Neighboring Regions Research Articles

Influence of Spatially Varying Boundary Conditions Based on Material Heterogeneity

When conducting numerical analyses, boundary conditions are generally applied homogeneously, neglecting the inherent heterogeneity of the material being represented. Whilst the heterogeneity is often considered within the medium, its influence on the response at the boundary should also be accounted for. In this study, A novel approach to applying heterogeneous boundary conditions in the simulation of physical systems is presented, particularly focusing on moisture transport in unsaturated soils. The proposed method divides the surface into blocks or “macro-elements” and scales the boundary conditions based on the variation of material properties within these blocks. The principle of using overlapping kernel functions allows local effects to be considered, impacting neighbouring regions. To demonstrate the efficacy of the approach, a set of analyses were conducted that considered infiltration into a body of unsaturated soil, with various configurations of material properties and boundary conditions. The numerical simulations indicate that the application of scaled boundary conditions leads to a more natural and realistic response in the system. The applied method is independent on the numerical techniques employed in the simulation process, making it adaptable to existing computational codes, offering flexibility in capturing complex behaviours, and providing insights into how heterogeneity influences the system’s overall response.

Miners' diet in the Naḥal ‘Amram copper mines (southern ‘Arabah Valley) during the Roman-Byzantine periods

This study investigates the diet of copper miners at Naḥal ‘Amram (southern Negev Desert), through the examination of the well-preserved remains of plants, mammal and fish bones, dating to the Roman-Byzantine periods (1st–5th centuries CE), recovered during excavations undertaken in three different localities at this mining complex.Our analyses revealed that the miners enjoyed a varied and nutritious diet, comprising nine species of fruits and vegetables, alongside meat from two domestic animal taxa and representatives of eight different families of fish. While the fish and animal foods were brought to the mines from the Red Sea and neighboring regions, the vegetal food originated from a variety of different sources, some nearby, others quite distant.We suggest that since copper was traded from Naḥal ‘Amram, the foods arrived at the mines via the same trade routes, from settlements along the ‘Arabah, and these foodstuffs were likely bartered in exchange for copper. The results imply that the people engaged in copper mining were likely a local desert population, Nabataeans, supplementing their food needs from external sources and so enjoying improved nutritional status.Beyond its findings, the importance of this study lies in the combination of several disciplines, a methodology which can be useful for future research and provide a more reliable understanding of reconstructing the ancient diet.

Role of diffusion and reaction of the constituents in spreading of histone modification marks.

Cells switch genes ON or OFF by altering the state of chromatin via histone modifications at specific regulatory locations along the chromatin polymer. These gene regulation processes are carried out by a network of reactions in which the histone marks spread to neighboring regions with the help of enzymes. In the literature, this spreading has been studied as a purely kinetic, non-diffusive process considering the interactions between neighboring nucleosomes. In this work, we go beyond this framework and study the spreading of modifications using a reaction-diffusion (RD) model accounting for the diffusion of the constituents. We quantitatively segregate the modification profiles generated from kinetic and RD models. The diffusion and degradation of enzymes set a natural length scale for limiting the domain size of modification spreading, and the resulting enzyme limitation is inherent in our model. We also demonstrate the emergence of confined modification domains without the explicit requirement of a nucleation site. We explore polymer compaction effects on spreading and show that single-cell domains may differ from averaged profiles. We find that the modification profiles from our model are comparable with existing H3K9me3 data of S. pombe.

Research on the impact of digital inclusive finance development on carbon emissions—Based on the double fixed effects model

<p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">With the accelerated global warming and the continuous rise of sea level, drastically reducing carbon emissions has gradually become a necessary action for major industrialized countries. Based on the panel data of Chinese cities from 2011 to 2022, this paper empirically examines the heterogeneous impact, mechanism and spatial externality of the development of </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:宋体;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:ZH-CN;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">digital inclusive finance</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> on carbon emissions from the perspective of digital finance by applying the panel double fixed effects model. The study shows that: (1) China's digital inclusive finance index has shown a significant upward trend since 2011, and although there are obvious differences among regions, the regional differences are shrinking. As of 2022, the average carbon emissions per 10000 yuan of GDP in each province are 0.326 tons, with 11 provinces having carbon emissions exceeding this standard, mainly distributed in the underdeveloped central and western regions. (2) The development of digital inclusive finance can significantly reduce carbon emissions, and every 1% increase in the digital inclusive finance index will prompt a 0.311% decrease in carbon emissions. There is some regional heterogeneity in this effect, and for the backward central and western regions, carbon emissions can be reduced by 0.342% and 0.457%. (3) Optimizing regional industrial structure and promoting green technological innovation are important transmission mechanisms for digital inclusive finance to reduce regional carbon emissions. (4) There are also significant spatial positive externalities of digital inclusive finance, which can not only reduce local carbon emissions, but also effectively reduce the carbon emissions of neighboring regions. Finally, corresponding countermeasures are proposed based on the findings of the study.</span></span></p>

Fluid Dynamics Effects of a Porous Blockage on Laminar Flow in the Interior Subchannels of a 61-Pin Wire-Wrapped Rod Bundle

Flow blockages in Liquid Metal Fast Reactor (LMFR) fuel assemblies that can cause fuel pin cladding failures require further investigation for the development and optimization of these Generation IV reactor designs. The objective of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effects of a porous blockage accident scenario on laminar flow behavior in the interior subchannels of a prototypical 61-pin wire-wrapped rod bundle. The laminar flow condition is considered because of its importance to natural circulation and loss-of-coolant-accident operating scenarios as well as the limited availability of experimental data. The matched-index-of-refraction method was utilized to obtain two-dimension two-component time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) measurements at three planes centered on blocked and neighboring subchannel regions. Time-averaged first-order and second-order statistics, computed by Reynolds decomposition, were visualized including the mean and fluctuating streamwise and spanwise velocity components. Line profiles described the evolution of flow from upstream regions, to separated flow, and recombination downstream, while a modified Galilean decomposition distinguished differences between flow in the blocked measurement plane and flow in its neighboring counterpart region. Spatial-temporal cross-correlations were performed for the streamwise velocity fluctuations to characterize the convection velocity and decay of traveling vortices in the wake of the porous blockage. The isothermal TR-PIV measurements from this study provide high-fidelity experimental data sets for the validation of computational models and numerical studies to characterize complex fluid phenomena in wire-wrapped rod bundles during the potential accident scenario of a porous, interior flow blockage.

Computational modelling of the therapeutic outputs of photodynamic therapy on spheroid-on-chip models

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a medical radio chemotherapeutic method that uses light, photosensitizing agents, and oxygen to produce cytotoxic compounds, which eliminate malignant cells. Recently, Microfluidic systems have been used to analyse photosensitizers (PSs) due to their potential to replicate in vivo environments. While prior studies have established a strong correlation between reacted singlet oxygen concentration and PDT-induced cellular death, the effects that the ambient fluid flow might have on the concentration of oxygen and PS have been disregarded in many, which limits the reliability of the results. Herein, we coupled the transport of oxygen and PS throughout the ambient medium and within the spheroidal multicellular aggregate to initially study the profiles of oxygen and PS concentration alongside PDT-induced cellular death throughout the spheroid before and after radiation. The attained results indicate that the PDT-induced cellular death initiates on the surface of the spheroids and subsequently spreads to the neighbouring regions, which is in great accordance with experimental results. Afterward, the effects that drug-light interval (DLI), fluence rate, PS composition, microchannel height, and inlet flow rate have on the therapeutic outcomes are studied. The findings show that adequate DLI is critical to ensure uniform distribution of PS throughout the medium, and a value of 5 h was found to be sufficient. The composition of PS is critical, as ALA-PpIX induces earlier cell death but accelerates oxygen consumption, especially in the outer layers, depriving the inner layers of oxygen necessary for PDT, which in turn disrupts and prolongs the exposure time compared to mTHPC and Photofrin. Despite the fluence rate directly influencing the singlet oxygen generation rate, increasing the fluence rate by 189 mW/cm2 would not significantly benefit us. Microwell height and inlet flow rate involve competing phenomena—increasing height or decreasing flow reduces oxygen supply and increases PS “washout” and its concentration.

The impact of intellectual property demonstration policies on carbon emission efficiency

Confronted with the concurrent challenges of economic advancement and environmental management, this study explores whether implementing Intellectual Property Demonstration Policies (IPDP) can be a covert force in enhancing carbon emission efficiency. Utilizing panel data from 280 prefecture-level cities in China over the period 2007–2019, we employ a quasi-natural experimental design, incorporating multiple-period difference-in-differences models, mediation effect models, and spatial Durbin difference-in-differences models to assess the impacts of IPDP on carbon emission efficiency, its mechanisms of action, and its spatial spillover effects. The regression results of the multi-period difference-in-differences model reveal a statistically significant enhancement in carbon emission efficiency due to IPDP, with an impact coefficient of 0.044. Through heterogeneity tests, it is observed that the influence of IPDP on carbon emission efficiency varies based on regional characteristics, carbon emission levels, and the extent of marketization. The mediation effect model demonstrates that IPDP enhances carbon emission efficiency by fostering green technological innovation and facilitating the transformation of industrial structures. Furthermore, the spatial Durbin difference-in-differences model illustrates that IPDP positively influences the carbon emission efficiency of neighboring regions, indicating favorable spatial spillover effects. Notably, the indirect effect coefficients in the geographical distance matrix, economic distance matrix, and economic-geographical nested matrix are calculated as 0.673, 0.250, and 0.386, respectively. These findings offer compelling theoretical and empirical support for strengthening the intellectual property framework to optimize its environmental impact.

Trajectories of Solitons Movement in the Potential Field of pPF1 Plasmid with Non-Zero Initial Velocity

Nonlinear conformational distortions, such as, for example, locally unwound regions of the DNA double helix, named open states, are considered in this work as solitons moving in the potential field of this molecule. It is believed that open states play an important role in the processes of transcription, replication, denaturation, as well as in the transmission of structural changes and information along the DNA molecule. This work examines the problem of the movement of kink-like solitons (kinks) in the potential field of the pPF1 plasmid, the sequence of which includes the genes of the fluorescent proteins Egfp and mCherry, separated by a small intermediate region. The results of calculations of energy profiles of the main and complementary sequences of the plasmid, as well as 2D and 3D trajectories of kinks with a non-zero initial velocity are presented. It has been shown that two types of kinks can be activated in the pPF1 plasmid, which can be considered as two types of quasiparticles that have their own energy, mass, velocity and move in the potential field of the plasmid. It was found that the lowest energy required to form these kinks is observed in the intermediate region located between the fluorescent protein genes. It was shown that the nature of the motion of kinks does not depend on the value of their initial velocity. It was shown that there are threshold values of the torsion field, upon reaching which the behavior of kinks changes sharply: from damped oscillations within the intermediate region to forward motion and penetration into neighboring regions. These values have been calculated. It turned out that for the first kink moving in the main sequence potential field, the threshold value is 4.95×10–22 J, and for the second kink – 4.20 × 10–22 J.

Traceability and policy suggestions for ozone pollution in heavy industrial city in Northeast China.

In the heavy industrial city of Northeast China, there has been a significant decrease in particulate matter pollution while experiencing a sharp increase in ozone (O3) pollution. However, the main influencing factors and source contributions to O3 remain unclear. Taking the case of Siping as an example, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics, assessed local source contributions to O3, and revealed regional transmission effects using numeric simulation and statistical methods. Temporally, higher O3 concentrations were observed in summer and the afternoon, with hourly peaks up to 254µg/m3. Spatially, O3 pollution was mainly contributed by background concentrations (34.52%), external transport (34.50%), and local emissions (30.98%) during the case study period (June 11-18, 2021). Among the local emission sources, biological emissions, the industrial sector, and the traffic sector accounted for 35.30%, 32.09%, and 23.58% of the O3 concentration, respectively. For regional atmospheric transmission, high O3 pollution was accompanied by wind from the southwest directions, and the trajectory of air mass transport suggests that eastern Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula, and its neighboring regions contribute to O3 pollution. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis showed that O3 pollution in Siping is a co-controlled region by anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (AVOCs) and NOX, which implies control in an optimal ratio of VOCs and NOX emissions. Thus, our results highlight the importance of joint prevention and control of O3 pollution in the region, optimization of biogenic landscape ecology, and control of VOCs and NOx in both the industrial and transport sectors.

Perceptual point cloud qality assessment for immersive metaverse experience

Perceptual quality assessment for point cloud is critical for immersive metaverse experience and is a challenging task. Firstly, because point cloud is formed by unstructured 3D points that makes the topology more complex. Second, the quality impairment generally involves both geometric attributes and color properties, where the measurement of the geometric distortion becomes more complex. We proposed a perceptual point cloud quality assessment model that follows the perceptual features of Human Visual System (HVS) and the intrinsic characteristics of the point cloud. The point cloud is first pre-processed to extract the geometric skeleton keypoints with graph filtering-based re-sampling, and local neighboring regions around the geometric skeleton keypoints are constructed by K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) clustering. For geometric distortion, the Point Feature Histogram (PFH) is extracted as the feature descriptor, and the Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) between the PFHs of the corresponding local neighboring regions in the reference and the distorted point clouds is calculated as the geometric quality measurement. For color distortion, the statistical moments between the corresponding local neighboring regions are computed as the color quality measurement. Finally, the global perceptual quality assessment model is obtained as the linear weighting aggregation of the geometric and color quality measurement. The experimental results on extensive datasets show that the proposed method achieves the leading performance as compared to the state-of-the-art methods with less computing time. Meanwhile, the experimental results also demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method across various distortion types. The source codes are available at https://github.com/llsurreal919/PointCloudQualityAssessment.

Роль федерального учреждения МНТК «Микрохирургия глаза» в работе региональной детской офтальмологической службы.

One of the main tasks of the children’s ophthalmological service in any region is to ensure the availability of high-tech medical care, however, personnel and technological shortages can negatively affect this indicator. Using the resources of a federal specialized clinic at the regional level can help resolve this issue. The goal is to reflect the participation of the federal specialized clinic in the work of the regional children’s ophthalmological service. Material and methods. The data used to assess the state of provision of ophthalmological care to children was taken from the electronic database of medical records of patients who received ophthalmological care at the Kaluga branch of the S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution in the period from 2017 to 2023. Results. In 2005, a pediatric surgical department was organized at the Kaluga branch of the S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution. The work of the department’s ophthalmologists is primarily aimed at providing modern surgical treatment for children with various ophthalmological diseases. The leading scientific and practical direction is retinopathy of prematurity. To ensure optimal accessibility of specialized medical care, implementation of a system for early diagnosis and monitoring of the vision status of children, in the fall of 2020, a Children’s Ophthalmological Diagnostic Center (DOC) was opened within the structure of the Kaluga branch of the MNTK. The priority direction of the DOC is the introduction into clinical practice of innovative medical technologies aimed at early detection and formation of stages in the treatment of eye diseases in children and adolescents, and the determination of recommendations for preventive measures. From 2017 to 2023, the volume of ophthalmological care provided by the Kaluga branch of MNTK was within the range of 1,400–3,000 operations per year. Every year, ophthalmological care is provided directly to more than 1000 children at the Children’s Center. In total, over the entire period of operation of the center, conservative treatment was carried out in 3552 cases of amblyopia, myopia and other forms of ametropia, including severe forms. Using the new treatment method, 809 courses of treatment have been carried out at the Amblyokor complex since September 2020. During the work of the Center, 1908 orthokeratology lens sets were selected and issued. In addition to accepting patients living in the Kaluga region, we are actively accepting children from other regions. Conclusion. Thanks to the work of the branch of the MNTK «Eye Microsurgery» in the Kaluga region, the shortage of highly qualified medical personnel is compensated, the effective use of complex and unique diagnostic and treatment equipment is concentrated and implemented, the widespread introduction of progressive treatment methods into practice is ensured, the optimal route for patients is developed, taking into account the structure of medical organizations, participating in the implementation of the program of state guarantees of providing free assistance to the population. It should be noted that ophthalmological care for the children’s population through the Kaluga branch of the S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution is largely provided at the interregional level, affecting the territories of neighboring regions.

CPR++: Object Localization via Single Coarse Point Supervision.

Point-based object localization (POL), which pursues high-performance object sensing under low-cost data annotation, has attracted increased attention. However, the point annotation mode inevitably introduces semantic variance due to the inconsistency of annotated points. Existing POL heavily rely on strict annotation rules, which are difficult to define and apply, to handle the problem. In this study, we propose coarse point refinement (CPR), which to our best knowledge is the first attempt to alleviate semantic variance from an algorithmic perspective. CPR reduces the semantic variance by selecting a semantic centre point in a neighbourhood region to replace the initial annotated point. Furthermore, We design a sampling region estimation module to dynamically compute a sampling region for each object and use a cascaded structure to achieve end-to-end optimization. We further integrate a variance regularization into the structure to concentrate the predicted scores, yielding CPR++. We observe that CPR++ can obtain scale information and further reduce the semantic variance in a global region, thus guaranteeing high-performance object localization. Extensive experiments on four challenging datasets validate the effectiveness of both CPR and CPR++. We hope our work can inspire more research on designing algorithms rather than annotation rules to address the semantic variance problem in POL.

EU Enlargement Policy between the Chronological Precedence of the Western Balkans and the Geopolitical Urgency in the Eastern Neighborhood

This study adopts a realist approach to explore how geopolitical factors influence the European Union’s (EU) decision to expand into neighbouring regions of strategic importance or vulnerability to major powers’ influence. It specifically examines the obstacles posed by the absence of a unanimous stance on „pre-scheduled” accessions, as seen in the earlier „eastern enlargement” rounds. It is argued that the present geopoliticized EU enlargement policy seems to be guided by realist factors, although it is characterized by an incongruity between strategic rhetoric and strategic actions. This inconsistency between expressed intentions and actual measures is more evident in the Western Balkans than in the Eastern neighbourhood. Through the selected, broadly set realist elements – groupism, egoism and power-centrism – the EU’s foreign policy strategy and behaviour are examined, searching for a gap between the discursive and practical domains in both regions. The research considers that the EU’s response has not predominantly been strategic but rather tactical, reflecting the enlargement policy’s longstanding deficiencies, coupled with the urgent need to extend commitments to the eastern partners facing immediate security threats. Such tendencies are disadvantageous for the Western Balkans, which became a lower priority for the EU despite its chronological precedence in the enlargement domain. While ideally, both enlargement regions should be granted an „accession timetable” along with on-ground democratic reforms, the authors highlight that due to differing geopolitical dynamics and pressure, the outcomes for the two regions may either diverge in terms of potential favouring of the new candidates or, perhaps more likely, converge – meaning that the accession of either region might be postponed once the geopolitical urgency subsides.

The impact of environmental regulation on water resources carrying capacity in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

ABSTRACT Enhancing environmental regulation (ER) is a key strategy for improving the carrying capacity of water resources. This study employs panel data from 11 provinces and cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt, spanning from 2008 to 2022, to calculate the carrying capacity of water resources using an enhanced TOPSIS model. It further examines the threshold effect and spatial spillover effect of ER on water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) through the construction of panel threshold models and spatial econometric models, respectively. Findings indicate a stable growth trend in the carrying capacity of water resources across the Yangtze River Economic Belt, with the upstream region typically exhibiting a higher capacity than both the midstream and downstream regions. ER positively impacts WRCC, demonstrating a single threshold effect. Nonetheless, the positive effect of ER on WRCC experiences diminishing marginal returns as industrial structure upgrades. While strengthening ER positively influences the carrying capacity of water resources in local areas, it exerts a negative spatial spillover effect on neighboring regions. In light of these findings, implementing differentiated ER, optimizing industrial structure and collaborative policies and promoting technological innovation are vital for fostering WRCC.

Subjective Well-Being and Standard of Living in the Kaliningrad Region

The article provides a conjugated analysis of an objectified picture of the living conditions and subjective well-being of the population in the Kaliningrad region as one of the Russian border regions, characterized by the strengthening of the role of the border as a dividing marker against the background of intense cross-border interactions in the recent past. The study is based on a comparison of the socio-economic indicators of the neighboring border regions of Russia, Poland, and Lithuania with quantitative (representative survey) and qualitative sociological data (focus groups and semi-structured interviews) obtained by the authors in Kaliningrad region in 2020–2022. It is shown that subjective well-being and perception of the quality of life, as well as a comparison of one’s own standard of living with that achieved in neighboring Poland and Lithuania, are determined by the socio-economic polarization of the region and the heterogeneity of the Kaliningrad society, including differences in lifestyle, mobility, and activity of residents. An imbalance between the relative material well-being of the inhabitants of the exclave against the background of other Russian regions and their poor social well-being caused by an unfavorable comparison of themselves with neighboring EU countries was revealed. Differences across the border are assessed primarily through the prism of general admiration for Europe, envy of goods and comfort, although most respondents are not familiar with the realities of life on the other side of the border. At the same time, the main referents of unfavorable comparisons are not only neighbors, but also the most wealthy and successful groups of the population.

Spatio-temporal characteristics of Tuberculosis in Ghana

Background Tuberculosis (TB) remains a key contributor to global mortality; ranks second as the most fatal infectious disease and seventh among the top ten causes of death in Ghana. There is insufficient literature regarding the utilization of Bayesian hierarchical models for examining the spatial and spatio-temporal dynamics of tuberculosis risk in Ghana. Aim This study addresses this gap by determining TB hotspots regions in Ghana using the Bayesian modeling framework. Methods TB data were obtained from the Ghana Health Service and National Tuberculosis Programme for the 10 administrative regions of Ghana, from 2008 to 2017. Spatial and spatio-temporal TB relative risk for each region were estimated under the Bayesian modeling frameworks. Maps for TB risks were created to visualized regions with TB hotspots. Model fitting and parameter estimation were conducted using integrated nested Laplace approximation via R version 4.3.2. Results Among the baseline predictors, TB cure rate, TB success rate, knowledge about TB, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence, percentage of literacy, and high income were found to be most significant predictors of TB risk in Ghana. We noted an increased risk of TB infection in the Northern zone and the Eastern and Greater Accra regions in the Southern zone. Spatio-temporal distribution of TB infection risk was predominantly concentrated in the Southern zone. Clustering of TB risk was observed among neighboring regions. Conclusion Factors influencing tuberculosis (TB) risk in Ghana are TB cure rate, TB success rate, knowledge about TB, HIV prevalence, literacy rate, and income level. The risk distribution was mainly concentrated in the Southern zone, with clusters of TB risk observed among neighboring regions. To achieve a significant reduction in TB cases, it is essential to allocate resources to TB hotspots regions and also implement measures to control significant predictors of TB infection risk.

Assessing the impact of rural E-commerce on regional poverty alleviation: A spatial spillover analysis

China's innovative and sustainable e-commerce poverty alleviation model has not only generated significant social and economic value but also serves as an effective practical case for global poverty reduction. This study employed 611 counties in contiguous poverty-affected areas in China from 2011 to 2022 as valid research samples. It adopted the Spatial Autoregression Model, Spatial Error Model, and Spatial Durbin Model to examine the impact of rural e-commerce on the quality of poverty alleviation, spatial spillover effects, and regional heterogeneity in contiguous poverty-affected areas. The results indicate that rural e-commerce improves the quality of poverty alleviation in local regions and has a spatial spillover effect on the quality of poverty alleviation in adjacent regions. Moreover, significant regional heterogeneity exists in the direct promotion and spatial spillover effects of rural e-commerce on the quality of poverty alleviation in contiguously poor areas. Specifically, in the impoverished areas of eastern, central, and northeastern China, rural e-commerce not only enhances the quality of poverty alleviation in the local region but also has a positive spillover effect on the poverty alleviation quality of neighboring regions. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for rural e-commerce to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation and align them with rural revitalization efforts.

Unlocking a greener future: The role of digital finance in enhancing green total factor energy efficiency

The development of digital finance provides new opportunities for improving energy efficiency and promoting green development. This paper calculates green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) using the super-efficiency SBM model and examines the impact of digital finance on GTFEE. Digital finance has a significant positive impact on GTFEE. Under a bank-dominated financial structure, the positive impact of digital finance on GTFEE is quite significant. In regions with intense banking competition, a large amount of green credit, and lower resource dependence, digital finance is conducive to enhancing GTFEE. Optimizing the allocation efficiency of production factors is an essential mechanism for digital finance to encourage improvements in GTFEE. Digital finance alleviates distortions in factor markets and enhances the matching of the marginal output and the price of capital, labor, and energy factors, thereby facilitating improvements in GTFEE. Further analysis indicates that digital finance has a significant, positive spatial spillover effect on GTFEE, enhancing GTFEE levels in both local and neighboring regions. This study enriches the research on the relationship between digital finance and energy efficiency and provides theoretical foundations and policy references for how digital finance can better serve the green transition of the economy.

The Impact of Renewable Energy Development on Regional Carbon Emission Reduction: Based on the Spatio-Temporal Analysis of 30 Provinces in China.

The development of renewable energy has become an important means for the world to cope with climate change, ensure energy security, and protect the ecological environment. Using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2013 to 2021, this study used the mediating effect model and the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to explore the mechanism and spatial effects of renewable energy development on China's regional carbon emission reduction. The results show that: (1) Renewable energy development can help to reduce carbon emission intensity. (2) The results of mechanism analysis show that renewable energy development reduces carbon intensity by improving energy structure, promoting industrial structure optimization, and industrial structure upgrading. (3) The development of renewable energy can not only reduce the local carbon intensity but also have a positive spillover effect on the carbon intensity of neighboring regions. (4) Further analysis shows that the long-term effect of renewable energy development on carbon emissions is greater than the short-term effect. At the same time, the heterogeneity analysis shows that compared with the Yellow River basin, the development of renewable energy has a significant carbon emission reduction effect in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region. Energy-rich areas fall into the "resource curse", which makes the carbon emission reduction effect of renewable energy development not significant. This paper has certain reference significance for promoting reasonable decomposition between regions and formulating renewable energy development policies.

Shear bands and interface-affected-zone enabled high strength and ductility in heterogeneous laminate-Cu

The rapid development of shear bands (SBs) in nanocrystalline Cu is prone to lead to structural failure, while coarse crystalline Cu with high strain hardening capacity can effectively inhibit the growth of SBs. Heterogeneous laminate (HL) has a structure of alternating soft and hard domains, which dramatically increases ductility while reducing strength loss. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed how SBs in the HL-Cu during the stable plastic flow stage (the applied strain of 10 ∼ 20 %) strengthen the material. It is suggested that when SBs are uniformly and densely distributed in the structure, the strain gradient strengthening effect in the neighboring regions is significantly increased. Moreover, the efficiency of strain hardening can be maximized when the width of the interface-affected-zone (Defined as the region where a significant linear change in strain occurs, i.e., a strain gradient exists, located at the junction of the soft and hard domains.) caused by the uneven distribution of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) is exactly the same as the layer thickness. The results show that the strength of HL can be increased by more than 14 % by reducing the layer thickness by half.