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It is posited that solving the problem of relative poverty (RP) first requires the identification of its cause. We use data from China Family Panel Studies to examine the impact of risk preference on RP of urban and rural families in China and the underlying mechanism. This paper contributes to the existing body of evidence on the determinants of RP. The results show that a high degree of risk preference is conducive to alleviating families' RP. The effect is still significant after dealing with potential endogeneity through instrumental variables. Furthermore, the effect is more obvious among health insurance participation families, endowment insurance participation families, families with low life satisfaction, non-poor families, especially middle-income families, urban families, male-headed families and families in the West in China. Further analysis suggests that risk preference affects RP by promoting entrepreneurship and credit in urban and rural families. Families with a higher risk preference are more likely to engage in entrepreneurship and utilize credit, which in turn helps alleviate their RP. Overall, this paper provides new empirical evidence for understanding the mechanism of risk preference influencing RP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the indexical association between Mandarin full tone and a newly emergent cute feminine style. Prior work has identified full tone as a component of cosmopolitanism in mainland China, but we argue that the influence of Taiwanese pop culture and social media phenomena has resulted in expanded indexical boundaries for this variable. A matched guise task was conducted to examine the connection between Mandarin full tone and social meanings, traits, and other symbolic resources for mainland Chinese listeners. The full tone stimuli were perceived as feminine and youthful, explicitly linked to Taiwan, influencer, and stereotypical "cute-coded" behaviors that typify a stylized femininity. We argue that both speaker traits and the more abstract social meanings are attached to full tone and can be activated during social perception. • Mandarin full tone realization is a critical component of a linguistic style in the performance of a novel femininity. • Social meanings such as speaker characteristics can be perceived by mainland Chinese listeners in Mandarin full tone usage. • Mandarin full tone is also associated with a constellation of semiotic symbols including dress and behaviors that belong to a cute feminine style. • Perceptual data shows a complex set of semiotic associations connecting Mandarin full tone with a negatively stereotyped femininity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, China's economy is developing rapidly, and the trend of economic globalization is becoming increasingly obvious. As a small and medium-sized enterprise with insufficient market competitiveness, how to deal with these challenges is an urgent problem to be considered. Especially in human resource management, small and medium-sized enterprises still use the traditional management mode, which can not meet the new requirements of human resource management under the current information conditions. Therefore, on the basis of being familiar with the main technologies of the system, this paper analyzes the requirements of human resource management system from the aspects of system role, system function, system non function, etc., and expounds the design and implementation process of the system in detail from the aspects of system overall design, system function realization, etc. The results show that the system meets the needs of enterprises, the system interface is beautiful and easy to use, the operation is fast and convenient, and the functions are complete and powerful, which is very conducive to improving the human resource management level of enterprises, and the economic benefit is relatively high. Hope to help small and medium-sized enterprises solve some problems in human resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China facing the challenge of coordinated development of "ecology, economy, and well-being". Scholars have conducted some research on the relationship between enviromental regulation and employment, but there is less research on the role of clean technology innovation in the employment effect of environmental regulation, which is the purpose of this paper. Using the panel data of 22 industrial sectors in China, the paper uses the number of clean technology patents to measure the level of clean technology innovation, and examines the moderating effect of clean technology innovation in the employment effect of environmental regulations. The results show that: (1) With the gradual improvement of environmental regulation, the impact of environmental regulation on employment presents the characteristics of inhibition first and then promotion. (2) Clean technology innovation has a moderating effect on the employment effect of environmental regulation. It should encourage the green upgrading of traditional technologies, support the development and optimization of private enterprises in various industries, so as to promote enterprises to effectively reduce pollution emissions and create jobs through green technology upgrading at the initial stage. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the requirement of a cleaner, more sustainable form of energy production and the rapid development of DT, nuclear energy needs to be digital transformed. This paper aims at the time series prediction module of DT in NPP. Despite the widespread application of time series forecasting in various domains, the inherent uncertainties within the data and the selection of neural network hyperparameters pose a formidable challenge to accurate predictions. This study proposes a coupled multivariate prediction method and conducts a comparative analysis of three popular time series forecasting models: LSTM, CNN-LSTM, and Transformer. PSO hyperparameter optimization is also employed, accompanied by multiple error calculation metrics for model evaluation. It is noteworthy that the experimental data employed in this study are derived from the real operation process of a Gen II + reactor in the Chinese mainland, which is in the off-site power loss accident condition. Simultaneously, adopting a smaller training dataset proportion contributes to striking a balance among resource utilization, model performance, and experimental efficiency in the research. Experimental results unequivocally demonstrate that among these models, Transformer excels in multi-input multi-output time series forecasting. Moreover, uncertainty analysis using Bayesian generates a forecast band, proving the robustness of Transformer. • The study relies on real operational data from an operating Gen II + reactor in China, ensuring the authenticity of the dataset. • A multiple-input multi-output Transformer model based on PSO optimization is developed for accident prevention. • Transformer is superior both in point prediction and uncertainty analysis of interval prediction. • Employing a smaller training dataset proportion aids in optimizing the equilibrium among resource efficiency, model performance, and experimental efficiency in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China released its 3-Star green building rating system in 2006, the number of certified green buildings in the country has increased sharply. The concentrations of green buildings, however, are not spread evenly across different provinces. Employing the comprehensive green building data as of February 2014, this paper attempts to analyze the spatial distribution of green buildings in China and examine its underlying determinants. The empirical results confirm that a regional imbalance does exist with regard to green building numbers. The paper also finds that local economic fundamentals and subsidy-based incentive policies can explain the presence of green buildings, but the performance of real estate market, energy efficiency, and two specific green policies (local green standard and green building committee) are not significantly associated with green building concentrations at the provincial level. Based on the empirical results, the paper also yields a number of implications, which suggest that the government can promoting more green buildings via the alleviation of economic inequality across different regions, the establishment of a market-oriented mechanism, and the improvement of public awareness regarding sustainability. These implications will help to guide the government in its efforts to establish and implement more efficient and effective green policies. From a spatial perspective, this study unveils a general picture regarding green building development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate whether information infrastructure can improve air quality, this paper presents an empirical study based on urban data for 2015 to 2018. To analyse regional differences in the impact of information infrastructure on air pollution, we used full sample and subsample data to make estimates respectively. The results show that information infrastructure can significantly reduce air pollution. However, there are regional differences in this effect, which is only significant in the eastern part of China. Information infrastructure can reduce air pollution in two ways: improving the quality of traditional infrastructure and improving energy efficiency In addition, the robustness test results are consistent with the above results. Finally, we put forward some suggestions for the future construction and application of information infrastructure. • Measuring information infrastructure with the technological index. • Information infrastructure can significantly reduce urban air pollution. • Traditional infrastructure and energy efficiency can act as influence mechanisms. • Information infrastructure has different effects on air quality in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preformed particle gels (PPGs) have been widely applied in waterflooded mature oilfields to improve reservoir sweep efficiency and control water production. Successful PPG applications in oilfields require comprehensive guidelines on where and how PPG treatments can be best applied. To establish such guidelines, a data set is first constructed by collecting 678 successful PPG treatment data from SPE technical papers, papers published in Chinese, and field applications reports from 2001 to 2015. Critical information regarding reservoir characteristics, injection well conditions, injection parameters, and treatment performances, is included in the data set. Descriptive statistical analysis methods including histograms, and scatterplots are used to interpret of the main features of the amount of data. Histograms display the distribution of each parameter and can provide guidance on where PPGs can be best applied; scatterplots uncover relationships between two variables and can aid in interpreting how to design injection parameters and find out the critical factors affecting the treatment performances. After comprehensive data analysis, the first application guidelines for PPG treatments are established. Results show that PPGs can generate large volumes of incremental oil production and significantly reduce excess water production. Successful PPG treatments require a large volume of PPG injection with a low suspension concentration. The injection volume highly depends on the daily water production rate. Incremental oil production increases with the increase of injected PPGs. PPG treatment efficiency is defined herein as incremental oil production per ton PPGs injected. Although reservoir type can affect the treatment efficiency, the better efficiency always comes from the injection wells which have production wells with a higher liquid production rate. Treatment timing should be considered as a critical factor affecting the effect of water reduction. This paper provides instructional guidelines for project design from which the success rate of PPG treatments in injection wells can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical studies of pollution haven hypothesis predict that differentiated environmental regulation policies will result in inter-country relocation of polluting industries. This paper investigates pollution haven hypothesis at domestic level in China. Using panel data of 30 provincial level regions for the period 2004 to 2013, this paper empirically examines to what extent multiple environmental policies affect intra-country relocation of polluting industries in China. It is found that the implementation of both economic policy instrument like pollution discharge fee and public participation like letter complaints on environmental problems encourages industrial relocation, whereas the implementation of environmental legal policy instrument like laws, regulations and rules prevents polluting industries from relocating to other regions. It is also found that the relocation effect of environmental policies varies with industrial characteristics. Compared with water pollution-intensive industry, air pollution-intensive industry dominated by stated-owned capitals are insensitive to legal policy instruments. These findings suggest that the validity of pollution haven hypothesis is jointly associated with the type of environmental policy as well as industrial characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patent information service is a newly emerging specialized in-depth information consultation service in Chinese academic libraries, developed with the implementation of the “National Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy” in China. This paper presents the embedded patent information service at Nanjing Technology University (NJTech) Library (Nanjing, China) and focuses on how it was designed and developed. Citation analysis and questionnaire survey were applied to study NJTech researchers' information behavior on patents so that the librarians could identify their unmet information needs. Based on the analysis of data collected from the citation analysis and questionnaire, the librarians found that they could assist researchers through collaboration and partnership in searching related patents, analyzing technology trends, identifying valuable patents, and tracking new emerging related patents. In the process of embedded service on patents, the role of the academic librarian at NJTech University has been extended to “Patent Specialist,” requiring close collaboration with researchers, embedding in their research units and groups, and helping them to make full use of patent information resources and become more effectively innovative in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic spreads with strong transmission power in every part of China. Analyses of the trend is highly need when the Chinese government makes plans and policies on epidemic control. This paper provides an estimation process on the trend of COVID-19 outbreak using the provincial-level data of the confirmed cases. On the basis of the previous studies, we introduce an effective and practical method to compute accurate basic reproduction numbers (R 0 s) in each province-level division of China. The statistical results show a non-stop downward trend of the R 0 s in China, and confirm that China has made significant progress on the epidemic control by lowering the provincial R 0 s from 10 or above to 3.21 or less. In the inferential analysis, we introduce an effective AR(n) model for the trend forecasting. The inferential results imply that the nationwide epidemic risk will fall to a safe level by the end of April in China, which matches the actual situation. The results provide more accurate method and information about COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It remains unclear whether a polycentric city can support more and higher-order consumer amenities. This paper presents new evidence from shopping malls in China and includes the effect of urban spatial structure on the order of consumer amenities and the moderating effect of transportation infrastructure, both of which have been neglected in previous empirical studies. We find that a monocentric city can provide a greater number and higher order of shopping malls than a polycentric city. Additionally, better transportation infrastructure can compensate for the disadvantage of polycentricity in the provision of low-order shopping malls, while it reinforces the merit of monocentricity in higher-order shopping malls. The findings advance the understanding of the relationship between polycentricity and the quantity and quality of consumer amenities and provide insights into polycentric structure policies. • We utilize exploratory spatial data analysis and night-time light to identify urban polycentricity. • A monocentric city tends to support a greater number and higher order of shopping malls. • Improved transportation infrastructure can mitigate the drawbacks of polycentricity in providing low-order shopping malls. • Better transportation infrastructure strengthens the advantages of monocentricity in providing higher-order shopping malls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant variation in building׳s energy intensity is partly due to the large number of distributed energy users characterized by heterogeneous lifestyles and nonuniform consumption behaviours. Understanding the degree of variation and its cause is critical to designing appropriate policies for energy efficiency improvement. This paper aims to provide a data-based benchmark of buildings energy performance in China and investigates the facts and causes of large variations in energy consumption across buildings based on updated and harmonised dataset. Specifically, the paper is the first in literature to decompose aggregate heating consumption in northern urban China and reallocate the disaggregate data to relevant residential and commercial building energy use, which makes it consistent to conduct international comparison of building performance in terms of primary energy intensity. It is found that buildings energy performance exhibits a sizeable heterogeneity varying with building typology and climate zones in China. Heating and cooling energy consumption for residential buildings located in HSCW climate zone may differ by a factor of 4–10 depending on the technology and energy supply mode, whereby nontechnical interventions may have significant impacts on total energy demand in the built environment. In particular, our analysis results point to the importance of making greater efforts in the commercial sector. Commercial buildings are found significantly more energy intensive than their residential counterpart, mainly due to the fact that BEE policy has been poorly implemented and architectural design has not been optimised in commercial sector. An estimate suggests that improving energy efficiency in the commercial sector may contribute to one-fifth of total energy savings potentials by 2020 in line with the IEA׳s 450 ppm scenario. It is necessary for Chinese building authorities to incorporate the heterogeneity characteristics across different climate zones and building typologies into BEE policy portfolio to effectively curb energy consumption related carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about COVID-19 outside Hubei. The aim of this paper was to describe the clinical characteristics and imaging manifestations of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 149 RT-PCR confirmed positive patients were consecutively enrolled from January 17th to February 10th, 2020 in three tertiary hospitals of Wenzhou. Outcomes were followed up until Feb 15th, 2020.Findings: A total of 85 patients had Hubei travel/residence history, while another 49 had contact with people from Hubei and 15 had no traceable exposure history to Hubei. Fever, cough and expectoration were the most common symptoms, 14 patients had decreased oxygen saturation, 33 had leukopenia, 53 had lymphopenia, and 82 had elevated C-reactive protein. On chest computed tomography (CT), lung segments 6 and 10 were mostly involved. A total of 287 segments presented ground glass opacity, 637 presented mixed opacity and 170 presented consolidation. Lesions were more localized in the peripheral lung with a patchy form. No significant difference was found between patients with or without Hubei exposure history. Seventeen patients had normal CT on admission of these, 12 had negative findings even10 days later.Interpretation: Most patients presented with a mild infection in our study. The imaging pattern of multifocal peripheral ground glass or mixed opacity with predominance in the lower lung is highly suspicious of COVID-19 in the first week of disease onset. Nevetheless, some patients can present with a normal chest finding despite testing positive for COVID-19.Funding: We did not receive any fundings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century, China is experiencing rapid economic growth alongside increasing car ownership and its attendant challenges. However, little is known about the determinants of expenditure on car acquisition and household car ownership in China, especially their dynamics as this motorization process has taken place. In this paper, we present household car ownership and expenditure analyses using a unique panel dataset, the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). We identify three clusters of households with distinct income and expenditure characteristics consistently existing from 2011 to 2017. We also demonstrate distinctive temporal patterns in expenditure in the periods prior to, at-time-of, and following car acquisition for car-purchasing households. We report that most, but not all, determinants we studied have been stable over time. Finally, contrary to contemporary findings in Western countries, being a younger-aged household is positively associated with car ownership, while living in rural areas has a negative association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With the largest population living in countryside, the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from rural energy consumption is a serious problem in China. The full development and utilization of renewable energy is the key and effective way for solving the CO2 emissions problem. This paper reviews the rural energy consumption level and structure in China. Then, this paper discusses the potential for renewable energy development as well as its CO2 emissions reductions in rural areas. Results show that if full development and utilization of renewable energy is achieved, on the basis of energy data in 2008, China's rural energy consumption and even 2.2 times of that can be supplied by 100% carbon-free energy resources (which do not contain the biomass energy) without considering economic and technical constraints, and 2.4 times of that can be provided by renewable energy. Moreover, to evaluate the application priority, cost-effectiveness of each renewable energy resource is analyzed. Based on the characteristics of renewable energy resources, new promotional strategies to ensure the full development and utilization of renewable energy in rural China are also presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Wind resource assessment in coastal areas is an important concern to develop offshore wind power. The high complexity of coastal environment entails the need for new tools that can describe the spatial variability of wind. In this paper, a distribution study of offshore wind power in China using QuikSCAT Level-2 satellite measurements at a 0.5-degree horizontal resolution was performed. Based on long-term information of daily average wind field, the paper gives an overview of the spatio-temporal distribution of wind resources in China's coastal regions. The results indicate that China has significant offshore wind energy development potential. The total offshore wind energy potential at 10m in China is approximately 660GW. The coastal region along Fu Jiang Province has the best wind resource compared with other parts of China's offshore regions. An integrated analysis was made by combining the offshore wind farm plans of coastal provinces with the spatio-temporal characteristics of the wind resource, and suggestions are presented accordingly. We find that the use of wind estimates from satellite data potentially leads to a more refined wind resource analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In a recent paper in this journal [Q. Guo, L. Gao, Distribution of individual incomes in China between 1992 and 2009, Physica A 391 (2012) 5139–5145], a new family of distributions for modeling individual incomes in China was proposed. This family is the so-called Modified Gaussian (MG) distribution, which depends on two parameters. The MG distribution shows a satisfactory fit for the individual income data between 1992 and 2009. However, for the practical use of this model with individual incomes, it is necessary to know its probabilistic and statistical properties, especially the corresponding inequality measures. In this paper, probabilistic functions and inequality measures of the MG distribution are obtained in closed form, including the normalizing constant, probability functions, moments, first-degree stochastic dominance conditions, relationships with other families of distributions and standard tools for inequality measurement (Lorenz and generalized Lorenz curves and Gini, Donaldson–Weymark–Kakwani and Pietra indices). Several methods for parameter estimation are also discussed. In order to illustrate all the previous formulations, we have fitted individual incomes of Spain for three years using the European community household panel survey, concluding a static pattern of inequality, since the Gini index and other inequality measures remain constant over the study period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fluvial systems in tropical regions are not only the lifeline for modern civilizations there but also form an important continental archive for reconstructing Quaternary palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments. Tropical rivers drain through a variety of geological and geomorphological settings across the world and have been studied for their hydrology, sediment transport characteristics, facies models, stratigraphic development and flood hazards. This paper presents an overview of the research on tropical rivers globally and identifies major gaps and unanswered research questions. As a part of the IGCP 582 on Tropical Rivers, the participants of this project are continuing to tackle many of these issues. The collection of papers in this special issue is an outcome of this activity and presents new data on processes and alluvial stratigraphy of the tropical rivers from China, India, South America and northern Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the effect of the coal-to-liquids (CTL) industry on economic output and employment in four Chinese regions. The operation of CTL projects require large amount of expense and thus can largely boost regional economy growth by expanding local output demands. However, such economic benefit has never been quantified. In this paper, we evaluate the economic effects of CTL projects in regional China by performing a multiplier analysis with the latest 2007 China regional input–output data. Our analysis shows that CTL projects can greatly boost economic output and employment in regional China. A Direct Coal to Liquid (DCL) project that produces one million tons of fuel every year can increase regional economic output by 0.78%–2.76% and employment by 1.10%–3.15% annually. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper studies the metaphorical time orientation in Chinese along its horizontal and vertical axes. It will focus, however, on the controversy over its horizontal axis, readdressing the issue regarding whether the Chinese ego faces toward the future or past in metaphorical orientation of time. It is interesting to note that there exist three different views on this issue. To reinforce the view that future is in front of ego and past is behind ego in Chinese, the paper argues that in analyzing data it is important to make two crucial distinctions. The first distinction, extensively discussed in the literature, is between Ego-Reference-Point (Ego-RP) and Time-Reference-Point (Time-RP). The second related distinction, which has been largely ignored, is between Time-Referent (Time-R) and Human-Referent (Human-R). The study shows that once these two distinctions are made, the seemingly contradictory linguistic data will fall into places that form a coherent metaphorical system. The purpose of making these distinctions is to avoid confusion between past and future on the one hand and anteriority and posteriority on the other. It is hoped that this study contributes to the recent efforts to build a comprehensive framework of temporal reference frames applicable to the study of spatial construal of time in languages and cultures in general. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Following reforms to the market, China’s hog industry has developed rapidly, however, with social and economic transitions, China’s hog industry is facing challenges which might restrict long-term growth in production. This paper analyzes the changes in regional scale, organization, input factors, and technological progress for China’s hog production over the last few decades. The paper seeks to reveal the sources of hog production growth and provide some suggestions for future development of the hog industry. To achieve these aims, the paper uses stochastic frontier production functions and the Malmquist index to measure total factor productivity (TFP) in the hog industry and decompose TFP into technical efficiency; technological progress; scale efficiency; and allocative efficiency using data for 25 provinces from 1980 to 2008. The results show firstly that; the TFP of hog production increased by 64.3% from 1980 to 2008, and allocative efficiency and scale efficiency improvements played a key role in this TFP growth. In contrast, technical efficiency and technical progress have changed little over this period. Secondly, TFP’s contribution to output was 39.7%, it being less than that of factor inputs to output. Thirdly, the results suggest that the growth of China’s pork production depends mostly on the increase in the quantity of factor inputs, especially feed. As a consequence, the key to ensuring long-term and stable development of China’s hog production would seem to involve focusing on enhancing total factor productivity and changing the pattern of production growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The focus of the current study is the wind loads on a 11.92m section of parabolic trough collector with an aperture of 5.76m, located in Beijing, PR China. This paper presents selected results of full-scale field measurements of wind loads and wind pressure on the solar collector. The field data such as wind speed, wind direction and wind pressures are simultaneously measured from the solar collector. The measured data are analyzed to obtain the information on boundary layer wind characteristics, wind pressures and wind loads on the solar collector. The results presented in this paper are expected to be of considerable interest and of use to researchers and engineers involved in analysis and design of parabolic trough solar collectors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper provides an in-depth illustration of the shallow tunnelling method (STM) used for tunnelling in shallowly buried soft ground. Limited arching effect and limited ground strength mobilization are the two mechanical characteristics of the STM. The stability of the cutting face and the dry tunnelling condition are the two preconditions that should be satisfied for the STM. Some “necessary” auxiliary methods mainly served to guarantee these two preconditions are highlighted. Five principles, namely proper auxiliary methods, sequential excavation with short advance length, rigid support with quick installation, short ring closure time and systematic deformation monitoring, which are required to follow when using the STM are summarized. The state-of-art of the STM is classified into five different construction approaches according to tunnelling sequences, which are adopted in the construction of the nine subway stations in Beijing. The tunnelling procedures, support measures and settlement characteristics associated with excavation are demonstrated. Statistical analyses of the settlement data of 342 ground surface monitoring points above these nine stations are performed to illustrate the ground deformation characteristics of the STM. Numerical simulations are also employed to study the ground deformation characteristics of different construction approaches under the same geological conditions. This paper systematically demonstrates the applicability of STM in theory and practice. It is helpful in updating the database of the world tunnel projects and serving as a practical reference for future similar projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With aim to master early deformation stages and motion laws of landslide, the raw displacement data of landslide are very important for the landslide researchers and environmental scientists. With the recent advances of Global Position System (GPS) and computer science, the differential GPS technology now can be used for the remote displacement observation of landslide. Therefore, the paper developed a landslide displacement remote observation system based on differential GPS technology to get the raw displacement data continually. The system is divided into hardware and software functional segments. A real landslide in southwest of China was monitored for several months through observation using this GPS-based system placed around and the observed results are presented in this paper. The practical application shows that this system has such advantages as being highly-precise, nearly real-time, remote, continuous and automatic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to deal with the performance evaluation problem in the presence of large dimensionality of data set, in which there exist multiple correlations among the original variables. Firstly, this paper analyzes the weakness of principal component analysis (PCA), and introduces a maximum variance method to reduce data dimension via Gram–Schmidt process, through which the corresponding transformed variables (Schmidt variables) can be obtained. And at the same time, a measure of investigating the cumulative variation information for selected Schmidt variables is described. Then based upon the chosen Schmidt variables, a new modified DEA approach with a natural assurance region (AR) is presented. In the developed DEA approach, the selected Schmidt variables are treated as outputs. The proposed approach will be then contrasted with the traditional CCR DEA model and the DEA model using principal components obtained from PCA with simulated data, and it is also applied to real world data set that characterizes economic performance of 31 provinces or cities in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The main target for hydrocarbon exploration of terrestrial strata in Sichuan Basin is the tight gas sandstone reservoir of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation. Xujiahe Formation in YB area is a major discovery of hydrocarbon exploration in recent years, which is characterized as tight with ultralow porosity, ultralow permeability, and intensive heterogeneity. The tectonic fractures have important influence on accumulation and productivity of gas in the area. In the paper, analysis data of outcrop, core, imaging logging and other experiments were used to determine the characteristics, formation periods and genetic mechanisms of tectonic fractures. There are mainly high-angle and low-angle shear fractures in the area, which caused by tectonic stress. The length of the fractures is mainly 0–4 m from the outcrop and 10–20 cm from the cores and fracture frequencies (number per meter) is mostly 2-7 m−1, 2-4 m−1 respectively. The fracture fillings are mainly calcite, argillaceous and carbonaceous, about 60% of the fractures is unfilled or incompletely filled. Without considering the diagenetic fractures, there are three periods of the fractures: the middle-late Yanshanian tectonic movement, the early-middle Himalaya tectonic movement and the late Himalaya tectonic movement. The first period of the fractures are mainly filled with fine calcite, homogenization temperature of inclusion is 75–85 °C and the maximum effective principal stress of paleostress is 71.64 Mpa. The second period of the fractures are half-filled (or unfilled) with coarse calcite, homogenization temperature of inclusion is 150–175 °C and the maximum effective principal stress of paleostress is 74.91 Mpa. The third period of the fractures are low filling degree and cuts formed fractures clearly, the maximum effective principal stress of paleostress is 86.52 Mpa. For these tectonic movement, there are four sets of the plane "X" shear fractures in the area: NE strike fractures, NW strike fractures, NEE strike fractures, S N strike fractures. There are one set of the profile shear fractures of NWW strike. Finally, the complex fault system of nearly N S, NW and NE strike are formed in YB area. • A new method for comprehensive study of the fracture formation period is provided. • The main fracture formation dating of Xujiahe Formation in YB area as follows: 36–176 Ma and 0.2–36.4 Ma. • There are 3 periods tectonic fractures of Xujiahe Formation and formation period of different fracture types is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Smart city can be seen as a glocal phenomenon, as it is characterised by both global and local aspects. Smart cities are a global phenomenon because they spread all over the world and emerge with similar features and interdependencies at the global level. In the meantime, smart cities are a local phenomenon, because each city is unique, has different problems and should address them with specific solutions. The aim of this work is to better understand smart cities as a glocal phenomenon, considering their universal features together with the local aspects influencing their implementation. Through a research based on a Qualitative Data Analysis, the present work suggests a novel way to examine the smart city, to support a better understanding of this glocal trend promising enormous benefits for citizens and growing revenues in all five continents, but not equally distributed. In particular, the paper analyses and compares Italy and China to verify that smart city is a glocal urban strategy, depending both from global, standard drivers and local contingencies. The methodology and results can be generalised to other cities and countries. Highlights • Although smart city is generally considered like a global phenomenon, its implementation strongly depends on local features. • Smart city is a glocal urban strategy, depending on both global, standard drivers and local contingencies. • Comparing Italian and Chinese smart cities highlights similarities and differences between distinct geographical areas. • Different governance models of a smart city change both the implementation path and the goal priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) method and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model to analyze and discuss the Spatial-temporal pattern as well as the dominant driving factors of wastewater discharge in Yangtze River Economic Zone from 2002 to 2015. The paper indicates that: (1) In terms of the spatial-temporal pattern, the amount of wastewater discharge in Yangtze River Economic Zone shows an increase trend from 2002 to 2005, and then put up a decline trend between 2005 and 2015. Referring to the spatial characteristics, firstly, the amount of wastewater discharge increases from upstream to downstream. There are few high discharge cities whereas more low and middle discharge cities. Secondly, a certain amount of wastewater discharge transfers from the downstream to the midstream and upstream, and the wastewater discharge in mountainous area is lower than other regions. (2) In terms of the change of spatial relationship among cities in the research area, the wastewater discharge shows a significant spatial agglomeration. High discharge cities are concentrated in the Yangtze river delta and low discharge cities are distributed in underdeveloped areas in the western part of China, especially the tourism-oriented cities. (3) In terms of the driving factors, the technical improvement effect did a negative contribution and controlled the amount of wastewater discharge, whereas the industrial structure effect did a positive or a negative contribution depend on the policy and market. The economy development effect, which was one of the dominant factors, did a positive contribution to the amount of wastewater discharge. Moreover, the population scale effect did a positive contribution to the wastewater discharge, but the impact is not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A Super-SBM with undesirable output model is applied. • The environmental efficiency of 283 Chinese cities during 2003–2016 is analyzed. • The overall environmental efficiency performance across the Chinese cities is low. • China has achieved significant improvement in environmental efficiency across survey period. Abstract In the past decades, unprecedented dramatic economic development in the Chinese cities has also brought serious environmental problems. In line with this, the Chinese government has been investing great efforts and resources in addressing environmental problems. However, little previous studies have been conducted in examining whether this development is efficient from a win-win perspective balance between economic growth and environmental protection. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on the environmental efficiency (EE) in the process of dramatic economic development in the Chinese cities. The Super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) model is adopted to analyze the EE performance. Data used for analysis are collected from 283 sample cities in China. The research results indicate that the overall EE performance across the Chinese cities is relatively low, and the differences in EE performance among the 283 cities are significant. The top three EE performers are Shenzhen, Sanya and Erdos, and Baiyin, Xinzhou and Liupanshui are the bottom three performers. The results also suggest that the EE performance in the Eastern area, where most first-tier cities are located in, is significantly higher than that in the Central and Western areas (aggregated with fourth and fifth tier-cities). From the dynamic perspective, the results show that China has achieved significant improvement in environmental efficiency across the surveyed period of 2003–2016. The research findings provide valuable references not only for the Chinese policy-makers and practitioners to adopt measures for promoting a win-win balance between environmental protection and economic development in the Chinese context, but also for further studies on environmental efficiency in the international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Globalisation has led to a rapid increase in the growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) globally. Over the last decade China has become the largest recipient of FDI whilst simultaneously increasing its outward FDI dramatically. The growth in China''s outward FDI has attracted little attention from scholars in mainstream research publications. The motivation behind this paper is to investigate the factors driving this growth from both economic and strategic backgrounds. The paper employs panel data analysis covering the period 2003–2009 where we quantify the main drivers of China''s outward FDI across a range of variables including bi lateral and multi lateral trade, market size, GDP growth, openness and resource endowment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Eco-sensitivity analysis is the premise and basis for the planning of regional ecological environment, while the protection and improvement of the ecological environment is the key to the regionally sustainable development. With the GIS technology and by using the factor-overlap method, the eco-sensitivity of the New Riverside Center of Nanjing City is thoroughly analyzed in this paper by selecting 4 categories of regionally representative factors. Then this paper classifies the study area into absolutely sensitive ecological sub-areas, high sensitive ecological sub-areas, generally sensitive ecological sub-areas and low sensitive ecological sub-areas according to the level of eco-sensitivity. It further proposes measures and suggestions to regional protection and construction, so as to provide reference for the development of local urban and rural construction and environmental protection. The results show that absolutely sensitive sub-areas and high sensitive sub-areas account for about 42.8% in the total area, indicating that the eco-sensitivity of the study area is generally high. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The density structures of the crust and upper mantle beneath the North China Craton (NCC) are reconstructed in this paper by using the Bouguer gravity anomaly derived from EGM08 model. The Occam’s inversion method and preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) are adopted in our paper for solving the 3D density inversion problems. Then the depth weighted function is incorporated into model parameters to avoid the skin effects in inversion. In our study, the Bouguer gravity anomaly derived from EGM08 model is used to study the crust and upper mantle structures beneath the NCC. For reducing the non-uniqueness of our inversion problem, we use the inverted density distribution from 0.5°×0.5° P-wave tomographic results as our initial model. Finally, the high-resolution 3D density model is established down to 250km depth for the first time in this region. The density images at eight representative layers (10, 25, 40, 60, 80, 120, 160, 200km) and eight vertical cross-sections (linear profiles along latitude 35°, 36°, 37°, 38°, 39°, 40°, longitude 108°, 119°) are displayed and compared with the P-wave velocity tomographic images. The 3D-dimensional density model indicates that lateral heterogeneities are widely distributed in different units within the NCC, while their density patterns and depth extensions are significantly different for three main units of NCC, suggesting different tectonic mechanisms that have dominated the evolution of these regions in the Phanerozoic. In particular, our inverted density images demonstrate that the Phanerozoic lithospheric reactivation and thinning may not have influenced the central and western NCC to the same extent as the eastern NCC, most of which preserves relatively thick cratonic lithosphere today. However, localized lithospheric thinning may exist in the circular-Ordos rift systems, whose ancient tectonic belts around the Ordos plateau may have been affected by multi-phase tectonic events in its long evolution history. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Liaoning Province is insufficient in water resources, and with the gradually increasing process of the urbanization, the degree of water resources insufficiency is exacerbating by degrees. This paper obtains the specialty of short duration storm through analyzing the years of rain data and the seriously harmful storm with picking up Shenyang as the researching object, and finally gets frequency curve of short duration rain by using DPS. Taking the campus of Shenyang Agricultural University as an example, the paper calculates the availability according to the different types of terrains, and proposes the using plan of rain, then calculates the amount of rain. The study shows that rain reclamation can effectively remit the conflict of water in Shenyang and create a better environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Human reliability analysis (HRA) is generally viewed as quite an important part in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). In this paper, a THERP+HCR HRA model is presented to model the operators’ post-accident behavior in Chinese nuclear power plants. The paper shows how the model is structured and how to consider and acquire the corresponding data, including HCR data modification and HRA event tree data. A case study is presented to make an illustration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Vinegar-baked Radix Bupleuri (VBRB) is usually used to focus other drugs effect on liver in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, no sufficient scientific data are available to support this concept. In this paper, the liver targeting enhancing effect of VBRB on rhein was investigated. 432 of rats were divided into two large groups according to the dose of rhein, low dose group of rhein (LDGR) and high dose group of rhein (HDGR). In each group, the rats were further divided into four subgroups, rhein control and rhein co-administered with three different doses of VBRB peroral. Concentrations of rhein and its metabolite in different tissues were determined by HPLC. Compared to the control group, VBRB significantly increased the distribution of both rhein and its metabolite in liver and meanwhile decreased their distribution in other tissues, indicating a strong liver targeting enhancing effect. This liver targeting effect of VBRB depended on the dose of VBRB and rhein. Low and high dose of VBRB had a more strong effect than medium dose in HDGR; high dose of rhein was more sensitive than low dose of rhein (P <0.05). Rhein existed in two forms after peroral administration in vivo. It was found that the liver targeting effect of VBRB was more remarkable with the native form of rhein compared to its derivative form. The results of this paper demonstrated that co-administration with VBRB is a simple and efficiencient method for liver targeting therapy, and the meridine guide theory of TCM was credible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on the various fog remote sensing information products abstracted from the polar orbit meteorological satellite data (NOAA and FY), this paper analyzes the characteristics of the frequency and distribution that dense fogs have taken place in the Beijing district from 2001 to 2005. Among those information products, the statistical graph of the foggy days in Beijing from 2001 to 2005 by means of satellite remote-sensing reflects the frequency that dense fog has occurred in the different regions in Beijing; and the statistical graph of the foggy days of each season by satellite remote-sensing shows the characteristics of the temporal and spatial change of the fog distribution in Beijing in different seasons; the fog degree index(like pixel-level spatial measurement) by satellite remote-sensing reflects the fog frequency difference on unit area in different counties of Beijing. Meanwhile, based on the satellite remote-sensing pictures, data on the main meteorological elements that contribute to the formation of fog, geographic information, and DEM data, this paper makes an analysis in 3 areas, the traits of the fog distribution in the different regions of Beijing in different seasons; meteorological causes for temporal and spatial changes of the main fog types (advection fog, radiation fog). This paper also gave a brief introduction of the general principles of meteorological satellite remote sensing fog, fog information extraction method, as well as the process of satellite orbit selecting according to the ground visibility, data processing and product generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As a national innovative scientific and technological facility that integrates monitoring, research and demonstrations, the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) has become one of the largest networks in the world that consists of 40 field stations, 5 sub-centers and 1 synthesis center, covering almost all typical ecosystems in China: cropland, forest, grassland, desert, marshes, lakes, bays and urban ecosystem. Its unique features are the emphasis on understanding long-term structure and function, patterns and processes of ecosystems, combination of the inter-site comprehensive research or cross-site comparison research and the voluntary site-based exploration, and the data sharing both for domestic institutions and international networks at different levels. This paper provides a brief review of CERN by introducing its developing history, objectives and missions, summarizing its progress with the long-term ecological research in China including monitoring, scientific accomplishments in carbon cycle, ecosystem structure and functions, ecosystem restoration and data management. The paper also describes CERN''s strategic plan to 2020 and its development perspectives in the future with focus on six core thematic areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the statistical properties of the fluctuations of the Chinese Stock Index, and we study the statistical properties of HSI, DJI, IXIC and SP500 by comparison. According to the theory of artificial neural networks, a stochastic time effective function is introduced in the forecasting model of the indices in the present paper, which gives an improved neural network – the stochastic time effective neural network model. In this model, a promising data mining technique in machine learning has been proposed to uncover the predictive relationships of numerous financial and economic variables. We suppose that the investors decide their investment positions by analyzing the historical data on the stock market, and the historical data are given weights depending on their time, in detail, the nearer the time of the historical data is to the present, the stronger impact the data have on the predictive model, and we also introduce the Brownian motion in order to make the model have the effect of random movement while maintaining the original trend. In the last part of the paper, we test the forecasting performance of the model by using different volatility parameters and we show some results of the analysis for the fluctuations of the global stock indices using the model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, the relationship between flood/drought change in the Taihu Lake basin (TLB) and ENSO is investigated based on reconstructed flood/drought rank series (FD) and NINO-3.4 SST (DJF) data from 1857 to 2003. With the aid of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method, the paper reveals that FD series and ENSO both contain strong inter-annual, decadal, multi-decadal and centennial signals, and have quite similar periodicities. The EMD method also obtains a monotonic trend for both series: the trend of FD series is upward, which suggests that flood trend is significant, and the trend of NINO-3.4 SST is also upward showing an increase of El Nino events. Continuous wavelet transform obtains similar oscillations for FD and NINO-3.4 SST series with those of EMD method. The results of cross wavelet and wavelet coherence suggest that there was stable in-phase relation between FD and NINO-3.4 SST from 1857 to 1950s, while this in-phase relation is not clear during recent decades. This conclusion is also verified by χ 2 test. These findings indicate weakening linkage between ENSO and flood/drought disasters in the TLB, which must be taken into account in the prediction of flood and drought disasters in the study area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper has a dual focus. One is to study the spatial characteristics of dust activities over the Tarim Basin by locating dust active hot spots. The other is to study the temporal characteristics of dust activities over the Tarim Basin by applying the Extreme Value Analysis (EVA). Hot spots (in terms of dust loading) refer to relatively small (compared to the size of the whole source area), consistently active, dust producing areas. In this paper, Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Aerosol Index (AI) is used to identify hot spots in the Tarim Basin. This hot spot study suggests that dust emissions are inhomogeneous in the Tarim Basin area and the formation of the two hot spots is linked to both (1) a large amount of fine sandy sediments accumulated at the hot spot areas and (2) the basin''s internal dust transport pathways which are controlled by the extreme bounding topography of the basin. Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) has been widely used in a variety of areas, but has not yet been applied in dust storm research. In this paper, 13 years Tarim Basin regional daily maximum TOMS AI data time series are constructed. By examining the statistics of the time series, a new method (outlier method) is developed to identify extreme values. EVA is applied and 100-year-return values are suggested. The interpretation of the 100-year-return values is discussed by referring to historical meteorological records and also climate change projections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Both under-loaded and over-loaded LTL tours are analyzed at disaggregate level. • The impacts of all variables vary across different components. • Demand and use of small vehicles are positively associated with load factors in under-loaded tours. • Distance and vehicle leasing are positively associated with load factors in over-loaded tours. The load factor is an essential indicator of vehicle utilization efficiency. This paper is the first attempt to explore the factors impacting Less-than-Truckload (LTL) freight load factors at a disaggregated level to the best of our knowledge. The paper analyzes the operation data provided by a leading LTL logistics company in China, using the beta regression finite mixture models. The results show that the under-loaded tours and over-loaded tours behave differently in terms of load factor determination. All variables' impacts vary across the different components, confirming the need to analyze these two scenarios separately using finite mixture models. For under-loaded tours, high shipping demand and the use of small vehicles are always positively and significantly associated with the load factor. For over-loaded LTL tours, the effects of transportation distance and leased vehicles are always positive and significant. Finally, implications for operations strategies and public policies are discussed based on the estimated results. These findings shed light on an in-depth understanding of LTL freight load factors and provide essential references for LTL logistics companies, transportation planners, policymakers, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As one of the world's oldest civilizations, China has a continuous history that extends for more than 5000 years. There are many important capital cities throughout China. However, little information is available in the literature about capital city sites using remote sensing because of its various geographical conditions. This paper designs new methodologies for detecting archaeological features in Northern and Southern China based on multi-source remotely sensed data. Based on various environmental factors, multitemporal images were interpreted to analyse an ancient city located in Southern China, while the integral of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series and thermal infrared images were employed to detect the archaeological features in Northern China; these results were then cross-compared with each other. The results demonstrate that the use of integrated remote sensing technology can provide valuable information and indications of archaeological remains in ancient capital city sites in different geomorphological and vegetated environments in China. Our results also demonstrate that capital city sites can be detected using the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

this paper applies an epsilon-based measure DEA approach to evaluate the regional ecological energy efficiency for 30 regions in China and its three major areas for the period 2007–2015. Based on this, the temporal and spatial disparities of China's regional ecological energy efficiency are investigated. To explore the sources of China's regional ecological energy inefficiency, the overall ecological energy inefficiency is decomposed into several input-specific inefficiencies. And then, the energy saving and pollution abatement potentials of each Chinese region is calculated using the differences between the target values and the actual values of energy consumption and pollution emissions. The empirical results show that China's ecological energy efficiency is relatively low and regional differences are significant for the period 2007–2015. It can be demonstrated that the inefficiency to abate pollution is the main contributor to China's regional ecological energy inefficiency. By calculating the potentials of energy saving and pollution abatement, it can be found that the east area has the lowest potential, followed by the central area, with the west area having the highest potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Height premium has been revealed by extensive literature, however, evidence from China based on large-scale data remains still lacking. In this paper, we study how height conditions salary expectations by exploring a dataset covering over 140,000 Chinese job seekers. By using graphical and regression models, we find evidence in support of height premium that tall people expect a significantly higher salary in career development. In particular, regression results suggest stronger effects of height premium on female than on male, however, the gender differences decrease as the education level increases and become insignificant after holding all control variables fixed. Further, results from graphical models suggest three promising ways in helping short people: (i) to accumulate more working experiences, since one year seniority can respectively make up about 3 cm and 7 cm shortness for female and male; (ii) to increase the level of education, since one higher academic degree may eliminate all disadvantages that brought by shortness; (iii) to target jobs in regions with a higher level of development. Our work provides a cross-culture supportive evidence of height premium and contributes two novel features to the literature: the compensation story in helping short people, and the focus on salary expectations in isolation from discrimination channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In view of the popularity of Internet usage in Hong Kong, an interactive web-based drug information platform entitled "Ask My Pharmacist - Online University Led drug Enquiry Platform" (AMPOULE) was launched in 2009 to better serve the needs of drug information in Hong Kong. This paper aimed to evaluate the utility of AMPOULE in improving drug-related knowledge among the public and to reassess the needs of the general public in Hong Kong.Methods: All enquiries sent via AMPOULE were reviewed. Demographic data, nature of questions and types of drug class covered were analyzed. The workload of pharmacists was examined with respect to the preparation time needed for the enquiry, the lag days to reply and also the timing of enquiry recipient.Results: 2122 enquiries were received from 2009 to 2017. Most enquirers were from Hong Kong (56.6%) and female gender (49.2%). 13% of the concerned subjects were aged over 61-year-old. The most frequent types of questions and medications covered were "Drug Ingredients and Indications" (28.0%) and Adverse Drug Reactions (26.8%) and "Cardiovascular Medication" (21.9%) respectively but these varied in different age groups or enquirer groups. The median time for preparation was 40.0 min (IQR: 25-65 min) while the median time lag was found to be 2.5 days (IQR: 1.0-5.0 days). The number of enquiries received was evenly distributed throughout the day except during 1:00 am to 9:00 am and 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.Conclusion: AMPOULE has demonstrated that an online platform providing patient-oriented drug information service through the Internet is promising and further promotion is warranted. Current data suggested that the need of different age groups and enquirer groups are different and should therefore be individualized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to assess the impacts of urban spatial structure on economic productivity. Drawing upon detailed gridded population data of 306 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above, we identify their urban (sub)centers through exploratory spatial data analysis, construct indicators to measure their degrees of polycentricity and dispersion, and model the impacts of spatial structure on urban productivity. A regression analysis reveals that economic productivity is significantly associated with urban spatial structure. Conditioning on other factors, higher degrees of dispersion are associated with lower level of urban productivity whereas the effects of polycentricity depend on urban population density. Less densely populated cities are likely to have higher productivity levels when they are more monocentric, while urban productivity of cities with high population density tend to benefit from a more polycentric structure. The paper concludes with spatial planning implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's seven major basins cover 45.3% of the total area of this country, where 1.2 billion people are living in. Water quality of these basins is vital for China's water security and sustainable development. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the surface water quality and long-term trends of the seven major basins based on water quality identification index, a method to sort the pollution levels of both the same and different water quality parameters from a quantitative perspective. Water quality identification indices of dissolved oxygen, permanganate index, and ammonia nitrogen and overall water quality identification indices for the weekly data over the period of 2004–2018 were calculated. A big data analysis was then performed to probe how the water quality changed, including long-term water quality improvement over the 15 years, weekly water quality change throughout the year and water quality association among different basins. The study shows that significant improvement in water quality has occurred in China's seven major rivers over the past 15 years as a result of the construction of sewage treatment infrastructures. It also reveals obviously weekly water quality change for dissolved oxygen and ammonia nitrogen, and spatial heterogeneity of water quality between China's southern rivers and northern rivers, due to the drive of natural and anthropogenic factors such as water temperature, runoff flow and non-point source pollution input. In the future, efforts still need to be made regarding the perfection of urban sewer network and non-point source pollution control, so as to further improve the water quality of these basins. • Water quality identification index was used to assess surface water quality change. • Trends in water quality change of the seven major basins over 15 years were assessed. • Water quality change is related to both sewage interception and natural factors. • Water quality similarity was found between China's northern and southern basins. • Sewers perfection and non-point pollution control is key to promote water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's thermal power industry has gone through the phases of rapid development in the last decade. But the excessive enthusiasm of thermal power investment is making this industry overcapacity. The unbalanced demand-supply relationship in electric power market greatly affects the economic benefit of most thermal power plants. In this paper, we give an overall review of the overcapacity situation of China's thermal power industry, which is supported by latest data. Then, policy orientation and its effect is discussed. It can be found out that policies on the respect of construction scale control, renewable power integration, feed-in tariff reduction and environmental protection were considered as the main solution to relieve the over capacity situation. Finally, we propose three suggestions for the future development of China's thermal industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving eco-efficiency of China’s manufacturing industry will be conducive to break the bottleneck of resources and environment constraints of industry development and further the coordinated development of economy and environment. This paper employs the panel data of 28 sub-sectors in China’s manufacturing industry during 2003–2013, divides these sub-sectors into three groups—the high, medium and low eco-efficiency industries according to the eco-efficiency level, and explores the effects of environmental regulation on technical innovation (“weak” Porter hypothesis) and eco-efficiency (“strong” Porter hypothesis) respectively. The results show that: (1) whether environmental regulation can promote the coordinated development of economy and environment in the manufacturing industry is contingent upon the reasonable level of environmental regulation. However, overall, the level of current environmental regulation is not yet sufficient to promote the improvement of eco-efficiency. (2) Industry heterogeneity exists in the effects of environmental regulation on technical innovation and eco-efficiency, that is, in the high and low eco-efficiency groups, the impact of environmental regulation on technical innovation is an inverted “U” type while that on eco-efficiency is an “U” type. (3) The impacts of environmental regulation on technical innovation and eco-efficiency in the medium eco-efficiency group are both “U” type, indicating that moderately enhancing environmental regulation can achieve the win-win situation of economic and environmental performance in this group. Lastly, we provide policy implications for different industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]