Evaluation of Ecological Water Consumption in Yanhe River Basin Based on Big Data

Starting from the main eco-environmental problems faced by water environment, taking Yanhe River Basin as an example, this paper discusses the theoretical connotation and evaluation calculation method of eco-environmental water consumption. In order to study the eco-environmental water consumption of Yanhe River Basin, a runoff driving factor mining method based on big data analysis is established in this paper. Aiming at the problem that the statistical law and genetic law of runoff change frequently in changing environment, the mining technology method of runoff key driving factors is proposed by combining traditional methods with big data analysis. The characteristic factors that have no significant impact on runoff change are removed, the implicit characteristic factors affecting runoff change are extracted, the driving relationship of hydrological, meteorological, and vegetation characteristic factors on ecological water consumption change is identified, and the key driving factors of ecological water consumption change are extracted, which lays a data foundation for ecological water consumption prediction based on machine learning. The economic water consumption based on eco-environmental water consumption in Yanhe River Basin in the future is predicted (including water demand in three aspects of industry, agriculture, and life); that is, the prediction is to meet the economic water demand on the basis of ensuring that the water consumption of ecological environment will not be occupied, which can effectively ensure the improvement of ecological environment function in Yanhe River Basin and is conducive to the sustainable utilization of water resources in Yanhe River Basin. The research is only based on a small watershed such as Yanhe River Basin, and the purpose of the research is to provide a reference for ecological environment protection and sustainable utilization of water resources in the Loess Plateau, even in the arid, semiarid, and semihumid areas of North China.

POSTMODERN DÖNEMDE TÜKETİCİYİ ANLAMAK, REKLAMLARDA KULLANILAN ARKETİPLERİN POSTMODERN TÜKETİCİ İLE İLİŞKİSİ: TÜRKİYENİN EN DEĞERLİ 20 MARKASININ YOUTUBE REKLAMLARININ ÖRNEĞİ

Postmodern culture, which developed after the modern period, is in a structure in which postfordist consumption understanding is adopted instead of fordist consumption and consumption for image purposes is at the forefront. In this context, brands create their images in order to be remembered in the current culture and to create a lifestyle for the continuity of consumption. The creation process of images, on the other hand, is through advertisements where the continuous production and consumption of high reality and commodities is made, and it shows a common development with postmodern culture brand images. Within the scope of the study, a descriptive approach and content analysis method were preferred in order to make sense of how brand images are produced through advertisements in the postmodern period and to deal with the constructing dimension. Accordingly, the top 10 brands in the ranking of the Brand Finance 2021 Turkey Report were selected as a sample and the ads of the selected brands between 1 June 2021 and 5 June 2021 with the theme of world environment day were analyzed. As a result of the analysis, within the framework of advertising and consumption; brand images in the postmodern period, where there are higher realities, fragmented consumer structure, production and consumption change places and the subject is decentralized; Impressions can be evaluated in various ways such as symbolism, personification, meanings and messages and psychological elements. Looking at the general position, it has been concluded that the structural features of postmodernity are effective in creating and creating brand image characters, and in this respect, it shapes brand images.

Cultural Consumption and Covid-19: Evidence from the Taking Part and COVID-19 Cultural Participation Monitor surveys

How did cultural consumption change during the Covid-19 pandemic? Whilst the impact of the pandemic on cultural production has been given significant attention, work on consumption has seen less attention (Roberts 2020 on leisure time notwithstanding). This paper addresses this gap in the literature by presenting a comparative analysis of two, nationally representative, surveys of cultural activity in England. The analysis demonstrates that, when cultural consumption moved online and to digital modes of delivery and engagement as a result of the pandemic, there was no discernible transformation in the stratification of cultural participation in England. The majority of the population, characterised by the absence of participation in formal, and often state-funded, cultural forms, saw no change to their patterns of engagement. Where cultural consumption did increase, this was among the small minority of people who were already highly engaged. This minority maps closely onto pre-existing inequalities identified by existing research on cultural consumption, in England and beyond. For cultural consumption and the stratification of taste, it seems that the ‘new normal’ of pandemic life was much like the ‘old normal’ of an art and cultural audience characterised by significant inequality.

Study the Trends in Energy Consumption Change for the Transport Service Sectors

This research analyzes the energy consumption of transport service sectors in Vietnam and its changing trend in the past twenty-five years using Input-Output (IO) tables and Logarithmic-mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. IO table of 28 economic sectors in 1996, 2000, 2007, 2012 and 2018 is used to determine energy consumption, in which the transport service sector was always the third or second largest energy consumer, accounting for between 9% and 16% of total energy consumption. LMDI method is used to define influencing factors including transport activity, transport structure, transport intensity, and energy intensity. In these four impacts, the change of transport activity contributes the largest effect (occupied 74.3%), followed by the change of energy intensity (occupied 17.7%) of total increased share for energy consumption. Among the transport service sectors, it is found that Freight transport service by road played the mainstream role in the increasing trends of energy consumption in the period of 2007-2018. In order to improve the energy efficiency of the sector, investments in green transport technologies and modernization of trucks to be more efficient and eco-friendlier will be the key contributors.

Clothing Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Mining Tweets

Understanding how consumers have shifted in clothing consumption in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic is critical for fashion clothing brands and businesses to identify what value means to consumers to locate growth opportunities. This exploratory study intends to provide a picture of consumers’ clothing consumption evolution while going through the pandemic crisis. We take a viewpoint that integrates the perspectives of life status changes and stress coping to examine consumers’ responses to clothing consumption during the COVID-19 global pandemic. A total of 68,511 relevant tweets were collected from January 1, 2020, through September 31, 2020. Sentiment and content analysis identified five themes which are revealed by 16 topics associated with clothing consumption over the phases of pre-lockdown, lockdown, and reopening. Pent-up demand for clothing products and changed clothing consumption habits were identified. Our findings provide evidence that consumption change is the fundamental mechanism of stress coping.

Did Wine Consumption Change During the COVID-19 Lockdown in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal?

This article documents how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the drinking behavior of Latin European wine consumers. Using a large online survey conducted during the first lockdown in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain (n = 7,324 individuals), we reconstruct the purchasing and consumption patterns of the respondents. The number of people who maintained their wine consumption frequency is significantly higher than those who increased or decreased their consumption. Wine consumption frequency held up better than other types of alcohol (beer and spirits). We analyze heterogeneities among countries and individuals by employing the Marascuilo procedure and an ordered logit model. The latter identifies the impact of demographic, commercial, and psychosocial factors on wine consumption frequency. The results shed light on changes in wine consumer behavior during the first lockdown and consider possible post-lockdown trends that could be useful to industry players. (JEL Classifications: D5, L66, Q1)

Metabolic Homeostasis in Life as We Know It: Its Origin and Thermodynamic Basis

Living organisms require continuous input of energy for their existence. As a result, life as we know it is based on metabolic processes that extract energy from the environment and make it available to support life (energy metabolism). This metabolism is based on, and regulated by, the underlying thermodynamics. This is important because thermodynamic parameters are stable whereas kinetic parameters are highly variable. Thermodynamic control of metabolism is exerted through near equilibrium reactions that determine. (1) the concentrations of metabolic substrates for enzymes that catalyze irreversible steps and (2) the concentrations of small molecules (AMP, ADP, etc.) that regulate the activity of irreversible reactions in metabolic pathways. The result is a robust homeostatic set point (−ΔGATP) with long term (virtually unlimited) stability. The rest of metabolism and its regulation is constrained to maintain this set point. Thermodynamic control is illustrated using the ATP producing part of glycolysis, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate oxidation to pyruvate. Flux through the irreversible reaction, pyruvate kinase (PK), is primarily determined by the rate of ATP consumption. Change in the rate of ATP consumption causes mismatch between use and production of ATP. The resulting change in [ATP]/[ADP][Pi], through near equilibrium of the reactions preceding PK, alters the concentrations of ADP and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), the substrates for PK. The changes in ADP and PEP alter flux through PK appropriately for restoring equality of ATP production and consumption. These reactions appeared in the very earliest lifeforms and are hypothesized to have established the set point for energy metabolism. As evolution included more metabolic functions, additional layers of control were needed to integrate new functions into existing metabolism without changing the homeostatic set point. Addition of gluconeogenesis, for example, resulted in added regulation to PK activity to prevent futile cycling; PK needs to be turned off during gluconeogenesis because flux through the enzyme would waste energy (ATP), subtracting from net glucose synthesis and decreasing overall efficiency.

Alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe: a large-scale cross-sectional study in 21 countries (preprint)

Aims: The aim of this project was to investigate changes in alcohol consumption during the first months of the pandemic in Europe as well as its associations with income and experiences of distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional online survey conducted between April 24 and July 22 of 2020. Setting: 21 European countries. Participants: 31,964 adults reporting past-year drinking. Measurements: Changes in alcohol consumption were measured by asking respondents about changes during the previous month in their drinking frequency, the quantity they consumed, and incidence of heavy episodic drinking events. Individual indicators were combined into an aggregated consumption-change score and scaled to a possible range: -1 to +1. Using this score as outcome, multilevel linear regressions tested changes in overall drinking, taking into account sampling weights and baseline alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C) and country of residence serving as random intercept. Similar models were conducted for each single consumption-change indicator. Findings: In almost all countries, the consumption-change score indicated alcohol use to decrease on average; except in Ireland and the UK, where alcohol consumption on average remained unchanged or increased, respectively. Decreases in drinking were mostly driven by a reduced frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Declines in consumption were less marked among those with low- or average incomes, and those experiencing distress. Conclusions: Our research suggests alcohol consumption to decline on average during the first months of the pandemic in Europe. The findings suggest both reduced availability of alcohol and increased distress may have affected alcohol consumption, although the former seemed to have a greater impact, at least in terms of immediate effects. Monitoring of mid- and long-term consequences will be crucial in understanding how this public health crisis impacts alcohol consumption.