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Currently, collaborative distribution models have not reached the optimal state of carbon emissions. The cost of additional low-carbon expenditures and the problem of carbon data verification have led to the lack of motivation for reducing emissions among collaborative distribution enterprises. Therefore, how to incentivize them to adopt the low-carbon model is crucial for achieving low-carbon goal. By relying on a government-led digital platform, this paper designs a dual low-carbon incentive strategy to encourage enterprise-alliance to adopt a low-carbon distribution model. In this paper, we first construct an evolutionary game model of the government, enterprise-alliance and end-users; then we explore the conditions of the three-party equilibrium evolution strategy by solving the model and analyzing the stability; and finally, we conduct simulation validation and results analysis with the help of MATLAB. In summary, we found that government punishment is more effective at regulating enterprise-alliance than reward. End-users' behavior is affected by the costs they need to bear, and they no longer support enterprise-alliance to carry out collaborative low-carbon distribution above a certain threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The massive use of antibiotics has led to contamination of water resources, and concerns have been raised about how to treat antibiotic residues in water. In this study, a novel magnetic attapulgite composite (Fe@APT) was prepared by facile chemical precipitation. The characteristics and properties of Fe@APT were revealed by TEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, BET, VSM, zeta potential, and batch adsorption experiments. The specific surface area of Fe@APT could reach 246.27 m2/g, which was about 1.8 times higher than that of APT. And the adsorption of tetracycline (TC) by the composite was shown by kinetics and isotherms to reveal the mechanisms, such as electrostatic attraction, physical adsorption, hydrogen bonding, π–π interaction, complexation, and electron transfer. The effects of pH and ions coexistence on the removal of TC by Fe@APT were also investigated. Specifically, the pore structure of Fe@APT was ameliorated and abundant active adsorption sites were obtained by the modification. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity reached 177.94 mg/g when the pH was 4, and it also exhibited good adsorption capacity under the interference of coexisting ions. Furthermore, the adsorbent displayed excellent recycling performance with easy separation. It has been proved that Fe@APT might have a potential application in antibiotic wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional edge detection algorithm of remote sensing images has the problems of loss of detection results and a large proportion of edge detection errors. A fuzzy edge detection algorithm of wetland remote sensing image based on fuzzy theory is proposed. The high fidelity thin cloud removal algorithm of remote sensing image evaluated by thin cloud thickness distribution is used to remove the influence of thin cloud on wetland remote sensing degraded image; the improved fuzzy edge detection algorithm of wetland remote sensing image is used to realize the fuzzy edge detection of wetland remote sensing image. The results show that the proposed algorithm has an ideal cloud removal effect on wetland remote sensing images, and can obtain high fidelity optimal cloud removal images. The algorithm has a small running time, mean square error, high peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity, and small error proportion of edge detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisphenol A (BPA) and polystyrene (PS) microplastics have attracted much attention because they are widely distributed in the environment, while their combined toxicity to aquatic organisms has rarely been studied. Therefore, this study explored the impact of microplastics on the toxic effects and biodegradation of BPA to the microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa. The results indicated that during the 16 days culture, PS (5 mg/L) increased the growth inhibition of BPA (1 mg/L and 10 mg/L) on C. pyrenoidosa compared to without PS. Similarly, PS (5 mg/L and 100 mg/L) also increased the degradation efficiency of BPA (1 mg/L and 10 mg/L) by algae. However, the changes of the chlorophyll content and the Fv/Fm value were opposite due to the hermetic and shading effect. Moreover, this study also found that five intermediates were formed during BPA degradation process because of the presence of oxidoreductase and glycosyltransferase. The results of the study provided vital information on the effect of PS on the toxicity and biodegradation of BPA to microalgal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, pyrophosphate (PP) was used to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for acid orange 7 (AO7) removal under neutral pH conditions. The removal rate of AO7 (20 mg/L) was 84% within the reaction time with a rate constant value of 0.0165 min−1 under optimum conditions. Additionally, the effects of the concentrations of PMS and PP in solutions with various pH values and the coexisting inorganic anions on AO7 removal were measured. In addition, the performance of phosphate (P(V)) on PMS activation was compared with that of phosphite (P(III)) species. In contrast to P(III), the concentration of P(V) showed a positive correlation with the efficiency of AO7 decolorization. PMS activation in different types of buffer solutions was also examined, and the results indicated that the decolorization efficiency of AO7 induced by PP addition, and the buffer solution also contributed to PMS self-decomposition. Singlet oxygen (1O2) might be the primary reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the PP/PMS system in which AO7 is decolorized at an initial pH of 7.06, as indicated by quenching experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) tests. Therefore, PP/PMS systems may be promising technologies for removing organic contaminants, particularly for PP-rich electroplating wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Richards' equation is widely used to simulate the saturation distributions in porous medium. Due to the high nonlinear of hydraulic diffusivity, it is usually difficult to obtain the analytical solutions, especially for finite boundaries. In this paper, the Richards equation for horizontal infiltration problem with finite Dirichlet boundaries is solved. The whole infiltrating process is divided into three state: the free infiltrating state, the transition state and the steady one, in which the transition state is considered as the key problem for analytical solving. Based on Boltzmann transformation and series expansion technique, an intermediate variable is introduced and an approximate analytical solution is derived for transition state. In addition, the exact solutions for other states are also given in the appendix. The present solutions can be applied for arbitrary nonlinear hydraulic diffusivity in Richards' equation. Two examples for power law and exponential law diffusivities are shown to confirm the accuracy of present method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary patterns and psychosocial factors, ubiquitous part of modern lifestyle, critically shape the gut microbiota and human health. However, it remains obscure how dietary and psychosocial inputs coordinately modulate the gut microbiota and host impact. Here, we show that dietary raffinose metabolism to fructose couples stress-induced gut microbial remodeling to intestinal stem cells (ISC) renewal and epithelial homeostasis. Chow diet (CD) and purified diet (PD) confer distinct vulnerability to gut epithelial injury, microbial alternation and ISC dysfunction in chronically restrained mice. CD preferably enriches Lactobacillus reuteri, and its colonization is sufficient to rescue stress-triggered epithelial injury. Mechanistically, dietary raffinose sustains Lactobacillus reuteri growth, which in turn metabolizes raffinose to fructose and thereby constituting a feedforward metabolic loop favoring ISC maintenance during stress. Fructose augments and engages glycolysis to fuel ISC proliferation. Our data reveal a diet-stress interplay that dictates microbial metabolism-shaped ISC turnover and is exploitable for alleviating gut disorders. Here, using a mouse model of chronic stress, the authors investigate how diet impacts stress and gut microbial structure and epithelial integrity and show that dietary raffinose metabolism to fructose couples stress-induced gut microbial remodeling to intestinal stem cell renewal and epithelial homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The advantages of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) in reducing risk of cardiovascular events (CVEs) and delaying end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is well-known. However, the efficacy and safety of these agents in non-dialysis CKD stages 3–5 patients are still a controversial issue. Methods: Two investigators (Yaru Zhang and Dandan He) independently searched and identified relevant studies from MEDLINE (from 1950 to October 2018), EMBASE (from 1970 to October 2018), and the Cochrane Library database. Randomised clinical trials in non-dialysis CKD3–5 patients treated with renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors were included. We used standard criteria (Cochrane risk of bias tool) to assess the inherent risk of bias of trials. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each outcome by random-effects model. A 2-sided p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant, and all statistical analyses were performed using STATA, version 15.0. This network meta-analysis was undertaken by the frequency model. Results: Forty-four randomised clinical trials with 42,319 patients were included in our network meta-analysis. ACEIs monotherapy significantly decreased the odds of kidney events (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.41–0.73), cardiovascular events (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.64–0.84), cardiovascular death (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.63–0.86) and all-cause death (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66–0.91) when compared to placebo. According to the cumulative ranking area (SUCRA), ACEI monotherapy had the highest probabilities of their protective effects on outcomes of kidney events (SUCRA 93.3%), cardiovascular events (SUCRA 77.2%), cardiovascular death (SUCRA 86%), and all-cause death (SUCRA 94.1%), even if there were no significant differences between ACEIs and other antihypertensive drugs, including calcium channel blockers (CCBs), β-blockers and diuretics on above outcomes except for kidney events. ARB monotherapy and combination therapy of an ACEI plus an ARB showed no more advantage than CCBs, β-blockers and diuretics in all primary outcomes. In the subgroup of non-dialysis diabetic kidney disease patients, no drugs, including ACEIs or ARBs, significantly lowered the odds of cardiovascular events and all-cause death. However, ACEIs were still better than other antihypertensive drugs including ARBs in all-cause death but not ARBs in cardiovascular events according to the SUCRA. Only ARBs had significant differences in preventing the occurrence of kidney events compared with placebo (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.72–0.95). Both ACEI/ARB monotherapy and combination therapy had higher odds of hyperkalaemia. ACEIs had 3.81 times higher odds than CCBs (95% CI 1.58–9.20), ARBs had 2.08–5.10 times higher odds than placebo and CCBs and combination therapy of an ACEI and an ARB had 4.80–24.5 times higher odds than all other treatments. Compared with placebo, CCBs and β blockers, ACEI therapy significantly increased the odds of cough (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.76–4.77; OR 8.21, 95% CI 3.13–21.54 and OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.08–3.00). There were no statistical differences in hypotension among all comparisons except ACEIs versus placebo. Conclusions: Although ACEIs increased the odds of hyperkalaemia, cough and hypotension, they were still superior to ARBs and other antihypertensive drugs and had the highest benefits for the prevention of kidney events, cardiovascular outcomes, cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality in non-dialysis CKD3–5 patients. In patients with advanced diabetic kidney disease, ACEIs were superior to ARBs in lowering risk of all-cause death but not in kidney events and cardiovascular events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different surface morphologies of TiO films were prepared through hydrothermal synthesis method on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates by changing reaction temperatures. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). As the hydrothermal temperatures increases, the surface morphologies of the TiO changes from nanorods (150 °C) to nanobuds (180 °C), and finally to nanoflowers (210 °C). Evolution of these structures are accompanied by great variations of optical properties and photocatalytic activities including a narrowing of band gap from 3.01 to 2.97 eV, increase of UV-visible absorption intensity and specific surface area, and photocatalytic degradation efficiencies from 88.18 to 95.56%. Under ultraviolet light (UV light) irradiation, the TiO nanoflowers exhibit significantly activity (95.56%) in degradation of methyl orange (MO) compared to commercial P25 (76.15%). The outstanding photocatalytic activity of the TiO nanoflowers can be attributed to the synergetic effect of much larger specific surface area, the larger content of oxygen vacancy, and higher intensity of absorption. These findings help to grow unique TiO films with desired structure and activities for photocatalyst applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the hydro-meteorological data over the past 50 years (1961–2010), the runoff change of the Kaidu River was predicted for the future 30 years (2011–2040). Two statistical downscaling models, the Statistical DownScaling Model (SDSM) and the Statistical Analog Resampling Scheme (STARS), were used to downscale the HadCM3 outputs for projecting the future climate scenarios of the basin. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model was driven by the projected climate scenarios to generate the future runoff. Modeling results suggested that the SWAT model can well duplicate the recorded runoff changes in the basin and thus can be applied to simulation of future runoff changes. Both the SDSM and the STARS models performed well in simulating the temperature but relatively poorly in simulating the precipitation. Under the A2 and B2 scenarios the basin will experience a significant increasing trend in temperature and an indistinctive change trend in precipitation during the entire forecast period. Under the S1–S3 scenarios, both temperature and precipitation do not exhibit distinctive changes. In terms of river runoff, the predicted average annual runoff will be relatively abundant during the period from 2010s to 2020s but obviously short after 2020s under A2 scenario and will be kept relatively steady under B2 scenario. The predicted runoff will fluctuate drastically with no any significant trend under S1–S3 scenarios. The relatively high runoffs under S2–S3 scenarios seem to indicate the importance of temperature increasing in generating runoff. The scenario-based predictions suggest that moderate emission (e.g., B2) or moderate warming (e.g., S2) is beneficial to maintaining the expected level of runoff in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]