Provinces In Central China Research Articles

Examining the carbon footprint of rice production and consumption in Hubei, China: A life cycle assessment and uncertainty analysis approach

This study aimed to quantify greenhouse gas emissions derived from the production-consumption of rice in Hubei—a major rice-producing province in central China. This research employed primary and secondary data collection methods. Primary data sources included interviews and experimental observations from seven counties in Hubei collected from June 2016 to December 2016. Secondary data sources—including national datasets, inter-governmental reports, and peer-reviewed articles—were used to extract relevant data, such as emission factors, and national and provincial rice output. Life Cycle Assessment was employed to build a comprehensive inventory and map of the rice carbon footprint, including the following five stages: production inputs, farm management, growth period, processing and sale, and consumption. Uncertainty analysis was performed to validate the reliability of carbon footprint estimations. Results showed that the carbon footprint for every 1 ton of polished rice in Hubei ranged between 4.19–6.81 t CO2e/t and was 5.39 t CO2e/t on average. Greenhouse gas emissions were primarily produced from rice fields during the growth stage (over 60% of greenhouse gas emissions of the whole life cycle of rice), followed by the consumption stage, and the production and transportation of agricultural inputs. Uncertainty analysis estimations indicated acceptable levels of reliability. This study's results indicate that the production and consumption of rice is a significant contributor to agricultural carbon emissions in Hubei—consistent with national estimates that place China as the largest carbon dioxide emitter globally. This research provides further insight into future policies and targeted initiatives for the efficient use of low-carbon agricultural inputs for rice production and consumption stages in China.

Data-driven prediction method for characteristics of voltage sag based on fuzzy time series

To inform the power utility and users, and help them reduce the huge financial losses due to voltage sag, it is important to obtain information on voltage sag events in advance. This paper proposes a method for predicting voltage sag characteristics based on fuzzy time series. First, we propose a homologous aggregation method to eliminate redundant data representing the same disturbance event and obtain the time series of voltage sag (TSOVS), which can describe the trend of the voltage sag data. Second, this paper introduces a fuzzification method for the time series of voltage sag based on the fuzzy c-means algorithm (FCMA), which transforms the time series of voltage sag into a fuzzy time series composed of interval symbols, to characterize the mapping relationship between the disturbance and voltage sag event. Furthermore, a hidden Markov model (HMM) of voltage sag is constructed to reveal the transformation relationship among elements in the fuzzy time series, considering the causal relationship between the disturbance and voltage sag event. Finally, the occurrence time and residual voltage of the voltage sag in the future were predicted based on this transformation relation. The measured voltage sags in a province in central China were used to verify the accuracy of the proposed method, prediction results with an accuracy of up to 90%.

The atmospheric lead emission, deposition, and environmental inequality driven by interprovincial trade in China

Lead (Pb) as a hazardous air pollutant has raised widespread concerns due to its adverse and toxic effects on the ecological environment and human health. Here we integrated the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model and an atmospheric transport model to examine regional environmental inequality (REI) index induced by Pb emission transfers, and to evaluate the impacts of interprovincial trade on regional atmospheric Pb concentrations and dry deposition fluxes in China in 2012. In 2012, approximately 57.4% ~ 72.6% of Pb emissions in well-developed eastern regions (Beijing-Tianjin, Yangtze River Delta (YRD)) and the southern seaboard of China were embodied in other regions in China subject to the demands from these well-developed regions to industrial products and services. Our results, based on the net virtual flows of Pb emission and value-added, indicate that most provinces in the eastern seaboard of China outsource Pb emission and benefit from the interprovincial trade by reducing their Pb emissions. REI indexes show that the well-developed Guangdong province outsources its Pb emission but has low economic gains. Many less-developed provinces in central China enhance virtual Pb emission inflow but have high economic gains. Whereas, inland provinces in western China not only experience Pb emission increase, but also suffer from indirect economic loss due to trade with well-developed provinces to meet their increasing demands to Pb emission abundant industrial products from these provinces in eastern China which are mostly provided by less-developed but energy and mineral product abundant provinces in western China. For example, the province pair with highest REI index was Jiangsu-Inner Mongolia (REI = 2.47), which revealed that Jiangsu was the largest beneficiary which exported 37.2 t of net Pb emission and gained value-added of 521.4 billion RMB through trade with Inner Mongolia which suffered from both virtual Pb inflow and economic loss in 2012. As a result of interprovincial trade, Pb dry deposition in central and eastern China was decreased but increased in western China. Overall, interprovincial trade reduced 17.6% of atmospheric Pb dry deposition in China.

Neurologists' attitudes and options for anticoagulation therapy in central China.

We aim to find out the factors affecting the use of anticoagulants and the intensity of their choices, and to establish a basis for improving neurologists' effective implementation of the guidelines. A cross-sectional study is conducted in Hubei province in central China. Each neurologist completes a standard-structured anonymous questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. The problems include the attitude and options about anticoagulant therapy. A total of 611 neurologists from 38 hospitals respond to this survey. For the best treatment of atrial fibrillation, more than 80% of physicians choose anticoagulant therapy. For patients with atrial fibrillation and cerebral infarction, physicians think that Warfarin is the preferred drug as high as 93.8%. Among the anticoagulant drugs ever used by clinicians, the use rate of Warfarin is 93.8%, but the use rate of direct oral anticoagulants is insufficient. The use of direct oral anticoagulants is related to the educational level and the geographical location of the hospital. Bleeding risk is the first reason influencing clinicians' choice of Warfarin, accounts for 88.9%. 97.7% of the clinicians recommend patients with Warfarin to regularly monitor the INR, but the frequency of monitoring is inconsistent. Clinicians have a high willingness to learn about AF, but the proportion of hospitals that carry out appropriate training is low. There are still some gaps with the guidelines on the choice of anticoagulant drugs. Neurologists have positive attitude towards anticoagulant therapy and a strong willingness to learn, but the corresponding training is lacking. Continuous professional training is necessary.

Multiple indicators of household dietary diversity in rural China: Effects of income and dietary knowledge

Objective:The aim of this study was to examine the association among family income, dietary knowledge, their interaction, and the multiple household dietary diversity indices (HDDIs), including dietary diversity score (DDS), entropy index (EI), Shannon equitability index (SEI), Herfindahl index (HI), and Simpson index (SI).Methods: Based on 24-h dietary recall data collected from 1076 rural households in three provinces of Central China, we calculated HDDIs and compared them according to different levels of income and dietary knowledge. A set of multivariate linear regression were further established and estimated to examine the association among family income, dietary knowledge, and household dietary diversity.Results: Although the calculation formulas are different, the distributions of the five diversity indices, namely, DDS, EI, SEI, HI, and SI are similar. Family income and dietary knowledge were significantly and positively correlated with various HDDIs (P < 0.01) in addition to HI. Specifically, with a 1-unit (10 000 yuan [US $1545]) income increase, the DDIs respectively changed by 1.70% (DDS), 1.23% (EI), 0.92% (SEI), –0.62% (HI, reverse), and 0.45% (SI). With a 1-point dietary knowledge score increase, the DDIs changed by 0.91% (DDS), 1.33% (EI), 1.29% (SEI), –1.19% (HI, reverse), and 0.81% (SI). The interaction effect of income and dietary knowledge on HDDIs were significantly and negatively correlated with various HDDIs (P < 0.05) in addition to HI.Conclusions: The present findings indicated that with an increase in income and dietary knowledge, rural residents in China would consume more diversified foods. There was a substitution effect of family income and dietary knowledge on HDDIs; that is, with an increase in family income, the effect of dietary knowledge on HDDIs would decrease. The findings of this study contributed to a better understanding of issues related to the dietary diversity of rural residents in China in the context of rising income and residents’ increasing dietary knowledge.

Ritual futures: Spirit mediumship as chronotopic labor.

This essay reflects on the still‐present difficulty in approaching contemporary rural mediumship as coeval with their urban psychotherapeutic counterparts. Drawing on ethnographic work in rural Henan province in central China, I describe how both rurality and spirit mediumship have been rendered anachronistic through national imaginaries, anti‐superstition campaigns, and psychiatric discourses. The essay centers on the case of a spirit medium located in the psychiatric unit, and the social evolutionary and developmentalist temporalities condensed in her cultural psychiatric diagnosis. I then turn to the medium's ritual work and cosmological account, which invert mediumship's position in space and time. The essay approaches mediumship's rituals as a form of chronotopic labor, which reworks the spatio‐temporal coordinates they inherit from within. It closes by bringing together the conundrums of rural mediumship and those of urban psychotherapeutic and diasporic worlds, to consider psychic landscapes of dislocation, and other formulations of futures to come.

Profiles and Predictors of Young Children’s Digital Literacy and Multimodal Practices in Central China

ABSTRACT Research Findings: There are heated debates about the benefits and risks of using digital devices in the early years. This study explored the latent profiles and the associated predictors of digital literacy and multimodal practices in Chinese children to understand how children use and interact with digital devices at home. A total of 1953 parents were recruited from a province in central China and surveyed about their children’s digital literacy and multimodal practices. The results indicated that: (1) all the children had access to a variety of digital technologies at home, with the most common digital practices being watching TV and using smartphones; (2) three latent classes of digital families were yielded: Low-level Profile (62.9% of the sample), Middle-level Profile (36.3%), and High-Level Profile (0.8%); and (3) child age, location and family annual income, home digital resources, parental beliefs, and parental mediation could significantly predict young children’s digital literacy and their multimodal practice at home, respectively. Practice or Policy: The findings imply that there are remarkable within-group differences in early digital literacy and multimodal practices, primarily caused by family SES and parental factors. More attention should be paid to low SES families and parental education to narrow the digital divide in Chinese children.

The characteristics of spatial expansion and driving forces of land urbanization in counties in central China: A case study of Feixi county in Hefei city.

Urbanization in Central and Western China has attracted increasing attention in the advent of new-type urbanization in China and the age of 'Global Urbanism'. Although land urbanization is at the epicenter of Chinese urbanization, its process and driving forces in counties beyond the Eastern coastal areas are less known. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the spatial expansion and driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county, a relatively advanced county neighboring Hefei city proper in Anhui province in Central China. Based on the land-use change survey data, remote sensing interpretation data, and statistical yearbook data of Feixi county from 2002 to 2016, it is revealed that the overall scale of urban land in Feixi county increased remarkably, though with obvious temporal and geographical variants. The year 2009 appears to be the cutting line between quantity-based land urbanization and quality-based land urbanization. Land urbanization rate is sensitive to both geographical distance and traffic accessibility to Hefei city proper. Driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county are summarized as: (1) central city expansion, (2) government-led industrial park construction, and (3) large industrial projects along traffic corridors. A better understanding of urbanization in Feixi county cannot be fulfilled without taking into account the wider spatial process in Hefei city and the Yangtze River Delta city-region.

Spatio-temporal analysis of urban air pollutants throughout China during 2014-2019.

Air pollution control has become the top priority of China’s “green development” concept since 2013. The Chinese government has enacted a range of policies and statutes to control contaminant emissions and improve air quality. On the basis of the national air quality ground observation database, the spatial and temporal distribution of air quality index value (AQI), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), coarse particles (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) were explored in 336 cities throughout China from 2014 to 2019. AQI and most pollutants (except O3) decreased in concentrations from 2014 to 2019. In 2019, all cities except Henan reached the level 2 of the ambient air quality index, and six cities had a lower ambient air quality index and reached the level 1. Spatially, higher pollutant concentrations were concentrated in large city clusters, whereas the areas with high O3 concentration were found across the country. Furthermore, central heating was shown to have a negative impact on air quality. The observed AQI value, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO concentrations were highest in north and northwest China and Henan province in central China. The correlations among pollutants suggest that the main sources of pollutants are fossil fuel combustion, industrial production, and motor vehicle emissions. The influence of meteorological factors on air quality, long-distance transportation, and the transformations of pollutants should be explored in future research.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11869-021-01043-5.

Measuring Dynamic Changes in the Spatial Pattern and Connectivity of Surface Waters Based on Landscape and Graph Metrics: A Case Study of Henan Province in Central China

An understanding of the scientific layout of surface water space is crucial for the sustainable development of human society and the ecological environment. The objective of this study was to use land-use/land-cover data to identify the spatiotemporal dynamic change processes and the influencing factors over the past three decades in Henan Province, central China. Multidisciplinary theories (landscape ecology and graph theory) and methods (GIS spatial analysis and SPSS correlation analysis) were used to quantify the dynamic changes in surface water pattern and connectivity. Our results revealed that the water area decreased significantly during the periods of 1990–2000 and 2010–2018 due to a decrease in tidal flats and linear waters, but increased significantly in 2000–2010 due to an increase in patchy waters. Human construction activities, socioeconomic development and topography were the key factors driving the dynamics of water pattern and connectivity. The use of graph metrics (node degree, betweenness centrality, and delta probability of connectivity) in combination with landscape metrics (Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance) can help establish the parameters of threshold distance between connected habitats, identify hubs and stepping stones, and determine the relatively important water patches that require priority protection or development.

Imbalance and breakout in the post-epidemic era: Research into the spatial patterns of freight demand network in six provinces of central China.

This study aims to explore the freight demand network spatial patterns in six provinces of central China from the perspective of the spread of the epidemic and the freight imbalance and breakout. To achieve this purpose, the big data of “cart search” demand information provided by small and medium freight enterprises on the freight information platform are analyzed. 343,690 pieces of freight demand big data on the freight information platform and Python, ArcGIS, UCINET, and Gephi software are used. The results show that: (1) The choke-point of unbalanced freight demand network is Wuhan, and the secondary choke-points are Hefei and Zhengzhou. (2) In southern China, a chain reaction circle of freight imbalance is formed with Wuhan, Hefei, and Nanchang as the centers. In northern China, a chain reaction circle of freight imbalance is formed with Zhengzhou and Taiyuan as the centers. (3) The freight demand of the six provinces in central China exhibits typical characteristics of long tail distribution with large span and unbalanced distribution. (4) The import and export of freight in different cities vary greatly, and the distribution is unbalanced. This study indicates the imbalance difference, chain reaction, keys and hidden troubles posed by the freight demand network. From the perspectives of freight transfer breakout, freight balance breakout, freight strength breakout, and breakout of freight periphery cities, we propose solutions to breakouts in the freight market in six provinces of central China in the post-epidemic era.

Non-interaction and identity change in Covid-19 tourism

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the fundamental desire for social interaction in international tourism. It is vital to understand how the loss of meaningful social interaction will impact on tourists' identity change. As the pandemic first appeared in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province in central China, the study focuses on Chinese tourists' reflections on social identity change and its associated non-interaction during the time of the unexpected crisis. Using the constructivist grounded theory approach, this qualitative research explains how non-interaction with people and place influences, and indeed is influenced by, changes in their social identities during the crisis, and shapes their future social behaviours. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Are China’s Water Resources for Agriculture Sustainable? Evidence from Hubei Province

We assessed the sustainability of agricultural water resources in Hubei Province, a typical agricultural province in central China, for a decade (2008–2018). Since traditional evaluation models often consider only the distance between the evaluation point and the positive or negative ideal solution, we introduce gray correlation analysis and construct a new sustainability evaluation model. Our research results show that only one city had excellent sustainable development capacity of agricultural water resources, and the evaluation value of eight cities fluctuated by around 0.5 (the median of the evaluation result), while the sustainable development capacity of agricultural water resources in other cities was relatively poor. Our findings not only reflect the differences in the natural conditions of water resources among various cities in Hubei, but also the impact of the cities’ policies to ensure efficient agricultural water use for sustainable development. The indicators and methods in this research are not difficult to obtain in most countries and regions of the world. Therefore, the indicator system we have established by this research could be used to study the sustainability of agricultural water resources in other countries, regions, or cities.

Ambient air pollutant exposure and in vitro fertilization treatment outcomes in Zhengzhou, China

ObjectiveTo study the association between ambient air pollutant exposure during the follicular phase and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. DesignA single-center retrospective analysis. SettingHenan Province, China. PatientsPatients (n = 6659) living in Zhengzhou, Henan Province in central China who underwent their first IVF cycle at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between 2013 and 2019 were included for analysis. InterventionNone. Main outcome measureThe relationships between PM2.5, PM10, and AQI (Air Quality Index) with IVF outcomes during the follicular phase (period I, 85 days before oocyte retrieval; period II, gonadotrophin start to oocyte retrieval). ResultsCompared with the bottom tertile, exposure to the top PM2.5 and PM10 tertiles during period I was associated with decreased clinical pregnancy (PM2.5: adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.838%, and 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.723 and 0.971; PM10: adjusted OR, 0.818%, and 95% CI, 0.705 and 0.950), and decreased live birth rate (PM2.5: adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.852%, and 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.736 and 0.987; PM10: adjusted OR, 0.850%, and 95% CI, 0.733 and 0.986), and exposure to the top PM2.5 tertile during period II adversely affected clinical pregnancy and the live birth rate (adjusted OR, 0.824%, and 95% CI, 0.711 and 0.955; adjusted OR, 0.817%, and 95% CI, 0.706 and 0.945). Compared with the bottom PM10 tertile, exposure to the middle PM10 tertile in period II showed decreased clinical pregnancies and live births (adjusted OR, 0.844; 95% CI, 0.729 and 0.978, adjusted OR, 0.846; 95% CI, 0.731 and 0.979). The PM10 level during period II of the follicular phase tend to adversely affect live birth rate, but the tendency did not reach significance (P = 0.051). ConclusionExposure to PM2.5 and PM10 before oocyte retrieval has an adverse effect on IVF outcomes. CapsuleExposure to PM2.5 and PM10 before oocyte retrieval has an adverse effect on IVF outcomes.

The complete chloroplast genome of Chinese medicine cultivar species of Rehmannia glutinosa (Orobanchaceae)

The cultivar of Rehmannia glutinosa (Orobanchaceae) is one of the four famous ‘Huai’ medicine cultivar species endemic to Henan Province in central China. In this study, we report the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of R. glutinosa cultivar Wen 85-5. The cp genome of R. glutinosa cultivar Wen 85-5 was 155,499 bp in length and contained a pair of inverted repeat regions (IR, 25,748 bp) separated by a small single copy (SSC, 17,600 bp) and a large single copy (LSC, 84,403 bp) region. Chloroplast genome sequences of two cultivar of R. glutinosa (Wen 85-5 and Jiwang 1) are identical to each other. The sequence of cp genome of R. glutinosa cultivar Wen 85-5 was 99.70% similar to the wild population of R. glutinosa. Some distinctive insert and deletion in R. glutinosa cultivar Wen 85-5 by comparison with wild population were reported. The maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed that R. glutinosa cultivar Wen 85-5.was sister to the R. glutinosa cultivar Jiwang 1 (BS = 100%), and further clustering with R. glutinosa (BS = 100%). This result will be helpful for the conservation and breeding programs of the cultivar of R. glutinosa.

Genomic insight into the population history of Central Han Chinese

Background In recent decades, considerable attention has been paid to exploring the population genetic characteristics of Han Chinese, mainly documenting a north-south genetic substructure. However, the central Han Chinese have been largely underrepresented in previous studies. Aim To infer a comprehensive understanding of the homogenisation process and population history of Han Chinese. Subjects and methods We collected samples from 122 Han Chinese from seven counties of Hubei province in central China and genotyped 534,000 genome-wide SNPs. We compared Hubei Han with both ancient and present-day Eurasian populations using Principal Component Analysis, ADMIXTURE, f statistics, qpWave and qpAdm. Results We observed Hubei Han Chinese are at a genetically intermediate position on the north-south Han Chinese cline. We have not detected any significant genetic substructure in the studied groups from seven different counties. Hubei Han show significant evidence of genetic admixture deriving about 63% of ancestry from Tai-Kadai or Austronesian-speaking southern indigenous groups and 37% from Tungusic or Mongolic related northern populations. Conclusions The formation of Han Chinese has involved extensive admixture with Tai-Kadai or Austronesian-speaking populations in the south and Tungusic or Mongolic speaking populations in the north. The convenient transportation and central location of Hubei make it the key region for the homogenisation of Han Chinese.

Energy Demand and Carbon Emission Peak Paths for the Rise of Central China

Energy revolution is essential for the coordinated and sustainable development of economy, society, and the environment, and it should coordinate with regional development strategies. Using the Kaya identity, this study categorizes the energy consumption demand brought by the rise of Central China into production and living demand. Energy demand scenarios for the rise of Central China are constructed considering factors such as gross domestic product, industrial structure, urbanization, energy efficiency, per capita income, and residential energy. Accordingly, the low-carbon development paths under energy revolution are analyzed. Urbanization and industrialization will promote the total energy demand in the five provinces in Central China up to 8.4×10⁸–1.01×10⁹ tce in 2035. Moreover, the establishment of a diversified energy supply system can help achieve low-carbon emission, energy security, and efficient utilization of energy; a carbon emission peak is expected to reach before 2030. China should vigorously develop technologies regarding energy conservation and clean and renewable energies. A multi-energy complementary system should be established in China by optimizing the industrial structure, and the existing energy system should be reformed to realize energy cooperation among regions.

An Adaptive Lasso Grey Model for Regional FDI Statistics Prediction

To overcome the deficiency of traditional mathematical statistics methods, an adaptive Lasso grey model algorithm for regional FDI (foreign direct investment) prediction is proposed in this paper, and its validity is analyzed. Firstly, the characteristics of the FDI data in six provinces of Central China are generalized, and the mixture model's constituent variables of the Lasso grey problem as well as the grey model are defined. Next, based on the influencing factors of regional FDI statistics (mean values of regional FDI and median values of regional FDI), an adaptive Lasso grey model algorithm for regional FDI was established. Then, an application test in Central China is taken as a case study to illustrate the feasibility of the adaptive Lasso grey model algorithm in regional FDI prediction. We also select RMSE (root mean square error) and MAE (mean absolute error) to demonstrate the convergence and the validity of the algorithm. Finally, we train this proposedal gorithm according to the regional FDI statistical data in six provinces in Central China from 2006 to 2018. We then use it to predict the regional FDI statistical data from 2019 to 2023 and show its changing tendency. The extended work for the adaptive Lasso grey model algorithm and its procedure to other regional economic fields is also discussed.

Discussion on current situation of green service area construction

In the current period when the highway industry is accelerating the improvement of infrastructure construction and implementing new development concepts, the construction of green service area is an important part of promoting the high-quality development of highway transportation infrastructure. Based on the study of the connotation of the green service area, in order to provide experience and reference for its construction and transformation, this article put forward the content of the construction of green service area, and further combined the comprehensive survey of service areas of a certain province in central China, analysed and summarized current situation of green construction technologies from aspects of location and land use, buildings, environmental protection facilities, and renewable energy utilization.

The Measurement of Professional Identification for Three Types of Normal Students——Survey from A Province in Central China

Teacher education is an important way of national development. The current teacher education system in China is undergoing a transformation from the “Old three-level” of normal education to the “New three-level” of teacher education. In addition, the cultivation of pre-service teachers is an important topic of research at home and abroad, and the study of professional identity focuses on the normal students’ perception and experience of the teachers’ profession in the aspects of expectation, volition value and efficacy, it can be regarded as an important reference to predict whether an individual is suitable for teaching and to test the effect of pre-service teacher training. In this study, Professional Identification Scale for Normal Students (PISNS), which can be used as an effective tool to evaluate the professional identity of normal university and college students, was used to investigate three types of normal students in a central province of China, and the level of their professional identity was compared. The main findings of the study are as follows: (1) There is no difference in professional identity between Public-Funded Undergraduate Normal Students and Public-Funded Associate Normal College Students, and their professional identity level is significantly higher than that of normal students who do not receive government subsidies. (2) The difference between Public-Funded Undergraduate Normal Students and Public-Funded Associate Normal College Students is reflected in the two sub-dimensions of professional identity: professional efficacy and professional volition. (3) The grade increase of Non-Public-Funded Undergraduate Normal Students is inversely related to their professional identity. The study discusses the reasons for the above differences, and presents three types of normal students group face.