Search Results (123)

Investigating the spatio-temporal differentiation patterns and driving factors of ecosystem services (ESs) supply and demand is of great significance for early warning of ecosystem imbalance risks and identifying regional natural resource supply–demand conflicts. This study takes the typical coal-grain overlapping area (CGOA) in Eastern China as the research object, dividing it into mining townships (MT) and non-mining townships (NMT) for comparative analysis. By integrating the InVEST model, ESs supply–demand ratio (ESDR) index, four-quadrant model, and the XGBoost-SHAP algorithm, the study systematically reveals the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics and driving mechanisms of ESs supply and demand from 2000 to 2020. The results indicated that: (1) grain production (GP) service maintained a continuous supply–demand surplus, with the ESDR of NMT areas surpassing that of MT areas in 2020. The ESDR of water yield (WY) service was significantly influenced by interannual fluctuations in supply, showing deficits in multiple years. The decline in carbon sequestration (CS) service and sharp increase in carbon emissions led to a continuous decrease in the ESDR of CS service, with MT areas facing a higher risk of carbon deficit. (2) The spatial heterogeneity of ESs supply and demand was significant, with GP and CS services exhibiting a typical urban-rural dual spatial structure, and the overall region was dominated by the Type II ESs supply–demand matching (ESDM) pattern. The ESDR of WY service generally decreases from Southeast to Northwest across the region. with the Type IV ESDM pattern dominating in most years. (3) Human activities are the core driving force shaping the supply–demand patterns of ESs. Among these, land use intensity exhibits a nonlinear effect, high population density demonstrates an inhibitory effect, and MT areas are more significantly affected by coal mining subsidence. Natural environmental factors primarily drive WY service. The research findings can provide a scientific reference for the coordinated allocation of regional natural resources and the sustainable development of the human–land system. Full article

Digital rural construction (DRC), as a crucial intersection of the rural revitalization strategy and the construction of Digital China, is a key path to addressing the imbalance and inadequacy in the urban–rural income gap (URIG). Based on provincial panel data from 2011 to 2023, this paper systematically examines the relationship and mechanism of action between the two using an econometric model. This study finds that DRC significantly reduces the URIG overall, and this effect is achieved through increasing urbanization levels, accelerating employment, and promoting social consumption. Spatial effect tests indicate that DRC has a spatial spillover effect; construction in one province reduces the URIG in neighboring provinces. Further research shows that, against the backdrop of human capital level acting as a threshold variable, the effect of DRC on the URIG exhibits an inverted “U”-shaped characteristic, first increasing and then decreasing. Therefore, this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions, including constructing a digital-enabled urban–rural integration mechanism, promoting cross-regional coordinated development of DRC, and implementing a tiered and categorized digital literacy improvement project. Full article

In the context of global climate governance and China’s ‘Dual Carbon’ strategy, enhancing carbon emission efficiency (CEE) is a critical pathway toward high-quality development. Urban–rural integration (URI), reshaping urban–rural structures and resource allocation, has significant environmental implications. However, the mechanisms through which URI influences city-level CEE remain underexplored. Using panel data from 283 Chinese prefecture-level cities (2005–2022), we employ a Spatial Durbin Model to investigate URI’s direct and spatial spillover effects. First, spatiotemporally, URI demonstrates an imbalanced pattern, with higher levels in eastern coastal regions and lower levels in central and western areas. Conversely, CEE exhibits a north–south divide, with higher efficiency in the south. URI advancement has been sluggish with persisting imbalances, whereas CEE has demonstrated a consistent upward trend. Second, the relationship between URI and CEE is characterized by nonlinearity and spatial dependence. The direct effect follows a U-shaped curve, initially inhibiting but later promoting local CEE once a threshold is surpassed (URI = 0.103). The spatial spillover effect follows an inverted U-shaped trajectory (threshold URI = 0.179), suggesting that inter-regional dynamics evolve from synergistic promotion to potential competition. These findings underscore the necessity of phased, adaptive policies to unlock the potential between URI and CEE, providing a scientific basis for coordinating urban–rural development with carbon neutrality objectives. Full article

Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. Problems caused by the urban rural dual structure, such as resource misallocation, ecological-economic imbalance, and insufficient farmer income growth, not only hinder common prosperity but also conflict with the sustainable development strategy. As the core path to break the dual structure and narrow gaps, the multi-dimensional impact and mechanism of urban rural integrated development on common prosperity need systematic verification. Based on panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2014 to 2023, this paper uses fixed-effects and mechanism test models to examine its direct, indirect, and spatial spillover effects, focusing on transmission mechanisms of wage, property, and operating incomes. Findings show: First, it exerts significant positive direct and cross-regional spillover effects on common prosperity; Second, wage and property incomes are key transmission paths, while operating income’s mediating effect is unclear; Third, effects vary geographically, stronger in eastern/central China, weaker in northeast China and insignificant in west China; Fourth, economic and spatial integration play prominent roles, social service integration has inhibitory effect, and ecological integration’s effect is under-released. Accordingly, this paper puts forward countermeasures to optimize resource allocation, tackle the rural operating income dilemma, advance regional coordination, and enhance equal social services, providing references for improving common prosperity policies and rural sustainable development. Full article

Natural disasters demand swift and accurate impact assessment, yet traditional field-based methods remain prohibitively slow. While semi-automatic techniques leveraging remote sensing and drone imagery have accelerated evaluations, existing datasets predominantly emphasize Western infrastructure, offering limited representation of African contexts. The EDDA dataset (a Mozambique post-disaster building damage dataset developed under the Efficient Humanitarian Aid Through Intelligent Image Analysis project), addresses this critical gap by capturing rural and urban damage patterns in Mozambique following Cyclone Idai. Despite encouraging early results, significant challenges persist due to task complexity, severe class imbalance, and substantial architectural diversity across regions. Building upon EDDA, this study introduces a two-stage building damage assessment pipeline that decouples localization from classification. We employ lightweight You Only Look Once (YOLO)-based detectors—RTMDet, YOLOv7, and YOLOv8—for building localization, followed by dedicated damage severity classification using state-of-the-art architectures including Compact Convolutional Transformers, EfficientNet, and ResNet. This approach tests whether separating feature extraction tasks—assigning detectors solely to localization and specialized classifiers to damage assessment—yields superior performance compared to multi-class detection models that jointly learn both objectives. Comprehensive evaluation across 640+ model combinations demonstrates that our two-stage pipeline achieves competitive performance (mAP 0.478) with enhanced modularity compared to multi-class detection baselines (mAP 0.455), offering improved robustness across diverse building types and imbalanced damage classes. Full article

As the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang still faces problems such as unbalanced development in the process of urban–rural integration, accompanied by the increasingly prominent imbalance between population flow and land resource allocation in county-level towns. Specifically, clarifying the impact of urban–rural integration development on the human–land matching relationship in Xinjiang’s county-level towns is the key to promoting coordinated regional development. This study constructs a spatial matching model and a multinomial logistic regression model to analyze the human–land relationship and the influencing factors of urban–rural integration in 83 county-level towns in Xinjiang from 2010 to 2023. The research results show that (1) from 2010 to 2023, there were significant differences in the spatial matching degree between the total amount and increase in urban population and urban land in Xinjiang’s county-level towns; the number of counties with a relatively high matching level was generally larger in northern Xinjiang than in southern Xinjiang, and the overall spatial matching degree was at a relatively low level. (2) The proportion of counties with sustained population growth and sustained land growth was the highest, reaching 49.40% and 26.51%, respectively. Counties in southern Xinjiang were mainly of the sustained-population-growth type, while counties in northern Xinjiang had more types and were scattered, and were mainly of the land-growth type as a whole. (3) Factors such as the proportion of ethnic minority population, the comparison of industrial output value, and the number of medical beds per capita had a significant impact on the spatial matching level of urban population and land in most types of counties. The types of counties in southern Xinjiang were mainly affected by factors such as the ethnic population structure and medical conditions, while the counties in northern Xinjiang were mostly affected by factors such as the level of industrial coordination and urban spatial expansion. It is suggested to implement differentiated spatial governance and enhance coordination between southern and northern Xinjiang, thereby improving the level of human–land matching and promoting the integrated development of urban and rural areas. Full article

Population ageing and rural depopulation are reshaping the social and spatial structure of many European regions, producing new forms of social risk and care dependency. This study examines how institutionalization among older adults reflects the broader dynamics of demographic decline, migration, and uneven territorial development. Using a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews and social network mapping (ecomaps) were conducted with residents of an urban elderly care facility in Romania. Guided by frameworks of social sustainability, social capital, and territorial resilience, the analysis explores how the erosion of informal networks and migration-driven care deficits affects the wellbeing and social inclusion of older people. Findings show that institutionalization operates both a consequence and as an indicator of depopulation and spatial inequality, highlighting the disconnection between aging populations and community-based care infrastructures. Yet, residents develop micro-level forms of resilience and relational stability within institutional life. The study concludes that sustainable territorial development must integrate care and ageing into regional planning, encouraging decentralized, community-based services that rebuild local networks and restore social cohesion. Full article

Integrated urban–rural development is of great significance in promoting coordinated development in underdeveloped areas across provinces and advancing common prosperity. Previous studies have mostly focused on typical counties in single or developed areas, with insufficient exploration of integrated urban–rural development in underdeveloped areas. A total of 71 counties in Wuling Mountain area were taken as the research object, and a conceptual model of “element–structure–function” was constructed based on the theory of the urban–rural integration system. The entropy weight ideal point method, variation coefficient method, coupling coordination model, and obstacle model were employed to analyze the integrated urban–rural development in counties of the Wuling Mountain area during 2010 and 2023 from the five dimensions of population, economy, space, society, and ecology, and to explore their coupling coordination relationship and key obstacle factors. The research results indicate the following: (1) During the study period, the average annual growth rate of integrated urban–rural development was only 1.213%, showing a relatively low level. The spatial evolution exhibited a trend of “overall optimization–gap convergence–multipolar linkage–hot in the south and cold in the north”. (2) The comprehensive coupling coordination increased from 0.6380 in 2010 to 0.7016 in 2023, and the coupling coordination of “population–space” became the dominant mode. Nearly 60% of counties achieved a level upgrade from the transition stage to the coordination stage, and the multidimensional coordination relationship was mainly affected by the dual effects of spatial polarization and ecological constraints. (3) The obstacle of spatial integration ranked first and the mismatch of factors was severe. Land urbanization and population distribution imbalance were key obstacles, and their core contradictions were concentrated in the tripartite dilemma of “extensive land utilization–factor blockage–ecological antagonism”. It is urgent to achieve coordinated and sustainable development of urban and rural integration through market-oriented reforms of two-way factor flow. The conceptual model of “element–structure–function” constructed by the research results can provide a theoretical tool for analyzing the integrated development of urban and rural areas in counties, and can provide decision support for solving the dilemma of element mismatch. Full article

Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) is essential for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, yet access remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries. This study used machine learning to predict SBA use among Ugandan women and identify key influencing factors. We analyzed data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, focusing on women aged 15 to 49 who had given birth in the preceding five years. After preparing and selecting relevant features, six tree-based models (decision tree, random forest, gradient boosting, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost) and logistic regression were applied. Class imbalance was addressed using cost-sensitive learning, and hyperparameters were tuned via Bayesian optimization. XGBoost performed best (F1-score: 0.52; recall: 0.73; AUC: 0.75). SHapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) were used to interpret model predictions. Key predictors of SBA use included education level, antenatal care visits, region (especially Northern Uganda), perceived distance to a healthcare facility, and urban or rural residence. The results demonstrate the value of interpretable machine learning for identifying at-risk populations and guiding targeted maternal health interventions in Uganda. Full article

Although the role of digital infrastructure as an engine for the sustainable development of public services has been widely investigated, systematic and dynamic analysis of the coupling and coordination mechanisms between digital infrastructure and public employment service efficiency is lacking. On the basis of Chinese provincial panel data from 2012 to 2023, the coupling coordination degree model, Dagum’s Gini coefficient, Markov chain, and Tobit model are used to measure the coupling coordination degree of digital infrastructure and public employment service efficiency, analyze its spatial pattern, and explore its influencing factors. The results of this study reveal that (1) The coupled and coordinated development trend of digital infrastructure and public employment service efficiency has improved from “mild imbalance recession” to “near imbalance recession”. (2) The spatial difference in the coupling coordination degree is characterized by slow expansion but overall stabilization, and the spatial transfer state remains relatively stable. (3) Economic development, industrial structure, trade openness, and technological development increase the coupling coordination degree, whereas urbanization, the urban–rural income gap, and government intervention hinder it. This study not only expands the theoretical boundaries of digital governance research and overcomes the theoretical limitations of traditional public employment service research but also has substantial practical importance for promoting social equity, inclusive growth, and economic sustainability. Full article

Persistent regional imbalances and widening urban–rural income gaps hinder progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities). In response, China has implemented a typical regional cooperation program—East–West Cooperation (EWC). Using a balanced panel of 642 western counties from 2013 to 2020 and the staggered difference-in-differences (DIDs) model, we assess the impact of EWC on the urban–rural income gap. We show that EWC narrows the urban–rural income gap, primarily by increasing rural incomes rather than changing urban incomes. Mechanism analyses indicate that expanded rural employment and higher agricultural production efficiency are the principal channels. The greater the economic disparity and the shorter the distance between paired counties, the stronger the effect of EWC. This effect is particularly pronounced in southwestern assisted counties and in agriculture-intensive assisted counties. The above evidence suggests that horizontal regional cooperation can deliver equity-enhancing growth. Policy should prioritize rural-first resource allocation, employment-oriented labor cooperation, and agricultural upgrading, while refining pairing rules to account for the magnitude of economic gaps and geographic proximity. Full article

In recent years, China’s economic and social development has faced challenges such as urban-rural imbalance and ecological pressure. Digital inclusive finance and ecological resilience have become key concerns in academia and policymaking. This study empirically examines whether digital inclusive finance can enhance ecological resilience and its underlying mechanisms, drawing on quantitative evidence from provincial panel data covering 2011–2020. By providing robust empirical results, it contributes to understanding the role of digital finance in supporting high-quality growth and ecological civilization. While the findings align with national strategies such as the “dual carbon” goal and rural revitalization, the study’s primary contribution lies in advancing interdisciplinary exploration through rigorous evidence rather than solely at the policy level. By constructing a double fixed effects model and panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (2011–2020), the study finds that digital inclusive finance significantly enhances ecological resilience, both directly and indirectly through channels such as environmental regulation, artificial intelligence development, and green credit. Moreover, its ecological impact is moderated by regional economic levels and digital infrastructure, with stronger effects observed in eastern and digitally advanced regions. In summary, this study reveals the mechanisms through which digital inclusive finance promotes ecological resilience, offering a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for policy formulation. Its key contribution lies in systematically analyzing the link between digital inclusive finance and ecological resilience, enriching the theoretical framework and providing data support for policy optimization and financial institutions’ strategic adjustments. Future efforts should focus on strengthening policy coordination to enhance the ecological role of digital finance, promoting financial innovation to support resilience, and advancing regional coordination to narrow the digital divide and achieve shared ecological protection. Full article

Rapid urbanization in developing countries has widened the gap between urban and rural development, due to inefficient land markets and weak institutional systems in rural areas. China’s innovative “Urban–rural Construction Land Linkage” policy was designed to address this imbalance by encouraging rural land consolidation and creating a transferable development rights mechanism. While this approach has shown potential in improving the utilization efficiency of existing construction land and continuously supplying urban development space, concerns remain about its actual benefits to villagers and rural development, with some arguing it disrupts traditional livelihoods and favors government interests over rural needs. To respond to this debate, this study investigates two core questions: first, does China’s transferable land development rights (TDR) program genuinely improve rural welfare as intended; second, why does the theoretically preferred self-organized governance model sometimes fail in practice? To address these research questions, this paper develops a new analytical framework combining the IAD framework of Ostrom with the hierarchical institutional framework of Williamson to examine three implementation approaches in China’s TDR implementation: government-dominated, market-invested, and self-organized models. Based on case studies, surveys, and interviews across multiple regions, this study reveals distinct strengths and weaknesses in each approach in improving villagers’ lives. Government-dominated projects demonstrate strong resource mobilization but limited community participation. Market-based models show efficiency gains but often compromise equity. While self-organized initiatives promise greater local empowerment, they frequently face practical challenges including limited management capacity and institutional barriers. Furthermore, this study identifies the preconditional institutional environment necessary for successful self-organized implementation, including clear land property rights, financial support, and technical assistance. These findings advance global understanding of how to combine efficiency with fair outcomes for all stakeholders in land governance, which is particularly relevant for developing countries seeking to manage urban expansion while protecting rural interests. Full article

Background: Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder whose pathophysiology may involve oxidative stress-induced neuronal damage and inflammation. We conducted a cross-species study to elucidate oxidative stress dysregulation in schizophrenia. Methods: We measured peripheral oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde [MDA], nitric oxide [NO], reduced glutathione [GSH], superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT], advanced protein oxidation products [APOP]), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients and matched controls. We also assayed liver enzymes (ALP, ALT, AST) as indicators of systemic metabolic stress. In parallel, we re-analyzed published single-cell RNA-sequencing data from a Setd1a^+/–^ mouse model of schizophrenia, focusing on prefrontal cortex (PFC) cell types and oxidative stress-related gene expression. Results: Patients with schizophrenia showed markedly elevated MDA and NO (indicators of lipid and nitrosative stress) and significantly reduced antioxidant defenses (GSH, SOD, CAT) versus controls (p < 0.01 for all comparisons). Notably, urban patients exhibited higher oxidative stress biomarker levels than rural patients, implicating environmental contributions. Liver function tests revealed increased ALT, AST, and ALP in schizophrenia, suggesting hepatic/metabolic dysregulation. Single-cell analysis confirmed dysregulated redox pathways in the schizophrenia model; PFC neurons from Setd1a^+/–^ mice displayed significantly lower expression of key antioxidant genes (e.g., Gpx4, Nfe2l2) compared to wild-type, indicating impaired glutathione metabolism. Conclusions: Our integrative data identify convergent oxidative stress imbalances in schizophrenia across species. These findings advance a mechanistic understanding of schizophrenia as a disorder of redox dysregulation and inflammation. They also have translational implications as augmenting antioxidant defenses (for example, with N-acetylcysteine or vitamins C/E) could mitigate oxidative injury and neuroinflammation in schizophrenia, representing a promising adjunct to antipsychotic therapy. Full article

The digital economy injects developmental momentum into urban–rural integration through technological penetration, while urban–rural integration expands application scenarios for the digital economy via spatial restructuring. By clarifying the coupling coordination mechanism between these two subsystems, this study employs the coupling coordination degree model, spatial autocorrelation analysis, Markov chain, and spatiotemporal geographically weighted regression model to systematically investigate the development levels of the digital economy and urban–rural integration, the dynamic evolution characteristics of their coupling coordination degree, and the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of influencing factors across 31 provinces of China from 2012 to 2022. The main findings are as follows: (1) The digital economy level exhibited a pronounced upward trajectory with substantial inter-provincial disparities, while urban–rural integration level displayed a modest upward trend accompanied by evident polarization. (2) The coupling coordination degree increased steadily, with the number of provinces experiencing moderate and mild imbalance declining markedly and the contiguous zone of near imbalance expanding. Spatially, the pattern was characterized as “high in the east, low in the west.” (3) The coupling coordination degree exhibited significant positive spatial correlation. High-High agglomeration was concentrated in the eastern coastal regions, while Low-Low agglomeration dominated the western inland areas. The dynamic transfer of the coupling coordination degree revealed a distinct “club convergence” phenomenon. (4) Government support and technological innovation exerted increasingly positive effects on the coupling coordination degree in northeast and north China. Economic development initially exerted a significant positive effect in northwest and southern China, but its impact subsequently shifted to regions north of the Yellow River basin. In several southwest provinces, the influence of industrial structure transitioned from positive to negative. Full article