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Food quality and safety issues have always been imperative topics discussed by people. The anti-tampering of blockchain technology and the transparency of information make it possible to improve food traceability and safety quality. How to effectively apply blockchain traceability technology to food safety has great research significance for improving food safety and consumer quality trust.

The paper aims to analyze the differences in product quality levels and market participants’ profits before and after the use of blockchain-driven traceability technology in the food agricultural product supply chain (SC) in the dynamic game frameworks of supplier-led and retailer-led modes, respectively, and explores the willingness, social welfare and consumer surplus of each member of the agricultural product SC to participate in the blockchain. Besides, We investigate the SC performance improvement with the mechanism of central centralized decision-making and revenue-sharing contract, compared to the SC performance in dynamic games.

The results are obtained as follow: The adoption of blockchain traceability technology can help improve the quality of food agricultural products, consumer surplus and social welfare, but the application and popularization of technology is hindered by traceability technology installment costs. Compared with the supplier leadership model, retailer-led food quality level, customer surplus and social welfare are higher.

How to effectively apply blockchain traceability technology to food safety has great research significance for improving food safety and consumer quality trust.

Food quality and safety issues have always been hot topics discussed by people. The anti-tampering of blockchain technology and the transparency of information make it possible to improve food traceability and safety quality.

The research results enrich the theories related to food safety and quality, and provide a valuable reference for food enterprises involved in the decision-making exploration of blockchain technology.

Based on the characteristics of blockchain technology, the demand function is adjusted and the product loss risk of channel members is transferred through a Stackelberg game SC composed of agricultural products suppliers and retailers.

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  We introduce two features of blockchain: quality trust and product information tracking.

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  The willingness of each member of the supply chain to use blockchain for product traceability was explored.

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  The overall traceability effect of the retailer-led blockchain is better than that of the manufacturer-led blockchain.

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  The cost of blockchain technology is a barrier to its adoption.

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  Blockchain brings higher consumer surplus and social welfare.

We introduce two features of blockchain: quality trust and product information tracking.

The willingness of each member of the supply chain to use blockchain for product traceability was explored.

The overall traceability effect of the retailer-led blockchain is better than that of the manufacturer-led blockchain.

The cost of blockchain technology is a barrier to its adoption.

Blockchain brings higher consumer surplus and social welfare.

This study aims to uncover the mechanisms behind the marginalization of county-level public libraries.

The research surveyed 25 counties in central China, including Hubei, Chongqing, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with library directors and deputy directors, focusing on main and branch library construction, cultural inclusivity, library assessment, and digital services.

Contributing factors to library marginalization were identified as economic pressure, institutional domain, longstanding issues, organizational entity, and societal misconceptions. Building on this, the study introduces the HBAC model to explain county-level public library marginalization. Considering the actual social context of these libraries, the article proposes a “3 + 1” approach to mitigate their marginalization.

The research methodology, analysis process, theoretical model, and recommendations provided could shed light on academic research and practical exploration in the field of public libraries globally.

This study aimed to explore two questions. The first is why employees become emotionally exhausted when faced with after-hours electronic communication. The second is how can emotional exhaustion caused by after-hours electronic communication be alleviated?

Our research was based on conservation of resources theory, social exchange theory, and relative deprivation theory. We surveyed 241 employees using three waves of data collection to examine the impact of after-hours electronic communication expectations on their emotional exhaustion. We also explored the mediating effects of relative deprivation and obsessive passion from a cognitive-affective perspective and the moderating effect of leader-member exchange.

The results indicate that after-hours electronic communication expectations lead to employee emotional exhaustion, which is mediated by obsessive passion and relative deprivation. The leader-member exchange negatively moderated after-hours electronic communication expectations and relative deprivation but positively moderated after-hours electronic communication expectations and obsessive passion, thereby alleviating employee emotional exhaustion.

In exploring the influence mechanism of after-hours electronic communication expectations on emotional exhaustion from a cognitive-affective perspective, our study went beyond the limitations of analysis from a single perspective. A comparison of the two pathways indicated that cognition (relative deprivation) is more likely to lead to emotional exhaustion, which validates the view that individuals can ultimately analyse their behaviours rationally. By exploring the moderating effect of leader-member exchange, we provide a theoretical basis for organisations to take measures to alleviate the negative emotions caused by after-hours electronic communication.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of retail investors’ green attention in promoting corporate environmental investments (EIs) using a communication sample on “Hudongyi” from 2011 to 2022.

In this paper, Python is used to capture data and text analysis techniques to obtain green attention information. In the word-matching process, words are matched in the target document one by one based on the preset dictionary and vocabulary rules. In addition to employing fixed effects, this study also incorporates instrumental variables using two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimation and applies the Heckman two-step method to verify the regression results.

First, this paper empirically examines the positive influence of retail investors’ green attention on EIs. Second, the findings show that retail investors’ green attention promotes EIs through decreasing principal-agent costs and principal-principal costs. Third, the results show that retail investor’s supervision effect is strengthened under the following three circumstances: executives with stronger green conception, corporations with less information asymmetry and areas with higher level of investor protection.

Our findings broaden the scope of prior research by exploring the impact of retail investor activism on nonfinancial outcomes, contributing to understanding the “black box” of how investor attention fosters EIs. Moreover, by leveraging the power of technology, retail investors have evolved from being the “silent majority” to being actively engaged. The internet has empowered retail investors by providing them with access to information and enabling them to exercise “voice” rights by appealing companies to engage in pro-environmental activities. Our study can provide useful suggestions for the green development of listed companies in China, as well as in other emerging countries.

Unlike other studies that focus on the deterrent effect and corporate financial outcomes of retail investors, we focus on the supervisory effect of retail investors and verify its role in driving EIs. This fills the knowledge gap in prior studies and contributes new insights to explain EIs and extends the understanding of retail investor activism.

This study explores the effect of local budget retention rate changes (RER) on total factor productivity (TFP) and its components in Vietnam.

The study employs a two-system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator and data from 2012 to 2019 across all 63 provinces/cities of Vietnam.

The study finds that local budget retention rates significantly influence public investment, affecting scale and allocation efficiency. The reallocation of budgets between regions and from the central government to local levels incurs certain costs, often resulting in economically robust provinces experiencing reductions in their retention rates.

Recognizing the challenges of immediate structural budget changes due to cultural and historical factors, the study suggests a more gradual policy approach. It emphasizes the importance of policy predictability, as abrupt reductions in the retention rate lead to higher costs than gradual reductions, thus implementing budget policies with a clearer timeline. This study provides insight into local budget allocation regimes and their impact on productivity in transitioning countries.

First, the study provides fresh evidence of the impact of retention rate changes on TFP and its components in Vietnam. Second, the study provides insights into the mechanisms of the nexus of increased budget spending, capital efficiency and, most importantly, attaining improvement in education. We also offer further insights into inefficient budget allocation agents in Vietnam, especially in large cities, which should alert scholars to explore this topic further in the future.

This paper aims to address the safety concerns of path-planning algorithms in dynamic obstacle warehouse environments. It proposes a method that uses improved artificial potential fields (IAPF) as expert knowledge for an improved deep deterministic policy gradient (IDDPG) and designs a hierarchical strategy for robots through obstacle detection methods.

The IAPF algorithm is used as the expert experience of reinforcement learning (RL) to reduce the useless exploration in the early stage of RL training. A strategy-switching mechanism is introduced during training to adapt to various scenarios and overcome challenges related to sparse rewards. Sensor inputs, including light detection and ranging data, are integrated to detect obstacles around waypoints, guiding the robot toward the target point.

Simulation experiments demonstrate that the integrated use of IDDPG and the IAPF method significantly enhances the safety and training efficiency of path planning for mobile robots.

This method enhances safety by applying safety domain judgment rules to improve APF’s security and designing an obstacle detection method for better danger anticipation. It also boosts training efficiency through using IAPF as expert experience for DDPG and the classification storage and sampling design for the RL experience pool. Additionally, adjustments to the actor network’s update frequency expedite convergence.

The purpose of this paper was to prepare a ternary hierarchical rough particle to accelerate the anti-corrosive design for coastal concrete infrastructures.

A kind of micro-nano hydrophobic ternary microparticles was fabricated from SiO₂/halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and recycled concrete powders (RCPs), which was then mixed with sodium silicate and silane to form an inorganic slurry. The slurry was further sprayed on the concrete surface to construct a superhydrophobic coating (SHC). Transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mappings demonstrate that the nano-sized SiO₂ has been grafted on the sub-micron HNTs and then further adhered to the surface of micro-sized RCP, forming a kind of superhydrophobic particles (SiO₂/HNTs@RCP) featured of abundant micro-nano hierarchical structures.

The SHC surface presents excellent superhydrophobicity with the water contact angle >156°. Electrochemical tests indicate that the corrosion rate of mild steel rebar in coated concrete reduces three-order magnitudes relative to the uncoated one in 3.5% NaCl solution. Water uptake and chloride ion (Cl^-) diffusion tests show that the SHC exhibits high H₂O and Cl^- ions barrier properties thanks to the pore-sealing and water-repellence properties of SiO₂/HNTs@RCP particles. Furthermore, the SHC possesses considerable mechanical durability and outstanding self-cleaning ability.

SHC inhibits water uptake, Cl^- diffusion and rebar corrosion of concrete, which will promote the sustainable application of concrete waste in anti-corrosive concrete projects.

The study aims to determine the impact of sustainable manufacturing on environmental performance through government regulation and eco-innovation in Indonesian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The results indicate sustainable manufacturing plays a significant role in SMEs' environmental performance and regulations, and eco-innovation can moderate it. It also reveals that government regulation has a positive and significant effect on environmental performance. Moreover, eco-innovation has a positive and significant effect on environmental performance.

The findings of this study indicate that SMEs can embrace sustainable manufacturing practices and achieve their long-term sustainability goals by adhering to regulations, collaborating with stakeholders and implementing eco-friendly innovations.

This research uncovers ground-breaking perspectives on the evolution of scientific knowledge about the impact of eco-innovation, regulatory measures and sustainable manufacturing practices on the environmental performance of SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) to analyze the mechanical properties, failure behavior and slope stability of soil rock mixtures (SRM), in which the rocks within the SRM model have shape randomness, size randomness and spatial distribution randomness.

Based on the modeling method of heterogeneous rocks, the SRM numerical model can be built and by adjusting the boundary between soil and rock, an SRM numerical model with any rock content can be obtained. The reliability and robustness of the new modeling method can be verified by uniaxial compression simulation. In addition, this paper investigates the effects of rock topology, rock content, slope height and slope inclination on the stability of SRM slopes.

Investigations of the influences of rock content, slope height and slope inclination of SRM slopes showed that the slope height had little effect on the failure mode. The influences of rock content and slope inclination on the slope failure mode were significant. With increasing rock content and slope dip angle, SRM slopes gradually transitioned from a single shear failure mode to a multi-shear fracture failure mode, and shear fractures showed irregular and bifurcated characteristics in which the cut-off values of rock content and slope inclination were 20% and 80°, respectively.

This paper proposed a new modeling method for SRMs based on FDEM, with rocks having random shapes, sizes and spatial distributions.

The purpose of this paper is to bring into the public domain converging ways of thinking about reality and human systems, exploring parallels between the theory of Physical Vacuum and the concept of Qi in Medical Qigong science.

The approach adopted in this paper includes: review of the relevant literature; dialogues between the first two authors over an eight-month period; review of the findings and discussion of interpretations by all.

There is evidence for the existence of an ideal information field. This field is a real space-time torsion structure. Qi is a torsion field. It spreads with superluminal velocity and connects the whole Universe. Any entity is in a constant dynamic connection with everything else in the Universe.

This paper offers limited discussion of the wider area of scientific discoveries.

The findings may impact future interdisciplinary research, health/well-being practices and public policy.

There is no known to us publication interpreting the parallels between the theory of the Physical Vacuum and the concept of Qi.