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Real-time train rescheduling for high-speed railway (HSR) is a pivotal technique in HSR transportation to efficiently recover train operation under disturbance scenarios. This paper aims to put forward an integrated resolving and rescheduling method considering network delay propagation. A tree-based conflict resolution mechanism is first established, with delicate considerations on the strategy's adaptability under different conflict scenarios. By inputting the scheduled arrival and departure time under different conflict resolution strategies, the timetable optimizing model aims to look for an optimal solution with minimal weighted train delay and average train adjustments under necessary technical and empirical constraints solved by a combined algorithm of Pareto optimality and Nash equilibrium, where the feasible solution space is narrowed in advance by a depth-first pruning algorithm. The performance of this coordinated train rescheduling approach is validated by a typical section disturbance in a regional HSR network administrated by the Shanghai Bureau. The results show that the proposed method can well utilizes timetable buffers and organizes train avoidance. The delay propagation characteristics are also simultaneously estimated based on the indicators of cumulative delay and instantaneous delay, which are established considering the spatio-temporal difference between the scheduled and planned timetables, in order to verify the coordination between resolution strategies and train running delays., Author(s): Jun Zhang (corresponding author) [1]; Shuyao Wu [1]; Shejun Deng [1]; Yuling Ye [2] 1. Introduction Under the network transportation of high-speed railway (HSR), disturbances of abnormal events are [...]

Obesity has now surpassed malnutrition and infectious diseases as the most significant contributor to health problems worldwide. In particular, obesity is associated with several metabolic disorders, including hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and subfertility. Genipin (GNP), the aglycone of geniposide, is isolated from the extract of the traditional Chinese medicine Gardenia jasminoides Ellis and has been used in traditional oriental medicine against several inflammation-driven diseases. However, the effect and molecular mechanism of GNP on obesity-associated dyslipidemia and sperm dysfunction still need to be explored. In this study, we detect the effects of GNP on hyperlipidemia, hepatic lipid accumulation and sperm function using a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mouse model. We find that obese mice treated with GNP show an improvement in body weight, serum triglyceride levels, serum hormone levels, serum inflammatory cytokines, hepatic steatosis and sperm function. At the molecular level, HFD/GNP diversely regulates the expression of miR-132 in a tissue-specific manner. miR-132 further targets and regulates the expression of SREBP-1c in liver cells, as well as the expressions of SREBP-1c and StAR in Leydig cells in the testis, thus modifying lipogenesis and steroidogenesis, respectively. Collectively, our data demonstrate that GNP shows a broad effect on the improvement of HFD-induced metabolic disorder and sperm dysfunction in male mice by tissue-specific regulation of miR-132. Our findings reveal the function GNP in ameliorating hepatic lipid metabolism and sperm function and suggest that this compound is a versatile drug to treat metabolic disorders.

For decades, China has implemented restoration programs on a large scale, thanks to its capacity to set policy and mobilize funding resources. An understanding of China's restoration achievements and remaining challenges will help to guide future efforts to restore 30% of its diverse ecosystems under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Here we summarize the major transitions in China's approach to ecosystem restoration since the 1970s, with a focus on the underlying motivations for restoration, approaches to ecosystem management, and financing mechanisms. Whereas China's restoration efforts were predominantly guided by the delivery of certain ecosystem functions and services in earlier decades, more recently it has come to emphasize the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Accordingly, the focal ecosystems, approaches, and financing mechanisms of restoration have also been considerably diversified. This evolution is largely guided by the accumulation of scientific evidence and past experiences. We highlight the key challenges facing China's restoration efforts and propose future directions to improve restoration effectiveness, with regard to goal setting, monitoring, stakeholder involvement, adaptive management, resilience under climate change, and financing. China has been engaged in ecosystem restoration efforts for decades, but recent changes in what defines 'restoration' call for new approaches. In this essay, Li et al. highlight China's previous ecosystem restoration achievements and the changes needed to restore its diverse ecosystems under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the development of a novel pH probe called Mem-C0C18 for quantitative monitoring of cell surface pH using fluorescence lifetime imaging. The surface pH of tumor cells is lower than that of normal cells due to the production of acidic metabolites. The probe targets the plasma membrane and accurately measures pH changes using fluorescence lifetime imaging. The article provides details on the molecular design of the probe, its spectral properties, establishment of standard curves, and its application in evaluating the effects of extracellular fluid acidity and glycolysis on cell surface pH. The probe shows promise as a tool for studying pH fluctuations in the cell membrane. [Extracted from the article]

Droughts have been implicated as the main driver behind recent vegetation die‐off and are projected to drive greater mortality under future climate change. Understanding the coupling relationship between vegetation and drought has been of great global interest. Currently, the coupling relationship between vegetation and drought is mainly evaluated by correlation coefficients or regression slopes. However, the optimal drought timescale of vegetation response to drought, as a key indicator reflecting vegetation sensitivity to drought, has largely been ignored. Here, we apply the optimal drought timescale identification method to examine the change in coupling between vegetation and drought over the past three decades (1982–2015) with long‐term satellite‐derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Standardized Precipitation‐Evapotranspiration Index data. We find substantial increasing response of vegetation to drought timescales globally, and the correlation coefficient between vegetation and drought under optimal drought timescale overall declines between 1982 and 2015. This decrease in vegetation–drought coupling is mainly observed in regions with water deficit, although its initial correlation is relatively high. However, vegetation in water‐surplus regions, with low coupling in earlier stages, is prone to show an increasing trend. The observed changes may be driven by the increasing trend of atmospheric CO2. Our findings highlight more pressing drought risk in water‐surplus regions than in water‐deficit regions, which advances our understanding of the long‐term vegetation–drought relationship and provides essential insights for mapping future vegetation sensitivity to drought under changing climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pickering emulsion interfacial catalysis (PEIC) could be a feasible strategy to improve the efficiency of catalytic reactions, but it is difficult to achieve in hot conditions because conventional Pickering emulsions are unstable at high temperatures. Herein, a stable hot Pickering emulsion interfacial catalysis (HPEIC) system for efficient depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was constructed by using modified asymmetric nanonets (M-ANNs), a super-performance emulsifier that we have reported. In the HPEIC system, biphenyl that can disperse PET is chosen to be the dispersed phase, and ethylene glycol that can dissolve glycolysis catalyst Zn(OAc)2 is designed as the continuous phase. The HPEIC system achieved 100% depolymerization of PET and yielded more than 90% of PET monomer within 5 minutes at 170 °C, due to the suitably designed respective dissolution of PET and Zn(OAc)2 in the two different solvents, the large emulsion interface area, and the enrichment of catalyst at the emulsion droplets interface. The degradation time is extremely shortened and the reaction temperature is at least 20 °C lower than that of the traditional homogeneous catalytic systems. The HPEIC system maintained a high PET depolymerization rate after six times of recycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desert expansion can cause tremendous damage to human wellbeing. However, the process of shifting from the non‐desert state to the desert state, a representation of a system regime shift, remains unclear on a global scale. Clarifying the underpinning patterns, predictors and signals of this process is of great value in advancing our understanding of both ecosystem resilience and sustainable development. Here, we combine the climate classification map and long‐term observational land cover data to assess the global desert distribution and its changes from 2000 to 2019. The identified desert areas covered approximately 7.53% of the global land in the past two decades. Only approximately 16.03% of these deserts showed expanding trends, especially in countries such as Tunisia, Tajikistan, and Peru. After assessing 26 climatic, ecological, and socioeconomic factors that could potentially influence desert expansion rates, vegetation cover diversity was identified as the strongest predictor in both hot and cold deserts, followed by cattle density in hot deserts and desert size in cold deserts. In addition, we also found that pronouncedly high fluctuations in vegetation productivity could serve as a possible signal for desert conversion. Our results provide not only a long‐term overview of current global desert changing patterns but also possible guidance for constraining desert expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of green development has become an important choice for countries seeking the harmonious development of the economy and the environment. The National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone is an innovative institutional mechanism for exploring green development in China. This study utilizes the National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone policy as a quasi-natural experiment. Adopting data from 290 prefecture-level and above cities in China during 2014–2019 as the research object, this study matches the propensity score and improved differences-in-differences to assess the impact of green development mechanism innovation on regional total-factor environmental efficiency. The results show that this innovation had a significant impact on the improvement of total-factor environmental efficiency. Compared with non-pilot cities, the implementation of pilot zone areas contributed 16.78% to the growth of total-factor environmental efficiency in the experimental group cities. In addition, further analysis shows that mechanism innovation is more effective in areas with high pollution and high resource consumption. This study enriches the research on evaluation of the impact of innovation in green development mechanisms and provides a reference for further promoting pilot national ecological civilization zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the optimal pricing strategy for the perishable food supply chain. Using the setting of a two-echelon supply chain including a supplier and a retailer, we apply the game theory approach to derive the equilibriums for both a single pricing strategy and a two-stage pricing strategy. Through a comparison of the equilibriums, we explore how the two pricing strategies affect the supply chain's decisions and supplier's and retailer's performance individually and collectively. The results of the analysis show that the optimal choice of pricing strategy depends on the price markdown cost and its relationship with the two critical thresholds that are determined by a combination of factors including the potential market size, the price and quality sensitivity factors, the initial quality, the unit product cost, and the quality deterioration rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow chemistry technology innovatively integrates the traditional independent experimental operation processes, speeds up reaction rates and, especially, can be applied in special reactions that are hazardous or under difficult reaction conditions, being beneficial for the development of green chemistry and laboratory automation. In flow chemistry, the application of traditional pipeline microreactors is usually limited by blockage, corrosion and difficult maintenance. The micro/nanomaterials-based microreactors for flow chemistry are supposed to solve these problems. Herein, we report a novel solid–liquid composite microreactor (BiOBr@ILG-microspheres) with ionic liquid compartments based on ionic liquid gel microspheres (ILG-microspheres) and a typical photocatalyst, BiOBr. The BiOBr@ILG-microspheres show high photodegradation performance, which is attributed to the enrichment of organic substrates by the ILG-microspheres, the efficient charge transfer microenvironment of the internal ionic liquids (ILs), and the flower-like heterostructure of the microspheres that hosts abundant active sites. Furthermore, the BiOBr@ILG-microspheres are embedded in a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel to build a multi-liquid phase membrane, which exhibits promising performance in removing pollutants continuously from flowing water with an ∼100% removal rate of ciprofloxacin for a long time, due to the synergic effect of the enrichment and catalytic degradation of the pollutants by the BiOBr@ILG-microspheres. This work provides a new research strategy for constructing liquid compartment microreactors with a synergistic effect of extraction–catalysis using the novel developed ILG-microspheres, which will attract widespread interest because it is in accordance with the concept of green chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a great challenge to refine precious metals from e‐wastes under mild conditions without hazardous reagents. Herein, black phosphorus (BP) was covalently functionalized with poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) to obtain thermo/near‐infrared (NIR)‐responsive BP−P for precious metal recovery. Precious metals (Au, Ag, and Pd) with higher redox potentials than BP−P could be efficiently recovered by reduction‐driven enrichment. Taking Au as an example, the recovery process presented fast kinetics (<15 min), excellent selectivity, and high efficiency (≈98 %). Remote operation with NIR light could generate heat by BP, which induced the hydrophilic‐to‐hydrophobic transition of PNIPAM, allowing the spontaneous gathering, facile collection, and practical recycle of BP−P following Au extraction. Thanks to the unique features of BP−P, not only could high‐quality Au nanoparticles (20–30 nm) be economically extracted (cost: $0.731–1.222 g−1 Au nanoparticles; 5–6 orders of magnitude lower than the market price), but also the formed BP−P‐Au nanocomposites have potential application in hydrogen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photochromic film based on an inorganic‐organic hybrid, Na3H(H2O)2[β‐Mo8O26](C12H8N4O2)2·19H2O (1), is developed for the first time. Compound 1 was in situ synthesized and structurally characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography, and a dimerization reaction of isoniazid can be directly observed during the synthesis process. Together with the polymolybdate, the azo bond in the dimerization product N,N'‐bis(isonicotinamide) hydrazide showed photochromic properties under illumination, widening the light absorption range of polymolybdate. Irradiation experiments of the prepared film indicated an excellent waterproof and recyclable layered material, which demonstrated a distinctive way of extending the application of polyoxometalate based hybrid inorganic‐organic functional materials in the field of photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation serves as a habitat for various wildlife species, provides crucial ecosystem services to society, and plays a critical role in regulating the global climate [[1]]. Lastly, in the study by Wang et al. (2022) [[9]], the authors examined the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of the seasonal ecosystem water-use efficiency of various vegetation types in Inner Mongolia from 2001 to 2020. The two other articles in this SI focused on the response of vegetation to the environment from both individual species [[8]] and spatial [[9]] perspectives, respectively. [Extracted from the article]

Highlights • A method was proposed to study the possible drivers of ecosystem services relationships. • Optimal ecosystem attributes of five ecosystem services were summarized and analyzed. • Erosion control, air quality regulation and cooling effect are more likely to form synergic relationships. • Carbon sequestration and cooling effect and air quality regulation are more likely to form trade-off relationships. Abstract Ecosystem services interact and can form neural, synergic, and trade-off relationships with each other. Current studies of ecosystem service relationships have focused more on quantification without analyzing the driver of these interactions. Here, we proposed a qualitative method based on the number of shared optimal ecosystem attributes among services to study the possible driver of ecosystem service relationships and applied it to five ecosystem services (erosion control, water yield, air quality regulation, cooling effect, and carbon sequestration) as examples. The optimal approach of three categories of ecosystem attributes, namely spatial configuration, shape and size, and structure, for these five ecosystem services was summarized by systematically reviewing 116 related studies. Results suggested that synergic relationships were more likely to occur among erosion control, air quality regulation, and cooling effect since they had high numbers of shared optimal ecosystem attributes. A high possibility of trade-off relationships was found between carbon sequestration, cooling effect, and air quality regulation due to the relatively high number of contrary optimal ecosystem attributes they shared. Validation from previous studies supported these findings. The optimal attributes from this method might also provide general guidance for designing landscapes that aim to provide additional, diverse ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]