In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between human transformations of land use/land cover and adult dragonfly diversity. Based on previous studies, we assumed that with increasing rates of environmental degradation and declining levels of naturalness, the representation of species with high conservation value would significantly decrease, which, however, would not affect the regional alpha diversity. Our results have shown that species richness did not correspond to habitat naturalness, but the occurrence of endangered species was significantly positively correlated with increasing naturalness; thus, habitat degradation and/or the level of naturalness significantly affected species composition, while species richness remained unchanged. Based on our analyses, it is evident that most natural areas, and therefore the least affected areas, provide suitable conditions for the largest number of endangered species. This research extends our knowledge about the impact of human activities, especially the conversion and degradation of habitats, on the composition of odonates and freshwater animals at the regional scale.Understanding the impact of the changing proportion of land-use patterns on species diversity is a critical issue in conservation biology, and odonates are good bioindicators of these environmental changes. Some freshwater ecosystems that have been modified due to human activities can serve as important secondary habitats for odonate assemblages; however, the majority of studies addressing the value of secondary habitats in industrial and urban areas for adult dragonfly diversity have been limited to the local scale, and the value of such habitats for gamma diversity is still unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between human transformations of land use/land cover and dragonfly diversity. We interpolated the information based on dragonfly occurrence per grid cell and land cover data, indicating naturalness and degradation in 677 grid cells in the Czech Republic. Species richness did not correspond to habitat naturalness, but the occurrence of endangered species was significantly positively correlated with increasing naturalness; thus, habitat degradation and/or the level of naturalness significantly affected species composition, while species richness remained unchanged. Threatened species that occur predominantly in natural areas and threatened species with a dominant occurrence in degraded squares were also separated, which indicated that the conservation of the latter should be prioritised. Biodiversity faces growing pressures from urbanisation and other human activities that eliminate large portions of the habitat from the landscape. In particular, fragmentation, conversion, and degradation of habitats are considered as causes of global biodiversity decline ,2,3, andPrevious studies have reported that the continued urbanisation of landscapes on a global scale currently threatens many groups of animals, both aquatic and terrestrial, such as amphibians ,8 and biSeveral studies relating to the effect of human transformations of land use/land cover on richness at a regional spatial scale and the diversity of both larval and adult odonate assemblages have been conducted. Rocha-Ortega et al.  conducteGenerally, there have been a number of studies involving odonates as bioindicators, wherein odonate assemblages were reported to be excellent groups of semiaquatic insects for environmental assessment. One of the most robust evaluation tools is the Dragonfly Biotic Index (DBI), which can be used to assess the quality of freshwater habitats at a landscape scale ,20,21, aCoenagrion mercuriale [C. ornatum [Ophiogomphus cecilia [Leucorrhinia pectoralis [Overall, previous studies have shown that understanding how landscape patterns and their changes affect odonates’ species richness, species composition, and abundance/density has become a critical issue in conservation biology. Many studies have revealed that secondary habitats in industrial and urban areas can be seen as valuable refuges for some of Europe’s most threatened or endangered species, which were also included in the EU Habitat Directive and the Bern Convention annexes, such as rcuriale , C. orna ornatum , Ophiogo cecilia , and Leuctoralis . Howeverctoralis  is not wThis study aims to clarify the relationship between human transformations of land use/land cover and dragonfly diversity. Based on previous studies, we assumed that with increasing rates of environmental degradation and declining levels of naturalness, the representation of species with a high conservation value would significantly decrease, which, however, would not affect the regional alpha diversity. We also expected that with a greater degree of environmental degradation, the proportion of species from the suborder Zygoptera will decrease in favor of the suborder Anisoptera.2). The second dataset contained data on the occurrence of odonates in the Czech Republic between the years 2000 and 2010 (as a suitable time period with respect to the first data), which consists of data used in the book by Dolný et al. [Our analysis used two types of datasets. The first dataset contained data about the spatial distribution of areas with different coincidences of natural biotopes from Boucníková & Kučera . We usedý et al.  and dataý et al. ; thus, 6However, the distribution of records was not balanced among all grid cells. Some of the map grid cells were assigned with a large number of reported presences of odonata species simply because of the greater sampling effort of the area, while other grid cells, usually in agricultural areas, had significantly fewer records. Such an imbalance may cause bias in species richness assessment. To overcome this problem, all data characteristics were homogenised with respect to species richness .c be some desired statistical characteristics of a map grid cell based on the sum of the DBI and the sum of the threats based on the Red List of Threatened Species in the Czech Republic for the selected period [c across all map grid cells:Let d period . We usedd period  to deterd period . The subt = 15 was set in advance;A sampling threshold t odonata presence records were excluded from further analyses.Map grid cells with less than t records were selected, and the desired statistical characteristic c was computed. The mean of the resulting 1000 samples of the c characteristic is the homogenised value of c for the given map grid cell. This ensures that all map grid cells obtain a comparable value of the characteristic c in terms of species richness because for each grid cell, only t presence records are considered. On the other hand, averaging the sampled values reduces the sampling error where more than t presence records are available.For each map grid cell, 1000 ordinary bootstrap replicates of presence records were generated. From that, only the first The relationship between the analysed characteristics and degradation and naturalness was assessed using Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient (for numeric data) or Fisher’s exact test (for count data). All data were analysed using R version 4.0.3 .p < 0.001). However, it is certainly not the case that the mean species richness in the grid cell directly predetermines the areas with the highest naturalness , but a high proportion of endangered species significantly decreased with an increasing degree of degradation .Surprisingly, the mean species richness in the grid cell did not correspond to the value of habitat naturalness, and the representation of endangered species significantly correlated with the increasing naturalness , mainly due to species out of the family Libellulidae . Suborder Zygoptera significantly correlates with both degradation  and naturalness  with different trends. Increasing levels of degradation co-occurred with an increasing number of species of the family Coenagrionidae . On the other hand, increasing levels of naturalness were associated with a decreasing number of species outside of the family Coenagrionidae .We also found that the degree of naturalness and degradation reflects the proportional representation of the taxa above species, i.e., the two suborders, Zygoptera (damselflies) and Anisoptera (true dragonflies), and the two largest families, Coenagrionidae (Zygoptera) and Libellulidae (Anisoptera). Suborder Anisoptera show no relation with degradation but have a positive correlation with naturalness  and the proportion of species of local conservation concern or threatened species declined. This pattern suggests that the natural and degraded landscapes would support maximal regional species richness but would lead to taxonomic homogenisation and functional homogenisation at a regional scale.Based on our analyses, it is evident that most natural areas, and therefore the least affected areas, provide suitable conditions for the largest number of endangered species. This is very important, especially for species associated with certain types of climax habitats, such as raised bogs, fens, and some other types of late successional habitats. These species are among the species with the most negative trends in occurrence . The maiAs expected, our results demonstrate that the taxa above species , e.g., zygopterans and anisopterans, responded in different ways to changes in the environment, including to land use intensification . NeverthL. pectoralis or O. cecilia, which enjoy great attention to nature conservation, and their even distribution in areas of different levels of naturalness indicates that these species are able to adapt to anthropogenically altered areas. However, the frequent occurrence in less natural areas may not necessarily be related only to the ecological valence of the species and its ability to tolerate anthropogenic influences but may be associated with a very limited supply of natural habitats of certain types [L. pectoralis in their study of national changes in land use influence in Estonia. Leucorrhinia pectoralis was found almost as much in the unrestored landscapes as in the restored landscape , and the occupation frequency confirmed that the species was not significantly more abundant in one landscape type than in the other. Our results are also consistent with those of other studies, which suggest that cities may have the potential to host species of conservation concern and allocate permanent habitats for O. cecilia, as well as for L. pectoralis [In contrast, our analysis identified species such as in types . The finin types , who exactoralis ,27.C. ornatum, a species that has been included in the Annexes of the EU Habitats Directive: in many regions, we simply cannot find a single locality of this species with a higher degree of naturalness [S. depressiusculum. Although this species often forms large populations and is able to use a wider range of habitats, it is declining throughout Europe and is included in the European Red List [S. depressiusculum is associated with the natural dynamics of watercourses, and larger populations in Central Europe are known primarily from fry ponds, that is, secondary habitats with a low degree of naturalness [On the other hand, 12 % of all odonate species occurring in Europe are included in the Annexes of the EU Habitats Directive, which indicates that odonates are a highly prioritised group compared with other groups of invertebrates. However, this fact does not reflect the current situation because 19 of the 22 threatened species on the Red List are not among the priority species included in the EU Habitats Directive . The EU uralness . AnotherRed List . Neverthuralness ,47.S. pedemontanum or S. paedisca, are comparable to those mentioned in the previous statements. They occur in areas with a high degree of naturalness, as well as in areas with highly anthropogenically affected areas. Sympecma paedisca is one of the species in the Annexes of the EU Habitats Directive, but it belongs to the non-priority species.Based on our analysis, it is clear that other species regarded as threatened, such as A variety of responses were elicited in response to the question, “Is it possible to protect long-term even a species whose natural habitat has completely disappeared?” Experience from the Netherlands shows that negative trends in dragonfly distribution can be reversed, and many populations can be recovered . On the Dragonflies and damselflies are among the most popular, and therefore the best known, insect groups. Nevertheless, even with Central European species, we encounter the fact that for a relatively large proportion of species, we do not even know population trends . We stilIn general, it is far more effective to protect species in their natural environment than to create entirely new habitats. The question is how to protect the species in a situation where there are simply no natural alternatives. Anthropogenically induced changes in the environment act selectively, while certain types of habitats are altered/degraded with much greater intensity. In addition, in the recent past, processes that have significantly contributed to the natural regeneration of freshwater ecosystems have been significantly slowed down. Based on our analysis, it is evident that populations of several rare species persist in heavily anthropogenically altered habitats. For many species, however, this is probably not due to their ability to adapt to new conditions but rather the degradation of all natural alternatives. Conservation of these species has reached the point where the only option is management in the form of creating new suitable habitats.


Humans have come to inhabit nearly every terrestrial environment. Their commensals have followed them and have consequently become some of the most abundant and widespread species on Earth, in the process becoming exposed to a variety of abiotic and biotic stressors. For example, the house sparrow was introduced from the UK to North America in the nineteenth century and now millions of birds breed in houses from northern Canada to Tierra del Fuego. Clines in both morphology and colour were rapidly established . But whaet al. [et al. actually held sparrows in a common garden environment in the lowlands for a month, noting that differences in muscle mass were maintained, but adding multiple caveats about the short duration of the experiment and sample sizes.In the UK, house sparrows live in houses and tree sparrows live in trees but, in east Asia, the house sparrow is absent and tree sparrows live in houses. Around 3600 years ago, humans established permanent residence on the high Tibetan plateau. Using genomics, Qu et al. think otherwise and suggest that flight-muscle differences in the Tibetan plateau are associated with high-altitude adaptation. However, they do note that the larger fiber area observed in the flight muscle of highland birds increases the distance oxygen has to travel through the cell, which seems inconsistent with this idea. Their study shows how we might contrast alternatives, using multiple directions of research, from studies of fitness variation in the wild to mechanistic evaluation of both the genes and the phenotypes, and assessment of parallel evolution across other species and locations.Why has muscle changed and is it hypoxia or the cold temperature that has caused this (or something else)? Long ago, C.H. Waddington stated: ‘The species has to use whatever genes are at its disposal to meet the demands of selection’ . When plConflict of interest statement. None declared.


The evolution of practice of Radiation Therapy in the United States (U.S.) is inevitable. The scope of a radiation therapists role has progressed with advancing technology, implementation of special procedures and patient care requirements. Internationally, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have formalized this evolution through the Advanced Practice Radiation Therapist (APRT) role to provide new models of care, to meet growing demands in the practice of Radiation Oncology, to increase efficiency, decrease cost and retain skilled staff  ObjectiveThe following reviews the current radiation therapy practice and professional landscape in the United States as it relates to advanced practice, exploring opportunities and challenges under the U.S. health care infrastructure. This broad analysis provides comparison to other countries and disciplines such as the Radiologist Assistant and Nurse Practitioner for potential pathways to establishing the role and describes current needs and value of the expanding scope of RT’s practicing in the U.S. Within the United States (U.S.) healthcare system, Advanced Practice models are widely utilized via Nurse Practitioners (NP’s) and Physician Assistants (PA’s) whom are often physician extenders to Radiation Oncologists in the clinic. The need for advanced practice nursing roles grew organically in the U.S. based on patient needs, system pressures and the nursing profession’s desire to practice in an expanded capacity. Barriers to implementation included outdated laws, resistance from physicians, lack of reimbursement policies by insurance companies and varying regulations state by state Similarly, under the scope of technical professions and Radiologic Science, the Radiologist Assistant (RA) framework was established in 2003 as a physician extender to diagnostic Radiologists. RA’s complete an additional 2.5 years of graduate study and are trained to “perform selected radiology procedures, evaluate image quality and make initial observations” In 2007, Martino et al. completed an analysis and publication on establishing the APRT role in the U.S., defining territoriality among professions as a barrier to implementation The Radiation Therapy workforce, a cohort of highly skilled radiation and patient care specifically trained personnel, has had an increasingly complex role among the multidisciplinary Radiation Oncology team The U.S. credentialing organization for radiation therapists, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), has addressed the unique education and competencies required for Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBRT). Under the ARRT, the Alternative Forms of Recognition (AFR) program was initiated to “provide a mechanism for individuals to document completion of activities that are prerequisite to the professional performance of a role in areas for which ARRT does not currently offer certification” In 2004, the ASRT assembled a Radiation Therapy Clinical Practice Advisory Panel to consider establishing an APRT role in the U.S. The current U.S. health system infrasture has significantly changed since the publication of the white paper in 2007, with several key structural changes having occurred. Payment reforms such as the Alternative Payment Model has started a transition from a fee-for-service model toward bundled payments, decreasing the reimbursement paid per patient or treatment course overall Furthermore, the educational infrastructure in the U.S. is bound to the scope of radiation therapists’ practice. This could be seen as a barrier to implementation. However, as practitioners, the RTT’s see patients more frequently than any other discipline, uniquely positioned to have the greatest impact on quality patient care. It would be logical to enhance the training, education and intellectual capital of this group to address gaps in care and inefficiencies Utilizing the UK perspective, a case study from the Radiation Oncology department at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, NY describes the benefits experienced from AP education in application to daily operations. Uniquely positioned, the clinical manager, a Radiation Therapist, undertook a mentorship with an Attending Radiation Oncologist. They applied principles that were learned through the UK based Expert Practice Module from the MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice in Radiation Oncology program to a cohort of breast patients under the Attendings service. Although the intention was for the manager to progress from novice to expert in image review for the Masters program, the application of the four pillars of advanced practice provided a much greater benefit to the department than initially expected. As a direct response to the advanced practice module, the implementation of informed huddles with the physician was added to the therapist simulation workflow. This resulted in less manipulation of beams during the planning process, enhancing quality and efficiency by minimizing the verification appointment duration, subsequently improving patient experience. Through an enhanced focus on multidisciplinary communication, a more customized clinical approach was experienced for each patient. The entire Simulation team benefitted from a deeper understanding of physician clinical decision making regarding beam arrangement, patent’s history, surgical techniques, histology and tumor grade. The most notable improvement was a substantial decrease in image rejections over a three-month period preceding this project within this specific service The momentum and adoption of an APRT role will largely depend on the extent to which such efforts as those laid out in this case study are formalized by practicing RT’s and supported in individual departments by clinical management, administration and physicians. Trailblazing the APRT role will also require similar educational structure that is tailored to meet the unique needs of care delivery in the U.S. as well as evidence-based practice and research to drive innovation, steer the pathway of the profession and establish long-term value and sustainability of role.Research has been estabilished as an integral part of the four pillars of advanced practice. It provides the reasoning for progression in practice of Radiation Therapy and must uphold the rigorous quality, and ethical obligations required by scientific discovery Palliative radiation therapy presents a growing need in the U.S. and across the globe the APRT role continues to provide mechanisms and resources to address gaps in palliative care A systematic evidence-based approach in establishing the APRT role in the U.S. should be viewed as a solution to the growing complexity of the field of Radiation Oncology and the unique pressures of the U.S. health care system, including bundled payments, mounting financial pressures on Radiation Oncology departments and increased physician workload. While those practicing radiation therapy are elevated to new clinical and educational standards and look for clinical opportunities on the professional advancement ladder, there is no regulatory, educational or structural framework that offers a pathway for expanding the clinical role of the radiation therapist in the U.S.. However, institutions have the tools to establish pathways for APRT by learning from other AP roles, well established international models and through therapy initiated evidence-based research. Such efforts will help provide a pathway specific to the needs in the U.S. through associated savings, efficiencies, task dileniation and quality enhancements, especially for acute patient populations such as the palliative patient population. While pockets of interest and conversations about APRT have been a part of the profession for over a decade, formal collaboration is needed to revive and formalize efforts. Academic partnerships will help support the educational and clinical research components required for next steps and will aid in quickly adopting and establishing the role and educational infrastructure. At the instituoinal level, buy-in will largely depend on the advocacy of those working in the profession. Learning from the experiences of NP, PA and RA professions, institutions interested in exploring an APRT role should conduct a thorough review of local state practice guidelines and the legislative process for expansion. Nationally, professional institutions and accrediting bodies such as the ASRT and ARRT must recognize that there is a significant need for clinical career advancement opportunities at this point in the evolution of the scope of practice and prioritize the radiation therapy profession beyond current efforts. Grants and advocacy must support therapy driven research, as the APRT role cannot begin to exist without this. Building a foundation through initiatives discussed above, will justify the value of the APRT role: expanding the scope of the radiation therapist, strategically minimizing costs while improving patient care.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.


With the accelerated iteration of global electronic and electrical product updates, the demand for electronic and electrical products presents a new trend in which the life cycle of electronic and electrical products is shortened. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) products pose a great threat to the global ecological environment, and solving this problem is urgent. Therefore, governments around the world have formulated funding policies for WEEE products, which has led to continuous improvements in such policies. Along these lines, we adopt the circular economy concept, extended producer responsibility theory and life cycle assessment method to comparatively analyse and compare the different fund operation modes in China, Germany, Japan and The Netherlands. In addition, based on the data related to fund policy implementation, we point out the problems in the development of the WEEE industry in China. The analysis results show that although China is the largest WEEE market, it is still in the initial stage and lags behind Western countries in efficiency and cost management. Then, taking as an example ‘Go Green’, an O2O classified recycling platform launched in 2005, this paper performs an extended analysis of the “Internet +” recycling model, which was proposed as a WEEE fund operation solution in China. Finally, we discuss the economic impact of this study on the future implementation and valuation of WEEE fund policy. With the rapid development of global science and technology, the progress of information and communication technology and the increasing demands of consumers, global electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is being updated with a faster iteration speed and shorter life cycle. A large amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been generated worldwide, and it accounts for 8% of all municipal waste . WEEE isAs the largest manufacturer and the second largest commodity-consuming country, China produced 7.2 million tons of WEEE in 2016, which is the highest in the world ; howeverApproximately 4000 tons of WEEE are estimated to be exported globally every hour, and 80% of this waste is exported to Asia. Among the waste exported to Asia, China accounted for 90%. Guiyu in Guangdong Province and Taizhou in Zhejiang Province are two major exporting destinations . To solvDue to the positive influence of government policies, the global WEEE recycling industry has developed rapidly. In an ideal state, the realization of a circular economy depends on the utilization of “urban mines”, which refer to a large number of valuable resources, such as rare metals in electronic and electrical products in urban areas . Also, bHowever, under the temptation of huge profits, many problems will inevitably occur in the development of the industry. In China, high-cost methods of disposing of waste electronic products have been used for a long time because the harm and recycling value of electronic wastes is not properly understood by the public, which is primarily driven by a lack of consideration of safety and environmental factors and economic returns. Over time, illegal dismantling has formed a covert informal supply chain that has restricted the available space for formal and standard dismantling enterprises .As the dismantling fund helps normalize and legitimize the industrial chain, it has become an important source of income for legal dismantling enterprises at the present stage. However, if subsidy allocations are not in place, then formal and standard recycling enterprises will have to reduce the scale of dismantling and electronic waste will once again flow into illegal dismantling channels. However, the longstanding problem associated with the low income of the dismantling fund is due to the insufficient fund recovery capacity .The data show that the recycling amount of WEEE products has increased from 114 million tons in 2013 to 164 million tons in 2017; however, the actual income of the dismantling fund has hovered between 2.6 billion and 2.8 billion RMB in the same period. Except in 2013 , the actIn 2017, WEEE subsidies almost stagnated, and subsidies for dismantling funds were not paid on time ,17. TherThe heavily burdened dismantling fund has attempted to promote the development of the e-waste recycling industry; however, it is caught in a dilemma. If the fund continues to offer subsidies, then it needs to overcome a huge deficit. If the fund is stopped, formal enterprises will lose an essential source of financial support, which will encourage the rampant illegal dismantling operations in the industry. Compared with China, foreign countries have not only established sound fund management systems but also enacted supporting laws, regulations and recycling standards to ensure and standardize the smooth implementation of the fund system .According to national and regional conditions, actual needs and economic development levels, each country and region has formulated corresponding catalogues for WEEE. For example, in the management of its catalogue of WEEEs, the United States pays more attention to electronic products with display screens, such as televisions and computer monitors. European countries, however, include almost all kinds of electronic products in their catalogues . The for(1)What is the operation mode of the WEEE fund policy in China?(2)How does fund policy implementation and the WEEE industry change in China?(3)What are the main problems and solutions for the WEEE fund policy in China?To achieve the primary objectives, this study aims to answer the following questions:The iteration of EEEs is accelerated by continuous technology innovation and market demand expansion. In this case, the service life of electronic and electrical products is greatly shortened, which results in a large amount of WEEE. Considering the serious environmental problems created by WEEE and the high use value of the associated materials, such as metals, precious metals, plastics and glass, the recycling treatment of WEEE has become a hot spot. Many countries’ political decision-makers have reviewed the existing policy options and drawn the conclusion that extending the responsibility of producers to the end of the product life cycle can alleviate the environmental pressure generated by these waste streams . Some deThis paper introduces the most typical WEEE system in developed countries, including China, Germany, The Netherlands and Japan. Then, it summarizes the responsibility system and payment mode of WEEE in developed countries.As a waste management measurement, extended producer responsibility was first introduced in Germany in 1991 . As the Every producer must provide guarantees when putting products on the market to ensure that the collection, treatment and disposal of products are funded . The whoThe figure shows the fund operation mode of the German system. First, producers should register as members in the special management organization, namely, the EAR Foundation, and provide the required information. In return, the EAR only sends a registration number to each registered manufacturer, and the producer must use this number in all commercial transactions. In practice, German manufacturers usually do not directly participate in the transfer, transportation, treatment and disposal of WEEE but entrust processing companies to carry out specific operations. After the used products are disposed of by distributors and retailers, some reusable products can flow into the secondary market  for renoProfessional processing enterprises are entrusted by product manufacturers and in a completely competitive relationship with manufacturers. Processing enterprises compete with manufacturers’ processing orders according to their scale, technology and labour conditions and return the data generated by the recycling processing results to manufacturers. Some production enterprises have set up their own recycling departments, and their waste products are directly returned to the production enterprises through their own or other channels. Then, the manufacturer uniformly reports the recycling capacity to the EAR Foundation . The EAR Foundation performs calculations according to the manufacturer’s sales volume and total processing volume and reports the subsidy amount for the processing enterprises to the environment agency (UBA) according to the standard.Professional processing enterprises in Germany also need the government to certify their processing qualifications or prove their processing technical ability in voluntary certification activities to help manufacturers handle orders and win customers’ trust. To date, there are approximately 700 processing enterprises in Germany. However, according to the EU enterprise classification standard for the number of enterprises and annual income, the processing enterprises are mostly micro-, small- and medium-sized. Moreover, an optimal competition mode between processing enterprises can promote long-term strategic cooperation between manufacturers and processing enterprises, such as by encouraging the sharing of product information among them, enabling manufacturers to collect more reliable and complete data and information in product design, improving product characteristics, and reducing recovery costs and price games . On the The EAR Foundation only supervises manufacturers and importers, who share the responsibility of recycling. However, in the recycling process, the foundation did not distinguish the brands and categories of waste products and raw materials and could not distinguish the responsibilities of different manufacturers. Additionally, the foundation cannot recognize the hidden costs of green manufacturing. In this case, some opportunistic enterprises will have the chance to increase their recycling and processing and thereby reduce other enterprises’ profits.Due to the limitation of Japan’s own resources and environment, the rapid development of electronic information technology and the economy, and the popularization of electronic products, the corresponding number of WEEE is increasing. Since the end of the last century, unsustainable development has caused considerable waste, polluted the environment, endangered people’s health and hindered sustainable development.Therefore, the Japanese government has taken the lead in transforming the original traditional economic model into a circular economy to improve the utilization rate of resources. Since 1970, the Japanese government has implemented a series of measures to conserve resources and develop energy-saving products. In 2000, Japan promulgated the Basic Law for Promoting the Establishment of a Circular Society and then a series of related laws, which gradually transformed Japan from a “public nuisance” country to an “advanced country in environmental protection” . In deveIn Asia, Japan took the lead in formulating WEEE policy. In 1998, the Household Appliances Recycling Law came into effect, and it stipulated that consumers should bear WEEE recycling costs. Subsequently, Japan launched its own WEEE recycling system in 2001, and approximately half of the electrical appliances used were disposed of after collection . The opeThe figure shows that the WEEE management system in Japan is based on “fee withdrawal” . When diA significant feature of the operation of Japan’s WEEE fund is that there is no special foundation or government agency to manage the recycling of WEEE in a unified way, although consumers and manufacturers take full responsibility, which reduces the fund management cost and shortens the capital turnover cycle . In addiAs a member of the European Union, The Netherlands passed the WEEE Recycling and Utilization Law in 1998 and passed the E-Waste Management Law in 2004, which covered all types of e-waste specified in the WEEE directive of the European Union. During this period, challenges associated with the application of WEEE directives in EPR systems have been observed.The country seems to be relatively successful. In 2014, it was reported that 44% of the e-waste  on the Dutch market was collected and disposed of . CompareThe figure shows that retailers are obliged to recover WEEE from Dutch consumers, who can take WEEE to retailers for trade-in or to government collection points. The retailers then trade the old WEEE, and the government collects the WEEE directly and transports it to regional sorting stations . Then, tIn summary, one of the advantages of the Dutch fund policy model is that because the ICT system stipulates the recycling processors, the manufacturers and processors can establish a long-term and stable cooperative relationship, which is conducive to maintaining the long-term stability of the recycling system . By supeAs the world’s largest EEE producer and WEEE importer, China has its unique social system and policy environment, which makes the WEEE fund policy hard to directly transplant to China’s WEEE market. Also, the WEEE management system is less complete than that of the developing countries, and therefore the treatment method of WEEE is China is more irregular than other countries. In this case, Chinese government are engaged to find out and implement policies that suitable for China’s current status of WEEE market .China has experienced four stages in the development of WEEE recycling. The first stage was the traditional recycling mode of renewable resources under the market economy system before 2009. In the second stage (2009–2011), the major participants included retailers and manufacturers and the recycling mode was trade-in policy and governmental subsidies. In the third stage (2012–2015), the recycling mode under the regulations and fund system is the traditional recycling mode of renewable resources based on individual recycling. The fourth stage is considered the development stage (after 2016), in which the traditional recycling mode and innovative recycling mode coexist. In the fourth stage, however, due to the early emergence of informal dismantling enterprises in the market, environmental costs are not considered. Therefore, the profits are much higher than that of formal dismantling enterprises . ConsequThis paper mainly studies the pollution control of WEEE recycling in China. In 2005, the Law on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste was promulgated, which stipulated the responsibilities of producers, retailers, importers and consumers. Meanwhile, the government encourages companies to make a transition towards circular economy for the sustainable development of society .Therefore, China draws on foreign advanced WEEE fund operation modes and introduces the original legislation system on EPR recovery so that manufacturers are responsible for the environmental impact of the whole life cycle of products, including the consumption process of products as well as the design of products, which can be comprehensively considered until the products are discarded. As of 2021, 109 Chinese enterprises have obtained formal processing qualifications. However, China’s EPR system is still in its infancy. When establishing the operation mode of WEEE funds, we should consider the current situation of China’s EEE industry and the basic situation of the recycling and dismantling market.First, for the EEE industry, due to the influence of supply and demand in recent years, a large number of manufacturers have entered the electronic product market, resulting in oversupply. Thus, the electronic product market is a buyer’s market, where sellers compete with sellers and prices are low. For example, the average industrial profit rate of China’s electronic product manufacturing industry in 2014 was only 5.2%, which was lower than the average level of 6.5% in all industries . Due to Second, China’s WEEE recycling process is characterized by both formal and informal recycling. Informal recycling is widespread in China. Waste recycling requires no special skills and has become an important means for informal collectors to make a living ,40,41. MFinally, EEE disassembly and utilization are the main sources of environmental impacts when compared with recycling . An impoTo solve the aforementioned problems and standardize the WEEE recycling industry, China has implemented the WEEE disposal fund policy, charging recycling fees from producers to subsidize the formal recycling sector. Specifically, the dismantling of electronic products must be scrutinized by environmental authorities, while dismantling certificates should be issued by formal recycling departments .In addition, the Ministry of Finance collects EEE sales invoices to determine the sales of manufacturers and importers. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration and Customs are responsible for collecting the production and consumption of domestic EEE and imported EEE, respectively, and transferring them to the disposal fund. Finally, the state-certified formal processing enterprises submit WEEE recycling volume reports to the Ministry of Environmental Protection every year, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection provides subsidies from the fund pool after examination. The examination period of the Ministry of Environmental Protection is usually 6–12 months, which means that formal processing enterprises can only obtain subsidies at one year after submitting an application. The details are shown in A comparison of the fund operation characteristics of different countries shows that the operation mechanisms of producer extended responsibility in these four countries are different. The comparative analysis results are presented in First, there are two fund collection modes: producer payment mechanisms  and consumer payment mechanisms (such as Japan). The first mode indicates that the fund is collected in the production stage, which will increase the burden on producers. Although producers can pass some of the burden on to consumers, this will be hard to do if there are many producers and fierce competition. For consumer payment, the fund is collected when the product is scrapped and customers are charged to discard the product. The consumer payment mechanism is less frequently used, although it reduces the generation of WEEE to a certain extent. Without a strict process for capital recycling, capital flows directly from the consumer to processing enterprises.Second, the participants in the fund’s subsidies include collectors (Germany), dismantling companies (China and Japan), or both (The Netherlands), and they are all regulated and supervised by the government.Third, capital operation agents can be national (such as Japan and China) or professional (such as Germany and The Netherlands). The advantage of the former is that the operation mechanism of the fund can be considered as a whole by the government and combined with some other national policies, while the advantage of the latter is that it can avoid monopolies and introduce competition mechanisms, which greatly reduce the management costs.Fourth, the WEEE policy can be managed by the government, such as Germany, The Netherlands and China. Additionally, in some countries, such as Japan, consumers and manufacturers are responsible for this activity. The operation of the WEEE fund policy in China is different from that of Japan. However, the fund policy largely depends on government restrictions. For example, the amount of tax payable and subsidy granted is decided by the state, while the content of the recycling category is enacted by the government. In this case, most enterprises passively undertake social responsibilities. The subsidy distribution cycle is long, and formal recycling enterprises are not active enough, resulting in a low standard recycling rate.Fifth, WEEE is usually recycled by collection points set up either by the government or producers. Although China has built a certain number of recycling sites, because of the high cost of recycling, immature recycling technology, and deficient consumer recycling environmental protection awareness, a complete system of recycling waste electric and electronic products has not yet been built.Compared with Japan, the WEEE treatment in China, Germany and The Netherlands is not categorized by brand and type. However, the differentiation of all kinds of waste products before recycling can effectively improve recycling efficiency and motivate manufacturers to consider ecological and environmental impact factors in product design and production, thus promoting green production .Moreover, consumer behaviour will have a great impact on enterprises. Compared with The Netherlands and Japan, in China, the source of disposal cost of WEEE consists of two parts. The first part is collected from producers and importers. The second part is collected from consumers. Consumers have to bear some or even all of the costs of recycling. However, in the operation of fund policies in China, there are no clear laws and regulations to restrain consumer behaviour, resulting in a high rate of informal recycling and disassembly, which has a great impact on the environment.China’s fund policy implementation lags behind, resulting in many problems in the current policy implementation. Based on the evaluation of foreign WEEE fund policies, this paper will then explore the suitable WEEE fund policy that conforms to the national conditions of China.This section briefly introduces how the numbers of EEEs and WEEEs change in China. This analysis is carried out following the evolution change of the subsidy standard of the China WEEE disposal fund.The reform and opening-up policy has boosted China’s development in information and communication technology, which makes the consumer electronics industry one of the fastest-growing industries in China. Its rapid growth is reflected in the significant growth of the total number of mobile phone users, which reached 1.605 billion in 2020. In addition, the number of 5G mobile network users reached 310 million in 2020. As the demand side of the EEE industry is gradually saturated, the profit of China’s EEE industry has decreased dramatically, which indicates the urgency of transforming and upgrading the business model in this industry. Mobile phone is a representative EEE in China. The outputs of other EEEs in China from 2013 to 2019 are shown in The changes in household output of EEEs in China from 1996 to 2017 are shown in The large quantity of EEEs in China lays a basis for the development of the WEEE industry. The large quantity of China’s EEEs lays a foundation for the WEEE industry. because with the faster iteration of EEEs, the large production volume of EEEs indicates the inevitable increment in the numbers of WEEEs. At present, the number of home appliances in China has reached 2.1 billion units. In 2020, 160 million household appliances reached their standard life spans. Faced with such a huge number of products to be discarded, the recycling capacity in China is seriously insufficient. The recycling market is dominated by informal recycling channels. Previous statistics show that only approximately 80 million WEEEs are dismantled annually by the formal recycling channel, indicating that at least half of the potential WEEEs (160 million) will flow into the informal channel in 2020. Recycling of these products to be discarded poses great pressure on China’s WEEE recycling industry. Additionally, formal WEEE recycling and dismantling enterprises are not formal traders. Compared with informal recycling enterprises, formal enterprises do not have price advantages in purchasing WEEEs. Without a price advantage, formal channels are generally not welcomed by consumers.To standardize WEEE recycling and promote resource utilization and circular economic development, the Chinese government has promulgated a series of industry laws and regulations. For example, in 2009, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Management of Recycling of Used Electronic and Electrical Products (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations).The Regulations first clarify the WEEE catalogue and then establish a series of systems, including disposal funds systems, processing enterprise qualification licensing systems and enterprise information processing systems. Among them, the disposal fund system is an important way of implementing the extended responsibility system for EEE producers in China. Since the implementation of the disposal fund system, the growth trend of the WEEE industry has not been optimistic primarily because of the contradiction between WEEE production capacity and WEEE recycling capacity.To reasonably guide the recycling and treatment of WEEEs and accelerate the improvement of the technical level and overall efficiency of the industry, China has adjusted the subsidy standards of WEEE disposal funds since 2016 according to the changes in the recycling and treatment costs and benefits of waste electrical and electronic products. This section briefly analyses the changes in the amount of dismantling of major WEEEs in China’s formal processing enterprises and the content and impact of the adjustment of the WEEE fund subsidy standard in China.To reasonably guide WEEE recycling and accelerate the improvement of the industry technical level and overall efficiency, since 2016, China has adjusted the subsidy standard of WEEE disposal funds according to the change in cost and benefit of WEEE recycling. This section briefly analyses the changes in the numbers of major WEEEs in China’s formal processing enterprises and then analyses the contents and impact factors of the adjustment of subsidy standards for WEEE disposal funds in China.The WEEE fund policy has led WEEE recycling enterprises to focus on environmental impacts and resource recycling. However, the illegally dismantling channels in China still account for a large proportion.The major WEEEs in China are televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners and microcomputers. The dismantling quantity of these products presents a large difference. In 2016, the actual dismantling amount of major WEEE in China’s formal processing enterprises increased continuously, and the green recycling rate  increased from 37.94% in 2013 to 70.77% in 2016. As shown in On 26 November 2015, the state issued a document to further adjust the subsidy of the WEEE disposal fund. The main adjustment objects are the aforementioned five major WEEEs. The subsidy standard content is adjusted according to the actual market changes. The new standard was officially implemented on 1 January 2016. In Based on the data presented in the tables above, the following points can be directly obtained.First, there are ups and downs in the adjustment of the fund collection amount. Before 2016, the adjustment number of subsidies for washing machines and air conditioners was the same and the number of subsidies was the same at 35; however, the financial subsidies on air conditioner adjustments increased significantly in 2016. The recycling rate of air conditioners in 2014 was only 0.74%, which represented the lowest proportion. In the same year, the number of recycled televisions accounted for 98.7% of the total recycling amount. Since fund policy implementation began in 2016, the number of major WEEEs flowing into formal processing enterprises has increased from approximately 16.4% to 58.8%. However, television recycling accounted for a large part of the growth, and the recycling quantities of the other four WEEEs in formal channels also showed significant growth.Second, the new standard excludes televisions under 14 inches from subsidies because a large proportion of those televisions have been recycled and most manufacturers have halted the production of such televisions. Additionally, technological progress in dismantling and processing enterprises has reduced the cost of dismantling small products; therefore, it is unnecessary for the government to subsidize them in small product recycling.Third, the recycling subsidy of individual EEEs is much lower than that of informal processing enterprises. Producers include in the product sales price their costs, such as product development and sales, and cost removal is not involved in the recycling process. Under the condition that the unit cost of formal processing is not high, informal manufacturers will renovate some products and the market price will be much higher than that of formal processing enterprises.Fourth, the data show that the government’s standards for all EEE manufacturers’ products have not changed and differences are not observed between the same product type and different product types. Therefore, the government’s behaviour will lead to a certain degree of competitive advantage only for low-cost enterprises in the market, which will encourage enterprises to implement technological and product innovation and strive to achieve the highest value at the lowest cost.With the adjustments of the contents of the WEEE fund subsidy, enterprises can benefit from setting up their own WEEE recycling channel and department. For example, in China, Gree is one of the large-scale production enterprises and has realized a closed loop in their recycling activities. Gree’s products and their parts can eventually flow back to enterprises. Thus, enterprises can obtain all kinds of information about the whole life cycle of products and maximize the efficiency of product design innovation. Their recycling and dismantling behaviour can enable them to obtain financial subsidies and gain a reputation in the market.The WEEE recycling industry is an important part of the electrical and electronic industry chain, and it is an important factor in developing a circular economy development mode in the electrical and electronic industry . AdditioHowever, there are several problems in the development of the WEEE recycling industry. Some processing enterprises are in a state of semi-production suspension, some WEEE recycling enterprises are loss-making, and some WEEE recycling enterprises have closed down. There is also fierce competition in the WEEE recycling industry. Identifying a method of promoting the normal and healthy development of the industry as soon as possible is worth discussing. This section attempts to analyse the greater development dilemma faced by formal e-waste dismantling enterprises in China from several aspects.The formal dismantling enterprise has stagnant growth, and its overall operating rate is insufficient.At present, China has enacted an industry access policy for waste electrical appliances and electronic processing industries. The company must obtain the technical and infrastructure standards after WEEE dismantling qualification, and then the government should include the enterprise in the WEEE recycling and disposal fund subsidy list so that the enterprise can apply for fund subsidy to meet the dismantling amount.By the end of November 2018, a total of 109 enterprises in five batches had entered the list of fund subsidies. The survey found that from 2013 to 2017, there were 48, 15 and 3 new companies in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. No new companies entered the list in 2016 and 2017. The growth rate of the total number of enterprises entering the waste electronic dismantling industry has obviously slowed down and has been in a stagnant state in the past two years. The published number of WEEE rehabilitation fund subsidized enterprises in China is shown in From 2013 to 2016, with the progress of dismantling technology and the development of industries, the electronic dismantling capacity of conventionally used electrical appliances in China increased from 112 million to 154 million, with a compound growth rate of 11.2%. However, the overall operating rate of the WEEE dismantling industry was only approximately 50%. In recent years, the operating rate has shown a downward trend, with an obvious idle capacity and a serious waste of capacity. The statistics of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China are shown in The industry is struggling. According to an investigative report on the operation status of 109 formal dismantling enterprises in China in 2018, one-third of the dismantling enterprises of WEEEs in China barely survived, nearly one-third faced bankruptcy, and the remaining one-third experienced a state of suspension of production.There are many reasons for the low-capacity utilization rate in formal recycling enterprises. The labour requirements for recycling technology and equipment are relatively high, and enterprises need much investment and personnel training. Moreover, regular recycling as a system that does not have a stable commodity supply is unstable in construction, and enterprises still need out-of-stock costs and high recycling costs. Before 2016, the prices of iron, aluminia, plastics and other materials dismantled by WEEE showed a downward trend, which further reduced the profit level of enterprises and increased the operating pressure of enterprises.Moreover, in terms of the competition between formal recycling companies and informal traders, the former is at a disadvantage in some respects. Formal recycling companies need to process products according to the requirements of national laws and regulations and must consider that the environmental impact is not directly proportional to their input and income. Informal suppliers resell discarded electronic products, such as mobile phones and other second-hand products, for huge profits, and the recycling price they provide is much higher than that of formal enterprises; thus, their market competitiveness is relatively low.Subsidies have been issued for a long time, and the state subsidy fund cannot meet its income. The system needs to be improved.The application process for EEE dismantling subsidies in China is shown in According to the data released in a white paper in 2017, the data on the collection and appropriation amount of WEEE funds from 2012 to 2017 are shown in The application for domestic financial subsidies is submitted to the provincial environmental protection department by the dismantling enterprise of WEEEs in the form of product variety and quantity reports. The provincial environmental protection department and the third party conduct written and onsite audits of the application and submit the audit results to the Ministry of Environmental Protection in the form of official documents (002E). After verification by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the results are submitted to the Ministry of Finance, which will determine the amount of subsidies that each enterprise is entitled to and then distribute the subsidies. From the perspective of the subsidy payment process, the process involves provincial departments, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance and has been reviewed many times.The procedure is complicated, and the whole application process takes approximately 1–3 years at the earliest. Some enterprises did not even record dismantling subsidies in the second half of 2015. The failure to receive subsidy funds in time will directly lead to an increase in accounts receivable, a shortage of working capital and an increase in additional financial costs. For enterprises, although there is no need to worry about the risk of bad debts, capital cannot be recovered and the daily operation of enterprises is still under great pressure, especially for some smaller enterprises. When necessary, the dismantling plant must be compressed or even closed to ensure the normal turnover of the company.The white paper on collecting the appropriate amount published by the government showed that manufacturers and importers have been managed since 2012 and the collection amount has reached a stable level since 2013, with fluctuations of approximately 2.8 billion yuan used for the treatment of used electronic and electrical products. The number of qualified enterprises has been rising, the processing technology of enterprises has gradually matured, the processing capacity has been continuously improved, and the total amount of government funds has increased rapidly. The balance of revenue and expenditure of national funds was negative from 2014 to 2016, and the balance of revenue and expenditure changed from negative to positive in 2017, which is mainly due to the government’s delay in granting subsidies. The shortage of funds is mainly because the producer’s payment standard is significantly lower than the subsidy standard. The difference in revenue and expenditure for each product is so large that the gap in total revenue and expenditure is obvious.The difficulties in improving the formal recycling channel lead to higher recycling costs for enterprises.Regular recycling enterprises are under great pressure to survive. The lag of government subsidies and the insufficient operating rate of enterprises have led to slow industry development. In addition, the construction of formal recycling channels in China is imperfect, which directly increases the recycling costs of enterprises and reduces the profit margins of enterprises. At present, the recycling channels of WEEEs from residents to dismantling enterprises in China are shown in In China, WEEE recycling has developed into a situation in which street recycling, dealer recycling, community network recycling, distribution centre recycling, production enterprise recycling and WEEE recycling enterprise recycling coexist, thus forming an informal and formal dual-channel recycling system, and the competition pattern is even more chaotic. Due to the residents’ lack of understanding of the resources and pollution associated with waste electronic and electrical products and the lack of corresponding laws, regulations and standards for the discarding of waste electronic and electrical products by residents, the residents control the recycling channels to obtain higher prices or facilitate selling WEEE directly to the sellers. Thus, the situation among sellers will be difficult to change.A total of 109 enterprises have obtained the national WEEE recycling qualification, and they perform recycling among residents, enterprises, businesses and other industries. In addition, they can also obtain waste power products through small vendors and other channels. However, the acquisition cost of such products will be higher and the difficulty and cost of dismantling and processing will be higher. Statistics show that by 2018, approximately 90% of the WEEE in China had not been standardized but was recycled by mobile vendors or directly recycled and disassembled by family dismantling workshops or small enterprises that had not obtained the national dismantling qualification.Compared with developed countries, one of the important reasons for the difficulty in establishing formal recycling channels in China is that the scale of formal recycling enterprises lags behind informal channels. Statistics show that as of November 2018, there were more than 2000 qualified recycling enterprises of WEEEs in the United States, more than 500 in the European Union, and only 109 in China, which is far lower compared with that of developed countries.In addition, China’s fund policy since 2014 also stipulates that when the actual annual dismantling capacity of various WEEEs is less than 20% of the enterprise’s licensed processing capacity, the fund subsidy qualification will be cancelled, which also makes many enterprises face enormous operating pressure.WEEE has become an important part of municipal waste, and it is also the fastest growing and most potentially dangerous waste in the world. However, WEEE also contains a large number of recyclable and renewable resources. Therefore, how the government decides to stimulate the effective recycling of WEEE is the focus of circular economic development in China.GEM Co., Ltd.  first proposed the concept of “exploring urban mines” and “limited resources, infinite recycling” in China. This company actively explores China’s mining mode of “urban mining” and is also committed to and leading in the research and industrialization of battery scrap, discarded electronic appliances, wasted rare metals and “urban mining” recycling and recycled products.GEM initiated the Go Green recycling platform that represents an active practice in the development of green environmental protection, which is different from the traditional method of recycling. Go Green has introduced an innovative new business model “Internet +”  in the recycling industry, and it offers convenience to both self-employed entrepreneurs and consumers. Go Green has also provided a number of recycling projects, including waste paper, waste plastics, electricity, and small appliances, among others.In 2015, the Third Session of the 12th National People’s Congress first proposed the “Internet +” action plan in the government work report and clearly pointed out in the “Circular Economy Promotion Plan 2015” that China will actively guide and promote the innovation of renewable resource recycling modes, explore new modes and paths, such as “internet plus” recycling, and support the development of new recycling methods, such as intelligent recycling and social automatic recycling machines.O2O (online to offline) refers to the combination of offline business activities and the internet to make the internet a new platform for offline transactions. The most commonly used online platforms in China include Meituan and Didi Taxi, among others.With the significant growth of the number of WEEEs, the hidden value inside the discarded products is significant. In this case, commercial activities regarding those products will inevitably appear. WEEE recycling is the complete “extraction” of resources and the pursuit of the highest utilization rate of original mineral resources; therefore, the concept of “urban mine” (UM) was proposed. Driven by government policies, China’s WEEE recycling and processing industry has moved towards a new development direction, and it has greatly promoted the popularization and participation of WEEE recycling and dismantling.In the preliminary exploration of WEEE recycling in China, the traditional recycling method had little effect in practice; therefore, the first domestic O2O classified recycling platform, “Recycling”, was officially launched by the GME on 22 July 2015. The platform combines online and offline contexts, builds a “Go Green” website, and promotes and realizes business through mobile apps, official WeChat accounts and other channels.The first batch of “Internet + Classified Recycling” urban waste classification and recycling systems in China was established. Through the operation of the platform, residents (WEEE source), Go Green platform users (recycling personnel), enterprises  and the government (policy support and incentives) were closely linked to realize the green life cycle, with a classified recycling system for WEEE initiated from abandoned sources.The working principle of the “Go Green” platform is as follows: citizens need to register their personal accounts on the platform website or mobile app and include basic information, such as their address. When WEEE is produced, the users can communicate with the platform for processing or directly click on the online service requirements. At the appointed time, “Go Green” staff will arrive to collect the recycling items. In addition, the products can be evaluated on the spot, and the prices can be estimated. After the product is returned to the platform agent for professional evaluation, the evaluation results can be sent to the user. The amount of goods sold can be transferred to the user’s account on the same day.Taking “Go Green” as a reference, the mode of building an O2O-based WEEE recycling platform is described below.The recycling process starts with the WEEE holders selling products, which reach the recycling site through the internet platform. The whole product (resource) information flow and capital flow are transmitted online, which is synchronized with the process of offline recyclers picking up goods, logistics transportation, recycling WEEE products with appropriate funds and selling WEEE products to recycling and processing enterprises.Unlike the traditional O2O platform, the internet operation platform only needs to be responsible for online business, handle capital circulation, coordinate customer needs and protect the rights and interests of all parties. The recycling mode based on the O2O platform also takes offline business into account by requiring the establishment of physical service stores, such as agents and outlets. A certain number of professionals are required to pick up goods at home, identify the goods, store them temporarily and dispatch them to the corresponding dismantling and processing enterprises.“Go Green” is known as the environmental protection service for classified recycling of WEEEs in this network age. The service teams are not unorganized, and they carry out internet recycling together with GEM. They are members of the company system with organized guarantees. After receiving professional training, they understand the norms and disciplines, and they are polite and have a good reputation. They have changed from street canvassers to green messengers to improve the urban environment, and they can receive orders online under recycling rules, perform unlimited business, and improve their quality of life through their own efforts. They are truly organized, disciplined and respected and represent multi-benefit environmental improvement and service teams in China, which can change the situation in which 90% of WEEEs in China are processed by informal recyclers. Moreover, the implementation of the platform can provide employment opportunities for a large number of people and alleviate their living difficulties.For residents, WEEEs can be sold at home more conveniently and quickly; at the same time, the price of WEEEs is recycled in the system specification and professional on-site valuation of recycling is provided; therefore, there is no traditional channel for personnel bidding for recycling at random. Additionally, community activities can be held on “Resource Recovery Day” (launched in Shenzhen in June 2015 and will be held on Saturday), and residents’ participation is conducive to green consumption, green popularization and green recycling. Adults and children are called on to participate in activities and carry out “front-end” classification to solve the WEEE classification problem from the source. On the recycling day, “high-value WEEE can be exchanged for cash, and low-value WEEE can be exchanged for points and prizes”. These activities not only improve the recovery rate of WEEEs but also improve the participation of residents.Recycling operators on the internet, on the one hand, only need to provide funds and recycle WEEEs from regular recyclers at the purchase price. In the fast cycle, capital funds for system specifications can clarify the surplus value of a product and accumulate product classifications. With such operations, both consumers and recycling enterprises have benefited greatly. On the other hand, they have to compete with other informal recycling personnel together; therefore, their industry competition is clearer, the job is more secure, unnecessary fierce competition is avoided, and the cost of enterprises is reduced, and these factors are conducive to the development of the industry.This “Internet +” O2O classified recycling platform model can standardize formal recycling channels, reduce the coverage of informal recyclers, classify WEEE front-ends, and greatly reduce the recycling cost of processing enterprises. Meanwhile, WEEE has a high recycling rate and a perfect recycling system; therefore, manufacturers can track their own product flow and provide ideas for their own product design. While improving the start-up of recycling enterprises, recycling enterprises can also process products according to their own product categories and scales, which can improve their processing capacity and reduce processing costs, help address the development of the industry, improve the profitability of the industry, effectively alleviate the delay of government subsidies and reduce the pressure on enterprises. Moreover, the complete resource database and information management system of the internet platform can provide insights for the government for determining pricing and recycling subsidies for manufacturers’ products.Regarding the development limitations, first, the “Internet +” recycling model requires a high degree of specialization for internet recycling operators, namely, third-party payment platforms. In the whole recycling process, the internet platform needs to be responsible for all online business, including the daily updating of the platform, and it also needs to take into account offline recycling network construction and the WEEE circulation warehousing business, which plays an irreplaceable role in the whole recycling system. Moreover, there are many kinds of WEEE resources, and the early recycling platform structure of the internet has higher technical requirements for WEEE classification, testing and evaluation, which need to be addressed by internet recycling operators. Therefore, we need a large number of experts and a large number of advanced technologies and equipment. The “Internet +” recycling model is not sustainable. However, China’s waste electronic and electrical product recycling technology and network platform construction are still not perfect and remain in the exploratory stage; thus, future development will face many challenges.Second, residents may still not grasp the concepts of environmental protection and green recycling, and the recycling network platform has not yet been popularized. There are many kinds and large quantities of WEEE, and the traditional recycling mode has a large control range. When the “Internet +” recycling mode and the traditional recycling mode begin to collide, the internet platform will inevitably be at a disadvantage. Under the traditional recycling mode, many small traders will choose illegal recycling, which will lead to unfriendly behaviours, such as environmental pollution. The trends of interest include environmental pollution and a lack of knowledge. This widespread illegal behaviour is still difficult to monitor, which will hinder the development of innovative recycling modes.According to research on the life cycle assessment method and its application in WEEE, the management system framework for product-based life cycle assessments can be expressed as shown in Since the emergence of WEEE, life cycle assessment analyses have been performed to identify different life cycle processes of e-waste by introducing life cycle ideas , conducted life cycle analysis  through quantitative and qualitative methods, and then implemented life cycle engineering via evaluation and data analysis, technology optimization, and product design innovation. In the whole life cycle management, such analyses focus on the whole process from waste generation to final treatment and adopt a series of theories and engineering technologies, such as green design, efficient recycling and dismantling, resource treatment, and product design, production, use and scrap recycling.The establishment of an “Internet +” recycling platform is conducive to the establishment of formal recycling channels. The WEEE fund policy of the government only subsidizes formal processing enterprises. The O2O recycling platform classifies WEEE sources, which not only reduces the pressure of recycling enterprises but also greatly promotes the sustainable development of society. On the one hand, the government needs incentives and certain rewards, and the internet platform, which is at the beginning of platform construction, requires sufficient funding and must introduce a large number of professionals. The government needs to help enterprises build platforms, reduce costs, and support the popularization of the operation and development of the “Internet +” recycling concept. In the implementation of capital policy, the recycling platform can be considered the subsidy object.Since the implementation of the funding policy in 2012, China’s waste EEE industry has made great progress, which is of great significance to the sustainable development of human societies. The implementation status of a funding policy is complicated, and many scholars have conducted in-depth research and discussed various aspects of funding policy. Since Internet + recycling was proposed in 2015, new development directions have been considered for the WEEE recycling industry.This paper makes an important theoretical contribution to the WEEE management and circular economy literature by analyzing the concepts, characteristics and resource circulation channels of the circular economy, which is an EPR, and the life cycle evaluation method. Also, through the case of GEM, the implementation of a circular economy and EPR is well demonstrated. Additionally, the paper promotes a better understanding of the development origins and their positive impact on society and the synchronous and mutual development of WEEE recycling by the promotion and implementation of WEEE fund policies.Additionally, this paper has managerial implications for WEEE management and WEEE fund management. This paper studied the operation mode of WEEE funds in various developed countries and regions and compared their operation modes with that in China. The operation mode of the WEEE fund in China is similar to that in foreign countries, although space to learn and improve is observed. Certain gaps in efficiency and cost are observed relative to that in foreign developed countries and regions, and problems in the recycling mode of developed countries and regions are also observed. Practice has shown that directly learning from foreign fund operation modes is infeasible; thus, it is particularly important to constantly improve and innovate the WEEE fund operation mode that conforms to China’s national conditions. In addition, this paper proposed the O2O recycling platform based on the “Internet +” recycling mode, which can effectively solve the problems encountered by WEEE recycling in China and provide a reference for China’s WEEE fund policy improvement.However, this paper is a desk-based study, and it is expected to see more case studies to justify the feasibility of the mode of a circular economy in WEEE management. Also, the mode of circular economy is one feasible mode of WEEE management, but with the rapid speed of technology iteration nowadays, it is expected that there will be more innovative approaches for WEEE management. Additionally, this paper concluded the “Internet +” recycling mode can solve the problems of WEEE recycling in China. However, whether such a mode can be directly applied or modified in other countries, especially developing countries, deserves further consideration. Moreover, China reviewed the WEEE fund in March 2021, and the future research on China’s WEEE funding policy can be based on the new regulation, which may bring about new insights into China’s WEEE management and fund operation mode.


Clinical procedure for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is mainly based on clinical records and short cognitive tests. However, low suspicion and difficulties in understanding test cut-offs make diagnostic accuracy being low, particularly in primary care. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are suitable to design computed aided diagnostic systems because of their features of generating relationships between variables and their learning capability. The main aim pursued in that work is to explore the ability of a hybrid ANN-based system in order to provide a tool to assist in the clinical decision-making that facilitates a reliable MCI estimate. The model is designed to work with variables usually available in primary care, including Minimental Status Examination (MMSE), Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), age, and years of education. It will be useful in any clinical setting. Other important goal of our study is to compare the diagnostic rendering of ANN-based system and clinical physicians. A sample of 128 MCI subjects and 203 controls was selected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The ANN-based system found the optimal variable combination, being AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and clinical utility index (CUI) calculated. The ANN results were compared with those from medical experts which include two family physicians, a neurologist, and a geriatrician. The optimal ANN model reached an AUC of 95.2%, with a sensitivity of 90.0% and a specificity of 84.78% and was based on MMSE, FAQ, and age inputs. As a whole, physician performance achieved a sensitivity of 46.66% and a specificity of 91.3%. CUIs were also better for the ANN model. The proposed ANN system reaches excellent diagnostic accuracy although it is based only on common clinical tests. These results suggest that the system is especially suitable for primary care implementation, aiding physicians work with cognitive impairment suspicions. The rising trend of an aging population is an enormous social and economic challenge because of the high prevalence of noncommunicable diseases . DementiThe MCI concept was proposed to group patients that only display intermediate cognitive deficit between normal aging and the dementia stage, without significant functional impact . These pDiagnostic procedure for CI is usually initiated by general practitioners. The level of detection at primary care setting is still low, in particular for MCI . DiagnosArtificial neural networks can be defined as a cognitive information processing structure  based upon models of brain function which are intended to interact with the environment. They are composed of highly interconnected computational elements with a graph topology. Its most appealing property is its learning capability. The ANN behavior emerges from structural changes driven by local learning rules, and they are capable of generalization. They can capture high-dimensional inputs and generate relationships between the inputs and outputs from a training set. In addition, this data-driven procedure also captures the similarity in the input that results in generalizations. They can approximate any real valued function mapping and face tasks close to processes which are thought to occur in the brain.ANNs can be characterized in the three following levels: connectivity topology, neurodynamics, and learning. Connectivity topology indicates the shape in which the different neural processing elements are interconnected among themselves . NeurodyMultiple computational and mathematical methods have been proposed in the diagnosis of dementia , 8, creaIn this paper, we introduce a different and innovative proposal, which is directed towards perhaps the most effective point of intervention, namely, the estimate of MCI. The main contributions of our proposal are the following: using ANNs, we provide a tool to assist in the clinical decision-making that facilitates a reliable MCI estimate, with simple and multimodal diagnostic criteria. It is useful in any clinical setting but specially in primary care. Our model provides performance levels greater than those normally obtained with clinical and/or computational methods. These levels are also above the threshold of diagnostic precision that is recommended as optimal to consider a biological test such as an AD biomarker , 14.The primary aim of this work is to explore the ability of a hybrid ANN-based system to differentiate healthy controls and MCI patients. A secondary objective is to compare the ANN-based system and physician's clinical diagnostic.http://adni.loni.usc.edu). The ADNI was launched in 2003 as a public-private partnership, led by Principal Investigator Michael W. Weiner, MD. The primary goal of ADNI has been to test whether serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease. ADNI is also a comprehensive study of imaging and omics in AD [Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database  relies on the possibility that a single neural network can be freely combined with other types of artificial neural networks. Each monolithic neural network can be considered as a module. An important aspect of the MNN is its biological background, as biological neural systems also are characterized by a combination of a hierarchy of networks. Modular neural networks are generally more powerful than flat unstructured ones . The keyThe Counterpropagation Network (CPN) is a hybrid modular neural network . It is sn-dimension Voronoi diagram and maps to a space with a reduced dimensionality, generally two. SOM presents an input layer that has a full-connectivity with the output layer by means of excitatory connections. The output layer is organized in an m-dimensional space which matches the desired map form. This output layer is characterized by a neighborhood relationship that is present between the nodes, typically from a square or hexagonal lattice shape or another geometric shape. This layer may even have a thyroidal connectivity structure. All of the units in this layer simultaneously present inhibitory lateral connections among neural neighbors as well as excitatory self-connections. Said connections are those that facilitate the competitive process while searching for the winning neuron. Its neurodynamics in practice are usually simplified by carrying out the Euclidean distance of the inputs and the neuron prototypes . The wiN, and consequently are able to generate topological relations . (3)ΔwlAn interesting aspect of this neural architecture lies in the neighborhood relationship between nodes, and the learning rates are functions of time. They decrease during the training period.The Grossberg layer carries out the second stage of the CPN. Its neurodynamic is given by a linear combination of the SOM output. Each unit on this layer rapidly reaches an equilibrium value equal to the value of the actual weight in the connection to the winning unit of the competitive layer, following (Equation ). (4)yj=A threshold on these output units can be established in classification processes. When the activation value of the unit is greater than the threshold, the input pattern is considered to belong to the class, which is represented by that unit. Management of this threshold allows the network to be tuned, resulting in classifiers with different sensitivities or specificities.outstar learning [dj is the value of the wanted output for the j neuron and γ is the learning rate.This layer uses learning . A straiThe advantages obtained with this model mainly lie in the reduction of complexity regarding equivalent monolithic models, allowing for simultaneous training of both layers, increasing strength and the incremental character of generated applications, and its rate in computing time. The increase in the computing rate is achieved because of the simplification in the self-organizing stage .Different configurations of CPNs, for all 24 corresponding feature vector, were developed by varying their parameters. Hexagonal and square neighborhoods in SOM, with toroidal and/or planar connectivity structure, were used. The threshold value of the Grossberg layer is chosen in such a way that the values of sensitivity and specificity for each network are the most similar possible. The CPN input space was normalized and scaled into linear format.The efficacy of the proposed diagnostic system is determined using different performance measures: sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the area under the ROC (AUC).Errors made by a classifier in a specific scope, such as the medical setting, can lead to a different level of importance. Two measures, sensitivity and specificity, are commonly used to consider this difference in the importance of the diagnosis. Sensitivity is the probability that a test result will be positive when the disease is present (true positive rate (TPR)), and specificity is the probability that a test result will be negative in the absence of the disease (true negative rate (TNR)). In the context of binary classifiers, these measures are equivalent to calculating accuracy.Another aspect that should be borne in mind when comparing classifiers or when their performance is analyzed is the precision of the classifiers on the parameter adjustment, since they influence detected TPR and TNR. The use of ROC curves  is a gooIn order to evaluate the clinical value of our proposal with regard to the simultaneous utilization of cognitive and functional measures, the clinical utility index (CUI)  and the kappa agreement [In order to define a clinically valuable diagnostic test or diagnostic system, high values of positive predictive value and high sensitivity values are needed. In a formal way, the positive utility index (for rule-in accuracy) is a product of sensitivity and positive predictive value, and the negative utility index (for rule-out accuracy) is a product of specificity and negative predictive value. Qualitative grades of CUI (CUI+ and CUI-) have been proposed, adapted from greement , 27 givigreement .Lastly, we have also compared the proposed method to reach a reliable and quick diagnosis of MCI, with physicians' performances. Specifically, a neurologist, a geriatrician, and two primary care physicians were involved. All the physicians are blinded with respect to patients, and their diagnoses are only based on the ADNI scales scores, exactly the same data as the hybrid ANN.Obtained results presented in this section show the efficacy of the proposed diagnostic system. As seen in The corresponding optimum cut-off over each of the FAQ, MMSE, and GDS tests was also calculated. These cut-offs allowed us to evaluate the efficacy of individual diagnostic instruments against our proposal, with simultaneous utilization of cognitive and functional measures. As shown in Lastly, as shown in We have got all proposed aims, and important conclusions have also reached, in this work. We designed an intelligent system, based on hybrid ANNs, providing a tool to aid in a reliable detection of MCI, which is underdiagnosed, in a primary care setting. It was built on the evaluation of the cognitive and functional domains, considering age and academic studies as modifying factors.The combination of MMSE, FAQ, and age led to the best diagnostic performance . The proWe propose, based on the obtained results from our study, that the best solution to solve MCI detection in a primary care setting and in the general consultations of neurology and geriatrics could be to use systems incorporating diagnostic aid based on hybrid ANNs. The use of systems goes beyond the use of cut-offs over different cognitive tests. Under this proposed scenario, it is possible to standardize diagnostic criteria for the detection of MCI, which at present is absent in MCI diagnosis as well as in AD. This tool can also contribute to standardize diagnostic procedures, speeding up the time in consultation and reducing the degree of uncertainty in diagnosis, which are some of the limitations that block the diagnostic work of primary care doctors. Thus, this tool can be specifically appropriate in primary care, which is where the patient enters into the majority of health public systems. It can also be used for the screening and early diagnosis of cognitive impairment. The use of this tool in the diagnosis of MCI is part of the expansion of the e-Health era.Our study reveals that the use of computational intelligence methods in the design of clinical decision systems for diagnostic aid in the setting of cognitive impairment and dementia is beneficial. These results are very promising and encourage us to continue research along this line. Similar to what occurs in clinical practice, the use of longitudinal information from different visits can be integrated into the ANNs improving precision and reliability of the computational models, so we propose to improve our advances by introducing longitudinal design and extending it into the bimodal diagnostic to the differential, where AD is present. The research is of particular interest given that the moment in which the MCI is diagnosed may be the most effective point for intervention and of significant use for public health planning. This early diagnosis can lead to a delayed progression from the preclinical stage of dementia to the full-blown clinical syndrome.