Energy Performance of Zeolite-Based Drying Bead Desiccants Used to Dry Paddy Rice.

This study utilizes differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis to assess the total energy required to regenerate saturated zeolite-based drying beads (DBs) used to dry paddy rice. We quantify the required heat energy for DB regeneration by calculating the area under the curve in a heat flow rate versus time graph, with the end of the regeneration process indicated by stabilization of the DB weight. Our findings suggest that at DB regeneration temperatures ranging from 120 to 350 °C, the process varied from 813 to 22 min, demonstrating that higher temperatures lead to faster regeneration speeds. The total energy used for regeneration showed similar values at 250 and 350 °C, averaging around 2032 and 2136 kJ per kg of dried DB, respectively. Additionally, the study showed that DBs can hold water between 28.7% and 54.4% higher than the manufacturer's specifications, suggesting a reduced quantity of DBs required for effective paddy rice drying. The overall required heat energy for the regeneration process was calculated at 4.86 MJ/kg, with a carbon intensity of approximately 275.61 g of CO2-eq per kg of water removed, resulting in lower values compared to conventional drying methods. The study underscores DB's possibility of lower total energy (thermal and electrical) consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, alongside its flexibility to regenerate with intermittent energy sources.

Tourism experiences reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in the Chinese older adult: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Given the etiological complexity of cognitive impairment, no effective cure currently exists for precise treatment of dementia. Although scholars have noted tourism's potential role in managing cognitive impairment and mild dementia, more robust empirical investigation is needed in this area. This study aimed to examine the associations between tourism and cognitive impairment and dementia in older Chinese adults. Method: From a nationwide community-based cohort, 6,717 individuals aged ≥60 were recruited from 2011 to 2014, of whom 669 (9.96%) had had at least one tourism experience in the 2 years prior to enrollment. All the participants were then prospectively followed up until 2018. The association between tourism and cognitive impairment was examined by the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to evaluate the effect of tourism experience on cognitive impairment and dementia. Results: A total of 1,416 individuals were newly diagnosed with cognitive impairment and 139 individuals with dementia onset during follow-up. The incidence of cognitive impairment was significantly lower among participants with tourism experiences (316.94 per 10,000 person-years) than those without such experiences (552.38 per 10,000 person-years). Cox regression showed that tourism decreased the risk of cognitive impairment (aHR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.41-0.62) when adjusted for behavioral covariates and characteristics. Compared with participants without tourism experiences, those with 1, 2, and ≥3 tourism experiences had a lower risk of cognitive impairment with the aHRs of 0.72 (95% CI: 0.52-0.99), 0.65 (0.42-1.01), and 0.68 (0.44-0.98), respectively. Tourism experiences also reduced participants' risk of dementia (aHR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.19-0.89). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated associations between tourism and reduced risks of cognitive impairment and dementia in older Chinese adults. Thus, tourism could serve as a novel approach to dementia prevention.

Environmental status of livestock and poultry sectors in China under current transformation stage.

Intensive animal husbandry had aroused great environmental concerns in many developed countries. However, some developing countries are still undergoing the environmental pollution from livestock and poultry sectors. Driven by the large demand, China has experienced a remarkable increase in dairy and meat production, especially in the transformation stage from conventional household breeding to large-scale industrial breeding. At the same time, a large amount of manure from the livestock and poultry sector is released into waterbodies and soil, causing eutrophication and soil degradation. This condition will be reinforced in the large-scale cultivation where the amount of manure exceeds the soil nutrient capacity, if not treated or utilized properly. Our research aims to analyze whether the transformation of raising scale would be beneficial to the environment as well as present the latest status of livestock and poultry sectors in China. The estimation of the pollutants generated and discharged from livestock and poultry sector in China will facilitate the legislation of manure management. This paper analyzes the pollutants generated from the manure of the five principal commercial animals in different farming practices. The results show that the fattening pigs contribute almost half of the pollutants released from manure. Moreover, the beef cattle exert the largest environmental impact for unitary production, about 2-3 times of pork and 5-20 times of chicken. The animals raised with large-scale feedlots practice generate fewer pollutants than those raised in households. The shift towards industrial production of livestock and poultry is easier to manage from the environmental perspective, but adequate large-scale cultivation is encouraged. Regulation control, manure treatment and financial subsidies for the manure treatment and utilization are recommended to achieve the ecological agriculture in China.

[Vegetation net primary productivity in Northeast China in 2000-2008: simulation and seasonal change].

By using GLOPEM-CEVSA model, the spatiotemporal pattern and its affecting factors of the vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) in Northeast China in 2000-2008 were simulated, and, taking four forest ecosystem stations (Daxing' anling, Laoyeling, Liangshui and Changbai Mountains) as the cases, the seasonal changes and their main driving force of forest NPP in Northeast China were studied. In 2000-2008, the annual averaged vegetation NPP in the region was 445 g C x m(-2) x a(-1), being the highest in the areas from Changbai Mountains to Xiaoxing' anling Mountains and parts of Sanjiang Plain, followed by in the areas from Changbai Mountains to Liaohe River Plain, eastern Songnen Plain, Sanjiang Plain, and Daxing' anling Mountain, and the lowest in the sparse grass and desert areas in the west. Forest ecosystem had the highest annual averaged NPP, followed by shrub, cropland and grassland, and desert. In forest ecosystem, coniferous and broad-leaf mixed forests had the highest annual averaged NPP (722 g C x m(-2) x a(-1)), while deciduous needle-leaf forest had the lowest one (451 g C x m(-2) x a(-1)). During the study period, no significant inter-annual changes were observed in the forest NPP though it was higher in 2007 and 2008 probably due to the increased air temperature (1 degrees C-2 degrees C higher than that in other years). The beginning time of forest growth season in Northeast China advanced gradually from north to south, and the growth season became longer.

[Remote sensing quantitative retrieval of soil water content in desertification region].

An empirical model was set up by using TM data to get the reflectance of the earth surface in Naiman Banner of Kerqin Sandy Land, and the influence of vegetation on the pixel reflectance was eliminated by optical vegetation coverage model. The regression model between soil water content and earth surface reflectance was set up to retrieve soil water content, and the accuracy of the retrieved results were validated by in situ data. The results showed that the theoretical and practical precision was 81.81% and 92.17%, respectively, suggesting that the remote sensing quantitative retrieval of soil water content was scientifically available.