It can be used in papers. In the article "Comparison and Application of Regulation Effect and Mediation Effect", the authors Wen and Hou Jietai mainly introduce, analyze and compare the related concepts, functions and models of regulation effect and mediation effect. The article points out that the intermediate variable refers to "when considering the influence of independent variables on dependent variables, if the independent variable X affects the dependent variable Y through the third-party variable M, then the third-party variable M here is called the intermediate variable".