Carbon intensity constraint, economic growth pressure and China's low-carbon development.

Within the context of promotion tournaments among local governments, the management of economic growth goals plays a crucial role in China's economic development. Despite China's rise as the second-largest economy globally, it has also emerged as the largest emitter of carbon emissions. Since the implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2011, the Chinese central government has made carbon intensity targets mandatory indicators for national economic development. This has prompted local governments to pursue low-carbon growth and adjust their economic growth targets (EGT) to comply with carbon intensity constraints. In this study, a sample of 282 prefecture-level cities in China is used to empirically examine the impact of carbon intensity constraints on total factor carbon emission efficiency (TCE) using the intensity difference-in-differences (DID) framework. The study also emphasizes the role of the transmission channel for economic growth pressure (EGP). The findings of the study reveal several key results. Firstly, the implementation of carbon intensity constraints leads to an average increase of 8.24% in total factor carbon emission efficiency (TCE), which is supported by robustness tests, parallel trend analysis, and placebo tests. Secondly, these constraints result in an average decrease of 0.1828 in local governments' economic growth targets (EGT) and a reduction of 0.1269 in economic growth pressure (EGP). Thirdly, cities with a higher proportion of secondary industry experience a more significant mitigation effect, although the promotion of provincial EGT hinders this effect. Fourthly, synergistic policies can effectively promote low-carbon development, and government expenditure on technology and marketization can facilitate a positive relationship between carbon intensity constraints and TCE. Lastly, the effects of carbon intensity constraints vary across the east, middle, and west regions, suggesting the presence of heterogeneity. The article proposes a shift in the assessment of lower governments by superior governments, from growth assessment to low-carbon growth assessment.

Performance evaluation and driver analysis of pollution control and carbon reduction in China: based on a new analytical framework.

This paper introduces a new indicator-pollution control and carbon reduction performance (PCCR) by non-radical directional distance function. We provide a solution method of DEA to measure PCCR in Chinese cities from 2006 to 2019 and study the driving factors of PCCR from both internal and external perspectives. The results are as follows. (1) PCCR has shown a stable period before 2015 and an upward period after 2015. The performance is the highest in the east, followed by the middle, and the west. Cities above sub-provincial level are generally more efficient than ordinary cities. (2) Technology-driven and efficiency-driven are key factors for improving PCCR. The importance of carbon reduction-driven is greater than that of pollution control-driven for improving PCCR. (3) Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is verified as there is a "U" relationship between economic development and PCCR. Industrial structure, urbanization, and fiscal expenditure promote PCCR, while foreign direct investment and human capital have no significant effect on improving PCCR. Economic growth pressure inhibits the improvement of PCCR. (4) Energy productivity, renewable energy technology, and low-carbonization of energy structure promote PCCRP, PCCRC, and PCCR.

Development and Validation of Chinese Parental Involvement and Support Scale for Preschool Children.

The present study developed the Chinese Parental Involvement and Support Scale for Preschool Children (CPISSPC) to measure parental involvement and support for preschool children. In Study 1, we conducted a literature review, open-ended interviews, a theoretical analysis, and expert interviews to create an item bank (58 items). In Study 2, 447 parents completed the item bank. Following item and Exploratory Factor Analysis, 30 items were retained. In Study 3, five new items were added to the 30-item version of the CPISSPC. A separate sample of 471 parents completed the 35-item version of the CPISSPC. After Confirmatory Factor Analysis, a final 18-item version of the CPISSPC was created with four factors: psychological support, educational support, play support, and life support. Construct validity and internal reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.88) were satisfactory. Study 4 evaluated concurrent validity (n = 318). CPISSPC scores significantly and positively correlated with perceived social support, marital gratification, and children's self-efficacy. CPISSPC scores significantly and negatively correlated with parents' levels of burnout and loneliness. The CPISSPC exhibits good psychometric properties and can be used as a tool to measure parental involvement and support for preschool children.

Blimp-1 Upregulation by Multiple Ligands via EGFR Transactivation Inhibits Cell Migration in Keratinocytes and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp-1) is a transcriptional repressor and plays a crucial role in the regulation of development and functions of various immune cells. Currently, there is limited understanding about the regulation of Blimp-1 expression and cellular functions in keratinocytes and cancer cells. Previously we demonstrated that EGF can upregulate Blimp-1 gene expression in keratinocytes, playing a negative role in regulation of cell migration and inflammation. Because it remains unclear if Blimp-1 can be regulated by other stimuli beyond EGF, here we further investigated multiple stimuli for their regulation of Blimp-1 expression in keratinocytes and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We found that PMA, TNF-α, LPS, polyIC, H2O2 and UVB can upregulate the protein and/or mRNA levels of Blimp-1 in HaCaT and SCC cells. Concomitant EGFR activation was observed by these stimuli, and EGFR inhibitor gefitinib and Syk inhibitor can block Blimp-1 gene expression caused by PMA. Reporter assay of Blimp-1 promoter activity further indicated the involvement of AP-1 in PMA-, TNF-α-, LPS- and EGF-elicited Blimp-1 mRNA expression. Confocal microscopic data indicated the nuclear loclization of Blimp-1, and such localization was not changed by stimuli. Moreover, Blimp-1 silencing enhanced SCC cell migration. Taken together, Blimp-1 can be transcriptionally upregulated by several stimuli in keratinocytes and SCC via EGFR transactivation and AP-1 pathway. These include growth factor PMA, cytokine TNF-α, TLR ligands (LPS and polyIC), and ROS insults (H2O2 and UVB). The function of Blimp-1 as a negative regulator of cell migration in SCC can provide a new therapeutic target in SCC.

Comparison of the immersion chilling and freezing and traditional air freezing on the quality of beef during storage.

Compared to traditional air freezing, immersion chilling and freezing shows an improvement in the freezing effect on meat quality, but it is not known whether this advantage persists over longer storage periods. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to compare the effects of immersion chilling and freezing (ICF) and traditional air freezing (TAF) on the physical and chemical indexes in beef longissimus muscle during a storage period of 150 days. In the current study, the longissimus muscle from Luxi cattle (aged 20-24 months) was analyzed, with samples independently frozen by ICF and TAF. After the core temperature was frozen to below -18 degrees by the two chilling methods, samples were transferred to a -18 degrees cold room for further storage. During the storage period, physical and chemical indexes, mainly including color and texture qualities, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) and peroxide value (POV) were measured and comparatively analyzed at several fixed time points. A higher freezing rate was observed in ICF (5.124 cm/h) than in TAF (0.194 cm/h), and better microstructure was observed in ICF treatment. Besides, peak force values and total energy values were significantly lower in the TAF group than in the ICF group during the first 45 days of freezing storage time (p < .05). ICF also showed better color quality due to higher L* values than TAF samples during the first 75 days of frozen storage (p < .05). In addition, the thawing loss (after 75 days of storage), total volatile base nitrogen, and peroxide value (in the 30 to 75 days of storage period) were lower in the ICF than in the TAF group. In conclusion, the immersion chilling and freezing is more conducive to the quality of beef during storage at -18 degrees compared to traditional air freezing.