Decoding enterprise digital transformation: External oversight and carbon emission reduction performance.

Enterprise digital transformation (EDT) is a strategic initiative that provides robust support for optimising resource allocation, fosters business innovation, and significantly impacts ecological environment to increase financial performance. This study re-examines the substantial contributions of EDT to climate change mitigation. Drawing on data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2021, we investigated the changes and mechanisms influencing carbon emissions reduction performance (CERP) of enterprises undergoing digital transformation. The empirical results indicate that EDT actively contributes to enhancing the CERP of enterprises, with a more pronounced effect observed in non-polluting industries, state-owned enterprises, and manufacturing companies. Furthermore, empirical findings from mechanism tests reveal that EDT effectively improves the CERP by driving green technological innovation, strengthening industry chain connections, and enhancing capacity utilisation. Finally, within external oversight groups, particularly in government and investor supervision, the enhancement of enterprise CERP is more significant, highlighting the crucial role of external oversight in the EDT process.

CH4 and N2O emissions from China's beef feedlots with ad libitum and restricted feeding in fall and spring seasons.

Accurately quantifying methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from beef operations in China is necessary to evaluate the contribution of beef cattle to greenhouse gas budgets at the national and global level. Methane and N2O emissions from two intensive beef feedlots in the North China Plain, one with a restricted feeding strategy and high manure collection frequency and the other with an ad libitum feeding strategy and low manure collection frequency, were quantified in the fall and spring seasons using an inverse dispersion technique. The diel pattern of CH4 from the beef feedlot with an ad libitum feed strategy (single peak during a day) differed from that under a restricted feeding condition (multiple peaks during a day), but little difference in the diel pattern of N2O emissions between two feeding strategies was observed. The two-season average CH4 emission rates of the two intensive feedlots were 230 and 198gCH4animal(-1)d(-1) and accounted for 6.7% and 6.8% of the gross energy intake, respectively, indicating little impact of the feeding strategy and manure collection frequency on the CH4 conversion factor at the feedlot level. However, the average N2O emission rates (21.2g N2Oanimal(-1)d(-1)) and conversion factor (8.5%) of the feedlot with low manure collection frequency were approximately 131% and 174% greater, respectively, than the feedlot under high frequency conditions, which had a N2O emission rate and conversion factor of 9.2g N2Oanimal(-1)d(-1) and 3.1%, respectively, indicating that increasing manure collection frequency played an important role in reducing N2O emissions from beef feedlots. In addition, comparison indicated that China's beef and dairy cattle in feedlots appeared to have similar CH4 conversion factors.

Impact of Resource on Green Growth and Threshold Effect of International Trade Levels: Evidence from China.

International trade levels can change the relationship between resource endowments and green economic growth. Therefore, this study tested the resource curse hypothesis from the perspective of green growth in China using provincial-level panel data for 2005-2017. Energy conservation and environmental improvement were considered under green growth to further analyze the regional mechanism of the resource curse. A panel threshold model was used to identify the impact of import and export threshold effects on the transformation of this mechanism. The resource curse hypothesis was found to be valid nationwide; it hindered green economic growth mainly by impeding energy conservation and curbing environmental improvement. In terms of regional differences in green growth, resource endowment had a positive impact on the eastern region, a negative impact on the central region, and no effect on the western region. When the levels of import and export trade exceeded the threshold values, the resource curse effect was enhanced by reducing energy conservation and weakened by promoting environmental improvement, respectively. Therefore, the Chinese government should establish a more reasonable import and export trade structure, promote changes to the energy structure and green technological innovation, and reduce the negative impact of resource endowment on green growth.

[Effects of addition of sorghum stubble rhizosphere soil on growth and rhizosphere microbes of continuous cropping cucumber]. / æ·»åŠ é«˜ç²±æ ¹èŒ¬æ ¹é™ åœŸå¯¹è¿žä½œé»„ç“œç”Ÿé•¿å’Œæ ¹é™ å¾®ç”Ÿç‰©çš„å½±å“.

We explored the effects of addition of sorghum stubble rhizosphere soil on the growth of continuous cropping cucumber and rhizosphere microbial community in a pot experiment. The diffe-rences in soil bacterial and fungal community composition were analyzed with fluorescence quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing technology. There were four treatments: CK (no fertilization), T1(fertilizer only), T2(optimized fertilization), and T3(optimized fertilization + rhizosphere soil of sorghum stubble). The results showed that compared with other treatments, T3 promoted the growth and development of cucumber, and increased the abundance of 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA genes in soil. Compared with the T1 treatment, T2 and T3 significantly increased the richness and diversity of bacterial communities. There was no significant difference in fungal community richness and diversity among different treatments. Adding rhizosphere soil of sorghum stubble changed the composition of bacterial and fungal communities at both phylum and genus levels. For bacteria, it increased the abundances of Acidobacteria and Bacteroides, but decreased that of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Nitrospira and Bacillus. For fungi, it increased the abundance of Basidiomycota, Trichoderma and Pseudurotium, but decreased that of Fusarium and Metarhizium. Results of redundancy analysis showed that soil nitrate and organic matter were the key factors affecting the difference of bacterial and fungal community composition, respectively. In conclusion, addition of sorghum stubble rhizosphere soil improved the total abundance of soil microorganisms and bacterial diversity for continuous cropping cucumber. It increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria Trichoderma, reduced that of pathogenic Fusarium, and maintained the survival rate of cucumber, thus provided a feasible solution for alleviating the barriers for the continuous cropping of cucumber.

Effects of Re, W and Co on dislocation nucleation at the crack tip in the γ-phase of Ni-based single-crystal superalloys by atomistic simulation.

The effects of Re, W and Co on dislocation nucleation at the crack tip in Ni have been studied by the molecular dynamics method. The results show that the activation energy of dislocation nucleation is lowered by the addition of Re, W and Co; moreover, the activation energy decreases when the alloying element increases from 1 at.% to 2 at.%. The energy landscapes of the atoms are studied to elucidate these effects. Quantification analyses of the bonding strength between Ni and X (X = Re, W or Co) reveal that strong bonding between Ni and X (X = Re, W or Co) in the dislocation nucleation process can suppress the cleavage process and enhance the ability of dislocation nucleation. The surface energy and unstable stacking fault energy are also calculated to understand the alloying effects on the dislocation nucleation process. The results imply that interaction between alloying elements and Ni atoms plays a role in promoting the dislocation nucleation process at the crack tip. The ability of Re, W and Co in improving the ductility of the Ni crack system is in the order W > Re > Co. The results could provide useful information in the design of Ni-based superalloys.