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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

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]

A simple and sensitive electrochemical cholesterol biosensor was fabricated based on ceramic-coated liposome (cerasome) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with good conductivity. The cerasome consists of a lipid-bilayer membrane and a ceramic surface as a soft biomimetic interface, and the mild layer-by-layer self-assembled method as the immobilization strategy on the surface of the modified electrode was used, which can provide good biocompatibility to maintain the biological activity of cholesterol oxidase (ChOx). The GQDs promoted electron transport between the enzyme and the electrode more effectively. The structure of the cerasome-forming lipid was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The morphology and characteristics of the cerasome and GQDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), zeta potential, photoluminescence spectra (PL), etc. The proposed biosensors revealed excellent catalytic performance to cholesterol with a linear concentration range of 16.0 × 10−6–6.186 × 10−3 mol/L, with a low detection limit (LOD) of 5.0 × 10−6 mol/L. The Michaelis–Menten constant (Km) of ChOx was 5.46 mmol/L, indicating that the immobilized ChOx on the PEI/GQDs/PEI/cerasome–modified electrode has a good affinity to cholesterol. Moreover, the as-fabricated electrochemical biosensor exhibited good stability, anti-interference ability, and practical application for cholesterol detection. [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]

• Ecological restoration should consider both effects on ecosystem service supply and trade-offs. • Four ecosystem services supply and trade-offs were analyzed under six restoration scenarios. • Restoration of the case study area improved all service supplies, even compared to the reference. • But higher service supply improvements and lower trade-off intensities are still possible. Ecological restoration is becoming increasingly important in addressing the global crisis of ecosystem degradation. Ecosystem services, as a concept that connects people and natural ecosystems, can be incorporated into the design, practice and evaluation of restoration projects to promote both the socioeconomic and ecological effects of restoration. However, the full incorporation of ecosystem services in landscape-scale restoration projects is still greatly lacking. In this study, we used the Dashihe mine tailings restoration project in Hebei, China, as a case study and analyzed data from field surveys, remote sensing and literature reviews to study the following two questions: 1) How would multiple ecosystem service supply capabilities and their tradeoffs change after ecological restoration; 2) How can multiple ecosystem service supply capabilities be maximized while minimizing their tradeoffs? The supply capabilities of four important ecosystem services (i.e., soil retention, dust deposition, carbon sequestration and habitat maintenance) and their tradeoff intensities under six restoration scenarios were quantified and compared. The results showed that restored ecosystems outperformed unrestored and even the reference conditions in terms of ecosystem service supply enhancement. However, there is still much room for improvement compared to the recommended restoration scenario. The recommended scenario could result in both higher service supplies and lower tradeoff intensities among the services. On this basis, we call for more incorporation of ecosystem service supply and tradeoff analysis in future ecological restoration projects to reverse the declining trends of ecosystem services across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Cities have become the most important habitats for mankind in most regions of the world. Many researchers and organizations have attempted to evaluate the states of cities from the perspective of their functionalities. However, the comprising components of a city, which provide these functions, have not been evaluated explicitly and systematically. These components include people, infrastructure and environment, all of which are the foundations of city health and sustainability. In this study, we used the analogy of a healthy human and defined a healthy city as a state of complete demographic, infrastructural and environmental well-being, which means that all components are present with integrity and sufficiency and also function effectively, harmoniously and sustainably. Based on this concept, a component-based city health examination framework was constructed and tested in three major cities in China (Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen) in both 2010 and 2015. A total of 27 indicators (seven for People, ten for Infrastructure and ten for Environment), each with a health reference value, were chosen and calculated. The fuzzy logic method was selected to perform the evaluation task due to its effectiveness in assessing uncertain and relatively subjective objects. Results showed that all three case study cities failed to meet the healthy condition in both years. Shenzhen was, relatively, the healthiest city among the three in 2015 and had the highest health score in Infrastructure and Environment. Shanghai possessed the highest score in People in both years. Additionally, five indicators with the largest potential for improvement were also identified for each city. This component-based city health evaluation model can be applied to better inform urban planning policies and potentially improve the quality of life in cities in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Climate change has far‐reaching impacts on ecosystems. Recent attempts to quantify such impacts focus on measuring exposure to climate change but largely ignore ecosystem resistance and resilience, which may also affect the vulnerability outcomes. In this study, the relative vulnerability of global terrestrial ecosystems to short‐term climate variability was assessed by simultaneously integrating exposure, sensitivity, and resilience at a high spatial resolution (0.05°). The results show that vulnerable areas are currently distributed primarily in plains. Responses to climate change vary among ecosystems and deserts and xeric shrublands are the most vulnerable biomes. Global vulnerability patterns are determined largely by exposure, while ecosystem sensitivity and resilience may exacerbate or alleviate external climate pressures at local scales; there is a highly significant negative correlation between exposure and sensitivity. Globally, 61.31% of the terrestrial vegetated area is capable of mitigating climate change impacts and those areas are concentrated in polar regions, boreal forests, tropical rainforests, and intact forests. Under current sensitivity and resilience conditions, vulnerable areas are projected to develop in high Northern Hemisphere latitudes in the future. The results suggest that integrating all three aspects of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity, and resilience) may offer more comprehensive and spatially explicit adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire, as a strong disturbance type, can exert significant impacts on the biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere and human society. It can inherently trigger both critical transitions in ecosystems and dramatic changes in land cover. However, the general patterns and possible influencing factors of post-fire land cover change remain largely unclear at a global scale. Obtaining such knowledge is of great value in advancing the understanding of fire ecology and promoting sustainable fire management. Here, we combined satellite observations of long-term ESA CCI land cover (300 m resolution) and burned area data from MODIS collection 6 (500 m resolution) to assess the global post-fire land cover change patterns from 2005 to 2015. The results showed that areas with identified post-fire land cover change accounted for approximately 0.36–0.74% of the annual global burned areas during the study period and were most common in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and the D.R. Congo. The most common land cover change types in 2005, 2010 and 2015 were "forest-to-agriculture" (31.93%), "forest-to-shrubland" (26.23%) and "agriculture-to-forest" (18.74%), respectively. In addition, the conversion between agriculture and forest, and shrubland and forest, after fire were found to be bidirectional. After assessing 14 fire-related, climatic, topographic, ecological and socioeconomic factors that could potentially influence post-fire land cover change occurrence, burned area size and vegetation cover diversity were identified as the two strongest predictors, followed by aspect, fire intensity and slope. Our results provide a global overview of post-fire land cover change patterns and offer guidance for developing sustainable fire management policies. • About 0.36–0.74% of the global burned areas experienced post-fire land cover change. • The most common post-fire land cover change type was from forest to agriculture. • Forest and agriculture and forest and shrubland commonly change to each other after fire. • Burned area size and vegetation cover diversity are two strong predictors of changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater ecosystem service is essential to human’s survival and development. Many studies have documented the spatial differences in the supply and demand of ecosystem services and proposed the concept of ecosystem services flows. However, few studies characterize freshwater ecosystem service flow quantitatively. Therefore, our paper aims to quantify the effects of freshwater ecosystem service flow on downstream areas. We developed a freshwater ecosystem service flow model and applied it in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, China, for the year of 2000, 2005, and 2010. We assessed the regional water security with an improved freshwater security index by integrating freshwater service provision, consumption and flow; and found that most areas of the BTH region (69.2%) were affected by upstream freshwater flows. The areas achieving water security in the region also expanded to 66.9%, 66.1%, and 71.3%, which were 6.4%, 6.8% and 5.7% increments compared to no-flow situation, in 2000, 2005 and 2010, respectively. Setting quota for human water consumption is suggested to further improve water security. These results highlight the need to fully understand the connections between distant freshwater ecosystem service provision and local freshwater ecosystem service consumption. This approach may also help managers to choose more sustainable strategies for critical freshwater resource management across different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a measure of ecosystems' contribution to human well-being, the concept of Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is an integrated monetary index for the evaluation of final ecosystem services, which has attracted widespread attention around the world. In China, both national and local governments have launched a series of GEP accounting pilot projects, with the aim to incorporate this new concept into real world decision-making. However, a critical review of these practices remains lacking, especially regarding their current status and problems. In this study, by performing a systematic review and data integration of current literature and government documents, we comprehensively described the GEP accounting practices in China, including pilot project's coverage, accounting methods, and policy application. Then, we identified five major problems in current GEP accounting practices in China, which prevent GEP from being accurately measured in the short term. We proposed that GEP accounting should be a constantly evolving process with both long-term and short-term improvement goals. More in detail, the accuracy issues in GEP accounting require longer periods of time to resolve; while its repeatability, comparability, and applicability should be improved in the short term, so that it can be incorporated into decision-making. In response to these challenges, we suggested the adaptation of GEP accounting index screening principles as a possible future direction, which can help to apply GEP results in the current stages of decision making. By improving GEP concept and accounting, it will be possible to establish a unified comparable GEP accounting system and reduce the gap between the GEP and decision-making. • GEP accounting has received extensive attention from the Chinese government. • GEP accounting requires a co-evolution of accuracy and applicability. • Five problems that prevent GEP from being accurately accounted were identified. • Future GEP accounting results should be repeatable, comparable and applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear infrastructures, such as roads, highways and railways, can bring significant social and economic benefits while posing great threats to local environment and biodiversity. Although processes such as Strategic Environmental Assessment have been increasingly applied during the route planning stage of major linear infrastructures to evaluate their potential impacts, the assessment of the spatial variations in these impacts is often missing. Thus, a spatial planning tool that balances both the costs and benefits for environmental and socioeconomic aspects is needed. Here we propose a Sustainable Linear Infrastructure Route Planning Model, which incorporates the spatial assessments of potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts using factors from six aspects, which are ecosystem importance, biodiversity conservation, environmental risks, economic costs, social costs, and socioeconomic benefits. The model allows users to set weights for different factors according to specific development priorities, then produces a weighted spatial resistance map, and identifies the optimized route through least-cost path analysis. We implemented this model through a case study of the Southern Expressway Extension project in Sri Lanka to test its validity. The results showed that the route choices from our model under three hypothetical scenarios (environmental, socioeconomic and balanced) all resulted in lower negative impacts compared to the current route. The proposed model can provide decision-makers an effective tool to improve the sustainability of roads, highways and railways in the age of rapid linear infrastructure expansion across the globe. • We proposed a route planning model to assess both conservation and socioeconomic impacts. • Spatial differences in linear infrastructures' impacts are included in the route planning model. • Scenario settings are used to reflect different development and planning priorities. • Three alternative routes are identified and compared with a case study project in Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Intermediate and final ecosystem disservices should be differentiated. • Functional classification of disservices helps people studying their effects. • Economic gains from services outweighed the losses from disservices in Beijing. • Both services and disservices effects should be considered in planning. Ecosystem disservices (EDS) is an important form of social-ecological interactions and can strongly influence people's perception of nature. However, compare to ecosystem services (ES), current studies on EDS are still very limited especially from the perspective of classification and valuation. Here, we firstly proposed a function-based classification system to better explain the general effects of EDS. Then, we used Beijing, the capital of China, as a case study to value three common urban EDS (excessive decrease in water quantity, plant-related diseases and infrastructure damage) there. The results suggested that the total EDS value of Beijing was approximately 10.54 billion RMB/year in 2019, which equaled about 5.13% of the total value of five important ecosystem services (food and raw material production, climate regulation, environmental quality regulation, soil retention and ecotourism). The finding showed that although EDS caused considerable financial loss, the potential economic gains from ecosystem services could still greatly outweigh the loss and therefore supported the current urban greening expansion policy in Beijing. Our study attempted to promote the bridging of ecosystem services and disservices studies and call for more equal consideration of both ES and EDS to create more compressive and sustainable planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel polymeric ionic liquid functionalized graphene, poly(1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide)-graphene (denoted as poly(ViBuIm+Br−)-G), was synthesized. FTIR, UV–vis spectra and TEM were used to characterize the formation of as synthesized nanocomposites. Due to the modification of the polymeric ionic liquid, poly(ViBuIm+Br−)-G can not only be dispersed well in aqueous solutions to form a homogeneous colloidal suspension of individual nanosheets, but also exhibit a strong positive charge. Based on self-assembly, the negatively charged glucose oxidase (GOD) was immobilized onto the poly(ViBuIm+Br−)-G to form a GOD/poly(ViBuIm+Br−)-G/glassy carbon (GC) electrode under mild conditions. With the advantage of both poly(ViBuIm+Br−) and graphene, poly(ViBuIm+Br−)-G can provide a favorable and conductive microenvironment for the immobilized GOD and thus promote their direct electron transfer at the GC electrode. Furthermore, the GOD/poly(ViBuIm+Br−)-G/GC electrode displayed an excellent sensitivity, together with a wide linear range and excellent stability for the detection of glucose. Accordingly, these unique properties of such novel nanocomposite generate a promising platform for the construction of mediator-free enzymatic biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effects of urban form on UHI changed significantly along urbanization gradient. • Urban continuity, complexity, population density and NDVI become more influential. • Urban elongation, nighttime light index and tree cover become less influential. • Contribution rate of urban size factors draws a convex curve along urbanization gradient. • Urban geometry and vegetation factors become more and less contributive, respectively. There is an increasing demand for urban form optimization to mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effect under the background of global climate change and urbanization. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how the relationship between urban form and UHI intensity changes under diverse urbanization contexts. This study aims to show the change patterns of the relationship between urban form and UHI intensity along the urban development gradient based upon the investigation of a total of 150 urban areas in the Jing-Jin-Ji region in China in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. We defined a comprehensive urban development index taking into account the size of urban area, population density and night light intensity to classify the different levels of urban development. A multi-model comparison was carried out to validate the results. We found that the increase in urban continuity, sprawling, scale and density all enhanced UHI effect at the regional scale. However, the relationship between urban form indicators and UHI intensity demonstrated two opposite patterns along the urban development gradient: population density, geometric complexity and continuity, and general vegetation index of a city were found to be increasingly influential, while night light intensity, geometric elongation and forest coverage presented declining influence. Finally, the study obtained an ascending contribution rate curve for urban geometry indicators, a convex curve for urban size indicators and a declining curve for urban vegetation. These changes along the urban development gradient may be closely related to the changes of the microclimate in cities due to land use, social and economic activities in different urban development stages. The findings can contribute to more appropriate and effective urban planning in countries and regions undergoing rapid urbanization as a valuable reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel cholesterol electrochemical biosensor based on graphene-based nanocomposites by LBL technique was fabricated. • The PEI-GP provided well biocompatible microenvironment for the immobilized cholesterol oxidase to keep its bioactivity. • The cholesterol oxidase/PEI-GP modified electrodes show ultrasensitive biosensing detection performance towards cholesterol. • The fabricated biosensor exhibited good selectivity, reproducibility, stability and practical application. A novel electrochemical platform composed of water soluble polyethylene imine-reduced graphene oxide (PEI-rGO) composites and cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) based on layer-by-layer (LBL) technique has been triumphantly developed. The PEI-rGO composites could effectively improve the electron transfer ability between the assembled enzyme and the surface of electrode. Furthermore, LBL technique could immobilize more enzyme under mild conditions, which was benefit to keep the bioactivity of redox enzyme. TEM, UV–vis and FT-IR showed that the PEI-rGO composites behaved as individual nanosheet structure and were successfully prepared. The self-assembly process of (ChOx/PEI-rGO) n film was monitored by UV–vis spectroscopy, demonstrating that the ChOx had been immobilized orderly without denaturation. Owing to the good conductivity of the PEI-rGO composites, the electron transfer ability of the immobilized ChOx was greatly improved on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The PEI/(ChOx/PEI-rGO) 3 /GCE showed excellent electrochemical performances toward the detection of cholesterol. Under optimized conditions, the fabricated electrode exhibited a wide linear range in the cholesterol concentration from 0.10 × 10−6 to 9.331 × 10−3 mol L−1 with a detection limit of 0.021 μmol L−1 estimated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K m) was 0.0431 mmol L−1. This result indicated that a good affinity between the immobilized ChOx and the cholesterol. Meanwhile, the biosensor presented good stability, reproducibility and anti-interference ability with good recoveries for real sample detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Urban development exerts both benign and malignant impacts on urban vegetation. Mixed results have been reported regarding the responses of urban vegetation to urbanization. However, these results are limited by both sample size and location. It is essential to conduct global-scale research in urban areas with various development levels in order to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between urban development and vegetation states. Thus, we firstly developed an urban development score to quantify the development intensity of 68,651 urban areas across 14 biomes by using nighttime light and population density data. We then classified each urban area into a relative development level according to the score and biome. Based on the urban development scores and levels, we determined the relationship between urban development and vegetation states, as represented by the remote-sensed vegetation index. Findings suggested that four distinct types of relationships exist across biomes, namely positive, convex (positive then negative), non-significant, and negative. The positive corrections were commonly found between urban development and vegetation states especially in less-productive biomes such as deserts and open shrublands. However, the positive correlations diminished and eventually turned negative as urban areas became more developed and/or were located in more productive biomes. Turning points of the relationship between urban development and vegetation states were detected in four biomes that have moderate productivity. Completely negative relationships were only found in highly productive tropical and temperate biomes. The results of this study call for a closer examination of the altered urban vegetation states as the result of human engineering.Key words: vegetation states; urban development; global-scale; remote-sensing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pyrolysis experiments on the oil sands from Kazakhstan were carried out in a batch reactor. The FT-IR spectrum and the1H-NMR spectrum of pyrolysis oil under different temperatures were carried out to investigate the changes of functional group with temperature. The TGA experiments of oil sand were performed at different heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20°C/min up to 600°C. The Coats–Redfern method was accepted to calculate the kinetic parameters (apparent activation energy E and frequency factor A) of the desorption stage and the thermal cracking stage, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

[Display omitted] Pickering emulsions have been used in many fields such as catalytic synthesis, pharmaceutics and oilfield chemicals. They usually have good stability, but in some extreme conditions such as at high temperatures or in special liquid–liquid systems, poor stability is often encountered. Herein, ultrathin silica nanosheets with controllable morphologies were synthesized via a simple interfacial anisotropic self-assembly approach integrated with pore-forming techniques. By regulating the size, density and pattern of the apertures, three types of unique nanosheets including mesoporous nanosheets, meso/macroporous topology-nanosheets and asymmetric nanonets with hollows were obtained. After a simple hydrophobic modification, the nanonets exhibited super-performance as particulate emulsifiers, owing to their two-dimensional (2D) structures of large pore volume and hierarchical pore/hollow arrangements. As a result, those silica nanonets can stabilize various emulsion systems at considerably high temperatures that are difficult to be stabilized by conventional particulate emulsifiers even at a dose of 100x higher. This work paves a promising way to develop novel 2D asymmetric nanomaterials with tunable compositions, aperture parameters and morphologies for emulsification and potential applications. [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]

By using the one-step copolymerization of styrene (St) and 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide (VEIB), fine particles clustered (FPC) poly(St- co -VEIB) microspheres have been successfully prepared in the present of sodium dodecylsulfonate (SDS) in aqueous alcohol system. The FPC poly(St- co -VEIB) microspheres are composed of small poly(St- co -VEIB) nanospheres with the average diameter of 40 nm. The formation mechanism of FPC poly(St- co -VEIB) microspheres is proposed by investigating the influence of reaction conditions on their morphologies and observing their growth process. It can be well convinced that VEIB not only acted as a kind of monomers, which participated in the polymerization and provided electropositivity for FPC poly(St- co -VEIB) microspheres, but also acted as emulsifier and reactive stabilizer. The FPC poly(St- co -VEI[SO 3 CF 3 ]) microspheres, which were obtained by anion-exchange between − SO 3 CF 3 of HSO 3 CF 3 and Br − in FPC poly(St- co -VEIB) microspheres due to the existence of imidazolium groups with electropositivity, showed higher catalytic efficiency for hydration of 1,2-epoxypropane with H 2 O and esterification between acetic acid and ethanol than that of H 2 SO 4 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel FeS 2 -TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO nanosheets were successfully prepared. • The good electrocatalytic activity towards NOR was achieved. • FeS 2 -TiO 2 as the catalytic center was finally irreversibly converted to Fe and S ions doped TiO 2. Electrochemical nitrogen oxidation reaction (NOR) acts as a clean and sustainable approach for promisingly replacing the conventional industrial method for producing nitrate. Designing and preparing the effective electrocatalysts for NOR has aroused great research interests. Herein, FeS 2 -TiO 2 heterostructures are well-dispersed on the surface of 2-methylimidazolium functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (2-MeIm/PPy/GO) by the in situ growth due to the ion-exchange and the coordination between the 2-MeIm groups and the metal precursors, which exhibit the excellent NOR electroactivity. The highest NO 3 – yield by the obtained FeS 2 -TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO reaches to 137.04 μg h−1 mg-1 act. with the maximum Faradic efficiency (FE) of 4.38 % at 2.04 V (vs. RHE), better than most reported electrocatalysts. The good selectivity for producing nitrate is also achieved, but the stability of both the NO 3 – yield and FE present a trend of rising and then declining in the cyclic test of FeS 2 -TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO. The irreversible conversion of the electrocatalysts can be confirmed through detailed characterization towards the crystal structures and chemical states of FeS 2 -TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO after long term NOR test. The electrochemical step of NOR mainly occurs at FeS 2 , converting the inert N 2 to active *NO intermediates. SO 4 2- generated at high NOR potential gradually increase by the oxidation of S element, which can cause the promotion of the NOR performance before the fourth cycle. But along with the disappearance of FeS 2 phase, FeS 2 -TiO 2 as the catalytic center is finally irreversibly converted to Fe and S ions doped TiO 2 , resulting in the sharp drop of both the NO 3 – yield and FE at the sixth cycle. This work will provide valuable guidance for the designing and preparing NOR electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel Pd&TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO nanosheets were successfully prepared. • The good electrocatalytic activity towards NOR was achieved. • Pd&TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO exhibited the excellent stability and selectivity towards NOR. Though a very simple method, a small quantity of Pd and TiO 2 nanoparticles have been in-situ grown on 2-methylimidazolium functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (2-MeIm/PPy/GO), which can be confirmed by several characterization analysis. The obtained Pd&TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO nanosheets exhibit good nitrogen oxidation reaction (NOR) electroactivity with the excellent stability and selectivity, due to the concerted catalysis of Pd and TiO 2 with super-small size. Pd with high nitrogen activation capacity and TiO 2 with low oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electroactivity are combined to the benefit of electrocatalytic NOR process. The optimal potential for NOR by Pd&TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO is 2.04 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, with the corresponding nitrate yield and Faraday efficiency are 12.60 μg h−1 mg−1 cat. and 4.04 %, respectively. No NO 3 − is detected in Ar-saturated electrolyte, indicating the generation of the detected NO 3 − deriving from the electrocatalytic oxidation of N 2. Hierarchical Pd&TiO 2 @2-MeIm/PPy/GO nanosheets exhibited the excellent electrocatalytic activity towards nitrogen oxidation reaction, which may be attributed to the concerted catalysis of Pd and TiO 2 with super-small size. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We utilized the Markov-PLUS model to explore woodland growth by setting up a no-policy scenario. • We analyzed ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles at dual scales. • Woodland growth was more influenced by proximity to cropland following the implementation of the policy. • The ecosystem services trade-offs showed a decrease after the policy implementation. Forest can provide multiple benefits, such as supplying a variety of ecosystem services. However, the planet is currently at risk of deforestation as a result of increased urbanization and growing food demand. Countries around the world have introduced a wide range of policies to mitigate this issue. In China, the Linyi City government has launched the cross-county forest credit market transactions (CFCMT) policy, which showcased significant innovations in compliance credits and transaction entities to enhance motivation for afforestation. This study creates a no-policy counterfactual scenario to analyze the woodland growth and ecosystem service trade-offs between 2013 and 2021. The results demonstrate that the woodland grew faster after this policy, with a growth rate 1.78 times higher than that from 2013 to 2017. The areas of woodland growth with the policy are mainly located on the edges of cropland and woodland. The increased woodland primarily originates from cropland conversion, and compared to the no-policy scenario, these growing woodlands have gentler slopes and lower altitudes. After the policy's enforcement, there were more increases in carbon storage, soil retention, and habitat quality. And ecosystem services showed a more optimizing trend in the direction of synergy at grid and town scales. We also find that larger spatial scales exhibit synergies and less accurately represent trade-off/synergistic change trends. The ecosystem services bundle consisting of carbon stocks, soil conservation and habitat quality showed a significant increase. This study reveals woodland growth and trade-offs among ecosystem services after the implementation of CFCMT policy, offering valuable insights for future afforestation policy optimization and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through interface and defect engineering, the rich defective FeS 2 -SnS 2 heterogeneous nanoplates have been in-situ grown on poly(1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazole bromide) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (PVEIB/PPy/GO). The obtained FeS 2 -SnS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO exhibited the best electrocatalytic performance towards nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) and the lowest binding energy of Sn 3p, Sn 3d and S 2p orbitals among a series of electrocatalysts prepared by different modifier under the same reaction conditions. Therefore, PVEIB played an important role in the construction of FeS 2 -SnS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO, resulting in the rich planar defects at the heterointerface of FeS 2 -SnS 2 nanoplates, which was benefit to improve the nitrogen activation capacity. Otherwise, the irreversible phase transitions also occurred after FeS 2 -SnS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO suffering long term NRR test, eventually resulting in the deactivation of FeS 2 -SnS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO towards NRR. It will provide a theoretical basis and practical experience for the study of electrocatalyst deactivation based on metal sulfides. [Display omitted] • The rich-defect FeS 2 -SnS 2 heterostructures were immobilized on PVEIB/PPy/GO. • The catalysts prepared by different modifier presented diverse NRR electroactivities. • PVEIB were crucial for inducing the planar defects on FeS 2 -SnS 2 nanoplates. • Fe2+ might catalyze Sn4+ gradually converting to Sn0 during the NRR process. • The catalysts were deactivated by the occupation of active sites with N intermediates. [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]

Highlights • Ultrasound thermal cracking (UTC) promotes H- transfer reaction. • Ultrasound enhances the conversion of conventional thermal cracking and promotes the formation of the mesophase. • Mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) was discovered in the coke of UTC. Abstract The influence of ultrasonic irradiation on the tar-sand bitumen in the process of thermal cracking with an inert atmosphere was investigated thoroughly. The product distribution and coke characteristic produced by the conventional thermal cracking (CTC) and ultrasound thermal cracking (UTC) were invested at the following condition: ultrasound frequency 20 kHz, ultrasonic power 2000 W, reaction time 2 h, reaction temperature from 400 to 440 °C. The result of the liquid products distribution indicated that UTC can significantly increase gasoline yield and diesel yield, and dramatically reduce VGO (Vacuum Gas Oil) yield and residuum (greater than 500 °C) yield. The analysis of gas products showed that there were no significant differences for the gas distribution between the two reactions (methods), indicating that reaction of UTC still conformed to a radical chain mechanism, but the ratio of olefin/paraffin was greatly reduced in the process of UTC, which was attributed to the hydrogen transfer reaction promoted by ultrasound. The result of the analysis by SEM, FT-IR, Raman, XRD and Zeta potential demonstrated that there was a significant difference for the morphology of cokes produced by the two methods. Mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) was discovered in the process of UTC, which should be due to that the polymerization of the free macro-radicals produced from PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) promoted by ultrasonic cavitation. In addition, it can be inferred that the viscosity of the second liquid phase was reduced by ultrasonic mechanical function through the breakage of the stack of asphaltene molecules cross-linked by van der Waals force. According to the mesophase theory, the ultrasound irradiation promoted the formation of the second liquid phase, extended its existence time and reduced its viscosity, resulting in the formation of MCMB controlled by the surface tension during the process of UTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a novel ZnO/CuO heterogeneous structure for photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells, which was fabricated with CuO attached onto ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays by an electrochemical deposition method. CuO as a p-type and narrow band-gap sensitizer can make the n-type ZnO respond to visible light and promote the separation of photogenerated charge carriers by building a p-n heterogeneous structure. The photoelectric conversion and photocatalytic formaldehyde oxidation of ZnO/CuO were investigated in detail under simulated sunlight (AM 1.5) in comparison with single ZnO NRs and CuO film. In addition, the energy level diagram of the p-n heterogeneous interface was revealed according to a theoretical analysis on the basis of the flat band potential results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing relationships among ecosystem service supplies and demands and manipulating certain drivers to maintain well-balanced ecosystem service suites are key challenges for ensuring sustainable social-ecological systems. However, comprehensive research on the spatial relationships and determinants of ecosystem service supply-demand mismatches remains rare. Therefore, we assessed trade-offs and synergies among bundled ecosystem service supply-demand balances and their underlying drivers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Four distinct ecosystem service bundles revealed diverse ecosystem service supply-demand mismatches among different locations associated with various trade-offs and synergies. Building weighted networks specifically for different bundles promoted innovative understandings of the emergent properties of ecosystem services and unveiled the topological ecosystem service differences, synergistic interdependences among these services and essential umbrella ecosystem services for improving multiple ecosystem service supply-demand states. Social factors severely increased ecosystem service deficits in some bundles, while biophysical factors more critically improved ecosystem service surpluses in other bundles. Besides, the similar nonlinear responses of both the overall supply-demand states of multiple services and the supply-demand relationships of umbrella ecosystem services to their shared drivers in most bundles further supported the important roles of umbrella services in improving ecosystem service multifunctionality. Our study emphasized the significance of considering the spatial relationships and drivers of ecosystem service supply-demand mismatches when targeting effective spatial policies for realizing the sustainability of social-ecological systems and could provide useful guidance for addressing complex human-nature interdependencies. [Display omitted] • Relationships among and drivers of ecosystem service (ES) budgets were analysed. • Topological differences among bundled ES budgets were explored by network analysis. • Synergistic interdependence among bundled ES supply-demand relations was revealed. • Umbrella ESs lied at the heart of managing supply-demand relations of multiple ESs. • Social-ecological drivers had contrasting and nonlinear impacts on ES budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A type of ionic liquid functionalized high-aspect-ratio Janus SiO 2 nanosheets (IL-Janus nanosheets), which possesses a side terminated by imidazolin salt groups and the opposite side terminated by phenyl groups, was prepared and its emulsification performance was investigated. The surface wettability of ionic liquid functionalized side could be tailored via simple anion exchanging, giving the amphiphilic or totally hydrophobic Janus nanosheets. The influence of several parameters including surface wettability, particle concentration, oil composition, oil-water ratio as well as initial location of the nanosheets on the stability, morphology and type of the Pickering emulsions (O/W or W/O) stabilized by the amphiphilic IL-Janus nanosheets was evaluated. The research results revealed that average emulsion droplets size was decreased with increase of nanosheets concentration below a concentration value but had almost no change beyond the concentration; catastrophic phase inversion phenomenon occurred by varying volume fraction of water phase in the oil-water systems, and transitional phase inversion could be achieved by in-situ exchanging Cl − anion of the IL-Janus nanosheets with phosphomolybdate H 2 PMo 12 O 40 − . The responsiveness of Pickering emulsions towards phosphomolybdic acid is resulted from irreversible anion exchanging of Cl − by H 2 PMo 12 O 40 − and the variation of surface wettability of the nanosheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) (P4VPBA) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (PPy/GO) nanosheets, which combined the advantages of GO, PPy and PBA groups, were successfully prepared by a simple polymerization of 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (4VPBA) on the surface of pre-treated PPy/GO containing vinyl groups. Because of the synergistic effects of GO with excellent 2D structures and large surface area, PPy with good electronic conductivity and PBA with high recognition capability, P4VPBA/PPy/GO modified glassy carbon electrode presented excellent electrochemical sensing capabilities toward catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) with good stability, high sensitivity and selectivity, especially giving a large anodic peak potential difference between CC and HQ enough to well distinguish and simultaneously determine the two dihydroxybenzene isomers in their mixture. It is found that PBA groups on the surface of P4VPBA/PPy/GO nanosheets played an essential role for the discrimination and simultaneous electrochemical determination of CC and HQ, which may be due to the selective formation of stable cyclic esters by the covalent interaction between PBA groups and related molecules with a cis -diol in an alkaline aqueous solution. Therefore, P4VPBA/PPy/GO nanosheets can act as a good electrode material for building a steady electrochemical sensor for detecting the two dihydroxybenzene isomers with high sensitivity and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a novel ion exchange method to prepare ZnO/ZnS, ZnO/CdS and ZnO/Ag 2 S heterogeneous nanorod (NR) arrays on F-doped SnO 2 glass. The chalcogenides semiconductors (ZnS, CdS and Ag 2 S) form the shell of the ZnO NRs on the ZnO NR arrays by the ion exchange, and the obtained samples maintained the well-ordered regular hexagonal morphology of the ZnO NRs. The photoelectric currents and photocatalytic water oxidation properties of these heterostructures were investigated in detail under simulated sunlight (AM1.5) in comparison with fresh ZnO NRs. In addition, theoretical analysis of the photoelectric effect is preliminarily explored on the basis the flat band potential results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fluorescent nanohybrid was fabricated via the self-assembly of semiconductive quantum dots (QDs) on biocompatible cerasomes. The nanohybrid (denoted as QDs-cerasome) was used as an electrode material for visible protein immobilization and bioelectrochemistry. The morphology and surface properties of the QDs-cerasome hybrid were characterized by transmission electron microscopies, atomic force microscopies and zeta potential measurements. Because the QDs-cerasome hybrid possessed a positive charge in aqueous solution, it could be used as a matrix to immobilize negatively charged hemoglobin (Hb) via electrostatic interaction. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy demonstrated that Hb was immobilized on the hybrid matrix without denaturation. The fluorescence of the QDs-cerasome was quenched as Hb was immobilized, indicating that the protein immobilization process could be visibly detected. Compared with protein electrodes constructed using a single-component material, including Hb-QDs/GC and Hb-cerasome/GC electrodes, the Hb-QDs-cerasome/GC electrode not only realized enhanced direct electrochemistry, but also displayed higher sensitivity and a wider linear range toward the detection of hydrogen peroxide because of the synergistic effect of the QDs and cerasomes. The experimental results demonstrate that this fluorescent multicomponent hybrid material provides a novel and effective platform to immobilize a redox protein to realize direct electrochemistry. As such, this hybrid shows promise for application in third-generation electrochemical biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeking novel solar energy utilization and conversion methods has always been a frontier topic in energy research. Here, we propose a new way to directly photoelectrodeposit metals using solar energy based on semiconductor energy band theory. Three kinds of semiconductor photoanodes (TiO 2 , BiVO 4 and Fe 2 O 3) are employed to deposit metallic Cu or Bi at the cathode under illumination without external voltage. It is found that when TiO 2 and BiVO 4 are used as photoanodes, Cu, Cu 2 O and Bi can be continuously deposited on the cathode, but when Fe 2 O 3 photoanode is irradiated, no material comes out. The results prove that the potential of electrons in the conduction band determines whether photoelectric deposition occurs or not. The related mechanism involves the oxygen reduction reaction (OER) of the valence band holes of the photoanode, the collection of conduction band electrons by back electrode, as well as the reduction of metal ions on the counter electrode. In addition, we also put forward the concept of using the deposited Cu or Bi as the metal electrode to form a new metal-air battery to release chemical energy of the deposited metal. [Display omitted] • Cu and Bi are directly deposited by a photoelectrochemical cell without bias. • The charge transfer mechanism of photoelectric deposition metals is studied. • A new type of Cu/Bi-air battery is proposed. • A new energy conversion system is built. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services (ESs) have been widely used for ecological protection and land spatial planning. Natural and anthropogenic drivers exhibit a strong dynamic coupling relationship with ESs. However, current ESs-related research focused on mapping the ESs spatially or investing the trade-offs and synergies relationship between ES, ignoring the nonlinear response of ESs to natural and anthropogenic drivers. Here we aimed to investigate the nonlinear effect of 14 potential drivers (8 natural and 6 anthropogenic) on the total value of six typical ESs (ESV). Taking Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH) in China as an example, we established 14 constrain lines and identified critical thresholds through the restricted cubic splines (RCS) regression. We found strong non-linear impacts of natural and anthropogenic drivers on ESV and critical thresholds existed among all the 14 constrain lines. The RCS plots showed that the overall ESV was kept at a high level before or after certain thresholds (e.g., altitude >687 m, slope >13.4°, NDVI >0.7, distance from water <31.2 km, etc.). We categorized these threshold combinations and found the potentially high ES delivery areas were mainly distributed in the Yanshan Mountian, accounting for approximately 5% of the total BTH region. These critical thresholds offer a new method to delineate conservation and restoration priority areas. [Display omitted] • Non-linear effects of natural and anthropogenic drivers on ecosystem services were quantified. • Key natural and anthropogenic thresholds include altitude (687 m), slope (13.4°), NDVI (0.7), distance to roads (1.1 km). • The potentially high ecosystem service delivery areas account for approximately 5% of the total BTH region. • The high ecosystem service supply potential areas can guide the delineation of ecological restoration priority regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquid-modified metal sulfides/graphene oxide nanocomposites are prepared via a facile electrostatic adsorption. Ionic liquid (IL) is firstly used as surface modifier and structure-directing agent of metal sulfide (MS) crystallization process, obtaining ionic liquid modified-MS (IL-MS) nanoparticles with positive charges on surface. IL-MS/GO is obtained by electrostatic adherence between positively charged IL-MS and negatively charged graphene oxide (GO). The as-prepared sample shows enhanced photocurrent and highly efficient photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation, indicating IL-MS/GO nanocomposites greatly promoted the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel poly(ionic liquids) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets (PILs/PPy/GO) were prepared by the polymerization of 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazole bromide (VEIB) on the surface of N-vinyl imidazolium modified PPy/GO nanosheets. Due to the synergistic effects of GO with well-defined lamellar structures, conductive PPy and biocompatible PILs, PILs/PPy/GO modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) presented the excellent electrochemical catalytic activity towards dopamine (DA) with good stability, high sensitivity and wide linear range in the present of ascorbic acid (AA) with high concentration. PILs played an essential role for the simultaneous determination of DA and AA in a mixture, whose existence effectively improved the transmission mode of electrons and resulted in the different electrocatalytic performance towards the oxidation of DA and AA. It is indicated that PILs/PPy/GO nanosheets can act as a good steady and sensitive electrode material for the development of improved DA sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense research works had been devoted worldwide to the improvement of electrons conductivity of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 spinel to get better power performances. In this study, our experimental results revealed that pristine Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 spinel possessed excellent power charge performance. Three charge–discharge modes were employed to take advantage of its outstanding power charge capacity. The power capacity of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 spinel was increased about 13 times at high current density by using an appropriate working mode. Even at 30 C , Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 could keep 90% of the reversible capacity at 0.5 C in the improved mode, whereas it was only 7% in the ordinary mode. The corresponding improvement mechanism of different working modes was demonstrated. Our results suggested that designing appropriate working modes for electrode materials according to their inherent characteristics would be a promising way to achieve advanced performance in the field of lithium-ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoporous TiO 2 microspheres with large surface area are synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction of titanium glycolate, and then introduced into CdS quantum dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSC). These mesoporous TiO 2 microspheres can not only increase the adsorption amount of quantum dots (QDs), but also possess effective light scattering ability due to the proper size, in comparison with traditional TiO 2 (P25). An overall power conversion efficiency of 2.63% is achieved by using these mesoporous TiO 2 microspheres as electrode in QDSC, significantly higher than that derived from P25 TiO 2 electrode. In addition, the photovoltaic behaviors of the materials are studied by surface photovoltage measurement to explain the excellent performance of QDSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New amphiphilic thermosensitive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PNVCL -b-PCL) block copolymers were synthesized by click reaction with alkynyl-terminated poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PNVCL-C ≡ CH) and azido-terminated poly(ε-caprolactone) (N-PCL). The structures of the polymers were determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements. The fluorescence technique was used to determine the critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of copolymer solutions. The factors affecting the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the copolymers were studied by UV-visible analysis. The diameters and distribution of the micelles were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), and their shapes were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that these copolymers could self-assemble into nano-micelles in water. The CMC values of the copolymer solutions and the sizes of micelles reduced with increasing proportion of hydrophobic parts. TEM images demonstrated that the micelles are all spherical. On the other hand, the UV-visible measurements showed that these block copolymers exhibit a reproducible temperature-responsive behavior with a LCST that is tunable by block composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • MoS 2 with different crystal phases has been induced by pyridinium-ILs on PPy/GO. • Different electrocatalytic activities towards NRR were achieved due to crystal phase. • Substituent groups in pyridinium were crucial for inducing MoS 2 crystal phase. • The defect-rich 1T/2H-MoS 2 exhibited the best NRR electroactivity and stability. • The conversion of defect-rich 1T/2H-MoS 2 to 1T'-MoS 2 and Mo 2 N occurred after NRR. MoS 2 with different crystal structures and phase compositions have in-situ grown on the surface of pyridinium-type ionic liquids functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (pyridinium-ILs/PPy/GO) and exhibited different electocatalytic performance towards Nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), affected by the difference of crystal structure and phase compositions of MoS 2 resulting from the induction of substituent groups in pyridinium. Combining the results of NRR performance tests with material characterizations determined by XRD, XPS and Raman spectra to explore the structure-activity relationship toward NRR of MoS 2 /pyridinium-ILs/PPy/GO, pyridinium-ILs with a group containing amino in the para- or ortho -position can be beneficial to induce 1T-MoS 2 with good crystallinity, resulting in the satisfying NH 3 yield, but poor stability, while the hydroxyl group at the para -position in pyridinium-ILs only induce 2H-MoS 2 indexed to JCPDS file number 75-1539, not conducive to nitrogen fixation. Surprisingly, the most excellent NRR electroactivity is achieved by MoS 2 /pyridinium-ILs/PPy/GO synthesized using 2-amino-3-hydroxypyridine with the excellent lamellar hierarchical inorganic/organic micro-/nanostructures. It may be attributed to the confinement effect caused by the stereo hindrance composed of amino group at the ortho -position and hydroxyl group at the meta -position in pyridinium-ILs, resulting in 1T/2H-MoS 2 nanoplates with rich defects indexed to JCPDS file number 37-1492 growing on pyridinium-ILs/PPy/GO. Therefore, the kind and position of substituent groups in pyridinium played an essential role for the crystal structure and phase compositions of MoS 2 growing on pyridinium-ILs/PPy/GO, and further affected the NRR performance, which would provide a new thought and method for the reasonable design and performance optimization of electrocatalysts based on transition metal dichalcogenides for electrocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem service is widely acknowledged as a mainstream and valuable concept for the sustainability-oriented decision-makings on meeting the fundamental needs for improving human well-being and addressing the critical challenges such as food scarcity, land degradation, climate warming, biodiversity loss, flood risk and population pressure. Different ecosystem services arise through combinations of social-ecological drivers and interact with each other across scales. Essential to design effective policy interventions toward achieving sustainability is clarifying the relationships among ecosystem services and the underlying drivers at different scales. Therefore, this study analysed the spatial patterns and relationships of six ecosystem service supplies and examined their responses to ten social-ecological drivers at three spatial scales in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in 2015. Our results revealed differences in ecosystem service spatial pattern robustness across scales. The trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services changed less in direction and more in strength at the three scales. The relationships between the provisioning service and the other ecosystem services were mostly antagonistic, and those between the regulating services and cultural service were predominately synergistic. Different types of ecosystem service bundles comprising different abundances of services were detected, and reconfiguration of ecosystem service bundles occurred as the scale changed. The directions of social-ecological drivers' impacts varied across ecosystem services, and the magnitudes of social-ecological drivers' impacts on the services varied at different scales. Across the three spatial scales, the most influential driver of ecosystem services was the normalized difference vegetation index, to which different ecosystem services responded diversely and non-linearly. Our results advocated the multiscale assessment of ecosystem services and social-ecological drivers and emphasized the necessity of embracing scale dependency in the hierarchical governance of ecosystem services. Image 1 • The trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services (ESs) changed with scale. • Reconfiguration of ESs bundles occurred as the spatial scale increased. • The magnitudes of social-ecological drivers' impacts on ESs varied with scale. • Different ESs responded non-linearly to the normalized difference vegetation index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiS 2 -MoS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO constructed by unique NiS 2 -MoS 2 heterostructures with misfit lattices composed of cubic NiS 2 , metallic 1T-MoS 2 and semiconductive 2H-MoS 2 as well as PVEIB/PPy/GO nanosheets exhibited the excellent HER activity with strong durability and good stability due to the synergistic effect of each component. The crystal phase transition of MoS 2 from 1T to 1T' phase in NiS 2 -MoS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO can be detected by XPS after long-term HER test. • Unique NiS 2 -MoS 2 heterostructures with misfit lattices were immobilized PVEIB/PPy/GO. • The excellent electrocatalytic activity towards HER was achieved. • PVEIB can induce the formation of metallic 1 T-MoS 2 and further facilitate HER. • NiS 2 can effectively prevent the oxidation of MoS 2 exposed in the air. • The transition from 1 T to 1 T'-MoS 2 was detected by XPS after long-term HER test. Unique NiS 2 -MoS 2 heterostructures with misfit lattices composed of cubic NiS 2 , metallic 1 T-MoS 2 and semiconductive 2H-MoS 2 have been immobilized on poly(1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide via an ordinary hydrothermal procedure. The obtained NiS 2 -MoS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO nanosheets exhibited the excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). PVEIB played an essential role in the fabrication of this inorganic/organic hierarchical lamellar micro-/nanostructures, which not only played as a good connector between transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) heterostructures and PPy/GO, inducing the formation of metallic 1 T-MoS 2 , but also effectively stabilized more electrons and further facilitate the Heyrovsky reaction for the generation and release of H 2. Though NiS 2 possessed poor conductivity and induced partial 1 T-MoS 2 transformed to 2H-MoS 2 on PVEIB/PPy/GO, the preeminent HER activity was still gained, because NiS 2 could effectively prevent the oxidation of MoS 2 exposed in the atmosphere. Especially, the crystal phase transition of MoS 2 from 1 T to 1 T' phase in NiS 2 -MoS 2 /PVEIB/PPy/GO could be detected by XPS after long-term HER test. Therefore, poly(ionic liquid)s and another metal ion would induce the crystal structures of TMDCs and optimize their electrocatalytic performance, which might afford a new thought towards the reasonable design of electrocatalysts based on TMDCs for electrochemical water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the city scale, the diurnal and seasonal variations in the relationship between urban form and the urban heat island effect remains poorly understood. To address this deficiency, we conducted an empirical study based on data from 150 cities in the Jing-Jin-Ji region of China from 2000 to 2015. The results derived from multiple regression models show that the effects of urban geometric complexity, elongation, and vegetation on urban heat island effect differ among different seasons and between day and night. The impacts of urban geometric factors and population density in summer, particularly those during the daytime, are significantly larger than those in winter. The influence of urban area and night light intensity is greater in winter than in summer and is greater during the day than at night. The effect of NDVI is greater in summer during the daytime. Urban vegetation is the factor with the greatest relative contribution during the daytime, and urban size is the dominant factor at night. Urban geometry is the secondary dominant factor in summer, although its contribution in winter is small. The relative contribution of urban geometry shows an upward trend at a decadal time scale, while that of vegetation decreases correspondingly. The results provide a valuable reference for top-level sustainable urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the city scale, the diurnal and seasonal variations in the relationship between urban form and the urban heat island effect remains poorly understood. To address this deficiency, we conducted an empirical study based on data from 150 cities in the Jing-Jin-Ji region of China from 2000 to 2015. The results derived from multiple regression models show that the effects of urban geometric complexity, elongation, and vegetation on urban heat island effect differ among different seasons and between day and night. The impacts of urban geometric factors and population density in summer, particularly those during the daytime, are significantly larger than those in winter. The influence of urban area and night light intensity is greater in winter than in summer and is greater during the day than at night. The effect of NDVI is greater in summer during the daytime. Urban vegetation is the factor with the greatest relative contribution during the daytime, and urban size is the dominant factor at night. Urban geometry is the secondary dominant factor in summer, although its contribution in winter is small. The relative contribution of urban geometry shows an upward trend at a decadal time scale, while that of vegetation decreases correspondingly. The results provide a valuable reference for top-level sustainable urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technetium (99Tc), a radionuclide generated from uranium fission in nuclear reactors, has posed a major threat to humans due to its long half-life and radioactivity. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a strategy of selectively and efficiently capturing of 99Tc. In this work, a series of solid copolymers (denoted as DVB-[C x ClVim][Cl]) were synthesized for efficient adsorption of perrhenate (ReO 4 −, a surrogate for TcO 4 −) from mixed ions solution. The adsorbents with vinylimidazolium-based ionic liquid as functional group and divinylbenzene (DVB) as the basic framework exhibited stable structure and good ReO 4 −adsorption performance. The influences of the linear n-alkyl chain length on the morphology and adsorption property of the copolymers were discussed in detail. The maximum uptake of Re(VII) on DVB-[C 4 ClVim][Cl] was 517.61 mg·g−1. Rhenium could be separated from molybdenum in the presence of co-anions and co-cations by DVB-[C 6 ClVim][Cl], which demonstrated its good adsorption selectivity. The kinetic studies showed that pseudo-second-order model was more suitable for describing the behavior of Re(VII) adsorption. The adsorption mechanism was ion-exchange between Cl− and ReO 4 − confirmed by FI-IR, IC and XPS analysis. Additionally, DVB-[C x ClVim][Cl] remained effective Re(VII) capture ability after eight adsorption/elution cycles, demonstrating their good reusability. • A series of vinylimidazolium-based ionic liquid and divinylbenzene copolymers DVB-[C x ClVim][Cl] were synthesized. • DVB-[C 4 ClVim][Cl] has higher adsorption capacity (q e = 517.61 mg·g-1) for rhenium(VII). • DVB-[C 6 ClVim][Cl] has better selectivity and anti-anion interference ability. • The copolymers have application prospects for capturing low concentrations of TcO 4 - from high radioactive waste liquid. • It provides a low-cost and environmentally friendly approach for TcO 4 - removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]