Explore the vast range of titles available.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260724.].

Recent studies have verified that the welfare regime is an important factor influencing intergenerational inequality, with the conservative regime being the most immobile one among the three welfare regimes adopted by western developed countries. Compared with the west, the productivist welfare regime is classified for East Asian economies due to their restrained welfare provision. This paper aims to explore the intergenerational inequality under productivist welfarism and finds that, under a productivist regime, individuals exhibit lower intergenerational inequality than those under a conservative regime, both in terms of father-to-child socioeconomic status and in the influence of fathers’ socioeconomic status on children’s income. Further analysis, grounded in human-capital theory, suggests that the education premium exists under a productivist regime is linked, albeit partially, to this finding.

This paper uses NASDAQ order book data for the S&P 500 exchange traded fund (SPY) to examine the relationship between one-minute, informational market efficiency and high frequency trading (HFT). We find that the level of efficiency varies widely over time and appears to cluster. Periods of high efficiency are followed by periods of low efficiency and vice versa. Further, we find that HFT activity is higher during periods of low efficiency. This supports the argument that HFTs seek profits and risk reduction by actively processing information, through limit order additions and cancellations, during periods of lower efficiency and revert to more passive market-making and rebate-generation during periods of higher efficiency. These findings support the argument that the adaptive market hypothesis (AMH) is an appropriate description of how prices evolve to incorporate information.

Currently, qigong and tai chi exercises are the two most common preventive as well as therapeutic interventions for chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the quantitative evaluation of these interventions is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of qigong and tai chi intervention in middle-aged and older adults with T2DM. The study included 103 eligible participants, who were randomized to participate for 12 weeks, in one of the following intervention groups for the treatment of T2DM: fitness qigong, tai chi, and control group. Three biochemical measures, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), and C-peptide (C-P) levels, assessed at baseline and 12 weeks, served as the primary outcome measures. During the training process, 16 of the 103 participants dropped out. After the 12-week intervention, there were significant influences on HbA1C ( F 2,83 = 4.88, p = 0.010) and C-P levels ( F 2,83 = 3.64, p = 0.031). Moreover, significant reduction in C-P levels was observed after 12-week tai chi practice ( p = 0.004). Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between the duration of T2DM and the relative changes in FPG levels after qigong intervention, and the relative changes in HbA1C levels were positively correlated with waist-to-height ratio after tai chi practice. Our study suggests that targeted qigong exercise might have a better interventional effect on patients with a longer duration of T2DM, while tai chi might be risky for people with central obesity. Trial registration: This trial was registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. The registration number is ChiCTR180020069 . The public title is “Health-care qigong · study for the prescription of chronic diabetes intervention.”

Background Flight and freezing are two vital defensive behaviors that mice display to avoid natural enemies. When they are exposed to innate threats, visual cues are processed and transmitted by the visual system into the emotional nuclei and finally transmitted to the periaqueductal gray (PAG) to induce defensive behaviors. However, how the dorsal PAG (dPAG) encodes the two defensive behaviors is unclear. Methods Multi‐array electrodes were implanted in the dPAG nuclei of C57BL/6 mice. Two kinds of visual stimuli (looming and sweeping) were used to induce defensive behaviors in mice. Neural signals under different defense behaviors were recorded, and the encoding characteristics of the two behaviors were extracted and analyzed from spike firing and frequency oscillations. Finally, synchronization of neural activity during the defense process was analyzed. Results The neural activity between flight and freezing behaviors showed different firing patterns, and the differences in the inter‐spike interval distribution were mainly reflected in the 2–10 ms period. The frequency band activities under both defensive behaviors were concentrated in the theta band; the active frequency of flight was ~8 to 10 Hz, whereas that of freezing behavior was ~6 to 8 Hz. The network connection density under both defense behaviors was significantly higher than the period before and after defensive behavior occurred, indicating that there was a high synchronization of neural activity during the defense process. Conclusions The dPAG nuclei of mice have different coding features between flight and freezing behaviors; during strong looming stimulation, fast neuro‐instinctive decision making is required while encountering weak sweeping stimulation, and computable planning late behavior is predicted in the early stage. The frequency band activities under both defensive behaviors were concentrated in the theta band. There was a high synchronization of neural activity during the defense process, which may be a key factor triggering different defensive behaviors. Flight and freezing are two vital defensive behaviors in the process of avoiding natural enemies in mice. We investigated the neural activity in dPAG nuclei of mice under two defensive behaviors, and found different coding features between flight and freezing behaviors.

Evidence shows that economic advantages and disadvantages tend to be hereditary, generating a positive association between income inequality and intergenerational immobility. This relationship, “the Great Gatsby Curve,” is explained in this article in relation to welfare regimes. Compared to Liberal and Nordic welfare regimes, Conservative welfare regime generates the highest level of intergenerational immobility. Multilevel analysis of data from International Social Survey Programme (ISSP2009) supports that Conservative regime is the strongest to keep the influence of parental backgrounds on children’s wealth which is the key to determine children’s socio-economic status. These findings, combined with the fact that the conservative welfare regime generates a medium-high level of economic inequality, explains why income inequality is positively and concavely correlated with intergenerational immobility.

This study analyzed Chinese companies’ behavior regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure, and its impact on national and regional climate change measured by carbon emissions. CSR disclosure, supported by existing theories, is considered a powerful tool to curb climate change issues. We combined data of companies’ publicly traded annual financial reports and CSR reports from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database and provincial macroeconomic statistics from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics to run panel regressions. The results verify the following: (a) China is in a relatively early stage of CSR development, and Chinese firms’ internal incentives to adopt CSR projects are low since none of the internal factors researched contribute to CSR disclosure. (b) External factors work slightly better for CSR practices, but at the same time, the CSR regulations still need further improvement. (c) The current CSR disclosure practices do not have a clear impact on carbon emission reduction, contrary to some predictions that CSR could help reduce carbon emissions.

Long-term excessive application of mineral fertilizer leads to phosphorus (P) accumulation, increasing the risk of P migration and loss from the soil profile. The colloids in the soil profile are important carriers for P migration due to their high P adsorption and transport capacity. It is not clearly understood how colloidal P (CP) is distributed in subsoils (<1.2 m) of a Vertisol, contributing to subsurface P loss. Understanding the depth sequence distribution and speciation of colloidal P in the soil profile is critical for a comprehensive assessment of P loss. In this study, water-extractable colloids (WECs) with the size of 0.35–2 µm were obtained from a 0–120 cm soil profile by a sedimentation and centrifugation scheme. The dissolved reactive P (DRP) and dissolved total P (DTP) in soil supernatant with particle sizes <0.35 µm were measured by molybdate blue colorimetry. Solution 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and P K-edge XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) were used to characterize the species and distribution of CP in the soil profile of fertilized farmland. Total and available P in bulk soil and colloids decreased with soil depth. The organic P (OP) contained 97–344 mg kg−1 per bulk soil and 110–630 mg kg−1 per WEC. The OP in soil profile consists of orthophosphate mono-esters and diesters primarily according to NMR results. It suggested that OP in WECs from subsoils might be affected by the translocation of CP from surface soils, probably due to soil acidification and preferential flow caused by swelling–shrinkage clays, including montmorillonite and nontronite detected by X-ray powder diffractometer (XRD) results. Additionally, the more negative zeta potential of surface soil colloids suggests the high mobility of colloidal P towards the subsoils. The CP concentration for <2 µm was about 38–93 mg P kg−1 per bulk soil, which is 6–37 times that of DRP, suggesting that CP plays a dominant role in P transport within the soil profile. The relatively small fraction of orthophosphate diesters suggests limited P assimilation by microorganisms for the accumulation of WECs containing organically bound P in subsoils. The P K-edge XANES results indicated that the proportions of Al-P, Fe-P, and inositol hexakisphosphate (IHP) of WECs decreased, but hydroxyapatite (HAP) increased with soil depth. This study showed that inorganic and organic P migrated from the surface to deeper layers along the soil profile, with soil colloids having a significant effect on P migration from both surface and subsurface layers. The findings have an important significance for soil P migration evaluation and agricultural non-point source pollution control in Vertisols.

This study mainly focuses on a series of topics within high frequency data of a private limit order book from NASDAQ. The interest of our research first comes from the famous classical theory “Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH)”. Given the existence of a separate market in which high frequency traders compete together under today’s environment, we show that this market is quite adaptive rather than efficient since the statistical quantity measuring market efficiency will have fluctuating values in different time point, confirmed in our study. Then we explore the linkage between high frequency cancelling activity and market short-term volatility (quote volatility). The findings for this topic until now are rather not conclusive yet. In our design, we first use Grange Causality test. It turns out realized volatility and cancelling activity granger cause each other, and cancelling activity contributes tremendously to volatility forecasting. Then we fit our data in a generic of ARCH models to establish the predictability of realized volatility by cancelling information. Finally, we take advantage of the cancelling activity to predict real time trading. We use the VIXY which is an ETF of VIX and focuses on short term performance. We find that the ask side of high frequency trading activities has far more significant impact for both the level of VIXY and return of VIXY, while the bid side seems to be trivial. At last, we analyze the role of traded volume and trend in technical analysis. The usefulness of technical analysis has been confirmed in the beginning part of this study by rejecting EMH, then a continuing topic for we to discuss is possible variables which could contribute to technical analysis. As known to finance literature, volume is frequently taken to validify the trend of stock or discover the reversal of the trend. But now there is opposite opinion maintaining that the role of volume has become trivial. Our findings complement previous researches and confirm both the usefulness and the fading of such usefulness of traded volume.

Glioblastoma is highly enriched with macrophages, and osteopontin (OPN) expression levels correlate with glioma grade and the degree of macrophage infiltration; thus, we studied whether OPN plays a crucial role in immune modulation. Quantitative PCR, immunoblotting, and ELISA were used to determine OPN expression. Knockdown of OPN was achieved using complementary siRNA, shRNA, and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques, followed by a series of in vitro functional migration and immunological assays. OPN gene-deficient mice were used to examine the roles of non-tumor-derived OPN on survival of mice harboring intracranial gliomas. Patients with mesenchymal glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) show high OPN expression, a negative survival prognosticator. OPN is a potent chemokine for macrophages, and its blockade significantly impaired the ability of glioma cells to recruit macrophages. Integrin αvβ5 (ITGαvβ5) is highly expressed on glioblastoma-infiltrating macrophages and constitutes a major OPN receptor. OPN maintains the M2 macrophage gene signature and phenotype. Both tumor-derived and host-derived OPN were critical for glioma development. OPN deficiency in either innate immune or glioma cells resulted in a marked reduction in M2 macrophages and elevated T cell effector activity infiltrating the glioma. Furthermore, OPN deficiency in the glioma cells sensitized them to direct CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity. Systemic administration in mice of 4-1BB-OPN bispecific aptamers was efficacious, increasing median survival time by 68% (P < 0.05). OPN is thus an important chemokine for recruiting macrophages to glioblastoma, mediates crosstalk between tumor cells and the innate immune system, and has the potential to be exploited as a therapeutic target.