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In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the potential supply risks of critical battery materials, such as cobalt, for electric mobility transitions. While battery technology and recycling advancement are two widely acknowledged strategies for addressing such supply risks, the extent to which they will relieve global and regional cobalt demand–supply imbalance remains poorly understood. Here, we address this gap by simulating historical (1998-2019) and future (2020-2050) global cobalt cycles covering both traditional and emerging end uses with regional resolution (China, the U.S., Japan, the EU, and the rest of the world). We show that cobalt-free batteries and recycling progress can indeed significantly alleviate long-term cobalt supply risks. However, the cobalt supply shortage appears inevitable in the short- to medium-term (during 2028-2033), even under the most technologically optimistic scenario. Our results reveal varying cobalt supply security levels by region and indicate the urgency of boosting primary cobalt supply to ensure global e-mobility ambitions. New study finds cobalt-free batteries and recycling progress can significantly alleviate long-term cobalt supply risks, however a cobalt supply shortage appears inevitable in the short- to medium-term, even under the most technologically optimistic scenario.

Objective We investigated the long-term visual outcomes and ocular complications of primary scleral-fixated posterior chamber intraocular lenses (SF-PC-IOLs) in patients with congenital lens subluxation. Methods We enrolled 53 patients (77 eyes) with congenital lens subluxation caused by ectopia lentis, Marfan syndrome, and Weill–Marchesani syndrome who underwent primary implantation of a SF-PC-IOL. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmic examination include visual acuity (VA), intraocular pressure (IOP), intraocular lenses (IOL) position, intraoperative complications and postoperative complications. Cox regression analysis and survival analysis were used to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative complications. Results Seventy seven eyes from 53 patients were included. Mean age at surgery was 23 ± 20 years (5 to 67 years), with a mean follow-up of 39 ± 27 months (12 to 130 months). The best-corrected VA improved from 0.84 ± 0.55 to 0.26 ± 0.43 logarithms of the minimum angle of resolution ( p  < 0.001). Best-corrected VA improved postoperatively in 73 eyes (94%). The main causes of reduced vision after surgery were retinal pathologies and amblyopia. Complications included transient intraocular haemorrhage (2 eyes, 2.6%), early vitreous incarceration (2 eyes, 2.6%), retinal detachment (6 eyes, 7.8%) and IOL dislocation (3 eyes, 3.9%). Cox regression showed that postoperative eye trauma was a risk factor for long-term postoperative complications. Conclusion SF-PC-IOLs provide good visual outcomes in patients with congenital lens subluxation. The SF-PC-IOLs showed good stability, except in patients suffering from postsurgical eye trauma.

In the double carbon background, riding the wind of new energy vehicles and the battery high nickelization, nickel resources rise along with the trend. In recent years, due to the influence of geopolitical conflicts and emergencies, as well as the speculation and control of international capital with its advantages and rules, the world may face price and security supply risks to a certain extent. Therefore, to obtain the most objective trade redistribution strategy, this paper first constructs the nickel material trade network, identifies the core trading countries and the main trade relations of nickel material trade, and finds that the flow of nickel material mainly occurred between a few countries. On this basis, a trade redistribution model is constructed based on the maximum entropy principle. Taking Indonesia, the largest exporter, and the largest trade relationship (Indonesia exports to China) as examples, the nickel material redistribution between countries when different supply risks occur are simulated. The results can provide an important reference for national resource recovery after the risk of the nickel trade.

To improve the efficiency of polysaccharide extraction, vacuum technology was used to breakdown the cell wall to extract polysaccharides from Lentinus edodes stipe, and the optimal parameters were optimized by response surface methodology. Then the antioxidant activities in vitro of the polysaccharides were evaluated. Results showed that the optimal conditions for polysaccharide extraction were temperature of 62 °C, vacuum of 0.08 MPa, stirring speed of 1200 r/min, time of 25 min and material/liquid ratio of 1:26 (g/mL). Under these conditions, the yield of polysaccharide was 4.28%. The decolorization rate and deproteinization rate of polysaccharides treated by kaolin and hydrogen peroxide were higher than that of activated carbon. However, there was no significant influence on the polysaccharide retention rate, that was about 80%. Results also indicated that polysaccharide treated with activated carbon could obtain higher antioxidant activity.

The input–output (IO) network is the quantitative description of an IO-based economy in which nodes represent industries and edges connecting nodes represent the economic connection between industries. Robustness refers to the ability of tolerating perturbations that might affect the system’s functional body. There is both practical and theoretical significance to explore the robustness of the IO network for economic development. In this paper, we probe the robustness of the Chinese IO network based on the relative entropy of the probability distribution of network parameters (node degree, strongest path betweenness, downstream closeness and upstream closeness) under random node or edge failure and intentional node or edge attack. It is found that the Chinese IO network shows relatively weak robustness when it is under intentional attack, but relatively strong robustness when it is under random failure. Our experiment also verifies the applicability and effectiveness of the relative entropy model in measuring the robustness of the IO network.

Domestic water plays a growing role with the unprecedented economic development and rising urbanization. The lack of long-term evaluation of domestic water usage trends limits our understanding of the relationship between domestic water usage and economics. Here, we present a pragmatic approach to assess the long-term relationship between domestic water usage and economics through historical data of the last 100 years from 10 typical countries to establish an evaluation method for different economics. The relationship between domestic water usage and GDP per capita was described as an expanded S-curve model and the mathematical modeling was derived to simulate this relationship for four typical countries as case studies. The simulation results show that the expanded S-curve of different countries can be calibrated with three key points: takeoff point, turning point, and zero-growth point, and four transitional sections: slow growth, accelerated growth, decelerated growth, and zero/negative growth, corresponding to the same economic development level. In addition, other factors influencing domestic water usage are also discussed in this research, including urbanization, industrial structure, and technical progress. We hope to provide a case study of an expanded S-curve as a foundation for forecasting domestic water usage in different countries or in the same economy at different developmental stages.

Shiitake mushroom stipes, the main by-products during mushroom processing, were often abandoned as waste. For the full utilization of the stipes, the main nutrients, minerals, free amino acids, non-volatile and volatile compounds in the stipes of shiitake mushroom were investigated. Results showed that the stipes contained 82.94 g/kg fiber and 439.56 g/kg carbohydrate, which were significantly higher than that in caps, and calcium content in stipes (370.10 g/kg) was significant higher than that in caps. 18 amino acids and the ratio of essential and nonessential amino acids in stipes were more closely to model protein than those in caps, while taste amino acids contents and flavor 5ʹ-nucleotides in stipes were significantly lower than those in caps, and equivalent umami concentration in stipes was one-fifth of that in caps. In addition, the main volatile compounds showed no significant difference in both stipes and caps. Thus, the stipes were more nutritional than caps in the contents of fiber, carbohydrate and calcium, and could be used as dietary ingredients to enrich them for health benefit.

On 18 December 2023, an MW 6.1 earthquake struck Jishishan County, China, and occurred on a blind thrust fault at the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. We investigate the source characteristics of this earthquake sequence using both seismic and geodetic data. The focal mechanisms of ML ≥ 2.0 events in this earthquake sequence are determined using P wave first-motion polarity and S/P amplitude ratio data, suggesting predominant thrust motion with some strike-slip motion of the seismogenic fault. We perform kinematic finite-fault joint inversion for the mainshock using seismic and geodetic observations. This analysis reveals that the mainshock ruptured a major asperity and exhibited an asymmetric bilateral rupture pattern. The main rupture length and duration are approximately 15 km and 6.7 s, respectively. Stress field inversion results show a compressional stress regime in the source area. Through a comparative analysis of the spatial distributions of field-investigated intensity and peak ground velocity derived from strong ground motion simulations, we conclude that the severe casualties resulting from this moderate-sized earthquake were attributed not only to its night-time occurrence and the poor seismic resistance of some buildings, but also to key source rupture effects such as slip heterogeneity and rupture directivity.

As the most populous country in the world, China has a great shortage pressure of water resources. With the acceleration of urbanization, China’s water usage in different sectors will change significantly in next few years. In order to investigate the main reasons behind water usage change in China, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model was adopted in this paper from 2000 to 2020 with provincial data. Three effects, including that of technology, industrial structure, and regional scale, were analyzed. In addition, the decoupling effect between water usage and economic growth was also considered. The results show that: (1) from 2000 to 2020, the technological effect, industrial structure effect, and regional scale effect are −376.54, −89.85 and 20.66, respectively; (2) the technical effect and industrial structure effect have the greatest impact on primary industry, followed by secondary industry; (3) the technical effect is greater than the industrial structure effect in most provinces; and (4) the decoupling state gradually changes from weak decoupling to strong decoupling. In the future, the key policy recommendations for water saving are the following: (1) technological innovation has the most efficient effect on the reduction of water usage in China, and (2) the optimization of industrial structure can be helpful in water-saving in the future.

Shale gas, with its lower carbon content and pollution potential, is the most promising natural gas resource in China. When modeling the shale gas supply in a specific gas field, it is of paramount importance to determine the gas supply under economic considerations. Two common calculation methods are used in China for this purpose: Method 1 (M1) is the breakeven analysis, where the gas supply is based on the relationship between costs and revenues, while Method 2 (M2) is the Geologic Resource Supply-Demand Model, where the supply relies on demand and price scenarios. No comparisons has been made between these two methods. In this study, the Fuling shale gas field in the Sichuan Basin was chosen as a study case to forecast the shale gas supply using these two different methods. A sensitivity analysis was performed to discuss the influencing factors of each method and error measures were used to compare the different shale gas supply values calculated by each method. The results shows that M1 is more sensitive to initial production, while M2 is more sensitive to gas price. In addition, M2 is more feasible for its simplicity and accuracy at high price scenarios and M1 is considered to be reliable for low price scenarios with profit. This study can provide a quick and comprehensive assessment method for the shale gas supply in China.