Adjacent Provinces Research Articles

Financial agglomeration and regional green innovation efficiency from the perspective of spatial spillover

Starting from the theoretical mechanism of the impact of financial agglomeration on regional green innovation efficiency, and using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2017, this study calculates a financial agglomeration index and green innovation efficiency applying principal component analysis and the slacks-based measure (SBM) of super-efficiency. The study then constructs static and dynamic spatial Durbin models using two different spatial weight matrices to empirically test the spatial spillover effect of financial agglomeration on regional green innovation efficiency. The results reveal a significant positive spatial correlation between China's inter-provincial green innovation efficiency and financial agglomeration. Both static and dynamic models demonstrate that financial agglomeration has a significant spatial spillover effect on the green innovation efficiency of adjacent provinces, but the static model overestimates the impact of spatial spillover. In addition, human capital level, technology market activity, and environmental regulation all have significant positive impacts on the green innovation efficiency of provinces and adjacent provinces.

Spatial Error Model to Analyze Morbidity Rate in Indonesia

Morbidity is a diseased state or symptom in which a person is unable to do daily activities. The morbidity rates can differ by person and place. This paper aims to investigate factors affecting morbidity rates in each province in Indonesia. Using applied spatial error model (SEM), this study analyzed the spatial effect on factors being investigated. It demonstrated that SEM is well-applied on Indonesian morbidity rates data. The results show that in 2020, provinces on Java Island and some provinces on Sulawesi Island have health problems that need to be addressed because they are in the high and moderately high morbidity categories. The value of the Moran Index is positive, indicating a similarity in the percentage of morbidity rates in adjacent provinces. The morbidity rates in most of provinces in Indonesia are affected by the duration averages of school attendance, health insurance, and population density. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the SEM model of 77.60% can be said to be a fairly good model.

Understanding the impact of interprovincial trade on forest resources in China

Intensified interprovincial trade causes timber flows between regions in China, exacerbating the contradiction between economic development and forest conservation. To understand the impacts of interprovincial trade on forest resource depletion in China, this study developed a timber-extended multiregional input–output model to quantify the virtual timber harvest volume (THV) of each province. A forest stress index (FSI) is also developed to reflect the pressure of forest resource protection in different regions and evaluate the impacts of interprovincial trade on forest stress at national and provincial scales. The results showed that provinces within main forest zones (e.g., Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian) presented higher production-based THV than consumption-based THV while the opposite was true for provinces in the rest of the country (ROC) (e.g., Shanghai, Shandong, and Jiangsu). Interprovincial trade in China resulted in 36.86 million m3 of virtual timber flow annually (2008–2017 average), approximately 16.80% of the country's total production-based THV. During the study period, trade activities continuously reduced China's FSI, but ROC provinces mitigated their forest stress at the cost of increasing the burden on provinces in forest zones. Additionally, distant trade tended to have a stronger effect on provincial forest stress compared with trade between adjacent provinces. The findings identified the critical regions and trade routes that directly or indirectly drove forest degradation and revealed the effects of interprovincial trade on forest stress. Furthermore, this study proposed potential policy measures to promote the sustainable management of forest resources in China.

Environmental factors induced crop raiding by wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in the Eastern Economic Corridor, Thailand

Crop raiding are an increasing concern in wildlife conservation. This study identified the environmental factors that cause wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to enter sub-urban and rural areas and share resources with humans in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in the eastern part of Thailand. The snowball method was used to interview villagers that had crop raiding experienced in seven provinces of the EEC and adjacent provinces in the eastern part of Thailand in 2020, and data from 183 households indicated that crop raiding had increased continuously from 2000 to 2020, especially in Chonburi, Chachoengsao, and Prachinburi provinces, which have seen increases in damaged agricultural areas. MaxEnt analysis showed an increase in incidents of crop raiding, while the elephants distribution area decreased from 9534 km2 in 2000 to 5199 km2 in 2010 and 4850 km2 in 2020. The study area has had land use changes in the low elevations from croplands of cassava and sugar cane to eucalyptus, para rubber, and fruits. These mixed crop plantations provide a pseudo-habitat for wild Asian elephants. The results from this study provide evidence that changes in land use and reduction of suitable habitat are factors that influenced the movement of wild Asian elephants to the rural agricultural areas and increased the incidents of crop raiding.

Relationship investment and local corruption environment: Evidence from China

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

Characteristics of Collusive Practices in Bidding: Mixed Methods Study in China

Over the past decade, collusive bidding has become more complicated with the development of economies and computer technologies. Understanding the emerging characteristics of collusive bidding helps antitrust authorities advance countermeasures to mitigate such illegal business competition. This study extracted data from 2,007 court judgment documents in China through text mining techniques. Using two-dimensional factors (i.e., project- and colluder-related factors), we performed an effect size-based significance test to demonstrate the new features of collusive practices. The study found that the larger the project size, the more complex the collusive bidding process. In addition, frequent communication between those collusive bidders stemming from adjacent provinces boosts the similarity of collusive biddings between regions. Furthermore, the study disclosed that senior colluders are more intended for those challenging collusive practices. The findings shed some light on feature determination when developing intelligent collusion detectors and offer implications for preventing collusive bidding.

COVID-19 and aid distribution in the Philippines: a patron-clientelist explanation

Republic Act (RA) 11469, also known as ‘The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act’, and RA 11494 the ‘Bayanihan to Recover as One Act’, or Bayanihan 2, were passed into law in the Philippines as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. RA 11469 and RA 11494 were fundamentally flawed because they relied on data from Listahanan, the National Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR). These data gave only partial coverage of those affected by the pandemic and was largely reliant on data gathered in 2009. To plug the gaps data beneficiary identification was devolved to Local Government Units (LGUs) and local government officials. We examine how a lack of state capacity and the technical weaknesses of RAs 11469 and 11494 were capitalised on by an underlying culture of patron-clientelism. This undermined the distribution of relief aid, or ‘ayuda’ to urban poor communities in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces. We also identify instances where strategies were devised to circumnavigate such political failings, which offer hope for future good practice. We argue that robust data and enhanced state capacity are essential for the distribution of future relief aid in the Philippines as a means of promoting social equity and limiting political discretion.

Analysis of regional differences and spatial spillover effects of agricultural carbon emissions in China

In order to realize “double carbon” target in agriculture and high-quality development of the rural economy in China, it is crucial to study the regional differences and spatial spillover effects of agricultural carbon emissions (ACE). This paper measures ACE using panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2020, examines the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics，the convergence of agricultural carbon emissions, compares and analyzes regional differences, and investigates the spatial correlation and spatial spillover effects. The study found that: (1) Total agricultural carbon emissions over the research period exhibit a rising and then reducing trend, the spatial distribution of total agricultural carbon emissions is described as high in east-central and low in west. The gap of agricultural carbon emissions is gradually declining in the east, and will eventually reach their respective steady-state levels in the west and northeast. (2) There is a strong spatial interprovincial link of ACE, which has a beneficial knock-on effect on the convergence of adjacent provinces. (3) Agricultural industrial structure, urbanization level, the size of the agricultural labor force, and the intensity of the agricultural machinery input all directly affect ACE in this province and indirectly affect ACE in adjacent provinces, with the exception of the negligible coefficient of economic development level on ACE. Hence, pertinent policy suggestions are put out to serve as a guide for reducing ACE.

Under-Reporting Cases and Deaths from Melioidosis: A Retrospective Finding in Songkhla and Phatthalung Province of Southern Thailand, 2014-2020.

Melioidosis, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a notifiable disease associated with a high mortality rate in Thailand. The disease is highly endemic in northeast Thailand, while its prevalence in other parts of the country is poorly documented. This study aimed at improving the surveillance system for melioidosis in southern Thailand, where the disease was believed to be underreported. Two adjacent southern provinces, Songkhla and Phatthalung, were selected as the model provinces to study melioidosis. There were 473 individuals diagnosed with culture-confirmed melioidosis by clinical microbiology laboratories at four tertiary care hospitals in both provinces from January 2014 to December 2020. The median age was 54 years (IQR 41.5-64), 284 (60%) of the patients were adults ≥50 years of age, and 337 (71.2%) were male. We retrospectively analyzed 455 patients treated at either Songklanarind Hospital, Hatyai Hospital, Songkhla Provincial Hospital, or Phatthalung Provincial Hospital, of whom 181 (39.8%) patients died. The median duration from admission to death was five days (IQR 2-17). Of the 455 patients, 272 (57.5%) had at least one clinical risk factor, and 188 (39.8%) had diabetes. Two major clinical manifestations, bacteremia and pneumonia, occurred in 274 (58.1%) and 166 (35.2%) patients, respectively. In most cases, 298 (75%) out of 395 local patients were associated with rainfall. Over the seven years of the study, the average annual incidence was 2.87 cases per 100,000 population (95% CI, 2.10 to 3.64). This study has confirmed that these two provinces of southern Thailand are endemic to melioidosis; even though the incidence rate is much lower than that of the Northeast, the mortality rate is comparably high.

The contrasting effects of interregional networks and local agglomeration on R&D productivity in Chinese provinces: Insights from an empirical spatial Durbin model

This paper examines the contrasting effects of local agglomeration in innovation activities and the interregional networks derived from innovation collaboration on R&D productivity. Based on a two-stage R&D process, this study enriches the existing research and highlights the significance of interregional networks and local agglomeration in understanding spillover effects and productivity improvement. This study employs the network slacks-based measure model to quantify the R&D productivity of two successive stages of research and technology transfer using panel data from 2009 to 2017 for 30 Chinese provinces. It employs the spatial Durbin model to explore and compare the effects of interregional networks and local agglomeration on R&D productivity at each stage. The findings show that interregional networks play an important role in improving research productivity, while local agglomeration is more important in technology transfer research. The significant spatial spillover effect of technology transfer productivity in adjacent provinces indicates a large likelihood of convergences in R&D productivity. The results confirm that interregional networks and local agglomeration operate at distinct parts of the R&D process.

Poriferans rift apart: molecular demosponge biodiversity in Central and French Polynesia and comparison with adjacent marine provinces of the Central Indo-Pacific

The distribution of marine sponges in the tropical Southwest Pacific Ocean is largely unexplored despite the vital ecological role of sponges in coral reefs and their value as sources of metabolites for drug design. Several collection campaigns to the French Polynesian archipelagos (Society, Marquesas, Tuamotu, Gambier, and Austral) were conducted to assess the bio- and chemodiversity of the island groups. In the course of these scientific expeditions, more than 200 identified sponge specimens were acquired, for which we were able to assign 102 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Based on these MOTUs, we assessed, in the largest analysis of its kind for this area to date, the sponge composition and faunistic overlaps of the marine province Southeast Polynesia with Marquesas and Central Polynesia. We also compared the sponge fauna of these Eastern Indo-Pacific provinces with marine provinces of the adjacent Central Indo-Pacific realm. Our findings corroborate that sponge faunal similarity within marine realms is higher than among realms, and follows the marine barriers to gene flow observed for other taxa. We detected high levels of provincial endemism for marine sponges, consistent with findings from other Indo-Pacific regions. At the level of province, geographical distance and ocean surface currents influence faunal similarity, and constitute the primary factors for the connectivity of sponge faunas between the disjunct and remote island groups in the tropical Southwest Pacific Ocean.

Regional differences and dynamic evolution of digital trade: data from China

ABSTRACT Revealing regional differences and evolutionary patterns is a crucial component of studying digital trade development. This paper constructs an evaluation index system for digital trade development and assesses the level of digital trade development in mainland China of 30 provinces from 2013 to 2020. Using methods such as Dagum Gini coefficient, this study investigates the differences in regional development and the spatial dynamic evolution of digital trade development. The findings indicate that (1) while the overall level of digital trade in China is increasing, it manifests unbalanced growth. Additionally, inter-regional difference, as opposed to intra-regional difference, account for the primary source of digital trade development difference, contributing an annual average of 71.699%. (2) The kernel density distribution of digital trade is gradually narrowing. The absolute difference in the level of digital trade development between China and the four regions (east, central, west, and northeast) is progressively diminishing over time. (3) The Moran’s I index is positive, indicating a strong spatial correlation among digital trade development. In the eastern and western regions, there are ‘high-high’ and ‘low-low’ clusters between adjacent provinces; the dynamic transfer of digital trade levels occurs between provinces of adjacent levels, demonstrating the positive effect of proximity.

Parasitic fauna of farmed freshwater ornamental sutchi catfish (Pangasiandon hypophthalmus) and silver dollar (Metynnis hypsauchen) in Alborz province, Iran.

Parasitic infestations are one of the most significant problems in global aquaculture. In addition to direct economic losses due to significant mortalities, parasites may have a significant negative impact on the fish's behaviour, energetic demands, trophic position, interspecific competition, growth rate, and reproductive function. We conducted the present study to evaluate the infection status of parasitic pathogens in freshwater sutchi catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and silver dollar (Metynnis hypsauchen) farmed in Alborz province of Iran. Between January and February 2021, 140 ornamental fish, including 70 sutchi catfish (P. hypophthalmus) and 70 silver dollar (M. hypsauchen), were delivered from various ornamental fish farms for parasitological analysis. Thorough macroscopic and microscopic examinations were performed to detect parasitic infections in delivered freshwater ornamental fish. A total of six parasite species, including five protozoan species (Nyctotherus piscicola, Trichodina heterodentata, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Protoopalina sp., and Hexamita sp.) and one monogenean species (Ancyrocephalus sp.), were identified in the examined fish. The overall prevalence of the recovered parasites was 46.43% (65/140) of the fish. In the current study, several parasites, including Hexamita sp., Ancyrocephalus sp., Protoopalina sp., and N. piscicola, were identified as the first records of the sutchi catfish (P. hypophthalmus) and/or silver dollar (M. hypsauchen), and these two fish species are known as new hosts for the isolated parasites in ornamental fish farms in Iran. Assessing the parasitic fauna of ornamental fish is therefore critical for preventing parasite introduction into adjacent provinces as well as neighbouring countries and promoting fish health.

Health Care–Seeking Behaviors, Disease Progression, Medications, Knowledge of, and Attitudes Toward Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in China: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease involving multiple organs throughout the body. The health care-seeking behaviors, disease progression of SLE, and patients' knowledge of and attitudes toward SLE have not been characterized in China. The aim of this study was to depict the health care-seeking behaviors, disease progression, and medications in patients with SLE and to examine the factors associated with their disease flares, knowledge, and attitudes toward SLE in China. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 27 provinces in China. Descriptive statistical methods were used to depict the demographic characteristics, health care-seeking behaviors, medications, and health status. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify the factors associated with disease flares, medication changes, and attitudes toward SLE. An ordinal regression model was used to examine the factors associated with the knowledge of the treatment guidelines. We recruited 1509 patients with SLE, and 715 had lupus nephritis (LN). Approximately 39.96% (603/1509) of the patients with SLE were primarily diagnosed with LN, and 12.4% (112/906) developed LN (mean time 5.2 years) from non-LN. Patients whose registered permanent residences or workplaces in other cities from the same province and adjacent provinces seeking health care accounted for 66.9% (569/850) and 48.8% (479/981) of the patients with SLE in the provincial capital cities, respectively. Mycophenolate mofetil was the most commonly used immunosuppressive drug in patients without LN (185/794, 23.3%) and patients with LN (307/715, 42.9%). Femoral head necrosis (71/228, 31.1%) and hypertension (99/229, 43.2%) were the most common adverse event (AE) and chronic disease during treatment, respectively. Change of hospitals for medical consultation (odds ratio [OR] 1.90, 95% CI 1.24-2.90) and development of 1 chronic disease (OR 3.60, 95% CI 2.04-6.24) and AE (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.46-2.92) and more were associated with disease flares. A pregnancy plan (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.18-2.13) was associated with changes in medication. Only 242 (16.03%) patients with SLE were familiar with the treatment guidelines, and patients with LN tended to be more familiar with the disease (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.81-2.68). After receiving treatment, 891 (59.04%) patients changed their attitudes toward SLE from fear to acceptance, and patients with college education or higher (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.10-4.04) were associated with a positive attitude toward SLE. A large proportion of patients seeking health care in the provincial capital cities of China migrated from other cities. Persistent monitoring of potential AEs and chronic diseases during SLE treatment and managing patients who changed hospitals for medical consultation are essential for controlling disease flares. Patients had insufficient knowledge about SLE treatment guidelines and would benefit from health education to maintain a positive attitude toward SLE.

Does Decentralized Food Crop Cultivation Threaten Water-Land-Food Nexus? A Spatial Econometric Analysis

The coordinated development of the Water-Land-Food (WLF) nexus is important for realizing sustainable food production and ensuring national food security. Based on the symbiosis system theory, this study used the Entropy weight TOPSIS method to calculate the WLF nexus of 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China from 2003 to 2019. Taking the problem of decentralized food crop cultivation in China as the breakthrough point and using the Panel Tobit Model to empirically explore the threat of decentralized food crop cultivation to the WLF nexus. The results indicated that: (i) The average level of decentralized food crop cultivation index in China for the period 2003–2019 is 2.599 and the growth rate is −12.64%, while the WLF nexus index is 0.317, and the growth rate is 2.42%. Decentralized food crop cultivation showed a fluctuating downward trend in all regions of China, especially in the southwest and northwest regions. However, the WLF nexus index level belonging to the northeastern and Huang-Huai-Hai regions of China is higher, which presents a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. (ii) While the extent of decentralized food crop cultivation threatens the coordination of the WLF nexus in China, it has a time lag. (iii) The decentralized food crop cultivation in non-food producing areas (NFPA) rather than major food producing areas (MFPA) will threaten the WLF nexus. (iv) Compared with the higher WLF nexus index region, the negative effect of decentralized food crop cultivation is more obvious in the lower index region. (v) WFL nexus in the adjacent provinces of China showed regional clustering. Decentralized food crop cultivation will threaten the WLF nexus both in the inner province and adjacent regions. This study argues that the government can use financial subsidies to correct the problem of decentralized food crop cultivation, optimize the level of agricultural outsourcing services, and improve the market for water and land rights, thereby enhancing the WLF system coordination in China.

Multi-taxa marine isoscapes provide insight into large-scale trophic dynamics in the North Pacific

Quantifying large scale trophic dynamics and interactions in marine systems remains a key challenge in ecological research and conservation, particularly in remote habitats which are difficult and costly to access. Stable isotope (SI) analysis has emerged as an effective tool for studying ecosystem interactions, especially when used to construct isotopic landscapes, or “isoscapes”. We used a combination of empirical SI data, global modeled phytoplankton isoscapes, and oceanographic data to investigate how large SI datasets might be harnessed to describe and predict patterns of regional food web dynamics and trophic structuring. We collated data from 99 published and author-contributed datasets of carbon and nitrogen SI data for open-ocean and neritic nektonic fish and invertebrates in the North Pacific Ocean to estimate mean SI values for successive trophic level groups within Longhurst biogeographic provinces. We found that these estimates reflected geographic patterns predicted by modeled phytoplankton isoscapes, suggesting that baseline SI ratios are consistently propagated up through regional food webs. This was further corroborated by significant correlations between our estimated SI values with the same oceanographic and geographic variables known to influence phytoplankton SI ratios. However, we observed variable amounts of isotopic offset between successive trophic level groups within and across provinces, indicating that the underlying drivers of trophic dynamics differ across regions. We found evidence of decreased isotopic differences between higher level trophic groups, suggesting the possibility of trophic compression and highlighting the importance of using taxa- and tissue-specific trophic discrimination factors (TDFs) when comparing or predicting consumer SI ratios. We used stable isotopic niche analyses to demonstrate that coupled use of δ13C and δ15N data increased capacity to differentiate province-specific consumer groups, particularly where adjacent provinces had similar ranges of values for a single SI. We also found that baseline isoscapes may be a viable tool for predicting broad trends of consumer SI ratios by calculating ‘predicted’ δ13C and δ15N values for successive trophic groups across provinces using modeled phytoplankton data and diet-dependent discrimination factors. These predicted values were significantly correlated with our estimates based on empirical data, with similarity of predicted δ13C values increasing for higher trophic level groups. We conclude that regional SI patterns remain consistent across diverse ecosystems. With increased spatiotemporal resolution of SI data across ocean basins and increased availability of species-specific life history traits and physiologies, multi-taxa isoscapes hold great potential for studying large scale marine trophodynamics and movement patterns of highly mobile marine species.

Long-range transport of sulfur dioxide emissions from external sources to Tehran

Large-scale emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from the combustion of heavy fuel oils are deteriorating the air quality in Tehran. Our analysis of the long-term SO2 emission data in Tehran showed that the magnitude of local SO2 emission sources is inadequate to reach current SO2 levels. Bivariate polar plots, k-mean cluster, pairwise polar correlation, and potential source contribution function analysis provided evidence of the impact of large-scale transport of SO2 emissions from external locations in the west/northwest, north/northeast, and south/southwestern areas of Tehran. Further observations of these hotspots were observed in analyses conducted on TROPOMI satellite data confirming significant SO2 emissions from the consumption of heavy fuel oils in thermal power plants and oil/gas refineries. These results also strongly agreed with the NASA global SO2 emission source catalog showing the location of major SO2 emissions in the region. All approaches confirmed that Tehran is predominantly affected by regional transport of SO2 from external sources further away located in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and adjacent provinces neighboring Tehran. Approximately 80% of the total SO2 concentration in Tehran was observed to have impacts from the external hotspots outside of Tehran. While local emission sources only contribute around 20% of the total SO2 concentration.

Flow and access: Driving forces of COVID-19 spreading in the first stage around Hubei, China.

This research takes the six provinces around Hubei Province where the Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as the research area, collected the number of cumulative confirmed cases (NCCC) in the first four weeks after the lockdown to explore the spatiotemporal characteristics, and to identify its influencing factors by correlation and regression analysis, finally providing reference for epidemic prevention and control policy. The analysis of variance was used to test the spatiotemporal variability of the NCCC in the six provinces, the Pearson coefficient was taken to find the correlation relationship between the NCCC and multiple factor data in socio-economic, geography and transportation, and the following regression equation was obtained based on regression analysis. This study found that there is significant spatial variability in the NCCC among the six provinces and the significant influencing factors are changing along the four weeks. The NCCC in Shaanxi and Chongqing in the West was less than that in the other four provinces, especially in Shaanxi in the northwest, which was significantly different from the four provinces in the East, and has the largest difference with adjacent Henan province (792 cases). Correlation analysis shows that the correlation coefficient of the number of main pass is the largest in the first week, the correlation coefficient of the length of road networks is the largest in the second week, and the NCCC in the third and fourth week is significantly correlated with the average elevation. For all four weeks, the highest correlation coefficient belongs to the average elevation in the third week (r = 0.943, P = 0.005). Regression analysis shows that there is a multiple linear regression relationship between the average elevation, the number of main pass and the NCCC in the first week, there is no multiple linear regression relationship in the second week. The following univariate regression analysis shows that the regression equations of various factors are different. And, there is a multiple linear regression relationship between the average elevation, the length of road networks and the NCCC in the third and fourth week, as well as a multiple linear regression relationship between the average elevation, population and the confirmed cases in the fourth week. There are significant spatial differences in the NCCC among the six provinces and the influencing factors varied in different weeks. The average elevation, population, the number of main pass and the length of road networks are significantly correlated with the NCCC. The average elevation, as a geographical variable, affects the two traffic factors: the number of main pass and the length of road networks. Therefore, the NCCC is mainly related to the factor categories of flow and access.

Impact assessment of China's inter-provincial trade on trade-related sustainable development goals

Assessing progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is among the most pressing areas for sustainability research. Both international and inter–provincial trade has substantial impacts on sustainability. However, little is known about the impacts of inter–provincial trade on progress towards achieving the SDG targets and the relationships among SDG indicators through time and space. Here we, taking Chinese inter–provincial trade as a study case, used a spatiotemporal approach and the multi–regional input–output (MRIO) model to examine changes in six SDG indicators and their relationships within China in the year 2002, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017. The results showed that (1) Chinese inter–provincial trade improved the trade–related SDG target scores of 16 provinces out of the evaluated 30 provinces but reduced the trade–related SDG target scores of the remaining 14 provinces. (2) Chinese inter–provincial trade and distant trade were more beneficial for achieving the trade–related SDG targets in developed provinces (e.g., Beijing), which thus improved China's overall SDG target scores. In contrast, Chinese inter–provincial trade suppressed the trade–related SDG target scores of developing provinces (e.g., Guangxi). (3) Individual SDG indicators, SDG target bundles, and interactions among SDG indicators changed across both time and space. (4) The no–trade scenario in Hubei province during the COVID–19 pandemic will have a clearly inhibiting effect on China's overall SDG target scores. Besides, trade with adjacent provinces would improve Hubei's SDG target scores, while these trades have more negative effects (approximately 50–83% of provinces suffered from greater reductions in SDG target scores) on Hubei's adjacent provinces. Our study suggests the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of SDG indicators and their interactions deserve more attention, which can help identify the drivers behind these changing relationships.

Outcomes of young children hospitalized with acute wheezing.

Wheezing in preschool children is a common symptom. The study aimed to determine an incidence of recurrent wheezing among young children who had been hospitalized with acute wheezing after 12 months. Factors associated with recurrent wheezing were explored. A longitudinal study was conducted among 236 children, aged between 6 months and 5 years, who were hospitalized with acute wheezing in 4 hospitals located in Bangkok and adjacent provinces, Thailand. Demographics, house environments and clinical characteristic data were collected at entry. Serum specific IgE levels against common food and inhalant allergens and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations were measured. At entry, the mean age was 24.4 months (SD = 15.7 months). Of 236 hospitalized children with acute wheezing, ninety-four cases (39.8%) were the first wheezing episode of life. By laboratory results, 197 (83.5%) and 56 (23.7%) children were atopic and had vitamin D insufficiency respectively. There were 195 cases completely followed for 12 months. One-year risk of emergency visits and hospitalization due to recurrent wheezing were 49.7% and 23.1% respectively. By multivariable analysis, being the second born child or more, vitamin D insufficiency, "ever wheeze", and allergic rhinitis were significantly associated with recurrent wheezing within 12 months with adjusted odds ratios of 2.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-5.3), 2.3 (95% confidence interval: 1.1-4.4), 1.9 (95% confidence interval: 1.2-3.5), and 1.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-2.9) respectively. Being the second born child or more, vitamin D insufficiency, ever wheeze, and allergic rhinitis were significant risks of recurrent wheezing.