Breakthrough Point Research Articles

Analysis of the environmental impact of a heat pump based on the elastocaloric effect

Solid-state refrigeration can constitute a breakthrough point since based on solid-state refrigerants that do not have any direct greenhouse effect (GWP = 0). The refrigeration systems based on caloric effect can be categorized as: magnetocaloric, electrocaloric, elastocaloric or barocaloric. The theme of interest for the investigation introduced in this paper is elastoCaloric Effect (eCE).In this paper the environmental impact in terms of Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) of an elastocaloric rotary device ensuring continuous fluxes of cold/hot air for the air conditioning applications is evaluated. The final aim is the construction of an experimental device based on eCE working as a heat pump that operates at peak performance and that would be eco-friendly. Indeed, a rotary two-dimensional model based on finite element method was developed to couple with the device during its realization. The device has been virtually tested while mounting various elastocaloric effect materials to examine and select the ones resulting most suitable both from energetical and environmental points of view. The evaluation of the environmental impact has been perpetuated through a TEWI analysis comparing the indexes of the elastocaloric prototype operating with different elastocaloric materials (Ni50.8Ti49.2, Ni55.9Ti44.1, Ni45Ti47.2Cu5V2.75, (Ni50Mn31.5Ti18.5)99.8B0.2 and PbTiO3) and a vapor compression heat pump (A++/A+) working with HFC32. The analysis was perpetuated for both the functioning modes: cooling and heating modes. The most remarkable data on the analysis is that only Ni55.92Ti44.08 and (Ni50Mn31.5Ti18.5)99.8B0.2 provide a significant reduction of the environmental impact (−50/−60 %) appropriately selecting the operative conditions (air velocity ranging from 9 to 12 ms−1 and cycle frequency 0.4 ÷ 0.5 Hz).

Modulation of Xiongdanjiuxin pills on the gut-liver axis in high-fat diet rats

AimXiongdanjiuxin pill (XP) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula for the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia (HLP) and related complications. In this study, the gut-liver axis was used as the breakthrough point to analyze the therapeutic effect and potential mechanism of XP on HLP model rats and related complications. Main methodsWe used high-fat diet (HFD) to establish the HLP model of rats and treated them with XP. The 16S rRNA sequencing method was used to explore the effect of XP on the gut microbiota of HFD rats, and the effects of XP on ileum pathology, intestinal barrier and circulatory inflammation in HFD rats were also investigated. We further explored the molecular mechanism of XP treating liver inflammation in rats with HFD by regulating toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling. Key findingsWe found that XP could regulate the imbalance of gut microbiota in HFD rats, and up-regulate the expression of tight junction protein in intestinal epithelium of HFD rats, thereby improving the intestinal barrier damage and intestinal inflammatory response. In addition, XP could significantly reduce the levels of inflammatory cytokines in HFD rats, and inhibit TLR4 signaling pathway, thereby reducing liver inflammation in HFD rats. SignificanceXP can effectively improve the imbalance of gut-liver axis in hyperlipidemic rats and alleviate the inflammatory damage of liver. Its mechanism may be related to regulating the disorder of gut microbiota and inhibiting TLR4 signal pathway, so as to achieve the therapeutic effect on hyperlipidemic fatty liver in rats.

Development of hydrogels based on xylan and poly (acrylic acid) for melamine adsorption in batch and continuous mode: experimental design, kinetics, isotherms, recyclability, and fixed-bed column.

Two hydrogels were synthesized, characterized, and applied as alternative materials to remove melamine (MEL) from aqueous media by adsorption. For the first time, a complete study of MEL adsorption is presented, including optimization, kinetics, isotherm, reuse, and column studies with these new materials. One hydrogel is based on xylan and poly (acrylic acid) and was named HXy, and the other is based on the same components functionalized with activated carbon and was named HXy-AC. The materials were synthesized by free radical polymerization and characterized by FTIR, XRD, TGA, DSC, SEM, zeta potential, point of zero charge, N2 adsorption isotherms (BET), helium gas pycnometry, Archimedes method, swelling analysis, and stability tests. The characterization results confirmed the intended synthesis and showed the thermal, morphological, textural, structural, and compositional profile, as well as the adsorption characteristics of the materials. The adsorption studies in batch process included experimental design, kinetics, isotherms, and recyclability, and in continuous mode, the studies included fixed-bed column experiments. The full factorial design showed that adsorbent dosage, pH, and ionic strength are significant for adsorption capacity and removal percentage responses. Doehlert design enabled the definition of the values of adsorbent dosage and pH that were most suitable for MEL adsorption into the materials, indicating the optimal adsorption conditions. The kinetics were well described by the pseudo-first-order model, with R2 above 0.9920 for both materials at all concentrations tested. The isotherm obeyed the Langmuir model, with R2 above 0.9939 for both materials at all temperatures tested. Equilibrium was attained at 180 min, and the maximum experimental adsorption capacity was up to 132.46 and 118.96 mg g-1 at pH 7, with adsorbent dosage of 0.5 g L-1, and 298 K for HXy and HXy-AC, respectively. Furthermore, HXy and HXy-AC materials maintained about 58 and 70% of their initial adsorption capacity at the end of five adsorption/desorption cycles, respectively. Breakthrough curves were described by the Yan model and presented a maximum adsorption capacity of 30.2 and 30.4 mg g-1, treating 3.4 and 6.1 L of influent until the breakthrough point of 0.5 mg L-1 with HXy-AC using 2.0 and 4.0 g of material, respectively. These findings show that the hydrogels produced present the potential to be applied in the adsorption of basic molecules, such as MEL.

Utilization of landscape biomass waste as activated carbon to scavenge oxytetracycline: Attraction mechanism, batch and continuous studies

Oxytetracycline (OXY) is an antibiotic widely used in the livestock industry and its existence in water can cause antibiotic resistance genes. A treatment process in a continuous mode is required to treat a high volume of OXY wastewater. Hence, an effort was made in this study to adsorb OXY from an aqueous solution (batch and continuous modes) using landscape biomass waste-based activated carbon (LBWAC). This adsorbent was produced via potassium hydroxide (KOH) chemical treatment combined with microwave heating under carbon dioxide, CO2 gas. The resulting LBWAC exhibited 973.21 m2/g of BET surface area, 842.18 m2/g of mesopores surface area, 0.3911 cm3/g of total pore volume, and 2.44 nm of average pore diameter. In a batch study, OXY adsorption uptakes increased whilst OXY percentage removal decreased when OXY starting concentration increased from 25 to 300 mg/L. The highest uptakes of OXY occurred at a solution temperature of 60 °C (228.44 mg/g) and a solution pH of 12 (63.22 mg/g). The adsorption system studied obeyed the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order in isotherm and kinetic studies, respectively. The obtained Langmuir monolayer capacity, Qm was 344.83 mg/g. Mechanism study revealed that O, H, and N elements in OXY molecules react with O, H, and N elements in functional groups on LBWAC’s surface via hydrogen bonds and vice versa. Parameters acquired in the thermodynamic study described the adsorption process as spontaneous, endothermic, and physisorption-controlled. The continuous bed column study revealed that the breakthrough point (Tb), exhaustion time (Tex), and maximum adsorption uptake (qmax) for the OXY-LBWAC adsorption system can be increased by decreasing the starting inlet concentration, decreasing the inlet flow rate and increasing the bed height. The continuous adsorption data fitted Thomas model the best. The LBWAC had a good potential to be applied in a large-scale operation for OXY wastewater treatment.

The Impact of Farmland Management Scale on Carbon Emissions

In rural China, the conversion between fine-grained farmland and large-scale farmland is a widespread phenomenon, changes in the size of farmland can have an impact on agricultural carbon emissions. Based on the agricultural panel data of Gansu Province for 2000–2020, taking the scale of agricultural land management as the breakthrough point and the consumption intensity of agricultural materials as the intermediary factor, this paper discusses the driving mechanism of agricultural carbon emissions by the scale of agricultural land management. The results including: (1) From the perspective of the intermediary effect, large-scale farmers pay more attention to input efficiency of chemicals such as fertilizers than small-scale farmers, which can effectively promote the development of low-carbon agriculture. (2) A “U-shaped” relationship existed between agricultural land management scale and agricultural carbon emissions. The agricultural carbon emissions were the lowest when agricultural land management scale in Gansu was 0.608 hm2/person. (3) The carbon emission intensity reached its peak when the scale of farmland management in the Hexi region was 0.143 hm2/person. The optimal scale of farmland management in the Longdong and Longnan regions was 0.143 and 0.348 hm2/person, respectively, Longzhong and Gannan regions was all showed complete intermediary effects.

Investigating the dynamic decoupling relationship between regional social economy and lake water environment: The application of DPSIR-Extended Tapio decoupling model

The water environmental problems associated with rapid socioeconomic growth have drawn widespread attention from the government and the public. Revealing the decoupling mechanism between the social economy and lake water environment has become an important breakthrough point to seek the pathways of sustainable economic development. To investigate the decoupling process of the social economy‒lake water environmental system, this study proposes a comprehensive evaluation model, which integrates the Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model, projection pursuit method, and Tapio decoupling model; and then applies it to the case study of Hefei City and Lake Chaohu in China in 2021–2035. Three typical scenarios of current, social economy, and water environment are designed and simulated using the DPSIR model to evaluate the dynamic decoupling relationships under various development patterns. We found that the DPSIR indexes had a fluctuating upward trend from 2009 to 2020, with a synchronous improvement trend of the social economy and lake water environment. Meanwhile, the Tapio decoupling analysis showed that the decoupling relationships between socioeconomic driver forces, response strategies and the status of lake water environment was mostly strongly decoupled and weakly decoupled during 2009–2020. However, there was still an inconsistency between the improvement rate of the lake water environment and the increase rate of the response strategies. During the 2021–2035 simulation period, the DPSIR indexes of all scenarios depicts an overall increasing trend. The decoupling states of S&I-D&P and S&I–R generally tend to be consistent under three regulation scenarios. Among them, the water environment scenario outperforms other scenarios, and the social economy scenario performs worst. Overall, the decoupling of the social economy and lake water environment can attribute to both the transformation of socioeconomic development patterns and the increase of water environmental protection efforts.

Mucor cells passively immobilized on rose waste phyto-biomass: An eco-friendly hybrid material for the biotreatment of reactive dye contamination

The immobilization of microbial cells on eco-friendly supports is a promising technique to obtain effectively immobilized biomaterials for the biotreatment of aquatic pollution. For the biosorption of reactive dye-contaminated water, a new immobilized biosorbent, rose waste/Mucor plumbeus cells (RWMPC) composite was designed by immobilizing the fungal cells on a process waste of the rose oil industry. Batch and continuous mode biosorption features of RWMPC under different pH, initial dye concentration, contact time, biomaterial dose, and effluent flow rate conditions were examined. Zeta potential measurements, FT-IR, and SEM analysis were used to determine the morphological features of the biomaterial and possible Reactive Blue 49 (RB49)-biomaterial interactions. Kinetic investigations revealed that Ho's pseudo-second-order kinetic model could offer the best data fitting for biosorption, while the Freudlich model best matched the equilibrium data. Immobilized biomaterial displayed a high biosorption capacity of 120.88mg g−1. With an appropriate flow rate and amount of RWMPC packed into the column, dynamic treatment tests demonstrated >90% biosorption efficiency. The breakthrough curve of the RWMPC column adequately fits Chu's simplistic model. Regeneration tests revealed that after ten consecutive cycles, the biosorption yield and recovery efficacy of RWMPC were >65 and 85%, respectively. Zeta potential tests, SEM micrographs, and FT-IR studies also verified the dye uptake. Using synthetic wastewater in a continuous system, RWMPC could remove >90% of RB49. Breakthrough and exhaustion points were identified, and the maximum exhaustion capacity value was computed as 127.6 mg g−1. The results might inspire a fresh approach to the problem of reactive dye contamination in waters.

Diagnosis, treatment, and research status of rare diseases related to birth defects.

Rare diseases are diseases that occur at low prevalence, and most of them are chronic and serious diseases that are often life-threatening. Currently, there is no unified definition for rare diseases. The diagnosis, treatment, and research of rare diseases have become the focus of medicine and biopharmacology, as well as the breakthrough point of clinical and basic research. Birth defects are the hard-hit area of rare diseases and the frontiers of its research. Since most of these defects have a genetic basis, early screening and diagnosis have important scientific value and social significance for the prevention and control of such diseases. At present, there is no effective treatment for most rare diseases, but progress in prenatal diagnosis and screening can prevent the occurrence of diseases and help prevent and treat rare diseases. This article discusses the progress in genetic-related birth defects and rare diseases.

Teaching reform and practice of "food enzymology and enzyme engineering" based on cutting-edge researches

Food enzymology and enzyme engineering is an important professional course of food science. The course includes the basic theory of enzymology, enzyme engineering technology and the application of enzymes in food industry. Considering the knowledge gap between the teaching contents and the cutting-edge researches, the team constantly adjusted and optimized the course contents to enable students to keep up with state-of-the-art progress by carefully mining the cutting-edge researches. Taking cutting-edge researches as the breakthrough point, we explored the problem-based learning (PBL) teaching model under the guidance of outcome-based education (OBE) concept, and highlighted the importance of the teacher-student and student-student interactions to improve students' enthusiasm and participation. A diversified assessment system was established to evaluate the performance of students in the learning process. The teaching reform consolidated the basic knowledge and expanded the academic frontiers, and fostered students' ability in analyzing problems, designing solutions and achieving team communication. The course may give new insights into the teaching reform of food enzymology and enzyme engineering and other related courses.

Association between serum globulin and cognitive impairment in older American adults.

Cognitive impairment is on the rise around the world, with profound economic and social consequences. Serum globulin, a marker of liver function, may also play a role in cognitive function. Unfortunately, no consistent conclusion exists regarding the association between serum globulin and cognitive function. Data from the 2011 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to assess the association between serum globulin and cognitive impairment. Cognitive function was assessed by three tests: Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD), Animal Fluency (AF), and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Furthermore, the breakthrough point of cognitive impairment correlated with CERAD < 5, AF < 14, and DSST < 34. A weighted multiple logistics regression model was used to verify the association between serum globulin and cognitive impairment. Generalized additive models (GAMs) and a smooth curve fit (penalty spline method) were used to determine a non-linear relationship between serum globulin and cognitive impairment. Finally, subgroup analysis and interaction tests were conducted to further verify the association between serum globulin and cognitive impairment. Data from 2,768 participants aged ≥60 (in accordance with the study design) were collected for the final analysis. Data suggested that serum globulin levels were associated with an elevated cognitive impairment based on the AF [full adjustment, OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.08] and DSST [full adjustment, OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10] tests. Eventually, the GAM and smooth curve fit model was conducted to confirm that the association between serum globulin and cognitive impairment was non-linear. Moreover, the inflection point was 27 g/L serum globulin based on the CERAD test and 35 g/L serum globulin based on the AF test. Finally, the interaction term between serum globulin and cognitive impairment based on the AF test indicated no significant interactions among all variables (all p for interaction >0.05). The association between serum globulin levels and cognitive impairment is non-linear. A threshold effect exists between serum globulin and cognitive impairment. Large-scale prospective clinical trials are needed to validate our findings.

Influence of temperature and humidity on scattering characteristics of aerosol particles in the terahertz band.

The terahertz band is considered to be the next breakthrough point to revolutionize communication technology, attributed to its rich spectrum resources. The study of terahertz atmospheric transmission characteristics is important in guiding the terahertz communication window selection process. In this report, based on the equivalent medium theory, the scattering characteristics of terahertz Gaussian beams by moist media are discussed. Numerical results show that the extinction coefficient of particles is mainly affected by the humidity, and the scattering efficiency is affected by both temperature and humidity. When the temperature is over 273K and the humidity is 0.5, the extinction efficiency shows a trend of increasing initially and decreasing afterwards. Hence, the appropriate temperature is beneficial to minimizing the attenuation coefficient.

Total factor productivity and regional difference of tourism industry of listed companies

Tourism industry has become a breakthrough point for China’s economic growth. As of 2019, the tourism economy has been maintaining a faster growth than the GDP growth rate, the entry and exit market has been developing steadily, the structural reform on the supply side has been effective, and the per capita income of China’s residents has grown significantly. In this context, this paper selects fifteen listed tourism companies in China as samples, uses the Malmquist index method in DEA to measure the total factor productivity of these fifteen companies in China as samples, analyzes their resource allocation efficiency, and tests the robustness of the empirical results. Three conclusions are obtained: from the overall perspective, the total factor productivity of fifteen listed companies as a whole shows an upward trend during the 5-year period, mainly due to the technological progress; from the year perspective, the Malmquist productivity index of China’s tourism industry shows a turnaround change during the 5-year period, and the operational efficiency shows regional differences; the fluctuations of various listed tourism companies in China are influenced by the environment and policies.

Risk Analysis and Preventive Measures of Enterprise Merger and Acquisition

With the rapid development of the "Internet +" economy, the retail industry began to adjust the traditional business model in line with the development of The Times, and accelerated the deep integration with the Internet through the integration of resources. In this context, the "new retail" era has officially arrived, compared with the traditional retail industry, the new retail model through the combination of online and offline services to achieve intelligence, precision, product quality, and personalized, retail growth has become a breakthrough point, because of this major retail enterprises have in the new retail format of mergers and acquisitions. Based on this background, this paper takes Suning Tesco's cross-border merger and acquisition of Carrefour as an example, and combines the historical background of new retail to study its merger motivation, merger risk and put forward relevant suggestions. By summarizing the problems existing in the process of enterprise merger and acquisition and merger experience, the study has certain objective and realistic significance.

Regulation of toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways in atherosclerosis: from mechanisms to targeted therapeutics.

Atherosclerosis, one of the life-threatening cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), has been demonstrated to be a chronic inflammatory disease, and inflammatory and immune processes are involved in the origin and development of the disease. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), a class of pattern recognition receptors that trigger innate immune responses by identifying pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), regulate numerous acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Recent studies reveal that TLRs have a vital role in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis, including the initiation of endothelial dysfunction, interaction of various immune cells, and activation of a number of other inflammatory pathways. We herein summarize some other inflammatory signaling pathways, protein molecules, and cellular responses associated with TLRs, such as NLRP3, Nrf2, PCSK9, autophagy, pyroptosisand necroptosis, which are also involved in the development of AS. Targeting TLRs and their regulated inflammatory events could be a promising new strategy for the treatment of atherosclerotic CVDs. Novel drugs that exert therapeutic effects on AS through TLRs and their related pathways are increasingly being developed. In this article, we comprehensively review the current knowledge of TLR signaling pathways in atherosclerosis and actively seek potential therapeutic strategies using TLRs as a breakthrough point in the prevention and therapy of atherosclerosis.

The image expression of Beijing embroidery art in Qing Dynasty from the perspective of art anthropology

To explore the relationship between art and society in the history and culture of Beijing embroidery, and the embodiment of the social hierarchy system of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing embroidery. In this paper, from the historical origin of palace embroidery as the breakthrough point, combined with the theory of art initiative from the craftsman and the service object to explain the Beijing embroidery ontology, explore the social attributes of Beijing embroidery. Based on the field investigation method of art anthropology, this paper analyzes the separation of the specific objects of Beijing embroidery needlework, which is manifested in the luxurious embroidery materials, the pattern theme of the program composition, the color setting principle of five colors, and the needlework technique of north-south integration, so as to provide a new perspective and theoretical framework for Beijing embroidery needlework.

Optimization of superior vena cava isolation with aid of ablation index guidance.

To investigate the optimal range of quantitative ablation index (AI) value during superior vena cava (SVC) electrical isolation by radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). First, in a development cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the RFCA with 40 W was performed to complete SVC isolation guided by the conduction breakthrough point from the right atrium to SVC. Then, the range of AI value was calculated by offline analysis on different segments of SVC. Lastly, for the validation of AF patients, the safety and effectiveness of SVC isolation with the optimized target range of AI value were evaluated with an additional adenosine test. A total of 101 patients with AF were included in the study (44 patients in the development cohort/57 in the validation cohort). The segmental ablation strategy was applied in 70% of the patients. According to the offline analysis of the AI values in the development cohort, the target AI value range was set as 350-400. The success rate of SVC isolation in the validation cohort was significantly higher than that in the exploration cohort (100% vs. 90.9%, p = .02), and no complications occurred in the exploration cohort. During the adenosine test, the recovery rate of electrical conduction in SVC was significantly lower than that in the pulmonary vein (3.5% vs. 17.5%). The target AI value with a range from 350 to 400 is safe and effective for high-power RFCA to complete SVC isolation.

The effect of health literacy, self-efficacy, social support and fear of disease progression on the health-related quality of life of patients with cancer in China: a structural equation model

BackgroundHealth literacy (HL), self-efficacy (SE), social support (SS) and fear of disease progression (FOP) are all important factors affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cancer patients. However, their synergistic effects and underlying mechanisms on HRQoL in cancer patients remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a structural equation model (SEM) to explore the underlying mechanism of factors affecting HRQoL. It is hoped that this study will provide a theoretical basis for future interventions.MethodsA cross-sectional design and convenience sampling method were used to investigate cancer inpatients in two general hospitals in Chongqing and Chengdu. Data were collected using structured scales, including HL, SE, SS, FOP and HRQoL. Finally, the SEM was constructed, and P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsThere were 1749 participants included in this study. Correlation analysis showed that all variables were significantly correlated with one another except for symptoms, physical health (PD) and social family (SF) (p < 0.01). The SEM of the HRQoL had a good overall fit (GFI = 0.943, AGFI = 0.917, NFI = 0.950, RFI = 0.936, CFI = 0.955, IFI = 0.955, RMSEA = 0.072). The model indicated that HL had the strongest correlation with HRQoL (β = 0.398, p < 0.01), followed by FOP (β = -0.364, p < 0.01), SE (β = 0.347, p < 0.01) and SS (β = 0.184, p < 0.01).ConclusionsThe HRQoL of cancer patients is correlated with HL, SS, SE and FOP. HL can directly affect HRQoL and mediate HRQoL through SS and SE. Future programs should consider HL promotion, SE improvement and SS expansion as the breakthrough point when designing targeted intervention strategies. At the same time, the importance of the impact of FOP on the HRQoL of patients with cancer should not be ignored.

Mechanistic Study of the Hydride Migration-Induced Reversible Isomerization in Au22(SR)15H Isomers.

Unraveling the evolution mechanism of metal nanoclusters is of great importance in understanding the formation and evolution of metallic condensed matters. In this work, the specific evolution process between a pair of gold nanocluster (Au NC) isomers is completely revealed by introducing hydride ligands to simplify the research system. A hydride-containing Au NC, Au22(SR)15H, was synthesized by kinetic control, and the positions of the hydrides were then confirmed by combining X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and DFT calculations. Importantly, a reversible structural isomerization was found to occur on this Au22(SR)15H. By combining the crystal structures and theoretical calculations, the focus was placed on the hydride-binding site, and a [Au-H] migration mechanism of this isomerization process is clearly shown. Furthermore, this [Au-H] migration mechanism is confirmed by the subsequent capture and structural determination of theoretically predicted intermediates. This work provides insight into the dynamic behavior of hydride ligands in nanoclusters and a strategy to study the evolution mechanism of nanoclusters by taking the hydride ligand as the breakthrough point.

Systemically Understanding Aqueous Photocatalytic Upgrading of Microplastic to Fuels

Microplastics (MPs) are regarded as a pervasive contaminant that poses threats to the environment and human safety. However, the high energy storage potential of the C–C and C–H bonds in MPs has led to increased attention toward technological methods for upgrading plastic waste to high‐value‐added fuels. Aqueous photocatalysis has emerged as a promising approach for upgrading MPs due to its solar‐driven properties and ability to generate various radicals. While extensive investigations and reviews have been conducted on photocatalysts and the resulting products within this system, there is an emerging need to comprehensively understand the entire process to enhance efficiency and selectivity further. In this review, significant advancements in the overall system are summarized, including reactants, pretreatments, photocatalysts, additives, and reactors, to enable efficient and selective reactions based upon the principles of state‐of‐the‐art photocatalytic microplastic upgrading. Furthermore, the shortcomings are clarified with proposed possible breakthrough points in each research direction. Ultimately, the significance of developments in pretreatments is highlighted, paving the way for future research possibilities.

Environmental performance of the Chinese cement enterprise: An empirical analysis using a text-based directional vector

Cement industry is both energy-intensive and pollution-intensive, imposing significant negative externalities on sustainability. However, previous studies have not sufficiently focused on China's cement industry; thus, there is a lack of information on efficiency and cost, limiting policy effectiveness. Using a directional-distance-function-based model and firm-level data, this study measures the technical efficiency and shadow price of SO2 and PM in China's cement industry from 1998 to 2010. In response to the debates on the selection of directional vector, this is the first study that proposes a new directional vector determined via text analysis. We use the five-year plans as a breakthrough point to construct a corpus, establish a lexicon, and introduce a text analysis in order to reveal the policy preference, and finally, solve this directional vector. Through this improvement, we highlight the inherent meanings of the directional vector and provide a new insight into the directional-distance-function-based method. We solve this new directional vector to be (0.98, −0.13, −0.13), implying that the preference for economic growth is significantly greater than that for environmental protection. The conditional median marginal abatement costs of SO2 and PM are estimated to be 29,070 and 1374 yuan/ton, respectively. The annual trends of technical efficiency and shadow price are depicted, and the heterogeneities of regions, provinces, cities, and pollutants are revealed.