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Abstract This essay analyzes a robust body of C and N stable isotopes from human and animal collagen and plant remains (n = 423) in the area of Lower Yangtze River dating to 8000–4300 cal. BP, combined with new isotopic data recovered from the Zhelin site in Shanghai, to explore the dietary differences between coastal region and the inland core area of the Liangzhu culture (5300–4300 cal. BP). Our findings suggest that the food variety of the peripheral inhabitants of the core area of the Liangzhu culture may became less diverse over time, while at the same time their reliance on a few domesticated species (rice and pigs) increased. It may be a result of the growing economic and cultural influence of the populations in the inland core Liangzhu area.

Abstract Studying language evolution brings a crucial perspective to bear on questions of human prehistory. As the most linguistically diverse region on earth, East and Southeast Asia have witnessed extensive sociocultural and ethnic contacts among different language communities. Especially, the Kra-Dai language family exhibits tremendous socio-cultural importance in these regions. Due to limited historical accounts, however, there are several controversies on their linguistic relatedness, ambiguities regarding the divergence time, and uncertainties on the dispersal patterns. To address these issues, here we apply Bayesian phylogenetic methods to analyze the largest lexical dataset containing 646 cognate sets compiled for 100 Kra-Dai languages. Our dated phylogenetic tree showed their initial divergence occurring approximately 4000 years BP. Phylogeographic results supported the early Kra-Dai language dispersal from the Guangxi-Guangdong area of South China towards Mainland Southeast Asia. Coupled with genetic, archaeological, paleoecologic, and paleoclimatic data, we demonstrated that the Kra-Dai language diversification could have coincided with their demic diffusion and agricultural spread shaped by the global climate change in the late Holocene. The interdisciplinary alignments shed light on reconstructing the prehistory of Kra-Dai languages and provide an indispensable piece of the puzzle for further studying prehistoric human activities in East and Southeast Asia.

Abstract Noble and commoner in the medieval China capital of Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an) engaged in an intricately intertwined agricultural and pastoral economy. The period represents the peak of the integration of nomadic and agricultural populations in early China. Here we firstly reported human collagen δ 13C and δ 15N values for eight middle age nobles whose lifespans cover roughly a century (AD 503–604) and who include a Northern Zhou, Emperor Wu (北周武帝) and his consort, Empress A’shina (阿史那皇后). We also consider stable isotopic evidence from nine individuals in commoner burials in the Chang’an region, likewise dating to the sixth century. This century-long dietary profile provides direct archeological evidence for dietary variability at this core metropolitan population. Constructing a comparative model using existing historical human isotopic data (n = 1233) from northern China and its northern Steppe, we find a marked regional divergence in noble and commoner dietary patterns. We trace this back to the considerable variety of agricultural and pastoral dietary practices, likely pointing to different economic and geographic backgrounds of the individuals under study. We argue that a two-way relationship between shifting pastoral and agricultural practices was reflected to separate degrees at the elite and commoner level. This study offers an improved understanding of the multiplicity of dietary patterns and associated lifeways for the metropolitan societies of medieval northern China.

The aim of this paper is to understand how outsourcing remanufacturing operations to different OEMs agents (i.e., the retailer or third-party remanufacturer) affected a supply chain's sustainable issues. Although outsourcing strategies have been well studied in the remanufacturing literature, existing research has focused primarily on operational options between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and third-party remanufacturers (3PRs). In practice, however, many brand name retailers have recently created business models in which product remanufacturing is an integral part. The question showed the retailer or the third-party, which was the right remanufacturer for OEM's remanufacturing outsourcing? To answer this question, we developed two models for an OEM that had two options for remanufacturing outsourcing: (1) outsourcing remanufacturing to a 3PR (Model T) or (2) to its retailer (Model R). Using these two models, we addressed the questions: from the profit-maximizing perspective, how does outsourcing remanufacturing operations to retailers create strategic issues that are different from those with 3PRs? Which is more profitable for the OEM, 3PR, retailer, and the total supply chain? From an environmental impact perspective, how does outsourcing remanufacturing operations to retailers create strategic issues different from those with 3PRs? Which is more beneficial for our environment? Our analysis revealed that if the OEMs cared about economic performance, outsourcing the remanufacturing operations to the 3PR was a practical strategy. Conversely, if they cared about environmental sustainability, outsourcing the remanufacturing to the retailer was the preferred strategy. Numerical studies further validated our conclusions

Due to its high bonding energy and low self-diffusion coefficient, silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramics cannot form a dense structure with prolonged high-temperature insulation or by raising the sintering temperature. To improve the density of the sintered Si3N4 ceramics, additives are added to promote the rearrangement–dissolution–precipitation process of the crystal grains. However, the liquid phase formation temperature of different sintering aid chemical compositions varies, making it challenging to isolate the mechanism and the effect of liquid phase formation temperatures on sintering. Hence, we developed three sintering aids, namely Y2O3-Al2O3 (YA), Y2Si2O7 (Y2S), and Y2Si2O7-Al6Si2O13 (Y2SM), with homologous elements and different liquid phase formation temperatures. These sintering aids can form a liquid phase with SiO2 on the surface of Si3N4 at varying temperatures. We analyzed the sintered Si3N4 ceramic’s density, volume shrinkage rate, and microstructure to verify the YA’s lower liquid phase formation temperature effect, providing more rearrangement time and increasing sintering density. Conversely, sintering aids with too low liquid phase formation temperatures are more prone to volatilize during high-temperature sintering stages, thereby reducing sintering density. This research found that different liquid phase formation temperatures do not affect the α→β phase transition temperature of Si3N4 ceramics. We also evaluated the Y2S sintering aid contents’ effect on Si3N4 ceramics sintering. The results revealed that aiding sintering with too little Y2S content is insufficient for liquid phase production, and hence does not improve sintering density. Conversely, excessive liquid phase can improve density and refine grain size but increases weight loss rate during sintering due to volatilization.

The size of global and China’s economy expanded rapidly in recent years, and working on emission of carbon dioxide increased due to environmental change. The relationship between decoupling, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions has been examined extensively, but economic growth efficiency can decouple from carbon reduction efficiency is less explore area specially in country like China. Our work extracted respective productive for economic growth and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and further evaluated the decoupling relationship at the efficiency level for China’s provinces during 2005–2017. Economic growth efficiency showed a downward trend, whereas the efficiency in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions showed a slight improvement in the whole of China, which was consistent with China’s strong negative decoupling. All three geographic regions in China had an enormous division between efficiency and its decoupling status. In particular, the eastern provinces had the highest efficiency, but the central region exhibited the highest decoupling. Furthermore, the overall performance of the two efficiency indices declined gradually from the eastern provinces to the western provinces and, over time, more provinces improved their decoupling relationship. Above results also helpful to policy implications, which were conductive to balance economy and environment.

Abstract In this study, the chemical precipitation coating (CP) process was creatively integrated with DLP-stereolithography based 3D printing for refining and homogenizing the microstructure of 3D printed Al2O3 ceramic. Based on this novel approach, Al2O3 powder was coated with a homogeneous layer of amorphous Y2O3, with the coated Al2O3 powder found to make the microstructure of 3D printed Al2O3 ceramic more uniform and refined, as compared with the conventional mechanical mixing (MM) of Al2O3 and Y2O3 powders. The grain size of Al2O3 in Sample CP is 64.44% and 51.43% lower than those in the monolithic Al2O3 ceramic and Sample MM, respectively. Sample CP has the highest flexural strength of 455.37±32.17 MPa, which is 14.85% and 25.45% higher than those of Samples MM and AL, respectively; also Sample CP has the highest Weibull modulus of 16.88 among the three kinds of samples. Moreover, the fine grained Sample CP has a close thermal conductivity to the coarse grained Sample MM because of the changes in morphology of Y3Al5O12 phase from semi-connected (Sample MM) to isolated (Sample CP). Finally, specially designed fin-type Al2O3 ceramic heat sinks were successfully fabricated via the novel integrated process, which has been proven to be an effective method for fabricating complex-shaped Al2O3 ceramic components with enhanced flexural strength and reliability.

Han/non-Han interactions were engrained among the border regions of ancient Imperial China. Yet, little is known about either the genetic origins or the lifeways of these border peoples. Our study applies tools from ancient deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and stable isotope analysis to the study of a Han dynasty population at the Shichengzi site in modern-day Xinjiang. Isotopic analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of human (n = 8), animal (n = 26), and crop remains (n = 23) from Shichengzi indicated that dietary patterns among site inhabitants could be split among agro-pastoral and agricultural groups based on differences in the collagen 15N ratios. DNA analysis divided the four Shichengzi samples into two groups, with one group primarily harboring the ancient Northeast Asian (ANA) related ancestry, while the other showed a dominant Late Neolithic Yellow River (YR_LN) related ancestry. Both ancient DNA and stable isotope evidence point to the Northeast Asian origins of pastoralists and East Asian origins of Han agriculturalists, who, nonetheless, shared a single burial space at Shichengzi. This study thus provides clear evidence for the multiple origins and identities of populations across the porous border represented by the Han Empire and surrounding regions and proposes a new model for the interpretation of border culture in early Imperial China.

Despite decades of investigation, consensus has yet to be reached on when and where wheat replaced millet as the primary crop in the core regions of early Imperial China. Previous studies have suggested that wheat cultivation likely became widespread prior to or during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220). Here, we tested this hypothesis by applying archeobotanical tools to plant remains found in five pottery model granaries (cang) entombed in a newly excavated late Western Han burial at the Longzaocun cemetery in the Guanzhong Basin. This analysis allowed us to explore the extent of wheat expansion and agricultural strategies in the heartland of early dynastic China. Macro- and micro-botanical evidence shows that the Longzaocun residents consumed two kinds of crops: foxtail and common millet. Combining these findings with previous studies, we argue that millet-based multi-crop farming dominated the regional agricultural system during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 8) and analyze the political and cultural motivations for the Han people’s usage on millet crops from the burial concepts and fiscal systems. Echoing previous studies, we argue that millets remained the most valuable subsistence food for inhabitants of the Loess Basins in the Han core, and that wheat was not cultivated on a large scale in this area during the Western Han Dynasty.

Hazelnut is an important nut food that was widely consumed throughout prehistory. Archaeologists frequently find the charred plant macrofossils of Corylus at archaeological sites throughout Eurasia. We present new records of charred Siberian hazelnut ( Corylus heterophylla ) that were recovered from the Beiniu site (109.32°E, 34.46°N) in Shaanxi Province, North West China, that are directly dated around 5,400 cal. yr BP. They are basic evidence that we use to reconstruct the early history of hazelnut use in the northern part of China. Our findings in China are much less abundant than the hazelnut remains recovered at archaeological sites in Europe and North America. We suggest that the hazelnuts deposited in the cultural layer of Beiniu site were not intentionally used as a fuel but rather were first broken and then consumed as food before their eventual charring in a refuse pit. These discoveries also contribute to our understanding of risk mitigation strategies in food production by ancient farmers in China.

To reduce industrial wastewater emissions, likely scenarios involve saving water in the production process or treating the emissions that are discharged. In this regard, our paper aims to evaluate the costs of these two paths and then analyze whether the industrial sector has made a good trade-off. In particular, we measured costs of the two paths by shadow prices of water use and wastewater emissions, and then we built a non-parametric input–output model to produce the estimates. For 2015, the shadow price of water use was 37.85 RMB/ton at the national level, which indicated the marginal cost of saving each ton of water was 37.864 RMB and that of wastewater emissions was 141.759 RMB/ton, which meant that the marginal cost of abating each ton of wastewater emissions was 141.759 RMB. Over the period 2004–2015, both shadow prices exhibited an upward trend at the national and regional levels, which suggested there was an increased cost to reduce emissions. However, the two shadow prices did not follow a common trend, but deviated from each other in most of China’s provinces, which resulted in a bad trade-off between the two scenarios. As a result, the bad trade-off not only lowered the efficiency to reduce emissions, but it was also linked to a high cost.

This paper extends prior research on energy inefficiency in China by utilizing a unique shadow price framework allocation in 30 Chinese provinces. We estimate the shadow price for energy input using the framework of production, and use the ratio of the shadow price to the market price to describe energy utilization. Using Chinese provincial-level data from 1998 to 2011, the results of the analysis reveal that shadow prices in China have grown rapidly during the sample period, which signifies that China has improved its performance in energy utilization since 1998. However, there are eighteen provinces whose shadow prices are lower than market prices. This result suggests that energy utilization is at a low level in these provinces and can be improved by a reallocation of inputs.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) may have a positive effect on the level of pollution in host countries, as described by the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH). However, this kind of effect may depend on the economic conditions in host countries. In this study, we conduct research on the FDI’s effect on China’s CO2 emissions during the market-oriented reform. The results are as follows. Firstly, FDI directly promotes China’s CO2 emissions. Secondly, with market-oriented reform, this positive effect from FDI is lowering year by year, which indicates that the market-oriented reform could alleviate the positive effect of FDI on China’s CO2 emissions. Thirdly, as China’s market-oriented reform was implemented gradually from experimental zones to the whole country, regional market development is uneven, and as such so is FDI’s effect on local CO2 emissions. Provinces in the eastern area generally evidenced higher market development and lower CO2 emissions from FDI, while four provinces in west area evidenced both lower market development and higher CO2 emissions from FDI.

In China, where environmental regulations are less strict, finance would cause pollution to rise by promoting the growth of polluting industries. Exploiting a Chinese dataset over the period 2004-2014, 1% increase in the finance measured by credits to GDP, would cause pollution to rise by 4.29%, which is fairly large and cannot be ignored, and the results is robust when finance is measured by deposits to GDP. Thus, it is concluded that policies focused on pollution reduction would be ineffective and that policies on promoting finance would fall short of their intention to stimulate economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no consensus about the impact of urbanization on energy efficiency. We seek to fill this gap in literature using data from 78 countries for the period of 1995 through 2012. Extending the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology model, we identify the impact of urbanization on energy consumption and efficiency. Results of generalized method of moments estimation indicate that the process of urbanization leads to substantial increases in both the actual and the optimal energy consumption, but a decrease in efficiency of energy use. In addition, we find that the extent to which energy inefficiency correlates with urbanization is greater in countries with higher gross domestic product per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]