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[Display omitted] Lignin upgrading to various functional products is promising to realize high-value utilization of low-cost and renewable biomass waste, but is still in its infancy. Herein, using industry waste lignosulfonate as the biomass-based carbon source and urea as the dopant, we constructed a heteroatom-doped porous carbon nanosheet structure by a simple NaCl template-assisted pyrolytic strategy. Through the synergistic effect of the NaCl template and urea, the optimized lignin-derived porous carbon catalyst with high content of active nitrogen species and large specific surface area can be obtained. As a result, the fabricated catalysts exhibited excellent electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity, as well as good methanol tolerance and stability, comparable to that of commercial Pt/C. Moreover, rechargeable Zn-air batteries assembled with this electrocatalyst have a peak power density of up to 150 mW cm-2 and prominent long-term cycling stability. This study offers an inexpensive and efficient way for the massive production of highly active metal-free catalysts from the plentiful, inexpensive and environmentally friendly lignin, offering a good direction for biomass waste recycling and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting nitrogen (N) emission targets for agricultural systems is crucial to prevent to air and groundwater pollution, yet such targets are rarely defined at the county level. In this study, we employed a forecasting-and-back casting approach to establish human health-based nitrogen targets for air and groundwater quality in Quzhou county, located in the North China Plain. By adopting the World Health Organization (WHO) phase I standard for PM 2.5 concentration (35 μg m−3) and a standard of 11.3 mg NO 3 −-N L−1 for nitrate in drinking water, we found that ammonia (NH 3) emissions from the entire county must be reduced by at least 3.2 kilotons year−1 in 2050 to meet the WHO's PM 2.5 phase I standard. Additionally, controlling other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) is necessary, with required reductions ranging from 16% to 64% during 2017–2050. Furthermore, to meet the groundwater quality standard, nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 −-N) leaching to groundwater should not exceed 0.8 kilotons year-1 by 2050. Achieving this target would require a 50% reduction in NH 3 emissions and a 21% reduction in NO 3 −-N leaching from agriculture in Quzhou in 2050 compared to their respective levels in 2017 (5.0 and 2.1 kilotons, respectively). Our developed method and the resulting N emission targets can support the development of environmentally-friendly agriculture by facilitating the design of control strategies to minimize agricultural N losses. • A novel method was developed for establishing human-health-oriented nitrogen targets. • This approach was implemented in Quzhou County, the North China Plain. • Reducing agricultural ammonia emissions by at least 50% can meet PM 2.5 standard. • Decreasing nitrate leaching by at least 21% can meet water quality standards. • It provides a way to optimize regional agricultural nitrogen management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used in fermented foods to overcome the shortcomings of traditional fermentation methods, such as long cycles and poor safety. However, the application of LAB in low-temperature foods is limited by their growth temperature. This study aimed to quantitatively compare the proteins of the YT2 strain acclimated at 37, 28, 20, 15, 8, and 4 °C (YT-4) and that grown at 37 °C (YT-37) using tandem mass tag (TMT) proteomics and bioinformatics analysis to elucidate the potential mechanism of cryotolerance of P. pentosaceus YT2. Altogether, 1416 quantitative proteins were identified, of which 747 were differentially abundant between the YT-4 and YT-37 strains. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the upregulated proteins were mainly involved in nucleotide transport, metabolism, translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis, transcription, replication, recombination, and repair, while the downregulated proteins were involved in lipid, amino, and carbohydrate transport and metabolism. These results were validated for eight upregulated and five downregulated proteins using parallel reaction monitoring (PRM). Our study analyzed the potential mechanism underlying the improved cryotolerance of P. pentosaceus YT2 at 4 °C, which may enable the utilization of LAB in low-temperature applications. • The effect of cold acclimation on P. pentosaceus YT2 was revealed. • A total of 747 differentially abundant proteins were identified. • The expression changes of 15 differentially abundant proteins were validated. • Cold acclimation can improve the cryotolerance of YT2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]