A step towards carbon neutrality in E7: The role of environmental taxes, structural change, and green energy.

To achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns in the modern world, emerging countries are concentrating more on how economic variables may employ carbon neutrality targets appropriately. Using renewable energy, structural changes initiative, and imposing environmental taxes are all part of the plan to achieve the carbon neutrality goal in terms of reduced carbon emissions (CO2), haze pollutants, and greenhouse gases (GHG). Environmental taxation, renewable energy, structural changes, trade openness, and foreign direct investment (FDI) are aspects taken into account in this study, along with the long-term viability of the natural ecology in the E7 (China, Turkey, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico) economies. The Driscoll Kraay fixed effect OLS technique and the Method-of-Moment quantile (MMQ) regression technique were adopted for the baseline analysis for the data span of 2000 to 2020. From the empirical analysis, it was discovered that environmental Tax, structure change, and renewable energy have a negative connection with carbon emissions for the understudy countries. Moreover, the pollutant haven hypothesis (PHH) was confirmed since the findings discovered a positively significant relation involving FDI and carbon emission. Similarly, trade openness was seen to have a positive connection with carbon emissions. Thus, it is concluded that effective environmental taxation, renewable energy enhancement, and structure changes mitigate pollution while trade openness and FDI inflow enhance carbon emission for the E7 economies. According to the results, rigorous environmental tax rules will enable enterprises to transition manufacturing to green and sustainable alternatives. Finally, the report recommends that transferring tax money to research and development of sustainable technology programmes will enable governments to meet the SDG-7 and SDG-13 objectives of the United Nations.

Analyzing the Interaction between Anthocyanins and Native or Heat-Treated Whey Proteins Using Infrared Spectroscopy.

The color stability of anthocyanins (ACN) has been shown to be improved by interaction with whey proteins (WP). In this study, we explore the ACN-WP interaction using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (IR). ACN from purple corn, grape, and black carrot (50 µM) were evaluated. IR spectra (4000-700 cm-1) were collected for native and preheated (40-80 °C) WP (5 mg/mL) and ACN-WP mixtures at pH 7.4. Soft independent modeling of class analogy was used to analyze the IR data. The WP secondary structure changed after heat treatments and after interaction with ACN. As expected, the WP α-helices decreased, and ß-sheet increased after heat treatment. The intensities of the WP amide I and II bands decreased after ACN addition, revealing a decrease in the WP α-helix content. Higher preheating temperatures (70-80 °C) resulted in a more disordered WP structure that favored stronger WP-ACN interactions related to amide III changes. Addition of ACN stabilized WP structure due to heat denaturation, but different ACN structures had different binding affinities with WP. WP structure had less change after interaction with ACN with simpler structures. These results increase our understanding of ACN-WP interactions, providing a potential strategy to extend anthocyanin color stability by WP addition.

Transformation of Colloidal Quantum Dot: From Intraband Transition to Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance.

An increase in the carrier density of semiconductor nanocrystals can gradually change the origin of the optical property from the excitonic transition to the localized surface plasmon resonances. Here, we present the evolution of the electronic transition of self-doped Ag2Se colloidal quantum dots, from the intraband transition to the localized surface plasmon resonances along with a splitting of the intraband transition (1Pe-1Se). The minimum fwhm of the split intraband transition is only 23.7 meV, which is exceptionally narrow compared to that of metal oxide nanocrystals showing LSPRs, inferring that the electron-electron scattering is significantly suppressed due to the smaller carrier density. The splitting of the intraband transition mainly results from the asymmetrical crystal structure of the tetragonal Ag2Se CQDs and becomes distinct when the nanocrystal changes its crystal structure from the cubic to tetragonal structure. Maximizing the discrete energy levels in the quantum dot along with mixing with plasmonic characters may provide opportunities to fully harness merits of both the quantum confinement effect and localized surface plasmon resonance characters.

Realizing low-carbon development in a developing and industrializing region: Impacts of industrial structure change on CO2 emissions in southwest China.

China is undergoing rapid industrial structure change, resulting in great disparities in industrialization stages and CO2 emission patterns across regions. In this study, we focused on the southwest economic zone (including Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou), which is in the middle-industrialization stage and aims to mitigate CO2 emissions during strategic industrial transformation. We applied a framework with refined indicators based on input-output analysis (IOA) and structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to characterize and quantify the impact of industrial structure change on CO2 emissions during 2002-2012. In this period, construction ranked first in CO2 emission due to relatively high-carbon production structure and increasing share in final demand, which increased construction related CO2 emissions. Furthermore, we found that diversification in development and competitive industries had different impacts on CO2 emission trends. Yunnan and Guizhou experienced a transition from light manufacturing to resource-related manufacturing; therefore, CO2 emissions in resource-related manufacturing showed an increasing trend due to the extensive production structure in the two provinces, while it showed a decreasing trend in the other three provinces. Moreover, Chongqing, Sichuan, and Guangxi showed an apparent expansion trend in machinery manufacturing and related CO2 emissions, driven by investment, final demand structure, and production structure changes. Meanwhile, this zone avoided large-scale CO2 emissions in these sectors through net imports, by making good use of geographical advantages and trade structure. The CO2 emissions of the service sectors showed increasing trends due to increasing proportions in consumption structure and final demand structure. Furthermore, this led to a transition from consumer services to producer services with expansion. Among the five provinces, Chongqing had the lowest-carbon development pattern, owing to its higher technical levels of manufacturing and relatively lower-carbon production structure, which could be a reference point for rapid low-carbon economic development under middle industrialization for the other provinces or regions with the similar industrial characteristics.

The effect of chitosan-based gel on second degree burn wounds.

OBJECTIVE: Chitosan has been widely used in wound healing, including burn wounds. ChitoHeal gel, a novel chitosan-based gel, is studied to assess the effectiveness and rate of wound healing in second degree burns compared with traditional wound dressings. METHOD: New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups, control and treatment. Second degree burn wounds were created using a hot round aluminium stamp. It was heated up to 80°C and applied 14 seconds without additional pressure. Morphological, histological, and molecular parameters were used to evaluate the effects of the chitosan-based gel on burn healing. RESULTS: The study exhibited that in the control group with an increase in the number of keratinocytes due to the papillary growth of the epidermis, melanocyte pigmentation increased, and some melanin was observed in the dermis. In the treatment group, however, there was no hyper pigmentation nor overgrowth of the epidermis. Transmission electron microscopy micrographs of healed epidermis in treatment group showed melanocyte with normal morphology. CONCLUSION: The result of the present study is likely to be important for the development of novel strategies for wound healing using chitosan gel.

Application of acid-activated Bauxsol for wastewater treatment with high phosphate concentration: Characterization, adsorption optimization, and desorption behaviors.

Acid-activated Bauxsol was applied to treat wastewater with high phosphate concentration in a batch adsorption system in this paper. The effect of acid activation on the change of Bauxsol structure was systematically investigated. The mineralogical inhomogeneity and intensity of Bauxsol decreased after acid activation, and FeCl3·2H2O and Al(OH)3 became the dominant phases of acid-activated Bauxsol adsorption. Moreover, the BET surface area and total pore volume of Bauxsol increased after acid activation. Interaction of initial solution pH and adsorption temperature on phosphate adsorption onto acid-activated Bauxsol was investigated by using response surface methodology with central composite design. The maximum phosphate adsorption capacity of 192.94 mg g(-1) was achieved with an initial solution pH of 4.19 and an adsorption temperature of 52.18 °C, which increased by 7.61 times compared with that of Bauxsol (22.40 mg g(-1)), and was higher than other adsorbents. Furthermore, the desorption studies demonstrated that the acid-activated Bauxsol was successfully regenerated with 0.5 mol L(-1) HCl solution. The adsorption capacity and desorption efficiency of acid-activated Bauxsol maintained at 80.48% and 93.02% in the fifth adsorption-desorption cycle, respectively, suggesting that the acid-activated Bauxsol could be repeatedly used in wastewater treatment with high phosphate concentration.

Acid-base balance and changes in haemolymph properties of the South African rock lobsters, Jasus lalandii, a palinurid decapod, during chronic hypercapnia.

Few studies exist reporting on long-term exposure of crustaceans to hypercapnia. We exposed juvenile South African rock lobsters, Jasus lalandii, to hypercapnic conditions of pH 7.3 for 28 weeks and subsequently analysed changes in the extracellular fluid (haemolymph). Results revealed, for the first time, adjustments in the haemolymph of a palinurid crustacean during chronic hypercapnic exposure: 1) acid-base balance was adjusted and sustained by increased bicarbonate and 2) quantity and oxygen binding properties of haemocyanin changed. Compared with lobsters kept under normocapnic conditions (pH 8.0), during prolonged hypercapnia, juvenile lobsters increased bicarbonate buffering of haemolymph. This is necessary to provide optimum pH conditions for oxygen binding of haemocyanin and functioning of respiration in the presence of a strong Bohr Effect. Furthermore, modification of the intrinsic structure of the haemocyanin molecule, and not the presence of molecular modulators, seems to improve oxygen affinity under conditions of elevated pCO2.

Simple amino acid tags improve both expression and secretion of Candida antarctica lipase B in recombinant Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli is the best-established microbial host strain for production of proteins and chemicals, but has a weakness for not secreting high amounts of active heterologous proteins to the extracellular culture medium, of which origins belong to whether prokaryotes or eukaryotes. In this study, Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB), a popular eukaryotic enzyme which catalyzes a number of biochemical reactions and barely secreted extracellularly, was expressed functionally at a gram scale in culture medium by using a simple amino acid-tag system of E. coli. New fusion tag systems consisting of a pelB signal sequence and various anion amino acid tags facilitated both intracellular expression and extracellular secretion of CalB. Among them, the N-terminal five aspartate tag changed the quaternary structure of the dimeric CalB and allowed production of 1.9 g/L active CalB with 65 U/mL activity in culture medium, which exhibited the same enzymatic properties as the commercial CalB. This PelB-anion amino acid tag-based expression system for CalB can be extended to production of other industrial proteins hardly expressed and exported from E. coli, thereby increasing target protein concentrations and minimizing purification steps.

Chewing characteristics of rice and reasons for differences between three rice types with different amylose contents.

This study investigated the physicochemical structural changes in different types of rice (japonica rice [JR], indica rice [IR], and waxy rice [WR]) during oral digestion and explored the reasons for differences in oral digestion between the three different types. The results showed that, compared with JR (42.41 ± 3.06 mg/g) and WR (26.82 ± 0.67 mg/g), IR had the highest amylose content (49.95 ± 3.33 mg/g) and, related to this, hydrolysis rate. A correlation analysis showed that, the higher the amylose content, the harder the texture of rice, leading to longer chewing times and, as a result, a greater degree of hydrolysis. In addition, the higher the amylose content, the lower the exudate content and viscosity of rice, which affects chewing time and frequency, thereby affecting the degree of hydrolysis. Both X-ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy indicated that cooked IR had the loosest structure and the most pores, that were conducive to chewing and crushing and therefore contributed to the high hydrolysis rate. Analysis of the exudate structure showed that the amount of exudate affected rice pores. More exudates lead to pore coverage and a tight structure.

The structure change of polygonatum polysaccharide and the protect effect of Polygonatum crtonema Hua extracts and polysaccharide on cisplatin-induced AKI mice during nine-steam-nine-bask processing.

Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua (PC) with different processing degrees during the nine-steam-nine-bask processing was selected as the research object to investigate the changes of polysaccharide structure and their protective effect on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) in mice. The polysaccharides (PCP0, PCP4 and PCP9) were extracted, whose polysaccharide contents were 62.45 %, 60.34 % and 58.23 %, respectively. After processing, the apparent structure of PCPs became looser, and the apparent viscosity and the particle size were decreased. The PCPs were acidic polysaccharides containing pyran rings, and furan rings were present in PCP4 and PCP9. Besides, processing destroyed the original ß-glucoside bond in PCP0. PCPs were all composed of Rha, Man, Glu, Gal, Xyl and Ara with different ratio. In addition, AKI mice model was successfully constructed by single intraperitoneal injection of 15 mg/kg cisplatin. PC extracts (3.0750 g/kg) and PCP (0.1599 g/kg) significantly decreased the kidney function, liver function, and percentage of renal cell apoptosis, and improved the kidney structure of AKI mice (p < 0.05). PC and PCP have protective effect on cisplatin-induced AKI mice, and the protective effect was improved with the increase of processing degree. Under the same processing degree, the protective effect of PC mixed extract was better than that of PCP.

Dynamics of α-glucan from Agrocybe cylindracea water extract at different developmental stages and its structure characteristics.

Polysaccharides are the important bioactive macromolecules in Agrocybe cylindracea, but their changes are as yet elusive during developmental process. This study investigated the dynamic changes of polysaccharides from A. cylindracea fruiting body water extract at four developmental stages and its structure characteristics. Results revealed that the polysaccharides from A. cylindracea water extract significantly increased at the pileus expansion stage and the increased fraction could be α-glucan. The further purification and identification indicated that this α-glucan was a glycogen. It had typical morphology of ß particles with a molecular weight of 1375 kDa. Its backbone comprised α-D-(1 â†’ 4)-Glcp and α-D-(1 â†’ 4,6)-Glcp residues at a ratio of 5:1, terminated by α-D-Glcp residue. Rheological behavior suggested that it was a Newtonian fluid at the concentration of 1 %. In addition, despite both the glycogen and natural starch were composed of D-glucose, they exhibited the entirely distinct Maltese cross characteristic and unique crystalline structure. This study is the first to demonstrate the presence of abundant glycogen in the pileus expansion stage of A. cylindracea, which provides new insights on the change patterns of fungal polysaccharides.

Are spatial imbalances in industrial structural change widening the common wealth gap?

The evolution of China's industrial structure from 2010 to 2021 is assessed based on the rationalization and sophistication of its industries. The Theil index quantifies spatial variability, while the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) investigates if changes in industrial structure imbalance will increase wealth disparity. The study's findings indicate a noticeable spatial imbalance in industrial structure change. The overall level of common wealth is low but steadily increasing, following a stepped-down structure of "east-center-west." Additionally, the north and south regions exhibit a pattern of "high in the north and low in the south." There is a pattern of higher values in the north and lower values in the south. In terms of common wealth and its dimensions, there is a ladder-like pattern with high values at the core decreasing towards the west. Between 2010 and 2021, the common wealth development shifted from a lower level to a higher one. Beijing, Jiangsu, and Shanghai constantly ranked in the top echelon, while Guangxi remained in the fifth echelon. The speed and difficulty of transitioning between echelons vary. Moving from the fourth echelon to the third echelon takes longer, while transitioning from the third echelon to higher echelons presents tougher challenges. Spatial imbalances in industrial structure changes widen the gap in common wealth. In particular, the impact of the gap in the advanced industrial structure on the common wealth gap is significantly higher than that of the gap in industrial rationalization. Reducing disparities in advanced industrial structure is more effective in reducing the overall wealth gap.

Nonvolatile Isomorphic Valence Transition in SmTe Films.

The burgeoning field of optoelectronic devices necessitates a mechanism that gives rise to a large contrast in the electrical and optical properties. A SmTe film with a NaCl-type structure demonstrates significant differences in resistivity (over 105) and band gap (approximately 1.45 eV) between as-deposited and annealed films, even in the absence of a structural transition. The change in the electronic structure and accompanying physical properties is attributed to a rigid-band shift triggered by a valence transition (VT) between Sm2+ and Sm3+. The stress field within the SmTe film appears closely tied to the mixed valence state of Sm, suggesting that stress is a driving force in this VT. By mixing the valence states, the formation energy of the low-resistive state decreases, providing nonvolatility. Moreover, the valence state of Sm can be regulated through annealing and device-operation processes, such as applying voltage and current pulses. This investigation introduces an approach to developing semiconductor materials for optoelectrical applications.

The effect of limited proteolysis by different proteases on the formation of whey protein fibrils.

Four proteases: trypsin, protease A, pepsin, and protease M were selected to modify whey protein concentrate (WPC) at a low degree of hydrolysis (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%) before adjusting to pH 2.0 and heating at 90°C to gain insight into the influence of proteolysis on fibril formation. The kinetics of fibril formation were performed on native and modified WPC using the fluorescent dye thioflavin T in conjunction with transmission electron microscopy and far-UV circular dichroism spectroscopy for the morphological and secondary structural analyses. The change in surface hydrophobicity and content of free sulfhydryl groups were also observed during the formation of fibrils for the native and modified WPC. The content of aggregation and thioflavin T kinetic data indicated that the ability of fibril formation was apparently different for WPC modified by the 4 proteases. Whey protein concentrate modified by trypsin aggregated more during heating and the fibril formation rate was faster than that of the native WPC. Whey protein concentrate modified by the other proteases showed slower aggregation with worse amyloid fibril morphology. Compared with the native WPC, the structure of WPC changed differently after being modified by proteases. The state of α-helix structure for modified WPC played the most important role in the formation of fibrils. Under the mild conditions used in this work, the α-helix structure of WPC modified by trypsin caused little destruction and resulted in fibrils with good morphology; the content of α-helices for WPC modified by other proteases decreased to 36.19 to 50.94%; thus, fibril formation was inhibited. In addition, it was beneficial for the modified WPC to form fibrils such that the surface hydrophobicity increased and the content of free sulfhydryl groups slightly decreased during heating.

Regulation of action sites for reducing the allergenicity of pea protein based on enzymatic hydrolysis with Alcalase.

Enzymatic hydrolysis could reduce the allergenicity of pea protein. Box-Behnken model was used to extract vicilin with the lowest and highest allergenicity, and enzymatic hydrolysis, electrophoresis, spectroscopy, bioinformatics, and peptidomics of Nano-LC-MS/MS were utilized to explore the relationship between reduced allergenicity and structural changes. After enzymatic hydrolysis, the allergenicity of L-vicilin hydrolysates (L-VHs) and H-vicilin hydrolysates (H-VHs) decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Furthermore, large-molecular-weight subunits in L-vicilin and H-vicilin were decomposed into <11 kDa peptides, and their surface hydrophobicity were increased. The OH, NH, and CO groups underwent stretching vibrations, and α-helix and ß-sheet were transformed into ß-turn and random coils. Additionally, linear epitopes of P13918, D3VND7, D3VNE2, and P02856 in L-VHs and H-VHs were cut into different fragments. Among them, distinct linear epitope fragments of them might be responsible for the difference in their allergenicity. Therefore, enzymatic hydrolysis with Alclase could effectively reduce the allergenicity of vicilin by regulating sensitization sites.

Effect of ultrasound on mass transfer during vacuum impregnation and selected quality parameters of products: A case study of carrots.

Many unit operations in the food industry are diffusional driven. These processes are usually very slow and difficult to handle for specific groups of raw materials. Vacuum impregnation (VI) is one example. Impregnating low-porous or densely-structured materials is problematic and often requires low pressure, which can negatively affect product quality and be expensive in energy consumption. This research aimed to evaluate ultrasound (US) as a factor in intensifying mass transfer and enhancing its effectiveness in the VI process. Experiments on impregnation enhanced with ultrasound applied at different stages of the process were carried out. Carrot, a difficult-to-process raw material, was impregnated with ascorbic acid as a mass transfer marker. The process's effectiveness and selected quality parameters were then analyzed. Ultrasound was found to have a positive influence on mass transfer during VI. The effects of ultrasound enhancement were different for particular processes, and depended on the stage of the application and duration of US exposure. The greatest increase in the tissue's ascorbic acid content (60% compared to the non-ultrasound-assisted process) was observed when ultrasound was applied continuously throughout the process. Applying ultrasound only during the relaxation (at atmospheric pressure) or aeration periods resulted in a similar effect - c.a. 20% increase in the marker's content. The smallest increase (10%) was observed when ultrasound was applied only during the vacuum period. Applying US did not result in any unfavorable color change. In most cases, pH decreased, which is favorable for the semi-product's stability. The carotenoid and phenolic compounds' content did not decrease. The results unequivocally indicate that ultrasound has great potential for use as a mass transfer accelerator in the VI process for low porosity materials. The effectiveness of the US is influenced not only by pressure but also by exposure duration. The synergistic effect observed using ultrasound-enhanced impregnation throughout the process confirmed this hypothesis.

Low Temperature Nitriding of Metal Alloys for Surface Mechanical Performance.

Metallic alloys are, by essence, ductile and stiff and can support loads without sudden rupture. This ductility becomes a disadvantage when applications require wear resistance. In this case, the hardening of the surface is required while retaining a core performance. Here, nitriding at low temperatures has proven to be beneficial and has potential. In fact, any phase transitions or unwanted compound precipitations that occur at higher temperatures have to be avoided as they would have a deleterious effect on the chemical homogeneity and mechanical properties. The present contribution summarizes the achievements made with such treatments on metallic alloys. We considered the most popular treatments, namely plasma, implantation, and gas nitridings.

Impact of Processing and Physicochemical Parameter on Hibiscus sabdariffa Calyxes Biomolecules and Antioxidant Activity: From Powder Production to Reconstitution.

Hibiscus sabdariffa is a tropical plant with red calyxes whose anthocyanins, phenols, and antioxidant activity make it attractive to consumers both from a nutritional and medicinal standpoint. Its seasonality, perishability, and anthocyanin instability, led to the setup of stabilization methods comprising drying and powdering. However, its properties can often be altered during these stabilization processes. Treatments such as dehumidified-air-drying, infrared drying, and oven-drying, and their combination showed better quality preservation. Moreover, powder production enables superior biomolecule extractability which can be linked to a higher bioaccessibility. However, the required temperatures for powder production increase the bioactive molecules degradation leading to their antioxidant activity loss. To overcome this issue, ambient or cryogenic grinding could be an excellent method to improve the biomolecule bioavailability and accessibility if the processing steps are well mastered. To be sure to benefit from the final nutritional quality of the powder, such as the antioxidant activity of biomolecules, powders have to offer excellent reconstitutability which is linked to powder physicochemical properties and the reconstitution media. Typically, the finest powder granulometry and using an agitated low-temperature reconstitution media allow for improving anthocyanin extractability and stability. In this review, the relevant physicochemical and processing parameters influencing plant powder features from processing transformation to reconstitution will be presented with a focus on bioactive molecules and antioxidant activity preservation.

Delineating the dynamic transformation of gluten morphological distribution, structure, and aggregation behavior in noodle dough induced by mixing and resting.

To understand the formation of gluten network and its regulation on noodle qualities upon mixing and resting, the dynamic distribution and molecular transformation of gluten were tracked and quantified. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed that appropriate mixing (8 min) and resting (60 min) induced a compact gluten network with higher gluten junctions. Both height and width of protein molecular chains were increased by hydration during mixing and reduced after excessive resting (90 min). According to the size exclusion/reversed phase-HPLC profiles, mixing induced slight depolymerization of large glutenin polymer, and α-gliadin subunits were more susceptible to polymerization after appropriate mixing and resting. Increased mixing time was accompanied by the strengthening of ionic and hydrogen bonds, and the weakening of hydrophobic interaction. PCA and correlation analysis revealed the accurate regulation of mixing and resting induced dynamic distribution and evolution of gluten on the macroscopic noodle qualities.

Relation between Mechanical Hardening and Nitrogen Profile of PBII Nitrided Titanium Alloy.

Surface treatments of Ti-6Al-4V alloys are of utmost importance for biomedical applications since they allow for tribological gain. Here, Ti-6Al-4V disks have been PBII nitrided at either 500, 600, 700 and 800 °C. A set of techniques (XRD, SEM-EDS, EBSD and GDOES) was used to characterize the surface microstructural and chemical changes. Nanoindentation was used to assess the induced changes in terms of mechanical properties. Two types of nitrided domains are revealed. Starting from the surface, a nitride bilayer composed of δ-TiN/ϵ-Ti2N with enhanced surface resistance is supported by an α-Ti(N) solid solution formed at depth. Hardness values peak at 12-14 GPa at the surface, which is almost twice as large as the bulk value (about 7 GPa). For the moderate temperatures used here, a deep (10-15 µm) and strong hardness (14 GPa) enhancement together with a smooth gradient can be achieved.