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Abstract The enactment of the Environmental Protection Tax Law was a major event in the process of China's economic and social development. This law has achieved certain results in the first two years since enactment, but there have also been many problems. During the three-year strict pandemic control period, the normal process of Environmental Protection Tax Law implementation was impacted, causing alienation and reducing the quality of implementation. This study empirically reveals the alienation mechanism in the implementation of the Environmental Protection Tax Law by taking 1000 Chinese tax professionals, and randomly divides the sample equally into two parts, utilizing 500 samples for the initial test and another 500 samples for the robustness test. This research shows that pollutant emission monitoring (correlation coefficient is 0.07), preferential tax policies (correlation coefficient is 0.03) and the quality of tax personnel (correlation coefficient is 0.06) are not conducive to realizing the crowding-out effect of the Environmental Protection Tax Law, while preferential tax policies (correlation coefficient is 0.05), information-sharing platforms (correlation coefficient is 0.06) and the quality of tax personnel (correlation coefficient is 0.05) hinder the incentive effect, and the remaining elements passed the correlation coefficient test within certain confidence intervals. Therefore, the implementation of China's Environmental Protection Tax Law should be improved in the following ways: the accuracy of the environmental protection departments' supervision of pollutant emissions as well as the scientificity and rationality of preferential tax policies should be improved, the construction of environmental protection tax information-sharing platforms should be strengthened, and compound tax collection and management talent should be created.

Abstract The implementation of the Environmental Protection Tax Law was seriously affected by strict pandemic control. The Environmental Protection Tax Law imposed environmental taxes on enterprises based on measuring their pollution emissions to restrain their bad environmental behaviour and stimulate their green technological innovation ability. However, during the pandemic control period, the green technological innovation ability of enterprises was not developed. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the environmental regulation effect of the environmental protection tax. This study is based on sample data covering heavily polluting enterprises in China collected from December 20, 2022, to January 7, 2023. It finds that the follow cost effect existed, but the value compensation effect obviously declined, which leading to a decline in the green technological innovation ability of heavily polluting enterprises. The study shows that although strict pandemic control maintained the environmental protection function of the environmental protection tax, it weakened the economic driving function, which will not only damage the long-term economic development potential but also make the environmental protection function unsustainable. Graphical Abstract

Bio-based aerogels, which are poised as compelling thermal insulators, demand intricate synthesis procedures and have limited durability under harsh conditions. The integration of smart stimuli–response transitions in biomass aerogels holds promise as a solution, yet remains a challenge. Here, we introduce a pioneering strategy that employs reversible-gel-assisted ambient-pressure drying without organic solvents to craft multifunctional bio-based aerogels. By exploiting the thermally reversible gelling propensity of select biomasses, we anchor emulsified bubbles within cross-linked hydrogels, circumventing surface tension issues during mild drying. The resultant aerogels feature a robust porous matrix that is imbued with stable bubbles, yielding low thermal conductivity, high flame retardancy and robust resistance to diverse rigors. This innovative approach facilitates a paradigm shift in intelligent fire protection in which aerogels transition from robust to flexible in response to water stimuli, effectively shielding against thermal hazards and external forces. This work opens up a facile, eco-friendly and mild way to fabricate advanced biomass aerogels with stimuli-responsive transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macro- and microscopic morphological studies and multilocus phylogenetic analysis were made on larval specimens of a ghost moth collected from a pigeon pea plantation in Huánuco, Peru. DNA sequences from the cadaver and the fungal isolates obtained represented a monophyletic clade based on the phylogeny. All morphological characters and molecular data showed that the pathogenic fungus infecting the ghost moth larvae was an unknown cordycipitoid species, herein described as, Harposporium incensis sp. nov. based on morphological features and multilocus phylogenetic analysis on the cadaver and fungus isolated from the same specimen. The far-related and ecologically different hosts of teleomorph and anamorph of this new species display a peculiar inter-phylum host jumping between the insect Trichophassus giganteus of the phylum Arthropoda and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans of the phylum Nematoda and have biological control potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradable polylactide (PLA) nanofibers can be prepared by solvent free melt electrospinning technology which is promising,challenging and green. The nanofiber membrane prepared by this method have high porosities and strong adsorption capacities,and thus are useful for treating the environmental pollution efficiently. The organic montmorillonite(OMMT) was introduced into PLA, and the PLA/OMMT nanofiber membrane were prepared at 260℃ by using a self-made melt differential electrospinning device. The effect of OMMT content of PLA nanofiber membrane on the morphology,the oil absorption property,the air filtration performance and the degradability was investigated, and the optimum OMMT content was obtained. The research shows that the thermal stability of PLA is increased and the crystallinity of PLA is decreased significantly after adding OMMT. When the OMMT content is 2%,the diameter of the fiber reaches 450nm. The oil absorption rate of the nanofiber membrane is 133.5g/g which is 4-5 times higher than that of commercially available PP non-wovens,and the oil holding rate is 84.2g/g. Moreover,the nanofiber membrane has good reuse performance. The air filtration efficiency of the nanofiber membrane for dust particles(≥ 0.3μm) is 99.31%,reaching the European standard H11 filtration class. The degradation of PLA/OMMT nanofiber membrane is improved comparing with the pure PLA, which reduces the second pollution and accords with the requirements of industrial green environmental protection.

Polymeric materials, rich in carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen elements, present substantial fire hazards to both human life and property due to their intrinsic flammability. Overcoming this challenge in the absence of any flame-retardant elements is a daunting task. Herein, we introduce an innovative strategy employing catalytic polymer auto-pyrolysis before combustion to proactively release CO2, akin to possessing responsive CO2 fire extinguishing mechanisms. We demonstrate that potassium salts with strong nucleophilicity (such as potassium formate/malate) can transform conventional polyurethane foam into materials with fire safety through rearrangement. This transformation results in the rapid generation of a substantial volume of CO2, occurring before the onset of intense decomposition, effectively extinguishing fires. The inclusion of just 1.05 wt% potassium formate can significantly raise the limiting oxygen index of polyurethane foam to 26.5%, increase the time to ignition by 927%, and tremendously reduce smoke toxicity by 95%. The successful application of various potassium salts, combined with a comprehensive examination of the underlying mechanisms, underscores the viability of this strategy. This pioneering catalytic approach paves the way for the efficient and eco-friendly development of polymeric materials with fire safety. Overcoming this challenge of fire hazards by carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen rich materials remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstarte that catalytic polymer auto-pyrolysis before combustion releases CO2, equipping the material with fire retardant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]