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The increasing automobile repair industries (ARIs) with spray facilities have become an important volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution source in China. However, the VOC health risk assessment for long-term exposure in ARIs has not been well characterized. In this study, though sampled VOCs from 51 typical ARIs in Beijing, the relationship between emission patterns, average daily exposure concentrations (EC), and health risks was comprehensively analyzed with the health assessment method. Results showed that concentrations of 117 VOCs from the samples ranged from 68.53 to 19863.32 μg·m−3, while the ARI operator's daily VOC inhalation EC was 11.24–1460.70 μg·m−3. The organic VOC (OVOC) concentration accounted for 73.16 ~ 94.52% in the solvent-based paint workshops, while aromatics were the main VOC component in water-based paint spraying (WPS) workshops, accounting for 70.08%, respectively. And the method of inhalation exposure health risk assessment was firstly used to evaluate carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity risk for sprayers in ARIs. The cumulative lifetime carcinogenic risk (LCR) for 24 sampled VOCs were within acceptable ranges, while the mean hazard index (HI) for 1 year with 44 sampled VOCs was over 1. Among them, ethyl alcohol had a high carcinogenic risk in both mixed water-based paint (MP) and solvent-based paint workshops. The mean HI associated with aromatics were 2.88E − 3 and 4.30E − 3 for 1 h in MP and WPS workshops. O-ethyl toluene and acetone are VOC components that need to be paid attention to in future paint raw materials and spraying operations. Our study will provide the important references for the standard of VOC occupational exposure health limits in ARIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To assess the factors influencing the self-care behavior among nursing students with dysmenorrhea. Background. The practice of self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea has gradually attracted immense attention from society; however, thus far, only a few studies have been conducted to predict this behavior and analyze the associated factors by creating a structural equation model. Methods. A cross-sectional multistage cluster sampling study was conducted among nursing students within six universities in Shaanxi province, China. A model was constructed, and structured questionnaires were adopted to measure model variables, including e-health literacy, negative emotion, self-efficacy, self-care agency, degree of dysmenorrhea, and self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea. Descriptive data analysis was performed using SPSS 23.0 software, and AMOS 23.0 was used to verify and analyze the structural model. Results. In total, 1851 valid questionnaires were collected; the effective recovery rate was 93.15%, and the prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 64.51%. e-Health literacy (B = 0.171, P < 0.001), self-efficacy (B = 0.416, P < 0.001), self-care agency (B = 1.177, P < 0.001), and degree of dysmenorrhea (B = 0.310, P < 0.001) significantly influenced self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea. The total, direct, and indirect effects of e-health literacy and self-efficacy on self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea were 0.158 and 0.492, 0.128 and 0.248, and 0.030 and 0.244, respectively. Conclusion. The self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea is affected by several factors and self-efficacy has the greatest effect on it. To promote girls to actively implement self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea, educators should strengthen the training of self-efficacy and self-care agency of the nursing students to alleviate the uncomfortable experience brought by dysmenorrhea and decrease the harm of dysmenorrhea. Implications for Nursing Management. Nursing managers should work with constant efforts to explore and optimize the management model for dysmenorrhea, encouraging young women to actively engage in self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea, to alleviate the discomfort experienced by individuals and improve women's overall health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between environmental regulation and innovation has long been a key issue of scholarly interest. The Porter hypothesis posits that environmental regulations can effectively promote innovation. However, with the rapid development of the Internet, the relationship between environmental regulation and innovation has changed. Through a theoretical analysis, this paper finds that the development of the Internet can not only directly promote innovation but also inhibit innovation through environmental regulations. This paper uses Chinese city-level data from 2014 to 2016 to empirically test the relationship among the Internet, environmental regulation, and innovation. The study finds that (1) the increase in the Internet level and in the intensity of environmental regulations promotes innovation, and the results remain stable after the replacement of the Internet level metrics, (2) the increase in the Internet level inhibits the positive effect of environmental regulations on innovation, but its inhibitory effect is lower than the promotion effect of the Internet on innovation, and (3) the Internet and environmental regulations have a significant promotion effect on the application and acquisition of three types of patents, including invention patents, utility model patents and design patents, with the application and acquisition of utility model patents having the greatest promotion effect, and (4) the analysis of heterogeneity shows that environmental regulation has a greater effect on innovation in eastern and provincial capital cities, and the Internet has a greater effect on innovation in western and nonprovincial capital cities. Finally, this article puts forward policy recommendations based on three aspects: strengthening Internet construction, implementing environmental regulations and policies based on local conditions, and increasing support for R&D and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This groundbreaking study conducts the first-ever field push test on anchor bolts in steel–UHPC composite pavement in China, providing researchers with the opportunity to obtain the true mechanical performance of the anchor bolts after more than a decade of operation. As a result, the study comprehensively studies the long-term performance of anchor bolts in steel–UHPC composite pavement. The study established a finite element model of steel–UHPC pavement based on the mechanical properties of studs obtained from the field push-back tests, and the mechanical properties of studs were modeled by COMBIN39 and COMBIN14 elements. The reasons for the degradation of the bolt performance were analyzed by combining the anchorage force transfer model of the composite beam and the fatigue formula of the stiffness degradation of the bolt, based on the results of the finite element method. The study revealed that the stress of the anchor bolts gradually equilibrates along the longitudinal direction after prolonged service, with the end anchor bolts experiencing an offloading phenomenon and the middle span anchor bolts experiencing an increasing load phenomenon. Furthermore, the study identified the residual slip at the interface of the anchor bolt as a significant factor in the longitudinal stress redistribution of the anchor bolt, and construction errors further promoted stress redistribution. The study's findings contribute to advancing the design and construction of steel–UHPC composite pavement. Additionally, the study proposes a novel approach to accurately evaluate the stiffness of pavements by combining the anchor bolt extrapolation test with a finite element model, with a maximum error of no more than 5 percent, which can be applied in future pavement design and construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial parks are important drivers of economic growth and development. In an increasingly globalized economy, inefficient park development hinders high-quality, sustainable regional and national growth. The transformation and upgrading of industrial parks requires an understanding of the influence mechanism of industrial park efficiency. This study provided a theoretical analysis of the impact of land supply and price, park type, management level, and economic location on industrial parks, and clarified the effect of these factors on industrial park efficiency. Using the case study of Jiangxi Province, a typical underdeveloped area in China, we measured the comprehensive efficiency (CE) of 36 industrial parks from 2010 to 2018 employing data envelopment analysis (DEA). Our study's findings show that the average CE of industrial parks in Jiangxi Province is low, as most of the parks are inefficient and technical efficiency is a shortcoming. The efficiency of national industrial parks (0.785) is generally higher than that of provincial industrial parks (0.516), whereas the efficiency of the high-tech development zones (0.673) is generally higher than that of the economic–technological development zones (0.603). Industrial parks in prefecture-level cities with superior economic locations are more efficient. Among the 36 industrial parks studied, 14 demonstrated inefficient use of funds, and 10 were provincial industrial parks. We found that the supply of low-priced land affects firms' investment behavior through the effect of price distortion, which leads to inefficiency. Our study's findings have implications for policy, practice, theory, and subsequent research for the improvement of industrial park efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance for regional ecological protection and sustainable development to quickly and effectively assess and monitor regional ecological quality and identify the factors that affect ecological quality. This paper constructs the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of ecological quality in the Dongjiangyuan region from 2000 to 2020. An ecological quality trend analysis was conducted through the Theil-Sen median and Mann-Kendall tests, and the influencing factors were analyzed by using a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results show that (1) the RSEI distribution can be divided into the spatiotemporal characteristics of "three highs and two lows," and the proportion of good and excellent RSEIs reached 70.78% in 2020. (2) The area with improved ecological quality covered 17.26% of the study area, while the area of degradation spanned 6.81%. The area with improved ecological quality was larger than that with degraded ecological quality because of the implementation of ecological restoration measures. (3) The global Moran's I index gradually decreased from 0.638 in 2000 to 0.478 in 2020, showing that the spatial aggregation of the RSEI became fragmented in the central and northern regions. (4) Both slope and distance from roads had positive effects on the RSEI, while population density and night-time light had negative effects on the RSEI. Precipitation and temperature had negative effects in most areas, especially in the southeastern study area. The long-term spatiotemporal assessment of ecological quality can not only help the construction and sustainable development of the region but also have reference significance for regional ecological management in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to identify the spatiotemporal change law and the leading factors of industrial carbon emission decoupling. Based on the industrial carbon emission level of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) from 2006 to 2020, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity was explored with the help of the spatial Markov chain, the Tapio decoupling model was used to analyze its decoupling state from the industrial economy, and its driving factors were decomposed using the Kaya identity and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model. The results show that (1) in 51.9% of the YRDUA's cities, the industrial carbon emission situation was stable, the emission reduction observation area (medium carbon) occupied a dominant position, and the emission reduction key area (relatively high carbon) gradually decreased. (2) Industrial carbon emissions had spatial overflow and path dependency characteristics, and the probability of carbon emission type transfer maintaining the original state reached 80.0%. From 2006 to 2011, the average probability of the downward migration of high-carbon cities was 5.0%. From 2011 to 2020, the average probability of the upward transfer of low-carbon cities was 9.4%. (3) The negative decoupling rate of carbon emissions in the YRDUA experienced a transition from 3.7% to 44.4% and then back to 7.4%, showing spatial imbalance. Unsatisfactory decoupling cities were concentrated along the Yangtze River and in coastal areas. (4) The promoting efficiency of energy intensity, carbon emission coefficient, and employment structure was gradually strengthened, and the carbon-increasing effect of labor input was gradually weakened. (5) The decoupling mode of heavy difficult cities is dominated by the three-factor balanced type, which is jointly affected by industrial production, labor input, and carbon emission coefficient. The findings in this study can provide inspiration for industrial carbon emission reduction in megalopolises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological security assessment can effectively reflect the ecological status of a region and reveal its level of sustainable development. In this paper, an ecological security-oriented evaluation system was constructed, and the ecological security level of the Dongjiangyuan region from 2000 to 2020 was evaluated based on catastrophe theory and GIS. The results were as follows: (1) As shown in the land use and cover maps, by 2020, the forestland area had decreased the most, and the artificial surface area had increased the most. (2) The ecological security index of the Dongjiangyuan region showed a low trend in the artificial surface area and its surrounding areas. The quite low values of the ecological security index in 2000 and 2010 were improved in 2020 due to the increase in ecological services capacity. The increased vegetation cover from 2000 to 2020 promoted the improved ecological service capacity. (3) The rapid urbanization process in the Dongjiangyuan region resulted in a lower ecological sensitivity index value. Notably, the ecological sensitivity index of the study area had a slightly decreasing trend. (4) The spatial autocorrelation showed that the proportion of hot and cold spots from 2000 to 2020 decreased by 2.96% and 6.91%, respectively. This study can provide a scientific basis and decision-making guidance for ecological management in the Dongjiangyuan region in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivated land-use transition (CLUT) is the morphological result of changes in the cultivated land-use mode over time, and the result of the interaction and mutual restriction of the human land system. This paper applies a "spatial–functional" integrated framework to understand the structure and functioning of CLUTs, and quantitatively evaluates and visualizes CLUTs in the major grain-producing area in southern China. The results show that (1) the comprehensive CLUT index in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River changed from 0.0480 to 0.0711 from 2001 to 2019 and indicated significant differences in the transition index between different regions. (2) The CLUT identified a positive aggregation effect under a 5% significance during the period, and the agglomeration degree of the spatial and functional transitions strengthened, which increased from 0.3776 to 0.4673 and from 0.2127 to 0.2952, respectively. (3) The gravity center of the CLUT demonstrated a pattern of migration from the southwest to the northeast, and the migration speed of the gravity center decreased from 2.9401 km/year to 1.2370 km/year. The migration direction of the gravity center for the spatial transition is opposite to the functional transition, and the migration speed of the gravity center for the spatial and functional transitions decreased from 8.3573 km/year to 1.0814 km/year, and from 3.2398 km/year to 1.0254 km/year, respectively. To address this transition, policymakers should formulate differentiated policies to promote the sustainable use of cultivated land through the spatial and functional transition of major grain-producing areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is a critical factor affecting regional carbon emissions. Clarifying the linkage between urbanization and carbon emissions can provide a decision-making reference to realize China's goal of carbon neutrality. This article examines the spatiotemporal patterns of urbanization and carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2008 to 2018. A complete set of variables is considered to construct relevant land and ecological urbanization variables, and the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model and spatial Durbin model (SDM) are adopted to explore the impact of various driving factors on carbon emissions. The results indicate that (1) during the study period, the carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration exhibited a fluctuating increase and that the incremental carbon emissions followed a downward trend. (2) Carbon emissions exhibited a positive spatial correlation. Cold- and hotspot areas indicated a three-gradient pattern from west to east, and a concentric circle radiation pattern occurred with Shanghai as the core. Carbon emissions were spatially imbalanced, but the centre of gravity slightly fluctuated, with a total migration distance of 38.48 km, indicating a migration trend towards the southeast. (3) Regarding the two considered dimensions of urbanization, all driving factors except urbanization played a role in carbon emission enhancement. Consequently, for every 1% increase in economic factors, the carbon emissions correspondingly increased by 0.43–0.57%. Hence, economic factors are the most important factors promoting increased carbon emissions. In the ecological urbanization dimension, urbanization caused a non-significant decrease in carbon emissions, while there was no spillover effect on carbon emissions in neighbouring areas. Accordingly, carbon emission reduction efforts should promote the transformation of urbanization from a land-driven process to an ecologically driven process and realize the synergies among carbon emission reductions, urban development, and land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jiangxi Province is one of the first ecological civilization pilot zones (ECPZ) in China. The assessment of eco-environment quality (EQ) assessment and its future trends are of great significance to the maintenance of ecological security in Jiangxi Province and the construction of other pilot zones in China. Here, we propose an extended remote sensing ecological index (ERSEI), and then analyze its spatiotemporal distribution features and trends; we combine this with the optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD) model to quantify the influencing factors, and further explore the future trends and prospects of the ERSEI. Our results show that: (1) Compared with the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), the ERSEI can more effectively reflect regional differences in EQ. (2) Areas with an excellent ERSEI are mainly located in the important ecological barrier areas of Jiangxi Province, whereas areas with poor or worst ERSEI values correspond to the spatial distribution of the Nanchang metropolitan circle, town clusters, and urban development axes. (3) The ERSEI in Jiangxi Province improved in 72.50% of the study area from 2001 to 2021. (4) Slope, population density, and elevation are the key factors affecting the ERSEI, with the interaction between slope and population density explaining 79.9% of the variance in the ERSEI spatial distribution. (5) The areas predicted to see future rises and falls in the ERSEI in Jiangxi Province at 56.55 × 103 and 96.24 × 103 km2, respectively. These research results can provide support for Jiangxi Province to achieve sustainable development and ecological civilization construction, while also providing an ERSEI that effectively identifies regional differences and acts as a new reference to further EQ research. • An eco-environmental quality index can effectively identify regional differences. • The OPGD was used to quantify the single-factor detection and interaction detection. • The eco-environmental quality is mainly affected by the degree of human development. • Most sustainable areas are mainly distributed in the eastern and southern of Jiangxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to intense human activity and landscape configuration changes, evaluating habitat quality is critical for ecosystem service capacity maintenance while promoting human well-being. This study aimed to evaluate and analyze the temporal and spatial responses of landscape patterns to habitat quality changes in the Poyang Lake region. During 2000–2020, the landscape pattern in the Poyang Lake region shifted from agglomeration to fragmentation. Within this period, the area with the highest proportion of habitat quality reached a poor level within the region, and the area with the worst level experienced notable improvement. The concentration of excellent habitat quality areas was evident within the central region of Poyang Lake, as well as in the northeastern and northwestern of the entire region. The proportion of habitat quality improvement surpassed that of habitat degradation, accounting for 32.62% and 17.94%, respectively. Notably, areas characterized by moderate and good habitat quality experienced a significant upgrade to an excellent level by 2020. The results of spatial autocorrelation, as measured by Moran's I index, indicated a consistent positive trend. This value gradually increased over time, suggesting a progressive intensification in the spatial clustering of habitat quality. Furthermore, the spatial heterogeneity in habitat quality was primarily driven by CONTAG, which was the primary influential factor. An enhanced two-factor interaction, surpassing the explanatory force of the factors on their own, was observed through an analysis of the interactions between different combinations of influencing factors. The explanatory force of the CONTAG index indicated a decline in habitat quality in certain local regions. For these areas, we suggest controlling the disorderly development of construction land and transportation systems, strictly prohibiting the illegal occupation of arable land, promoting vegetation restoration, and maintaining landscape patch connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coking industry is an important volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission source in China, however, detailed information on VOCs emissions is lacking. Therefore, we selected a typical mechanized coking plant and collected air samples according to the Emission Standard of Pollutants for Coking Chemical Industry (GB16171-2012). Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method, we analyzed the VOCs in the air samples, and applied maximum increment reactivity (MIR) rule to estimate ozone formation potential (OFP) of the VOCs emitted from the coke production. More than 90 VOCs species were detected from the coking plant, including alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and oxygenated VOCs. The concentrations of VOCs (ρ(VOCs)) generated at different stages of the coking process are significantly different. ρ(VOCs) from coke oven chimney had the highest concentration (87.1 mg/m3), followed by coke pushing (4.0 mg/m3), coal charging (3.3 mg/m3) and coke oven tops (1.1 mg/m3). VOCs species emitted from the coke production processes were dominated by alkanes and alkenes, but the composition proportions were different at the different stages. Alkenes were the most abundant emission species in flue gases of the coke oven chimney accounting for up to 66% of the total VOCs, while the VOCs emissions from coke pushing and coal charging were dominated by alkanes (36% and 42%, respectively), and the alkanes and alkenes emitted from coke oven top were similar (31% and 29%, respectively). Based on above results, reduction of VOCs emissions from coke oven chimney flue gases is suggested to be an effective measure, especially for alkenes. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the role of internal control in tax avoidance by evaluating the efficacy of the COSO framework in tax risk management. First, we use a comprehensive COSO-based index in China that covers a firm's internal control over not only financial reporting, but also operations and compliance. Second, we perform quantile regressions to account for the entire tax avoidance distribution. These two key features enable us to find a nonlinear relation between internal control and tax avoidance, with the former having a moderating effect on the latter. Specifically, we show that internal control quality enhances tax avoidance for under-sheltered firms but curbs tax avoidance for over-sheltered firms. This nonlinear pattern continues to hold when we decompose internal control into its five COSO components. Moreover, the moderating role of internal control in tax avoidance alleviates tax volatility, supporting the accounting firms' recommendation to use COSO-based internal control in tax risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve sustainable use of cultivated land in China, it is important to consolidate the achievements of the large-scale program to leave cultivated land fallow. However, conflicts of interest among the participants make it difficult to achieve the expected goal. In this study, we first analyze the differences in the interests of the three main participants in the process of protecting cultivated land, that is, the central government, local government, and peasants. Then, we construct two evolutionary game models to examine the dynamic changes of their strategies and we compare the impacts of external factors on their strategies under different conditions using simulation analysis. The results show that, to stimulate peasants to protect cultivated land, the government should apply a relatively advanced dynamic subsidy strategy, which is able to make peasants more enthusiastic about protecting cultivated land using less time and money. The central government should provide better promotion opportunities for well-behaved local government officials, and appropriately punish uncooperative peasants and officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to rapid economic and industrial development, China has been suffering from degraded air quality and visibility. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors to the formation of ground-level ozone and hence photochemical smog. Some VOCs adversely affect human health. Therefore, VOCs have recently elicited public concern and given new impetus to scientific interest. China is now implementing a series of polices to control VOCs pollution. The key to formulating policy is understanding the ambient VOCs pollution status. This paper mainly analyzes the species, levels, sources, and spatial distributions of VOCs in ambient air. The results show that the concentrations of ambient VOCs in China are much higher than those of developed countries such as the United States and Japan, especial benzene, which exceeds available standards. At the same time, the ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) of various VOCs are calculated. Aromatics and alkenes have much higher OFPs, while aromatics have higher SOAFP. The OFPs of ambient VOCs in the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Changchun are very high, and the SOAFP of ambient VOCs in the cities of Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Changchun are higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has adopted an executive-dominated government audit system (GAS), which is frequently criticized for lacking independence. Through a questionnaire survey and interviews, we investigate whether and how the reporting/control requirements of the GAS (hereafter, the institutional arrangements) result in a lack of government audit independence in China and how this affects budget supervision by the People's Congress. We contribute field evidence to support the prediction that an executive-dominated GAS lacks independence and transparency, which in turn is detrimental to the wider accountability regime. However, the specific level of independence varies according to the types and levels of government audit. Our findings enrich the government audit literature, enhance our understanding of the relationship between institutional arrangements and audit independence in a transition economy, and serve as a call for institutional reform relating to the Chinese GAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The top 3 countries are the US, China, and the UK in terms of the production in the field of ecological compensation. • Developed countries produced more research papers with higher influence in the field. • Some developing countries or regions, e.g., China, Costa Rica, Mexico, Vietnam, and Latin America, also appear as high-frequency keywords. • The research themes have gradually been enriched, and the scope of research topics has gradually enlarged. Ecosystems are facing severe destruction and threats due to unreasonable human utilization. Repairing damage to nature and protect biodiversity through ecological compensation will be an inevitable measure for achieving sustainable development. To explore the current research hotspots and future research directions of ecological compensation, this paper tries to search the WoS Core Collection and collects 685 ecological compensation papers published between 1990 and 2020. R language and CiteSpace software were applied in this paper. It is found that: (1) The number of articles has gone through the initial explorations, fluctuating growth, and rapid development of the field from 1990 to 2020. Only 7.5% of authors have published more than two papers. (2) Regarding the production of papers, the top 3 countries are the US, China, and the UK. At present, the majority of countries focus on independent research, and international cooperation is gradually strengthening. (3) The current research hotpots mainly invlove biodiversity and sustainable development, ecological compensation for forests and water resources, China's Grain-to-Green Project, poverty reduction, livelihood issues, public participation willingness and equity issues, indicating that ecological compensation is a rapidly emerging interdisciplinary academic field. (4) The results reveal several research directions in the future: strengthening theoretical research, resolving issues pertaining to the complex relationships among stakeholders, encouraging a transformation from qualitative to quantitative research, increasing the focus of ecological compensation models on local conditions, and applying more scientific models and high-tech tools in effect evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Under different water conditions the evapotranspiration (ET) of Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, buffalograss, Japanese lawngrass and Bermudagrass were studied in the field using the microlysimeter method. The results indicated that the ET of six turfgrasses was mainly influenced by turfgrass species, and affected by water condition too. Then the consumed water of turfgrass was valued by comparing its crop coefficient (K c) with that of the popular crops in Beijing. The most economical irrigation amount of six turfgrasses in Beijing City was estimated according to ET which was determined in this experiment and annual precipitation, and they are: tall fescue (391.8mm)>Kentucky bluegrass (368.3mm)>perennial ryegrass (315.1mm)>Bermudagrass (300.7mm)>buffalograss (184.0mm)>Japanese lawngrass (110.5mm). At last water conservation capacity of the turfgrass in Beijing City was estimated too. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir is the basic geological unit of CBM storing and CBM resource developing. The forming conditions of the CBM reservoir include coal thickness, coal rank, seam buried depth, caprock, and geological structure. The division of a CBM reservoir in the Huainan coalfield is mainly based on the geological structure form and seam buried depth. According to the Fufeng nappe and the secondary structures of Huainan synclinorium, seven CBM reservoirs are divided in the Huainan Coalfield, such as Caijiagang, and the dynamic mechanism of CBM forming is analyzed. The structural position where the CBM reservoir is located has the important controlling role on the features of CBM reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural transformation, as a complex and compound process, can be dissected into different scale systems yet has not been systematically explored. This study takes Ruijin city, a hilly and mountainous area, as the example to explore the dynamic process of rural transformation and its cross-scale effects from the perspective of rural livelihood. The results showed that (1) On regional scale, institutional guarantees and policy reform were important factors influencing livelihood trajectory in the long term. The "top-down" process of rural reform needs to be embedded in the bottom-up engagement. (2) On community scale, village function is shifting from the single production to multi-function, and only by steering to the comparative advantages may villages achieve the goal of rural revitalization. (3) On household scale, rural livelihood tends to be pluriactive and is gradually differentiating from traditional smallholding to vocational farming or non-agricultural work according to livelihood assets. Further more, there existed a gap between village development and rural livelihood improvement in that farmers shared limited benefits from village industry development for multiple reasons. Therefore, a positive and inclusive rural transformation requires synergizing the government's top-down guidance with farmers' bottom-up livelihood needs in policy implementation, formulating an appropriate revitalization strategy according to the village category and development stage, and fostering the organic connection between village industry and small farmers through benefit sharing system construction and livelihood capital investment. • Rural transformation and livelihood effects in the hilly and mountainous habitat are explored across spatial-temporal scales. • On the regional scale, rural systems in Soviet period has significant path dependence effects on modern rural China. • On the community scale, four successful paths to rural revitalization are refined according to the village resources-function bond. • On the household scale, rural livelihood is shifting from monotonous and fragile to pluriactive and sustainable. • Suggestions for a more inclusive rural transformation in the hilly and mountainous habitat are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coating is an important raw material in industrial production. Global consumption of industrial coatings has approximated 28.84 Tg in 2019, with China accounting for more than half which generated plenty of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). To learn the pollution characteristic and prevention strategy, we estimated the speciated VOCs emission of coating-consuming industries in China through field investigation, sample collection and analytical analysis. The environmental and health influences in 2019, 2025 and 2030 were then assessed based on scenario prediction with taking low-VOCs containing coating (LCC) application into consideration which was an important action in the ongoing prevention measures. Ozone formation potential (OFP), secondary organic aerosol potential (SOAP) and the newly established index of total health risks (THR) were employed to indicate the environmental influence and health threaten. Conclusions showed that (1) VOCs emissions would increase from 6.78 Tg to 10.46 Tg during 2019–2030 which result in a much higher OFP, SOAP and THR. (2) Replacing traditional organic coating (TOC) with LCC could effectively reduce VOCs emission. For every 1% increase in LCC proportion, VOCs emission, OFPs, SOAPs, and THRs decreased by 1.24%, 1.44%, 1.49%, and 1.70% on average, respectively. (3) Potential O 3 and SOA yields approximated 25.61 Tg and 19.12 Tg (5.87% and 4.39% higher than 2019) even in the most stringent scenario for 2030 which meant continuous increases in industrial coating consumption could offset the positive effects produced by LCC substitution. (4) Esters, ethers, alcohols, and ketones are proposed as main composition of coatings to effectively reduce VOCs emission and their influence on account of better technical accessibility. These findings reveal that more innovative pollution prevention methods and production technologies are urgently needed to compensate for increased pollutant emissions derived from the growing demand for coating-associated commodities. Due to robust demand of coating-involved commodities, the secondary environment influence and total negative health impact would not improve significantly even the low-VOCs coated coatings accounting for 55% of total consumed coatings in 2030. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North China Plain including Beijing is frequently suffering from serious haze days in recent years. To best recognize the influence of haze days on regional air quality, the pollution levels of deleterious gases of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene and o-xylene) and carbonyls (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone) under haze and non-haze days were contrastively investigated during the period of September 2008–August 2010 in Beijing. In comparison with non-haze days, remarkable enhancement of BTEX and the carbonyls under haze days in winter was found, with enhancement factors of 1.9–5.7 for BTEX and of 1.5–4.2 for the carbonyls. Whereas the enhancement factors for both BTEX (1.0–3.0) and the carbonyls (1.2–1.9) under haze days in summer were relatively small. The ratios of each BTEX to CO under both haze days and non-haze days exhibited a minimal value in the afternoon, whereas maximal values for the ratios of the carbonyls to CO were usually found in the afternoon. The ratios of each BTEX to CO were extremely greater under haze days than those under non-haze days in winter, but no evident difference was found in summer. The ratios of each carbonyl under both haze days and non-haze days in summer were at least a factor of 2 greater than those in winter and only enhancement of the ratios under haze days was found in winter. The remarkably higher ratios of ethylbenzene to m,p-xylene under haze days than non-haze days in both winter and summer revealed high reactivity of photochemical reactions initiated by OH radicals under haze days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies on urbanization and carbon emissions are mostly based on a single pathway and lack the support of a theoretical framework. This study innovatively integrates Grossman's perspective of environmental effects analysis to develop a new framework to interpret the mechanism of multidimensional urbanization (MU) and carbon emissions (CEs). We first explored the spatial effects of MUs and CEs in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) and then introduced the "population-land-economic" urbanization variables into the S-STIRPAT model to determine the impact mechanisms of each factor on CEs under different urbanization dimensions. The results show that the spatiotemporal development patterns of MUs and CEs overlap to some extent. The Shanghai-Nanjing line is a high-value area of urbanization with different dimensions, as some edge cities are in low-value areas. However, there are local differences in the different dimensions of urbanization, e.g., population urbanization in the southern area is in a high-value area. CEs show a core-edge structure of "high in the center and low in the north and south". All factors, except for population urbanization, affect CEs locally, and their spillover effects are all positive, except for energy intensity, which has a negative influence on CEs in neighboring regions. Land urbanization has the largest positive impact on CEs, with a total effect coefficient of 0.409; economic urbanization has a coefficient of 0.195, and population urbanization has a coefficient of only 0.070. The findings can help to maximize urbanization growth while minimizing harmful environmental externalities., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Urban construction land, as the main carrier of socioeconomic activities, is also a land type that is associated with large carbon emissions. This study uses statistical data of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR) from 2006 to 2020 to examine the mechanism of the intensive use of urban construction land (IUUCL) on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) from the perspective of urban land resource utilization. The study shows that the capital-intensive and technology-intensive use of urban construction land can significantly increase CEE, while increased labor and energy intensification inhibits CEE. In addition, there is regional heterogeneity in the effect of the IUUCL on CEE. The external control factor industrial structure has the most obvious inhibiting effect on the CEE of the Wuhan urban circle, the intensive use of energy has become the crucial constraint on the carbon emission reduction of the city cluster around Poyang Lake, and the intensive use of science and technology is the key factor in realizing the green and low-carbon development of the Chang-Zhu-Tan city cluster. This study innovatively constructs a theoretical framework of IUUCL versus CEE and conducts a heterogeneous study on the CEE of intensive use of construction land from the perspective of urban agglomerations. By providing a better understanding of the intrinsic influence mechanism of both these processes, this study provides a new perspective for reducing carbon emissions., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: To date, many studies have shown a link between siesta and cardiovascular events. Little is known regarding the connection between siesta and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) levels, even though baPWV can determine the degree of atherosclerosis and vascular stiffness. Thus, we examined the relationship between siesta time and baPWV in a cross-sectional study., Methods: Interviews, physical examinations, lab testing, and electron beam computed tomography were all part of the baseline evaluation for participants aged older than 35. Baseline data were compared for 3 different siesta habits: irregular or no siestas, daily short siestas (1 h or less), and daily long siestas (> 1 h). Utilizing logistic regression models and multivariate linear regression, the link between siesta time and baPWV was determined., Results: Among all 6566 participants, the different siesta groups had a significant difference of the degrees of AS (P < 0.001). The same outcome was true for both males (P < 0.001) and females (P < 0.001). Numerous cardiovascular risk variables and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis were positively correlated with daily extended siestas. Results from the fully adjusted model showed that long siestas (> 60 min, OR = 1.18, 95%CI: 1.06-1.31, P = 0.002) were linked to a more severe level of the baPWV. For age or gender stratification, we found significant differences between non-siesta and > 60 min siesta groups. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a positive connection between siesta duration and baPWV (β = 0.197, P = 0.038)., Conclusions: An elevated risk of atherosclerosis was shown to accompany prolonged siestas. These results need to be followed up on with prospective studies and additional lab work., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Ecological security assessment can effectively reflect the ecological status of a region and reveal its level of sustainable development. In this paper, an ecological security-oriented evaluation system was constructed, and the ecological security level of the Dongjiangyuan region from 2000 to 2020 was evaluated based on catastrophe theory and GIS. The results were as follows: (1) As shown in the land use and cover maps, by 2020, the forestland area had decreased the most, and the artificial surface area had increased the most. (2) The ecological security index of the Dongjiangyuan region showed a low trend in the artificial surface area and its surrounding areas. The quite low values of the ecological security index in 2000 and 2010 were improved in 2020 due to the increase in ecological services capacity. The increased vegetation cover from 2000 to 2020 promoted the improved ecological service capacity. (3) The rapid urbanization process in the Dongjiangyuan region resulted in a lower ecological sensitivity index value. Notably, the ecological sensitivity index of the study area had a slightly decreasing trend. (4) The spatial autocorrelation showed that the proportion of hot and cold spots from 2000 to 2020 decreased by 2.96% and 6.91%, respectively. This study can provide a scientific basis and decision-making guidance for ecological management in the Dongjiangyuan region in the future., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Carbon emissions and economic growth are two contradictions in urban development, and their decoupling is related to the sustainable development of cities. This paper took urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR), China, as the study area. The Kaya model, the Tapio decoupling model, and the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model were adopted to analyze the spatiotemporal differentiation of carbon emissions, the decoupling of economic activities, and driving factors. The results indicate that (1) carbon emissions increased by 66% in the study period, but the growth momentum was curbed after 2015. Low level and medium level areas continue to decrease, and relatively high level area gradually become dominant. (2) Spatially, carbon emissions are in a pattern of middle-hot and east-cold. Jiangxi is in the sub-cold and coldspot area, while the hotspot area is driven by the transformation from Wuhan's single-core to Wuhan and Changsha's dual-core. (3) Since 2010, most cities have been in a good decoupling state, and weak decoupling cities have risen from 35.5% in the initial period to 87.1% in 2010-2011, but the decoupling situation of industrial cities with more high-energy-consuming industries still rebounded slightly. (4) The economic level and energy intensity effect had the most significant impact on the economic decoupling of carbon emissions, whose absolute contribution rates were greater than 35%. Urbanization and economic level both play a positive role in promoting carbon emissions, and the energy intensity plays a negative role in retarding carbon emissions. The population effect was mainly manifested in carbon increase from 2006 to 2011, and 45.2% of the cities from 2011 to 2017 turned into carbon suppression. Finally, we suggest that decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth requires developing green urbanization and a decarbonized economy, optimizing the structure of energy consumption and guiding rational population flow., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

To achieve a win-win situation for both urbanization and carbon emissions reduction from a spatiotemporal perspective, we need to identify the salient links between urbanization and carbon emissions in different dimensions. Using 2008-2018 panel data on the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, this paper constructs a Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model based on four dimensions of urbanization: population, economy, land, and ecology. Additionally, it uses a whole group of variables for reference, constructs a Spatial Durbin model (SDM) to estimate the spatial effect, and empirically investigates the spatial dependence of carbon emissions and the influence of various driving factors. The results show that (1) in the temporal dimension, the historical carbon emissions of the study area continue to increase. However, the extent to which they are doing so is slowing, the number of low carbon emissions areas has significantly decreased, the number of medium carbon emissions areas have significantly increased, the number of high and relatively high carbon emissions areas are relatively stable, and energy intensity continues to decline. (2) In the spatial dimension, Shanghai, Suzhou, and their surrounding cities have always been carbon emissions hotspots, high and relatively high carbon emissions areas are mainly concentrated in these cities. Low carbon emissions areas and cold spots are mainly distributed in Anhui Province. Medium carbon emissions areas show a great spatial and temporal evolution and are distributed in all provinces. (3) In the four dimensions of urbanization, per capita GDP will not only affect regional carbon emissions but also have a spatial spillover effect. For every 1% increase in the economic factors, carbon emissions in neighboring regions will increase by 0.38-0.43%. Population, economic, and technological factors have significant positive effects on carbon emissions, and economic factor is the most important factor. (4) In different dimensions of urbanization, there are obvious heterogeneities in the impacts of different factors on carbon emissions. Among them, the elasticity coefficient of per capita GDP and energy intensity is the smallest among the dimension of land urbanization, and the elasticity coefficient of the total population is the smallest among the dimension of population urbanization. Therefore, when formulating carbon emissions reduction policies, it is necessary to fully consider the spatial spillover effects, determine the optimal population size threshold, advocate for a low-carbon lifestyle, promote clean technology, and realize information exchange and policy interaction across regions from the perspective of holistic governance., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Quantifying the driving effect of each factor on atmospheric secondary pollutants is crucial for pollution prevention. We aim to establish a simple and accessible method to identify ozone (O 3 ) and particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentration trends induced by emissions and meteorology. The method comprises five main steps, which involve matrix construction and mutual calculations, and the whole process is demonstrated and verified by employing long-term monitoring data. With regard to the case study, O 3 and PM 2.5 concentration variance between the target and base year are respectively -4.74 and 0.20 μg/m 3 under same meteorological conditions, among which the contribution of the emissions driver and meteorological driver are respectively -5.81 and 1.07 μg/m 3 for O 3 and respectively 0.55 and -0.35 μg/m 3 for PM 2.5 . Additionally, 84.45% of O 3 variance is attributable to the emissions driver in terms of relative importance, which is 52.88% for PM 2.5 . The meteorological driver is further separated into atmospheric secondary reaction and regional transport. The results reveal that ongoing prevention policy for O 3 is effective; however, it needs to be further optimized for PM 2.5 ., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Land use/cover change is the main driving force of urban expansion which influences human-environment interactions. Generally, the formation of urban heat islands (UHIs) can be referred to as a negative "by-product" of urbanization. In the context of rapid urbanization, the present paper aims to capture the landscape changes and three patterns of urban expansion (i.e., infill, extension, and leapfrog), and provide a better understanding of the formation of the surface urban heat island (SUHI) in Dongguan, China, during the past 20+ years. Urban land increased from 28.87 × 10 3 ha in 1994 to 78.89 × 10 3 ha in 2005 and 101.05 × 10 3 ha in 2015, with a compound annual urban growth rate of 9.57% (1994-2005) and 2.51% (2005-2015), respectively. Based on the mean land surface temperature difference (Δ mean LST) between urban land (UL) and green space (GS), the SUHI intensity (SUHII) increased from 1.46 °C in 1994 to 2.32 °C in 2005 and 3.83 °C in 2015 in Dongguan. Overall, the Δ mean LST of urban areas increased from 2.61 °C (1994-2005) to 4.78 °C (2005-2015). The Δ mean LST between the city center and its surrounding areas decreased from 1994 to 2015, and the Δ mean LST between the city center and the suburbs gradually increased, primarily in 2015. In particular, both dense urban and the infill pattern of urban expansion had high mean LSTs in Dongguan, thus having negative impacts on sustainable urban development. The limited green space and open land should be strictly controlled or prohibited for transformation in urban areas. Particularly in dense regions, green roofs, green areas, and urban renewal actions could be considered for mitigating the urban heat island effect.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has consistently been linked to ozone (O 3 ) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, and ongoing emission policies are primarily focusing on total VOCs without addressing the association between regulation measures and secondary pollution characteristic. For enhancing VOCs emission policy, we investigated potential formation of O 3 and SOA based on analyses of node-specific VOCs concentration and species distribution in solvent-consuming industry. Although aromatics were found to contribute most to O 3 and SOA formation averagely (2.57 ± 2.14 g O 3 /g VOCs, 1.91 ± 1.67 g SOA/g VOCs), however, large disparity concerning emission and secondary pollution profile were identified among different emission nodes which demonstrated that regulation policy should be formulated based on comprehensive pollution characteristic. Therefore, emission nodes were classified into four clusters through data normalization, formatting and classification process, including aromatics dominated (7 emission nodes), aromatics-alkene dominated (4 emission nodes), aromatics-alcohols dominated (4 emission nodes) and alcohols dominated (4 emission nodes). And different dominating VOCs species were further obtained in each cluster. Subsequently, focusing regulation measures of reducing O 3 and SOA for different emission source clusters were proposed to guide pollution prevention and enhance future VOCs emission policies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper uses both fiscal expenditure policy and fiscal revenue policy as input indicators and selects environmental pollution control results reflecting different forms and sources of pollution as output indicators. The efficiency of fiscal policies for environmental pollution control (EFPE) of 30 provincial-level administrative divisions in China from 2007 to 2017 is measured by adopting the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Then, the spatial effect of fiscal decentralization on EFPE is empirically analyzed by using the spatial lag model (SLM). The results show that EFPE values in China have been greatly improved overall since 2014. The change in technical efficiency (TE) is caused mainly by the change in pure technical efficiency (PTE). EFPE values have regional heterogeneity and convergence. The eastern region has clearly higher EFPE values than other regions. The growth rate of the low efficient region is greater than that of the high efficient region. Fiscal expenditure decentralization has a direct negative effect and spatial spillover effect on EFPE values, while fiscal revenue decentralization has a non-significant effect. Based on these results, this paper proposes the following policy implications: increasing the level of fiscal expenditure of environmental pollution control and improving the central transfer payment system for environmental protection; reforming the government performance assessment system and innovating the conditions of government expenditure on environmental pollution control; and promoting horizontal fiscal cooperation in cross-regional environmental governance., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

This paper examines the ecosystem service values of Jiangxi province, China using the benefit transfer approach. The land cover dynamics results show that cropland and forest are the main land cover types in Jiangxi province. Urban land drastically increased after 2000, expanding from 846.54 km 2 in 2000 to 2317.48 km 2 in 2015. Forest and water obviously decreased across the study periods. Consequently, the total ecosystem service values decreased from 37.91 × 10 10 Yuan in 1995 to 35.27 × 10 10 Yuan in 2015. The values showed a declining trend, especially during the 1995-2000 period. The largest declines in ecosystem service values were caused by decreases in forest and water cover. Regulating services experienced the largest declines in ecosystem services value. Moreover, water supply showed the largest decline in ecosystem service value between 1995 and 2015. Not surprisingly, food production increased in the whole period, especially in the 1995-2000 period. Forest and cropland played the most important roles in the total ecosystem service values of Jiangxi province. We then discussed the relationship among ecosystem services based on the ecosystem service trade-off degree. The results show that the dominant relationship among ecosystem services in Jiangxi province was synergy; thus synergy mostly occurred in all ecosystem services except for food production from 1995 to 2015. However, during the 1995-2000 period, trade-offs mainly existed in both food production and waste treatment. The proportion of synergy greatly increased in the 2000-2015 period, and the synergistic relationship between waste treatment and other ecosystem services increased. However, the trade-off relationship between food production and other ecosystem services still has not improved, which should be concerned in the future. Changes in the percentage share of cropland showed a declining trend; thus, the potential risk of cropland loss should be monitored.

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare heterogeneous group of primary breast malignancies, with low hormone receptor expression and poor outcomes. To date, no prognostic markers for this tumor have been validated. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics, the response to various therapeutic regimens and the prognosis of MBCs in a large cohort of patients from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital in China. Ninety cases of MBCs diagnosed in our hospital between January 2000 and September 2014 were retrieved from the archives. In general, MBCs presented with larger size, a lower rate of lymph node metastasis, and demonstrated more frequent local recurrence/distant metastasis than 1,090 stage-matched cases of invasive carcinoma of no specific type (IDC-NST), independent of the status of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expressions. The five-year disease-free survival (DFS) of MBC was significantly worse than IDC-NST. Using univariate analysis, lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage at diagnosis, high tumor proliferation rate assessed by Ki-67 labeling, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression/gene amplification were associated significantly with reduced DFS, while decreased OS was associated significantly with lymph node metastasis and EGFR overexpression/gene amplification. With multivariate analysis, lymph node status was an independent predictor for DFS, and lymph node status and EGFR overexpression/gene amplification were independent predictors for OS. Histologic subtyping and molecular subgrouping of MBCs were not significant factors in prognosis. We also found that MBCs were insensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, routine chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. This study indicates that MBC is an aggressive type of breast cancer with poor prognosis, and that identification and optimization of an effective comprehensive therapeutic regimen is needed.