Relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms in patients with multimorbidity: the chained mediating role of cognitive function and activities of daily living.

OBJECTIVE: The potential mechanisms linking social participation and depressive symptoms in Chinese individuals with multimorbidity are not yet fully understood. This study aims to explore how cognitive function and activities of daily living (ADLs) mediate the relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms in individuals with multimorbidity. METHODS: We selected 3782 participants with multimorbidity from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Data related to social participation, cognitive function, ADLs, and depressive symptoms were extracted. Regression and Bootstrap analyses were used to explore the sequential mediating effects of social participation, cognitive function, ADLs, and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: (1) There was a significant correlation between social participation, cognitive function, activities of daily living, and depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). (2) Social participation directly affected depressive symptoms (ß = -0.205, p < 0.05). (3) Cognitive function (ß = -0.070, p < 0.01) and activities of daily living (ß = -0.058, p < 0.01) played separate mediating roles in the effect of social participation on depressive symptoms. (4) Cognitive function and activities of daily living had a chain-mediated role in the relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms in patients with multimorbidity (ß = -0.020, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: A chained mediating effect was found between cognitive function, ADLs, social participation, and depressive symptoms in patients with multimorbidity. Social participation was found to improve the cognitive function of patients with multimorbidity, which in turn enhanced their daily life activities and ultimately alleviated their depressive symptoms.

Exploring ways to improve China's ecological well-being amidst air pollution challenges using mixed methods.

Ecological well-being performance (EWP), a novel concept in sustainable development research, diverges from traditional ecological efficiency in terms of perspectives, core content, and driving factors. However, research on EWP remains insufficiently comprehensive, particularly the corresponding theoretical and methodological investigations into driving pathways. To address this gap, this study develops an "economy-environment-health" framework, incorporating air pollution and associated health losses into the evaluation system, and employs a two-stage Super-NSBM and Window DEA model for reevaluating EWP. The study further investigates the primary pathways of EWP, focusing on environmental regulations, technological innovation, and structural adjustments through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative spatial econometric analysis reveals that factors such as market-driven environmental regulations, green invention patents, and industrial and energy consumption structures significantly enhance EWP. While examining the "net effects" contributions of individual variables using spatial econometric models, the fsQCA method is employed to identify four effective driving paths for EWP from a configurational perspective. These paths are 1) technological innovation and structural adjustment under environmental regulations with public participation; 2) a combination of environmental regulation, technological innovation, and structural adjustment; 3) structural adjustment with minimal influence from environmental regulations and technological innovation; and 4) structural adjustment directed by market-incentive environmental regulations.

The temporal variation of CH4 emissions embodied in Chinese supply chains, 2000-2020.

Although the issue of embodied pollutants in China's supply chains has garnered increasing attention, the dynamic changes occurring within them are unclear. Several existing studies analyze one-year or short-term data in supply chain. China's overall CH4 emissions have risen from 41.1 Tg in 2000 to 60 Tg in 2020, so conducting long-term analyses can yield a deeper understanding of the dynamic changes across the entire supply chain from production to consumption. This study uses the environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) and structural path analysis (SPA) methods to investigate the dynamic variation of China's embodied CH4 emissions in 20 industry sectors from 2000 to 2020, aiming to determine the key supply chain and key sectors. The results reveal that from the final demand perspective, consumption, investment and export drove 52.1%, 32%, and 15.9% of embodied CH4 emissions in 2020. The sector with the highest embodied CH4 emissions has changed from "Agriculture" in 2000 to "Construction" in 2010 to "Other service and activities" in 2020. The top listed supply chain path of embodied CH4 emissions has also evolved (starting from production to consumption) from "Agriculture → Rural consumption" in 2000 to "Agriculture → Food and tobacco → Urban consumption" in 2010 to "Agriculture → Urban consumption" in 2020. Notably, the high-ranked path, "Agriculture → Food and tobacco → Rural consumption", shows that the embodied CH4 emission flowing between agriculture and the food industry cannot be ignored. The supply chain path "Coal Mining → Nonmetal Mineral Products → Construction → Capital Formation" has risen from 17th in 2000 to 3rd in 2020. Thus, it is necessary to control CH4 emissions from sectors upstream, which are predominantly influenced by the construction industry, and a coordinated effort between sectors is also required to effectively reduce emissions. By 2020, the CH4 emissions driven by urban consumption were 3.1 times that of rural consumption. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of China's supply chain over the past two decades. In particular, it suggests policy interventions by controlling critical supply chain paths and key sectors associated with embodied CH4 emission, thereby facilitating the coordinated reduction of anthropogenic CH4 emissions.

Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Health Impact and Economic Loss upon Exposure to PM2.5 in China.

Exposure to PM2.5 can seriously endanger public health. Policies for controlling PM2.5 need to consider health hazards under different circumstances. Unlike most studies on the concentration, distribution, and influencing factors of PM2.5, the present study focuses on the impact of PM2.5 on human health. We analysed the spatial-temporal evolution of health impact and economic loss caused by PM2.5 exposure using the log-linear exposure-response function and benefit transfer method. The results indicate that the number of people affected by PM2.5 pollution fluctuated and began to decline after reaching a peak in 2014, benefiting from the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan. Regarding the total economic loss, the temporal pattern continued to rise until 2014 and then declined, with an annual mean of 86,886.94 million USD, accounting for 1.71% of China's GDP. For the spatial pattern, the health impact and economic loss show a strong spatial correlation and remarkable polarisation phenomena, with high values in East China, North China, Central China, and South China, but low values in Southwest China, Northwest China, and Northeast China. The spatial-temporal characterisation of PM2.5 health hazards is visualised and analysed accordingly, which can provide a reference for more comprehensive and effective policy decisions.

Leveraging industrial-technological innovation to achieve sustainable development: A systems thinking perspective.

Industrial-technological innovation (ITI) has become an important requirement for the sustainable development of China. ITI development requires a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic complexity associated with ITI systems. Previous research into ITI systems is based primarily on static methods that isolate system components, and ignore feedback on adjustments made. Based on systems thinking, this paper develop six archetypes ("Limit to Growth," "Success to the Successful," "Tragedy of the Commons," "Fixes that Fail," "Accidental Adversaries," and "Shifting the Burden") and an ITI system integration model. The model visualizes the ITI system as a whole and identifies bottlenecks that may affect ITI development. This conceptual model provides a more effective method of judgment, which can better explain the operational mechanism of the ITI system and improve the system's operational characteristics. Finally, we evaluate the ITI system and propose that self-organization is a key lever of a systemic intervention framework for ITI.

Impact of Nanotechnology Patents on Green Development of China's Building Industry.

BACKGROUND: The sustainable development of the building industry has drawn increasing attention around the world. Nanomaterials and nanotechnology play an important role in the processes of energy saving and reducing consumption in the building industry. Nanotechnology patents provide key technological support for the green development of the building industry. Based on patent data in China, this paper quantitatively analyzed the application of nanotechnology patents in the building industry and the time trend, regional differences, and evolution of China's nano-patent applications in the building field. METHODS: In this study, the environmental total factor productivity of the building industry considering carbon constraints was determined and then used as the dependent variable to measure the green development of the building industry. On this basis, a panel data regression model was constructed to determine the impact of nano-patents on the green development of the building industry. RESULTS: Nanotechnology patents in the building industry can significantly improve total factor productivity. From the perspective of patent composition, technology-based patents that focus on substantial innovation can significantly promote the green development of the building industry, whereas strategic patents show a significant inhibitory effect. Regionally, the western region of China has the advantage of being less developed and thus more efficient than the central and eastern regions in the application of new nano-products. Finally, the research also showed a significant lag in the application of China's nanotechnology patents and low implementation efficiency. CONCLUSION: Nano patents can promote green development in the building industry, but there is room for improvement in the speed with which laboratory inventions are transformed into building engineering applications.

[Round window catheter placement with dexamethasone perfusion for intractable sudden sensorineural hearing loss].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of round window catheter placement with dexamethasone perfusion for 13 patients with intractable sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). METHOD: Dexamethasone (2.5 mg) was perfused transtympanically through round window catheter by Micro-infusion pump. The perfusion was taken twice a day and continued for an hour each time, for a total of 7 days. RESULT: Thirteen patients have been followed up for 1 month. Five of them (38.5%) were demonstrated a 17-54 dB improvement in pure-tone threshold average (PTA). The other 8 patients (61.5%) had no effect. CONCLUSION: Round window catheter placement with dexamethasone perfusion is a cost-effective and useful treatment for SSNHL patients who had no effect through conventional therapy, although hearing thresholds of these patients had hardly improved to normal levels.