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Wild animals can adapt to their environments under natural selection pressure. Sympatric species with similar niches compete and achieve coexistence through habitat separation. Using the line transect method from July to September 2019, we examined summer habitat use and niche overlap between Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus) and Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) in the Taihang mountains surrounding Beijing, China. We found that Chinese goral preferred habitats with higher elevation, tree density, vegetation, cover, and a number of stumps. In contrast, tree diameter at breast height, number of fallen wood, and dry grass cover in habitats of Chinese goral were significantly lower than those of Siberian roe deer. It used shrub habitats with moderate to poor shelter from the winds, while Siberian roe deer used both tree and shrub habitats with good hiding cover and good shelter from the winds. Siberian roe deer were more likely to occur in habitats far from human communities. The two species showed marked niche overlap (Pianka's index = 0.869). To reduce competition and coexist in the same region, both species were separated mainly in spatial and trophic niches. Therefore, maintaining valuable shrub habitats in higher elevations and tree and shrub habitats far from human settlements will facilitate the coexistence of the two ungulates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighborhood renewal projects in China have distinct characteristics. Unlike other government-led public affair, these projects entail extensive participation from the residents in the decision-making process. However, the behavior of the residents is often influenced by the complex social relationships among them, which in turn can impact the implementation of the renewal project. This paper aims to identify the relationships between residents' cooperative behavior and their social relationship in the context of neighborhood renewal. Social capital is taken as a lens to examine residents' social relationships, and the theory of planned behavior is used to study residents' behavior. Data from 381 residents in 75 neighborhood renewal projects was collected using questionnaire surveys and was analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that the social relationships not only affect the residents' opinions regarding the renewal, but also directly influence their intention to engage in cooperative behavior. Moreover, the findings further suggest that gender and age play an important role in the relationship between residents' social capital and cooperative behavior. These finding contributes to a better understanding of residents' cooperative behavior in neighborhood renewal and provides important insights for the design of initiatives that effectively inspire cooperative behavior among residents. • The role of social capital in shaping residents' cooperative behavior is confirmed. • The integration of social capital and planned behavior theory provides a comprehensive explanation for cooperative behavior. • Gender and age differences can affect the impact of residents' social relationships on behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is an important type of land use but suffers from drought, especially under global climate change scenarios. Although government is a major actor in helping farmers to adapt to drought, lack of funds has constrained its efforts. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mechanism has been widely applied in urban infrastructure development to raise fund for public goods and services, but very few studies explored its role in rural areas. Based on interview of 139 farming households and open-ended interview of village heads, government officials and company representatives, in the Lujiang Flatland in the Nu River (Upper Salween) Valley, Southwest China, this paper aims to reveal how PPP functions to enhance farmers' adaptation to drought. We found that farmers have developed multiple strategies in their own ways to adapt to drought, including pumping and store water, using water-saving irrigation techniques, changing of crops, and strengthening water management at the community level, while insufficient funds, water resource scarcity and mismatch of time-scale of crop growth and drought even hindered their adaptation options. Limited fund sources, gap in policy implementation and weak performance of government-funded projects hindered governmental supports to be effective. Weak motivation and distrusted by farmers limited the engagement of private enterprises in supporting farmers to adapt to drought. PPP mechanism has the potential to mobilize fund from multiple sources, share costs, risks and benefits among different stakeholders, combine both scientific and local knowledge, and reduce uncertainty through formal and informal institutions. Benefited from these advantages, PPP mechanism could improve project performance, thus increase farmers’ adaptation options and resilience to drought. This study offers referential lessons and valuable insights for agricultural development, especially for mountain communities vulnerable to exceptional and recurrent drought episodes under warming climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a qualitative social research method at the local administrative level, this paper provides insight into the policy process in China and farmers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of policies implemented to deal with drought. Two villages in rural South-West Yunnan were purposefully selected for the study. The research started with the general assumption that China has a strong top-down hierarchal approach to policy processes and that funding dispersal is prioritised by the central government. However, the study found that funding proposals are prioritised for selection in a bottom-up, participatory manner from the local level. The study also found that farmers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of policy implementation were directly related to their past experience. Among the nine indicators used to measure the effectiveness of policy implementation at the local level, the farmers in the study area perceived access to roads as highly effective; water use efficiency projects, market demand, human mobility for jobs, and government funds as moderately effective; drought knowledge, community participation in planning, and governance structures as least effective; and the role of leadership as not effective. The study found that farmers’ adaptation at the local level is oriented towards short-term market rewards and income diversification. Farmers’ local-level adaptation is guided by government priorities and driven by their perception of tangible benefits. To ensure the effectiveness of policy implementation, long-term adaptation strategies, such as awareness raising, capacity building, watershed management, and source conservation need to be strengthened at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefabricated housing has proven to achieve high quality, reduce costs and improve housing environmental performance. While prefabricated housing has been widely constructed in many jurisdictions, it is still in its infancy in China. However, the prefabrication sector in China is in transition as the macro environment is changing and new participants are expected to enter architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry who will have to work cooperatively as well as competitively with the existed companies. Such changes and strategic activities have impacts on every participant within the ecosystem. A better understanding of the whole industry as well as the participants’ strategic positioning will help companies develop their survival strategies. This paper aims to establish the prefabricated housing ecosystem in China based on the business ecosystem theory and to analyze the interrelationships among the major participants. A conceptual model of the ecosystem is established through literature review. Subsequently, the social network analysis (SNA) approach is employed to quantitatively analyze the strategic relationships between property developers and contractors who have adopted prefabrication in their residential projects. Finally, Node XL software is used for visualization and data analysis. Through the SNA measurements, the top 3 property developers and contractors are identified and several clusters are uncovered, which suggests a cooperation tendency among local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirteen specimens were tested out of which nine were for creep of sealed concrete and four for shrinkage test, for a period of 700 d under controlled temperature condition. The experimental results for creep and shrinkage were compared with creep and shrinkage computation model B3 and distinct discrepancies between observed and calculated creep and shrinkage strains were observed. Based on regression analysis, modification on B3 model has been formulated which will be applicable at least for concrete of characteristics strength of C40 and C50 with additives. Besides, on the basis of observation on identical specimens with varied stress strength ratio, a function is generated which accounts effect of stress strength ratio on creep. Finally, Civil Engineering community is suggested not to follow the creep prediction models without correction at least for modern concrete, as they do not account the effect of additives on its compliance function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a extra-large city in China, Beijing faces a serious problem with air pollution. In 1998, a package of air pollution control measures was announced by local government. However in order to reach environment target, further policy options have to be explored. Based on previous studies on technology choices for urban transport in Beijing, this paper presents a policy assessment to examine these options. A methodology framework using criteria for policy evaluation was used in the assessment. Here diesel-car, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle and Mass Railway based Transport (MRT) were selected, and barriers to their diffusion were identified. For each barrier, a group of policy options to remove the barrier was evaluated by five criteria. A ranking of these policy options is given in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of coal in Chinese households for winter heating emits harmful pollutants that severely affect indoor air quality and climate. Therefore, China has made efforts to transition into clean heating using improved heating stoves and biomass pellets. Although the economic and policy implications of such demonstration projects have been extensively investigated, little has been done to understand the real-world performance and adoption trends of such stoves. This study measured in-use emissions from nine different pellet stoves used for heating among 52 rural households in Yangxin, Shandong Province. The temperature of the stove chimney of 21 households was monitored and 56 households were surveyed to explore the stove use trend. The particulate and gaseous emission concentrations for most of the stoves exceeded the limits specified in the Chinese national standard. The measured fuel energy-based emission factors (mean ± standard deviation) for CO 2 , CO, NOx, and PM 2.5 were 103 ± 3, 1.41 ± 1.19, 0.336 ± 0.237, and 0.146 ± 0.108 g/MJ, respectively. Between January to February, the average daily heating duration was 8.71 h, and the sustained use of heating stoves was seen among over 85% of the households. On average, the households used their heating stoves for 3.28 months and the estimated annual pellets consumption for a household was 2.7 tons. Besides inherent variabilities associated with user habits, the stove's design-related shortcomings and low-grade pellets hindered the performance and effectiveness of pellet stoves. This study provides insights into opportunities and challenges for the promotion of cleaner fuels and heating technologies. Furthermore, it will provide information on emissions from rural residential sources to build the emission inventory and inform policymaking for successful stove promotion programs. [Display omitted] • Most households used their stoves regularly during the day and shut them down at night. • In-use emissions from the stoves exceeded the limits of the national standard. • Most of the stoves supplied excess air contributing to higher emissions. • Over half of the pellets used were of inferior quality. • Stove designs based on local habits and better pellets are vital to reduce emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw pellets are widely promoted and expected to be a cleaner alternative fuel to unprocessed crop residues and raw coal in rural China. However, the effectiveness of these dissemination programs is not well evaluated. In this field study, emission characteristics of burning straw pellets, raw coal, and unprocessed corn cobs in heating stoves were investigated in a pilot village in Northeast China. Emission measurements covering the whole combustion cycle (ignition, flaming, and smoldering phases) shows the promotion of improved heating stoves and straw pellets could reduce pollutant emissions (e.g., SO 2 and CO), but increase NO X and PM 2.5 emissions compared to the initial stove-fuel use pattern in the studied area. There is a significant variance in emission characteristics between different combustion phases. The normalized emission concentrations of the different stove-fuel combinations were higher than the limits in the Chinese national standard for heating stoves, indicating that the standard is not met for real-world emissions. Coal consumption was lower than official data. Household surveys were conducted to identify the barriers to fuel and stove access associated with existing promotion strategies, management, and policies. The pilot program was of the typical "subsidy-and-policy-dependence" pattern and was unlikely to be implemented on a large scale. Technological innovation, operational optimization, and proper policies considering the local socioeconomic factors are needed to sustain the promotion of biomass straw pellets and stoves., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Household heating stoves are commonly used for heating in rural China during winter and are responsible for a large portion of the particulate matter in the atmosphere. Pollutant emissions from household stoves are influenced by user behaviors in actual use, in addition to purely technological reasons (i.e., type and age of appliance) and installation conditions (i.e., the natural draft of chimney system). The variability in user behavior is one of the reasons for uncertainty in household emission inventories. In this study, household stove user behaviors, including ignition frequency, heating with or without cooking, smoldering duration, and fuel-adding times, were investigated through face-to-face surveys in Shanxi province, north China. The survey of user behaviors showed that the majority of the RHS users (81.3%) and approximately half of the WHS users (49.4%) used their stoves for both cooking and heating, whereas the remaining users used their stoves just for heating. Approximately 80% of surveyed households (97.4% for water heating stove and 68.7% for radiant heating stove) kept the stoves smoldering at night, whereas the remaining users ignited their stoves every day. The highest frequency of smoldering duration and highest frequency of fuel-adding operation were 8-9 h and 4-7 times, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that stove type, permanent population, and annual income are the potential influencing factors of user behavior. The smoldering duration was positively related to indoor air pollutant concentrations and fuel-adding times had a significant impact on outdoor PM 2.5 emission factors. The results from this research will be beneficial for understanding the cause of fluctuation in emissions and designing heating appliances for real-life operations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)