Study on the preparation and mechanical properties of purple ceramics.

This paper aims at preparing a smart wearable purple ceramic that meet the color requirements of purple smart wear in the market after using zirconate neodymium as a chromogenic agent. However, the mechanical performance of zirconate neodymium purple ceramic is not satisfactory, especially it has an extremely low fracture toughness. To solve this, a 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) is added to zirconate neodymium in the preparation of multiphase ceramics to improve its mechanical properties. In this experiment, a series of ceramic samples with addition of increasing amount of 3YSZ 0, 20, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80% were prepared in the 1400-1500 °C sintering temperature range. It was found that at the same temperature, the mechanical properties of the ceramic samples gradually improved with the increase in the 3YSZ content. Moreover, with the same content, the mechanical properties of the ceramic samples gradually improved with the decrease in temperature. The results show that when 3YSZ has a mass fraction of 80% and is sintered at 1400 °C, the fracture toughness of the prepared ceramic samples reaches 8.15 MPa‧m1/2, which is nearly two times higher than that of the monolithic neodymium zirconate 2.57 MPa‧m1/2. The Vickers hardness of the prepared ceramic samples reached 12.93 GPa, which is nearly 88% higher than the undoped neodymium zirconate. This indicates that the samples can be applied in smart wearables, such as mobile phone backplane, with a certain practical significance for engineering toughening of zirconate ceramics.

The evolution and determinants of Chinese inter-provincial green development efficiency: an MCSE-DEA-Tobit-based perspective.

Continuous and rapid economic development has brought about excessive resource consumption and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is particularly essential to coordinate economic, resource, and environmental factors to achieve sustainable development. This paper develops a new data envelopment analysis (DEA) method that can be used for multi-level complex system evaluation (MCSE-DEA) to reveal the inter-provincial green development efficiency (GDE) in China from 2010 to 2018. Moreover, the Tobit model is applied to explore the influencing factors of GDE. We found that (i) the MCSE-DEA model tends to have lower efficiency scores than the traditional P-DEA (panel data envelopment analysis) model, and the top three provinces are Shanghai, Tianjin, and Fujian; (ii) the efficiency shows an increasing trend during the whole study period. The southeast region and the Middle Yangtze River region have the highest efficiency values, reaching 1.09, while the northwest region ranks last with an average efficiency value of 0.66. Shanghai performs the best, while Ningxia performs the worst, with efficiency values of 1.43 and 0.58, respectively; (iii) the provinces with lower efficiency values mainly come from economically underdeveloped remote regions, which can be attributed to issues of water consumption (WC) and energy consumption (EC). Moreover, there are much room for improvement in solid waste emissions (SW) and soot and industrial dust emissions (SD); (iv) the environmental investment, R&D investment, and economic development level can significantly improve GDE, while industrial structure, urbanization level, and energy consumption have inhibiting effects.

Optimal deployment for carbon capture enables more than half of China's coal-fired power plant to achieve low-carbon transformation.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology is critical to global net-zero emission goal, whereas actual deployment is well below expectations. This study constructs a comprehensive framework, integrating nonlinear dynamic optimization, real option and technology learning curve, to explore optimal CCUS deployment for China's coal-fired power plant toward carbon neutrality. The commercialization application will occur in 2030-2035, with the optimal potential ranging between 248.54 GW and 564.90 GW. East China has the greatest potential, reaching 196.85 GW, followed by North China with the potential of 116.29 GW. The cost of second-generation capture technology will decrease from 219 CNY/ton CO2 to 165 CNY/ton CO2 during 2030-2031.The annual corporate expenditure (R&D investment and capture cost) and government expenditure (subsidy) will peak at 23.92 billion CNY in 2035 and 63.71 billion CNY in 2044, respectively. The financial burden can be lessened by carbon trading market and third-party intervention in the later period.

Using Shannon Entropy to Improve the Identification of MP-SBM Models with Undesirable Output.

In the context of the COVID-19 global epidemic, it is particularly important to use limited medical resources to improve the systemic control of infectious diseases. There is a situation where a shortage of medical resources and an uneven distribution of resources in China exist. Therefore, it is important to have an accurate understanding of the current status of the healthcare system in China and to improve the efficiency of their infectious disease control methods. In this study, the MP-SBM-Shannon entropy model (modified panel slacks-based measure Shannon entropy model) was proposed and applied to measure the disposal efficiency of the medical institutions responding to public health emergencies (disposal efficiency) in China from 2012 to 2018. First, a P-SBM (panel slacks-based measure) model, with undesirable outputs based on panel data, is given in this paper. This model measures the efficiency of all DMUs based on the same technical frontier and can be used for the dynamic efficiency analysis of panel data. Then, the MP-SBM model is applied to solve the specific efficiency paradox of the P-SBM model caused by the objective data structure. Finally, based on the MP-SBM model, undesirable outputs are considered in the original efficiency matrix alignment combination for the deficiencies of the existing Shannon entropy-DEA model. The comparative analysis shows that the MP-SBM-Shannon model not only solves the problem of the efficiency paradox of the P-SBM model but also improves the MP-SBM model identification ability and provides a complete ranking with certain advantages. The results of the study show that the disposal efficiency of the medical institutions responding to public health emergencies in China shows an upward trend, but the average combined efficiency is less than 0.47. Therefore, there is still much room for improvement in the efficiency of infectious disease prevention and control in China. It is found that the staffing problem within the Center for Disease Control and the health supervision office are two stumbling blocks.

Relieving the water-energy nexus pressure through whole supply chain management: Evidence from the provincial-level analysis in China.

Water-energy nexus (WEN) is an international hot-spot issue, while more attentions have been paid to the direct nexus effect resulting from production activities. In this context, this study firstly used the multiregional input-output (MRIO) analysis to offer a full spectrum of water and energy usage throughout the whole supply chain in China, considering production-based perspective and betweenness-based and consumption-based perspectives. And then the principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to further target the critical WEN sectors in Chinese's 30 provinces. The results show that: (1) For most of these provinces, the direct WEN pressure caused by production activities can be found in several traditional resource-intensive sectors, especially in S22 (Production and supply of electric power and steam) and S14 (Smelting and pressing of metals). (2) The most critical transmission sectors with WEN pressure was S12 (Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products), followed by S14 in most of these province. S22 was the key transmission center in several provinces, and S7 (Manufacture of textile) in Fujian and Hubei and S10 (Papermaking and printing) in Zhejiang and Hainan should also be highly-concerned. (3) For all of these provinces, the indirect WEN pressure driven by final consumption appeared in S24 (Construction industry). In addition, S16 (Manufacture of general and special-purpose machinery) and S17 (Manufacture of Transport equipment) were the other two key consumption-based WEN sectors in some provinces. Overall, the WEN pressures in Jiangsu were relatively great in China, and S12 in Hubei was the only sector facing great WEN pressure from all three perspectives. Our results can draw implications for regional sustainable development in China.

Effect of SHP2 knockdown on the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells under inflammatory environment / 口腔疾病防治

Objective @# The purpose of this study was to clarify the regulatory effect and mechanism of Src homology-2 domain containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (SHP2) on human periodontal ligament stem cell (hPDLSC) proliferation and osteogenic differentiation under inflammatory environment and to provide a new target for the treatment of periodontitis. @*Methods@#SHP2 was knocked down in hPDLSCs, and the transfection efficiency of SHP2 was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. An in vitro inflammatory environment was created using tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The effect of SHP2 knockdown on hPDLSC viability under normal and inflammatory conditions was detected by CCK-8, and the osteogenic capacity of hPDLSCs under normal and inflammatory conditions was detected by ALP staining, ALP activity, ARS staining, RT-qPCR and Western blot. The mechanism by which SHP2 knockdown affected the MAPK pathway and its downstream NF-κB pathway under inflammatory conditions was assessed by Western blot. @*Results@# Green fluorescence was observed after transfection for 72 h, and the titer of SHP2 shRNA recombinant lentivirus was 2.9×108 TU/mL. SHP2 expression was significantly downregulated in lentivirus-transfected cells, as demonstrated by Western blot and RT-qPCR (P<0.001). SHP2 knockdown inhibited hPDLSC proliferation to a certain extent and increased the expression of early osteogenic markers under normal conditions, including increased ALP activity and increased ALP and COL-1 expression (P<0.05). However, SHP2 knockdown exerted no effect on mineralized nodule formation. In the TNF-α- and IL-1β-induced inflammatory environment, SHP2 knockdown exerted no effect on hPDLSC proliferation (P>0.05). Osteogenic markers were upregulated (P<0.05), and mineralized nodules were significantly increased (P<0.05) after SHP2 knockdown. Western blot analysis showed that p65 phosphorylation and IκB-α degradation were reduced in SHP2-knockdown hPDLSCs in the inflammatory environment. Moreover, SHP2 knockdown significantly inhibited the expression of p-p38 and p-JNK MAPK, which represent pathways upstream of the NF-κB pathway (P<0.05). @*Conclusion @# SHP2 knockdown did not affect cell viability but promoted the osteogenic potential of hPDLSCs by inhibiting the MAPK/NF-κB-mediated signaling pathway under inflammatory environment.

Identifying the critical transmission sectors with energy-water nexus pressures in China's supply chain networks.

Energy and water resources are drawing increasing attention in China as indispensable elements of economic development and social stability. Energy and water are interconnected in economic systems. Although the nexus between them has been widely studied, few insights can be acquired by the intermediate transmission pressures across supply chains. Combing betweenness-based method and multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis, we, in this study, identified critical transmission sectors and main driving factors resulting from the usage structure. In details, we found that Metallurgy (S14) in Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Jiangsu, Electricity and hot water production and supply (S22) in Beijing and Guizhou, and Nonmetal production (S13) in Henan are the most critical transmission sectors bearing energy-water nexus pressures, ranking at the top 100 in China's supply chain networks. Roughly, the usage structure was mainly dominated by fixed capital formation, urban household consumption and trade export, and therefore should be given priority to mitigate environmental pressures. Our study provides a novel perspective of sector-specific and province-typical policy recommendations for mitigating energy-water nexus pressures in China's supply chain networks.

Water usage for energy production and supply in China: Decoupled from industrial growth?

The energy industry, one of the largest water consumers in the socioeconomic system, has been constrained by water scarcity in some areas worldwide. Therefore, decoupling water usage from the energy system is a pressing issue for ensuring energy security and maintaining environmental sustainability. This study applied an input-output analysis and the Tapio decoupling index, which may be considered the first attempt to investigate the decoupling degree between water usage, i.e., the direct water withdrawal for energy production (WWEP) from a production-based perspective and the water footprint for energy supply (WFES) from a consumption-based perspective, and industrial growth for five major energy sectors in China from 2002 to 2015. We found that WWEP was roughly three times higher than WFES for the whole energy industry, and both values underwent a considerable decrease during the study period. Production and supply of electricity and heat (PSEH) contributed most to the total WWEP and WFES, and was mainly responsible for the overall decline. Moreover, WFES exceeded WWEP in Processing of petroleum, coking, and processing of nuclear fuel (PPC) and Production and supply of gas (PSG), whose WEFS values accounted for 36.3% and 12.2%, respectively, of the total WFES in 2015. In terms of the decoupling status, only PSEH achieved strong decoupling in both WWEP and WFES, while PPC and PSG presented a better decoupling performance for WWEP than that for WFES. In contrast, Mining and washing of coal and Extraction of petroleum and natural gas performed relatively worse from both perspectives. These results can help provide a foundation and support for effective water conservation policies from both energy production and energy consumption perspectives.

Whether China made efforts to decouple economic growth from CO2 emissions?-Production vs consumption perspective.

Decoupling analysis is able to reveal the linkage between economic growth and environmental pressure. However, traditional studies mostly concentrate on production-based decoupling analysis and ignore the pressure emerging from supply chains to satisfy the final consumption. Through a comprehensive framework integrating input-output analysis, decomposition methods, and the Tapio index, this work may be considered the first attempt to explore whether China made efforts to decouple economic growth from CO2 emissions from production-based and consumption-based perspectives simultaneously. We found that (1) CO2 emissions in China expanded by around 1.6-fold during 2002-2015, of which Production and supply of electricity and heat and Construction contributed most to the production-based emissions (PBE) and consumption-based emissions (CBE), respectively; (2) Three-quarters of sectors presented weak decoupling or strong decoupling under both PBE and CBE perspectives, and Textile was the only sector achieving strong decoupling under both perspectives; (3) All sectors have made efforts to decouple economic growth from CO2 emissions under PBE perspective, while several sectors failed under CBE perspective. Overall, the decoupling status for PBE was better than that for CBE during the study period. Our results are able to provide targeted and effective references for allocating decoupling responsibilities between producers and final consumers more adequately and reasonably.