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Population is a major production factor in rural development in China, which makes the study of rural population distribution patterns at different times and the factors influencing the population distribution an important foundation for understanding the issues in rural China and moving forward with the implementation of rural revitalization strategies. This paper analyzed the spatial evolution of the population in rural China based on population census data for the People's Republic of China by county in 1990, 2000 and 2010. Applying the geographical detector method, this paper also delved into the contributing factors that influenced the distribution based on the natural, social and economic data, such as the potential crop productivity, the average slope, the urbanization rate and the time cost to reach the nearest cities. The results indicate that the migration of the population from the rural areas into the cities, which was a result of rapid urbanization, did not change the original population distribution in rural China significantly. The rural population was still concentrated in the eastern plains, basins and deltas, and the North China Plain and Sichuan Basin still house the bulk of rural residents, but the population density of rural residents in the North China Plain and Sichuan Basin decreased from 1990 to 2010. The rural population in China tended to be distributed around the cities. Seventy-four percent of the rural population lived in an area within a 60-minute driving distance from the surrounding cities. The areas with dense rural population were basically consistent with the locations of the current major urban agglomerations in China. The current distribution of the rural population in China was a result of natural, social and economic conditions and location factors. Among them, natural factors such as the potential crop productivity and the degree of surface fragmentation had the most significant influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is a large deviation between official road freight data and real road freight performance at a subnational level in China. In order to deal with this deviation, the new concept of local freight tonnage and ton-kilometers is presented in this paper based on the territoriality principle, where either the origin or the destination of goods transported is local. Also, the statistic procedures and estimation models of the local freight tonnage and ton-kilometers are proposed based on five accessible basic datasets. Finally, an empirical study in Sichuan province of China is conducted. The statistical results show that there is a large amount of local freight transported by local non-commercial trucks and non-local trucks, which is ignored in the existing road freight statistics. Especially, the higher the level of local economic development, the greater the deviation between the official road freight data and the real road freight performance at a subnational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unavoidable option for socially sustainable development is a low-carbon economy. One of the essential steps for China to attain high-quality development is reducing carbon emissions. It is necessary to realize low-carbon development in Sichuan, as it is not only an important economic zone but also an ecological protected area. The concurrent relationship among energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth was examined in this study using the Tapio decoupling indicator, and the factors affecting energy consumption and carbon emissions in Sichuan were broken down using the logarithmic mean Divisia indicator (LMDI). The findings demonstrate a fundamental relative decoupling relationship between Sichuan's energy use and carbon emissions. Analysis of energy consumption and carbon emissions in Sichuan Province from 2005 to 2020 shows distinct patterns. From 2005 to 2012, in 2014, and from 2016 to 2020, the relationship between energy use and carbon emissions was relatively decoupled, with decoupling values ranging between 0 and 1. Absolute decoupling occurred in specific years: 2010, from 2013 to 2018, and in 2020. These periods are characterized by economic growth alongside reductions in carbon emissions. Factors affecting energy consumption and carbon emissions were consistently analyzed, showing similar impacts throughout the study periods. We find that population and economic growth are the main driving forces of these effects. The effects of energy intensity and industrial structure mainly play restraining roles, and the latter has a slightly weaker effect than the former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical diagnosis and treatment (HDT) is an important exploration direction to alleviate the rising pressure of health expenses and medical insurance fund expenditure in China, and to maintain and protect the public health in this country. In recent years, the construction of compact county medical communities (CCMC) has become the primary approach for implementing the HDT. Utilizing the quasi-natural experiment of the pilot project of CCMC in Sichuan Province in 2019, coupled with county-level data extracted from the ' Sichuan Provincial Health Statistics Yearbook ' spanning the years 2008 to 2021, this research evaluates the effect of the pilot project of CCMC on promoting HDT under the medical insurance package payment model. The results show that the pilot project of CCMC has significantly increased the number of consultations per capita of medical and health institutions in pilot counties by 0.434 times, of which the number of consultations per capita of primary medical institutions has increased by 0.340 times; the number of hospitalizations per capita in public hospitals and primary medical institutions in pilot counties increased significantly, and the surgery rate of inpatients in public hospitals increased by 5% compared to before the pilot. There was no significant impact on the allocation of medical facilities and human resources in the pilot counties. Therefore, the construction of CCMC under the medical insurance package payment mode has promoted the realization of the county-level HDT. These findings provide valuable insights for healthcare policy, especially in developing and implementing effective strategies for HDT in county-level medical institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates economic impacts of COVID-19 on households based on differences in the socio-economic status (SES). We determine the household-level effects of the COVID-19 shock using income sources, types of industries, communities' resilience, household susceptibility, and relevant policy measures. For this purpose, we used primary data of 555 households collected through snowball sampling technique using an online survey questionnaire from different villages mostly located in Sichuan Province, China. Using step-wise binary logistic regression analysis, we estimated and validated the model. Results suggest the use of SES as a better measure for understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on different households. We find that households with low SES tend to depend more on farmland income and transfer payments from the government. Contrarily, high SES households focus more on business and local employment as sources of income generation. Poor households were less resilient and more likely to fall back into poverty due to COVID-19, while the opposite stands true for non-poor households with high SES. Based on the estimations, policies encouraging employment and businesses complemented with loans on lower interest rates are recommended, which may increase the SES, thus minimizing vulnerability and enhancing the households' resilience towards poverty alleviation and economic shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, three monitoring sections were set up in Heilongtan Reservoir, and water samples were collected in 2019, 2020, and 2021 for the determination of physical and chemical properties such as permanganate index, chemical oxygen demand, and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5). The water quality was evaluated by the single factor pollution index method and the Nemerow pollution index method, and the temporal and spatial changes of water quality were analyzed.The single factor pollution index method determines the water quality category by identifying the single worst indicator of water quality, based on the classified water quality category. The Nemerow pollution index method emphasizes the most polluting factor while also taking into account the contribution of other factors in the assessment system, and determines the water quality category through the comprehensive pollution index. The results of the study indicate that the monitoring indicators of the monitoring sections have reached the Category III water quality standard and above in the "Surface Water Environmental Quality Standard" during the three years 2019 to 2021. The Heilongtan Reservoir's water quality in 2019, 2020, and 2021 is of Category I standard, according to the results of the evaluation of water quality using the single factor pollution index technique. According to the Nemerow pollution index method's results for evaluating water quality, the water quality pollution index for the three monitoring sections as a whole ranges from 0.36 to 0.51 in three years. The three monitoring sections' water quality—Dongfeng Canal, Longmiao, and Sixin Village—has not changed significantly during that time, remaining clean. In terms of temporal and spatial rates of change, the temporal rate of change (T) and spatial rate of change (S) over the three years were less than 20%, and the changes in water quality at each monitoring site were not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driving forces are the factors that lead to the observed changes in the quantity and quality of ecosystem services (ESs). The relationship between driving forces and ESs involves considerable scale-related information. Place-based ecological management requires this information to support local sustainable development. Despite the importance of scale in ES research, most studies have only examined the association between ESs and their drivers at a single level, and few studies have examined this relationship at various scales or analyzed spatial heterogeneity. The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the scale-dependent effects of drivers on ESs for localized ecological management. The biophysical values of ESs were calculated using several ecological simulation models. The effects of driving forces on ESs were explored using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. Variations in the effects of driving forces on ESs were examined at three scales: provincial, ecoregional, and subecoregional scales. Finally, canonical correlation analysis was used to identify the major environmental factors associated with these variations in each ecoregion. Our results show that (1) the distribution of soil conservation and water yield is highly heterogeneous; (2) four driving forces have significant positive and negative impacts on soil conservation and water yield, and their effects on the two services vary spatially (p < 0.05); (3) the impacts of drivers on ESs vary across different spatial scales, with a corresponding shift in the related environmental factors; and (4) in the study area, at the provincial scale, physical, topographical, and biophysical factors were key factors associated with the variations in the relationship between ESs and drivers, and at the ecoregional and subecoregional scales, physical, socioeconomic, topographical, and biophysical factors all contributed to these changes. Our results suggest that significant differences in topographical conditions (e.g., altitude, slope) can be incorporated for exploring the relationship between drivers and ESs and optimizing ecological management at the provincial scale, whereas significant differences in physical and socioeconomic conditions (e.g., urbanization levels, human activity, vegetation coverage) are more meaningful for localized ecological management at the ecoregional and subecological scales. These findings provide a basis for understanding the relationship between drivers and ESs at multiple scales as well as guidelines for improving localized ecological management and achieving sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of urban resilience plays great significance and value for the sustainable development of cities, which has attracted increasing attention from scholars and governments, especially in the western region of China. Based on the Production-Living-Ecological (PLE) system, this study attempts to describe urban resilience by the combination system that contains with P,L,E subsystem. The integrated approach including FAHP-EM,GRA-TOPSIS, CCDM, and ODM is proposed to reveal the urban resilience level and seek out the key constraints' indicators. Then, an empirical analysis of panel data of 18 cities in Sichuan Province from 2011 to 2021 was conducted to analyze the development process. The valuation results suggested that:(1)for urban resilience level, most cities at the moderate imbalance level and basically maintained at this level, only Chengdu is reaching the basic coordination level since in 2013.(2)The insufficient development of P,L,E subsystem is the reason for the moderate imbalance development, especially the key limiting factor is the P subsystem's low development level.(3)the most prominent obstacle indicators are x1(per capita local financial expenditure on science and technology), x2(per capita of R&D spending), x8(total export-import per capita), x14(number of people with basic medical insurance), x22(length of urban drainage pipeline), x23(number of public toilets per person) and the contribution values reach 7.56%,7.49%,11.02%, 9.14%,12.53%, 12.60% respectively. The detailed reference suggestions and effective measures put forwarded for policy makers and planners to promote urban resilience in Western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphone location data provide the most direct field disaster distribution data with low cost and high coverage. The large-scale continuous sampling of mobile device location data provides a new way to estimate the distribution of disasters with high temporal–spatial resolution. On September 5, 2022, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Luding County, Sichuan Province, China. We quantitatively analyzed the Ms 6.8 earthquake from both temporal and geographic dimensions by combining 1,806,100 smartphone location records and 4,856 spatial grid locations collected through communication big data with the smartphone data under 24-hour continuous positioning. In this study, the deviation of multidimensional mobile terminal location data is estimated, and a methodology to estimate the distribution of out-of-service communication base stations in the disaster area by excluding micro error data users is explored. Finally, the mathematical relationship between the seismic intensity and the corresponding out-of-service rate of communication base stations is established, which provides a new technical concept and means for the rapid assessment of post-earthquake disaster distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid modernization in China has aggravated the reduction of the traditional settlements and aroused concern about the protection and research. This study aims to examine the spatial-temporal variations Tujia traditional settlements in China and to delineate the driving mechanism of the settlement distribution. Previous studies have focused on the characteristics of settlements in provincial or smaller areas, providing lacked information regarding spatial distribution heterogeneity of Tujia traditional settlements in China. In this study, the spatial heterogeneity and influence factors of the distribution of traditional Tujia settlements were examined using the GIS platform and statistical methods. The results reveal that the spatial distribution of settlements exhibits clustering with the pattern of "scattered distribution in a large region, while concentrated in small areas". The settlements were generally built in low hills, gentle slopes, sunny slopes and low-relief terrain areas, with elevation, relief degree of land surface (RDLS), slope and aspect were the key factors affecting the distribution. In Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, settlements showed significant clustering all through, though the location and number of clustering center kept changing. In this process, the history of the Tujia chieftain and the transportation and marketing lines of Sichuan salt had a profound influence on the historical evolution of the settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread vaccination against important diseases plays a key role for global health security, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, building and maintaining trust in immunization services remains challenging because of doubts about quality and safety of vaccines. China has periodically faced mounting pressure and even public outrage triggered by incidents of poor-quality vaccines. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) vaccine scandal of 2018 in China and the ensuing misinformation on vaccination, and investigate differential responses to the scandal by ethnic and socioeconomic factors. With data from January 2017 to December 2018 in Sichuan province, China, we used a difference-in-differences (DID) method to compare the changes in the county-level monthly DPT vaccinations against the hepatitis B vaccinations, both before and after the DPT vaccine scandal. We found that the number of DPT vaccinations decreased by 14.0 percent in response to the vaccine scandal and ensuing misinformation. The number of vaccinations in minority regions, under-developed regions, and regions with poor medical resources decreased more than in non-minority regions, developed regions, and regions with good medical resources (24.5 versus 10.1 percent, 17.3 versus 8.3 percent, and 17.0 versus 8.7 percent, respectively). People did more online searching for "Substandard vaccine" and "DPT vaccine" after the scandal, with the socioeconomically advantaged group searching more compared with the socioeconomically disadvantaged group. The results suggest the urgent need to make true information about the vaccine easily accessible over the internet, especially for the socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Our findings for China can also have implications for immunization service planning for better safeguarding public health in other countries, particularly developing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mature understanding of the sandstone gas reservoir in the Xiaoheba Formation in the southeastern Sichuan Basin remains lacking. To assess the reservoir characteristics and the origin of the high-quality reservoir in the Xiaoheba Formation, this paper uses systematic field investigations, physical property analysis, thin section identification, scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe methods. The results indicate that the Xiaoheba sandstone is an ultra-tight and ultra-low permeability reservoir, with an average porosity of 2.97% and an average permeability of 0.56×10−3 μm2. This promising reservoir is mainly distributed in the Lengshuixi and Shuangliuba regions and the latter has a relatively high-quality reservoir with an average porosity of 5.28% and average permeability of 0.53×10−3 μm2. The reservoir space comprises secondary intergranular dissolved pores, moldic pores and fractures. Microfacies, feldspar dissolution and fracture connectivity control the quality of this reservoir. The relatively weak compaction and cementation in the interbedded delta front distal bar and interdistributary bay microfacies indirectly protected the primary intergranular pores and enhanced late-stage dissolution. Late-stage potassium feldspar dissolution was controlled by the early-stage organic acid dissolution intensity and the distance from the hydrocarbon generation center. Early-stage fractures acted as pathways for organic acid migration and were therefore important factors in the formation of the reservoir. Based on these observations, the area to the west of the Shuangliuba and Lengshuixi regions has potential for gas exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the primary factors of potential evapotranspiration (PET) dynamic is fundamental to accurately estimating crop yield, evaluating environmental impacts, and understanding water and carbon cycles. Previous studies have focused on regionally average regional PET and its dominant factors. Spatial distributions of PET trends and their main causes have not been fully investigated. The Mann–Kendall test was used to determine the significance of long-term trends in PET and five meteorological factors (net radiation, wind speed, air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, relative humidity) at 56 meteorological stations in the Sichuan-Chongqing region from 1970 to 2020. Furthermore, this present study combining and quantitatively illustrated sensitivities and contributions of the meteorological factors to change in annual and seasonal PET. There was a positive trend in PET for approximately 58%, 68%, 38%, 73% and 73% of all surveyed stations at annual, spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Contribution analysis exhibited that the driving factors for the PET variation varied spatially and seasonally. For stations with an upward PET trend, vapor pressure deficit was a dominant factor at all time scales. For stations with a downward PET trend, annual changes in PET mainly resulted from decreased wind speed, as did changes in spring, autumn and winter; decreasing net radiation was the dominant factor in summer. The positive effect of the vapor pressure deficit offset the negative effects of wind speed and net radiation, leading to the increasing PET in this area as a whole. Sensitivity analysis showed that net radiation and relative humidity were the two most sensitive variables for PET, followed by vapor pressure deficit in this study area. Results from the two mathematical approaches were not perfect match, because the change magnitude of the meteorological factors is also responsible for the effects of meteorological factors on PET variation to some extent. However, conducting sensitivity and contribution analysis in this study can avoid the uncertainties from using a single method and provides detailed and well-understood information for interpreting the influence of global climate change on the water cycle and improving local water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate nurses' behavioral intention toward caring for COVID-19 patients on mechanical ventilation, as well as the factors affecting their intention. Background: COVID-19 patients undergoing mechanical ventilation have many care needs and pose more challenges for nurses, which might adversely affect nurses' intention toward caring behavior. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted by using simple random sampling to recruit 598 nurses from five tertiary hospitals in Sichuan Province, China. The participants responded to an online questionnaire that included questions on demographic characteristics; the Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Behavioral Intention of Nurses toward Mechanically Ventilated Patients (ASIMP) questionnaire; the Nursing Professional Identity Scale (NPIS); and the Compassion Fatigue-Short Scale (CF-Short Scale). ANOVA, Spearman correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression were performed to analyze the data. Results: The mean total behavioral intention score was 179.46 (± 14.83) out of a total score of 189.00, which represented a high level of intention toward caring for patients on mechanical ventilation. Multiple linear regression revealed that subjective norms (β = 0.390, P<0.001), perceived behavioral control (β = 0.149, P<0.001), professional identity (β = 0.101, P = 0.009), and compassion fatigue (β = 0.088 P = 0.024) were significant predictors of nurses' behavioral intention. Conclusions: Most nurses have a positive behavioral intention to care for COVID-19 patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. The findings in this study provide some insight for developing effective and tailored strategies to promote nurses' behavioral intention toward caring for ventilated patients under the pandemic situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ophioceras is accommodated in the monotypic family Ophioceraceae (Magnaporthales, Sordariomycetes), and the genus is delimited based on molecular data. During an ongoing survey of bambusicolous fungi in southwest China, we collected a submerged decaying branch of bamboo from Sichuan Province, China and an Ophioceras species occurring on this substrate was observed and isolated. An Ophioceras taxon was delimited based on morphological characteristics and combined LSU, RPB1 and ITS sequence analyses and is described as Ophioceras sichuanense sp. nov. The species formed a well-supported clade basal to Ophioceras (100% ML, 1.00 PP). Based on the updated phylogenetic tree of Magnaporthales, Ceratosphaerella castillensis (generic type) and C. rhizomorpha formed a clade within Ophioceras and morphologically resemble Ophioceras. Therefore, Ceratosphaerella is synonymized under Ophioceras. The phylogenetic relationships of Ophioceras are discussed in relation to morphological similarities of genera in Magnaporthales. The generic circumscription of Ophioceras is emended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A remarkable new genus and species of Nemourinae, Sinonemura balangshana gen. et sp. n., is described from Balang Mountains, Sichuan, southwestern China. The description is based on morphology and molecular data. The Nemourinae genera related to the new taxon are re-evaluated on the basis of comparative functional morphology of male epiproct. Notes on the Asian distribution of the Nemourinae are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ageing is becoming a considerable public health burden in China, which produces great societal development challenges. Healthy and active longevity could ease the ageing burden on families and communities. To date, most studies of the oldest-old distribution are focused on a simple scale from spatial perspective, and the multi-scale spatio-temporal clusters trend in the oldest-old population has not yet been determined. Thus, the objective in present study is to use a new method to evaluate the spatio-temporal pattern and detect the risk clusters in the oldest-old population from three scales. Methods: Individuals aged 65 years or older and individuals aged 80 years or older on three scales in China from 2000 to 2010 were used. The exploratory spatial data analysis was performed using Moran’s I statistic, and the pattern of the oldest-old clusters among humans was examined by using the spatial scan statistical method. Then, spatial stratified heterogeneity was used to explore the factors affecting the spatial heterogeneity of the oldest-old population. Results: The oldest-old index in the southeast coastal areas is higher than that in the northwest inland areas in China. A three-ladder terrain distribution of the oldest-old index from west to east is obvious. The overall pattern of the oldest-old index evolves from a “concave” shape to an “east-west uplift, and northern collapse” shape. Space-time analysis revealed that high-risk areas were concentrated in five regions: the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Southeast Coast, Sichuan and Chongqing, and the Central Plains. The oldest-old cluster at different scales shows a similar pattern, but local differences exist. The risk at the prefecture scale and county scale is greater than at the interprovincial scale; the sublevel can identify clusters that have not been identified at the previous level, especially the bordering areas of prefectures and counties; and more risk units and greater relative risk are found in urban areas than in rural areas. Conclusions: The results emphasized that spatial scan statistics can be used to estimate the spatial clusters of the oldest-old people. The detection of these clusters might be highly useful in the surveillance of the ageing phenomenon, thus helping local public health authorities measure the population burden at all locations, identifying geographical areas that require more attention, and evaluating the impacts of intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China has a substantial tuberculosis (TB) disease burden and an aging population. Seniors have a higher risk of developing TB disease compared to younger age groups. Active case finding (ACF) could help identify seniors with TB disease. Methods: From March to June 2017, we included ACF during annual physical check-ups for persons aged ≥ 65 years in Bayi, Sichuan Province. Seniors with clinical TB symptoms (i.e., cough lasting ≥ 2 weeks and/or hemoptysis) or one or more risk factors (e.g., previous TB disease, diabetes, and heavy alcohol consumption) were offered chest x-rays. We used acid-Fast Bacilli smear and solid culture laboratory testing for TB confirmation. We calculated the yield (i.e., cases identified among seniors screened) and cost per new each TB case detected. Focus group-interviews were conducted with health care workers and seniors to evaluate project acceptability. Participation rates and acceptability were used to assess feasibility. Results: Of the 2,393 seniors residing in Bayi, 2,049 (85.6%) were enrolled in the pilot project. Of these seniors, 794 (38.7%) presented with at least one TB risk factor and 74 (3.6%) had symptoms consistent with active TB disease. Three seniors (0.2%)–each presenting with at least one risk factor—were diagnosed with active TB. The project yielded 146 TB cases per 100,000 seniors screened; the cost per case detected was $4,897. Most workers supported ACF if additional resources and staff could be provided. Seniors appreciated the convenience of this integrated health service approach. Conclusions: Although the yield was lower than expected, ACF appeared feasible in Bayi. Targeting seniors with at least one known TB risk factor could help detect previously unidentified TB cases. However, similar projects in communities with a higher TB prevalence are needed to further evaluate the yield and required resources prior to implementation on a larger scale. Findings from our pilot project should be combined with data from these future ACF projects to improve TB screening criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 12 May, 2008, a devastating earthquake registering 8.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Sichuan Province, China, taking tens of thousands of lives and destroying the homes of millions of people. Many of the deceased were children, particular children less than five years old who were more vulnerable to such a huge disaster than the adult. In order to obtain information specifically relevant to further researches and future preventive measures, potential risk factors associated with earthquake-related child mortality need to be identified. We used four geographical detectors (risk detector, factor detector, ecological detector, and interaction detector) based on spatial variation analysis of some potential factors to assess their effects on the under-five mortality. It was found that three factors are responsible for child mortality: earthquake intensity, collapsed house, and slope. The study, despite some limitations, has important implications for both researchers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cooking and heating remain the most energy intensive activities among the world's poor, and thus improved access to clean energies for these tasks has been highlighted as a key requirement of attaining the major objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals. A move towards clean energy technologies such as biogas systems (which produce methane from human and animal waste) has the potential to provide immediate benefits for the control of neglected tropical diseases. Here, an assessment of the parasitic disease and energy benefits of biogas systems in Sichuan Province, China, is presented, highlighting how the public health sector can leverage the proliferation of rural energy projects for infectious disease control. Methodology/Findings: First, the effectiveness of biogas systems at inactivating and removing ova of the human parasite Schistosoma japonicum is experimentally evaluated. Second, the impact of biogas infrastructure on energy use and environmental quality as reported by surveyed village populations is assessed, as is the community acceptance of the technology. No viable eggs were recovered in the effluent collected weekly from biogas systems for two months following seeding with infected stool. Less than 1% of ova were recovered viable from a series of nylon bags seeded with ova, a 2-log removal attributable to biochemical inactivation. More than 90% of Ascaris lumbricoides ova (used as a proxy for S. japonicum ova) counted at the influent of two biogas systems were removed in the systems when adjusted for system residence time, an approximate 1-log removal attributable to sedimentation. Combined, these inactivation/removal processes underscore the promise of biogas infrastructure for reducing parasite contamination resulting from nightsoil use. When interviewed an average of 4 years after construction, villagers attributed large changes in fuel usage to the installation of biogas systems. Household coal usage decreased by 68%, wood by 74%, and crop waste by 6%. With reported energy savings valued at roughly 600 CNY per year, 2-3 years were required to recoup the capital costs of biogas systems. In villages without subsidies, no new biogas systems were implemented. Conclusions: Sustainable strategies that integrate rural energy needs and sanitation offer tremendous promise for longterm control of parasitic diseases, while simultaneously reducing energy costs and improving quality of life. Government policies can enhance the financial viability of such strategies by introducing fiscal incentives for joint sanitation/sustainable energy projects, along with their associated public outreach and education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]