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In the late Qing Dynasty, religious periodicals by Western missionaries were made legal in China, and subsequently became an important manner of their missionary cause. Among them, Child's Paper 小孩月报 (1875–1881) by John Marshall Willoughby Farnham, a Protestant missionary from the United States, endeavoured to convert child readers by carrying children's stories of moral and emotional education. By concentrating on the educational elements of Child's Paper, this article inspects how conversion was achieved via the intertextual interpretation of Christian doctrines within these educational elements. Specifically, how the image of little Christians and urchins, respectively, represents salvation and redemption in Christian morals. This article holds that the missionaries' stress on the authority of Christian discourse in the education of Chinese children makes evident an increasing emphasis on the reformative effects of Christianity on Chinese children. Moreover, the conversion-education efforts by missionaries also construed helping Chinese children gain a cross-cultural perspective on Western religion, and arguably inspired later Chinese intellectuals' to create newspapers for the purpose of the pre-primary education of Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covering the full texts of all papers published in MDPI's Remote Sensing between 2009 and 2021, in-depth scientometric analyses were conducted. Trends in publications show an increase in the overall number of papers. A relative increase in papers using SAR sensors and a relative decrease in papers using optical remote sensing can also be seen. The full-text analyses reveal distinctive styles and writing patterns for papers from different sub-fields of remote sensing and for different countries and even cities. While a slight increase in the readability of abstracts is detected over time, the overall readability of papers is decreasing. Institutional co-authorship analysis reveals the ongoing 'scientific decoupling' between China and the USA in remote sensing. Using scientometric full-text analysis, current trends and developments are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, we ask whether the invasive paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) has a competitive advantage over neighbor trees in a native area. We determined the competitive capacity of paper mulberry in three deciduous broad-leaved forests using structural indices including the mixing index, the tree–tree interval index, and the diameter/height differentiation index. It was found that the reference paper mulberry had a slight competitive advantage over neighboring trees in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Such a competitive ability may play a significant role in the ecological invasion of paper mulberry. Our findings not only help to reveal the invasion mechanism of paper mulberry, but also provide an important reference for the management and utilization of paper mulberry in invaded areas. Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) is currently an invasive species on several continents. However, little is known about whether paper mulberry has a competitive advantage over its surrounding trees in its native distribution range, subtropical regions of China. Here, we determined the relative intraspecific and interspecific competitive capacity of paper mulberry in three subtropical deciduous broad-leaved forests using the indices of structural diversity including the mixing index, the tree–tree interval index, and the diameter/height differentiation index. It was found that more than 80% of mingling index values were not greater than 0.25, suggesting a stronger competitiveness of paper mulberry relative to other tree species. The tree–tree interval index values ranged between 1 m and 2 m, suggesting a strong competition between paper mulberry and its neighbors. Moreover, more than 60% of the height differentiation index and diameter differentiation index values were positive, suggesting that the reference paper mulberry had a slight competitive advantage over neighboring trees in both the horizontal and vertical planes. These collectively suggest a competitive advantage over other tree species in the native distribution range, which may play a significant role in the ecological invasion of paper mulberry. Our findings not only help to reveal the invasion mechanism of paper mulberry, but also provide an important reference for the management and utilization of paper mulberry in invaded areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently focusing on the cooperative control of air pollution and CO2 emissions, as well as the mitigation of economic policy uncertainty (EPU). By using panel data from 282 cities spanning from 2003 to 2017 and a newly constructed city-level EPU index, a spatial Durbin, two-way fixed-effects model is employed, with the aim of estimating the impact of EPU on the synergistic emissions intensity (SEI) of air pollutants and CO2. Additionally, this paper investigates the potential channels through which EPU influences SEI. It also explores how pressures related to environmental protection and economic development affect the impact of EPU on SEI. The results indicate that a unit increase in EPU will result in a rise in the SEI of local cities, adjacent cities, and total cities by 930.9%, 69,162.7%, and 70,093.6%, respectively. Moreover, the channel analysis suggests that EPU exacerbates SEI by undermining the upgrading of the industrial structure, augmenting industrial structure distortion, and escalating labor market distortion. Furthermore, the effect of EPU on SEI may be lessened by an increase in environmental protection pressure, while an increase in economic development pressure may exert a positive influence. Finally, this paper concludes by recommending that policymakers should prioritize the maintenance and stability of economic policies, facilitate the advancement of the industrial structure, enhance the efficiency of labor resource allocation, and underscore the significance of managing urban air pollution and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A predictive model for the spatiotemporal distribution of electric vehicle (EV) charging load is proposed in this paper, considering multimodal travel behavior and microscopic traffic simulation. Firstly, the characteristic variables of travel time are fitted using advanced techniques such as Gaussian mixture distribution. Simultaneously, the user's multimodal travel behavior is delineated by introducing travel purpose transfer probabilities, thus establishing a comprehensive travel spatiotemporal model. Secondly, the improved Floyd algorithm is employed to select the optimal path, taking into account various factors including signal light status, vehicle speed, and the position of starting and ending sections. Moreover, the approach of multi-lane lane change following and the utilization of cellular automata theory are introduced. To establish a microscopic traffic simulation model, a real-time energy consumption model is integrated with the aforementioned techniques. Thirdly, the minimum regret value is leveraged in conjunction with various other factors, including driving purpose, charging station electricity price, parking cost, and more, to simulate the decision-making process of users regarding charging stations. Subsequently, an EV charging load predictive framework is proposed based on the approach driven by electricity prices and real-time interaction of coupled network information. Finally, this paper conducts large-scale simulations to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of EV charging load using a regional transportation network in East China and a typical power distribution network as case studies, thereby validating the feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of difficulty of mathematical test items is a critical aspect for evaluating test quality and educational outcomes. Accurately predicting item difficulty during test creation is thus significantly important for producing effective test papers. This study used more than ten years of content and score data from China's Henan Provincial College Entrance Examination in Mathematics as an evaluation criterion for test difficulty, and all data were obtained from the Henan Provincial Department of Education. Based on the framework established by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for test item assessment methodology, this paper proposes a new framework containing eight features considering the uniqueness of mathematics. Next, this paper proposes an XGBoost-based SHAP model for analyzing the difficulty of mathematics tests. By coupling the XGBoost method with the SHAP method, the model not only evaluates the difficulty of mathematics tests but also analyzes the contribution of specific features to item difficulty, thereby increasing transparency and mitigating the "black box" nature of machine learning models. The model has a high prediction accuracy of 0.99 for the training set and 0.806 for the test set. With the model, we found that parameter-level features and reasoning-level features are significant factors influencing the difficulty of subjective items in the exam. In addition, we divided senior secondary mathematics knowledge into nine units based on Chinese curriculum standards and found significant differences in the distribution of the eight features across these different knowledge units, which can help teachers place different emphasis on different units during the teaching process. In summary, our proposed approach significantly improves the accuracy of item difficulty prediction, which is crucial for intelligent educational applications such as knowledge tracking, automatic test item generation, and intelligent paper generation. These results provide tools that are better aligned with and responsive to students' learning needs, thus effectively informing educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of China's new power system, various regions have implemented policies mandating the integration of new energy sources with energy storage, while also introducing subsidies to alleviate project cost pressures. Currently, there is a lack of subsidy analysis for photovoltaic energy storage integration projects. In order to systematically assess the economic viability of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects after considering energy storage subsidies, this paper reviews relevant policies in the Chinese photovoltaic energy storage market. It analyzes the cost and revenue composition of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects, and constructs a system dynamics model for the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of such projects. Taking a specific photovoltaic energy storage project as an example, this paper measures the levelized cost of electricity and the investment return rate under different energy storage scenarios. Combining energy storage allocation ratios and internal rate of return indicators, this paper analyzes the net present value of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects under different subsidy standards. The results indicate that, while the current energy storage subsidy policies positively stimulate photovoltaic energy storage integration projects, they exhibit a limited capacity to cover energy storage investment costs, thereby failing to incentivize capital market participation in the construction of such projects. Rational allocation of energy storage capacity and optimization of corresponding subsidy policies are crucial prerequisites for enhancing the economic viability and widespread adoption of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects. This study not only aids in investment decision making for photovoltaic power stations but also contributes to the formulation of energy storage subsidy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the development of a smart Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) platform tailored for long-span bridge monitoring, using the Forth Road Bridge (FRB) as a case study. It discusses the selection of smart sensors available for real-time monitoring, the formulation of an effective data strategy encompassing the collection, processing, management, analysis, and visualization of monitoring data sets to support decision-making, and the establishment of a cost-effective and intelligent sensor network aligned with the objectives set through comprehensive communication with asset owners. Due to the high data rates and dense sensor installations, conventional processing techniques are inadequate for fulfilling monitoring functionalities and ensuring security. Cloud-computing emerges as a widely adopted solution for processing and storing vast monitoring data sets. Drawing from the authors' experience in implementing long-span bridge monitoring systems in the UK and China, this paper compares the advantages and limitations of employing cloud- computing for long-span bridge monitoring. Furthermore, it explores strategies for developing a robust data strategy and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin (DT) technologies to extract relevant information or patterns regarding asset health conditions. This information is then visualized through the interaction between physical and virtual worlds, facilitating timely and informed decision-making in managing critical road transport infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic and international risk shocks have greatly increased the demand for systemic risk management in China. This paper estimates China's multi-layer financial network based on multiple financial relationships among banks, assets, and firms, using China's banking system data in 2021. An improved PageRank algorithm is proposed to identify systemically important banks and other economic sectors, and a stress test is conducted. This study finds that China's multi-layer financial network is sparse, and the distribution of transactions across financial markets is uneven. Regulatory authorities should support economic recovery and adjust the money supply, while banks should differentiate competition and manage risks better. Based on the PageRank index, this paper assesses the systemic importance of large commercial banks from the perspective of network structure, emphasizing the role of banks' transaction behavior and market participation. Different industries and asset classes are also assessed, suggesting that increased attention should be paid to industry risks and regulatory oversight of bank investments. Finally, stress tests confirm that the improved PageRank algorithm is applicable within the multi-layer financial network, reinforcing the need for prudential supervision of the banking system and revealing that the degree of transaction concentration will affect the systemic importance of financial institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In the sorting process of Chinese softshell turtles, it is necessary to classify them based on their weight and accurately identify their plastron and carapace. This process requires heavy manual labor and complex mechanical processing methods. To improve processing efficiency and reduce costs, this article introduces machine vision technology, and a new image processing method is proposed. This method can estimate the weight of Chinese softshell turtles and accurately locate the positions of their plastron and carapace. The automation level of aquaculture can be greatly enhanced, and hardware costs can be reduced through software optimization through this approach. With the rapid development of the turtle breeding industry in China, the demand for automated turtle sorting is increasing. The automatic sorting of Chinese softshell turtles mainly consists of three parts: visual recognition, weight prediction, and individual sorting. This paper focuses on two aspects, i.e., visual recognition and weight prediction, and a novel method for the object detection and weight prediction of Chinese softshell turtles is proposed. In the individual sorting process, computer vision technology is used to estimate the weight of Chinese softshell turtles and classify them by weight. For the visual recognition of the body parts of Chinese softshell turtles, a color space model is proposed in this paper to separate the turtles from the background effectively. By applying multiple linear regression analysis for modeling, the relationship between the weight and morphological parameters of Chinese softshell turtles is obtained, which can be used to estimate the weight of turtles well. An improved deep learning object detection network is used to extract the features of the plastron and carapace of the Chinese softshell turtles, achieving excellent detection results. The mAP of the improved network reached 96.23%, which can meet the requirements for the accurate identification of the body parts of Chinese softshell turtles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing global warming trend has resulted in the mass loss of most glaciers. The Urumqi Vally, located in the dry and cold zone of China, and its widely dispersed glaciers are significant to the regional ecological environment, oasis economic development, and industrial and agricultural production. This is representative of glaciers in Middle Asia and represents one of the world's longest observed time series of glaciers, beginning in 1959. The Urumqi Headwater Glacier No. 1 (UHG-1) has a dominant presence in the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS). This paper supplies a comprehensive analysis of past studies and future modeling of glacier changes in the Urumqi Valley. It has received insufficient attention in the past, and the mass balance of UHG-1 was used to verify that the geodetic results and the OGGM model simulation results are convincing. The main conclusions are: The area of 48.68 ± 4.59 km2 delineated by 150 glaciers in 1958 decreased to 21.61 ± 0.27 km2 delineated by 108 glaciers in 2022, with a reduction of 0.47 ± 0.04 km2·a−1 (0.96% a−1 in 1958–2022). The glacier mass balance by geodesy is −0.69 ± 0.11 m w.e.a−1 in 2000–2022, which is just deviating from the measured result (−0.66 m w.e.a−1), but the geodetic result in this paper can be enough to reflect the glacier changes (−0.65 ± 0.11 m w.e.a−1) of the URB in 2000–2022. The future loss rate of area and volume will undergo a rapid and then decelerating process, with the fastest and slowest inflection points occurring around 2035 and 2070, respectively. High temperatures and large precipitation in summer accelerate glacier loss, and the corresponding lag period of glacier change to climate is about 2–3 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Solow residual method, traditionally pivotal for calculating total factor productivity (TFP), is typically not applied to green TFP calculations due to its exclusion of undesired outputs. Diverging from traditional approaches and other frontier methodologies such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA), this paper integrates undesired outputs and three types of spatial spillover effects into the conventional Solow framework, thereby creating a new spatiotemporal econometric Solow residual method (STE-SRM). Utilizing this novel method, the study computes the industrial green TFPs for 280 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019, recalculates these TFPs using DEA-SBM and Bayesian SFA for the same cities and periods, and assesses the accuracy of the STE-SRM-derived TFPs through comparative analysis. Additionally, the paper explores the statistical properties of China's urban industrial green TFPs as derived from the STE-SRM, employing Dagum's Gini coefficient and spatial convergence analyses. The findings first indicate that by incorporating undesired outputs and spatial spillover into the Solow residual method, green TFPs are computable in alignment with the traditional Solow logic, although the allocation of per capita inputs and undesired outputs hinges on selecting the optimal empirical production function. Second, China's urban industrial green TFPs, calculated using the STE-SRM with the spatial Durbin model with mixed effects as the optimal model, show that cities like Huangshan, Fangchenggang, and Sanya have notably higher TFPs, whereas Jincheng, Datong, and Taiyuan display lower TFPs. Third, comparisons of China's urban industrial green TFP calculations reveal that those derived from the STE-SRM demonstrate broader but more concentrated results, while Bayesian SFA results are narrower and less concentrated, and DEA-SBM findings sit between these extremes. Fourth, the study highlights significant spatial heterogeneity in China's urban industrial green TFPs across different regions—eastern, central, western, and northeast China—with evident sigma convergence across the urban landscape, though absolute beta convergence is significant only in a limited subset of cities and time periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the construction and maintenance of Chinese Han Buddhist temples in modern China against the backdrop of societal transformation. Initially, it analyzes the profound impact of social changes since the mid-19th century on Buddhist monasteries, including political turmoil, economic development, and urbanization. Furthermore, the paper explores how temples were reconstructed and revitalized within this historical context, highlighting the monastic community's unwavering commitment to protecting the Dharma and ensuring its enduring presence. Additionally, this paper also explores the role of charismatic monks in enhancing the sanctity of temples and the influence of Buddhist institutional frameworks on the dynamics of state and society. The study employs a multifaceted analysis to understand the complex interplay between temple construction, economic development, and the cultural heritage of Buddhism in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to budget and sensor technology constraints, a single sensor cannot simultaneously provide observational images with both a high spatial and temporal resolution. To solve the above problem, the spatiotemporal fusion (STF) method was proposed and proved to be an indispensable tool for monitoring land surface dynamics. There are relatively few systematic reviews of the STF method. Bibliometrics is a valuable method for analyzing the scientific literature, but it has not yet been applied to the comprehensive analysis of the STF method. Therefore, in this paper, we use bibliometrics and scientific mapping to analyze the 2967 citation data from the Web of Science from 1991 to 2023 in a metrological manner, covering the themes of STF, data fusion, multi-temporal analysis, and spatial analysis. The results of the literature analysis reveal that the number of articles displays a slow to rapid increase during the study period, but decreases significantly in 2023. Research institutions in China (1059 papers) and the United States (432 papers) are the top two contributors in the field. The keywords "Sentinel", "deep learning" (DL), and "LSTM" (Long Short-Term Memory) appeared most frequently in the past three years. In the future, remote sensing spatiotemporal fusion research can address more of the limitations of heterogeneous landscapes and climatic conditions to improve fused images' accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's rapid industrialization and urbanization in the process of socio-economic development, the extensive use of energy has resulted in a large amount of CO2 emissions, which puts great pressure on China's carbon emission reduction task. Through multivariate socio-economic data, this paper proposes an extraction and screening method of multivariate variables based on land-use types, and the downscaled spatial decomposition of carbon emissions at different scales was carried out by using the spatial lag model (SLM). This paper makes up for the shortcomings of previous studies, such as an insufficient modeling scale, simple modeling variables, limited spatio-temporal span of spatial decomposition, and no consideration of geographical correlation. Based on the results of the spatial decomposition of carbon emissions, this paper explores the spatial and temporal dynamics of carbon emissions at different scales. The results showed that SLM is capable of downscaling the spatialization of carbon emissions with high precision, and the continuity of the decomposition results at the provincial scale is stronger, while the differences of the decomposition results at the municipal scale are more obvious within the municipal units. In terms of the spatial and temporal dynamics of CO2 emissions, carbon emissions at both scales showed a significant positive correlation. The dominant spatial correlation types are "Low–Low" at the provincial level, and "Low–Low" and "High–High" at the municipal level. The smaller spatial scope is more helpful to show the geographic dependence and geographic differences of China's carbon emissions. The findings of this paper will help deepen the understanding of the spatial and temporal changes of carbon emissions in China. They will provide a scientific basis for the formulation of feasible carbon emission reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state hydrogen storage technology has emerged as a disruptive solution to the "last mile" challenge in large-scale hydrogen energy applications, garnering significant global research attention. This paper systematically reviews the Chinese research progress in solid-state hydrogen storage material systems, thermodynamic mechanisms, and system integration. It also quantitatively assesses the market potential of solid-state hydrogen storage across four major application scenarios: on-board hydrogen storage, hydrogen refueling stations, backup power supplies, and power grid peak shaving. Furthermore, it analyzes the bottlenecks and challenges in industrialization related to key materials, testing standards, and innovation platforms. While acknowledging that the cost and performance of solid-state hydrogen storage are not yet fully competitive, the paper highlights its unique advantages of high safety, energy density, and potentially lower costs, showing promise in new energy vehicles and distributed energy fields. Breakthroughs in new hydrogen storage materials like magnesium-based and vanadium-based materials, coupled with improved standards, specifications, and innovation mechanisms, are expected to propel solid-state hydrogen storage into a mainstream technology within 10–15 years, with a market scale exceeding USD 14.3 billion. To accelerate the leapfrog development of China's solid-state hydrogen storage industry, increased investment in basic research, focused efforts on key core technologies, and streamlining the industry chain from materials to systems are recommended. This includes addressing challenges in passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and hydrogen refueling stations, and building a collaborative innovation ecosystem involving government, industry, academia, research, finance, and intermediary entities to support the achievement of carbon peak and neutrality goals and foster a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient modern energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora) has grown rapidly in China since its introduction in 1979, showing the trend of alien species invasion, which has seriously affected the ecosystem balance of coastal wetlands. The temporal and spatial expansion law of S. alterniflora can be obtained through remote sensing monitoring, which can provide a reference and basis for S. alterniflora management. This paper presents a method for extracting and mapping S. alterniflora based on phenological characteristics. The coastal areas of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration are selected as the research area, and the Landsat time series data from 1990 to 2022 on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform are used to support the experiment in this paper. Firstly, the possible growing area of S. alterniflora was extracted using the normalized differential moisture index (NDMI), normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), and normalized differential water index (NDWI); Then, the time series curve characterizing the phenological characteristics of vegetation was constructed using the vegetation index to determine the difference phase of phenological characteristics between S. alterniflora and other vegetation. Finally, a decision tree was constructed based on the phenological feature difference phase data to extract S. alterniflora, and it is applied to the analysis of temporal and spatial changes of S. alterniflora in the study area from 1990 to 2022. The results show that the area of S. alterniflora increased from ~1426 ha in 1990 to ~44,508 ha in 2022. However, the area of S. alterniflora began to show negative growth in 2015 due to the construction of nature reserves and ecological management. The results of correlation analysis showed that the growth of C. japonicum was significantly affected by temperature stress and weakly affected by precipitation. This study verified that Landsat time series images can effectively extract vegetation phenological information, which has strong feasibility for extraction and dynamic monitoring of S. alterniflora and provides technical support for the management and monitoring of invasive plants in coastal wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haiyang-2A (HY-2A) is the first marine dynamic environment satellite established by China, which has made significant contributions to the marine scientific research field. It carries the satellite-based GPS receiver named HY2, which was independently developed by China. It is an experimental satellite-borne GPS receiver for low earth orbit satellites, and during its operational period in orbit, the satellite-borne GPS data are not made accessible to the public. Therefore, this paper assesses the quality of HY-2A satellite-borne GPS data based on indicators such as satellite visibility, multipath effect, and ionospheric delay. The results indicate that the data acquired by the HY2 receiver are of high quality. The precise orbit determination (POD) uses the reduced-dynamic (RD) method. The adjustment effects of the pseudo-stochastic pulse time interval and a priori sigma on POD are analyzed, and the antenna phase center variation (PCV) is estimated using the direct method and residual method. Furthermore, this paper investigates the impact of PCV models with different resolutions (10° × 10° and 5° × 5°) on satellite orbit determination. To evaluate the orbit precision, three methods are used for validation, including carrier phase residual analysis, external precise science orbit (PSO) validation, and SLR three-dimensional (3D) validation, respectively. The results indicate that the highest orbit precision is achieved when the pseudo-stochastic pulse time interval is configured to 15 min, with the a priori sigma of 1 × 10−8 m/s2. The orbit carrier phase residuals reach the millimeter level. The 10° × 10°PCV model was estimated using the direct method and residual method, respectively; the root mean square of the external orbit validation for both methods show a millimeter-level improvement. The results obtained from the direct method and residual method are comparable. The resolution is increased from 10° to 5°, and the improvement in orbital precision is relatively small. The results obtained from the SLR 3D validation are consistent with those from the external PSO validation. The experimental results contribute valuable information for the POD of the HY2 series satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the pressure of carbon emissions and clean energy, coal remains the economic backbone of many developing countries due to its abundant resources and widespread distribution. The stable supply of coal is also vital for the global economy and remains irreplaceable in the future global energy structure. China has been a major contributor to annual coal output, accounting for nearly 50% worldwide since 2014. However, despite implementing intelligent coal mining technology, China's coal mining industry still employs over 1.5 million underground miners, posing significant safety risks associated with underground mining operations. Therefore, the introduction of coal mining robots in underground mines is an urgently needed scientific and technological solution for upgrading China's and even the world's coal energy industry. The working face needs a shearer, hydraulic support, a scraper conveyor, and other equipment for coordination. The deep integration of intelligent technology with factors such as "humans, machines, the environment, and management" in the workplace is the core content of intelligent coal mines. This paper puts forward an advanced framework for robot technology systems in coal mining, including single robots, robotized equipment, robot crowds, and unmanned systems. The framework clarifies the common key technologies of coal mining robot research and development and the cross-integration with new technologies such as 5G, the industrial internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and digital twins to improve the autonomous and intelligent application of coal mining robots. By establishing a scientific and complete standard system for coal mining robots, we aim to achieve the customized research and development and standardized production of various types of robot. A specific analysis is conducted on the research progress of common key technologies such as the explosion-proof design, mechanical system innovation, power drive, intelligent sensing, positioning and navigation, and underground communication of coal mining robots. The current research and application status of various types of coal mining robots in China are summarized. A new direction for future coal mining robot research and development is proposed. Robotic mining systems should be promoted to enhance the overall intelligence level and efficiency of mining equipment. To develop human–machine environment-integrated robots to improve the autonomy and collaboration level of coal mining robots, the digital twinning of the entire mine robot system should be accelerated; the normalized operation level of coal mine robots should be improved; research on coal mining robots, shield support robots, and transportation robots should be performed; intelligence should be achieved in fully mechanized mining faces; and equipment shield support for fully mechanized mining faces should be provided. The practical process of implementing coal mining robotization is summarized in this paper, and the technical and engineering feasibility of the coal mining machine population is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that the empirical distribution of cross-sectional analyst coverage in China's stock markets follows an exponential law in a given month from 2011 to 2020. The findings hold in both the emerging (Shanghai) and the developed market (Hong Kong). Moreover, the unique distribution parameter (i.e., mean) is directly related to the amount of market-wide information. Average analyst coverage exhibits a significant negative predictive power for stock-market uncertainty, highlighting the role of security analysts in diminishing the total uncertainty. The exponential law can be derived from the maximum entropy principle (MEP). When analysts, who are constrained by average ability in generating information (i.e., the first-order moment), strive to maximize the amount of market-wide information, this objective yields the exponential distribution. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that security analysts specialize in the generation of firm-specific information, empirical findings suggest that analysts primarily produce market-wide information for 25 countries. Nevertheless, it remains unclear why cross-sectional analyst coverage reflects market-wide information, this paper provides an entropy-based explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pre-Jurassic in the north depression of the Tuha depression is the most favorable replacement strata to obtain new reserves in the Turpan–Hami Basin. (Pre-Jurassic, in this paper, refers to the Permian and Triassic.) The main source rocks are the Taodonggou Group, of which the burial history and hydrocarbon generation potential remain unconfirmed. The investigation of the burial and thermal history is vital for the basin analysis and hydrocarbon exploration. Therefore, in this paper, by using the acoustic time difference method, vitrinite reflectance method, stratigraphic trend method and PetroMod-1D software, the differential characteristics of denudation thickness, burial history and thermal evolution history of different tectonic units in different periods of Taibei Sag in the Turpan–Hami basin are studied, and their influence on the petroleum system is analyzed, and then the zones with exploration potential are optimized. The results show that the Taibei Sag has experienced multiple tectonic uplift events. The Late Indosinian movement has profound effects on the Taodonggou Group source rocks. The rather large uplift amplitude postpones the maturation of source rocks. In addition, the Turpan–Hami Basin is a typical cold basin. Therefore, the thermal maturity of the source rocks is relatively low, with respect to the relatively deep burial. The thermal histories of the different sub-sags in the study area are slightly differentiated from each other. The Taodonggou Group source rocks in the Taibei Sag generally became mature during the Mid–Late Jurassic epoch, except for those in the Central–Southern Shanbei sub-sag, represented by Well LT-1, which reached the mature stage during the Late Triassic epoch. The study area has well-developed reservoir rocks, and effective reservoir bodies are formed in the slope zone and near the Tainan Sag, due to the higher porosity and permeability of reservoir rocks. The statistics related to the faults and an analysis of the structural styles of oil reservoirs indicate that the structural slope and anticline of the Huobei, Lianbei and Shanbei sub-sags are favorable for increasing reserves and production of hydrocarbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of the first shamanic organization in China and argues that organizational shamanism in Northeast China is characterized by the double identities of the shaman and the dualistic attitudes of the national authorities. The analyses in this paper reveal how the shamanic organization created a modernized and globalized space for traditional shamans and specialists to connect with the outside world, enabling them to gain empowerment, legitimacy, and agency. Chinese authorities hold dualistic attitudes towards shamanism: the positive attitude of seeing shamanism as part of cultural heritage has always been coupled with the negative attitude of seeing shamanism as superstition. The studies in this paper demonstrate that organizational shamanism in Northeast China has played a crucial role in negotiating with political authorities and linking local traditions with global discourse. In this sense, the traditional eco-cosmological way of maintaining relationships with natural forces and nonhuman beings has been irrevocably transformed into a cosmopolitical form for the shaman, where the animistic world engages with the outside world, global currency, and political forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the serious problems with energy efficiency, carbon emissions, and thermal comfort of rural residences in northern China, an optimization of active and passive heating technologies for rural residences is necessary. In this paper, an optimization for rural residences in northern China is conducted with four objectives: the whole life cycle carbon emission; the annual energy consumption through heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; the annual cost; and thermal comfort. In addition, the optimization model with active–passive heating technology synergy is resolved by NSGA-II genetic algorithm. The active and passive design variables, including the type of air source heat pump, orientation, the type and thickness of envelope insulation, the layer of window glass, the window-to-wall area ratio, as well as sunspace parameters are preferred to obtain the optimal solution. The results indicate that the optimal solution obtained by the ideal point method gives the most outstanding performance. Compared with the prototype, the optimized carbon emissions in severe cold and cold regions decreased by 56.1% and 54.6%, respectively. The annual energy consumption decreased by 59.7% and 62.2%. Finally, the roof insulation thickness is the most sensitive design variable in Pareto-optimal solution sets. This paper offers significant guidance in the application of the optimization method of active–passive technology synergy to the energy-saving design of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing penetration of renewable energy resources, their variable, intermittent and unpredictable characteristics bring new challenges to the power system. These challenges require micro-meteorological data and techniques to provide more support for the power systems, including planning, dispatching, operation, and so on. This paper aims to provide readers with insights into the effects of micro-meteorology on power systems, as well as the actual improvement brought by micro-meteorology in some power system scenarios. This paper provides a review including the relevant micro-meteorological techniques such as observation, assimilation and numerical techniques, as well as artificial intelligence, presenting a relatively complete overview of the most recent and relevant micro-meteorology-related literature associated with power systems. The impact of micro-meteorology on power systems is analyzed in six different forms of power generation and three typical scenarios of different stages in the power system, as well as integrated energy systems and disaster prevention and reduction. Finally, a case study in China is provided. This case takes wind power prediction as an example in a power system to compare the performance when applying micro-meteorological data or not. The experimental results demonstrated that using the micro-meteorological reanalysis dataset with high spatial--temporal resolution for wind power prediction performed better, verifying the improvement of micro-meteorology to the power system to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of death, different ethnic groups have unique coping ways. The physical care and spiritual care for the dying can demonstrate the diversity and particularity of ethnic cultural thought. Taking two villages in the interlaced residential areas inhabited by Han, Tibetan, and Hui ethnic groups in Linxia and Wuwei of Gansu Province as examples, this paper focuses on the presentation and significance of multi-ethnic cultural integration in the process of end-of-life care, with a focus on spiritual care. One main point of this paper is that, although hospice care in the modern medical sense is not really implemented in the vast rural areas of China, local end-of-life care, based on the village medical system and religious rituals, equally plays an important role. This is mainly manifested through the implementation of the Narcotics Card System and the widespread spiritual care. The second main point of this paper is that the form of end-of-life care, which embodies the integration of ethnic cultures, contains a certain degree of nursing functions, while taking into account the spiritual care needed by the dying and the grief consolation needed by the bereaved family. Considering the lack of spiritual care and bereavement management in China's medical space, the religious approaches to end-of-life care, as delineated in this study, could serve as a source of inspiration for the country's efforts to integrate hospice services into its healthcare system. In short, compared with Western forms of hospice care, in which modern medicine constitutes the main body, China's local end-of-life care is more reflected in the diversity and integration of spiritual care for the dying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of international trade, labor flow not only exists in the waves of international labor migration but is also embodied in international products and services. This paper focused on members of the China–Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). We computed and analyzed the sectoral embodied labor transfer between China and Africa from 2000 to 2015 based on the Multiregional Input-Output Method. Our results are as follows: (1) Both China and Africa play roles as labor suppliers in the global supply chain. By ameliorating the trade structure, both China and Africa can better utilize their labor surplus. (2) China and Africa share complementarity in sectoral labor allocation. In short, the embodied labor transfer via international trade between China and Africa has, to some extent, relieved the labor shortage on both sides. (3) Africa has transformed into a net exporter of industrial labor since 2011. By analyzing the embodied labor flow from the global perspective, this paper beats a new path in depicting the effect of international trade on labor allocation, enriches the evaluation of embodied labor transfer between China and Africa, and also provides a beneficial supplement to Multiregional Input-Output analysis in the field of factor flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been fruitful publications on thermal comfort of urban residential buildings in China. However, there is a lack of reviews on this topic to perform a comprehensive analysis and find opportunities to meet occupants' thermal comfort needs while improving building energy efficiencies. This paper addresses this issue by presenting a systematic review on the advancements in research on thermal comfort in urban residential buildings in China. Firstly, two common thermal comfort research approaches, i.e., field studies and laboratory studies, are discussed. Secondly, eleven main thermal comfort evaluation indicators are summarized. Finally, this paper analyzes the thermal comfort survey data from different researchers, discusses the impacts of adaptive behaviors on human thermal comfort, and provides recommendations for future research on urban residential thermal comfort. It was found that people have higher and higher requirements for their indoor thermal environment as time goes by, especially in the winter; the thermoneutral temperature is higher in warmer climate regions in the summer but lower in the winter than in colder climate regions; the thermoneutral temperature tends to increase with the indoor air temperature due to an adaptation to the indoor thermal environment. The outcomes of this paper provide valuable information on thermal comfort behaviors of urban residents in different climate zones in China, which can serve as a resource for the academic community conducting future research on thermal comfort and assist policymakers in enhancing building energy efficiencies without compromising the occupants' comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production process of the metallurgical industry generates a significant quantity of hazardous waste. At present, the common disposal method for metallurgical hazardous waste is landfilling, which synchronously leads to the leaching of toxic elements and the loss of valuable metals. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the research progress in the harmless treatment and resource utilization of stainless steel dust/sludge (including stainless steel dust and stainless steel pickling sludge) and aluminum ash (including primary aluminum ash and secondary aluminum dross), which serve as representative hazardous wastes in ferrous metallurgy and nonferrous metallurgy, respectively. Additionally, the general steps involved in the comprehensive utilization of metallurgical hazardous waste are summarized. Finally, this paper provides a prospective analysis on the future development and research trends of comprehensive utilization for metallurgical hazardous waste, aiming to offer a basis for the future harmless, high-value, resource-based treatment of metallurgical hazardous waste and the realization of industrial applications in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic power generation prediction constitutes a significant research area within the realm of power system artificial intelligence. Accurate prediction of future photovoltaic output is imperative for the optimal dispatchment and secure operation of the power grid. This study introduces a photovoltaic prediction model, termed ICEEMDAN-Bagging-XGBoost, aimed at enhancing the accuracy of photovoltaic power generation predictions. In this paper, the original photovoltaic power data initially undergo decomposition utilizing the Improved Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (ICEEMDAN) algorithm, with each intrinsic mode function (IMF) derived from this decomposition subsequently reconstructed into high-frequency, medium-frequency, and low-frequency components. Targeting the high-frequency and medium-frequency components of photovoltaic power, a limiting gradient boosting tree (XGBoost) is employed as the foundational learner in the Bagging parallel ensemble learning method, with the incorporation of a sparrow search algorithm (SSA) to refine the hyperparameters of XGBoost, thereby facilitating more nuanced tracking of the changes in the photovoltaic power's high-frequency and medium-frequency components. Regarding the low-frequency components, XGBoost-Linear is utilized to enable rapid and precise prediction. In contrast with the conventional superposition reconstruction approach, this study employs XGBoost for the reconstruction of the prediction output's high-frequency, intermediate-frequency, and low-frequency components. Ultimately, the efficacy of the proposed methodology is substantiated by the empirical operation data from a photovoltaic power station in Hebei Province, China. Relative to integrated and traditional single models, this paper's model exhibits a markedly enhanced prediction accuracy, thereby offering greater applicational value in scenarios involving short-term photovoltaic power prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the ambitious goal of "carbon neutrality", countries around the world are striving to develop clean energy. Against this background, this paper takes China and Italy as representatives of developing and developed countries to summarize the energy structure composition and development overview of the two countries. The paper analyzes the serious challenges facing the future energy development of both countries and investigates the possibilities of energy cooperation between the two countries, taking into account their respective advantages in energy development. By comparing the policies issued by the two governments to encourage clean energy development, this paper analyzes the severe challenges faced by the two countries' energy development in the future and combines their respective energy development advantages to look forward to the possibility of energy cooperation between the two countries in the future. This lays the foundation for China and Italy to build an "Energy Road" after the "Silk Road". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NEET phenomenon (not in education, employment or training) has significant implications, both for individuals and society at large. While China's higher education students are particularly susceptible to becoming NEET, relatively little attention has been given to understanding this issue. To address this research gap and contribute to the study of NEET in China, this paper collected a total of 12,616 samples from current higher education students and those who graduated within the past three years from universities in seven provinces of Southwest China, finding that 21.91% of the students surveyed fall into the NEET-prone student category. The underlying factors contributing to NEET-prone status are identified through logit regression analysis and categorized into three levels: individual, family, and society. At the individual level, factors such as personal ability, confidence in job-hunting, and attitude towards NEET significantly influence a student's likelihood of being NEET-prone. Family-level factors include being an only child, consumption level, economic dependence on family members, and the presence of NEET relatives. And social-level factors encompass school provision (or non-provision) of employment services, the number of employment services offered, and the possibility of obtaining loans from society. Finally, this paper concludes by offering recommendations, which are drawn from individual, family, and social perspectives, to help Chinese higher education students avoid NEET status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global dissemination of Christianity has resulted in diverse singing styles and historical narratives that incorporate different languages and musical traditions. Chinese Christian hymns, in particular, possess distinctive features that reflect the Chinese thinking mode and cultural values, showcasing the interplay between Western hymns and Chinese singing and poetic and cultural traditions within the Chinese historical context. This paper takes Chinese Christian hymnals published between 1807 and 1949 as its object of study. It conducts research on representative hymnals from three historical stages: the emergence, flourishing, and prosperity of hymns, and examines their compilation and publication. Using methods such as historical research, textual criticism, translation studies, and cross-cultural communication, the paper explores the evolution of Chinese Christian hymns. The paper analyzes such aspects of the hymnals as translating and writing strategies, thematic content, linguistic features, editing and formatting, as well as the selection and composition of melodies. It is concluded that the indigenization of Chinese hymns does not involve outright rejection of foreign elements or unquestioning adherence to local traditions, but rather represents a common ground between Chinese and Western languages and vocal traditions, reflecting the characteristic of glocalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes changes in sacrifice by burning and the space inhabited by ghosts in ancient China from philological and linguistic perspectives. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, rulers believed that they could convey their offerings and reverence to their ancestors in heaven by burning firewood and sacrifices (尞). From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Han dynasty, the ancient Chinese metaphors for naming the underground space inhabited by ghosts experienced a transformation from a natural space (Yellow Spring (黄泉)) to human settlements (li (里), big cities (都)) and then to government institutions for criminal penalty (government (府), prisons (狱)), which symbolized the gradual establishment of a living order in the space inhabited by ghosts based on the human society. When the new living order of the space inhabited by ghosts was established, the ancient Chinese began to reconstruct sacrifice by burning during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the objects burnt were represented by joss paper. The use of the term "transforming (化)" to refer to sacrifice by burning suggests that people believed that burning with fire was a way to transfer objects from the real world to the world of ghosts. The act of burning joss paper not only embodied the Chinese concept of ancestor worship to "treat the dead as if they were alive" but also gave "fire (火)" rich religious connotations while greatly simplifying the process and cost of sacrificial rituals, thus gradually becoming popular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sino–U.S. Treaty of Tientsin (1858), for the first time in history, included an article to ensure the toleration of Protestantism in China, i.e., the Toleration Article. The man behind the article was S. Wells Williams (1812–1884), an interpreter of the U.S. Legation and a former missionary, who negotiated with Chinese officials directly. Williams produced the Chinese version of the clause and its official English translation which led to controversies, for it was deemed unfaithful and humiliating to the Christian communities. This paper revisits this important episode in the history of Protestantism in China. Using first-hand archival materials, it reveals how Williams was forced to "mistranslate" the article in order to satisfy both parties. It further discusses the reasons behind the missionaries' criticism, which placed Williams in the center of clashes between religious and political interests. Through Williams' case, the paper foregrounds the crucial roles and difficult situations of missionary translators in diplomatic incidents that shaped the history of Christianity in China. More importantly, it highlights the conflicting interests and ideas in early Sino–U.S. diplomacy and shows how missionary translators worked to mediate the dilemma between evangelism and politics in 19th-century China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the power generation structures and load characteristics in each province in China are quite different, the distribution of peak regulating resources and demands are extremely imbalance. Restricted by a low power marketization degree, peak regulating resource shortages, and transmission channel blocks, the efficient utilization of new energy is facing greater pressures. In order to improve the mutual aid in regional power grids and to obtain more precise simulation results, this paper proposes a two-layer optimization dispatching model, considering the mutual aid of peak regulation resources between each province. It determines the optimal startup mode and the units' power output in each province and obtains the power output arrangements for all the units and the technical and economic indicators. The model and the solution method are original and innovative. And it effectively solved the unequal distribution problem between the peak regulating demands and resources of each provincial power grid. Finally, taking an actual regional power grid in China as an example, the simulation results show that the proposed model can significantly improve the utilization rate of new energy, which verifies the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed model and methods presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The point cloud segmentation method plays an important role in practical applications, such as remote sensing, mobile robots, and 3D modeling. However, there are still some limitations to the current point cloud data segmentation method when applied to large-scale scenes. Therefore, this paper proposes an adaptive clustering segmentation method. In this method, the threshold for clustering points within the point cloud is calculated using the characteristic parameters of adjacent points. After completing the preliminary segmentation of the point cloud, the segmentation results are further refined according to the standard deviation of the cluster points. Then, the cluster points whose number does not meet the conditions are further segmented, and, finally, scene point cloud data segmentation is realized. To test the superiority of this method, this study was based on point cloud data from a park in Guilin, Guangxi, China. The experimental results showed that this method is more practical and efficient than other methods, and it can effectively segment all ground objects and ground point cloud data in a scene. Compared with other segmentation methods that are easily affected by parameters, this method has strong robustness. In order to verify the universality of the method proposed in this paper, we test a public data set provided by ISPRS. The method achieves good segmentation results for multiple sample data, and it can distinguish noise points in a scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone matrix asphalt and asphalt concrete mixture with 13.2 mm nominal maximum aggregate size (named SMA13 and AC13, respectively) are widely used in the surface course of asphalt pavement in China. Generally, the pavement performance of SMA13 is superior to that of AC13, while the cost of the former is significantly higher than that of the latter. The objective of this paper was to develop a new hot mix asphalt (named SMAC13) whose performance and cost are between SMA13 and AC13. A boundary sieve size (BSS) of 2.36 mm was selected between fine and coarse aggregates. Based on the union set of aggregate gradation ranges of SMA13 and AC13, the family of gradation curves in the forms of S shapes were designed in terms of the BSS passing rate. According to the evaluation of the skeleton interlock of coarse aggregate of the gradation curve family, the aggregate gradation range of SMAC13 was determined. Also, the performance of three kinds of asphalt mixtures were compared through laboratory tests. The results indicated that SMA13 shows the best rutting resistance, followed by SMAC13 then AC13, while in terms of low-temperature performance in resistance to cracking, the sequence is SMAC13, AC13, and SMA13. The sequence of water stability is AC13, SMAC13, and SMA13. Furthermore, the cost of SMAC13 is 25% less than that of SMA13. Therefore, SMAC13 can be used as an alternative for the surface course of asphalt pavement in terms of performance and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) in top layers of croplands and their driving factors is a vital prerequisite in decision-making for maintaining sustainable agriculture. However, high-precision estimation of SOC of croplands at regional scale is still an issue to be solved. Based on soil samples, synthetic image of bare soil and geographical data, this paper predicted SOC density of croplands using Random Forest model in the Black Soil Region of Jilin Province, China in 2005 and 2020, and analyzed its influencing factors. Results showed that random forest model that integrates bare soil composite images improve the accuracy and robustness of SOC density prediction. From 2005 to 2020, the total SOC storage in croplands decreased from 89.96 to 82.79 Tg C with an annual decrease of 0.48 Tg C yr−1. The mean value of SOC density of croplands decreased from 3.42 to 3.32 kg/m2, and high values are distributed in middle parts. Changes of SOC represented significant heterogeneity spatially. 62.14% of croplands with SOC density greater than 4.0 kg/m2 decreased significantly, and 38.60% of croplands with SOC density between 2.5 and 3.0 kg/m2 significantly increased. Climatic factors made great contributions to SOC density, however, their relative importance (RI) to SOC density decreased from 44.65% to 37.26% during the study period. Synthetic images of bare soil constituted 23.54% and 26.29% of RI in the SOC density prediction, respectively, and the contribution of each band was quite different. The RIs of topographic and vegetation factors were low but increased significantly from 2005 to 2020. This study can aid local land managers and governmental agencies in assessing carbon sequestration potential and carbon credits, thus contributing to the protection and sustainable use of black soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In unconventional oil and gas development, the hydraulic fracturing (HF) technique is adopted to inject high-pressure fluid into the reservoir and change its pore-fracture connection structure to enhance production. HF causes the rocks to crack and generates microseismic events (with moment magnitudes of M w ≤ 3 ). Studying the microseismic focal mechanisms (shear/tensile/compressive HF cracks) is helpful for characterizing fracture geometry, monitoring the in situ stress state, and evaluating the HF effects to optimize the reservoir reconstruction for increasing production. Due to fluid injection activity, there may be non-double-couple (non-DC) mechanisms associated with HF cracks, and the commonly used double-couple (DC) source model may not be suitable. For the moment tensor (MT) source model, which is commonly used to describe the non-DC mechanism, inversion is challenging in single-well monitoring. The shear-tensile general dislocation (GD) model includes a non-DC mechanism, and its inversion is more constrained than the full MT model by specifying the focal mechanism as shear-tensile (or compressive) faulting. This paper reports a focal mechanism inversion case study of HF shear/tensile/compressive cracks in a tight oil reservoir in the Ordos Basin, China. We perform inversions based on the DC, GD, and MT source models, respectively. The results indicate that, for the downhole monitoring geometry in this study, most of the DC inversions fail to obtain proper synthetic and observed waveform fitting results, and the MT inversion results of different microseismic events exhibit worse consistencies than the GD results. According to the GD results, almost all the HF cracks can be explained as strike-slip faulting and most cracks correspond to non-negligible tensile/compressive mechanisms. Our study suggests that the GD source model is preferred in downhole microseismic monitoring to obtain reliable shear/tensile/compressive HF cracks, and the inverted non-zero slope angle reduces the uncertainty in fracturing geometry characterization, which will help improve microseismic studies and HF evaluations for enhanced resource recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before 2008, China lacked high-coverage regional surface observation data, making it difficult for the China Meteorological Administration Land Data Assimilation System (CLDAS) to directly backtrack high-resolution, high-quality land assimilation products. To address this issue, this paper proposes a deep learning model named UNET_DCA, based on the UNET architecture, which incorporates a Dual Cross-Attention module (DCA) for multiscale feature fusion by introducing Channel Cross-Attention (CCA) and Spatial Cross-Attention (SCA) mechanisms. This model focuses on the near-surface 10-m wind field and achieves spatial downscaling from 6.25 km to 1 km. We conducted training and validation using data from 2020–2021, tested with data from 2019, and performed ablation experiments to validate the effectiveness of each module. We compared the results with traditional bilinear interpolation methods and the SNCA-CLDASSD model. The experimental results show that the UNET-based model outperforms SNCA-CLDASSD, indicating that the UNET-based model captures richer information in wind field downscaling compared to SNCA-CLDASSD, which relies on sequentially stacked CNN convolution modules. UNET_CCA and UNET_SCA, incorporating cross-attention mechanisms, outperform UNET without attention mechanisms. Furthermore, UNET_DCA, incorporating both Channel Cross-Attention and Spatial Cross-Attention mechanisms, outperforms UNET_CCA and UNET_SCA, which only incorporate one attention mechanism. UNET_DCA performs best on the RMSE, MAE, and COR metrics (0.40 m/s, 0.28 m/s, 0.93), while UNET_DCA_ars, incorporating more auxiliary information, performs best on the PSNR and SSIM metrics (29.006, 0.880). Evaluation across different methods indicates that the optimal model performs best in valleys, followed by mountains, and worst in plains; it performs worse during the day and better at night; and as wind speed levels increase, accuracy decreases. Overall, among various downscaling methods, UNET_DCA and UNET_DCA_ars effectively reconstruct the spatial details of wind fields, providing a deeper exploration for the inversion of high-resolution historical meteorological grid data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of wind field characteristics and variation principles in complex topographical regions is of great importance for the development of numerical prediction models, aviation safety support, and wind energy utilization. However, there has been limited research focused on the lower-tropospheric wind fields in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This paper aims to study the wind characteristics, vertical distributions, and temporal variations in the northeast of the plateau by analyzing a four-year continuous dataset collected from a Doppler wind LiDAR deployed in Xining, Qinghai Province of China. The results indicate that the prevailing horizontal wind direction in the low levels is primarily influenced by the mountain-valley wind circulation. However, as the altitude increases, the prevailing winds are predominantly affected by the westerlies. From a diurnal perspective, noticeable transition processes between up-valley and down-valley winds can be observed. The west-northwest wind (down-valley wind) dominates from late night to morning, while the east-southeast wind (up-valley wind) prevails from afternoon to early evening. The vertical winds in the low levels exhibit a downward motion during the daytime and an upward motion during the nighttime. In this plateau valley, the wind shear exponent is found to be highest in spring and lowest in winter, and it is generally lower during the daytime compared to the nighttime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the existing horizontal-well-drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology used to achieve large-scale, cost-effective production from immature to low–moderate-maturity continental shale in China, where the organic matter mainly exists in solid form, is fairly ineffective. To overcome the obstacles, in situ conversion technology seems feasible, while implementing it in the target layer along with estimating the amount of expected recoverable hydrocarbon in such shale formations seems difficult. This is because there are no guidelines for choosing the most appropriate method and selecting relevant key parameters for this purpose. Hence, based on thermal simulation experiments during the in situ conversion of crude oil from the Triassic Chang 73 Formation in the Ordos Basin and the Cretaceous Nenjiang Formation in the Songliao Basin, this deficiency in knowledge was addressed. First, relationships between the in situ-converted total organic carbon (TOC) content and the vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of the shales and between the residual oil volume and the hydrocarbon yield were established. Second, the yields of residual oil and in situ-converted hydrocarbon were measured, revealing their sensitivity to fluid pressure and crude oil density. In addition, a model was proposed to estimate the amount of in situ-converted hydrocarbon based on TOC, hydrocarbon generation potential, Ro, residual oil volume, fluid pressure, and crude oil density. Finally, a method was established to determine key parameters of the final hydrocarbon yield from immature to low–moderate-maturity organic material during in situ conversion in shales. Following the procedure outlined in this paper, the estimated recoverable in situ-converted oil in the shales of the Nenjiang Formation in the Songliao Basin was estimated to be approximately 292 × 108 tons, along with 18.5 × 1012 cubic meters of natural gas, in an area of approximately 8 × 104 square kilometers. Collectively, the method developed in this study is independent of the organic matter type and other geological and/or petrophysical properties of the formation and can be applied to other areas globally where there are no available in situ conversion thermal simulation experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the energy structure transition and the development of the green power market, the role of electricity retailers in multi-market green power trading has become more and more important. Particularly in China, where aggressive green energy policies and rapid market transformations provide a distinct context for such studies, the challenges are pronounced. Under demand-side response, electricity retailers face the uncertainty of users' electricity consumption and incentives, which complicates decision-making processes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the optimization decision-making problem of multi-market green power trading for electricity retailers under demand-side response, with a special focus on the Chinese market due to its leadership in implementing substantial green energy initiatives and its potential to set precedents for global practices. We first construct a two-party benefit optimization model, which comprehensively considers the profit objectives for electricity retailers and utility maximization for users. Then, the model is solved by the Lagrange multiplier method and distributed subgradient algorithm to obtain the optimal solution. Finally, the effectiveness of the incentive optimization strategy under the multi-market to promote green power consumption and improve the profit of electricity retailers is verified by arithmetic simulation. The results of this study show that the incentive optimization strategy under multi-market, particularly within the Chinese context, is expected to provide a reference for electricity retailers to develop more flexible and effective trading strategies in the green power market and to contribute to the process of promoting green power consumption globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To qualify the risk of extreme weather events for power supply security during the long-term power system transformation process, this paper proposes a risk probability evaluation method based on probabilistic production simulation. Firstly, the internal relationship of extreme weather intensity and duration is depicted using the copula function, and the influences of extreme weather on power security are described using the guaranteed power output ability coefficient, which can provide the extreme scenario basis for probabilistic production simulation. Then, a probabilistic production simulation method is proposed, which includes a typical-year scenario and extreme weather events. Meanwhile, an index system is proposed to qualify the power security level, which applies the loss of load expectation (LOLE) and time of loss of load expectation (TOLE) under different scenarios and other indices to reveal the long-term power security trend. Finally, the long-term power supply risks for the Yunnan provincial power system are analyzed using the proposed method, validating that the proposed method is capable of characterizing the influences of extreme weather on power security. The security level of different long-term power transformation schemes is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rising incidence of various diseases in China and the constant development of the pharmaceutical industry, there is a growing demand for floxacin-type antibiotics. Due to the large-scale production and high cost of waste treatment, the parent drug and its metabolites constantly enter the water environment through domestic sewage, production wastewater, and other pathways. In recent years, the pollution of the aquatic environment by floxacin has become increasingly serious, making the technology to degrade floxacin in the aquatic environment a research hotspot in the field of environmental science. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), as a new type of porous material, have attracted much attention in recent years. In this paper, four photocatalytic materials, MIL-53(Fe), NH2-MIL-53(Fe), MIL-100(Fe), and g-C3N4, were synthesised and applied to the study of the removal of ofloxacin and enrofloxacin. Among them, the MIL-100(Fe) material exhibited the best photocatalytic effect. The degradation efficiency of ofloxacin reached 95.1% after 3 h under visible light, while enrofloxacin was basically completely degraded. The effects of different materials on the visible photocatalytic degradation of the floxacin were investigated. Furthermore, the photocatalytic mechanism of enrofloxacin and ofloxacin was revealed by the use of three trappers (▪O2−, h+, and ▪OH), demonstrating that the role of ▪O2− promoted the degradation effect of the materials under photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Since the 1990s, the golden cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) has become the dominant cuttlefish fisheries target in the seas around China. In this paper, we aim to determine the current resource status and spatio-seasonal variation in the population in the East China Sea region. We found more juveniles at latitudes of 27.50–28.00° N and 29.00° N and more subadult individuals at 28.50° N in autumn, exhibiting different growth rates and resource densities. In addition, we found the majority of the catches were composed of parent groups in spring, while in autumn, the majority of the catches were composed of juvenile groups. We concluded that the subadult groups might have dispersed widely for feeding and growth along the latitude of 30.00° N and to the south in summer, and the southern area of the Yangtze River extending north was the spawning ground in spring. The groups of S. esculenta preferred to stay in areas with a stable water temperature of ~20.00 °C, and many S. esculenta juveniles might have adapted to endure the negative influence of the low oxygen content in summer. The depth range of the S. esculenta population was 10.00–133.00 m from spring to autumn, but this shrank to 66.00–107.00 m in winter. The golden cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) is an important cephalopod species with a lifespan of approximately one year. The species plays a crucial role in marine ecological support services and is commercially valuable in fisheries. In the seas around China, this species has emerged as the main target for cuttlefish fisheries, replacing Sepiella maindroni since the 1990s. Variations in oceanographic conditions associated with global warming could significantly impact the temporal-spatial distribution of the species. In this study, we performed bottom trawling surveys with four cruises during 2018–2019 in the East China Sea region to determine the current resource status and seasonal-spatial variations in S. esculenta. We found that the average individual weight (AIW) values were 4.87 and 519.00 g/ind at stations located at 30.50° N, 124.00° E and 30.50° N, 124.50° E, respectively, with the aggregation of larvae and parent groups in spring. The species was not distributed north of 32.00° N in summer. The catch per unit effort by weight (CPUEw) value decreased in the order of 2772.50→2575.20→503.29→124.36 g/h, corresponding to latitudes of 34.50° N→34.00° N→33.50° N→32.50° N 121.50° E in autumn. The most suitable fishing areas were the south of the East China Sea region in spring; the south of the East China Sea region extending to the center and outer parts of the East China Sea region in summer; the south of the Yellow Sea close to the Haizhou Bay fishing ground and the forbidden fishing line region of the Lusi and Dasha fishing grounds in autumn; and the south and center of the East China Sea region in winter. The most suitable sea bottom temperature (SBT) values from spring to winter were 14.76–20.53 °C, 19.54–22.98 °C, 11.79–17.64 °C, and 16.94–20.36 °C, respectively. The most suitable sea bottom salinity (SBS) values were 31.53–34.80‰ in spring, 32.95–34.68‰ in summer, 31.51–34.77‰ in autumn, and 33.82–34.51‰ in winter. We concluded the following: (1) the southern and northern areas of the East China Sea region are spawning and nursery grounds, respectively, in spring; (2) the central distribution is located at a latitude of 28.00° N in autumn and winter; and (3) the southern area of the Yangtze River to the north is a spawning ground in spring, and the areas located at 29.00–34.50° N, 124.00–124.50° E, and 28.00–30.50° N, 125.50–126.50° E are nursery grounds. The results of this study provide useful guidance for appropriate fisheries management, thereby avoiding a collapse in the S. esculenta population, which has been experienced in other species in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Winter wheat is a significant global food crop, and it is crucial to monitor its distribution for better agricultural management, land planning, and environmental sustainability. However, the distribution style of winter wheat planting fields is not consistent due to different terrain conditions. In mountainous areas, winter wheat planting units are smaller in size and fragmented in distribution compared to plain areas. Unfortunately, most crop-mapping research based on deep learning ignores the impact of topographic relief on crop distribution and struggles to handle hilly areas effectively. In this paper, we propose a cross-modal segmentation network for winter wheat mapping in complex terrain using remote-sensing multi-temporal images and DEM data. First, we propose a diverse receptive fusion (DRF) module, which applies a deformable receptive field to optical images during the feature fusion process, allowing it to match winter wheat plots of varying scales and a fixed receptive field to the DEM to extract evaluation features at a consistent scale. Second, we developed a distributed weight attention (DWA) module, which can enhance the feature intensity of winter wheat, thereby reducing the omission rate of planting areas, especially for the small-sized regions in hilly terrain. Furthermore, to demonstrate the performance of our model, we conducted extensive experiments and ablation studies on a large-scale dataset in Lanling county, Shandong province, China. Our results show that our proposed CM-Net is effective in mapping winter wheat in complex terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous downward movement exhibited by the Lashagou landslide group in recent years poses a significant threat to the safety of both vehicles and pedestrians traversing the highway G310. By integrating geomorphological interpretation using multi-temporal optical images, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements, and continuous global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observations, this paper traced the formation period of the Lashagou landslide group, and explored its kinematic behavior under external drivers such as rainfall and snowmelt. The results indicate that the formation period can be specifically categorized into three periods: before, during, and after the construction of highway G310. The construction of highway G310 is the direct cause and prerequisite for the formation of the Lashagou landslide group, whereas summer precipitation and spring snowmelt are the external driving factors contributing to its continuous downward movement. Additionally, both the long-term seasonal downslope movement and transient acceleration events are strongly controlled by rainfall, and there is a time lag of approximately 1–2 days between the transient acceleration and heavy rainfall events. This study highlights the benefits of leveraging multi-source remote sensing data to investigate slow-moving landslides, which is advantageous for the implementation of effective control and engineering intervention to mitigate potential landslide disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy" is one of China's three major national development strategies. Enhancing the protection and quality of arable land in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YEB) is pivotal for fostering regional growth. In this study, land use data spanning the years 1980 to 2020 in the YEB were extracted from the national land use database maintained by the Resource and Environment Data Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Employing Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis techniques and arable land change metrics, the study delineated the spatiotemporal characteristics of arable land alterations across the YEB for the period. Additionally, using grain output data at the prefecture level from 2011 to 2020, the paper calculated provincial grain output to analyze the impact of arable land changes over the last four decades on grain output. The findings revealed that: (1) From 1980 to 2020, the total arable land area in the YEB decreased by approximately 41,775 square kilometers, with the most significant decrease occurring in the downstream region. (2) From 1980 to 1990, the primary factor contributing to the decrease in arable land area was the expansion of water bodies, while from 1990 to 2020, the principal reason for the reduction in arable land area was the expansion of construction land. (3) From 1980 to 2020, the decrease in arable land area resulted in a net reduction of approximately 25.12 million tons in total grain output, with the largest decline observed in the downstream regions and the smallest decline in the upstream regions. (4) Consistent with the trends in arable land area reduction, the main reason for the decline in grain output from 1980 to 1990 was the expansion of water bodies encroaching upon arable land, whereas from 2000 to 2010, the primary cause of arable land reduction was the expansion of construction land areas. In conclusion, the research suggested that over the past four decades, the primary driver behind the reduction in arable land within the YEB has been the expansion of construction land areas. Particularly noteworthy was the period from 2000 to 2010, during which the impact of arable land reduction on grain output was most pronounced. This period coincided with the rapid economic development and accelerated urbanization process within the YEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long waiting times and crowded services are the current medical situation in China. Especially in hierarchic healthcare systems, as high-quality medical resources are mainly concentrated in comprehensive hospitals, patients are too concentrated in these hospitals, which leads to overcrowding. This paper constructs a game-theoretical queueing model to analyze the strategic queueing behavior of patients. In such hospitals, patients are divided into first-visit and referred patients, and the hospitals provide patients with two service phases of "diagnosis" and "treatment". We first obtain the expected sojourn time. By defining the patience level of patients, the queueing behavior of patients in equilibrium is studied. The results suggest that as long as the patients with low patience levels join the queue, the patients with high patience levels also join the queue. As more patients arrive at the hospitals, the queueing behavior of patients with high patience levels may have a negative effect on that of patients with low patience levels. The numerical results also show that the equilibrium behavior deviates from a socially optimal solution; therefore, to reach maximal social welfare, the social planner should adopt some regulatory policies to control the arrival rates of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]