Colorectal cancer’s burden attributable to a diet high in processed meat in the Belt and Road Initiative countries

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer(CRC)plays a significant role in morbidity,mortality,and economic cost in the Belt and Road Initiative(“B and R”)countries.In addition,these countries have a substantial consumption of processed meat.However,the burden and trend of CRC in relation to the consumption of a diet high in processed meat(DHPM-CRC)in these“B and R”countries remain unknown.AIM To analyze the burden and trend of DHPM-CRC in the“B and R”countries from 1990 to 2019.METHODS We used the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study to collate information regarding the burden of DHPM-CRC.Numbers and age-standardized rates(ASRs)of deaths along with the disability-adjusted life years(DALYs)were determined among the“B and R”countries in 1990 and 2019.Using joinpoint regression analysis,the average annual percent change(AAPC)was used to analyze the temporal trends of age-standardized DALYs rate(ASDALR)from 1990 to 2019 and in the final decade(2010–2019).RESULTS We found geographical differences in the burden of DHPM-CRC among“B and R”countries,with the three highest-ranking countries being the Russian Federation,China,and Ukraine in 1990,and China,the Russian Federation,and Poland in 2019.The burden of DHPM-CRC generally increased in most member countries from 1990 to 2019(all P<0.05).The absolute number of deaths and DALYs in DHPM-CRC were 3151.15[95%uncertainty interval(UI)665.74-5696.64]and 83249.31(95%UI 15628.64-151956.31)in China in 2019.However,the number of deaths(2627.57-2528.51)and DALYs(65867.39-55378.65)for DHPM-CRC in the Russian Federation has declined.The fastest increase in ASDALR for DHPM-CRC was observed in Vietnam,Southeast Asia,with an AAPC value of 3.90%[95%confidence interval(CI):3.63%-4.16%],whereas the fastest decline was observed in Kyrgyzstan,Central Asia,with an AAPC value of-2.05%(95%CI:-2.37%to-1.73%).A substantial upward trend in ASR of mortality,years lived with disability,years of life lost,and DALYs from DHPM-CRC changes in 1990-2019 and the final decade(2010-2019)for most Maritime Silk Route members in East Asia,South Asia,Southeast Asia,North Africa,and the Middle East,as well as Central Europe,while those of the most Land Silk Route members in Central Asia and Eastern Europe have decreased markedly(all P<0.05).The ASDALR for DHPM-CRC increased more in males than in females(all P<0.05).For those aged 50-74 years,the ASDALR for DHPM-CRC in 40 members exhibited an increasing trend,except for 20 members,including 7 members in Central Asia,Maldives,and 12 high or high-middle social development index(SDI)members in other regions(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION The burden of DHPM-CRC varies substantially across“B and R”countries and threatens public health.Relevant evidence-based policies and interventions tailored to the different trends of countries in SDIs or Silk Routes should be adopted to reduce the future burden of CRC in“B and R”countries via extensive collaboration.

Rules for Access of Foreign Capitals to Agricultural Field in Countries along the "Belt and Road"

Agriculture is related to the strategy and security of a country. Every country is very discreet about access of foreign capitals to the agricultural field. Countries along the " Belt and Road" also have imposed restrictions on the access of foreign capitals to the agricultural field.There are restrictions on establishing agriculture-related enterprises,affiliated organizations,and branch offices. Also,there are regulations concerning the scope,proportion,performance requirement,and approval of access of foreign capitals to the agricultural field.

“一带一路”沿线国家债务违约风险的识别与防范

目前,中国对于"一带一路"沿线国家的基础设施投资项目呈现稳健上升趋势,有力地巩固了"一带一路"倡议框架下地缘合作的经济基础,但也因此遭遇了不断涌现的主权债务违约风险问题。通过构建"一带一路"沿线国家债务违约风险的评价体系,研究发现,人均GDP、经济增长的波动性、通货膨胀率和负债率是影响"一带一路"沿线国家债务违约风险的主要因素。评价结果显示,以色列、文莱、立陶宛、斯洛伐克和新加坡的债务违约风险最低,也门、乌克兰、吉尔吉斯斯坦、尼泊尔、不丹和摩尔多瓦的债务违约风险最高。因此,应制定差异化的投资战略、引入第三方市场合作机制、推进重大基础设施项目的分阶段开发等,以防范应对债务违约风险,进一步增强债务投资项目可持续性。

Can increased economic complexity and reduced carbon emissions of the logistics industry go hand in hand?Evidence from countries along the Belt and Road

At present,the main focus of research lies in examining the connection between economic complexity and carbon emissions as a whole,but there is a scarcity of quantitative investigations on the link between the above variables within specific industries.Therefore,this study introduces economic complexity as a new variable to build a panel model within the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve framework.Based on the data of the countries along the Belt and Road from 1998 to 2018,we used the Granger causality test to examine the causal relationship between variables,and use the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square methods to estimate the coefficients of variables.The key factor linking economic complexity and carbon emissions in the logistics industry is technology innovation Economic complexity can explain and predict the changes in carbon emissions of logistics industry more reasonably,and the relationship between them in line with the environmental kuznets curve hypothesis.Only high-income countries can increase economic complexity while reducing carbon emissions of logistics industry.Based on the empirical analysis,it is suggested that upper-middle income and lower middle-income countries can formulate relevant policies and regulations,and high-income countries can improve the relevant policies and regulations to promote the reduction of carbon emissions of the logistics industry.Studying the impact of economic complexity on carbon emissions in the logistics industry can help better predict and respond to the impact of climate change on the logistics industry.

On the Chinese Road TRAIN TRAVEL ADVENTURES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Sharing Stories,Sharing CultureCHINA IN SCOPE The real lives and stories of contemporary Chinese people through photography CULTURAL FILES:INTANGIBLE HERITAGE Feast your eyes on mouth-watering delicacies and truly magnificent

Development of a bicycle level of service model for urban street segments in mid-sized cities carrying heterogeneous traffic： A functional networks approach

Roadways in developing countries usually carry heterogeneous traffic where on-street bi- cyclists encounter a very complex interaction with various categories of vehicles. In order to quantify the operational conditions of bicyclists under such conditions, a reliable bicycle level of service （BLOS） model is yet to be devised. This study intends to partially fill this gap by proposing a BLOS model suitable for urban road segments in mid-sized cities carrying heterogeneous traffic. A recently introduced artificial intelligence technique namely, associativity functional network （FN） is implemented for the development of this model. FN is a problem-driven approach that overcomes several limitations of the artificial neural network （ANN） technique. The urban bicycling environments persisting on 74 street seg- ments are analyzed, and 8 influencing variables （geometric, traffic and built environ- mental, etc.） are identified. Of these variables, interruptions caused by frequent stoppages of intermittent public transits and frequency of driveways carrying high volume of traffic are newly introduced. In the modeling process, a strong relationship has been established between the identified variables and perceived BLOS scores collected through perception surveys. The resulting BLOS model has shown a high reliability for its applications in the mid-sized cities and has reported a high correlation coefficient （R） of 0.94 with the average observations. Besides, a sensitivity analysis is also carried out to identify the relative importance of input variables based on their contribution in the BLOS estimation. As observed, effective width of the outside lane, traffic volume, and on-street parking activity are by far the most important variables, which contribute 38.3%, 21.8%, and 12.7%respectively in the prediction of facility BLOS. Thus, these three attributes should be largely prioritized while making any plan of actions for the betterment of bicyclists.