Ultrathin and Flexible CNTs/MXene/Cellulose Nanofibrils Composite Paper for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

As the rapid development of portable and wearable devices,different electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding materials with high efficiency have been desired to eliminate the resulting radiation pollution.However,limited EMI shielding materials are successfully used in practical applications,due to the heavy thickness and absence of sufficient strength or flexibility.Herein,an ultrathin and flexible carbon nanotubes/MXene/cellulose nanofibrils composite paper with gradient and sandwich structure is constructed for EMI shielding application via a facile alternating vacuum-assisted filtration process.The composite paper exhibits outstanding mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 97.9±5.0 MPa and a fracture strain of 4.6±0.2%.Particularly,the paper shows a high electrical conductivity of 2506.6 S m?1 and EMI shielding effectiveness(EMI SE)of 38.4 dB due to the sandwich structure in improving EMI SE,and the gradient structure on regulating the contributions from reflection and absorption.This strategy is of great significance in fabricating ultrathin and flexible composite paper for highly efficient EMI shielding performance and in broadening the practical applications of MXene-based composite materials.

Characterization of Hemicelluloses Extracted from Populus tomentosa Carr. by the Hydrothermal Method with Ethanol

The aim of this study was to investigate the hemicelluloses extracted from Populus tomentosa Carr.by the hydrothermal method with ethanol.The influence of ethanol concentration on the hemicellulosic fractions was systematically studied.The chemical compositions and structural features of the hemicellulosic fractions were investigated by a combination of sugar analysis,gel-permeation chromatography,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,and one-dimensional proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance,and two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectroscopy.Neutral sugar analysis of the hemicellulosic fractions revealed that a higher ethanol concentration(45%~80%) favored the isolation of hemicelluloses with more side chains and lower glucose contents.The molecular weights of these polysaccharides ranged between 2842 g/mol and 5101 g/mol.The results of this study indicate that the hydrothermal ethanol process provides a new pretreatment strategy for the isolation and extraction of biomass.

Comparative Study of Water-soluble and Alkali-soluble Hemicelluloses Extracted by Hydrothermal Pretreatment

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences of the hemicelluloses extracted by hydrothermal pretreatment using water and alkaline solutions(Na OH or KOH). The physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of two water-soluble and four alkali-soluble hemicelluloses extracted from the triploid of Populus tomentosa Carr. through the hydrothermal pretreatment were comparatively studied. It was observed that the alkalis(Na OH and KOH) were more effective than distilled water as extractants. Sugar analysis showed that xylose(66.83%~86.49%) was the major constituent, followed by glucose(6.83%~18.49%). Mannose(1.40%~8.42%), galactose(2.17%~4.05%), and arabinose(0.21%~2.26%) were also detected in the hemicellulosic fractions. The results of gelpermeation chromatography(GPC) indicated that the hemicelluloses extracted using the alkaline solutions had relatively higher molecular weights than those solubilized in distilled water. Further, based on spectroscopic ~1Hnuclear magnetic resonance(~1H-NMR) and two-dimensional heteronuclear singular quantum correlation(2D-HSQC) analyses, it was confirmed that the hemicellulosic fractions had a major structure of(1→4)-b-D-xylan and a minor structure of(1→4)-a-D-glucan with small amounts of substituted sugars and glucuronic acid attached.

Comparing the seasonal variation of parameter estimation of ecosystem carbon exchange between alpine meadow and cropland in Heihe River Basin,northwestern China

Grasslands and agro-ecosystems occupy one-third of the global terrestrial area. However, great uncertainty still exists about their contributions to the global carbon cycle. This study used various combinations of a simple ecosystem respiration model and a photosynthesis model to simulate the influence of different climate factors, specifically radiation, temperature, and moisture, on the ecosystem carbon exchange at two dissimilar study sites. Using a typical alpine meadow site in a cold region and a typical cropland site in an arid region as cases, we investigated the response char- acteristics of productivity of grasslands and croplands to different environmental factors, and analyzed the seasonal change patterns of different model parameters. Parameter estimations and uncertainty analyses were performed based on a Bayesian approach. Our results indicated that： （1） the net ecosystem exchange （NEE） of alpine meadow and seeded maize during the growing season presented obvious diurnal and seasonal variation patterns. On the whole, the alpine meadow and seeded maize ecosystems were both apparent sinks for atmospheric CO2; （2） in the daytime, the mean NEE of the two ecosystems had the largest values in July and the lowest values in October. However, overall carbon uptake in the cropland was greater than in the alpine meadow from June to September; （3） at the alpine meadow site, temperature was the main limiting factor influencing the ecosystem carbon exchange variations during the growing season, while the sensitivity to water limitation was relatively small since there is abundant of rainfall in this region; （4） at the cropland site, both temperature and moisture were the most important limiting factors for the variations of ecosystem carbon exchanges during the growing season; and （5） some parameters had an obvious characteristic of seasonal patterns, while others had only small seasonal variations.

Formation and Collapse of Cellulose Nanocrystals and Hydrophobic Association-induced Dual Cross-linked Nanocomposite Hydrogels: A Rheological Study

The rheological characteristics of a physical gelation system,in which cellulose nanocrystals(CNC_(s))induced the entanglement of poly(acrylic acid)(PAA)chains and partial hydrophobic association of octylphenol polyoxyethylene acrylate(OP-10-AC)branches in a micellar solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS),were investigated.The gelation time of the physical gels decreased as the CNC content and number of hydrophobic branch units increased.At the gel point,the storage modulus(G')and loss modulus(G")followed the same frequency dependence(G'≈G"≈ωn),where the hydrophobic moieties attached to the side chains had a significant impact on the values of viscoelastic exponent(n).Beyond the gel point,the initial polymer solution was transformed to a solid-like gel,and the strength of the gel network was governed by associations between both the CNCs and hydrophobic groups.The evolution of the viscoelasticity during the gel-sol transition was monitored,demonstrating that due to a reversible arrangement of the hydrophobic units,a large proportion of physical cross-links dissociated under a thermal trigger and were reversibly reformed when the solution was cooled,while no such partial recovery was observed in the case of the single CNC-induced network systems(with no hydrophobic branches).

Nanocellulose Composites—Properties and Applications

Nanocellulose composites combine the advantages of nanocellulose and composites. Recently, nanocellulose composites have been received more attentions due to their improved properties and promising broad applications. In the past, rapid progress has been made in the synthesis, properties, and mechanism of nanocellulose composites and potential applications were reported. There are a few reports on the increasing applications of nanocellulose composites with focus on the biomedical field, environmental field, electrode and sensor applications. In this article, the recent development of nanocellulose composites was reviewed via some typical examples. In addition to the synthesis methods, improved properties and potential applications were discussed. The problems and future applications of nanocellulose composites were also suggested.

Extraction,Purification,and Applications of Hemicellulose

In addition to cellulose and lignin,hemicellulose is an important biomass material.Recently,hemicellulose and its derivatives and materials have attracted increasing attention owing to their unique structures,improved properties,and promising application potential,and many reports on the extraction,isolation,and modification of hemicellulose are currently available.We summarized the recent developments of hemicellulose and its derivatives and materials by focusing on the extraction,purification,and modification of hemicellulose.The synthesis of hemicellulose-based derivatives and materials was also reviewed.Various methods of extracting,isolating,and modifying hemicellulose were discussed.Remaining challenges related to hemicellulose extraction,purification,and application were mentioned,and directions for further research on hemicellulose were proposed.

Internet of Things to network smart devices for ecosystem monitoring

Smart, real-time, low-cost, and distributed ecosystem monitoring is essential for understanding and managing rapidly changing ecosystems. However, new techniques in the big data era have rarely been introduced into operational ecosystem monitoring, particularly for fragile ecosystems in remote areas.We introduce the Internet of Things(IoT) techniques to establish a prototype ecosystem monitoring system by developing innovative smart devices and using IoT technologies for ecosystem monitoring in isolated environments. The developed smart devices include four categories: large-scale and nonintrusive instruments to measure evapotranspiration and soil moisture, in situ observing systems for CO2 and d13 C associated with soil respiration, portable and distributed devices for monitoring vegetation variables, and Bi-CMOS cameras and pressure trigger sensors for terrestrial vertebrate monitoring. These new devices outperform conventional devices and are connected to each other via wireless communication networks. The breakthroughs in the ecosystem monitoring IoT include new data loggers and longdistance wireless sensor network technology that supports the rapid transmission of data from devices to wireless networks. The applicability of this ecosystem monitoring IoT is verified in three fragile ecosystems, including a karst rocky desertification area, the National Park for Amur Tigers, and the oasis-desert ecotone in China. By integrating these devices and technologies with an ecosystem monitoring information system, a seamless data acquisition, transmission, processing, and application IoT is created. The establishment of this ecosystem monitoring IoT will serve as a new paradigm for ecosystem monitoring and therefore provide a platform for ecosystem management and decision making in the era of big data.

Heterogeneous sea-level rises along coastal zones and small islands

Coastal zones and many small islands are highly susceptible to sea-level rise(SLR). Coastal zones have a large exposed population and integrated high-value assets, and islands provide diverse ecosystem services to millions of people worldwide. The coastal zones and small islands affected by SLR are likely to suffer from submergence, flooding and erosion in the future. However, very few studies have addressed the heterogeneity in SLR changes and the potential risk to coastal zones and small islands. Here we used the mean sea level(MSL) derived from satellite altimetry data to analyse the trends and accelerations of SLRs along global coastal zones and small islands. We found that except for the Antarctic coastal zone, the annual MSL within 50 km of the coasts presented an increasing trend of 3.09 ± 0.13 mm a^-1 but a decreasing acceleration of -0.02 ± 0.02 mm a^-2 from 1993 to 2017. The highest coastal MSL trend of3.85 ± 0.60 mm a^-1 appeared in Oceania, and the lowest trend of 2.32 ± 0.37 mm a^-1 occured in North America. Africa, North America and South America showed acceleration trends, and Eurasia, Australia and Oceania had deceleration trends. Further, MSLs around global small islands reflected an increasing trend with a rate of 3.01 ± 0.16 mm a^-1 but a negative acceleration of -0.02 ± 0.02 mm a^-2. Regional heterogeneity in the trends and accelerations of MSLs along the coasts and small islands suggests that stakeholders should take discriminating precautions to cope with future disadvantageous impacts of the SLR.

A novel bibliometric and visual analysis of global geoscience research using landscape indices

The landscape index is a quantitative index which reflects characteristics of structure composition and spatial pattern in landscape studies,it is,therefore,expected to describe the spatial pattern of scientific research in bibliometric analysis.In this study,a novel attempt to regard scientific research as a kind of‘landscape’was made,and landscape indices were improved for bibliometric analysis to measure the spatial pattern of scientific research.For illustrating the feasibility of our method,global geoscience research from 1994 to 2018 was presented as a case.Moreover,spatiotemporal migration of landscape centroids was visualized.The results indicated that global geoscience publications increased steadily and articles were highly concentrated at the country level.The top 10 countries published 69.93%of total articles and 84.68%of geoscience articles were from top 20 productive countries.The spatial migration of centroids was mainly reflected in the longitude because of significant increasing of articles in eastern countries,especially in China with the growth rate of 747.14%.At the patch scale,the change trend of improved landscape indices verified the spatiotemporal changes of global distribution of geoscience articles.At the landscape scale,the strengthening of global international collaboration is the main driving forces of spatial heterogeneity of global geoscience research.This study is expected to help readers to understand global trends of geoscience research in the past 25 years,and to promote the development of bibliometric analysis towards the directions of spatialization and visualization.

A web-based land surface remote sensing products validation system (LAPVAS): application to albedo product

Quantitative remote sensing product(QRSP)validation is a complex process to assess the accuracy and uncertainty independently using reference data with multiple land cover types and long-time series.A web-based system named as LAnd surface remote sensing Product VAlidation system(LAPVAS)is described in this paper,which is used to implement the QRSPs validation process automatically.The LAPAVS has two subsystems,the Validation Databases Subsystem and the Accuracy Evaluation Subsystem.Three functions have been implemented by the two subsystems for a comprehensive QRSP validation:(1)a standardized processing of reference data and storage of these data in validation databases;(2)a consistent and comprehensive validation procedure to assess the QRSPs’accuracy and uncertainty;and(3)a visual process customization tool with which the users can register new validation data,host new reference data,and readjust the validation workflows for the QRSP accuracy assessment.In LAPVAS,more than 100 GB of reference data warehoused in validation databases for 13 types of QRSPs’validation.One of the key QRSPs,land surface albedo,is selected as an example to illustrate the application of LAPVAS.It is demonstrated that the LAPVAS has a good performance in the land surface remote sensing product validation.

Multi-disciplinary approaches to water systems:introduction to the special column

1 Introduction As the human population grows,the livelihoods and well-being of a significant portion of humanity will depend even more on the ability of freshwater ecosystems to provide essential services(Vörösmarty et al.,2010),which will require the maintenance of biodiversity in these freshwater systems(Dudgeon et al.,2006).There are many competing demands on the available water resources,such as potable water,fish and wildlife habitat,agriculture,industrial use,and recreation,that are driven by different sectors;even within a specific sector there can be diverging interests.For example,water management of the Upper Arkansas River in Colorado has been mandated by the 1949 Arkansas River Compact between the US states of Colorado and Kansas which has led to stream-aquifer issues(Taylor and Luckey,1974),water transfers from agriculture to urban(Howe et al.,1990),and competing recreational uses(Wollmuth et al.,1985;Arkansas Basin Roundtable,2017).The recent Upper Arkansas Voluntary Flow Management Program tries to balance many users,including recreation by kayakers and rafters who want to maintain streamflow(at the Wellsville gauge)at or greater than 20 m3/s as well as anglers who want lower flows in the range of 7 to 11 m3/s to maintain fish habitat(Arkansas Basin Roundtable,2017).