This paper investigates an asset allocation problem for defined contribution pension funds with stochastic income and mortality risk under a multi-period mean–variance framework. Different from most studies in the literature where the expected utility is maximized or the risk measured by the...

Global warming is predicted to have adverse effects on crop productivity and will present an enormous challenge to sustainable development and food security, especially in dryland regions. Prior studies have identified that adapted crop cultivars could effectively act to offset the effects of...

In this study, a novel dual-nozzle ejector enhanced vapor-compression cycle (DEVC) for solar assisted air-source heat pump systems is proposed. In DEVC, the use of the dual-nozzle ejector for recovering the expansion losses is a very promising approach to improve the cycle performance. A...

Rain-fed maize production in semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau in China is constrained by low temperatures and water limitations during the early growth stage. Traditionally, gravel mulching was an effective strategy to increase soil temperature and moisture and, therefore, crop production;...

Titanium Carbonitride (TiCN), a new high hardness and wear-resistant material, has been applied widely in many fields. TiCN coating was first fabricated using reactive plasma spraying (RPS) technology in the reactive chamber that was filled with nitrogen and acetylene (N2 and C2H2) in this...