What are the underlying causes and dynamics of land use conflicts in metropolitan junction areas?A case study of the central Chengdu–Chongqing region in China

Land use conflicts(LUCs),as a spatial manifestation of the conflicts in the human-land relationships,have a profound impact on regional sustainable development.For China’s metropolitan junction areas(MJAs),the existence of“administrative district economies”has made the issue of LUCs more prominent.Based on a case study of the central Chengdu–Chongqing region,we conducted an exploratory spatial data analysis of the evolutionary process of regional LUCs.Furthermore,structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the dynamic mechanism of LUCs in MJAs,with a particular emphasis on exploring the influences of administrative boundary.The results showed that from 2010 to 2020,LUCs in the central Chengdu–Chongqing region continued to worsen,and the spatial process conflict and spatial structure conflict indices increased by more than 30.0%.The intensification of LUCs in the central Chengdu–Chongqing region from 2010 to 2020 was mainly the result of the deterioration of conflicts in evaluation units with low conflict levels.LUCs in China’s metropolitan areas generally presented a circular gradient distribution,weakening from the core to the periphery,but there were some strong isolated conflict zones in the outer regions.LUCs in China’s MJAs were the result of interactions among multiple factors,e.g.,natural environment,socio-economic development,policy and institutional processes,and administrative boundary effects.Administrative boundary affected the flow of socio-economic elements,changing the supply-and-demand competition of stakeholders for land resources,consequently exerting an indirect influence on LUCs.This study advances the theory of the dynamic mechanism of LUCs,and provides theoretical support for the governance of these conflicts in transboundary areas.

Regression discontinuity design and its applications to Science of Science:A survey

Purpose:With the availability of large-scale scholarly datasets,scientists from various domains hope to understand the underlying mechanisms behind science,forming a vibrant area of inquiry in the emerging“science of science”field.As the results from the science of science often has strong policy implications,understanding the causal relationships between variables becomes prominent.However,the most credible quasi-experimental method among all causal inference methods,and a highly valuable tool in the empirical toolkit,Regression Discontinuity Design(RDD)has not been fully exploited in the field of science of science.In this paper,we provide a systematic survey of the RDD method,and its practical applications in the science of science.Design/methodology/approach:First,we introduce the basic assumptions,mathematical notations,and two types of RDD,i.e.,sharp and fuzzy RDD.Second,we use the Web of Science and the Microsoft Academic Graph datasets to study the evolution and citation patterns of RDD papers.Moreover,we provide a systematic survey of the applications of RDD methodologies in various scientific domains,as well as in the science of science.Finally,we demonstrate a case study to estimate the effect of Head Start Funding Proposals on child mortality.Findings:RDD was almost neglected for 30 years after it was first introduced in 1960.Afterward,scientists used mathematical and economic tools to develop the RDD methodology.After 2010,RDD methods showed strong applications in various domains,including medicine,psychology,political science and environmental science.However,we also notice that the RDD method has not been well developed in science of science research.Research Limitations:This work uses a keyword search to obtain RDD papers,which may neglect some related work.Additionally,our work does not aim to develop rigorous mathematical and technical details of RDD but rather focuses on its intuitions and applications.Practical implications:This work proposes how to use the RDD method in science of science research.Originality/value:This work systematically introduces the RDD,and calls for the awareness of using such a method in the field of science of science.

ASEAN Cybersecurity Policy and China-ASEAN Cooperation

Threats and vulnerabilities in the digital environment have brought extensive cybersecurity risks to all countries’economic and social activities.Cybersecurity and digital security governance are important issues for ASEAN countries,and they are one of the common non-traditional security issues faced by China and ASEAN countries.

Evolving pattern and improvement path of China’s solid waste management policies

Systematically sorting out the evolving pattern of solid waste management policies and studying the key points and development trends of solid waste management policies are conducive to the clarification of improvement path of solid waste management policies.Based on the promulgated solid waste management policies,this study applies statistical methods to the analysis of the text structure and contents of the solid waste management policies,attempting to find out the internal evolving pattern of the solid waste management policies in China.Closely integrating the current policy requirements for the construction of‘waste-free city’,this study puts forward a policy optimization and improvement path.The findings are briefly listed blow:①The solid waste management policies have demonstrated multiple text types and various levels of effectiveness,and the policy framework system is gradually optimized.②In each edition of solid waste management policy,the hotspot issues are highlighted with distinctive characteristics of the times and dynamic evolution.The policies are covering more fields,the contents are more targeted and comprehensive,and the implementation is more specific and practical.③The policies mainly focus on harmlessness,reduction,reclamation,pollution prevention,supervision and management,secondary pollution,recycling,circular economy,etc.④The government strengthens the top-level design from the macro level,focusing on policy guidance and standardization,policy coordination,technical support,and governance improvement to promote the realization of the goals of‘harmlessness,reduction,reclamation’.⑤The diversification of tools,approaches and factors supporting solid waste management,and the growing awareness of the technical support of solid waste management,and the management mode and governance path have entered the phase of adaptive transformation.Based on practical needs,the market oriented policies and incentive mechanisms for solid waste management are inadequate,applicable technical attention is not highly paid,and the comprehensive management level and governance capabilities are in urgent need of improvement.Combined with the theoretical research,practical actions and policy initiatives of the construction of‘waste-free city’in other countries,from the perspectives of solid waste full product lifecycle management,technical support paradigm policy,main body coordination policy,guidance incentive policy,laws and regulations and other aspects,the policy improvement path and direction of China’s‘waste-free city’are thoroughly discussed in this study.

Rural sustainable development:A case study of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China

Sustainable development is the central theme of modern global development.With the arrival of the urban era,the vulnerability and instability of rural areas have significantly increased,and rural sustainable development faces serious challenges.To address these issues,the study took the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China under the National Sustainable Development Agenda as a case,combined with economic,social and land use data during 2016-2020,and applied Granger causality test method to explore the theoretical and practical pathways of“innovation-driven rural sustainable development”.The results showed that rural sustainable development and economic sustainability displayed a trend of synergistic change,with“explosive”growth from 2018 to 2020.The social sustainability steadily increased from 2016 to 2020.Ecological and spatial sustainability continuously declined during the study period.Moreover,the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone displayed rapid growth during 2016-2020.Although the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone has rapidly improved,it has a weak driving effect on rural sustainable development and economic sustainability.There are two primary challenges that must be overcome to ensure the rural sustainable development of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone.The first challenge is the imbalance among the multi-dimensional relationships in the process of rural sustainable development,and the second challenge is the weakening of rural innovation capacity to drive rural sustainable development.To overcome these challenges,this study proposed a systematic pathway for rural sustainable development in the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone from multidimensions,such as policy actions,technologies,projects,and institutional guarantees,and formed a universal and representative“Zaozhuang model”.This study expands the theoretical foundation of rural sustainable development and provides theoretical and practical support for innovation-driven rural sustainable development.

An Artificial Neural Network Model Combined with Dietary Retinol Intake from Different Sources to Predict the Risk of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Objective This study aimed to develop an artificial neural network(ANN) model combined with dietary retinol intake from different sources to predict the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) in American adults.Methods Data from the 2007 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(NHANES)2007–2014 were analyzed. Eligible subjects(n = 6,613) were randomly divided into a training set(n1 =4,609) and a validation set(n2 = 2,004) at a ratio of 7:3. The training set was used to identify predictors of NAFLD risk using logistic regression analysis. An ANN was established to predict the NAFLD risk using a training set. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the model using the training and validation sets.Results Our study found that the odds ratios(ORs) and 95% confidence intervals(CIs) of NAFLD for the highest quartile of plant-derived dietary retinol intake(i.e., provitamin A carotenoids, such as β-carotene)(OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57 to 0.99) were inversely associated with NAFLD risk, compared to the lowest quartile of intake, after adjusting for potential confounders. The areas under the ROC curves were 0.874 and 0.883 for the training and validation sets, respectively. NAFLD occurs when its incidence probability is greater than 0.388.Conclusion The ANN model combined with plant-derived dietary retinol intake showed a significant effect on NAFLD. This could be applied to predict NAFLD risk in the American adult population when government departments formulate future health plans.

A Systematic Analysis of Early Life Exposure to the Chinese Famine(1959-1961)and the Health of Older Adults-China,2008-2023

What is already known about this topic?There is mounting evidence indicating that the aging process initiates during early life stages,with in utero the individual’s environment playing a significant role.Consequently,it is crucial to comprehend the enduring effects of early life circumstances on health in old age.What is added by this report?In this study,we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effects of the Chinese Famine(1959–1961)on the health of older adults.We also explored potential mechanisms underlying these effects.What are the implications for public health practice?The complex interplay between early life circumstances,multiple health-related sectors,and healthy aging necessitates a comprehensive life-course approach and strategic interventions to enhance public health in an aging society.

“双碳”目标下环境规制对中国绿色低碳转型发展的影响研究

检验环境规制对中国碳排放绩效的影响,并分析产业结构在环境规制影响碳排放绩效改善过程中的交互作用,对推动绿色低碳转型发展,实现中国经济高质量发展具有重要意义。研究结果表明:环境规制对碳排放绩效呈现先抑制后促进的“U”型非线性影响,这一结论在经过替换被解释变量和变换估计方法等稳健性检验后依然成立。同时,研究发现环境规制主要通过技术创新效应(技术进步)和要素配置效应(技术效率)间接影响碳排放绩效改善。而产业结构调整与环境规制的交互项系数显著,表明产业结构是环境规制影响中国碳排放绩效不可忽视的重要因素。此外,研究还进一步发现南北方在环境规制“U”型曲线的拐点值存在显著异质性。研究结论揭示了我国在绿色低碳转型发展道路上,应充分考虑发展过程中的地区异质性,并根据地区的不同特性实施差异化的环境规制政策。

International collaboration to promote global health:The 2017 Belt and Road Initiative Global Health International Congress&2017 Chinese Preventive Medicine Association--Chinese Society on Global Health Annual Meeting

With the rapid development of new technologies and global trade and increasing collaboration am ong countries worldwide,public health has become a global issue.Global health,as a new discipline,has been drawing more attention from both academ ia and governments.The Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),proposed by China in 2013,aimed to prom ote trade and resource exchange,including education,research,and health issues,with over 60 countries in Asia,Africa,and Europe.The BRI provides good opportunities for involved countries to address health problems jointly as well.In response to the BRI and to promote international collaboration on global health issues,"The 2017 Belt and Road Initiative Global Health International Congress&2017 Chinese Preventive M edicine Association-Chinese Society on Global Health Annual Meeting"was held on Septem ber 24-27,2017 in Xi’an,China.Thus far,this is the largest high-quality international conference held in China that focused on the BRI global health issues.This article summarized the background,key sessions and topics covered during the congress,and important events,and highlights different perspectives of the BRI and global health by invited experts from China and abroad.The conference included 14 sessions(three keynote speech forums and ten scientific sessions and a research poster session)and about 100 speakers,around 40 of which were leading experts outside of China.All the major sessions were held in English.More than 40 leaders and experts of health sectors from 13 countries presented their work in the congress.Approximately 400 delegates from 29 countries attended the congress.Delegates had extensive discussions about global health related issues,future cooperation and development in global health.The congress fostered international exchange and collaboration.

Analysis of cooperation equilibrium of participants in power battery recycling chains considering information barrier

In the era of large-scale retirement of power batteries,there are information barriers and high recovery costs in their recycling.In view of this,in this study we constructed a tripartite evolutionary game model of the cooperation between power battery production and recycling enterprises and government participation.We analyzed the strategic choice of the three parties in the process of power battery recycling and simulated the influence of participants'willingness and information barriers on the strategic choices of the parties.The results showed that power battery production and recycling enterprises,and the government are affected by each other's willingness to participate at different degrees.The willingness of power battery manufacturers and recycling enterprises to cooperate with each other decreased with increases in information barriers.By analyzing the impact of information barrier on power battery recycling,some suggestions are put forward to provide decision-making reference for promoting the sustainable development of power battery industry.

Exploring the development of municipal solid waste disposal facilities in Chinese cities:patterns and drivers

Rapid urbanization in Chinese cities has led to a surge in municipal solid waste(MSW)generation,necessitating the development of high-quality MSW disposal facilities.This study utilizes multi-source data and regression models to examine the status,development pathways,and driving forces of MSW disposal facilities in China.Our findings reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between the capacities or numbers of MSW disposal facilities and GDP per capita of cities.Historical data show that cities in East and Southeast China preferred incineration,while cities in West and Central China developed landfills more,largely shaped by the imbalance of development levels and endowments among regions in China.The study also identifies mixed and differentiated influences of socio-economic factors on capacity expansion and increases in the number of MSW disposal facilities.The results suggest the need for updated construction guidelines and regulations,as well as enhanced technological and managerial capabilities for MSW infrastructure.These findings can inform policymakers and practitioners in their efforts to promote sustainable waste management practices in China.

Smart industrial IoT empowered crowd sensing for safety monitoring in coal mine

The crowd sensing technology can realize the sensing and computing of people,machines,and environment in smart industrial IoT-based coal mine,which provides a solution for safety monitoring through distributed intelligence optimization.However,due to the difficulty of neural network training to achieve global optimality and the fact that traditional LSTM methods do not consider the relationship between adjacent machines,the accuracy of human body position prediction and pressure value prediction is not high.To solve these problems,this paper proposes a smart industrial IoT empowered crowd sensing for safety monitoring in coal mine.First,we propose a Particle Swarm Optimization-Elman Neural Network(PE)algorithm for the mobile human position prediction.Second,we propose an ADI-LSTM neural network prediction algorithm for pressure values of machines supports in underground mines.Among them,our proposed PE algorithm has the lowest average cumulative prediction error,and the trajectory fit rate is improved by 24.1%,13.9%and 8.7%compared with Kalman filtering,Elman and Kalman plus Elman algorithms,respectively.Meanwhile,compared with single-input ARIMA,RNN,LSTM,and GRU,the RMSE values of our proposed ADI-LSTM are reduced by 36.6%,52%,32%,and 13.7%,respectively;and the MAPE values are reduced by 0.0003%,0.9482%,1.1844%,and 0.3620%,respectively.

Examining the Influence of Fertility Policy Adjustments on Gender Equality in China During the Period of Exceptionally Slow Population Growth

The Chinese population is entering a new stage of development,marked by the fertility intentions of women of childbearing age continuing to decline and concerns over their consistently low fertility rates.The number of newborns has been decreasing annually,with 2022 figures falling below 10 million for the first time since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,resulting in negative population growth(1).Currently,China’s population over the age of 60 years is nearing 300 million and is projected to surpass 20%of the total population during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Dynamic evolution and the mechanism of modern gully agriculture regional function in the Loess Plateau

The agricultural regional type and function are the key theoretical issues in agricultural geography research.Gully agriculture in the Loess Plateau is a new regional type of agricultural system with the coupling development of the modern gully human-earth relationship.The study of its functional changes is of great practical significance for food security,rural revitalization and sustainable development of regional agriculture in the region of interest.This paper analyses the multifunctional change of gully agriculture in the Loess Plateau and its dynamic mechanism by using large-scale remote sensing data,topographic relief amplitude model,and spatial econometric model to understand internal implications for evolution differentiation at the basin level.The results show that:(1)The spatial concentration of production and supply function of agricultural products(APF)in the gully of the Loess Plateau gully is high,while the ecological conservation and maintenance function(ECF),employment and social security function(ESF),cultural heritage and leisure function(CRF)are relatively low.The four functions’spatial distribution has revealed an apparent regularity.(2)APF has been significantly enhanced,which is mainly distributed in point clusters and strips in the farming and pastoral areas in northern Shaanxi to the Yanhe river basin.The high-value areas of ESF are clustered around the urbanized metropolitan circles and urban-rural staggered areas along the Great Wall.ECF is concentrated in areas with significant natural endowments and excellent ecological conditions.CRF is significantly higher in the municipal districts and the surrounding regional central cities.(3)There are noticeable differences in the gully agriculture regional function(GARF)evolution process due to the geographical environment and socio-economic development stages.In this regard,natural factors have tremendously affected APF,ESF,and ECF,while socio-economic factors greatly differ in the four functions.There are still differences in the driving mechanisms of modern gully agriculture evolution types;hence many critical policies in the Loess Plateau can directly affect the function evolution paths.The dynamic evolution of GARF can reflect the general law of rural human-earth system transition in gully areas,thereby providing policy ideas for high-quality development of agriculture in the Loess Plateau.

Significant coal combustion contribution to water-soluble brown carbon during winter in Xingtai, China: Optical properties and sources

To understand the characteristics of atmospheric brown carbon(BrC),daily PM2.5 samples in Xingtai,a small city in North China Plain(NCP),during the four seasons of 2018-2019,were collected and analyzed for optical properties and chemical compositions.The light absorption at 365 nm(abs λ=365 nm)displayed a strong seasonal variation with the highest value in winter(29.0±14.3 M/m),which was 3.2∼5.4-fold of that in other seasons.A strong correlation of abs λ=365 nm with benzo(b)fluoranthene(BbF)was only observed in winter,indicating that coal combustion was the major source for BrC in the season due to the enhanced domestic heating.The mass absorbing efficiency of BrC also exhibited a similar seasonal pattern,and was found to correlate linearly with the aerosol pH,suggesting a positive effect of aerosol acidity on the optical properties and formation of BrC in the city.Positive matrix factorization(PMF)analysis further showed that on a yearly basis the major source for BrC was biomass burning,which accounted for 34% of the total BrC,followed by secondary formation(26.7%),coal combustion(21.3%)and fugitive dust(18%).However,the contribution from coal combustionwas remarkably enhanced in winter,accounting for∼40%of the total.Our work revealed that more efforts of“shifting coal to clean energy”are necessary in rural areas and small cities in NCP in order to further mitigate PM2.5 pollution in China.

Aerosol composition,sources,and secondary processing during autumn at a regional site in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Air pollution is serious during autumn in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH)region,but there are few studies that have utilized real-time observations and source apportionment of the autumn submicron aerosols in this region.In this study,a quadrupole aerosol chemical speciation monitor(Q-ACSM)was deployed for the real-time measurement of the non-refractory compositions of submicron aerosols(NR-PM1)at a regional site(Xianghe)from October 3 to November 14,2017.The results showed that nitrate was the largest inorganic aerosol,and the oxygenated organic aerosol(OOA)was the largest organic aerosol in Xianghe.Hydrocarbon-like OA(HOA)was the largest organic aerosol When the NR-PM1 mass concentrations increased from the lowest to the highest bins,nitrate and biomass burning OA(BBOA)showed increasing trends in the suburban area.Enhanced nitrate formation during the pollution epi-sodes resulted from both photochemical and aqueous processing.To reduce the particulate matter(PM2.5)concentrations and eliminate heavy pollution episodes,control measures should focus on reducing NO_(x),NH_(3),and volatile organic compound(VOCs)emissions.

What Makes Homeowners Consider Protective Actions to Reduce Disaster Risk?An Application of the Precaution Adoption Process Model and Life Course Theory

We hypothesize that for disaster risk mitigation,many households,despite being aware of their risk and possible mitigation actions,never seriously consider doing anything about them.In mitigation-focused decisions,since there is no equivalent to warning messages,the decision process is likely to evolve over an extended time.We explore what activates hurricane mitigation protective action decisions through three research questions:(1)to what extent are homeowners unengaged in protective action decision making?(2)What homeowner characteristics are associated with lack of engagement?And(3)to what extent do different life events trigger engagement in the decision-making process?We use the Precaution Adoption Process Model to conceptualize engagement as distinct from decision making;the broader protective action decision-making literature to explore drivers of engagement;and Life Course Theory to examine potential transitions from unengaged to engaged.We use survey data of homeowners in North Carolina to examine these questions empirically.Findings suggest that one-third of respondents had never engaged in protective action decisions,that life experiences differ in their occurrence frequency and effect on households’mitigation decisions,and that some events,such as renovating,reroofing,or purchasing a home may offer critical moments that could be leveraged to encourage greater engagement in mitigation decision making.

Can Labor Out-Migration Reduce Firewood Consumption by Rural Households in Western Mountainous China

The relationship between out-migration of labor in the Qinling mountain area and households' firewood consumption is explored. Migration and remittances reduce households' firewood consumption due to increases in both income and opportunity cost of firewood collection. Previous studies have been equivocal because they ignored uncertainty in household economy, which is widespread in forest areas of less developed countries. This study provides additional insight by considering vulnerability and subjective assessment of poverty generated by unstable income and an uncertain future. We provide evidence that the amount of firewood consumed depends on income and opportunity cost of firewood collection, but also on a prudent consumption strategy, due to farmers' subjective assessment of their future possible poverty. We also find out-migration of labor can reduce per capita firewood consumption but subjective poverty also acts against reduction of firewood consumption.

China's Migrant Workers' Social Security

Based on the definition of migrant workers and migrant workers'social security,systems,policies and regulations and status quo of specific safeguard project of social security have been analyzed.Authors draw following conclusions:China's social security systems of migrant workers show diversification and differentiation trend;national-level policies take on diversification and local-level regulations take on differentiation;social welfare and social assistance have deficiency;coverage rate of social insurance items is extremely low.

Identifying Neighborhood Effects on Geohazard Adaptation in Mountainous Rural Areas of China:A Spatial Econometric Model

In mountainous rural settlements facing the threat of geohazards,local adaptation is a self-organizing process influenced by individual and group behaviors.Encouraging a wide range of local populations to embrace geohazard adaptation strategies emerges as a potent means of mitigating disaster risks.The purpose of this study was to investigate whether neighbors influence individuals'adaptation decisions,as well as to unravel the mechanisms through which neighborhood effects exert their influence.We employed a spatial Durbin model and a series of robustness checks to confirm the results.The dataset used in this research came from a face-to-face survey involving 516 respondents residing in 32 rural settlements highly susceptible to geohazards.Our empirical results reveal that neighborhood effects are an important determinant of adaptation to geohazards.That is,a farmer's adaptation decision is influenced by the adaptation choices of his/her neighbors.Furthermore,when neighbors adopt adaptation strategies,the focal individuals may also want to adapt,both because they learn from their neighbors'choices(social learning)and because they tend to abide by the majority's choice(social norms).Incorporating neighborhood effects into geohazard adaptation studies offers a new perspective for promoting disaster risk reduction decision making.