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Water, energy, and food are interdependent and mutually restrictive, and changes in any one resource may have an impact on the others. In order to promote the sustainable utilization of resources, it is important to study the synergy of the water–energy–food composite system (WEFCS). Taking the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region as an example, this study adopts the composite system synergy degree model to quantitatively measure the synergy degree of WEFCS from 2011 to 2021, then constructs an evolutionary model to identify the interactions between the subsystems, and finally analyzes the interactions dynamically by using the panel vector autoregression model. The results show that the WEFCS synergy level in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region is generally basic and shows low stability during the study period. Regional subsystems are more dependent than collaborative or competitive. Moreover, the regional water subsystem has a short-term positive impact on the energy subsystem, the energy subsystem has a short-term negative impact on the food subsystem, and the food subsystem has a delayed and complex influence on the water and energy subsystems, with the water subsystem being particularly affected. This study provides a decision-making basis for policymakers to optimize resource allocation.

The tribological performance of PFPE oil and the Ti:WS2/PFPE composite lubricating system with different oil amounts was investigated under a proton radiation (PR) irradiation environment. After PR irradiation, PFPE molecules occurred during cross-linking and a polymerization reaction and formed a volatile small molecular compound, which deteriorates the tribological performance of the Ti:WS2/PFPE system. The tribological properties of the Ti:WS2/PFPE system rely strongly on oil amount. For an unirradiated Ti:WS2/PFPE system, the amorphous layer of transfer film near the sliding contact area was converted into a well-defined crystalline WS2 layer with a (002) plane induced by the friction process. After PR irradiation, the transfer film became thicker and showed a wholly amorphous structure due to the difficulty in preventing the entrance of O and showed no reorientation with induced friction.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are materials with the ability of absorption of latent heat based on a phase change. PCMs are able to store and release a large amount of energy at certain temperatures melting or freezing. The aim of the research is to verify whether this phenomenon (material) can be used within an external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS). This is particularly the usage of PCMs in the base coat. The research is focused on two main areas. The first area concerns the water condensation on the surface of the ETICS and the associated phenomenon of algae attack. The second area concerns the warming of ETICSs with the use of dark color shades. Practical experiments showed a positive effect of PCMs on the heat-storage properties of the ETICS base coat. It was also experimentally verified that the PCM sample did not condense water vapor on the sample surface compared to the reference sample.

With a growing global population and increasing demand for protein, soy protein may replace animal protein in the future because it is sustainably produced and has a balanced composition of essential amino acids. However, pure soy protein hydrogels have many problems, such as insufficient mechanical properties, which limit the application of soy protein hydrogels in the food field. This article aims to summarize and prospect the gel formation mechanism, gel properties, and applications of soy protein-based protein composites in food. The simple and effective method of protein compositing can improve the gel properties of soy protein. Depending on the specific needs, a suitable gel preparation method is selected to realize the wide application of composite soy protein gel systems in the food industry. In addition, research should continue to explore its combination with high technology to maximize the value of protein. At the same time, it is also important to pay attention to the shortcomings of odor and allergenicity in soy protein, as well as the limitations of the current composites with other proteins to minimize the drawbacks of soy protein and maximize the utilization of protein resources to meet the demand for protein.

This study investigated the structural behavior of a beam–slab member fabricated using a steel C-Purlins beam carrying a profile steel sheet slab covered by a dry board sheet filled with recycled aggregate concrete, called a CBPDS member. This concept was developed to reduce the cost and self-weight of the composite beam–slab system; it replaces the hot-rolled steel I-beam with a steel C-Purlins section, which is easier to fabricate and weighs less. For this purpose, six full-scale CBPDS specimens were tested under four-point static bending. This study investigated the effect of using double C-Purlins beams face-to-face as connected or separated sections and the effect of using concrete material that contains different recycled aggregates to replace raw aggregates. Test results confirmed that using double C-Purlins beams with a face-to-face configuration achieved better concrete confinement behavior than a separate configuration did; specifically, a higher bending capacity and ductility index by about +10.7% and +15.7%, respectively. Generally, the overall bending behavior of the tested specimens was not significantly affected when the infill concrete’s raw aggregates were replaced with 50% and 100% recycled aggregates; however, their bending capacities were reduced, at −8.0% and −11.6%, respectively, compared to the control specimen (0% recycled aggregates). Furthermore, a new theoretical model developed during this study to predict the nominal bending strength of the suggested CBPDS member showed acceptable mean value (0.970) and standard deviation (3.6%) compared with the corresponding test results.

In order to efficiently utilize industrial solid waste while minimizing the preparation cost of engineering materials and the technical difficulty of construction, this paper prepared a high fly ash content alkali-activated fly ash slag composite system at normal temperatures and conducted an in-depth investigation on it. A systematic study was conducted on the workability, mechanical properties, and microstructures of the alkali-activated fly ash slag pastes, including setting times, strength, phase, and molecular structures. We then designed and prepared fiber-reinforced alkali-activated fly ash slag mortar and studied the effects of the alkali activator modulus, glass fiber (GF), and polypropylene fiber (PPF) on the workability, mechanical properties, and frost resistance of the mortar. The following main conclusions were drawn: By adjusting the modulus of alkali activator for alkali-activated fly ash slag pastes, characteristics that meet engineering requirements could be obtained. The compressive strength of the pastes decreased with increasing proportions of fly ash, and it first increased and then decreased with increases in the activator modulus. The flexural strength decreased to varying degrees as the modulus of the activator increased. Through SEM, fly ash particles with different reaction degrees could be observed, indicating that the reaction was still ongoing. The addition of GF and PPF reduced the fluidity of mortar and significantly improved its strength and frost resistance. Fiber had the most significant effect on improving the strength of the mortar, as an activator modulus of 1.0. 0.45% PPF increased the flexural and compressive strength of the mortar by 14.33% and 29.1%, respectively, while 0.90% GF increased the flexural and compressive strength of the mortar by 3.12% and 19.21%, respectively. The frost resistance of the mortar with an activator modulus of 1.0 was significantly better than that of the mortar with an activator modulus of 1.4. 0.45% PPF and reduced the quality loss rate of the mortar by 49.30%, effectively delaying the deterioration of its freeze-thaw performance.

The emulsion liquid membrane is a promising technique for separating pollutants such as metals, weak acids and bases, mineral species, hydrocarbons, and biological substances. The popularity of the membrane process is due to its high mass transfer efficiency, process simplicity, and low energy consumption. Despite significant advancements in the field of emulsion liquid membranes, the effect of the interfacial curvature on component distribution remains largely uninvestigated. In the present study, considering the emulsion liquid membrane where no reaction takes place, the thermodynamic equilibrium relationships are calculated while considering the effect of interfacial curvature between the phases. The Gibbsian surface thermodynamic method is employed to derive the equations at equilibrium for the composite system of emulsion liquid membrane. With the obtained equations, the mole fraction and percentage extraction of the desired substance can be calculated under various conditions, such as different surfactant concentration, and droplet size, as well as assuming ideal or non-ideal condition for the solution. The results indicate that by reducing the size of internal droplets to the nanoscale, the effect of interfacial curvature becomes significant, and the extraction percentage gets higher.

In the agro-complex, as well as in other sectors, the use of polymeric materials is one possible way forward in the innovation and development of machines and their parts. However, machine products place high demands on the materials from which they are made. Polymeric materials are currently able to compete in certain areas where metallic material would traditionally be used; however, one of their limiting characteristic is their ability to withstand elevated temperatures. This paper describes the hardness of polymeric materials when influenced by heat, generated during the double body abrasion. The paper also describes the abrasive wear of both polymers and polymeric composite systems, as well as cast iron, used in agricultural production. Heat intensity during the two-body abrasion results in a 28% fall of the composite systems hardness, to 18% fall of the Polyamid 6 hardness and to 13% fall of the Murtfeld hardness.

Extensive urbanization and industrialization are taking place in eastern China, resulting in huge challenges on environmental quality. In this case, a coupling and coordination model to analyze the complex relationship between urbanization, economy and environment was developed. The corresponding composite system was built using system dynamics, consisted of urbanization level, urbanization efficiency, social impact, industrial structure, economic level, resource utilization, environmental pollution and environmental protection. Based on the statistics data of each component in temporal sequence (2006–2017) of Shandong province, the inherent relationship of the composite system was explored. The results showed that (1) the key influencing factors of the composite system were environmental pollution level, environmental protection intensity, urbanization extent, industrial structure type, and resource utilization efficiency (in descending order of importance); (2) the coordination degree between economy and urbanization subsystem was the lowest, therefore much more efforts should be made on the coordinated development between urbanization evolution and economic growth; (3) the coupling degree reached a high level for both subsystems and the composite system, in contrast, the coordination degree exhibited an increasing trend from low-level coordination to medium coordination. It is necessary to enhance the coordinated development of urbanization, economy and environment, to achieve sustainable development of ecological civilized society.

A magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid) is mainly composed of soft magnetic particles, surfactants, and the base carrier fluid. Among these, soft magnetic particles and the base carrier fluid influence the MR fluid significantly in a high-temperature environment. Therefore, a study was carried out to investigate the changes in the properties of soft magnetic particles and base carrier fluids in high-temperature environments. On this basis, a novel magnetorheological fluid with high-temperature resistance was prepared, and the novel magnetorheological fluid had excellent sedimentation stability, of which the sedimentation rate was only 4.42% after heat treatment at 150 °C followed by one-week placement. At 30 °C, the shear yield stress of the novel fluid was 9.47 kPa under the magnetic field of 817 mT: higher than the general magnetorheological fluid with the same mass fraction. Moreover, its shear yield stress was less affected by the high-temperature environment, reducing by only 4.03% from 10 °C to 70 °C. The novel MR fluid can be applied to a high-temperature environment, effectively expanding the application range of MR fluid.