Political cycles in Chinese urban water tariff adjustment

Assessing the health utility values of patients with six common cancers in China using the QLU-C10D: A cross-sectional survey.

<bold>ABSTRACT</bold> This study examines how 40 Palestinian-Arab women pursuing master’s degrees in education negotiate intersecting structures shaping their lives as minoritized, gendered subjects. Using Photovoice and focus groups, the research analyzes how participants articulate experiences across overlapping roles – Palestinian-Arab, mothers, teachers, students – within sociopolitical conditions marked by patriarchy, inequality, and linguistic domination. Photovoice enabled visual and narrative expressions of tension, agency, and subtle resistance beyond traditional qualitative tools. Guided by an intersectional feminist framework, the study shows how gendered expectations, ethnic marginalization, and linguistic hierarchies generate emotional, academic, and economic pressures. The findings reveal obstacles including time constraints, linguistic exclusion in Hebrew-dominant spaces, and conditional family support rooted in patriarchal bargains. Yet participants mobilized strategies, relational support, time management, and strategic conformity to sustain their studies. The study advances feminist debates on minority women’s educational trajectories and underscores the need for institutions to address structural and sociocultural barriers.

This study investigates pricing dynamics in illicit cocaine and heroin markets across 17 European countries over the period 2002-2022. Using a panel dataset constructed from United Nations drug market data, we analyse wholesale and retail price trends and compute dealer margins to examine how economic pressures shape the structure of illegal drug distribution. Employing correlation analysis and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel Granger causality tests, we explore the dynamic interrelationships among wholesale prices, retail prices and margins. The results reveal strong negative correlations between wholesale prices and margins for both substances, suggesting that increases in upstream costs are not fully passed through to retail prices, leading to margin compression. In contrast, retail prices are strongly positively associated with margins, indicating that margin variation is more closely linked to downstream pricing dynamics. Retail and wholesale prices are only weakly correlated, pointing to a partial decoupling between upstream and downstream price formation. The findings also indicate the presence of predictive relationships between wholesale prices and margins, particularly in the cocaine market, consistent with feedback mechanisms within the supply chain. These patterns may reflect a combination of factors, including incomplete cost pass-through, market structure, enforcement pressures and potential changes in product quality. However, in the absence of direct purity data, such interpretations should be made with caution. Overall, the analysis provides new evidence on the temporal dynamics of pricing in illicit drug markets and highlights the potential value of price and margin indicators as indirect signals of changing market conditions relevant to public health and policy.

ABSTRACT This paper reports on a study investigating the contemporary professional landscape of classical singers, a field grounded in tradition yet shaped by economic pressures and evolving artistic expectations. Despite substantial literature on elite performers, empirical data on the working lives of professional classical singers remains scarce. To address this gap, a cross-sectional survey of self-identified professional classical singers was conducted between March and September 2023. The survey examined demographics, income, employment patterns, performance genres, and job satisfaction, drawing on an international pool and yielding 163 responses (participants, N = 163). Findings revealed that “portfolio” careers (i.e. working lives comprising multiple concurrent roles) dominated participants’ working lives. Of the group, 59% engaged in three or more performance genres, and 54% supplemented performance work with teaching. Participants reported earning an average of 35% of their total income from singing. Financial precarity emerged as a central theme, with median total income sitting below national averages. Only 6% held full-time contracts, with most working freelance and/or part-time. Despite systemic challenges, such as financial instability and limited job security, participants cited intrinsic rewards, such as artistic fulfillment and audience connection, as strong career motivators. Overall, 42% of participants reported satisfaction with their work as professional classical singers.

This qualitative case study examines the factors influencing childbearing reluctance among university-employed couples with favorable socioeconomic status in Iran. Through semi-­structured interviews with twelve participants from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, the research highlights the complex interplay of cultural, social, policy-related, economic, and individual factors. Cultural and social concerns were the most significant, including ideological conflicts, diminished optimism about future societal conditions, and anxiety about child-rearing in limited educational and recreational environments. Participants frequently cited social tensions, the erosion of traditional values, and the fear of exposing children to an uncertain future as key deterrents, reflecting broader societal anxieties. Policy-related barriers were also significant, such as insufficient maternity leave, lack of support for working mothers, and ineffective fertility-promoting initiatives. While economic pressures, especially the rising cost of quality education and childcare, were acknowledged, they did not consistently overshadow cultural or policy-related issues. Individual circumstances like caregiving responsibilities, professional demands, and health constraints were less influential. The study found that uniform policies can’t motivate childbearing in diverse groups, so Tailored interventions that target cultural challenges, institutional deficiencies, and psychosocial needs are essential for influencing fertility behaviors.

ABSTRACT This article examines the growing disjunction between legal permissibility and ethical responsibility in contemporary legal practice, arguing that compliance-oriented frameworks and defensive role morality are insufficient to address the systemic harms that can arise through lawful professional activity. Drawing on recent philosophical and empirical scholarship, the article explores how professional norms shape lawyers’ ethical self-understanding under institutional, economic and regulatory pressures. Particular attention is paid to areas such as environmental law, economic abuse advice, state capture and digital platforms, where ethical concerns frequently emerge from routine, rule-compliant practice rather than misconduct. Against this backdrop, the article advances a reconceptualisation of professional responsibility that treats ethics as an ongoing practice of reflective judgement rather than merely compliance with professional rules. It argues that lawyers should be understood as both technical experts and moral agents within a public profession, whose responsibilities extend beyond client service to maintaining public trust and the integrity of legal institutions. Situating this argument within contemporary debates on role morality, liberal legal ethics and virtue ethics, the article concludes by considering implications for legal ethics education in the SQE era and identifies directions for future empirical and normative research on ethical agency and structural harm.

ABSTRACT We investigate whether industrial automation delivers environmental benefits by reducing air pollution. Specifically, we examine the green returns of industrial automation by estimating its direct and moderating effects on PM2.5 emissions across 59 countries over the period 2000–2019. Our results show that the adoption of industrial robots significantly reduces air pollution, with the effect being particularly strong in low- and middle-income countries. Moreover, automation not only directly lowers PM2.5 levels but also helps mitigate the environmental impacts associated with economic and structural pressures. We further confirm the robustness of these results across a wide range of alternative specifications.

Depression poses a severe public health challenge for older adults, especially in rural China. In rural settings, the heavy burden of chronic diseases, inadequate medical resources, insufficient family support, and economic stress may lead to the heterogeneous manifestations of depressive symptoms. Most conventional studies adopt depression scores or cut-off standard-based classification approaches, which tend to ignore unique symptom characteristics and the interactive relationships between associated factors. This study aimed to identify latent depression types among the rural elderly in China, and further explore relevant influencing factors as well as their conditional association patterns through machine learning and network analysis. Cross-sectional data were derived from the 2022 China Family Panel Studies, covering a final sample of 3,114 rural elderly participants. Based on the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D8), latent class analysis was conducted to identify depression types. Univariate analysis was adopted to compare the demographic and health-related baseline characteristics across distinct latent depression types. Variables with statistical significance were screened via random forest and LASSO regression models. Subsequently, multinomial logistic regression was applied to examine the associations between core influencing factors and depression type classification. Finally, network analysis was conducted to explore the conditional associations among screened factors, and the bootstrap algorithm was utilized to verify the edge-weight accuracy and centrality stability. Four latent depression types were identified in the sample, including the low-level depression type (36.0%), mild depression type (25.2%), emotional impairment type (23.5%), and high depression risk type (15.4%). Each type presented distinct CES-D8 symptom characteristics. Seven core influencing factors were screened out by random forest and LASSO models, namely chronic disease, physical discomfort, self-rated health status, medical expenditure, inpatient service utilization, smoking behavior, and daily physical exercise. The results of multinomial logistic regression indicated that chronic disease, physical discomfort, poorer self-rated health, increased medical costs, inpatient inpatient admission, and smoking were significant risk factors for high-risk depression types, while daily exercise served as a protective factor. Network analysis results revealed that physical discomfort and self-rated health occupied central positions in the network, while chronic disease and medical expenses played bridging roles. The bootstrap results indicated that the constructed network possessed favorable structural stability and estimation accuracy. Depression among rural older adults in China exhibited prominent latent heterogeneity. Health burden, medical economic pressure, healthcare service utilization, and health behaviors are associated with the classification of depression type. Physical discomfort and self-rated health may serve as key indicators for inform targeted screening and priority intervention inrural primary healthcare. These findings highlight the necessity of shifting from single-threshold depression assessment toward stratified type identification and integrated health management strategies for rural elderly population.

Agriculture is under increasing environmental, economic, and social pressure due to climate change, resource depletion and food insecurity, requiring new approaches to production systems. This review explores how circular economy (CE) principles, digital transformation (DT), and artificial intelligence (AI)can be used together to achieve sustainable agricultural development. Using a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA method, peer-reviewed studies published between 2016 and 2025 were analysed from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The inclusion criteria targeted papers that addressed at least one sustainability dimension and focused on CE, DT, or AI applications in agriculture. The results show three interlinked themes. First, CE practices such as composting, biogas production, water reuse, and valorisation of agricultural waste reduce environmental impacts while creating new economic value streams. Second, DT tools, including Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, blockchain, and data analytics, enhance resource efficiency, supply chain transparency, and decision-making precision. Third, AI applications in crop monitoring, yield forecasting, and disease detection offer substantial productivity gains while minimizing inputs and emissions. However, adoption is hindered by high investment costs, limited digital literacy, regulatory gaps, and uneven infrastructure, particularly among smallholders. The review highlights the need for integrated policy frameworks that align investments in CE and DT, expand rural broadband networks, provide targeted training, and incentivize sustainable practices. A conceptual synthesis is proposed that links technological enablers with environmental, economic, and social outcomes. Addressing these barriers through coordinated multi-stakeholder strategies could accelerate the transition to resilient, environmentally friendly, and inclusive agricultural systems.Keywords: artificial intelligence, climate-friendly agriculture, digital agriculture, green transition, precision agriculture, sustainable farming.

Abstract The Toraja cultural landscape represents a living system that unites people, land, and ancestors within an ecological and spiritual continuum transmitted across generations. Tongkonan Sa’pang, one of the traditional settlements within Tondok Lepongan Bulan Tana Matarik Allo , exemplifies this unity through a spatial order grounded in kinship, cosmology, and customary ecological management. In recent decades, however, modernisation, economic pressures, land-use changes, heritage codification, and tourism have begun to disrupt this balance, threatening the continuity of both physical structures and intangible cultural meanings. This condition reflects a broader global trend of heritage commodification, where living traditions risk being reframed as performative heritage products. These challenges highlight the need for preservation strategies that protect not only material integrity but also the symbolic and spiritual values sustaining indigenous life systems. To address this need, the study applies a modified Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) framework designed to capture both tangible and intangible dimensions of the Toraja landscape. This modification is essential because conventional LCA methods, developed within European contexts, focus mainly on visual and morphological aspects, often failing to represent ritual symbolism, kinship-based spatial logic, and cosmological order that underpin indigenous landscapes. The research demonstrates how the LCA method can be reinterpreted and locally adapted to support preservation strategies that respond to ongoing socio-ecological change. The study integrates physical and symbolic data through GIS-based spatial mapping, ethnographic fieldwork, and participatory validation with customary leaders. The findings identify seven landscape character units (LCU(s)) structured into three main zones, reflecting the interconnection between ecological, spiritual, and social systems in the Toraja cultural landscape. The research advances a decolonial perspective that redefines LCA from a technocratic tool into an interpretative framework grounded in indigenous knowledge. Its main contribution lies in developing a community-based, value-driven preservation model that can be contextually applied to other indigenous territories across Southeast Asia.

In the context of escalating global climate change and China's commitment to its dual carbon goals, this study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of carbon balance across 296 prefecture-level and higher cities in mainland China from 2001 to 2022, using emission data from the EDGAR database. By integrating ecosystem carbon sequestration models with economic contribution coefficients (ECC), ecological support coefficients (ESC), and China's main functional zoning framework, we systematically analyze regional carbon sources and sinks and propose a spatially explicit optimization strategy. Results reveal a distinct "higher in the north than in the south, higher in the east than in the west" emission pattern, driven by economic agglomeration and energy structure, with industrial clusters such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta acting as high-emission hotspots; notably, the Chengdu-Chongqing region exhibited a sharp emissions surge in 2022 due to accelerated industrialization. In contrast, carbon sequestration capacity forms a "northeast-southwest high axis," enhanced by ecological restoration in regions like the Yellow River Basin but diminished along the eastern coast due to urban expansion, thereby exacerbating regional carbon imbalance. Based on ECC and ESC, we classify areas into four dynamically adjusted carbon balance zones: (1) low-carbon maintenance zones (e.g., Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Chengdu-Chongqing), characterized by strong economic output and carbon sink potential; (2) economic development zones (e.g., Central Plains, Shandong Peninsula), reliant on high-carbon industries yet underpinned by relatively sound ecological foundations; (3) carbon sink development zones (middle reaches of the Yangtze River), combining significant economic contributions with fragile ecosystems; and (4) comprehensive optimization zones (e.g., Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin, Hexi Corridor), facing dual economic and ecological pressures. These are further refined into 16 sub-zones aligned with national functional zoning to enable targeted policy implementation. We recommend zone-specific strategies: consolidating low-carbon technologies and ecological advantages in maintenance zones; accelerating industrial decarbonization and energy efficiency in development zones; strengthening ecological restoration and green industry cultivation in sink zones; and fostering coordinated socio-ecological development in optimization zones through policy incentives, interregional collaboration, and market mechanisms. Ultimately, achieving nationwide carbon balance hinges on two core pathways: optimized land-use planning and the implementation of differentiated, spatially tailored policies that account for local socioeconomic and ecological contexts.

BackgroundAs a highly prevalent neurological condition, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) imposes considerable economic pressure on global societies. Its core pathological feature is progressive degeneration within the central nervous system (CNS), a feature which establishes it as the leading trigger for dementia worldwide. Currently available therapies for AD are largely palliative and lack restorative efficacy. While stem cell transplantation holds promise for brain regeneration, the shortage of transplantable neural stem cells and ethical constraints remains a significant limitation. Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are easily accessible, proliferative, low immunogenicity, and free of ethical concerns, making them an ideal candidate for neurodegenerative disease therapy. However, the application of naive, unmodified HFSCs in AD therapy has not been thoroughly explored. In contrast to our previous study using NGF-modified HFSCs, the present study used unmodified naive HFSCs to systematically evaluate their therapeutic effects in AD rats, focusing on neurogenesis, synaptic protection, and microglial polarization. Therefore, the present assessment sought a more complete understanding of HFSCs’ intrinsic therapeutic potential.MethodsWe induced AD in rats via intrahippocampal injection of Aβ1–42. Fourteen days post-modeling, HFSCs were stereotaxically transplanted into the hippocampal region of AD rats. Learning and memory were assessed using the Morris water maze test, and neuronal damage was evaluated by Nissl staining. Synaptic protein levels were measured by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The same staining approach was used to assess hippocampal neurogenesis and quantify Iba-1‑positive microglia. Moreover, qPCR was performed to measure mRNA levels of key pro‑inflammatory and anti‑inflammatory factors.ResultsHFSCs transplantation not only markedly upregulated the synaptic proteins SYP and PSD-95, but also promoted neurogenesis and alleviated microglial overactivation in the AD rat hippocampus.ConclusionHFSCs represent a highly promising therapeutic strategy for AD. When delivered via transplantation, these cells protect against synaptic and neuronal injury, boost hippocampal neurogenesis, and prevent abnormal overactivation of microglia in the cerebral tissues of AD model rats. Together, these results offer comprehensive preclinical proof of the intrinsic therapeutic potential of unmodified HFSCs, distinguishing it from previous studies using genetically modified cells and laying a solid foundation for future clinical translation.

Whilst important and shaped by economic pressures, children’s subjective well-being (SWB) remains largely overlooked in low-income settings. This study examines: (i) whether economic shocks affect children’s SWB through caregivers’ well-being pathways, and (ii) differences in children’s SWB in relation to their health, caregivers’ education, and food insecurity. The study uses data from the younger cohort of the Young Lives longitudinal study, comprising 5,759 observations from 2006 to 2016, analysed using fixed-effects and structural equation models. Findings show that lower children’s SWB is associated with poorer health, lower caregiver education and well-being, and higher food insecurity. Economic shocks – such as rising food prices and job or enterprise loss – negatively affect both caregiver and child SWB, with job loss exerting strong indirect effects through caregiver–child pathways. Thus, findings highlight the need to strengthen family support systems, reduce economic stress, and improve caregiver education, food security, and resilience to shocks.

This study empirically examines the economic and environmental factors affecting investment dynamics in Brazil from 1990 to 2021. Using data from IPEADATA, IBGE, and SEEG, we analyze key indicators including investment, capacity utilization, profit share, and CO2 emissions. Unit root tests indicate the series are integrated of order one, supporting the use of a five-lag Vector Autoregression (VAR) model after confirming stationarity in first differences. While the VAR residuals are non-normal, homoscedasticity and structural stability validate dynamic inferences. Impulse response analysis shows that positive shocks to profit share have a lagged, transitory effect on investment, reflecting structural constraints and climate-related financial risks. CO2 emission shocks initially reduce investment, followed by recovery, highlighting sectoral adjustments and regulatory uncertainty. Capacity utilization shocks provoke an immediate investment increase, followed by oscillations, indicating intertemporal adjustments and financial frictions. These findings reveal the intricate interplay between economic performance and environmental pressures, emphasizing the importance of public policies that combine profitability incentives with coordinated green investments. The research contributes to understanding investment behavior under environmental constraints, offering insights aligned with Post-Kaleckian perspectives and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The urban–rural income gap remains a central issue in the income distribution of developing countries, constraining regional coordination and social equity. Although stable economic development is essential for narrowing this gap, the distributional consequences of local economic growth management have received insufficient attention, especially from the perspective of urban spatial structure. Drawing on the urban bias theory and spatial economics, this study uses panel data from 41 prefecture-level cities in the Yangtze River Delta region of China during 2007–2023 and applies a two-way fixed effects model to examine the effect of economic growth target pressure on the urban–rural income gap and the mediating role of urban spatial structure. The results show that economic growth target pressure significantly widens the urban–rural income gap, with an estimated increase of approximately 0.001–0.002 units in the Theil index. Mediation analysis further indicates that target pressure promotes a more monocentric urban spatial structure, which partially mediates the effect. The results also show evident temporal and regional heterogeneity. These findings suggest that growth-oriented local governance may reshape income distribution through spatial organization, offering empirical evidence for optimizing local economic management and urban spatial structure to promote coordinated urban–rural development.

Population aging is reshaping higher education as students, faculty, and staff become increasingly more age diverse. Moreover, traditional assumptions of higher education as a one-time, early-life endeavor are giving way to a lifespan, multigenerational view that recognizes lifelong professional and personal development. In response, more age-inclusive approaches to higher education offer substantial benefits, including enhanced learning outcomes through intergenerational exchange, improved well-being and economic stability for learners across adulthood, and strengthened innovation and institutional strength for faculty and staff. In addition, demographic and economic pressures, including declining numbers of younger students and an aging academic workforce, underscore the need for approaches that advance sustainability while supporting campus members across life stages. The Age Inclusivity Domains of Higher Education (AIDHE) model provides a comprehensive framework for guiding such efforts. Organized around core institutional domains, AIDHE promotes age-inclusive practices that integrate teaching and learning, student affairs, personnel policies, services, community outreach, the physical environment, and research. Campus case examples illustrate the model's application, cross-domain integration, and cross-cultural relevance. By embedding age inclusivity across institutional structures and aligning it with broader diversity efforts, the AIDHE framework can play a pivotal role in addressing demographic change, combating ageism, and fostering inclusive, sustainable academic communities.

The most prevalent malignant tumor of the urinary system, bladder cancer, exhibits a rising global incidence rate. However, recent diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, such as ostomy surgery, can effectively prolong patient survival. The majority of patients require support from family carers, presenting considerable challenges to these caregivers. Although existing research has primarily focused on patients' physiological adaptation, quality of life, and the burden on family carers, the moral dilemmas faced by these caregivers have not been explored yet. This study aimed to explore the psychological and moral dilemmas of family caregivers in a specific care situation. Using a descriptive research design, we conducted one-on-one qualitative interviews with 23 patients who had undergone urostomy. The interview time for each patient lasted over 60min. All the interviewees emphasized that urostomy had significantly influenced their sexual experience. Moreover, we used thematic analysis to analyze the data. All the interviewees emphasized that a urostomy had significantly influenced their sexual experience. Our analysis yielded three primary themes: (1) the tearing of care responsibility and self-life, (2) reconstruction of family roles and relationships, and (3) the contradiction between the best care and practical limitations, and eight subthemes: guilt of giving up, social alienation, sacrifice of physical and mental health, the challenge of intimacy, balance of multiple responsibilities, great economic pressure, limited knowledge and skills, and emotional collapse. This study reveals that family carers of Chinese urostomy patients perceive caregiving as a moral obligation rather than a mere action, viewing self-sacrifice as evidence of virtue within a Confucian ethical framework. Hence, providers must develop culturally sensitive assessment tools, redesign supportive interventions respecting diverse moral perspectives, and establish ethical support systems to bridge understanding between differing moral contexts. This might foster a healthcare system that genuinely honors the carers' moral dignity.

This study aimed to examine the association between household income and severe food insecurity in Australia and to assess how income-related patterns vary across geographic scales. Using 21 waves (2001–2021) of the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, we measured severe food insecurity through reported meal skipping due to financial constraint and food-related economic pressure through the share of household income spent on food. All estimates were weighted using HILDA population weights matched to each outcome. At the national level, weighted prevalence of meal skipping was 3.6% over the pooled sample (3.4% in the most recent wave), with a pronounced income gradient: individuals in the lowest income percentiles had a predicted probability of meal skipping exceeding 7%, compared with <1% at the 95th percentile. Food expenditure share declined monotonically with rising income, with households in the lowest quintile spending more than 30% of equivalized income on food. Among those who ever reported meal skipping in the balanced panel, the experience was episodic for most (5.8% of respondents reported it in exactly one of 21 waves) but recurrent for a nontrivial minority (9.1% in two or more waves). We formally tested whether prevalence in the Illawarra Shoalhaven region differed from the national average and found no statistically significant difference (F = 1.01, P = 0.315), suggesting that the income-gradient finding generalizes across geographic contexts. Severe food insecurity in Australia is strongly and persistently patterned by income, reinforcing income adequacy as the central policy lever for reducing hunger in high-income settings.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) imposes a considerable burden on patients and their families while also exerting economic pressure on high-prevalence countries. This retrospective cohort study estimated the societal cost of SCD in England, including productivity loss (PL) and loss of future income (LFI). In this retrospective cohort study, individuals aged ≥ 12 years with SCD were identified between 01 April 2007 and 31 March 2019 using linked healthcare data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum, Hospital Episode Statistics, and Office for National Statistics death registrations. PL was calculated based on time spent hospitalised, attending healthcare appointments, or on certified sick days, using average wages for England stratified by age for the same year the PL occurred. LFI due to unemployment, medical retirement, or death was calculated from the age at first occurrence until age 68 years. Average annual earnings for FY2021/2022 were applied by age decile and discounted at 3.5%. Expected income increased with age decile. Overall, 9,272 patients with SCD were included, with a mean age of 35.5 years and a median follow-up of 7 years. Mean annualised (per patient per year [PPPY]) productive time lost due to hospital stays was 5.5 days. Individuals spent 2.7 days PPPY in outpatient care, 3.6 days PPPY attending primary care appointments, 3.3 days PPPY in emergency departments, and 2.2 days PPPY sick at home. The mean annualised PL for these sickness and healthcare attendances was £1,821 PPPY, equivalent to 3.1 weeks of average UK weekly earnings in 2021. For the 6% of patients (555/9,272) who experienced an LFI event, they were estimated to lose an average of £511,236 over their lifetime. Patients with SCD and their families had an estimated PL equivalent to 3.1 weeks of average UK weekly earnings in 2021 per individual annually. For patients with SCD who died or were incapacitated before retirement age, lifetime LFI was more than half a million pounds. Not applicable.