Research on the factors and path of sports industry development in China: A fsQCA study of 31 provinces.

The advancement of the sports industry's development constitutes a critical concern shared by regional authorities and the scholarly community, reflecting its significant role in economic and social development. This study employs a Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) methodology to examine the 31 provincial-level administrative units in China. The objective is to elucidate the influence of technological, organizational, and environmental factors on the industry's development level, considering both a holistic national framework and dissected regional approaches (Eastern, Central, and Western China). This paper's contribution to the literature is structured around the following core findings: (1) The study establishes that a singular condition does not suffice as an essential prerequisite for achieving a heightened development state within the sports industry. (2) At the national level, there are three pathways to enhance the development level of the sports industry, specifically identified as "network-human resources dominant pathway," "technological innovation-human resources dominant pathway," and "comprehensive synergistic pathway."(3) From a regional perspective, the Eastern region has two pathways for sports industry enhancement: "network-economic pathway" and "comprehensive synergistic pathway." The Central region follows a "technology pathway," while the Western region has three pathways: "organization-environment pathway," "network-organization-environment pathway," and "organization pathway."(4) The synthesis of these findings underscores the multifactorial nature of sports industry development, suggesting a paradigm where diverse routes can lead to equivalent outcomes. This heterogeneity indicates that provinces or regions can tailor their development strategies to their unique situational contexts.

Smoothing the Phosphorus Resource Stress under the Socioeconomic Development in China.

Phosphorus (P) is the key in maintaining food security and ecosystem functions. Population growth and economic development have increased the demand for phosphate rocks. China has gradually developed from zero phosphate mining to the world's leading P miner, fertilizer, and agricultural producer since 1949. China released policies, such as designating phosphate rock as a strategic resource, promoting eco-agricultural policies, and encouraging the use of solid wastes produced in mining and the phosphorus chemical industry as construction materials. However, methodological and data gaps remain in the mapping of the long-term effects of policies on P resource efficiency. Here, P resource efficiency can be represented by the potential of the P cycle to concentrate or dilute P as assessed by substance flow analysis (SFA) complemented by statistical entropy analysis (SEA). P-flow quantification over the past 70 years in China revealed that both resource utilization and waste generation peaked around 2015, with 20 and 11 Mt of mined and wasted P, respectively. Additionally, rapidly increasing aquaculture wastewater has exacerbated pollution. The resource efficiency of the Chinese P cycle showed a U-shaped change with an overall improvement of 22.7%, except for a temporary trough in 1975. The driving force behind the efficiency decline was the roaring phosphate fertilizer industry, as confirmed by the sharp increase in P flows for both resource utilization and waste generation from the mid-1960s to 1975. The positive driving forces behind the 30.7% efficiency increase from 1975 to 2018 were the implementation of the resource conservation policy, downstream pollution control, and, especially, the circular agro-food system strategy. However, not all current management practices improve the P resource efficiency. Mixing P industry waste with construction materials and the development of aquaculture to complement offshore fisheries erode P resource efficiency by 2.12% and 9.19%, respectively. With the promotion of a zero-waste society in China, effective P-cycle management is expected.

Do renewable energy sources perfectly displace non-renewable energy sources? Evidence from Asia-Pacific economies.

The existing scholarly discourse surrounding the energy transition has long operated on the assumption of perfect displacement of non-renewable energy. However, an evolving set of studies highlights an intricate web of inefficiencies and complexities that prevent the perfect displacement of fossil fuel energy with renewable energy production. Since this could carry serious implications for the environmental targets of several economies, it is crucial to accurately and continuously measure the actual extent of fossil fuel displacement. Within this framework, this study empirically investigates the extent of non-renewable energy displacement by renewable energy for a balanced panel of seven Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries between 1989 and 2015. The outcome function also controls for globalisation, real GDP per capita, and crude oil prices. After implementing the necessary diagnostics, the panel cointegration establishes a significant long-run relationship among the selected variables. The PMG-ARDL estimation indicates that renewable energy production and globalisation significantly reduce the fossil fuel energy production, whereas real GDP per capita and crude oil prices induce it positively. However, the coefficient of renewable energy production is only - 0.39, indicating that more than 2.5 units of renewable electricity are necessary to displace a unit of non-renewable energy. As such, this study concludes that the current energy transition in Asia-Pacific region is not perfect. These results are robust to the usage of the FGLS estimation technique. The study suggests the adoption of a new energy transition that allows greater displacement of fossil fuel energy as well as gradual reduction in overall energy use.

Encirclement of productive capacities and institutions in context of sustainable development.

The question of whether productive capacities and institutional quality facilitate or impede progress towards sustainable development is a significant issue that has not been extensively explored in prior literature. Despite their importance, these variables are often overlooked in the literature on sustainable development, yet they play a crucial role in enabling efforts to achieve sustainable development. In this study, we examined how productive capacities affect sustainable development, with a moderating impact of institutional quality. The sample was comprised of 44 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) economies, covering the period from 2000 to 2018. Using a two-step system GMM, we found that the relation between productive capacities and sustainable development is dynamic, positive, and significant. Additionally, institutional quality played a moderating role in achieving sustainable development, especially among regionally connected countries. Our findings suggest that sustainable development is strongly linked to a country's productive capacities. Therefore, improving productive capacities and institutional quality may lead to long-term development and sustainability. These results are valuable to academia as they provide new thought regarding the influence of productive capacities and institutional quality on sustainable development, and policymakers may benefit from the suggestions presented regarding productive capacities and institutional quality.

Examination of the factors contributing to environmental degradation: does LPG consumption still matter?

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is one of the energy resources that deserve to be qualified as a transition fuel for developing countries that cannot abandon their dependence on non-renewable energy use and adopt renewable alternatives. The current study examines how environmental degradation is affected by financial development, LPG use, and economic growth in the BRICS-T countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkiye) in the period of 1993-2018. For this purpose, four models were tested with Pedroni, Kao, PMG Panel ARDL cointegration and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality methods. The results show that LPG consumption has a positive effect on the ecological footprint and an adverse influence on the CO2 emission of BRICS - T countries. The financial institutions exhibited to have a positive and significant impact on ecology. Economic growth displayed negative effects on environmental degradation and a positive influence on CO2. Additionally, there is significant evidence for the validity of the EKC hypothesis. Unidirectional causality exists between ecological footprint, LPG, financial market, and economic growth. The financial institution index shows bidirectional causality with the ecological footprint. There is also unidirectional causality between ecological footprint, LPG, financial market, and economic growth. Furthermore, the financial institutions' index shows a bidirectional causality with the ecological footprint. Also, economic development and financial institution index have a bidirectional relationship with CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the financial market index showed unidirectional causality with CO2 emissions. In short, our study highlights the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to sustainable development in BRICS - T countries. Policymakers must balance economic growth with environmental protection and consider the potential trade-offs between policy options to promote sustainable and inclusive development.

Urban digital economy, environmental pollution, and resident's health-empirical evidence from China.

In light of China's rapid advancement in the digital economy and the implementation of the "Healthy China" initiative, it is crucial to assess the impact of the digital economy on residents' health. This study analyzes data from the 2012, 2014, and 2016 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) to evaluate the health of residents using both subjective and objective criteria. Furthermore, it calculates the digital economy development index for Chinese cities and investigates its influence on the subjective and objective health of residents, along with the underlying mechanisms. The empirical results reveal a U-shaped pattern in the effect of the digital economy on health levels, initially detrimental but subsequently beneficial. The analysis of mechanisms shows that the digital economy's development initially increases and then decreases environmental pollution, impacting health through environmental changes. Additionally, the study finds variations in this impact based on age and urban-rural differences, with more pronounced effects on rural and older adult populations, who also experience the U-shaped curve's turning point more rapidly. These findings highlight the necessity of advancing digital economy infrastructure to positively influence environmental quality and improve public health. The study emphasizes the urgent need for policymakers to invest in digital infrastructure to foster a sustainable and healthy future. This requires a holistic approach to development, focusing on both urban and rural areas, to promote inclusive growth and reduce the digital divide.

Unveiling the anticancer potentiality of single cell oils produced by marine oleaginous Paradendryphiella sp. under optimized economic growth conditions.

Bioprospecting about new marine oleaginous fungi that produce advantageous bioproducts in a green sustainable process is the key of blue bioeconomy. Herein, the marine Paradendryphiella sp. was utilized for single cell oils (SCOs) production economically, via central composite design, the lipid content enhanced 2.2-fold by 5.5 g/L lipid yeild on seawater-based media supplemented with molasses concentration 50 g/L, yeast extract, 2.25 g/L at initial pH value (5.3) and 8 days of static incubation. Subsequently, the fatty acid methyl esters profiles of SCOs produced on optimized media under different abiotic conditions were determined; signifying qualitative and quantitative variations. Interestingly, the psychrophilic-prolonged incubation increased the unsaturation level of fatty acids to 59.34%, while ω-6 and ω-3 contents representing 23.53% and 0.67% respectively. Remarkably, it exhibited the highest EC100 dose by 677.03 µg/mL on normal human lung fibroblast Wi-38 cells. Meanwhile, it showed the highest inhibiting proliferation potential on cancer cell lines of A549, MDA-MB 231 and HepG-2 cells by 372.37, 417.48 and 365.00 µg/mL, respectively. Besides, it elevated the oxidative stress, the expression of key apoptotic genes and suppressed the expression of key oncogenes (NF-κB, BCL2 and cyclin D); implying its promising efficacy in cancer treatment as adjuvant drug. This study denoted the lipogenesis capacity of Paradendryphiella sp. under acidic/alkaline and psychrophilic/mesophilic conditions. Hereby attaining efficient and economic process under seasonal variation with different Egyptian marine sources to fill the gap of freshwater crisis and simultaneously preserve energy.

[Measures for waste and by-product recycling and circular economy of whole industry chain of traditional Chinese medicine resources facing carbon peak and carbon neutrality (dual carbon) goals].

It has become a common consensus that resource conservation and intensive recycling for improving resource utilization efficiency is an important way to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual carbon). Traditonal Chinese medicine(TCM)resources as national strategic resources are the material basis and fundamental guarantee for the development of TCM industry and health services. However, the rapid growth of China's TCM industry and the continuous expansion and extension of the industrial chain have exposed the low efficiency of TCM resources. Resource waste and environmental pollution caused by the treatment and discharge of TCM waste have emerged as major problems faced by the development of the industry, which has aroused wide concern. Considering the dual carbon goals, this paper expounds the role and potential of TCM resource recycling and circular economy industry development. Taking the typical model of TCM resource recycling as the case of circular economy industry in reducing carbon source and increasing carbon sink, this paper puts forward the suggestions for the TCM circular economy industry serving the double carbon goals. The suggestions mainly include strengthening the policy and strategic leading role of the double carbon goals, building an objective evaluation system of low-carbon emission reduction in the whole industrial chain of TCM resources, building an industrial demonstration park for the recycling of TCM resources, and promoting the establishment of a circular economy system of the whole industrial chain of TCM resources. These measures are expected to guide the green transformation of TCM resource industry from linear economic model to circular economy model, provide support for improving the utilization efficiency and sustainable development of TCM resources, and facilitate the low-carbon and efficient development of TCM resource industry and the achievement of the double carbon goals.

Navigating China's carbon neutrality journey: insights from policy instruments and implementation strategies across provincial regions.

China's critical reliance on well-crafted public policies, coupled with the effective execution of central government directives at the local level, drives the achievement of the "dual carbon" goal including the peaking of CO2 emissions and attaining carbon neutrality. Therefore, examining policy records can unveil the holistic strategy for attaining carbon neutrality during the period of peak CO2 emissions; at the same time, it can also highlight the potential obstacles in policy implementation. In this study, we adopt a policy instruments perspective to investigate data related to policies addressing peak CO2 emissions across 29 provincial administrative regions in China. We apply Nvivo12 software to conduct a quantitative literature assessment and content analysis to establish a theoretical framework for the policy process. This framework encompasses dimensions such as political feasibility, regional coordination, attributes of low-carbon initiatives, and policy refinement. Subsequently, we employ the model to carry out a retrospective analysis of policy documents pertaining to peak CO2 emissions in China. Our research findings underscore the pivotal role of political feasibility in shaping policy effectiveness, while also highlighting the facilitative influence of regional coordination, shedding light on the essential synergy between provinces and cities in achieving emissions reduction goals. Similarly, the estimated results highlight the motivating impact of specific attributes within low-carbon initiatives. Moreover, policy enhancements are identified as a critical driver in advancing the path toward carbon neutrality. Consequently, to achieve the objective of carbon neutrality, it is imperative for every province and city to sequentially reach the peak of CO2 emissions. Our research offers a comprehensive "China strategy," providing valuable insights to guide future policy formulation and accelerate progress toward sustainable environmental objectives.

Do industrialization and nonrenewable energy affect environmental quality? Evidence from top fossil fuel-consuming countries.

The global warming phenomenon has been an issue of considerable discussion and debate among academics and decision-makers over the past few decades. Therefore, a deeper comprehension of the relationships between environmental deterioration and its causes is necessary in nations that rely on fossil fuels. This study examines the relationship between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and total natural resources, nonrenewable energy, industrialization, and ecological footprint from 2001 to 2020 in the case of major fossil fuel-consuming countries. The most recent panel Granger causality and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) simulation models are used in this study. The findings indicate that natural resources, ecological footprint, and registered companies impede environmental quality. Similarly, the same results were noted by employing the generalized least square method. A feedback effect was noted between carbon dioxide emission and ecological footprint, while unidirectional causality between coal consumption and carbon emission. In light of these findings, it is advised that instead of pursuing policies that encourage the use of coal and petroleum, new energy policies enhance the share of nonfossil fuels in the energy mix for controlling rapid industrialization, extraction of natural resources, and environmental and economic issues.

Legacy phosphorus delays the accomplishment of expected phosphorus management object.

Legacy phosphorus (P) in watersheds continuously affects the water quality. The time lag between anthropogenic P input and algal bloom has made P dynamics prediction in aquatic ecosystems more challenging. Whether the legacy P in the Yangtze River Watershed (YRW) exceeds its storage threshold remains unknown, and the continuous impact of legacy P on the water quality has not been analyzed. This study aimed to evaluate variation trends (1970-2018) and influencing factors for accumulated P in the YRW under different economic development periods, quantitatively identify the watershed P storage threshold based on the two split line models and estimate the time required for the return of legacy P to the baseline level using an exponential decay process. The results showed that the P storage threshold of the YRW was surpassed due to intense anthropogenic activities, and the residual P still had an impact on aquatic ecosystems for a long time. The dissolved total P loadings may become the top priority to achieve better P management goals. The time lags for the legacy P restoration would require for about 1000 years to be exhausted. The legacy P in the YRW would continuously undermine the restoration efforts of the water quality. The combined effects of watershed P surplus reductions and depletion of residual P may become essential to better manage P in the future. We still need to strengthen our efforts to make soil legacy P more absorbed by crops and improve sewage treatment capacity to achieve sustainable development of YRW.

Technical efficiency of the urban gas industry in china.

China's Paris Agreement Pledge and recent introduction of an Emissions Trading Scheme have created a need for information on where it makes the most economic sense to use different sources of energy. With lower carbon dioxide emissions, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas provide cleaner sources of energy relative to coal. Although it is practically crucial to investigate the use of these two sources, empirical studies are limited due to lack of data. To fill the research gap, this paper studies the efficiency of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas sector in China by using data from 24 major province-level divisions over the years 2006-2015. Efficiency is defined as the utility's ability to produce the highest output given fixed inputs. We find that: (1) GDP per capita and high customer density are associated with higher levels of efficiency and (2) utilities that serve higher proportions of households (as opposed to industry and firms) are associated with lower levels of efficiency. Policy makers can use this information to address China's energy needs due to rapid urbanization while also pursuing Paris Agreement goals.

Unleashing the nexus among urban land use, national physical health inputs and environment: an environmental sustainability paradigm.

Nowadays, the contemporary ecological environment has a significant impact on human survival and development. Consequently, an in-depth examination of the link between humans and nature has significant practical significance and aspirational appeal. This research analyzes provincial panel data from 2011 to 2019 using an empirical model to determine the relationship between urban land use, the ecological environment, and national physical health inputs in China. The results indicate that (1) urbanization and air pollution do not have an "inverted U-shaped" traditional environmental Kuznets curve relationship, but rather a significant "positive U" relationship; (2) urbanization and environmental management do have an inverted U-shaped classical environmental Kuznets curve relationship; (3) GDP per capita and infrastructure have a negative impact on air quality and environmental quality, and strict environmental rules can improve air quality and green amenities; (4) national physical health investment has a substantial moderating effect on the relationship between urban land use and the ecological environment.

Modelling the role of energy price movements toward economic stability in Malaysia: new evidence from wavelet-based analysis.

Energy is one of the prime factors in influencing the sustainable development of a country. Different energy sources play important roles in driving the income growth of different economic sectors such as industrial, agricultural, and services. Fossil fuels, however, have come under strong criticism for actively accelerating climate change. As such, it is imperative to investigate the contributions of various energy sources toward sustainable growth. With Malaysia as the test-bed, the present study analyzes the impact of energy prices on economic stability using the novel wavelet-based analysis. Specifically, the study analyzed the impact of crude oil, natural gas, and gasoline prices on the economic (brown) and green growth from 1995 to 2020. The results show that in continuous wavelet transform, the cone of influence of all five factors exhibits strong short-run variance and fluctuations from 2005 to 2013. However, the intensity of brown growth is more influential than green growth. Similarly, in wavelet coherence graphs, the downward right arrows indicate positively significant associations between crude oil prices, natural gas prices, and gasoline prices with brown and green growth. Additionally, wavelet-based Granger causality reveals a bidirectional causal relationship between all variables. The results thus strongly suggest that energy prices predominantly affect the economic (brown) and green growth progression of the Malaysian economy. The study concludes with some suggested implications to augment the country's sustainable growth.

What affects China's green finance? Evidence from cryptocurrency market, oil market, and economic policy uncertainty.

This paper discusses the dynamic long- and short-term effects of bitcoin price (BTP), crude oil price (COP), and uncertainty of economic policy (EPU) on China's green bond (CGB) market, separately. Depending on the quantile autoregressive distributed lag method, the empirical results are shown that BTP and EPU exert substantial positive and negative effects on the CGB market in the long term for most circumstances, while their effects reflect not prominent in the short term. The main contributions can be summarized as follows. Given that China is the largest bitcoin mining state and a major green bond issuer, this study first explores the linkages between them. Furthermore, both long- and short-term effects are investigated from BTP, COP, and EPU to CGB, and long-term effects are dominated in the interrelationships among variables, indicating that the CGB market is mainly driven by permanent shocks. In addition, the mentioned long-term effects are deeply discussed from time- and quantile-varying aspects. This approach considers diverse situations in the bond market and various incidents that occur at various durations of time. The results underscore the significance of market participants gaining a deeper comprehension of how BTP, COP, and EPU impact green bond within varying market conditions. Implementing specific policies, such as establishing a cohesive and efficient bond market and making careful adjustments to economic policies, can be advantageous in maintaining stability within the CGB market.

Filter cake extract from the beet sugar industry as an economic growth medium for the production of Spirulina platensis as a microbial cell factory for protein.

BACKGROUND: Beet filter cake (BFC) is a by-product of sugar beet processing, which is difficult to dispose of and involves severe environmental concerns. Spirulina platensis is a microalga with a high protein content essential for human and animal nutrition. The present study aimed to utilize the beet filter cake extract (BFCE) to produce Spirulina platensis commercially. However, the cultivation of S. platensis on BFCE to produce economically single-cell protein has not been reported previously. RESULTS: The batch experiment revealed the maximum dry weight at Zarrouk's medium (0.4 g/L) followed by 0.34 g/L in the treatment of 75% BFCE. The highest protein content was 50% in Zarrouk's medium, followed by 46.5% in 25% BFCE. However, adding a higher concentration of 100% BFCE led to a protein content of 31.1%. In the adaption experiment, S platensis showed an increase in dry cell weight and protein content from 25 to 75% BFCE (0.69 g/L to 1.12 g/L and 47.0% to 52.54%, respectively) with an insignificant variation compared to Zarrouk's medium (p ≤ 0.05), indicating that S. platensis can be economically produced when cultivated on 75% BFCE The predicated parameters from response surface methodology were NaNO3 (2.5 g/L), NaHCO3 (0.67 g/L), BFCE (33%) and pH = 8, which resulted in biomass yield and protein content (0.56 g/L and 52.5%, respectively) closer to that achieved using the standard Zarrouk's medium (0.6 g/L and 55.11%). Moreover, the total essential amino acid content was slightly higher in the optimized medium (38.73%) than SZM (36.98%). CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, BFCE supplemented medium could be used as a novel low-cost alternative growth medium for producing a single-cell protein with acceptable quantity and quality compared to the standard Zarrouk's medium.

Using Azadirachta indica protein hydrolysate as a plant protein in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) diet: Effects on the growth, economic efficiency, antioxidant-immune response and resistance to Streptococcus agalactiae.

A feeding trial for 90 days was conducted on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (average weight: 25.50 ± 0.05 g) to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of Azadirachta indica seed protein hydrolysate (AIPH). The evaluation included the impact on the growth metrics, economic efficiency, antioxidant potential, hemato-biochemical indices, immune response, and histological architectures. A total of 250 fish were randomly distributed in five treatments (n = 50) and received diets included with five levels of AIPH (%): 0 (control diet, AIPH0), 2 (AIPH2), 4 (AIPH4), 6 (AIPH6) or 8 (AIPH8), where AIPH partially replace fish meal by 0, 8.7%, 17.4%, 26.1%, and 34.8%, respectively. After the feeding trial, a pathogenic bacterium (Streptococcus agalactiae, 1.5 × 108 CFU/mL) was intraperitoneally injected into the fish and the survival rate was recorded. The results elucidated that AIPH-included diets significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced the growth indices (final body weight, total feed intake, total body weight gain, and specific growth rate) and intestinal morpho-metrics (villous width, length, muscular coat thickness, and goblet cells count) in comparison to the control diet, with the AIPH8 diet recording the highest values. Dietary AIPH inclusion significantly improved (p < 0.05) the economic efficacy indicated by reduced feed cost/kg gain and increased performance index. The fish fed on the AIPH diets had noticeably significantly higher (p < 0.05) protein profile variables (total proteins and globulin) and antioxidant capabilities (superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity) than the AIPH0 group. The dietary inclusion of AIPH significantly (p < 0.05) boosted the haematological parameters (haemoglobin, packed cell volume %, and counts of red blood cells and white blood cells) and immune indices (serum bactericidal activity %, antiprotease activity, and immunoglobulin M level) in a concentration-dependent manner. The blood glucose and malondialdehyde levels were significantly (p < 0.05) lowered by dietary AIPH (2%-8%). The albumin level and hepatorenal functioning parameters (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and creatinine) were not significantly (p > 0.05) altered by AIPH diets. Additionally, AIPH diets did not adversely alter the histology of the hepatic, renal or splenic tissues with moderately activated melano-macrophage centres. The mortality rate among S. agalactiae-infected fish declined as dietary AIPH levels rose, where the highest survival rate (86.67%) was found in the AIPH8 group (p < 0.05). Based on the broken line regression model, our study suggests using dietary AIPH at the optimal level of 6%. Overall, dietary AIPH inclusion enhanced the growth rate, economic efficiency, health status, and resistance of Nile tilapia to the S. agalactiae challenge. These beneficial impacts can help the aquaculture sector to be more sustainable.

A combined monthly precipitation prediction method based on CEEMD and improved LSTM.

With the continuous decline of water resources due to population growth and rapid economic development, precipitation prediction plays an important role in the rational allocation of global water resources. To address the non-linearity and non-stationarity of monthly precipitation, a combined prediction method based on complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) and a modified long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network was proposed. Firstly, the CEEMD method was used to decompose the monthly precipitation series into a set of relatively stationary sub-sequence components, which can better reflect the local characteristics of the sequence and further understand the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the sequence. Then, improved LSTM neural networks were employed to predict each sub-sequence. The proposed improvement method optimized the hyper-parameters of LSTM neural networks using particle swarm optimization algorithm, which avoided the randomness of artificial parameter selection. Finally, the predicted results of each component were superimposed to obtain the final prediction result. The proposed method was validated by taking the monthly precipitation data from 1961 to 2020 in Changde City, Hunan Province as an example. The results of the case study show that, compared with other traditional prediction methods, the proposed method can better reflect the trend of precipitation changes and has higher prediction accuracy.

Meditation for role of productive capacities and green investment on ecological footprint in BRI countries.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a development strategy with a focus on enhancing connectivity, promoting economic growth, and improving people's livelihoods. However, it has also raised concerns about its effect on the environment. This study explores the impact of productive capacities and green investment in mitigating the ecological footprint of BRI countries. The role of productive capacities on ecological footprint is very little discussed in earlier studies. This study investigates the effect of productive capacities index and green investment on ecological footprint for 42 BRI participating countries covering the time span of 2000-2018. Different methods are applied to tackle the problem of dependence of cross sections; then Lagrange multiplier bootstrap method is applied to find co-integration. The long run relationship is uncovered by "augmented mean group" (AMG) and "common correlated effects mean group" (CCEMG). The findings of the study show that both productive capacities and green investment have a significant negative impact on ecological footprint, depicting that promoting sustainable development and environmental protection is feasible through increasing productive capacities and investing in green technologies. The findings of this study have important implications for policymakers, who should focus on promoting sustainable environment by prioritizing productive capacities and green technologies.

Convergence or dispersion? The impact of China's innovative city pilot policy on regional innovation differences.

Although constructing innovative cities stimulates innovation, it may further widen regional innovation differences. Based on panel data from 275 cities in China from 2003 to 2020, the difference-in-differences method was used to examine the impact of the innovative city pilot policy on urban innovation convergence. The study finds that the pilot policy not only improves the innovation level of cities (basic effect) but also promotes innovation convergence among pilot cities (convergence effect). However, in the short-term, the policy slows the innovation convergence of the entire region. The results reveal the innovative city policy's multiple effects and dual character and capture the spatial spillover and regional heterogeneity of policy impact, highlighting the risk of further marginalizing some cities. This study supplements the evidence that government intervention affects regional innovation patterns based on the place-based innovation policy in China, providing theoretical support for expanding the follow-up pilot scope and the coordinated development of regional innovation.