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For large-scale 3D building reconstruction, there have been several approaches to utilizing multi-view satellite imagery to produce a digital surface model (DSM) for height information and extracting building footprints for contour information. However, limited by satellite resolutions and viewing angles, the corresponding DSM and building footprints are sometimes of a low accuracy, thus generating low-accuracy building models. Though some recent studies have added GIS data to refine the contour of the building footprints, the registration errors between the GIS data and satellite images are not considered. Since OpenStreetMap (OSM) provides a high level of precision and complete building polygons in most cities worldwide, this paper proposes an automatic single building reconstruction method that utilizes a DSM from high-resolution satellite stereos, as well as building footprints from OSM. The core algorithm accurately registers the building polygons from OSM with the rasterized height information from the DSM. To achieve this goal, this paper proposes a two-step "coarse-to-fine registration" algorithm, with both steps being formulated into the optimization of energy functions. The coarse registration is optimized by separately moving the OSM polygons at fixed steps with the constraints of a boundary gradient, an interior elevation mean, and variance. Given the initial solution of the coarse registration, the fine registration is optimized by a genetic algorithm to compute the accurate translations and rotations between the DSM and OSM. Experiments performed in the Beijing/Shanghai region show that the proposed method can significantly improve the IoU (intersection over union) of the registration results by 69.8%/26.2%, the precision by 41.0%/15.5%, the recall by 41.0%/16.0%, and the F1-score by 42.7%/15.8%. For the registration, the method can reduce the translation errors by 4.656 m/2.815 m, as well as the rotation errors by 0.538°/0.228°, which indicates its great potential in smart 3D applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a large number of new energy vehicles being put into use, it is the general trend for traditional fuel vehicles to withdraw from the market in an orderly manner. Determining the optimal ratio between them in this process is of great significance to the low-carbon sustainable development of cities. Therefore, considering the constraints of urban automobile development planning and air pollution prevention and control policies, a multi-objective model to minimize pollutants and costs is constructed in this paper. Through model calculation and sensitivity analysis of dynamic impact relationship of different types of vehicles, it is determined that when new energy vehicles account for around 36% in Beijing, 57% in Shanghai and 46% in Guangzhou, the pollutant emissions can be minimized without causing a significant increase in social costs. Additionally, compared with 2030, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou can achieve emission reductions of 320,000 tons, 200,000 tons and 250,000 tons, respectively, in 2050 if they implement the policy of banning the sale and delisting of fuel vehicles, which could provide suggestions for the guidance of the low-carbon development plan of the automobile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of cloisonné enamel production in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Christian workshops, whether operating under missionary subcontracting or owned by the Catholic Church, have yet to be accurately identified and contextualized. This article delves into three significant contexts. Firstly, it identifies and contextualizes the Christian connections and interactions of the Decheng private cloisonné workshop, involving the French Lazarist Bishop Alphonse Favier, in Beijing. Secondly, it identifies the cloisonné workshop stablished by the Lazarists in the Beitang complex in Beijing and elucidates the role it played. Finally, this paper presents new evidence concerning cloisonné Christian objects crafted by the Tushanwan Jesuit workshop in Shanghai. Some of the primary works of these three workshops are identified for the first time. Additionally, this paper shows that certain cloisonné crosses, some of them thought to be originally Japanese, including those referred to as Namban, were, in fact, crafted in Beijing during the 1920s. These preliminary results will contribute to placing Chinese Christian cloisonné within the history of Chinese Art and its interactions at a global level in the context of evangelization in China, the production of the so-called export art, and the processes of indigenization carried out by the Lazarists and the Jesuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traction load of electrified railways is a special user of the power system, which will have a significant impact on and pose a challenge to the power system after grid connection. Considering the impact and fluctuation of traction load connected to the power grid, this paper proposed a method to study the influence of traction load on the transient stability of the power grid based on parameter identification. Firstly, according to the operation characteristics of traction load, a comprehensive traction load model based on the measurement-based method of induction motor parallel power function model is selected, and the objective function of parameter identification is determined. Then, the specific steps of using the improved gray wolf optimizer (IGWO) algorithm to achieve the parameter identification of the traction comprehensive load model are introduced, including chaotic map, nonlinear convergence factor, and individual position update. Next, with the IEEE39 bus system as the network background, the load parameters identified by the measured data of a line of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway are imported into the Power System Analysis Software Package (PSASP) 7.0 for transient simulation to analyze the impact of traction load on the transient stability of the power grid. Finally, three typical load models are compared with the traction load model to draw relevant conclusions, and it is verified that the traction load characteristics are different from the general load model, which provides reference for the connection of electrified railway traction load to the power grid and the economic and technical construction of the power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bogie frame, as one of the most critical load-bearing structures of the Electric Multiple Unit (EMU), is responsible for bearing and transmitting various loads from the car body, wheelsets, and its own installation components. With the increasing operating speed of high-speed EMUs, especially when the design and operational speeds exceed 400 km/h, the applicability of current international standards is uncertain. The load spectrum serves as the foundation for structural reliability design and fatigue evaluation. In this paper, the measured loads of the bogie frame of a CR400AF high-speed train on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway are obtained, and the time-domain characteristic of the measured loads is analyzed under different operating conditions. Then, through the Weibull distribution of three parameters, the Weibull parameters at the 450 km/h speed level are fitted, and the maximum load and cumulative frequency under the speed level are derived. Finally, the load spectrum of the bogie frame at the 450 km/h speed level is established, which provides a more realistic load condition for accurately evaluating the fatigue strength of bogie frames at higher speed levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Chinese sources suggested for a narrative medicine (NM) program, called AfterWards. Dr Lauren Small established AfterWards in 2014 and has been coordinating it since out of the Pediatrics Department at Johns Hopkins Medicine. In early 2019, she started giving a series of lectures and workshops about AfterWards to Chinese medical educators and clinicians in Beijing and Shanghai. She created an AfterWards Facilitator's Guide based on Western-language sources for workshop participants. She also started to organize with Jiang Yuhong (Peking Union Medical College) a workshop for Chinese colleagues to be held at Johns Hopkins Medicine in October 2019. They invited the author to participate. The idea was hatched then to develop Chinese source materials following the AfterWards structure for an updated Facilitator's Guide that Dr Small had initially written. A typical one-hour AfterWards session consists of a specific five-part structure: a literary text or artwork, an associated theme, discussion topics, a writing exercise, and shared reflection. While the content of the program always changes from session to session, the basic structure remains the same. This paper summarizes the types of Chinese sources and their related narrative-medicine themes that were originally selected for inclusion in the updated AfterWards Facilitator's Guide intended for Chinese colleagues. These sources about coping with sick family members, aging, and illness ranged from the textual (classical Chinese poems on aging and diagnostic forms for training students) and visual (premodern Chinese paintings and murals of medical encounters) to the fictive (novels) and performative (contemporary Asian-American film in English and Chinese-language film and documentaries). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• To solve the forecasting problems of time-lead and nonlinearity in a system, a novel grey multivariable model is proposed. • To reduce the morbidity of the model, the solution of the proposed model is deduced through a derivation method. • The grey prediction evolution algorithm is employed to find the optimal value of parameters. • The validity of the new model was verified by three examples and applied to house price forecasting. Time lags or leads and non-linearity of complex systems are critical to address in accurate scientific prediction. However, few studies have focused on time-lead and nonlinear models with limited information. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a novel grey multivariate model with time-lead operator τ and nonlinear factor r from the perspective of this problem. Next, the solution of the proposed model is deduced through a derivation method to reduce the morbidity of the model. Then, the parameter identification of the model is given on the basis of the least-squares method. The grey prediction evolution algorithm is employed to find the optimal value of parameters τ and r to meet the minimum errors. Finally, house prices of Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai in China are performed to verify the validity and reliability of the new model. The results demonstrate the model we proposed has satisfactory prediction precision, demonstrating that time-lead and nonlinear factor in the model is reasonable. At the end of the paper, the house prices of these three cities from 2022 to 2028 are also predicted. The average annual growth rate in the three regions is 2.49%, 3.57% and 2.97%, respectively. These results are useful to policy analysis regarding house price correlations. They provide insights for market investors and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system in high-speed railways, automatic driving is progressively supplanting manual operations, ushering in a new era of predictability and reliability for high-speed railway transport. Concurrently, the advent of the ATO system provides a notable impact on real-time rescheduling during disruptions, as it equips dispatchers with precise insights into train operation statuses. This paper is dedicated to a thorough analysis of how the transition to automatic driving in train operations influences the real-time rescheduling model. Based on the distinctive impact of the ATO system on real-time rescheduling, we have proposed a mixed-integer linear programming model that combines train re-timing, reordering, and the minimization of passenger delays. To validate the effectiveness of our model, we present several experiments conducted using data from the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway line. The results unequivocally demonstrate that our ATO-based model significantly mitigates train delay time, demonstrating its practical value in optimizing high-speed railway operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation industry has entered a new stage from quantity expanding to structure optimization, quality and efficiency improvement, and from respective governance to integrative development. This indicates that the traditional corridor mode allocation dominated by quantity equilibrium can no longer meet the requirements of the new stage. In this paper, we propose a multi-entity programming model based on the economic equilibrium between supply and demand. It not only ensures the economic equilibrium in the market, but also maximizes the social benefits of the whole system, thereby realizing the sustainable development of the transportation system. Also, the Globalsearch algorithm and intlinprog algorithm are designed to solve the problem. The actual case of Beijing-Shanghai corridor shows that the model and algorithms are effective, providing decision support for the optimal allocation of regional transport network resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timetable optimization techniques offer opportunity for saving energy and hence reducing operational costs for high-speed rail services. The existing energy-saving timetable optimization is mainly concentrated on the train running state adjustment and the running time redistribution between two stations. Not only the adjustment space of timetables is limited, but also it is hard for the train to reach the optimized running state in reality, and it is difficult to get feasible timetable with running time redistribution between two stations for energy-saving. This paper presents a high-speed railway energy-saving timetable based on stop schedule optimization. Under the constraints of safety interval and stop rate, with the objective of minimizing the increasing energy consumption of train stops and the shortest travel time of trains, the high-speed railway energy-saving timetable optimization model is established. The fuzzy mathematics programming method is used to design an efficient algorithm. The proposed model and algorithm are demonstrated in the actual operation data of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. The results show that the total operating energy consumption of the train is reduced by 3.7%, and the total travel time of the train is reduced by 11 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to clarify the negative pressure distribution in drainage structures of soft foundations reinforced by vacuum preloading. The focus of this study was an actual engineering project, the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway; four different soil consolidation models were established using FLAC3D to consider various loading conditions. The consolidation process of the soft foundation was calculated and analyzed in detail. The results show that (1) the settlement developed rapidly within the first 30 days, slowed during the period between 20 and 30 days, and finally stabilized. (2) The settlement curves obtained from the four different models were highly consistent with the site monitoring curve for the first 5 days, after which point significant differences appeared. (3) During the first 20 days, the pore water pressure decreased noticeably within the depth range of 0–18 m. Between days 20 and 30, the rate of pore water pressure decrease slowed down, and after the 30th day, the pore water pressure remained constant at all depths. (4) Vacuum preloading affected the soil to a depth of approximately 16 m. A concave or linear distribution of negative pressure in the drainage structure was found to be a reasonable assumption, providing a reference for the numerical analysis of vacuum preloading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metro system plays a very important role in the urban multimodal transportation system, yet it is susceptible to accidents. A well-designed metro system needs to provide alternative routes to travellers both in the disruptive events and the normal operating conditions for providing rerouting opportunities and balancing crowded lines. This paper provides a new dimension of assessing metro network performance—travellers' route redundancy (or route diversity), which is defined as the number of behaviourally effective routes between each origin-destination (O-D) pair in the network. The route redundancy of metro network is evaluated by statistical indicators of the distribution of the O-D-level number of effective routes. Compared with the existing connectivity and accessibility measures of topology network performance, route redundancy is also based on the topology network, but it takes the travellers' route choice into consideration. Specifically, the effective routes between each O-D pair would provide disaggregated information from the travellers' perspective. Case studies in four metropolises in the world, i.e., Shanghai, Beijing, London, and Tokyo, are conducted to examine the predisaster preparedness of the four metro networks explicitly from the perspective of route redundancy. The results indicate that the London metro network has the best route redundancy performance in terms of the statistical indicators of the distribution of the O-D level number of effective routes. Furthermore, the results of route redundancy are compared with typical measures of topology network performance in terms of measuring connectivity and accessibility of metro networks. Their differences are attributed to the fact that the route redundancy measure considers the travellers' O-D-level route choice beyond the pure network topology and the shortest path considerations of the existing measures. The route redundancy proposed in this paper could assist in evaluating the predisaster preparedness of current or planning metro networks from O-D level to network level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the underlying factors driving the onset of myopia, specifically the role of the ciliary muscle's contraction in the elongation of the axial length of the eye. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted utilizing data from three ophthalmic centers in Shanghai and Beijing. Both Chinese and Caucasian children were involved. The axial length of the subjects' eyes was measured in both relaxed and contracted state of the ciliary muscle. A comprehensive mechanical model was also developed to observe the influence of ciliary muscle contraction on the axial length. Results: This study included a sample of 198 right eyes of 198 myopic children. Of these, 97 were male and 101 were female, 126 were of Chinese ethnicity and 72 were Caucasian. The age of onset for myopia ranged from 5.9 to 16.9 years old. The axial length of the eye decreased 0.028 ± 0.007mm following dilation, indicating relaxation of the ciliary muscle (t paired student = 15.16, p = 6.72 x 10−35). In contrast, ciliary muscle contraction resulted in an increase in axial length. Considering proportionality, a significant 90.4% (179 eyes) exhibited a reduced axial length, while a minor 9.6% (19 eyes) demonstrated an increase post-mydriasis. Finite element modeling demonstrated that muscle contraction caused a tension force that transmits towards the posterior pole of the eye, causing it to extend posteriorly. Conclusion: The contraction of the ciliary muscle leads to an extension of the axial length. This could potentially be the initiating factor for myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the rapidly changing multimodal transportation market, not only the obligation in providing train services but also the responsibility in helping other transportation modes to meet emergencies are instrumental for maximizing the generalized benefit of railway companies, leading to an increased utilization. This paper proposes an optimization framework, which includes multiple dispatching measures of arranging residual seats, modifying stopping plans, and inserting additional trains, to design a rescheduling operation plan on a high-speed rail corridor to meet the passenger demand of unexpected large passenger flow (ULPF), which is generated from the disruption of other transportation modes. Considering the revenues of shifting passengers and the costs of the three dispatching measures as two objectives, we formulate a linear integer programming (LIP) model by employing a time-space network to obtain an optimization rescheduling operation plan. Several experiments based on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway corridor are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed model. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model can be used to obtain a reasonable rescheduling operation plan for serving the passengers from ULPF within an acceptable calculation timeframe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of industrial civilisation, urban environmental problems are increasingly severe. However, Chinese urban residents' actual adoption level of pro-environment behaviours (PEBs) is still relatively low. In order to improve the residents' PEBs adoption, this paper combined the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Norm Activation Model and the Attitude-Behaviour-Context theory into a holistic framework to explore the determinants of private-sphere PEBs. In this model, we assess the determinants of private-sphere PEBs from perspectives of intrapersonal and contextual factors and treat private-sphere PEBs as three different types of behaviours, namely environmental purchasing behaviours, environmental transport behaviours and conservation behaviours, rather than aggregated and undifferentiated construct or a single item behaviour. The model was tested empirically by primary data collected from 1,054 citizens in Beijing and Shanghai in China. The results indicate that intrapersonal factors, such as pro-environmental intentions and personal norms, are significant positive factors of private-sphere PEBs adoption; contextual constraints have negative direct effects on the three types of private-sphere PEBs adoption; contextual constraints act as a moderator between pro-environmental intentions and private-sphere PEBs, while the moderating effects are sensitive to the types of private-sphere PEBs. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of residents' adoption of private-sphere PEBs and making more targeted policies accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the autonomous driving transportation systems are at the heart of both academic and industry research for the distinguished advantages including increased network capacity, enhanced punctuality, greater flexibility and improved overall safety level. With the responsibility of transporting passengers in a safe, comfortable and efficient way, the decision making method plays a critical position in the autonomous driving of high-speed trains. Focusing on solving the autonomous decision making problem, this paper proposes a novel learning based framework by combining the deep learning technology with the distributed tracking control approach. To cope with the data insufficiency problem in training the deep learning network, a generative adversarial network (GAN) based data argumentation scheme is proposed to generate data samples that have the same distribution with actual data samples, and a hybrid learning network is constructed to predict the speed trajectory from the multi-attribute data with both temporal sequences and static features. Then, based on the model predictive control (MPC) scheme, a distributed tracking control model is formulated to minimize the tracking deviations and balance the performance of punctuality, energy-efficiency and riding comfort. Further, the dual decomposition technique is adopted to deal with the coupling constraints for the safe distance headway such that the separation for the autonomous driving of high-speed trains is achieved. Finally, simulation experiments based on actual scenarios of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of our methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Coupling (VC) is regarded as a breakthrough to the traditional train operation and control for improving the capability and flexibility in railways. It brings benefits as trains under VC are allowed to operate much closer to one another, forming a virtually coupled train set (VCTS). However, the safe and stable spacing between trains in the VCTS is a problem since there are no rigid couplers to connect them into a fixed formation, especially in high-speed scenarios. Due to the close spacing, the interference between trains becomes non-negligible as various maneuvers of the preceding train can significantly affect driving behaviors of the following train; this results in fluctuating spacing and therefore an unstable VCTS. Aiming at minimizing the interference and maintaining constantly safe spacing between trains in the VCTS, this paper presents a distributed model predictive control (DMPC) approach for solving the high-speed VCTS control problem. Particularly, the proposed control method focuses on the feasibility and stability of this problem, with considerations of the coupled constraint of safety braking distance and the individual constraints of speed limit variations and restricted traction/braking performance. To guarantee feasibility and stability, the terminal controller and invariant set of the DMPC are designed. For rigor, sufficient conditions of feasibility and stability are mathematically proved and derived. Based on the data of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line, numerical experiments are conducted to verify the correctness of derived sufficient conditions and the effectiveness of the proposed control method under interference and disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization on trajectory planning is significant offering the driver or automatic train operation system a guidance to drive the train efficiently. An optimal trajectory is subject to operational, geographic, physical and dynamic constraints. In previous studies, researchers have put much effort into offline optimization. However, operational errors in real situation are rarely taken into consideration. Thus, this paper proposes a dynamic trajectory planning to address the deviation. Specifically, first, we design an online optimization framework to display model predictive control-based train trajectory planning theory. Various constraints are set for optimization problem. Second, taking energy consumption and punctuality into consideration, we propose a moving window method to search the optimal variables, which are applied to evaluate the fitness function. Plus, to improve global search ability and convergence rate, we present a multi-swarm particle swarm optimization by dividing the population into several parts. On the basis of operational time error at reallocation positions, we design a novel weight allocation mechanism for the revaluation of fitness function. At last, taking real data from Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway as an example, the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is proved by comparing multiple parameters with some numerical results of simulations. The results show that the proposed method can adjust operating strategy dynamically so that the train runs in an energy-efficient way. Additionally, in delay scene, the proposed method can also guide the train to catch up with the scheduled time and save energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of damping plates on structural vibration, noise and the contribution of the box girder bridge panels was analysed using the model test and numerical calculation methods. In this paper, a 1/10 scale box girder model test system was designed and constructed using a simply supported 32 m box girder from the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway as a prototype, and damping plates were laid on the box girder web side after the model was verified as being similar to the prototype by means of a series of model tests. The effects of the damping plates on the reduction of the structural vibration and noise were evaluated according to scaled model acoustic tests. In addition, the influence of the damping plates on the sound contribution of the panel was analysed based on the transient boundary element method. The study shows that the damping plates had an obvious vibration reducing effect on the concrete box girder, though their noise reduction properties were less than ideal. The vibration level reduction and time–history noise level reduction were kept within 10.2–29.5 dB and around 1.0 dB (A), respectively. The noise would decrease to its lowest value at 250 Hz – down to 4.0 dB. The damping plates were helpful in effectively reducing the sound power contribution and the sound pressure contribution of the concrete panel. At the peak frequencies of 17 Hz and 251 Hz, the sound power contributions of the panel on the damper side were reduced by 3.4 dB and 3.7 dB, respectively, compared with the normal side, while the sound pressure contributions on the panel decreased by 4.9 dB and 4.2 dB, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway transport becomes a more popular transportation in many countries due to its large transport capacity, low energy consumption, and benign environment. The passenger train service planning is the key of the rail operations system to balance the transport service and the passenger demand. In this paper, we propose a mixed binary linear programming formulation for the passenger train service planning to optimize the train route, frequency, stop schedule, and passenger assignment simultaneously. In addition, we analyze the computational complexities of the model and develop a Benders decomposition algorithm with valid inequalities to solve this problem. Finally, our model and algorithm are tested on a real-world instance of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line. The computational results show that our approach can solve these problems within reasonable solution time and small optimality gaps (less than 2.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science and technology innovation are crucial components underpinning agriculture. We constructed an evaluation framework including 4 pillars and 21 indicators, taking 31 provinces in China as examples to examine the level of agriculture science and technology development from a regional perspective. We found that there is an obvious gap between east and west nationwide, and that only about half of the provinces have reached the high and medium levels. It was worth noting that the innovation conditions in Shanghai and Beijing presented huge advantages, of vital importance to a first-class talent team, a complete innovation system, a stable and prosperous market, and active exchanges and cooperation. In addition, to maximize the transformation of agricultural science and technology achievements into real productivity, local government should also strengthen the construction of agricultural research and innovation platforms, technology transfer, and transformation of results. The findings advance understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation subjects' agricultural science and technology development from a regional perspective and are expected to provide some basis for the government and stakeholders to make relevant decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to examine the internal and external social networks in which subsidiary HR and general managers discuss HRM issues, and to explain how their involvement in these networks influences subsidiary HRM capabilities. Design/methodology/approach-The data consist of qualitative interviews with 40 HR and general managers in 23 Nordic MNC subsidiaries in China. Findings - Managers view their networks with other MNCs as being more important for developing their HRM capabilities than contact with peers in local domestic companies. Within the MNC global and regional networks were perceived as being especially useful. Research limitations/implications - The interviews were conducted in Nordic MNC subsidiaries in Beijing and Shanghai. This could carry implications for the generalisability of the findings. Other limitations of the study are the sampling method and the interview language. MNCs establishing themselves in China should encourage involvement of HR and general managers in internal and external networks. External MNC networks appear to be particularly important sources of HRM knowledge and ideas. Internally more effort should be focused on helping HR managers improve their global networks. Originality/value - The paper provides an in-depth description of subsidiary managers' networks, responds to calls made for more research regarding the outcomes of social capital, and addresses the gap in previous research regarding the importance of how things are done in HRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two global cities of China, Beijing and Shanghai, have completely different development statuses with their hinterlands. There is a large economic development gap between Beijing and its hinterland, Hebei Province, while Shanghai has formed a highly integrated region with its hinterland, the Yangtze River Delta. According to the Outline of Collaborative Development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province, enterprise linkages between Beijing and Hebei should be strengthened in order to narrow the economic gap between the center and the hinterland. On this basis, this paper proposes two hypotheses. (1) The economic gap between Beijing and Hebei has not really changed, because more enterprise linkages of Beijing are nonlocal. (2) The gradual narrowing of the economic gap between Shanghai and Jiangsu as well as Zhejiang is due to the fact that more enterprise linkages of Shanghai are local. We have used enterprise data on business registration from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China and have selected two indicators, namely, the number of headquarters-branches offices and the amount of enterprise investment, to examine the enterprise linkages between Beijing/Shanghai and their hinterlands as well as the hinterworld, and have verified these two hypotheses. The results show that nonlocal enterprise linkages based on the hinterworld are the main form in Beijing, while local enterprise linkages based on the hinterland are the main form in Shanghai. In addition, we have analyzed the mechanisms of formation of the enterprises linkages of the two cities and have put forward some policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to predict more accurately the structural vibration and noise of elevated tracks induced by moving trains, a new prediction method based on the scaled model test is proposed in this paper. A 32-m simply supported box girder bridge used in the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway is selected as the prototype for designing and constructing a scaled model test with 10:1 geometric similarity ratio. Both experimental tests and finite element analyses were carried out to verify the similarity relationship between the model and prototype. The test result shows that the scaled model can predict the structural vibration and noise of the prototype, as long as the similarity constants between the prototype and scaled model are correctively determined. Furthermore, a standard finite element analysis model for the scaled model is built. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the model parameters for finite element analysis are updated by minimizing the errors between the measured and calculated modes. The computational results show that the updated model based on the local parameters partitioning works best, and the precision of the modal frequency calculated is noticeably improved after updating, with the average relative error reduced from 5.46% to 3.09%, and the difference of the peak values reduced from 0. 3 5 8 × 1 0 3 m/s2 to 0. 1 8 9 × 1 0 3 m/s2. The calculated dynamic response of the finite element model after updating is basically in line with experimental results, indicating that the updated model can better reflect the dynamic properties of the scaled box girder model. The updated finite element model is useful both for verification with the model test result and for reliable prediction of the dynamic characteristics of the prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid economic growth since the turn of the 21st century, the fast-degrading environment has emerged as a significant factor limiting the continued development of megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai. It has also placed unprecedented pressure on ecosystem services. Therefore, the present study uses the morphological spatial pattern analysis model and the index of connectivity (IIC) and possible connectivity (PC) indices to analyse changes in the spatial pattern of Beijing and combines the carbon sequestration module and habitat quality module of the InVEST model to evaluate the supporting functions of Beijing's ecosystems from 2000 to 2020, to investigate the characteristics of spatial and temporal changes and the drivers of these changes, and to provide a scientific basis for urban ecosystem management. The results show that between 2000 and 2020, the overall area of green space in Beijing decreased, and the IIC and the index of PC decreased, indicating that the overall spatial connectivity of green space decreased and fragmentation increased. During this period, the carbon stock within the Beijing city area decreased by a total of about 2.94 Tg, and the habitat quality index decreased from 0.71 to 0.67, indicating a trend of degradation. This paper suggests that the expansion of urban and rural land use is a major factor in the decline of ecosystem support services, while the spatial pattern of the landscape also has an impact on habitat quality, which is generally higher in areas with better landscape connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding human movement patterns is crucial for comprehending how a city functions. It is also important for city planners and policymakers to create more efficient plans and policies for urban areas. Traditionally, human movement patterns were analyzed using origin–destination surveys, travel diaries, and other methods. Now, these patterns can be identified from various geospatial big data sources, such as mobile phone data, floating car data, and location-based social media (LBSM) data. These extensive datasets primarily identify individual or collective human movement patterns. However, the impact of spatial scale on the analysis of human movement patterns from these large geospatial data sources has not been sufficiently studied. Changes in spatial scale can significantly affect the results when calculating human movement patterns from these data. In this study, we utilized Weibo datasets for three different cities in China including Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. We aimed to identify the effect of different spatial scales on individual human movement patterns as calculated from LBSM data. For our analysis, we employed two indicators as follows: an external activity space indicator, the radius of gyration (ROG), and an internal activity space indicator, entropy. These indicators were chosen based on previous studies demonstrating their efficiency in analyzing sparse datasets like LBSM data. Additionally, we used two different ranges of spatial scales—10–100 m and 100–3000 m—to illustrate changes in individual activity space at both fine and coarse spatial scales. Our results indicate that although the ROG values show an overall increasing trend and the entropy values show an overall decreasing trend with the increase in spatial scale size, different local factors influence the ROG and entropy values at both finer and coarser scales. These findings will help to comprehend the dynamics of human movement across different scales. Such insights are invaluable for enhancing overall urban mobility and optimizing transportation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system on the role of accountants, to provide job qualifications for their reference. Design/methodology/approach – This research adopts the case study method, using on-the-spot interviews and a questionnaire to find out the effects of an ERP system on the role of accountants. Findings – The role of accountants is mainly to be transaction data handlers and financial report providers. Clearly, accountants must have certain degree of knowledge in the realm of traditional finance accounting. In addition, accounting supervisors think implementing an ERP system changes the role of accountants. Research limitations/implications – The data collected by the authors are mainly from the Shanghai Financial Center and regional businesses in Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan. The authors are only able to study the impact of ERP systems on the role of accountants in the short-term rather than in the long-term. Originality/value – It is widely accepted that an ERP system is more than just an accounting information system, so implementing an ERP system will not necessarily promote the positions of the accounting department and accountants on the subjective cognition of accountants. Accountants need to have knowledge of financial accounting, IT and management after ERP implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This study investigates whether there was a housing price bubble in Beijing and Shanghai in 2003. The existence of a bubble can be interpreted from (abnormal) interactions between housing prices and market fundamentals. Design/methodology/approach - With monthly data from the two cities, this paper employs standard econometric methodologies: i.e. Granger causality tests and generalized impulse response analysis, and the reduced form of housing price determinants. Findings - Our findings suggest that there appeared a bubble in Shanghai in 2003, accounting for 22 percent of the housing price. By contrast, Beijing had no sign of a bubble in the same year. The bubble phenomenon, of course, should not be taken without caution for the constraints of data. Nonetheless, this study has laid the ground work for further investigation into abnormal housing price phenomena in Mainland China. Originality/value - Our findings may help foreign investors better understand the Chinese housing markets and make better housing investment decisions in the two cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pairs trading is one of the mainstream statistical arbitrage strategies in current financial market practice that can seize possible arbitrage opportunities caused by mispricing between similar assets. Based on the theory of statistical arbitrage and the similar attributes of carbon emission allowances traded in different carbon markets, this paper studies the applicability of the pairs trading strategy among different pilot markets in China. The novelty and possible contribution of this paper are as follows. Firstly, this paper extends the statistical arbitrage-based pairs trading framework to the analysis of carbon market transactions in China, which broadens the understanding of the correlation between China's carbon markets. Secondly, this study explores the arbitrage opportunities among China's regional carbon markets that have not been revealed by previous studies. Thirdly, based on the pairs trading analytical model adopted in this study, this paper further investigates the operation characteristics of China's carbon markets and the interaction between markets, as the sensitivity of strategy performance to the key parameters is also discussed. The results show that arbitrage based on pairs trading is profitable. In the baseline case, the annualized arbitrage returns between the Shanghai emission allowance and Beijing emission allowance is about 9.11%, the highest among all pairs. However, there is almost no pairing relationship between the Tianjin carbon market and other markets. By discussing the time distribution of arbitrage signals generated by the pairs trading strategy, it is found that most signals are sent out during the inactive trading period in a compliance cycle. The conclusions provide valuable insights for formulating relevant carbon market regulatory policies and investors' participation in arbitrage activities in China's carbon trading markets. • The application of the pairs trading strategy is extended to the Chinese carbon markets. • Based on relative value arbitrage theory, arbitrage opportunities between markets are examined. • Pairs trading strategy can also yield sustainable and distinctive returns in the Chinese carbon markets. • Arbitrage trading between the Shanghai and Beijing markets may yield promising annualized returns with about 9.11%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passenger demand for railway transportation rapidly increases in peak periods, and the transport capacity for existing trains is not sufficient. Railway companies usually adopt the strategy of adding additional trains in peak periods to meet the higher passenger demand. Designing a good operational plan for additional trains becomes a challenge for operators, though. A new optimization approach for designing an operational plan for additional trains is proposed in this paper. The number of trains, the operational plan, the stop plan, and the timetable for each train can be considered simultaneously in the new optimization approach, which will make it easier to design an operational plan for additional trains. A multi-objective nonlinear model with three objectives of minimizing total running distance, dwelling time, and unsatisfied passengers is proposed. Big-M is introduced to transform the nonlinear model into a linear model. The solver CPLEX is used to solve the transformed linear model and obtain the optimal operational plan. Small-scale numerical experiments are implemented to show the effectiveness of the optimization approach. The large-scale case of the Beijing‒Shanghai railway corridor is studied to demonstrate that the optimization approach can be applied to real-word and large-scale situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study elaborated an evolutionary game model to optimize the decision-making process on the interaction between civil aviation and high-speed rail under alternative passenger ticket prices (PTPs) and carbon trading prices (CTPs). First, a logit model was used to calculate the passenger flow distribution rate in civil aviation and HSR, and their revenue loss function was determined according to varying PTPs and CTPs. Second, an evolutionary game model with incomplete information was developed to assess the respective revenues. Third, the stable strategy solution of the game model was derived from replicator dynamics, and an investigation of stable conditions under variable cases was performed. Finally, the simulation of a case study on the Beijing–Shanghai corridor was conducted to validate the proposed model's feasibility. The additional revenue is shown to be the key influencing factor, mainly controlling the strategic decisions of airport and high-speed rail companies. Besides, the final strategy was strongly influenced by the alteration of PTPs and CTPs: higher PTPs promoted civil aviation and high-speed rail collaboration, while increased CTPs forced their competing behavior. The results obtained are instrumental in outlining the optimal strategy range for passenger ticket and carbon trading prices, encouraging high-speed transportation system growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatiotemporal fusion technology effectively improves the spatial and temporal resolution of remote sensing data by fusing data from different sources. Based on the strong time-series correlation of pixels at different scales (average Pearson correlation coefficients > 0.95), a new long time-series spatiotemporal fusion model (LOTSFM) is proposed for land surface temperature data. The model is distinguished by the following attributes: it employs an extended input framework to sidestep selection biases and enhance result stability while also integrating Julian Day for estimating sensor difference term variations at each pixel location. From 2013 to 2022, 79 pairs of Landsat8/9 and MODIS images were collected as extended inputs. Multiple rounds of cross-validation were conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou with an all-round performance assessment (APA), and the average root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 1.60 °C, 2.16 °C and 1.71 °C, respectively, which proved the regional versatility of LOTSFM. The validity of the sensor difference estimation based on Julian days was verified, and the RMSE accuracy significantly improved (p < 0.05). The accuracy and time consumption of five different fusion models were compared, which proved that LOTSFM has stable accuracy performance and a fast fusion process. Therefore, LOTSFM can provide higher spatiotemporal resolution (30 m) land surface temperature research data for the evolution of urban thermal environments and has great application potential in monitoring anthropogenic heat pollution and extreme thermal phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water issue is one of the challenges of urban sustainability in developing countries. To address the conflict between urban water use and economic development, it is required to better understand the decoupling states between them and the driving forces behind these decoupling states. The transformed Tapio decoupling model is applied in this paper to study the decoupling relationship between urban industrial water consumption and economic growth in Beijing and Shanghai, two megacities in China, in 2003–2016. The factors driving decoupling are divided into industrial structure effect, industrial water utilization intensity effect, economic development level effect, and population size effect through Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. The results show that: (1) the decoupling states of total water consumption and economic growth in Beijing and Shanghai are mainly strong decoupling and weak decoupling. In comparison, Shanghai's decoupling effect is better than Beijing; (2) regarding decoupling elasticity, Beijing is higher than that of Shanghai in tertiary industry and lower in primary industry and secondary industry. As a result, Beijing's decoupling level is worse than Shanghai in tertiary industry, while better in primary industry and secondary industry; (3) The common factors that drive the two megacities' decoupling are industrial structure effect and industrial water utilization intensity effect. The effects of economic development level and population size mainly present weak decoupling in two megacities, but the decoupling state is optimized year by year. Finally, based on the results, some suggestions for achieving the sustainable development of urban water use are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although since reforms rural-urban geographic mobility is no longer as much impeded by the hukou system, new institutional mechanisms have emerged that likewise impede the equal participation of rural migrant workers in the urban labour market. Given the daunting challenges implied in rural-urban migration flows, the burgeoning of labour fairs, job advertisements in the media, and intermediate service centres offer migrants some respite. Migrant women in particular can participate in the domestic service labour sector through the 'housemaid agencies', which often appear as ineffective, but may also offer significant possibilities for migrant women to find a job in China's cities. In this paper the author examines the activities and functions of these housemaid agencies and the role they play in shaping the employment opportunities of migrant women. Most of the information is based on fieldwork achieved between 1998 and 2001 in Beijing and Shanghai. The aim is to assess the extent of these agencies' benefits to migrant women's work opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• City-centric global multi-region input-output models for Beijing and Shanghai are developed. • Factor contribution and critical path analysis are adopted. • Sector aggregation effect varies across sectoral datasets. Sector aggregation under the input-output framework may lead to deviation in results and the lack of detailed sectoral information, which hinder the targeted implementation of accurate sectoral adjustment policies. This paper explores the effects of sector aggregation on the embodied carbon emission of the residential consumptions of Beijing and Shanghai based on the city-centric global multi-region input-output (CCG-MRIO) model. Integrating with structural path analysis and structural decomposition analysis, the impacts of sector aggregation on the identifying of critical emission transmission paths and driving forces are also revealed. Three sector aggregation datasets are discussed to track the sector aggregation effect in 2012 and 2017. The findings show that the carbon emission results at 8 sector level better align with the results at the 22 sector level than those at 32 sector level. Moreover, sector aggregation will lead to the absence of some critical carbon transmission paths, some factor contributions on carbon emission also changed their directions at different sector levels. On the basis of clarifying the sector aggregation effect on embodied carbon emission, the research results provide a reference for similar studies to select the appropriate level of sector aggregation, to realize the goal of simplifying the calculation or gaining more detailed sectoral emission information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arrival interval at high-speed railway stations is one of the key factors that restrict the improvement of the train following intervals. In the process of practical railway operation, sudden conflicts occur sometimes. Especially when the conflict arises at the station, because the home signal cannot be opened in time, the emergency may affect the adjustment of the train operation under the scheduled timetable, resulting in a longer train following interval or even delay. With the development of artificial intelligence and the deep integration of big data, the architecture of train operation control and dispatch integration is gradually improving from the theoretical point. Based on this and inspired by the Green Wave policy, we propose an integrated operation method that reduces the arrival interval by avoiding unnecessary stops in front of the home signal and increasing the running speed of trains through the throat area. It is a two-step optimization method combining both intelligent optimization and mathematical–theoretical analysis algorithms. In the first step, the recommended approaching speed and position are obtained by analytical calculation. In the second step, the speed profile from the current position to the position corresponding to the recommended approaching speed is optimized by intelligent optimization algorithms. Finally, the integrated method is verified through the analysis of two distinct case studies. The first case study utilizes data from the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway line, while the second one is based on the field test. The numerical result shows that the proposed method could save the entry running time effectively, compared with the normal strategy given by the train driver. The method can mitigate controllable conflict events occurring at the station and provides theoretical support for practical operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reasonable calculation of railway capacity is very important for research. With the rapid development of high-speed railways, more and more differences between traditional and modern railways have emerged in the transportation organization and capacity calculation methods. In this article, the calculation methods used under different conditions with different train types are studied based on the train deduction method. Train deduction is a method that calculates the number of trains that cannot pass through the line when other trains change their stop plan or operation speed based on the coefficient of deduction method, which is widely used in China. Then, optimized models for trains with the same-speed and different-speeds are built to determine the maximum number of trains. These models are built based on the constraints of passenger service quality and overtaking times. In addition, the models are solved based on a train operation plan. Hence, the capacity calculated by these methods is more reasonable for the actual condition. Finally, an actual case of Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway is implemented and tested with the model. The optimal capacity scheme is simulated and analysed, and the result agreed well with the railway transport enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mathematical models to forecast the risk trend of the COVID-19 pandemic timely are of great significance to control the pandemic, but the requirement of manual operation and many parameters hinders their efficiency and value for application. This study aimed to establish a convenient and prompt one for monitoring emerging infectious diseases online and achieving risk assessment in real time. Methods: The Optimized Moving Average Prediction Limit (Op-MAPL) algorithm model analysed real-time COVID-19 data online and was validated using the data of the Delta variant in India and the Omicron in the United States. Then, the model was utilized to determine the infection risk level of the Omicron in Shanghai and Beijing. Results: The Op-MAPL model can predict the epidemic peak accurately. The daily risk ranking was stable and predictive, with an average accuracy of 87.85% within next 7 days. Early warning signals were issued for Shanghai and Beijing on February 28 and April 23, 2022, respectively. The two cities were rated as medium–high risk or above from March 27 to April 20 and from April 24 to May 5, indicating that the pandemic had entered a period of rapid increase. After April 21 and May 26, the risk level was downgraded to medium and became stable by the algorithm, indicating that the pandemic had been controlled well and mitigated gradually. Conclusions: The Op-MAPL relies on nothing but an indicator to assess the risk level of the COVID-19 pandemic with different data sources and granularities. This forward-looking method realizes real-time monitoring and early warning effectively to provide a valuable reference to prevent and control infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To recycle regenerative braking energy (RBE) while reducing demand charge in electrified railway, a co‐phase power supply system with hybrid energy storage system (HESS) is implemented. However, the dynamical degradation characteristic of battery is necessary to be considered in optimal operation of HESS. A bi‐level model considering battery degradation is proposed to obtain optimal sizing and operation of HESS. The proposed model includes a novel real‐time energy management strategy (EMS) using average power as thresholds, to effectively reduce the demand charge and energy consumption charge. Thresholds are dynamically adjusted with the consideration of battery capacity degradation. A real measured load profile from Beijing‐Shanghai high speed railway is studied. The results demonstrate that the proposed EMS performs better than previous EMS in cost saving. The dynamically adjusted thresholds of EMS are proved to be essential under the consideration of battery degradation. With the optimal sizing of the HESS, the traction substation can achieve 8.69% annual saving of demand charge and recycle 52.33% of the RBE. The results also show that a traction substation equipped with the HESS yields higher economic benefit than the energy storage systems equipped with only a battery or a supercapacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various food safety and environmental problems in China have raised consumer awareness of food safety issues and negative environmental impacts in various supply chains. This research assessed consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for food safety and ecosystem delivery attributes associated with apples, demonstrated through the application of different traceability systems. Research participants were recruited in Beijing (N = 384) and Shanghai (N = 320). Choice experiment methodology was applied. The data were analyzed using conditional logit, random parameter logit, and latent class models; the results indicated significant consumer preferences for traceability information, including in relation to lower pesticide usage and application of organic fertilizer during primary production. The results also indicated that participants in this research had a significant willingness-to-pay premium for apple products that had production information traceability, had reduced pesticide use, and were grown with organic fertilizers. The models demonstrated heterogeneous preferences among participants such that consumers could be divided into three classes: non-price-sensitive (53.5%), pesticide-sensitive (21.7%), and price-sensitive (24.8%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The train-induced vibration response provides a flexible solution for the real-time monitoring deformation of high-speed railway track slab in actual operation. This paper proposes a long-term real-time monitoring method for track slab deformation based on wavelet packet energy (WPE) using fiber optic accelerometers to record train-induced vibration. We found that the vibration response law of track slab deformation could be established by using the WPE of the frequency band covering the first- and second-order frequencies induced by the adjacent carriages. A field test was carried out for more than one year on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway to investigate the train-induced vibration response law of track slab that was continuously deformed under a long-term temperature load. The maximum values of the WPE characteristic index appeared in winter and summer, and they were positively correlated with the temperature difference between the air environment and the track slab under the daily temperature load. These results were demonstrated to be consistent with the track slab deformation law for long-term and daily temperature loads. The novel method based on fiber optic accelerometers and WPE provides a new method for the long-term and real-time monitoring of track slab deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-road ammonia (NH 3) emissions play a significant role in fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) formation in urban areas, posing severe risks for human health. Limited studies have depicted the spatial and temporal variations of on-road NH 3 emissions, in particular lacking detailed quantification of their contributions within densely populated areas. In this study, we established a comprehensive vehicular NH 3 emission model and compiled a gridded on-road NH 3 emission inventory with high spatial (3 km × 3 km) and temporal (monthly) resolution for mainland China. China's annual vehicular NH 3 emissions are estimated to increase from 32.8 ± 1.7 to 87.1 ± 37.5 kt during the period of 2000–2019. Vehicular NH 3 emissions are significantly concentrated in densely populated areas, where agricultural emissions have relatively lower intensity. It is found that vehicular NH 3 emissions could exceed agricultural emissions in the grids containing 23.0 ± 2.1 % of the Chinese population in 2019 (approximately 326.6 ± 25.4 million people), and this ratio is up to 29.4 ± 3.0 % in winter. For extremely populous megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai, vehicular NH 3 emissions exceed agricultural emissions, where 69.2 ± 1.2 % and 72.0 ± 1.3 % of the population resides, respectively. Thus, the significant role of on-road NH 3 emissions in populated areas may have been underappreciated. This study gave a better insight into the absolute value and relative importance of on-road NH 3 emissions for different regions, seasons and population densities in China; this is important in terms of the implications for air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic severe aortic regurgitation (AR) has a poor long-term prognosis, especially among old-age patients. Considering their advancing age, the surgical approach of aortic valve replacement may not always be the best alternative modality of treatment in such patients. Therefore, this study's primary goal was to provide an initial summary of the medium- and short-term clinical effectiveness of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) guided by accurate multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) measurements in patients with severe and chronic AR, especially in elderly patients. Methods: The study enrolled retrospectively and prospectively patients diagnosed with severe AR who eventually underwent TAVR procedure from January 2019 to September 2022 at Fuwai cardiovascular Hospital, Beijing. Baseline information, MDCT measurements, anatomical classification, perioperative, and 1-year follow-up outcomes were collected and analyzed. Based on a novel anatomical categorization and dual anchoring theory, patients were divided into four categories according to the level of anchoring area. Type 1, 2, and 3 patients (with at least two anchoring regions) will receive TAVR with a transcatheter heart valve (THV), but Type 4 patients (with zero or one anchoring location) will be deemed unsuitable for TAVR and will instead receive medical care (retrospectively enrolled patients who already underwent TAVR are an exception). Results: The mean age of the 37 patients with severe chronic AR was 73.1 ± 8.7 years, and 23 patients (62.2%) were male. The American Association of Thoracic Surgeons' score was 8.6 ± 2.1%. The MDCT anatomical classification included 17 cases of type 1 (45.9%), 3 cases of type 2 (8.1%), 13 cases of type 3 (35.1%), and 4 cases of Type 4 (10.8%). The VitaFlow valve (MicroPort, Shanghai, China) was implanted in 19 patients (51.3%), while the Venus A valve (Venus MedTech, Hangzhou, China) was implanted in 18 patients (48.6%). Immediate TAVR procedural and device success rates were 86.5% and 67.6%, respectively, while eight cases (21.6%) required THV-in-THV implantation, and nine cases (24.3%) required permanent pacemaker implantation. Univariate regression analysis revealed that the major factors affecting TAVR device failure were sinotubular junction diameter, THV type, and MDCT anatomical classification (p < 0.05). Compared with the baseline, the left ventricular ejection fraction gradually increased, while the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter remained small, and the N-terminal-pro hormone B-type natriuretic peptide level significantly decreased within one year. Conclusion: According to the results of our study, TAVR with a self-expanding THV is safe and feasible for patients with chronic severe AR, particularly for those who meet the criteria for the appropriate MDCT anatomical classification with intact dual aortic anchors, and it has a significant clinical effect for at least a year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining crowd flow distribution with recognized human intention is extremely valuable for a series of applications for metropolitan cities. Previous solutions look at spatial correlation and temporal periodicity based on historical crowd flow information to calculate future crowd flow distribution. However, these mechanisms cannot recognize the intention behind crowd flow. We address this problem by leveraging a key insight – people's intention behind their movement is highly correlated with the point-of-interest (POI) distribution of the corresponding regions and adjacent regions. Therefore, we propose DeepFlowGen to model the complicated relationship between crowd flow, POI, check-ins, and time to generate intention-aware crowd flow. Specifically, we solve the conflict between dynamic crowd flow and static POI distribution by fusing the information in both time and POI domains. Besides, we employ a sequence of residual blocks in DeepFlowGen to address the challenges of modeling the diverse temporal rhythms and heterogeneous influence of POI. Furthermore, we examine the generated intention-aware crowd flow from two aspects to substantiate the reasonability of DeepFlowGen. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions by at most 30 percent in terms of NRMSE of total crowd flow. Moreover, the correlation between the generated intention-aware crowd flow and the check-in distribution across different categories of POIs is as high as 0.90 and 0.80 in Beijing and Shanghai. Combined with extensive case studies, we demonstrate the strong ability of our model in generating intention-aware crowd flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we present a field measurement of ClNO 2 (nitryl chloride) and N 2 O 5 (dinitrogen pentoxide) by a time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (ToF-CIMS) with the Filter Inlet for Gas and AEROsols (FIGAERO) at a regional site in the Pearl River Delta during a photochemical pollution season from 26 September to 17 November 2019. Three patterns of air masses are sampled during this campaign, including the dominating air masses from the north and northeast urban regions (Type A), the southeast coast (Type B), and the South China Sea (Type C). The concentration of ClNO 2 and N 2 O 5 was observed to be much higher in Type A and B than in Type C, indicating that the urban nighttime chemistry is more active than the background marine regions. The N 2 O 5 uptake coefficient and ClNO 2 production yield were estimated based on the field measurement, and the performance of the previously derived parameterizations was assessed. The nighttime ClNO 2 correlated with particulate chloride and the mass concentration of fine particles (most likely due to aerosol surface area) suggested that the ClNO 2 formation was limited by the N 2 O 5 uptake at this site. By examining the relationship between particulate chloride and other species, we implied that anthropogenic emissions (e.g., biomass burning) rather than sea salt particles dominate the origin of particulate chloride, although the site was only about 100 km away from the ocean. A box model with detailed chlorine chemistry is used to investigate the impacts of ClNO 2 chemistry on atmospheric oxidation. Model simulations showed that the chlorine radical liberated by ClNO 2 photolysis during the next day had a slight increase in concentrations of OH, HO 2 , and RO 2 radicals, as well as minor contributions to RO 2 radical and O 3 formation (< 5 %, on daytime average), in all the three types of air masses. Relatively high contributions were observed in Type A and B. The overall low contributions of ClNO 2 to atmospheric oxidation are consistent with those reported recently from wintertime observations in China (including Shanghai, Beijing, Wangdu, and Mt. Tai). This may be attributed to the following: (1) relatively low particle mass concentration limited ClNO 2 formation; (2) other reactions channels, like nitrous acid (HONO), oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs, including formaldehyde), and ozone photolysis had a more significant radical formation rate during the ozone pollution episodes and weakened the ClNO 2 contribution indirectly. The results provided scientific insights into the role of nighttime chemistry in photochemical pollution under various scenarios in coastal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the interaction between demand forecasting and train stop planning is important, as it ensures the sustainable development of high-speed rail (HSR). Forecasting the demand for high-speed rail (HSR), which refers to modal choice or modal split in this paper, is the first step in high-speed rail (HSR) planning. Given the travel demand and the number of train trips on each route, the train stop planning problem (TSPP) of line planning involves determining the stations at which each train trip stops, i.e., the stop-schedule of each train trip, so that the demand can be satisfied. To integrate and formulate the two problems, i.e., the modal choice problem (MCP) and train stop planning problem (TSPP), a nonlinear model is presented with the objective of maximizing the total demand captured by a high-speed rail system. To solve the model, a heuristic iterative algorithm is developed. To study the relationship between the demand and the service, the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed rail (HSR) corridor in China is selected. The empirical analysis indicates that combining modal choice and train stop planning should be considered for the sustainable design of high-speed rail (HSR) train services. Furthermore, the model simulates the impact of the number of stops on its mode share by reflecting changes in travelers' behaviors according to HSR train stop planning, and it also provides a theoretical basis for the evaluation of the adaptability of the service network to travel demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the current development trend of globalization and informatization, traditional transportation technologies and means can no longer meet the needs of economic and social development. Thus, intelligent transportation will be an inevitable and revolutionary choice for the development of the transportation industry. As a subsystem of the intelligent transportation system, the electronic nonstop toll collection (ETC) system provides a good solution to the problems of traffic congestion, environmental pollution, energy consumption, and low toll operation efficiency caused by expressway toll collection. This high-technology system is utilized in many fields, such as radio communication and computer and automatic control in the transportation field. China's expressway ETC systems have evident effects on congestion reduction at toll stations. Although the advantages of ETC lanes are significant, and China actively implements ETC-handling policies, some drivers are reluctant to install ETC on-board systems or they have negative experiences after handling them. According to a survey, existing literature lacks research on the factors affecting user satisfaction with ETC. On the basis of the questionnaire data of ETC user experience in Shanghai and Beijing, we comprehensively investigate the reasons of banking, ETC equipment, and drivers' personal factors and travel characteristics to establish an ordinal logistics model. Through cluster analysis, drivers in the two cities are divided into three groups, and the significance of related variables is further analyzed. This research can help us understand the degree of influence of different factors on user satisfaction with ETC to a certain extent. Moreover, effective methods and measures can be used to promote the popularity of ETC vehicle equipment and the utilization rate of ETC-dedicated lanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to identify novel downstream targets and evaluate the clinically interpretable significance of long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 expression in the prognosis of nasopharyngeal cancer. Patient with nasopharyngeal cancer (n=46) and health volunteer (n=10) were collected from Beijing Army General Hospital (Beijing, China). Nasopharyngeal cancer line 13-9B cells were bought from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai and were grown in Dulbecco’s modified eagle medium (Hyclone) supplemented with 10 % fetal bovine serum. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay was used to detect the cell growth. Flow cytometric analysis was used to detect the apoptosis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting were used to analyze the expression of long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 for the sake of interpretable visual quality control. According to the study's findings, long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 expression was higher in the tumor tissue of nasopharyngeal cancer patients than it was in the tissues of para carcinomas. Additionally, long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 might encourage 13-9B cell growth and quicken apoptosis. Besides, long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 could also reduce the activities of caspase-3/8/9 in 13-9B cells. Importantly, long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 reduced microRNA-223 in nasopharyngeal cancer cells. Long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 induced insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor/phosphatidylinositol3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway by microRNA-223. M6A methylation enhances the stability of long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1. Biologically-inspired, microRNA-223 and the methylation of long noncoding RNA KCNQ1OT1 in nasopharynx tumor cells targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor in the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway boosted cell proliferation and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This work can be applied to the rapid and concise evaluation of high-speed railway section capacity. Accurate and convenient assessment of a section's capacity is an essential problem in the operation of high-speed railway companies. The concept of occupancy time is widely used in the field, but there is still a lack of quantitative analysis to support follow-up studies and application. In this research, the calculation method for one train, two trains and multiple trains is discussed. The occupancy time of the two trains was divided into three cases according to the relationship between them, and the calculation formulas are given. For the calculation of multiple trains, the circumstances were too intricate to be classified. To solve this problem, the concept of a continuous train group was proposed. The three properties of the continuous train group were analyzed and proved by mathematical derivation to provide theoretical support to transform a multi-train problem into many two-train problems. Finally, a combined occupancy method for capacity assessment was formed and applied to the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway. A series of numerical cases were designed to evaluate the performance compared with the UIC406 method. The results demonstrate that the combined occupancy method can better assess the capacity and is more convenient to implement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advantage of integrating distributed energy, storage and DC load with high efficiency, the DC distribution network recently attracted wide attention in the field of nearly zero energy buildings. Considering the large number of buildings and the enormous energy-saving potential, the distribution form and the revenue distribution are key factors affecting energy efficiency and operational economy. Aiming at the characteristics of AC and DC distribution topologies in nearly zero energy buildings, an energy efficiency evaluation method is proposed based on time-sequential power flow simulation, where the piecewise linear efficiency function of converters and dynamic line power loss model are established. Based on a DC distribution demonstration project, an AC power distribution system with the same boundary conditions is designed. The results show that the efficiency of DC distribution topology is about 6% higher than the AC system, while the efficiency advantage in office, hotel, commercial, educational and residential buildings in Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai varies from 0.6–4.96%, which shows a high correlation with the proportion of a high-power load, with Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.794. With the increase of DC load ratio and distributed power supply access capacity, the efficiency of the system will be improved accordingly. On the basis of this, a method to equalize DC distribution income in the nearly zero energy buildings power market is proposed. In addition, 15 typical scenarios of different cities were selected to evaluate efficiency and influencing factors. Finally, assessing the multi-stakeholder impact of DC retrofitting to balance the revenue generated by the DC distribution model suggests that transport costs should be raised by 8.2–13.1% to balance revenue with the equipment prices decreased by about 0.1 yuan/W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]