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The continuing increase of the popularity of mobile phones generates a large volume of waste mobile phones. The efficient collection of this waste has become a focus and frontier of both academic research and related business. This paper reviews the waste mobile phone collection in Dalian, China. The findings show that several challenges currently impede the implementation of collection, including unsmooth collection channels, poor convenience, and low environmental awareness of residents. A new joint collection mode is put forward to increase the waste mobile phone collection rate. In the mode, the responsibilities of each stakeholder (including the collecting enterprise, the third-party logistics company, the government, and the resident) are clarified. Moreover, a conjoint analysis method is applied to identify residents' willingness for collection. The obtained results show that compensation mode, collection price, and convenience degree are the three factors that influence the prevailing preferences of residents. Collection services with high market share must satisfy the concourse of three conditions. The collection price exceeds 30% of the mobile phone's original price, the compensation mode is cash and information service is provided. These results can provide a reference for the service design of collection mode and the formulation of relevant corporate strategies. • Waste mobile phones are an environmental problem if not handled appropriately. • Collection is the critical bottleneck of waste mobile phones managements. • A new joint collection mode aiming at increasing collection rate was put forward. • Conjoint analysis was applied to investigate residents' willingness for collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of New Architecture is the property of New Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As the world's largest importer, trading of iron ore occupies a pivotal position in China's international trade. In order to seek the decision power of deciding the price for iron ore, China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) listed iron ore futures in October 2013, which has become the world's largest iron ore financial derivatives trading market now. Based on VECM and state-space perspective, this paper aims to explore the price discovery function of iron ore futures on the DCE. Comprehensive analysis from the views of long-term equilibrium relationship, short-term information shocks and dynamic contribution share are made in this paper. The empirical results show that: firstly, from the perspective of cointegration test, there is a long-term equilibrium relationship between the futures prices in DCE and the spot prices; secondly, when facing with short-term information shocks, iron ore futures in DCE have an obviously price discovery function by the analysis of impulse response and variance decomposition; finally, by the way of state-space and Kalman filter algorithm, the long-term equilibrium relationship dynamic contribution for price discovery function of DCE's iron ore futures remains stable between 60% and 70% now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission trading system is an effective market-oriented means to control pollutant emission, and reasonable initial allocation of emission rights is the premise of its smooth implementation. However, at present, the initial allocation of emission rights depends largely on the amount of emissions, which leads to weak positive guidance effect for enterprises. To explore the optimal initial allocation method of SO2 emission rights, this paper takes 8 thermal power plants in Dalian, China, as the research objects to calculate the initial allocation of SO2 emission rights, because SO2 is the main cause of acid rain, which is one of the most serious air pollution in China, and thermal power plants are among the main SO2 emitters. Firstly, an indicator system is established considering enterprise size, pollutant discharge, and social contributions, as well as pollution control capacity. Then, the combination weighting method is developed through integrating the subjective methods G1 and G2 with the objective ones, entropy and maximum deviation. The empirical results show that the enterprises with more desulfurization equipment or large heating supply are supposed to get more emission rights; the actual emission value of SO2 in half of the enterprises exceeds the theoretical ones; SO2 removal rate, desulfurization equipment quantity, and heating supply exert the most positive effects on the initial allocation of emission rights. The constructed model can be used as a reference for future research of initial allocation of other pollutants' emission rights. Also, the implications have been proposed for the government, industry, and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valuing the nonuse value of a national forest park (NFP) is critically important to obtain a better understanding of its total economic value, beyond focusing solely on the recreation value. This paper estimates the nonuse value of an NFP based on the relationship between the local public's environmental attitudes and their willingness to pay (WTP). The data collected on the local residents' environmental attitudes relied on the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP). Residents' willingness to pay (WTP) for the national forest parkland protection was collected using the contingent valuation method (CVM). The nonuse value WTP was estimated using a bivariate dichotomous choice model. This model analyzed the relationship between the environmental attitude scores and WTP in order to estimate the nonuse value of the NFP of our case study site, Dalian Xijiao National Forest Park (DXNFP) in northeastern China. The results showed that DXNFP provides 20.26 CNY (3.02 USD) in nonuse value per household per year in Dalian city, which can then be translated into 140 CNY (21 USD) million annually in total. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global express market has expanded significantly in recent years. High-speed rail express freight transportation has been implemented between multiple cities in China, significantly improving transportation efficiency and effectively meeting demand. In this paper, an optimization model for HSR (high-speed railway) express transport plan is constructed using a space-time-state network, and an improved adaptive genetic algorithm is designed to solve the model. Reasonable transport schemes could be arranged for each cargo flow with the objective of maximizing operational revenue. The numerical experiment based on the Harbin–Dalian high-speed railway in China verifies the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed model. The results show that for HSR operators, appropriate transport strategies can be planned in terms of delivery priorities and transportation mode selection to make full use of the remaining capacity of HSR trains and increase operational revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the security of ports and the container shipping industry, a key problem for a container terminal is the planning and design of the inspection area. The main goal of this paper is to address an inspection investment planning problem for the international container terminal at Dalian Port using the simulation method. Considering various types of container ships and flexible container truck scheduling and routing, we propose a framework combining an Arena-based simulation model with a developed optimization procedure. Two components of this integrated framework realize information communication via the interface of Visual Basic for Applications. Under the potential inspection protocol, simulation experiments are designed and carried out for investigating the operational impact of container inspections for different allocations of inspection resources at the terminal, including the turnaround time of external trucks, the number of trucks waiting in the inspection area, etc. This paper includes the description of the conceptual framework, the detailed simulation model, the experimental design, and the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time control strategies are important methods for high-frequency transit to counteract the effects of bus bunching in passenger waiting time. This paper extends previous literature with the development of an optimization model for multiple lines in a corridor capable of executing a dynamic control strategy based on passenger choice behavior with real-time information. The bi-level model integrates "passenger perceptions,""service selection," and "control strategy" effectively. The upper level model is a control model with the objective of minimizing the total waiting time of passengers in the system composed of common lines to decide whether a bus arriving at the hub should be held and its holding time. The lower level model is an allocation model with the utilization of a Nested Logit model to study passenger choice behavior. In addition, a heuristic algorithm is introduced to solve the problem. The effectiveness of the model is evaluated with the data of two lines in Dalian city of China. The results show that the control strategy proposed in this paper outperforms the simple control strategy without passenger choice behavior, where the waiting time of passengers, the number of buses that need to hold, and bus holding time are all reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a kind of particulate matter which is very detrimental to human health, the prediction of PM 2.5 has attracted increasing attention in air pollution forecasting and early warning. In this paper, density peaks clustering (DPC) is employed to select the individual models for combination forecasting, and a novel high-precision combination forecasting model named DPC-based combined model is proposed to predict PM 2.5 concentrations. Firstly, CEEMD is introduced to decompose the original P M 2.5 data into three intrinsic mode functions ( I M F s ) with different features. Then, 125 individual models are obtained by applying SVR and GRNN to these three I M F s , and the intelligent optimization algorithms are adopted to optimize the parameters of SVR. Finally, the 125 individual models are clustered by DPC based on five model evaluation indexes to select the individual model for combination forecasting. The experimental results of four Chinese cities demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the optimal individual model and can greatly improve the prediction accuracy. Taking Dalian as an example, the MAE of the proposed model is 2.2 by clustering the 125 individual models into two groups, and the result reveals that the accuracy is increased by 65.73% compared with the minimum MAE (6.42) of the individual models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Oil Crop Sciences is the property of Oil Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Urban heat islands (UHIs) have a significant and negative impact on the urban ecological environment and on human health, and it is imperative to examine factors that lead to UHIs. Although numerous studies have been conducted in this field, little research has considered seasonal variations in UHIs in coastal cities. Moreover, parametric statistical analyses, such as regression and correlation analyses, have been typically applied to examine the influential factors. Such analyses are flawed because they cannot uncover the complicated relationships between UHIs and their factors. Taking Dalian, a coastal city in China, as an example, this paper reveals the dynamic mechanism of the UHI effect for different seasons using the cubist regression tree algorithm. Analyses suggest that the UHI effect only exists in spring and summer, and no obvious UHIs can be found in autumn and winter. The adjacency to the sea leads to moderate UHI effects in spring and summer and no UHI or urban cooling island (UCI) effects in autumn and winter. The distance to the coastline, however, does not play a role in the UHI effect. Furthermore, as one of the most important factors, the vegetation coverage plays a significant role in the UHI effect in spring and summer and significantly mediates the UHI in autumn and winter. Comparatively, the elevation (e.g., digital elevation models (DEMs)) is consistently negatively associated with the land surface temperature in all seasons, although a stronger relationship was found in spring and summer. In addition, the surface slope is also a significant factor in spring and winter, and the population density impacts the UHI distribution in summer as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asian Journal of Women's Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Due to the long-term and irrational use of antibiotics for the prevention and control of bacterial diseases in aquaculture, antibiotic resistance genes have become a new source of pollution in aquatic products. Factors such as the spread of drug- resistant strains and the horizontal transfer of drug-resistant genes have led to multi-drug resistance in fish-infecting bacteria, which seriously affects the quality and safety of aquatic products. In this study, 50 samples of horse mackerel and puffer fish sold in Dalian aquatic products market and seafood supermarket were collected, and the phenotypic characteristics of the bacteria carried by the fish for drugs such as sulfonamides, amide alcohols, quinolones, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines were tested and analyzed, and the resistance genes carried by fish samples were detected by SYBG qPCR. Our statistical analyses demonstrated that the drug resistance phenotypes and genotypes of bacteria carried by mariculture horse mackerel and puffer fish in the Dalian area of China were complex, and the multi-drug resistance rate reached 80%. Among the examined antibiotics, the resistance rates to cotrimoxazole, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, levofloxacin, kanamycin, and florfenicol exceeded 50%, whereas the resistance rates to gentamicin and tobramycin were 26 and 16%, respectively. The detection rate of the drug resistance genes tetA, sul1, sul2, qnrA, qnrS, and floR exceeded 70% and all samples carried more than three drug resistance genes. The correlation analysis of drug resistance genes and drug resistance phenotypes showed that the detection of the drug resistance genes sul1, sul2, floR, and qnrD was correlated with the detection of drug resistance phenotypes (p<0.01). However, the correlation between the resistance genes cmlA, cfr, tetA, qnrA, qnrS, and aac(6')-Ib-cr and the corresponding resistance phenotype was not significant (p>0.05). In general, our findings indicated that the multi-drug resistance of bacteria carried by marine horse mackerel and puffer fish in the Dalian area was serious. From the perspective of drug resistance rate and drug resistance gene detection rate, the aminoglycosides gentamicin and tobramycin are still considered effective in controlling bacterial infection in marine fish in the study area. Collectively, our findings provide a scientific basis for the management of drug use in mariculture, which can prevent the transmission of drug resistance through the food chain and minimize the associated human health risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal short-term cruise products are matched with Chinese consumer demand characteristics. Launching coastal short-term cruise products can help local Chinese cruise companies change the monopoly status of foreign cruise companies in China. This paper builds a two-stage optimization model to provide a decision-making method for local Chinese cruise companies. The first stage determines the itinerary scheme, with the goals of minimizing the cost and maximizing the potential demand. The second stage determines the cabin price, with the goal of maximizing the profit of the cruise company. The model considers the competition of cruise products and their alternative products based on consumer preferences. In the case study, we take Dalian Port as the home port to do the numerical analysis. The results show that coastal cruise products with journey times of 2–3 days have the highest market penetration and are more profitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalian is a particular Chinese city, which was occupied for half a century successively by the British, Japanese, and Russian Empires before 1949, with each imposing its own urban planning and building styles onto the city's development. Since 1984, with China's open-door policy and economic reform, dramatic changes have taken place in Dalian, transforming it into a modern and famous tourist destination within the country. However, with its rapid urbanisation, the built heritage is being compromised, and the preservation of colonial legacy has become contested. This paper reviews the unique planning history of Dalian and the challenges the city faces regarding its contested heritage, with a special focus on the case of Dongguan Street, which is a colonial legacy without any official designated status. Conflict arises between those who want to erase what they feel is a humiliating past, to make way for the modern city, and the ones who value the legacy to save the endangered heritage that remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to test the effect of relationship managerial behavior (i.e. managerial coaching) on frontline employee performance (i.e. sales performance) and the mediating effect of employee's relationship behaviors (i.e. customer orientation and adaptive selling) in a Chinese banking environment. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using a survey from 242 frontline employees working at a large commercial bank in Dalian (China). Measures on managerial coaching, customer orientation, adaptive selling and sales performance were adapted from the literature. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS 26. Findings: Results indicate that (1) managerial coaching positively affects employee customer orientation, (2) employee customer orientation positively affects employee adaptive selling behavior and (3) adaptive selling behavior positively affects sales performance. Bootstrap analysis confirmed the significance and stability of all the direct paths (suggesting that every mediator fully mediates the effect of its antecedent on the criterion) but none of the indirect paths found support (full mediation model). Research limitations/implications: The study makes a contribution to the nomological network of managerial coaching by introducing a construct that has not been used previously (i.e. employee adaptive selling behavior) and testing its relevance in a commercial setting. Practical implications: The results suggest that (1) managerial coaching is a central managerial behavior for companies that would like to implement a relationship marketing strategy because it helps promote specific employee relationship behaviors like customer orientation and adaptive selling, (2) there seems to be little cultural differences in the banking industry between the Chinese and the Western banks, suggesting that coaching and other management tools can be transferable from one culture to the other and (3) that coaching is an effective tool to help employees achieve higher sales performance. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the literature on the use of managerial coaching in commercial areas to increase frontline employee relationships behaviors. The identification of adaptive selling as a mediator is an original contribution because it has received little attention in scientific research. Additionally, the use of a Chinese sample of bank employees responds to recent call for more research in cross-cultural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares energy consumption (electricity, gasoline, and gas) by rural migrant workers and urban residents with a hukou (a China-specific household registration system) and influential factors (including quality-of-life [QOL]-related factors, built environment, and individual and household attributes) in China. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Dalian (a coastal city) in 2014 and in Guiyang (an inland city) in 2015, respectively. A zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model was applied to understand whether and how much people consume a certain type of energy. The results showed that built environment explains 8.4–21.8% and 6.3–41.4% of the total variance in energy consumption by rural migrant workers and urban residents with a hukou. The corresponding variance related to QOL-related factors was 9.1–15.8% and 4.1–22.6%, respectively. The built environment was mostly associated with electricity consumed by urban residents with a hukou, while its influences on other types of energy consumption were moderate. Mixed effects of both built environment and QOL-related factors on reducing energy consumption were observed. Thus, it is context-sensitive whether and how much compact city development and social security policy affect residents' energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking Dalian, a typical square city in China, as an example based on data from remote sensing images, questionnaires, spatial statistics, social economy, etc., 48 squares in the main districts were constructed from the perspective of human settlements in order to build five systems: nature, humanity, society, residence and support. The aim was to explore the spatio-temporal differentiation characteristics and their driving mechanism. The results show the following: (1) The index system was constructed based on the human settlements perspective, and PCA was used to comprehensively evaluate it. Four principal component factors were extracted, and their cumulative contribution rate is 78.701%. On this basis, city squares were divided into four types: comprehensive square, recreational square, commercial service square and traffic square. (2) Using Mapinfo to visualize the square space, and taking the People's Square as the center, the squares from the Tsarist Russia and Japanese colonial rule time periods were mainly distributed within 5 km, mostly in the direction of NE-SEE. During the construction of New China, city squares were distributed in all directions of the city, mainly between NE-SE and NNW-SSW. (3) ArcGIS was used to create an analysis chart of square service scope. Compared with 1999, it was more concentrated in central cities in 2016, and the service scope was relatively small. However, a square with high popularity has a wider influence. (4) The formation and evolution of the spatial pattern of city squares are affected by many factors, such as nature, economy, society, politics, ecological environment and technology. In the planning and development of city squares, Dalian should pay full attention to human settlements perpectives and add luster to the development of livable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, subsea tunnel construction has developed rapidly in China. The traffic volume of subsea metro tunnels is large. Once a safety accident occurs, economic losses and social impacts will be extremely serious. To eliminate accidents in operational subsea metro tunnel structures, a health risk prediction method is proposed based on a discrete Bayesian network. Detecting and monitoring data of the tunnel structures in operation were used to evaluate the health risk by employing the proposed method. This method establishes a Bayesian network model for the health risk prediction of the shield tunnel structure through the dependency relationship between the health risk of the operational tunnel structure and 13 risk factors in five aspects: the mechanical condition, material performance, integrity state, environmental state, and deformation state. By utilizing actual detection and monitoring data of various risk factors for the health risk of the operational subsea metro shield tunnel structure, this method reflects the actual state of the tunnel structure and improves the accuracy of health risk predictions. The validity of the proposed method is verified through expert knowledge and the subsea shield tunnel structure of the Dalian Subway Line 5. The results demonstrate that the health risk prediction outcomes effectively reflect the actual service state of the shield tunnel structure, thus providing decision support for the control of health risks in the subsea metro shield tunnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old goaf under the overpass becomes serious hidden trouble of subgrade-pavement and bridge engineering. Based on geological survey, geophysical survey and theoretical analysis, this paper studies on formation mechanism and distribution characteristics of the surface residual deformation in old goaf in No.9 Line Overpass across Rapid Rail Transit Line No.3 in Dalian city. A comprehensive analysis and evaluation has been made on the stability of old goaf. Based on the calculation principle of the probability integration method, the conception of ground residual subsidence coefficient and the predicted model of residual deformation are proposed, ground residual deformation of old goaf under the overpass is predicted. According to the zonal principles of ground stability, the stabilities of areas are divided. The results indicated that, new overpass has an important effect on the old goaf overburden rock activation in study area that the surface will be instability uneven settlement and the ground residual deformation values will exceed allowable values. Some treatment should be done to the old goaf because of the poor stability of goaf and non-goaf within influence zone in study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carsharing has appeared as a novel alternative to the private car in urban areas and larger cities. The application and popularization of the concept have resulted in the effective control of the growth of car ownership; reducing traffic congestion, and alleviating environmental pollution. This paper seeks to find the factors affecting travelers' acceptance towards carsharing and the potential market segments to be targeted for a successful implementation of the carsharing concept in China. A Stated Preference survey was carried out in Dalian, China. The Mixed Binary Logit Model was built to model travelers' acceptance of different round-trip carsharing schemes. The results showed that several socio-demographic factors affect travelers' decision-making process. Gender, age, education level, income status, housing status, and carsharing's knowledge had a significant impact on travelers' propensity to adopt the carsharing system. Findings from this study can be useful to transport planners and policymakers for the implementation of carsharing systems in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bus operators use the existing mixed bus fleets to implement the pre-designed bus timetables while making full use of electric buses. • The construction of a trip-pair-based set of feasible charging activities transforms the queuing problem of electric buses waiting for charging into a linear optimization model. • Reasonable joint optimization of vehicle and charging scheduling effectively increases the service frequency of electric buses. Owing to the high acquisition costs, maintenance expenses, and inadequate charging infrastructure associated with electric buses, achieving a complete replacement of diesel buses with electric counterparts in the short term proves challenging. A substantial number of bus operators currently find themselves in a situation where they must integrate electric buses with their existing diesel fleets. Confronted with the constraints of limited electric bus range and charging infrastructure, the primary concern for bus operators is how to effectively utilize their mixed bus fleets to adhere to pre-established bus timetables while maximizing the deployment of electric buses, known for their zero pollution and cost-effective travel. Consequently, this paper introduces the concept of the joint optimization problem for vehicle and recharging scheduling within mixed bus fleets operating under constrained charging conditions. To tackle this issue, a mixed integer linear model is formulated to optimize the coordination of bus schedules and recharging activities within the context of limited charging infrastructure. By establishing a set of feasible charging activities, the problem of electric buses queuing for charging at constrained charging stations is transformed into a linear optimization model constraint. Numerical simulations are conducted within the real transit network of the Dalian Economic Development Zone in China. The results indicate that the judicious joint optimization of vehicle and charging scheduling significantly enhances the service frequency of electric buses while reducing operational costs for bus lines. Notably, the proportion of total trips performed by electric buses rises to 80.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In smart ports, accurate perception of vessels' state during berthing and unberthing is crucial to ensure the safety of vessels and ports. In this paper, a method for better monitoring the berthing and unberthing state of vessels is proposed by introducing the GIS spatial analysis technique. For the aspect of the motion state of the vessels, the optimal segmentation region of the hull from the point cloud data is extracted with the aid of GIS spatial theory. Subsequently, the key points are obtained from the optimal segmentation region to calculate the key parameters in the process of berthing and unberthing. Besides, the spatial raster analysis technique is employed to construct the missing point cloud data in the segmentation region. For the other aspect of the spatial state of the vessels, the spatial trajectory of vessels is given. According to the information on a spatial trajectory, a comprehensive study of the spatial state of vessels is performed from the perspective of directional features and spatial relationships. In summary, the proposed method not only identifies the vessels' motion state from a spatial perspective but also accurately calculates key parameters related to berthing and unberthing. Furthermore, it provides intuitive and clear visualization of the spatial relationship features between the vessel and the shore. Based on the experimental data of berthing and unberthing in Dalian Port, China, accurate results are achieved to verify the feasibility of the proposed method, which can provide a new idea for intelligent berthing and unberthing of vessels. • A spatial analysis method is proposed for monitoring the ship's motion state. • Based on GIS spatial theory, a hull segmentation technique is firstly established. • The spatial trajectory of ships is given during berthing and unberthing. • The motion state is shown spatially by the spatial measurement analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focused on the justice of residents' opportunity to engage in healthy behavior under different environments is not vast, especially in a hilly dwelling environment. Therefore, this paper investigates environmental inequalities in a hilly urban environment in the context of the booming real estate market in China, comprised of health promotion-related elements, namely, built environment, physical activity facilities, street infrastructure, green spaces, and environmental perceptions. The multi-source data are used to calculate environmental attributes and the socioeconomic status of communities. We take the central districts of Dalian city as the research area and measure environmental equity across different socioeconomic residential areas using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance. The results reveal the spatial disparities in physical activity facilities, street greening, and positive perceptions between different communities. However, green injustice is mitigated in the hilly neighborhoods when we consider only ground-level greenness. This paper studies environmental justice by taking a health-enhancing view, and the results of this study can provide guidance on hilly urban development for government leaders and planners. • Environmental inequality from both the economic needs and aesthetics needs was evaluated using multi-source data. • No evidence of green injustice was detected when considered only ground-level vegetation in a hilly dwelling environment. • There was a social gradient in terms of physical activity facilities and aesthetic needs. • Novel evidence of environmental inequality in a hilly urban environment was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We develop an optimization model that integrates spatial and temporal dimensions for strategic planning about whether and when to retrofit ships to use shore side electricity. • We used an improved multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) to solve the optimization model. • We applied the proposed model to a case study of container ships calling at Dalian Port in China to support its effectiveness and applicability. Shore side electricity (SSE) is the use of electricity from the shore to power a ship's system when it is berthing at ports. It is a solution to reduce the emissions of auxiliary engines at berth and to improve the local and regional air quality. This paper develops a multi-objective model that integrates spatial and temporal dimensions for strategic planning regarding whether and when to retrofit ships to use SSE. The strategic planning problem is to maximize the environmental benefit and to minimize the payback period of the investment over the entire planning horizon. By adopting an improved multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), a series of retrofit strategies for container ships calling at Dalian Port in China are obtained under a projected annual visiting frequency of ships with different ship sizes and shipping lines. Depending on a selected retrofit strategy, the sum of the payback periods of ships that are determined to be retrofitted is 46 years (on average less than four years) and the environmental benefit of using SSE can be up to 128 million USD for Dalian Port in the planning horizon from 2020 to 2035. The results show that using SSE is an efficient method to decline emissions within the maritime sector and validate that the proposed methodology can be useful to ship owners to decide upon investing in SSE applications and to promote the development of green shipping and green ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs) is steadily growing worldwide. In China, the first renewable hydrogen refuelling station has been built in Dalian for nearly 3 years. FLACS software based on computational fluid dynamics approach is used in this paper for simulation and analysis on the leakage and explosion of hydrogen storage system in this renewable hydrogen refuelling station. The effects of wind speed, leakage direction and wind direction on the consequences of the accident are analyzed. The harmful area, lethal area, the farthest harmful distance and the longest lethal distance in explosion accident of different accident scenarios are calculated. Harmful areas after explosion of different equipments in hydrogen storage system are compared. The results show that leakage accident of the 90 MPa hydrogen storage tank cause the greatest harm in hydrogen explosion. The farthest harmful distance caused by explosion is 35.7 m and the farthest lethal distance is 18.8 m in case of the same direction of wind and leakage. Moreover, it is recommended that the hydrogen tube trailer should not be parked in the hydrogen refuelling station when the amount of hydrogen is sufficient. • The effects of wind speed and direction on hydrogen accidents are analyzed. • The farthest harmful distance and lethal distance are calculated. • The lethal area is larger when the wind speed is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A structural domain represents a volume of rock masses with similar mechanical and hydrological properties. This paper presents a new multivariate method, built upon the classical statistical method, for identifying structural domains by considering a combined effect of multiple joint characteristics. First, joints are placed into corresponding cells according to a comprehensive categorization of joint characteristics. Second, based on the frequencies of joints in each cell, a contingency table analysis and appropriate χ2 test are used to identify structural domains. In this method, the joint frequency in each cell is determined not only by joint orientation but also by joint trace length and aperture. A group of simulated joint populations is used to check the validity of the proposed method. Seven joint populations with a total of 731 joints collected in Southeast Dalian Port, China are evaluated using the proposed method. Calculations show that the differences in both distribution forms and sequences of joint characteristics produce apparently different identification results. A combined effect of multiple joint characteristics is found to play an important role in the identification of structural domains. Reliable results for the multivariate method are obtained, given the objective of analysis and practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil spills cause damage in ocean environment. It is important to identify the oil spills for further treatment. We propose an oil spill detection method based on X-band marine radar image using texture analysis. In this method, first, received radar image was denoised by erasing co-channel interference and small speckles. Then, texture analysis was used to indicate the location of oil spills. In the texture analysis, we proposed a texture index calculated by four texture features of grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). The texture index in oil spill area is higher than it in other place, which can be used for extracting oil spill area roughly. In the end, precise extraction of an oil spill was carried out by an adaptive thresholding algorithm on the area selected by the proposed texture index. According to the X-band marine radar images sampled in the oil spill accident on Xingang Port of Dalian, China, an oil spill detected by the proposed texture analysis method is comparable to visual interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of rehabilitation works carried out on the Dalian North Suspension Bridge in China. The bridge, built in 1985, has three spans with simply supported stiffening trusses and earth-anchorage system. Over time, the suspension bridge suffered from a considerable variation of configurations and serious degradation of structural components, which directly affected the load-resistance mechanism and endangered the safety of the bridge. A comprehensive scheme was proposed to adjust structural configurations including the reduction of dead load, the tension of the main cables and the length adjustment of hangers. As for the degraded components, maintenance and replacing works were carried out. On-site measurement and detailed finite element model (FEM) analysis were used to evaluate rehabilitation performance. Through applying the proposed scheme, the Dalian North Suspension Bridge was successfully transferred to a structure that met the demand for safety, serviceability and durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive suitability evaluation of spatial development and construction land is the scientific basis and guarantee for optimizing spatial development pattern and improve its quality and efficiency. It is of great significance for the implementation of regional coordinated development strategy. In this paper, according to the principles of urban-rural integration and land-ocean co-ordination, we selected Liaoning province as a case, the only both coastal and border province in Northeast China. The suitability evaluation index system was established from 3 dimensions, including natural environment, economy and society, and marine function. To evaluate and analyze the suitability of spatial development and constructive land in this province, we integrated the application of Delphi method, cask theory, linear weighted summation model and multi- factors space overlay analysis. The results show that there exist obvious characteristics of spatial differentiation in the suitability of spatial development and construction land throughout Liaoning. The most and more suitable construction land represent an obvious central peripheral structure, and concentrate along both the Shenyang-Dalian axis and the Binhai axis; the most unsuitable construction land shows a north- south symmetric distribution by the Binhai axis, while the more unsuitable construction land shows an east-west symmetric distribution by the Shenyang- Dalian axis. The construction land areas of most suitability, more suitability, more unsuitability, and most unsuitability are 15504.39 km2, 22645.34 km2, 66833.96 km2, and 68720.99 km2, respectively, and the proportions of landocean area are 8.93%, 13.04%, 38.48%, and 39.56%, respectively. The suitability of natural environment plays a fundamental and decisive role in the development and construction of regional land; and the characteristics of agglomeration and dispersion are significantly different at different levels and regions. The suitability of economy and society obviously modifies that of natural environment. The introduction of marine functional zone has greatly expanded the regional land in Liaoning province, but the spatial distribution of marine functional suitability is extremely uneven. And due to the nature of marine functional zone, the space which can be directly developed and constructed is limited, while the space for protection is great. The contradiction between spatial development and ecological environment protection will be still severe for a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The system engineering based on photovoltaic thermal heat pump was constructed. • A new idea for the energy-saving reconstruction of district heating was introduced. • The prediction model of system heating performance was established and optimized. • The equivalent electricity consumption of heating was defined. • The economic performance of energy-saving reconstruction was studied. Actively promoting the reconstruction of clean heating is the key direction of the "Planning for clean heating in winter in northern China (2017–2021)". The photovoltaic thermal heat pump system was introduced in this paper to improve the comprehensive energy efficiency and reduce the operation energy consumption of the heat source system, which provided a new idea for the energy saving reconstruction of clean district heating. In order to verify the feasibility of the energy saving reconstruction by photovoltaic thermal heat pump, following studies were carried out in this paper: First, the integrated energy system engineering based on photovoltaic thermal heat pump was constructed to study the heating performance of the system in winter. Subsequently, the prediction model of heating performance based on back propagation neural network was established and optimized to simulate the heating performance throughout the year. Then, the calculation model of district heating system was established and the evaluation method of system operation energy efficiency and economic performance based on "equivalent electricity consumption of heating" was introduced. Finally, a residential area of Dalian was taking as an example to study the economic performance of energy saving reconstruction of district heating system based on three conventional heat sources by photovoltaic thermal heat pump. The results showed that after the capacity expansion and energy saving reconstruction based on photovoltaic thermal heat pump were conducted, the payback period of energy saving reconstruction investment was 5 years. Besides, with the increase of the configuration ratio of photovoltaic in the system from 1 to 2, the payback period was further shortened to 3 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, traffic congestion has become a significant challenge in urban areas and densely populated cities. Real-time traffic signal control is an effective method to reduce traffic jams. This paper proposes a particle swarm optimisation with linearly decreasing weight (LDW-PSO) to tackle the signal intersection control problem, where a finite-interval model and an objective function are built to minimise spoilage time. The performance was evaluated in real-time simulation imitating a crowded intersection in Dalian city (in China) via the SUMO traffic simulator. The simulation results showed that the LDW-PSO outperformed the classical algorithms in this research, where queue length can be reduced by up to 20.4% and average waiting time can be reduced by up to 17.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient utilization of solar energy significantly contributes to energy efficiency in buildings. Solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) heat pumps, a hybrid of photovoltaic and solar-assisted heat pumps, have demonstrated a significant development trend due to their multi-generational capacity for heating, power, and cooling with reliable operational performance. This research work presents and investigates a single-stage compression PVT heat pump system, along with the operation principle of the system's heating and power co-generation throughout the winter and transitional season. The construction of the testing facility, data reduction, error analysis, and performance evaluation indices of the system are all explained theoretically. A continuous experiment research project focusing on system heating and power performance was carried out in Dalian during the transition season (November in this study) and winter season (December in this study) as part of our investigation into the potential uses for space heating, residential hot water, and power supply in northern China. The findings of the experimental research demonstrate that the proposed system can generate electricity and heat at high efficiency during the winter and transitional seasons, with long-term stable performance. The system's average heating COPt is 5 during the transitional season and 4.4 during the winter season. Meanwhile, the average photovoltaic power efficiency under both weather conditions is 11.9% and 10.2%, with a peak value of 15.7% and 12.0%, respectively. Additionally, the system compression ratio's variation range is 2 to 3.88, which is lower than the standard heat pump system. As a result, the entire system heating operating process remains constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting an appropriate wind farm location must be specific to a particular administrative region, which involves restrictions balance and trade-offs. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) and GIS are widely used in wind energy planning, but have failed to achieve the selection of an optimal location and make it difficult to establish a set of independent factors. Fuzzy measurement is an effective method to evaluate intermediate synthesis and calculates the factor weight through fuzzy integrals. In this paper, optimal wind farm location is analyzed through coupling Grid GIS technique with λ fuzzy measure. Dalian City is selected as the study area for proving the feasibility of the proposed method. Typography, meteorological, transmission facilities, biological passage, and infrastructure are taken into the index system. All the indexes are specialized into victor grid cells which are taken as the base wind farm location alternative unit. The results indicate that the Grid GIS based λ fuzzy measure and Choquet fuzzy integral method could effectively deal with the special optimization problem and reflect optimal wind farm locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decade has witnessed accelerating expansion of chemical industry and increasing conflicts between the local citizens, governmental authorities and project developers, especially in some coastal and port cities in China. Development and transformation of chemical industrial parks has been adopted as a national initiative recently. However, there is a paucity of research examining public perspectives on chemical industrial parks and their risks. Aiming to understand public perception, attitude, and response and the factors underlying the support/acceptance of chemical industry park, this paper investigated 418 residents neighboring to two chemical industrial parks, Dalian in Bohai Rim through face-to-face questionnaire survey. The results showed the knowledge of the respondents on the chemical industrial parks development was very limited. The respondents had complex perceptions on the environmental impacts, risks control, social-economic benefits, and problem awareness. The current levels of information disclosure and public participation were very low. The central governmental official (44.3%) was the most trustworthy group by the respondents. Only 5.5% and 23.2% of the respondents supported the construction of a new CIP nearby and far away their homes, whilst 13% thought new CIP project as acceptable. The spearman correlation analysis results showed a strong NIMBY effect (Not In My Backyard). Factor analysis results demonstrated five latent factors: knowledge, benefit, information, trust, and participation. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated how socio-demographic differences and five latent factors might impact on the support/acceptance of the chemical industrial parks. Education level, trust, information, and participation were significant predictors of public support/acceptance level. This study contributes to our limited knowledge and understanding of public sentiments to the chemical industry parks in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A spatiotemporal-resolved optimization model is proposed to design HSC. • A sustainable principle based on Markov chain is innovatively introduced. • The infrastructure plans can be hierarchically assessed in time-associated steps. • The presented model is verified through a case study in Dalian, China. The potential future use of hydrogen as transportation fuel should be assessed from supply chain point. However, the main challenge to motivate hydrogen supply chain (HSC) network is the insufficiency of the present hydrogen infrastructure. This paper presents a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) optimization model for a rational HSC design, given that primary energy source availability, production technologies, transportation modes and storage types. A sustainable principle based on Markov chain is innovatively introduced in the design of HSC network. The strategic decisions for sustainability infrastructure plans can be hierarchically analyzed in time-associated steps (2025–2030–2035). Meanwhile the spatiotemporal-resolved design is further used for an explicit consideration of specific city (Dalian in China), not heavily focused on national/country scale. Furthermore, optimizations are evaluated with total daily costs, carbon tax and CO 2 emissions reduction constraints. The results show that the route of WE(S2)→WE(S2)→WE(S3) is the strategic decisions for Dalian hydrogen infrastructure plan from economic-environmental sustainable viewpoint, with the whole HSC costs of 18.44 $ kg−1 H 2 in 2025, 10.56 $ kg−1 H 2 in 2030 and 5.98 $ kg−1 H 2 in 2035. Finally, the proposed design can provide policy-makers with the selection of sustainability pathways for dynamic hydrogen development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urban development associated with China's reform and opening up has been the source of many urban problems. To understand these issues, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the distribution of urban spatial structure. Taking the six districts of Dalian as an example, in this study, we integrated the enhanced vegetation index, points of interest, and surface temperature data into night light data. Furthermore, herein, we analyze the kernel density of the points of interest and construct three indices using image geometric mean: a human settlement index (HSI), a HSI-POI (HP) index, and a HSI-POI-LST (HPL) index. Using a support vector machine to identify the land type in Dalian's built-up area, 1000 sampling points were created for verification. Then, the threshold boundary corresponding to the highest overall accuracy of each index and kappa coefficient was selected. The relevant conclusions are as follows: As compared with the other three types of data, the HPL index constructed in this study exhibited natural and social attributes, and the built-up area extracted using this method had the highest accuracy, a high image spatial resolution, and was able to overcome the omission issues observed when using one or two data sources. In addition, this method produces richer spatial details of the actual built-up area and provides more choices for assessing small-scale urban built-up areas in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• POE was carried out to compare the design target and operational effect after use. • A Large Irregular Green Commercial Building was chosen for in-depth analysis. • We recommend the building energy saving and carbon emission reduction strategy. Commercial buildings, especially large irregular commercial buildings with complex space and dense occupation, have high energy consumption and carbon emissions. Moreover, the actual operating performance differs significantly from its design, in terms of energy conservation and carbon emissions. This study selected an irregular large-scale green commercial building in Dalian, a coastal city in the cold zone of China. The running energy consumption and indoor physical environment were investigated and analyzed, and a satisfaction survey was conducted using the Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods. The promotion strategies of holistic design were proposed by comparing the operational building performance with the design target. The research shows that the energy consumption of the building was 68.02 kWh/m2, which failed to meet the standard requirements. The carbon emission was 74.76 kgCO 2 /m2. Less than 10 % of humidity in summer fell in the expected range, and the lowest value of PM 2.5 concentration in winter was 28.3 %. The score of indoor environmental quality and service satisfaction was low. This paper identifies the problems and analyzes the differences between the operation stage and design phase. It provides recommendations and guidelines for optimizing the carbon emission and indoor environment based on the performance improvement of building operational conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemometric methods have unique advantages regarding comprehensive consideration of multiple parameters and the classification of samples or variables. Classification of oil spill sources was carried out by using chemometric techniques, such as Repeatability Limit, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), Student's t -test and Principal component analysis (PCA) Biplot. In addition, this paper takes the fingerprint identification of a Dalian "7.16″ oil spill accident as an example to illustrate the effectiveness of chemometric techniques in oil identification. PCA scores plot (explaining 82.77% of variance accounted for three PCs) showed that samples belong to four clusters and result of HCA method further confirmed that. The residual oil in Jinshatan Beach and Haibei Square may be caused by the explosion of Dalian "7–16" oil pipeline accident. The use of chemometric techniques is significant in providing independent validation for classifying the types of spilled oil in the investigation of oil spill pollution. The results will be of great significance to improve the accuracy and efficiency of oil spill identification based on oil fingerprint. • Origin based classification of oil residue by GC-MS and chemometrics method. • Multivariate and multiway analysis are mainly used in oil fingerprint methods. • Dalian "7.16″ oil spill accident provide a case platform for chemometric techniques. • It involved a principal component and hierarchical cluster analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To forecast the development trend of current outbreak in Dalian, mainly to predict turning points of COVID-19 outbreak in Dalian, Liaoning province, China, the results can be used to provide a scientific reference for timely adjustment of prevention and control strategies. Methods: During the outbreak, Bayesian framework was used to calculated the time-dependent reproduction number ( R t ), and then above acquired R t and exponential trend equation were used to establish the prediction model, through the model, predict the R t value of following data and know when R t smaller than 1. Results: From July 22 to August 5, 2020, and from March 14 to April 2, 2022, 92 and 632 confirmed cases and asymptomatic infected cases of COVID-19 were reported (324 males and 400 females) in Dalian. The R square for exponential trend equation were 0.982 and 0.980, respectively which fit the R t with illness onset between July 19 to July 28, 2020 and between March 5 to March 17, 2022. According to the result of prediction, under the current strength of prevention and control, the R t of COVID-19 will drop below 1 till August 2, 2020 and March 26, 2022, respectively in Dalian, one day earlier or later than the actual date. That is, the turning point of the COVID-19 outbreak in Dalian, Liaoning province, China will occur on August 2, 2020 and March 26, 2022. Conclusions: Using time-dependent reproduction number values to predict turning points of COVID-19 outbreak in Dalian, Liaoning province, China was effective and reliable on the whole, and the results can be used to establish a sensitive early warning mechanism to guide the timely adjustment of COVID-19 prevention and control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the indoor environment of urban and rural elderly residential dwellings in Dalian and Beijing during the heating period in 2017–2018. Each dwelling was assessed for temperature, relative humidity, air pollution and biological pollution, as well as blood pressure parameters related to the health of the elderly. The results showed that the temperature in urban dwellings was higher and more stable than that in rural dwellings, due to the difference in heating devices. Indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in some dwellings exceeded the limit. Indoor formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC) were lower than the limit values, while urban dwellings had more formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) pollution than rural dwellings. For rural houses, indoor fuel combustion resulted in higher concentrations of particulate matter below 2.5 microns (PM2.5) and higher concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO). The biological pollution in rural areas was generally higher than in urban areas. The blood pressure of the elderly in rural areas was higher than that in urban areas, and blood pressure was found to be negatively correlated with room temperature and positively correlated with relative humidity. These results can provide an indicator for the improvement of housing environmental quality for older people in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the operation of waterbuses and overland buses from an environmental perspective. A two-stage model considering carbon dioxide emissions is established. The first stage covers the transit modal split and the objective of the second stage is to maximise the benefit of waterbus operations. A heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve the model. Dalian city in China is chosen as an example to prove the feasibility of the model and the algorithm. The data show that the proposed model for waterbus operational optimisation has practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of offshore airports through marine reclamation effectively alleviates the contradiction between urban economic development and the scarcity of land resources. However, it has a negative impact on marine ecosystem. The purpose of this paper is to develop feasible tools to investigate the comprehensive impact of a large offshore airport on marine ecosystem health. Taking the Dalian offshore airport under reclamation construction in China as a case, we established an indicator system and used GIS technology to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamic changes of marine ecosystem health during the reclamation construction. The results show that the impact of the reclamation construction of the Dalian offshore airport on marine benthos and fishery resources was significant, resulting in a substantial reduction of benthos biomass and fish egg density. The ecosystem health index decreased from 0.84 to 0.48, indicating that the reclamation construction has transformed the marine ecosystem from a healthy state to an unhealthy state. Measures such as fisheries resource enhancement and eco-friendly revetment should be taken to improve the ecosystem health upon the completion of the project. The results will provide a reference for the development of an early warning for the ecological impact of other large-scale reclamation projects in the world. • Establish indicator system for ecosystem health assessment of reclamation projects. • Comprehensive impact of an airport reclamation on ecosystem health was assessed. • GIS methods were incorporated into the impact assessment of reclamation on ecosystem. • Spatiotemporal variations during reclamation were visualized and analyzed. • Significant decrease of ecosystem health level in 2014–2015 was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify the impacts of both port relocation and agglomeration effects on the spatial patterns of basic shipping service industries, a multimethodological framework was employed to identify maritime clusters, the colocation patterns between pairs of shipping service industries, and the determinants of the (re)location of shipping service firms. Taking Dalian Port as a case study, the firm-level (re)location data of 6 types of shipping services were collected and analysed. The results showed that although a maritime cluster appeared around the new port area, no significant colocation patterns were found, and the shipping service firms preferred the existing maritime cluster to the new port area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The temporal and spatial distribution of thermal comfort of four typical block models of a cold-region city was indicated by using PET simulation. • The important microclimate factors affecting the thermal comfort of the blocks were verified through ENVI-met simulation and Pearson correlation analysis. • The improvement strategies of block thermal comfort are proposed based on the visual models. A block is an urban construction of land surrounded by roads and its internal buildings and environment. It is an essential element of modern cities and the most direct way to perceive the urban living environment. The thermal comfort of a block is a crucial indicator for building a healthy and comfortable urban life. This study examined Dalian, a cold-region city in China, to put forward research on thermal comfort improvement strategies. In this paper, four typical blocks were selected to simulate the microclimate by ENVI-met, and the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was calculated. Through the simplified model, the thermal comfort building strategy suitable for Dalian was explored, and the effectiveness was verified. The results show that direct solar radiation and wind speed are the critical factors for the thermal comfort of the settlements residents. The building orientation, sunshine spacing coefficient, and building layout will affect the thermal environment of the block through these two factors. The outdoor thermal environment in Dalian can be improved by adjusting the orientation of buildings away from the traditional south direction, increasing the sunshine spacing coefficient, dislocating buildings, or adopting a peripheral-type building layout. This study can provide a scientific basis for building healthy and comfortable urban living environments and block development and renovation decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are an emerging class of environmental hazardous contaminants that extensively, stably exist in airborne particulate matter and pose harmful effects on human health. However, there was little research about the sources of EPFRs in actual atmospheric conditions. This study reported the occurrence, characteristics, and sources of EPFRs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM2.5 collected in Dalian, China. The concentrations of PM2.5-bound EPFRs ranged from 1.13 × 1013 to 8.97 × 1015 spins/m3 (mean value: 1.14 × 1015 spins/m3). Carbon-centered radicals and carbon-centered radicals with adjacent oxygen atoms were detected. The concentration of ∑PAHs ranged from 1.09 to 76.24 ng/m3, and PAHs with high molecular weight (HMW) were predominant species in PM2.5. Correlation of EPFRs with SO2, NO2, O3, and 12 kinds of PAHs indicated that both fuel (coal and biomass) combustion and photoreaction in atmosphere influenced the concentrations of EPFR. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model results have shown that the primary sources contributed most of the EPFRs and those of secondary sources had a little proportion. Coal combustion (52.4%) was the primary contributor of EPFRs, followed by traffic emission (22.6%), industrial sources (9.6%), and secondary sources (9.2%) during the heating period, whereas industrial emission (39.2%) was the primary contributor, followed by coal combustion (38.1%), vehicular exhaust (23.5%), and secondary sources (9.6%) during the non-heating period. The finding of the present study provides an important evidence for further study on the formation mechanism of EPFRs in actual atmospheric to control the air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial distribution of bus garages determines the total vehicular dead mileage of the transit system because buses must travel between bus garages and terminals at the start or conclusion of a day. By contrast, the size of the garages determines the queuing status when buses enter or leave the garages. Thus, a bus garage system with reasonable distribution and size is required to address these problems. In this article, a queuing–location–allocation model for optimizing a bus garage system is developed. Since a nonlinear objective function is involved, a linearization technique is introduced to convert the proposed model into an equivalent linear form. Next, a Lagrangian relaxation algorithm is designed to solve the linear form model. To validate the proposed algorithm, two groups of randomly generated test instances and a real-life case, the Dalian transit system in China, are applied. The results show that the proposed Lagrangian heuristic is efficient and stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex relationships among social support, experienced stigma, psychological distress, and quality of life (QOL) among tuberculosis (TB) patients are insufficiently understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the interrelationships among social support, experienced stigma, psychological distress, and QOL and to examine whether experienced stigma and psychological distress play a mediating role. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2020 and March 2021 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Northeast China. Data were obtained from 473 TB patients using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the hypothetical model. The research model provided a good fit to the measured data. All research hypotheses were supported: (1) social support, experienced stigma and psychological distress were associated with QOL; (2) experienced stigma fully mediated the effect of social support on psychological distress; (3) psychological distress fully mediated the effect of experienced stigma on QOL; and (4) experienced stigma and psychological distress were sequential mediators between social support and QOL. This study elucidated the pathways linking social support, experienced stigma, and psychological distress to QOL and provides an empirical basis for improving the QOL of TB patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]