Cranial bone thickness in non-adults from the Zaghunluq Cemetery (650150 BCE) in the Iron Age Western Regions, Northwestern China.

This article first describes the development of green finance in the western region in china, and then discusses the main problems in the current development of green finance in the western region in china. The study found that the western green finance has problems such as lack of predictability, insufficient motivation, insufficient talents, standards to be improved, and insufficient innovation. Finally, it puts forward relevant countermeasures to promote the development of green finance in the western region in china.

The paper reviews the principles of Policy Network Theory, which gives some implications for the research on Small and Medium Enterprises' (SMEs') Policy of Western Region in China. Focusing on the posed developing bottlenecks of SMEs in Western Region of China, the paper tries to expose the beneficial relationships among related policy stakeholders in the Supportive Policy Network, which includes western local governments, banking system, social service organizations and SMEs. Throughout the analyses of SMEs' roles, existed problems and relevant polices of SMEs in Western Region of China, it digs out there is of a necessity to establish a supportive policy network for solving the problems. In the part of establishing supportive policy network for SMEs in western region of China, a theoretical model and supplementation with concrete realizing path are proposed, which aims at perfecting supportive policy system for SMEs in Western Region of China.

Reduction of greenhouse gas emission levels in China is of great importance, because of their significant growth. Development of renewable energy sources is a key to the sustainable development of China while pursuing the low GHG emissions goals. In the paper, we present an overview of the development in the renewable energy sources (RES) in the Western Region of China (WRC). We analyze the abundant renewable energy resources in WRC with different energy specifications. We focus on China's WRC as the most important region for development of renewable energy in the future years. Due to its diversity in RES sources and different RES support initiatives, Western Region could serve as a testing ground for wider application of a uniform RES support policy in China. We analyze two cases of Chinese experience with RES support policy based on Tibet and Sichuan provinces located in West Region of China. We identify various barriers and success factors to promote RES development in WRC. We also review the current policy mechanisms, especially investment- or generation- based price-driven and capacity-driven mechanisms, ranging from investment incentives for the development of renewable energy projects, feed-in tariffs, production tax incentives, tendering systems, and quota obligations based on tradable green certificates. Based on European Union experience, we propose policy measures to stimulate RES development in WRC and present some instruments for its implementation.

According to the "brain reserve hypothesis," a larger premorbid brain protects against the development of dementia. The aim of this study was to reveal a possible pathophysiology of brain degenerative diseases by studying intracranial bone lesions that act to reduce intracranial volume (ICV), such as hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI). Three hundred and eighty postmenopausal females (aged 60+) who had undergone a head computerized tomography scan (Brilliance 64, Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH) at the Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, before the study were included. The subjects were divided into four groups according to their degree of HFI. Six measurements of the skull and brain were taken. As HFI becomes more severe, the cranial bone thickness and cranial bone volume increase. This process is accompanied by a decrease in ICV. In none of the HFI groups studied there was a significant association between ICV and cranial bone thickness. The inter-relationships between the various thickness parameters are not disturbed by the degree of HFI. HFI is accompanied by an increase in thickness of all calvarial bones and reduced ICV. In addition, the thickening process initiated by HFI is synchronized among the calvarial bones. Presence of HFI suggests a decrease in brain volume and has a major clinical significance as it may indicate the beginning of degenerative processes of the brain. In addition, as females age, their skulls tend to develop more robust characteristics.

Since China gained the membership into WTO, the huge market potentiality and the improved investment environment combined together contributed significantly to the economic development of China. Yet FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) is not allotted equally in different regions of China. Compared with the inward FDI in the eastern and mid regions of China, the western region has attracted less FDI. FDI is fuelling much of the rapid economic leap of the developed regions of China and the significant inequity grow further, for the reason that these inflows of investment in western regions are, however, limited in the total volume and concentrated both by country of origin, industries and regions. Taking Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as an example, the author concludes that the FDI policies of western region are no longer producing optimal results. The government should formulate corresponding measures to attract FDI inflows, meanwhile adjust the regional structure of FDI so as to further spur the economy development.

BackgroundFor patients with chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis in less developed western regions in China, due to constraints of local economic conditions, the choice of treatment measures is often limited. However if patients recieved valid management and effective treatment, they were able to maintain their health and benign prognosis.Case presentationThis study narrates the long-term treatment and careful follow-up of a patient with chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis in a less developed western region in China, and analyzes the prognosis of the disease and countermeasures.ConclusionsThis would partly reflect the development of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B and multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment for cirrhosis-related complications in remote region with limited resources in the past 20 years.

To study the status of smoking, passive smoking and quitting smoking in rural areas of the middle and western regions in China, and to develop strategies for improvement. A total of 5486 residents aged 15 to 69 years in 84 villages of the 16 counties in Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi and Xinjiang were selected through a stratified multistage cluster random sampling method to collect information through questionnaires. Data on the initiate age of smoking, and rates on smoking, passive smoking, quitting smoking as well as related knowledge were used as nutritional indicators. The overall smoking rate was 20.9%, with 44.8% in males and 2.0% higher than seen in females. The rate of smoking in Han nationality was higher than that in other minorities. There were significant differences seen in genders and nationalities as well the level of education received, in the rates of smoking. Smokers started to smoke at the age of 21.3 ± 5.6 with males earlier than females. The rate of passive smoking was 37.8%, with males as 31.9%, and females as 40.4%, respectively. The rate of quitting smoking appeared as 1.9%. The status of smoking in the rural areas of middle and western regions in China faced challenges, with relatively low rate of quitting smoking. Relevant strategies need to be developed accordingly.

Rural financial system reform is a key area of focus for the development of the “countryside, agriculture and farmers” problem in China. According to some surveys, Western regions in China have achieved outstanding results in speeding up the innovation of rural financial institutions, financial systems and products. In the process, good experiences have been summarized, and the development of rural economy has been promoted. At the same time, the narrow scope of financial business in the countryside, high risk of agricultural loans, difficulties in mortgage loan securities, unsound credit system and other factors have also restricted the development of rural finance. Therefore, in the process of rural financial system reform in western regions in China, it is still necessary to broaden the scope of financial services, intensify the innovation of product, develop agricultural insurance and sound risk control mechanisms, promote rural financial ecological environment, and to improve the external areas such as a financial supervision system to seek new breakthroughs.KeywordsWestern regions in ChinaRural financial systemRural financial reform

The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of conventional drug susceptibility testing (DST) among the tuberculosis (TB)-specialized hospitals in China. A total of 40 hospitals participated in the external quality assurance program for assessment of DST results from each hospital. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DST were analyzed. The mean accuracy was 96.5% for isoniazid (INH), 95.8% for rifampin (RIF), 97.0% for ethambutol (EMB), 96.8% for ofloxacin (OFX), 97.1% for kanamycin (KAN), 96.1% for amikacin (AMK), and 93.6% for capreomycin (CAP), respectively. Of the 40 participating laboratories, 4 (10.0%) and 6 (15%) failed to achieve 90% accuracy for INH and RIF, respectively. In addition, six hospitals (15%) were confirmed as certified to provide reliable DST results for both first-line and second-line drugs. The certified proportion for DST dropped from 73.9% in the non-western region to 59.2% in the western region. The significant difference was observed in the certified proportion for first-line drugs between the western and non-western region (P = 0.013). Our results demonstrate that the quality of phenotypical DST is frequently unsatisfactory, with approximately one-third of participated laboratories failing to produce certified phenotypical DST results. In addition, the uncertified laboratories majorly come from the western region in China.

Regional Environmental Performance Evaluation: A Case of Western Regions in China

Covering a vast territory, the Chinese economy shows considerable diversity across different regions. Following the central Chinese government’s implementation of its ‘economic reform and open door’ policy, the South Coast and East Coast regions of China have experienced more development than the central and western regions. In 2002, the eastern, central and western regions of China showed per capita GDP of 13,335 yuan, 6,978 yuan and 5,388 yuan, respectively. By contrast, Shanghai’s per capita GDP is the highest in China, at 33,285 yuan — 10 times the level of the lowest-income region in China, Guizhou. The disparities between the regional economies of China are not only illustrated by the different levels of economic development, but are also reflected in differences in natural resources, industrial structure, human resources, and so on. With regard to natural resource distribution, coal, oil, natural gas, metal ore and agricultural resources are mainly distributed throughout the central and western regions of China, while the resources of the sea are obviously concentrated in the coastal areas, which are also dominated by a number of manufacturing industries. This has produced a particular spatial linkage in the Chinese economy: coal, oil, natural gas, metal ore and agricultural resources flow from the central and western regions to the coastal region, while manufactured products flow from the coastal region to the central and western regions. This will focus on the linkage between the regions in China at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and will use an Input-Output analysis to carry this out.KeywordsEast CoastSouth CoastNorth CoastNortheast RegionIntermediate InputThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

China as the world’s largest new energy market, new energy in China’s application of the status quo has attracted much attention. This paper introduces several new energy application directions and their advantages and disadvantages, and understands the role of new energy for power generation in China, taking new energy power generation as the main direction and focusing on the application of new energy in the western region of China. The method of field investigation and data analysis is used to explore in depth the development status and problems of new energy power generation in the western region. According to the survey, the western region of China is rich in energy. However, the application of new energy power generation technology in the western region still faces many challenges due to the geographical environment and technical limitations. This paper compares the power generation data of several regions in the west, draws out the problems of new energy development in the western region of China, and proposes relative solutions. This paper aims to comprehensively understand the current situation of new energy power generation in the western region of China, and provide a reference basis for the government as well as the relevant departments.

Promoting green development and promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature are strategic tasks for the construction of ecological civilization in China in the new era. Currently, the growing environmental governance investment in China has not performed well, and the low efficiency of environmental governance has become the main problem facing the development of ecological civilization in China. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to scientifically measure the efficiency of environmental governance and improve the efficiency of environmental governance input factors to achieve green development and overcome the difficulties in the construction of ecological civilization. In this study, an improved three-stage SBM model and cloud model combined with the Theory of production, life, and ecology were used to measure the environmental governance efficiency of 27 provinces in China from 2003 to 2020 and conduct in-depth analysis and evaluation. The results show that: First, the influence of random error factors and external environmental conditions on the efficiency of rural domestic sewage treatment in China is significant. Their existence will underestimate the environmental governance efficiency in the central and western regions of China and overestimate the environmental governance efficiency in the eastern regions of China, except for Hainan Province. Second, after excluding the influence of random errors and external environment conditions, the adjusted efficiency mean value of the central and western regions significantly increases, while the environmental governance efficiency of most provinces in the eastern region, except for Hainan Province, decreases significantly. Third, the overall environmental governance efficiency of the 27 provinces in China still presents a situation wherein the western region is ranked first in efficiency, the eastern region ranks second, and the central region ranks third. The environmental governance efficiency of the 27 provinces shows a “large at both ends, small in the middle” and “low efficiency in the eastern and central regions, and instability in the western region” state, and there is a large difference in the degree of environmental governance efficiency among the various provinces. In this regard, for the eastern and central regions, special attention should be paid to their government’s transformation of development thinking, placing greater emphasis on balanced and coordinated development between urbanization, industrialization, and the environment. As for the western region, due to its harsh environmental conditions, it attaches more importance to environmental governance. However, efforts should be made to strengthen its economic development to ensure sufficient provision of material conditions such as infrastructure and equipment required for environmental governance in order to achieve stable environmental governance efficiency in the western region. For the central region, both the economy and the environment need to be further strengthened.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence and case fatality rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among populations in urban and rural communities in eastern, central and western regions of China. Methods: The present study was based on the data of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE)-China cohort, which enrolled participants who had at least one follow-up visit and complete information on age and sex. Information on baseline demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, and prevention and treatment for CVD were collected. CVD and mortality events were documented using the standardized case report form of the PURE Global Study to assess the incidence and case fatality rate of CVD among populations in urban and rural communities in eastern, central and western China. Results: This study included a total of 47 262 community-dwelling participants (age: (51.1±9.6) years; female, n=27 529, 58.2%) from 115 urban and rural communities in 12 provinces across the eastern, central, and western regions of China. Over a follow-up period of 11.9 (9.5, 12.6) years, 2 686 deaths and 5 873 cardiovascular events were documented. The incidence of CVD was 11.90 (95%CI: 11.60-12.21)/1 000 person-years. A significant difference in CVD incidence was observed across regions (Ptrend<0.001), which was highest in the western provinces (13.99 (95%CI: 13.33-14.65)/1 000 person-years), intermediate in the eastern provinces (11.92 (95%CI: 11.52-12.33)/1 000 person-years), and lowest in the central provinces (8.87 (95%CI: 8.25-9.50)/1 000 person-years). The 1-year case fatality rate of CVD demonstrated an increasing trend from eastern to western regions (eastern: 10.20% (95%CI: 6.95-14.73); central: 13.50% (95%CI: 9.90-18.14); western: 18.62% (95%CI: 14.95-22.94); Ptrend<0.001). Moreover, the incidence of major CVD was consistently higher in rural areas compared with urban areas across eastern (P<0.001), central (P=0.01) and western (P<0.001)_regions, respectively. The 1-year case fatality rate in rural areas was also significantly higher compared with that in urban areas in both eastern (P<0.001) and western regions (P=0.02). Conclusions: The incidence and case fatality rate of CVD were high among middle-aged population in China, especially those in western regions with low socioeconomic levels and in rural areas.

The development of China's eastern regions shows the characteristic that the industry transfers to inland in recent years. As the developing areas, the western regions of China must resolve an important question which is effectively undertake the various industries from the eastern regions and continue expands the economic cooperation with the central regions. The capital stock's estimation is the key indicator of analyzing economic growth, and is the premise that can help to undertake the industries for western regions. By introducing the different capital stock estimation's models, the author recalculates the capital stock level of Guizhou Province with different methods, compares and analyses the varied results by different approaches. Therefore, this comparison study can help us to understand the capital stock's level of different regions, and provides some solid basis to undertake the industries transfer from east regions for the west regions of China. Index Terms - Capital Stork, Fixed-capital price index, Inventory, Depreciation, Guizhou