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Trade liberalization has enabled China to become a global manufacturing hub. However, an increasing focus on pollutant emissions has accompanied China's rapid economic growth. This paper uses the Annual Survey of Industrial Firms and the Annual Energy Survey of Industrial Firms from 1998 to 2007 to identify the effects of trade liberalization in final goods and intermediate goods on pollutant emissions of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The difference-in-difference method is used to analyze the data, with China's accession to the World Trade Organization serving as an exogenous policy shock that brought trade liberalization. The paper's findings indicate the following: (1) Trade liberalization has reduced the tariffs on final goods, which has led to a notable reduction in the intensity of pollutant emissions from Chinese manufacturing firms. (2) Trade liberalization in intermediate goods, meanwhile, has led to a significant increase in the pollutant emission intensity of manufacturing firms. However, the emission reduction effect observed in final goods is more pronounced. (3) The difference-in-difference-in-difference method was used to examine the heterogeneity of the pollutant emission effect of trade liberalization across manufacturing firms. Our analysis revealed that trade liberalization has significantly enhanced the pollutant emission intensity of state-owned enterprises while exhibiting no significant effect on foreign invested enterprises. Furthermore, trade liberalization has intensified pollutant emissions among exporting firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Mexican economy experienced two large crises: in 1995 and in 2008. The dynamics and origins of the episodes are very different; nevertheless, is there a common underlying mechanism? First, by applying the Business Cycle Accounting method, we find that the efficiency wedge is the main driver of output during both episodes. We present an equivalence between the neoclassical growth model with distortions and a small open economy with imported intermediate goods inputs, in which relative price changes manifest themselves as changes on the efficiency wedge. This result proposes a solution for the theoretical puzzle regarding the relationship between terms of trade shocks and productivity. Finally, the model is able to reproduce both the intensities and velocities of the crises in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The balance of materials in obtaining the G-0 intermediate product guarantees that the product is consistently produced and controlled. Objective: Carry out the material balances in the mechanical and thermal operations in obtaining the intermediate product G-0. Materials and Methods: The analysis of the input and output materials mass was conducted for the crude G-0 centrifugation systems, filtration of the suspension to be purified from crude G-0, and centrifugation and drying of the PI G-0. The composition was determined using available techniques and previous research work. For the calculation of the average results of the streams with the Microsoft Office Excel® program 25 batches produced in the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 were taken into account. Results and Discussion: The material balances per batch in the obtaining of PI G-0 in the systems Centrifugation G-0 Crude, Centrifugation of PI G-0, Filtration and Drying allowed to know the real yield of the desired product for 14 moles of furfural and the losses in the residual streams and due to manufacturing. In the drying operation, the removal of water and wet and dry base solvent was quantified. Conclusions: The material balances in the mechanical and thermal operations of the process of obtaining the intermediate product G-0 allow assuring the consistency of the process. The tests carried out on the specifications: organoleptic characteristics, identification by UV VIS ultraphotometry, melting interval and purity of the product declare the conformity for its use in the production of Furvina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental impact of exporting is a topic of significant concern to both scholars and policymakers. Analyzing how exporting influences firms' environmental performance concerning the product level is vital for better understanding its implications. Drawing on the data obtained from Chinese industrial firms, this study employs the PSM-DID (Propensity Score Matching-Difference in differences) model to establish a causal relationship between exporting intermediate goods or final goods and firms' emissions. The findings indicate that, on the one hand, exporting intermediate goods leads to a rise in firms' production scale and total factor productivity, ultimately significantly increasing total pollution emissions and reducing pollution emission intensity. On the other hand, exporting final goods decreases total pollution emissions and emission intensity through the technical effect. In general, this study provides important micro-level evidence of how exports affect pollution emissions at the product level in China. This evidence is valuable for policymakers in shaping environmental regulations and export policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1)Background——The problem of “stuck neck” always warns China’s manufacturing industry to reasonably control the degree of dependence on imports of intermediate goods. The central and local governments have designed multi-level and diversified environmental regulation tools, and China’s wood processing industry still generally adopts traditional processes and equipment with high energy consumption and high emissions, which has become one of the important objects of local government environmental regulation. (2) Methods——Based on the balanced panel data of the wood processing industry in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) of China except Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet from 2005 to 2016,the overall impact of regional environmental regulations on the import dependence of intermediate products in the wood processing industry was evaluated using a dual fixed panel model by province and time. Boost-rap test method was used to verify the influence mechanism of provincial environmental regulations on the import dependence of intermediate products in wood processing industry. (3) Results——First, the provincial environmental regulation has an inverted U-shaped effect on the import dependence of intermediate products in the wood processing industry, that is, the regional environmental regulation changes from loose to strict, and the impact on the import dependence of intermediate products in the local wood processing industry increases first and then decreases. Second, the inverted U-shaped effects of provincial environmental regulations have the characteristics of continuous fermentation, which can last at least until the third year. Thirdly, in terms of impact mechanism, strict regional environmental regulation can timely promote technological innovation of wood processing enterprises and reduce the dependence on intermediate imports; Fourth, the expansion analysis shows that the environmental concern of local government also has an inverted U-shaped effect on the import dependence of intermediate products of local wood processing industry. Fifth, the technological innovation and capital intensity of the wood processing industry have a negative effect on the import dependence of intermediate goods, the industry concentration degree and the regional manufacturing wage level and geographical location have a significant positive effect, and the industry labor input, regional market size, economic development level, infrastructure perfection, openness to the outside world and industrialization degree have no significant impact. (4) Conclusions and Discussions——After the strict environmental regulation lasts for a specific time and crosses a certain threshold, the industrial trade gains are not negatively impacted. Therefore, local governments can give up the mentality of "competition for the lowest level" in environmental regulation and continue to promote ecological environmental protection. Strengthen the support for technological innovation and process equipment improvement of wood processing industry enterprises, strive to improve the utilization efficiency of imported intermediates of enterprises, enhance the substitution ability of imported intermediates, and reduce the proportion of investment in imported intermediates by improving product design; Regions with high industrial agglomeration, wage levels and import facilitation should strengthen the research and development of intermediate products such as high-quality key raw materials and key components, and form a benign interaction mechanism between strict environmental regulations and reduced dependence on intermediate imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the role of trade by export and import of intermediate and final goods on environmental degradation, and carbon dioxide emission, in the form of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). For this purpose, a panel data set of OECD, and non-OECD countries from 1998 to 2018 was used. According to the results, the EKC was established in all samples. In addition, while with a sample of OECD countries, trade has a beneficial or inverse effect on carbon dioxide emissions; with a sample of non-OECD countries, and that of all countries, a non-beneficial or direct effect from trade on carbon dioxide emissions prevails. Also, an important conclusion is that imports, regardless of the type of goods, had a more destructive effect on the environment than exports in all samples. Therefore, theories supporting beneficial effects of exports, e.g. improving technology, or destructive effects of imports through energy-intensive products, are better explanations of the issue than theories of destructive consumption of energy resulting from exports, or beneficial effects of imports for the environment

Explanation of economic cycles, especially stagflation in an oil-dependent economy with high dependency on imported intermediate goods, requires a prototypical representation of the supply side and the propagation mechanism of the external shocks. In commodity-exporting countries, exchange rate changes are often caused by exogenous changes in the terms of trade. Apart from this, external shocks such as international sanctions, restricting foreign trade and increasing transaction costs, not only affect external relative prices but also disrupt the supply chain, thus can be a very strong source of economic cycles or stagflation episodes. External shocks modify investment decisions regarding domestic and foreign assets, significantly affect household consumption and hence the demand side of the economy. Where the final product is highly dependent on imported intermediate goods, negative foreign shocks (i.e. sanctions) can disrupt the supply chain, via the imported intermediate goods channel, and affect output supply price. Therefore, the transmission mechanism of the external shocks in an economy with the above features requires appropriate modeling of both the demand and supply sides. As to explain the observed episodes of stagflation in the Iran’s economy, we expand the supply side of a typical new Keynesian DSGE model by presenting and separating imported and domestic intermediate goods in the production function as components of the supply chain, introducing an extra channel for the impact of external shocks on output, inflation, and consumption.

A healthy diet is the key to longevity, increasing the body's resistance to adverse environmental influences, and is a prerequisite for quality of life. One of the problems that humanity must solve today is the search for non-traditional protein sources and their popularisation in the food market as a healthy alternative to meat protein, which is the most popular. Nowadays, vegetarianism is the most widespread system of health-improving nutrition. According to this system, meat products (pork, beef) are replaced from the daily diet and other sources of amino acids take their place. The relevance of the study is related to the need to develop minced semi-finished products suited for consumption by a wide range of consumers, including those who adhere to vegetarian and vegan diets. The main goal of the study was to achieve the nutritional value of the protein component of minced meat compared to beef-based minced meat. The following research methods were used to solve these tasks: the organoleptic assessment considered: appearance, colour, cutaway view, smell, taste; moisture content - by drying the sample to a constant weight; fat content - by Soxhlet method; protein content - by Kjeldahl method; amino acid composition - by liquid chromatography, fatty acid composition - by gas-liquid chromatography. The main ingredient with protein content in minced meat is protein-wheat texture, which contains a balanced set of amino acids. The study of the amino acid composition of meatless minced semi-finished products has shown that this product is a valuable source of all essential amino acids. Cutlets are characterized by a significant content of valine, methionine, and phenylalanine. The finished product meets the requirements of the current regulatory documentation and does not pose a microbiological danger to the consumer. Therefore, the development of a new semi-finished product technology, which is a meatless minced meat composition that meets the requirements of a healthy diet in terms of protein and fat composition, is one of the ways to solve the problem of introducing food products recommended for vegetarians [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of studies that make it possible to solve the problem of processing secondary waste from expensive aluminum alloys without irretrievable loss of metal. For this purpose, tasks were set and solved for the development of technological schemes for obtaining longish deformed semi-finished products from chip waste of AleMg alloys 01570 and 1580 alloyed with scandium using methods of powder metallurgy and metal forming. For their experimental verification, the operations of chip briquetting, combined rolling-extrusion (continuous extrusion), sectional rolling, hot extrusion and drawing in combination with heat treatment were applied. According to these schemes, semi-finished products in the form of rods and wires were obtained. Structure and mechanical properties were investigated. It has been revealed that when hot-extruded rods are obtained from chip briquettes of alloy 01570 on a vertical hydraulic press, even with significant degrees of deformation during extrusion, the margin of plastic properties is small and makes it possible to obtain a wire with a diameter of only 4.2 mm after drawing. The processing of briquettes from 1580 alloy chips using the combined rollingextrusion method makes it possible to obtain after cold deformation a wire with a diameter of up to 3 mm. At the same time, the influence of the annealing process on the structure and properties of deformed semi-finished products from the investigated alloys was studied. It is shown that due to the low plasticity of the investigated material cold working of the rods must be carried out with small degrees of deformation, alternating it with intermediate annealing according to the proposed regime. An analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of the wire obtained using combined processing showed that its strength and plastic properties are comparable to the properties of the wire obtained from a cast billet, and the structure is characterized by a high degree of elaboration and compactness. Thus, as a result of the research, technological schemes have been developed and processing parameters have been determined for the production of rods and wire from graded chip waste of alloys 01570 and 1580 using compaction, discrete and continuous extrusion, as well as cold drawing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mean field theory is applied to nonequilibrium thermal energy transport in a model molecular junction. An approximation to the total time-dependent heat current in the junction is constructed using an ensemble of Ehrenfest trajectories, and the average heat current in the steady state is obtained. The accuracy of this treatment is verified through benchmark comparisons with exact quantum mechanical results and various approximate quantum transport theories for the nonequilibrium spin-boson model. The performance of the multitrajectory Ehrenfest approach is found to be quite robust, displaying good accuracy in intermediate cases that remain elusive to many perturbative approximations and in the strong coupling limit where many methods break down. Thus, mean field theory and related trajectory-based approximate quantum dynamics methods emerge as a promising toolkit for the study of transport properties in nanoscale systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia and the Baltic States have a long-standing relationship of industrial specialisation, cooperation, division of labour and trade exchange, all dating back to the Soviet Union. Today, this relationship is facing a tough test amid political and ideological challenges and risks. The last two years have seen a profound and large-­scale crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the production linkages between Russia and the Baltic States have adapted in response to the existing problems, remaining resistant to the geopolitical and pandemic shocks. This article examines the production linkages between Russia and the Baltic countries, investigating the export-­import flows of consumer and intermediate goods in 2003—2020. A comparative study of the Baltic States’ production linkages with Russia and their main partners in the EU — Germany and Finland — is carried out. It is concluded that, before the introduction of sanctions in 2014 and the world trade crisis of 2015—2016, Russia was a more promising market than Germany and Finland for the Baltic States’ companies trading in intermediate goods.

Food safety stands at the forefront of social policies across nations. Secondary meat raw materials present a potential source for meat production. Our research objective was to analyze the nutritional value and functionaltechnological properties of horsemeat and protein additives of animal origin, particularly secondary meat raw materials such as chicken combs. We also sought to empirically determine their optimal quantities for developing chopped semi-finished horsemeat products, which are protein-enriched and have high consumer appeal. We aimed to establish efficient methods for utilizing collagen-rich materials like chicken combs. Additionally, we assessed the feasibility of using slaughter by-products and the potential of minced meat and pastry products as valuable raw material sources. Based on our findings, we deduce that chicken combs, a lower-value secondary raw material, possess notable physical, chemical, and safety properties. These traits underline its high biological worth and environmental benignity, qualifying it as a viable ingredient for protein enrichment and as an additive in minced meat and paste product manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main process in the technology of natural marinated semi-finished meat products is the marinating process, which depends on the marinating method, temperature conditions, and composition of the marinade mixture. To enhance the distribution of marinades within the meat, mechanical processing of the raw material is necessary, specifically using the massaging process, to achieve uniform distribution of curing agents, changes in structure, and increased activity of enzymatic systems utilized in marinades. The main goal of this study is to model the massaging process, which allows the processing of the obtained experimental data in the form of a criterion equation. For the research, 8 samples were used, including 3 experimental pork samples and 1 control, as well as 3 experimental beef samples and 1 control. The main components of the samples include pork meat, beef meat, canola oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, curing ingredients, spices and seasonings, bromelain enzyme, and yeast extract. To carry out the massaging process in the investigated procedure, a massager of the model MAL 50-1500 was employed. The research results indicate that the determined mass transfer equation demonstrates a predominant influence in the investigated massaging process, involving changes in the concentration of sunflower, canola, and olive oil in the product, affecting the diffusion coefficient, size of dispersed phase particles, and mass transfer coefficient within the load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kazakhstan's market for producing minced meat semi-finished products is not sufficiently developed. At the same time, the demand for products of the "economy" segment is growing. Providing balanced recipes for semifinished meat products, with a rational combination of raw materials of animal and vegetable origin, is a significant problem. Chopped meat cutlets with high nutritional and low energy value have been developed, which are not inferior in functional and technological properties and sensory characteristics to traditional products. Pork and wheat bread were excluded from the recipes, with a replacement for lamb or broiler chicken meat in combination with a protein-carbohydrate composition (PCC) of the composition: soy minced okara - chickpea flour - whey protein concentrate (WPC 80) in a ratio of 9:5:10, at 1:3 hydration. The rational share of the introduction of PCC into the recipe of cutlets was 25% for minced beef - the meat of broiler chickens and 20% for minced beef - lamb. The studied samples of PCC, control minced meat with pork and bread, and two modified minced meat recipes for cutlets have similar values of the mass ratio of water fractions at three stages of dehydration during heat treatment. PCC particles are evenly distributed between the muscle fibers in minced meat. It has been shown that the developed PCC can serve as a substitute for minced meat not only in terms of the balance of the amino acid composition of the total protein but also in terms of the percentage of moisture with different forms of communication with the product, influencing the microstructure and consistency of raw semi-finished products of the combined composition, the consistency and juiciness of fried cutlets. According to the developed recipes, the mass fraction of protein in cutlets increased from 13.8 to 19.1-19.8%; fat decreased from 12.6 to 9.5-9.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the causal relationship between disaggregated imports and economic growth is investigated in South Africa. The study was motivated by the need to establish how South Africa can achieve the growth trajectory that is much needed by the country to achieve sustainable development goals. The study applied the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and the ECM-based Granger causality test on annual time series data covering the period from 1988 to 2021. The findings confirmed a bidirectional causality between all measures of imports and economic growth, thereby confirming the significance of imports in buttressing economic growth. The findings point to the important role that imports play in achieving sustainable growth and development.

This paper considers two vertical links between informal and formal sector firms and studies their implications. First, we model a situation where final products produced by the formal and informal sector firms are differentiated in terms of quality and consumption demand for the informal sector firm is related to the distribution of income. Less well-off consumers generate demand for the low-priced, low quality good produced by the informal sector. Our paper studies the implications of this link for the size of the informal sector. Second, we analyse a situation where, instead of competing with the formal sector firm, the informal sector firm produces an intermediate good for the other firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method has been improved for the production of semi-finished products of a high degree of readiness from Jerusalem artichoke tubers, characterized by a significant natural content of functional and physiological ingredients and health-improving properties to ensure a wide range of uses in processing complexes. The method is distinguished by blanching with hot steam at a pressure in the working chamber of 0.1 MPa for 8...10 min, followed by rubbing to an average particle size of 30...50 µm with a content of 10...11+2 % SR. Subsequent heating of the puree-like mass to 40...45 °C and concentration in a rotary-film evaporator to a content of 20...30+2 % DM at a temperature of 55...60 °C for 55...95 s. The technology for producing concentrated paste from Jerusalem artichoke tubers allows preserving the biological potential of raw materials during the concentration process due to gentle low-temperature processing. The content of functionally physiological ingredients of the puree mass was determined: active acidity - 4.2 pH, dietary fiber - 3.3 g/100 g puree, pectin - 1.25 %, inulin - 10.05 g/100 g puree, and are also important. According to an improved method for the production of a pasty semi-finished product from Jerusalem artichoke tuber, an apparatus-technological scheme is proposed. The selected equipment line is distinguished by resource efficiency and small overall dimensions and can be located in the places where raw materials are collected. The produced paste-like semi-finished product of a high degree of readiness from Jerusalem artichoke contains (in gr.): mono- and disaccharides - 3.6; inulin - 20.3; starch - 10.7; dietary fiber - 14.4 and organic acid - 0.11 and has attractive organoleptic properties. A pasty semi-finished product of a high degree of readiness has been made, which can be recommended as a vitamin supplement (filler) in the production of functional products in various areas of the food and processing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invoicing currency choice in international trade is a vital issue for the spread of business cycles and monetary policy. Following Devereux et al., (2004) theoretical framework, this paper allows the role of imported intermediate goods in the decision of invoicing currency as in Chung (2016). However, we extend the model by a more general production function, adding capital as the second factor of production. We, thus, develop a novel model with two factors of production in the invoicing currency literature that also features imported inputs. In our model, the covariance terms involving the more realistic cost index when production involves not just labour but also capital play a critical role in decision making on pricing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the effect of exports to China on local employment in South Korea, exploiting variations in trade and employment across 220 South Korean municipalities between 2007 and 2017. To identify the effect of exports on employment, we use a novel instrument: China's exports to the US. This isolates the demand‐side factors for South Korean exports to China from the supply‐side factors that lead to biased estimations using ordinary least squares regressions. The results of a two‐stage least squares estimation using municipality‐level data confirm that increased exports to China contribute to a rise in employment in South Korean local labor markets. This effect occurs mostly in the service and construction industries rather than in the manufacturing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermediate rubber goods are either used for production of finished rubber goods or used as a final consumer good. The intermediate rubber goods import of India are growing at a higher rate than the import of other major rubber products under the WTO regime. Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) of India have further liberalised the import into the country. The present study is an attempt to understand whether the tariff liberalisation of India under the RTAs causes growth in import of intermediate rubber products. The study analysed all the major intermediate rubber products listed in Chapter 40 of the Harmonised System Nomenclature of the World Customs Organisation using the methodologies, such as gravity modelling and break point analysis. The study found that more than the tariff policy, the growth in the domestic economy of India is the prime reason for higher import growth of items under the intermediate rubber products into the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vulnerability of Iranian economy to various shocks has attracted attention to economic resilience. In this regard, foreign trade, which is inherently more exposed to shocks, merits careful consideration. In order to examine the effects of imports on economic resilience, a small-scale macroeconometric model has been specified. Having solved the model and run simulations, the effects of shocks stemming from imports on GDP is measured. This study, for the first time, quantifies the concept of resilience by examining the implications of economic shocks in a large-scale macro-econometric model. Accordingly, the modeled system received three types of shocks caused by the imports of consumer, intermediate, and capital goods. Then, the magnitude of their effects on GDP as well as the pace in which the variables back to their equilibrium are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the shocks coming from intermediate goods have the most severe consequences and threaten Iranian economy severely.

Marinades based on vegetable oil blends for the production of natural marinated meat semi-finished products substantially affect the rheological and structural-mechanical parameters of the product. They determine the plasticity and consistency of semi-finished products made from raw materials of grades 1 and 2. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to develop recipes for marinades and establish the effect of marinade based on blends of vegetable oils enriched with the enzyme bromelain on the structural and mechanical parameters of natural marinated meat semifinished products during storage. The research developed 8 samples of semi-finished products, namely: 4 samples using pork: 1 control sample without marinade and 3 samples with marinades based on vegetable oil blends; and 4 samples using beef: 1 control sample without marinade and 3 samples with marinades based on vegetable oil blends. In this regard, it was concluded that it is advisable to use blends of vegetable oils and enzymes in the marinade. An additional effect on natural marinated meat semi-finished products is the better organoleptic and structuralmechanical indicators in comparison with control samples. It was identified that the consistency of semi-finished beef products during the storage period becomes more tender compared to the control sample. It was proved that the plasticity of semi-finished pork products compared to the control sample decreased, which indicates an increase in meat hardness. The results of the study of the plasticity of marinated semi-finished products increased compared to the control sample, which indicates a decrease in meat hardness. The use of vegetable raw materials in the technology of natural marinated meat semi-finished products allows using meat raw materials of grades 1 and 2 and getting a tender, juicy, easily digestible product at the output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the cost of sticky prices when intermediate goods are used in production. One major result is that the cost of sticky prices increases as the production structure deepens. A simple one‐sector model without intermediate inputs underestimates the cost of nonzero trend inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fast and facile approach was designed to fabricate carbonate (Ci)-modified NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets array on carbon cloth (CC) by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) microplasma. The whole synthetic process can be completed within 1 h at ambient temperature and pressure. The prepared NiFe LDH-Ci/CC emerges a superior catalytic activity for oxygen evolving reaction in alkaline media, which only demands an overpotential of 240 mV at 20 mA cm−2 with a high stability for at least 90 h, and shows an excellent turnover frequency value of 0.323 mol O2 s−1 at 350 mV. Time-resolved measurements of direct emission spectra for nitrogen second positive system N2(C-B) were measured in the DBD microplasma discharge. And a high vibrational temperature (Tvib, 3100 K) and rotational temperature (Trot, 340 K) were obtained, indicating a great chemical reactivity. In addition, the intermediate products of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) were identified and the possible synthesis mechanism was tentatively proposed. A fast and facile approach was designed to fabricate NiFe LDH-Ci/CC by DBD microplasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a Multistage Manufacturing Process (MMP), multiple types of sensors are deployed to collect intermediate product quality measurements after each stage of manufacturing. This study aims at modeling the relationship between these quality outputs of mixed profiles and sparse effective process inputs. We propose an analytical framework based on four process characteristics: (i) every input only affects the outputs of the same and the later stages; (ii) the outputs from all stages are smooth functional curves or images; (iii) only a small number of inputs influence the outputs; and (iv) the inputs cause a few variation patterns on the outputs. We formulate an optimization problem that simultaneously estimates the effects of process inputs on the outputs across the entire MMP. An ADMM consensus algorithm is developed to solve this problem. This algorithm is highly parallelizable and can handle a large amount of data of mixed types obtained from multiple stages. The ability of this algorithm in estimations, selecting effective inputs, and identifying the variation patterns of each stage is validated with simulation experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-dependent evolution experiments were performed by intercepting intermediate products at different reaction stages to reveal the formation mechanism of novel core/shell-structured Cu 2 O@CuO mesocrystals (Cu 2 O@CuO MC) with hexapod morphology. • Novel core/shell-structured Cu 2 O@CuO mesocrystals (Cu 2 O@CuO MC) were synthesized. • The formation mechanism of Cu 2 O@CuO MC is revealed. • The Cu 2 O@CuO MC exhibit much-enhanced catalytic property. As compared with conventional nanocrystal systems, Cu-based mesocrystals have demonstrated distinct advantages in catalytic applications. Here, we report the preparation of a novel architectural Cu 2 O@CuO catalyst system integrated with the core/shell and mesocrystal structures (Cu 2 O@CuO MC) via a facile solvothermal process followed by calcination. The formation mechanism of the Cu 2 O@CuO MC with hexapod morphology was deciphered based on a series of time-dependent experiments and characterizations. When applied as a Cu-based catalyst to produce trichlorosilane (TCS) via Si hydrochlorination reaction, the Cu 2 O@CuO MC exhibited a much higher Si conversion, TCS selectivity, and stability than the catalyst-free industrial process and the Cu 2 O@CuO catalyst with a core-shell nanostructure. The enhanced catalytic efficiency of the former is attributed to the collective effects from its quite rough surface for providing abundant adsorption sites, the ordered nanoparticle arrangement in the core and shell for generating strong synergistic effects, and the micrometer size for the improved structural stability. This work demonstrates a practical route for designing sophisticated architectural structures that combine several structural functions within one catalyst system and their catalysis applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) has contributed to the contamination of water systems and put pressure on the development of new techniques to deal with this problem. Acetaminophen (paracetamol), a common analgesic and antipyretic drug, and caffeine, a known central nervous system stimulant, are being used frequently by many people and found in large amounts in wastewater systems. In this work, their removal, by photocatalytic degradation, was promoted using magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) based on iron oxides. Besides being obtained from cheap and plentiful source, the magnetic properties of these NPs provide an easy way to separate them from the solution when the reaction is complete. Three types of hematite-based NPs, one pure (1) and two of them composed by a magnetite core partially (2) or completely (3) covered by a hematite shell, were synthesized and characterized. Sample 2 was the best photocatalyst for both pollutants' photo-assisted degradation. Under UV-vis irradiation and using a 0.13 g catalyst/L solution, the total acetaminophen and caffeine degradation (20 ppm/150 mL) was achieved in 45 min and 60 min, respectively. The identification of some of the intermediate products was carried out by liquid chromatography in combination with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. A complementary Density Functional Theory (DFT) study revealed the relative stability of several species formed during the acetaminophen and caffeine degradation processes and gave some insight about the most favorable degradation pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most stable structures of Ge 6 M (M = Ge, Al) clusters and reactions of Ge 6 M clusters with a single water molecule are investigated theoretically by density functional theory (DFT) calculation and reaction pathway search method at the same level. The calculated binding energies of Ge 7 and Ge 6 Al clusters show that the stabilities of two clusters are close. The most stable geometric structures and electronic structures of Ge 6 M@H 2 O complex and reaction pathways of Ge 6 M with a single H 2 O molecule are predicted. All geometric structures of reactants, intermediate products, final products and transition states are confirmed by frequency analysis. Our results show that both of Ge 7 and Ge 6 Al clusters can completely release H 2 from water after a three steps reaction and both reactions are endothermic. The calculated adsorption energies and energy barriers indicate that the dopant Al atom will improve the reactivity between Ge 7 cluster and water. The NPA charge of Ge 7 O and Ge 6 AlO means both of them can react with another H 2 O molecule. • Structures of Ge 7 and Ge 6 Al are similar. • Reaction pathways of Ge 6 Al and Ge 7 with a single H 2 O molecule are predicted. • Both of Ge 7 and Ge 6 Al clusters can completely release H 2 from water after a three steps reaction. • Dopant Al atom will improve the reactivity between Ge 7 cluster and water. • Both of Ge 6 AlO and Ge 7 O can react with another water molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of a gypsum single crystal was carried out using in situ thermo‐Raman spectroscopy in the temperature range of 80–870 K. The conventional peak fitting approach was used to qualitatively determine the temperature ranges of gypsum dehydration and phase transitions. The dependence of the intermediate products of gypsum dehydration on the measurement conditions and the state of sample was confirmed. A detailed analysis of the temperature behavior of ν1(SO4) in a single crystal indicated the coexistence of CaSO4·2H2O + γCaSO4 (380–440 K) and γ‐CaSO4 + β‐CaSO4 (680–740 K) phases, which was explained by the reaction front movement in a solid. For the first time, an approach based on statistical algorithms was applied for processing datasets of experimental temperature‐dependent spectra of crystalline hydrates, including the calculation of the Pearson's r coefficient, skewness, ∆corr parameter, based on the autocorrelation function. The use of statistical methods for individual spectral regions made it possible to reveal the temperature differences in the pretransition regions for individual modes or their groups. In particular, the region of ν2(SO4) symmetric bending vibrations of sulfate ions was found sensitive to dehydration and accompanying phase transition at 410 K, beginning at lower temperatures (380 K) as compared with other regions, which is associated with the lack of the hydrogen bond influence on sulfate ions after the loss of water. Thus, statistical approaches are a source of additional information to clarify the quantitative indicators of the observed effects. The use of statistics is promising in the study of multistage processes of dehydration and phase transformations in crystalline hydrates in cases where peak fitting is inconvenient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]