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Objective recognition of higher education development status and competitiveness is an important prerequisite and foundation for the transformation and development of regional higher education. At present, the identification and analysis methods for solving this problem cannot get rid of the subjective intention of reviewers or managers completely, and still adopt a unified evaluation standard. This makes the credibility of the results not high, resulting in not ideal implementation of follow-up policies and measures. In view of this, this paper proposes a method of individual advantage feature recognition to identify and evaluate regional higher competitiveness. This method is based on the description of the multi-indexes system of objects, and chooses the goal programming evaluation method to construct the mathematical model of individual superiority characteristic recognition, and explores the individual superiority characteristics of the regional higher education. This evaluation structure has intuitive interpretation and is easy to understand and accept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using firm-level data from a World Bank survey, this paper examines how legal development in China relates to various firm decisions. I find that a more active court system is associated with more investment, more adoption of technology, more innovation, and more complex transactions. Specifically, when a higher percentage of business disputes are resolved through the court system, firms tend to have higher investment rates, higher propensities to adopt new automated technology, and higher probabilities of developing new products. In addition, they tend to have more nonlocal sales. These findings are consistent with a sophisticated version of the rights hypothesis, in which the rule of law eventually replaces relation-based governance as a superior governance mechanism. I find two limitations of China's legal system. The court system does a better job facilitating the growth of state-owned enterprises than of private firms, and it protects local firms better than nonlocal firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhejiang Province, as a major province of economic strength in China, has economically well-developed coastal areas, which are heavily damaged during landfall typhoons. In this paper, typhoons that could cause serious damages to Zhejiang Province will be labeled as “disastrous typhoons,” and the corresponding wind velocities will be labeled as “disastrous wind velocities.” It is suggested that typhoons exceeding certain threshold-values be selected as samples for calculation, and this method is called threshold-value sampling. According to the typhoon measurement data and by using the P-III distribution function, the disastrous wind velocity of certain recurrence interval in typhoon-resistant and engineering design projects was calculated. The calculation results show that the disastrous wind velocity of the largest landfall typhoon of coastal areas for the next 10 years is 41.8 m/s, the disastrous wind velocity in the next 50 years is 49.7 m/s, and 52.9 m/s in the next 100 years. It can be seen at the same time that the wind velocity calculated by the P-III distribution model is more similar to the actual conditions compared to the wind velocity calculated by the Weibull distribution model. This method is conceptually clear, easy to use, and generates ideal results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of direct real estate investment and securitised properties in a multi-asset portfolio with financial assets available in Hong Kong, in a variety of time horizons. Grounded on the mean-variance framework within the Modern Portfolio Theory, the study extends it by deploying the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) technique to estimate the variance and covariance, which reduces estimation errors, owed to the lack of 'dynamic update' capabilities in the standard model. Additionally, a constraint on the allocation to direct real estate investment is imposed in the portfolio optimisation problem to examine how percentage changes in the allocation to real properties affect the return and risk of the optimal portfolio. The experimental results show that the private domestic plays a more important role than property stocks in an optimal multi-asset portfolio, in all time horizons, with allocation ranging from 23-27%. Also, for an optimal portfolio with shorter time horizons, lesser-value direct real estate (Class A/B) tends to be included, while luxury property investment is the main asset for portfolios with longer time horizons. This proffers some implications for fund managers in Hong Kong in the management of portfolio investment when real estate is involved, subject to various levels of returns, risks and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the theoretical foundations and development of a multidimensional, water-focused, thematic indicator of rural poverty: The Water, Economy, Investment and Learning Assessment Indicator (WEILAI). The WEILAI approach was specifically designed for application in rural China, to support poverty alleviation project planning, monitoring and evaluation, as well as targeting and prioritization. WEILAI builds primarily on the basic needs framework of poverty alleviation, and on the methodological structure of the Water Poverty Index, to provide a proxy measure of an area's poverty by assessing eight key poverty sectors, with a strong focus on the components of water-poverty. The WEILAI approach was piloted and implemented in 534 households in China's mountainous southwest. This paper describes the indicator construction, weighting schemes, methodology, field sites, and statistical validation of the results. In addition, we discuss the results, feedback from in-country project staff, and the likely utility of the tool for project planning, monitoring and evaluation support. The paper concludes with a discussion of WEILAI's overall utility and ongoing development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the statistical properties of the fluctuations of the Chinese Stock Index, and we study the statistical properties of HSI, DJI, IXIC and SP500 by comparison. According to the theory of artificial neural networks, a stochastic time effective function is introduced in the forecasting model of the indices in the present paper, which gives an improved neural network – the stochastic time effective neural network model. In this model, a promising data mining technique in machine learning has been proposed to uncover the predictive relationships of numerous financial and economic variables. We suppose that the investors decide their investment positions by analyzing the historical data on the stock market, and the historical data are given weights depending on their time, in detail, the nearer the time of the historical data is to the present, the stronger impact the data have on the predictive model, and we also introduce the Brownian motion in order to make the model have the effect of random movement while maintaining the original trend. In the last part of the paper, we test the forecasting performance of the model by using different volatility parameters and we show some results of the analysis for the fluctuations of the global stock indices using the model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract  This paper presents a new kind of material for use in highway embankments in the soft soil of the Yangzi River delta. The experimental study was carried out first to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed material, using different mixtures of river sand, cement and expanded polystyrene beads. This was confirmed by numerical modeling which indicated both its suitability as regards strength and a reduced settlement compared with the general lime stabilized soil embankments. The environmental advantage is that it utilized river sand which has to be removed to retain the profile of the river bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Land use change has significant impacts on hydrologic processes at the watershed level. This paper combines an empirical land use change model and an event-scale, rainfall-runoff model to quantify the impacts of potential land use change on the storm-runoff generation in the Xitiaoxi basin upstream of Taihu Lake watershed. The HEC–HMS rainfall-runoff model is calibrated and validated for 7 storm events in the study area, and the results show good consistency between the simulated and measured hydrographs at the outlet of the basin with Nash–Sutcliff efficiency ranging from 75% to 95%. Then two future land use scenarios for the year 2050 are forecasted using the CLUE-s model based on the land use of 2002: (1) scenario A with an increase in urban area from 9.2% to 17% of the entire watershed and (2) scenario B with an increase from 9.2% to 14%. Finally, the calibrated HEC–HMS model is applied for these future land use scenarios under designed storms with different recurrence intervals to assess the potential land use impacts on the storm-runoff generation. The results indicate that the future land use scenarios are projected to increase the total runoff as well as the peak discharge, and that the magnitude of increment relates to the expansion rate of built-up area. In the case of rainstorms with recurrence intervals of 10, 50 and 100 years, the simulated peak discharges increase by 3.8%, 2.6% and 2.3% under scenario A, and by 2.8%, 1.9% and 1.7% under scenario B, respectively; while the total runoff is projected to increase by 4.7%, 3.4% and 3.0% under scenario A, and by 3.3%, 2.5% and 2.1% under scenario B. It can be concluded that the sensitivity of hydrologic response to land use change tends to increase as the recurrence interval of rainfall events decreases. Additionally, remarkable spatial variations of the land use changes and its impacts can be observed at the subbasin level, and the most sensitive subbasin is closeby the city. The results of this paper can provide useful support for land use planning and management, and the methods applied here have proved a useful tool for land use impact studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An extended Gebhart–Block model for large space buildings is proposed in this paper, which is used to predict the vertical temperature distribution of hybrid ventilation. Natural ventilation coupled with air-conditioning is described with a mathematical model. The indoor thermal environment formed by the air-conditioning and the natural ventilation can also be conducted for the potential analysis and optimal use of the natural ventilation. Experiments were carried out in an atrium building in Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences. This paper describes aforementioned model, and it is found that the calculation results implying this model agree well with the measurement data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In China''s energy cost calculation, environment compensation and energy utilization rate are neglected, which causes problems of high energy consumption, high pollution and low efficiency. By establishing multi-oligarchs Cournot model for energy enterprises, the paper figure out reaction function and equilibrium price when Nash is in equilibrium. On this basis, taxation factor and energy consumption incentive factor are introduced, and the changes in price, output, and profit are re-analyzed when Nash is in equilibrium. Finally, the paper comes out that a moderate taxation can compensate environment negative externality and raise energy price to its real price. In the meantime, by increasing incentive strategy, enterprise can reduce energy consumption and advance the development of energy sustainable utilization technology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Regional operation of the electricity market has begun in China. With the development of China's market economy, hydropower will enter the arena of bidding for connection to the grid in light of "fair, impartial and open" principles. For the electricity market, the solution of an inter-plant economical operation of a cascade hydropower system is extremely important. If a hydropower company is incapable of predicting the generation capability and the amount of generation of hydropower stations as well as the risk-rate corresponding to various generation amounts, then there is no information available to the hydropower company to refer to when it makes future agreements in a certain period. This paper develops mathematical models of (1) total minimum stored energy consumption and (2) total minimum water consumption for a cascade hydropower system. The models provide a solution to the problem of rational distribution of next-day's generating schedule in a cascade hydropower system awarded a contract in the bidding for connection to the grid. A case study is conducted to verify the effectiveness and applicability of the methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a water quantity operation scheme to resolve series of environmental problems which some waterfront bodies are faced with, such as frequent water-level fluctuation, sediment deposition, water quality degradation, water transparency depravation, and submerged aquatic plant disappearing. Neijiang, which is a typical tide-influenced waterfront body located within the Changjiang Delta, China has been considered as the research area. A 2-D environmental and ecological model coupled with water current, water quality, suspended sediment, algae growth, and water transparency is established and validated against the field investigated data, and the model can well reflect the dynamic processes of these factors in Neijiang. Three water quantity operation modes including self-introducing, pumping, and keeping quiescence are proposed. Based on different kinds of water demand of Neijiang and the actual water exchange ability, detailed water quantity operation schemes under different hydrologic conditions are studied with the established numerical model, and the changes of some living condition factors after water operation are forecasted and evaluated. Results show that water exchange and sediment deposition in Neijiang are apparently reduced after water operation in different level years. In addition, the water quality and transparency in Neijiang can keep a good status, and the living environment is improved for submerged aquatic plant restoration. This study provides an example to resolve environmental problems, improve living conditions and keep a healthy ecosystem for similar waterfront bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Jacket platforms in the Bohai Gulf are often victims of random ice-induced vibrations. Their design originally did not account for dynamic ice loading on the jacket structures and significant ice-induced vibrations have been observed during winters. So it is urgent to find out as to how to consider the dynamic ice loading in the design stage of an ice-resistant jacket platform in the Bohai Gulf. In this paper, based on the state-of-art developments of dynamic ice load and ice–structure interaction, the authors proposed two different approaches to determine the short-term dynamic ice cases for dynamic analysis of ice-resistant jacket platform in the Bohai Gulf, named as the failure probability-based approach and the expected loss-based approach. Considering the variation of the ice environments and the variability of ice-resistant structure''s properties, the random ice spectrum and the pseudo-excitation method (PEM) are employed to improve the efficiency of the procedure. Through finite element method (FEM) modeling of the real ice-resistant jacket platforms in the Bohai Gulf, such as MSW, MUQ and NW, the characteristics of the two proposed approaches have been investigated and compared. This paper provides an open and universal framework to assist designers and owners for determining the short-term dynamic ice cases in the Bohai Gulf, in which more information can be considered in the procedure to update and modify the results if available. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a nonlinear piecewise smooth dynamical system of the trajectory of deviated wells according to engineering background. An optimal control model is established and the necessary conditions for optimality are proved via maximum principle. The optimal control problem is solved by a revised Hooke–Jeeves algorithm. The uniform design technique has been incorporated into the revised Hooke–Jeeves algorithm to handle the multimodal function. Computer simulation is used for this paper, and the numerical example illustrates the validity and efficiency of the algorithm. The procedure demonstrates its advantages in practical applications in Liaohe Oil Field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With the start up of West–East Natural Gas Transmission Project, the construction of natural gas-pipeline will enter on a new era in China. The development tendency will be towards large-diameter, high-pressure and long-distance for natural gas-pipelines. Correspondingly, the life cycle cost of natural gas-pipeline networks is increasing gradually. The mainline system is a vital part of natural gas network systems. The investment required for the mainline system is enormous, usually accounting for 80% of the total investment for this system. In general, the investment required for a gas-pipeline depends on its operating parameters. Therefore, based on the characteristics of gas networks, optimization for investment becomes indispensable to gas networks design. A comprehensive and optimal mathematic model of a gas networks system is established in this paper which considers all the factors influencing the total investment of a gas networks system (e.g. pipe diameter, thickness, pressure, length, compression ratio, etc). From the standpoint of the characteristics of a model comprising both continuous and discrete variables, a new methodology, rank-optimization, is presented. On the basis of this model, a simple and visual high-pressure networks optimization program has been compiled. Furthermore, the developed optimization program has been applied to a practical project and the effects of operating parameters on the total investment have been analyzed. The simulation model in this paper is shown to be an effective method to solve optimization on mainline system in high-pressure gas networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reviews various sources of literature on the languages of the She minority. Previous scholarship can generally be divided into three aspects: those that study the genetic affiliation of the She language (Sheyu); those that study the relation between the She speech (Shehua) and Chinese dialects, or between Shehua and Zhuang-Dong languages; and those that study languages of the She people as an endangered language. The paper points out the future development of She research, which will aim at safeguarding languages of the She minority. The status of Sheyu and Shehua and their interrelationship will be better clarified when studies proceed with the perspective of basic core vocabulary. Furthermore, studies on languages of the She minority require interdisciplinary methodologies that combine language competition and mathematical modeling to explore factors contributing to the endangerment of She people's languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about a research paper by Ming Zhao, Zhengdong Huang and Liping Chen of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, at Wuhan, People's Republic of China. The study focuses on a method of pressure calculation for carrying out the multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) of the tool head system in the heavy-duty CNC machine tool for multi-pocket closed hydrostatic guideways.

This paper concentrate on related theories based on moral hazard arid agency costs to divide the stakeholder into two categories. By making several assumptions, we establish the overlapping-generations model based on genetic replication equation and analyze the stakeholder in stock market with evolutionary game and then conclude the evolutionary equilibrium based on data of Chinese stock market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation between two most important players, enterprises and certification bodies, of quality certification market are analyzed by building two-person game second-hand car trade model with two prices in this paper. By introducing a virtual player, the incomplete information game can be transformed into the complete but imperfect information game. Then some conclusions are given: there have two methods to make market succeed absolutely, (1) to eliminate the information's imperfection; (2) to increase the counterfeit cost. And by introducing the double-price second-hand car model with refundment guarantee of enterprises and certification bodies further, the author thinks it will increase counterfeit cost greatly to oblige certification bodies make actual quality promises and take on related liability to some extent. This kind of expensive commitment will make market succeed absolutely; accordingly it can increase and improve the effectiveness of quality certification, and the authority, justness and objectivity will be guaranteed further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of enhancing the manufacturing abilities of Chinese small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs), the present paper reports on a framework of order evaluation and negotiation of collaborative manufacturing for SMMEs in networked manufacturing environments. First, the background and problem domain are introduced. Then the information required to evaluate and negotiate orders is examined in a collaborative manufacturing process. Based on this information, a framework of order evaluation is built on the profit and due date, and then an order negotiation model framework, combined with an order evaluation model, is also presented. At the same time, a standardized negotiation process is described in more detail. Finally, a case study is presented to illustrate how business-to-business SMMEs evaluate and negotiate an order with a business-to-customer SMME to obtain the best profit-due date trade-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristic of the population is grey in nature. Through the establishment of dynamic GM(1,1) model for the next decade, the paper has carried out the prediction of the total population, male and female population of Hubei, providing a reference for the formulation of corresponding population policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a neural network (NN) based model to assess the regional hazard degree of debris flows in Lake Qionghai Watershed, China. The NN model was used as an alternative for the more conventional linear model MFCAM (multi-factor composite assessment model) in order to effectively handle the nonlinearity and uncertainty inherent in the debris flow hazard analysis. The NN model was configured using a three layer structure with eight input nodes and one output node, and the number of nodes in the hidden layer was determined through an iterative process of varying the number of nodes in the hidden layer until an optimal performance was achieved. The eight variables used to represent the eight input nodes include density of debris flow gully, degree of weathering of rocks, active fault density, area percentage of slope land greater than 25° of the total land (APL25), frequency of flooding hazards, average covariance of monthly precipitation by 10 years (ACMP10), average days with rainfall >25 mm by 10 years (25D10Y), and percentage of cultivated land with slope land greater than 25° of the total cultivated land (PCL25). The output node represents the hazard-degree ranks (HDR). The model was trained with the 35 sets of data obtained from previous researches reported in literatures, and an explicit uncertainty analysis was undertaken to address the uncertainty in model training and prediction. Before the NN model is extrapolated to Lake Qionghai Watershed, a validation case, different from the above data, is conducted. In addition, the performances of the NN model and the MFCAM were compared. The NN model predicted that the HDRs of the five sub-watersheds in the Lake Qionghai Watershed were IV, IV, III, III, and IV–V, indicating that the study area covers normal hazard and severe hazard areas. Based on the NN model results, debris flow management and economic development strategies in the study are proposed for each sub-watershed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluvial processes are considerably complicated in the braided reach of the Lower Yellow River; and the lateral or transverse channel deformation process is especially pronounced. The state-of-the-art of simulation techniques for the channel deformation in the Lower Yellow River was analyzed in this paper, and such a conclusion was drawn that existing mathematical alluvial models only can simulate the longitudinal channel deformation and cannot simulate such the lateral deformation as lateral erosion and failure of bank. Then a new two-dimensional (2D) composite model was developed herein, consisting of a 2D flow and sediment transport submodel and a riverbank-erosion submodel. This model not only can simulate the longitudinal and lateral channel deformations, but also can be used to simulate the fluvial processes of natural alluvial rivers with complex bed morphology. Through using the proposed composite model, the flood routing and channel deformation processes during the August 1982 flood were simulated. The maximum stage along the reach and the discharge hydrograph at the outlet so obtained were in good agreement with the observed data. Simulated results of the channel deformation processes showed that during the flood season, the main channel scours and the flood plain deposits; during the dry season, the main channel deposits and banks of the floodplain retreat due to lateral erosion by the flow and failure under gravity. Such results accord with the annual varying law of bed scouring and deposition in the braided reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some domestic tax CGE models will be introduced and analyzed in this paper, followed by a summurization of the advantage and shortcoming in these works. Then the paper presents the areas for improvement of the domestic tax CGE model research including making the static model dynamic, incorporating the coordination of fiscal policy and menotary policy in model, improving the reliability of data collection and parameters evaluation, and adopting general acceptable softwares to solve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventive maintenance (PM) has long been recognized as a method to increase equipment reliability and availability. However, for equipment in complex plant installations like toll road/tunnel systems, to carry out PM on all components may not be feasible, or, may end up with excessive maintenance costs. This paper describes how a risk-based maintenance management model was formulated to systematically prioritize PM activities. The model was based on the five core elements of the risk management process (RMP): identification, measurement, assessment, valuation, and control and monitoring. This model was applied to a toll road/tunnel company in Hong Kong to enhance the PM operations of its lighting system. The improvements recommended in this case study show that the application of RMP in preventive maintenance could effectively identify and assess potential risks for equipment and facilities. The RMP results provide quantified information for decision-makers to select the best course of actions for implementing a more cost-effective risk-based PM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-demand meal ordering on high-speed railway is an emerging on-demand service that is becoming increasingly popular. One key challenge about this service is how to design the ordering system to maximize profits while guaranteeing timely delivery. However, few related studies have been done for this new business. In this paper, we first develop a mathematical model to optimize the existing ordering procedure, which sets a deadline for order placement. Furthermore, we propose a pre-ordering policy which cancels the order deadline but ensures timely delivery via stocking up. Considering the ambiguity in demand distributions and uncertainty in delivery time, we develop distributionally robust stochastic optimization models for both the existing and the pre-ordering procedures. Cutting-plane algorithms are developed to solve the proposed models. Computational studies on a real-world high-speed railway line in China show that our proposed new policy could simultaneously increase service availability, improve the profit, and reduce delay rate. • Optimize current meal ordering procedure by finding the best order placing deadline. • Propose a novel preordering policy for railway on-demand meal ordering service. • Improve system revenues, service availability and delivery performance. • Develop distributionally robust stochastic programming models. • Consider ambiguity in demands and randomness in delivery time. • Develop cutting-plane algorithms to solve reformulated models efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Given the cause of self-stigmatization of patients with rare diseases is complicated, and the self-stigmatization can be prevented by managing the related risk factors. This study aimed to report the prevalence as well as influencing factors associated with self-stigmatization in patients with rare diseases. Methods: From January to April 2022, the respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method was used to select patients with rare diseases through the Chinese Organization for Rare Disorders as the subjects. Based on the theoretical model of health ecology, logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association between self-stigmatization level and sample characteristics of patients with rare diseases. Results: A total of 530 patients were included, 50.2% of whom were male, and most of them are under 45 years old (86.5%). The prevalence of self-stigmatization in patients with rare diseases was 85.7%. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age (OR: 0.624, 95% CI: [0.399, 0.976]), mental health status (OR: 0.184, 95% CI: [0.076, 0.445]), family relations (OR: 0.180, 95% CI: [0.074, 0.434]), full time work (OR: 2.835, 95% CI: [1.024, 7.849]) and medical insurance (OR: 0.296, 95% CI: [0.105, 0.835]) were risk factors for self-stigmatization of patients with rare diseases. Conclusions: Chinese patients with rare diseases have a high level of self-stigmatization, and the potential risk factors are multi-level and multi-dimensional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic, most countries have adopted strict regulation strategies such as travel restrictions, gathering restrictions, and daily health reporting. With the normalization of the pandemic, people have shown resistance to these highly intensive regulations. Yet few studies have explored the mechanisms of behavioral change from compliance to non‐compliance from the perspective of vicarious experiences. Based on the social cognitive theory, we constructed a model linking vicarious experiences, risk perception, and non‐compliance behavior to reveal the mechanism of why individuals do not comply with pandemic prevention rules and regulations. A sample of 1080 Chinese participants was obtained from a time lagged design. The results indicated that vicarious experiences could influence non‐compliance with prevention rules and regulations via perceived probability and perceived consequence of being caught. In addition, public trust in the government could negatively moderate the direct effect of the intention of violating prevention rules and regulations on non‐compliance. This direct effect is stronger for citizens with low levels of public trust in the government than for those with high levels. Our findings advance the understanding of the mechanisms behind the way vicarious experiences affect citizens' non‐compliance behavior with COVID‐19 prevention rules and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: The aim was to identify latent trajectories in physical activity (PA) and their determinants in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) based on the socio‐ecological model. Background: PA has been linked to poor long‐term outcomes in patients with COPD. However, few studies have explored their PA trajectories and their predictors. Design: Cohort study. Methods: We used data from a national cohort and included 215 participants. PA was quantified using a short PA questionnaire, and group‐based trajectory modelling was used to explore the PA trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to identify the predictors of PA trajectories. Generalised linear mixed models were used to elucidate the associations between predictors and PA during follow‐up. A STROBE checklist was used to guide the reporting of this study. Results: Three PA trajectory patterns were identified among 215 COPD participants with an average age of 60.51 ± 8.87: stable inactive group (66.7%), sharp decline group (25.7%) and stable active group (7.5%). The logistic regression showed that age, sex, income, peak expiratory flow, upper limb capacity, depressive symptoms, the frequency of contact with children were PA predictors. Upper limb capacity weakness and depressive symptoms were found to be associated with a sharp decline in PA during follow‐up. Conclusions: This study revealed three PA trajectories among patients with COPD. In addition to strengthening the physical functions and mental health of patients, support from the family, community and society also play a crucial role in promoting PA of patients with COPD. Relevance to Clinical Practice: It is essential to identify distinct PA trajectories in patients with COPD to develop future interventions that promote PA. No Patient or Public Contribution: A national cohort study was used and no patients or the public were involved in the design and implementation of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the premature failure of the integral droppers in high speed railway catenary in China was investigated. Series of microscopic characterization and analysis were conducted to identify the root causes of the unexpected failure. By numerically simulating the existing crimping behavior, distribution of the contact stress in the dropper was obtained. It was found that there was stress concentration at the dropper sliced end, which became the primary reason for the permanent distortion and damage on the droppers, and consequently resulted in the untimely final fracture with bending fretting fatigue acting. Through the failure analysis and numerical simulation, a scheme of the improvements in measuring the existing crimping was brought up. Meanwhile, a plan was also put forward to change the current crimping model and reduce the depth of indentation of clamp tube. Static tensile tests and bending fretting fatigue tests were carried out to evaluate the optional plans, which would help extend the service life of integral dropper in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On August 23, 2017 a Category 3 Typhoon Hato struck Southern China. Among the hardest hit cities, Macau experienced the worst flooding since 1925. In this paper, we present a high-resolution survey map recording inundation depths and distances at 278 sites in Macau. We show that one half of the Macau Peninsula was inundated with the extent largely confined by the hilly topography. The Inner Harbor area suffered the most with the maximum inundation depth of 3.1 m at the coast. Using a combination of numerical models, we simulate and reproduce this typhoon and storm surge event. We further investigate the effects of tidal level and sea level rise on coastal inundations in Macau during the landfall of a Hato like event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand of oil products in China, the energy consumption of pipeline operation will continue to rise greatly, as well as the cost of oil transportation. In the field of practical engineering, saving energy, reducing energy consumption and adapting to the international oil situation are the development trends and represent difficult problems. Based on the basic principle of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, this paper derives the field equilibrium equations of non-equilibrium thermodynamic process for pipeline transportation. To seek the bilinear form of "force" and "flow" in the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of entropy generation rate, the oil pipeline exergy balance equation and the exergy transfer pipeline dynamic equation of the irreversibility were established. The exergy balance equation was applied to energy balance evaluation system, which makes the system more perfect. The exergy flow transfer law of the waxy oil pipeline were explored deeply from the directions of dynamic exergy, pressure exergy, thermal exergy and diffusion exergy. Taking an oil pipeline as an example, the influence factors of exergy transfer coefficient and exergy flow density were analyzed separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the optimization of hydrological model parameters is an important issue in the field of hydrological forecasts, as these parameters not only directly impact the accuracy of forecast programs, but also relate to the development, application, and popularization of hydrological models. In this paper we selected the double-excess runoff generation model as the subject for research, and the data obtained from tens of flooding events in the Fen River Basin were used for the construction of these models. The SCE-UA and MOSCDE algorithms were then taken to optimize the models' parameters. The results showed that: as compared with the SCE-UA algorithm, higher flood forecast accuracies were obtained through model parameter optimization using the MOSCDE algorithm. During the examination period, the compliance rate of the flood peak magnitude increased from 60% to 70%, while the compliance rate of the flood peak duration increased from 80% to 90%. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of the flood peak magnitudes increased from 0.664 to 0.878, which demonstrates an improvement in goodness-of-fit; the RMSE value of flood peak magnitudes also decreased from 399.8 to 236.84, thus showing a decrease in dispersion and an improvement in goodness-of-fit. With the continuous improvements made in hydrological parameter algorithms and the creation of new optimization algorithms, there is no doubt that the optimization of hydrological model parameters will become more reasonable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CSI 800 index consists of CSI 500 index and CSI 300 index, aiming to reflect the performance of stocks with large, mid and small size of China A share market. In this paper we analyze the multifractal structure of Chinese stock market in the CSI 800 index based on the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method. We find that the fluctuation of the closing logarithmic returns have multifractal properties, the shape and width of multifractal spectrum are depended on the weighing order q . More interestingly, we observe a bigger market crash in June–August 2015 than the one in 2008 based on the local Hurst exponents. The result provides important information for further study on dynamic mechanism of return fluctuation and whether it would trigger a new financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid development of financial services and products, credit risk assessment has recently gained considerable attention in the field of financial risk management. In this paper, an improved credit risk assessment approach is presented. Based on the credit data from China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), a multi-dimensional and multi-level credit risk indicator system is constructed. In particular, we present an improved sequential minimal optimization (SMO) learning algorithm, named four-variable SMO (FV-SMO), for credit risk classification model. At each iteration, it jointly selects four variables into the working set and an theorem is proposed to guarantee the analytical solution of sub-problem. The assessment is made on China credit dataset and two benchmark credit datasets from UCI database and CD-ROM database. Experimental results demonstrate FV-SMO is competitive in saving the computational cost and outperforms other five state-of-the-art classification methods in credit risk assessment accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of the sharing economy, outsourcing logistics operations to third party logistics has become an efficient way of reducing costs in freight transportation. It can be modeled as a variant of the open vehicle routing problem (OVRP), where the vehicles do not return to the depot after servicing customers. However, very few papers have studied fuel consumption in the context of third party logistics. In this work, the mathematical model of the green open vehicle routing problem with time windows (GOVRPTW) was described based on the comprehensive modal emission model (CMEM). A hybrid tabu search algorithm involving several neighborhood search strategies was designed to solve this problem. Computational experiments were performed on realistic instances based on the real road conditions of Beijing, China. The effect of empty kilometers is analyzed through comparing different cost components. Compared with closed routes, the open routes reduced the total cost by 20% with both the fuel emissions costs and the CO 2 emissions cost down by nearly 30%. For the experiments with congested nodes, the fuel and emissions cost rose by 12.3%, and the driver cost even increased by 31.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Beijing rural “coal to electricity” is more and more attention. Among them, the air source heat pump as a clean energy is vigorously promoted, but due to of its low water supply temperature. So, for what kind of terminal equipment need to be researched. In this paper, the two terminal equipment of PE-X pipe are adopted as the low-temperature floor radiant heating and four-post 760 cast iron radiator in the bedroom of a Beijing farmhouse are simulated. The performance of two kinds of terminal equipment is analyzed from four aspects: indoor temperature field distribution, indoor air cleanliness, indoor air velocity distribution and energy consumption. The commercial CFD software was used to simulate the characteristics of two heating terminal equipment. The simulation results show that PE-X pipes as the low-temperature floor radiant heating is better than that the four-post 760 cast iron radiator heating, it has good heating effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building heating energy consumption accounts for about 19.12% of total energy consumption in China in 2014. With the development of building energy-saving technology, renewable energy heating systems, such as GSHP (ground source heat pump), solar energy, air source heat pump, show high energy efficiency and low emissions, which are gradually replacing traditional heating systems. However, due to the restriction of existing productivity and environment conditions, the capital investment of such renewable heating systems is often much higher than traditional ones. As a result, the advantage of renewable heating system is hard to be realized, since its application is highly limited by economic factors. In this paper, traditional thermal-economical evaluation method is modified and improved for feasibility analysis of renewable heating system. Moreover, an illustrative example, which combines solar heating and air-source heat pump together, in Sichuan is given to show the preliminary application of the proposed method. The results indicate that the modified thermal-economical evaluation method can assess the feasibility of renewable heating systems more comprehensively, since it takes the indirect economic effects caused by energy saving and environment protection into consideration, which can balance the huge capital investment of such systems. For the studied case, solar collector combined with air-source heat pump is more preferable than traditional systems. This work is important for feasibility analysis and design optimization of building heating system with renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a public building in China, this paper built a benchmark model and analyzed the influence of main thermal performance of building envelopes on energy consumption in different climatic regions by EnergyPlus. The results showed that in the order of hot summer and warm winter region, hot summer and cold winter region, cold region, severe cold region, the energy-saving effect was getting better and better with the increase of roof insulation, exterior wall insulation and exterior window insulation. If SHGC of exterior window was reduced, building energy consumption decreased in hot summer and warm winter region, hot summer and cold winter region, but it increased in cold region and severe cold region. For hot summer and warm winter region, hot summer and cold winter region, the factors that affected energy consumption was as follows: SHGC > K win > K wal > K ro, for cold region and severe cold region, it was as follows: K win > K wal > SHGC > K ro . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding spatiotemporal urbanization is one of the key questions related to sustainable urbanization in the drylands of northern China (DNC). However, urban expansion in the DNC has not been quantified and assessed effectively due to a lack of reliable data and methods. In this paper, we investigate urban expansion in the DNC at multiple scales, ranging from the whole region to four dryland subtypes, and six urban agglomerations in the DNC from 1992 to 2015. We also simulate urban expansion in the DNC from 2015 to 2050 by coupling the scenario framework of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) with the Land Use Scenario Dynamics-urban (LUSD-urban) model. Despite of the uncertainty in the research, our findings provide useful insight into the past and the future urban expansion in the DNC. The results indicate that the urban land in the DNC expanded rapidly from 4110 km 2 in 1992 to 20,969 km 2 in 2015. Furthermore, the urban land in the DNC will continue to expand from 20,969 km 2 to 22,987–36,622 km 2 by 2040, with an annual growth of 80.72–403.48 km 2 under all SSPs. Thus, it is suggested that effective measures are urgently needed to facilitate sustainable urban development in the DNC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key project of "manufacturing industry and logistics industry linkage" was proposed in the Logistics Adjustment and Revitalization Plan by the state council In 2009. However the consumption and pollution generated by manufacturing Industry and logistics Industry linkage in China are also large at present. How to conduct manufacturing Industry and logistics Industry linkage by the low-carbon manner Is one of most important issues under current low-carbon economy background. In this paper, the issue is studied and analyzed by constructing system dynamics model, which could propose suggestions for low-carbon linkage development of manufacturing industry and logistics industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nineteen studies were identified that modelled S. japonicum control strategies. • Mathematical models of S. Japonicum have shifted towards the prevalence-based multi-host model. • Few mathematical models of S. Japonicum have considered other definitive hosts and seasonal fluctuations with mixed results. • Mathematical models have generally agreed on the inability of human treatment alone to reach elimination of S. Japonicum. • Few modelling studies have considered S. Japonicum in the Philippines. Schistosoma japonicum remains endemic in China and the Philippines. Substantial progress has been made in the control of Japonicum in both China and the Philippines. China is reaching elimination thanks to a concerted effort of control strategies. Mathematical modelling has been a key tool in the design of control strategies, in place of expensive randomised-controlled trials. We conducted a systematic review to investigate mathematical models of Japonicum control strategies in China and the Philippines. We conducted a systematic review on July 5, 2020, in four electronic bibliographic databases - PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS and Embase. Articles were screened for relevance and for meeting the inclusion criteria. Data extracted included authors, year of publication, year of data collection, setting and ecological context, objectives, control strategies, main findings, the form and content of the model including its background, type, representation of population dynamics, heterogeneity of hosts, simulation period, source of parameters, model validation and sensitivity analysis. Results After screening, 19 eligible papers were included in the systematic review. Seventeen considered control strategies in China and two in the Philippines. Two frameworks were identified; the mean-worm burden framework and the prevalence-based framework, the latter of which increasingly common. Most models considered human and bovine definitive hosts. There were mixed additional elements included in the models, such as alternative definitive hosts and the role of seasonality and weather. Models generally agreed upon the need for an integrated control strategy rather than reliance on mass drug administration alone to sustain reductions in prevalence. Mathematical modelling of Japonicum has converged from multiple approaches to modelling using the prevalence-based framework with human and bovine definitive hosts and find integrated control strategies to be most effective. Further research could investigate the role of other definitive hosts and model the effect of seasonal fluctuations in transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this study is to explore the mechanism of the four dimensions of miners' emotional intelligence (self-emotion perception, emotion application, emotion regulation, other-emotion perception) on unsafe behavior through a questionnaire survey of three state-owned coal mines in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Sichuan. Nearly 300 miners participated in the survey, and the response rate reached 83.3%. The study also examined the possible effects of miners' emotional labor strategies and perceived organizational support on unsafe behavior. The reliability and effectiveness of all measuring instruments are considered acceptable. The results show that emotional labor strategy plays an intermediary role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and unsafe behavior. Perceived organizational support plays a regulatory role in the relationship between emotional labor strategy and unsafe behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to explore longitudinal associations between preference for solitude (PFS) and depressive symptoms among early adolescents in mainland China, with a focus on separating between-person and within-person effects using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). Participants were N = 1039 Chinese early adolescents (M age= 12.37, 46.1% girls, at Time 1), who completed annual self-reports of depressive symptoms and peer-nominations of PFS over a 3-years period. Results revealed that fluctuations in depressive symptoms consistently predicted fluctuations in PFS 1 year later, but not vice versa, supporting a symptoms-driven model. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of depressive symptoms in promoting subsequent PFS among early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the effects of the social-emotional classroom climate on academic achievement in mathematics and literature for elementary students in grades 3 through 6. The research specifically focuses on the indirect role of creative thinking (convergent and divergent thinking). Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine data collected from 1365 Chinese elementary students. The results indicate that in mathematics and literature classrooms, (1) the social-emotional climate had a positive effect on school achievement, and (2) divergent and convergent thinking play indirect roles between social-emotional climate and academic achievement. The findings suggest that elementary students' positive perception of social-emotional classroom climate, including the perceptions of teacher support and student cohesiveness, can promote divergent and convergent thinking and ultimately contribute to the output of academic achievement in mathematics and literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Universal maternal health coverage is a proven, effective strategy for maternal survival. This study aimed to describe the changes and determinants of maternal health service use between 1991 and 2015 in central China. Methods: The study was conducted in Enshi Prefecture. Women were eligible for inclusion if they were rural women who lived in villages, had live births during 1991–2015, could recall their maternal care histories, and had no communication problems. This retrospective study included 470 rural women in 9 villages and collected 770 records. The conceptual framework was designed based on the Society Ecosystem Theory. The determinants included micro-factors (individual characteristics), meso-factors (family factors, community factors, healthcare factors), and macro-factors (government-run maternal and child health programs, abbreviated as MCH programs). Multivariate logistic regressions were applied to analyze the determinants of maternal health service utilization. Results: The utilization of maternal healthcare has improved in Enshi. The hospital birth rate was 98.1% in 2009 and mostly 100% in subsequent years. The prenatal examination rate, the postpartum visit rate, and the continuum of maternal health service (CMHS) rate increased to 73.3%, 67.7%, and 53.4%, respectively, in 2009–2015. The utilization of maternal health services was affected by macro-factors, meso-factors, and micro-factors, with macro-factors being the most notable contributors. Conclusions: Despite the remarkable improvements in antenatal care (ANC) use and hospital birth, gaps in postpartum visits remain. Promoting the integrated continuum of maternal and child healthcare in ethnic minority rural areas requires the joint efforts of the government, health and other sectors, communities, families, and individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims at providing a concise review of various agri-food models that employ fractional differential operators. In this context, various mathematical models based on fractional differential equations have been used to describe a wide range of problems in agri-food. As a result of this review, we found out that this new area of research is finding increased acceptance in recent years and that some reports have employed fractional operators successfully in order to model real-world data. Our results also show that the most commonly used differential operators in these problems are the Caputo, the Caputo–Fabrizio, the Atangana–Baleanu, and the Riemann–Liouville derivatives. Most of the authors in this field are predominantly from China and India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University course scheduling (UCS) is one of the most important and time-consuming issues that all educational institutions face yearly. Most of the existing techniques to model and solve UCS problems have applied approximate methods, which differ in terms of efficiency, performance, and optimization speed. Accordingly, this research aims to apply an exact optimization method to provide an optimal solution to the course scheduling problem. In other words, in this research, an integer programming model is presented to solve the USC problem. In this model, the constraints include the facilities of classrooms, courses of different levels and compression of students' curriculum, courses outside the faculty and planning for them, and the limited time allocated to the professors. The objective is to maximize the weighted sum of allocating available times to professors based on their preferences in all periods. To evaluate the presented model's feasibility, it is implemented using the GAMS software. Finally, the presented model is solved in a larger dimension using a real data set from a college in China and compared with the current program in the same college. The obtained results show that considering the mathematical model's constraints and objective function, the faculty courses' timetable is reduced from 4 days a week to 3 working days. Moreover, master courses are planned in two days, and the courses in the educational groups do not interfere with each other. Furthermore, by implementing the proposed model for the real case study, the maximum teaching hours of the professors are significantly reduced. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed model and solution method in terms of optimization speed and solution accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]