Does digital economy development reduce carbon emission intensity?

Carbon emissions from human activities are the main cause of climate warming. Under the background of economic and social digital transformation, accurately assessing the carbon emission reduction effect of the development of the digital economy is of great significance for countries to deal with climate warming in the post-COVID-19 era. This paper constructs a dynamic evaluation model of orthogonal projection to measure the level of digital economy development at the provincial level in China from 2007 to 2019. On this basis, the panel fixed effects model and mediation model are used to empirically test the impact of digital economy development on carbon emission intensity and its mechanism. The results indicate that: (1) The development of China’s digital economy is unbalanced among regions, showing a geospatial pattern of decreasing from east to west. (2) China’s carbon emission intensity has a trend of decreasing year by year, and there are geospatial differences of “high in the west and low in the east” and “high in the north and low in the south.” (3) The digital economy development can effectively reduce regional carbon emission intensity through industrial structure optimization effect and resource allocation effect, and the industrial structure optimization effect can suppress carbon emission intensity more obviously. (4) The development of digital economy in different regions has different degrees of reducing carbon emission intensity. The development of digital economy in the eastern region has a stronger inhibitory effect on carbon emission intensity than that in the middle and western regions, and the development of digital economy in economically developed regions can suppress carbon emission intensity more. This paper provides enlightenment for policy makers to deal with climate warming

Evaluating Indirect Economic Losses from Flooding Using Input–Output Analysis: An Application to China’s Jiangxi Province

Quantifying total economic impacts of flood disaster in a timely manner is essential for flood risk management and sustainable economic growth. This study takes the flood disaster in China’s Jiangxi province during the flood season in 2020 as an example, and exploits the input–output method to analyze indirect economic impacts caused by the agricultural direct economic loss. Based on regional IO data and MRIO data, a multi-dimensional econometric analysis was undertaken in terms of inter-regional, multi-regional, and structural decomposition of indirect economic losses. Our study reveals that the indirect economic losses caused by the agricultural sector in other sectors in Jiangxi province were 2.08 times the direct economic losses, of which the manufacturing sector suffered the worst, accounting for 70.11% of the total indirect economic losses. In addition, in terms of demand side and supply side indirect losses, the manufacturing and construction industries were found to be more vulnerable than other industries, and the flood disaster caused the largest indirect economic loss in eastern China. Besides, the supply side losses were significantly higher than the demand side losses, highlighting that the agricultural sector has strong spillover effects on the supply side. Moreover, based on the MRIO data of the years 2012 and 2015, dynamic structural decomposition analysis was undertaken, which showed that changes in the distributional structure appear to be influential in the evaluation of indirect economic losses. The findings highlight the spatial and sectoral heterogeneity of indirect economic losses caused by floods, and have significant implications for disaster mitigation and recovery strategies

Detection of Outliers in Panel Data of Intervention Effects Model Based on Variance of Remainder Disturbance

The presence of outliers can result in seriously biased parameter estimates. In order to detect outliers in panel data models, this paper presents a modeling method to assess the intervention effects based on the variance of remainder disturbance using an arbitrary strictly positive twice continuously differentiable function. This paper also provides a Lagrange Multiplier (LM) approach to detect and identify a general type of outlier. Furthermore, fixed effects models and random effects models are discussed to identify outliers and the corresponding LM test statistics are given. The LM test statistics for an individual-based model to detect outliers are given as a particular case. Finally, this paper performs an application using panel data and explains the advantages of the proposed method

Effect of reactor operation modes on mitigating antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and methane production from hydrothermally-pretreated pig manure

Numerous efforts have been made to enhance the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) for accelerating renewable energy generation, however, it remains unclear whether the intensified measures could enhance the proliferation and transmissions of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the system. This study assessed the impact of an innovative pig manure AD process, which includes hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) and a two-stage configuration with separated acidogenic and methanogenic phases, on biomethane (CH4) production and ARGs dynamics. Results showed that HTP significantly increase CH4 production from 0.65 to 0.75 L/L/d in conventional single-stage AD to 0.82 and 0.91 L/L/d in two-stage AD. This improvement correlated with a rise in the relative abundance of Methanosarcina, a key methanogenesis microorganism. In the two-stage AD, the methanogenic stage offered an ideal environment for methanogens growth, resulting in substantially faster and higher CH4 production by about 10% compared to single-stage AD. Overall, the combined use of HTP and the two-stage AD configuration enhanced CH4 production by 40% compared to traditional single-stage AD. The abundance and diversity of ARGs were significantly reduced in the acidogenic reactors after HTP. However, the ARGs levels increased by about two times in the following methanogenesis stage and reached similar or higher levels than in single stage AD. The erm(F), erm(G), ant(6)-Ia, tet(W), mef(A) and erm(B) were the six main ARGs with significant differences in relative abundances in various treatments. The two-stage AD mode could better remove sul2, but it also had a rebound which elevated the risk of ARGs to the environment and human health. Network analysis identified pH and TVFAs as critical factors driving microbial communities and ARG proliferation in the new AD process. With the results, this study offers valuable insights into the trade-offs between AD performance enhancement and ARG-related risks, pinpointing essential areas for future research and practical improvements

Molecular and histological study on the effects of non-thermal irreversible electroporation on the liver

Non-thermal irreversible electroporation (NTIRE) is a biophysical phenomenon in which certain electric fields delivered across the cell membrane in tissue, cause cell death, without affecting the extracellular matrix. "Minimally invasive regenerative surgery" is a new medical modality for treatment of end-stage organ or tissue failure in which exogenous cells are implanted in a decellularized niche in tissue, formed by the delivery of NTIRE electric fields across a targeted volume of tissue. We anticipate that the success of the procedure will depend on the time of implantation relative to the application of NTIRE. This study was performed to elucidate the histological and molecular events that occur within 24 h after NTIRE, in the context of optimal criteria for the time of implantation. To this end, we examined the histology of NTIRE treated rat liver with H&E, Masson trichrome and TUNEL staining. Western blot was used to examine pro and cleaved caspase-3 (marker for apoptosis), pro and cleaved caspase-1 and gasdermin D (markers for pyroptosis), and RIP3 and MLKL (markers for necroptosis). The key findings are that, complete hepatocytes disintegration within an intact extracellular matrix is seen at 6 h and, new hepatocytes are seen in the treated region at 24 h, after NTIRE. There is no evidence of apoptotic cell death from NTIRE, contrary to commonly made claims in the NTIRE literature. However, molecular pathways of pyroptosis and necroptosis, programed necrosis associated with inflammation, are activated at 6 h after NTIRE and are not evident at 24 h after NTIRE. These are fundamental new findings of basic value to the field of NTIRE in all its applications. Taken together the results suggest the hypothesis that an optimal time for implantation is about 24 h after NTIRE. Future studies in which exogenous cells are implanted at different times after NTIRE are required to examine this hypothesis

Petrological characteristics and shale oil enrichment of lacustrine fine-grained sedimentary system: A case study of organic-rich shale in first member of Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation in Gulong Sag, Songliao Basin, NE China

Taking organic-rich shale in the first member of Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation in the Gulong Sag, northern Songliao Basin as an example, this study examined the lithofacies classification, petrological characteristics, pore size distribution and their implications on the enrichment of shale oil of lacustrine detrital fine-grained shale. The spatial variation of lithofacies, controlled by Milankovitch cycle and influenced by sediment provenance, has an obvious sequence. The fine-grained sedimentary rocks of studied section could be classified into seven lithofacies according to a three-step classification criterion that consists of total organic carbon (TOC), sedimentary structure and mineral composition. Among them, the laminated siliceous mudstone lithofacies with moderate TOC has high hydrocarbon generation potential and abundant reservoir space, making it the most favorable lithofacies for the enrichment of matrix shale oil. Under the background of abnormally high pressure, the laminated siliceous mudstone lithofacies with moderate TOC deposited between the top of SSC2 and the bottom of SSC3 is stable in lateral distribution in the delta-lacustrine transition zone, with continuous thickness greater than 30 m. The massive siliceous mudstone lithofacies with high and moderate TOC developed in the middle of the these two cycles can act as the roof and floor seal for shale oil, therefore, the study area has good conditions for forming matrix type shale oil reservoirs. Key words: Songliao Basin, Gulong Sag, Cretaceous, Qingshankou Formation, Milankovitch cycle, shale lithofacies, shale oi

Evaluations of oil and gas lateral migration across faults: A case study of Shigezhuang nose structure of Wen'an slope in Baxian sag, Jizhong depression, Bohai Bay Basin, East China

To study the possibility and location of lateral migration of oil and gas across faults, a quantitative evaluation method for lateral migration of oil and gas across faults was established using the Shuangjing Knipe graphic method to identify the juxtaposition site and juxtaposition patterns of sand and sand in the upper and lower walls of the reverse faults and the consequent faults, combined with the oil and gas limit method of fault lateral seal in the test oil area. The quantitative evaluation method was applied to the first and two members of the Paleogene Shahejie strata (referred to as Es1 and Es2) of Shigezhuang nose structure of Wen'an slope in Baxian sag, Jizhong depression, Bohai Bay Basin, to determine the juxtaposition site of sand and sand in the upper and lower walls of the fault, and the shale gouge ratio (SGR) lower values are 26% and 29% respectively in the strata Es1 and Es2. Thus, the location of lateral migration of oil and gas across faults was determined. Based on the oil and gas distribution characteristics of the strata Es1 and Es2, and variation trend of nitrogen compounds in 4 wells in the strata Es1, the results were consistent with the quantitative evaluation of the location of lateral migration of oil and gas across faults, the feasibility of the evaluation method was preliminarily verified. Key words: Bohai Bay Basin, Jizhong depression, Wen'an slope, hydrocarbon lateral migration, shale gouge ratio, fault lateral seal, oil and gas seal limit, Knipe diagram metho

Quantitative evaluation of lateral sealing of extensional fault by an integral mathematical-geological model

To evaluate the lateral sealing mechanism of extensional fault based on the pressure difference between fault and reservoir, an integral mathematical-geological model of diagenetic time on diagenetic pressure considering the influence of diagenetic time on the diagenetic pressure and diagenetic degree of fault rock has been established to quantitatively calculate the lateral sealing ability of extensional fault. By calculating the time integral of the vertical stress and horizontal in-situ stress on the fault rock and surrounding rock, the burial depth of the surrounding rock with the same clay content and diagenesis degree as the target fault rock was worked out. In combination with the statistical correlation of clay content, burial depth and displacement pressure of rock in the study area, the displacement pressure of target fault rock was calculated quantitatively. The calculated displacement pressure was compared with that of the target reservoir to quantitatively evaluate lateral sealing state and ability of the extensional fault. The method presented in this work was used to evaluate the sealing of F1, F2 and F3 faults in No.1 structure of Nanpu Sag, and the results were compared with those from fault-reservoir displacement pressure differential methods without considering the diagenetic time and simple considering the diagenetic time. It is found that the results calculated by the integral mathematical-geological model are the closest to the actual underground situation, the errors between the hydrocarbon column height predicted by this method and the actual column height were 0–8 m only, proving that this model is more feasible and credible

Quantitative evaluation method of fault lateral sealing

The fault-reservoir displacement pressure differential method, as a quantitative evaluation method of fault sealing which considering diagenetic time of fault rock, was improved based on the study of fault sealing mechanism and its influencing factors. A geology and mathematical model of quantitative evaluation of fault sealing considering diagenetic time was established. First, the depth of surrounding rock which has the same shale content and diagenetic degree as the fault rocks at the target was determined using the method of successive approximation at the given step length. Second, the displacement pressure of target fault rocks was calculated based on the relationship between the displacement pressure and the product of shale content and burial depth that was established for the study area. And third, the sealing states and capacity of the faults were quantitatively evaluated by comparing the calculated displacement pressure with that of the target reservoir. By the actual data of reservoirs at Banqiao Fault in Qikou sag and the result comparison between fault rock shale content method (SGR) and fault-reservoir displacement pressure differential method without considering the diagenetic time, it is verified that this method is more feasible and credible. Key words: Qikou Sag, fault rock, lateral sealing ability, sealing ability quantitative evaluation, displacement pressur