Trading systems are essential in promoting global food security. With the growing proportion of global food consumption obtained through international trade, the global food trade pattern has become increasingly complex over recent years. This study constructed a weighted global grain network using the trade data of 196 countries in 2000 and 2018 to explore the structure and evolution based on the complex network theory. We established that the global grain network was scale-free. There was significant heterogeneity among nodes, and the heterogeneity of the out-degree was greater than that of the in-degree. The global grain network has a significant core-periphery structure, with the United States, Japan, Mexico, Egypt, South Korea, and Colombia as the core countries. Thereafter, by applying the quadratic assignment procedure model to explore the driving factors of the global grain network, we established that geographical distance had a positive impact on the food trade patterns in 2000 and 2018. This differs from the classical gravity model theory. Furthermore, grain trade had significant “boundary effects”; economic gaps, resource endowment, and regional free trade agreements had a positive impact on the evolution of the grain trade network, whereas cultural similarity and political differences had a negative impact on the grain trade network pattern.

Private investors have been encouraged to participate in the development and operation of urban rail projects in China through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), given the fact that subnational governments are suffering from urgent development demands and severe fiscal pressure. However, there is no formal assessment to determine the private involvement in a PPP project. This problem is particularly critical in the sector of urban rail, in which the huge investment cannot rely on the private sector alone. This study hence aimed to uncover and identify the influencing factors. Multiple research methods, including content analysis, case study and focus group discussion were adopted to achieve the research purpose. Seven types of influencing factors were identified, including project financial model, government fiscal commitment, risk allocation, public accountability, efficiency considerations, policy and regulations, and organisational marketing strategies. The findings add to the current knowledge base by uncovering the drivers behind private involvement in a PPP project. They are also beneficial for industry practitioners as a basis/checklist to determine the private involvement.

As a combination of toponym and cultural heritage with rich connotation of toponymic word-culture and entity-culture, toponymic cultural heritage has the significance of protection and inheritance. It is important for transmitting culture and expanding the cultural connotations of tourism activities. Previous analyses of such heritage protection and tourism exploitation mostly concentrated on resource value from an internal perspective, and the researches focused on toponymic words while paying less attention to toponymic cultural heritage entities, neglecting the influence of environmental condition. This study selected an ecologically and culturally sensitive region with environmental complexity and cultural diversity as an example and constructed a toponym database from multi-source heterogeneous toponym data; screened out toponymic cultural heritages based on a decision tree model; constructed an evaluation model of heritage protection value based on internal and external conditions by considering environmental effects, including toponymic words and entities; complemented an environmental condition evaluation by including natural and man-made disturbances; further widened resource value evaluation dimension with expert judgment and public judgment; and formulated a relatively comprehensive protection value assessment for such heritage.

Rapid urbanization in China has blurred the boundaries between rural and urban areas in both geographic and conceptual terms. Accurately identifying this boundary in a given area is an important prerequisite for studies of these areas, but previous research has used fairly simplistic factors to distinguish the two areas (such as population density). In this study, we built a model combining multi-layer conditions and cumulative percentage methods based on five indicators linking spatial, economic, and demographic factors to produce a more comprehensive and quantitative method for identifying rural and urban areas. Using Xi’an, China as a case study, our methods produced a more accurate determination of the rural-urban divide when compared to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China. Specifically, the urbanization level was 3.24% lower in the new model, with a total urban area that was 621.87 km² lower. These results were checked by field survey and satellite imagery for accuracy. This new model thus provides local governments and other interested parties a theoretical and technological foundation for more accurate rural/urban planning and management in the future.

As part of the cultural landscape, administrative toponyms do not only reflect natural and sociocultural phenomena, but also help with related management and naming work. Historically, county-level administrative districts have been stable and basic administrative regions in China, playing a role in the country’s management. We explore the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in China’s eastern plains areas. A Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis, Geo-Informatic Tupu, Kernel Density Estimation, and correlation coefficients were conducted. We constructed a GIS database of county-level administrative toponyms from the Sui dynasty onward using the Northeast China, North China, and Yangtze Plains as examples. We then summarized the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in China’s eastern plains areas. The results indicate that (1) the number of toponyms has roughly increased over time; (2) toponym densities on the three plains are higher than the national average in the corresponding timeframe since the Sui; and (3) county-level administrative toponyms related to mountains and hydrological features accounted for more than 30% of the total in 2010. However, the percentage of county-level administrative toponyms related to natural factors on the three plains has decreased since the Sui. To explore the factors influencing this spatio-temporal evolution, we analyzed the correlations between the toponyms and natural factors and human/social factors. The correlation degree between toponym density and population density is the highest, and that between toponym density and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) the lowest. Temperature changes were important in toponym changes, and population changes have influenced toponym changes over the last 400 years in China.

To repair esophageal defects by hydroxylated and kombucha-synthesized bacterial cellulose (HKBC) patch in a rabbit model. Semicircular esophageal defects 1 cm in length of the cervical esophagus were initially created in 18 Japanese big-ear rabbits and then repaired with HKBC patch grafts. The clinical outcomes including survival rate, weight change, food intake, and hematological and radiologic evaluation were observed. After X-ray evaluation, the rabbits were sacrificed sequentially at 1, 3, and 6 months for histopathologic analysis with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Survival rate during the first month was 88.9% (n = 16). Two rabbits died from anastomotic leakage during the entire follow-up. Postoperatively, feeding function and body weight were gradually restored in the surviving animals. No hematological abnormalities were found, and no obvious anastomotic leakage, stenosis, or obstruction was observed under X-ray examination. The histopathologic results showed a progressive regeneration of the esophagus in the graft area, where the neo-esophagus tissue had characteristics similar to native esophageal tissue after 3 months of surgery. HKBC is beneficial for esophageal tissue regeneration and may be a promising material for esophageal reconstruction.