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Seismic exploration demands high temporal-spatial resolution and cost-effective deployment. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), an emerging seismic exploring technology utilizing optic-fiber cables, supports intensified and real-time observation of geological activities. Phase unwrapping, a critical step in deriving disturbance from DAS raw data, traditionally relies on phase continuity, assuming the original phase difference between adjacent measurements is less than $\pi$. This dependency leads to suboptimal performance in cases of insufficient sampling rates, abrupt strain changes, or excessive noise, resulting in stripe-like errors in the output. This paper proposes a novel approach to address phase unwrapping issues in DAS with a two-dimensional (2-D) perspective by treating accumulated results from multiple DAS traces collectively. The principle of the 2-D algorithm based on the Transport of Intensity Equation (TIE) is introduced comprehensively. An iterative strategy is used to enhance the performance of the TIE-based method. In field tests, the application of 2-D method successfully eliminates stripe-like errors in the output. Besides, taking the measurements from geophone as reference, the ground motion from DAS processed by two unwrapping methods are compared thoroughly, showing advantages of the 2-D method over the conventional one. Additionally, source localization based on the Time Difference of Arrival method is carried for positioning human stepping signals, demonstrating an error of 11.7 cm. 2-D phase unwrapping algorithms apply to all phase-demodulation-based sensing techniques and are suitable for recovering spatially correlated objects such as seismic waves, thus having great potential in the field of seismic monitoring.

Blood deficiency syndrome (BDS) refers to a pathological state with blood dysfunction and organ dystrophy in traditional Chinese medicine. Danggui Wuji granules (DWG) was developed from a formula containing Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Musculus et Os Galli Domestici. Herein, we investigated the mechanism of DWG in treating BDS by modulating gut microbiota. We found that DWG protected mice from BDS by elevating the levels of red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit in peripheral blood and increasing the erythrocyte membrane Na+-K+-ATPase activity. Danggui Wuji granules changed the composition and metabolites of colonic flora. Notably, Lactobacillus, Muribaculaceae, and Alistipeswere the main genera showing changes after DWG treatment. Our findings revealed that DWG presented a positive therapeutic effect on BDS in mice by regulating the gut microbiota and metabolites. The protective mechanism of DWG was associated with pathways such as metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, ABC transporters, ribosome, thyroid hormone synthesis, lysine degradation, galactose metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, etc.

Phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry ( $\Phi $ -OTDR) has revolutionized geophysical research by providing a method for large-scale distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), especially with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). However, demodulation and AI-based denoising are separate processes, ultimately impacting the unified integration of signal processing. Here, we developed an integrated demodulation and denoising (2D) SenseNet, a supervised deep learning network designed to sense the state transition of the fiber Rayleigh scattering responses. Unlike all AI-based denoising schemes whose training datasets include signals or noise captured during experiments, 2D-SenseNet was trained by purely numerical simulation datasets, showing strong generalization capability. By performing a field experiment with a dark fiber deployed on campus, 2D-SenseNet can extract phase information more accurately than the demodulation method, and eliminate the need for complex demodulation processes. It establishes a foundational framework for developing an integrated demodulation–denoising–decision (3D) SenseNet, initiating a new direction in developing intelligent $\Phi $ -OTDR.

Negative future thinking pervades emotional disorders. This hybrid efficacy–effectiveness trial tested a four-session, scalable online cognitive-bias-modification program for training more positive episodic prediction. Nine hundred fifty-eight adults (73.3% female, 86.5% White, 83.4% from United States) were randomly assigned to positive conditions with ambiguous future scenarios that ended positively, 50/50 conditions that ended positively or negatively, or a control condition with neutral scenarios. As hypothesized (preregistration: https://osf.io/jrst6), positive-training participants improved more than control participants in negative expectancy bias (d= −0.58), positive expectancy bias (d= 0.80), and self-efficacy (d= 0.29). Positive training was also superior to 50/50 training for expectancy bias and optimism (d= 0.31). Training gains attenuated yet remained by 1-month follow-up. Unexpectedly, participants across conditions improved comparably in anxiety and depression symptoms and growth mindset. Targeting a transdiagnostic process with a scalable program may improve bias and outlook; however, further validation of outcome measures is required.

CsPbBr3perovskite nanocrystals have emerged as promising candidates for photocatalysis. However, their conversion efficiency is hampered by material instability, and the accumulation of deactivated perovskites produced after photocatalytic reactions raises significant environmental concerns. To address this issue, we developed a mechanochemical grinding approach assisted by oleylamine as an additive to restore the optical properties and photocatalytic activity of deactivated CsPbBr3, which was due to aggregation in the photocatalytic CO2reduction reaction. Upon regeneration, the CsPbBr3nanocrystals exhibited an average length of 34.21 nm and an average width of 20.86 nm, demonstrating optical properties comparable to those of the pristine CsPbBr3nanocrystals. Moreover, they achieved a conversion efficiency of 88.7% compared with pristine CsPbBr3nanocrystals in the photocatalytic CO2reduction reaction. This method effectively enhanced the utilization of CsPbBr3, offering a novel approach for the recycling and recovery of perovskite materials and thereby minimizing material waste and environmental pollution.

Tridacna squamosa, Lamarck, 1819 (Bivalvia Cardiida Cardiidae, known as the fluted giant clam) is one of the largest-sized bivalve shells, which is equipped with a strong and tough bioceramic shell to effectively protect itself from the attack of predators. To better understand the mechanical defense mechanism, the relationship between the microstructure, composition, and mechanical properties of the Tridacna squamosashell was investigated. We find that the Tridacna squamosashell is composed of aragonite CaCO3and a small portion of organic matter, which are well-arranged, assembling a multiscale, inhomogeneous, and anisotropic structure. Three levels of microstructure units are identified, including the smallest aragonite rods, medium sheets, and block-like lamellae. Such multiscale structures are the main contributor to creating abundant fracture surfaces much larger than the case for single mineral components, leading to multiple toughening mechanisms observed in Vickers indentation experiments, such as pulled-out of mineral platelet and crack deflection. The material inhomogeneity in the cross-sectional direction indicates that the material is stronger at the inner layer than that at the outer layer, which also facilitates an effective defense against the predator attack. This study may provide insights into the design of biomaterials with the desired mechanical properties.

With the discovery of causality between synonymous mutations and diseases, it has become increasingly important to identify deleterious synonymous mutations for better understanding of their functional mechanisms. Although several machine learning methods have been proposed to solve the task, an effective feature representation method that can make use of the inner difference and relevance between deleterious and benign synonymous mutations is still challenging considering the vast number of synonymous mutations in human genome. In this work, we developed a robust and accurate predictor called frDSM for deleterious synonymous mutation prediction using logistic regression. More specifically, we introduced an effective feature representation learning method which exploits multiple feature descriptors from different perspectives including functional scores obtained from previously computational methods, evolutionary conservation, splicing and sequence feature descriptors, and these features descriptors were input into the 76 XGBoost classifiers to obtain the predictive probabilities values. These probabilities were concatenated to generate the 76-dimension new feature vector, and feature selection method was used to remove redundant and irrelevant features. Experimental results show that frDSM enables robust and accurate prediction than the competing prediction methods with 31 optimal features, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the feature representation learning method. frDSM is freely available at http://frdsm.xialab.info.

Distributed fiber acoustic sensing (DAS) based on phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry ( $\Phi $ -OTDR) has attracted lots of attention due to its unique advantages. In security monitoring, speech recognition, and other relevant fields, DAS’s ability to acquire speech signals is a key indicator for practical applications. However, the speech signal has broadband and nonstationary characteristics, so the conventional filtering is not sufficient, and the speech enhancement algorithm based on the characteristics of the speech signal is needed; in addition, the acoustic sensitivity of conventional fiber layout is not high enough, resulting in poor signal quality. In this article, speech enhancement based on array-processing-assisted DAS system is proposed to recover speech signal with high fidelity. Pulse compression $\Phi $ -OTDR (PC $\Phi $ -OTDR), combined with a multichannel speech enhancement algorithm based on optimally modified log-spectral amplitude (OM-LSA) is used. As far as we know, this is the first time that the multichannel OM-LSA speech enhancement is proposed for DAS. Compared with the signal before processing, the speech signal processed by this method has a great improvement in signal distortion, background noise intrusiveness, and signal overall quality. In addition, other signal enhancement methods, such as wavelet denoising (WD) and beamforming (BF) are also analyzed and compared. Our scheme outperforms in the above three aspects. This scheme does not need to obtain a large number of datasets in advance and can be transplanted to other DAS systems, which has great significance for realizing high-performance speech acquisition.

Sepsis, defined as life-threatening organ failure caused by a dysregulated host response to severe infection, is a major cause of death among intensive care unit patients. Therapies targeting on immunomodulatory is a new research field in sepsis treatment. B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) is an inhibitory costimulatory factor molecule of B and T lymphocytes. Studies have shown that elevated expression of BTLA in lymphocytes can reduce mortality in sepsis, but its regulatory compounds and the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that treatment with CP-673451 significantly decreases mortality of septic mouse. CP-673451 is a PDGFR kinase inhibitor which can promote the expression of BTLA, inhibit the release of chemokines such as CXCL13, and reduce first the chemotaxis of B cells to the peripheral blood and vital organs. CP-673451 also inhibits both the release of cytokines and chemokines such as IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, CCL1, CCL2 and CCL7 and reduces both the chemotactic ability of T cells. This suggests that CP-673451 may prevent septic death by inhibiting lymphocyte chemotaxis and alleviating “cytokine storm”. In conclusion, our study provides a new therapeutic target and an effective compound for sepsis treatment.

This review comprehensively summarizes the electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide through the two-electron oxygen reduction process based on three aspects: reaction mechanism and evaluation, emerging catalyst synthesis strategy, and industrialization exploration. By focusing on the modification strategy of non-precious metal catalysts, this review aims to guide the design of advanced electrocatalysts for the on-demand production of H2O2.

[Display omitted] • Macroscopic Zn-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 /graphene aerogel used as PS activator was prepared. • The activator efficiently heterogeneous catalytic degradation of SMM wastewater. • Several key reaction parameters affect SMM removal efficiency were investigated. • The improved activity profits by the hybrid structure and surface functional group. • A probable mechanism for SMM degradation by Zn-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 /GA was proposed. In order to obtain a robust, durable and efficient heterogeneous catalyst, macroscopic monolithic Zn-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 /graphene aerogel (GA) hybrid architecture with integrated morphology and hierarchically porous structure were controllably synthesized via a facile in-situ hydrothermal method and then used as persulfate (PS) activator for sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) wastewater purification. Several key reaction parameters including the initial SMM concentration, reaction temperature, coexisting inorganic anions and SMM in real natural water samples had different influence on the SMM removal efficiency. The catalytic efficiency of Zn-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 /GA with the molar ratio of Fe/Zn = 2:1.5 was about 66%, 62%, 66% and 11%∼33% higher than that of GA, α-Fe 2 O 3 /GA, Zn/GA and other Fe/Zn molar ratio. The improved activity of Fe/Zn = 2:1.5 benefits from the synergistic effects of the sp2 hybridized carbon and porous framework, as well as the surface oxygenic functional groups, which accelerate the pollutant/oxidant dispersion and electron transfer. Electron paramagnetic resonance results indicate that OH, 1O 2 and SO 4 − radicals account for the catalytic degradation of SMM and the activation of PS in present system is different from conventional homogeneous systems, and speculate mechanism was proposed based on the obtained data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, novel iron-doped biochar (Fe-BC) was produced using a simple method, and it was used as an H2O2activator for tetracycline (TC) degradation. Generally, iron loading can improve the separation performance and reactivity of biochar (BC). In the Fe-BC/H2O2system, 92% of the TC was removed within 30 min with the apparent rate constant (kobs) of 0.155 min−1, which was 23.85 times that in the case of the BC/H2O2system (0.0065 min−1). The effects of the H2O2and Fe-BC dosage, initial pH, and TC concentration on the TC removal were investigated. The radical quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements demonstrated that the removal of TC using the Fe-BC/H2O2process involved both radical (•OH and O2−•) and non-radical pathways (1O2and electron transfer). In addition, the performance of the catalyst was also affected by the persistent free radicals (PFRs) and defective sites on the catalyst. Moreover, the degradation pathways of TC were proposed according to the intermediate products detected by LC-MS and the ecotoxicity of intermediates was evaluated. Finally, the Fe-BC/H2O2showed high resistance to inorganic anions and natural organic matter in aquatic environments. Overall, Fe-BC is expected to be an economic and highly efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for removing the organic contaminants in wastewater.

Immunosuppression in response to severe sepsis remains a serious human health concern. Evidence of sepsis-induced immunosuppression includes impaired T lymphocyte function, T lymphocyte depletion or exhaustion, increased susceptibility to opportunistic nosocomial infection, and imbalanced cytokine secretion. CD4 T cells play a critical role in cellular and humoral immune responses during sepsis. Here, using an RNA sequencing assay, we found that the expression of T cell-containing immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3 (Tim-3) on CD4 T cells in sepsis-induced immunosuppression patients was significantly elevated. Furthermore, the percentage of Tim-3+CD4 T cells from sepsis patients was correlated with the mortality of sepsis-induced immunosuppression. Conditional deletion of Tim-3 in CD4 T cells and systemic Tim-3 deletion both reduced mortality in response to sepsis in mice by preserving organ function. Tim-3+CD4 T cells exhibited reduced proliferative ability and elevated expression of inhibitory markers compared with Tim-3−CD4 T cells. Colocalization analyses indicated that HMGB1 was a ligand that binds to Tim-3 on CD4 T cells and that its binding inhibited the NF-κB signaling pathway in Tim-3+CD4 T cells during sepsis-induced immunosuppression. Together, our findings reveal the mechanism of Tim-3 in regulating sepsis-induced immunosuppression and provide a novel therapeutic target for this condition.

Double perovskites have shown great potential in addressing the toxicity and instability issues of lead halide perovskites toward practical applications. High-quality Cs2AgBiCl6double-perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) with balanced stoichiometric ratios, excellent morphology, and highly oriented crystallinity with an indirect band gap of 2.35 eV were prepared using the thermal injection method. The Cs2AgBiCl6NCs have an emission line width of 12–105 nm and a photoluminescence (PL) lifetime of 5.7–20.8 ns. Heterostructures grown in situare rarely reported compared to common doping with different metal cations or rare-earth elements, such as Sn, Sb, In, TI, Mn, Yb, Er, etc. In an effort to improve the charge separation and transfer following exciton generation in such NCs, novel functional nanocomposites were synthesized by in situgrowth of Cs2AgBiCl6perovskite NCs on two-dimensional graphene nanosheets. The Cs2AgBiCl6NC and graphene nanosheet composites have significant PL bursts and shorter PL decay lifetimes compared to pure Cs2AgBiCl6NCs. This suggests that an effective excited-state charge transfer occurs between Cs2AgBiCl6NCs and graphene nanosheets. This composite material has good potential for applications such as absorber layers for photovoltaic devices and photocatalysts.

Although g-C3N4-based heterojunctions show promise for photocatalytic CO2reduction, enhancing charge separation and creating sufficient catalytic sites remain challenges. In this study, mixed-valence CuPc/graphene/g-C3N4(HT-CuPc/G/UCN) ultrathin heterojunctions (∼4.8 nm thickness) with Cu1+/Cu2+species were constructed by H-bond induced assembly and subsequent post-treatment with H2. The optimized H100-CuPc/G/UCN sample showed 36-times higher activity than bare ultrathin g-C3N4(UCN) for photocatalytic CO2reduction to CO. Based on atomic force microscopy images, normalized photocurrent action spectra, electron paramagnetic resonances, and in situdiffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra, it was confirmed that the unexpected photocatalytic activity of H100-CuPc/G/UCN was attributed to the dual-functional roles of the introduced graphene: to increase the optimized amount of CuPc and enhance the high-level-energy electrons transferring from UCN to CuPc and the created Cu1+/Cu2+species by H2reduction as active catalytic sites for CO2reduction. This work provides a comprehensively feasible strategy for preparing rational heterojunctions toward high-efficiency solar-driven CO2reduction.

Current industrial production of ammonia from the Haber-Bosch process and its transport concomitantly produces a large quantity of CO2. Herein, we successfully synthesize inorganic-structure-based catalysts with [Fe-S2-Mo] motifs with a connecting structure similar to that of FeMoco (a cofactor of nitrogenase) by placing iron atoms on a single molecular layer of MoS2at various loadings.This type of new catalytic material functionally mimics the nitrogenase to convert N2to ammonia and hydrogen in water without adding any sacrificial agent under visible-light illumination. Using the elevated temperature boosts the ammonia yield and the energy efficiency by one order of magnitude. The solar-to-NH3energy-conversion efficiency can be up to 0.24% at 270°C, which is the highest efficiency among all reported photocatalytic systems. This method of ammonia production and the photocatalytic materials may open up an exciting possibility for the decentralization of ammonia production for fertilizer provision to local farmlands using solar illumination.

Introduction: Vanin-1 plays a pivotal role in oxidative stress and the inflammatory response. However, its relationship with traumatic sepsis remains unknown. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether plasma vanin-1 could be used for the early prediction of traumatic sepsis. Methods: In this three-stage prospective cohort study, severe trauma patients admitted from January 2015 to October 2018 at two hospitals were enrolled. Plasma vanin-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The associations among variables and traumatic sepsis were identified by logistic regression models and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was analyzed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency. Results: A total of 426 trauma patients (22 in the discovery cohort, 283 in the internal test cohort, and 121 in the external validation cohort) and 16 healthy volunteers were recruited. The plasma vanin-1 of trauma patients was significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers (P< 0.05). Patients with sepsis had higher plasma vanin-1 than patients without sepsis in the discovery trauma cohort (P< 0.05). In the internal test cohort, plasma vanin-1 at day 1 after trauma was significantly associated with the incidence of sepsis (OR = 3.92, 95% CI 2.68–5.72, P= 1.62 × 10−12). As a predictive biomarker, vanin-1 afforded a better area under the curve (AUC) (0.82, 95% CI 0.77–0.87) than C-reaction protein (CRP) (0.62, 95% CI 0.56–0.68, P< 0.0001), procalcitonin (PCT) (0.66, 95% CI 0.60–0.71, P< 0.0001), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) (0.71, 95% CI 0.65–0.76, P= 6.70 × 10−3). The relevance was further validated in the external validation cohort (OR = 4.26, 95% CI 2.22–8.17, P= 1.28 × 10−5), with an AUC of 0.83 (95% CI 0.75–0.89). Vanin-1 could also improve the diagnostic efficiency of APACHE II (AUC = 0.85). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that plasma vanin-1 increased among trauma patients and was independently associated with the risk of sepsis. Vanin-1 might be a potential biomarker for the early prediction of traumatic sepsis. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier, NCT01713205.

Metal halide perovskites are affected by the quantum effect, their size is equal to the Bohr radius of the material, and they exhibit excellent emission performance and charge-transfer performance. We have synthesized CsPbX3(X = Cl/Br, Br, Br/I) monodisperse nanocrystals (NCs) by a simple heat injection method. The band gap energy and emission wavelength can be changed by adjusting the composition of nanocrystals. CsPbX3NCs have an emission linewidth of 18–29 nm, a photoluminescence lifetime of 5.7–20.8 ns, and a fast carrier-transfer rate. In this paper, the transient absorption (TA) spectra of CsPbX3NCs were studied by a femtosecond laser. The carrier dynamics is studied by changing the excitation power and delay time. The experimental results show that the bleaching signal of the TA spectrum has a red shift of 5–12 nm initially and then remains unchanged. With an increase of excitation power, the bleaching signal also shows obvious fast decay components, indicating the emergence of biexciton states. In the TA spectrum, the corresponding wavelengths are obtained from the bleaching signals of single and biexciton states, and then, the binding energy of biexciton in the range of 21.7–61.2 meV is calculated according to the optical quantum energy formula.

Illustration of the typical excitonic processes in g-C3N4nanosheets and the triplet energy transfer process for 1O2generation

Transition metal chalcogenides have nowadays garnered burgeoning interest owing to their fascinating electronic and catalytic properties, thus possessing great implications for energy conversion and storage applications. In this regard, their controllable synthesis in a large scale at low cost has readily become a focus of research. Herein we report diatomite-template generic and scalable production of VS2and other transition metal sulfides targeting emerging energy conversion and storage applications. The conformal growth of VS2over diatomite template would endow them with defect-abundant features. Throughout detailed experimental investigation in combination with theoretical simulation, we reveal that the enriched active sites/sulfur vacancies of thus-derived VS2architectures would pose positive impacts on the catalytic performance such in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions. We further show that the favorable electrical conductivity and highly exposed sites of VS2hold promise for serving as sulfur host in the realm of Li−S batteries. Our work offers new insights into the templated and customized synthesis of defect-rich sulfides in a scalable fashion to benefit multifunctional energy applications.

The ultrasensitive detection of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) for environmental security is important but challenging. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is promising for the fluorescence sensing of TNP. It is highly desired to greatly promote the adsorption of TNP onto g-C3N4for improving the fluorescence detection sensitivity. Herein, porous ultrathin g-C3N4(∼1.3 nm) nanosheets were successfully synthesized viacombining second calcination with HNO3treating processes. Under the optimized conditions of the excitation wavelength (Ex = 350 nm) and solution pH value (pH = 3), the wide detection range of TNP from 4 μM to 54 μM was confirmed by the widely adopted normal Stern–Volmer equation (SVE). Interestingly, the limit of detection was as low as 0.04 nM according to the linear range from 0.1 nM to 4 μM by the generally neglected double logarithmic (DL) SVE, which is much competitive for TNP detection compared with previously reported results. Based on the isothermal adsorption curves and the time-resolved fluorescence and surface photovoltage spectra, it was confirmed that the multilayer adsorption of TNP on the resulting g-C3N4at low concentrations mainly led to fluorescence quenching by the inner filter effect (IFE), while the monolayer adsorption at ultralow concentrations resulted in fluorescence quenching by the combined effects of IFE and photoinduced electron transfer. It was suggested that normal and DL SVEs are applicable to the fluorescence quenching processes determined by single and double factors, respectively. The obtained ultrasensitive detection was attributed to the greatly promoted adsorption of TNP viahydrogen bonding by enlarging the surface area from the porous nanosheet structure and by increasing the surface –OH sites from the HNO3treatment. This work helps to deeply understand SVE related to the fluorescence quenching processes and provides a feasible route to develop a method for the ultrasensitive detection of TNP with g-C3N4nanosheets for environmental water monitoring and security inspection.

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a fiber sensing technology based on Rayleigh scattering, which transforms optical fiber into a series of sensing units. It has become an indispensable part in the field of seismic monitoring, vehicle tracking, and pipeline monitoring. Fiber Rayleigh scattering responses lay at the core of DAS. However, there are few in-depth studies on the purpose of acquiring fiber Rayleigh scattering responses. In this paper, we establish a deep learning framework based on the bidirectional gated recurrent unit, which is the first time to predict the fiber Rayleigh scattering responses, to the best of our knowledge. The deep learning framework is trained with a numerical simulation dataset only, but it can process experimental data successfully. Moreover, since the responses could have a wider effective bandwidth than the experimental probing pulses, a finer spatial resolution could be obtained after demodulation. This work indicates that the deep learning framework can capture the characteristics of the fiber Rayleigh scattering responses effectively, which paves the way for intelligent DAS.

Generation of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is a strong greenhouse gas, during the biological nitrogen removal process in wastewater treatment plants has attracted widespread attention in recent years. However, the effect of mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) concentration on N2O generation is poorly understood. We analyzed the N2O emissions from three parallel anoxic/oxic biological nitrogen removal treatment systems in which the initial MLSS concentrations were 2,000 ± 100, 3,000 ± 100, and 4,000 ± 100 mg/L and the activated sludge loads were identical. The activated sludge properties and microbial community characteristics were also studied. It was found that as the initial MLSS concentration increased, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) as well as the total nitrogen, and total phosphorus removal efficiencies increased, while the nitrification rate decreased. N2O–N conversion rates of 2.7%, 3.5%, and 4.1% corresponded to systems whose initial MLSS concentrations were 2,000 ± 100, 3,000 ± 100, and 4,000 ± 100 mg/L, respectively. The polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and extracellular polymeric substance contents in the activated sludge were positively correlated with the initial MLSS concentration. The particle size distribution of the activated sludge flocs (ASFs) also varied under different MLSS concentrations; the proportion of large ASFs increased slightly as the initial MLSS concentration increased. High-throughput sequencing results showed that the bacterial species richness and microbial population diversity were enhanced as the initial MLSS concentration was increased. The relative abundance of the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria Nitrosomonas and Sphingomonas decreased while the total relative abundance of the denitrification bacteria with Caldilinea, Ignavibacterium, Solitalea, Steroidobacter, Thauera, Comamonas, Lysobacter, and Rhodobacter increased as the initial MLSS concentration increased.

An ultra-light and compressible three-dimensional bismuth oxychloride/reduced graphene oxide (BiOCl/RGO) aerogel is fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method and characterized by various techniques. Owing to the improved visible-light response, lower internal resistance and enhanced electron transfer ability, the BiOCl/RGO aerogel (BGA) displays outstanding synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation. This not only reduces the diffusion distance between pollutants and photocatalysts but also inhibits the recombination of electrons and holes, thereby augmenting the photocatalytic activity. The optimized 40% BGA harvests the highest removal rate of 93.3% for 20 mg⋅L−1oxytetracycline (OTC), which is ca. 1.43 folds higher than that of the pure BiOCl. Holes has been proved to play a dominate role in the OTC degradation. Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity test shows that the biotoxicity of OTC toward Escherichia coliDH5a is largely eliminated after 40% BGA treatment. In addition, the 40% BGA presents superior stability and recyclability after 4 cycles. It is anticipated that the BGA has great potential in actual wastewater treatment.

Previous studies showed that homocysteine (Hcy) could injure vascular endothelial cells via several mechanisms, including its promotion of oxidative stress pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERstress) pathway. Salidroside (SAL) is an active component of Rhodiola rosea with documented antioxidative properties. Emerging evidence conformed that SALattenuated Hcy‐induced endothelial dysfunction by reducing oxidative stress. However, its role in ERstress pathway remains unclarified. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of the protective effect of SALon Hcy‐induced endothelial dysfunction. Pretreatment of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with SALsignificantly reduced the cell damage effects brought by Hcy in a dose‐dependent manner. Functional studies on the HUVECs found that SALrescued the endoplasmic reticulum stress induced by Hcy. The underlying mechanisms involve the inhibition of Hcy‐induced activation of binding protein (Bip) and C/EBPhomologous protein (CHOP), as well as the phosphorylation of protein kinase RNA‐like ERkinase (PERK) or inositol‐requiring enzyme 1 alpha (IRE1α). Taken together, these findings implicate that SALcould regulate ERstress pathway on the viability of endotheliocyte induced by Hcy in vitro. Our findings provide the first evidence that SALplays an important role in endotheliocyte protection via suppressing ERstress pathway in HUVECcells and that it may be a promising therapeutic target for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

Sensitive and selective optoelectronic detection of NO2with g-C3N4(CN) is critical, but it remains challenging to achieve ultralow concentration (ppb-level) detection. Herein, Ni metal–organic frameworks/CN nanosheet heterojunctions were successfully fabricated by the electrostatic induced assembly strategy and then treated by a post-alkali etching process for creating coordinatively unsaturated Ni(II) sites. The optimized heterojunction exhibits a record detection limitation of 1 ppb for NO2, well below that observed on pristine CN, and an outstanding selectivity over other gases, along with long-time stability (120 days) at room temperature. The resulting superior detection performance benefits from the enhanced charge transfer and separation of the closely contacted heterojunction interface and the favorable adsorption of NO2by unsaturated Ni(II) as selective adsorption sites mainly by means of the time-resolved photoluminescence spectra and in situX-ray photoelectron spectra. Moreover, the in situFourier transform infrared spectra and temperature-programmed desorption disclose that the promotion adsorption of NO2depends on the strengthened interaction between NO2and Ni(II) node sites at the aid of OH groups from unsaturated coordination. This work offers a versatile solution to develop promising CN-based optoelectronic sensors at room temperature.

AbstractSulfanilamide antibiotics show the highest detection frequencies and concentrations in surface water of China. In this work, we aim to investigate the feasibility of sulfanilamide removal in the anode of two-chambered MFCs and to examine the influence of sulfanilamide on the electricity generation in MFCs. Results show that sulfanilamide can be efficiently removed in the anode of MFCs and exerts exciting positive effect on electricity generation at the studied concentration range (10–30 mg L−1). In comparison with MFCs using glucose as the sole substrate, the peak voltage output is increased by 8.5, 13.9, and 15.7% for addition of 10, 20, and 30 mg L−1sulfanilamide, respectively. The anode and the cathode polarization curves reveal that the lower anode overpotential with addition of sulfanilamide is responsible for the promoted electric power output of MFCs. Four groups of comparison experiments are conducted. In normal MFCs, sulfanilamide removal efficiency reaches 90% in 96 h, while the removal efficiencies are 58, 10.8, and 7.5% in open-circuit, no co-substrate and abiotic MFCs, respectively. The results of comparison experiments indicate that sulfanilamide removed in MFCs is mainly stemmed from the biocatalytic co-metabolism degradation other than physical adsorption and the current generated in MFCs plays an active role in accelerating the removal efficiency. These experimental results offer theoretical basis for the possibility of the MFCs application on the industrial wastewater treatment containing sulfanilamide and simultaneous electricity generation.

Sulfanilamide antibiotics show the highest detection frequencies and concentrations in surface water of China. In this work, we aim to investigate the feasibility of sulfanilamide removal in the anode of two-chambered MFCs and to examine the influence of sulfanilamide on the electricity generation in MFCs. Results show that sulfanilamide can be efficiently removed in the anode of MFCs and exerts exciting positive effect on electricity generation at the studied concentration range (10–30 mg L−1). In comparison with MFCs using glucose as the sole substrate, the peak voltage output is increased by 8.5, 13.9, and 15.7% for addition of 10, 20, and 30 mg L−1sulfanilamide, respectively. The anode and the cathode polarization curves reveal that the lower anode overpotential with addition of sulfanilamide is responsible for the promoted electric power output of MFCs. Four groups of comparison experiments are conducted. In normal MFCs, sulfanilamide removal efficiency reaches 90% in 96 h, while the removal efficiencies are 58, 10.8, and 7.5% in open-circuit, no co-substrate and abiotic MFCs, respectively. The results of comparison experiments indicate that sulfanilamide removed in MFCs is mainly stemmed from the biocatalytic co-metabolism degradation other than physical adsorption and the current generated in MFCs plays an active role in accelerating the removal efficiency. These experimental results offer theoretical basis for the possibility of the MFCs application on the industrial wastewater treatment containing sulfanilamide and simultaneous electricity generation.

Abstract: The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined in the water and surface sediments from the Henan reaches of the Yellow River. Twenty-three sampling sites along the Yellow River and its tributaries were selected. Generally, metal concentrations were found to decrease in sequences of Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cd in water and Zn > Cr > Pb > Ni > Cu > Cd in sediments. High levels of metal concentration were determined at a few stations of the river and its tributaries, such as Yiluo River, Si River and Qin River. The pollution of the Yellow River by Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn can be regarded as much higher compared to the background values, US EPA criteria (1999) and China water quality criteria (2002). For sediments, metal levels except Pb did not significantly exceed the average shale levels and backgrounds in several countries including China. Data analysis manifests that positive correlations were found between Cu, Ni and Zn in water, and Pb, Ni, Zn and Cr in sediments. The Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and Cluster analysis were provided to assess the possible contamination sources. The results indicate a general appearance of serious pollution along the banks of the Yellow River. The wastewaters discharged by the mine plants, smelter plants, power plants, battery plants, tannery plants, etc., and sewage inputs from the cities along the river banks may be the sources of metals.

Decentralized H2O2production from a 2e–oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) pathway is appealing, wherein the rational design of electrocatalysts is the cornerstone rendering favorable catalytic activity/selectivity. Nevertheless, the real active moiety is elusive and the catalyst evolution during the reaction remains unexplored to date. Herein, we decipher in situevolved surface chemistry of a Ni-based precatalyst (Ni SAC/Ni-NiO/NC-500) during the 2e–ORR process that results in a reconstructed catalyst (Ni SAC/Ni-NiO/NC-500-R). The phase transformation of the electrocatalyst is monitored by operandoRaman spectroscopy and ex situX-ray analysis. With the optimized catalyst in hand, a 2e–ORR potential of 0.78 V (at 1.0 mA cm–2) and a high selectivity of 95% in an alkaline electrolyte are harvested. More encouragingly, high-flux H2O2is produced viaphotomediated electrosynthesis, enabling on-site degradation of organic pollutants with an impressive degradation rate approaching 100%.

The increase in occurrence and severity of cyanobacteria blooms is causing increasing concern; moreover, human and animal health is affected by the toxic effects of Microcystin-LR released into the water. In this paper, a floating photocatalyst for the photocatalytic inactivation of the harmful algae Microcystis aeruginosa(M. aeruginosa) was prepared using a simple sol-gel method, i.e., coating g-C3N4coupled with Bi-doped TiO2on Al2O3-modified expanded perlite (CBTA for short). The impact of different molar ratios of Bi/Ti on CBTA was considered. The results indicated that Bi doping in TiO2inhibited photogenerated electron-hole pair recombination. With 6 h of visible light illumination, 75.9% of M. aeruginosa(initial concentration = 2.7 × 106cells/L) and 83.7% of Microcystin-LR (initial concentration =100 µg/L) could be removed with the addition of 2 g/L CBTA-1% (i.e., Bi/Ti molar ratio = 1%). The key reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in the photocatalytic inactivation process are h+and ⦁OH. The induction of the Bi4+/Bi3+species by the incorporation of Bi could narrow the bandgap of TiO2, trap electrons, and enhance the stability of CBTA-1% in the solutions with coexisting environmental substances.

Background: Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is a crucial mediator in response to inflammation. Myricetin protects cardiomyocytes against inflammatory injury. However, it’s still unexplored whether myricetin exerted anti-inflammatory properties via MALAT1. The purpose of our study was to validate the cardio-protective function of myricetin against myocarditis and its underlying mechanism in vitro. Methods: H9c2 cells were pre-incubated with myricetin before stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Enforced silence of MALAT1 was achieved by transducing short hairpin (sh)-MALAT1 into H9c2 cells. Next, cell viability and apoptotic cells were detected with cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide (Annexin V-FITC/PI) apoptosis detection kit, respectively. Western blot assay was conducted to examine apoptosis-relative proteins, pro-inflammatory factors, and signaling regulators. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to quantify pro-inflammatory factors and MALAT1 at mRNA levels. Enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to determine protein concentration of pro-inflammatory factors. Results: Myricetin ameliorated LPS-elicited reduction of cell viability, augment of apoptosis, and overexpression of monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in H9c2 cells. Meanwhile, phosphorylation of p65 and inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B alpha (IκBα) were suppressed. Besides, myricetin enhanced the expression of MALAT1 which was originally down-regulated by LPS. However, the protective effects of myricetin against LPS-caused inflammatory lesions were abrogated in MALAT1-deficiency cells, with the restored phosphorylation of p65 and IκBα. Conclusion: Myricetin possessed an anti-inflammatory function against LPS-induced lesions in cardiomyocytes. Mechanically, myricetin up-regulated MALAT1, blocked LPS-evoked activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inflammatory pathway, and, finally, exerted cardio-protective effects.