Mechanism research on digital inclusive finance promoting high-quality economic development: Evidence from China.

This article aims to precisely evaluate the catalytic impact of digital inclusive finance on economic growth, enhance the implementation of policies pertaining to digital inclusive finance, and foster high-quality economic development. Based on China's provincial panel data and the digital inclusive finance index from 2011 to 2021, this research investigates the influence of digital inclusive finance on high-quality economic development and the associated underlying mechanisms. The findings suggest that digital inclusive finance exerts a notable spatial impact on high-quality economic development. Moreover, there is heterogeneity in the spatial effects between different dimensions of digital inclusive finance and high-quality economic development. Through the threshold model and intermediary effect model, it is found that the Internet penetration rate has a dual-threshold effect on the impact of digital inclusive finance on promoting high-quality economic development. Specifically, digital inclusive finance contributes to elevating the level of high-quality economic development through its role in promoting the transformation of consumption structure. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for countries aiming to attain high-quality economic development through the enhancement of digital inclusive finance.

Assessment of crAssphage as a human fecal source tracking marker in the lower Great Lakes.

CrAssphage or crAss-like phage ranks as the most abundant phage in the human gut and is present in human feces-contaminated environments. Due to its high human specificity and sensitivity, crAssphage is a potentially robust source tracking indicator that can distinguish human fecal contamination from agricultural or wildlife sources. Its suitability in the Great Lakes area, one of the world's most important water systems, has not been well tested. In this study, we tested a qPCR-based quantification method using two crAssphage marker genes (ORF18-mod and CPQ_064) at Toronto recreational beaches along with their adjacent river mouths. Our results showed a 71.4 % (CPQ_064) and 100 % (ORF18-mod) human sensitivity for CPQ_064 and ORF18-mod, and a 100 % human specificity for both marker genes. CrAssphage was present in 57.7 % or 71.2 % of environmental water samples, with concentrations ranging from 1.45 to 5.14 log10 gene copies per 100 mL water. Though concentrations of the two marker genes were strongly correlated, ORF18-mod features a higher human sensitivity and higher positive detection rates in environmental samples. Quantifiable crAssphage was mostly present in samples collected in June and July 2021 associated with higher rainfall. In addition, rivers had more frequent crAssphage presence and higher concentrations than their associated beaches, indicating more frequent and greater human fecal contamination in the rivers. However, crAssphage was more correlated with E. coli and Enterococcus at the beaches than in the rivers, suggesting human fecal sources may be more predominant in driving the increases in E. coli and Enterococcus at the beaches when impacted by river plumes.