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Agricultural development in developing countries generally faces increasingly severe financing constraints, and China's practice provides a model for other countries. This article investigates the impact of the policy to alleviate rural financing constraints on agricultural carbon emissions in developing countries by using a quasi-natural experiment, the "Incremental Incentives for Agricultural Loans from County Financial Institutions," implemented in China, with data from 2005 to 2018, and with a DID approach. It is found that under the influence of this policy, the alleviation of agricultural financing constraints will significantly generate an increase in the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions, which is triggered by the fact that the alleviation of financing constraints increases the production factors invested per unit area in the agricultural production process, while the increase in the mechanization and scale of agriculture will assist to reduce the contribution of the alleviation of financing constraints to carbon emissions. The impact of financing constraint alleviation on agricultural carbon emissions may differ among places with different economic and social development and agricultural bases. Additionally, the alleviation of rural financing constraints can promote agricultural development and increase farmers' income, enabling other developing countries to adjust their policy orientation when adopting such policies, thus promoting agricultural development while controlling agricultural carbon emissions and contributing to the global emission reduction cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous technological advances resulted in an ever-growing need for novel materials. In conventional engineering materials, cyclic loadings weaken materials by initiating cracks or degrading materials, which leads to premature failure. Contrarily, natural materials such as bones address the issue elegantly. Stress is utilized as a stimulus for material synthesis to strengthen the material. The salient difference between these natural material systems and their synthetic counterparts is their adaptive behavior. Adaptive materials can self-tune their properties in response to stimuli from the environment. Recently, growing attention has been directed towards adaptive materials owing to their autonomous "smart" behavior and multifunctionality. The goal of this article is to discuss the recent efforts in adaptive materials with a focus on mechanically adaptive materials based on piezoelectricity. The rationale behind these material systems is explained as well as an overview of different material systems and their implications. Lastly, we will discuss the challenges to overcome and prospects for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Familism is a core ideology in Chinese society, yet it has been understudied in this cultural context, potentially attributed to the lack of quantifiable measures. This study sought to develop a reliable and valid scale, the Contemporary Chinese Familism Scale (CCFS), to assess Chinese familism and analyze its structural and psychological characteristics in contemporary China., Method: The scale development and validation process comprised four studies: in Study 1, literature review, qualitative interviews, and item evaluations by experts were conducted to develop the initial item pool for the CCFS; in Studies 2 and 3, item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, competing model comparisons, and measurement invariance tests were conducted to examine the structure underlying familism ( N ₁ = 958, M age = 25.4 years; N ₂ = 570, M age = 32.01 years); in Study 4, reliability and validity assessments were conducted to further explore the psychometric properties of the final 27-item CCFS using three samples ( N ₂ = 570, M age = 32.01 years; N ₃ = 710, M age = 22.37 years; N ₄ = 932, M age = 40.98 years)., Result: A bifactor structure with one general factor and five specific factors (Connection and Closeness, Offspring and Lineage, Honor and Reference, Harmony and Sacrifice, and Care and Help) demonstrated the best fit for the data and supported the multidimensionality of familism in contemporary China. Subsequent psychometric analyses provided initial evidence for the optimal psychometric properties of the CCFS., Conclusion: This study contributes to our understanding of the multifaceted nature of familism in contemporary China by developing a culturally sensitive scale on Chinese familism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The consumption of small fruits has increased in recent years. Besides their appealing flavor, the commercial success of small fruits has been partially attributed to their high contents of phenolic compounds with multiple health benefits. The phenolic profiles and contents in small fruits vary based on the genetic background, climate, growing conditions, and post-harvest handling techniques. In this review, we critically compare the profiles and contents of phenolics such as anthocyanins, flavonols, flavan-3-ols, and phenolic acids that have been reported in bilberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, black and red currants, raspberries, and strawberries during fruit development and post-harvest storage. This review offers researchers and breeders a general guideline for the improvement of phenolic composition in small fruits while considering the critical factors that affect berry phenolics from cultivation to harvest and to final consumption.