Time trends and disparities of obesity and related national policies and programs in Nepal:a systematic review

Objective Overweight and obesity prevalence has increased in low-income countries.This study systematically reviewed the obesity trend,disparities,and prevention and control efforts in Nepal.Methods We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for articles and reports published between January 1,2004 and December 31,2022.Additional information on National policies and programs related to obesity prevention was retrieved from governmental websites and consultation with relevant experts.Overweight and obesity were defined using the World Health Organization body mass index cut points.Thirty-two studies and reports were included.Results Overall,overweight and obesity rates increased in all groups in Nepal although nationally representative data remained limited.The combined overweight and obesity(OW/OB)and obesity rates in women aged 15-49 years increased from 8.5%to 22.2%and from 0.9%to 5.1%between 2006 and 2016,respectively.OW/OB and obesity rates in men were 17.1%and 2.5%based on data from the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey.OW/OB rate in under-five children increased from 0.6%to 2.8%between 2006 and 2016.Obesity rates for school-age(5-9 years)boys and girls in 2016 were 2.4%and 2.8%,respectively,and were 1.1%and 1.4%for male and female adolescents aged 10-19 years,respectively.OW/OB prevalence was much higher among women,residents in urban areas and central provinces,and in higher socioeconomic status groups.Projected prevalence of OW/OB and obesity for 2030 in adults aged 15-49 was 44.7%and 8.3%,respectively,while it was 2.2%for OW/OB in preschool children.Policies and direct interventions that specifically focused on obesity prevention and control are limited.Conclusions OW/OB prevalence in Nepal has increased during the past 1.8 decades,disproportionately affecting population groups.Existing interventions mostly focused on undernutrition with some indirect implications for obesity prevention.In the future,Nepal needs to develop population-based programs for obesity prevention.

The impact of foreign trade and FDI on environmental pollution

Over the past 30 years China＇s economy has made tremendous development and going on the road of opening-up is an important aspect of the successful experience, which should be unswervingly adhered to in the further. However, rationally looking at how different the impact of foreign economic activities on China＇s economy and society is economic workers＇ main task. From 1982 to 2006, based on six categories of China＇s environmental indicators, the paper improves the entropy method to calculate the environmental pollution index which can represent China＇s overall environmental situation, uses the VAR model of the impulse response function and variance decomposition method to study the impact of foreign trade, FDI on China＇s environmental pollution in the long-term. The results show that, FDI and import trade is conducive to the improvement of the quality of our environment and export trade is the deterioration of our environment, ＂pollution haven＂ hypothesis is proved in China. Export trade is an important variable that aggravates environmental pollution.

A review of research on China's carbon emission peak and its forcing mechanism

In order to make further steps in dealing with climate change, China proposed to peak carbon dioxide emissions by about 2030 and to make best efforts for the peaking early. The carbon emission peak target(CEPT) must result in a forcing mechanism on China's economic transition. This paper, by following the logical order from "research on carbon emission history" to "carbon emission trend prediction," from "research on paths of realizing peak" to "peak restraint research," provides a general review of current status and development trend of researches on China's carbon emission and its peak value. Furthermore,this paper also reviews the basic theories and specific cases of the forcing mechanism.Based on the existing achievements and development trends in this field, the following research directions that can be further expanded are put forward. First, from the perspective of long-term strategy of sustainable development, we should analyze and construct the forcing mechanism of CEPT in a reverse thinking way. Second, economic transition paths under the forcing mechanism should be systematically studied. Third, by constructing a large-scale policy evaluation model, the emission reduction performance and economic impact of a series of policy measures adopted during the transition process should be quantitatively evaluated.

Tone of language,financial disclosure,and earnings management:a textual analysis of form 20-F

This study investigates the relationship between the tone of financial disclosures and managers’earnings management behavior using Form 20-F filings of Chinese firms listed in the U.S.during 2002–2014.The results show that the proportion of positive,uncertain,or modal words used in financial disclosures is positively related to corporate earnings management,implying that managers attempt to conceal earnings management behavior by manipulating the tone of their financial reports.In addition,robustness tests are conducted using an alternative proxy for earnings management that considers the effects of the financial crisis and separately examines the information and non-information technology industries.The results suggest that the tone used in financial disclosures has informative value,and textual analysis can be an effective tool for identifying earnings management.

Idea and goals of environmental protection and ecological construction in the 11^(th) five-year plan period

In this paper, the executive of the 10th Five- Year Plan in the field of environmental protection and ecological constrution is reviewed, and the charactristics of economic growth and its environmental impact on the 11^th Five-Year Plan is forecasted and analyzed. A principal idea of eavironmental protection and ecological construction is put forward for the 11^th Five-Year Plan pertod： strensgthen the point treatment in key areas and set the main targets based on the idea. The relating countermeasures in national level are proposed as follows： set up appropriate ideas for official achievements by launching resources and environmental cost acconting; adjust the industrial struacture actively by industrial policies and strenuous work; develop circular economy, change the mode of environmental protecgon from end treatment to headstream and proeess control： strengthen the market mechanism in the process of pollution treatment, set up the system of ＂who treats who benefits＂ ; perfect interrelated laws and standards, strengthen the ability of environmental munagement; lay extra emphasis on two key targets： water pollution tretment in key river basins and management of the reserves; and combine the ecological consnuction and poverty alleviation in higher level.

The Monopoly and Governance of the Platform Economy in the Digital Era

The platform economy has become a new engine and leading force for China's economic development.With the rapid development of super internet platforms, this field has drawn growing attention from attention of anti-monopoly authorities.The technical attributes and business characteristics of the platform economy endow those platforms with a "natural" monopoly advantage, and the quasi-public attributes of the internet platforms require anti-monopoly authorities to bear more monopoly governance responsibilities.This paper analyzes the difficulties in monopoly governance of the platform economy from the perspectives of anti-monopoly legislation, government regulation and global monopoly governance, and proposes several solutions and suggestions to improve the effectiveness of anti-monopoly governance and promote healthy development of the digital economic ecology.The solutions and suggestions include: focusing on building up technology-based regulatory capabilities, accelerating the legislation on data protection of data, and developing an anti-monopoly system based on the principle of giving priority to innovation.

The transaction behavior of cryptocurrency and electricity consumption

Rapidly increasing cryptocurrency prices have encouraged cryptocurrency miners to participate in cryptocurrency production,increasing network hashrates and electricity consumption.Growth in network hashrates has further crowded out small cryptocurrency investors owing to the heightened costs of mining hardware and electricity.These changes prompt cryptocurrency miners to become new investors,leading to cryptocurrency price increases.The potential bidirectional relationship between cryptocurrency price and electricity consumption remains unidentified.Hence,this research thus utilizes July 312015–July 122019 data from 13 cryptocurrencies to investigate the short-and long-run causal effects between cryptocurrency transaction and electricity consumption.Particularly,we consider structural breaks induced by external shocks through stationary analysis and comovement relationships.Over the examined time period,we found that the series of cryptocurrency transaction and electricity consumption gradually returns to mean convergence after undergoing daily shocks,with prices trending together with hashrates.Transaction fluctuations exert both a temporary effect and permanent influence on electricity consumption.Therefore,owing to the computational power deployed to wherever high profit is found,transactions are vital determinants of electricity consumption.

Export Value-Added of China’s Manufacturing Sector:Estimation and Mechanism Analysis

Estimation of domestic and overseas value-added of manufacturing sector is an important and difficult subject for the science-based evaluation of a country＇s trade interests under global value chain. Traditional HIY approach overestimates the domestic value- added of export. Although Koopman＇s method made certain improvements, it cannot utilize traditional I/O matrix and direct input coefficient matrix under the condition of incomplete information. By creating GAMS model, this paper addresses the above-mentioned problems and employs an improved model for the estimation of variations in domestic and overseas value-added of Chinese exports between 2002 and 2012. Our results indicate that by neglecting the export of processing trade, HIY approach overestimates the domestic value- added ratio of Chinese exports. As more imported intermediate inputs have been used in the export of processing trade, the estimation result of this paper have corrected deviations in the forecast of overseas value-added ratio and its tendencies based on HIY method Further analysis of specific factors of domestic value-added of export led to the discovery that the domestic value-added of export of processing trade and mixed trade is highly vulnerable to the impact of international capital inflow. It can be seen that the improved method for the estimation of value-added has indeed corrected the deviations in the estimation of China＇s value-added. In conclusion, China should accelerate the development of export of non- processing trade and trade in high-end services, and balance the relationship of export between local firms and foreign-funded firms, with a view to improving trade dependence and increasing the trade status of Chinese manufaeturing firms in global value chain.

On the Nature and Direction of State-owned Enterprises Reform in a New Era

State-owned enterprises(SOEs) serve as an important material and political basis for socialism with Chinese characteristics. SOEs must be reformed in accordance with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese characteristics for a new era, which is the fundamental basis for maintaining the nature and direction of reform for SOEs. Reforms must be built on the fundamental standpoint with people at the center, and aimed at emancipating, developing and protecting productive forces based on the principles of justice and fairness, which is also the direction for Chinese SOEs reform in the new era. Adherence to the public ownership of state-owned assets in the form of value and its market-oriented management in the form of use-value is not only the objective requirement of a production mode adapting to the growth of productive forces, but also the logic of SOEs reform in the new era. Meanwhile, SOEs need to highlight the top-level designs of governmental systems in the reform process, giving e ective play to the leading and guiding roles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

Blockchain:A Technical Support for the Modernization of the National Governance System and Capacity

The modernization of national governance needs to be supported with modern technical tools to conform relations of production to productive forces and enable positive and orderly interaction between the two.Blockchain,as an emerging technology in the age of information,features distributed architecture,greater transparency,improved traceability and enhanced security.Blockchain’s consensus mechanism can be introduced into community governance mechanisms,which,by virtue of its marketoriented operation nature,helps define the respective functions of the government and market in the modernization of national governance.The application of blockchain technology to the national governance system enables stakeholders to seek consensus and the largest possible common interests to improve the national governance system and better achieve the governance goal,reduce governance costs,improve governance performance and meet the development needs of the times.Through a proper top-down design,China can effectively integrate blockchain technology into its national governance system and thereby efficiently advance the modernization of its national governance system and capacity.Still,due attention should be paid to blockchain’s possible technical risks and impact during the reform and modernization of national governance.

Technical Protections of International Trade and China＇s Countermeasures in WTO

After reviewing the current event of China＇s entering WTO and analyzing some challenges of non-tariff barriers, this paper indicated the actual development of technical protections and what China will face, and then projected the approaches to solve the problems of technical protections that may affect China＇s industries.

Economic Analysis of Microfinance： Evidence from China

China＇s evolutionary reform brought China economy enormous progress, which also subsided the poverty phenomenon. But the present anti-poverty task is still very arduous for China today. Peasant household＇s microfinance is a kind of important tool which contributes to the poverty alleviation. The sustainable development of microfinance has become a serous problem at present. This text analyses the sustainable development of microfinance through setting up the income model of microfinance, then puts forward the way to solve.

An Empirical Test of Relation Between Executive Stock Options and Firm Performance

Numerous firms adopted executive stock options plan for their executives. This study examines empirically the hypothesis that stock options help to improve the firml＇s operating performance. The empirical tests reveal a positive relation between the stock options and performance; also indicate that there is a positive relation between quantity of manager＇s stock options and firm＇s size.

Application of Activity Based Costing in Customer Evaluation and Management

As plant develops, many industries＇ automatic level is very high leading to the increasing of indirect cost. Traditional costing methods, which use single standard of distributing indirect cost, cannot calculate cus- tomer cost accurately and satisfy managers any more. This paper is aimed on solving the aforesaid problem. In this paper we propose the thought of evaluating customer cost by using activity based costing（ABC） and the tra- ditional model of customer lifetime value（CLV） to improve the CLV model, then analyze the difference of using both models through an empirical study. As a result, ABC can account customer cost more accurately so that the CLV can help managers evaluate customer more effectively.

Evaluation of preventive,supportive and awareness building measures among international students in China in response to COVID-19:a structural equation modeling approach

Background:Education institutions promptly implemented a set of steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among international Chinese students,such as restrictive physical exercise,mask wear,daily health reporting,etc.Success of such behavioral change campaigns largely depends on awareness building,satisfaction and trust on the authorities.The purpose of this current study is to assess the preventive,supportive and awareness-building steps taken during the COVID-19 pandemic for international students in China,that will be useful for planning such a behavioral change campaign in the potential pandemic situation in other parts of the world.Methods:We conducted an online-based e-questionnaire survey among 467 international students in China through WeChat.The data collection duration was from February 20,2020 to March 10,2020 and we focused on their level of awareness,satisfaction,and trust in authorities regarding pandemic measures.Simple bivariate statistics was used to describe the background characteristics of the respondents along with adoption of the partial least squares-structural equation modeling(PLS-SEM)as the final model to demonstrate the relationship between the variables.Results:In our study,the leading group of the respondents were within 31 to 35 years’age group(39.82%),male(61.88%),living single(58.24%)and doctoral level students(39.8%).The preventive and supportive measures taken by students and/or provided by the respective institution or authorities were positively related to students’satisfaction and had an acceptable strength(β=0.611,t=9.679,p<0.001).The trust gained in authorities also showed an acceptable strength(β=0.381,t=5.653,p<0.001)with a positive direction.Again,the personnel awareness building related to both students’satisfaction(β=0.295,t=2.719,p<0.001)and trust gain(β=0.131,t=1.986,p<0.05)in authorities had a positive and acceptable intensity.Therefore,our study clearly demonstrates the great impact of preventive and supportive measures in the development of students’satisfaction(R2=0.507 indicating moderate relationship).The satisfied students possessed a strong influence which eventually helped in building sufficient trust on their institutions(R2=0.797 indicating above substantial relationship).Conclusions:The worldwide student group is one of the most affected and vulnerable communities in this situation.So,there is a profound ground of research on how different states or authorities handle such situation.In this study,we have depicted the types and magnitude of care taken by Chinese government and educational institutions towards international students to relieve the panic of pandemic situation.Further research and such initiatives should be taken in to consideration for future emerging conditions.

Entrepreneurial Spirit for China in the New Era and Strategies for Cultivation

What type of entrepreneurial spirit is needed for China’s new era,and how can we unlock its innovation potential?Answers to these questions will unleash vital forces to drive China’s high-quality economic development.After reviewing the theories,dimensions,features,and limitations of the entrepreneurial spirit in the Western context,we concluded that the entrepreneurial spirit in China’s new era,which is characterized by patriotism,innovation,trustworthiness,adherence to the law,fulfillment of social responsibilities,and a global horizon,has overcome the limitations that come with self-interested entrepreneurship in the context of Western economics.This is a major step forward in the development of theories on entrepreneurial spirit.In the development context of the new era,this paper argues that the entrepreneurial spirit should become an important force at the individual level to implement the new development concept,foster the new development paradigm,and promote high-quality development in the new stage.This paper provides answers to the question of what type of entrepreneurial spirit China’s new era requires.Finally,this paper presents basic strategies for cultivating entrepreneurial spirit in the context of China’s new era,emphasizing the importance to promote the healthy growth of young entrepreneurs,ensure their business autonomy,develop a multi-tiered capital market,implement the factor market reforms,improve the business climate,and accelerate the digital transition.

Dynamic relationship between volume and volatility in the Chinese stock market:evidence from the MS-VAR model

Since market uncertainty,or volatility,serves as a crucial gauge for assessing the traits of market fluctuations,the link between stock market volume and price continues to be a focal point of interest in finance.This study examines the dynamic,nonlinear correlations between Chinese stock volatility,trading volume,and return using a hybrid approach that combines the Markov-switching regime with the vector autoregressive model(MS-VAR).The empirical findings are as follows:(1)The Chinese stock market can be divided into three regional systems:steady downward,steady upward,and high volatility.The three states have similar frequencies of occurrence,and their corresponding stable probabilities are not high,indicating that the Chinese stock market is unstable.(2)Asymmetric dynamic relationships exist between market volatility,investment return,and trading volume.For different regimes,while the effect of trading volume on volatility and return appears to be insignificant,the impacts of volatility and return on trading volume are considerably strong.(3)A regime-dependent,contemporaneous correlation between volatility and return is observed,which also reflects the behavior of the Chinese stock market“chasing up and down”.However,a positive contemporaneous correlation always exists between volatility and trading volumes in different regimes,indicating that uncertainty in the Chinese stock market is closely related to information inflow.

Research on the Application of Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching in the Securities Investment Course

With the rapid development of information technology and the increasing complexity of the financial market,the teaching methods and means of the Securities Investment course in universities are facing new challenges and opportunities.The purpose of this paper is to discuss the application and construction path of virtual simulation experimental teaching in the Securities Investment course.Firstly,it analyses the problems existing in the teaching of traditional securities investment courses,such as the disconnection between theory and practice and the single teaching mode.In order to solve these problems,this paper puts forward the necessity of introducing virtual simulation experimental teaching and details the specific application path of virtual simulation experimental teaching in the Securities Investment course.

Pollutant emissions,energy consumption and economic development in China:Evidence from dynamic panel data

This study investigates the relationship among pollutant emissions,energy consumption and economic development in China during the period 1982-2007 by using a one-step GMM-system model under a multivariable panel VAR framework,controlling for capital stock and labor force.Regarding the data for all 28 provinces as a whole,we find that there is a unidirectional positive relationship running from pollutant emission to economic development and a unidirectional negative relationship between pollutant emission and energy consumption.Based on traditional economic planning,the panel data of28 provinces are divided into two cross-province groups.It is discovered that in the eastern coastal region of China,there is only a unidirectional positive causal relationship leading from economic development to pollutant emission;while in the central and western regions,there are the unidirectional Granger causal relationships between pollutant emission and energy consumption,as well as between pollutant emission and economic development.There is also a unique unidirectional causal relationship running from economic development to energy consumption,which does not appear in the eastem coastal region or in China as a whole.

Expanding telemedicine to reduce the burden on the healthcare systems and poverty in Africa for a post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reformation

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)global public health emergency,has exposed the fragility of health systems.Access to healthcare became a scarce commodity as healthcare providers and resource-poor popula­tions became victims of the novel corona virus.Therefore,this study focuses on Africa’s readiness to integrate telemedicine into the weak health systems and its adoption may help alleviate poor healthcare and poverty after COVID-19.We conducted a narrative review through different search strategies in Scopus on January 20,2021,to identify available literature reporting implementation of various telemedicine modes in Africa from January 1,2011 to December 31,2020.We summarized 54 studies according to geographies,field,and implementation methods.The results show a willingness to adopt telemedicine in the resource-poor settings and hard-to-reach populations,which will bring relief to the inadequate healthcare systems and alleviate poverty of those who feel the burden of healthcare cost the most.With adequate government financing,telemedicine promises to enhance the treating of communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as support health infrastructure.It can also alleviate poverty among vulnerable groups and hard-to-reach communities in Africa with adequate government financing.However,given the lack of funding in Africa,the challenges in implementing telemedicine require global and national strategies before it can yield promising results.This is especially true in regards to alleviating the multidimensionality of poverty in post-COVID-19 Africa.