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How to effectively utilize renewable energy and improve the economic efficiency of microgrid system and its ability to consume renewable energy has become one of the main problems facing China at present. In response to this challenge, this paper establishes a multiobjective capacity optimization model with the minimum levelized cost of energy, the maximum proportion of renewable energy consumption, and the minimum comprehensive system cost. Based on this model, a new improved beluga whale optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the multiobjective optimization problem in the capacity allocation process of wind–solar–storage microgrid system with the goal of ensuring that the microgrid can meet the maximum load demand at different moments throughout the year. In this paper, opposition‐based learning, artificial bee colony, dynamic opposite, and beluga whale optimization are combined to improve the population diversity and convergence accuracy, thereby enhancing the optimization performance of the algorithm. Finally, after finding the optimal Pareto front solution, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution is used to help decision‐makers select the optimal solution. Using real load data and meteorological data, the results of this paper show that the multiobjective capacity allocation optimization method of grid‐connected scenic storage microgrid system based on the improved beluga whale optimization algorithm can improve the economics of the wind–solar–storage microgrid system and promote the photovoltaic consumption simultaneously, providing a solution for the realization of low‐carbon power and regional economic development. The best‐found levelized cost of energy for the wind–solar–storage microgrid system is 0.192 yuan/kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loess landslide is one of the most harmful and serious geological hazards in the Loess Plateau of China. Early identification of potential loess landslide is an urgent need for its prevention. Traditional methods, e.g. support vector machines and decision trees, often suffer complicated data pre-processing, multitudinous causative factors, or low accuracy. This study aims to develop a high-performance loess landslide early identification model based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). A case study was carried out in northwest Lvliang, China, where loess landslide is a major concern. Two hundred and six loess landslide cases were interpreted by comparing remote sensing images of two time phases, and were randomly divided into a training set (80%; 165) and a validation set (20%; 41). Four algorithms were developed, including a CNN structure with skip connection using data with (S–C) or without (S–N) slope crest and plain CNN structure using data with (P–C) or without (P–N) slope crest. The results show that the S–C structure is the most suitable for early identification of potential loess landslides because it achieved the highest overall accuracy (OA = 0.902) and largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC = 0.932) on the validation set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a quasi-experiment of the special economic zones (SEZs) in China was conducted to explore whether green industrial parks play a role in enhancing local entrepreneurship. A household-level panel dataset of 9-year data across counties was built to compare the effects of green and non-green SEZs on the participation of local residents in entrepreneurial activities in a difference-in-differences (DID) setting. According to the empirical results, SEZs can promote local entrepreneurial activities, and such effects are more evident for green ones. An examination of the channels was conducted to reveal that SEZs have an entrepreneurial impact by reducing financial constraints, creating a connection between customers and suppliers, and spreading knowledge. Green SEZs were found to promote entrepreneurship mainly by reducing financial constraints and spreading knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in monthly precipitation are associated with climate extremes having significant socio‐economic and eco‐environmental impacts. Knowledge of monthly precipitation information is therefore valuable for policy making. Extensive research has been conducted on dynamic prediction using state‐of‐the‐art coupled climate models. However, the skilful prediction of monthly precipitation with dynamical models remains a challenge. With the development of machine learning tools, statistical predictions show comparable performance with dynamic models, but they are limited to at‐site monthly prediction, due to the lack of ability for processing spatially connected geophysical data. To improve monthly precipitation forecasting and provide regional forecasts, we propose a model termed UNet‐RegPre based on convolutional neural network and U‐net architecture. The model shows comparable prediction skills with recurrent state‐of‐the‐art dynamic forecasts (CFSv2), and has the capability to capture spatiotemporal patterns of precipitation and reproduce the main process of representative droughts. The key precursors for rainfall development identified by UNet‐RegPre shows that the constructed model can detect the climatic connection between rainfall in eastern China and summer monsoon, showing the potential to advance hydrometeorological understanding with a deep learning‐based model. These results suggest that the proposed model can be a potential tool for precipitation prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the new development philosophy of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, CO2 and O2 in situ leaching (ISL) has been identified as a promising technique for uranium mining in China, not only because it solves carbon dioxide utilization and sequestration, but it also alleviates the environmental burden. However, significant challenges exist in assessment of CO2 footprint and water‐rock interactions, due to complex geochemical processes. Herein this study conducts a three‐dimensional, multicomponent reactive transport model (RTM) of a field‐scale CO2 and O2 ISL process at a typical sandstone‐hosted uranium deposit in Songliao Basin, China. Numerical simulations are performed to provide new insight into quantitative interpretation of the greenhouse gas (CO2) footprint and environmental impact (SO42–) of the CO2 and O2 ISL, considering the potential chemical reaction network for uranium recovery at the field scale. RTM results demonstrate that the fate of the CO2 could be summarized as injected CO2 dissolution, dissolved CO2 mineralization and storage of CO2 as a gas phase during the CO2 and O2 ISL process. Furthermore, compared to acid ISL, CO2 and O2 ISL has a potentially smaller environmental footprint, with 20% of SO42– concentration in the aquifer. The findings improve our fundamental understanding of carbon utilization in a long‐term CO2 and O2 ISL system and provide important environmental implications when considering complex geochemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to explore the impact of acquired ownership in Chinese target firm on the innovation performance of developed economies (DE) acquiring firms. Furthermore, the study aims to empirically investigate the moderating influence of institutional distance between two parties' home countries. Design/methodology/approach: For the empirical investigation of the hypotheses, the authors identified cross-border technological acquisitions from the Securities Data Company between 1995 and 2015. A hierarchical negative binomial regression technique was used to analyze 177 technological acquisitions completed by DE acquiring firms in China. Findings: Analysis of technological acquisition deals confirmed that acquired ownership undertaken in the Chinese target firms increases the DE acquiring firms' post-acquisition innovation performance. The authors found that DE acquiring firms underperform in innovation in institutionally distant host countries. Originality/value: This study contributes to the international business literature by explaining the importance of acquired ownership undertaken in the Chinese target firms for the DE acquiring firm's innovation performance. Second, institutional theory defines how institutional uncertainty in terms of distance modifies the positive impact of acquired ownership on acquiring firm's innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mortality of extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative (XDR GN) bacilli-induced ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is extremely high. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of inhaled (IH) plus intravenous (IV) polymyxin B versus IV polymyxin B in XDR GN bacilli VAP patients. Methods: A retrospective multi-center observational cohort study was performed at eight ICUs between January 1st 2018, and January 1st 2020 in China. Data from all patients treated with polymyxin B for a microbiologically confirmed VAP were analyzed. The primary endpoint was the clinical cure of VAP. The favorable clinical outcome, microbiological outcome, VAP-related mortality and all-cause mortality during hospitalization, and side effects related with polymyxin B were secondary endpoints. Favorable clinical outcome included clinical cure or clinical improvement. Results: 151 patients and 46 patients were treated with IV polymyxin B and IH plus IV polymyxin B, respectively. XDR Klebsiella pneumoniae was the main isolated pathogen (n = 83, 42.1%). After matching on age (± 5 years), gender, septic shock, and Apache II score (± 4 points) when polymyxin B was started, 132 patients were included. 44 patients received simultaneous IH plus IV polymyxin B and 88 patients received IV polymyxin B. The rates of clinical cure (43.2% vs 27.3%, p = 0.066), bacterial eradication (36.4% vs 23.9%, p = 0.132) as well as VAP-related mortality (27.3% vs 34.1%, p = 0.428), all-cause mortality (34.1% vs 42.0%, p = 0.378) did not show any significant difference between the two groups. However, IH plus IV polymyxin B therapy was associated with improved favorable clinical outcome (77.3% vs 58.0%, p = 0.029). Patients in the different subgroups (admitted with medical etiology, infected with XDR K. pneumoniae, without bacteremia, with immunosuppressive status) were with odd ratios (ORs) in favor of the combined therapy. No patient required polymyxin B discontinuation due to adverse events. Additional use of IH polymyxin B (aOR 2.63, 95% CI 1.06, 6.66, p = 0.037) was an independent factor associated with favorable clinical outcome. Conclusions: The addition of low-dose IH polymyxin B to low-dose IV polymyxin B did not provide efficient clinical cure and bacterial eradication in VAP caused by XDR GN bacilli. Keypoints Additional use of IH polymyxin B was the sole independent risk factor of favorable clinical outcome. Patients in the different subgroups were with HRs substantially favoring additional use of IH polymyxin B. No patients required polymyxin B discontinuation due to adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China national forest villages are the agents to promote rural greening and beautification, as well as further implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. It is of great significance to study their spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors. Therefore, taking 7586 China national forest villages as examples, the methods of nearest neighbor index, Tyson polygon, cold and hot spot analysis, and nuclear density index are used to study the spatial distribution characteristics of China national forest villages and their influencing factors. The results show that (1) since the nearest neighbor index is less than 1, and the Tyson polygon area variation coefficient is much greater than 64%, it is comprehensively determined that the distribution of China national forest villages belongs to agglomerated distribution. (2) The spatial clustering is characterized by "hot in the south and cold in the north." The hot spots are dominated by southern regions such as Sichuan, Hubei, and Jiangsu, and the cold spots are dominated by northern regions such as Heilongjiang, Jilin and Xinjiang. (3) The distribution characteristics of nuclear density have a strong correlation with the distribution characteristics of forest vegetation and urban agglomerations. Most high-density areas are located within the forest vegetation coverage. The first batch forms the Yangtze River Delta and Central Plains urban agglomerations high-density areas, and the second batch forms the Yangtze River Delta and Central Plains high-density areas. (4) Elevation, aspect, river, forest resources endowment, traffic, economic development level, and population size are important factors affecting the distribution of China national forest villages, and their distribution presents the characteristics of "low altitude, positive direction, near water, rich forest resources, convenient transportation, developed economy, and dense population." The research can provide reference for the evaluation and construction of China national forest villages and the implementation of village beautification and rural revitalization strategies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Respiratory motion may compromise the dose delivery accuracy in liver stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Motion management can improve treatment delivery. However, external surrogate signal may be unstable and inaccurate. This study reports the first case of liver SBRT based on internal electromagnetic motion monitoring (Calypso, Varian Medical Systems, USA) in China. Materials and methods: The patient with a primary liver cancer was treated with respiratory-gated SBRT guided by three implanted electromagnetic transponders. The treatment was carried out in breath-hold end-exhale with beam-on when the centroid of the three transponders drifted within 5 mm (left–right (LR), anterior–posterior (AP) and cranio-caudal (CC) directions) from the planned position. The motion monitoring treatments were delivered in breath-hold end-exhale mode with the energy of 6 MV in FFF mode with 1200 monitor units (MU) per minute. For each fraction, QA results, intertransponder distances, geometric checks as well as tumor motion logs were explicitly recorded. Results: Comparing with the plan data, distance variances between each two transponders were − 0.56 ± 0.32 mm, 0.17 ± 0.33 mm and − 0.82 ± 0.68 mm. Geometric residual, the pitch, roll and yaw angles were 0.48 ± 0.21 mm (threshold 2.0 mm), 2.17° ± 1.85° (threshold 10°), − 2.42° ± 1.51° (threshold 10°) and 1.67° ± 1.07° (threshold 10°), respectively. The delivery time of the five fields were 13.8 s, 13.1 s, 11.2 s, 11.6 s, and 11.6 s with the average value of 12.3 ± 1.1 s. Treatment duration of each fraction ranged from 6.2 to 21.4 min, with the average value of 11.3 ± 5.0 min. Conclusions: The first case of liver SBRT patient of China based on internal electromagnetic motion monitoring was performed. The system had a high tracking accuracy, and it did not delay the treatment time. In addition, the patient did not show any severe side effects except for grade I myelotoxicity. The internal electromagnetic motion monitoring system provides a real-time and direct way to track liver tumor targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

CO2 + O2in-situ leaching (ISL) of sandstone-type uranium ore represents the third generation of solution mining in China. In this study, reactive transport modeling of the interaction between hydrodynamic and geochemical reactions is performed to enable better prediction and regulation of the CO2 + O2in-situ leaching process of uranium. Geochemical reactions between mining solutions and rock, and the kinetic uranium dissolution controlled by O2 (aq) and bicarbonate ( HCO 3 - ) are considered in the CO2 + O2 ISL reactive transport model of a typical sandstone-hosted uranium ore deposit in northern China. The reactive leaching of uranium is most sensitive to the spatial distribution of the mineralogical properties of the uranium deposit. Stochastic geostatistical models are used to represent the uncertainty on the spatial distribution of mineral grades. A Monte Carlo analysis was also performed to simulate the uranium production variability over an entire set of geostatistical realizations. The ISL stochastic simulation performed with the selected geostatistical realizations approximates the uranium production variability well. The simulation results of the ISL reactive transport model show that the extent of the uranium plume is highly dependent on mineralogical heterogeneity. The uncertainty analysis suggests the effect of uranium grade heterogeneity was found to be important to improve the accurate capture of the uncertainty. This study provides guidance for the accurate simulation and dynamic regulation of the CO2 + O2 leaching process of uranium at the scale of large mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the national energy strategy is to mine westward, the deep coal resources under the super-thick and weak cementation overburden in the western mining area will play a critical role in China's sustainable economic growth. The super-thick and weak cementation overburden has weaker lithology, thicker strata, no large joints, bedding development, and better integrity. Therefore, its movement rule is inevitably different from that of the weak overburden and the middle hard overburden in Central China and Eastern China. However, lack of studies on the movement of the super-thick and weak cementation overburden has led to severe constraints for the large-scale exploitation of coal resources under the super-thick and weak cementation overburden in the western mining area. This study explored the surface movement rule and the influence of overburden characteristics on strata movement with field measurement and numerical simulation. The findings indicate that the surface reaches full mining and the subsidence coefficient is about 0.9 when D1 (width in the dip direction) and D3 (length in the strike direction) are 3 times H0 (the mean mining depth) or more. The strike mining degree has a certain influence on the surface movement law, the maximum difference of the surface subsidence coefficient is 0.35, and the maximum difference of the horizontal movement coefficient is 0.05. In addition, the control effect of the Zhidan group sandstone is stronger. Thus, its first breaking results in surface sinking in a fractured manner when D1 is about 1.3 times H0 and D3 is 3 times H0 or more. The above results can provide reference for the safe mining and control of the super-thick weak cementation overburden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Eliminating poverty is the common mission of all mankind, and it is also an important task faced by many countries. Pro-poor tourism villages are an active attempt by China to use rural tourism to escape poverty. This paper aims to provide theoretical support for consolidating the results of poverty alleviation and achieving comprehensive poverty alleviation and to provide a scientific basis for policy formulation by using GIS spatial analysis to study the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of 22,651 pro-poor tourism villages in China. The findings revealed that the spatial distribution of pro-poor tourism villages is roughly divided by the Hu line. Pro-poor tourism villages show an uneven agglomeration pattern and present a spatial pattern of dense southeast and sparse northwest with six high-density core areas, among which some cities in the southwest are H-H agglomeration areas. Specifically, topography, annual rainfall, endowment of tourism resources, location transportation, and policy orientation are important factors affecting the spatial distribution of pro-poor tourism villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the arid inland basins of China, the long-term unregulated agricultural irrigation from surface water diversion and groundwater abstraction has caused the unsustainability of water resources and the degradation of ecosystems. This requires the integrated management of surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) at basin scale to achieve scientific decisions which support sustainable water resource allocation in China. This study developed a novel multi-objective simulation-optimization (S-O) modeling framework. The optimization framework integrated a new epsilon multi-objective memetic algorithm (ε -MOMA) with a MODFLOW-NWT model to implement real-world decision-making for water resource management while pondering the complicated groundwater–lake–river interaction in an arid inland basin. Then the optimization technique was validated through the SW–GW management in Yanqi Basin (YB), a typical arid region with intensive agricultural irrigation in northwest China. The management model, involving the maximization of total water supply rate, groundwater storage, surface runoff inflow to the terminal lake, and the minimization of water delivery cost, was proposed to explore the trade-offs between socioeconomic and environmental factors. It is shown that the trade-off surface can be achieved in the four-dimensional objective space by optimizing spatial groundwater abstraction in the irrigation districts and surface water diversion in the river. The Pareto-optimal solutions avoid the prevalence of decision bias caused by the low-dimensional optimization formulation. Decision-makers are then able to identify their desired water management schemes with preferred objectives and achieve maximal socioeconomic and ecological benefits simultaneously. Moreover, three representative runoff scenarios in relation to climate change were specified to quantify the effect of decreasing river runoff on the water management in YB. Results show that runoff depletion would have a great negative impact on the management objectives. Therefore, the integrated SW and GW management is of critical importance for the fragile ecosystem in YB under changing climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to integrate the upper echelon theory with signaling theory and examine the impact of top management team (TMT) on the initial public offering (IPO) performance of Chinese firms in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: This study used Security Data Corporation (SDC) that is a central database for foreign IPOs in the USA. The authors identified 142 Chinese firms that issued stocks on the US markets between 2003 and 2014. This study used firm's final prospectuses to collect data manually. Findings: This study finds that the TMT characteristics such as functional heterogeneity and international exposure convey the positive signal of firm's legitimacy to the US investors and increase the IPO performance. Originality/value: This study extends the upper echelon perspective that has previously overlooked the signaling value of TMT characteristics in the foreign IPO studies. The top management plays an important role to the firm's successful foreign market listing. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, a large number of Chinese firms have started IPOs in the USA, but there is a dearth of research on these firms. This study aims to contribute to the study of international business and management and describes that the TMT functional heterogeneity and international exposure have a significant role in the success of Chinese foreign IPOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of location-based tax incentives on local economy through attracting entrepreneurial activities in the context of China. We exploit the differentials in the entry of new private firms across counties on the border of China's Western Regional Development Strategy (WRDS). This strategy introduces an 18% reduction in corporate income tax rates for firms in the western areas in China after 2000 if they belong to the sectors encouraged by the central government. Comparing contiguous border county pairs in a triple difference-in-difference framework, we find that the increase in the number of new entrants eligible for tax reduction is larger in the treatment counties than in the control ones. We also find that new entrants increase in treated counties not at the cost of significant loss in nearby untreated counties. Our further analysis shows that whether a treatment county is more favored by new firms due to tax incentives depends on its local industrial base and market environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-basin water transfer projects (IBWTPs) can involve basins as water donors and water receivers. In contrast to most studies on IBWTPs, which mainly impact the surface-water eco-environment, this study focuses on the impacts of an IBWTP on groundwater and its eco-environment in a water donor basin in an arid area, where surface water and groundwater are exchanged. Surface water is assumed to recharge groundwater and a groundwater numerical simulation model was constructed using MODFLOW. The model was used to quantitatively evaluate the impact of an IBWTP located in the upstream portion of Nalenggele River (the biggest river in the Qaidam basin, Northwest China). The impact involved decrease in spring flow, drawdown of groundwater, reduction in oasis area, and an increase in species replacement of oasis vegetation in the midstream and downstream of the river. Results show that the emergence sites of springs at the front of the oasis will move 2-5 km downstream, and the outflow of springs will decrease by 42 million m3/a. The maximum drawdown of groundwater level at the front of the oasis will be 3.6 m and the area across which groundwater drawdown exceeds 2.0 m will be about 59.02 km2, accounting for 2.71% of the total area of the oasis. Under such conditions, reeds will gradually be replaced by Tamarix, shrubs, and other alternative plant species. These findings have important implications for the optimization of water resource allocation and protection of the eco-environment in arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asian Journal of Women's Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

85% of China's GHG emissions are attributed to urban economic activities, and this share is expected to rise given China's fast urbanization process. This paper provides estimates of city-level industrial CO2 emissions and their growth rates for all 287 Chinese prefecture-level and above cities during the years 1998-2009. We decompose the CO2 emission changes into scale, composition and technique effects. The decomposition results show that these three effects differ significantly across the three tiers of cities in China. The scale effect contributes to rising CO2 emissions, while the technique effect leads to declining CO2 emissions in all cities. The composition effect leads to increasing CO2 emissions in the third-tier cities, while it reduces CO2 emissions in the first and second-tier cities, due to the relocation of energy-intensive industries from the latter to the former type of cities. Based on these decomposition results, we identify the separate channels through which the inflow of FDI and the environmental regulations affect city-level CO2 emissions. The decomposition framework in our paper can help policy makers and scholars to better understand Chinese cities' trade-offs between economic growth and environmental goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of corporate political connections on IPO performance in an emerging economy. More specifically, it examines how CEO political connections affect the IPO performance of 428 firms in China from 2000 to 2004. The empirical results show that CEO political connections have a positive impact on firms' ability to raise capital from public markets. The results also show that CEO political connections with the central government play a more important role in IPO performance than political connections with regional governments. In addition, the positive effect of central political connections on IPO performance is weaker in market-restricted regions but stronger in highly regulated industries. The findings highlight the contingent value of CEO political connections in an emerging economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:Extant literature has devoted more attention to customer value co-creation and knowledge sharing, not only in business-to-customer (B2C) markets, but also in business-to-business (B2B) markets. This study explores and examines the antecedents and consequences of customer knowledge sharing in the context of B2B markets by applying the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework. Methodology/Approach:This empirical study involves two structured surveys of project managers from both suppliers (n = 213) and customers (n = 312), which were conducted in the context of the Chinese telecommunication service industry. The conceptual model of this study was subsequently tested by developing Partial Least Squares (PLS) based structural equation models. Findings:It was found that customer knowledge sharing is facilitated by four MOA factors: customer orientation, customer perceived benefits, customer socialization, and customer technological capability. It was determined that knowledge sharing has a direct and significant effect on project performance. Furthermore, the study revealed that such relationships vary across suppliers and customers. Research Implications:This study extends the existing research stream of interfirm knowledge sharing by examining the antecedents and consequences of customer knowledge sharing from dual perspectives of customers and suppliers, and sheds light on the benefits of customer knowledge sharing. The dyadic perspective embodied in this design facilitates our understanding and management of knowledge sharing between organizations. Originality/Value/Contribution:This article provides an important contribution to the existing literature of customer knowledge sharing by revealing how to effectively facilitate interorganizational knowledge sharing, particularly knowledge from customers to suppliers, and discovers conditions under which customers are more likely to exchange information, and share knowledge with their suppliers from the dyadic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how ownership concentration and corporate debt impact corporate divestitures in China. Corporate divestitures reduce the asset base of a company and the opportunity for expropriation by majority shareholders. In emerging economies, weak legal institutions, combined with equity ownership concentration and high corporate debt, allow majority shareholders to avoid such disciplines. Consequently, the relationship between these governance mechanisms and divestiture activity exhibits a pattern that is different from that in developed economies. Using archival data collected from 1,210 Chinese listed companies during 1999-2003, we found that ownership concentration by the largest shareholder depressed corporate divestitures both in state-controlled and in non-state-controlled firms. The negative effect of corporate debt on divestitures only existed for state-controlled firms. Our finding provides corroborating evidence for principal-principal conflicts in emerging economies. It suggests that corporate strategy in these countries can be better explained by taking into account the unique agency problems that are prevalent in these economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy-polluting companies disclose environmental information voluntarily or passively. However, few studies have focused on which corporate internal characteristics affect the motivation of environmental information disclose (EID) in the process of improving environmental performance, and how the combination of multi-factor affects environmental performance. In view of the causal complexity of environmental performance, our adopt fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The heavy-polluting enterprises in the manufacturing industry of China Shanghai A-Stock Exchange are used to analyze. The results show that the signal transmit-strategy and legitimacy-cognitive driven pattern can improve corporate environmental performance. The combination of market competition and EID is a key factor leading to differences in corporate environmental performance. The research conclusions contribute to exploring the path to improve environmental performance from the configuration lens, as well as the inducements of environmental performance differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A non-stationary frequency analysis of annual extreme rainfall was performed. • Compatible index series were merged to improve copula modelling. • Risk of extreme rainfall occurrence was analyzed. Abstract Owing to hydrological change and human activities, increasing attention is being paid to the evolution of dependence structure of hydrological characteristics, especially for non-stationary multivariate frequency analysis. In this study, we performed a non-stationary frequency analysis of annual extreme rainfall of four study regions in eastern coastal China. Two indexes separately accounting for rainfall volume and intensity were derived from daily precipitation data recorded by four pairs of gauges. In particular, based on the compatibility of data sets examined by the copula equality test, index series sharing similar dependence structures were merged to enrich data bases for copula modelling. A moving time window of 30 years was applied to the index series for non-stationarity analysis. An investigation of dependence evolution was conducted by detecting trends and change-points in the correlation coefficient series. Time-dependent Archimedean copulas and Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution were employed to model the joint and marginal distributions, respectively. Kendall's return period was employed to compute the design values of the indexes. Results showed an intensifying tendency of extreme rainfall volume and/or intensity in three of the study regions and uneven spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. Finally, the occurrence risk of annual extreme rainfall corresponding to different joint return periods (JRPs) was analyzed based on the observed index series. The study highlights incorporating non-stationarity in multivariate hydrological analysis and merging compatible data sets to improve copula inference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Classification of four soil gleyization types based on soil chemical prosperities. • Impacts of groundwater depth on soil gleyization in field and laboratory condition. • Establishing a FEFLOW model for regional groundwater depths assessment. • Implementation of model assessment under four climate change scenarios. • The GRD will suffer a significant soil gleyization due to future climate changes. Abstract Various natural and anthropogenic factors affect the formation of gleyed soil. It is a major challenge to identify the key hazard factors and evaluate the dynamic evolutionary process of soil gleyization at a regional scale under future climate change. This study addressed this complex challenge based on regional groundwater modelling for a typical agriculture region located in the Ganjiang River Delta (GRD) of Poyang Lake Basin, China. We first implemented in-situ soil sampling analysis and column experiments under different water depths to examine the statistical relationship between groundwater depth (GD) and gleyization indexes including active reducing substance, ferrous iron content, and redox potential. Subsequently, a three-dimensional groundwater flow numerical model for the GRD was established to evaluate the impacts of the historical average level and future climate change on vadose saturation and soil gleyization (averaged over 2016–2050) in the irrigated farmland. Three climate change scenarios associated with carbon dioxide emission (A1B, A2, and B1) were predicted by the ECHAM5 global circulation model published in IPCC Assessment Report (2007). The ECHAM5 outputs were applied to quantify the variation of groundwater level and to identify the potential maximum gleyed zones affected by the changes of meteorological and hydrological conditions. The results of this study indicate that GD is an indirect indicator for predicting the gradation of soil gleyization at the regional scale, and that the GRD will suffer considerable soil gleyization by 2050 due to fluctuations of the water table induced by future climate changes. Compared with the annually average condition, the climate scenario B1 will probably exacerbate soil gleyization with an 8.8% increase in total gleyed area in GRD. On average, the highly gleyed areas will increase in area by 29.7 km2, mainly on the riverside area, and the medium-slightly gleyed area will increase by 19.2 km2 in the middle region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex behavior of uranium in recovery is mostly driven by water-rock interactions following lixiviant injection into ore-bearing aquifers. Significant challenges exist in exploring the geochemical processes responsible for uranium release and mobilization. Herein this study provides an illustration of a ten-year field scale CO 2 and O 2 in-situ leaching (ISL) process at a typical sandstone-hosted uranium deposit in northern China. We also conducte a three-dimensional (3-D) multicomponent reactive transport model to assess the effects of potential chemical reactions on uranium recovery, in particular, to focus on the role of sulfide mineral pyrite (FeS 2). Numerical simulations are performed considering three potential ISL reaction pathways to determine the relative contributions to uranium release, and the results indicate that bicarbonate promotes the oxidative dissolution of uranium-bearing minerals and further accelerates the uranium leaching in a neutral geochemical system. Moreover, the presence of FeS 2 exerts a strong competitive role in the uranium-bearing mineral dissolution by increasing oxygen consumption, favoring the formation of iron oxyhydroxide, and therefore causing an associated decrease in uranium recovery rates. The simulation model demonstrates that dissolution of carbonate neutralizes acidic water generated from pyrite oxidation and aqueous CO 2 dissociation. In addition, the cation concentrations (i. e., Ca and Mg) are increasing in the pregnant solutions, showing that the recycling of lixiviants and kinetic dissolution of carbonate generates a larger number of dissolved Ca and Mg and inevitably triggers the secondary dolomite mineral precipitation. The findings improve our fundamental understanding of the geochemical processes in a long-term uranium ISL system and provide important environmental implications for the optimal design of uranium recovery, remediation, and risk exposure assessment. [Display omitted] • Process-based reactive transport modeling is developed for clarifying uranium recovery processes. • Assessment of multi-reaction showed dissolved oxygen dominates the CO 2 and O 2 in-situ leaching of uranium. • Co-existing pyrite plays a significant role in uranium mobilization. • Chemical clogging induced by secondary mineral precipitates is non-ignorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developing a value of monitoring (VOM) based approach for network expansion. • Integrating entropy and copulas for VOM computation. • Assessing network expansion schemes through Kriging interpolation error. Extreme precipitation events have been increasing in recent decades and have been causing impacts to human life and property, which requires expansion of existing networks to provide essential information for hydrometeorological analysis. This study developed an entropy and copula-based approach for precipitation monitoring network expansion, aiming at adding stations in ungauged areas with high value of monitoring (VOM), which was estimated through information content and redundancy. The approach was applied to a network in the Taihu Lake basin, China. We grouped the adjacent stations based on Thiessen polygons, computed VOM for each group and identified candidate locations for additional stations. The entropy measures, e.g., joint entropy and total correlation, required to compute VOM were estimated through the principle of maximum entropy (POME) and copula-based joint distribution fitting. We evaluated the performance of five copula families and adopted the Student t-copula as the optimal copula model. Results showed that orographic effect and network density were the main factors that influence VOM variation, i.e., high VOM appeared in the southwest mountain area and the east area with sparsely distributed stations. We also compared the results with those derived from three data quantization methods, among which the rounding technique produced consistent results. The final network schemes were generated by adding stations following a strategy that supports decision preference on the positioning scheme and station number, and were evaluated through the Kriging interpolation error. The proposed approach provides an efficient and a practical way for strengthening a precipitation monitoring system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients with and without diabetes in southern China.Methods: This retrospective and observational cohort study included all adult patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who received PD in our center from January 2009 to December 2017 and were followed until December 2019. Clinical outcomes were compared by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and cumulative incidence function, and risk factors were estimated using Cox regression analyses and competing risk models.Results: Of 401 patients receiving PD, 120 (29.9%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and 281 (70.1%) did not have diabetes mellitus (NDM). Patients with DM were older and had more cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidities than patients without DM. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with DM had shorter survival (Log-rank 3.215, P < 0.0001) compared with patients without DM. Patients with DM had a lower death-censored technique survival (Log-rank 2.029, P = 0.0180), however, there was no significant difference in peritonitis-free period (Log rank 1.375, P = 0.1133). These results were reproduced after taking competing events into account. Both on multivariate Cox analysis and on multivariate competing risk regression, diabetes was an independent predictor for increased mortality and technique failure, but not for peritonitis-free survival.Conclusions: Patients undergoing PD with DM had increased risk of mortality and technique failure, and closer monitoring and additional focus in patients with DM treated by PD are, therefore, warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impact from hydrological change was overwhelming relative to climate factors. • Dry season advanced by one month due to the impoundment in TGD. • Bank storage is meant to block the discharge from alluvial aquifer to river. • Recovery of the groundwater storage deficit would be harder than the surface water. In low-lying fluvial-lacustrine plain, anthropogenic activities and climatic variation could have a comprehensive influence on the interactions between surface water and groundwater (SW-GW) involving lake-river-aquifer. Quantification of the changes in SW-GW interaction in spatial and temporal scale causing by the two driving sources could help to the understanding of the regional water cycle mechanism and the adjustment of the decision making. However, it is usually difficult to distinguish the impact of anthropogenic activities from the climatic variation on a regional scale. Here, by using a regional three-dimensional groundwater numerical model with long term monitoring of the hydrological dynamic in Poyang Lake Basin (PLB), China, we found that groundwater storage variation in the bank storage districts can be used as an indicator to quantify each source and sink in the process of SW-GW interactions. And surface water infiltration plays a more dominant role in constructing bank storage which is meant to preserve groundwater storage. Our research in PLB demonstrates that the hydrological change caused by the operation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) since 2003 is mainly responsible for the autumn drought in PLB. The surface water recession due to the impoundment in TGD from September to October has an impact about 7 times stronger than the rainfall reduction. Moreover, the groundwater storage deficit caused by the insufficient recharge from the surface water infiltration would maintain the whole year, unlike the surface water system which would easily recover at the end of the year. The results demonstrate the chain interactions among lake-river-aquifer. Failing to distinguish the magnitude of each influence factor may lead to underestimating the impact on the whole water system. The results also highlight the function and the vulnerability of the groundwater system which might be vital to the riparian and estuarine-wetland ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new S/O model is developed for spring protection and groundwater management. • MOFHS is adopted to find the optimal solutions under changing climatic conditions. • Robust extraction strategies under different hydrological conditions are provided. • Optimization results demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of the new method. Springs are the natural discharge points of groundwater. They are of considerable value for drinking water supply and some springs are of historical and tourism value. However, increasing industrial and urban expansion has led to serious problems of overdraft of groundwater resources, which in turn had caused the disappearance of springs globally. Thus, the protection of springs while at the same time allowing for the use of local groundwater resources is an important task of water resources management. In this study, we propose a new multi-objective simulation and optimization (S/O) model to find an optimal extraction strategy which balances the competitive relationship between spring outflow and groundwater extraction. In the newly developed model, the extraction rates of different groundwater wells are taken as the decision variables, and maximization of groundwater extraction and maximization of spring outflow are taken as the two objective functions. Baotu Spring which is located in northern China has been famous since the Shang Dynasty (1600 BCE). However, Baotu Spring has been drying up since the 1990s due to over extraction of the local groundwater. Thus, we take Baotu Spring as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the newly developed model. Simultaneously, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA), the multi-objective fast harmony search algorithm (MOFHS) which is coupled with the commonly used groundwater flow code MODFLOW, is adopted to search the Pareto optimal solutions (the optimal extraction strategies). The optimization results of Baotu Spring field during the management period from July 2013 to June 2014 show that more groundwater resources could be extracted without threatening the sustainable outflow of Baotu Spring and Black Tiger Spring. The optimization results for different hydrological years show that climate variability (mainly in precipitation) is an important factor when choosing the optimal extraction strategy. The optimization results of Baotu Spring in northern China show that the newly developed model is a promising tool to find the optimal groundwater extraction strategies which can protect springs while maximizing the extraction of groundwater resources in a spring field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of heparin-binding protein (HBP) in sepsis and develop a sepsis diagnostic model incorporating HBP with key biomarkers and disease-related scores for rapid, and accurate diagnosis of sepsis in the intensive care unit (ICU)., Design: Clinical retrospective cross-sectional study., Setting: A comprehensive teaching tertiary hospital in China., Participants: Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) who underwent HBP testing or whose blood samples were collected when admitted to the ICU., Main Outcome Measures: HBP, C reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell count (WBC), interleukin-6 (IL-6), lactate (LAC), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score were recorded., Results: Between March 2019 and December 2021, 326 patients were enrolled in this study. The patients were categorised into a non-infection group (control group), infection group, sepsis group and septic shock group based on the final diagnosis. The HBP levels in the sepsis group and septic shock group were 45.7 and 69.0 ng/mL, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (18.0 ng/mL) and infection group (24.0 ng/mL) (p<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) value of HBP for diagnosing sepsis was 0.733, which was lower than those corresponding to PCT, CRP and SOFA but higher than those of IL-6, LAC and APACHE II. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified HBP, PCT, CRP, IL-6 and SOFA as valuable indicators for diagnosing sepsis. A sepsis diagnostic model was constructed based on these indicators, with an AUC of 0.901, a sensitivity of 79.7% and a specificity of 86.9%., Conclusions: HBP could serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis in the ICU. Compared with single indicators, the sepsis diagnostic model constructed using HBP, PCT, CRP, IL-6 and SOFA further enhanced the diagnostic performance of sepsis., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Aim: To investigate whether pseudomyopia is an independent risk factor for myopia onset based on a population-based cohort study., Methods: Non-myopic children were recruited from schools in rural and urban settings of Shangdong province, China. Baseline examinations started in September 2020 and all participants were invited for a 6-month follow-up. Pseudomyopia was defined as spherical equivalent (SE) ≤-0.50 diopters (D) before cycloplegia and >-0.50D after cycloplegia. Myopia was defined as cycloplegic SE ≤-0.50D., Results: A total of 2328 children (baseline age: 4-17 years) were included in the final analysis. During the 6-month follow-up, 21.1% (355/1680) pseudomyopic eyes developed myopia, and 3.8% (110/2879) non-myopic and non-pseudomyopic eyes developed myopia. After adjusting for multiple myopia risk factors, including baseline cycloplegic SE, near work and outdoor time, pseudomyopia was found to be an independent risk factor for myopia onset (relative risk=2.52, 95% CI 1.86 to 3.42). Additionally, pseudomyopic children with more myopic cycloplegic SE (p<0.001), smaller difference between cycloplegic and non-cycloplegic SE (DIFF, p<0.001), and higher binocular amplitude of accommodation (p<0.001) had higher risk of myopia development., Conclusion: This is an important longitudinal study to prove that pseudomyopia is an independent risk factor for myopia development among school-aged children., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Older people in China have a poor understanding of hospital signage. To address this problem, in this study, we combined the theories of situated cognition and cognitive commonness in order to introduce the three main factors that affect the generation of situational cognitive commonness: composition of the situation, familiarity, and concreteness. We used these theories to construct a methodological framework for the design of geriatric hospital wayfinding signs that were based on situational cognitive commonness. The design of nine healthcare signs for Chinese national standards were used as examples in the study. First, users who were familiar with medical scenarios were asked to draw concrete cognitive conception graphics for the purposes of individual wayfinding targets from both physical and social situations. Next, we coded and grouped the generated graphics based on their situational features in order to extract groups of representative common graphics. Finally, we reorganized the common graphics and developed concrete designs, which were tested by the judgment test. The wayfinding signs designed according to the methodological framework of this study effectively improved the understanding of hospital signage among older Chinese people. This study took geriatric hospital wayfinding signs as the examples to provide a feasible theoretical basis and research reference for symbol design., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

To examine the refractive lens power (RLP) and lens thickness and their associated factors in children from North-Western China. Children from two schools (primary school and junior high school) in the North-Western Chinese province of Qinghai underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination including biometry and cycloplegic refractometry. The RLP was calculated using Bennett's equation. The study included 596 (77.9%) individuals (mean age: 11.0 ± 2.8 years; range: 6-16 years) with a mean axial length of 23.65 ± 1.24 mm (range: 20.02-27.96 mm). Mean lens thickness was 3.30 ± 0.16 mm (range: 2.85-3.99 mm) and mean RLP was 24.85 ± 1.98D (range: 19.40-32.97). In univariate analysis, girls as compared to boys had a significantly thicker lens and greater RLP, shorter axial length, smaller corneal curvature radius and shorter corneal curvature radius (all P < 0.001). Both sexes did not differ significantly in refractive error (P = 0.11) and corneal thickness (P = 0.16). RLP was positively associated with refractive error (correlation coefficient r = 0.33; P < 0.001) and lens thickness (r = 0.62; P < 0.001) and negatively with axial length (r =  - 0.70; P < 0.001). In univariate analysis, RLP decreased significantly with older age in the age group from age 6-13, while it plateaued thereafter, with no significant difference between boys and girls. In multivariate regression analysis, a higher RLP was associated with younger age (P < 0.001; standard regression coefficient β =  - 0.07), female sex (P < 0.001; β =  - 0.08), shorter axial length (P < 0.001; β =  - 0.48) and higher lens thickness (P < 0.001; β = 0.42). In Chinese children, RLP with a mean of 24.85 ± 1.98D decreases with older age, male sex, longer axial length, and thinner lens thickness. Changes in RLP and axial length elongation are important players in the emmetropization and myopization., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Pit mud microbiota plays a key role in flavour production for Chinese strong-aroma type liquor. However, the pit mud microbiota cannot be cultured in laboratory. In this study, an oligotrophic medium with acetate as carbon source was used to enrich pit mud microbiota. The 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was applied to examine the microbial dynamics of the enrichment consortia. Both methanogens and bacteria were simultaneously enriched. Euryarchaeota, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the top 3 enriched phyla, and 31 genera were successfully enriched. More specifically, 11 genera (65%) out of the 17 dominant genera in pit mud were successfully enriched, including Petrimonas, Proteiniphilum, Anaerocella, Hydrogenispora, Methanosarcina, Fermentimonas, LNR&#95;A2-18, Sedimentibacter, Lutispora, Syntrophomonas and Aminobacterium. Furthermore, 20 rare genera in the analyzed pit mud samples were also enriched. Aceticlastic Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina were found to be dominant methanogens in the enrichment consortia. Metagenomic sequencing was then applied to the enriched microbial consortia to explore the metabolic potentials of pit mud microbes. Aceticlastic methanogenesis pathway of Methanosaeta was reconstructed. Furthermore, 26 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were obtained based on the metagenomic binning analysis. Moreover, nutrients in pit mud were found to be crucial to sustain the methanogenesis of the enriched microbial consortia. These results suggested that the enrichment approach by using oligotrophic culturing can effectively cultivate the pit mud microbiota. Combined with metagenomics, the oligotrophic culturing will be greatly helpful to decipher the community composition and metabolic potentials of pit mud microbiota., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The equilibrium and kinetic properties of Am(III), Eu(III) and Cs(I) ions adsorption by three weathered coals (WCs) from China, have been investigated in batch stirred-tank experiments. The effects of contact time, solution acidity and initial sorbate concentration on the adsorption of Am(III), Eu(III) and Cs(I) by Yuxian(YX) Tongchuan (TC) and Pingxiang (PX) WC were evaluated. The radionuclide ions are able to form complex compounds with carboxylic and phenolic groups of WCs and they are also bounded with phenolic groups even at high acidity reaction solution (>0.1 mol/L). Mechanisms including ion exchange, complexation and adsorption to the coal surface are possible in the sorption process. The acidity of the solution played an important role in the adsorption. Even acidity as high as 0.1 mol/L, 60% of Am(III) or Eu(III), 40% of Cs(I) were found to be sorbed on the YX WC, which had the best adsorption capacity for Am(III) and Eu(III). Our batch adsorption studies showed the equilibrium adsorption data fit the linear Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The maximum equilibrium uptake of Eu(III) were 0.412, 3.701, 5.446 mmol/g for JXWC, TCWC and YXWC, respectively.