Urban land intensive use is an important part of regional planning and plays an important role in the sustainable development of cities. However, the research on how to measure urban land use intensity is still controversial. This paper gives a perspective of multi-objective decision to explore the criterion of urban land use intensity in the process of urbanization. The theory of factor substitution was applied to analyze the mechanism of urban land intensive use in different urbanization stage. Additionally, the matching degree model (MDM), curve estimation model, and multi-objective programming model were employed in the case study of Wuhan urban agglomeration to give a multi-objective decision on urban land intensive use. The results show that the level of urban land intensive use lagging behind the level of urbanization development in more than 60% of the counties. When the level of urbanization is less than 30%, 30–70% and greater than 70%, the optimal intensity of urban land use characterized by fixed investments of unit land is 2.6252, 4.6132, and 6.7648 million RMB respectively. Based on optimal intensity, the counties in Wuhan urban agglomeration were divided into key development zone and optimized development zone. Finally, different management strategies were designed for different zones for urban land intensive use.
The rational matching of urban land and population has become an important prerequisite for sustainable urban development. In this paper, the traditional urban land scale elasticity model was improved, and combined with the gravity model, the spatial interaction between land expansion and population change in 618 cities in China during the period 2006–2021 was investigated. The geographical detector method was used to reveal what drives them. The main results were as follows: (1) China’s urban land expansion rate was 1.83 times faster than the population growth rate during 2006–2021. After the implementation of the New-type Urbanisation Plan in 2014, the ratio of land expansion rate to population growth rate dropped from 2.46 to 1.12. (2) Among the six interaction types identified, land rapid expansion is the most significant, accounting for 41.59% of urban samples. (3) The geographical detector method found that the indicators of urban development rights such as the level of administrative hierarchy and the ratio of fiscal revenue to fiscal expenditure were the main factors affecting land expansion and that economic indicators such as gross domestic product and employment opportunities dominated population change. Fortunately, the intervention role of urban development rights has declined, and the constraints of market mechanisms, resources and environment have gradually become the dominant factors in urban land expansion and population change. These findings provide a theoretical basis for alleviating the human–land contradiction and achieving sustainable urban development.
Anti-Müller hormone (AMH) plays an important role in reproductive development and has a wide potential clinical application value. Phthalates have been widely found in human living environment and have negative effects on human reproduction. This study aimed to explore the relationship between urinary phthalate metabolites and serum AMH level in the general male population. Cross-sectional analyses were performed with a population of 489 men aged more than 12 years who participated in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States. NHANES public data (demographic and socioeconomic information, examinations, and laboratory tests) were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon test and multivariable regression. Results showed that the urine concentration of mono (3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP) of 12–20 age group was significantly positively correlated with serum AMH concentration in the model without any covariates (p < 0.05). In the 60-year-old group, the monomethyl phthalate (MEP), mono (2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP) concentrations were significantly correlated with serum AMH concentrations in models both with and without covariates (all p < 0.05). It could be concluded that exposure to phthalates might have negative effects on AMH level, especially in seniors. AMH could be used as a marker of exposure to phthalates in aged males. How exposure to phthalates affected AMH level and what the potential long-term health consequences of their relationship are needs more investigation.
8 May 2025 in Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy
Source separation is a pivotal strategy for addressing rural domestic waste pollution, significantly influencing the efficacy of the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle principles in waste management. Information interventions should be valued to address the deficiencies in economic policies that encourage waste separation. What kind of information intervention can best improve farmers’ domestic waste separation intention? Eight random intervention experimental groups were designed, including three single information intervention groups on topics such as environmental, technical and health issues, four interactive information intervention groups and one control group. Based on 904 valid samples of farmers were collected in Taihu Lake Basin of China, ordered probit and difference-in-differences models were constructed to achieve the goals of this study. The main conclusions are as follows. The experimental effect of health information intervention was the best, which impacted positively on the intention of farmers to separate domestic waste by 17.94%. The effect of the environmental information intervention was 14.59%. However, the test failed in the technical information intervention. The interactive information interventions’ effect was only 60.18% of the single information intervention, arguably due to information overload. The findings of this study help find out how to choose the appropriate information intervention content and way to improve farmers’ domestic waste separation intention.
Optimizing Ecological security patterns (ESPs) is critical for advancing territorial spatial restoration and fostering sustainable regional development. While research on ESPs’ construction has grown significantly, key challenges persist, particularly in the accurate identification of priority conservation areas and the integration of socioeconomic development with ecological conservation. To address these challenges, this study selects Jiangsu Province as a representative case. We move beyond single-factor assessments by combining ecosystem service importance evaluation with a multi-factor ecological sensitivity analysis (including water pollution, soil erosion, air pollution, and anthropogenic pressure). A comprehensive ecological resistance surface is then developed, incorporating both natural and anthropogenic disturbance factors, to evaluate spatial patterns of ecological security. Utilizing the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model, we delineate ecological corridors and ultimately construct the ESPs by synthesizing ecological sources and corridors. Key results include: Jiangsu’s ESPs comprises 33 ecological patches (total area: 14,622.46 km2, 13.71% of the study region), predominantly composed of water bodies, wetlands, and cultivated land. Thirteen ecological corridors (total length: 1920.38 km) primarily traverse cultivated land, construction land, and water bodies. The optimized ESPs strategy termed “Two Cores, Two Barriers, Three Belts, Multiple Corridors” offers a concrete spatial blueprint. The findings provide effective scientific reference for assessing and managing regional ecological security trends.
Volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), a common environment pollutant, have been associated with some autoimmune diseases, but it has not been clarified if VOC exposure affects sleep, and if so, which VOCs affect sleep. Our study aimed to evaluate the relationship of individual VOCs with sleep disorders and sleep duration. Our primary analytical techniques were logistic regression models and multinomial logistic regression models. After a rigorous verification, specific VOCs N-acetyl-S-(2-carboxyethyl)-L-cysteine (CEMA), mandelic acid (MA), and phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA) showed a statistically significant association with sleep disorders in female individuals in our study. We also determined that N-acetyl-S-(benzyl)-L-cysteine (SBMA), 2-aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATCA), N-acetyl-S-(3,4-dihydroxybutyl)-L-cysteine (DHBMA), N-acetyl-S-(2-hydroxypropyl)-L-cysteine (2HPMA), and N-acetyl-S-(3-hydroxypropyl)-L-cysteine (3HPMA) showed significant association with sleep duration while maintaining high reliability. We observed that very short sleep duration exhibited a positive correlation with N-acetyl-S-(2-cyanoethyl)-L-cysteine (CYMA) and N-acetyl-S-(3-hydroxypropyl-1-methyl)-L-cysteine (HMPMA), whereas it demonstrated a negative correlation with N-acetyl-S-(4-hydroxy-2-butenyl)-L-cysteine (MHBMA3) and 3HPMA compared with the normal sleep duration by age group. Our findings indicate a significant association between VOC exposure and sleep, and our study provides novel epidemiological evidence that supports the linkage between environmental pollutants and sleep.