DIGITAL MICROFLUIDIC CHIP BASED ON DIRECT INK WRITING FOR NUCLEIC ACID MULTIPLEX PCR DETECTION

This study presents a facile route to fabricate a novel kind of digital microfluidic (DMF) chip via direct ink writing. The manufacture of this device does not rely on conventional microfabrication processes and cleanrooms, which makes it easy to prepare and low cost. By measuring the change of contact angle (CA) and droplet velocity, we proved that it could perform droplet manipulation like traditional DMF chips. In addition, after optimizing the chip structure, through a peripheral support circuit, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagents could be automatically partitioned and mixed on the chip. Furthermore, we realized the multi-target end-point fluorescence detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on this chip, showing promising potential for automatic nucleic acid tests.

Design and Autonomous Navigation of a New Indoor Disinfection Robot Based on Disinfection Modeling

The COVID-19 pandemic shows growing demand of robots to replace humans for conducting multiple tasks including logistics, patient care, and disinfection in contaminated areas. In this paper, a new autonomous disinfection robot is proposed based on aerosolized hydrogen peroxide disinfection method. Its unique feature lies in that the autonomous navigation is planned by developing an atomization disinfection model and a target detection algorithm, which enables cost-effective, point-of-care, and full-coverage disinfection of the air and surface in indoor environment. A prototype robot has been fabricated for experimental study. The effectiveness of the proposed concept design for automated indoor environmental disinfection has been verified with air and surface quality monitoring provided by a qualified third-party testing agency.

Design and Development of a New Autonomous Disinfection Robot Combating COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic shows the increasing demand of robot to substitute human for conducting a series of tasks in contaminated area. Such task includes logistics, patient care, and disinfection, which can reduce the risk of exposure to the highly contagious and deadly virus. This paper presents the design and verification of a new cost-effective autonomous intelligent indoor disinfection robot for automated disinfection work. It integrates the Hydrogen Peroxide Vaporous (HPV) and SLAM for automated disinfection operation in complex indoor environment. A prototype robot has been fabricated for experimental testing. The effectiveness of the developed robot has been verified in real environment, such as hotel and hospital, by qualified third-party testing agency. The work provides an intelligent disinfection robot dedicated to autonomous indoor disinfection work with high safety and effectiveness.

Knowledge management and modern digital transformation of the property management industry in China

Purpose In the current urban and increasingly digital/information era, the service of property management towards residents is of key importance to the well-being of society, which is especially well reflected in its role during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. However, professional knowledge management (KM) has yet to be applied to the daily operation of the property management companies in this sector. The authors posit that introduction of KM concepts to property management at this time would significantly help facilitate the transition of traditional property management towards a higher and more effective value-added service model. From the perspective of KM, this study aims to offer both a theoretical and practical analysis of such a novel business model for companies in the property management industry. Design/methodology/approach Given the current status quo of property management, the authors integrate theories from both KM and information-digital management to qualitatively analyse the challenges and difficulties companies are facing and importantly offer practical suggestions for the centralization, digital-information platform establishment and service innovation. Findings Following the analysis of KM and digital-information modeling, the authors identify three main challenges facing property management services offered in the current digital society including market fragmentation, lack of digital platforms and the absence of a unitary service model. Therefore, the authors propose strategic solutions to resolve these aforementioned problems. Specifically, the authors suggest centralizing property management service, the establishment of a KM-based digital platform and the upgrading of the service model, towards offering a new impetus for the development of companies in property management. Research limitations/implications The authors offer essential guidelines derived from knowledge and information management and explore their implications both from a theoretical, as well as pragmatic/practical perspective that overall would support property management companies' crucial transition from the traditional service model to a more digital-based foundation, and hence, provide a higher value-added service for the residents. Originality/value The current study is one of the first attempts to analyse property management services from the perspective of KM with digital transformation enabling its transition to an information-based internet of things infrastructure. The study not only offers practical guidance to the business of property management but importantly, also contributes to the theoretical underpinnings of KM especially as related to secure serviceability, well-being, security and efficiency of the residential environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.

ESG Disclosure, REIT Debt Financing and Firm Value

Using recently available GRESB ESG public disclosure data for REITs around the world, we examine how ESG disclosure is related to REIT debt financing and firm value. We find that REITs with higher levels of ESG disclosure have lower cost of debt, higher credit ratings, and higher unsecured debt to total debt ratio, controlling for key firm characteristics. These findings suggest that improving ESG disclosure can help REITs to gain better access to the capital markets and enhance corporate financial flexibility, as lenders have paid close attention to a firm's ESG disclosure and integrated evaluation of ESG factors into their lending decisions. Moreover, firm value of REITs is positively associated with their ESG disclosure level. When using the Covid-19 pandemic as a quasi-experimental setting, we find evidence that REITs with higher ESG disclosure levels before the pandemic exhibit higher firm value during the pandemic. These results indicate that investors do value active ESG disclosure by REITs. Additional analyses show that ESG disclosure level is sensitive to institutional ownership, implying that institutional investors may drive REIT ESG disclosure efforts. Taken together, this paper suggests that effective ESG disclosure can have a positive impact on REIT debt financing and firm value due to the increased corporate transparency, and the ESG reporting framework developed by GRESB appears to be effective to provide transparency and comparability across the global real estate industry.