Safety issues and new rapid detection methods in traditional Chinese medicinal materials

The safety of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a major strategic issue that involves human health. With the continuous improvement in disease prevention and treatment, the export of TCM and its related products has increased dramatically in China. However, the frequent safety issues of Chinese medicine have become the ‘bottleneck' impeding the modernization of TCM. It was proved that mycotoxins seriously affect TCM safety; the pesticide residues of TCM are a key problem in TCM international trade; adulterants have also been detected, which is related to market circulation. These three factors have greatly affected TCM safety. In this study, fast, highly effective, economically-feasible and accurate detection methods concerning TCM safety issues were reviewed, especially on the authenticity, mycotoxins and pesticide residues of medicinal materials.

Modern Issues in Food Safety - A Perspective

There is much current interest worldwide in food safety. This results in large part from well publicized outbreaks due to foodborne pathogens, chemical food safety related to pesticides, and from persistent organic pollutants and other synthetic contaminants. Additionally, the melamine adulteration issue,

Guest Editorial-Special issue on advances in mine safety science ＆ engineering

Mine safety encompasses many aspects of a mining operation,ranging from personnel and equipment safety to the safety of the environment.Mine disasters such as fires,floods,explosions,outbursts,rockbursts,ground caving,pit slope slides,and tailings dam failures,pose serious threats to the lives of mine operators,

New Food Safety Law of China and the special issue on food safety in China

1. IntroductionThere have been a number of serious incidents of compro- mised food safety in China in recent years. To list a few, these include： a Salmonella outbreak, the use of horse- meat in burgers, the illegal use of phthalates as a clouding agent, the contamination of formula milk by melamine, the meat scandal of Shanghai Husi Food Company which sold reprocessed stale meat to many fast food chains includ- ing McDonald＇s, Burger King, and KFC across theworld,

Lithium-Sulfur Batteries at Extreme Temperatures:Challenges,Strategies and Prospects

High-energy-density-batteries working at a wide-temperature range are urgently required in many performance-critical areas.Lithium-sulfur batteries(LSB)are promising high-energy-density batteries that have the potential to maintain high performance at extreme temperatures.However,some problems like severe shuttling and safety issues at high temperatures or sluggish reaction kinetics and charge-transfer process at low temperatures decrease the performance and hinder their practical uses in extreme temperature conditions.Therefore,broadening the working temperature of LSB with stable electrochemical performance becomes a crucial topic.In this paper,the key stumbling blocks for high and low-temperature LSB are comprehensively discussed.The solutions from the aspects of electrolyte and electrode materials are discussed to solve the aggravating shuttle effect and thermal safety issues under high temperature and the sluggish reaction kinetics under low temperature.Moreover,some specific promising solutions to extend the operating temperature range of LSB are also proposed and highlighted,which provide potential research directions on the practical LSB application in future.

Challenges of Lithium Metal Anode Enlightened from 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who have made great contributions in discovery of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs). The LIBs with graphite as anode have dominated the rechargeable battery markets of portable electronics and electric vehicles(EVs). For the next-generation batteries, high energy density is the important trend of development. Thus lithium metal is considered as the most promising anode owing to its highest theoretical capacity and the lowest electrochemical potential. However, the severe safety concerns hinder its practical application. The uncontrollable growth of lithium dendrites leads to capacity decay, low Coulombic efficiency, possible short circuit and thermal runaway. In this perspective, various methods to protect Li metal anode have been analyzed. The development of solid-state electrolytes(SSEs) and the role of lithium anode in SSEs are discussed. Several new strategies for improving the safety of Li metal based batteries are proposed to realize the real market-oriented security applications.