The Interrelationship between Culture and Capital Structure:Evidence from International Retailers

The present study investigates the influence of cultural factors in 2022 on the capital structure of global retailers.There are sixteen retailers from eight countries in the sample.In recent times,numerous academicians have taken an interest in examining the capital structure and business model of retailers,owing to their swift and consistent growth.However,the fact that the majority of research originates from the retailers’host country gives rise to debate regarding the applicability of the capital structure of said retailers to countries with distinct cultural environments.Consequently,academics have begun to investigate whether the capital structure of multinational retailers is impacted by the diversity of national cultures.

Reinforcing effects of polypropylene on energy absorption and fracturing of cement-based tailings backfill under impact loading

Polypropylene(PP)fiber-reinforced cement-based tailings backfill(FRCTB)is a green compound material with superior crack resistance and has good prospects for application in underground mining.However,FRCTB exhibits susceptibility to dynamic events,such as impact ground pressure and blast vibrations.This paper investigates the energy and crack distribution behavior of FRCTB under dynamic impact,considering the height/diameter(H/D)effect.Split Hopkinson pressure bar,industrial computed tomography scan,and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)experiments were carried out on six types of FRCTB.Laboratory outcomes confirmed fiber aggregation at the bottom of specimens.When H/D was less than 0.8,the proportion of PP fibers distributed along theθangle direction of80°-90°increased.For the total energy,all samples presented similar energy absorption,reflectance,and transmittance.However,a rise in H/D may cause a rise in the energy absorption rate of FRCTB during the peak phase.A positive correlation existed between the average strain rate and absorbed energy per unit volume.The increase in H/D resulted in a decreased crack volume fraction of FRCTB.When the H/D was greater than or equal to 0.7,the maximum crack volume fraction of FRCTB was observed close to the incidence plane.Radial cracks were present only in the FRCTB with an H/D ratio of 0.5.Samples with H/D ratios of 0.5 and 0.6 showed similar distributions of weakly and heavily damaged areas.PP fibers can limit the emergence and expansion of cracks by influencing their path.SEM observations revealed considerable differences in the bonding strengths between fibers and the FRCTB.Fibers that adhered particularly well to the substrate were attracted together with the hydration products adhering to surfaces.These results show that FRCTB is promising as a sustainable and green backfill for determining the design properties of mining with backfill.

Rheological properties and concentration evolution of thickened tailings under the coupling effect of compression and shear

Cemented paste backfill(CPB)is a key technology for green mining in metal mines,in which tailings thickening comprises the primary link of CPB technology.However,difficult flocculation and substandard concentrations of thickened tailings often occur.The rheological properties and concentration evolution in the thickened tailings remain unclear.Moreover,traditional indoor thickening experiments have yet to quantitatively characterize their rheological properties.An experiment of flocculation condition optimization based on the Box-Behnken design(BBD)was performed in the study,and the two response values were investigated:concentration and the mean weighted chord length(MWCL)of flocs.Thus,optimal flocculation conditions were obtained.In addition,the rheological properties and concentration evolution of different flocculant dosages and ultrafine tailing contents under shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling experimental conditions were tested and compared.The results show that the shear yield stress under compression and compression-shear coupling increases with the growth of compressive yield stress,while the shear yield stress increases slightly under shear.The order of shear yield stress from low to high under different thickening conditions is shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling.Under compression and compression-shear coupling,the concentration first rapidly increases with the growth of compressive yield stress and then slowly increases,while concentration increases slightly under shear.The order of concentration from low to high under different thickening conditions is shear,compression,and compression-shear coupling.Finally,the evolution mechanism of the flocs and drainage channels during the thickening of the thickened tailings under different experimental conditions was revealed.

Malargüe Site Remediation:A Successful Solution for Uranium Mill Tailings

Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA) has the responsibility for restoring uranium mining facilities once the operations have finished.CNEA,within its Environmental Program and in compliance with its legal responsibilities,decides to implement a restoration project for all sites related to the mining and processing of uranium ores.The Malargüe Site is located within the Province of Mendoza in the city of Malargüe.It is the first site to successfully complete its remediation.The activities consist of relocation of tailings to an engineering repository.The tailings management(encapsulation) and rehabilitation of the area was finished in June 2017.The remediation alternative for the ore tailings was selected after conducting comparative studies and submitted the project to the society for consideration.The objective of the encapsulation of the mineral tails is to isolate them from the environment,also proceeding with the decontamination and rehabilitation of the area (landscaping,post-closure monitoring and 20 years monitoring period).Encapsulation consisted of the construction of a containment cell for the mine tailings,to isolate them and prevent pollutants from entering the environment through the transfer routes.To clean the impacted areas,the soil was removed,it was incorporated into the encapsulation,and the filling was carried out with natural soils from the area.Remediation prevents radon transfer to the environment,as ^(222)Ra is an alpha emitter with a half-life of four days,which produces its own radioactive progeny.Radon progeny are solids,and when a ^(222)Ra nucleus emits an alpha particle into the air,the resulting ^(218)Po nucleus,momentarily electrically charged,adheres to any dust particle.Remediation prevents the discharge into the air containing radon and also containing dust particles charged with intensely radioactive radon progeny.The tasks mentioned make it possible to decrease radon emanation,reduce radiological risks to the public and prevent the entry of rainwater into the system.In addition,the containment system prevents the discharge of contaminated liquids into the environment,avoiding contamination of the groundwater.All these activities are according to the concepts of sustainability.

Determination of critical state line(CSL)for silty-sandy iron ore tailings subjected to low-high confining pressures

The disposal of filtered tailings in high dry stacks can induce particle breakage,changing the material's behaviour during the structure's lifetime.The grading changes influence material properties at the critical state,and this is not mature for intermediate artificial soils(tailings)in a broad range of confining pressures.In this paper,it aims to describe the behaviour of iron ore tailings in a spectrum of confining pressures broader than the reported in previous studies.A series of consolidated drained(CD)triaxial tests was carried out with confining pressures ranging from 0.075 MPa to 120 MPa.These results show that the amount of breakage plays an essential role in the response of iron ore tailings.The existence of curved critical state line(CSL)in both specific volume(ν)-logarithm of mean effective stress(p′)and deviatoric stress(q)-mean effective stress(p′)planes,and different responses in the deviatoric stress-axial strain-volumetric strain curves were verified.An inverse S-shaped equation was proposed to represent the silty-sandy tailings'behaviour up to high pressures onν-lnp′plane.The proposed equation provides a basis for enhancing constitutive models and considers the evolution of the grading up to severe loading conditions.The adjustment considered three regions with different responses associated with particle breakage at different pressure levels.

Preparation and interface state of phosphate tailing-based geopolymers

The long-term storage of phosphate tailings will occupy a large amount of land,pollute soil and groundwater,thus,it is crucial to achieve the harmless disposal of phosphate tailings.In this study,high-performance geopolymers with compressive strength of 38.8 MPa were prepared by using phosphate tailings as the main raw material,fly ash as the active silicon-aluminum material,and water glass as the alkaline activator.The solid content of phosphate tailings and fly ash was 60% and 40%,respectively,and the water-cement ratio was 0.22.The results of XRD,FTIR,SEM-EDS and XPS show that the reactivity of phosphate tailings with alkaline activator is weak,and the silicon-aluminum material can react with alkaline activator to form zeolite and gel,and encapsulate/cover the phosphate tailings to form a dense phosphate tailings-based geopolymer.During the formation of geopolymers,part of the aluminum-oxygen tetrahedron replaced the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron,causing the polycondensation reaction between geopolymers and increasing the strength of geopolymers.The leaching toxicity test results show that the geopolymer has a good solid sealing effect on heavy metal ions.The preparation of geopolymer from phosphate tailings is an important way to alleviate the storage pressure and realize the resource utilization of phosphate tailings.

Classification of Sailboat Tell Tail Based on Deep Learning

The tell tail is usually placed on the triangular sail to display the running state of the air flow on the sail surface.It is of great significance to make accurate judgement on the drift of the tell tail of the sailboat during sailing for the best sailing effect.Normally it is difficult for sailors to keep an eye for a long time on the tell sail for accurate judging its changes,affected by strong sunlight and visual fatigue.In this case,we adopt computer vision technology in hope of helping the sailors judge the changes of the tell tail in ease with ease.This paper proposes for the first time a method to classify sailboat tell tails based on deep learning and an expert guidance system,supported by a sailboat tell tail classification data set on the expert guidance system of interpreting the tell tails states in different sea wind conditions,including the feature extraction performance.Considering the expression capabilities that vary with the computational features in different visual tasks,the paper focuses on five tell tail computing features,which are recoded by an automatic encoder and classified by a SVM classifier.All experimental samples were randomly divided into five groups,and four groups were selected from each group as the training set to train the classifier.The remaining one group was used as the test set for testing.The highest resolution value of the ResNet network was 80.26%.To achieve better operational results on the basis of deep computing features obtained through the ResNet network in the experiments.The method can be used to assist the sailors in making better judgement about the tell tail changes during sailing.

Microstructural evolution and strengthening mechanism of aligned steel fiber cement-based tail backfills exposed to electromagnetic induction

Cemented tailings backfill(CTB)not only boosts mining safety and cuts surface environmental pollution but also recovers ores previously retained as pillars,thereby improving resource utilization.The use of alternative reinforcing products,such as steel fiber(SF),has continuously strengthened CTB into SFCTB.This approach prevents strength decreases over time and reinforces its long-term durability,especially when mining ore in adjacent underground stopes.In this study,various microstructure and strength tests were performed on SFCTB,considering steel fiber ratio and electromagnetic induction strength effects.Lab findings show that combining steel fibers and their distribution dominantly influences the improvement of the fill’s strength.Fill’s strength rises by fiber insertion and has an evident correlation with fiber insertion and magnetic induction strength.When magnetic induction strength is 3×10^(-4) T,peak uniaxial compressive stress reaches 5.73 MPa for a fiber ratio of 2.0vol%.The cracks’expansion mainly started from the specimen’s upper part,which steadily expanded downward by increasing the load until damage occurred.The doping of steel fiber and its directional distribution delayed crack development.When the doping of steel fiber was 2.0vol%,SFCTBs showed excellent ductility characteristics.The energy required for fills to reach destruction increases when steel-fiber insertion and magnetic induction strength increase.This study provides notional references for steel fibers as underground filling additives to enhance the fill’s durability in the course of mining operations.

Industrial utilization of arsenic-containing gold dressing tailings as pellet prepared by straight grate process

The utilization of arsenic-containing gold dressing tailings is an urgent issue faced by gold production companies worldwide.The thermodynamic analysis results indicate that ferrous arsenate(FeAsO_(4)),pyrite(FeS_(2))and sodium cyanide(NaCN)in the arsenic-containing gold metallurgical tailings can be effectively removed using straight grate process,and the removal of pyrite and sodium cyanide is basically completed during the preheating stage,while the removal of ferrous arsenate requires the roasting stage.The pellets undergo a transformation from magnetite to hematite during the preheating process,and are solidified through micro-crystalline bonding and high-temperature recrystallization of hematite(Fe_(2)O_(3))during the roasting process.Ultimately,pellets with removal rates of 80.77% for arsenic,88.78% for sulfur,and 99.88% for cyanide are obtained,as well as the iron content is 61.1% and the compressive strength is 3071 N,meeting the requirements for blast furnace burden.This study provides an industrially feasible method for treating arsenic-containing gold smelting tailings,benefiting gold production enterprises.

Release characteristics and stabilization of heavy metals in antimony tailings in Yunnan Province,China

The pollution caused by the mining and smelting of heavy metals is becoming an increasingly severe environmental problem.In this study,the environmental risks of mine tailings were explored using typical antimony tailings(the depth of the sample taken from the ground to the deepest position of 120 cm)from the Zuoxiguo mine in Yunnan Province,Southwest China.The tailings were examined to explore the geological background,distribution characteristics,and release characteristics of heavy metals.Additionally,stabilizer treatments for heavy metals were investigated in consideration of waste treatment.The results showed that the contents of Sb and As(8.93×103 and 425 mg/kg,respectively)in the tailings were considerably higher than the local soil background values,suggesting that these metals pose a considerable threat to the surrounding environment.The geological background values of Cr,Cd,Pb,Cu,and Zn were relatively low.The results of static release showed that Sb,As,Cd,and Cr leached from the tailings more easily than Cu,Zn,and Pb under acidic conditions(pH=2.98).Geo-accumulation indices and potential ecological risk indices showed that Sb,As,Cd,and Pb were highly enriched in the tailings,whereas Cu,Cr,and Zn contents were relatively low.The single factor ecological risk index of the mining area showed that Sb and As are high ecological risk factors,whereas Cr,Cu,Zn,Cd,and Pb are not.The results of the orthogonal test results showed that by adding 15.0%(m/m)fly ash and 15.0%(m/m)zeolite powder to the quicklime and curing for 28 d,a significant stabilization effect was observed for Sb,As,and Pb.This study helps determine the priority control components for characteristic heavy metals in antimony tailings,and provides valuable insights regarding the formulation of appropriate mitigation strategies.

Fluid-Related Performances and Compressive Strength of Clinker-Free Cementitious Backfill Material Based on Phosphate Tailings

Phosphate tailings are usually used as backfill material in order to recycle tailings resources.This study considers the effect of the mix proportions of clinker-free binders on the fluidity,compressive strength and other key performances of cementitious backfill materials based on phosphate tailings.In particular,three solid wastes,phosphogypsum(PG),semi-aqueous phosphogypsum(HPG)and calcium carbide slag(CS),were selected to activate wet ground granulated blast furnace slag(WGGBS)and three different phosphate tailings backfill materials were prepared.Fluidity,rheology,settling ratio,compressive strength,water resistance and ion leaching behavior of backfill materials were determined.According to the results,when either PG or HPG is used as the sole activator,the fluidity properties of the materials are enhanced.Phosphate tailings backfill material activated with PG present the largest fluidity and the lowest yield stress.Furthermore,the backfill material’s compressive strength is considerably increased to 2.9 MPa at 28 days after WGGBS activation using a mix of HPG and CS,all with a settling ratio of only 1.15 percent.Additionally,all the three ratios of binder have obvious solidification effects on heavy metal ions Cu and Zn,and P in phosphate tailings.

Exact Tail Asymptotics for a Queueing System with a Retrial Orbit and Batch Service

This paper discusses a queueing system with a retrial orbit and batch service, in which the quantity of customers’ rooms in the queue is finite and the space of retrial orbit is infinite. When the server starts serving, it serves all customers in the queue in a single batch, which is the so-called batch service. If a new customer or a retrial customer finds all the customers’ rooms are occupied, he will decide whether or not to join the retrial orbit. By using the censoring technique and the matrix analysis method, we first obtain the decay function of the stationary distribution for the quantity of customers in the retrial orbit and the quantity of customers in the queue. Then based on the form of decay rate function and the Karamata Tauberian theorem, we finally get the exact tail asymptotics of the stationary distribution.

Vehicle Head and Tail Recognition Algorithm for Lightweight DCDSNet

In the model of the vehicle recognition algorithm implemented by the convolutional neural network,the model needs to compute and store a lot of parameters.Too many parameters occupy a lot of computational resources making it difficult to run on computers with poor performance.Therefore,obtaining more efficient feature information of target image or video with better accuracy on computers with limited arithmetic power becomes the main goal of this research.In this paper,a lightweight densely connected,and deeply separable convolutional network(DCDSNet)algorithmis proposed to achieve this goal.Visual Geometry Group(VGG)model is improved by utilizing the convolution instead of the fully connected module,the deeply separable convolution module,and the densely connected network module,with the first two modules reducing the parameters and the third module allowing the algorithm to have more features in a limited number of parameters.The algorithm achieves better results in the mine vehicle recognition dataset.Experiments show that the recognition accuracy is improved by 4.41% compared to VGG19 and the amount of parameters is reduced by 71% compared to VGG19.

Effects of Using Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Tailings as Lightweight Aggregate on the Mechanical Properties of Specified Density Concrete

Municipal solid waste incineration tailings were used as lightweight aggregate(MSWIT-LA)in the preparation of specified density concrete to study the effects on compressive strength,axial compressive strength,flexural strength,microhardness,total number of pores,pore area,and pore spacing.The results showed that the internal curing and morphological effects induced by an appropriate quantity of MSWIT-LA improved the compressive response of specified density concrete specimens,whereas an excessive quantity of MSWIT-LA significantly reduced their mechanical properties.An analysis of pore structure indicated that the addition of MSWIT-LA increased the total quantity of pores and promoted cement hydration,resulting in a denser microstructure than that of ordinary concrete.The results of a principal component analysis showed that the mechanical response of specified density concrete prepared with 25%MSWIT-LA was superior to that of an equivalent ordinary concrete.It was therefore concluded that MSWIT-LA can be feasibly applied to achieve excellent specified density concrete properties while utilising municipal solid waste incineration tailings to protect the environment and alleviate shortages of sand and gravel resources.

Non-Destructive Detection and Evaluation of Heavy Metal Pollution in Tailings Reservoir

Heavy metal pollution is a negative effect generated in the process of utilizing non-ferrous mineral. Studies about heavy metal migration detection are very important. A new method for rapid detection of heavy metal migration based on ground penetrating radar (GPR) was provided. Comparative tests were studied from field to lab with GPR and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF). A tailings reservoir in the Xiangjiang River basin at Hunan Province was taken as experimental site. The downward transfer rule of heavy metal migration was confirmed through tests on systematically arranged survey lines and sampling points in tailings site. Results showed: 1) Through GPR image recognition, tailings reservoir had 3 layers. Reclaimed soil layer (the first layer) and tailings layer (the second layer) had a clear interface. However, tailings layer (the second layer) and subsoil layer (the third layer) had an obscure interface on radar images. It was concluded that heavy metal component had migrated downwards. 2) Chemical component analysis verified image recognition conclusions. Concentrations of As, Cd and Pb were significantly out of limit, while concentration of Cr was under limit according to analysis results on samples from different depths. 3) Pollution degree was evaluated. Downward migration was the main form of heavy metal migration in tailings site, upward migration occurred through adsorption at the same time.

Research on the navigation method of large-scale differential tail-control improvised guided munitions based on rotational speed constraints

In the process of launching guided projectile under the conventional system, it is difficult to effectively obtain the precise navigation parameters of the projectile in the high dynamic environment. Aiming at this problem, this paper describes a new system of guided ammunition based on tail spin reduction. After analyzing the mechanism of the ammunition's tail spin reduction, a navigation method of large scale difference tail control simple guided ammunition based on speed constraint is proposed. In this method,the corresponding navigation constraints can be carried out by combining the rotation speed state of the ammunition itself, and the optimal solution of navigation parameters during the flight of the missile can be obtained by Extended Kalman Filter(EKF). Finally, the performance of the proposed method was verified by the simulation environment, and the hardware-in-the-loop simulation test and flight test were carried out to verify the performance of the method in the real environment. The experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve the optimal estimation of navigation parameters for simple guided ammunition with large-scale difference tail control. Under the conditions of simulation test and hardware-in-loop simulation test, the position and velocity errors calculated by the method in this paper converged. Under the condition of flight test, the spatial average error calculated by the method described in this paper is 6.17 m, and the spatial error of the final landing point is 3.50 m.Through this method, the accurate acquisition of navigation parameters in the process of projectile launching is effectively realized.

State-Owned Capital Participation in Private Enterprises:A Perspective of Debt Financing

This study takes debt financing as the entry point and explores the impact of state-owned capital participation in private enterprises from the perspectives of“unarticulated rules”and“articulated rules”.The study finds that state-owned capital participation significantly reduces the debt financing costs of private enterprises and expands the scale of their debt financing.This conclusion remains valid after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests.Further analysis of the mechanism reveals that state-owned capital participation improves the debt financing of private enterprises through multiple channels:Enhancing their social reputation,mitigating the“statistical bias”they face,optimizing their information quality,and reducing the“shareholder-creditor”agency problems.This paper conceptualizes these benefits as the“complementary advantages of heterogeneous shareholders”.This not only constructs a theoretical framework for“reverse mixed-ownership reform”but also better narrates the Chinese story of“mixed-ownership reform”by adopting a more universally applicable theory of equity structure.Additionally,the paper supplements existing research on the macro-and meso-level relationship between the government and the market by exploring the government’s positive role at the micro-level.

Impact of web-based positive psychological intervention on emotions,psychological capital,and quality of life in gastric cancer patients on chemotherapy

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer is a malignant digestive tract tumor that originates from the epithelium of the gastric mucosa and occurs in the gastric antrum,particularly in the lower curvature of the stomach.AIM To evaluate the impact of a positive web-based psychological intervention on emotions,psychological capital,and quality of survival in gastric cancer patients on chemotherapy.METHODS From January 2020 to October 2023,121 cases of gastric cancer patients on chemotherapy admitted to our hospital were collected and divided into a control group(n=60)and an observation group(n=61)according to the admission order.They were given either conventional nursing care alone and conventional nursing care combined with web-based positive psychological interventions,respectively.The two groups were compared in terms of negative emotions,psychological capital,degree of cancer-caused fatigue,and quality of survival.RESULTS After intervention,the number of patients in the observation group who had negative feelings toward chemotherapy treatment was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.05);the Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire score was considerably higher than that of the control group(P<0.05);the degree of cancer-caused fatigue was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.05);and the Quality of Life Scale for Cancer Patients(QLQ-30)score was significantly higher than that of the control group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Implementing a web-based positive psychological intervention for gastric cancer chemotherapy patients can effectively improve negative emotions,enhance psychological capital,and improve the quality of survival.

Defining Cities by Water: Addressing Capital Misallocation in a Race to Conserve Resources

As part of its efforts to promote a sustainable and high-quality development,China has pledged to reduce water consumption and create a water-efficient society.On the basis of identifying the institutional root causes of excessive capital allocation and excessive water consumption in China’s water-intensive industrial sectors,this study elaborates how the national water-efficient cities assessment contributes to optimized capital allocation.Our research shows that national water-efficient cities assessment has motivated local governments to compete for water efficiency.To conserve water,local governments regulated the entry and exit of water-intensive enterprises,discouraged excessive investments in water-intensive sectors,and phased out obsolete water-intensive capacities within their jurisdictions.This approach has resulted in mutually beneficial outcomes,including improved allocation of capital,enhanced water efficiency,and reduced emissions.This paper offers policy recommendations for establishing a water-efficient society throughout the 14^(th) Five-Year Plan(2021-2025)period by presenting empirical evidence on the policy effects of resource efficiency evaluation.

Tailings Dam Mining, Theoretical Considerations, and Circular Economy: A Review

Mining in tailings dams has emerged as a strategic alternative for mining companies for both economic and environmental reasons. Owing to technological limitations in recent decades, many of these dams have high metal contents, emphasizing the need to evaluate the quality of these residues, especially considering the technological advancements in current concentration plants. An economic viability analysis associated with reusing these materials is crucial. From an environmental point of view, improving mining techniques for dams by considering both safety and feasibility is an advantageous option in decommissioning processes and alignment in the circular economy. In this context, representing these tailings in terms of grade quality and granulometry, as well as the associated contaminants, is essential. Geostatistical estimation and simulation methods are valuable tools for modeling tailings bodies, but they require a reliable sampling campaign to ensure acceptably low errors. From an operational perspective, tailings recovery can be conducted via dry methods, such as mechanical excavation, or hydraulic methods, such as dredging or hydraulic blasting. Dredging is a commonly used method, and cutter suction dredgers, which require pumping to transport fragmented material, are the most commonly used tools. In this paper, some practical applications of geostatistical methods for resource quantification in tailings dams will be discussed. Additionally, the main mining methods for tailings recovery in dams will be presented. Emphasis will be given to the dredging method, along with the key analysis parameters for sizing dredgers, pumps, and pipelines.