Revealing Water Stress by the Thermal Power Industry in China Based on a High Spatial Resolution Water Withdrawal and Consumption Inventory.

This study reveals the spatial distribution of water withdrawal and consumption by thermal power generation and the associated water stress at catchment level in China based on a high-resolution geodatabase of electric generating units and power plants. We identified three groups of regions where the baseline water stress exerted by thermal power generation is comparatively significant: (1) the Hai River Basin/East Yellow River Basin in the north; (2) some arid catchments in Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwest; and (3) the coastal city clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearly River Delta, and Zhejiang Province. Groundwater stress is also detected singularly in a few aquifers mainly in the Hai River Basin and the lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. As China accelerates its pace of coal mining and coal-fired power generation in the arid northwest regions, the energy/water priorities in catchments under high water stress are noteworthy. We conclude that promotion of advanced water-efficient technologies in the energy industry and more systematic analysis of the water stress of thermal power capacity expansion in water scarce regions in inland China are needed. More comprehensive and transparent data monitoring and reporting are essential to facilitate such water stress assessment.

Managing Scarce Water Resources in China's Coal Power Industry.

Coal power generation capacity is expanding rapidly in the arid northwest regions in China. Its impact on water resources is attracting growing concerns from policy-makers, researchers, as well as mass media. This paper briefly describes the situation of electricity-water conflict in China and provides a comprehensive review on a variety of water resources management policies in China's coal power industry. These policies range from mandatory regulations to incentive-based instruments, covering water withdrawal standards, technological requirements on water saving, unconventional water resources utilization (such as reclaimed municipal wastewater, seawater, and mine water), water resources fee, and water permit transfer. Implementing these policies jointly is of crucial importance for alleviating the water stress from the expanding coal power industry in China.

Randomized trial of the application value of comprehensive nursing intervention in the perioperative period of ruptured bleeding of ectopic pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the value of comprehensive nursing intervention in the perioperative period of ruptured bleeding of ectopic pregnancy. METHODS: From January 2015 to January 2020, 164 patients with rupture and bleeding of ectopic pregnancy who needed laparoscopic treatment in the department of gynecology at our hospital were selected and randomly divided into the basic nursing group and the comprehensive nursing group, with 82 cases each. During the perioperative period, comprehensive nursing intervention or basic nursing intervention were performed, and the nursing effects of the two nursing interventions were compared. RESULTS: The disappearance time of abdominal pain, the time to get out of bed, and the length of hospitalization in the comprehensive nursing group were significantly shorter than those in the basic nursing group (P<0.05). After surgery, blood sugar levels, aldosterone, cortisol, C-reactive protein (CRP), and IL-6 in the two groups were significantly higher than those before surgery (P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). After the operation, the proportion of patients with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores of 7-10 in the comprehensive nursing group was significantly lower than that in the basic nursing group (P<0.05). Before the intervention, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores of the two groups were compared, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). After the intervention, the HAMA and HAMD scores of the comprehensive nursing group were significantly lower than those of the basic nursing group (P<0.05). The fallopian tube recanalization rate of patients in the comprehensive care group was significantly higher than that of the basic care group (P<0.05), and the complication rate was significantly lower than that of the basic care group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, a comprehensive nursing program during the perioperative period can improve the treatment effect and significantly shorten the recovery time of patients, which is worthy of clinical promotion.

Analysis of the effect of infection prevention nursing on drainage of malignant pleural effusion with indwelling central venous catheter.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the effect of infection prevention care on the drainage of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) by indwelling Central venous catheterization (CVC). METHODS: From January 2016 to January 2018, 128 patients at our hospital who needed indwelling CVC for drainage of MPE were randomly divided into an infection prevention group and a conventional group. The corresponding nursing plan was given to compare the 2 groups in several measures, including nursing effect and complications. RESULTS: After intervention, the total effective rate of the infection prevention group was 96.88%, while the total effective rate of the conventional group was 87.50%, which was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The disappearance time of pleural effusion, catheter indwelling time, and length of stay in the infection prevention group were significantly lower than those in the conventional group (P<0.05). The incidence of infection and the total incidence of all complications in the infection prevention group were significantly lower than those in the conventional group (P<0.05). The proportion of the number of cases with Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) ≤10 in the infection prevention group was significantly lower than that in the conventional group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: As infection prevention care significantly improves clinical efficacy and reduces the occurrence of complications, it uses in clinic is warranted.

Public-private partnerships in China's urban water sector.

During the past decades, the traditional state monopoly in urban water management has been debated heavily, resulting in different forms and degrees of private sector involvement across the globe. Since the 1990s, China has also started experiments with new modes of urban water service management and governance in which the private sector is involved. It is premature to conclude whether the various forms of private sector involvement will successfully overcome the major problems (capital shortage, inefficient operation, and service quality) in China's water sector. But at the same time, private sector involvement in water provisioning and waste water treatments seems to have become mainstream in transitional China.

Participatory environmental governance in China: public hearings on urban water tariff setting.

In the late 1990s China started to expand its market economic reform to the public sector, such as water services. This reform led to major changes in urban water management, including water tariff management. The reforms in water tariff management relate not only to tariffs, but also to the decision-making on tariffs. Water tariff decision-making seems to move away from China's conventional mode of highly centralized and bureaucratic policy- and decision-making. The legalization, institutionalization and performance of public hearings in water tariff management forms a crucial innovation in this respect. This article analyzes the emergence, development and current functioning of public hearings in water tariff setting, and assesses to what extent public hearings are part of a turning point in China's tradition of centralized bureaucratic decision-making, towards more transparent, decentralized and participative governance.