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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]

The construction of new towns is one of the main measures to evacuate urban populations and promote regional coordination and urban–rural integration in China. Mining the spatio-temporal pattern of new town hot spots based on multivariate data and analyzing the influencing factors of new town construction hot spots can provide a strategic basis for new town construction, but few researchers have extracted and analyzed the influencing factors of new town internal hot spots and their classification. In order to define the key points of Wuhan's new town construction and promote the construction of new cities in an orderly and efficient manner, this paper first constructs a space-time cube based on the luminous remote sensing data from 2010 to 2019, extracts hot spots and emerging hot spots in Wuhan New City, selects 14 influencing factor indicators such as population density, and uses bivariate Moran's index to analyze the influencing factors of hot spots, indicating that the number of bus stops and vegetation coverage rate are the most significant. Secondly, the disorderly multivariate logistic regression model is used to analyze the influencing factors of emerging hot spots. The results show that population density, vegetation coverage, road density, distance to water bodies, and distance to train stations are the most significant factors. Finally, based on the analysis results, some relevant suggestions for the construction of Wuhan New City are proposed, providing theoretical support for the planning and policy guidance of new cities, and offering reference for the construction of new towns in other cities, promoting the construction of high-quality cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated atmospheric reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions and the subsequent nitrogen (N) deposition have negatively impacted the global environment, particularly in China. In order to assess the long-term trends in atmospheric N deposition in the south of China, Taojiang County in Hunan Province was selected as a representative rural area for study. We analyzed interannual variation in atmospheric Nr, including gaseous ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrate acid (HNO3) vapor, particulate ammonium (NH4+), and nitrate (NO3−) in air and NH4+-N and NO3−-N in precipitation from 2011 to 2020. The 10-year average atmospheric wet-plus-dry N deposition was 41.9 kg N ha−1 yr−1, which decreased by approximately 24% after 2012, indicating that NH3 and NOx emissions were effectively reduced by emission controls introduced in 2013. Wet deposition accounted for approximately 74% of the total N deposition and was significantly influenced by annual precipitation amount. Reduced N (NH3, pNH4+, and NH4+ in rainwater) was the dominant form, comprising approximately 58% of the total N deposition, while oxidized N (pNO3−, NO2, HNO3, and NO3− in rainwater) accounted for 42% of the total N deposition. Atmospheric HNO3, NO2, and NH3 concentrations and deposition declined by 30–80% over the decade, while particulate NH4+ and NO3− concentrations and deposition remained at relatively stable levels, which suggests that ongoing research and policy should focus on rural particulate pollution. Future strategies must concentrate on the integrated control of NH3 and NOx emissions to mitigate air pollution and protect human health, particularly in rural areas because current abatement efforts are primarily directed toward urban areas and the industrial sector, whereas non-point source NH3 pollution, influenced mainly by agricultural activities, dominates in rural regions. [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]

[Display omitted] • Personal exposure to particulate and gaseous pesticides was characterized. • Particulate/gaseous distribution of pesticides was studied in indoor-outdoor nexus. • Two third of exposed pesticides mainly originated from non-occupational sources. • Over 43% of bystanders suffered the same exposure level as farmers. • Around 7% and 3% of local farmers and bystanders may suffer chronic health risk. Rural residents are exposed to both particulate and gaseous pesticides in the indoor-outdoor nexus in their daily routine. However, previous personal exposure assessment mostly focuses on single aspects of the exposure, such as indoor or gaseous exposure, leading to severe cognition bias to evaluate the exposure risks. In this study, residential dust and silicone wristbands (including stationary and personal wearing ones) were used to screen pesticides in different phases and unfold the hidden characteristics of personal exposure via indoor-outdoor nexus in intensive agricultural area. Mento-Carlo Simulation was performed to assess the probabilistic exposure risk by transforming adsorbed pesticides from wristbands into air concentration, which explores a new approach to integrate particulate (dust) and gaseous (silicone wristbands) pesticide exposures in indoor and outdoor environment. The results showed that particulate pesticides were more concentrated in indoor, whereas significantly higher concentrations were detected in stationary outdoor wristbands (p < 0.05). Carbendazim and chlorpyrifos were the most frequently detected pesticides in dust and stationary wristbands. Higher pesticide concentration was found in personal wristbands worn by farmers, with the maximum value of 2048 ng g−1 for difenoconazole. Based on the probabilistic risk assessment, around 7.1 % of farmers and 2.6 % of bystanders in local populations were potentially suffering from chronic health issues. One third of pesticide exposures originated mainly from occupational sources while the rest derived from remoting dissipation. Unexpectedly, 43 % of bystanders suffered the same levels of exposure as farmers under the co-existence of occupational and non-occupational exposures. Differed compositions of pesticides were found between environmental samples and personal pesticide exposure patterns, highlighting the need for holistic personal exposure measurements. [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]