With the increasing demand for sustainable energy, advanced characterization methods are becoming more and more important in the field of energy materials research. With the help of X-ray imaging technology, we can obtain the morphology, structure and stress change information of energy materials in real time from two-dimensional and three-dimensional perspectives. In addition, with the help of high penetration X-ray and high brightness synchrotron radiation source, in-situ experiments are designed to obtain the qualitative and quantitative change information of samples during the charge and discharge process. In this paper, X-ray imaging technology based on synchrotron and its related applications are reviewed. The applications of several main X-ray imaging technologies in the field of energy materials, including X-ray projection imaging, transmission X-ray microscopy, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, X-ray fluorescence microscopy and coherent diffraction imaging, are discussed. The application prospects and development directions of X-ray imaging in the future are prospected.

The study looks into how governance qualities of decentralized governments mediate the impacts of decentralization on development. Based on a set-oriented approach, the study analyzed data from a nation-wide survey conducted with business managers from all provinces in Indonesia, and found evidence that, despite the country’s uniform decentralization reform, individual provinces exhibited great variation in the qualities of their various physical and institutional infrastructures. Notably, these qualities assumed nested relations, with order and security as well as accountability and rule of law seemingly being the preconditions of basic infrastructure provision as well as local governments’ coordination. Moreover, business investment decisions (measured as staff expansion and product innovation) were found to vary with some specific combinations of these infrastructural conditions. The result provides evidence supporting the argument that both physical and institutional infrastructures are instrumental to realize the supposed benefits of decentralization and supports the recent call of the literature to look into the political-institutional complex in the process of decentralization reform.

In this paper, all the forests, woodlands and trees in the administrative area of Zhaoling Township in Chuzhou City of Huai'an City were collected and analyzed. The total area of the administrative area is 4852 hectares, the forest coverage rate is 22.07%, and the forest greening rate is 26.13%. This index has exceeded 20% of the forest coverage rate of the well - off society. Tree species is particularly serious. In the forest system (pure forest), the area of pure forest of poplar is accounted for 99.9% of the whole forest area. In the four tree systems, the number of poplar trees accounted for 80% of the total number of trees in the whole tree, and the total amount of poplar trees accounted for 98%. The poplar pure forest age group structure disorders, the unit area is low. The ratio of total area of poplar pure forest in Zhongling and young forests was 92.9%, and the ratio of total area of poplar pure forest and mature forest was 7.1%. The ratio of mature forest and the ratio of mature forest was 0.7%, and the proportion of each group was obviously abnormal.

Dushan county, Guizhou province, is located in the southernmost tip of Guizhou province. It belongs to the temperate climate of the subtropical region and is one of the centers of the karst east Asia area. The total area of the county is 242220 hectares, of which 169142 hectares are rocky desertifi cation or endangered desertification state. At present, the problem of rocky desertification has seriously affected the ecological environment of the county, which is one of the important factors that restrict the local social living standard and economic development. Therefore, it is of great significance to promote the social and economic development of the county by investigating and analyzing the spatial differentiation rules, present situation and harm of rocky desertification in Dushan county.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can be an effective way of delivering infrastructure. However, achieving value for money can be difficult if government agencies are not equipped to manage them effectively. Experience from OECD countries shows that the availability of finance is not the main obstacle in delivering infrastructure. Governance—effective decision-making—is the most influential aspect on the quality of an investment, including PPP investments. In 2012, the OECD together with its member countries developed principles to ensure that PPPs deliver value for money transparently and prudently, supported by the right institutional capacities and processes to harness the upside of PPPs without jeopardizing fiscal sustainability. Survey results from OECD countries show that some dimensions of the recommended practices are well applied and past and ongoing reforms show progress. However, other principles have not been well implemented, reflecting the continuing need for improving public governance of PPPs across countries.

The wealth of nations depends on the quality of their infrastructure. Often, however, infrastructure suffers from ineffective investments and poor maintenance. Proposed solutions, such as New Public Management or Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) tend to develop into Politicians-Private Partnerships as politicians collude with private firms to exploit present and future tax-payers. Therefore, it is necessary to give citizens better control over collective decision making. While there is a significant economic literature on empowering citizens via decentralization and direct democratic institutions, the role of electoral rules has thus far been rather neglected. An interesting case in point is Switzerland, which is well known for its high-quality infrastructure, extensive decentralization, and direct democracy. However, this paper argues that there is an additional and previously neglected institution that moves Swiss politicians away from client politics towards better serving public interest: Switzerland’s unique electoral institutions which effectively combine proportional elections with multi-seat majority elections. We explain how these institutions work, how they enhance the relationships between citizens and public and private entities, and we argue that they could be implemented in other countries.