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• Investigating how pension coverage reduces energy poverty in rural China. • Exploiting age-based eligibility for pension coverage to address endogeneity. • Anticipatory response is explored to validate the estimates. • Liquidity constraint might restrict anticipatory responses. • Competing interpretations on living arrangements and lifestyle are excluded. This paper estimates the causal effect of income change on reducing energy poverty by exploiting age-based eligibility for China's New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) through a regression discontinuity (RD) design. More than one billion people worldwide live in energy poverty, and the situation is even more difficult in developing world. It is an important development challenge to reduce energy poverty, which could be further associated with health outcome, labor productivity, and educational achievements. While public policies that increase income for poor households are the most direct ways to reduce energy poverty, the reverse causality makes establishing a convincing causal link between income and energy poverty challenging. Using the quasi-experimental variation in income induced by NRPS, this paper addresses the endogeneity of income and examines the impact of exogenous sharp changes in income on energy consumption behaviors. The findings indicate substantial increases in modern energy consumption and sizable reductions in solid fuels (e.g., straw and fuelwood), suggesting that "windfall income" by pension coverage alleviates energy poverty. Although individuals could anticipate the income shocks by pension coverage, the evidence suggests that they do not engage in anticipatory responses to smooth their consumption. Further evidence shows that liquidity constraints may be the underlying mechanism for the lack of anticipatory responses in household energy consumption. Besides reducing energy poverty, the results demonstrate that pension coverage leads to a decrease in elderly labor supply, an increase in subjective health and life satisfaction, and an increase in non-energy consumption, all of which are positively associated with the well-beings of senior citizens. We anticipate that the findings of this paper in the context of China may be extended to developing world which has been expected to set up targeted measures to tackle energy poverty in upcoming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CSFV E2-Fc subunit vaccine mediated the efficiency of mucosal vaccination against CSFV. • The CSFV E2-Fc recombinant fusion protein was demonstrated to bind to FcγRI on antigen-presenting cells. • The CSFV E2-Fc recombinant fusion protein could provide protective immunity against CSFV in swine. Classical swine fever (CSF) remains one of the most important highly contagious and fatal viral disease of swine with high morbidity and mortality. CSF is caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV), a small, enveloped RNA virus of the genus Pestivirus. The aim of this study was to construct the a novel CSFV Fc-fusion recombinant protein and evaluate the efficacy as a vaccine against CSFV. Here, we obtained a novel subunit vaccine expressing CSFV E2 recombinant fusion protein in CHO-S cells. Functional analysis revealed that CSFV Fc-fusion recombinant protein (CSFV-E2-Fc) could bind to FcγRI on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and significantly increase IgA levels in serum and feces, inducing stronger mucosal immune response in swine. Additionally, CSFV-E2-Fc immunization enhanced CSFV-specific T cell immune response with a Th1-like pattern of cytokine secretion, remarkably stimulated the Th1-biased cellular immune response and humoral immune response. Further, the protective effects of CSFV-E2-Fc subunit vaccines were confirmed. The data suggest that CSFV E2-Fc recombinant fusion protein may be a promising candidate subunit vaccine to elicit immune response and protect against CSFV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of international specialization has evolved from "intra-industry" to "intra-product," resulting in the establishment of value chains that traverse all participating nations. However, it might lead to the "lock-in low-value" effect of global value chains (GVCs) and the consequential "pollution shelter" effect, which have both hindered the green transformation of the economy. Rather than solely focusing on promoting participation in GVCs, this paper seeks to expand its purview to include national value chains (NVCs) based on endogenous resource integration, with a focus on constructing and nurturing NVCs to enhance regional green economy performance index (GEPI). We find that improving NVCs positions can increase regional GEPI, while GVCs and NVCs participation inhibit GEPI. Moreover, the impact of GVCs and NVCs positions and participation on GEPI presents significant and spatiotemporal heterogeneities. Finally, the mechanism analysis demonstrates that GVCs positions increase human capital investment and NVCs positions increase the rationalization of the industrial structure, promoting green economy performance. Meanwhile, China's GVCs and NVCs participation increase the industrial proportion, which is not conducive to improving green economy performance. • Quantifying China's international trade's environmental effects through value chain specialization. • NVCs positions can strengthen the effect of the green economy performance. • Participation in value chain displays an adverse impact on green economy performance. • Investigating the heterogeneities of green economy performance along GVCs and NVCs position and participation. • Exploring channels through which of value chain specialization affect green economy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollutants such as sulfur would concentrate in the source regions and thus the localized impacts are more obvious. Local balance of electricity by transporting coal has resulted in dense concentration of coal-fired power plants in load centers and caused severe environmental problems. Electricity relocation through interregional transmission is another choice for energy transportation to achieve electricity balance across regions and pollution mitigation. Using interregional electricity transmission (IRET) lines in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper assesses the environmental impact of electricity relocation. In the assessment, the grid organization of “province as executor” in China is considered because it affects the sphere of IRET's influence on pollution mitigation. Here we show the environmental benefits of electricity relocation. We find that, electricity relocation through interregional transmission leads to the growth rate of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emission decreasing 7% in landing areas and Sichuan province benefits most from electricity relocation. It is interesting that there is no significant increase of SO 2 emission growth rate in sending areas compared to counterfactuals if there had no IRET due to more integration of clean energy and improved emission efficiency in sending areas. Placebo study and robustness check show that the results are quite convincing. Therefore, IRET provides an appealing choice for China's environmental control in eastern region, and it is not necessarily at the cost of pollution in western region. The methodology can be applied to assess the environmental impacts of other program or policy elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy resource depletion and environmental degradation have become big challenges for China's sustainable development. Energy efficiency improvement is usually regarded as an major pathway for reducing the pressure on energy and the environment. However, this would be undermined by the rebound effect, because the rebound effect would partially or even totally offset the anticipated of efficiency improvement. Evidence of the rebound effect has important implications for the economic, resource and environmental consequences of improving energy efficiency, as well as enables policy makers to take informed decisions on energy and environmental issues. In this paper, we incorporate the endogenous energy efficiency into the model specification of rebound effect, and build a unified comprehensive framework for analyzing rebound effect and related issues. We applied this framework to conduct empirical analysis and comparison of heavy and light industries, considering heterogeneity across sub-industries. Furthermore, this paper goes beyond simple estimation of rebound effect, and takes additional effort to highlight the policy application via combining energy subsidies and technological progress with rebound effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it the heavy industry or light industry that performs better in energy efficiency incorporating undesirable outputs? Energy efficiency is the gap between actual and target energy inputs, thus the more energy intensive heavy industry is not necessarily the less energy efficient one. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the ecological total-factor energy efficiency (ETFEE) of the heavy and light industries as well as to assess their technology gaps. Considering the slack-bias of conventional DEA models and technological heterogeneity between heavy and light industries, the slack-based DEA model (SBM) and meta-frontier technology have been combined. The empirical results show that: (1) China's industries did not perform efficiently. Among them, heavy industry, albeit has more advanced technology, demonstrates lower energy efficiency than light industry. Thus, China needs to stimulate heavy industry to achieve its potential in efficiency improvement. (2) Compared with light industry, governmental stimulus induced expansion has promoted technological advancement in heavy industry, but it still has had no effect on the utilization of existing technologies by, for example, improving the managerial efficiency. Greater pressure on environmental standards is needed to motivate factories in heavy industry to utilize existing technologies more sufficiently. (3) Technological gap among industries has enlarged, thus more attention should be paid on encouraging technology spillover from heavy industry to light industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When talking about energy conservation, "Rebound Effect" (RE) is always concerned, which defined as the increasing energy consumption relative to the counterfactual predicted by technological progress because of efficiency induced decrease in the real price of energy services. In this paper, we try to find a way to figure out the RE through calculating the substitution relations accord with the definition. Based on the trans-log cost function and considering the asymmetric impact on energy-cost share equation, the paper applies Allen-Uzawa substitution elasticity to establish the price-oriented analysis diagram of fossil-energy consumption RE. Using time series data, applying the joint method of the dynamic OLS (DOLS) and the seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR), the RE in China's electricity generation sector is estimated. The results showed that the RE is 11.6% in China's electricity generation sector if allowing for asymmetric price effects, which indicates that China's power generation sector generally displays a feature of energy saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering sectoral linkages with the transport sector during the process of its low-carbon transition is critical for meeting the emission reduction targets of the whole economy. However, the precise roles of different transport modals and their sectoral linkages and transfer mechanisms in driving carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions are unknown. This study proposes a framework integrating the hypothetical extraction method (HEM) and structural path analysis (SPA) to explore the CO 2 emission characteristics of the transport sector. Based on the above framework, we not only identify the emission sources and destinations related to various transport sub-sectors, but also reveal key channels through which emissions are transmitted along the economic network. Taking China as an example, we find there are heterogeneous characteristics of CO 2 emissions in different transport modals, in which the railway passenger transport sector and the water passenger transport sector are CO 2 emissions importers while other transport sub-sectors are CO 2 emissions exporters. Furthermore, the transport sector mainly exports CO 2 emissions to the construction and service sectors and imports emissions from electricity and heat production and supply sector. From the perspective of transfer paths in forward linkages, the main intermediate sectors of passenger transport sectors are service sectors, while those of freight transport sectors are construction sectors. From the perspective of transfer paths in backward linkages, electricity and heat production and supply sector is the main emission source and intermediate sector. When developing sector-specific and supply chain-wide low-carbon policies, it is suggested to consider the sectoral carbon linkages of each transport sub-sector. • We identify CO 2 emission drivers of transport sector in supply chains from both production and consumption perspectives. • We explore the critical transfer paths of CO 2 emissions related to different transport sub-sectors. • We link the Hypothetical extraction method and Structural path analysis based on an input-output model. • Considering sectoral linkages when formulating low-carbon policies is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-fossil energy increases the non-dispatchability of power system, requiring fossil-based technologies to provide back-up capacity as dispatchable source. In a coal-based economy like China, it is coal-fired units that act as back-up capacity. This paper shows that increase of non-fossil energy generation is associated with higher heat rates of coal-fired units, which can be explained by the decreased operating hours for dispatching. This side-effect is sizeable, accounting for 13% of carbon mitigation from non-fossil energy. The extra fuel cost is estimated to be 10.9 billion US dollars. This paper thus calls attention to alternative technologies, such as large-scale storage, as dispatchable source. • Dispatching policy ensures the exogeneity of non-fossil energy in regression. • Discussing how non-fossil energy increases the heat rate of coal-fired units. • Calling attention to the essential role of coal-fired units as dispatchable source. • Highlighting the indirect cost of integrating non-fossil energy for power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is believed to be the central issue in sustainable development. Literatures on renewables׳ costs are rather sparse, especially on costs of integration and system balancing. The objective of this paper is to fill the research gap by providing an assessment for the cost of China׳s grid-connected renewable energy development and analyze its sharing between different stakeholders. Due to China׳s pricing mechanism of renewable energy and their cost decreasing potential, the pricing model of feed-in tariff and dynamic technological learning processes are employed. In the estimation of purchasing cost, the positive bias is overcome by considering China׳s energy-saving dispatching policy. The results suggest that purchasing cost would be 32.57–40.80 billion Yuan over 2012–2020, and peak in 2017. Grid integration costs which further involve costs of grid infrastructure and system balancing are also investigated. We find that grid infrastructure will cost 27.88 billion Yuan by 2015 and soar to 45.32 billion by 2020, while system balancing will cost 31.49 billion Yuan in 2015 and 63.97 billion Yuan in 2020 among which a substantial part (over 60%) comes from electricity loss in energy transfer. The different parts of these costs are underwritten by disparate participants due to China׳s renewable energy policies and its institutional arrangement. Purchasing cost is shared by power consumers through RES; the cost of grid infrastructure is mainly covered by grid enterprises; and there is no mechanism to specify how to share the cost electricity loss during system balancing which might become a major obstacle for system balancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates both price and volatility spillover effects in a comprehensive VEC–MGARCH framework. The hedging strategy is further discussed using the spillover effects. Crude oil and natural gas markets of US, Europe and Japan are examined for regional segmentation and different pricing mechanisms of natural gas. Our results show that the European and Japanese gas prices are cointegrated with Brent oil prices, but US gas price is decoupled from oil due to natural gas market liberalization and shale gas expansion. In all cases, the results support the presence of price spillover from crude oil markets to natural gas markets, but a reverse relationship does not exist. The asymmetric price spillover effects might be explained by the relative size of each market. It was also found that the volatility in oil market seems to spillover to the natural gas market, and vice versa, in both US and Europe. On the contrary, volatility seems to be independent in natural gas and oil markets in Japan. The difference in the results of the volatility spillover effects could be explained by the pricing mechanism of natural gas, especially the risk avoidance mechanism in gas pricing in Japan. The risk management performance of hedging strategy is remarkable considering volatility spillover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic growth has been progressively moving towards reducing carbon intensity. In parallel, Japan has long been regarded as the pioneer of energy efficiency worldwide. Why have these two economic giants had such different experiences of carbon intensity in the past decades? A closer examination in both countries may hold vital clues, which are still very unclear. This paper compares the patterns of carbon intensity between China and Japan, in which we propose a bilateral-country decomposition framework by combining production-theoretical decomposition analysis and index decomposition analysis. The decomposition highlights the effects of emission factor, energy structure, sectoral structure, substitution among labor-energy and capital-energy, and technological progress. The results show that the energy structure, sectoral structure, and capital-energy substitution are the main drivers behind that China is much higher carbon intensity than Japan, accounting for 26%, 25%, and 38%, respectively. Yet, these effects also narrowed the carbon intensity gap between China and Japan over the years. Furthermore, the labor-energy substitution effect has generally decreased the carbon intensity gap. The technological effect has a minor impact on the carbon intensity gap per year, while it plays a dominant role in enlarging the carbon intensity gap over time. • An improved approach is proposed to decompose driving forces of carbon intensity. • The approach is applied to carbon intensity gap between China and Japan. • Potential energy intensity of each sector is uncovered by input substitution. • Enabling policymakers in developing countries to reduce carbon intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, with a heavy dependence on coal power, has announced a clear goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. Electrification of final energy use and high penetration of renewable energy are essential to achieve this. The resulting growth of intermittent renewables and changes in demand curve profiles require greater flexibility in the power system for real-time balancing – greater ability of generators and consumers to ramp up and down. However, the plan and market system with regulated prices makes this challenging. We discuss the options to improve flexibility, including 1) increasing supply-side flexibility, through retrofitting existing power plants to boost their responsiveness; 2) promoting flexibility from power grids, through building an efficient power grid with inter-provincial and inter-regional transmission capacity to balance spatial mismatch, given that China has a vast territory; 3) encouraging demand flexibility, through demand-response measures to enable demand shifting over time and space to address fluctuations in renewable energy generation; and 4) providing flexibility from energy storage. We consider policies to achieve this, in particular, power market reforms to unlock the flexibility potential of these sources. Regulated electricity prices and lack of auxiliary services markets are major obstacles and we discuss how markets in other countries provide lessons in providing incentives for a more flexible system. • Carbon neutrality requires electrification and intermittent renewables. • Discuss options to improve flexibility in power system with high renewables. • Attention to technology and market policies in system with regulated prices and quotas. • Exploring how markets in other countries may provide lessons for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of green finance (GF) and the renewable energy industry (REI) is crucial for accelerating energy transition and mitigating climate change. However, the existing literature has overlooked the bidirectional relationship between GF and REI. Using provincial data from 2007 to 2019, this study investigates the coupling coordination degree of GF and REI (GRCC) and its spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and driving factors. The findings indicate that both GF and REI experienced stable growth during the study period, but REI lagged behind GF, and their spatial distribution displayed asymmetrical characteristics. Although GRCC exhibited a stable growth trend and slight coordination at both national and regional levels, it displayed large interprovincial differences and spatial agglomeration characteristics. Notably, high GRCC values were primarily concentrated in a few provinces in southwest and south-central regions, spreading to the east. Furthermore, financial development, renewable energy endowment, economy scale, technological innovation, environmental regulation, and fiscal expenditure were identified as the main drivers of GRCC. This study provides a Chinese case study for global energy transition and introduces new ideas for synergy between REI and GF policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that China is committed to peak its carbon dioxide emissions in or before 2030 under the Paris Agreement, promoting renewable energy to substitute coal is one critical solution to facilitate China to meet this commitment. Among various types of renewable energy, solar energy is an attractive choice that will significantly influence the future of energy supply and energy usage. We first provide an overview of the most recent development of solar energy in China, in which the changing pattern from stationary to distributive forms is highlighted. We show that the diversified prices and subsidies across regions may play an important role in the changing pattern. Furthermore, we find major challenges that might impede the future expansion of solar energy. To address these challenges, governments need to propose policies to develop technologies and meditate the benefits of stakeholders, especially grid companies and electricity end-users. Market-based policies are also expected to accelerate the learning-by-doing process through R&D investment, which will help reduce and ultimately eliminate solar subsidies. • An overview of the most recent development of solar energy in China. • A new pattern from stationary to distributive forms of solar energy is highlighted. • Reasons for the changing pattern: Diversified prices and subsidies. • Challenges and policy options for the expansion of China's solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• rAAV-G could induce the production of high levels of anti-RABV neutralizing antibodies. • rAAV-G could induce the Th1 and Th2 cellular immune response in mice. • High levels of neutralizing antibodies could remain for long periods of time in mice. • rAAV-G could provide strongly effective protection in mice infected with RABV. Rabies is a highly lethal infectious zoonosis caused by rabies virus (RABV), and the mortality rate is almost 100 % once clinical symptoms appear, which poses a huge threat to public health security across the many parts of the word. Vaccination is reported to be the most effective approach to prevent the disease. G protein is the only protein present on the surface of RABV, it also could induce humoral immunity to produce virus neutralizing antibodies (VNA) and stimulate T cells to produce cellular immunity. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have been used as vectors for gene therapy of different human diseases for its low immunogenicity, high safety and long-term stable expression. To develop a safe and effective vaccine, recombinant AAVs containing different kind of G gene were constructed. After intramuscular (i.m.) immunization in mice, all of these rAAV-G vaccines could induce the production of high levels of VNA and effective cellular immune response. Consistently, all of the rAAV-G vaccines could provide protection against lethal RABV challenge. Our results shown that the rAAV-G vaccines could be potential candidates used in the control of RABV infection. In addition, rAAV-G as a vaccine has many advantages of low preparation cost, simple storage and transportation conditions (4 °C storage and transportation), simple immunization program (only one immunization) and so on. Thence, the rAAV-G vaccines could be potential candidates used in the control of RABV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emissions from heavy urban traffic have been the most abundant components of urban air pollution in China. Compared to the fast increasing consumption of automobile, the growth rate of urban traffic infrastructure investment (UTII) is relative low. It is a controversial issue for the policymaker whether promoting the UTII could make a positive impact on reducing air pollution or not. This study is designed to test the relations between the UTII and air quality, using the data of 83 cities from 2000 to 2012. Based on the empirical results from the fixed effect model and dynamic panel data model, increasing the UTII could generally mitigate the air pollution, but the long-run and short-run effects are significantly different. In the short run, the UTII effect on air quality is −0.02, since the urban traffic infrastructure construction might cause more detours and road blockages, which would enhance the fine-particle emissions of the low-speed traffic. In contrast, the UTII could widen the roads and make the traffic system more accessible in the long run, so the estimated positive effect is about 0.05. The robustness tests about different regions and scales of cities are conducted. Policy suggestions are further recommended to reduce air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China receives great global attention for its energy consumption. To implement effective and fair policies to save energy, it is critical to understand what drives China's energy consumption and regional disparities. Most of previous studies failed to include indirect factors embodied in the inter-sectoral and regional input-output flows. Therefore, a hybrid structural decomposition analysis is conducted to explore drivers of energy consumption and regional disparities. The results present: (1) energy, directly or indirectly, is flowing from coastal regions to Northwest, Southwest and Central China. (2) The growth of residents' income to contribution of energy consumption is by 106.7% and 169.8% during 2002–2007 and 2007–2012, respectively. Meanwhile, the positive impact of income on energy consumption is larger in urban than rural areas, and the structure effect has a significantly negative impact on energy consumption in Northwest and Southwest regions. (3) By factors, the substitution effect non-energy to energy inputs in industry sector might bring more energy consumption. By sectors, the technological advancement of the non-industry sectors decreases energy consumption by 31.7% and 174.6% during 2002–2007 and 2007–2012, respectively. Technological advancement of industry sectors plays the most important role in increasing energy consumption across China. [Display omitted] • Developing a hybrid structural decomposition analysis to capture drivers of energy consumption and regional disparities. • Income effect is more important than structure effect to explain increase of energy consumption. • The impacts of technical progress on energy consumption vary by regions, factors and sectors. • The industry and income effect contribute most to the increase in the energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how urbanisation and industrialisation interact with carbon emissions (CEs) among different regions informs the approaches for achieving emissions reduction targets and promoting regional economic development. However, this topic has not been adequately addressed in previous studies. Therefore, it is of great significance to conduct an empirical investigation of the interactions between urbanisation, industrialisation and CEs. Aided by the gravity model, the barycentre trajectories of urbanisation, industrialisation and CEs are analysed. Additionally, the total transfer amounts of industry and CEs are quantitatively examined by using an improved shift-share analysis method, and the spatial aggregation features of urbanisation, industrialisation and CEs are elucidated by constructing a three-dimensional (3D) contribution matrix model. The key conclusions are as follows: (1) The barycentre of industrialisation and urbanisation migrated to the southwest, while that of CE migrated to the northwest and the speed of this movement was faster than that of urbanisation and industrialisation. (2) Industrial transfer mainly occurred in 2005–2012, while the turning point of industrial upgrading appeared in 2013. Furthermore, midwestern regions mainly underwent industrial transfer, while northwest regions always showed CEs transfer from 2005 to 2016. (3) To achieve coordination among urbanisation, industrialisation and emission reductions, 30 provinces are grouped into 8 types according to the 3D contribution matrix model, and optimisation strategies are proposed to highlight regional disparities. These findings have significant implications for making informed decisions regarding urbanisation and industrialisation development as well as emissions-reduction policies. Unlabelled Image • The barycenter of the gravity model is used to map the transfer trajectories. • The transfer amount of industry and carbon emissions are measured by the improved shift share analysis. • Spatial agglomeration characteristics of carbon emission are classified. • Proposing the differentiated strategies for promoting low carbon transition in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A framework to assess the effects of time-dependent regulations was established. • Special period regulation (SPR) effectively reduced the air pollution level. • There are heterogeneous impacts of the SPR across cities. • The effects of SPR are negative across 24 h and weak from 12 pm to 2–3 pm. • SPR achieves a "win-win" status about environmental protection and economic growth. This study examines the impacts of time-dependent environmental regulations on air pollution during the autumn and winter. This was done by exploiting a quasi-experimental setting where a special period regulation was implemented in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region (CZT, located within Hunan Province in southern China), but not in cities surrounding CZT over the same period. Using hourly level data from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2017, and by employing a difference-in-differences model, we found that the special period regulation significantly reduced PM 2.5 concentrations, the Air Quality Index, and the probability of the occurrence of severely polluted days in CZT. Furthermore, we found that while this regulation had significant negative impacts on air pollution in Changsha, the impacts were not robust in Zhuzhou and Xiangtan. Our results further revealed that the regulatory effects were significantly negative over a 24-hour time period, but the effects temporarily weakened from 12 pm to 2–3 pm. We also confirmed that such regulations can be used to achieve a "win-win" situation in terms of environmental protection and economic growth. Thus, the results suggest that time-dependent environmental regulations will be valuable in combination with existing policies to improve air quality during specific periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The variation of strength with loading rate under various loading modes were revealed for cement-stabilized macadam. • The fatigue properties of cement stabilized macadam under different loading modes were uniformly characterized. • The new strength structure coefficient associated with the loading rate was proposed for cement-stabilized macadam. Cement-stabilized macadam is widely employed as a base-layer of pavement in China, because of its high strength and stiffness. However, fatigue cracking of the cement-stabilized macadam based pavement is prone to occur under multiple traffic loads, which affects the service life of the pavement. The main objective of this work is to reveal the fatigue characteristics of cement-stabilized macadam under various loading modes by developing a unified fatigue characteristics model. To this end, an unconfined compressive strength test, indirect tensile strength test, and four-point bending strength test were conducted for the cement-stabilized macadam samples under various loading rates. A power function was employed to the pattern of variation of strength with loading rates. The stress ratio of the fatigue test associated with the loading rate was obtained and defined as the rate-dependent stress ratio. Also, the fatigue tests under various loading modes were implemented based on the rate-dependent stress ratio and nominal stress ratio. The preliminary laboratory experimental results showed that it is challenging to compare fatigue performance under different loading modes based on nominal stress ratio. However, the problems of uncertainty and non-uniqueness of fatigue characteristics under various loading modes were resolved by employing the idea of rate-dependent stress ratio in the correlation analyses. Based on that, the new strength structure coefficient associated with the loading rate was proposed in this study. Therefore, the proposed research results provided the fundamental understanding of the fatigue resistance design of pavement with semi-rigid base-layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Study fatigue based on modulus decay considering variance of compressive-tensile. • A synchronous test method of modulus was used to monitor modulus during fatigue test. • The modulus decay mode of tensile and compressive were established and compared. The cement stabilized macadam base experiences tensile and compressive stresses simultaneously in the actual pavement structures, resulting in the influence of stress states on fatigue performance. In this paper, the fatigue performance of cement stabilized macadam was analyzed based on modulus decay considering the difference between compressive and tensile modulus. A synchronous measurement method of tensile and compressive modulus, which based on convention four-point bending test, was utilized to measure modulus of cement stabilized macadam during a fatigue test. The four-point bending fatigue test was conducted upon four different stress levels of 0.25 MPa, 0.5 MPa, 1.0 MPa, and 1.5 MPa. The average of 10 closest modulus values nearby the first 1% of fatigue life was adopted to determine the initial modulus. The last 5 cycles before the failure of the specimen in the fatigue test was determined as the critical modulus value. It was observed from the tests results that the critical value of compressive fatigue modulus was 8 times higher than that of tensile fatigue modulus. The initial and critical values of both tensile and compression decreased with the increase of stress levels. Under different stress levels, the modulus decay mode of tensile and compressive modulus was similar, but the decay rates of tensile modulus were higher than that of compressive modulus. Based on the modulus decay mode, the concept of critical failure point was put forward to characterize the fatigue behavior of cement stabilized macadam. During the fatigue process, both tensile and compressive modulus decay presented three stages, i.e. preliminary stage, stable stage, and rapid attenuation stage. The stable stage of tensile modulus was shorter than that of compressive modulus, which means that the primary fatigue damage occurred in the tensile zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With the shale gas revolution and the maturity of new energy technologies, the global oil-based energy pattern began to be remodeled worldwide. From the perspective of China, coal has played a dominant leading role in the energy structure. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly irrational to replace fossil fuels with oil. This paper considers the impact of fluctuations of three fossil energy (oil, coal and natural gas) prices on new energy companies stock prices to meet the needs of policy makers and investors in this rapidly developing field. Due to the incomplete substitution among fossil fuels, this paper uses the Divisia price synthesis method to synthesize these three prices into a composite price index. Furthermore, we use a variable vector autoregressive model to explore dynamic relationships among stock prices of new energy companies and technology companies, fossil energy prices and carbon futures prices. The results reveal that previous stock prices of new energy companies had the most significant impact on the current level. However, fossil energy prices account for only a small part of stock price fluctuations of new energy companies. Highlights • Synthesizing prices of coal, oil and natural gas into a Divisia price index. • Exploring impacts of fossil energy price changes on new energy stock prices. • Historical stock prices of new energy company have the most significant impact on the current level. • Technology stock prices have a greater impact on new energy stock prices than fossil energy prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A FEM of UHPC grouted RC column-footing socket joints was established. • Influencing parameters of joints performance were analyzed. • An estimation method of moment capacity was proposed. Socket connection is an effective connection method for assembling precast columns and adjacent components in accelerate bridge construction(ABC). In order to further enhance the efficiency of this connection type, an extensive numerical study of reinforced concrete(RC) column-footing socket joints was conducted by experimental data. The force transmission mechanism, the influence of parameters on the strength and failure state of the socket joints are revealed. It was found that the socket depth, longitudinal rebar ratio and axial load ratio have notable effect on the mechanical performance of the socket joints compared with other parameters. Base on the numerical simulation and experimental results, a calculation method for the moment capacity of socket joints was developed, which can accurately predict the moment capacity and failure mode of RC column-footing joints with socket connections. A design method of RC column-footing socket joints was also given for practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic-related air pollution has become an urgent problem in many developing countries with rapid industrialization and urbanization. Traffic infrastructure construction, especially road reconstruction, is a prominent instrument of improving the road capacity and then affecting air quality. We employ the road area as the proxy variable of road infrastructure construction and further divide the road reconstruction pattern into lengthening pattern and widening pattern, respectively to evaluate the impact on urban air quality. The empirical result shows that the coefficient of road infrastructure construction represented by the road area is between −0.0818 and −0.0905, which means increasing road area has an emission-alleviating effect on air pollution. Moreover, we also find that the effect of road lengthening on air quality is better than road widening in the eastern China, but the improvement of road widening in the Central and Western China is better than the road lengthening. The result provides a valuable reference for policy recommendations on urban road infrastructure planning to improve air quality. • An empirical study is conducted to explore the effect of road construction. • Air pollution index is selected as the dependent variable to measure urban air quality. • An increase in road area can improve air quality. • Two road construction methods both have air pollution-reducing effect. • In the eastern cities, road lengthening is more effective in improving air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Ayyagari model was applied to semi-rigid layers materials. • The unified fatigue model was obtained based on yield criterion. • A new design index of structural resistance was proposed. As the primary high-grade pavement structure, asphalt pavement with semi-rigid layers has been extensively applied in China. Among the semi-rigid layers materials, cement-treated aggregates (CTA) are an essential pavement element, and its fatigue life significantly affects the durability of the asphalt pavement structure. Various fatigue tests have been adopted to evaluate the fatigue properties of CTA. However, the fatigue resistance of the CTA measured under various methods is different, which seriously affects the accuracy of the structural design of the semi-rigid layers. Hence, this work aims to establish a design criterion for CTA to characterize the structural resistance of semi-rigid layers. The uniaxial compression (UC), four-point bending (4 PB), and indirect tensile (IDT) strength and fatigue tests for CTA were carried out. According to the traditional S - N fatigue model, the curves of fatigue performance and stress ratio of CTA under various stress states are quite different. To intuitively compare the structural resistance of CTA under various test types, the mean stress and effective stress of CTA under different loading rates were obtained. The yield surface was then established based on the Ayyagari model, considering the multiaxial yield criterion of CTA. The effective stress ratio was defined, and its relationship with the fatigue life of CTA was established. Based on the Ayyagari model and the normalized equation, the fatigue resistance criterion of semi-rigid layers under the three-dimensional stress state was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The strength variation rules of different loading modes under two mixing methods and different loading rates were revealed. • Under two mixing conditions, the strength of different loading modes was uniformed characterized. • The validity and completeness of strength parameters of semi-rigid base asphalt pavement structure design were improved. Cement stabilized macadam base is the primary stress diffusion and bearing layer of semi-rigid asphalt pavement, therefore its mechanical behavior directly affects pavement performance. The indirect tensile strength, unconfined compressive strength, and bending strength are the essential parameters for evaluating the bearing capacity of cement stabilized macadam. In the design of a pavement structure, the conventional mixing strength values of a test sample are analyzed and calculated at a fixed loading rate. By using this procedure, the influence of the mixing method and the different loading rates on the strength values are ignored. Besides, the strength obtained by using the fixed loading rate with different loading modes has significant differences. As a result, the artificial randomness of the strength parameter in the design of a semi-rigid asphalt pavement structure increases. In an attempt, to improve the effectiveness and completeness of the strength parameters of cement stabilized macadam under different loading modes, mechanical tests were conducted on samples prepared with both vibration mixing and conventional mixing methods. This procedure included, indirect tensile strength test, unconfined compressive strength test, and four-point bending strength test under different loading rates. The results of these strength tests each group of samples (vibration and conventional mixing method) were compared. Besides, all samples were subjected to 6 different loading rates when conducting each loading mode. These experimental values were analyzed. The loading rate and the strength value have a power function relationship and the correlation of strength rates was revealed. The results demonstrated that the vibration mixing method increases the indirect tensile strength, unconfined compressive strength, and four-point bending strength by 13%, 14%, and 10%, respectively. A unified strength model (S / S 0 = 0.9841 + 0.16856ln (0.01019 + v / v 0) under two mixing methods and various loading modes were established by using the variation between loading rate ratio and strength ratio. In the unified model, the strength under vibration mixing and conventional mixing methods, and the strength among different loading rates can be converted, which improved the test efficiency. The established unified model solves the problem of uncertainty and uniqueness of strength parameters under different loading modes. The accuracy of the semi-rigid asphalt pavement structure resistance design was effectively improved, thereby providing theoretical guidance for the construction of semi-rigid base asphalt pavement engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]