Search Results (21,312)

Agricultural new quality productive forces are an important driving force for the transformation of China’s agricultural economy and the realization of sustainable development. This study proposes a novel channel to verify the negative effects of climate risk on agricultural new quality productive forces based on the empirical evidence of 31 provinces in China from 2012 to 2022. Specifically, baseline regression results indicate that a 10% increase in climate risk leads to a 1.18% decrease in agricultural new quality productive forces. Moreover, mechanism tests indicate that climate risk negatively affects agricultural new quality productive forces mainly through increasing the severity of natural disasters. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that variances in agricultural digital economy levels, government investment in environmental protections, and the depth of agricultural insurance coverage endowments result in substantial discrepancies in the effects of climate risk on agricultural new quality productive forces. Finally, this study finds that the impact of climate risk varies across provinces with different regional locations and geographical conditions. This study provides useful insights for coping with climate risk and promoting the high-quality development of agricultural new quality productive forces. Full article

The integration of gamification into digital learning environments is reshaping educational models, advancing towards more adaptive and personalized teaching evolution. However, within large Chinese corpora, the transition mechanism from passive participation to adaptive gamified learning remains underexplored in a systematic manner. This study fills this gap by utilizing LDA topic modeling and sentiment analysis techniques to delve into user comment data on the Bilibili platform. The results extract five major themes, which include multilingual task-driven learning, early-age programming thinking cultivation, modular English competency certification, cross-domain cognitive integration and psychological safety, as well as ubiquitous intelligent educational environments. The analysis reveals that most themes exhibit highly positive emotions, particularly in applications for early childhood education, while learning models that involve certification mechanisms and technological dependencies tend to provoke emotional fluctuations. Nevertheless, learners still experience certain challenges and pressures when faced with frequent cognitive tasks. In an innovative manner, this study proposes a theoretical framework based on Self-Determination Theory and Connectivism to analyze how motivation satisfaction drives cognitive restructuring, thereby facilitating the process of adaptive learning. This model demonstrates the evolutionary logic of learners’ cross-disciplinary knowledge integration and metacognitive strategy optimization, providing empirical support for the gamification learning transformation mechanism in China’s digital education sector and extending the research framework for personalized teaching and self-regulation in educational technology. Full article

With the advancement of refined urban governance and the construction of high-quality public spaces, street furniture design and usage face multiple challenges, including insufficient public participation and a neglect of actual user experience. These issues highlight the urgent need to establish a scientifically grounded user evaluation framework to inform design practices. This study focuses on Yangzhou Ecological Science and Technology New Town and, drawing on field investigation, grounded theory, and the Delphi method, develops a street furniture design evaluation framework encompassing three core dimensions: planning and configuration, environmental coordination, and operational management. Building on this framework, the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method are employed to conduct a holistic assessment of the street furniture and to identify critical design deficiencies. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework effectively identifies the strengths and weaknesses of street furniture and provides robust support for formulating targeted optimization strategies. The results reveal significant variations in the perceived importance of design factors among different user groups. Residents primarily emphasize practicality and convenience in daily use. Tourists value aesthetic expression and cultural resonance, whereas government officials focus on construction standardization and maintenance efficiency. In terms of satisfaction, all three groups reported relatively low scores, with the ranking as follows: “planning and configuration” > “management and operations” > “environmental coordination.” Based on these findings, the study proposes targeted design guidelines for future practice. The evaluation framework has been adopted by local authorities, incorporated into official street furniture design guidelines, and implemented in pilot projects—demonstrating its practical applicability and value. This research contributes to the theoretical advancement of street furniture design and provides empirical and methodological support for applications in other emerging urban areas and new town developments. Full article

Visual attractiveness perception—an individual’s capacity to recognise and evaluate the visual appeal of urban scene safety—has direct implications for well-being, economic vitality, and social cohesion. However, most empirical studies rely on single-source metrics or algorithm-centric pipelines that under-represent human perception. Addressing this gap, we introduce a fully reproducible, multimodal framework that measures and models this domain-specific facet of human intelligence by coupling Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4o (GPT-4o) with 1000 Street View images. The pipeline first elicits pairwise aesthetic judgements from GPT-4o, converts them into a latent attractiveness scale via Thurstone’s law of comparative judgement, and then validates the scale against 1.17 M crowdsourced ratings from MIT’s Place Pulse 2.0 benchmark (Spearman ρ = 0.76, p < 0.001). Compared with a Siamese CNN baseline (ρ = 0.60), GPT-4o yields both higher criterion validity and an 88% reduction in inference time, underscoring its superior capacity to approximate human evaluative reasoning. In this study, we introduce a standardised and reproducible streetscape evaluation pipeline using GPT-4o. We then combine the resulting attractiveness scores with network-based accessibility modelling to generate a “aesthetic–accessibility map” of urban central districts in Chongqing, China. Cluster analysis reveals four statistically distinct street types—Iconic Core, Liveable Rings, Transit-Rich but Bland, and Peripheral Low-Appeal—providing actionable insights for landscape design, urban governance, and tourism planning. Full article

In recent years, China’s rapid economic growth and urbanization have heightened the conflict between economic development and resource sustainability, leading to severe urban water challenges, including scarcity and environmental degradation. This study proposes a quantitative model that integrates the “Human-Water-City” (HWC) feedback mechanisms to assess and measure urban comprehensive water resources and environmental carrying capacity (CWRECC), aimed at addressing urban water sustainability challenges. The CWRECC integrates water quantity and quality dimensions following the principles of the “Cannikin Law”—selecting the lower envelope between water resources and water environment carrying capacities, which emphasizes the importance of weaknesses in enhancing the overall system. The maximum sustainable population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under the CWRECC constraints can be obtained using this quantitative method. A case study was conducted in Wuhan City. The results show that Wuhan has abundant water resources. From 2013 to 2020, if only considering the water quantity aspect, the water resources carrying capacity could support a population ranging from 22.63 to 61.17 million and a GDP between 1946.6 and 7988.9 billion yuan, maintaining a sustainable state throughout the period. However, when considering both water quantity and quality, the CWRECC revealed an overloaded state in 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019, primarily attributable to significant water environmental issues. In 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019, the quantified CWRECC could sustain populations of 9.88 million, 10.01 million, 10.33 million, and 10.57 million people, and support a GDP of 849.5 billion, 976.5 billion, 1402.9 billion, and 1538.9 billion yuan, respectively. Both the population and GDP capacities fell short of the actual recorded values for those years. The findings demonstrate that Wuhan needs to make greater efforts in water environmental protection to sustain the harmonious development within the HWC. This empirical study highlights the model’s potential to provide a scientific foundation for urban water resources management and environmental protection strategies. Full article

The growing importance of local governments, alongside the swift development of their bond markets, provides a novel framework for examining the coordination of monetary and local government fiscal policies in China. This investigation contributes a new viewpoint on local fiscal sustainability by emphasizing the role of policy coordination. Empirical evidence derived from regression models and proxy structural vector autoregression (Proxy SVAR) analyses conducted in this study substantiates the presence of coordination between monetary and local government fiscal policies in China; nevertheless, such coordination may pose risks to long-term local fiscal sustainability. Drawing on empirical data, this study utilizes a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model that integrates key features characteristic of the Chinese economy to investigate the coordination of monetary and local government fiscal policies, as well as the effects of this coordination on local fiscal sustainability. The results derived from the baseline model indicate that although monetary and local fiscal policies in China are coordinated, such coordination facilitates the accumulation of local government debt, which ultimately compromises long-term local fiscal sustainability. Furthermore, the baseline model is extended and examined through multiple analytical approaches. When local government competition is introduced, monetary policy and local government fiscal policy become disconnected, which undermines local fiscal sustainability. Conversely, when local government cooperation is introduced, monetary policy and local government fiscal policy become more coordinated, which in turn improves local fiscal sustainability. Moreover, a higher steady-state debt level among local governments promotes greater coordination between monetary and fiscal policies, resulting in stronger fiscal sustainability. However, the imposition of debt constraints on local governments diminishes this coordination and adversely affects local fiscal sustainability. Additionally, in the absence of local financial friction, monetary and local fiscal policies exhibit increased coordination; however, this may potentially undermine long-term local fiscal sustainability. It is therefore imperative for the central government of China to prioritize the harmonization of monetary and local fiscal policies and to consider their implications for local fiscal sustainability, while simultaneously encouraging intergovernmental cooperation and the establishment of an integrated large-scale market. Full article

In the last decades, small satellites such as CubeSats and PocketQubes have become popular platforms for scientific and applied missions in low Earth orbit (LEO). However, prolonged exposure to atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, and thermal cycling in LEO leads to gradual degradation of onboard solar panels, reducing mission lifetime and performance. This study addresses the need to quantify and compare the degradation behavior of different solar cell technologies and protective coatings used in nanosatellites and pico-satellites. The aim is to evaluate the in-orbit performance of monocrystalline silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), triple-junction (TJ) structures, and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) cells under varying orbital and satellite parameters. Telemetry data from recent small satellite missions launched after 2020, combined with numerical modeling in GNU Octave, were used to assess degradation trends. The models were validated using empirical mission data, and statistical goodness-of-fit metrics (RMSE, R²) were applied to evaluate linear and exponential degradation patterns. Results show that TJ cells exhibit the highest resistance to LEO-induced degradation, while Si-based panels experience more pronounced power loss, especially in orbits below 500 km. Furthermore, smaller satellites (<10 kg) display higher degradation rates due to lower thermal inertia and limited shielding. These findings provide practical guidance for the selection of solar cell technologies, anti-degradation coatings, and protective strategies for long-duration CubeSat missions in diverse LEO environments. Full article

Exhibition design in museum environments serves as a vital mechanism for enhancing cultural engagement, enriching visitor experience, and promoting heritage preservation. Despite the growing number of museums, improvements in exhibition quality remain limited. In this context, understanding exhibition visual content becomes fundamental to shaping visitor experiences in cultural heritage settings, as it directly influences how individuals perceive, interpret, and engage with displayed information. However, due to individual differences in cognitive processing, standardized visualization strategies may not effectively support all users, potentially resulting in unequal levels of knowledge acquisition and engagement. This study presents a quasi-experimental eye-tracking investigation examining how visualizer–verbalizer (V–V) cognitive styles influence content comprehension in a historical museum context. Participants were classified as visualizers or verbalizers via standardized questionnaires and explored six artifacts displayed through varying information modalities while their eye movements—including fixation durations and transition patterns—were recorded to assess visual processing behavior. The results revealed that participants’ comprehension performance was strongly associated with their visual attention patterns, which differed systematically between visualizers and verbalizers. These differences reflect distinct visual exploration strategies, with cognitive style influencing how individuals allocate attention and process multimodal exhibition content. Eye movement data indicated that visualizers engaged in broader cross-modal integration, whereas verbalizers exhibited more linear, text-oriented strategies. The findings provide empirical evidence for the role of cognitive style in shaping visual behavior and interpretive outcomes in museum environments, underscoring the need for cognitively adaptive exhibition design. Full article

Background/Objectives: With rapid population aging, concerns about cognitive health—especially mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage of dementia—are growing. Although MCI prevalence is rising, limited empirical evidence exists on changes in healthcare expenditures associated with its diagnosis. This study aimed to assess shifts in medical spending before and after MCI diagnosis and to identify factors influencing healthcare costs among Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the National Health Insurance Service–National Health Information Database (NHIS–NHID) from 2020 to 2022. This study analyzed 4162 Korean adults aged ≤84 who were newly diagnosed with MCI in 2021. Annual healthcare expenditures were tracked from 2020 to 2022. Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were employed to examine changes over time, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, healthcare utilization, and long-term care insurance (LTCI) enrollment. Results: The average annual healthcare expenditure increased from 74,767 KRW before diagnosis to 87,902 KRW after diagnosis, reflecting a 12.51% rise. Regression analysis showed a significant decrease in costs in the year prior to diagnosis (β = −0.117, p < 0.01) and an increase in the year following diagnosis (β = 0.061, p < 0.01). Higher expenditures were associated with greater outpatient visits (β = 0.385, p < 0.01), longer hospital stays (β = 0.039, p < 0.01), LTCI enrollment (non-graded: β = 0.035, p = 0.02; graded: β = 0.027, p = 0.04) and higher comorbidity levels (CCI = 2: β = 0.088, p < 0.01, CCI ≥ 3: β = 0.192, p < 0.01). Conversely, older age (β = −0.003, p = 0.02) and female sex (β = −0.093, p < 0.01) were associated with lower costs. Sex-stratified analyses revealed consistent cost trends but different predictors for male and female patients. Conclusions: Healthcare expenditures rise significantly after MCI diagnosis. Early identification and interventions tailored to patient characteristics—such as age, sex, and comorbidity status—may help manage future costs and support equitable care for older adults. Full article

Background: Viral–bacterial co-infections can amplify disease severity through complex biological mechanisms. Mathematical models are critical tools for understanding these threats, but it is unclear how well they capture the underlying biology. This systematic review addresses a central question: to what extent does the current generation of models mechanistically represent co-infections, or do the mathematical assumptions underlying these models adequately represent the known biological mechanisms? Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically reviewed the literature on mechanistic models of human virus–bacteria co-infections. A systematic search of articles on the scientific literature repositories PubMed, Scopus, and Dimensions was conducted and data on study objectives, model structure, assumptions about biological interactions (e.g., susceptibility, mortality), control measures (if evaluated), and the empirical sources used for key parameters were extracted. Results: We identified 72 studies for inclusion in this analysis. The reviewed models are consistently built on the established premise that co-infection alters disease severity and host susceptibility. However, we found they incorporate these dynamics primarily through high-level mathematical shortcuts, such as applying static “multiplicative factors” to transmission or progression rates. Our quantitative analysis also revealed questionable approaches; for example, 79% (57) of these studies relied on non-empirical sources (assumed or borrowed values) for parameter values including interaction parameters (e.g., increased susceptibility to a secondary pathogen following primary infection, or elevated mortality rates in co-infected individuals). Conclusions: An apparently unjustified practice exists in co-infection modeling, where complex biological processes are simplified to fixed numerical assumptions, often without empirical support. This practice limits the predictive reliability of current models. We identify an urgent need for data-driven parameterization and interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge the gap between biological complexity and modeling practice, thereby enhancing the public health relevance of co-infection modeling. Full article

Mine roof water inrush represents a prevalent hazard in mining operations, characterized by its concealed onset, abrupt occurrence, and high destructiveness. Since mine water inrush is controlled by multiple factors, rigorous risk assessment in hydrogeologically complex coal mines is critically important for operational safety. This study focuses on the roof water inrush hazard in coal seams of the Banji coal mine, China. The conventional water-conducting fracture zone height estimation formula was calibrated through comparative analysis of empirical models and analogous field measurements. Eight principal controlling factors were systematically selected, with subjective and objective weights assigned using AHP and EWM, respectively. Game theory was subsequently implemented to compute optimal combined weights. Based on this, the vulnerability index model and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model were constructed to assess the roof water inrush risk in the coal seams. The risk in the study area was classified into five levels: safe zone, relatively safe zone, transition zone, relatively hazardous zone, and hazardous zone. A zoning map of water inrush risk was generated using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The results show that the safe zone is located in the western part of the study area, while the hazardous and relatively hazardous zones are situated in the eastern part. Among the two models, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model aligns more closely with actual engineering practices and demonstrates better predictive performance. It provides a reliable evaluation and prediction model for addressing roof water hazards in the Banji coal seam. Full article

The Mass Ratio Hypothesis states that the growth dynamics of dominant species influence forest species diversity by regulating the niches of subordinate and transient species. However, this prediction has not yet been empirical confirmed in subtropical forests over long term. Using data from 1995 to 2017, we examined how dominant tree species regulate species evenness and richness by analyzing their height and diameter growth in three clear-cut forests (Castanopsis carlesii (Hemsl.) Hayata, Castanopsis fissa (Champ. ex Benth.) Rehder & E. H. Wilson, and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. stands), combined with the mean value of species niche breadth (measures the diversity of resources a species utilizes) across the community, including separate analyzes for subordinate (persistently coexisting with dominants species) and transient species (temporarily occurring species). Our results showed that an increase in height and diameter of dominant species had a negative effect on niche breadth of subordinate species, which in turn reduced species evenness (p < 0.01) but showed no significant relationship with species richness (p ≥ 0.05). Growth dynamics of dominants had no significant influence on the niche breadth of transient species. The early-fast growing dominant C. lanceolata significantly restricted the niche breadth of subordinate species (1.16 ± 0.23), resulting in relatively low evenness (0.49 ± 0.11). Conversely, the late-fast growing dominant C. carlesii promoted niche expansion (6.62 ± 1.20), resulting in higher evenness (0.81 ± 0.02). C. fissa -dominated strands with intermediate growth increments, exhibited moderate species evenness. These findings provide long-term empirical support for the Mass Ratio Hypothesis by demonstrating that growths of dominant species modulate niche partitioning in subordinates and thereby shape species diversity in subtropical forest communities. Full article

Primary school students, as the main users of classrooms, are directly affected by the lighting environment, which not only affects their visual comfort but also their cognitive performance. This study investigated the effects of different correlated colour temperature (CCT) levels in classroom lighting on the cognitive performance of primary school students based on a multidimensional evaluation combining physiological signals (EEG and EDA) and subjective assessment. In this study, 53 subjects aged 10–13 years old from a primary school in Anshan City were used in a controlled experiment under five CCT conditions (3000 K, 4000 K, 5000 K, 6000 K, and 7000 K) at a constant illumination level of 500 lx. EEG and skin conductance (SC) signals were collected and subjective perceptions of visual comfort and fatigue were assessed while cognitive tasks were carried out. The results showed that students performed best cognitively at a colour temperature of 4000 K, with the lowest EEG absolute power (AP) (p < 0.01) and highest comfort (p < 0.05). Females were more sensitive to colour temperature changes and showed better cognitive performance in cooler colour temperature conditions, while male students performed better in warmer light conditions (p < 0.01). The above findings suggest that optimising the CCT of classroom lighting enhances students’ cognitive functioning and comfort, providing empirical support for lighting design guidelines in educational environments. Full article

Government debt can potentially enhance high-quality economic development, yet its effects and risks diverge substantially under the interplay of scale economies and diseconomies. Against the backdrop of the 20th CPC Central Committee’s Third Plenary Session, which emphasized coordinated development-security integration and local debt risk resolution, this study investigates the debt-development nexus through the lens of dual-scale economies in explicit/implicit local government debt. We innovatively incorporate resource allocation efficiency and investment levels as mediating factors. Empirical results demonstrate the following: (1) An inverted U-shaped relationship between local debt scale and economic development quality during two debt rectification periods, with implicit debt exhibiting a more pronounced curvilinear pattern; (2) Both resource allocation efficiency and investment levels significantly moderate the scale economies of explicit/implicit debt, yet paradoxically constrain development quality. Key obstacles include short-term adjustment costs, income disparity, and innovation suppression. Notably, while government debt currently operates within scale economies, implicit debt possesses greater borrowing capacity than explicit debt. Debt-driven economies of scale exhibit significant regional heterogeneity. In coastal areas, these effects are more sustainable, whereas in inland areas it is relatively weak. Policy implications suggest the following: (1) Recognizing debt’s nonlinear developmental impacts; (2) Optimizing resource allocation to improve investment quality; (3) Clarifying central-local fiscal responsibility demarcation; (4) A regionally differentiated collaborative strategy is needed for coordinating debt, investment, and resource allocation. Full article

China, facing severe saline–alkali land degradation, is grappling with the paradox of technically adequate but systemically deficient land consolidation. In response to the existing evaluation system’s over-reliance on physicochemical indicators and neglect of socioeconomic value, this study proposes the use of the Optimal Land Use Value (OLV) to construct a comprehensive benefit evaluation indicator system for saline–alkali land consolidation that encompasses ecosystem resilience, supply–demand balancing, and common prosperity. Considering a case project implemented from 2019 to 2022 in the Western Songnen Plain of China—one of the world’s most severely affected soda saline–alkali regions—this study combines the land use transition matrix with a comprehensive evaluation model to systematically assess the effectiveness and sustainability of land consolidation. The results reveal systemic deficiencies: within ecological spaces, short-term desalination succeeds but pH and organic matter improvements remain inadequate, while ecosystem vulnerability increases due to climate fluctuations and grassland conversion. In production spaces, cropland expansion and saline land reduction are effective, but water resource management proves unsustainable. Living spaces show improved infrastructure and income but face threats due to economic simplification and intergenerational unsustainability. For the investigated case, recommendations include shifting from technical restoration to systemic governance via three strategies: (1) biological–engineering synergy employing green manure to enhance soil microbial activity; (2) hydrological balancing through groundwater quotas and rainwater utilization; (3) specialty industry development for rural economic diversification. This study contributes empirical evidence on the conversion of saline–alkali land, as well as an evaluation framework of wider relevance for developing countries combating land degradation and pursuing rural revitalization. Full article