Measurement and spatial correlation analysis of high-quality development Level: A case study of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China.

Against the backdrop of slowing economic growth and increasing environmental pressure, the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, as one of the largest city clusters in the world, has become more driven in its pursuit of high-quality development. We constructed a system of 24 evaluation indexes and used entropy-weighted TOPSIS to calculate and study the high-quality development index of urban agglomerations in the region. First, the level of high quality development (HQD) of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster generally improved from 2010 to 2021, with 2017 was the best year, while 2010 was the worst year. Second, in the multidimensional evaluation of HQD, Jiangsu excels in innovation and people's livelihood with 0.524 and 0.534, respectively; Shanghai (0.531) excels in coordinated development; Zhejiang excels in green and economic development with 0.557 and 0.484, respectively; and Anhui lags behind in all aspects. Third, the development process of HQD in the Yangtze River Delta region is uneven, and the level of HQD development varies greatly among the city clusters in the province. The measurement results show that Shanghai (0.511) has the highest score, followed by Zhejiang (0.484), Jiangsu (0.440) and Anhui (0.435). Fourth, spatial correlation analysis shows that Shanghai and Jiangsu are mainly distributed in the double-high region, Zhejiang is distributed in the high-low region, while Anhui is concentrated in the low-low region. The results of this study help us understand more deeply the characteristics and challenges of high-quality development in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations and provide a scientific basis for more precise urban development policies.

Evaluating the metropolitan public health preparedness for pandemics using entropy-TOPSIS-IF.

Introduction: Metropolitan governance's efficacy is regularly gauged by its capability for public health preparedness, a critical component, particularly in the post-pandemic climate, as global cities reassess their mitigation abilities. This process has broader implications, curbing mortality rates and amplifying sustainability. Current methodologies for preparedness assessment lean primarily on either Subjective Evaluation-Based Assessment (SBA), predicated on experts' input on various capacity indicators, or they opt for Data-Based quantitative Assessments (DBA), chiefly utilizing public statistic data. Methods: The manuscript discusses an urgent need for integrating both SBA and DBA to adequately measure Metropolitan Public Health Pandemics Preparedness (MPHPP), thus proposing a novel entropy-TOPSIS-IF model for comprehensive evaluation of MPHPP. Within this proposed model, experts' subjective communication is transformed into quantitative data via the aggregation of fuzzy decisions, while objective data is collected from public statistics sites. Shannon's entropy and TOPSIS methods are enacted on these data sets to ascertain the optimal performer after normalization and data isotropy. Results and discussion: The core contribution of the entropy-TOPSIS-IF model lies in its assessment flexibility, making it universally applicable across various contexts, regardless of the availability of expert decisions or quantitative data. To illustrate the efficacy of the entropy-TOPSIS-IF model, a numerical application is presented, examining three Chinese metropolises through chosen criteria according to the evaluations of three experts. A sensitivity analysis is provided to further affirm the stability and robustness of the suggested MPHPP evaluation model.

An application of AHP and fuzzy entropy-TOPSIS methods to optimize upstream petroleum investment in representative African basins.

The growing demand of China for petroleum heightens the complexities and prospects in worldwide investments, necessitating refined and strategic investment approaches. Evaluating the potential of different hydrocarbon-potential areas needs more comprehensive scientific evaluation models. This study aims to establish a Comprehensive Investment Potential of Petroleum (CIPP) framework for targeted sedimentary basins by using an integrated approach that combines the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Entropy-Weighted Fuzzy TOPSIS models. We focus particularly on representative African basins to inform strategic decision-making for the Chinese overseas petroleum enterprises. We firstly interpret the geological condition of these petroleum basins by researching multiple databases and proprietary research data. Then, we use a combined approach of ranking-classification-correlation analysis to evaluate 17 representative basins, taking into account both overall and individual key performance indicators. Our findings suggest the Illizi Basin and the Offshore Côte d'Ivoire Basin could be the most favorable for investment and development. Those like Southwest African Basin warrant cautious consideration. The new evaluation model and computational workflow offer an effective workflow for assessing multiple petroleum basins. This work provides not just practical investment strategies for companies aiming for African petroleum basins, but also a transferable methodology for optimizing investment decisions.

Coupling coordination analysis and key factors between urbanization and water resources in ecologically fragile areas: a case study of the Yellow River Basin, China.

The rapid urbanization (UR) and industrialization in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) have resulted in a significant scarcity of water resources (WRs), highlighting the need to investigate the complex and dynamic relationship between UR and WR for sustainable urban development in ecologically fragile areas. This study utilizes the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), spatial correlation analysis, and Tobit model to examine the coupling coordination relationship, spatial effects, and key factors between UR and WR in sixty prefecture-level cities within the YRB. The empirical findings reveal that the development of the WR subsystem lags behind the UR subsystem and that there is a significant spatial disequilibrium in the CCD between UR and WR. Specifically, the high-high clusters are located in the northwest and east, while the low-low clusters are spread in the southwest. Furthermore, investment in science and technology and economic development have a positive impact on the CCD, while government capacity, urban construction, and industrial structure have a negative impact. These results can provide valuable guidance for decision-making in urban planning for ecologically fragile areas facing water supply constraints.

Cost-sharing and horizontal compensation scheme of regional sulfur dioxide treatment: Evidence from China.

Establishing a reasonable cost-sharing and compensation mechanism for air pollution control is a prerequisite for realizing inter-regional cooperative treatment. Taking inter-provincial sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in China from 2005 to 2019 as the research object, this paper proposes a data-driven approach to establish a cost-sharing index system of regional SO2 treatment in four dimensions and construct a cost-sharing and compensation scheme using the entropy-TOPSIS method. The results revealed that there are significant spatial and temporal differences in the treatment cost of SO2 emission, and the total SO2 treatment costs at the national level increased first and then decreased during the study period, meanwhile, the regional SO2 treatment costs are much higher in the less economically developed regions such as the central and western regions than in economically developed eastern coastal regions. The design of the cost-sharing and compensation mechanism of SO2 treatment should consider the regional differences in abatement capacity, abatement potential, abatement responsibility, and development demands. The economically developed regions should share higher treatment costs according to their historical cumulative abatement responsibilities, and provide economic compensation and technical support to the less economically developed regions. Specifically, the marginal abatement cost in the more economically developed eastern region is much higher than that in the less economically developed central and western areas due to their large abatement responsibility and strong reduction capacity but insufficient abatement potential, so the eastern regions can transfer part of their abatement responsibility to the central and western regions using economic compensation. Reasonable cost sharing and horizontal compensation can help promote regional cooperation and synergistic management in air pollution abatement. Finally, corresponding policy recommendations are given to provide a decision basis for cross-regional cooperation in air pollution control.

Sustainability energy security: 20 years assessment of the West African Nations using a comprehensive entropy-TOPSIS analysis.

Energy security in Africa has become a crucial issue in recent times due to the imminent lack of access to electricity, increasing energy demand informed by economic growth, population growth, and forecasts that point to business as usual on the continent based on these variables. While the West African region has abundant energy resources, they have not yet been translated into sustainable energy security, as it pertains to energy availability. This is a persistent challenge that needs to be addressed to support economic growth and social development in the region. Therefore, this study aims to assess the sustainable energy security in five West African countries (Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Togo), using nine energy security indicators and taking into cognizance, the energy, economic, social, and environmental security dimensions. The entropy-TOPSIS methodology of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is used in estimating the energy security index across 20 years (2000-2019). The result showed that the situation in Cote d'Ivoire is reported to be "safe" in terms of sustainable energy security. It is reported that in Togo, energy security is at a "dangerous" level, which is ultimately tied to the low energy, economic, and societal security in the country. The findings of this study could be valuable for policymakers working on energy and climate policy at the national and regional levels. Based on the results, it may be necessary to take stronger legal action to ensure the implementation of energy security goals in the West African countries, which have struggled to meet their targets and have faced challenges in implementing policies at the desired pace.

Integrated assessment and critical obstacle diagnosis of rural resource and environmental carrying capacity with a social-ecological framework: a case study of Liyang county, Jiangsu Province.

The contradiction among human being, resources, and environment has become a significant obstacle to achieving sustainable development, especially in rural areas subject to the spillover of urban development elements. With the immense strain of resources and environment, it is critical to assess whether human activities fall within the carrying capacity range of a natural ecosystem in a rural system. Taking the rural areas of Liyang county as an example, this study aims to assess the rural resource and environmental carrying capacity (RRECC) and diagnose its critical obstacles. Firstly, a social-ecological framework focusing on human-environment interaction was employed to construct the RRECC indicator system. Subsequently, the entropy-TOPSIS method was introduced to assess the performance of the RRECC. Finally, the obstacle diagnosis method was applied to identify the critical obstacles of RRECC. Our results show that the distribution of RRECC presents a spatial heterogeneity, with high- and medium-high-level villages primarily concentrated in the south of the study area, where there are abundant hills and ecological lakes. Medium-level villages are scattered throughout each town, and low and medium-low level villages are concentrated across all the towns. Moreover, the resource subsystem of RRECC (RRECC_RS) exhibits a similar spatial distribution to RRECC, while the outcome subsystem of RRECC (RRECC_OS) has a comparable quantity proportion of different levels to RRECC. Furthermore, the diagnosis results of critical obstacle vary between the town scale divided by administrative units and the regional scale divided by RRECC values. In detail, arable land occupied by construction is the main critical obstacle at the town scale, while the poor people in villages, people left-behind, and arable land occupied by construction are the main critical obstacles at the regional scale. Targeted differentiated improvement strategies for RRECC at regional scale from various perspectives of global, local, and single are proposed. This research can serve as a theoretical foundation for assessing RRECC and developing differentiated sustainable development strategies for the path forward to rural revitalization.

Coordination of industrial structure and eco-efficiency in ecologically fragile areas: A case study of the Loess Plateau, China.

The relationship between industrial structure (IS) and eco-efficiency (EE) is intricate with mutual influence and constraint. Exploring the coordinated relationship between IS and EE is beneficial to the sustainable development of ecologically fragile areas. This paper estimates and analyses the levels of EE and IS in 39 prefecture-level cities of the Loess Plateau, discussing the comprehensive and coordinated development levels between industrial structure rationalization (ISR) and EE, industrial structure advancement (ISA) and EE based on the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM). The results showed that the comprehensive development of the Loess Plateau has rough and imbalanced issues. The EE and IS are developing at a relatively low level, and the spatial distribution shows the development trend of high in the east and down in the west. The CCD of ISA and EE performs better than that of ISR and EE, but neither has reached the collaborative coupling state. The poor CCD score in the Loess Plateau is primarily attributable to its relatively backward degree of integrated EE and IS. The results are expected to provide decision-making support for EE improvement and industrial restructuring in the Loess Plateau and other ecologically fragile areas.

Evaluation of carbon neutrality capacity based on a novel comprehensive model.

The Chinese government actively participates in global climate governance and has proposed to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. Due to large differences in regional development, local governments need to comprehend their own carbon neutrality status and then scientifically plan a path to achieve carbon neutrality. In this study, we constructed a new carbon neutrality capacity evaluation indicator system named CNCIS, which can dynamically reflect the balance of energy, economy and environment in the process of reducing carbon emissions. In addition, to scientifically evaluate the carbon neutrality capacity, we proposed a novel comprehensive evaluation model, namely, the BWM-Entropy TOPSIS method, which can solve the unbalanced weighting and low efficiency problem in weighting indicators and improve the applicability of TOPSIS. Finally, based on real data from 30 provinces in China, we proved the effectiveness of our method and analyse the reasons for the different carbon neutrality capacities of the provinces. The main findings are as follows: (1) Clean and efficient utilization of energy had the greatest impact on achieving carbon neutrality, which is mainly represented by carbon emissions intensity, CO2 emissions per capita and coal consumption per capita. (2) In the energy, economy and environmental aspects, the factors that most affect carbon neutrality were carbon emissions intensity, the volume of technology marketing and water consumption per capita respectively. (3) Sorted by carbon neutrality capacities, the provinces could be divided into three categories, in which economically developed provinces more easily achieve carbon neutrality while resource-based provinces are the hardest. Based on these results, corresponding suggestions were proposed to help local governments scientifically plan a path to achieve carbon neutrality.

An Assessment of China's Digital Trade Development and Influencing Factors.

The pattern and scale of commerce worldwide have been greatly transformed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and technological advancement; digital trade has become the primary form of trade in the digital economy. On the basis of information network infrastructure, information technology level, digital industrialization level, and industrial digitalization level, this study establishes a comprehensive assessment system that applies an entropy-TOPSIS model to evaluate digital trade development level in China. The results indicate that digital trade in China was steadily growing between 2010 and 2019. A principal component analysis is conducted to identify factors affecting the digital trade development level in China. The analysis results suggest that Internet development, population income, industrial structure, payment convenience level, fixed asset investment, online transaction scale, and economic development all have positive effects on the digital trade development level in China, with payment convenience level having the greatest influence. By contrast, state intervention and degree of dependence on foreign trade have a negative effect on digital trade development.

Transformation performance and subsystem coupling of resource-based cities in China: An analysis based on the support-pressure framework.

The sustainable development of resource-based cities is vital to China's high-quality development. Based on the support-pressure framework, this study simplifies the city system into an economy-society subsystem (ESS) and a resource-environment subsystem (RES), and measures the economy social developmental level (ESDL) and resource environmental carrying capacity (RECC) of China's 116 resource-based cities using the improved entropy-TOPSIS model. Then, it applies the coupling coordination degree (CCD) and relative development models to explore their coupling coordination relationships and relative developmental types. The results are as follows. (1) The ESDL and RECC of China's resource-based cities have improved significantly, and there is a large divergence between cities in different regions, development stages, and dominant resource types. (2) The CCD between the ESDL and RECC of China's resource-based cities is still not ideal, and no city qualifies for the high coordination category. (3) Overall, the RECC lags behind the ESDL, and the cities with a lagging ESDL are concentrated in the western and northeastern regions. Based on these conclusions, three specific suggestions are put forth. This study may provide a scientific reference for the Chinese government to formulate a sustainable development plan for resource-based cities. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:770-783. © 2021 SETAC.

Identification and comprehensive quality evaluation of Cynomorium songaricum in different producing areas based on OPLS combined with entropy weight TOPSIS method / 中草药

Objective: To identify and comprehensively evaluate Cynomorium songaricum from different producing areas in order to provide reference for the quality evaluation of C. songaricum and the determination of the suitability of the origin. Methods: A total of 40 samples from five provinces (regions) were collected to measure the content of gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, catechins, total polysaccharides, total flavonoids, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Co, Sr, Ni, Ag, Ba, Ti, Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd, As, and Hg. The data reflecting the quality of C. songaricum were analyzed by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and entropy weight TOPSIS analysis. Results: The contents of Mn, Zn, Co, catechin, Pb, Cr, Ca, Ti, total flavonoids, protocatechuic acid, Mg and Cu in C. songaricum are important for distinguishing different producing areas. The quality of C. songaricum in Inner Mongolia was the best in all provinces (regions), followed by Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Qinghai Provinces. Conclusion: The results of OPLS-DA combined with entropy weight TOPSIS analysis are reasonable, objective and effective, and can be applied to the comprehensive evaluation of multiple indicators of C. songaricum.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Quality of Hemerocallis Flava from Different Regions Based on Entropy TOPSIS Model Optimized by AHP Method / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To optimize the entropy TOPSIS model to evaluate the quality of Hemerocallis Flava from different regions,in order to provide a new evaluation method for the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine. Method:The entropy weight TOPSIS model optimized by analytic hierarchy process(AHP) method was used to analyze the quality of Hemerocallis Flava from 14 different regions, and a comprehensive evaluation index system for the quality of Hemerocallis Flava, which covered 3 layers (target layer,decision layer and index layer),and 10 indexes (corolla of Hemerocallis Flavathe's bud,pistils,stamens,peduncle length,extract,total ash,quercetin,β-rhamnocitrin,kaempferol,sitosterin) was established. Result:Qingyang showed the best quality of Hemerocallis Flava,which was followed by Weinan,and the lowest quality was found in Datong, Shanxi, and Xiaowan village, Sichuan. The results were consistent with the evaluation results of traditional empirical identification,suggesting the successful modeling. The contents of β-rhamnocitrin and kaempferol in Qingyang were 1.72 times and 2.74 times of those of Xiaowan village, Sichuan. There was no significant difference in other active ingredients from different regions. It was suggested that quercetin and kaempferol could be used as the identification and quality evaluation indexes of cauliflower. Conclusion:The entropy TOPSIS model based on the AHP method is clear,simple to use and easy to calculate, with distinct evaluation indexes. It is a practical,quick and effective comprehensive evaluation method for multi-objective decision analysis.