Elsevier Biobase

Financial development and energy consumption are expected to exert a significant effect on CO2 emission changes. However, there remains a research gap in optimizing pathways to carbon peaking under financial and energy drivers. This paper constructs a novel model covering finance and energy consumption using the generalized Divisia Index (GDI) method. The GDI allows to quantify the drivers behind the CO2 emission change in China during 2005–2020. Furthermore, it combines a Monte Carlo simulation with scenario analysis to forecast the path of CO2 emissions during 2021–2030. The results demonstrate that energy structure and carbon factor remain the principal drivers for CO2 emission growth in China. Thus, it is still pivotal to optimize energy saving and carbon reduction policies. Financial energy saving has enormous potential for reducing CO2 emissions over time, even though the immediate influence on CO2 emission is not significant. China has a substantial probability of reaching the peaking target in 2026 under the technology breakthrough scenario, whereas in the other two scenarios the target cannot be achieved.

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a scanning probe microscope with an ultramicroelectrode (UME) as a probe. The technique is advantageous in the characterization of the electrochemical properties of surfaces. However, the limitations, such as slow imaging and many functions depending on the user, only allow us to use some of the possibilities. Therefore, we applied visual recognition and machine learning to detect micro-objects from the image and determine their electrochemical activity. The reconstruction of the image from several approach curves allows it to scan faster and detect active areas of the sample. Therefore, the scanning time and presence of the user is diminished. An automated scanning electrochemical microscope with visual recognition has been developed using commercially available modules, relatively low-cost components, design, software solutions proven in other fields, and an original control and data fusion algorithm.

Novel composite materials have been prepared by primary paper sludge (PS) and biopolymer (modified corn starch (MCS). The MCS is used as a binder. The aim of the research was to investigate the properties, microstructure and durability (water erosion) of composite materials (CM). The CM were formed from 100 wt% of paper sludge and 20 wt% of various concentrations (2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5%) of MCS were added. Corn starch was heated 3 h at 150 °C temperature. The CM produced had a bulk density of 0.89–1.18 g/cm3, compressive strength at 10% relative deformation 4.8–9.3 MPa, thermal conductivity 0.092–0.132 W/m·K. Additionally, this study underscores that the CM show good durability (resistance to water erosion) and hygrothermal qualities. In fact, the MSC solution incorporated in the paper sludge showed improved physical-mechanical properties and durability of the CM. The research shows that CM can be formed from paper sludge and MCS, and these can be used as indoor masonry units because they also have good mechanical, hydroscopic and thermal insulation properties.

As the share of renewable energy increases in the energy-mix, tracking energy intensity (EI) dynamics and determinants thereof is a significant issue of energy economics related to power resilience. Previous decomposition studies have hardly evaluated the effects of absolute factors on the intensity indicator such as EI. The present study proposes a novel generalized Divisia index (GDI) model for intensity factor decomposition and combined it with Tapio index. The case of China's power sector during 2000–2020 is considered. The results suggest that the complexity of EI reduction is increasing from 2006 to 2010 to 2016–2020 though the period of 2000–2020 witnessed the improvement of energy efficiency, and the provincial EI exhibits a distribution trend of “high in the north and low in the south, high in the east and low in the west”. The decomposition results indicate that the energy consumption is the single factor responsible for EI increase, whereas energy structure and technology are the major forces contributing to EI mitigation. The power output and energy consumption exhibit decoupling status from EI in most provinces, but the decoupling situation was not stable and the difficulty of decoupling increases since 2016–2020.

Graphene oxide (GO) are novel nanomaterials with a wide range of applications due to their high absorption capacity. This study was undertaken with a view to assess the bioaccumulation and acute toxicity of GO used in combination with the heavy metal mixture (Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn) to fish embryos and larvae. For this purpose, Salmo trutta embryos and larvae were subjected to the 4-day long treatment with three different concentrations of GO, the metal mixture, which was prepared of four metals at the concentrations corresponding to the maximum-permissible-concentrations for EU inland waters (Cr-0.01, Cu-0.01, Ni-0.034, and Zn-0.1 mg/L), and with GO in combination with MIX (GO+MIX). When used in combination with the metal mixture, GO exhibited a high metal sorption capacity. The obtained confocal fluorescence microscopy results showed that GO located in the embryo chorion causing its damage; in larvae, however, GO were found only in the gill region. Results of these experiments confirmed the hypothesis that GO affects the accumulation of metals and mitigates their toxic effects on organism. In embryos, the acute toxicity of exposure to GO and co-exposure to MIX+GO was found to manifest itself through the decreased heart rate (HR) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level and through the increased metallothionein (MT) concentration. Meanwhile, in larvae, GO and MIX+GO were found to induce genotoxicity effects. However, changes in HR, MDA, MT, gill ventilation frequency, yolk sack absorption and cytotoxicity compared with those of the control group were not recorded in larvae. The obtained results confirmed our hypothesis: the combined effect of MIX and GO was less toxic to larvae (especially survival) than individual effects of MIX components. However, our results emphasize that fish exposure to GO alone and in combination with heavy metal contaminants (MIX+GO) even at environmentally relevant concentrations causes health risks that cannot be ignored.

Diesel vehicles are one of many sources of black carbon (BC) emissions in Europe; nevertheless, due to recent changes in fuel composition towards renewable fuel such as biodiesel, advances in engine design and pollution control technology, BC and organic carbon (OC) emissions may worsen air quality and encourage global warming. As there are no regulatory terms on BC mass concentration levels, assessment of pollution sources is crucial for air quality improvement policies and mitigation of climate change. BC mass concentration and aerosol optical absorption were derived using 7-wavelenght Aethalometer during 3 measurement campaigns in 2014, 2017, and 2020. BC source apportionment analysis was performed using 18 combinations of absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) values for assessing BC to fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning. The choice of the most suitable AAE combination (0.9 and 2.2, respectively) was supported by organic aerosol (OA) source apportionment results. AAE value for transport exhaust emission (0.95) from locally available diesel fuel was established using (CI) 1.9 TDI engine with different engine torque regimes and 7-wavelenght Aethalometer. Statistically and experimentally obtained values were compared and showed great agreement. Subsequently, a statistically obtained AAEtr value was used for BC source apportionment and long-term analysis. A significant increase in the contribution of transport-related BC contribution was observed between years 2014 and 2020 (from 51% to 65%) which was associated with a boost in the use of diesel vehicles (by 83.9% of diesel passenger cars comparing 2014 and 2020) and growing diesel fuel consumption. These findings underline the diesel transport-induced problem for local air quality together with its impact on atmospheric radiative balance and raise concerns for public health.

In this work, we report the construction of a direct electron transfer (DET) biosensor based on NAD-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas sp. (FDH) immobilized on the gold nanoparticle-modified gold electrode. To the best of our knowledge, a DET for FDH was achieved for the first time – the oxidation of formaldehyde started at a low electrode potential of −190 mV vs. Ag/AgCl and reached a maximum current density of 1100 nA cm−2 at 200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl. Also, the designed electrode was insensitive to substrate inhibition (in comparison to the free enzyme) and operated in solutions with formaldehyde concentrations up to 10 mM. The electrode was used and characterized as a mediatorless biosensor for the detection of formaldehyde. The biosensor demonstrated a limit of detection (0.05 mM), linear range from 0.25 to 2.0 mM, the sensitivity of 178.9 nA mM cm−2, high stability and selectivity. The biosensor has been successfully tested for the determination of added formaldehyde concentration in river water samples, thus the developed electrode could be applied for a fast, inexpensive and simple measurement of formaldehyde in various media.

Quantum dots (QDs) are extensively explored in biomedicine but the understanding of the mechanism underlying the uptake of colloidal QDs by biological systems is still poor. The knowledge of their distribution in tissues and their possibilities to cross biological barriers, especially at early stages of organism development, is also still limited. The potential risk of nanoparticle exposure to aquatic organisms is continuously questioned in ecotoxicology. To answer this question, we investigated the interaction (penetration and distribution) of CdSe/ZnS-COOH QDs with the chorion as well as their toxicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in “eye-egg” stage embryos of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Results of the confocal fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and 3D image analysis of O. mykiss chorion showed that it consists of three different layers and has a hexagonal pattern of pores distribution. The present study has revealed that both the accumulation and the distribution of QDs within the chorion are related to its structure. QDs are accumulated in pore canals of the external membrane of a fertilized O. mykiss egg. Our study has shown that QDs exposure induces bradycardia in O. mykiss and, as a result, cardiac toxicity in embryos. However, embryo survival rates as well as cytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects in the fish exposed to QDs for 1 day were not found to differ significantly from those in 4-day exposed fish. Results of the mathematical modelling showed the adsorption of QDs aggregates on the outer surface of the chorion leading to the oxygen-deficient microenvironment in embryos. These results represent an important step forward towards a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying QDs impacts on living organisms, which is essential for clarifying the protective properties of biological structures, and is valuable for the evaluation of nanotoxicity to fish at early development stages.