Income inequality is a good indicator reflecting the quality of people's livelihood. There are many studies on the determinants of income inequality. However, few studies have been conducted on the impacts of industrial agglomeration on income inequality and their spatial correlation. The goal of this paper is to investigate the impact of China's industrial agglomeration on income inequality from a spatial perspective. Using data on China's 31 provinces from 2003 to 2020 and the spatial panel Durbin model, our results show that industrial agglomeration and income inequality present an inverted "U-shape" relationship, proving that they are the non-linear change. As the degree of industrial agglomeration increases, income inequality will rise, after it reaches a certain value, income inequality will drop. Therefore, Chinese government and enterprises had better pay attention to the spatial distribution of industrial agglomeration, thereby reducing China's regional income inequality.
The production of methanol from agricultural, forestry, livestock, poultry, and fishery waste via pyrolysis was investigated. Pyrolysis was conducted in a tube furnace at 450-500 °C. Sugarcane bagasse showed the methanol production (5.93 wt.%), followed by roots and sawdust with 4.36 and 4.22 wt.%, respectively. Animal waste offered the lowest content of methanol, as only 0.46, 0.80, and 0.61 wt.% were obtained from fishery, goat, and cow waste, respectively. It was also observed that the percentage of methanol increased with an increase in volatile compounds while the percentage of ethanol increased with the percentage of ash and fix carbon. The data indicate that, pyrolysis is a means for production of methanol and ethanol after further optimization of the process and sample treatment.
Introduction: In respond to the World Health Assembly global NCD target of 30% reduction in the prevalence of adult tobacco use by 2025, Malaysian government called for lowering its smoking prevalence to 15% by 2025. In addition, moving towards the endgame target of less than 5% smoking prevalence in 2045. Methods: Malaysia Abridged SimSmoke model, a simulation model uses specific policy parameters, the most recent smoking prevalence, and population size for Malaysia is developed to estimates and access the impact of MPOWER policies in achieving the targets. Results: The 15% prevalence rate in 2025 can be achieved if the Malaysian government increase tobacco excise tax to 72% of the retail price, implement and enforce comprehensive smoke-free air policies, ban all forms of advertising/promotions and run intensive mass media campaigns. Such approach would reduce the number of smokers by about 2.6 million, averting almost 1.3 million premature deaths in the long term. The tobacco endgame target of less than 5% smoking prevalence by 2045 is achievable if the excise tax is further increased to 86.5% of the retail price while all other tobacco control policies are kept at the enhanced level. Conclusions: Both the targeted smoking prevalence are a realistic proposition if the proposed measures are fully implemented. It requires a whole government approach with the MOH as a leading agency driving the process. It is important to monitor both the compliance with the new measures and smoking prevalence to make sure that Malaysia is on track in achieving its targets.