Governments of both developed and developing countries are monitoring the growing problems of environmental pollution, resource consumption, and energy shortages. They use carbon taxes to discourage ...manufacturing that is not eco-friendly, and subsidizes to encourage low-carbon production methods. In this research, the evolutionary game theory is applied to examine the behavioral strategies of the manufacturers in response to various combinations of carbon taxes and subsidies considering that the manufactured products have no distinctly low-carbon characteristics. First, we developed an evolutionary game theory model of the interaction between governments and manufacturers based on static carbon taxes and subsidies. Then we examined the evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) of the governments and manufacturers under different constraints. Second, we analyzed the evolutionary behaviors of the governments and manufacturers under three additional models: dynamic taxes and static subsidies, static taxes and dynamic subsidies, and dynamic taxes and dynamic subsidies. Finally, we used a simulation to compare the results of all the models to determine the optimal carbon tax and subsidy mechanism. The results showed that the static carbon tax and subsidy mechanism implemented by the governments cannot provide the needed positive impact on manufacturers decision-making. Of the three dynamic carbon tax and subsidy mechanisms, the bilateral dynamic tax and subsidy mechanism is more effective, and it provides more incentives for manufacturers to adopt low-carbon manufacturing. The carbon taxes levied by governments are proved more effective to encourage low-carbon manufacturing than governments subsidize the low-carbon technology. Manufacturers’ behavioral strategy is influenced mainly by the governmental policies, to which governments also need to make some dynamic strategy adjustments in response.
We carried out metagenomic shotgun sequencing and a metagenome-wide association study (MGWAS) of fecal, dental and salivary samples from a cohort of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ...healthy controls. Concordance was observed between the gut and oral microbiomes, suggesting overlap in the abundance and function of species at different body sites. Dysbiosis was detected in the gut and oral microbiomes of RA patients, but it was partially resolved after RA treatment. Alterations in the gut, dental or saliva microbiome distinguished individuals with RA from healthy controls, were correlated with clinical measures and could be used to stratify individuals on the basis of their response to therapy. In particular, Haemophilus spp. were depleted in individuals with RA at all three sites and negatively correlated with levels of serum autoantibodies, whereas Lactobacillus salivarius was over-represented in individuals with RA at all three sites and was present in increased amounts in cases of very active RA. Functionally, the redox environment, transport and metabolism of iron, sulfur, zinc and arginine were altered in the microbiota of individuals with RA. Molecular mimicry of human antigens related to RA was also detectable. Our results establish specific alterations in the gut and oral microbiomes in individuals with RA and suggest potential ways of using microbiome composition for prognosis and diagnosis.
Quaternized polybenzimidazole anion exchange membranes exhibit excellent stability, however, always suffer from poor hydroxide conductivity as compared with other polymer categories. In this work, it ...is found that polybenzimidazole anion transition state, though essential to provide grafting sites, has strong ionic interaction with the conventional quaternary ammonium cations containing grafting reagents. A novel grafting strategy is proposed to pre-remove polybenzimidazole anions by fully grafting of non-cationic ether-containing side chains, and then attaches quaternary ammonium cations to the end of pendent side chains. Further investigations with molecular dynamics simulation, TEM and SAXS indicate that by eliminating cation-anion binding, the flexible pendent quaternized cations exhibit excellent ability to aggregate into ionic clusters and transport hydroxide ions. The trimethylammonium grafting membrane shows conductivity of about 82.4 mS cm−1 at 80 °C, around 6-fold that of the conventional grafted membranes. Grafting with alkaline stable piperidinium, 93.2% conductivity retention is achieved even soaking in 2 M KOH at 60 °C for 720 h. The H2/O2 single cell shows high peak power density of about 806.1 mW cm−2 at large current density of about 2025.0 mA cm−2, which is the highest value among the polybenzimidazole membranes reported in recent years.
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•PBI anion is essential to graft but binds quaternized cation to limit conductivity.•Non-cationic graft pre-removes PBI anion and then quaternization avoids ionic bond.•Flexible cation ended side chains greatly improve ability to microphase separation.•The de-anionic PBI achieves 6-fold conductivity that of conventional grafted PBI.•Power density of H2/O2 cell (806 mW cm−2) is the highest report in PBI based AEMs.
TiO₂ sol was produced by the sol-gel method through the hydrolysis and the aging of tetrabutyl titanate and the TiO₂ film was obtained by dipping and uniform lifting of the acid-treated and ...ultrasound-treated clean glass slides into the TiO₂ sol followed by aging, drying, and calcination. The effect of the hydrolysis control agents to the formed sol was researched and the crystalline state, the morphology, and the photocatalytic properties of the products after calcination were characterized. The structural morphology, the contact angles before and after illumination, and the self-cleaning properties of the TiO₂ film were characterized as well. The results showed that by using acetylacetone as the hydrolysis control agent, the formed TiO₂ sol had relatively high stability. The product after the calcination of the TiO₂ sol was of single anatase type with crystalline size of 18-20 nm and it could degrade nearly 100% of methylene blue after 90 min illumination. The formed TiO₂ film is compact, continuous, smooth, and had the properties of super-hydrophilicity (after 30 min illumination due to its contact angle decreasing from 21° to nearly 0°) and anti-fogging capability, which indicated its excellent self-cleaning property.
Based on the carrier effect of SiO2, monodisperse TiO2 quantum dots are fully contacted with highly dispersed g-C3N4 to form heterostructure, which can promote the separation of photogenerated ...electron-hole pairs.
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Using low-cost precipitated silica (SiO2) as the carrier, a ternary SiO2-TiO2/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst was prepared via the sol-gel method associated with a wet-grinding process. The as-prepared composite exhibits photocatalytic hydrogen production and pollutant degradation performance under solar-like irradiation. The effect of SiO2 carrier on the properties of the heterostructure between TiO2 and g-C3N4 (CN) was systematically studied. It is found that SiO2 has important effects on promoting the interaction between TiO2 and CN. The particle size of TiO2 and CN was obviously reduced during the calcination process due to the effects of SiO2. Especially, the TiO2 particles exhibit monodispersed state with particle size below 10 nm (quantum dots), resulting in the improvement of the contact area and the interaction between TiO2 and CN, and leading to the formation of efficient TiO2/CN Z-scheme heterostructure in SiO2-TiO2/CN. Besides, the introduction of SiO2 can increase the specific surface area and light absorption of SiO2-TiO2/CN, further promoting the photocatalytic reaction. As expected, the optimum SiO2-TiO2/CN composite exhibits 12.3, 3.1 and 2.9 times higher photocatalytic hydrogen production rate than that of SiO2-TiO2, CN and TiO2/CN under solar-like irradiation, while the photocatalytic active component in SiO2-TiO2/CN is only about 60 wt%. Moreover, the rhodamine B degradation rate of SiO2-TiO2/CN is also higher than that of SiO2-TiO2, CN and TiO2/CN.
Recent studies have indicated a central role for LonP1 in mitochondrial function. Its physiological functions include proteolysis, acting as a molecular chaperone, binding mitochondrial DNA, and ...being involved in cellular respiration, cellular metabolism, and oxidative stress. Given its vital role in energy metabolism, LonP1 has been suggested to be associated with multi-system neoplasms and developmental disorders. In this study, we investigated the roles, possible mechanisms of action, and therapeutic roles of LonP1 in oral and maxillofacial tumor development. LonP1 was highly expressed in oral-maxillofacial cancers and regulated their development through a sig-naling network. LonP1 may therefore be a promising anticancer therapy target. Mutations in LONP1 have been found to be involved in the etiology of cerebral, ocular, dental, auricular, and skeletal syndrome (CODAS). Only patients carrying specific LONP1 mutations have certain dental abnormalities (delayed eruption and abnormal morphology). LonP1 is therefore a novel factor in the development of oral and maxillofacial tumors. Greater research should therefore be conducted on the diagnosis and therapy of LonP1-related diseases to further define LonP1-associated oral phenotypes and their underlying molecular mechanisms.
Phosphorus is one of the essential elements for plant growth and development, but available phosphorus (Pi) content in many soil types is low. As a fast-growing tree species for timber production, ...Chinese fir is in great demand of Pi, and the lack of Pi in soil restricts the increase of productivity of Chinese fir plantation. Root morphology and the synthesis and secretion of organic acids play an important role in the uptake of phosphorus, but the molecular mechanisms of Chinese fir root responses to Pi deficiency are largely unexplored. In this study, seedlings of Yang 061 clone were grown under three Pi supply levels (0, 5 and 10 mg·L-1 P) and morphological attributes, organic acid content and enzyme activity were measured. The transcriptome data of Chinese fir root system were obtained and the expression levels of phosphorus responsive genes and organic acid synthesis related genes on citric acid and glyoxylate cycle pathway were determined.
We annotated 50,808 Unigenes from the transcriptome of Chinese fir roots. Among differentially expressed genes, seven genes of phosphate transporter family and 17 genes of purple acid phosphatase family were up-regulated by Pi deficiency, two proteins of SPX domain were up-regulated and one was down-regulated. The metabolic pathways of the citric acid and glyoxylate cycle pathway were mapped, and the expression characteristics of the related Unigenes under different phosphorus treatments were analyzed. The genes involved in malic acid and citric acid synthesis were up-regulated, and the activities of the related enzymes were significantly enhanced under long-term Pi stress. The contents of citric acid and malic acid in the roots of Chinese fir increased after 30 days of Pi deficiency.
Chinese fir roots showed increased expression of genes related with phosphorus starvation, citrate and malate synthesis genes, increased content of organic acids, and enhanced activities of related enzymes under Pi deficiency. The results provide a new insight for revealing the molecular mechanism of adaption to Pi deficiency and the pathway of organic acid synthesis in Chinese fir roots.
Malate dehydrogenase (MDH) genes play vital roles in developmental control and environmental stress tolerance in sessile plants by modulating the organic acid-malic acid level. However, MDH genes ...have not yet been characterized in gymnosperm, and their roles in nutrient deficiency are largely unexplored. In this study, 12 MDH genes were identified in Chinese fir (
), namely,
,
,
,
,
. Chinese fir is one of the most abundant commercial timber trees in China, and low phosphorus has limited its growth and production due to the acidic soil of southern China. According to the phylogenetic analysis, MDH genes were classified into five groups, and Group 2 genes (
,
,
, and
) were only found to be present in Chinese fir but not in
and
. In particular, the Group 2 MDHs also had specific functional domains-Ldh_1_N (malidase NAD-binding functional domain) and Ldh_1_C (malate enzyme C-terminal functional domain)-indicating a specific function of ClMDHs in the accumulation of malate. All
genes contained the conserved MDH gene characteristic functional domains Ldh_1_N and Ldh_1_C, and all ClMDH proteins exhibited similar structures. Twelve
genes were identified from eight chromosomes, involving fifteen
homologous gene pairs, each with a Ka/Ks ratio of <1. The analysis of cis-elements, protein interactions, and transcription factor interactions of MDHs showed that the
gene might play a role in plant growth and development, and in response to stress mechanisms. The results of transcriptome data and qRT-PCR validation based on low-phosphorus stress showed that
and
were upregulated under low-phosphorus stress and played a role in the response of fir to low-phosphorus stress. In conclusion, these findings lay a foundation for further improving the genetic mechanism of the
gene family in response to low-phosphorus stress, exploring the potential function of this gene, promoting the improvement of fir genetics and breeding, and improving production efficiency.
Signal-vehicle coordinated control holds substantial promise for enhancing urban transportation efficiency. However, its development faces notable challenges: (1) most existing studies have been ...conducted based on the assumption of perfect communication conditions. This assumption overlooks the significant impact of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication quality on control performance, which leads to poor applicability in practice. (2) The evaluation of roadside unit (RSU) deployment for optimizing signal-vehicle control has not been well studied. Hence, the modeling of signal-vehicle coordination control and RSU deployment evaluation under V2I environment are studied in this paper. First, we introduce a communication model that characterizes the imperfections in communication between RSUs and connected vehicles (CVs). Second, we propose a model for signal-vehicle coordination control within this connected environment. This model integrates strategies from both signal control optimization and the speed optimization of CV platoons. Finally, to assess the impact of the RSU deployment parameters on the performance of signal-vehicle coordination control, we introduce a systematic evaluation method. The reduction in vehicle delays is introduced as the evaluation indicator for control performance. Six other indicators—the number of vehicles in the RSU communication domain, connectivity probability between the CV and RSU, number of vehicles whose speeds are successfully optimized, number of speed adjustments, green extension time, and overlap rate of the communication domains of multiple RSUs—are introduced as the observation indicators. The simulation experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed model in implementing signal-vehicle coordination control under imperfect communication and environments in low-traffic, medium-traffic, and high-traffic scenarios. Furthermore, these experiments show the quantitative impact of RSU deployment parameters (communication distance, command transmission cycle, installation position, and number of RSUs) on control performance.
A series of cross-linked (XL) anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) were synthesized on the basis of the ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene monomers (rPNB). Poly(bromopropyl ...norbornene)-block-poly(butyl norbornene) diblock copolymers and poly(bromopropyl norbornene) homopolymers have an all-hydrocarbon backbone and a high ion-exchange capacity (IEC), up to 4.73 mequiv/g. N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethyl-1,6-hexanediamine (TMHDA) was used as a cross-linking agent to control the water uptake and mechanical instability. The cross-linked (20 mol % concentration) membrane made from high molecular weight poly(bromopropyl norbornene) (XL20-rPNB-LY100 ) had the highest conductivity of 99 mS/cm at 25 °C and 195 mS/cm at 80 °C. The alkaline stability of the best membrane was excellent with no detectable degradation in conductivity after 792 h in 1 M NaOH at 80 °C. Membranes were successfully tested as the polymer electrolyte in an AEM fuel cell.
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