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Learning from sanctioned government suppliers: a machine learning and network science approach to detecting fraud and corruption in Mexico
Research on strategies for enhancing the competency of safety directors in EPC projects empowered by AI
With the widespread application of the engineering–procurement–construction (EPC) delivery model in large-scale infrastructure and complex industrial projects, the highly dynamic construction environment and the escalating complexity of risks pose heightened requirements for the competency of project safety directors. Conventional approaches that rely primarily on experience and manual inspections have become a bottleneck to further improvements in safety management capability. This paper investigates strategies to enhance the competency of safety directors in EPC projects through AI empowerment. Drawing on dynamic capability theory, synergy theory, and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we develop a competency enhancement framework comprising three dimensions—sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring. A comparative experimental design and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were employed for empirical evaluation. The results indicated that the Comprehensive Competency Index (CCI) under the AI-empowered mode increased by 45.9% relative to the traditional mode, enabling a shift in safety management from experience-driven practices to data- and intelligence-driven governance. Furthermore, this study proposes a tiered improvement strategy and a quantitative evaluation system, offering theoretical grounding and practical guidance for talent selection and digital-intelligent transformation in construction enterprises..
Efficacy of different pretreatments in IVF outcomes in patients with endometriosis: A systematic review and network meta‑analysis
State-amplified platform inequality: The economic geography of digital cultural policy in China
Digital platformization is reshaping not only markets but also the spatial organization of cultural development. While platform concentration has been widely examined in commercial sectors, its territorial consequences within national cultural industries remain underexplored. This study investigates whether China’s 2017 digital cultural policy was associated with widening regional divergence in the cultural economy. We frame this process as state-amplified platform inequality, in which state-led digital policy interacts with platform-based accumulation dynamics to reinforce the advantages of already dominant regions. Using national- and provincial-level data from 2012 to 2023, we combine interrupted time series regression, Bai–Perron structural break tests, and inequality analysis of the radio and television broadcasting sector. The results show that post-2017 growth momentum weakened at the national level and that provincial trajectories became increasingly uneven, with most regions exhibiting negative post-policy slopes. In broadcasting, regional concentration intensified sharply: the Gini coefficient rose from 0.442 to 0.841, the spatial Gini index from 0.352 to 0.689, and the Theil index from 0.439 to 1.839. Structural break tests further identify 2017 as a common breakpoint across key concentration measures. These findings suggest that state-led digital modernization may deepen rather than reduce territorial inequality when implemented in platformized sectors characterized by cumulative advantage. The study contributes a theory-informed account of the economic-geographic and distributive consequences of digital cultural policy and highlights the need to evaluate digital development not only by aggregate growth, but also by its spatial distribution.
One Atom Makes a Big Difference in NHC‐Ligated Alloy Nanoclusters: From Structure and Properties to Catalysis
ABSTRACT Despite active research on N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐protected metal nanoclusters, their development faces challenges due to limited structural and property control. Especially, the precise manipulation of structure and property of NHC‐ligated alloy nanoclusters remains unexplored. Here, we present an atomistic‐level model system demonstrating single‐atom control in NHC‐stabilized alloy nanoclusters. By varying a single copper atom with silver in Au 3 Cu( iPr NHC iPr )(PhC≡C) 4 (Au 3 Cu, where iPr NHC iPr is a bidentate NHC ligand and PhC≡C is phenylacetylide), we reveal how one atomic change dramatically alters the structure, properties, and catalytic behavior of these clusters. The newly synthesized Au 3 Ag( iPr NHC iPr )(PhC≡C) 4 retains a tetrahedral metal framework and surface coordination pattern similar to Au 3 Cu, yet the single‐atom variation (Ag for Cu) triggers profound differences. Notably, while Au 3 Cu exists as a monomer, the Au 3 Ag clusters spontaneously dimerize, forming [Au 3 Ag( iPr NHC iPr )(PhC≡C) 4 ] 2 (denoted as (Au 3 Ag) 2 ). Single‐cluster junction conductance measurements reveal a colossal conductance difference of up to 30‐fold of magnitude between the two systems. Furthermore, the (Au 3 Ag) 2 dimer exhibits exceptional catalytic selectivity in electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction, achieving a CO Faradaic efficiency of 70%—more than double that of the Au 3 Cu monomer. Density functional theory calculations and experimental data elucidate the origin of these dramatic structural and functional disparities induced by a single‐atom change.
Unveiling Exsolution‐Induced Giant Electronic and Magnetic Property Changes in Non‐Stoichiometric Titanate Perovskite Thin Films
ABSTRACT Exsolution of nanoparticles, which forms socketed nanostructures partially submerged into a host metal‐oxide surface under in‐situ reducing conditions, has attracted considerable attention because of its exceptionally high stability against particle coarsening compared with conventionally deposited nanoparticles. Consequently, exsolution‐based systems have been widely explored for catalytic and energy‐related applications. However, the electronic and magnetic property changes induced by the exsolution process, in particular their physical origins, remain largely unexplored. Here, a giant insulator‐to‐metal transformation accompanied by the emergence of room‐temperature superparamagnetism is reported, driven by nanoparticle exsolution. By combining comprehensive experimental characterization with density functional theory calculations, it is revealed that the A‐site‐ and oxygen‐deficient perovskite oxide La 0.2 Sr 0.7 Ni 0.1 Ti 0.9 O 3‐δ , designed to promote B‐site cation exsolution, exhibits a charge‐compensated insulating behavior in its pristine state. Upon reduction, the lattice evolves toward a La‐doped SrTiO 3 ‐like phase, resulting in a heavily electron‐doped, degenerate metallic state, leading to the giant insulator‐to‐metal transition with a resistivity change exceeding three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the exsolution process induces a pronounced magnetic transition from diamagnetism in the pristine lattice to room‐temperature superparamagnetism arising from thermally fluctuating exsolved Ni nanoparticles. This work provides new insights into the coupled electronic and magnetic evolution induced by exsolution and highlights its potential for the development of functional electronic and spintronic devices.
Neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based stress reduction in asthma
Pain and depression mediate the relationship between multimorbidity and frailty in older adults with diabetes
Performance enhancement of a solar desalination system using transverse cylinder vibrations: CFD-AI-based prediction
Elucidating mechanism of optical cavities in superconducting strip single photon detectors using transmission line and impedance models
Abstract We clarified the physical mechanism of superconducting strip single photon detectors (SSPDs) with optical cavities by using transmission line and impedance models. By introducing the transmission line model, we derived the analytical formulae for the absorptance of SSPDs with optical cavities. We compared the absorptance obtained from the analytical formulae for SSPDs with single-side, double-side, and dielectric multi-layer optical cavities against the results of numerical simulations. The comparison showed that the results were nearly identical. By introducing the impedance model, it was clearly shown that the SSPDs with optical cavities achieved the maximum absorptance when their input impedance of the SSPDs with optical cavities matched the impedance of the input medium. The design concepts proposed in this study are applicable to other superconducting detectors, such as microwave kinetic inductance detectors and transition-edge sensors.
Automated karyotyping and structural anomaly detection through a hybrid multi-stage deep learning framework integrating chromosome detection, pairwise classification, and autoencoder-based analysis
Association of pyrazinamide resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with mutations in rpoB, katG, and inhA genes
Cobalt‐Catalyzed Intramolecular C─H Silylation of Arenes
ABSTRACT Direct C−Si bond formation via C−H silylation offers an efficient atom‐economical route to organosilanes, yet existing strategies remain largely restricted to noble‐metal catalysis. Here, we disclose the first cobalt‐catalyzed intramolecular C−H silylation of arenes, enabled by the well‐defined hydride complex HCo(PMe 3 ) 4 . This catalyst sequentially activates Si−H and arene C─H bonds, enabling either an hydrosilylation/cyclization sequence or direct cyclization. The method features broad functional‐group tolerance and delivers diverse heterosilacycles and silafluorenes in high yields and is extended to germacycle. DFT studies support a two‐electron mechanism involving oxidative addition of the Si─H bond, H 2 elimination facilitated by a hydrogen acceptor, intramolecular C─H activation to form a cobaltacycle, and final reductive elimination to furnish the silacycle. Overall, this work establishes cobalt hydrides as a sustainable and effective alternative to noble metals for the synthesis of silacyclic architectures.
A 4E (energy, exergy, environmental, and economic) evaluation of a solar air heater with airflow beneath a V-shaped perforated finned absorber
Abstract Egypt has high levels of solar radiation throughout the year, making solar air heaters (SAHs) a practical and economical way to support sustainable energy applications and reduce reliance on traditional energy sources. This study experimentally investigates the energy, exergy, environmental, and economic (4E) performance of three SAH configurations under different air mass flow rates. The experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Egypt (30°11′ N, 31°24′ E). The tested configurations include an airflow channel above the absorber plate (SAH1), an airflow channel below the absorber plate (SAH2), and a modified design with airflow below the absorber plate integrated with perforated V-shaped fins (SAH3). The experiments were conducted during July 2025, and real-time monitoring of temperatures, solar radiation, and airflow was carried out. At a mass flow rate of 0.009 kg/s, SAH3 achieved the highest average thermal efficiency of 62%, compared with 53% for SAH2 and 44% for SAH1. Regarding exergy efficiency at 0.006 kg/s, SAH3 achieved an average of 3.7%, exceeding those of SAH2 (2.6%) and SAH1 (1.8%). At 0.009 kg/s, the SAH3 achieved the lowest energy cost of 0.0003 $/kWh and mitigated CO 2 emissions by approximately 1.07 tons annually, resulting in an estimated carbon credit of 53.43 USD. These results confirm that the proposed design is a promising option for sustainable solar thermal applications.
Association of intrapartum epidural analgesia and oxytocin exposure with offspring autism and neurodevelopment from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study
Abstract Given the increasing prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, this study examined the association between autism and neurodevelopmental delays and exposure to intrapartum labor epidural analgesia (LEA) and synthetic oxytocin (OT) in offspring. The data were obtained from various questionnaires, including the Japanese Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition. Using data from a large-scale longitudinal birth cohort study in Japan, 72,801 participants were enrolled and follow-up to age 4 years. Exposure during labor was categorized into four groups: no-exposure, OT, LEA, and LEA-OT. Adjusted odds ratios for autism were 2.35 (95% CI 1.44–3.83) in the LEA-OT group and 2.41 (95% CI 1.31–4.45) in the LEA group. The E-values for the point estimates were 4.16 in the LEA-OT group and 4.29 in the LEA group, and those for the lower limits of the 95% confidence intervals were 2.39 and 2.05, respectively, indicating only moderate robustness to unmeasured confounding. Associations with autism were consistent across analyses in the LEA-OT group, but in sex-stratified analyses, only males showed an association. No consistent associations with neurodevelopmental delays were observed in any exposure groups. Since residual confounding cannot be excluded, with limited external validity, these findings warrant replication in independent cohorts to clarify causality.