ConclusionThe TCM transdermal patch exerts a similar effect on the EKOA in the aspects of pain relief and regulating inflammation for a short-term treatment as NSAIDs patch. It may provide an alternative for clinical management of EKOA

Alterations in the functional connectivity of thalamic subregions after basal ganglia stroke

BackgroundMotor and cognitive impairments are common symptoms of basal ganglia (BG) stroke, although the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the alterations in functional connectivity (FC) between thalamic subregions post-BG stroke via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) measurements.MethodsThis cross-sectional study compared 40 patients with BG stroke and 35 healthy controls (HCs). Seed-based FC analysis was performed for 14 thalamic subregions. Correlations between FC changes and Fugl–Meyer Assessment (FMA)/Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were assessed.ResultsPatients exhibited hyperconnectivity between the left thalamic subregion connected with the sensory cortex (SC_thalamus) and left precuneus (t = 3.97, pFWE = 0.041) and the right SC_thalamus–left angular gyrus (t = 4.50, pFWE = 0.032). Hypoconnectivity emerged between the left thalamic subregion connected with the prefrontal cortex (PFC_thalamus) and right supramarginal gyrus (t = −5.54, pFWE = 0.015), left thalamic subregion connected with the temporal cortex (TC_thalamus) and right postcentral gyrus (t = −4.95, pFWE = 0.022), and right thalamic subregion connected with the primary motor cortex (M1_thalamus) and right medial suprafrontal gyrus (t = −5.62, pFWE = 0.012). FC strength between the right M1_thalamus and right medial suprafrontal gyrus was positively correlated with FMA (r = 0.484, pFDR = 0.033), while left PFC_thalamus–right supramarginal connectivity predicted MMSE performance (r = 0.490, pFDR = 0.021).ConclusionBG stroke disrupts thalamocortical circuitry at subregional levels, with distinct FC patterns linking to motor/cognitive deficits. These network-level insights may guide targeted neuromodulation therapies. The identified FC alterations could serve as biomarkers for monitoring recovery and personalizing interventions to improve post-stroke rehabilitation outcomes

The prognostic role of the change in albumin-derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer

The prognosis of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) has improved with the adoption of a multidisciplinary treatment approach combining neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and total mesorectal excision (TME). Developing real-time, sensitive biomarkers to monitor systemic changes during nCRT is of paramount importance. Although the association between albumin-derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (Alb-dNLR) and prognosis in various cancers is established, its prognostic value in LARC patients undergoing nCRT is not well-studied. This study enrolled a cohort of 618 LARC patients, stratifying them into two groups according to their change in Alb-dNLR (∆Alb-dNLR) values, using an optimal cut-off point: a low ∆Alb-dNLR group (≤ 0.90) and a high ∆Alb-dNLR group (> 0.90). The prognostic significance of ∆Alb-dNLR was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 75.2% in the low ∆Alb-dNLR group (≤ 0.90) and 85.9% in the high ∆Alb-dNLR group (>0.90) (P < 0.001). The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 71.2% and 80.6%, respectively (P = 0.016). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that both ∆Alb-dNLR and pre-Alb-dNLR were independent prognostic factors for OS (P ≤ 0.001), while ∆Alb-dNLR was demonstrated as an independent prognostic factor for DFS (P = 0.016). A predictive nomogram, incorporating the ∆Alb-dNLR subgroup, demonstrated enhanced performance (concordance index [C-index] of 0.720 for OS and 0.690 for DFS) compared to the pre-treatment Alb-dNLR subgroup (C-index of 0.700 for OS and of 0.680 for DFS). Therefore, ∆Alb-dNLR shows significant potential as a usable and prognostic biomarker for predicting OS and DFS in LARC patients undergoing nCRT

Guidance Compliance Behavior on VMS Based on SOAR Cognitive Architecture

SOAR is a cognitive architecture named from state, operator and result, which is adopted to portray the drivers' guidance compliance behavior on variable message sign (VMS) in this paper. VMS represents traffic conditions to drivers by three colors: red, yellow, and green. Based on the multiagent platform, SOAR is introduced to design the agent with the detailed description of the working memory, long-term memory, decision cycle, and learning mechanism. With the fixed decision cycle, agent transforms state through four kinds of operators, including choosing route directly, changing the driving goal, changing the temper of driver, and changing the road condition of prediction. The agent learns from the process of state transformation by chunking and reinforcement learning. Finally, computerized simulation program is used to study the guidance compliance behavior. Experiments are simulated many times under given simulation network and conditions. The result, including the comparison between guidance and no guidance, the state transition times, and average chunking times are analyzed to further study the laws of guidance compliance and learning mechanism

Surface Roughness Models and Their Experimental Validation in Micro Milling of 6061-T6 Al Alloy by Response Surface Methodology

Due to the widespread use of high-accuracy miniature and micro features or components, it is required to predict the machined surface performance of the micro milling processes. In this paper, a new predictive model of the surface roughness is established by response surface method (RSM) according to the micro milling experiment of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy which is carried out based on the central composite circumscribed (CCC) design. Then the model is used to analyze the effects of parameters on the surface roughness, and it can be concluded that the surface roughness increases with the increasing of the feed rate and the decreasing of the spindle speed. At last, based on the model the contour map of the surface roughness and material removal rate is established for optimizing the process parameters to improve the cutting efficiency with good surface roughness. The prediction results from the model have good agreement with the experimental results

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of Toronto Extremity Salvage Score for patients with extremity sarcoma

OBJECTIVE: As a widely used instrument for patients with extremity sarcoma, the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS) has never been cross-culturally adapted for Chinese population. The objective of our study was to investigate the comprehensibility, reliability and validity of the Chinese version of TESS for use in patients with extremity sarcoma. METHODS: A consensus version of the Chinese TESS was developed under the review of a committee according to international guidelines. 64 patients were recruited to complete the Chinese TESS, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) Rating Scale, and the Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30). Reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s α. Validity was assessed with Pearson’s correlation between the similar domains of the two questionnaires. RESULTS: The ICCs for the test–retest reliability was 0.932 for the upper extremity questionnaire and 0.893 for lower extremity questionnaire, respectively. The Cronbach’s α was 0.953 for the lower extremity questionnaire and 0.921 for the upper extremity questionnaire, respectively. Convergent validity of the TESS based on Pearson correlation coefficients indicated significantly moderate to high correlations between the TESS and the MSTS as well as the QLQ-C30, with r ranging from 0.535 to 0.782. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese TESS is a comprehensible, reliable, and valid instrument that can be utilized for future cross-cultural international studies of extremity sarcoma