The impact of digital finance on water use intensity in China and mechanisms

[Objective] Digital finance based on information technology provides a new opportunity for the construction of a water-saving society. Effectively release the dividend of water saving and emission reduction brought by the development of digital finance is an important issue for promoting the development of the Chinese-style modernization. [Methods] Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, this study empirically tested the relationship between digital finance development and water resource utilization using methods such as fixed effect and mediation effect models. [Results] (1) The development of digital finance has an inhibitory effect on water use intensity, which is mainly achieved by improving the coverage and depth of use of digital finance, and the result is still valid after robustness tests such as substitution of variables, instrumental variable method, and limited information maximum likelihood method. (2) From the perspective of transmission pathways, technological innovation and industrial structure adjustment have played a significant mediating role between digital finance and water use intensity, but the mediating role of industrial structure upgrading is not significant. (3) From the perspective of heterogeneity, digital finance has a positive impact on water use efficiency in the eastern region; Meanwhile, digital finance has a significant inhibitory effect on the water use intensity of the primary and secondary industries, but the impact on the water use intensity of the tertiary industry is not significant; Regions with favorable water endowments are more likely to reap the benefits of digital finance. [Conclusion] Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the construction of digital finance, actively innovate financial services, and give full play to the enabling role of digital finance in resource utilization according to local conditions and production policies

Study on coal seam physical characteristics and influence on stimulation: A case study of coal seams in zhengzhuang block

Coalbed Methane (CBM) is an unconventional form of natural gas which is self-generated and self-stored in coal seams. In order to realize the effective exploitation of CBM in Zhengzhuang block, microstructure, wettability, permeability, rock mechanics and in-situ stress of coal were studied in this research. It is found that high rank anthracite characterized by high vitrinite content and low inorganic mineral content, is abundant in CBM. More than 96% of inorganic minerals are clays dominated by kaolinite and illite. Various types of pores are developed on the coal. The wettability of coal differs from high to low to surface water, active water, and foam fracturing fluid; and contact angles of coal with active water and foam fracturing fluid decrease with the increase of burial depth. Gradients of fracture pressure and closure pressure in No.3 coal seam are higher than that of No.15 coal seam. The elastic modulus of coal is lower than that of sandstone. The construction curve of hydraulic fracturing shows that, when the construction flow rate and sand quantity are similar, the construction pressure of prepad in No.3 coal seam is lower than the pumping pressure of No.15 coal seam, but the propagated pressure is higher than that of No.15 coal seam. The drainage effect of No.3 coal seam with large pore volume, shallow burial depth and obvious fracture pressure is better than that of No.15 coal seam. The comprehensive understanding of coal physical properties and engineering practice in the block provide certain guiding significance to the CBM exploitation in Qinshui Basin

Loading of ionic compounds into metal-organic frameworks: a joint theoretical and experimental study for the case of La³⁺

Crystalline{,} highly orientated surface-anchored MOF thin films{,} grown on Au substrates{,} were prepared using liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE). The successful loading of La3+ ions into the Cu3(BTC)2 (HKUST-1) SURMOFs (surface-mounted metal-organic frameworks) was monitored using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Theoretical calculations using classical force-field based Monte Carlo simulations yield a structure with two La3+ ions within the large Cu3(BTC)2 pores{,} in full agreement with experimental results on the composition of these films and the relative intensities of the XRD peaks. Implications of these findings for using MOF thin films for electronic applications are briefly discussed

In-situ stress data set of Xianshuihe fault zone, Southwest China.

306 sets of in situ stress data were collected from 48 sites on the Xianshuihe fault zone, used in literature and reports from 1982 to 2022. The detailed data of the in-situ stress include Stress value、Direction、Depth、Longitude、Latitude, Testing method, and the data source. Of these, the in-situ stress measurement methods include hydraulic fracturing, stress relief, acoustic emission, and stress recovery

How to Improve Customer Engagement: A Comparison of Playing Games on Personal Computers and on Mobile Phones

The popularity of multiplayer online battle arena games is closely linked to customer engagement. The purpose is to investigate the influences that individual motivators and environmental antecedents have upon customer engagement and continuous playing games intention, and compare the impacts between playing Multiplayer online battle arena games on personal computers and on mobile phones. A Triadic reciprocal determinism framework was developed to explain the relationship among individual motivator (flow experience), environmental antecedents (technical features and social interaction), individual behavior (continuous playing games intention), and customer engagement within multiplayer online battle arena gaming settings. Altogether 531 questionnaires from multiplayer online battle arena players were collected. Structural equation modeling with Smart-partial least squares was used to evaluate the research model. The findings suggest that the influence of flow experience on customer engagement in personal computers gaming is more significant than that in mobile gaming, while the effects of perceived ease of use and offline social interaction on customer engagement in mobile gaming are comparatively higher. This study indicates the importance of flow experience, perceived control, perceived ease of use, and social interaction in the Multiplayer online battle arena gaming development and the prosperity for better customers engaged, and to enhance customer experience

Dual-Frequency Polarized Reconfigurable Terahertz Antenna Based on Graphene Metasurface and TOPAS

A hybrid dual-frequency polarized reconfigurable terahertz antenna is designed and studied. Graphene and TOPAS are employed as the polarization conversion metasurface and dielectric substrate, respectively, enabling tunable polarization conversion and circular polarization. TOPAS is a good substrate material for broadband THz components due to its low absorption. By adjusting the chemical potential of graphene between 0 eV and 0.5 eV, the polarization state in the band of 1 THz (0.76–1.02 THz) and 2.5 THz (2.43–2.6 THz) can be reconstructed. Thanks to the multilayer graphene structure and low absorption TOPAS, the graphene metasurface exhibits a broad bandwidth of 0.26 and 0.17 THz, respectively, in the band of 1 THz and 2.5 THz. The working state of the circularly polarized antenna and linearly polarized antenna can be switched in the bands around 1 THz (0.7–0.75 THz, 0.96–1.04 THz) and 2.5 THz (2.42–2.52 THz), respectively, without changing the physical geometry. Moreover, the graphene antenna, metasurface, and hybrid structure are tested, respectively, to verify that the components do not interfere with each other in performance. The hybrid antenna shows great potential in tunable terahertz devices and related applications

Energy absorption within elastic range for AZ31 magnesium alloy

Energy absorption for AZ31 magnesium Alloy was investigated with Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar using single stress wave so as to avoid multiple stress wave loading. The stress wave amplitude, which was in elastic stress range and propagated along the AZ31 magnesium bar, was reduced with increasing propagating distance, and with increasing stress wave amplitude, the stress wave amplitude reduction along the magnesium bar was increased losing more energy as compared with that of the stress wave with lower amplitude. The drastically decreased stress wave amplitude could be explained based on dislocations movements, which was similar to the established theory of damping for the explanation of the energy loss during cyclic loading. However, it was not the case for LY12 aluminum alloy: the stress wave amplitude changed slightly without drastic energy loss regardless of the variation of stress wave amplitude