Sensing Technologies for Outdoor/Indoor Farming.

To face the increasing requirement for grains as the global population continues to grow, improving both crop yield and quality has become essential. Plant health directly impacts crop quality and yield, making the development of plant health-monitoring technologies essential. Variable sensing technologies for outdoor/indoor farming based on different working principles have emerged as important tools for monitoring plants and their microclimates.

Lignin Polyurethane Aerogels: Influence of Solvent on Textural Properties.

This study explores the innovative potential of native lignin as a sustainable biopolyol for synthesizing polyurethane aerogels with variable microstructures, significant specific surface areas, and high mechanical stability. Three types of lignin-Organosolv, Aquasolv, and Soda lignin-were evaluated based on structural characteristics, Klason lignin content, and particle size, with Organosolv lignin being identified as the optimal candidate. The microstructure of lignin polyurethane samples was adjustable by solvent choice: Gelation in DMSO and pyridine, with high affinity to lignin, resulted in dense materials with low specific surface areas, while the use of the low-affinity solvent e.

Silicon-Enhanced PVA Hydrogels in Flexible Sensors: Mechanism, Applications, and Recycling.

Hydrogels, known for their outstanding water absorption, flexibility, and biocompatibility, have been widely utilized in various fields. Nevertheless, their application is still limited by their relatively low mechanical performance. This study has successfully developed a dual-network hydrogel with exceptional mechanical properties by embedding amino-functionalized polysiloxane (APSi) networks into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix.

Strong Heteroatomic Bond-Induced Confined Restructuring on Ir-Mn Intermetallics Enable Robust PEM Water Electrolyzers.

Low-iridium acid-stabilized electrocatalysts for efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial for the market deployment of proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. Manipulating the in situ reconstruction of Ir-based catalysts with favorable kinetics is highly desirable but remains elusive. Herein, we propose an atomic ordering strategy to modulate the dynamic surface restructuring of catalysts to break the activity/stability trade-off.

Rapid Hydrolysis of Submicron Magnesium Catalyzed by In Situ-Generated Multi-Nickel Alloys.

The hydrolysis of lightweight metal-based materials is a promising technology for supplying hydrogen to portable fuel cells. Various additives for the catalytic modification of Mg hydrolysis have been investigated. Efficient catalysts and small magnesium particle sizes are key to enhancing the rate of hydrogen production.

Feed additives for methane mitigation: Recommendations for testing enteric methane-mitigating feed additives in ruminant studies.

There is a need for rigorous and scientifically-based testing standards for existing and new enteric methane mitigation technologies, including antimethanogenic feed additives (AMFA). The current review provides guidelines for conducting and analyzing data from experiments with ruminants intended to test the antimethanogenic and production effects of feed additives. Recommendations include study design and statistical analysis of the data, dietary effects, associative effect of AMFA with other mitigation strategies, appropriate methods for measuring methane emissions, production and physiological responses to AMFA, and their effects on animal health and product quality.

Balancing the Functionality and Biocompatibility of Materials with a Deep-Learning-Based Inverse Design Framework.

The rational design of molecules with the desired functionality presents a significant challenge in chemistry. Moreover, it is worth noting that making chemicals safe and sustainable is crucial to bringing them to the market. To address this, we propose a novel deep learning framework developed explicitly for inverse design of molecules with both functionality and biocompatibility.

Capillary-Enhanced Biomimetic Adhesion on Icy Surfaces for High-Performance Antislip Shoe-Soles.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 684,000 deaths/year due to slips and falls (SFs), with ∼38 million people requiring medical attention per annum. In particular, SFs on ice surfaces account for 45% of all SF incidents, costing over $100 billion globally in healthcare, intensive care, and insurance expenses. Current antislip solutions focus on hydrophobicity to repel interfacial fluids, aiming to maintain solid-to-solid contact.

Effect of Moisture Sorption and Lactose Type on Tablet Quality: A Hygroscopicity Study between Lactose Powder and Tablets.

Lactose is one of the most commonly used tablet diluents and fillers. However, the moisture sorption of lactose powder could exert detrimental effects on the excipient itself, as well as on the tablet quality. The effects of storage relative humidity (RH) conditions for different grades of lactose powders and tablets on compression behavior and tablet qualities were investigated.

Strong and tough bioplastics prepared by in-situ polymerization of ε-caprolactone-oligomers in lignocellulosic nanofiber network.

Cellulose biocomposites have emerged as attractive alternatives to fossil-based plastics because of their excellent renewability and biodegradability; however, their water resistance and mechanical properties remain challenging. Herein, a cellulose- containing bioplastic with high a reinforcement content, water stability, and toughness is reported. Lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (LCNF) were prepared by pretreating eucalyptus wood powder with a deep eutectic solvent and high-pressure homogenization.

[Carbon Emission Analysis and Carbon Reduction Strategy of Small and Medium-scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Cities and Towns].

The carbon emissions of three typical processes （AAO, MSBR, and oxidation ditch） were systematically analyzed from the perspective of the whole wastewater treatment process based on the annual data of eleven urban small and medium-scale WWTPs in the year 2022, and the effects of different influent characteristics （TP, TN, BOD, COD, influent volume, and COD/TN） on the carbon emissions were studied by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling （PLS-SEM） method. The results showed that indirect carbon emissions dominated the total carbon emissions of small and medium-scale WWTPs （69.5%）, and carbon emissions from electricity consumption were the largest source （43.

To kill or to piggyback: Switching of viral lysis-lysogeny strategies depending on host dynamics.

Viruses wield significant influence over microbial communities and ecosystem function in marine environments. However, the selection of viral life strategies and their impacts on microbial communities remains enigmatic. In this study, we utilized a large-scale macrocosm, established using water samples from a marine coastal region, to enable community-level investigation.

Amplified growth and heavy metal toxicity of Chlorococcum sp. from exposure to low-dose lanthanum(III).

Rare earth elements (REEs) are extensively utilized in industry, agriculture, advanced materials and other fields, leading to their dispersion in water bodies as emerging contaminants. Meanwhile, the coexistence of REEs and heavy metals (HMs) has become a novel form of water contamination (REE-HM co-contamination), though scientists have limited understanding of its hazards. Here, Chlorococcum sp.

Real-time shrimp freshness detection by anthocyanin-enriched wheat gluten/gelatin electrospun nanofiber films.

Electrospun nanofiber films exhibited significant potential as food freshness indicators (FFI) due to their structural advantages. Herein, a novel electrospinning film based on wheat gluten (WG), gelatin, and anthocyanins was fabricated to detect the freshness of shrimp. Compared with pure WG, an adjusted ratio of the WG to gelatin (W16E9, 16:9) improved physicochemical properties, reducing viscosity from 3.

Phase Engineering Facilitates O-O Coupling via Lattice Oxygen Mechanism for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution on Nickel-Iron Phosphide.

Nickel-iron-based catalysts are recognized for their high efficiency in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under alkaline conditions, yet the underlying mechanisms that drive their superior performance remain unclear. Herein, we revealed the molecular OER mechanism and the structure-intermediate-performance relationship of OER on a phosphorus-doped nickel-iron nanocatalyst (NiFeP). NiFeP exhibited exceptional activity and stability with an overpotential of only 210 mV at 10 mA cm in 1 M KOH and a cell voltage of 1.

Designing Ru-B-Cr Moieties to Activate the Ru Site for Acidic Water Electrolysis under Industrial-Level Current Density.

Developing highly efficient non-iridium-based active sites for acidic water splitting is still a huge challenge. Herein, unique Ru-B-Cr moieties have been constructed in RuO nanofibers (NFs) to activate Ru sites for water electrolysis, which overcomes the bottleneck of RuO-based catalysts usually possessing low activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and poor stability for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The fabricated Cr, B-doped RuO NFs exhibit low overpotentials of 205 and 379 mV for acidic HER and OER at 1 A cm with outstanding stability lasting 1000 and 188 h, respectively.

Magnesium Oxide-Supported Single Atoms with Fine-Modulated Steric Location for Polymerization Transfer Removal of Water Pollutants.

Organic pollutants removal via a polymerization transfer (PT) pathway based on the use of single-atom catalysts (SACs) promises efficient water purification with minimal energy/chemical inputs. However, the precise engineering of such catalytic systems toward PT decontamination is still challenging, and the conventional SACs are plagued by low structural stability of carbon material support. Here, we adopted magnesium oxide (MgO) as a structurally stable alternative for loading single copper (Cu) atoms to drive peroxymonosulfate-based Fenton-like reactions.

Changes and influencing factors of phytoplankton in the Tianjin coastal waters of Bohai Bay at the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak.

We studied the characteristics of plankton community and its response to water environmental factors at the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak (2019-2020) in the Tianjin coastal waters of Bohai Bay. The water quality showed a good trend during this period, due to the reduction of pollution brought by the runoff rivers and water exchange driven by the circulation. In the survey area, 68 species of diatomata and dinoflagellata phytoplankton were found, where diatomata was the dominant population.

Daily activities change is linked to acute angle closure occurrence in COVID-19 co-infected patients.

Objectives: To analyze the influence of daily activity-related factors associated with COVID-19 infection on the occurrence of acute angle closure (AAC).

Methods: A multicenter hospital-based study was conducted at 23 ophthalmic centers in 17 provincial-level regions across China to recruit patients with confirmed AAC during the post-lockdown time of COVID-19 (P-TOC) from Dec 7, 2022, to Jan 17, 2023, and three lockdown time of COVID-19 (TOC) periods, which included the TOC-2022 (Sep 7, 2022 - Dec 6, 2022), TOC-2021(Sep 7, 2021 - Jan 6, 2022) and TOC-2020 (Sep 7, 2020 - Jan 6, 2021). Patient information, including demographic, a questionnaire on daily activity changes during the AAC period, COVID-19 history, and eye examination results, was collected.

Intensification of quercetin nanobubble formulation and performance by multi-factor optimization and interaction analysis.

The natural flavonoid Quercetin (QT) showed a potential for various health benefits, but its pharmaceutical applications are hindered by low solubility, permeability, and limited bioavailability. This research aimed to synthesize, develop and optimize polylactic acid co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanobubbles using solvent evaporation method as a sustained delivery system for QT, thus improving stability and bioavailability. Through a four-factor, three-level Box Behnken Design, 29 experimental runs were carried out to optimize QT-PLGA nanobubbles.

Effect of AM fungi on the growth and powdery mildew development of Astragalus sinicus L. under water stress.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are widely existing soil microorganisms that form symbiotic relationships with most terrestrial plants. They are important for enhancing adversity resistance, including resistance to disease and water stresses. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether the benefits can be maintained in regulating the occurrence of plant diseases under drought, flooding stress and during water restoration.

Effects of Vegetation Restoration Type on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Associated Microbial Regulation on the Loess Plateau.

Investigating responses of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to vegetation restoration is important for global warming mitigation. On the Loess Plateau, a wide range of vegetation restoration strategies have been implemented to control land degradation. However, the thorough quantification of soil GHG emissions triggered by different modes of vegetation restoration is insufficient.

Dual-Energy Integration in Photoresponsive Micro/Nanomotors: From Strategic Design to Biomedical Applications.

Micro/nanomotors (MNMs) are highly versatile small-scale devices capable of converting external energy inputs into active motion. Among the various energy sources, light stands out due to its abundance and ability to provide spatiotemporal control. However, the effectiveness of light-driven motion in complex environments, such as biological tissues or turbid water, is often limited by light scattering and reduced penetration.

The role of digital inclusive finance in green innovation.

As environmental issues become more acute, green innovation has become a key driver in advancing environmental sustainability and a comprehensive green transition, paving the way towards a future of 'clear waters and blue skies' and enhanced environmental quality. In this vein, financial support is deemed an important facilitator of green innovation. Nonetheless, traditional financial institutions often restrict investment in such projects due to biases surrounding the returns of green projects and difficulties in risk assessment.