Pectin blended with cellulose nanofiber (CNF) sourced from wood pulp has excellent potential for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), as demonstrated with refrigerated or sliced fruits enclosed in parchment coated with pectin-CNF composites. Addition of sodium borate (NaB) augments the antioxidant capacity of the composite, most likely through the generation of unsaturated pectic acid units. Packaging materials coated with pectin-CNF-NaB composites demonstrate better humidity regulation in refrigerated spaces over a 3-week period relative to uncoated controls (50% less variation), with improved preservation of strawberries as well as a reduction in the oxidative browning of sliced apples. Pectin-CNF films are both biorenewable and biodegradable as confirmed by their extensive decomposition in soil over several weeks, establishing their potential as a sustainable MAP material. Lastly, self-standing films are mechanically robust at 80% RH with tensile strength and toughness as high as 150 MPa and 8.5 MJ/m2 respectively. These values are on par with other bioplastic composites and support the practical utility of pectin-CNF composites in functional packaging applications.

Overwintering frost damage is a major challenge for the wine grape industry in northern China. This study investigates overwintering treatments to improve survival rates and mitigate frost damage in the wine grape production area of the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. Seven overwintering treatments were tested: soil-covered striped cloth, striped cloth, sandwiched striped cloth, thickened striped cloth, double-layered striped cloth, heat-insulating striped cloth, and heat-insulating sandwich striped cloth. Temperature and humidity were continuously monitored during the overwintering period, both aboveground and at depths of 20 and 40 cm underground. By analyzing temperature trends, the duration of low temperatures, and temperature fluctuations, comprehensive overwintering indices were derived through principal component analysis to assess heat retention, moisture preservation, and the impact on grapevine survival. The results showed that the sandwiched striped cloth treatment provided the best insulation, with a 4.4 degrees C higher minimum daily temperature and a 356% increase in overwintering indices compared to striped cloth alone. The double-layer striped cloth treatment also improved safety, with a 130% increase in overwintering indices. Other treatments, including the soil-covered and the heat-insulating striped cloth, showed reduced performance. The sandwiched striped cloth and double-layer striped cloth treatments are recommended for northern China's wine grape regions, with further research needed to evaluate their economic viability.

Compound large deformation in tunnel has been a challenging issue influenced by complex geological conditions such as weak surrounding rock, high ground stress and groundwater. This paper summarizes the characteristics of compound large deformation in Gaopo tunnel, which passes through a weak coal-bearing stratum. Mechanical and swelling tests were conducted, alongside in-situ stress tests, to analyze the potential for squeezing and swelling deformations. A numerical simulation using an elastoplastic damage model, coupled with a method that calculates the humidity field based on the temperature field, was carried out to quantitatively analyze the mechanisms of compound large deformation. It was found that ground stress emerges as the primary determinant of the compound large deformation in Gaopo tunnel, followed by weakened surrounding rock and the humidity field. To address these problems, a new support scheme primarily based on double primary support was proposed. Field monitoring was conducted to evaluate the mechanical and deformation characteristics of support structure during the construction process. The results indicate that the new support scheme effectively controlled the compound large deformation, and the timing of the second primary support installation was found to be satisfactory. The treatment experience provides valuable insights for support design in tunnels experiencing compound large deformation issues.

To investigate the impact of relative humidity on the mechanical properties and microscopic pore structure of air lime-stabilized compressed earth, unconfined compression strength (UCS), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were conducted by varying the air lime content and relative humidity (RH) in compressed earth. The results revealed three typical failure modes in unconfined compression strength tests of lime-stabilized compressed earth. Both the unconfined compression strength and characteristic parameters of pore structure in lime-stabilized compressed earth exhibited a trend of initial increase, following by a decrease as the air lime content and relative humidity increased. At the microscopic level, the relative humidity and air lime content interacted with the changes in macro-level unconfined compression strength, and the increase of both could promote the lime hydration reactions, inhibiting the crack development. Considering the influence of relative humidity, mechanical performance, and economic benefit improvement, the recommended air lime content for high humidity and low humidity were 0-28% and 0-26%, respectively, offering valuable insights for the optimization and application of lime-stabilized compressed earth as a modern construction material for structural walls.

Atmospheric brown carbon (BrC), a short-lived climate forcer, absorbs solar radiation and is a substantial contributor to the warming of the Earth ' s atmosphere. BrC composition, its absorption properties, and their evolution are poorly represented in climate models, especially during atmospheric aqueous events such as fog and clouds. These aqueous events, especially fog, are quite prevalent during wintertime in Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and involve several stages (e.g., activation, formation, and dissipation, etc.), resulting in a large variation of relative humidity (RH) in the atmosphere. The huge RH variability allowed us to examine the evolution of water-soluble brown carbon (WS-BrC) diurnally and as a function of aerosol liquid water content (ALWC) and RH in this study. We explored links between the evolution of WS-BrC mass absorption efficiency at 365 nm (MAE WS- BrC-365 ) and chemical characteristics, viz., low-volatility organics and water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) to water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) ratio (org-N/C), in the field (at Kanpur in central IGP) for the first time worldwide. We observed that WSON formation governed enhancement in MAE WS-BrC-365 diurnally (except during the afternoon) in the IGP. During the afternoon, the WS-BrC photochemical bleaching dwarfed the absorption enhancement caused by WSON formation. Further, both MAE WS-BrC-365 and org-N/C ratio increased with a decrease in ALWC and RH in this study, signifying that evaporation of fog droplets or bulk aerosol particles accelerated the formation of nitrogen-containing organic chromophores, resulting in the enhancement of WS-BrC absorptivity. The direct radiative forcing of WS-BrC relative to that of elemental carbon (EC) was -19 % during wintertime in Kanpur, and - 40 % of this contribution was in the UV -region. These findings highlight the importance of further examining the links between the evolution of BrC absorption behavior and chemical composition in the field and incorporating it in the BrC framework of climate models to constrain the predictions.

Salt damage caused by the complex interaction between water and salt in the heritages is the main factor that deteriorates the materials and destroys the historical information of the relics. The influence of environmental conditions, especially humidity, on salt damage of heritages has been emphasized by many researches. In this study, the water-salt migration characteristics in soil columns under different humidity were studied by laboratory tests. First, water vapor adsorption test was carried out to investigate the soil samples adsorption capability in 6 relative humidity conditions (RH11%, RH23%, RH43%, RH60%, RH75%). There is a linear relation between relative humidity and water vapor absorbed by soil, and the water vapor adsorption curves of samples can be well described by first-order exponential attenuation equation. Second, the water content and conductivity distribution within samples (hygroscopic and non-hygroscopic samples respectively) were investigated after capillary migration tests using 4 types of saline solutions (0.2 mol/L NaCl, 0.2 mol/L Na2SO4, 0.2 mol/L NaCl Na2SO4 mixed solution and distilled water). Results show that high conductivity appears on the top of most samples, and the values have a correlation with type of capillary migration fluid: NaCl > Na2SO4 > NaCl-Na2SO4 > H2O. In addition, the distribution of water content and conductivity becomes complicated under different relative humidity conditions.

Safe and efficient conservation of cultural artifacts requires preventing artifacts deterioration and energy-saving environmental control. To achieve this, predicting deterioration caused by environmental conditions is necessary. Predicting the mechanical damage caused by humidity fluctuations necessitates knowledge of the mechanical properties of cultural artifacts materials. Although the mechanical properties of several artifacts have been extensively studied, no investigations have focused on the soils underlying wall paintings. This study aims to clarify some mechanical properties of the upper- and middle-coat soils serving as the substrates for Hiten wall paintings at Horyu-ji Temple. Mock-up materials were prepared, and splitting tensile and uniaxial compressive tests were performed. Simultaneously, specimens with various equilibrium humidities were tested to clarify their humidity dependency. The tensile and compressive strengths, Young's modulus, proportional limit, and Poisson's ratio of the upper-coat soil were 0.103-0.239 MPa, 1.16-2.55 MPa, 0.115-0.209 GPa, and 1.10-2.49 MPa, and 0.152, respectively. Moreover, the humidity-induced strains for the upper- and middle-coat soils were measured, and the moisture expansion coefficients were approximately 1240 and 2337 mu ST/-, respectively. The results of this study provide vital data for the conservation of the wall paintings and contribute to a deeper understanding of wall soil properties.

Intra-annual variability of tree-ring oxygen stable isotopes (delta O-18) can record seasonal climate variability and a tree's ecophysiological response to it. Variability of sub-annual tree-ring delta O-18 maxima and minima, which usually occur in different parts of the growing season, may exhibit different climatic signals and can help in understanding past seasonal moisture conditions, especially in Asian monsoon areas. We developed minimum and maximum tree-ring delta O-18 series based on sub-annual tree-ring delta O-18 measurements ofPinus massonianaat a humid site in southeastern China. We found that interannual variability in minimum tree-ring delta O-18 is primarily controlled by the July-September soil water supply and source water delta O-18, whereas the maximum latewood tree-ring delta O-18 is primarily controlled by the relative humidity (RH) in October. The maximum of variability of earlywood tree-ring delta O-18 records the RH of October of the previous year. We used minimum and maximum tree-ring delta O-18 to develop two reconstructions (1900-2014) of seasonal moisture availability. The summer soil water supply (July-September self-calibrated Palmer drought severity index) and the RH in fall show contrasting trends, which may be related to late-growing seasonal warming leading to a high vapor capacity and high atmospheric moisture. Our findings are valuable for research that aims to explore seasonal moisture changes under anthropogenic climate change and the ecological implications of such contrasting trends.

The monthly/seasonal characteristics of the concentration and aerosol optical depth (AOD) of four aerosol components (water-soluble, insoluble, black carbon (BC), and sea-salt) and their direct radiative forcing (DRF) were investigated at three environmental locations in Southeast Texas. We used fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples measured at one urban residential (Aldine (AD)) and two suburban (Deer Park (DP) and West Liberty (WL)) sites located around Houston during 2016-2017, and performed model-based analysis using the mass concentrations of the four aerosol components to evaluate their impact on the DRF. Overall, the concentrations, AODs, and DRFs of all four aerosol components at AD were higher than those at DP and WL during the study period. In particular, the water-soluble component was the most dominant contributor, except for absorbing BC. The monthly AOD patterns of the four individual aerosol components (especially, water-soluble and BC) at the three sites were found to have strong associations with their concentrations and/or relative humidity (RH). The DRFs at the top of the atmosphere (DRFTOA) and surface level (DRFSFC) for most of the aerosol components were found to be highest in winter 2017 (AD), spring 2016 and winter 2017 (DP), and winter 2016 and fall 2017 (WL). The exceptions were sea-salt and insoluble components, which showed a peak in summer 2016 and no distinct monthly variation, respectively. Uncertainties in the DRFs of the four target aerosol components calculated using in-situ RH measurements were found to be less than 20%, with the exception of the water-soluble component at WL (24%). A sensitivity test showed that the DRFs of the aerosol components were slightly and significantly influenced by changes in AOD and single scattering albedo, respectively; additionally, sensitively changed with RH.

We estimated the current (base years) and future (2021-2100) direct radiative forcing ( DRF) of four aerosol components (water-soluble, insoluble, black carbon (BC), and sea-salt) at urban (Yeonsan (Busan) and Gwangjin (Seoul)) and background sites (Aewol and Gosan (Jeju Island)), based on a modeling approach. The analysis for base years was conducted using PM2.5 samples measured at two urban and two background sites (Yeonsan and Gwangjin: 2016, Aewol and Gosan: 2014). The future DRFs were estimated according to changes in relative humidity (RH) of RCP8.5 climate change scenario at the same sites during four different periods (PI: 2021 similar to 2040, PII: 2041 similar to 2060, PIII: 2061 similar to 2080, and PIV: 2081 similar to 2100). In addition, we compared the differences between the DRFs of future (PI similar to PIV) and base years (2016 and 2014). Overall, the water-soluble component was predominant over all other components in terms of the concentrations, optical parameters (e.g., AOD), and DRFs, regardless of sites. For the base years, the monthly patterns of total DRFs for all components and the DRFs for the water-soluble component varied with sites, and months of their highest and lowest DRFs were different depending on sites. This might be due to the combined effect of the monthly patterns of the concentrations and RHs for each site. For the differences between the DRFs of future and base years, the highest future DRFs at Yeonsan and Aewol ranged from -59 to -63 W/m(2) increasing -20 (July in PII) to -28 W/m(2) (August in PIII) compared to the base years and from -73 to -74 W/m(2) increasing -31 (July in PII) to -41 W/m(2) (September in PIV), respectively. These DRFs at Gwangjin and Gosan ranged from -79 to -84 W/m(2) increasing -29 (June in PII and PIII) to -34 W/m(2) (June in PI) and from -58 to -92 W/m(2) increasing -14 (July in PII) to -26 W/m(2) (May in PI), respectively. The high heating rates at Yeonsan (up to 4.4 K/day in November) and Aewol (up to 3.7 K/day in February) of BC component might be caused by its strong radiative absorption.