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This paper utilizes Benford's law, the distribution that the first significant digit of numbers in certain datasets should follow, to assess the accuracy of self-reported health expenditure data known for measurement errors. We provide both simulation and real data evidence supporting the validity assumption that genuine health expenditure data conform to Benford's law. We then conduct a Benford analysis of health expenditure variables from two widely utilized public datasets, the China Health and Nutrition Survey and the China Family Panel Studies. Our findings show that health expenditure data in both datasets exhibit inconsistencies with Benford's law, with the former dataset tending to be less prone to reporting errors. These results remain robust while accounting for variations in survey design, recall periods, and sample sizes. Moreover, we demonstrate that data accuracy improves with a shorter time interval between hospitalization and interviews, when the data is self-reported as opposed to proxy responses, and at the household level. We find no compelling evidence that enumerators' assessments of respondents' credibility or urgency to end interviews are indicative of data accuracy. This paper contributes to literature by introducing an easy-to-implement analytical framework for scrutinizing and comparing the reporting accuracy of health expenditure data. • Applied Benford's Law to assess health expenditure data accuracy. • Detected inconsistencies with Benford's Law in two widely used datasets. • Found inpatient expenditure data to be more accurate than total expenditure. • Emphasized caution against relying on enumerators' opinions to indicate data accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies suggest that land financing has given rise to entrepreneurial governance in China because local governments act like entrepreneurs to capture land value appreciation. However, the new land reserve institution has recently forbidden local governments from using land as collateral and centralized the financial management of land reserve projects. Given this profound change in land institutions, we ask whether local governments have become less entrepreneurial. This paper investigates the Shanghai Land Reserve Centre. The funding restriction and declining land profitability make it more challenging to generate land revenue. However, the local government is now adapting to the new land reserve institution, developing new entrepreneurial tactics, and treating land investment as a recurrent income stream. Facing the conjuncture of alarming local government debts, re-centralizing state control, and structural limits of land finance, local governments' entrepreneurial stance is not eliminated, but their entrepreneurial practices are reshaped. Theoretically, this paper contributes to understanding how urban entrepreneurialism evolves in response to changing political and economic conjunctures. • A framework for understanding governance transformation: conjunctures-incentives-tactics. • The new land reserve institution transforms local land-based entrepreneurial tactics. • Declining profitability of land finance based on project-level dataset in Shanghai. • Land incentive is reshaped to use land to trigger a long-term investment stream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, neighborhood regeneration has transitioned into a new phase characterized by small-scale rehabilitation, and fostering active resident participation has emerged as a crucial challenge. While numerous studies have focused on encouraging resident participation, they often overlook the fact that, cultivating active resident participation requires establishing trust in the grassroots government as a precursor in the China's top-down governance system context. Grounded on the innovative notion of trust building, this paper aims to explore the formation of residents' trust in the grassroots government and its influence on their participation willingness. The theoretical foundation is rooted in the perspectives of organizational behavior and Social Exchange Theory (SET). Data is collected through a questionnaire survey, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed for empirical analysis. The empirical findings indicate that trust propensity, trustworthiness, and place attachment directly impact the development of residents' trust in the grassroots government. In turn, trust influences their participation willingness by shaping their perceived benefits and costs. By adopting the unique perspective of trust building, this paper provides theoretical support and practical implementation strategies for promoting resident participation in neighborhood regeneration in China. • Building residents' trust in grassroots government is pivotal in a top-down governance system. • The 'trust' is positively impacted by trust propensity, trustworthiness, and place attachment. • It reveals the pathway of how the 'trust' influence residents' participation willingness. • The theoretical model integrates concepts from organizational behavior and SET. • It offers implications and theoretical support for enhancing resident participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While global production networks stress the role of lead firms, state entrepreneurialism highlights the role of the state in governing innovation-driven development. However, there is a gap in understanding how the state institution configures and operates to achieve its strategic development goals. This paper fills this gap by examining market means of park management. It shows that Zhangjiang Science City in Shanghai reinvented its development agency – a park development corporation to mobilize finance and govern development. Jiangbei in Nanjing focused on coupling with a multinational lead firm – the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Rather than thinking of innovation governance as state-commanded, we reveal they are market-based operations. At the same time, they extend the state capacities into industrial governance. • A timely study of governing economic development under geopolitical challenges and in innovation spaces. • Builds a conceptual framework to comprehend state strategies and market mechanisms for China's innovation-driven development. • Fills the gap in understanding how the state institution configures and operates to achieve its strategic innovation goals. • Contributes to state entrepreneurialism by focusing on how innovation as a political agenda is achieved by market means. • Rather than thinking of innovation governance as state-commanded, this paper reveals that they are market-based operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building sustainable cities and communities is a key priority of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the spatial mismatch of construction land (SMCL) poses a significant challenge to sustainable urban development. This paper presents a new framework for measuring the SMCL from the dual perspectives of planning deviation (PD) and economic mismatch (EM). Using a minimum deviation estimation model, a land-comparable correction method, and the extended HK model, this study focused on 285 cities in China from 2002 to 2021. The results revealed that the PD exhibited an "N"-shaped fluctuating trend, reaching a peak of 27.63 km2 in 2011, with the deviation direction generally characterized by over-planning allocation followed by lack of planning allocation. The eastern region had the highest PD, with an annual average of 35.06 km2, followed by the western region. In contrast, the central and northeast regions had relatively low PD. The EM fluctuated in a "W" shape, with an annual average of 0.37. The direction was always dominated by economic over-allocation and complemented by economic under-allocation. There was also heterogeneity in EM across regions. Furthermore, both PD and EM differed considerably between cities by size. In 2021, most cities in China still existed PD or EM, but EM was more widespread and severe. This indicated that SMCL was still a serious issue in China, and there was still a long way to go to achieve the vision of sustainable allocation of construction land. This paper enriches the relevant literature on SMCL and provides a decision-making reference for governments to implement optimal land allocation. • Provide a new framework for measuring spatial mismatch of construction land (SMCL). • Apply the framework to study the SMCL in 285 Chinese cities in 2002–2021. • Planning deviation (PD) or economic mismatch (EM) existed widely in Chinese cities. • EM is more serious and the pattern of land development needs to change urgently. • The vision of sustainable land allocation in China still has a long way to go. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The center of gravity of China's EPC is located in Luoyang City, Henan Province. • During the study period, China's EPC in general exhibits an east-high and west-low trend. • During the period 2000–2019, there are significant regional differences in the strength of the spatial linkage of EPC in China. • In 2000–2019, the decoupling status of EPC in china is of two types of decoupling: weak decoupling and expansive coupling. Exploring the evolution of spatial and temporal patterns of electricity power consumption in China is of great significance and value for the promotion of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Strategy and the scientific allocation of electricity resources. Therefore, this paper takes China as an example and innovatively applies nighttime light data from a combination of two remote sensing satellites. And using spatial analysis methods to analyze the evolution of spatial and temporal patterns of electricity power consumption over a longer study time series. Meanwhile, this paper also uses the Tapio decoupling model to study the decoupling effect of electricity power consumption and economic growth in China. The results of the study show that, during the period 2000–2019, China's electricity power consumption was in an unbalanced state, with the eastern coastal region dominating. It also formed a gradient distribution from the coastal area to the inland area. In terms of spatial connection, it shows an unbalanced distribution pattern of "low in the west and high in the east". In addition, the spatial linkage of electricity power consumption among provinces is more than 93 % of weak linkage, and gradually increases to 97 %, indicating that the spatial linkage of electricity power consumption among regions is gradually weakening. The decoupling state of electricity power consumption in China is characterized by two types of decoupling: Weak decoupling and Expansive coupling. The decoupling status has experienced a significant change from 84 % of provinces being Expansive coupling to 100 % of provinces being Weak decoupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global environmental problems are worsening. Among various regulatory measures, market-oriented approaches are most favored by governments worldwide. Using provincial panel data from 2004 to 2020, a multi-period DID model was hereby constructed to empirically study the pollution reduction effects of the pilot policy for carbon emissions trading in China. Findings of this paper could be listed as follows: (1) The pilot policy has achieved notable reductions in waste gas and solid waste, although its effect on wastewater pollutants has been less pronounced; (2) Pollution reduction in the pilot regions can be achieved by optimizing the energy consumption structure; (3) Significant variations in pollution reduction effects are observed between the Northern and Southern pilot regions, with notably stronger policy effects in the north across various pollutants compared to the south. Overall, this paper offers pertinent policy recommendations to aid the Chinese government in enhancing its carbon market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetlands have exacerbated global warming, attracting worldwide attention. However, the research process and development trends in this field remain unknown. Herein, 1865 papers related to wetlands GHG emissions published from January 2000 to December 2023 were selected, and CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis to visually analyze the publications distribution, research authors, organizations and countries, core journal and keywords, and discussed the research progress, trends and hotspots in the fields. Over the past 24 years, the research has gone through three phases: the "embryonic" stage (2000–2006), the accumulation stage (2007–2014), and the acceleration stage (2015–2023). China has played a pivotal role in this domain, publishing the most papers and working closely with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In addition, this study synthesized 311 field observations from 123 publications to analyze the variability in GHG emissions and their driving factors in four different types of natural wetlands. The results suggested that the average carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes in different wetlands were significantly different. River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes, while marsh wetlands demonstrated greater global warming potential (GWP). The average CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes were 60.41 mg m−2·h−1, 2.52 mg m−2·h−1 and 0.05 mg m−2·h−1, respectively. The GWP of Chinese natural wetlands was estimated as 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1, and CH 4 contributed the largest warming effect, accounting for 57.43%. Correlation analysis showed that geographical location, climate factors, and soil conditions collectively regulated GHG emissions from wetlands. The findings provide a new perspective on sustainable wetland management and reducing GHG emissions. [Display omitted] • A 24-year bibliometric analysis of GHG emissions from wetlands was conducted. • The historical evolution and future trends in the field were summarized. • River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes. • GWP of China's wetlands was estimated to be 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1. • CH 4 emissions contribute 57.43% to the GWP value in China's wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green finance can effectively support industrial upgrading and technology development, such as artificial intelligence (AI). In this paper, we attempt to pursue the possibility of a win-win situation for achieving an eco- and tech-friendly society. By asking where and how we could develop green finance and AI innovation simultaneously, this paper conducts an empirical investigation on the influence of green finance on the development of AI in China from 2011 to 2020. Based on the panel data from the 30 provinces, we introduce spatial measurement, policy effect, heterogeneity, and threshold analyses to present deeper insights into the impact of green finance on AI innovations. Indeed, green finance could promote the progress of AI innovation. China's green finance pilot policy is verified to promote the progress of local AI innovations. Furthermore, the spatial spillover effect and regional heterogeneity are observed as well. The promotion effect is most significant in the western area, where the green finance index is relatively low. Besides, the threshold analysis also considers how to increase the marginal effect of green finance in different areas. Finally, several policy recommendations are proposed, which contribute to providing specific directions for the policymakers to improve AI innovation and achieve sustainable development at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's economy continues to grow rapidly, the importance of green and sustainable development is increasingly prominent. In this context, enterprises have undergone significant changes in all aspects of the value creation process. Based on the data of Chinese a-share listed companies from 2011 to 2021, this paper links the digital transformation of enterprises with the green technology innovation of enterprises. The focuses on the relationship between the enterprises' digital transformation and the enterprises' green innovation and its Local-neighborhood effect. Research shows that the digital transformation of enterprises will promote the enterprise green technology innovation, and this relationship will have a Local-neighborhood effect in different regions, and this spatial spillover effect is mainly achieved through the transfer of high-tech industries between regions. The results of heterogeneity test show that the effect of green technology innovation is the strongest in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic circle, and the weakest in Pearl River Delta economic circle. Based on the spatial econometric model, this paper provides empirical evidence for the government and the state to formulate the regional development strategy of enterprises' digital transformation and green innovation. • Spatial panel Durbin model reveals digital transformation's impact on green technology innovation and regional spillover. • The effect of digital transformation of enterprises on their own green technology innovation has a "local-neighborhood" effect. • The spatial spillover effect is mainly realized through the transfer of high-tech industries between regions. • The strongest green technology innovation effect is found in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic circle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the difficult but urgent task of reducing carbon emission intensity, considering urban agglomeration as a fundamental spatial unit for this purpose has become increasingly important. However, as a long-standing and pivotal phenomenon in the development of urban agglomerations, the potential role of spatial functional division in urban agglomerations in reducing carbon emission intensity has been largely overlooked. To fill this gap, this paper explores the relationship between spatial functional division in urban agglomerations and carbon emission intensity, relying on a dataset of 19 urban agglomerations in China. The main results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between spatial functional division in urban agglomerations and carbon emission intensity. Spatial functional division in urban agglomerations increases carbon emission intensity in the initial stage; once it reaches a turning point, spatial functional division in urban agglomerations can reduce carbon emission intensity. This conclusion remains robust after conducting various robustness checks and addressing endogeneity concerns. This paper identifies productivity enhancement as an underlying mechanism that shapes this relationship. Moreover, the relationship between spatial functional division in urban agglomerations and carbon emission intensity exhibits heterogeneity based on function types and urban types. These findings emphasize that spatial functional division in urban agglomerations plays a unique role in reducing carbon emission intensity, which offers a new strategy for reducing carbon emission intensity from an individual city level to an entire urban agglomeration level. • An inverted U-shaped relationship exists between SFD and CEI. • Productivity enhancement derived from SFD is a crucial influencing mechanism. • Function types and urban types influence the relationship between SFD and CEI. • Improving SFD adds a novel urban agglomeration-level strategy to reduce CEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The railway line planning problem (LPP) plays a crucial role in determining the quality of services provided to passengers, as well as operation costs borne by railway companies. In periodic railway LPPs, it is common to consider passenger transfers between train lines to realize a general passenger travel cost setting in the railway system. While detecting passenger transfers requires incorporating passenger routing into mathematical formulations, thereby significantly complicating the problem. Studies on transfer-included LPPs are generally based on the Change&Go network that is constructed based on a pre-given line pool, which however is usually non-exhaustive due to computational intractability. To efficiently include passenger transfers in large-scale railway LPPs, this paper proposes a novel extended direct-service network representation of LPP, where lines are dynamically generated within the optimization process, and part of passenger transfers between lines can be precisely captured without the need for explicit modeling of passengers' distribution on specific lines. A two-phase solution approach based on the representation is designed. The first phase formulates LPP with part of transfers as a path-based service network design model, solved using a branch-price-and-cut algorithm. The second phase conducts a neighborhood search around the first-phase solution to seek better ones when considering all passenger transfers. Numerical results showcase the good performance of the two-phase solution approach. It delivers optimal solutions in 18 out of 24 test instances for a small case and achieves optimality gaps within 2.85% across all small instances. The large case study of China's Shandong high-speed railway network whose line pool size reaches millions demonstrates the scalability of the approach and its advantage over the traditional Change&Go method with partial line pools and an exact model developed in the paper. • A new network representation of periodic railway line planning problem with passenger routing without line pools. • A powerful two–phase solution approach incorporating two mathematical models and a branch-price-and-cut algorithm. • Validated on the Shandong high-speed railway network in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiple-probability decision-making method for earthquake hazards considers multiple performance indicators and can be used to effectively estimate the seismic risk of structures. The seismic vulnerability model directly affects the development of the earthquake risk distribution in regional structures. This paper innovatively developed a bivariate intensity measurement method based on macroscopic and instrumental seismic intensities. An optimized instrument intensity calculation model was established considering the actual monitoring data of historical earthquakes in China. A hybrid seismic vulnerability quantification method based on empirical, expert judgement and analysis has been proposed and applied to evaluate the vulnerability levels of three types of building clusters in two typical earthquakes in Qinghai Province, China (the 2008 Dachaidan (DCD) earthquake and the 2009 Haixi (HX) earthquake). A structural hybrid vulnerability matrix and surface for nine zones based on bivariate intensity measures were developed. A synthetic vulnerability membership index considering fuzzy failure criteria and decision theory was proposed, and vulnerability membership curves for different vulnerability levels were established. An improved earthquake economic loss prediction function is proposed, and synthetic economic vulnerability index prediction models for three typical buildings in different regions are established. The estimated and calculated results of the developed multiscale variable parameter synthetic vulnerability model are highly consistent with the actual earthquake loss observations. • This paper proposes a bivariate intensity measure to estimate the seismic fragility of buildings. • An optimized hybrid vulnerability matrix and surface of typical buildings were established. • The 2008 and 2009 Dachaidan and Haixi earthquakes in Qinghai Province, China, were reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cause of fatigue failure in steel wire rope suspenders on suspension bridges has been identified. • The recommended approach of utilizing auxiliary cables is successful in decreasing tensile-bending fatigue stress levels. • These discoveries are significant for guiding the development and upkeep of comparable infrastructure ventures. In consideration of the significant impact of train loads on the fatigue of suspenders in railway bridges, this paper focuses on the first railway suspension bridge in China − the Jinsha River Railway Suspension Bridge. The study analyzes the force characteristics and bending failure features of the steel wire ropes in railway suspension bridges, aiming to provide insights into the design of such structures. Firstly, a finite element model of the Jinsha River Railway Suspension Bridge is established in this paper. The natural frequencies are analyzed and compared with on-site measurements to validate the accuracy of the finite element model. Secondly, the tension force amplitude and angular displacement amplitude of the suspenders are analyzed under design loads, and the failure characteristics of the cables are experimentally examined. Subsequently, a wear fatigue test for steel wire rope is designed, evaluating the fatigue life of the suspender in the bridge. The computational results are compared with experimental data to validate their accuracy. Finally, structural measures to reduce the bending fatigue of railway suspension bridge suspenders are proposed to ensure their safety during the service life. The study reveals that the presence of bending stress exacerbates the fatigue failure of suspension cables in railway suspension bridges, with the failure mode identified as fatigue failure due to the tension-bending-wear coupling effect. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the implementation of auxiliary cables can reduce the displacement differential at both ends of the suspension cables by approximately 4/5, and decrease the axial tensile stress amplitude by about 3/4. Consequently, this significantly enhances the fatigue life of the suspension cables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise residential building façades (HRBFs), given their size and abundant façade information, pose a challenge for conventional parsing methods. This paper presents FaçadeGraph, an approach for parsing the information of HRBFs into hierarchical attributed graphs. The method decomposes HRBF information into five hierarchical layers: ternary, floor, unit, space, and component. The façade elements are identified as semantics information with geometric attributes. The topological relationships between the elements are classified into affiliation, connection, aggregation, and decoration. The efficacy of FaçadeGraph was evaluated through the analysis of 36 HRBFs in China. The result showed that FaçadeGraph is effective in transforming diverse façade designs into consolidated graphs for automated syntax analyses. The paper contributes to the knowledge body of façade design by serving as an analytical tool for design feature analysis and underlying the development of generative HRBF design. • An attributed graph-based façade parsing approach is proposed. • A hierarchical structure is used to indicate façade elements for semantic analysis. • Universally applicable rules are defined for façade representation. • The framework is validated by a dataset of façades on 36 high-rise buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial reform serves as a crucial measure for implementing structural reforms in the supply side of finance, with the aim of improving the financial system and financial services. Undoubtedly, it can enhance the competitiveness and sustainable development capabilities of cities. However, little is known about whether and how the financial reform pilots (FRPs) implemented in China since 2012 have affected urban resilience. Therefore, this paper treats FRPs as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the DID model to investigate the impact of financial reforms on urban resilience. Subsequently, heterogeneity effects, transmission mechanisms, spatial spillover effects and superimposed policy effects are also further discussed. Empirical results demonstrate that: (1) FRPs can enhance urban resilience and this fact has been confirmed by various robustness tests. (2) Regarding sub-resilience, FRPs can substantially improve economic, social, and infrastructure resilience without any obvious effect on ecological resilience. (3) Technological innovation and industrial agglomeration are vital channels through which FRPs affect urban resilience; and the resilience-enhancing effects of FRPs are more prominent in core cities, cities with advanced development of internet finance, and higher levels of marketization. (4) FRPs exhibit positive spatial spillover effects and enhance the resilience of surrounding cities. Meanwhile, FRPs and broadband China pilots (BCPs) have a positive cumulative effect on improving urban resilience. Overall, this paper illuminates the importance of financial reform in fostering urban resilience, and provides valuable recommendations for financial reform and the development of resilient cities. • FRPs can significantly enhance urban resilience. • FRPs have differential impacts on sub-resilience. • Technological innovation and industrial agglomeration are vital impact channels. • The effectiveness of FRP policies is related to urban characteristics. • FRPs exhibit positive spatial spillover effects and superimposed effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the practical needs of improving the rescue efficiency of emergency events and reducing the damage, the problem of emergency material supplier selection arises. This paper aims to propose a novel group decision making framework, this framework can aggregate experts' opinions from different backgrounds to evaluate emergency material suppliers. Firstly, an evaluation indicator system considering the supplier's emergency supply capacity is established, to make up for the insufficient applicability of the traditional supplier evaluation indicator system in the field of emergency material supplier evaluation. Then, the game theory integrated weight (GTIW) method is used to gather the initial weights obtained by Maximum Consensus Minimum Hesitation Model (MCMHM) and expert background weights. Moreover, Exponential TODIM (ExpTODIM) method based on Hesitant fuzzy linguistic set (HFLs) named HF-ExpTODIM is introduced to solve the problem of emergency material supplier selection, TODIM is an acronym in Portuguese for Interactive and Multi-criteria Decision Making. Again, a case study of China on emergency medical mask supplier selection is presented, and the corresponding results are discussed. Finally, the practicality of the proposed framework in a real-world context is discussed, including the necessary preparation, operational priorities and caveats. This paper can provide a reference for group decision making of material supplier selection in emergencies. • A framework for selecting emergency material suppliers has been proposed. • Expert consensus and expert background differences are comprehensively considered. • Supplier's emergency supply capacity is added to the evaluation indicator system. • HF-ExpTODIM is proposed by combining HFLs and ExpTODIM. • The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by a Chinese case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a study of the behaviour of already debt-ridden local governments in response to the Made in China 2025 policy, this paper explores whether local governments prioritized State interests over local interests, when their financial involvement was required. Deploying a panel data analysis for more than 280 prefectural-level cities, this paper finds that, despite having been subject to an "Administrative Subcontract" arrangement under which the Central Government appoints top local officials, local economic/debt interests were prioritized over national policy implementation under fiscal decentralization. Instead of promoting infrastructure development, the Made in China 2025 policy provided an opportunity for local governments to raise capital via Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFV) primarily for debt refinancing, despite the State's numerous attempts to control the growth of local government/LGFV debt. Some policy implications concerning i) the effectiveness of national policy implementation on local levels under "Administrative Subcontract" and ii) the debt situations of prefectural-level Chinese cities and their effects on China's economy in general are then discussed. • National policy required local government investment under fiscal decentralization. • Local leadership faced with dilemma between career prospects and mounting debt. • Prefectural-level cities prioritized local interests over State interests. • The Made in China 2025 policy triggered further accumulation of local debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outer bank slump blocks play a fundamental role in modulating the rate of bank erosion, and consequently, have a profound influence on many geomorphic and ecologic processes in meandering streams, e.g., channel evolution and habitat creation. To date, no adequate research has been developed regarding how these blocks, partially strengthened by roots of herbaceous plants, impact the near-bank flow velocity, bank erosion, and migration of streambanks. This paper analyzes 246 slump blocks in a meandering stream on the Marqu Meadow, China. Aerial surveys were conducted once a year from 2018 to 2021 and the lateral migration rates (M) of streambanks are estimated by superimposing the current-year drone imagery onto its previous-year counterpart. When compared to the outer bank segments lacking slumps, our research findings indicate that the bank segments exhibiting slumps demonstrate a reduction of 57 % and 43 % in the maximum and average bank erosion rates, respectively. Overall, the wider blocks provide stronger bank protection; nevertheless, they may also introduce or enhance local scouring in their vicinity, thereby increasing the heterogeneity of bank erosion rates. To elucidate this complex influence mechanism, we simulate the three-dimensional flow velocity field of a ~100 m meandering bend containing three slump blocks using the MIKE-3 model. Furthermore, we compare one-year bank migration distance with and without the blocks by correlating the lateral migration distance of outer banks to the longitudinal gradient of near-bank velocity. The paper provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between flow dynamics and streambank behavior in real-world settings, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of future management and restoration practices. • 246 slump blocks were analyzed in a meander on Marqu Meadow, China. • Slump blocks can persist for years but may be washed away in high flows. • The outer bank slump blocks play a vital role in modulating bank erosion rates. • Slump blocks protect outer banks by redistributing the high flow and secondary flow. • Slump blocks help protect bank overall but it may introduce scour in their vicinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Explain the economic value of the quadratic cost of MECM in terms of marginal cost and elasticity. • Adopt an opinion modification mechanism based on social network. • The MECMs with uncertain adjustment costs are developed under three uncertain scenarios. • The proposed models are applied to the agricultural insurance premiums subsidy policymaking in China. In the realm of group decision making (GDM), the maximum expert consensus model (MECM) emerges as a potent tool for consensus optimization. The complexity of decision-making environment leads to the uncertainty of adjustment costs and the intricate social relationships between decision makers (DMs). Therefore, this paper aims to develop the MECM that integrates both social relationships and uncertain adjustment costs to support social network group decision making (SNGDM) problems. Specifically, we propose a MECM with quadratic cost that can more accurately reflect DMs' sensitivity for opinion adjustment. Additionally, we adopt an opinion modification mechanism based on the information obtained from the social network. The paper also develops the robust MECM (RMECM) to handle the uncertainty of the unit adjustment cost under three uncertain scenarios. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed models is demonstrated by applying them to the agricultural insurance premiums subsidy policymaking in China, further substantiated by sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis showcasing their robust performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent and mechanisms of the influence of cultural factors on China's population flow have yet to be fully revealed compared to the influence of other factors, such as the level of socioeconomic development. From a network perspective, this paper examines the influence of cultural ties represented by dialect similarity on the tie formation and strength of China's population flow networks. The results are as follows: during the Spring Festival travel rush, dialect similarity increases the probability of tie formation but doesn't influence the strength of ties in China's population flow networks in 2019; however, dialect similarity hinders the tie formation and the increase in the flow intensity in the change of China's population flow networks from 2019 to 2022. During the daily period, more similar dialects between the two cities increase the likelihood of forming network ties and exhibiting stronger levels of population flow in 2019; dialect similarity significantly facilitates tie formation, but it does not affect the flow intensity in the change of China's population flow networks from 2019 to 2022. The results reveal the different influencing effects of dialect similarity in different periods, which is important for revealing the influence mechanism of cultural ties on population flow. • This paper examines the influence of cultural ties on the population flow networks in China in 2019–2022. • The dialect similarity represents the cultural ties. • Binary and valued exponential random graph model (ERGM) and stochastic actor-oriented model (SAOM) are applied. • Cultural ties have different influences on the population flow networks and their changes during different periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We have devised a composite gear transmission system, which comprises a RV reducer, two parallel shaft transmissions, and a planetary gear transmission. • A rescue module has been integrated into the driving system to ensure the necessary rescue operations for the manipulator. • The structural configuration of the relevant shells has been developed, with comprehensive explanation on dimensions, manufacturing methodology and strength assessment. • A detailed exposition on the internal architecture and rotational capabilities of these joints has been provided. • An effective internal cable routing scheme for the root joints has been proposed. This study concentrates on the engineering design and analysis of the root joints for the CFETR Multi-Purpose Overload Robot (CMOR), a crucial component in the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). The CFETR tokamak is an engineering test reactor in China for magnet confinement fusion research. CMOR is a 7-DOF manipulator characterized by heavy-load capacity, high precision, and compact structures, designed for internal maintenance inside the CFETR. This presents significant challenges in its design. The design of the root joints is significant for the CMOR. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of the engineering design and analysis of the root joints. It offers a thorough explanation of the driving systems' design, including an integrated rescue module to address potential manipulator faults. Additionally, this paper delves into the conceptual design and manufacturing schemes of the corresponding shells, which are validated under various loading conditions—including regular and earthquake scenarios—through finite element analysis. The assembled root joints' internal structure and cable routing scheme are also discussed in-depth. This research provides valuable insights for future joint designs of the CMOR heavy load manipulator, advancing maintenance operations for fusion reactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines the meta-frontier analysis framework with the SBM-DEA model based on undesirable outputs to thoroughly reveal the mechanism of ecological efficiency differences in China's mariculture. This paper accurately identifies the weak links in ecological efficiency in various regions, thereby achieving a precise evaluation of mariculture ecological efficiency within the framework of technological heterogeneity. The results indicate that under the meta-frontier, the annual average ecological efficiency of mariculture in coastal areas of China during the sample period is 0.586, with a 41.4 % efficiency improvement space. However, under the group frontier, the annual average ecological efficiency is 0.783. The MEI in the BR economic zone and the YRD economic zone respectively stem from MI and TI, whereas in the PRD economic zone, the difference in the proportions of management inefficiency and technological inefficiency is not significant. Finally, this paper proposes four types of improvement paths. • Adopt a model combining meta-frontier analysis and SBM-DEA with undesirable outputs • Reveal the differences and mechanisms in China's mariculture ecological efficiency • Propose four improvement paths for different Chinese provinces • Emphasize promoting coordinated development of mariculture resources and ecology • Offer empirical & theoretical support for tailored mariculture efficiency strategy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ecological restoration is not just an environmental issue and it is a societal problem. This paper analyzes ecological restoration and its impact on society in coal resource-based areas, focusing on the Ruhr region in Germany and Liulin County in China. Through the analysis and comparison, the study not only reveals the unique ecology-social system and explain the reasons for dependence on coal, but the finding shows that industrial transformation is a key factor in determining ecological restoration of coal resource-based regions. • The industries abandoned by the Ruhr area were taken over by China. Shanxi Province is very similar to the Ruhr area in terms of ecological destruction and social development at that time. The Ruhr region has become one of the most polluted areas in the world due to its coal and steel industry. After nearly 40 years of arduous practice, ecological governance and economic transformation in the Ruhr area achieved initial success. • Shanxi Province in China is a hub for energy and heavy chemical industries, and it ranks first in coal production nationally.. The Liulin county is located in the west of Shanxi Province, it is a typical coal mining subsidence and is scattered with numerous villages affected by subsidence due to coal mining. Shanxi Province and the Liulin county is undergoing difficult industrial transformation. • The author of this work visited the Duisburg-Essen University for a year, located in the Ruhr area of Germany, and learned about the ER and transformation in the Ruhr. When the author returned to China, she conducted field research for a two-month survey in Liulin County. Therefore, the author collected a large amount of literature ,data sources and gained practical experiences in these two areas. The coal resource-based areas rely on coal resources and primary processing as their pillar industries, such as the old industrial areas in China and Germany. Long-term, large-scale coal mining has significantly damaged the ecological environment of mining areas. Environmental restoration refers to repairing, rehabilitating, or revitalizing ecosystems that have been degraded, damaged, or destroyed by human activities or natural disasters. In fact, ecological restoration is not just an environmental issue and it is a societal problem. Ecological restoration is closely linked to natural resources, the environment, the economy, society, and politics. These factors form a social ecological system and it is the basis for local stability and sustainable development in the coal resource-based areas. In this process, the relationship between government, enterprise, and local people is constantly being reshaped and defined, then it causes changes in the local social ecology and political ecology. The paper researches the Ruhr area in Germany and the Liulin County in China, the former is a world-famous old industrial and the latter is a typical coal mining subsidence district. By analyzing and comparing the ecological restoration and significant social changes in the Ruhr area and the Liulin County at different periods, the findings show the unique ecology— social system of the coal resource-based area, then enhances the effective measures for ecological restoration and sustainable development of the coal resource-based areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network infrastructure is one of the most significant technological developments in recent decades, as well as a powerful boost for economic growth in both urban and rural area. However, whether improving network infrastructure reduces urban-rural income inequality (URII) remains uncertain in the previous literature. Considering that URII is an important research issue in the field of social change, it is worthwhile to investigate the causal relationship between network infrastructure and URII. Based on the exogenous shock from a quasi-natural experiment of "Broadband China" demonstration cities, this paper utilizes a time-varying Difference-in-Differences (Time-varying DID) model to identify the causal impact of the improvement of network infrastructure on URII in China. The results show that: (1) After controlling the impact of other commonly acknowledged factors, network infrastructure remains a significant factor in URII reduction. (2) The mechanism analysis confirms that the mediating effect of digital financial inclusion plays a vital role in the impact of network infrastructure on URII. (3) Further regional heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of network infrastructure on reducing URII also relies on region's characteristics, such as geographical location, traditional infrastructure level, and administrative level. This paper has figured out the causal relationship between network infrastructure and URII, thus inspiring policy-makers who aim to reduce inequality between urban and rural areas to commit to improving network infrastructure with an emphasis on digital financial inclusion mechanism and comprehensive consideration of regional heterogeneity. • Network infrastructure construction can significantly reduce urban-rural income inequality. • Time-varying Difference in difference method (Time-varying DID) was adopted to investigate the "Broadband China" Policy. • The mediating mechanisms and heterogeneity of network infrastructure development on urban income inequality are discussed. • The value of the "Broadband China" Policy for urban-rural development is shown. • Our findings offer advice for developing countries and local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) orientation in facilitating the internationalization speed of enterprises from emerging economies. Based upon a knowledge management perspective, the paper proposes that AI orientation positively affects internationalization speed via broadening the scope of new knowledge, promoting knowledge creation, application, and dissemination within organizations, and hastening the redundancy of existing knowledge to increase adaptability to global dynamics. Moreover, while online local knowledge search facilitates, offline local knowledge search constrains the acceleration effect of AI orientation on internationalization. Using a dataset from China, the paper finds that AI orientation has a significant positive effect on accelerating the internationalization processes of emerging market firms, and home country embeddedness negatively while regional digital development positively moderates this relationship. The findings contribute to the literature by elucidating how AI orientation expedites the process of an emerging market firm's internationalization from a knowledge management perspective, thereby providing insights for the future scholarly investigation and practical applications in this field. • AI orientation expedites internationalization speed. • Offline local knowledge search negatively affects the acceleration effect of AI orientation on internationalization. • Online local knowledge search positively affects the acceleration effect of AI orientation on internationalization. • A knowledge management perspective of AI orientation and internationalization speed is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of digital technology has driven a huge change in the way payments are made. Based on the micro-data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper explores the relationship between mobile payment and carbon emissions from the consumption side. With the exogenous impact of Alipay's "Collecting Five Blessings" campaign, this paper finds that mobile payment significantly increases household consumption carbon emissions, but the marginal effect is gradually decreasing. Mechanism analysis shows that mobile payment mainly realizes the above impact through promoting the increase of consumption expenditure and upgrading of consumption structure. Further analysis indicates that carbon reduction policies introduced by the Chinese government in the personal consumption sector can mitigate the carbon emissions growth associated with mobile payments. Still, there is a need to strengthen policy measures further to effectively address the issue of rising carbon emissions from household consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the non-homology problem and the simple structural characteristics, a grey prediction model will have defects in modeling. In this paper, the structure of the GM (1 , 1 , x (1) ) model is deformed, and additional parameters are added. A novel four-parameter grey prediction model NFGM(1,1) is established to avoid the non-homology problem. The accumulation order of the NFGM(1,1) model is optimized to enhance its performance. This paper first introduces a nonlinear term and a linear term into the GM (1 , 1 , x (1) ) model to compensate for its structural defects, which can enhance the accuracy of the model in modeling complex modeling sequences. Secondly, a simplified basic formula of the model is proposed to estimate its parameters and iteratively establish the model, which can avoid the problem of non-homologous errors during modeling. Then a novel four-parameter grey prediction model NFGM(1,1) is constructed. Thirdly, the unbiasedness of NFGM(1,1) is proved and verified by matrix theory. Fourthly, by optimizing the order of the NFGM(1,1) model, the model is more flexible and adjustable, and a novel fractional-order four-parameter grey prediction model FNFGM(1,1) can be obtained. Finally, the FNFGM(1,1) model is applied to the prediction of natural gas production in China. The model results show that the FNFGM(1,1) model exhibits superior performance compared to the NFGM(1,1), TWGM(1,1), TDGM(1,1), DGM(1,1), and GM(1,1) models, with the mean relative simulation/prediction/comprehensive percentage errors of 0.92%/1.42%/1.07%, respectively. According to the predicted results, China's natural gas production will reach 3542.9 × 108 m3 in 2027 and some relevant policy recommendations are put forwarded. • On the basis of GM (1 , 1 , x (1) ) , a nonlinear term and a linear term are introduced to expand the model structure, and a novel four-parameter grey prediction model is proposed. • In order to avoid the non-homology problem of the differential equation and difference equation in traditional modeling, this paper uses the simplified basic formula of the model to estimate parameters, and does not directly derive the time response, but directly uses the iterative recurrence method to model. • The new model is proved to be unbiased by the matrix theory method and verified by arithmetic examples. • According to the objective function and constraints of fractional-order solving, PSO algorithm is used to optimize the order of the new model, which makes the model parameters changeable and improves the model performance. • The comprehensive performance of the new model is verified by a case study, the new model is applied to forecast China's natural gas production in the context of Xi Jinping's new era, and the results show that the new model has better accuracy, and the results obtained can help the government to formulate relevant policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This empirical study investigated WFH's impact on air quality and mechanisms. • WFH reduced the intra-city travel intensity (ITI) by 65.0 % and the AQI by 26.3 %. • ITI completely mediated WFH's impact on air pollutants NO 2 and PM 10 emissions. • WFH has the potential to become a sustainable urban development strategy. Working from home (WFH) arrangements are already acknowledged as a sustainable measure for alleviating urban congestion and air quality issues, but fewer large-scale empirical studies investigating the benefits and mechanisms of WFH on air pollution (AP). The exogenous shock of the epidemic provides unique conditions that enable us to conduct empirical studies on the positive impacts of working from home. Building upon this background, this paper designs a series of empirical models to investigate the benefits of WFH on AP and the mediating effect of intra-city travel intensity (ITI) concerning the WFH-AP relationship to depict the mechanism of the impact of WFH on AP. This paper collected panel data on ITI and AP from January 1 to March 15, 2020, in 19 cities in China for regression analyses. The findings indicate that WFH reduces ITI by 65.0 %, while an increase in ITI leads to higher AP emissions, particularly of NO 2. WFH positively impacts urban air quality, resulting in a 26.3 % decrease in the Air Quality Index (AQI) and reductions of 17.2 %, 4.1 %, 32.7 %, 18.8 %, and 13.6 % for the five air pollution categories (CO, NO 2 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2) respectively. Intermediate analyses demonstrated that ITI partially mediated the decrease in AQI, PM 2.5 , and CO, while PM 10 and NO 2 showed complete mediation. However, ITI had a weak mediating effect on SO 2 emissions. The contribution of this study is that it provides supporting evidence that working from home positively impacts urban air quality and commuting. Additionally, it offers urban administrators a fact-based approach to traffic management and environmental protection, pointing to important directions for future urban sustainability strategy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Incorporating water quality into the WEF system pressure (WEFSP) evaluation framework. • Exploring the impact of new-type urbanization (NU) on WEFSP. • WEFSP exhibits an inverted "U-shaped" characteristic under NU. • China's current level of NU has exceeded the threshold of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. • Economic and spatial urbanization contribute to the reduction of the WEFSP. To address the resource and environmental challenges posed by rapid urbanization, China has devised and executed the strategy of new-type urbanization (NU). This study aims to discuss the effects of NU on resource pressure in view of the water-energy-food (WEF) system. Taking 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2020 as samples, this paper firstly establishes a comprehensive evaluation indicator system of NU from the population, economic, spatial, social and eco-environmental dimensions, and assesses the level of NU using the entropy weight method. Secondly, this paper uses the gray water footprint as a measurement indicator, innovatively integrating water quality into the WEF system for assessing WEF system pressure (WEFSP). Finally, the impact of NU on WEFSP is explored based on the panel fixed effects model. The findings revealed: (1) There is an inverted "U-shaped" relationship between NU and WEFSP, and China's current level of NU has exceeded the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) threshold. (2) The impact of NU on WEFSP exhibits significant regional heterogeneity, with a significant impact in the eastern region. (3) NU consistently exacerbates regional water stress when water quality is considered, indicating that sustainable urban water management practices are essential. (4) The subdimensions of NU indicate that population and social urbanization are important factors that exacerbate the WEFSP, while economic and spatial urbanization reduce the WEFSP. The research results help to clarify the impact of NU on the WEFSP and provide a reference for the timely adjustment and optimization of NU policies to achieve effective resource management and regional sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the battery recycling market in China is still in an embroynic stage, the mechanisms, channels, pricing, and efficiency of battery recycling are shrouded in opacity. Battery recycling in China is currently dominated by electric vehicle manufacturer, supplemented by other market players such as battery producers and electric vehicle retailers. Due to the lack of information, battery recycling lacks cooperation and communication, and the whole market is dealing with "Information Island." Therefore, based on information sharing and channel competition, this paper designs a Stackelberg game model with an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle retailer, and a third-party recycler as the primary participants. This study found that effective information sharing can reduce intensified market competition and promote the transformation of market players into "collaboration state". To promote partnership in the battery recycling market, this paper proposes a revenue-sharing contract incentive for the electric vehicle retailer to share demand information about battery recycling. It finds a revenue-sharing contract based on information sharing can help companies and competitors make appropriate behavioral choices in the battery recycling market. This study demonstrates that information sharing benefits the electric vehicle manufacturer and the third-party recycler while offering no advantages to the electric vehicle retailer. The decreasing accuracy of demand signals results in the diminishing value of information sharing for the electric vehicle manufacturer and the third-party recycler. The revenue-sharing contract can incentivize the electric vehicle retailer to share information. [Display omitted] • A battery recycling mode of electric vehicles is constructed. • Effective information sharing would encourage market players to be more collaborative. • A revenue-sharing contract is designed to incentivize the electric vehicle retailer to share information. • Inaccurate information and channel competition reduce the attractiveness of information sharing. • Inter-firm information sharing is beneficial for building an efficient battery recycling system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After collecting Raman spectral data of 12 compounds from commonly used Uyghur medicinal materials, the mixture data are synthesized using computer simulation methods. An accurate identification method for Uyghur medicine components based on Raman spectroscopy and multi-label deep learning is constructed, and the performance of the model Mix2Com is evaluated using several metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall value, and F1 score. [Display omitted] • Existing methods identifying Uyghur medicinal components aren't fit for large samples. • A new method based on Raman spectroscopy and multi-label learning is proposed. • Macro-parallel identification of components is achieved. • The model Mix2Com is constructed with LSTM and Attention introduced. • Mix2Com achieves 90.76% accuracy, better than XGBoost and DeepRaman. Uyghur medicine is one of the four major ethnic medicines in China and is a component of traditional Chinese medicine. The intrinsic quality of Uyghur medicinal materials will directly affect the clinical efficacy of Uyghur medicinal preparations. However, in recent years, problems such as adulteration of Uyghur medicinal materials and foreign bodies with the same name still exist, so it is necessary to strengthen the quality control of Uyghur medicines to guarantee Uyghur medicinal efficacy. Identifying the components of Uyghur medicines can clarify the types of medicinal materials used, is a crucial step to realizing the quality control of Uyghur medicines, and is also an important step in screening the effective components of Uyghur medicines. Currently, the method of identifying the components of Uyghur medicines relies on manual detection, which has the problems of high toxicity of the unfolding agent, poor stability, high cost, low efficiency, etc. Therefore, this paper proposes a method based on Raman spectroscopy and multi-label deep learning model to construct a model Mix2Com for accurate identification of Uyghur medicine components. The experiments use computer-simulated mixtures as the dataset, introduce the Long Short-Term Memory Model (LSTM) and Attention mechanism to encode the Raman spectral data, use multiple parallel networks for decoding, and ultimately realize the macro parallel prediction of medicine components. The results show that the model is trained to achieve 90.76% accuracy, 99.41% precision, 95.42% recall value and 97.37% F1 score. Compared to the traditional XGBoost model, the method proposed in the experiment improves the accuracy by 49% and the recall value by 18%; compared with the DeepRaman model, the accuracy is improved by 9% and the recall value is improved by 14%. The method proposed in this paper provides a new solution for the accurate identification of Uyghur medicinal components. It helps to improve the quality standard of Uyghur medicinal materials, advance the research on screening of effective chemical components of Uyghur medicines and their action mechanisms, and then promote the modernization and development of Uyghur medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge of machine learning (ML) applications and increasing usage of data driven approach for resilience enhancement provide great opportunities for applying ML techniques to power outage prediction (POP) during hurricanes. Considering the substantial damage that wind hazards can cause to power system network (PSN) in countries such as the USA and China, researchers have devised numerous approaches for disaster prevention to reduce their susceptibility. Since the selection of optimal ML algorithms for POP during hurricanes is a complex task, this paper helps researchers easily comprehend the numerous prediction techniques used worldwide for power outages during hurricanes. The paper provides a brief review of several categories of hurricanes and the damage it causes to the PSN more specifically to distribution side, the necessary measures to improve the PSN resilience, and finally a sequential approach for optimal ML model selection techniques that researchers and engineers can use to improve the POP during hurricanes. In this study the effectiveness of ML algorithms has been explored with the help of performance evaluation metrics which serve as the basic deciding criteria for optimal model selection. This research also highlights some of the key issues and challenges of integrating machine learning algorithms with existing PSN. • Reviewed various ML algorithms used for distribution system POP during hurricanes. • Effects of damage experienced by power system networks during hurricanes are widely investigated. • Provides an insight into the measures for improving power system resilience against hurricanes. • Provides a stepwise approach for using various ML algorithms in the context of POP. • Identification of key issues, challenges, and discussion of possible future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of privatizing China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on wage distribution and the welfare of the economy. Privatizing profitable SOEs can narrow wage inequality and improve welfare, and it is however accompanied by a business dynamism effect that can widen the skilled-unskilled wage gap. Using China's split share structure reform in 2005 as a quasi-natural experiment, we empirically demonstrate for profitable SOEs a positive relationship between partial privatization and wage gap. Our findings are consistent with the plan to wind down unprofitable SOEs that would not survive without government subsidies. • This paper examines the effects of privatizing China's SOEs on wages and welfare. • Privatization accompanied by firm entry can widen the skilled-unskilled wage gap. • Predictions regarding the distributive effect of privatizing SOEs are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting energy transformation in rural areas, building a Rural Integrated Energy System, and developing multi-energy complementary and comprehensive utilization of rural energy in accordance with local conditions are important paths to support global low-carbon transformation and rural revitalization. However, how to consider the coupling synergy of multiple devices and plan the capacity of multiple devices in rural energy systems in an economical, low-carbon, and reliable manner is an urgent issue facing the development of Rural Integrated Energy System. This paper proposes a bi-level programming optimization method of Rural Integrated Energy System based on coupling coordination degree of energy equipment. Firstly, a multi-dimensional rural user energy utilization framework is designed that comprehensively considers agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, and lifestyle. Secondly, the bi-level optimization model of the Rural Integrated Energy System based on the coupling coordination degree of energy equipment is constructed. The upper-level planning model puts forward the equipment coupling coordination degree, and determines the equipment selection scheme for different types of Rural Integrated Energy System planning. The lower-level planning model considers economy, low carbon, and reliability, and uses the improved multi-objective Harris Hawk optimization algorithm to solve the capacity of different energy equipment in the Rural Integrated Energy System. Finally, the effectiveness and scientific nature of the model and method proposed in this paper are verified by the Integrated Energy Systems of a rural area in the north of China. In addition, by comparing the equipment selection scheme with the traditional method, it can be found that the optimization scheme in this paper that considers the coupling coordination of energy equipment reduces the annualized total cost by 29.34 %, reduces the annual carbon emissions by 60.43 %, and increases the reliability by 15.85 %. The collaborative planning of energy economy, low carbon energy and reliable energy has been realized. • A framework for the utilization of energy by multiple users in rural areas was designed. • A bi-level programming optimization method of RIES based on coupling coordination degree of energy equipment was proposed. • An improved multi-objective Harris Hawk optimization was constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A practical and feasible protection strategy for EC maintaining in highly urbanized areas was proposed. • Key patches for EC maintaining were identified by using stepping stone and complex network theories. • The protection rate for key patches by the new policies were assessed. Maintaining and restoring ecological connectivity (EC) are important measures of mitigating habitat isolation caused by urbanization. Considering the prominent contradiction of land use in highly urbanized areas, the EC protection measures proposed in the previous studies, such as expanding the ecological sources and widening the ecological corridors, are unrealistic. By using the stepping-stone and complex network theories, this paper simulated the ecological network (EN), evaluated the centrality of each ecological source and stepping-stone, and analysed the network robustness under different damage scenarios, then identified the optimal strategy and key patches for EC maintaining. Meanwhile, this paper evaluated whether the key patches are protected by China's new policies, which are, Ecological Protection Red Line (EPRL) and the Three Lines One Permit (TLOP). The results were as follows: (1) The EN is composed of 53 ecological sources and 291 stepping-stones, with 591 links between them. (2) The network stability can be optimally maintained by prioritizing the protection of stepping-stones with high centrality. (3) The 53 ecological sources and 51 stepping-stones with the highest centrality can ensure the stable operation of the EN, that is, they are key patches for EC maintaining. (4) Compared with EPRL, the protection rate for ecological sources and stepping-stones are significantly improved by TLOP; however, stepping-stones with high centrality require stronger protection. This study enriched the research cases of complex network theory applied in landscape ecology, and provided references for the improvement of policies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ecosystem services are quantified at large scales and long time series in NE China. • The trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services are characterized. • Human activities are the dominant driving factors of provisioning services. • Synergistic optimization paths of production-ecological functions are proposed. In Northeast (NE) China, the largest commodity grain base and natural forest area in China, both agricultural production and ecological protection require attention. In recent years, land degradation in NE China has increased, seriously affecting the production-ecology synergy. In this paper, four key ecosystem services (ESs) in NE China are quantified: provisioning, water conservation (WC), soil conservation (SC) and sand fixation (SF), and the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and trade-offs and synergies (T&S) of ESs are analyzed. The driving factors of provisioning services and the characteristics of T&S are considered, and the county zoning scheme and the corresponding production-ecological function synergistic optimization paths are proposed. The results show that (1) the provisioning, WC and SF services in NE China have slightly increased in the past 20 years, and the provisioning in the Greater-Khingan-Mountains-Region (GKMR) and Lesser-Khingan-Mountains-Region (LKMR), the WC in the LKMR, and the SF in the Liao-River-Plain (LRP) have more obviously increased. The SC service has slightly decreased, especially in the Changbai-Mountains-Region (CBMR). (2) The provisioning service in NE China mainly shows a synergistic relationship with WC and SF, accounting for 79.1 % and 62.9 % of the area, respectively, and a trade-off relationship with SC, accounting for 52.54 % of the area. (3) Human activities (HA) are the dominant driving factor of the provisioning service change in NE China, with an impact degree of 62.65 %. The LKMR is an exception, as climate change (CC) dominates. The LRP, Songnen-Plain (SNP) and GKMR have high degrees of HA. (4) The number of synergistic optimized (SO), light optimized (LO) and trade-off limited (TL) counties accounted for 19.0 %, 61.7 % and 19.3 %, respectively. Among them, the SO type counties should prioritize improving provision and grain production capacity, the LO type counties should protect basic farmland and decrease trade-offs between ESs, and the TL type counties should improve ecological functions and strengthen ecological protection and restoration. This paper clarifies the main contradictions of ESs in NE China and provides an important scientific basis for ecological protection and restoration, which is important for ensuring food and ecological security and realizing the ecological and efficient sustainable utilization of black soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to previous studies by using provincial data, this paper employs city-level data from 260 prefecture-level cities in China between 2011 and 2020 to explore the underlying mechanism of how digital inclusive finance promotes the realisation of common prosperity in China. In addition, this paper incorporates financial deepening theory, financial exclusion theory, long tail theory, digital divide theory and technology driven theory to examine the proposed research questions. Through system-GMM and IV estimation, the results show that common prosperity is composed of development, sharing and sustainability. The high level of the weight of the first-level indicators for development and sharing reflects the importance of "prosperity" and "sharing" in common prosperity. Digital inclusive finance plays a significant role in promoting the development of urban common prosperity, with a more pronounced effect in the Eastern cities when compared to the Central and Western cities. In addition, digital inclusive finance is found to promote urban common prosperity by overcoming the digital divide and by improving the activity of urban innovation and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the degree of marketisation is suggested to exert a positive role in regulating the impact of digital inclusive finance on common prosperity. • Common prosperity is composed of development, sharing and sustainability. • Digital inclusive finance plays a significant role in promoting the development of urban common prosperity. • Digital inclusive finance is found to facilitate regional entrepreneurial vitality and, consequently promote urban common prosperity by overcoming the digital divide and by improving the activity of urban innovation and entrepreneurship. • The degree of marketisation is suggested to exert a positive role in regulating the impact of digital inclusive finance on common prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, co-production serves as a crucial approach to promote sustainable neighborhood rehabilitation. However, in China, where the governance system is characterized by strong state discourse power and a lack of public participation tradition, neighborhood rehabilitation encounters significant challenges, leading to project postponements or even failures due to unsuccessful co-production activities. To reveal the hidden problems, this paper aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the stakeholders' co-production roles and their participation structure in the co-produced sustainable neighborhood rehabilitation process from multiple dimensions. Using the case in Chongqing, the data was collected through questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews. Social network analysis was utilized as the research method, and one-mode and two-mode networks were established to depict six relationship types with using diverse network indicators. This study revealed the high complexity of stakeholder structure, the awkward role of grass-rooted government, the dilemma of public voices and perceptions, uneven involvement in the co-production process, and the dynamic path of co-production formation. Drawing upon co-production theory, this paper elucidates the intricate mechanism of co-produced neighborhood rehabilitation in China. It offers valuable implications for policymakers and urban planners for project promotion, and contributes empirical insights to research in similar governance systems across the global context. • Stakeholder structure in co-produced sustainable neighborhood rehabilitation is highly complex. • Grass-roots government sectors have low discourse power in practice. • Resident-initiated organizations may not always accurately represent the views and interests of in-situ residents. • Uneven involvement of stakeholders can result in a downplayed co-design process and a weak role for investors. • Six network types are interconnected and interdepend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how local industrial structure changes after bureaucratic transfers across Chinese cities. Utilizing firm-level data within the manufacturing sector, we show a positive and significant effect of transferred local leaders on the industrial similarity between cities connected by them, and this response arises 3 years after the transfers. However, when transferring between cities with notable disparities in resource endowments, local leaders induce diminished industrial similarity among connected cities. Our mechanism analyses then find that, after transferred leaders arrive, new superstar firms are more likely to be attracted to their current jurisdictions and new industries in which their previous jurisdictions have already superstar firms tend to be developed in the current jurisdictions, thus making the industrial structure between the connected cities more similar. Furthermore, we find that transferred local leaders contribute to the synchronization of regional economic growth through facilitating the diffusion of productive capabilities across cities. • This paper examines how local industrial structure changes after bureaucratic transfers across Chinese cities. • Transferred local leaders contributes to a convergence of the industrial structure between the connected cities. • Superstar firms who follow local leaders' movements contribute to the increase of the industrial similarity between connected cities. • Transferred local leaders contribute to the synchronization of regional economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Challenges to social, economic, and environmental sustainability are global in scale, yet sustainable development policies must be implemented locally. There has been a tendency for sustainable urbanism projects to engage in the conspicuous sustainability of spatially bounded and highly visible sustainability achievements, rather than spatially expansive, long-term achievements. China's complex system of multilevel governance encourages policy experimentation, but it is also frequently productive of entrepreneurial urbanism and intercity competition. This paper analyses spatial planning documents concerning Hengqin (Zhuhai Municipality, Guangdong Province), an island adjacent to Macao SAR, to show how the ambitions for a new-build district's contributions to sustainable development have become more spatially expansive and ambitious over time. This has occurred alongside changes in project leadership (from city, to provincial, to central government leadership) as well as a deepening awareness of the Greater Bay Area as a region for crossborder policymaking. The paper argues that crossborder perspectives are vital for genuine sustainable development but face certain obstacles in relation to the sites at which policy decisions are made. • Policymakers often prefer conspicuous sustainability to long-term achievements. • Innovative urban entrepreneurialism is common in China's multilevel governance. • Hengqin's spatial planning initially prioritised immediate, localised results. • Centralised leadership and regional awareness can raise sustainability ambitions. • Crossborder perspectives better reflect sustainable development needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes the skill-biased technological change and routine-biased technological change hypotheses, along with the theory of firms' innovation behavior, to establish a comprehensive analytical framework. This framework aims to elucidate the mechanisms through which technological innovation, industrial evolution, and education affect the labor skill structure in China manufacturing. The empirical results that have been gathered can be succinctly described in the following manner: (1) Research and development innovation stimulates the demand for high-and low-skilled labor, and, the rising of total factor productivity reduces the demand for low-skilled labor, confirming the labor-friendly effect of product innovation and the labor-saving effect of process innovation. (2) The cyclical pattern of fluctuating demand for low-skilled labor can be attributed to the industrial concentration, driven by technological advancements. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of cyclicality has not been observed for high-skilled labor. (3) There exists a paradoxical relationship between higher education and industrial demand, wherein education and skill are mismatched. (4) There exists the SBTC in China manufacturing resulted from process innovation. However, the SBTC does not explain the cause or mechanism behind the relative productivity shift and the higher demand for educated workers. This paper examines several policy implications including R&D innovation, employment, and education. • SBTC/RBTC and firms' innovation behavior theories are incorprated in a unified framework. • R&D inputs promote the demands for high- and low-skilled labor, and rising TFP reduces the demand for low-skilled labor. • Industrial concentration leads to a cyclical pattern of the demand for low-skilled labor rather than for high-skilled labor. • There exists a paradoxical relationship between higher education and skill demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network-based rural development approaches, rooted in neo-endogenous or nexogenous models and aiming to mobilise the development potential of local assets and address local needs by connecting to broader external actor-networks, have been emphasised in rural development policies worldwide. Since the introduction of its National Rural Revitalisation Strategy in 2017, China has adopted more policies, and advanced more programmes, with networked features, which seek to involve local communities and non-governmental extra-local actors in the implementation of rural policy. The 'reaching in' state has a key role to play in the Chinese networked approach, which drives technocratic remedial programmes in response to rural marginalisation, and which seeks to generate new surplus value from supported local economies. This paper introduces the concept of neo-exogenous development (NED), distinguishing this emergent Chinese hybrid development paradigm from its European-Western counterparts. The 'reaching out' of communities in Europe is frequently a response to weakening state intervention, with connections made to non-state actors and networks. However, China's NED approach is characterised by a 'reaching in' active party-state and 'conducted' (or activated) communities , which are inter-connected by 'semi-formal party organisations.' To date, few research studies have explored the specific governance structure of China's NED practices and its dynamics, or sought to situate these in a broader international context of rural development paradigms. This gap in extant research impedes the transfer of knowledge on networked approaches across international rural contexts. This article reports on research investigating the implementation process of a Modern Agriculture Zone (MAZ) programme in Sichuan, a marginalised region of China. That research drew on semi-structured interviews with key actors from county and town governments, the MAZ Management Committee, local community and collective enterprises, and extra-local enterprises. It aims to unveil the distinctive local-state dynamics of NED practice, to show how the active party-state has provoked the reconfiguration of social relations and produced activated communities. • The paper introduces the concept of neo-exogenous development (NED), which is presented as an emergent rural development model. • From the imperial, to the Maoist, and to the modern period, China's rural development has been shaped by the state's desire to effectively integrate and govern an otherwise 'discrete' rural society. • Rooted in a semi-formal and clientelist rural governance tradition, NED combines exogenous 'reaching-in' state interventions with an array of steered endogenous features. • NED connects an active party-state with activated communities via semi-formal rural party networks. • Three drawbacks of NED are underscored: dependency on political recognition and impetus, reliance on public finance, elite capture of benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mobility and bioavailability of soil heavy metals strongly depend on their fractions. Secondary-phase fraction (SPF) of heavy metal, including acid-soluble, reducible and oxidizable fractions, is considered as direct and potential hazardous fraction to organisms. The ratio of SPF to the total concentration of heavy metal represents its bioavailability. In this study, 126 topsoil samples were collected in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China. Fraction concentrations of heavy metals, and their bioavailability and spatial distributions were determined, and relationships between their fractions and types of industry zones were analyzed. Results showed that Cd and Pb had the greatest SPFs among all metals (78.61% and 62.60%, respectively). Great SPFs of Cd and Pb were observed in the dyeing and paper-making industry zone, while great SPFs of Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni were in the smelting and plating industry zone. For most metals, fraction distributions were controlled by soil organic matter and clay contents. Spatial principal component analysis showed SPFs of heavy metals can be explained by two principle components (PCs). PC1 represented SPFs of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn, while PC2 represented SPFs of Ni and Co. The spatial distributions of SPFs were influenced by geochemical character, industrial sewage irrigation and soil physico-chemical properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Straw pulping plays a vital role in virgin pulp supply and regional agricultural residue utilization. However, a significant decrease in its production has been observed. From an environmental perspective, why has there been a sharp decrease in straw pulping? Are there any innovations in straw pulp production that alleviate the heavy environmental burdens of straw pulping? In this study, factors contributing to the decrease in straw pulp are examined. An innovative technique to produce straw pulp is introduced and its environmental performance is analyzed and compared with conventional pulping. The results show that the main reasons contributing to the environmental burdens of straw pulping lie in the difficulties in black liquor extraction and alkaline recovery for the black liquor. Technical processes are changed in the innovative technique of straw pulping through using a rapid displacement cooking process, converting black liquor into fertilizers, utilizing total chlorine-free bleaching, etc. The new technique (Case B) achieves superior environmental performance than that of the conventional technique (Case A) from a carbon metabolism perspective. Specifically, 1022.90 kg and 857.80 kg of biogenic-carbon (bio-carbon), and 594.32 kg and 628.13 kg of fossil-carbon are needed to make 1 ton of bleached straw pulp for Case A and Case B, respectively. The carbon efficiencies for Case A, Case B (when pulp is the only desired product) and Case B (when including other products) are 39.10%, 46.63% and 92.21%, respectively. The carbon factors for Case A, Case B (when pulp is the only desired product) and Case B (when including other products) are 3.66, 3.60 and 1.86 kg CO 2 -eq, respectively. In addition, the corresponding E factors, which reflect the waste generation level, are 3.20, 2.69, and 1.39 kg, respectively. The new technique for straw pulping, which follows the principle of a circular economy by fully utilizing resources and reducing the generation of waste, achieves both economic and environmental benefits. It is a promising technique for straw pulping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Q-SAT, a small spherical satellite designed and developed by Tsinghua university, was successfully launched on Aug 6, 2020 at Jiuquan satellite launch center in China. The mission of Q-Sat is the joint measurement of long-wavelength Earth gravity field and upper atmosphere density, which is of great significance for improving spacecraft orbit prediction and promoting the development of satellite gravity measurement technology. The satellite is designed in spherical shape innovatively and deploys high dynamic dual-frequency GPS as the main payload. On-orbit data shows that the atmospheric density detection precision is in the order of 10−14kg/m3 and the gravity recovery precision achieves the level of 30 orders. All mission success criteria and objectives were achieved. This paper presents the design, space mission, key technologies, science capabilities and preliminary results of the satellite. • Q-SAT, a spherical satellite for the joint measurement of long-wavelength Earth gravity field and upper atmosphere density, was launched in 2020. • An electromagnetic separation system with point connection-release structure is designed for the Q-Sat. • As secondary payload a powerful GPU module is implemented to validate artificial intelligence computing capabilities in orbit. • Modifications for the Jacchia-Roberts atmospheric density model are proposed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ability to detect low-frequency gravitational waves (GWs), space-borne detectors will play an important role in exploring the universe in the future. The TianQin project proposed in China participates in this challenge by aiming to detect millihertz GWs. The TianQin GW detector consists of three spacecraft forming a triangular constellation. Each spacecraft carries a pair of test masses (TM) which, inside shielding cages, are left to free fall along the local geodesic. In this way, a pair of TMs on two separate spacecraft can be each other aligned to become the gravitational references of the GW detector, made by an inter-satellite laser interferometer. Each free-falling TM is limited by parasitic forces to be appropriately bounded. The relevant acceleration bound has been fixed to 10−15 m/s2/ Hz within the TianQin measurement bandwidth (MBW) ranging from 0.1 mHz to 0.1 Hz. In turn, TM to cage fluctuations must be kept below 4nm/ Hz to limit the stiffness coupling with the spacecraft displacement caused by non-gravitational disturbances, such as solar radiations and the thruster noise. Suppression of such disturbances calls for a challenging drag-free control technology, since the center of mass (CoM) of a single spacecraft cannot track the separated CoMs of two TMs simultaneously, and consequently tracking must be limited to three degrees of freedom (DoF): two non-orthogonal sensitive axes (one for each TM) and the perpendicular direction to their plane. Control design and simulated tests of this paper will be restricted to the drag-free control along the sensitive axes. The remaining nine DoFs of the two TMs (position and attitude) are controlled by electrostatic suspensions, not to be treated here, but accounted for in the simulated trials. The design of the two-DoF drag-free control relies on a model-based control methodology, the Embedded Model Control (EMC), capable of predicting and suppressing unknown disturbances within the required bandwidth and of decoupling the TM dynamics along the non-orthogonal sensitive axes. The paper starts with the nonlinear model of the TM to cage dynamics, followed by the relevant EMC design, restricted to the sensitive axes. Numerical simulations are employed to validate closed-loop performance and robust stability. Simulated results show that the residual TM to cage fluctuations can be kept below 3nm/ Hz , which leaves a margin within the required spectral bound. The EMC methodology discussed in the paper can provide a reference for future developments and implementations. • Test mass dynamics can be decoupled by 'thruster coupling' or 'sensor coupling'. • Embedded Model Control predicts and compensates unknow disturbances. • Reference generator smooths test mass centering process. • Test mass to cage displacement has satisfied TianQin requirement. • Monte Carlo trails have validated the closed-loop robust stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of global warming is getting more serious, and vehicle emission is the main cause. In recent years, the number of locomotives in China has been increasing at a rate of more than 20% per year, and the problem of automobile pollution is becoming more serious. The transportation industry is the main source of fossil fuel combustion and environmental pollution. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a multi-view deep neural network (MVDNN) to analyze the key factors affecting the fuel consumption of automobiles. The experiments show that the introduction of human input improves the prediction accuracy and the root mean square error (RMSE) achieves 0.993. In addition, this paper also finds that for drivers, driving habits, driving frequency, and safety awareness are the most important factors affecting the fuel consumption of vehicles by combining Lasso regression with MVDNN. Finally, by comparing the prediction accuracy of different experiments, relevant policy suggestions are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses panel data on renewable energy in China. Thus, the current analysis fills the gaps by examining the relationship between green technology innovation and renewable energy and CO 2 emissions from 1990 to 2018. The current study examines all concerns connected to panel data analysis with advanced panel estimators, such as cross-sectional dependence, stationarity, variation in slope parameters, and structural break. Our findings show that test results reveal that green technology innovation and renewable energy have a negative and considerable influence on CO2 emissions in the long run. Moreover, the short-run relationship of green technology innovation, on the other hand, is not significant—as evidenced by the findings of robustness tests such as AMG and CCEMG. Other empirical results revealed that GTI, REN and NEN significantly reduced local CO 2 emission, while POP and PI had no obvious reduction effects on CO 2 emissions. Different GTIs had the same spatial "symbiotic effects" on CO 2 emission reduction in the short term, showing positive spatial spillover reduction effects. Lastly, we conclude that the use of green technology innovation has positive externalities. Some policies to assist green innovation technologies and renewable energy resources have been suggested for the Chinese government to enact. • This paper uses panel data on renewable energy in China. • The current study examines all concerns connected to panel data analysis with advanced panel estimators. • The short-run relationship of green technology innovation is not significant. • We conclude that the use of green technology innovation has positive externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Our paper attempts to rationalize the classified reforming nature of China's state sectors, based on the criteria of factor endowment structure of SOE sectors adopted between 1980 and 2018. • We argue that ceteris paribus, the problem of low efficiency and rent-seeking commonly suffered by China's state-owned sector, has been cured by applying a reform strategy that undertakes property right reforms based on the factor endowment allocation of SOEs across different industries. • In terms of the theoretical contribution, we construct a Nash bargaining model between the principal (state officials) and the agent (SOE manager), and identify two ownership reform irrelevance points (ORIPs) in the model. • Our Nash bargaining model indicates the need for some SOEs to be undertaken by the 'mixed-ownership reform' whilst others should undergo 'full privatization reform'; both are judged by the distinct factor endowment allocation amongst different industries, which are in line with the stylized facts of China's state sector reforms over the past four decades. • In the final section, we discuss the possible policy implications of this paper with particular reference to our proposed Nash bargaining model. Based on the criteria of the factor endowment structure of state-owned enterprise (SOE) sectors in China between 1980 and 2018, this paper rationalizes the classified reforming of China's state sectors by constructing a Nash bargaining model to capture the dynamics of ownership restructuring, and the reduction process of policy burden on SOEs. We reveal that the interplay between policy burden bared by SOEs and the ownership restructuring process largely depends upon their factor intensities since the reform period in the 1980s. Our model identifies two Ownership Reform Irrelevance Points (ORIP), which serve as the benchmark for the dynamics of the ownership restructuring process of China's large SOEs, which saw them move from 'mixed-ownership' to 'privatization'. ORIPs demonstrate the need for a reduction in social policy burdens with regards to the state sector's comparative advantage of factor endowment structure through SOE ownership restructuring. This study theoretically analyzes existing literatures on the classified reforms of China's state sectors from 1978 to 2018. This study is the first to base such an analysis on the criteria of factor endowment structure focusing on the connection between the policy burdens bared by SOEs and their ownership restructuring process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]