Resource constraint,sustainable economic growth pattern and transformation of economic system in China

Over the past 20 years, China has made spectacular achievements in economic growth as well as in thetransformation of economic growth pattern. Industrial structure is being updated, and technology is playing a more andmore important role in economic development. The energy and resource consumption in many industries and enterprisesare reducing. However, we should realize that there are still many problems in changing the economic growth pattern,such as high input, high consumption, high discharge, inharmony, recycling difficulty, and low efficiency, which havegreatly impaired and restrict Chinese economic development. Therefore, the fundamental change of the economic growthpattern is inevitable. Based on the analysis on the status quo and the exploit of resources, this paper suggests that thetransformation from unsustainable to sustainable growth is the only choice in changing the economic growth pattern. Inaddition, the transformation should not completely rely on the fundamental effects of market mechanism. We should makefull use of the power of governments to speed up the transformation of economic system.

Confluence of asymmetric catalysis and electrosynthesis in sustainable chemical transformations

Electrosynthesis has gained widespread recognition for its extraordinary ability to precisely control the redox process.This outstanding capability enables the direct conversion of non-functionalized substrates into reactive intermediates by utilizing easily accessible starting materials, eliminating the need for preliminary functionalization procedures and allowing for unconventional bond activations.

Following the Charter of the United Nations: The Basic Guarantee for the Realization of the Right to Development——From the Perspective of Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

This study discusses the basic guarantee of the Charter of the United Nations to realize the right to development from the angle of Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The concepts regarding the people as the focal point, the dignity, the worth of the human being, as well as larger aspects of freedom, and other basic concepts within the Charter of the United Nations, guide the right direction of action for the realization of the right to development. The purpose and principles of the United Nations establishment in the Charter constitute the basic legal protection of the right to development. Values of peace, international dialogue, and international cooperation show the right path to the realization of the right to development.

Mass Customization and Design for High Density Indemnificatory Housing in China

The use of computer in architectural design shouldn’t sacrifice the pursuit of a human-oriented built environment.The technological applications should be legitimated by the objectives and motivations in multiple dimensions,but not abuse its generative power against the social and cultural interests.This article is based upon our synthetic computational design research for high density indemnificatory housing in China(Fig.1),which challenges the conventional standard design for large scale social housing in the Industrial Era,and reflects our exploration for innovative,multi-disciplinary,systematic and synthetic design in the new design paradigm of computation.It also promotes to shift the privilege of cutting-edge design techniques and avant-garde concepts from the“High(end)Architecture”to the ordinary architecture during the unprecedented built-environment development in China.Architectural design should have no discrimination between the Olympic stadiums in the capital and the social housing in the subordinate developed cities,as they both need to be innovative and meaningful.The final design research outputs address sustainable transformation initiated by the residents during the whole life span of the housing.We believe that the human factor(including stakeholders,users,designers and builders)is even more important in architectural design,city planning,urban design,landscape and interior design while technology development is accelerating.Conceptualization,imagination and systemization would become significant pacemakers which perpetuate design innovation.

Ruthenium-promoted reductive transformation of CO2

The reductive transformation of CO_2 to energy related products including formic acid, CO, formamide, methanol and methylamine could be a promising option to supply renewable energy. In this aspect, ruthenium has found wide application in hydrogenation of various carbonyl groups, and has successfully been applied to reductive transformation of CO_2 with high catalytic efficiency and excellent selectivity. In addition, ruthenium complexes have also served as effective photosensitizers for CO_2 photoreduction.Classified by reductive products, this review summarizes and updates advances in the Ru-catalyzed reduction of CO_2 along with catalyst development on the basis of mechanistic understanding at a molecular level.

Biodegradable chitosan scaffolds containing microspheres as carriers for controlled transforming growth factor-β_1 delivery for cartilage tissue engineering

Background Natural articular cartilage has a limited capacity for spontaneous regeneration. Controlled release of transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1） to cartilage defects can enhance chondrogenesis. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of using biodegradable chitosan microspheres as carriers for controlled TGF-β1 delivery and the effect of released TGF-β1 on the chondrogenic potential of chondrocytes. Methods Chitosan scaffolds and chitosan microspheres loaded with TGF-β1 were prepared by the freeze-drying and the emulsion-crosslinking method respectively. In vitro drug release kinetics, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, was monitored for 7 days. Lysozyme degradation was performed for 4 weeks to detect in vitro degradability of the scaffolds and the microspheres. Rabbit chondrocytes were seeded on the scaffolds containing TGF-β1 microspheres and incubated in vitro for 3 weeks. Histological examination and type Ⅱ collagen immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the effects of released TGF-β1 on cell adhesivity, proliferation and synthesis of the extracellular matrix. Results TGF-β1 was encapsulated into chitosan microspheres and the encapsulation efficiency of TGF-β1 was high （90.1%）. During 4 weeks of incubation in lysozyme solution for in vitro degradation, the mass of both the scaffolds and the microspheres decreased continuously and significant morphological changes was noticed. From the release experiments, it was found that TGF-β1 could be released from the microspheres in a multiphasic fashion including an initial burst phase, a slow linear release phase and a plateau phase. The release amount of TGF-β1 was 37.4%, 50.7%, 61.3%, and 63.5% for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days respectively. At 21 days after cultivation, type II collagen immunohistochemical staining was performed. The mean percentage of positive cells for collagen type II in control group （32.7%± 10.4%） was significantly lower than that in the controlled TGF-β1 release group （92.4%±4.8%, P〈0.05）. Both the proliferation rate and production of collagen type Ⅱ in the transforming growth factor-β1 microsphere incorporated scaffolds were significantly higher than those in the scaffolds without microspheres, indicating that the activity of TGF-β1 was retained during microsphere fabrication and after growth factor release. Conclusion Chitosan microspheres can serve as delivery vehicles for controlled release of TGF-β1, and the released growth factor can augment chondrocytes proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix. Chitosan scaffolds incorporated with chitosan microspheres loaded with TGF-β1 possess a promising potential to be applied for controlled cytokine delivery and cartilage tissue engineering.

Pivotal principles for digital earth development in the twenty-first century

Reductionist thinking will no longer suffice to address contemporary,complex challenges that defy sectoral,national,or disciplinary boundaries.Furthermore,lessons learned from the past cannot be confidently used to predict outcomes or guide future actions.The authors propose that the confluence of a number of technology and social disruptors presents a pivotal moment in history to enable real time,accelerated,and integrated action that can adequately support a‘future earth’through transformational solutions.Building on more than a decade of dialogues hosted by the International Society for Digital Earth(ISDE),and evolving a briefing note presented to delegates of Pivotal 2015,the paper presents an emergent context for collectively addressing spatial information,sustainable development,and good governance through three guiding principles for enabling prosperous living in the twenty-first century.These are:(1)open data,(2)real-world context,and(3)informed visualization for decision support.The paper synthesizes an interdisciplinary dialogue to create a credible and positive future vision of collaborative and transparent action for the betterment of humanity and planet.It is intended that these Pivotal Principles can be used as an elegant framework for action toward the Digital Earth vision,across local,regional,and international communities and organizations.