Degree Of Openness Research Articles

Unveiling the nitrogen transport and transformation in different karst aquifers media

Karst aquifers, a significant source of drinking water worldwide, are vulnerable to anthropogenic pollutants because of their special hydrogeological conditions. However, distinguishing the nitrogen transformation process is difficult owing to the heterogeneity of karst media. Therefore, the process of nitrogen transformation in different karst aquifer media remains poorly understood. In this study, multiple stable isotopic and physicochemical indicators are combined, the sources of water and nitrogen are analysed, and the degree of openness and redox conditions of different media are discussed to elucidate the nitrate sources and N transformation in groundwater with different degrees of openness. Water isotopes indicate local meteoric groundwater origin. However, different karst aquifer media have different degrees of openness, resulting in the highest deuterium–oxygen isotope values in surface water, followed by conduit water, fissure water, and isolated cave water. Based on the evidence from isotope and physicochemical indicators, different karst aquifer media have different redox processes. Isolated cave water environments were under anoxic conditions dominated by sulfate reduction reactions. Fissure water was under temporary anoxic or sub-anoxic conditions dominated by denitrification reactions. Conduit water and karst surface water were between micro-oxygen and oxidising conditions, and nitrification was the key process. This phenomenon was observed because the diversity of karst media produces different conservation conditions and openness. The nitrate isotope and Bayesian mixing model indicate that the main sources of nitrate in karst groundwater in the study area are mostly associated with manure and sewage wastes, and a few are from soil organic nitrogen, atmospheric deposition, and chemical fertilizer. This study helps identify the migration and transformation patterns and processes of nitrogen in different karst aquifer media, providing a scientific basis for the restoration and remediation of contaminated karst groundwater.

The paradox of price flexibility in an open economy

Empirical evidence suggests that the degree of price stickiness is not uniform around the world. Heterogeneous price stickiness introduces a new propagation mechanism of global demand shocks that lead to a liquidity trap for all countries, which we call the open-economy paradox of flexibility. We show that the severity of the paradox increases with the degree of trade and capital market openness, when home and foreign goods are Edgeworth substitutes and when the more affected home country runs a trade deficit. This implies that highly open trade and financial linkages are not desirable in terms of world welfare. We show that the inefficiencies generated by heterogeneous price stickiness can be reduced through two types of international policy coordination: i) an arrangement in which the country with relatively sticky prices raises the interest rates or ii) a monetary union.

Interventional treatment and early-stage follow-up of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum

Objective: To explore the application value of percutaneous peripheral interventional therapy in pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septal (PA-IVS). Methods: Retrospective case summary. The data was collected from 25 children who were hospitalized at the Children's Hospital,Zhejiang University School of Medicine from August 2019 to August 2022, had been diagnosed with PA-IVS by echocardiography, and underwent interventional treatment. The sex, age, weight, operation time, radiation exposure time, and radiation dose of the patients were collected. The patients were divided into the arterial duct stenting group and the non-stenting group. Preoperative tricuspid annular diameters and Z scores, right ventricular length diameters, and right ventricular/left ventricular length-diameter ratios were compared by paired t-tests. Right ventricular systolic pressure difference, oxygen saturation, lactic acid before and after the surgery were compared for 24 children who received percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty. Right ventricular improvement in 25 children after operation was analyzed. The correlation between postoperative oxygen saturation and postoperative right ventricular systolic blood pressure difference, the degree of pulmonary valve opening and the Z value of tricuspid valve ring in the non-stenting group were analyzed. Results: A total of 25 patients with PA-IVS were enrolled in the study, of whom 19 were males and 6 females, with an age at surgery of 12 (6, 28) days and a weight of (3.7±0.5) kg. One of them underwent only stenting of the arterial duct; 20 children underwent only percutaneous pulmonary valve perforation and balloon angioplasty; 4 children underwent both procedures. The Z-value of the tricuspid ring was -1.5±1.2 in the group with arterial duct stenting, and -0.1±0.4 in the group without stenting (t=2.77, P=0.010). The tricuspid regurgitant flow rate 1 month after surgery was significantly lower than the preoperative ((3.4±0.6) vs. (4.8±0.9) m/s, t=6.62,P<0.001). In the 24 children with percutaneous pulmonary valve perforation and balloon angioplasty, the preoperative right ventricular systolic blood pressure was (110±32) mmHg, and the postoperative systolic blood pressure was (52±19) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) (F=59.55, P<0.001). The factors that may affect postoperative oxygen saturation in 20 cases of non-stenting group were analyzed. The results suggested that the pre and post-operative right ventricular systolic blood pressure differences (r=-0.11, P=0.649), and the pulmonary valve orifice opening (r=-0.31, P=0.201) and tricuspid annulus Z value (r=-0.18, P=0.452) at 1 month after the operation were not significantly correlated with the postoperative oxygen saturation. Conclusions: Interventional therapy can be used as the first choice for one-stage operation of PA-IVS. Percutaneous pulmonary valve perforation and balloon angioplasty are more suitable for children with well-developed right ventricles, tricuspid annulus, and pulmonary arteries. While the smaller the tricuspid annulus, the more dependent it is on the ductus arteriosus and thus patients are more suitable for arterial duct stenting.

An Examination of the Spatial Spillover Effects of Tourism Transportation on Sustainable Development from a Multiple-Indicator Cross-Perspective

Tourism is linked to multiple dimensions, such as the economy, society, and environment, and the relationships among its influencing factors are complex, diverse, and overlapping. This study constructed an evaluation index system to measure the degree of coordinated development of tourism, transportation, and the regional economy, then built a tourism-transportation-based Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) regarding the process of the coordinated development of tourism in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTHR) from 2010 to 2020. This paper explains the current status of sustainable tourism development in the BTHR and the impact and spillover effects of transportation on tourism development. The results show that the normalized tourism coordinated development index (NTCDI) of the BTHR increased from 13.61 in 2010 to 18.75 in 2019, then decreased to 14.45 in 2020. The results of SDM show that different transportation modes have different spillover effects on tourism. Specifically, civil aviation transportation has a positive impact and significant spillover on a city’s tourism revenue (TR), while high-speed railway transportation has a negative spillover effect. The model results also show that the degree of openness of the city and city economic development level have significant positive effects and spillover effects on tourism development. Finally, the implications of related variables are discussed, and some suggestions are put forward on tourism development in the BTHR. However, there are some limitations in this study. In the future, international cooperation and data sharing will be strengthened, and multivariate methods such as social network analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning will be further integrated to achieve accurate simulation and prediction of the spatial spillover effects of tourism transportation.

Judgements of a customer service agent's personality based on acoustic properties of their speech

People frequently interact with customer service agents, whether they are a real person or an AI, and quickly form personality impressions from it. The present study aimed to investigate how acoustic characteristics of speech of human agents affect their personality impressions. To this end, spontaneous speech was elicited from 30 native Korean speakers while they played a role of an agent assisting a customer on the phone. We then conducted a personality rating experiment in which 30 native speakers of Korean rated the perceived degree of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness (the “Big Five” personality traits) on the recordings on a 5-point scale. Various acoustic features were extracted from the stimuli, which were converted into two principal components using a Principal Component Analysis. The results of correlation analyses demonstrated that some of the acoustic variables such as measures of voice quality (H1-H2, Harmonic-to-Noise Ratio), the mean f0, and articulation rate were significantly correlated with the personality ratings, with the acoustic correlates different for male and female speakers. This helps discover characteristics of a more likable voice and speaking style for a customer service agent and has important implications for generating more likable synthetic speech for similar services.

Modeling of the trajectory of kinematic movement of the fingers of an anthropomorphic bioprosthesis of the hand

The article deals with the choice of a modeling environment for the kinematic circuit corresponding to an anthropomorphic hand bioprosthesis, taking into account the specific requirements to the interface and functional capabilities. Comparison of various software products was performed according to the degree of openness of the interface and the convenience of interaction with third-party tools automation, as well as the cost of time for modeling. It is shown that the most effective mathematical modeling is implemented in Matlab. Its application makes it possible to easily change the model of a complex kinematic scheme and provides an opportunity to train the control neural network of a bioprosthesis according to the created model. Keywords: anthropomorphic bioprosthesis of the hand, kinematic scheme, modeling, solidworks, matlab, simulink, semi-natural experiment. EvgenijEliseichev@yandex.ru

International Trade and its Impact on Global Economic Development

The benefit of international trade had not been noticed in the economic growth of Nigeria because some of the goods imported into the country were those that can cause damage to local industries by rendering their products inferior and being neglected, thereby reducing the growth rate of output of such industries which later spread to the aggregate economy. The work investigated the extent to which international trade impacted global economic development with particular reference to the Nigerian economy between 1986 and 2018. The data employed for this study are annual time series data covering 1986-2018. The data were obtained from the World Bank data outlook and the central bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin. This study adopts the statistical method of multiple linear regression approach using ordinary least squares to examine the relationship between RGDP as a dependent variable and degree of openness, foreign exchange rate, and interest rate as independent variables. The paper revealed that a relationship exists between international trade and economic growth and that while some components of international trade exerted a positive and significant effect on growth, INTR exerted a positive but insignificant effect. The result further shows that all the regressors except interest rates were statistically significant at a 5% level of significance. Some policy recommendations which would be helpful and applicable to the Nigerian economy were suggested. For the degree of openness, Nigeria should adopt more policies on trade liberalization like reducing non-tariff barriers, reducing barriers, and eliminating quotas that will enable the economy to grow at a spectacular rate. The finding for exchange rate implies that the policymakers should adopt long-term policies because, in the long run, a strong currency depends on economic fundamentals. To have a strong exchange rate, countries will need a combination of a low inflation rate, productivity growth, and economic and political stability.

Interative effects of trade openness and foreign direct investment on economic growth in Nigeria

The study examined the interactive effects of trade openness and foreign direct investment on economic growth in Nigeria over the period of 1982 to 2021. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the effects of trade openness on the economic growth in Nigeria and ascertain the effects of foreign direct investment on the economic growth in Nigeria. These variables consist of real gross domestic product (RGDP), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trade openness (TRAOPEN), inflation rate (INFLA), exchange rate (EXR) and trade tariff (TRADE). The variables used in the model were foreign direct investment (FDI), trade openness (TRAOPEN), and trade tariff (TRADE). The methods of data analysis was Autoregressive distributive lag Model. The following findings were stipulated; trade openness (TRAOPEN) has positive and significant impact on real gross domestic product (RGDP) its probability value of 0.0001 was less than 0.05 but it was positive and significant impact on real gross domestic product (RGDP) its probability value of 0.0027 was less than 0.05 in long run; foreign direct investment (FDI) has positive and significant impact on real gross domestic product (RGDP) its probability value of 0.0001 was less than 0.05 but it was positive and significant impact on real gross domestic product (RGDP) its probability value of 0.0027 was less than 0.05 in long run. The study recommends that policymakers of Nigeria government should consistently formulate and implement policies that would increase their annual inflows of FDI and their degree of trade openness.

Labor Market Effects of Global Supply Chain Disruptions

We examine the labor market consequences of recent global supply chain disruptions induced by COVID-19. Specifically, we consider a temporary increase in international trade costs similar to the one observed during the pandemic and analyze its effects on labor market outcomes using a quantitative trade model with downward nominal wage rigidities. Even omitting any health related impacts of the pandemic, the increase in trade costs leads to a temporary but prolonged decline in U.S. labor force participation. However, there is a temporary increase in manufacturing employment as the United States is a net importer of manufactured goods, which become costlier to obtain from abroad. By contrast, service and agricultural employment experience temporary declines. Nominal frictions lead to temporary unemployment when the shock dissipates, but this depends on the degree of monetary accommodation. Overall, the shock results in a 0.14% welfare loss for the United States. The impact on labor force participation and welfare across countries varies depending on the initial degree of openness and sectoral deficits.

Trade costs and tax transition reform in developing countries

AbstractDeveloping countries are striving to reform their tax revenue structure to reduce its dependence on international trade tax revenue. The present study has investigated the effect of trade costs on this type of tax revenue structure reform (also referred in the present analysis to as ‘Tax transition Reform’—TTR) through the trade openness channel in developing countries. The analysis has used a set of 124 countries over the period from 1996 to 2019 and several econometric estimators. It shows that higher overall trade costs (notably non‐tariff costs) undermine the TTR process, notably in countries that enjoy high degrees of openness to international trade. In other words, countries that wish to pursue their TTR process, while concurrently further opening up their economies to international trade, have to reduce their trade costs.

Glass transition, topology, and elastic models of Se‐based glasses

AbstractFeatures intrinsic to disorder and network aspects are ubiquitous in structural glasses. Among this important class of materials, chalcogenide glasses are special—they are built of short‐range covalent forces, making them simpler than silicate glasses that possess mixed ionic and covalent forces. Selenium‐based glasses also display complex elastic phase transitions that have been described from various models, including mean‐field approaches to molecular simulations. These point to the presence of two sharply defined elastic phase transitions, a rigidity and stress transition that are non‐mean‐field in character, and separate the three distinct topological phases of flexible, isostatically rigid, and stressed‐rigid. This article reviews the physics of these glassy networks. The elastic phases and glass transition temperature are explained on a molecular level in terms of topological constraint theory (TCT), connectivity, and the open degrees of freedom. The broader aspects of TCT in relation to phase change materials, high‐k dielectrics, and cements are also commented upon.

International trade and technological competition in markets with dynamic increasing returns

We build a simple international trade model to study how the interaction between imperfect market selection and technological learning jointly shapes trade patterns as well as firm and industry dynamics. The model features two countries populated by firms heterogeneous in their productivity and size. Market selection is driven by a finite pairwise Pólya urn process, while a geometric random walk characterizes the idiosyncratic cumulative firm learning process. We show that the model is able to jointly reproduce a wide ensemble of stylized facts concerning intra-industry trade, industry and firm dynamics as well as realistic dynamics of export and productivity leadership at the country level. A series of sensitivity exercises on the degree of trade openness and the tightness of the market selection process allow us to draw interesting policy insights on concentration, volatility and the dynamics of international leadership in both export shares and aggregate productivity.

MODELS OF ECONOMIC OPENNESS OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND UKRAINE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The article raises the question of whether the openness of an individual country’s economy corresponds to the level of its economic development. Retrospective analysis indicates the existence of a long-term close interdependence of the growth of international trade and world GDP with an accelerated increase in the share of exports. But in recent years, this share, having reached its maximum in 2008, has demonstrated an amplitude fluctuation with a range of 30%. Therefore, a hypothesis has been put forward regarding the existence of a probable limit of exportled growth and economic development at the expense of increasing the level of openness of the national economy. In the study, the authors conduct an analysis of the models of economic openness used in a number of European countries, compare them with the Ukrainian model, and put forward proposals regarding the principles of building a post-war foreign economic model of Ukraine. In the process of research, the authors have designed a system of absolute and relative indicators of economic openness and determined a number of factors affecting the degree of economic openness. The concepts of financial openness and foreign trade openness have been specified. It has been proved that the state has more freedom of choice in the formation of financial openness than foreign trade openness. Based on the analysis of a sample of countries (8 countries of the European Union with different levels of economic development, including former socialist countries and Ukraine), the authors have explored the dynamics of foreign trade openness over the past ten years. As a result, two groups of countries have been identified: a group with a certain fluctuation of the indicator and a group with a clear direction of the change in the indicator (either decrease or increase). It has been found that more developed countries, as a rule, belong to moderately open economies. In contrast, countries that relatively recently have become members of the European Union have ultra-open models. A more detailed analysis of economic openness has been carried out by calculating the ratio of net exports to GDP. This made it possible to qualify countries in another way: economies where the indicator fluctuates within 1-2% and economies with a dynamic indicator. It has been determined that states that have recently switched to a mixed economic model tend to show an increase in the positive net exports. Given the fact that there are no generally accepted indicators of financial openness, the authors have proposed to use a two-fold excess of the country’s GDP by the sum of foreign assets and liabilities as a criterion of openness. According to this criterion, only Ukraine and Poland should be classified as countries with moderate openness. All other economies can be considered ultra-open. The analysis of the net investment position allows, firstly, to identify a country as a net recipient or a net investor, and secondly, to assess the degree of influence of this indicator on internal processes in comparison with GDP. The relative indicators of openness and pair correlation have been also calculated for the indicators used to determine the level of foreign trade openness and financial openness of the countries under study, in particular: exports of goods and services; foreign direct investment, GDP and export quota.

Analysis of the Environmental Legal Risk and Its Response for Multinational Corporations in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from the Perspective of the Environmental Regulation Provisions

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of the most attractive investment destinations with the highest degree of openness and the strongest economic vitality in China. This paper phases out the current state and prospect of environmental regulation in the GBA, especially unscramble the risks of environmental infringement and the benefits of proactively taking environmental responsibility from the standpoint of multinational corporations. Within the applicable environmental stipulates in international investment arbitration, the problems of the domestic environmental legislation, justice and governance include legislation gaps, professional barriers to the application of provisions in the judiciary, and the breadth of administrative powers. The underlying causes of these risks include the complexity of the environmental litigation triad, the unpredictability of the transition policies, and the all-encompassing developing of international investment arbitration. Against this background, multinational corporations are now coping with the most complex regulation system and bearing unpredictable risks for lack of adequacy comprehension. The anatomy in this paper is intended to assist multinational corporations fully consider the legal risks and costs during decision-making, and introduce the feasible methods in clarifying the corporation's internal liabilities.

STUDIES OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID DECOMPOSITION OF CLAY SLURRIES OF SILICEOUS-TITANIUM ORES

The chemical and mineral compositions of gray-colored and red-colored slurries formed during the disintegration of silicon-titanium ores of the Pyzhemskoye deposit are considered, and the results of a study on their hydrochloric acid leaching of 20% HCl in the temperature range of 40-200°С are presented. It is shown that an increase in the leaching temperature leads to an increase in the degree of opening of sludge, which is associated with the decomposition of a number of mineral phases. At temperatures of 40-100°С, the decomposition of siderite and goethite proceeds. The decomposition of clay minerals develops at a temperature of 90° C and above. The process is accompanied by the release of gel-like SiO2. Under autoclave conditions, the decomposition of pseudorutyl, as well as monazite and xenotime occurs simultaneously with the transfer to a solution of cerium, neodymium and yttrium. Complete decomposition of REM minerals is achieved at a temperature of 180°С. The non-decomposable solid residue is represented by rutile, quartz, amorphous SiO2 and zircon.

Exploring Bilinguals’ Behaviour and attitudes at Tabuk university towards code-switching and mixing of Arabic and English in everyday conversations

The key purpose of this work is to investigate the topics of code-switching and mixing, as well as the factors influencing code-switching and mixing. In turn, this will enable the various language forms used in daily communications between students to be identified. The sample used in this study consisted of ten English Language students from the female section of Tabuk university). Information was gathered using two different research tools, namely interviews and personal observations made by the researcher during conversations and interactions with her students. The interviews involved questioning the students about why they used code-switching and mixing. The data took the form of statements, phrases, and words used by students in everyday communication that feature code mixing and switching. The findings indicated that there is a higher degree of openness to code-switching and mixing and that opinions regarding code-switching and mixing between English and Arabic are generally positive. Moreover, the results demonstrate that there are three types of code mixing, namely the code-mixing of words, the code-mixing of phrases and the code-mixing of sentences. Furthermore, the findings of this research indicated that there were many factors that motivated students to engage in code-switching and mixing. Most factors were related to speaking two languages, showing one’s ability to be prestigious, integrating into the modernized world and the effects of globalization. Nonetheless, a number of other motivational factors were also identified, such as a desire to stand out from others, the desire to express themselves clearly (especially for those with pronunciation problems) and the belief that certain content is more appropriately expressed in one language (e.g., either English or Arabic). Other reasons included appearing more knowledgeable, demonstrating one’s cultural identity, excluding some people from conversations, demonstrating modernisation, developing a sense of social belonging and saving time.

Investigation of Predictive Regulation Strategy of Secondary Loop in District Heating Systems

The urban energy system is greatly dependent on the District Heating System (DHS). However, many difficulties with regulation and control are caused by its large scale and numerous coupling variables. Additionally, reliance on manual experience means it can be challenging to guarantee heating comfort and effectiveness in the regulation of DHS. This paper proposes a data-driven temperature response prediction model to predict secondary loop supply temperature based on the heating substation’s historical operating status, valve opening degree, weather conditions, etc. Further, the XGBoost model was established in this article with different input and prediction steps. The results show that the XGBoost model with 72 input steps and 24 prediction steps has better performance. As an application example, the model was applied to an urban central heating system. Based on this data-driven model, different operation strategies on primary loop valve opening are compared for temperature response analysis. Operators can check the temperature responses of different valve control strategies before being applied. This paper guides the regulation behavior of the DHS, which is of great significance for the operation of the actual DHS.

Thermal management of metal hydride hydrogen storage tank coupled with proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Metal hydride (MH), considered a promising hydrogen storage material, has received wide attention. As an efficient device for hydrogen energy utilization, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) generates power and releases waste heat. MH tank can supply hydrogen for PEMFC, and the waste heat produced by PEMFC can be applied to heat the MH bed for dehydriding reaction. Thermal management between MH tank and PEMFC has been studied in this work. A lumped parameter model for the PEMFC-MH system has been developed and validated. The performance of the PEMFC-MH system has been predicted, the results show that it is feasible to use waste heat produced by PEMFC for heating the MH bed. The effect of the valve's opening degree on system performance has been investigated. The performance of the PEMFC-MH system with various output powers has been studied. The hydrogen supply rate from the MH bed to PEMFC can be adjusted based on different power requirements. The valve's opening degree can be considered an effective control measure in thermal management to improve the energy efficiency of the PEMFC-MH system.

Performance improvement and comparison analysis of the hybrid concentrated dual-source heat pump system regarding proper throttling process

In this paper, a high-efficient and three-dimensional compact heat pump system integrated with the concentrated photovoltaic plus fins (CPV/fin-SAHP) is constructed and built. Smaller space occupation and higher energy utilization are realized. The mathematical model is completed and validated by experimental data. By changing the throttling device and adjusting the mass flow rate, the system performance is improved. From the results, the exergy efficiency, heating capacity, total output, COPPVT, and COPth of the CPV/fin-SAHP system are increased by 7.92%, 13.2%, 11.01%, 4.73%, and 7.12%. Moreover, compared with traditional single-source heat pumps, the CPV/fin-SAHP achieved the highest total output and COPPVT, showing great competitivity and potential. Then two-dimensional environmental variable coordinates are established to explore the compound impact of different ambient factors, and the capacities of the three systems with adjusted opening degrees are also comparatively analyzed. In general, wind speed and ambient temperature have greater impacts on the finned structure system, while the irradiance is dramatically affecting the PV-SAHP system. The compact CPV/fin-SAHP system is less dependent on a single ambient element, showing satisfied performance under various operating ambient and presenting the most potential in comprehensive ability.

P‑hydroxybenzyl alcohol ameliorates neuronal cerebral ischemia‑reperfusion injury by activating mitochondrial autophagy through SIRT1.

Mitochondrial autophagy serves a key role in clearing damaged mitochondria. P‑hydroxybenzyl alcohol (pHBA) can improve neuronal injury induced by cerebral ischemia‑reperfusion (I/R). However, the mechanism of pHBA improving I/R damage through the mitochondrial pathway remains unclear. A rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R) was used in the present study. The rats were treated with sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) inhibitor EX527 and pHBA for 7 days, followed by reperfusion. At 24h after reperfusion, the infarct size was calculated and the severity of nerve damage was evaluated. Hematoxylin and eosin and Nissl staining revealed cellular changes in the ischemic penumbra. Changes in mitochondrial structure were observed using electron microscopy. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by detecting mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and ATP levels using commercially available kits. In addition, the ischemic penumbra tissues were used for immunofluorescence staining for p62 and LC3 proteins. The expression of SIRT1 and mitochondrial autophagy‑related proteins, PTEN‑induced kinase 1 (PINK1) and Parkin, were detected by western blotting. Finally, apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL staining and the expression of apoptosis‑related proteins (Bax, Bcl‑2 and Caspase‑3) by western blotting. The results suggested that postoperative pHBA treatment may reduce the size of cerebral infarction and damage to the nervous system, and may improve cell damage in the ischemic penumbra of MCAO/R rats. Compared with rats in the untreated MCAO/R group, the mitochondrial structure of the pHBA‑treated group was improved, the levels of MMP and ATP were increased, and the degree of opening of mPTP was decreased. Simultaneously, immunofluorescence and western blotting results showed that compared with the MCAO/R group, the number of LC3‑ and TUNEL‑positive cells increased, the number of p62‑positive cells decreased, SIRT1 and autophagy protein (PINK1, Parkin and LC3 II/I) expression levels increased and p62 expression decreased in the pHBA group. However, these improvements were blocked by treatment with EX527. In summary, results from the present study suggested that pHBA may improve neuronal injury in the ischemic penumbra of MCAO/R rats through SIRT1‑activated mitochondrial autophagy and mitochondrial‑mediated neuronal apoptosis.