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The emergence of the "Ancient State" is considered an important stage in the discourse on human civilizations. Based on its complex and hierarchical social structure, the Shuanghuaishu site of Henan Province is regarded as an "Ancient state", specifically the "Heluo Ancient State". The site is situated in the middle reaches of the Yellow River region and played a key role in prehistoric China. However, the reasons behind its decline are unclear. Here, we conducted an integrated investigation of the archaeological excavations and archaeoseismic analyses at the Shuanghuaishu site. We identified paleoseismic remains within paleo-artificial moats, which were formed owing to off-fault structures of soil liquefaction, hillslope landslides, and related ground fractures, along with shake-related wall disruption and building collapse in the residential zone. Charcoal dating was conducted to constrain the age for this earthquake event, which was determined to be approximately 5.0 cal kyr BP. Furthermore, based on the practical curve for earthquake-induced liquefaction, the preliminary estimate of the magnitude of this paleoseismic event is greater than Ms5.9–6.0. We propose that the Shuanghuaishu site experienced a recession after the earthquake event, which may have influenced the continuous development of the "Heluo Ancient State" as a regional center settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Live streaming (LS) is considered to be a sustainable marketing strategy for regions with special agricultural products affected by the environment because of its potential to reduce sales risk and solve customer trust issues. This paper aims to explore the factors that influence Chinese flower and seedling family farms' adoption intention of LS. An extended planning behavior theory (TPB) including government support and knowledge is used as the theoretical basis for this research. The sample collection adopted stratified random sampling. An effective sample of 356 was obtained through a face-to-face survey of flower and seedling family farms in Shuyang, China. The structural equation modeling (SEM) test results showed that subjective norms and knowledge were key dimensions, followed by government support, then attitude and perceived behavior control. In addition, the explanatory power of the extended TPB model increased by 4%. The results of the interview also found that young operators are more willing to accept LS. This research filled the study gap in the application of LS in agricultural commerce. It is recommended that decision-makers raise family farm operators' awareness of LS sales and provide more LS sales demonstrations to promote the LS adoption of flower and seedling family farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the recycling of an entire piece of plastic film after farmland use has attracted significant attention, the film fragments generated by punching holes in such plastic films have never been studied. These film fragments can penetrate deeper into the soil more easily than whole pieces of plastic film, causing soil pollution. In this study, two new punchers with burrs were designed, and a group of comparative experiments were conducted on waste film fragment recycling. The results show that the average time required to complete the same task using punchers with two burrs (puncher 3) and one burr (puncher 2) can be reduced by 40.37% and 26.19%, respectively. The average success rates in recycling the film fragments are 91.67% and 68.17%, respectively. The performance of puncher 3 is better than that of puncher 2 for recycling the film fragments. Thus, the application of puncher 3 is beneficial for solving the problems in waste film recycling. Accordingly, the study is of great significance for protecting the soil environment, reducing "white pollution" and achieving China's sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central Plains has a long history, rich culture, unique geographical advantages, and profound cultural heritage. The occurrence of ancient cities in the Central Plains marks the formation of Chinese state-level societies. The number, size, and distribution of ancient cities have changed greatly from the late Yangshao to the Xia and Shang Dynasties, which reflects the evolution of settlement and social organization. In this study, Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial database technology was used to establish a spatiotemporal database of ancient cities in the late Yangshao, Longshan, as well as Xia and Shang Dynasties in the Central Plains. This paper uses GIS spatial analysis technology to analyze the relationship between the ancient city distribution and the geographical environment, as well as the evolution of ancient city's shapes and sizes. Furthermore, by using the method of the nearest neighbor distance and gravity center analysis, this paper discusses the agglomeration characteristics and gravity center evolution of ancient cities. The results show that: (1) Most of the ancient cities were distributed in areas below 500 m and within 3 km from the river during the time interval from the late Yangshao to Xia and Shang Dynasties; (2) The shape of the ancient cities gradually changed from circles to squares in the Central Plains, which became a unified model for the later ancient city design; (3) The sizes of the 18 ancient cities in the Yangshao period shared high similarity, with an average area of 20 hectares. The sizes of 24 ancient cities in the Longshan period increased significantly, with an average of 39 hectares. During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, there were 22 ancient cities with an average size of 340 hectares, and the grade of sizes became obvious, marking the entrance into Chinese state-level societies; (4) Cities were scattered in the decentralized pattern during the late Yangshao and Longshan periods, whereas they became agglomerative in Xia and Shang Dynasties. This reflects the evolution of the spatial scopes and social organizational forms; and (5) From the late Yangshao to Xia and Shang Dynasties, the gravity center of ancient cities moved around the Songshan Mountain from the northwest to the southeast and again to the northeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]