Urban development and resource endowments shape natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities

Improving the efficiency with which natural resources are utilized is an indispensable for achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. By analyzing the utilization efficiency of energy, water, and land, we established a comprehensive natural resource utilization efficiency index(NRUEI). We then calculated the 2016 index for 165 cities in China,and investigated what caused it to vary. We found three main results:(1) the NRUEI varied greatly across China and there were significant positive correlations between urban energy utilization efficiency(EUE), water utilization efficiency(WUE) and land utilization efficiency(LUE);(2) the NRUEI showed a significant positive correlation with a city’s population size,economy(Gross Domestic Product(GDP)), and the level of urban social development(GDP per capita);(3) cities in East China have the highest natural resource utilization efficiency,while cities in Northeast China have the lowest. These results indicate that China’s increasing urban development is associated with rising natural resource utilization efficiency and that the city’s endowment of natural resources is an important factor affecting that efficiency. Further, the results showed that the determinants of a city’s NRUEI differed in large and small cities. Lastly, our results suggest that improving EUE is key for improving NRUEI in urban China, and different efficiencies can be improved intertwined. A major takeaway of this study is that there is great potential for improving natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities and we include city-specific suggestions for efficiency improvements.

Conduction pathways of resource endowment affecting carbon intensity:Based on interprovincial data in China

By establishing a mathematical model and a basic analytical framework for the impact of resource endowments on carbon intensity,a traditional panel model without spatial panel effects was firstly constructed,a Durbin-Wu-Hausman test was conducted,and the model was set as a fixed-effects model based on the statistical values;secondly,the traditional panel model without spatial effects was estimated,and LM tests and robustness tests were conducted on the regression residuals.The LM test was then used to remove the fixed effect terms by the de-meaning method,and the Matlab 7.0 software was used to estimate the model.The stepwise introduction of variables was used to observe the effect of each variable on economic growth and to analyze the relationship between the magnitude and significance of the regression parameters of each variable.Finally,the path of conduction effect of resource endowment through mediating variable sinfluencing economic growth and carbon emissions,and thus carbon intensity,was constructed.The conclusion is that carbon intensity is inversely proportional to economic growth for a given level of carbon emissions.Therefore,if resource endowment promotes economic growth through mediating variables,it will lead to a decrease in carbon intensity,which is conducive to the achievement of emission reduction targets;conversely,if resource endowment hinders economic growth through mediating variables,it will lead to an increase in carbon intensity,which is not conducive to the achievement of emission reduction targets.

Global Economic and Trade Landscape Reshaping and High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation

At present,a new round of revolution in science,technology and industry is developing profoundly.The global economic and trade development pattern and cooperation mode are also under crucial adjustments.These have brought new challenges and opportunities for promoting trade connectivity included in the Belt and Road Initiative,and have also endowed the initiative a new role in the reshaping of the global economic and trade landscape.

Application of the Concept of“Endowing the Old with the New”in Urban Renewal

The renewal of ancient cities is an important part of the urban renewal work in China.However,there are few studies on the general historical ancient cities at the county level in China,and there is no guidance on the renewal path.Through the practice of the renewal design project of Suining County,Xuzhou City,it makes an exploratory study on the renewal concept and mode.It first interprets the connotation and implementation path of the renewal concept of“endowing the old with the new”.Based on the texture analysis of the ancient city of Suining,it finally determines the design theme that tracing the historical context of the ancient city.Using the renewal techniques such as“extraction-transformationactivation”,through the renewal strategies such as“building new space,shaping new landscape,inheriting new culture and pregnant with new environment”,it realizes the regeneration of urban historical context and meets the needs of residents'modern life,so as to provide reference and guidance for the renovation of general historical ancient cities at the county level in China.

Address by Ji Bingxuan,Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress of China and President of the Chinese Association for International Understanding

Distinguished guests,Ladies and gentlemen,friends:Good morning!It is a great pleasure to join all of you in my hometown,Henan Province,to attend the opening ceremony of the Civilisation Lecture.As the cradle of the Chinese civilisation,Henan was endowed with numerous historic treasures.

Jade Collection of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty

During the reign of emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty,the political rule was relatively stable,the economy continued to develop,and both civil and martial situations flourished.The emperor’s love for jade articles made this period a peak in the development of Chinese jade culture.Based on jade articles of emperor Qianlong collected in the Palace Museum and related documents and archives,this paper tries to explore characteristics of this collection and emperor Qianlong’s collecting methods,then explains that this collection not only has the functions of aesthetics,but also has the meaning of morality,religion and politics.

Research on the Outdoor Activities and Spatial Characteristics of the Elderly in College Communities:Taking a University in Northern China as an Example

In view of the aging population in the country,college communities can better meet the needs of the elderly in the community by developing hardware facilities,environmental resources,and management systems.However,in China,the research on elderly care in colleges is still in its infancy.The paper presents an analysis on the characteristics of the elderly group,outdoor activities,and space characteristics in college communities through the field survey of a university in the north,questionnaire survey and interview with the elderly.Suggestions for optimizing the outdoor activities space of the elderly in college communities are then provided,hoping to provide some reference for relevant research.

An analysis of major scientific problems and research paths of Gulong shale oil in Daqing Oilfield, NE China

After the preliminary basic research on the problems encountered during the production period of Gulong shale oil in the Songliao Basin, NE China, and the scientific exploration, the special characteristics of Gulong shale oil in terms of reservoir space, phase distribution, flow pattern, and mineral evolution are proposed. The main results are as follows :(1) The source of organic matter, mechanism of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion, and key factors affecting shale oil abundance;(2) The types and structural characteristics of the reservoir and their contribution to porosity and permeability;(3) The mineral origin and evolution of minerals and their influence on reservoir availability, sensitivity, and compressibility;(4) The rock mechanical characteristics and fracture propagation law of Gulong shale;(5) The shale oil products, phase change law and main control factors of adsorption and desorption conversion of Gulong shale oil;(6) The mechanism of shale oil-liquid, solid-liquid gas interaction and enhanced oil recovery. Three key research suggestions are proposed to realize the large-scale economic utilization of the Gulong shale oil as follows:(1) Deepen research on the mechanism of oil and gas generation and discharge, storage and transportation, to guide the selection of geological sweet spots of shale oil;(2) Deepen research on the compressibility and fracture initiation mechanism to support the selection of engineering sweet spots and optimization of engineering design;(3) Deepen research on the fluid interaction mechanism under reservoir conditions, os us to guide the optimization of development schemes and the selection of EOR technologies. A successful development of Gulong shale oil requires global experts and scholars to contribute multidisciplinary innovative ideas and technical ideas to solve production problems.

Analysis on the Optimization of New Rural Social Endowment Insurance in Changsha,Zhuzhou and Xiangtan

On the basis of the investigation on the status quo of pilot area of rural endowment insurance in Changsha,Zhuzhou and Xiangtan,farmers' demand on insuance in the new pilot area of rural endowment insurance is expounded from two aspects:farmers' awareness on insurance is increasing gradually;farmers' ability on insuring is increasing.The growing demand of farmers on insuring and the conflicts between the supply of rural endowment insurance and the system construction are analyzed.The problems are inadequate input of funds,low level of social security;imperfect fund-collecting mechanism,serious vacancy;low level of fund management and operation,poor ability of inflation-proofing and appreciation;backward laws and regulations and instability of system.On the strength of the analysis above,the government should innovate and compound fund-collecting mechanism;establish "G-C-F" three-pillar model and set up "BSI" the third party custodian;accelerate the legislation of new rural pension system so as to push forward the optimization of new rural pension insurance system in Changsha,Zhuzhou and Xiangtan.

Efficient catalytic removal of COS and H_(2)S over graphitized 2D micro-meso-macroporous carbons endowed with ample nitrogen sites synthesized via mechanochemical carbonization

Developing a suitable catalyst for the elimination of highly toxic carbonyl sulfide(COS)and hydrogen sulfide(H_(2)S) is of great significance in terms of industrial safety and environmental protection.We demonstrate here the facile synthesis of graphitized 2D micro-meso-macroporous carbons by one-step carbonization of a mixture of urea and glucose at 700–900℃.The as-synthesized graphitized catalysts,designated as 2DNHPC-x(x=urea/glucose mass ratio),are endowed with an ultra-high concentration(12.9–20.2 wt%)of stable and versatile nitrogen sites(e.g.pyrrole and pyridine)which are anchored on the surface via stable covalent bonding.As a result,the 2D-NHPC-x are active in catalytic hydrolysis of COS on pyrrolic N to H_(2)S,and the H_(2)S can be subsequently captured on pyridinic N and converted to elemental sulfur at ambient conditions over the same materials.Among the prepared catalysts,2D-NHPC-x can catalytically hydrolysize 91%of COS to H_(2)S at 30℃,whereas the conversion ratio over the common catalysts g-C_(3)N_(4)and Fe_(2)O_(3)are below 6.0%.Furthermore,these catalysts also exhibit H_(2)S conversion and sulfur selectivity of nearly 100%at 180℃with long-time durability,which is higher than those of the most reported carbonbased catalysts.In contrast,the H_(2)S capacities of activated carbon,ordered mesoporous carbons(OMC)and N-doped OMC are 3.9,1.5 and2.39 mmol g^(-1),respectively.Both the experimental and theoretical results are disclosed that 2D-NHPC-x are superior to the nitrogen-doped porous materials ever applied in simultaneous catalytic elimination of both COS and H_(2)S.

Farmers' Land Transfer-out Behavior from the Perspective of Household Livelihood Endowment Based on the Survey in Anhui,Hubei and Sichuan

Based on the household livelihood endowment theory and the survey of 367 farmer households in Anhui,Hubei,and Sichuan in 2016,and using the orderly multi-category logistic model,the behavioral decision of farmers in the land circulation was discussed to explore the key parameters influencing the land transfer-out. It found that decisions of farmers on land transfer-out behavior are affected by many factors.Specifically,household non-agricultural income and per capita land area significantly reduce farmers' willingness to transfer land,while the household head age,agricultural input-output ratio,and confirmation of land right significantly promote the farmers' decision on land transferout. Therefore,increasing the allocation efficiency of household livelihood endowment has important policy value and practical significance for eliminating unreasonable land circulation and promoting large-scale agricultural production.

Analysis of on Intelligent Community Based on Multi-Living Agent

A new research method for intelligent community based on multi-living agent was presented. The intelligent community system architecture and the application specific intellectual endowment were analyzed in the paper. The prevalence of islands of information on data integration solution was given. This method can improve the integration of intelligent community and accelerate the development speed of the intelligent community.

Exploration on China's Institution-oriented Elderly Care Service System Based on Human Factors Engineering

Objective Aging process in China has brought more and more challenges to traditional home-based care for the aged and more attentions to the mode of institution-oriented elderly care.This work,by analyzing the problems and defects of institution engaging in elderly care based on the human factors engineering theory,discusses the people-centered institution-oriented elderly care service system,in terms of the problems that the pattern of institution-oriented elderly care focuses more on the facilities and environment construction than the principal role of people in the elderly care service system.Methods Sampled the institutions engaging in elderly care in Hefei City,Anhui Province,P.R.China(a medium-sized city in China);surveyed 45 institutions engaging in elderly care and 828 registered elders in Hefei City by hierarchical and systematic sampling method.Results(1)institutions engaging in elderly care shared the occupancy rate of 49.6%and low total service efficiency;(2)institutions engaging in elderly care offered 100%life-oriented service items,but only 6.1%personalized service items provided;(3)100%simple housing facilities in elderly care institutions,but extremely less personalized service facility(3.2%),with poorer quality and less satisfaction;(4)insufficient professional service staff could be available;48.1%institutions have 5 or less professional service staffs.Conclusion A countermeasure to improve the elderly care service system was raised here by aiming at improving the institution-oriented elderly care service:(1)to transfer service toward the people-oriented concept,formulating preferential policy for endowment insurance;(2)to pay attention to personalized design of service facility,offer personalized and featured service items,and improve service management level;(3)to build professional team for elderly care.

Modulating neuronal plasticity with choline

The American psychologist William James once wrote that nervous tissue seems to be endowed with a “very extraordinary” degree of plasticity. To be plastic means to be capable of being molded, receiving shape, or being made to assume a desired form. This can be achieved consequential to changes in the internal and/or external environment. Being plastic, neurons are highly able to amend their structural and functional output, through alteration of their morphology, activation of intracellular signaling cascades, regulation of synaptic density and neurotransmitter release, or a combination of these events.

THE CHARACTERS AND FUNCTIONS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE DRUGS——Selected from A Practical English——Chinese Library of Traditional Chinese Medicine

THE PROCESSING ANDAPPLICATION OF DRUGSDrug processing is the process of treat-ing natural drugs in accordance with thetherapeutical,dispensing andpharmaceutical requirements before they areused or further made into various prepara-tions.All the traditional Chinses drugs

Gardaneh Salavat porphyry copper system: Is it about metal endowment or fertility of the porphyritic intrusion?

Gardaneh Salavat porphyry copper system is located in the northwest of Iran. It comprises a quartz diorite to diorite porphyritic intrusion that created extensive alteration haloes in the host rocks. Despite all technical considerations, the exploration activities did not yield to ore discovery. As the matter of fact, all of the geological,geophysical, and geochemical characteristics of a porphyry Cu-Au deposit exist but there is no economic mineralization. Detailed examinations suggest that the only reasonable explanation can be related to the infertility or low metal endowment of the porphyritic intrusion. The reasons include(1) anomalous ranges of Cu, Au, and Mo rather than economic ore grades,(2) weakly development of potassic alteration,(3) probably sulfur saturation of magma that occurred before intrusion emplacement in the host rocks, and(4) probably low metal endowment in the regional scale and the lack of known porphyry copper deposits in close neighborhoods. It is tried to test the proposed hypothesis with the introduced fertility indicators based on major and trace element geochemistry. However,current fertility indicators could not prove or reject the proposed hypothesis for Gardaneh Salavat porphyritic intrusion because of the high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic nature of the intrusive rocks together with the unavailability of relatively fresh/unaltered samples. This case study is notable to examine because(1) it shows that characterization of fertile from barren intrusions seems to be as important as vectoring towards concealed porphyry copper deposits, especially while dealing with deep exploration targets that are associated with high financial risks, and(2) it highlights the inefficiencies and uncertainties in introduced magma fertility indicators for porphyry copper intrusions. As a result, it is of high importance to conduct an overarching investigation on other possible fertility indicators as a fundamental need for the future of the exploration industry.

Constructing Index System for Evaluating Work Level in Rural Endowment Insurance

This paper used fuzzy math principles, analyzed different aspects of the work of the current rural endowment insurance and formed the indices to assess the work level of the rural endowment insurance. After selecting the indices of the work level scientificly, constructed the index system to evaluate the work level of the rural endowment insurance and the index system was expressed in the form of math equation. In this way, an objective standard used to evaluate the work level of rural endowment insurance was establised.

Analysis on Endowment of Empty Nesters in Tulu Village of Hunchun City in Jilin Province

with expansion of rural empty nesters,endowment of empty nesters has become a hot spot of the society. By means of questionnaire survey and interview,this paper analyzed basic situations of empty nesters in Tulu Village of Hunchun City in Jilin Province,including economic level,physical health,life care,and spirit situations. Next,it discussed major problems in endowment problem of empty nesters,including limited economic support,unoptimistic physical health,low ability of life care,and feeling of loneliness. Finally,it came up with pertinent recommendations on the basis of the analysis,including strengthening family endowment ability and improving socialized endowment service,strengthening practical living ability,improving life care ability with family endowment as primary and community endowment as auxiliary part,and expanding amusement and recreation ways of empty nesters.

Current Situation and Demand of Rural Endowment Security in Shaanxi Province

With intensification of population aging and rise in elderly dependency ratio,the demand for endowment security becomes higher and higher,particularly in rural areas.Taking Shaanxi Province as an example,the authors selected people older than 65 in 18 natural villages in north Shaanxi,south Shaanxi and Guanzhong.With the aid of survey data and related official statistical data,they made an evaluation of current situation of the rural endowment security in Shaanxi Province.Results indicate that home-based endowment is the major endowment method of rural elderly,but such method is influenced by family's economic support ability and children's support willingness,thus facing big demand gap.On the basis of analyzing gap problem,the authors recommended that government should increase financial and policy supports,optimize management and monitoring,actively develop non-government organizations,and promote socialization of rural endowment service.

Conditions and Paths of Transformation of Agricultural Producing Methods in China

This paper analyzes the origin of the traditional small-scale peasant economy in China,introduces the development basis of traditional agriculture and the constraints of traditional agricultural development. Then it analyzes the possibility of transformation caused by the change of constraints according to the possibility of resource endowment changes and the possibility of changes in economic foundations and political cultural foundations. And finally based on the analysis of constraints,it is concluded that the development of China's future needs to focus on small-scale farmers,large-scale planting households,cooperatives and a small number of enterprises,and put forward three paths to developing modern agriculture which are large scale land operation,the professional cooperation of farmers,and the large scale production processes.