Search

Solid-liquid interfaces are ubiquitous in nature and widely used in various applications such as catalysis, sensing, batteries, etc. Recently, we found the existence of electron transfer at the interface in solid-liquid contacting, and proposed a "two-step" theory for the formation of solid-liquid electric double layer (EDL). In this work, we found that hydroxyl radical (·OH) was generated when the droplet contact with the tube inner wall without external interference, and the concentration of·OH was increased with increasing pH, demonstrating that the·OH was generated from hydroxide ions (OH-) by electron transfer during contact electrification. This can be further supported by the fact that capillaries made of materials with stronger electron-withdrawing ability could generate more·OH. Interestingly, superoxide anion radical (·O 2 -) was not generated at the solid-liquid interface if no external energy is provided. However, if ultrasonic was applied,·O 2 - could be generated at the solid-liquid interface, because ultrasonication provides transition energy for the electron to transfer from the solid to O 2 at the interface. Based on the generation of reactive oxygen species (·OH and·O 2 -), we demonstrated a proof-of-concept for degradation of tetracycline pollution. This work provides an excellent strategy to study the solid-liquid interface and also provides a new insight into the free radical generation at the interface in solid-liquid contacting. [Display omitted] • A sensitive strategy to study free radical generation at solid-liquid interface. • OH was generated from OH- by electron transfer during contact electrification. • O 2 - was produced with the assistance of ultrasonication. • Ultrasonication can promote the production of free radicals. • The free radicals were applied to degrade tetracycline pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EPV is an application of pharmacovigilance in the environment science. • Targeted EPV for optimized management of pharmaceutical pollution. • Definition of targeted EPV was proposed. • Some management practice options for targeted EPV were recommended. From a perspective of drug administration, eco-pharmacovigilance (EPV) has been proposed as a new approach to prevent the environmental risks posed by pharmaceutical emerging contaminants. However, it is impracticable to practice unitary and rigor EPV process for all the pharmaceutical substances with complex and diversified chemical, biological or toxicological properties. We proposed the "targeted EPV" that is the science and activities associated with the targeted detection, evaluation, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects of high-priority hazardous pharmaceuticals in the environment, especially focusing on the control of main anthropogenic sources of pharmaceutical emission among key stakeholders in high-risk areas could be used as an optimized management strategy for pharmaceutical pollution. "Targeted EPV" implementation should focus on the targeted monitoring of the occurrence of high-priority pharmaceuticals in environmental samples, the targeted reporting of over-standard discharge, the targeted management for main emission sources, the targeted legislation and researches on high-priority pharmaceutical pollutants, as well as the targeted educational strategies for specific key populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Protective effect of eckol on the DSS-induced acute colitis development. • Anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities of eckol in colitic mice. • Antimicrobial and immunoregulatory activities of eckol in colitic mice. • Possible involvement of Reg3g in eckol-mediated protection in colitis. The anti-inflammatory activity of eckol, a phlorotannin constituent of marine brown algae, has been widely demonstrated. Here, we found eckol at doses of 0.5–1.0 mg/kg protected against development of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute experimental colitis in mice. DSS-elevated colonic tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 levels as well as nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)p65 and Toll like receptor (TLR)-4 expression were significantly suppressed, the colonic IL-10 level was enhanced in the eckol-treated mice. TUNEL-positive cells and Caspase-9 expression were downregulated in eckol-treated colons compared to DSS controls. Eckol inhibited the growth of potential gut pathogens and increased beneficial bacteria in colitic mice, and recruited CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs) into inflamed colonic tissues. Colonic expression of regenerating islet-derived 3 gamma (Reg3g) was significantly increased by eckol. Overall, eckol represents a treatment alternative in colitis management. The induction of colonic Reg3g may account for the anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, antimicrobial and immunoregulatory activities of eckol in colitic mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Discrete soliton in special types zigzag waveguide arrays. • Phase transition of the second kind is found for the discrete soliton in the waveguide arrays. • Motion and collision of the solitons are strongly influenced by the phase transition. We study discrete solitons in zigzag discrete waveguide arrays with different types of linear mixing between nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor couplings. The waveguide array is constructed from two layers of one-dimensional (1D) waveguide arrays arranged in zigzag form. If we alternately label the number of waveguides between the two layers, the cross-layer couplings (which couple one waveguide in one layer with two adjacent waveguides in the other layer) construct the nearest-neighbor couplings, while the couplings that couple this waveguide with the two nearest-neighbor waveguides in the same layer, i.e., self-layer couplings, contribute the next-nearest-neighbor couplings. Two families of discrete solitons are found when these couplings feature different types of linear mixing. As the total power is increased, a phase transition of the second kind occurs for discrete solitons in one type of setting, which is formed when the nearest-neighbor coupling and next-nearest-neighbor coupling feature positive and negative linear mixing, respectively. The mobilities and collisions of these two families of solitons are discussed systematically throughout the paper, revealing that the width of the soliton plays an important role in its motion. Moreover, the phase transition strongly influences the motions and collisions of the solitons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the substantial consumption of caffeinated food, beverages, and medicines worldwide, caffeine is considered the most representative pharmaceutically active compound (PhAC) pollutant based on its high abundance in the environment and its suitability as an indicator of the anthropogenic inputs of PhACs in water bodies. This review presents a worldwide analysis of 132 reports of caffeine residues in freshwater environments. The results indicated that more than 70% of the studies reported were from Asia and Europe, which have densely populated and industrially developed areas. However, caffeine pollution was also found to affect areas isolated from human influence, such as Antarctica. In addition, the maximum concentrations of caffeine in raw wastewater, treated wastewater, river, drinking water, groundwater, lake, catchment, reservoir, and rainwater samples were reported to be 3.60 mg/L, 55.5, 19.3, 3.39, 0.683, 174, 44.6, 4.87, and 5.40 μg/L, respectively. The seasonal variation in caffeine residues in the freshwater environment has been demonstrated. In addition, despite the fact that there was a small proportion of wastewater treatment plants in which the elimination rates of caffeine were below 60%, wastewater treatment is generally believed to have a high caffeine removal efficiency. From a pharmacy perspective, we proposed to adopt effective measures to minimize the environmental risks posed by PhACs, represented by caffeine, through a new concept known as ecopharmacovigilance (EPV). Some measures of EPV aimed at caffeine pollution have been advised, as follows: improving knowledge and perceptions about caffeine pollution among the public; listing caffeine as a high-priority PhAC pollutant, which should be targeted in EPV practices; promoting green design and production, rational consumption, and environmentally preferred disposal of caffeinated medicines, foods, and beverages; implementing intensive EPV measures in high-risk areas and during high-risk seasons; and integrating EPV into wastewater treatment programs. Image 1 • Caffeine is a dominant pharmaceutically active compound pollutant in freshwater systems. • There is seasonal variation of caffeine residues in freshwater environment. • The wastewater treatment generally has a high removal efficiency for caffeine. • Ecopharmacovigilance targeting caffeine might be an optimized control strategy. Caffeine is a dominant PhAC pollutant in freshwater systems, and EPV targeting caffeine might be an optimized control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the huge consumption of caffeinated food, beverages and medicines around the world, caffeine has been considered as a most representative pharmaceutically active compound (PhAC) pollutant based on its high abundance in environment and its indicator property for anthropogenic inputs of PhACs to water bodies. This review analyzed the existing literature about the bioaccumulation and environmental risks of caffeine residues in non-target organisms. There are 6 studies which were published in the last 5 years have reported the distribution of caffeine in tissues of aquatic organisms including fishes, clams, macroalgae and other aquatic plants, suggesting bioaccumulation of caffeine in organisms. The maximum detected levels of caffeine residues in tissues ranged from 1.55 to 344.9 ng/g. Importantly, definitive evidences have been provided that environmentally relevant caffeine concentrations exert adverse impacts on aquatic species and terrestrial insects, which included lethality, decreasing general stress, inducing oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, affecting energy reserves and metabolic activity, neurotoxic effects, affecting reproduction and development, etc. In view of the severity and potential adverse impacts of caffeine pollution in the environment, we proposed that caffeine should be considered as a high-priority environmentally hazardous PhAC pollutant, and it is necessary to implement an ecopharmacovigilance (EPV) program targeting caffeine to minimize its environmental load from a pharmacy perspective. • The current knowledge on the risks of caffeine as a PhAC pollutant are reviewed. • Bioaccumulation of caffeine has been found in many aquatic organisms. • Caffeine elicits biological responses on non-target organisms at the environmentally realistic concentrations. • It is necessary to implement an EPV program targeting caffeine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Some neonicotinoids, agricultural fungicides, and their transformation products were measured • The levels of target pesticides increased from the upstream to downstream of the Yangtze River • Thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, and acetamiprid were the dominant neonicotinoid insecticides • Carbendazim, dimethomorph, and tebuconazole were the dominant agricultural fungicides • Six target pesticides may pose high risks to the aquatic ecosystem Neonicotinoid insecticides (NNIs) and agricultural fungicides (including strobilurin, azole, and morpholine fungicides) are widely used, while data on their contamination in the Yangtze River of China and the risks posed by them are limited. The occurrence and distribution of ten NNIs, twenty-one transformation products (TPs) of them, seventeen agricultural fungicides, and six TPs of them were investigated in the main stream of the Yangtze River. Surface water samples (n = 144) were obtained from 72 sampling points in dry season and wet season. Among the NNIs, the detection frequencies (DFs) of acetamiprid (ACE), clothianidin, dinotefuran, flonicamid, imidacloprid (IMI), thiacloprid (THCP), and thiamethoxam (THM) were higher than 85%, with the median concentrations ranged from 0.06 ng/L (THCP) to 3.63 ng/L (IMI). The DFs of the TPs descyano-acetamiprid, desmethyl-acetamiprid (DM-ACE), N-[(6-Chloropyridin-3-yl) methyl] methylamine, desnitro-clothianidin, desnitro-imidacloprid, desnitro-thiamethoxam, imidacloprid-urea, and thiamethoxam-urea (THM-urea) were higher than 80%, with the median concentrations ranged from 0.25 ng/L for DM-ACE to 2.41 ng/L for THM-urea. Some agricultural parent fungicides, including azoxystrobin (AZS), carbendazim (CBDZ), difenoconazole, dimethomorph, propiconazole, pyraclostrobin, and tebuconazole (TBCZ), were detected in all the samples; others were also detected in more than 80% of the samples except for fluoxastrobin (12.5%). The median concentrations of the frequently detected fungicides ranged from 0.02 ng/L (trifloxystrobin) to 26.8 ng/L (CBDZ). The DFs of the fungicide TPs azoxystrobin acid (AZS acid), difenoconazole-alcohol, tebuconazole-tert-butylhydroxy (TBCZ-OH), and 5-hydroxymethyl-tricyclazole were higher than 75%, with the median concentrations ranged from 0.09 ng/L (TBCZ-OH) to 1.80 ng/L (AZS acid). The summed concentrations of the NNIs and their TPs at the sampling points varied between 0.23 and 418 ng/L, and the summed concentrations of the selected fungicides and their TPs varied from 0.29 to 1160 ng/L. The spatial distribution of most target analytes revealed an increasing trend in their concentrations from the upstream to downstream Yangtze River (250 times increase in their cumulative concentration). Most target pesticides in this study had significantly higher concentrations during wet season than those during dry season. Furthermore, ecological risk assessment suggested that ACE, IMI, THM, CBDZ, TBCZ, and thifluzamide in some samples (n = 1, 11, 1, 1, 1, and 6, respectively) posed high risks to the ecosystem (risk quotient > 1). Priority attention should be paid to the ecological risk posed by these pesticides. Thirty-seven samples had concentrations of individual target analytes over 100 ng/L and four samples had cumulative concentrations of the target analytes over 500 ng/L, exceeding the European Commission guideline values. Taken together, our findings demonstrate a widespread occurrence of the NNIs, agricultural fungicides, and their TPs in the mainstream of the Yangtze River and potential ecological risks posed by some of them. Neonicotinoid insecticides, selected agricultural fungicides, and their transformation products [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now, the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in natural environment has been frequently reported around the world. As a kind of biologically active compounds specially designed to be effective even at very low concentration levels, pharmaceuticals in the environment could have adverse impacts to the health of human beings or other non-targeted organisms due to long-term exposures. To minimize the pharmaceutical pollution from the perspective of drug administration, a new concept called as eco-pharmacovigilance (EPV) has been proposed as a kind of pharmacovigilance(PV) for the environment. However, as a new and comprehensive science, EPV has not sophisticated methods in practice and formalized implementation model up to now. Since EPV is a special kind of PV, it could be feasible to draw on the experience of PV as a possible and reasonable starting point for EPV. In this paper, we discussed the common methods and activities used in PV including spontaneous reporting, intensive monitoring, database studies, and their potential applicability to the environment. And we concluded that these common methods in PV could be adapted and applied to EPV. But there is still the need for organizational, technical and financial supports of the EPV system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Effect of time on co-densified biomass quality was tiny during one year storage. • Co-densification could minimize the effect of weather condition change. • Co-densified biomass had at least a 45.4% increment in biogas yield. • Net biogas yield of the co-densified biomass was 24.2% higher than that of rice straw. • Priority of manure and supplement of stored co-densified biomass were proposed. Rice straw and pig manure pellets (RPP) and sorghum straw and pig manure pellets (SPP) were used to identify their competition as the flexible feedstock of anaerobic digestion with one-year indoor storage. The results indicated the effect of time on their characteristic was tiny during storage period, such as density, calorific value, total solid, volatile solid, ratio of carbon and nitrogen, and lignocellulosic components. Biogas yields of stored RPP and SPP were 8.8% and 26.7% lower than that of fresh pig manure (PM), and 45.4% and 56.1% higher than the sum of corresponding straw and PM digestion alone, respectively. Improvements in biodegradability were observed in co-densified biomass anaerobic digestion. Net biogas yield of RPP was 24.2% higher than that of rice straw, considering volatile matter loss and biogas yield decline during densification and storage stage. Priority of manure and supplement of co-densified biomass were proposed for feedstock supply on demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel cultivation strategy called “Sequential Heterotrophy-Dilution-Photoinduction” was successfully applied in the cultivation of Galdieria sulphuraria for efficient production of phycocyanin (PC). Algae cells were firstly cultivated heterotrophically to achieve high cell density. The maximal dry cell weight of 17.8 g L −1 and maximal biomass productivity of 103.1 mg L −1 h −1 were obtained. Then, a dilution step was applied to obtain a suitable cell concentration and finally these cells were transferred to high light condition for phycocyanin accumulation. During the photoinduction step, cells could accumulate phycocyanin up to 13.88% of dry cell weight in a cultivation period of 8 days. By this technology, total PC productivity far surpassed those reported in all literatures of Galdieria sulphuraria , and was 147-fold and 12-fold of those in photoautotrophic and heterotrophic technologies, respectively. Therefore, this strategy provides a promising approach for high-efficient phycocyanin production from Galdieria sulphuraria to meet its mass cultivation and commercialization application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] H. pluvialis can accumulate effectively astaxanthin with this attached cultivation. [•] Astaxanthin productivity of the attached system is 2.4-fold of that suspended. [•] Attached cells can accumulate astaxanthin under low light and temperature up to 35°C. [•] This attached cultivation can strongly resist protozoan contamination. [•] This attached cultivation is superior on saving water, ease to harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel cultivation strategy called “sequential heterotrophy–dilution–photoinduction” was developed for efficient algal biomass and lipid production. Three Chlorella species were first cultivated heterotrophically to achieve high cell density, then the broth was diluted to suitable concentration (2–5g/L) and transferred to light environment for photoinduction. With this strategy, the Chlorella intracellular protein and chlorophyll increased rapidly to 50.87% and 32.97mg/g by a 12-h illumination, which were close to the level of cells cultivated photoautotrophically. Moreover, the lipid contents were increased by 84.57%, 70.65% and 121.59% within 24-h photoinduction for C. vulgaris, C. pyrenoidosa and C. ellipsoidea, respectively. Maximum lipid content as 26.11% of biomass and maximum lipid productivity of 89.89mg/L/d was both accomplished by C. pyrenoidosa. Further outdoor experiments showed consistent patterns. Therefore, the proposed strategy provided an effective approach for microalgal biomass production to meet the urgent need for both health food and biodiesel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A novel wideband out-of-phase power divider based on Klopfenstein tapered line is proposed for the first time. By using double-sided parallel-strip line (DSPSL) with inserted conductor plane as virtual ground, frequency-independent phase difference can be achieved with antisymmetric output structures. Odd-/even-mode analysis shows that the introduced Klopfenstein tapered line can expand bandwidth greatly, and additional eight pairs of isolation resistors are added to realize high output matching and isolation. For verification, this presented power divider is fabricated and measured. The simulation and measurement show that this structure can achieve a wide frequency range from 0.5 GHz to 7.3 GHz, within which the S -parameters (S 11 , S 22 , S 32) are all better than −10 dB, and the phase imbalance is less than 7°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]