Advancing the concept of global oral health to strengthen actions for planetary health and One Health.

Advancing the concept of global oral health can help tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. A model for oral and planetary health places more explicit focus on understanding the state of the Earth's systems, changing environment in relation to planetary health boundaries and their impact on human well-being. This can facilitate a planet-centric critical thinking for equity in global oral health that contributes to UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Cultural landscape resilience evaluation of Great Wall Villages: A case study of three villages in Chicheng County.

The Great Wall Villages (GWVs) are linked to the Great Wall in history, culture, and ecology. The cultural landscape resilience of Great Wall Villages (CLRGWVs) is distinctly significant. However, it is influenced by urbanization, pollution, and a lack of awareness of cultural landscape protection. Therefore, conservation and development practices still lack scientific strategies and guidance. This study proposes a new assessment system to quantify CLRGWVs, an analysis of the main influencing factors of resilience, and optimization paths to maintain sustainable development. Based on the socio-ecological system, this research designed the assessment with three criteria, eleven factors, and thirty-three indexes from the perspective of CLRGWVs. Furthermore, a demonstration test was constructed in Ningyuanbao Village, Dushikou Village, and Longmensuo Village in Chicheng County, Hebei Province, China. The results showed that there is some disparity between the three GWVs, with the resilience score of Dushikou Village being the highest in terms of resistance and learning. In contrast, Ningyuanbao Village's resilience score is the lowest since resistance, recovery, and learning capacity are lower than in Dushikou and Longmensuo. Some influencing factors were found to be highly related to adaptive capacity. Lastly, some low-resilience aspects were identified as critical improvement targets for which corresponding optimization strategies should be proposed. This could be applied to streamline resilience optimization paths according to local conditions. This paper provides new ideas and directions for dealing with the sustainable development of villages and the conservation of cultural landscapes. It will also help villages deal with the relationship between socio-economic development and the conservation of cultural landscapes.

Does green investment affect environment pollution: Evidence from asymmetric ARDL approach?

Pollution in the environment is today the biggest issue facing the globe and the main factor in the development of many fatal diseases. The main objective of the study to investigate green investments, economic growth and financial development on environmental pollution in the G-7 countries. This study used annual penal data from 1997 to 2021. The panel NARDL (Non-linear autoregressive distributed lag) results affirm that the positive change of green investment and negative shock in green investment have a significant and positive association with environment pollution in G-7 nations. Our findings provide more evidence for the long-term asymmetry between financial development and environmental performance. However, the findings confirm that a positive modification in financial development has a positive and significant effect on environment pollution. Whereas negative shock in financial development is negative and insignificant relationship with environment pollution. Moreover, the outcomes of the study reveal that both positive shock in gross domestic product growth and negative shock of economic growth have a significant and positive link with environment pollution in G-7 countries. According to the findings, by lowering carbon dioxide emissions, green investments reduced environmental pollution in the G-7 nations over the long and short term. Moreover, it is an innovative research effort that provides light on the connection between green investments, financial development, and the environment while making mention to the EKC in G-7 countries. After all these, our recommendation is to increases green investment expenditures to reduce environmental pollution in the G-7 nations based on our findings. Additionally, one important way for the nation to achieve its sustainable development goals is to improve advancements in the financial sector.

Constructing an evaluation model for the comprehensive level of sustainable development of provincial competitive sports in China based on DPSIR and MCDM.

This study focuses on the objective assessment of sport development in socio-economic environments, considering the challenges faced by the industry. These challenges include disparities in regional investments, limited market participation, slow progress towards sports professionalization, and insufficient technological innovations. To tackle these challenges, we suggest implementing an integrated evaluation model that follows the DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses) framework and incorporates comprehensive socioeconomic indicators. Subsequently, we utilized the Entropy power method and TOPSIS (Order Preference Technique for Similarity to an Ideal Solution, TOPSIS) analysis to comprehensively assess the progress of competitive sports development in 31 provinces and cities in China. Additionally, we recommended further developments in competitive sports and proposed precise strategies for promoting its growth. The framework and methodology developed in this paper provide an objective and scientifically based set of decision-making guidelines that can be adopted by government agencies and related industries in order to create successful plans that promote the sustainable growth of competitive sport. This is expected to bolster the nation's global influence, enhance social unity, and fuel economic expansion. The findings of this study offer policymakers valuable insights regarding competitive sports and can advance the development of the sports sector in China, thus making it a crucial driver of regional socio-economic progress.

Research on total factor energy efficiency in western China based on the three-stage DEA-Tobit model.

As an essential material basis and power source for economic and social development, Western China's low energy use efficiency has hindered its sustainable economic development. This study aims to evaluate the total factor energy efficiency of the region and identify its influencing factors. A three-stage DEA model was used to measure the efficiency of 11 provinces from 2006 to 2021, and the Tobit model was employed to investigate internal factors. The findings show that (i) external environmental factors and stochastic perturbations have a significant impact on TFEE in the western region, overestimating integrated efficiency and scale efficiency and underestimating pure technical efficiency. (ii) the study of external influencing factors finds that the level of economic development increases input redundancy; the industrial structure increases capital input and labor input redundancy while decreasing energy input redundancy; and the energy consumption structure increases capital input and energy input redundancy while decreasing labor input redundancy. (iii) the study of internal influencing factors finds that the level of scientific and technological innovation, the level of openness to the outside world, and the TFEE have a positive correlation. In contrast, the intensity of environmental regulation has a negative correlation.

Evaluation of sustainable development capacity of water sources: a case study of China.

The issue of water scarcity has drawn attention from all over the world. The coordination of the interaction between ecological and environmental development of water sources and socio-economic development is currently an essential issue that needs to be solved in order to safeguard the water resources environment for human survival. In this essay, we suggest a paradigm for assessing the sustainable exploitation of water resources. First, three ecological, economic, and social factors are investigated. Twenty essential evaluation indexes are then constructed using the Delphi approach, along with an index system for assessing the potential of water sources for sustainable development. The weights of each evaluation index were then determined using the combination assignment approach, which was then suggested. The coupled degree evaluation model of the capability for sustainable development of water sources was then developed. In order to confirm the viability and validity of the suggested model, the model was used to assess the Liwu River water source's capacity for sustainable growth in the context of the South-North Water Transfer in Shandong, China. It is believed that the aforementioned study would serve as a helpful resource when evaluating the capacity of water sources for sustainable development.

ChatGPT: Literate or intelligent about UN sustainable development goals?

Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are progressively transforming numerous sectors, demonstrating a capacity to impact human life dramatically. This research seeks to evaluate the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) literacy of ChatGPT, which is crucial for diverse stakeholders involved in SDG-related policies. Experimental outcomes from two widely used Sustainability Assessment tests-the UN SDG Fitness Test and Sustainability Literacy Test (SULITEST) - suggest that ChatGPT exhibits high SDG literacy, yet its comprehensive SDG intelligence needs further exploration. The Fitness Test gauges eight vital competencies across introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. Accurate mapping of these to the test questions is essential for partial evaluation of SDG intelligence. To assess SDG intelligence, the questions from both tests were mapped to 17 SDGs and eight cross-cutting SDG core competencies, but both test questionnaires were found to be insufficient. SULITEST could satisfactorily map only 5 out of 8 competencies, whereas the Fitness Test managed to map 6 out of 8. Regarding the coverage of the Fitness Test and SULITEST, their mapping to the 17 SDGs, both tests fell short. Most SDGs were underrepresented in both instruments, with certain SDGs not represented at all. Consequently, both tools proved ineffective in assessing SDG intelligence through SDG coverage. The study recommends future versions of ChatGPT to enhance competencies such as collaboration, critical thinking, systems thinking, and others to achieve the SDGs. It concludes that while AI models like ChatGPT hold considerable potential in sustainable development, their usage must be approached carefully, considering current limitations and ethical implications.

Analyzing green and sustainable land use in China's coal cities: Insights from industrial transformation.

Driven by the goal of achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. Addressing environmental pollution and remediating land damage have become critical challenges in resource-based cities and regions with low land use efficiency. As a response, this study focuses on the 23 provinces where China's coal resource-based cities are situated. Utilizing data from 2014 to 2020, this research employs the SBM-Undesirable model, which considers undesirable outputs in efficiency calculations, and the Tobit regression test. It aims to explore the spatio-temporal variations in industrial transformation within resource-based cities and its impact on the efficiency of green space utilization. Furthermore, it analyzes the characteristics and the extent of the influence of factors such as industrial structure adjustments on urban land use efficiency, maximizing the output of land as a factor of production. The results show that: (1) Over the 7-year period studied, China consistently made nationwide adjustments to land area and land use structure to meet the needs of urban development (2) The regression test results show that the industrial transformation of resource-based cities can promote the improvement of green space utilization efficiency. The positive influence coefficient is 0.064 and is significant at a 1% level. (3) Environmental regulation, government expenditure, international trade, and green cover play a positive role in promoting green land use. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners seeking to foster sustainable development in resource-based cities.

Behavioral decision-making of government, agricultural product producers, and consumers on agricultural product quality and safety regulation in a digital environment.

The quality and safety of agricultural products are related to people's lives and health, economic development, and social stability, and have always been a hot issue of concern to the government and society. The rapid development of digital traceability technology in the digital environment has brought new opportunities for the supervision of agricultural product quality and safety, but the frequent occurrence of agricultural product safety incidents in recent years has exposed many problems such as the lack of governmental supervision, unstandardized production process of enterprises, and weak consumer awareness. To improve the cooperation efficiency of stakeholders and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products, this paper proposes a dynamic model based on evolutionary game theory. The model incorporates the government, agricultural product producers, and farmers, and evaluates the stability and effectiveness of the system under different circumstances. The results of the study show that there are multiple evolutionary stabilization strategies in the tripartite evolutionary game model of agricultural product quality and safety supervision, and there are corresponding evolutionary stabilization conditions. There are several factors affecting the stability of the system, the most important of which are government regulation, severe penalties for agricultural product producers, and incentives. When these factors reach a certain threshold, the stakeholder cooperation mechanism can establish an evolutionarily stable strategy. This study contributes to the understanding of the operational mechanism of stakeholder cooperation in agricultural product quality and safety regulation in the digital environment and provides decision support and policy recommendations for stakeholders to promote the sustainable development and optimization of agricultural product quality and safety regulation.

Eco-environmental changes due to human activities in the Erhai Lake Basin from 1990 to 2020.

Human activities have increased with urbanisation in the Erhai Lake Basin, considerably impacting its eco-environmental quality (EEQ). This study aims to reveal the evolution and driving forces of the EEQ using water benefit-based ecological index (WBEI) in response to human activities and policy variations in the Erhai Lake Basin from 1990 to 2020. Results show that (1) the EEQ exhibited a pattern of initial degradation, subsequent improvement, further degradation and a rebound from 1990 to 2020, and the areas with poor and fair EEQ levels mainly concentrated around the Erhai Lake Basin with a high level of urbanisation and relatively flat terrain; (2) the EEQ levels were not optimistic in 1990, 1995 and 2015, and areas with poor and fair EEQ levels accounted for 43.41%, 47.01% and 40.05% of the total area, respectively; and (3) an overall improvement in the EEQ was observed in 1995-2000, 2000-2005, 2005-2009 and 2015-2020, and the improvement was most significant in 1995-2000, covering an area of 823.95 km2 and accounting for 31.79% of the total area. Results also confirmed that the EEQ changes in the Erhai Lake Basin were primarily influenced by human activities and policy variations. Moreover, these results can provide a scientific basis for the formulation and planning of sustainable development policy in the Erhai Lake Basin.

Plastics and the Sustainable Development Goals: From waste to wealth with microbial recycling and upcycling.

Plastics pollution has become one of the greatest concerns of the 21st century. To date, around 10 billion tons of plastics have been produced almost exclusively from non-renewable sources, and of these, <10% have been recycled. The majority of discarded plastic waste (>70%) is accumulating in landfills or the environment, causing severe impacts to natural ecosystems and human health. Considering how plastics are present in every aspect of our daily lives, it is evident that a transition towards a Circular Economy of plastics is essential to achieve several of the Sustainable Development Goals. In this editorial, we highlight how microbial biotechnology can contribute to this shift, with a special focus on the biological recycling of conventional plastics and the upcycling of plastic-waste feedstocks into new value-added products. Although important hurdles will need to be overcome in this endeavour, recent success stories highlight how interdisciplinary approaches can bring us closer to a bio-based economy for the sustainable management of plastics.

Green finance, green development and decarbonization of the energy consumption structure.

Energy plays a crucial role in global economic development, but it also contributes significantly to CO2 emissions. China has proposed a "dual-carbon" goal, and a key aspect to achieving this objective is finding effective ways to promote the decarbonization of the energy consumption structure (DECS). Compared with traditional finance, green finance is pivotal in advancing green and low-carbon development. However, the mechanism through which green finance impacts DECS has not been thoroughly explored. This study employs an enhanced weighted multi-dimensional vector angle method, which is more systematic and scientific, to measure DECS. Then, dynamic panel data from 30 provinces in China spanning the years 2003 to 2020 are used. A double fixed-effects model is applied to investigate the impact of green finance on the DECS and identify potential pathways. Results reveal that green finance significantly enhances DECS, primarily by reinforcing green development. The critical impact pathway involves the promotion of green technology innovation and green industry development. Moreover, the enhancing effect of green finance on the DECS is considerably significant in regions with relatively low government spending on science and technology (S&T), and where the focus is not on the "Atmospheric Ten" policy. The measurement of DECS is innovative, and the conclusions derived from it can offer compelling evidence for various social stakeholders. The government has the opportunity to establish a green financial system, supporting green technological innovation and the development of green industries. This approach can accelerate the DECS and work toward achieving the "double carbon" goal at an earlier date.

Female labour participation and infant mortality in Nigeria: implication for the sustainable development goal 3.

Over the time, link between female labour participation and infant mortality has become a subject of debate among scholars and policymakers in developing countries. This subject becomes more critical for a country like Nigeria where there is a persistent challenge to attain minimal global infant mortality rates by 2030, and where over 47% of female working population is unemployed. Against this background, this study utilizes fully modified ordinary least squares to estimate the relationship between female labour participation and infant mortality in Nigeria. The results show that at least 98 children per 1,000 births died in Nigeria between 1990 and 2020. Similarly, over 47% of female working population is currently unemployed in Nigeria. Female labour participation and infant mortality possess a significant negative relationship. Consequently, participation of women in the labour market has a significant effect in reducing infant mortality in Nigeria. In the same vein, female employment contributed to the reduction of infant mortality, though not substantial in nature. As such, the Nigerian policymakers should create a conducive environment that will facilitate participation of more women in the Nigerian labour market so that there will be further reduction of infant mortality in order to achieve the SDG 3.

Au fil du temps, le lien entre la participation des femmes au travail et la mortalité infantile est devenu un sujet de débat parmi les universitaires et les décideurs politiques des pays en développement. Ce sujet devient plus critique pour un pays comme le Nigeria, où il est toujours difficile d'atteindre des taux de mortalité infantile mondiaux minimaux d'ici 2030 et où plus de 47 % de la population active féminine est au chômage. Dans ce contexte, cette étude utilise les moindres carrés ordinaires entièrement modifiés pour estimer la relation entre la participation des femmes au travail et la mortalité infantile au Nigéria. Les résultats montrent qu'au moins 98 enfants pour 1 000 naissances sont morts au Nigeria entre 1990 et 2020. De même, plus de 47 % de la population active féminine est actuellement au chômage au Nigeria. La participation des femmes au travail et la mortalité infantile entretiennent une relation négative significative. Par conséquent, la participation des femmes au marché du travail a un effet significatif sur la réduction de la mortalité infantile au Nigéria. Dans le même ordre d'idées, l'emploi des femmes a contribué à la réduction de la mortalité infantile, même si elle n'est pas substantielle. En tant que tel, les décideurs politiques nigérians devraient créer un environnement propice qui facilitera la participation d'un plus grand nombre de femmes au marché du travail nigérian afin de réduire davantage la mortalité infantile afin d'atteindre l'ODD 3.

Political factors, carbon emissions, and life expectancy in India: Implications for the Sustainable Development Goal 3.

This study examines the nexus among political factors, carbon emissions, and life expectancy between 1990 and 2020 in India. Data for this study was extracted from the World Bank Development indicators, after which it was subjected to econometrics analysis. The results showed that on averages, between 1990 and 2020, India experienced a life expectancy around 65 years. Fossil fuel energy consumption represents a small proportion of total energy consumption in India. However, carbon emissions and life expectancy have a positive and significant relationship. Fossil fuel usage and life expectancy possess a significantly positive relationship (FFEC = 0.044128, P-value = 0.0023) Moreover, government effectiveness and life expectancy have a significant direct relationship. Political stability and life expectancy have a significant negative relationship in the country. We conclude that policymakers in India should ensure that carbon emissions and fossil fuel usage in India do not pose a threat to life expectancy. Efforts should be put in place by policymakers in India to increase life expectancy , a strategic component of SDG 3- good health and well being for all at all ages, by ensuring stable political climate, good governance and efficient health enhanced public policies.

Cette étude examine le lien entre les facteurs politiques, les émissions de carbone et l'espérance de vie entre 1990 et 2020 en Inde. Les données de cette étude ont été extraites des indicateurs de développement de la Banque mondiale, après quoi elles ont été soumises à une analyse économétrique. Les résultats ont montré qu'en moyenne, entre 1990 et 2020, l'Inde a connu une espérance de vie d'environ 65 ans. La consommation d'énergie fossile représente une petite proportion de la consommation totale d'énergie en Inde. Cependant, les émissions de carbone et l'espérance de vie ont une relation positive et significative. L'utilisation de combustibles fossiles et l'espérance de vie possèdent une relation significativement positive (FFEC = 0,044128, valeur P = 0,0023). De plus, l'efficacité du gouvernement et l'espérance de vie ont une relation directe significative. La stabilité politique et l'espérance de vie ont une relation négative significative dans le pays. Nous concluons que les décideurs politiques indiens devraient veiller à ce que les émissions de carbone et l'utilisation de combustibles fossiles en Inde ne constituent pas une menace pour l'espérance de vie. Des efforts devraient être mis en place par les décideurs politiques indiens pour augmenter l'espérance de vie, une composante stratégique de l'ODD 3 - bonne santé et bien-être pour tous à tout âge, en garantissant un climat politique stable, une bonne gouvernance et des politiques publiques efficaces et améliorées en matière de santé.

The impact of technological innovation on the green digital economy and development strategies.

To investigate the interplay among technological innovation, industrial structure, production methodologies, economic growth, and environmental consequences within the paradigm of a green economy and to put forth strategies for sustainable development, this study scrutinizes the limitations inherent in conventional deep learning networks. Firstly, this study analyzes the limitations and optimization strategies of multi-layer perceptron (MLP) networks under the background of the green economy. Secondly, the MLP network model is optimized, and the dynamic analysis of the impact of technological innovation on the digital economy is discussed. Finally, the effectiveness of the optimization model is verified by experiments. Moreover, a sustainable development strategy based on dynamic analysis is also proposed. The experimental results reveal that, in comparison to traditional Linear Regression (LR), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Naive Bayes (NB) models, the optimized model in this study demonstrates improved performance across various metrics. With a sample size of 500, the optimized model achieves a prediction accuracy of 97.2% for forecasting future trends, representing an average increase of 14.6%. Precision reaches 95.4%, reflecting an average enhancement of 19.2%, while sensitivity attains 84.1%, with an average improvement of 11.8%. The mean absolute error is only 1.16, exhibiting a 1.4 reduction compared to traditional models and confirming the effectiveness of the optimized model in prediction. In the examination of changes in industrial structure using 2020 data to forecast the output value of traditional and green industries in 2030, it is observed that the output value of traditional industries is anticipated to decrease, with an average decline of 11.4 billion yuan. Conversely, propelled by the development of the digital economy, the output value of green industries is expected to increase, with an average growth of 23.4 billion yuan. This shift in industrial structure aligns with the principles and trends of the green economy, further promoting sustainable development. In the study of innovative production methods, the green industry has achieved an increase in output and significantly enhanced production efficiency, showing an average growth of 2.135 million tons compared to the average in 2020. Consequently, this study highlights the dynamic impact of technological innovation on the digital economy and its crucial role within the context of a green economy. It holds certain reference significance for research on the dynamic effects of the digital economy under technological innovation.

Corporate ESG and total factor productivity: Will the fulfillment of social responsibility sacrifice productivity?

With the increasing prominence of climate and energy issues, enterprises, as the micro-subjects of economic activities, need to pay attention to environmental responsibility to promote sustainable and high-quality economic development. However, one of the crucial controversies is whether enterprises will sacrifice efficiency to fulfill their environmental responsibilities. To try our best to answer the controversy, this paper explores the impact of ESG on total factor productivity and its mechanism. The research conclusion shows that Chinese enterprises fulfilling ESG responsibilities can improve staff efficiency, reduce financing costs, ease financing constraints, and increase innovation investment, thus effectively improving total factor productivity. Compared to non-state-owned enterprises, this effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises. In addition, the promotion of ESG construction on the total factor productivity of enterprises also presents specific acceleration characteristics. This shows that in the socialist market economy environment, there is an obvious "social responsibility dividend" in the implementation of the ESG concept by Chinese enterprises, which is helpful to enhance their long-term value and realize a win-win of social value and commercial value. The conclusions of this study help deal correctly with the relationship between business value and social value of enterprises and provide inspiration for promoting healthy and sustainable economic development.

Regional differences and dynamic evolution of high-quality development in service industry: A case study of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.

The high-quality development of service industry has become an important engine for promoting sustainable economic development. This paper first constructed the evaluation index system of high-quality development of service industry, based on panel data from 2005 to 2020. Second, Kernel density, Markov chain and Dagum Gini coefficient were used to represent the regional differences and dynamic evolution of service industry, and the Koo method was used to explore the characteristics of spatial agglomeration. Finally, social network analysis was used to identify core indicators. The study found that: (1) From 2005 to 2020, the overall level of service industry first decreases and then increases, with Chengdu and Chongqing leading other cities. (2) The development of service industry in the CCEC has large spatial differences, mainly due to inter-regional differences. (3) The level of spatial agglomeration is less variable, with high agglomeration mainly in Chengdu. (4) Indicators such as the level of human capital are the core factors of its high-quality development. This study is of great theoretical and practical significance for the optimization and upgrading of service industry in the CCEC and the synergetic development of the region.

How are microbes helping end hunger?

This article explores the potential of microbiology to positively impact all aspects of the food supply chain, improving the quantity, quality, safety, and nutritional value of food products by providing innovative ways of growing, processing, and preserving food and thus contributing to Zero Hunger, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.