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Abstract This study investigates the non-linear relationship between urbanization paths and CO2 emissions in selected South, South-East, and East Asian countries over the period 1971–2014. Based on the STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) framework, we applied the advanced and robust methods of dynamic seemingly unrelated regression (DSUR), dynamic OLS (DOLS), and fully modified OLS (FMOLS) to estimate the long-term effects. The empirical findings revealed the inverted U-shaped effects of urbanization and urban agglomeration and the U-shaped impact of the largest city ratio on CO2 emissions. Urbanization and urban agglomerations improve environmental quality in the long-run and support ecological modernization theory. However, excessive concentration in the largest cities have severely affected the environmental quality and violates the notion of compact-city efficiencies. Moreover, energy intensity and economic growth positively affect CO2 emissions, while trade openness negatively influences CO2 emissions. Our robustness analysis at the country-level applies the augmented mean group (AMG) panel ARDL technique, which further supports the non-linear effect of urbanization paths on CO2 emissions except for a few countries. The results of the panel Granger non-causality approach unveil bidirectional causality of energy efficiency, economic growth, urbanization, and largest city ratio with CO2 emissions. In contrast, unidirectional causality runs from urban agglomeration to CO2 emissions. Our findings have important policy implications as we suggest green urban infrastructures, eco-friendly dwellings, smart cities, country-specific trade policies, and renewable energy options to improve the environmental quality.

Abstract As a burgeoning theoretical framework, energy justice has been mostly focused on the energy transition in Western countries, where socio-political settings are largely featured by liberalism and democracy, leaving an obvious gap in its application in other socio-political contexts. As a major energy consumer and a leader of the global low-carbon transition, China is characterized by a distinctive socio-political regime. An array of grand strategies to transform its coal-dominant energy structure have been initiated to ameliorate deteriorating environmental crises in particular and materialize a low-carbon transition in general. Based on extensive evidence, this article incorporates the energy justice framework into the analysis of an ongoing energy transition project in rural Northern China. It contributes to the related research in three dimensions. First, empirically, it demonstrates that the coal-to-gas heating transition project has been swamped with social injustices; the absence of measures to address these would lead this mega-project to profound failure. Second, theoretically, it illustrates that the concerns of justice are even more paramount in an authoritarian context where policy processes are characterized by strong political-administrative intervention and the pursuit of efficiency at all cost. In light of this, it stresses the indispensable role of restorative justice as a core tenet in achieving energy justice in authoritarian socio-political contexts, such as China. Third, this study advocates expanding the evaluation parameters of authoritarian environmentalism to include social consequences.

The interconversion of the ethanolate, hydrate and amorphous form of TMC114 ((3-[(4-amino-benzenesulfonyl)-isobutyl-amino]-1-benzyl-2-hydroxypropyl)-carbamic acid hexahydrofuro-[2,3-b]furan-3-yl ester) in open conditions was characterized. TMC114 hydrate and ethanolate form isostructural channel solvates. The crystal structure of TMC114 was obtained from single crystal X-ray diffraction, confirming that it is a channel solvate. Ethanol and water can exchange with one another. TMC114 ethanolate converts into TMC114 hydrate at moderate or high relative humidity (RH) at 25 degrees C, and it converts back into the ethanolate in ethanol atmosphere. The hydration level of the hydrate is determined by the environmental humidity. TMC114 hydrate collapses to the amorphous product when water is removed by drying at low RH or increasing temperature. TMC114 ethanolate becomes amorphous at elevated temperature in a dry environment below the desolvation temperature. Amorphous TMC114 obtained by dehydrating the hydrate during storage at room temperature/<5% RH, by increasing the temperature, or via desolvating the ethanolate by heating, converts into the hydrate at moderate or high RH at ambient conditions, and into TMC114 ethanolate in an ethanol atmosphere. Under ambient conditions, TMC114 ethanolate may convert into the hydrate, whereas the opposite will not occur under these conditions. The amorphous form, prepared by melting-quenching shows a limited water uptake. Whereas TMC114 ethanolate is stable in the commercialized drug product, special conditions can trigger its conversion.

In recent years, sustainability concerns have gained increasing attention among countries and stakeholders worldwide. Towards the transition to sustainable rural development, the rural web framework (RWF) has become a consistent tool. Indicators from the RWF have been used to explore sustainable rural development for decision-making tasks, which improves the social, economic, and environmental performance of rural regions. However, the application of the RWF in studies is on the decline. Furthermore, there is a lack of literature reviews on the importance of the RWF and its relationship with different facets of sustainable development. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) (a) to explore how studies have used the RWF in the context of sustainable development and (b) to identify areas for further research. This study found that the RWF has mostly been used in developed countries, with fewer applications in developing countries. We suggest that there should be increased application of the RWF, particularly in developing countries, to broaden the rural web–sustainable development discourse and its relevance. This paper presents several areas where the indicators of the RWF can be applied to illustrate their relevance for policy decisions towards the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Abstract Catalyst layer structural changes in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells have significant impact on the cell performance and durability. In this study, ex-situ experiments are designed to investigate the effect of humidity and/or thermal cycles on the structural changes of catalyst layers. The relative humidity and temperature are controlled by an environmental chamber and the catalyst layer structure is characterized by scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. The experimental results indicate that crack growth and development, catalyst agglomerate detachment, and surface bulges are the main structural changes of the catalyst layers. Applying relative humidity and thermal cycling simultaneously causes the most significant crack growth, while applying thermal cycling alone causes no appreciable changes. This indicates that the absolute humidity is the key parameter for the crack growth. Through cyclic voltammetry analysis, it is shown that the electrochemical active surface area decreases from 64.1 m2 g−1 to 49.1 m2 g−1 after 500 combined relative humidity and thermal cycles. Analyses of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy show that the charge transfer resistance and ohmic resistance increase significantly after 500 combined relative humidity and thermal cycles, causing the cell performance degradation.

Background: Minimizing raw salt and increasing fruit consumption are important factors for controlling blood pressure. The study aimed to investigate the following associations: (i) the association between socio-demographic characteristics and awareness of, and attitudes towards, raw salt and fruit consumption and (ii) the association between salt and fruit consumption and blood pressure. Methods: In a cluster-RCT, 307 adults, aged 30 to 75 years, with hypertension were recruited in 2021. Blood pressure was the primary outcome, and knowledge, attitudes and intakes of raw salt and fruit were secondary outcomes. Results: Of the participants, 271 (78.5%) consumed raw salt. More than 80% of the participants knew that reduced raw salt was good for controlling blood pressure and almost everyone knew that fruits and vegetables were good for health. Despite this, 95% of the participants had a habit of eating fruit irregularly. A lower proportion (64%) of the participants having at least a secondary school certificate (SSC) consumed raw salt, compared with those having an education level SSC (82%), p = 0.002. Blood pressure was not significantly different for participants, irrespective of raw salt or fruit consumption. Conclusions: Raw salt consumption among rural people was high and regular fruit consumption was deficient. They intended to reduce raw salt consumption. Appropriate intervention programs should be implemented to reduce salt consumption and increase fruit consumption.

Abstract This paper contributes to the existing literature as well as policy debates by examining energy intensity and its determinants in China's regional economies. The analysis is based on a comprehensive database of China's regional energy balance constructed for this project. Through its focus on regional China, this study extends the existing literature, which mainly covers nationwide studies. It is found in this paper that energy intensity declined substantially in China. The main contributing factor is the improvement in energy efficiency. Changes in the economic structure have so far affected energy intensity modestly. Thus there is considerable scope to reduce energy intensity through the structural transformation of the Chinese economy in the future.

AbstractAlloy anodes composed of microsized particles receive increasing attention recently, which outperform the nanostructured counterparts in both the manufacturing cost and volumetric energy density. However, the pulverization of particles and fracture of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) during cycling brings about fast capacity degradation. Herein, it is shown how normally considered fragile SEI can become highly elastic through electrolyte chemistry regulation. Compared to the SEI constructed in classic carbonate electrolyte, the atomic force microscopy tests reveal that the one built in ether‐based electrolyte doubles the maximum elastic strain to accommodate the repeated swelling‐contracting. Such an SEI effectively encapsulates the microsized Sb anodes to prevent the capacity loss from particle isolation. Coupled with an intercalation‐assisted alloying reaction mechanism, a sustained capacity of ≈573 mAh g−1 after 180 cycles at 0.1 A g−1 with outstanding initial Coulombic efficiency is obtained, which is among the highest values achieved in K‐ion batteries. This study emphasizes the significance of building robust SEI, which offers the opportunity to enable stable microsized alloy anodes.