The anti-melanogenesis effect of ligustroside derived from Ligustrum japonicum and its underlying mechanisms are explored.

The protective effects of Lepidium draba L. on cyclophosphamide-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity are explored in rats.

Recently, the research team led by Professor Heping Zhang at the Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Engineering, Ministry of Education, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, published a groundbreaking study in the prestigious journal Science Bulletin. Titled "A Genomic Compendium of Cultivated Food-Derived Lactic Acid Bacteria Unveils Their Contributions to Human Health", the study details the development of the comprehensive genomic dataset of food-derived lactic acid bacteria (FLAB). By systematically revealing their diversity and potential applications in food fermentation and human health, this research provides valuable scientific insights and foundational support for future studies and practical applications of LAB.

Pyrovanadates are deemed as an ideal class of potential Calcium ion storage hosts, owing to abundant confined species. However, the higher Coulombic hinderance brings about more sluggish diffusion kinetics of charge carriers. Therefore, an allelic reconfiguration is proposed for the activity-limited zinc sites, and a novel solid-solution phase copper/zinc pyrovanadate for calcium-ion host is prepared. Combining theoretical calculations with experiments, the feasibility of the solid solution phase host for high-performance reversible calcium-ion storage is clarified.

In a paper published in Science Bulletin, an international team of scientists examined the extent changes in China’s wetlands from 1980 to 2020 and highlighted the hidden loss and restoration effects based on China_Wetlands product. This consistent dataset (i.e., China_Wetlands) has been created by applying the HOHC method to over 53,000 Landsat images acquired in six time periods from 1980 to 2020.

In a paper published in National Science Review, scientists present evidences that tidal forces have a significant impact on temporal variations in seismic velocity within fault fracture zones.

Scientists developed a high-entropy hydrogel that stiffens 760-fold when heated and softens in 28 seconds upon cooling. This innovation overcomes slow recovery in thermal-stiffening materials, unlocking applications in adaptive armor and soft robotics.

Purpose

We estimate the marginal cost curve of each dealer in each auction, based on structural models of the multiunit discriminatory-price auction.

Design/methodology/approach

Auction theory has ambiguous implications regarding the relative performance of three formats of multiunit auctions: uniform-price, discriminatory-price and Vickrey auctions. We evaluate the performance of these three auction formats using bid-level data of the Federal Reserve’s purchase auctions of agency MBS from June 2014 through November 2014.

Findings

Our results suggest that neither uniform-price nor Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of the total expenditure. However, Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of efficiency, with the efficiency gain around 0.74% of the surplus that dealers extract on average.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this paper provides the first structural analysis of the auctions used by the Federal Reserve in implementing its monetary policies.