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Self-esteem has always been a hot research object in the field of adolescent mental health. But in longitudinal research, using a single slope to describe the trajectory of adolescent self-esteem is unrealistic. The piecewise growth mixture model (PGMM) was used to fit the data in this study. Selecting from China Family Panel Studies database, a total of 1,759 individuals were selected and their self-esteem (RSES) scores over the years were used as the tracking index. Based on the characteristics of the development trajectories of three latent classes, class 1 was referred to as "stable low level group," class 2 was named "rapidly rising group," and class 3 was referred to as "rapidly decrease group." And there were two stages in the development process of self-esteem in the adolescent group. The slope of the stable low level group showed a significant downward trend in the first stage and a significant upward trend in the second stage, with a relatively flat development trajectory and relatively low self-esteem on the whole. The slope of the rapidly rising group showed an insignificant upward trend in the first stage and a significant rapid upward trend in the second stage. The rapidly decrease group showed a significant and rapid downward trend in the first stage and a significant and rapid upward trend in the second stage. In the development of self-esteem in adolescence, there were three latent classes in which the characteristics of development trajectories were different. Age of 14 is the turning point between the two stages of development.

Against the dual backdrop of China vigorously promoting high-speed railways (HSR) construction and establishing an ecological civilization system, HSR as urban transportation infrastructure, is currently gaining growing attention from the academic community due to its environmental benefits as well as its effects in energy conservation and emission reduction. In this context, this research treats the initiation of HSR as a quasi-natural experiment, meanwhile empirically examining the effect of HSR on energy structure restructuring and exploring the micro-level channels through which it operates. The empirical results validate the reduction effect of HSR opening on fuel energy consumption of industrial enterprises, especially the usage of fuel coal. This highlight remains valid across a series of robustness tests. Moreover, it is evident that the "driving effect" of enterprise technological innovation capability and the "industrial upgrading effect" of enterprise relocation are effective transmission pathways in the process of HSR opening influencing the adjustment of energy consumption structure. Moreover, the unique characteristics of enterprise, industry, and region introduce a certain degree of heterogeneity. The low-energy-consumption effect of HSR is more pronounced in high-carbon industry enterprises, technology-intensive enterprises, firms engaged in innovation pilot cities, small to the medium-sized city and resource-based city. This paper provides a new perspective on energy structure adjustment, contributing to offering solid experiences and references for environmental governance in China and other emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive finance has the potential to impact CO2 emissions resulting from energy activities by influencing regional economic behavior. To explore this relationship, this research makes use of panel data covering 30 Chinese provinces between 2004 and 2017. Through the utilization of empirical methods, including the dynamic panel model, the DIFF-GMM model, the mediating effect model, and the moderating effect model, the study examines the direction and mechanisms of the influence of financial inclusion on various aspects of CO2 emissions in China. The findings demonstrate that the development of inclusive finance has a significant effect on CO2 emissions, characterized by an energy rebound effect. This effect is primarily observed through notable increases in total CO2 emissions and per capita CO2 emissions, coupled with a reduction in CO2 emission efficiency. Additionally, inclusive finance exhibits a certain capacity to mitigate CO2 emissions by addressing energy poverty. However, this mitigating effect falls short of fully offsetting the CO2 emissions resulting from the overall economic impact of inclusive finance. Moreover, the study reveals that market regulation weakens the positive relationship between financial inclusion and CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the impact of financial inclusion on CO2 emissions exhibits a spatial spillover effect, wherein it serves to inhibit CO2 emissions in neighboring regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing concerns over resource depletion and environmental degradation, the role of high-speed railways in fostering a transition towards sustainable energy sources has gained prominence. Against this background, we treat the opening of high-speed railways as a quasi-natural study, analyze data from Chinese industrial enterprises and 285 prefecture-level cities to investigate the impact of high-speed railways on environmental sustainability, specifically focusing on fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Our results unequivocally demonstrate that the introduction of high-speed railways has been instrumental in promoting eco-friendly development, as evidenced by a notable reduction in traditional resource consumption and carbon emissions along the railway routes. This inhibitory effect has strengthened over time and with increasing distance from the railway. Additionally, we identify significant spatial spillover and spatial conduction effects resulting from high-speed railway operations. Heterogeneity tests reveal that third-tier cities, non-megacities, and mature resource-based cities are particularly receptive to these sustainable impacts. Besides, Mechanism analysis suggests that accelerated elements flow, enhanced technological innovation, improved labor productivity, and upgrading of industrial structure serve as potential pathways leading to eco-sustainability. These findings highlight the environmentally friendly attributes of high-speed railways and underscore the pressing need for effective policy measures to facilitate a global transition towards renewable energy, both in China and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A major aspect of caring for older adults in the medical field is addressing their health risks. The term "frailty" is generally used to describe the changes in health risks of older adults. Although there is considerable heterogeneity in the Chinese older adult population who are classified as frail, there remain few relevant studies. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the frailty status transitions of older Chinese adults at different time points. This research intends to determine the frailty status and category of older adults according to their physical, psychological, social, and cognitive function domains, and on this basis, to investigate changes in their frailty states. Methods: This article studied 2791 respondents who were over 60 years old (n = 2791; 53.2% were women) from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) follow-up survey on factors affecting the health of older adults in China. In this article, the frailty variables include self-reported health, social function, mental health, cognitive function, functional limitations, and morbidity status. Random-intercept latent transition profile analysis (RI-LTPA) was used to divide older adults into different subgroups, and then an in-depth analysis of the state transitions was conducted. Results: The latent profile analysis revealed that the evaluation results of the frailty state of older adults showed obvious group heterogeneity. Each fitting index supported four latent states, which were named according to the degree of the symptoms (i.e., multi-frailty, severe socially frailty, mild socially frailty, and relatively healthy frailty). Based on the categorical probability and the probability of transition, it can be concluded that most of the samples belonged to the healthy population, and the health status had generally improved across the four time points. The relatively healthy frailty group and the severe socially frailty group have relatively strong stabilities. The multi-frailty group and the mild socially frailty group had the highest probability of joining to the relatively healthy frailty group. Strengthening social interactions among older adults and promoting their participation in social activities can significantly improve their frail state. Conclusions: This study supplements related research on frailty. Firstly, it deepens the meaning of frailty, which is defined based on four aspects: physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning. Secondly, it divides frailty into different sub-categories. Frailty is discussed from the perspective of longitudinal research, which can provide practical adjustment suggestions for older adult nursing intervention systems and measures in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on panel data of 285 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2003 to 2020, this study has explored the impacts of smart city policy (SCP) on environmental pollution by utilizing the difference-in-differences (DID) model and its derived models. The results indicate that SCP can significantly reduce environmental pollution, and this conclusion still holds after passing numerous robustness tests, such as the propensity-score-matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) test, the placebo test, all independent variables lagging one period test, the policy interference test, and the instrument variable (IV) test. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of reducing environmental pollution of SCP is heterogeneous. Furthermore, the results of the spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model show that SCP has a "beggar-thy-neighbor" effect among the pilot cities, and there is no spillover effect of SCP on pollution reduction in neighboring non-pilot cities. Finally, the analysis of moderating effect reflects that the government intervention plays a negative inhibition role in the process of SCP affecting environmental pollution, while the market competition plays a positive catalytic role in the process of SCP reducing environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green credit is a new financial instrument that has emerged in response to the call for the transformation of the "green economy" model. It aims to utilize financial means to support green industries and environmental projects, serving as a crucial lever for the integration of social and economic benefits. It also represents a significant developmental direction for the future credit business of banks. Leveraging microdata from 36 banks spanning the years 2007–2022, this study explores the correlation between green credit and the risk-taking behavior of commercial banks in China, building upon the DID model. Meanwhile, Granger causality tests are employed to investigate the bidirectional relationship between these two core objects. The research results indicate that green credit has a short-term mitigating effect on the risk-taking behavior of commercial banks. This risk-mitigating effect is more pronounced among banks with smaller assets and lower profitability. However, this effect diminishes over time, ultimately resulting in an increased propensity for risk-taking in the long run. Moreover, this highlight posits that the credit risks of banks do not influence the implementation of green credit policies. Consequently, this paper offers essential reference value for the risk management practices of commercial banks in the emerging economies and other global countries. • We conduct policy evaluation to analyze the effect of GCP on risk-taking of commercial banks. • We adopt the Granger causality test to explore the two-way relationship between key variables. • We support the mitigation effect of GCP , especially in banks with fewer assets and lower profitability. • We conduct robustness tests to verify the credibility of preliminary regression results. • We further analyze potential effect of GCP from dual perspectives in short-term and long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of the global carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, the role of informal environmental regulation, epitomized by public engagement, is assuming an increasingly pivotal position within the realm of environmental management. By contrast, amidst the prevailing landscape dominated by formal environmental regulation (command-and-control and market-driven approaches), the environmental effects of informal environmental regulation on carbon emissions have received scant attention. Consequently, we examine the net, nonlinear, and mediation effects of informal environmental regulation on carbon emissions using panel data from 30 provinces in China, from 2003 to 2019. We find that informal environmental regulation has a significant effect on regional carbon emission reduction, especially in the eastern cities, pilot cities, and cities with long-term governor's tenure. Its U-shaped effect is confirmed by changes in environmental decentralization. The key points remain valid after the robustness test and the endogenous processing. The mechanism analysis shows that informal environmental regulation can reduce carbon emissions in the dual channels by improving industrial structure transition and renewable energy substitution. Therefore, this study assesses the management effectiveness of informal environmental regulation and determines the underlying mechanism between it and regional carbon emission reduction to provide a reference and an empirical basis for other countries regarding environmental improvement. •We explore the effect of IER on carbon emissions from spatio-temporal perspective. •We investigate convergence and spatial evolution characteristics of carbon emissions in China. •We analyze mechanism channels from dual aspects. •We enrich empirical evidence of U-shaped effect relying on a semi-parametric spatial model. •We carry out heterogeneity analysis from triple fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive green growth has garnered significant attention from governments and international organizations worldwide. Utilizing data from 282 cities in China spanning from 2010 to 2020, this study employs the dual machine learning model and the chain mediated effect model to delve into the effects and internal mechanisms of the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt on inclusive green growth. Our findings indicate that the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt has a substantial influence on inclusive green growth, particularly in cities with a higher degree of marketization, non-industrial cities, and cities lacking natural resource advantages. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt exerts its influence on inclusive green growth through three parallel development paths including enhancing urban innovation levels, fostering mass entrepreneurship, and promoting the advancement of digital financial inclusion. Furthermore, the chain mediated effect is supported. Additionally, the spatial spillover effect of target policy is observed. These findings offer empirical evidence regarding the impact of the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt on inclusive green growth, and provide valuable insights for optimizing and enhancing inclusive green growth strategies in China and other emerging economies. • The regional integration strategy of YREB has promoted inclusive green growth in China. • The baseline results are robust under multiple econometric analyses. • Parallel and chain intermediary channels are proved in the mechanism analyses. • The spatial spillover effects of this policy on pilot and non-pilot cities are differentiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The RTN4 gene on chromosome 2p13-14 has been reported to be over-expressed in schizophrenia by a cDNA subtractive hybridization experiment between postmortem human frontal cerebral cortices from Canadian schizophrenia individuals and neurological controls. The same study also reported a high prevalence of homozygous CAA insertion in the schizophrenia. In a replication attempt to investigate the role of RTN4 in the etiology of schizophrenia, we genotyped the CAA insertion polymorphism and other three genetic polymorphisms (a TATC deletion in the 3′-untranslated region and two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 5′ region) within RTN4 and conducted a case-control study in the Chinese population. There were no significant discrepancies in allele and genotype frequencies of the four polymorphisms individually and haplotype distribution between the cases and the controls. Our current data suggest that the genetic polymorphisms within RTN4 are unlikely to confer an increased susceptibility to schizophrenia in the Chinese population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the impacts of industrial collaborative agglomeration on industrial sulfur dioxide intensity from a spatiotemporal perspective based on panel data on the 284 prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2019, with systematic consideration of the underlying mechanism of channels and actions. The empirical results show that industrial co-agglomeration significantly intensifies industrial SO 2 intensity, especially with increasing agglomeration. In addition, its positive spatial spillover effects are established in geographical proximity to the city. Furthermore, the channel analysis shows that the industrial structure path, industrial efficiency path, and industrial scale path account for a sharp increase in industrial SO 2 intensity. The market forces reverse and moderate this exacerbating process more significantly than the government does, which provides evidence for the importance of pursuing a dynamic equilibrium between them. Finally, there exist heterogeneous effects across cities with different administrative levels, innovation capacities, and macropolicies of special emission limits for air pollutant policy. While arguing for the environmental pollution effects of industrial co-agglomeration, this paper also provides solid support and a new perspective for promoting sustainable economic development and achieving win-win economic and environmental benefits., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The double-wheel drive of manufacturing industries and producer services industries is one of the key pathways to promote high-quality development relying on a modern industrial system. This paper explores the impacts of industrial co-agglomeration on regional economic growth in China with systematic consideration of static, dynamic, and spatio-temporal perspectives based on panel data for 285 prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2020, employing the consolidated night-time light data. The empirical results show that industrial co-agglomeration significantly accelerates regional economic growth, especially high-tech intensity producer services industries, information industries, and finance industries. In addition, its spatial spillover effects are evidently established, which are characterized by cyclic accumulative, feedback features, and distance attenuation. Carrying out robustness tests, the preliminary regression results are verified. The heterogeneous influences are established across cities with different geographical locations, innovation capacities, and resource endowments. The further mechanism analysis indicates that industrial upgrading, technological progress, and efficiency enhancements account for the main channels for a sharp promotion in regional economic growth over the sample period. Furthermore, the government moderates this process more significantly than market forces do, especially when it comes to macroexogenous shocks that are regulated by the government. The findings of this study recommend policymakers to give full play to the positive externalities of industrial co-agglomeration and accelerate the industrial co-agglomeration process in a reasonable manner, so as to promote high-quality economic growth in China., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Based on panel data of 285 cities in China at the prefecture level and above from 2005 to 2020, this paper aims to study the nexus between industrial co-agglomeration and carbon emissions from dual perspectives including space and time. It adopts multiple approaches including a dynamic general method of moment, panel quantile regression model, panel threshold model, and dynamic spatial Durbin model. The non-spatial empirical results support the establishment of the threshold effect and the imbalance effect. The spatial empirical results indicate that industrial co-agglomeration poses a dramatic stimulating effect on urban carbon emissions, and its spatial spillover effect and spatial heterogeneity are conditionally established. Furthermore, heterogeneous effects are supported, such as the positive spillover effects of industrial co-agglomeration are more significant in western cities, resource-oriented cities, and non-low-carbon pilot cities. The heterogeneous influence of cost factors on industrial agglomeration and carbon emissions has also been partially confirmed. In terms of the channels and mechanism of action, the negative externalities of industrial co-agglomeration occupy a dominant position in the current status of economic development. The dynamic equilibrium between government intervention and marketization is a solid foundation for the optimization of carbon emission reduction paths., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Shen, Pan and Feng.)

Based on the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data, this paper used factor analysis to measure the level of financial literacy of surveyed householders and used the Probit model and the negative binomial model to test the impact of financial literacy ( FL ) on household health investment ( HHI ). The results show that: (1) FL is an essential influencing factor in increasing participation in HHI , and householders with a higher level of FL are also more willing to pay for diversified investments. (2) We split the FL level from the two dimensions of knowledge and ability. We found that the primary FL (including financial knowledge, computing ability, and correct recognition of investment product risk) plays a more critical role in the investment decision process. (3) When information sources, health knowledge, and family income are used as mediating variables, FL can influence the decisions of HHI in three ways: expanding information sources, enriching health knowledge, and alleviating income constraints. (4) By analyzing the heterogeneity of household heads in different regions and with different personal characteristics, we found that the medical level of the household location and the life and work experience of the householders played a moderating role., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: To analyze and present the China's national survey on patient-specific IMRT quality assurance (QA)., Methods: A national survey was conducted in all radiotherapy centers in China to collect comprehensive information on status of IMRT QA practice, including machine, technique, equipment, issues and suggestions., Results: Four hundred and three centers responded to this survey, accounting for 56.92% of all the centers implementing IMRT in China. The total number of medical physicists and the total number of patients treated with IMRT annually in these centers was 1599 and 305,000 respectively. All centers implemented measurement-based verification. Point dose verification and 2D dose verification was implemented in 331 and 399 centers, respectively. Three hundred forty-eight centers had 2D arrays, and 52 centers had detector devices designed to measure VMAT beams. EPID and film were used in 78 and 70 centers, respectively. Seventeen and 20 centers used log file and 3D DVH analysis, respectively. One hundred sixty-eight centers performed measurement-based verification not for each patient based on different selection criteria. The techniques and methods varied significantly in both point dose and dose distribution verification, from evaluation metrics, criteria, tolerance limit, and steps to check failed IMRT QA plans. Major issues identified in this survey were the limited resources of physicists, QA devices, and linacs., Conclusions: IMRT QA was implemented in all the surveyed centers. The practice of IMRT QA varied significantly between centers. An increase in personnel, QA devices and linacs is highly desired. National standard, guideline, regulation and training programs are urgently needed in China for consistent and effective implementation of IMRT QA.

Dysfunction of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors has been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia based on psychotomimetic properties of several antagonists and on observation of genetic animal models. To conduct association analysis of the NMDA receptors in the Chinese population, we examined 16 reported SNPs across the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit gene (GRIN1) and NR2B subunit gene (GRIN2B), five of which were identified in the Chinese population. In this study, we combined universal DNA microarray and ligase detection reaction (LDR) for the purposes of association analysis, an approach we considered to be highly specific as well as offering a potentially high throughput of SNP genotyping. The association study was performed using 253 Chinese patients with schizophrenia and 140 Chinese control subjects. No significant frequency differences were found in the analysis of the alleles but some were found in the haplotypes of the GRIN2B gene. The interactions between the GRIN1 and GRIN2B genes were evaluated using the multifactor-dimensionality reduction (MDR) method, which showed a significant genetic interaction between the G1001C in the GRIN1 gene and the T4197C and T5988C polymorphisms in the GRIN2B gene. These findings suggest that the combined effects of the polymorphisms in the GRIN1 and GRIN2B genes might be involved in the etiology of schizophrenia.European Journal of Human Genetics (2005) 13, 807-814. doi:10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201418 Published online 20 April 2005.

An increasing amount of evidence suggests that the pathophysiology of schizophrenia is associated with activation of the immune system. Four studies have established an association of -308G/A polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), a cytokine involved in inflammatory processes, with schizophrenia [Mol. Psychiatry 6 (2001) 79; Mol. Psychiatry 8 (2003) 718; Schizophr. Res. 65 (2003) 19; Biol. Psychiatry 54 (2003) 1205]. In the present study, however, no significant positive association has been found between any individual SNP or haplotype constituted of the five promoter polymorphisms (-1031T/C, -863C/A, -857C/T, -308G/A and -238G/A) in the human TNF-alpha gene and schizophrenia (314 Chinese Han schizophrenic patients and 340 healthy control). A meta-analysis we did in this work, which is based on previous nine studies plus our own unpublished data including a total of 2399 schizophrenic patients (sporadic cases 2099, familial cases >505) and more than 3261 controls, failed to show significant difference of -308G/A distribution between patients and controls in both the whole sample and the pooled Asian sample. By contraries, the significant results in the pooled Caucasian sample imply an ethnic heterogeneity in -308G/A variation in the TNF-alpha gene in schizophrenia.