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We investigate the effect of corporate digitalization capabilities on green innovation among Chinese‐listed firms. Using a panel dataset of 2908 companies from 2011 to 2020, we use textual analysis and entropy weighting on corporate annual reports to construct a yearly corporate digitalization index. Our findings show that corporate digitalization promotes green innovation, as evidenced by patent applications and grants. This relationship is stronger for firms with fewer financial constraints and in provinces with strong intellectual property protection. We also find the national digital policy of the "Internet Plus" strategy has a stronger positive effect on corporate green innovation for corporations with a higher degree of digitalization. Our results are robust to various alternative measures, econometric models, and different samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytolacca americana, introduced to China in the 20th century for its medicinal properties, has posed a significant ecological and agricultural challenge. Its prolific fruit production, high reproductive coefficient, adaptability, and toxic roots and fruits have led to the formation of monoculture communities, reducing native species diversity and posing threats to agriculture, human and animal health, and local ecosystems. Understanding its potential distribution patterns at a regional scale and its response to climate change is essential for effective monitoring, management, and control. In this study, we utilized the Maxent model to simulate potential habitat areas of P. americana across three timeframes (current, 2050s, and 2070s) under three climate change scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585). Leveraging data from 556 P. americana sites across China, we employed ROC curves to assess the prediction accuracy. Our findings highlight key environmental factors influencing P. americana's geographical distribution, including the driest month's precipitation, the coldest month's minimum temperature, the wettest month's precipitation, isothermality, and temperature annual range. Under current climate conditions, P. americana potentially inhabits 280.26 × 104 km2 in China, with a concentration in 27 provinces and cities within the Yangtze River basin and its southern regions. While future climate change scenarios do not drastically alter the total suitable area, the proportions of high and low-suitability areas decrease over time, shifting towards moderate suitability. Specifically, in the SSP126 scenario, the centroid of the predicted suitable area shifts northeastward and then southwestward. In contrast, in the SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios, the centroid shifts northward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how firms interact with government officials within a corruption environment. Using corruption convictions to measure the extent of political corruption at the province level and a sample of Chinese listed firms, we find that firms located in more corrupt provinces invest more in building connections than firms located in less corrupt provinces. These results are robust to the instrumental variable approach, adjacent province matching, propensity score matching and alternative measurement of political corruption. We also show that the effect of political corruption is more pronounced in non‐state‐owned enterprises (non‐SOEs), smaller firms, firms with financial constraints and firms without political connections. Additionally, we find that those firms that invest more on connection building are less likely to restate financial reports and have lower financial statement comparability. Overall, the evidence from China is consistent with the political connection view that firms respond to political corruption by investing in relationship building, which contrasts with the evidence from the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of invasive species on the local community (e.g., structure and stability) are highly environmentally dependent. Invasions of amphibious species usually take place in both xeric and humid environments, yet they are relatively poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the communities that were dominated by Alternanthera philoxeroides using ecological niche and interspecific association. A total of 66 species and 67 species were recorded in the xeric environment and humid environment, respectively. In both environments, species in family Gramineae, such as Echinochloa crusgalli and Cynodon dactylon, exhibited a higher level of importance values and greater ecological niche widths. The interspecific association and stability of the dominant species were weak and the dominant species were relatively independent of each other. In the xeric environment, A. philoxeroides was more compatible with E. crusgalli and C. dactylon in terms of ecological niche requirements and habitat suitability. In humid habitats, A. philoxeroides had a greater correlation with E. crusgalli, C. dactylon, and Persicaria lapathifolia, suggesting a higher possibility of concomitant occurrence. Overall, we suggested that during the revegetation after A. philoxeroides invasion, E. crusgalli and C. dactylon can be the alternative plants. Meanwhile, alternative control measures for A. philoxeroides invasion in agricultural fields should give more consideration to the use of plants with economic or ecological value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of air pollution on innovation activity by studying city-level patenting activities and air pollution index (API) in China. We use a novel quasi-natural experiment of China's Huai River policy, which provides subsidy for winter heating to cities north of the Huai River but not to cities to the south, to estimate the impact of air pollution on innovation performance. Based on spatial regression discontinuity design, we find that API is 0.145 higher in the north and the number of patents per city is 25.5% lower in the north. Further analysis shows that increases in API are associated with significant reduction in the number of patents per city, suggesting that air pollution significantly impedes innovation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the phase-out of subsidies, the Chinese government has issued a series of non-subsidized industrial policies to support the development of the power Lithium-ion Battery (PLiB) industry, recognized as pivotal for achieving carbon neutrality in the transportation department. However, existing literature provides limited evidence on the contribution of non-subsidized industrial policies, particularly to the PLiB industry. To bridge this gap, using data of 31 PLiB listed firms and 279 relevant non-subsidized industrial policies, this paper analyzes the effects of non-subsidized industrial policies on the global value chain (GVC) embedding position. The results reveal that non-subsidized industrial policies significantly raise the GVC embedding position of Chinese PLiB firms, and the positive effects are prone to increase over the research period. Further investigation shows that there is heterogeneity among PLiB firms, with the raising effects on the GVC embedding position being more significant in eastern and middle PLiB firms, private PLiB firms and midstream PLiB firms. The mechanism verification shows that non-subsidized industrial policies raise GVC embedding position of PLiB firms through technological innovation effect and scale economy effect, while competitiveness effect does not give full play. These findings provide important recommendations for better design of the industrial policies to improve the international competitiveness of PLiB industry and other strategic emerging industries. • This study investigates the effects of industrial policy from the perspective of non-subsidized industrial policies. • Non-subsidized industrial policies raise global value chain embedding position of China's Power Lithium-ion Battery firms. • Mechanisms of technological innovation effect, scale economy effect and competition effect are verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting China's pilot free trade zones (FTZs) as an exogenous shock of institutional quality improvement, this study explores the impact of FTZs on urban entrepreneurship. We find that cities with FTZs are associated with higher entrepreneurship. The positive influence of FTZs is more pronounced in western and northern cities, and cities with high administrative levels. The entrepreneurship in service industries is promoted significantly by FTZs. In addition, FTZs foster entrepreneurship by promoting opening-up upgradation of foreign investment and foreign trade and financial development. We also identify the spatial spillover effects and find that entrepreneurship responses to pilot FTZs are significantly stimulated in adjacent cities without FTZs. Last, we show that Shanghai FTZ and Fujian FTZ, rather than Tianjin FTZ and Guangdong FTZ, play a non-negligible function in encouraging new firm creation. This study has important implications for FTZ's planning and spurring economic growth in developing countries. • Pilot Free Trade Zones have a significant positive impact on China's urban entrepreneurship. • The effect of Free Trade Zones on entrepreneurship varies across different cities, industries and Free Trade Zones. • Free Trade Zones improve entrepreneurship through promoting opening-up upgradation and financial development. • There is a positive spatial spillover effect of Free Trade Zones on entrepreneurship in neighboring non-pilot cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using historical data to study the relationship between fires and recruitment events of a pine tree in subtropical spring fire-prone habitats. • P. yunnanensis needs fire disturbances for forest persistence, founctional regeneration of P. yunnanensis generally lasts for 2–4 years after fire. • P. yunnanensis adults are able to survive low to moderate severity fires, thus maintaining a "discontinuous multi-cohort" structure in fire-prone habitats as a result of a mixed fire-adapted strategy. • Recurrent fires are essential ecological processes for this widely distributed forest type in southwestern China. Whether pines can cope with fire depends on either species persistence or individual survival. Pinus yunnanensis is the most widely distributed endemic species in Southwest China, and is well adapted to fire with a mixed fire-adapted strategy of post-fire regeneration and fire resistance. However, whether its regeneration depends on fire disturbances is unclear. We reconstructed the fire history of a P. yunnanensis forest in Yunlong Tianchi National Nature Reserve over the past 100 years using fire scars and forest age structures to determine relationships between historical fires and recruitments. Additionally, post-fire regeneration processes of three burned patches were examined to explore P. yunnanensis dynamics after fires. The P. yunnanensis population in the Reserve had a "discontinuous multi-cohort" structure. There was a 6–16 year gap between cohorts, and each cohort comprised individuals that differed by 1–7 years. The study area experienced seven fires in the past 100 years, with an average interval of about 12 years, with surviving individuals in every fire. These historical fires align with P. yunnanensis cohorts emergence. Post-fire P. yunnanensis regeneration in the burned patches mainly occurred in the first two rainy seasons after the fire, then the number of new individuals significantly dropped and remained very low from the fourth year onward. P. yunnanensis population structure has undergone a shift following the enforcement of a fire suppression policy. Some P. yunnanensis adults appear able to survive low to moderate severity fires, and the population could achieve post fire functional recruitment, thus maintaining a "discontinuous multi-cohort" structure in fire-prone habitats as a result of a mixed fire-adapted strategy. Recurrent fire is the key driving factor in maintaining the long-term persistence of pure P. yunnanensis forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The ESAP model was used to calculate land and agriculture productivity across China. • The agricultural productivity of municipal areas across China was updated for the period between 2010 and 2014. • Patterns in agricultural productivity spatiotemporal differentiation across China were obvious. • Data showed a strong positive spatial correlation between the agricultural productivity of municipal administrative areas. Understanding spatiotemporal patterns in Chinese agriculture is extremely important for national sustainable development. We apply the Estimation System of Agricultural Productivity (ESAP) model in this study to calculate this variable across China between 2004 and 2014 and further analyze spatiotemporal patterns at the municipal level using Moran's I and Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) indices. The results of this study reveal that input factors have been dynamically embedded within this system and can therefore be utilized to avoid overestimates of agricultural productivity via the ESAP model, while the dependence of productivity on climatic factors also determines inter-annual variability and spatial patterns. The results of this analysis show that average agricultural productivity has tended to decrease spatially from south-to-north and from east-to-west across China, while generally increasing temporally between 2004 and 2014. The data presented in this study reveal a strong positive spatial correlation between values for agricultural productivity in municipal administrative areas, to the extent that identified LISA agglomeration types can mostly be categorized as either "high-high" (HH) or "low-low" (LL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to develop and estimate a logit model of whether homeownership could be promoted by participation in and use of the Housing Provident Fund (HPF) program, with a focus on factors that influence the use of HPF loans.Design/methodology/approach This paper develops and estimates a logit model of whether homeownership could be promoted by participation in and use of the HPF program, with a focus on factors that influence the use of HPF loans.Findings The results show that coefficients of marital status, educational level, age, duration of employment and employer are significantly related to the use of HPF loan for homeownership.Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability.Practical implications The research findings provide a better understanding of homeowners’ characteristics.Originality/value To manage the HPF program effectively, it is important for government to have a better understanding of the underlying demand for homeownership, especially with respect to the different demographic variables and accessibility to HPF loans and the HPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the ecological adaptability and the possibility of growing rice with floating bed on the dilute biogas slurry. The results of the experiments show that the growth stage, rice plant height, and rice yield and quality were significantly affected by multiple dilutions; rice plants cultivated with 45 multiple dilutions had better ecological adaptability than others. In the 45 multiple dilutions’ group, the yield of rice was 13.3 g/bucket (8 rice plants), milled rice rate was 63.1%, and the content of crude protein in the rice was 6.3%. The concentrations of heavy metals in the rice cultivated with 30 multiple dilutions’ slurry, such as total lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and arsenic, were all below the national standard. The study shows that it is possible and safe to cultivate rice plants with no soil but diluted biogas slurry. In the experiments, the yield, milled rice rate, and crude protein of the rice cultivated with slurry were not as much as those of rice cultivated with regular way in soil. This study provides the basic theoretical support for the development of biogas projects and the potential achievement of organic farming in special agricultural facilities and circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the conflict between land development and land conservation has become increasingly serious in China. The plan called “town of mountain” is carried out in many nonplain areas to alleviate the conflict. To avoid geological disasters and ecological risks in those areas, land use suitability assessment is of great importance. In this paper, the fuzzy weight of evidence model is applied into land use suitability assessment in low-slope hilly regions in Yunnan, China. Fuzzy weight of evidences is calculated to determine 9 map layers. Finally, posterior probabilities are modified after synthesizing each map layer, which are used to generate a land use suitability map. The results show that 9.33%, 26.18%, 45.98%, and 18.51% of low-slope hilly regions are separately highly suitable, moderately suitable, marginally suitable, and unsuitable for development. Besides, highly and moderately suitable areas are mainly located in towns with excellent natural and socioeconomic conditions. The largest areas which are marginally suitable for development are most widely distributed. Unsuitable areas are mainly distributed far away from towns and water sources. The findings of the research will promote the rational use and scientific management of the land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China launched a series of ecological restoration policies to mitigate its severe environmental challenges in the late 1990s. From the beginning, the effects and influences of the ecological restoration policies have been hotly debated. In the present study, we assessed the effects of two vital ecological restoration policies (Grain-for-Green and Grain-for-Blue) on valued ecosystem services in Shandong province. A new method based on the net primary productivity and soil erosion was developed to assess the ecosystem service value. In the areas implementing the Grain-for-Green and Grain-for-Blue policies, the ecosystem service value increased by 24.01% and 43.10% during 2000–2008, respectively. However, comparing to the average increase of ecosystem service value (46.00%) in the whole of Shandong province in the same period, Grain-for-Green and Grain-for-Blue did not significantly improve overall ecosystem services. The ecological restoration policy led to significant tradeoffs in ecosystem services. Grain-for-Green improved the ecosystem service function of nutrient cycling, organic material provision, and regulation of gases but decreased that of water conservation. Grain-for-Blue increased the water conservation function but led to a reduction in the function of soil conservation and nutrient cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates China's evolving banking systems from 1996 to 2009 by testing the market response to bank loan announcements in the China. The results show a significant negative market response to bank loan announcements in the Chinese financial market for the sample period 1996-2004. However, after a series of reforms in the Chinese banking system, the significantly negative market response to bank loan announcements disappears for the sample period 2005-2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government established the Act on Commercial Banks 1995 to enforce and regulate commercial banking activities. The government envisaged that the Act, together with other bank reforms, would improve credit risk management practice among commercial banks, hence, prompting the banks to reduce and ultimately stop local government directed policy lending to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This paper examines the lending behavior of a government-controlled commercial bank before and after the passage of the Act. We find that the bank tightened control of the credit risk of borrowers after the passage of the Act. We also find that SOEs are charged a rate of interest higher than that charged to private firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Focused on water pollution in China''s rural area, taking Oenanthe javanica (Oj), Gypsophila sp. (Gy), Rohdea japonica (Rj), Dracaena sanderiana (Ds), Gardenia jasminoides Var. grandiflora (Gg), Gardenia jasminoides Var. prostrata (Gp), and Salix babylonica (Sb) as research objects, this paper investigated the growth characteristics and nutrient uptake of these seven species cultivated on artificial floating beds. The results indicated that after about 130 days’ acclimation, these seven species had different growth characteristics. The survival rates of each species were close to 100%. Dry matter biomass ranged from 33.7 to 307.1gm−2 in the following order: Sb>Gy>Oj>Ds>Gg>Gp>Rj. There were significant linear relationships between above-water and under-water biomass (R >0.875); thus, the above-water biomass could best reflect the under-water biomass. N and P concentrations and distribution in the root, stem and leaf were quite different both within and between the species. N and P concentrations in plant body ranged from 15.31 to 23.15gkg−1 in the relationship Oj>Ds>Gy>Gp>Sb>Rj>Gg, and from 1.07 to 1.89gkg−1 in the relationship Rj>Gp>Oj>Gg>Gy>Sb>Ds, respectively. N and P accumulations ranged from 0.51 to 4.48gm−2 and from 0.062 to 0.331gm−2, respectively, in which plant nutrient uptake ability could be placed as follows: Sb>Gy>Oj>Ds>Gp/Gg>Rj. The outcomes also indicated that there were positive and significant linear relationships between N and P accumulations and plant biomass (R >0.964), respectively; thus, plant harvest could be a means of taking N and P out of wastewater. Seven species, especially Sb, Gy, and Oj, had an ideal effect on TN and TP removal and could be widely utilized for the treatment of wastewater in rural areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ecosystem services evaluation aims at understanding the status of ecosystem services on different spatial and temporal scale. In this paper, we selected the middle reach of the Heihe River Basin (HRB), which is the second largest inland river basin in China, as one of the typical area to estimate the ecosystem services values (ESVs) corresponding to the land use changes. Based on the land use data and ecosystem service value coefficients, the total ecosystem services values (TESVs) of the middle reach of the HBR are quantitatively calculated, which were 9.244 × 108, 9.099 × 108, 9.131 × 108 and 9.146 × 108 USD in 1988, 2000, 2005 and 2008 respectively. During 1988–2008, the decrease of grassland, forest land, water area and unused land contributed 148.94%, 57.85%, 87.87% and 16.42% respectively to the net loss of TESVs, while the dramatic increase of cultivated land improved the TESVs with contribution of −211.08% to the net loss of TESVs. Expansion of cultivated land, which especially caused the loss of grassland and forest land, directly exerted negative impacts on the provision of ecosystem services in the study area. The findings of this research indicated that land use change was an important form of human activities, which had a strong impact on ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity and stress have attracted increasing attention as water has become increasingly regarded as one of the most critical resources in the world’s sustainable development. The Water Poverty Index (WPI), an interdisciplinary but straightforward measure that considers water availability from both the bio-geophysical perspective and the socio-economic perspective of people’s capacity to access water, has been successfully applied at national, regional, and local levels around the world. However, the general assessment of water stress at a macro level over only a snapshot limits the understanding of the geographic differences in and dynamics of water stress; this will, in turn, mislead decision-makers and may result in improper water strategies being implemented. In addition, to date, the typologies and trajectories of water stress have been underexplored. To fill this knowledge gap, we examine the spatio-temporal patterns, trajectories, and typologies of water stress using an adapted WPI for six counties in Zhangye City, which lies within an arid region of China, in order to provide policy priorities for each county. The results of our assessment indicate that water stress has become more severe over time (2005–2011) in most of the counties in Zhangye City. The results also show a distinct spatial variation in water scarcity and stress. Specifically, the results for Shandan county reflect its progressive policies on water access and management, and this county is regarded as engaging in good water governance. In contrast, Ganzhou district has faced more severe water pressure and is regarded as practicing poor water governance. Typology results show that each county faces its own particular challenges and opportunities in the context of water scarcity and stress. In addition, the trajectory map reveals that none of the counties has shown substantial improvement in both water access and management, a finding that should draw decision-makers’ close attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Genome Warehouse (GWH) is a public repository housing genome assembly data for a wide range of species and delivering a series of web services for genome data submission, storage, release, and sharing. As one of the core resources in the National Genomics Data Center (NGDC), part of the China National Center for Bioinformation (CNCB; https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn), GWH accepts both full and partial (chloroplast, mitochondrion, and plasmid) genome sequences with different assembly levels, as well as an update of existing genome assemblies. For each assembly, GWH collects detailed genome-related metadata of biological project, biological sample, and genome assembly, in addition to genome sequence and annotation. To archive high-quality genome sequences and annotations, GWH is equipped with a uniform and standardized procedure for quality control. Besides basic browse and search functionalities, all released genome sequences and annotations can be visualized with JBrowse. By May 21, 2021, GWH has received 19,124 direct submissions covering a diversity of 1108 species and has released 8772 of them. Collectively, GWH serves as an important resource for genome-scale data management and provides free and publicly accessible data to support research activities throughout the world. GWH is publicly accessible at https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/gwh., (Copyright © 2021 Beijing Institute of Genomics. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been applied to examine the possible functional alternations during the performance of cognitive tasks in schizophrenia. With this technique, previous studies have observed that patients with schizophrenia are often associated with reduced brain activation in the prefrontal cortex during the verbal fluency task (VFT) of the English version or the Japanese version. However, it remains unclear whether there is a brain functional impairment in Chinese-speaking patients with schizophrenia. In this study, we designed a Chinese version of the VFT and performed a multichannel NIRS study in a large group of patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We investigated brain activation during the task period of the Chinese version of the VFT within a schizophrenia group and a healthy group, respectively, and compared the relative changes between the two groups. Our results confirmed that Chinese-speaking patients with schizophrenia had significantly lower brain activation in the prefrontal cortex and superior temporal cortex when compared with healthy controls. Such findings based on the NIRS data provided us reliable evidences about brain functional deficits in the Chinese-speaking patients with schizophrenia., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In the Buddhist canons, there are lots of medicines imported from abroad recorded. The dictionary works of such Buddhist canons give detailed annotations and explanations to all these foreign medicines, from which we can investigate the features of all these medicines. It is also clear that these three medicines were imported into China no later than the Tang Dynasty. Amara was originally grown in the xi yu (Western Region) , now called Mango. Its form and connotation appeared no later than the eastern Han Dynasty, and the explanation of this medicine appears in the A Great Modern Dictionary of Chinese is wrong. While its explanation for Butea monsperma should be supplemented. There are two kinds of asafoitida, herbaceous and woody. Only the former one is used for medical purpose, and the annotation appeared in A Great Modern Dictionary of Chinese is problematic.