Search Results (482)

Public perception of traditional villages’ streetscape is a crucial link for unlocking their benefits in promoting physical and mental health and realizing environmental value transformation. Current studies on the influence mechanisms of rural streetscape characteristics on perception largely rely on subjective ratings and mostly depend on linear models. To address this, this study takes a traditional village in eastern China, which is rich in natural and cultural conditions, as an example and constructs an evaluation framework comprising 29 streetscape feature indicators. Based on multimodal data including electroencephalography (EEG), image segmentation, color, and spatial depth computation, XGBoost-SHAP was employed to reveal the nonlinear influence mechanisms of streetscape features on neurophysiological indicators (alpha-band power spectral density, α PSD) in the traditional rural context, which differs from the blue–green spaces and residential, campus, and urban environments in previous studies. The results indicate that (1) the dominant factors affecting α PSD in traditional villages are tree, color consistency, architectural aesthetics, spatial enclosure index, P_EBG, and road, in descending order. (2) Threshold effects and interaction effects that differ from previous studies on campuses, window views, and other contexts were identified. The positive effect of tree view index on α activity peaks at the threshold of 0.09, beyond which diminishing returns occur. Color complexity, including high color difference from the primary village scheme (i.e., low color consistency, color diversity, and visual entropy), inhibits α activity. The effect of spatial enclosure index (SEI) on α activity exhibits an inverted U-shape, peaking at 0.35. Tree–VE_nats, road–SEI, and building–SEI show antagonistic effects. Road–sky and SEI–P_FG display conditional interaction effects. (3) Based on k-means clustering analysis, the “key factor identification—threshold effect management—multi-factor synergy optimization” design can directionally regulate α PSD, promoting relaxed and calm streetscape schemes. This approach can be applied to urban and rural environment assessment and design, providing theoretical and technical support for scientific decision-making. Full article

Background and Objectives: Lifestyle and dietary behaviors are increasingly recognized as important factors influencing symptom management and quality of life (QoL) in patients with rheumatic diseases. However, evidence remains limited regarding how specific lifestyle patterns interact with sociodemographic and clinical variables to shape patient-reported outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between diet, lifestyle behaviors, and self-perceived QoL in a cohort of patients with rheumatic conditions. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 350 adults with rheumatic diseases completed a structured questionnaire covering sociodemographic data, rheumatologic diagnosis and treatment, dietary behaviors, lifestyle factors (physical activity, sleep, smoking, alcohol), and QoL assessments (scales 1–10). Statistical analyses included descriptive measures, Chi-square tests, correlation analyses, logistic regression, and linear regression models to identify predictors of QoL. Results: The majority of participants were female (86.9%) and aged between 26 and 55 years. Urban patients were more likely to attribute a positive influence of diet on QoL, while rural participants reported stronger disease burden. Logistic regression showed that adherence to a special diet significantly increased the odds of reporting good QoL. Linear regression identified sleep quality (β = 0.42), perceived dietary influence (β = 0.29), and physical activity (β = 0.18) as independent predictors of QoL (adjusted R² = 0.47, all p < 0.001). Correlation analyses further revealed that disease burden negatively impacted emotional well-being and sleep, while dietary influence correlated positively with QoL. Conclusions: This study highlights the multidimensional role of diet and lifestyle in shaping QoL in patients with rheumatic diseases. Alongside pharmacological treatment, targeted lifestyle interventions focusing on nutrition, physical activity, and sleep hygiene may substantially improve patient outcomes. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm these associations and explore causal mechanisms. Full article

Depressive symptoms are increasingly common in middle-aged and older adults and have become a major public health problem. People may experience transitions across different underlying states due to symptom variability over a course of many years. And risk factors may have different impact on different symptom states. However, existing research rarely considers the identification of important factors related to symptom conversion. The purpose of this study was to examine the risk associated with transitioning between various stages of depressive symptoms and their influencing factors, utilizing a multi-state model with a simultaneous feature selection method. We used the four waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and 3916 participants were selected after screening. Five states of depressive symptoms were defined including no symptom, new symptom episode, symptom persistence, remission and relapse. We included 13 variables on demographic background, health status and functioning, and family and social connectivity, along with their interactions. Multi-state models were used to evaluate the risks of state transitions. The regularized (adaptive Lasso) partial likelihood approach was employed to simultaneously identify the important risk factors, estimate their impact on the state transition rates and determine their statistical significance. There were 1392 new depressive episodes events, 402 symptom persistence events, 639 remission events and 118 relapse events. We identified nine significant risk factors for the new onset of depressive symptoms: urban–rural residence, sex, retirement status, income, body pain, difficulty with basic daily activities, social engagement, education by income interaction and number of conditions by income interaction. The effects of the identified risk factors on new symptom episode weakened as those symptoms became persistent or went into remission. In terms of symptom relapse, sex by age was identified as a significant influencing factor. This study identified key factors and explored their effects on the various depressive symptom states among older Chinese adults. The findings could serve as a foundation for the development and implementation of targeted policies aimed at enhancing the mental well-being of China’s elderly population. Full article

E-commerce platforms are rapidly transforming global consumer behavior, yet the psychological and demographic determinants of sustainable digital consumption remain underexplored. This study investigates how extraversion–introversion personality traits interact with demographic and socio-economic factors to influence e-commerce usage among Korean consumers, with implications for sustainable consumption practices. Based on data from the 13th Korea Media Panel Survey (2022), the results of this study indicate that extraverted individuals, women, younger consumers, higher-educated and higher-income groups, employed and unmarried individuals, those in larger households, and urban residents were more likely to engage in e-commerce, whereas introverts and older adults showed lower participation. These findings highlight the complex interplay between psychological dispositions and structural conditions in shaping digital consumption. This study advances theoretical understandings of the issue by integrating extraversion–introversion traits and demographic variables into a multidimensional framework of consumer behavior. Practically, it emphasizes the need for inclusive e-commerce design: socially interactive features for extraverts, information-rich streamlined interfaces for introverts, and enhanced accessibility for older or rural users. Policy implications include promoting digital literacy, reducing infrastructure inequalities, and implementing ethical, personality-informed personalization strategies to foster equitable and sustainable online commerce. This research contributes to sustainable consumer intelligence by demonstrating how psychological and contextual factors jointly influence e-commerce engagement. Full article

Rural revitalization relies on both industrial upgrading and cultural reinvigoration. Tea-culture–tourism integration has been regarded as a potentially effective route for advancing rural revitalization, yet its interactive relationship and dynamic evolution remain insufficiently understood. Based on provincial-level panel data from 18 major tea-producing provinces in China between 2013 and 2022, this study constructs two comprehensive evaluation index systems for tea–culture–tourism integration and rural revitalization. It employs the entropy weight method, the coupling coordination degree model, the Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition, and spatial econometric models to measure their coupling coordination degree and analyze its spatiotemporal pattern, regional disparities, and driving factors. The main findings are as follows: (1) Both tea–culture–tourism integration and rural revitalization exhibited upward trends, with the latter being consistently higher. (2) The coupling coordination degree transitioned from dissonance to coordination, spatially forming a gradient progression pattern of “coastal-river-inland”. (3) Regional disparities were primarily dominated by transvariation density and inter-regional differences. (4) Results of spatial econometric models indicated that fiscal conditions exerted a significant positive direct effect, while urban–rural social development, employment structure, and human capital generated significant positive direct and indirect effects. Full article

Rural resilience building has gained increasing scholarly attention, yet existing literature overlooks the temporal dynamics of resilience evolution and lacks an integrative framework to explain cross-level mechanisms. This paper uses a longitudinal case study to explore how rural resilience transitions from a low-equilibrium to a high-equilibrium state and how neo-endogenous practices emerge in a weak institutional context. The study reveals three key findings. First, the village’s resilience evolved through three phases—institutional intervention, community capital activation, and resilience self-reinforcement—driven by co-evolutionary interactions between an enabling government and the rural community. This process is marked by chain effects of multidimensional community capital (e.g., cultural capital enhancing social capital) and overflow effects from resilience amplification (e.g., multi-scalar network). Second, exogenous resources and endogenous community capital are critical in the neo-endogenous model, but their synergy relies on vertical institutional interventions that foster horizontal networks and enhance communities’ resource absorption capacity. Third, the government enables resilience building by creating a support ecosystem that transitions from institutionally bundled resources to a higher-order composite space, facilitated by urban–rural interactions and community restructuring. The study makes three theoretical contributions: (1) it proposes an analytical framework integrating an enabling government, community capital, and ecosystem upgrading, thus advancing beyond the current community capital-centric paradigm; (2) it introduces a three-phase process model that unpacks spatiotemporal interactions across urban-rural interfaces, multi-scalar networks, and state-community relations, addressing the limitations of static factor-based analyses; (3) it reconceptualizes the role of government as an “enabling government” that mediates local and extra-local resource interfaces, challenging the neo-endogenous theories’ neglect of institutional agency. These insights contribute to rural resilience scholarship through a complex adaptive systems lens and offer policy implications for synergistic urban-rural revitalization. Full article

Farmers’ green production behavior is key to addressing resource and environmental constraints and advancing agricultural green transformation, with social capital critically influencing their production decisions. However, rural population mobility amid urbanization and market economy penetration have reshaped farmers’ social interactions, reconstructing and differentiating social capital into distinct types. Few studies now focus on the complex link between this transformed social capital and farmers’ green production behavior. Moreover, though the government has long used agricultural subsidies to encourage green production, how these subsidies function when different social capital types affect green production remains unclear. To address the aforementioned issues, using 2022 CLES data and a binary logit model, this study examines how embedded and disembedded social capital influence farmers’ green production behavior and the moderating role of subsidies. Results show that (1) disembedded social capital has a significantly positive impact on farmers’ green production behavior, stronger than embedded social capital; (2) subsidies only positively moderate embedded social capital’s impact. The results have rich theoretical and practical implications, which can promote farmers’ adoption of green production behavior and accelerate the green transformation of agriculture. Full article

Background and objective: Child illness remains a significant public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, with complex multifactorial causes extending beyond biomedical factors. This qualitative study explored perceived causes of child illness from the perspectives of caregivers and healthcare providers in rural and urban Bangladesh. Methods: Twenty-three in-depth interviews with primary caregivers, grandmothers, healthcare providers, and a group discussion with four community representatives revealed four primary categories of perceived illness causes. Results: Individual causes included maternal illness, forgetfulness, and knowledge gaps that affected caregiving practices, leading to missed vaccinations, poor hygiene and feeding practices. Socio-cultural causes included supernatural beliefs, intra-household power dynamics, domestic violence, maternal work burdens, early marriage, adolescent motherhood, and dowry practices. Economic causes included irregular income, rising food prices, and marketing of unhealthy products. Environmental causes included poor housing ventilation, inadequate waste management, heat wave exposure, urban air pollution, and water contamination, causing respiratory and waterborne diseases. Conclusions: These findings illustrate that child illness results from complex interactions between individual, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental causes. Potential interventions can address these multifaceted causes through comprehensive approaches including caregiver education, maternal empowerment strategies, economic support programs, and household environment improvements. Full article

Metabolic disorders such as obesity have increased globally in recent decades and are a major public health concern. Previous research suggests that herbicide exposures may contribute to metabolic dysfunction, but few studies have examined mixture effects of multiple herbicides on obesity at a population level. Using county-level data from 2013 to 2018, we examined the associations between obesity rates and the application of 13 commonly applied herbicides in the U.S. We first conducted adjusted single-pollutant mixed-effects models and then used quantile-based g-computation mixture modeling to assess combined herbicide mixture effects on county-level obesity rates. Models were adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic covariates and accounted for geographic clustering. Significant positive associations were identified between county-level obesity rates and applications of glyphosate, 2,4-D, atrazine, acetochlor, metolachlor, and several other herbicides in adjusted single-pollutant models. Glyphosate showed one of the strongest individual associations (β = 0.29 per standard deviation increase, 95% CI: 0.21–0.36). Increases in herbicide mixture were significantly associated with higher obesity rates (Psi = 0.71 per quantile exposure mixture, 95% CI: 0.65–0.76) from mixture modeling. Inclusion of significant interaction terms did not appreciably increase the mixture effect. Glyphosate, 2,4-D, metolachlor, dimethenamid-P, and glufosinate contributed most strongly to the weighted mixture effect. Mixture effects varied by rurality, with stronger associations observed in rural counties, particularly in micropolitan regions. Our findings highlight the importance of considering cumulative herbicide mixture exposures rather than individual chemicals in isolation. The observed rural–urban disparities emphasize the need for targeted public health interventions and policy actions in rural communities, which may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse metabolic impacts of herbicide mixtures. Full article

Using a balanced provincial panel of 31 Chinese regions (2014–2022), this study examines how Digital Inclusive Finance (DIF) and Rural E-Commerce (RE) jointly shape the urban–rural income gap. Two-way fixed effects and instrumental-variable estimators mitigate confounding. Both DIF and RE are associated with narrower gaps, and the interaction term is negative and robust across specifications. Mechanism evidence indicates that the coupling operates through higher Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity, expanded rural credit supply, and stronger entrepreneurship. Effects are larger in Central/Western provinces and are most pronounced when DIF’s usage-depth and digital-support components are salient. For policymakers and managers, the findings support bundled investments in digital rails, platform logistics, and e-commerce–linked credit, with priority to lagging regions and programs that deepen usage. Overall, the results provide a tractable systems approach to aligning finance and markets for inclusive rural transformation. Full article

Rapid urbanization in China has intensified spatial and social disparities between urban and rural areas, posing major challenges to sustainable rural development. Traditional top-down rural construction and evaluation models often neglect villagers’ everyday practices, resulting in mismatches between spatial planning and actual use. This study develops a cross-scale, bottom-up framework for assessing rural construction through social network analysis (SNA), taking Xiongfan Village in Dawu County, Hubei Province, as a case study. At the village scale, the comparison between the “Public Space Structure Network” and the “Villagers’ Space Usage Behavior Network” reveals a significant mismatch between spatial compactness and behavioral dispersion, with high-frequency activities concentrated along the north–south axis while peripheral and east–west spaces remain underutilized. At the township scale, GPS-based analysis shows that the revitalization of Xiongfan transformed it from a peripheral node into a central hub, restructuring the network into a new pattern of “characteristic towns—traditional villages—ecological scenic areas.” These findings highlight the dual role of rural construction in both meeting residents’ daily needs and fostering regional integration. The proposed cross-scale SNA framework not only advances methodological tools for evaluating rural construction but also provides practical guidance for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban–rural development in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Full article

With the rapid development of e-commerce, Taobao Villages have emerged as a representative form of rural e-commerce in China, exerting a profound influence on rural economic transformation and urban–rural integration. However, their spatiotemporal distribution is uneven and exhibits a complex interaction with urbanization. Drawing on data from 178 cities between 2017 and 2022, this study employs the Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR), Spatial Error Model (SEM), and Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to examine both the direct and spillover effects of urbanization on Taobao Villages. The results indicate that Taobao Villages display significant spatial clustering across China. While urbanization exerts a positive short-term effect on the number of local Taobao Villages, this effect weakens in the long term and under spatial interaction, and higher levels of urbanization in one region impose significant negative spillover effects on neighboring areas. These findings highlight the dual nature of urbanization in simultaneously promoting and constraining rural e-commerce development. Accordingly, policy efforts should focus on rational administrative spatial adjustment and boundary reorganization, optimizing the urban–rural spatial structure, supporting the development of peripheral and disadvantaged regions, enhancing the balanced and efficient flow of factors across regions, and fostering differentiated development pathways to strengthen the resilience of Taobao Villages and promote healthy and sustainable urban–rural integration. Full article

The escalating heatwave risks over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) highlight unresolved gaps in understanding multitype mechanisms and diurnal urban canopy heat island (UCHI) responses. Using Xining’s high-density observational network (2018–2023) and by employing comparative analysis (urban–rural, heatwave versus non-heatwave days) and composite analysis, we found: During the record-breaking July 2022 heatwave across the TP, Xining reached an extreme UCHI peak (z-score: 3.0). Critically asymmetric UCHI responses as daytime heatwaves amplify mean intensity by 0.35 °C via extreme value shifts, whereas nighttime events suppress it by 0.31 °C. Crucially, heatwaves induce negligible daytime UCHI modulation but drive comparable magnitude nighttime UCHI intensification (during daytime events) and reduction (during nighttime events), demonstrating type-dependent and diurnally asymmetric urban thermal sensitivities. Heatwaves driven by distinct synoptic patterns; daytime events are controlled by an anomaly anticyclone (cloudless, dry conditions), while nighttime events occur under plateau-north anticyclones (cloudy, humid conditions). These patterns fundamentally reshape heatwave–UCHI interactions through divergent mechanisms: Daytime/nighttime heatwaves amplify/suppress nocturnal UCHI through enhanced/reduced urban heat storage and accelerated/inhibited rural radiative cooling. Our case study demonstrates that although heatwaves generally amplify nocturnal UCHI, in dry regions, their synoptic drivers significantly modify this nighttime synergy. The nocturnal UCHI during heatwave is not only driven by humidity effects but also modulated by cloud cover-regulated rural radiative cooling and urban thermal storage. These findings establish a mechanistic framework for heatwaves–UCHI interactions and provide actionable insights for heat-resilient planning in high-altitude arid cities. Full article

This study introduces the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach into a rural setting and conducts a case study of Huaqiu Village. By integrating spatial analysis techniques, unmanned vehicle aerial photography, field surveys, and multitemporal data from 2000 to 2023, this study analyzed the heritage value of traditional villages and explored a rural-adaptable pathway for HUL implementation. Findings showed: 1. Based on the temporal and spatial evaluation analysis logic of landscapes under the HUL framework, spatial patterns of the village, such as vegetation growth and reduced in water bodies, have been quantitatively identified, revealing the interaction patterns of a complex ecosystem. 2. Following HUL’s holistic understanding of heritage value, the three-dimensional value characteristics of the village (landscape, function, and spirit) are clarified. 3. By implementing the community participation mechanism of HUL, through villager-led inheritance of intangible cultural heritage and joint formulation of conservation conventions, the living continuity of heritage has been realized. The HUL approach shows remarkable adaptability, with prominent achievements in dynamic-layered protection and community participation. This study breaks through the urban bias of the HUL approach, enriches understanding of rural heritage, and provides a practical paradigm for promoting sustainable development of similar villages. Full article

Background/Objectives: Extreme temperatures linked to climate change threaten child health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where malnutrition remains widespread. This study examines how exposure to hot and cold temperature anomalies influences child stunting in Burkina Faso and Kenya and evaluates how household infrastructure and socio-demographic factors interact with climate stressors to shape outcomes. Methods: We combined nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (Burkina Faso 2021; Kenya 2022) with daily maximum and minimum temperature data from the Climate Hazards InfraRed Temperature with Stations (CHIRTS). The analytic sample included children aged 24–59 months. Temperature anomalies were calculated as standardized deviations from local historical averages. Multilevel logistic regression models assessed associations between stunting, climate anomalies, and household-level factors, including electricity, water, sanitation, wealth, and rural/urban residence. Results: Heat anomalies were linked to increased stunting risk in Kenya (β = 2.34, p < 0.001), while in Burkina Faso, higher maximum temperatures unexpectedly reduced stunting odds (β = 0.08, p < 0.05). Cold anomalies showed marginal positive associations with stunting in both countries. Infrastructure and socioeconomic factors varied by context: electricity access and urban residence were protective in Burkina Faso, while improved sanitation, household wealth, and child sex differences were significant in Kenya. Conclusions: Climate anomalies and household conditions jointly influence stunting among children aged 24–59 months, with effects varying by country. Cold anomalies were associated with higher odds of stunting in Burkina Faso (BF OR = 2.14) and Kenya (KE OR = 1.20), while heat anomalies reduced stunting in BF (OR = 0.08) but increased it in KE (OR = 2.34). Electricity access was protective in both countries (BF OR = 0.61; KE OR = 0.71), while improved water, sanitation, and wealth were significant only in KE. Older child age consistently reduced stunting risk, and urban residence was protective only in BF. These findings underscore that climate impacts on stunting are context-specific and highlight the need for policies integrating climate adaptation with investments. Full article