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Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is a cutting-edge combustion engine technology that merges the benefits of both diesel and gasoline engines. In HCCI engines, a uniform mixture of fuel and air enters the combustion chamber during the intake phase, which significantly lowers the average temperature within the chamber. This temperature reduction is crucial as it minimizes the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), pollutants that typically form at high temperatures, thus making HCCI engines more environmentally friendly. HCCI engines employ compression ignition, offering greater thermal efficiency than spark ignition engines, which are limited by the potential for knocking. These features make HCCI a promising technology for sustainable development. However, one of the main challenges preventing widespread adoption is the difficulty in precisely controlling the ignition timing. This paper aims to delve into the theoretical and practical aspects of ignition control methods in HCCI engines, highlighting the differences and challenges between theoretical models and real-world applications.

Electrocatalysts of the hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions (HER and HOR) are of critical importance for the realization of future hydrogen economy. In order to make electrocatalysts economically competitive for large-scale applications, increasing attention has been devoted to developing noble metal-free HER and HOR electrocatalysts especially for alkaline electrolytes due to the promise of emerging hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells. Herein, we report that interface engineering of Ni 3 N and Ni results in a unique Ni 3 N/Ni electrocatalyst which exhibits exceptional HER/HOR activities in aqueous electrolytes. A systematic electrochemical study was carried out to investigate the superior hydrogen electrochemistry catalyzed by Ni 3 N/Ni, including nearly zero overpotential of catalytic onset, robust long-term durability, unity Faradaic efficiency, and excellent CO tolerance. Density functional theory computations were performed to aid the understanding of the electrochemical results and suggested that the real active sites are located at the interface between Ni 3 N and Ni. Efficient hydrogen production and utilization materials will be crucial in order to compete with fossil fuel technologies. Here, authors report nickel and nickel nitride interfaces as effected catalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxidation in water.

Wastewater reuse as a sustainable, reliable and energy recovery concept is a promising approach to alleviate worldwide water scarcity. However, the water reuse market needs to be developed with long-term efforts because only less than 4% of the total wastewater worldwide has been treated for water reuse at present. In addition, the reclaimed water should fulfill the criteria of health safety, appearance, environmental acceptance and economic feasibility based on their local water reuse guidelines. Moreover, municipal wastewater as an alternative water resource for non-potable or potable reuse, has been widely treated by various membrane-based treatment processes for reuse applications. By collecting lab-scale and pilot-scale reuse cases as much as possible, this review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the membrane-based treatment processes, mainly focused on the hydraulic filtration performance, contaminants removal capacity, reuse purpose, fouling resistance potential, resource recovery and energy consumption. The advances and limitations of different membrane-based processes alone or coupled with other possible processes such as disinfection processes and advanced oxidation processes, are also highlighted. Challenges still facing membrane-based technologies for water reuse applications, including institutional barriers, financial allocation and public perception, are stated as areas in need of further research and development.

Nowadays, with the acceleration of urbanization and the profound impact of climate change, urban resilience has become a key issue for sustainable development. Through the panel data of Zhejiang Province from 2014 to 2022, this study employs the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to analyze the coupling coordination relationship of the Economic-Social-Infrastructure-Ecological resilience (ESIE) quaternary system and binary systems. The impact of the CCD of each binary system on the overall CCD is determined by the grey correlation model considering alongside the current state of the coupling coordination development to identify the key binary system that promotes the development of the overall coordination. It finds that the CCD of the ESIE quaternary system in Zhejiang’s cities exhibits a consistent upward trend, and spatially, a pattern of coordinated regional urban development centered on the city of Hangzhou and Ningbo emerges. The CCD analysis of binary systems reveals a low level of pairwise CCD between economic, infrastructure and social resilience, with prominent contradictions between the three. Additionally, the CCD of the economic-infrastructure resilience binary system is the core issue currently faced by the overall coordinated development of the ESIE quaternary system. This research not only provides a new perspective for understanding the intrinsic mechanism of coupled and coordinated development of urban resilience but also offers a scientific basis for crafting sustainable urban policies.

Phytoremediation is a strategy for the amelioration of soil heavy metal contamination that aligns with ecological sustainability principles. Among the spectrum of phytoremediation candidates, woody plants are considered particularly adept for their substantial biomass, profound root systems, and non-participation in the food chain. This study used Eucalyptus camaldulensis —a tree species characterized for its high biomass and rapid growth rate—to assess its growth and metal uptake in mining tailings. The results were as follows: exposure to heavy metals reduced the E. camaldulensis uptake of potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca). Heavy metal stress negatively affected the biomass of E. camaldulensis . Lead (Pb) primarily accumulated in the roots, while cadmium (Cd) predominantly accumulated in the stems. The application of organic fertilizers bolstered the stress tolerance of E. camaldulensis , mitigating the adverse impacts of heavy metal stress. A synergistic effect occurred when organic fertilizers were combined with bacterial fertilizers. The plant’s enrichment capacity for Cd and its tolerance to Pb was augmented through the concurrent application of bacterial and organic fertilizers. Collectively, the application of organic fertilizers improved the heavy metal tolerance of E. camaldulensis by enhancing the uptake of K, P, and Ca and elevating the content of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and gibberellin acid (GA) in roots. These findings provided nascent groundwork for breeding E. camaldulensis with enhanced heavy metal tolerance. Moreover, this proved the potentiality of E. camaldulensis for the management of heavy metal-contaminated tailings and offers a promising avenue for future environmental restoration.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are serious public health issues and are responsible for nearly one-third of global deaths. Mitochondrial dysfunction is accountable for the development of most CVDs. Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate through oxidative phosphorylation and inevitably generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Excessive ROS causes mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. Mitochondria can protect against these damages via the regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis. In recent years, mitochondria-targeted therapy for CVDs has attracted increasing attention. Various studies have confirmed that clinical drugs (β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor-II blockers) against CVDs have mitochondrial protective functions. An increasing number of cardiac mitochondrial targets have shown their cardioprotective effects in experimental and clinical studies. Here, we briefly introduce the mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction and summarize the progression of mitochondrial targets against CVDs, which may provide ideas for experimental studies and clinical trials.

Mortality associated with pancreatic cancer is among the highest of all malignancies, with a 5-year overall survival of 5–10%. Immunotherapy, represented by the blocking antibodies against programmed cell death protein 1 or its ligand 1 (anti-PD-(L)1), has achieved remarkable success in a number of malignancies. However, due to the immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment, the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-(L)1 in pancreatic cancer is far from expectation. To address such a fundamental issue, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and even immunotherapy itself, have individually been attempted to combine with anti-PD-(L)1 in preclinical and clinical investigation. This review, with a particular focus on pancreatic cancer therapy, collects current anti-PD-(L)1-based combination strategy, highlights potential adverse effects of accumulative combination, and further points out future direction in optimization of combination, including targeting post-translational modification of PD-(L)1 and improving precision of treatment.

Anionic diffusion in a soft crystal lattice of hybrid halide perovskites affects their stability, optoelectronic properties and the resulting device performance. The use of two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskites improves the chemical stability of perovskites and suppresses the intrinsic anionic diffusion in solid-state devices. Based on this strategy, devices with an enhanced stability and reduced hysteresis have been achieved. However, a fundamental understanding of the role of organic cations in inhibiting anionic diffusion across the perovskite–ligand interface is missing. Here we demonstrate the first quantitative investigation of the anionic interdiffusion across atomically flat 2D vertical heterojunctions. Interestingly, the halide diffusion does not follow the classical diffusion process. Instead, a ‘quantized’ layer-by-layer diffusion model is proposed to describe the behaviour of the anionic migration in 2D halide perovskites. Our results provide important insights into the mechanism of anionic diffusion in 2D perovskites and provide a new materials platform with an enhanced stability for heterostructure integration. The realization of atomically flat vertical 2D perovskite heterojunctions offers a novel materials platform that reveals the mechanism of anionic diffusion in 2D perovskites.

The logistics of cruise ship construction are complex, with an extended period, many participants, and a stringent node control. The resulting occupational health and safety risks have more risks and uncertainties. If it is not identified and controlled, it will lead to low efficiency of logistics management in the construction stage, leading to chain breaking and going out of control. In response to this situation, this article proposes an improved intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS decision model to evaluate occupational health and safety risks in cruise ship construction. First, based on field research and interviews, risk sources and risk evaluation criteria are determined, and experts are given different weights based on the relative importance of decision-making experts. Then, to reduce the ambiguity and uncertainty of the risk source information, the intuitionistic fuzzy weighted arithmetic average operator is used to aggregate the judicial opinions of experts to obtain the intuitionistic fuzzy aggregate decision risk matrix. To improve the accuracy of risk assessment results, subjective weight and objective weight are comprehensively considered. The stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method is used to determine the subjective weight of the evaluation criteria, and the normal distribution method is used to determine the objective weight of the evaluation criteria. According to the relative closeness coefficient of each risk source to the positive-ideal solution, the ranking of the risk sources is obtained. Finally, taking a cruise ship construction as an example, the risk sources of occupational health and safety are sorted, sensitivity analysis is carried out and compared with other methods, and the targeted risk control measures are put forward, which verifies the effectiveness and correctness of the improved intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS decision model.

Previous studies provided inconsistent results on the effects of antioxidant nutrient intake on lung cancer prevention. We aimed to evaluate the association between antioxidant consumption from food and supplemental sources and lung cancer incidence. Data were obtained from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial. A total of 98,451 participants were included in the data analysis. We used a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between antioxidant intake and lung cancer risk. Dose-response assessments for individual nutrients were conducted. We also selected the model for the best combination of antioxidants for reducing lung cancer risk using machine learning methods. After the median follow-up of 12.2 years, 1642 new cases were identified. Intake of the calculated HRs indicated a trend for a higher quartile of food-based Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (fCDAI) associated with a lower lung cancer risk after adjusting for covariates (HRQ4vs.Q1 = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.79; P for trend < 0.001). Protective effects of dietary antioxidant intake were observed across all individual antioxidant micronutrients except magnesium. Random forests model suggested the dietary intake group of α-carotene, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin E, lycopene, selenium, lutein, and zeaxanthin, and β-carotene had the most favorable effects on lung cancer prevention. Higher consumption of antioxidants from food sources has a protective effect against lung cancer, while no effects were shown in the supplemental group. It is recommended to consume a combination of various antioxidants due to the potential benefits from the interaction, while more research should be performed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of antioxidant synergic effects on lung cancer risk reduction.