Study on the Extraction of Nervonic Acid from the Oil of Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge Seeds.

Seven fatty acids were detected by GC-MS in Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge seed oil extracted at different temperatures, including Palmitic acid C16:0, Stearic acid C18:0, Oleic acid C18:1, Eicosenoic acid C20:1, Docosenoic acid C22:1, Tetracosenoic acid C24:1, and Linoleic acid C18:2. The highest content of nervonic acid (NA) was found in Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge seed oil extracted at 70 °C. Three methods were selected to analyze the extraction rate of nervonic acid in Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge seed oil, including urea complexation, low-temperature solvent crystallization, and a combined treatment using these two methods. The final content of nervonic acid obtained was 14.07%, 19.66%, and 40.17%, respectively. The combined treatment method increased the purity of nervonic acid in Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge seed oil by 12.62 times. Meanwhile, thermogravimetric behavior analysis of samples extracted using different methods was conducted by thermogravimetric analyzer, which suggested that the thermal stability of the samples extracted by the combined treatment was enhanced. These results can provide a new process parameter and scientific basis for the extraction of NA. At the same time, FTIR and NMR were also used to characterize the combined extraction sample, and the structure of the samples was proved.

Preparation and Characterization of Prickly Ash Peel Oleoresin Microcapsules and Flavor Retention Analysis.

Prickly ash peel oleoresin (PPO) is a highly concentrated oil of Prickly ash essential oil and has a stronger aroma. However, its low water solubility, high volatility, difficulty in transport and storage, and decomposition by light, heat, and oxygen limit its wider application. To solve this problem, this study used freeze-drying or spray-drying, with soybean protein isolate (SPI) or gum Arabic (GA), combined with aqueous maltodextrin (MD) as the encapsulating agents to prepare four types of PPO microcapsules (POMs). Spray-dried microcapsules with GA as the encapsulating agent achieved a high encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 92.31 ± 0.31%, improved the thermal stability of the PPO, and had spherical morphology. (Headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) HS-SPME/GC-MS detected 41 volatile compounds in PPO; of these, linalool, ß-myrcene, sabinene, and D-limonene were identified as key flavor components. Principal component analysis (PCA) effectively distinguished the significant differences in flavor between PPO, spray-dried SPI/MD microcapsules (SS), and spray-dried GA/MD microcapsules (SG). During 15 days of air-exposure, the loss of flavor from SG (54.62 ± 0.54%) was significantly lower than PPO (79.45 ± 1.45%) and SS (57.55 ± 0.36%). During the air-exposure period, SG consistently had the highest antioxidant capacity, making it desirable for PPO packaging, and expanding its potential applications within the food industry.

Feasibility analysis of the market-oriented construction management model of drainage project based on evolutionary game.

The construction and operational costs of drainage projects are high. Traditional construction management models impose significant financial pressure on the government and reduce stakeholder motivation. Within the market-oriented development context, reforming the construction management model is crucial for breaking the current predicament. This research establishes a framework for the market-oriented construction management model for drainage projects and constructs a behavioral strategy evolutionary game model involving government, drainage management companies, and pollution discharge subjects. Through theoretical analyses and simulations, this research presents recommendations for the implementation of the market-oriented model. The research findings indicate that: (1) the market-oriented model is feasible both theoretically and practically. Pollution rights trading aids pollution discharge subjects in adapting to the market-oriented model. (2) Ensuring sewage charges remain within the interval [P1, P1 + L2 - L1] is crucial for trilateral cooperation. (3) Simulation analysis shows that intensifying policy support, reducing the cost of technological equipment upgrades, enhancing comprehensive income, lowering the pricing of sewage charges, and raising initial selection probability all promote a tendency towards ESS.

Industrial policies of integrated energy services in China: A perspective of qualitative analysis.

Integrated energy services (IESs) are a systematic improvement and structural optimization of energy from production to consumption. However, many studies on IESs have only focused on typical cases or engineering technologies. In this study, we adopted a qualitative analysis research method to qualitatively analyze 21 important policy documents related to IESs in China from 2015 to 2022. The research provides an overview of the policy landscape and the key incentives for IESs implementation in China, identifies the challenges and opportunities for further expansion of IESs beyond industrial parks, then discuss the implications for future research and policy development. The research of the policy documents reveals that IESs as a means to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, provides a deeper understanding of the potential of IESs in promoting energy security and mitigating climate change in China and the world, and strives to bridge the gap between IESs engineering sciences and social sciences.

Research on the pathway of digital technology to drive China's energy sector to achieve its carbon neutrality goal.

With global climate change looming large, there is an urgent need for China's energy sector to take steps towards carbon neutrality. This study aims to explore how digital technologies can contribute to the pathway for China's energy sector to achieve carbon neutrality. By analyzing carbon neutrality policies and digital technology applications, we propose a systematic pathway framework to guide China's energy sector in integrating digital technology to accelerate the pace of achieving carbon neutrality in the energy sector. We first review the current status of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality targets in China's energy sector, and in light of the development trend of modern digital technologies, we propose key application areas for digital technologies in realizing carbon neutrality in the energy sector. Second, we detail the specific applications and effects of digital technologies in energy supply side optimization, energy utilization efficiency improvement, carbon sink management, and smart grid construction. Through theoretical modeling and empirical analysis, we demonstrate the great potential of digital technologies in carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality in the energy sector and reveal the key role of digital technologies in carbon-neutral pathways. Finally, we propose effective technology implementation measures and point out important challenges and solution paths for digital technologies in carbon-neutral practices. This study provides a scientific basis and guidance for China's energy sector to achieve carbon neutrality with the help of digital technologies and promotes the important steps towards carbon neutrality in China.

Assessment of green technology innovation on energy-environmental efficiency in China under the influence of environmental regulation considering spatial effects.

Enhancing energy-environmental efficiency (EEE) is crucial for achieving energy conservation and emission reduction goals. Investigating the mechanism through which green technology innovation (GTI) affects EEE and understanding the role of environmental regulation (ER) in this process provides a theoretical basis for efficient utilization of GTI and ER. This study employs a Dynamic Spatial Durbin Model and utilizes panel data from 2003 to 2017 for 30 Chinese provinces to examine the impact of GTI on EEE in the presence of ER. The empirical results reveal: (1) GTI has a U-shaped impact on EEE, primarily driven by SubGI. (2) GTI's influence on EEE is predominantly reflected in PTE, also stemming from SubGI. (3) The interaction term between ER and GTI is 0.0022, while the GTI coefficient is - 0.0741, and the GTI quadratic term coefficient is 0.0007, all statistically significant. This implies that ER mitigates the negative impact of GTI on EEE while strengthening its positive effect. These findings provide empirical evidence and policy insights for more effectively utilizing GTI and ER to enhance EEE and achieve energy conservation and emissions reduction goals.

Comparative Analysis of Key Odorants and Aroma Characteristics in Hot-Pressed Yellow Horn (Xanthoceras sorbifolia bunge) Seed Oil Via Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography-Olfactory-Mass Spectrometry.

Volatile compounds (VOCs) present in the oil extracted from yellow horn seeds were first analyzed using GC-IMS and GC-O-MS at varying roasting temperatures. A total of 97 VOCs were detected using GC-IMS, while 77 were tentatively identified using GC-O-MS. Moreover, both methods allowed the identification of 24 VOCs, of which the type of aldehydes is the most abundant. Combining the results of GC-IMS, GC-O-MS, OAVs, and VIP, it was concluded that hexanal, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, heptanal, 2-pentylfuran, 1-hexanol, and 1-octen-3-ol were the key aroma compounds. The PLS-DA and OPLS-DA models have demonstrated the ability to discriminate between different oil roasting temperatures with high accuracy. The roasting temperature of 160 °C was found to yield the highest content of main aroma substances, indicating its optimality for yellow horn seed oil production. These findings will prove beneficial for optimizing industrial production and enhancing oil aroma control.

Research on the tripartite evolution strategy of prefabricated building promotion based on the deepening of demand-side interests.

Under construction industry upgrading and environmental protection requirements, promoting prefabricated buildings is very important, but its development varies significantly in different regions. For example, it only accounts for 20% of the new construction area in China, and the overall development level is low. The promotion of prefabricated buildings involves multiple interests. Then, how to encourage all stakeholders to work together to promote its development is a crucial issue. This study obtains an evolutionary game model among the government, developers, and purchasers. Then the stability strategies of the stakeholders are given conditions. Finally, numerical simulation is used to validate theoretical findings and determine the sensitivity of key parameters to a subject's behavior. The results show that: (1) There are two key factors that restrict the cooperation of stakeholders to promote prefabricated buildings, including the lack of government subsidies and the weak demand of the purchasers; (2) The government's overall subsidy should not be too high, exceeding the government's expenditure on environmental protection, and the subsidies for developers and purchasers must be reasonably allocated to effectively compensate for development benefits and purchase costs under limited expenditures. (3) Improving the residential environment of prefabricated buildings can significantly enhance the vested interests of purchasers, make up for their purchase costs, increase their willingness to purchase, and thus reduce the sales risk of developers.

Helicobacter pylori infection in humans and phytotherapy, probiotics, and emerging therapeutic interventions: a review.

The global prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection remains high, indicating a persistent presence of this pathogenic bacterium capable of infecting humans. This review summarizes the population demographics, transmission routes, as well as conventional and novel therapeutic approaches for H. pylori infection. The prevalence of H. pylori infection exceeds 30% in numerous countries worldwide and can be transmitted through interpersonal and zoonotic routes. Cytotoxin-related gene A (CagA) and vacuolar cytotoxin A (VacA) are the main virulence factors of H. pylori, contributing to its steep global infection rate. Preventative measures should be taken from people's living habits and dietary factors to reduce H. pylori infection. Phytotherapy, probiotics therapies and some emerging therapies have emerged as alternative treatments for H. pylori infection, addressing the issue of elevated antibiotic resistance rates. Plant extracts primarily target urease activity and adhesion activity to treat H. pylori, while probiotics prevent H. pylori infection through both immune and non-immune pathways. In the future, the primary research focus will be on combining multiple treatment methods to effectively eradicate H. pylori infection.

Research on urban path selection of construction vehicles based on bi-objective optimization.

With the implementation of urban central rail transit and old city reconstruction projects, construction vehicles frequently enter and depart the urban area. And because of its large volume and other characteristics, it increases the risk probability and severity of urban traffic accidents. This study takes the transportation path selection of construction vehicles as the breakthrough point, weighs the transportation efficiency and safety of construction vehicles, establishes a bi-objective optimization model, involving constraints such as height limit, weight limit, speed limit, direction limit and traffic limit and uses genetic algorithm to solve it. Finally, through case analysis, the user preference is adjusted to conduct functional test and description of the model. The results indicate that the model has the function of transportation vehicle path optimization. In the meantime, compared with the safest route, the time-consuming of the optimal route decreases by 16% and the risk increases by 7.4%, while the time-consuming of it increases by 5% and the risk decreases by 15.4% compared with the shortest route. Moreover, the corresponding coefficients of time-consuming and safety preference can reach about 0.65, and the relevant stakeholders have high acceptance of the route. Further improvement of construction vehicle management mechanism based on path optimization is one of the limited ways to effectively improve the current situation of construction vehicle management.

Theoretical insights into photo-induced isomerization mechanisms of phenylsulfinyl radical PhSO˙.

Sulfinyl radicals (R-SO˙) play important roles in lots of reactions, while the isomer oxathiyl radicals (R-OS˙) and the isomerization between them are rarely observed due to the poor stability of R-OS˙. In this work, the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and its multi-state second order perturbation (MS-CASPT2) methods were employed to study the photo-induced reaction mechanisms of phenylsulfinyl radical PhSO˙ 1 and its isomer phenoxathiyl radical PhOS˙ 2. Our results show that 1 and 2 have similar singly occupied molecular orbitals in the ground state but different properties in the excited state, which determine their diverse behaviors after irradiation. Radical 1 can generate 2 by light irradiation, but 2 produces isomerization product 3 (2-hydroxyphenylthiyl radical) and ring-opening product 4 (acyclic thioketoketene radical) in two paths via S atom migration intermediate Int1 (2-carbonylcyclohexadienthiyl radical). The former path involves consequent hydrogen shift reactions with a strongly exothermic process while the latter path involves both ring-expansion and ring-opening processes with a high barrier, resulting in a structural and energetic preference for the former path. Moreover, we revealed several conical intersections that participate in the reactions and facilitate the photochemical processes. Our calculations not only remain consistent with and clarify the experimental observations (X. Zeng, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140(31), 9972-9978) but also enrich the knowledge of sulfinyl radicals and isomer oxathiyl radicals.

Theoretical study on the photochemistry of furoylazides: Curtius rearrangement and subsequent reactions.

Organic azides are an efficient source of nitrenes, which serve as vigorous intermediates in many useful organic reactions. In this work, the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and its second-order perturbation (CASPT2) methods were employed to study the photochemistry of 2-furoylazide 1 and 3-furoylazide 5, including the Curtius rearrangement to two furylisocyanates (3 and 7) and subsequent reactions to the final product cyanoacrolein 9. Our calculations show that the photoinduced Curtius rearrangement of the two furoylazides takes place through similar stepwise mechanisms via two bistable furoylnitrenes 2 and 6. However, the decarbonylation and ring-opening process of 7 to 9 prefers a stepwise mechanism involving the 3-furoylnitrene intermediate 8, while 3 to 9 goes in a concerted asynchronous way without the corresponding 2-furoylnitrene intermediate 4. Importantly, we revealed that several conical intersections play key roles in the photochemistry of furoylazides. Our results are not only consistent and also make clear the experimental observations (X. Zeng, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140, 10-13), but additionally provide important information on the chemistry of furoylazides and nitrenes.