Exploring Root Cause of Social Problems in China: Concept, Framework and Methodological Potential of Social Ecology

In China, the conflicts between economic development and social ethics caused by social transformation become increasingly prominent, thus triggering a series of novel social problems. These novel social problems are causing great damage to the stability of China’s society and therefore push us to search for a new theory or consummate an existing theory to illustrate the underlying mechanisms behind them. This paper argues the root cause of social problems in recent China lies in the absence of harmonious social connections and inadequate social resources after elaborating the concept of ‘social ecology’ and its conceptual model. We further illustrate the methodological potential of social ecology in solving social problems by exploring the dynamic equilibrium and disorder of social ecology and its causes. Keywords: Social Ecology; Social Ecological Systems Theory; Methodological Potentia

Can China’s food production capability meet her peak food demand in the future?

With the increase of food demand in China and the growth of world population, whether China can meet her peak food demand in the future or not has become an issue worth study. By consolidating relevant factors of food demand in China, the peak food demand is predicted to occur in 2036, and the peak food demand amount is predicted at 758.17 million tons by factor and synthetical analysis. Through factor consolidation and scenario test, the following policy implications have been unearthed: China’s food production capability is crucial to maintain her future food security; improving the gain yield is the key method; monitoring China’s population change and formulating appropriate population policies are important; reducing food waste, curbing unreasonable consumption and promoting healthy and green diet are needed; construction of high standard farmland will be significant in maintaining the food security; and excessive stored food should be de-stocked in a timely manner

Mechanical and Microscopic Properties of Graphite/Laterite Nanocomposites

The effectiveness and improvement mechanism of graphite nanoparticles (GN) in strength properties and microstructure characteristics of regional laterite were analysed in this study. Dry density was also taken into consideration, and the effects of graphite nanoparticle (GN) content and dry density were mainly addressed. Triaxial tests, consolidation tests, and penetration tests were used to analyse the effectiveness of different dry densities and graphite nanoparticle mass ratios on the properties of laterite; microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were used to analyse the improvement mechanism. The results show that the increase in dry density can make the laterite more compact. The large specific surface area and nanoeffects of the graphite nanoparticles (GN) induce the attraction between soil particles after mixing, both of which make the laterite’s shear strength; compression index and impermeability have been enhanced to varying degrees. The microscopic tests showed that, as the content of graphite nanoparticles (GN) continues to increase, when it exceeds 1.0%, the attraction between soil particles increases and coarse particles are formed, which leads to the increase of the pores of the soil. In addition, the graphite nanoparticles have a certain degree of lubricity, a high amount of graphite nanoparticles enters the laterite soil layer, increasing the distance and gap between the layers, making it easy to separate the coarse particles from the coarse particles, and the strength increase is reduced. However, it is still stronger than that of the plain laterite

Performance and stability of yield in response to plant density, year and location in maize hybrids of Northwest China

Identifying desirable genotypes with the best performance in diverse environments is a perpetual aim of plant breeding, and the interaction between genotype and environment (G × E) always plays a key role. This study was conducted to elucidate the genetic behaviour of different hybrid combinations at various densities in diverse environments. According to a line × tester design, 32 hybrid combinations were obtained from 16 inbred individuals crossed with two testers and planted at three locations at three density levels (45,000, 67,500 and 90,000 plants ha−1) during 2014−2017. Genotype (G), environment (E) and the interaction of genotype and environment (G × E) significantly affected grain yield at different densities. Increasing planting density enhanced grain yield and improved the efficiency of germplasm screening, where the effect of location on grain yield at different densities was larger than that of year and the GCA was larger than the SCA. Finally, four inbred lines (KB102, KB081, KA105, and KB106) with a high GCA, environmental adaptability, and several combinations using them as parents have been approved in ShannXi Province and National of China. In conclusion, the evaluation of combining ability at multiple densities and locations can effectively screen inbred lines and improve breeding efficiency