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Since the 1970s, humanity has gradually begun to develop a more objective comprehension of the dynamic between human beings and the natural environment, moving away from an anthropocentric perspective. Ecological consciousness has since entered the academic discourse across various disciplines. Ecocriticism emerged in response, aiming to explore the interplay between literary works and the broader natural context, while seeking to awaken ecological awareness and a heightened sense of environmental crisis in human society. Taking British Romantic poets as an example, Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads advocates an organic view of nature. In Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey , Wordsworth reflects on the evolving relationship between the poet and nature through an internal monologue, portraying nature as a source of spiritual solace and proposing the idea of an organic unity between humans and the natural world. In Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner , the mariner’s killing of the albatross triggers a series of disasters, underscoring the interconnectedness of humans and nature and advocating reverence for all forms of life. It is evident that applying ecocriticism to the analysis of poetry can more effectively reveal the poets’ early reflections on ecological crises, offering a new ethical perspective and social significance to contemporary literary studies.

In recent years, there are often high premium acquisitions based on high-performance commitment in corporate mergers and acquisitions. The performance commitment is intended to alleviate the information asymmetry between the two parties of mergers and acquisitions, but the pressure brought by the high-performance commitment often triggers the company’s financial fraud behaviour. This paper will use the case study method to select the classic case of Aerospace Communications merger and acquisition of the HiPAD, in-depth analysis of the merged party HiPAD of the financial counterfeiting means, and corresponding to the identification of signs of financial fraud research. This paper analyses the abnormal signs in the public disclosure information of HiPAD from the unique perspectives of financial information identification and non-financial information identification, parent company and subsidiaries, providing a reference direction for the financial fraud identification path. Finally, it puts forward a universal proposal for the prevention of corporate financial fraud in the context of the pressure of the performance commitment, which provides a feasible method for the similar mergers and acquisitions and high-performance commitment cases.

Due to strong Coulomb interactions, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors can support excitons with large binding energies and complex many-particle states. Their strong light-matter coupling and emerging excitonic phenomena make them potential candidates for next-generation optoelectronic and valleytronic devices. The relaxation dynamics of optically excited states are a key ingredient of excitonic physics and directly impact the quantum efficiency and operating bandwidth of most photonic devices. Here, we summarize recent efforts in probing and modulating the photocarrier relaxation dynamics in 2D semiconductors. We classify these results according to the relaxation pathways or mechanisms they are associated with. The approaches discussed include both tailoring sample properties, such as the defect distribution and band structure, and applying external stimuli such as electric fields and mechanical strain. Particular emphasis is placed on discussing how the unique features of 2D semiconductors, including enhanced Coulomb interactions, sensitivity to the surrounding environment, flexible van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure construction, and non-degenerate valley/spin index of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), manifest themselves during photocarrier relaxation and how they can be manipulated. The extensive physical mechanisms that can be used to modulate photocarrier relaxation dynamics are instrumental for understanding and utilizing excitonic states in 2D semiconductors.Semiconductor photocarriers: Exploring excitons in two dimensionsElectrons and positively charged regions in semiconductors known as holes can form tightly bound states called excitons, offering new opportunities in optoelectronics and in ‘valleytronics,’ which exploits the effects of valleys and peaks in an energy landscape. The excitons display particle-like properties, so are described as quasiparticles. Fengqiu Wang and colleagues at Nanjing University, in China, review many technical aspects of the creation and control of excitons in single layer (2D) semiconductor sheets. The restrictions of 2D materials promote unique exciton behavior and strong light-matter interactions. The authors focus on the ability of excitons to act as photocarriers of absorbed light energy, and on the relaxation processes that can release the energy. Learning how to control exciton formation, interactions and relaxation will be crucial for using them to develop novel optoelectronic and photonic devices.

Ferroptosis is triggered by intracellular iron leading to accumulation of lipid peroxidation consequent promotion of cell death. Cancer cell exhibits ability to evade ferroptosis by activation of antioxidant signaling pathways such as SLC7A11/GPX4 axis. In addition to transcriptional regulation on ferroptosis by NRF2, SREBP1, YAP, and p53, ferroptosis is modulated by ubiquitination or autophagic degradation. Moreover, zinc or Ca 2+ could modulate ferroptosis by inducing lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Induction of ferroptosis enhances immune cell activity such as T cells or macrophages, which is associated with the release of DAMPs (damage-associated molecular patterns) and IFNγ. Therefore, combined immune checkpoint inhibitors with ferroptosis inducers effectively enhance antitumor immunotherapy, whereas induction of ferroptosis could impair T cell activity or survival, suggesting that rational combined therapy for cancer is essential. In this review, we discussed the regulatory role of ferroptosis on tumor progression and immunotherapy.

Lead halide perovskites based microlasers have recently shown their potential in nanophotonics. However, up to now, all of the perovskite microlasers are static and cannot be dynamically tuned in use. Herein, we demonstrate a robust mechanism to realize the all-optical control of perovskite microlasers. In lead halide perovskite microrods, deterministic mode switching takes place as the external excitation is increased: the onset of a new lasing mode switches off the initial one via a negative power slope, while the main laser characteristics are well kept. This mode switching is reversible with the excitation and has been explained via cross-gain saturation. The modal interaction induced mode switching does not rely on sophisticated cavity designs and is generic in a series of microlasers. The switching time is faster than 70 ps, extending perovskite microlasers to previously inaccessible areas, e.g., optical memory, flip-flop, and ultrafast switches etc. Lead halide perovskite lasers have great potential as microscale organic light sources, but dynamic tuning has yet to be achieved. Here, Zhang, Fan et al. investigate how nonlinear modal interactions enable ultrafast mode switching with crossgain saturation.

Frozen ground has an important role in regional hydrological cycles and ecosystems, particularly on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP), which is characterized by high elevations and a dry climate. This study modified a distributed, physically based hydrological model and applied it to simulate long-term (1971–2013) changes in frozen ground its the effects on hydrology in the upper Heihe basin, northeastern QTP. The model was validated against data obtained from multiple ground-based observations. Based on model simulations, we analyzed spatio-temporal changes in frozen soils and their effects on hydrology. Our results show that the area with permafrost shrank by 8.8 % (approximately 500 km2), predominantly in areas with elevations between 3500 and 3900 m. The maximum depth of seasonally frozen ground decreased at a rate of approximately 0.032 m decade−1, and the active layer thickness over the permafrost increased by approximately 0.043 m decade−1. Runoff increased significantly during the cold season (November–March) due to an increase in liquid soil moisture caused by rising soil temperatures. Areas in which permafrost changed into seasonally frozen ground at high elevations showed especially large increases in runoff. Annual runoff increased due to increased precipitation, the base flow increased due to changes in frozen soils, and the actual evapotranspiration increased significantly due to increased precipitation and soil warming. The groundwater storage showed an increasing trend, indicating that a reduction in permafrost extent enhanced the groundwater recharge.

Covalent organic framework (COF) holds great potential as next-generation high-performance desalination membrane material owing to their uniform nanochannels (homo-nanochannels) and abundant functional groups, and the hierarchical structures of nanochannels should be rationally designed to break the trade-off between water permeability and ion rejection. Here, a kind of COF membrane with hourglass-shaped nanochannels is fabricated by installing amino-cyclodextrin nanoparticles (CDN) onto the mouth of COF membrane via sequential assembly. The resulting hetero-nanochannels consist of a hydrophilic conical entrance (~1.6 nm) and a hydrophobic spout (~0.5 nm), created by the CDN specific cavity, onto the homo-nanochannels of COF with intrinsic nanopores (~1.4 nm). The hydrophilic conical entrance facilitates the entry of water molecules, whereas the hydrophobic spout and the homo-nanochannels collectively enable fast water transport. Meanwhile, the amino groups on CDN endow the hetero-nanochannels with pH-responsive ability to dynamically regulate their effective size and charge. Accordingly, the optimum COF-CDN membrane exhibits high desalination performance, with a water flux of 98 L m –2 h –1 , and rejection of 94% for Na 2 SO 4 and 92% for NaCl. The COF-CDN membrane also exhibits superior operational stability (7 days) and pH cycle stability, validating the utilization of COF membrane in efficient desalination. Covalent organic frameworks (COF) are an important desalination membrane material but rational design of the hierarchical structures of nanochannels remains challenging. Here the authors fabricate a COF membrane with hourglass-shaped nanochannels by installing aminocyclodextrin nanoparticles onto the mouth of COF membrane via sequential assembly.

Meta-lenses composed of artificial meta-atoms have stimulated substantial interest due to their compact and flexible wavefront shaping capabilities, outperforming bulk optical devices. The operating bandwidth is a critical factor determining the meta-lens’ performance across various wavelengths. Meta-lenses that operate in a narrowband manner relying on nonlocal effects can effectively reduce disturbance and crosstalk from non-resonant wavelengths, making them well-suitable for specialized applications such as nonlinear generation and augmented reality/virtual reality display. However, nonlocal meta-lenses require striking a balance between local phase manipulation and nonlocal resonance excitation, which involves trade-offs among factors like quality-factor, efficiency, manipulation dimensions, and footprint. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the nonlocal meta-lens featuring Huygens’ bound states in the continuum (BICs) and its near-infrared imaging application. All-dielectric integrated-resonant unit is particularly optimized to efficiently induce both the quasi-BIC and generalized Kerker effect, while ensuring the rotation-angle robustness for generating geometric phase. The experimental results show that the single-layer nonlocal Huygens’ meta-lens possesses a high quality-factor of 104 and achieves a transmission polarization conversion efficiency of 55%, exceeding the theoretical limit of 25%. The wavelength-selective two-dimensional focusing and imaging are demonstrated as well. This work will pave the way for efficient nonlocal wavefront shaping and meta-devices. Here, the authors demonstrate a nonlocal meta-lens featuring Huygen’s bound states in the continuum and experimentally realise this system for nearinfrared imaging. They show wavelength-selective two-dimensional focusing and imaging, paving the way for efficient nonlocal wavefront shaping.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) represents a collaborative model where local farms and community members form partnerships to facilitate the direct delivery of fresh produce from farms to consumers. This study primarily investigates the experiences of current CSA members, focusing on the key factors influencing their retention intentions. Employing a convergent parallel mixed methods approach, this study gathers and analyzes both quantitative data (such as factors affecting members’ retention intentions) and qualitative data (derived from interviews reflecting members’ perceptions of their CSA experiences). The integration of these datasets provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape CSA membership dynamics. The research findings underscore that Convenience , Product Quality , and Positive Interactions are pivotal factors that contribute to members’ Intentions to continue their CSA memberships. These insights are crucial for enhancing the services provided to CSA members and hold significant implications for the broader scope of CSA membership research. This study not only fills a critical gap in understanding the Chinese CSA context but also contributes to the global discourse on sustainable agriculture practices and community engagement.

The hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) was developed to quantify glucose metabolism and individual differences and proved to be a robust measure of individual glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) bias. Here, we aimed to explore the relationship between different HGIs and the risk of 5-year major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) by performing a large multicenter cohort study in China. A total of 9791 subjects from the Risk Evaluation of Cancers in Chinese Diabetic Individuals: a Longitudinal Study (the REACTION study) were divided into five subgroups (Q1-Q5) with the HGI quantiles (≤5th, >5th and ≤33.3th, >33.3th and ≤66.7th, >66.7th and ≤95th, and >95th percentile). A multivariate logistic regression model constructed by the restricted cubic spline method was used to evaluate the relationship between the HGI and the 5-year MACE risk. Subgroup analysis between the HGI and covariates were explored to detect differences among the five subgroups. The total 5-year MACE rate in the nationwide cohort was 6.87% (673/9791). Restricted cubic spline analysis suggested a U-shaped correlation between the HGI values and MACE risk after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors ( χ2 = 29.5, P <0.001). After adjustment for potential confounders, subjects with HGIs ≤-0.75 or >0.82 showed odds ratios (ORs) for MACE of 1.471 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.027-2.069) and 2.222 (95% CI, 1.641-3.026) compared to subjects with HGIs of >-0.75 and ≤-0.20. In the subgroup with non-coronary heart disease, the risk of MACE was significantly higher in subjects with HGIs ≤-0.75 (OR, 1.540 [1.039-2.234]; P = 0.027) and >0.82 (OR, 2.022 [1.392-2.890]; P <0.001) compared to those with HGIs of ≤-0.75 or >0.82 after adjustment for potential confounders. We found a U-shaped correlation between the HGI values and the risk of 5-year MACE. Both low and high HGIs were associated with an increased risk of MACE. Therefore, the HGI may predict the 5-year MACE risk.