Energy Abundance and China's Economic Growth: 2000–2014

Based on the interprovincial panel data of 2000–2014, this paper carries out an empirical analysis on the relationship between energy abundance and economic growth to test the theoretical hypothesis of ‘resource curse' and explore its transmission mechanism for China and its three regions. The results show that, at the national level, positive correlation is present between energy abundance and economic growth, proving that the ‘resource curse' phenomenon does not exist in China as a whole. Moreover, material capital input, human capital input and the level of opening to the outside world could promote economic growth, while technology innovation input may hinder economic growth. As seen by region, a positive correlation also exists between the energy abundance and economic growth in the eastern and western regions, and there is no ‘resource curse' phenomenon either. In all three regions, the human capital input could promote economic growth. Material capital input could promote economic growth in the eastern but hinder economic growth in the western region; the level of opening to the outside world could promote economic growth in the eastern region. It is known through further survey and analysis on the transmission mechanism of resource curse that, at the national level, material capital input, human capital input, and the level of opening to the outside world present positive correlation with energy abundance, indicating that energy development becomes an important transmission factor by strengthening material capital input and human capital input and raising the level of opening to the outside world. However, technology innovation input presents negative correlation with energy development. As seen by region, both the material capital input and human capital input present positive correlation with energy development strength in the three regions. Similar as the eastern region, the level of opening to the outside world presents positive correlation with energy industry development in the middle and western regions; however, the energy development presents negative correlation with technology input level in the western region.

Cost estimation and control of colorectal cancer screening

Objective:The aim of our study was to estimate the cost of colorectal cancer screening and to provide evidence for the cost control of colorectal cancer screening among general population in rural area of China.Methods:We determined the net cost for colorectal cancer mass-screening in Jiashan County,and evaluated the cost-benefit and cost effectiveness.Results:The compliance rate of primary screening and intensive screening were 84.6% and 78.7%,respectively.In primary screening,the average cost for each individual was 27.2 yuan,and the average cost for identifying one high-risk individual was 180.5 yuan.The mean cost to diagnose one colorectal cancer patient was 42963.3 yuan.As for identification of adenoma,the average cost for each case was 4384.0 yuan.Based on the calculation,the average cost of reducing one colorectal cancer patient was 12768 yuan by conducting the mass-screening protocol.Conclusion:It was beneficial to do the cost-benefit analysis of colorectal cancer screening in area of high incidence.Based on the results of cost-benefit analysis,more efforts should be made to reduce the cost and to improve the efficiency of the colorectal cancer screening.

Localization and navigation using a novel artificial landmark for indoor mobile robots

This paper presents a practical topological navigation system for indoor mobile robots, making use of a novel artificial landmark which is called MR code. This new kind of paper-made landmarks earl be easi- ly attached on the ceilings or on the walls, lmealization algorithms for the two cases are given respective- ly. A docking control algorithm is also described, which a robot employs to approach its current goal. A simple topological navigation algorithm is proposed. Experiment results show the effectiveness of the method in real environment.

China＇s New Nationalism and Its Obscene Core

This paper examines the recent current of nationalism in China's Mainland. It takes not only nationalist intellectual texts written by Wang Xiaodong and other ＂Say-no Club＂ members into critical scrutiny, but also nationalistic sentiments frequently appeared on the Chinese web and streets since the late 1990s. The findings of the analyses proffered by this paper are expected to enhance not only the understanding of today＇s China and Chinese nationalism as a localized and ＂embedded＂ discourse/phenomenon, but also, hopefully, that of nationalism and its generative and operational mechanism in general--nationalism is an ＂obscene discourse＂ and operates in the fantastic ground while producing real violence.

Widowhood Practice in Eastern Nigeria： A Comparative Study of Imo and Anambra States

Marriage is one of the valued institutions in the traditional African society. Incidentally, it has its own challenges. When a young man or woman gets to a certain age and he/she is not married, society frowns at it. Thus, many couples enter into marriage relationships with a lot of excitements and expectations. However, losing one＇s spouse to death robs one of all these excitements and expectations and exposes the bereaved spouse to some dehumanizing challenges. These challenges are mostly experienced by women in the Eastern Region of Nigeria. These women are subjected to dehumanizing practices which are socially accepted in the region. This paper attempts a comparative study of some of the practices imposed on widows in Eastern Nigeria. A sample of 200 participants was purposively selected from two states in the Eastern Region of Nigeria. The study adopted the qualitative research method. Thus, the analysis was made using descriptive method. The study showed that these inhuman traditional practices in Eastern Nigeria are initiated and perpetrated by the kinsmen （Umunna and Umuada）. It also showed that the widowhood treatment is meted out on all widows, but the severity or less severity of these treatments are dependent on the socio-economic and other attributes of the widow. Finally, recommendations were made, which include the need to protect the fundamental rights of widows and their children.

A TDOA-Based Ultrasonic Absolute Localizing System of a Rail Robot in Greenhouse

In this paper,we present a method for localization of a rail autonomous pesticide spraying and sampling robot working in greenhouse using an absolute localization system.Design and implementation of the localization system comes from the usage of beacon systems each of which is composed of an RF single receiver and an ultrasonic transmitter.The RF single receiver gets the synchronization signal from the mobile robot,and the ultrasonic transmitter sends ultrasonic signal,thus the distance from the beacon to the ultrasonic receiver can be measured.The position of a beacon in coordinate system of robot can be calculated according to distance information from the beacons to two ultrasonic receivers which are mounted on the robot.Based on the coordinate transformation,the position of a mobile robot can be calculated from the beacon＇s absolute position information in the global coordinate system.Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in real world applications.

Human-centered design of Stubble-Mulch Rotocultivator for Boat Tractor

With the development of mechanization popularity in rural area, agricultural machinery product not only needs to meet the production goals, and also requires the simple operation and human-centered. Human-centered design is always, on the basis of the user＇ s requirement and usage, to think over the issues by regarding operator as the center, and to design the products by emphasizing the ease of use and understandability during design and manufacture. In this study, Stubble-Mulch Rotocultivator for Boat Tractor （SMRBT） is chosen as the design object. The coordination approach of the user, machine and environment is discussed by deeply investigating their relationship, which is an empirical study of the human-centered technology of agricultural machinery.

Chinese-English and Its Linguistic Features

English globalization has actually triggered the localization of the English language, so Chinese-English is a fact not a hypothesis. This paper mainly discusses the origin of Chinese-English and tries to explore the essential features of it through the theories of language migration and analysis of many examples. This paper points out, based on Standard English, Chinese-English is an English variety mainly used by the Chinese people. It is unavoidable, useful, and necessary to spread Chinese culture. Chinese-English and Chinglish are inter-language variants because Chinese cultural influences are different. Chinese-English has its own complete system, regularity, and stability. This paper further clarifies the position of the Chinese-English and treats the Chinese-English phenomenon dialecticly and scientifically.

Shrinking and Super-Aging Suburbs in Japanese Metropolis

Japan＇s aging rate has exceeded 26%, ahead of any other country in the world. Aging is progressing rapidly in both rural and urban areas. Recently, super-aging in old suburbs is remarkable. Recently, Japanese old suburban housing estates are declining. They are facing several serious problems. Most serious problems are aging of residents and decreasing population, and these are caused by long-term dwelling. Because many Japanese think that ＂Japanese Dream＂ is occupancy of detached house in suburb. Japanese suburban residents tend to stay after child rearing. And another severe problem is the increasing vacant houses. In this study, the authors try to clarify the conditions of shrinking suburbs in Japanese cities and will introduce some activities for revitalization in suburbs. As for aging of suburban residents, in old housing estates, the first generation of migrants grew older and continued to live in their own house in suburban areas. Furthermore, their children grew up and moved out. These are caused by the failure of town planning, which supplied the same type of houses in short term. Furthermore, increases in vacant houses are seen throughout every old suburban housing estate, and it induces new uneasiness and social troubles and drop in housing price.

Advanced Self-Localization and Navigation for Mobile Robots in Extraterrestrial Environments

Self-localization is one of the most important aspects for using mobile robots in unstructured environments. In this paper, the authors introduce a new approach for a self-localization and navigation unit for mobile platforms in extraterrestrial environments, based on the authors＂ successful results in self-localization of forestry machines on earth. The presented approach is developed from a highly modular concept, which allows a simple but efficient adaption to specific applications by just substituting some scenario dependent components. In this paper, the authors will explain the general concept and the terrestrial implementation so far. On this basis, the authors will demonstrate and discuss the necessary adaptions to the general concept in order to handle the different conditions on extraterrestrial surfaces.

Transmitting boundary and radiation conditions at infinity

Relationship between the radiation conditions at infinity and the transmitting boundary for numerical simulation of the near-field wave motion has been studied in this paper. The conclusion is that the transmitting boundary is approximately equivalent to the radiation conditions at infinity for a large class of infinite media. And the errors of the approximation are of the same order of magnitude as those of the finite elements or finite differences in numerical simulation of wave motion. This result provides a sound theoretical basis for the transmitting boundary used in the numerical simulation of the near-field wave motion and gives a complete explanation for the major experiences accumulated in applications of the transmitting boundary to the numerical simulation.

Can Education Make Us Healthier? An Urban-Rural Comparative Analysis Based on the Chinese General Social Survey of 2010

In modern society, educational achievement＇s impact on individual lives is reflected not only in economic benefits in the labor market but also in various ＂intangible returns.＂ Based on national data from the Chinese General Social Survey of 2010, our analysis of the urbanrural disparity and mediating factors in the health benefits of educational achievement shows that education has positive returns in terms of health for both urban and rural residents, but the returns to compulsory education and senior middle school differ for the two groups. This difference may be caused by the gap in the quality of compulsory education between urban and rural areas. Therefore, a linchpin of the relevant education policies should be encouragement of ＂urban-rural integration＂ in terms of the quality rather than just the quantity of education and the universalizing of senior middle school education in rural areas.