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This book describes Smart Cities and the information technologies that will provide better living conditions in the cities of tomorrow. It brings together research findings from 27 countries across the globe, from academia, industry and government. It addresses a number of crucial topics in state of the arts of technologies and solutions related to smart cities, including big data and cloud computing, collaborative platforms, communication infrastructures, smart health, sustainable development and energy management. Information Innovation Technology in Smart Cities is essential reading for researchers working on intelligence and information communication systems, big data, Internet of Things, Cyber Security, and cyber-physical energy systems. It will be also invaluable resource for advanced students exploring these areas.

Electric vehicles have been identified as a viable option for optimization of the energy structure to foster energy conservation and a reduction in emissions, as well as to promote the development of a sustainable economy. Recently, China announced that the financial subsidies for electric vehicles will be gradually withdrawn, and many incentive policies will be revised, indicating that the electric vehicle market has transformed from a policy-driven to a market-driven structure. Therefore, we study the elements affecting consumers' purchase intention in the early stage of electric vehicle availability to provide a theoretical reference that can be used in China to continue to stimulate market diffusion of electric vehicles based on the innovation diffusion theory and planned behavior theory. The current study explains the associations among the innovation characteristics, perceived risk, and purchase intention in relation to electric vehicles and details the moderating effect of lifestyle on fashion consciousness, environmental consciousness, and price consciousness. This paper investigates 529 potential consumers in Beijing, Shanghai, and other places, and AMOS and SPSS were used to perform quantitative analyses. The results show that innovation characteristics exert an obvious effect on purchase intention based on the mediating variable of perceived risk. Fashion consciousness significantly moderates the relationship between relative advantage and perceived risk, and environmental consciousness has a significant influence on the relationship between technology compatibility and perceived risk. Price consciousness plays the smallest role in this process. In practice, the findings suggest that practitioners can promote electric vehicle consumer purchase intention by using psychological activation techniques to improve the attitude and educational interest in relation to this product. It is also suggested that, as part of the strategy, government services should be improved.

Based on the survey data of 43 rural commercial banks in Jiangsu Province, China, from 2015 to 2018, 14 indicators among 3 dimensions—coverage, business implementation and service quality—were selected to establish the inclusive finance index of rural commercial banks. The impact of market competition and government intervention on the development of the inclusive finance of rural commercial banks and the mechanism were empirically tested. The heterogeneous performance of market competition and government intervention in different market conditions were also thoroughly discussed. The results show that both market competition and government intervention can help reduce the pricing level and broaden the service coverage of rural commercial banks, which can promote the development of inclusive finance. But the role of market competition has a stronger impact than that of government intervention. The heterogeneity test shows that market competition plays a more significant role in the regions with higher levels of market competition and financial development, and in the southern and central Jiangsu Province, where the economy is relatively more developed. However, in the regions with lower levels of market competition and financial development, as well as in the northern Jiangsu Province, with a relatively backward economy, government intervention significantly improves the degree of inclusive finance of rural commercial banks. Finally, we advocate that the roles of market and government should be applied according to local conditions, and the development of the inclusive finance in rural commercial banks needs to be continuously promoted.

Intentions have been described as a key driver of sustainable entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and eventually activity. As a result of this study, interest may increase in entrepreneurship intentions across numerous entrepreneurial levels and styles, specifically from the point of view of sustainability. However, research to date has not been able to completely determine how the intrinsic complications of instantaneously producing social, environmental, and economic means will have an impact on the intentions of university students. This study sought to inspect the impact of self-transcending and self-enhancing value on the advent of intentions. The theory of planned behavior is an adaptive theory that this study quantitatively analyzed using a structural equation model and survey data from 577 university students in Punjab, Pakistan. The empirical findings show that altruistic, biospheric, hedonic, and egoistic values all have an indirect effect on sustainability-driven entrepreneurial intentions, which is important to understand when assessing attitudes toward sustainable entrepreneurship and perceived behavior control. In essence, attitudes, perceived behavior, and social norms all affect aspirations to become a sustainable entrepreneur. In real-world terms, the findings indicate that by using value activation techniques to increase attitudes and educational interest, practitioners may promote sustainable entrepreneurial intentions. It is also suggested how government services could be improved as part of the strategy.

AbstractThe neurotoxicity of NO2 exposure is well-known and potentially causes impaired of neural functions. This review aimed to estimate associations between prenatal NO2 exposure and neurodevelopment for children. Articles published until May 2019 reported prenatal NO2 exposure and children's cognition, psychomotor, language, attention, IQ, and behavior function were searched according to all related terms. The main databases we retrieved included PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Coefficient was extracted, conversed, and synthesized by random effects meta-analysis. Meanwhile, qualitatively describe would be used for some studies which cannot be synthesized quantitatively for lack of quantity or methods inconsistency. Finally, a total of 3848 citations were searched, and only 10 studies were included. We estimated that per 10 μg/m3 increase of NO2 during pregnancy was associated with a − 0.76 point decrease in global psychomotor (95% CI, − 1.34, − 0.18) and a − 0.62 point decrease in fine psychomotor for children (95% CI, − 1.09, − 0.16). But no significant association found in general cognitive and language. In addition, through the literature review, it seemed that prenatal exposure to NO2 might cause adverse impacts on children's attention, IQ, and different behaviors, but this requires confirmation from further researches. Our study indicated that prenatal exposure to NO2 seems to be associated with impaired neural development for children, especially for fine psychomotor. However, further studies are needed for determining the effects of prenatal air pollution exposure on attention, IQ, and behavior.

AbstractAnemia has been a public health issue evoking global concern, and the low hemoglobin (Hb) concentration links to adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the associations of PM2.5 and its constituents with Hb and anemia in pregnant women remain unclear. In this retrospective birth cohort study, 7932 pregnant women who delivered in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from 2015 to 2018 were included. The Hb during the third trimester in pregnant women was assessed before delivery. PM2.5 and its constituents (BC, NH4+, NO3−, OM, SO42−, and Dust) during pregnancy were retrieved from the V4.CH.03 product constructed by the Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group. Generalized linear regression model was applied to investigate the effects of PM2.5 and its constituents on Hb and anemia during the third trimester in pregnant women. The means and standard deviations of PM2.5, BC, NH4+, NO3−, OM, SO42−, and Dust were 69.56 (15.24), 10.02 (2.72), 8.11 (1.77), 14.96 (5.42), 15.36 (4.11), 10.08 (1.20), and 10.98 (1.85) μg/m3, respectively. Per IQR increase (μg/m3) of PM2.5, BC, NO3−, and OM linked to − 0.75 (− 1.50, − 0.01), − 0.85 (− 1.65, − 0.04), − 0.79 (− 1.56, − 0.03), and − 0.73 (− 1.44, − 0.03) g/L decrease of Hb during the third trimester in multiparous pregnant women, but not for NH4+, SO42−, Dust, and primiparous pregnant women. PM2.5 and its constituents had no significant association with anemia, except for Dust (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.99, per IQR increase) in primiparous pregnant women. Besides, SO42− was of lag effects on Hb and anemia in multiparous pregnant women. Moreover, non-linear associations were found among PM2.5 and its constituents, Hb, and anemia. Therefore, exposure to PM2.5 and some constituents of PM2.5 was associated with reduced Hb level during the third trimester in multiparous pregnant women. Related departments and pregnant women should take targeted actions to eliminate the detrimental effects of PM2.5 and its constituents on pregnancy outcomes.