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Lacquer wood (LW) goes through one-step and two-step H3PO4 activation process to prepare activated carbons (ACs) at different temperature, and its performance was evaluated by testing CV, EIS, GCD and cycling respect to an electrode material in supercapacitors. The performance of lacquer wood activated carbon prepared by different activation methods and temperature (300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 °C) was studied, and the influence on its electrochemical properties provides valuable guidance for the high-efficient energy utilization of lacquer wood. The results showed that the AC generated via one-step activation process at 400 °C demonstrate excellent specific surface area (SBET 1609.09 m2/g) than those from two-step activation method. Besides, the biomass-derived ACs presented overall better electrochemistry characteristic than those from charcoal-derived ACs. The largest specific capacitance (354 F/g) was obtained in the ACs-based electrodes which was generated from one-step activation process (activated at 600 °C). After 10000 cycles, its capacity retention reached 95.3%, which provides a meaningful guidance into the application of energy storage supercapacitors. This study proves that the LW derived ACs are promising electrodes of the high-performance supercapacitors, which is beneficial for value-added and industrial supercapacitors application of lacquer wood ACs.

Juncus effusus L. (J. effusus) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has long been used for dealing with gynaecological disorders, such as relieving insomnia, preventing tinnitus, reducing edema with diuretic effect. In our course of evidence-based medical research focused on this herb, one new phenanthrene, Junfusol B (2), together with seventeen known compounds were isolated and identified. All the structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The absolute stereochemistry of compounds 1 and 2 was further determined by comparing their calculated and experimental Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectra and optical rotation (OR) values. The isolates were evaluated for their estrogenic and anti-inflammatory activities which were considered as relevant etiological factors of insomnia, tinnitus and edema in the ancient TCM theory. The results revealed that most of the obtained phenanthrenes in this work were found exerting agonistic effects on estrogen receptor. This is the first report to declare the exact estrogen-regulating potential among this type of compounds from J. effusus. Moreover, phenanthrenes 3 - 7 exhibited significant inhibitions on superoxide anion generation and elastase release in fMLP/CB-induced human neutrophilic inflammation model. J. effusus may be developed as a complementary agent utilized in menopausal multiple syndromes.

Aging is a natural process that will cause physiological changes in organs. The effects of djulis and green caviar in skincare are currently unclear. This study combined hydrolyzed collagen with djulis and green caviar to develop new functional formulas that improve skin parameters. Fifty subjects were randomly assigned and divided into a placebo group (n=25) and a collagen drink group (n=25), and gave 50 ml of collagen of a collagen drink or placebo drink daily for 28 days, and we examined skin moisture, elasticity, gloss, spot, wrinkle, roughness, smoothness, pore, collagen and erythema. We find that intake of collagen drinks group improved skin parameters at 14 days and 28 days compared with baseline (0 day). The collagen drinks group improved skin parameters at 28 days compared with the placebo group. This clinical study proved the combination of collagen with djulis and green caviar for the substantial improvements in moisture, elasticity, gloss, spot, wrinkle, roughness, smoothness, pore, collagen, and erythema in the skin.

Purpose Population aging was a global trend, and the most obvious thing after aging was the change in skin appearance. Therefore, the active ingredients that delay skin aging were particularly noticed. Past studies had pointed out that Chinese herbal extracts can improve skin elasticity, reduce wrinkles and melanin precipitation. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether combining hydrolyzed collagen with Chinese herbal extracts can improve skin conditions and achieve anti-inflammatory effects. Design/methodology/approach Fifty subjects were randomly divided into collagen or placebo groups, and one bottle of collagen or placebo drink was used every day for four weeks, after which skin and inflammatory factors were tested. Findings In comparison with the baseline results, the skin parameters were improving after four-week intervention. In addition, the IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a were significantly decreased and tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) was increased after four-week hydrolyzed collagen intervention. Originality/value This study showed that hydrolyzed collagen combined with Chinese herbal extracts can improve the condition of the skin, and can also reduce inflammatory associated factors, thereby achieving anti-aging effects.

The release characteristics of a unique blend of carotenoid beadlets designed to increase bioavailability were tested using the dynamic gastrointestinal model TIM‐1. Individual carotenoid bioaccessibility peaks were observed over approximately 3–4 hr in the order of lutein and zeaxanthin first, followed by lycopene, and then finally α‐ and β‐carotene; when tested as a beadlet blend or when the beadlets were compressed into tablets. Bioaccessibility measurements of 7%–20% were similar to those previously reported in literature and comparable between the two formulations, beadlet blend and tablet formulations. Total recovery of carotenoids from all compartments ranged from 70% to 90% for all carotenoids, except lycopene where almost 50% was unrecoverable after digestion in the TIM system., The release characteristics of a unique blend of carotenoid beadlets designed for increased bioavailability were tested using the dynamic gastrointestinal model TIM‐1. Peak bioaccessibility measurements separated over approximately 3–4 hr in the order of lutein and zeaxanthin first, followed by lycopene, and then finally alpha and beta carotene; both when tested as a beadlet blend alone and when tested as compressed tablets.

Solar-driven hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production presents unique merits of sustainability and environmental friendliness. Herein, efficient solar-driven H2O2 production through dioxygen reduction is achieved by employing polymeric carbon nitride framework with sodium cyanaminate moiety, affording a H2O2 production rate of 18.7 μmol h −1 mg−1 and an apparent quantum yield of 27.6% at 380 nm. The overall photocatalytic transformation process is systematically analyzed, and some previously unknown structural features and interactions are substantiated via experimental and theoretical methods. The structural features of cyanamino group and pyridinic nitrogen-coordinated soidum in the framework promote photon absorption, alter the energy landscape of the framework and improve charge separation efficiency, enhance surface adsorption of dioxygen, and create selective 2e− oxygen reduction reaction surface-active sites. Particularly, an electronic coupling interaction between O2 and surface, which boosts the population and prolongs the lifetime of the active shallow-trapped electrons, is experimentally substantiated., Solar-driven H2O2 production presents a renewable approach to chemical synthesis. Here, authors perform a mechanistic analysis on the contribution of the sodium cyanaminate moiety to the 2-electron oxygen reduction reaction performance of polymeric carbon nitride frameworks.

Exfoliated and plicated g-C3N4 nanosheets (CNsF) were prepared through a thermal-chemical exfoliation in which the bulk g-C3N4 was obtained first under thermal exfoliation, and then was exposed to an acidic etching using hydrofluoric acid under hydrothermal condition. The acidic etching not only exfoliated g-C3N4 nanosheets by disrupting weak van der Waals forces between layers, which led to formation of a monolayer or a few layers of g-C3N4 nanosheets, but also made disordered defects on its surface and created plicated g-C3N4 nanosheets. Under visible-light illumination, the optimized sample (CNsF-6%) showed a hydrogen evolution rate of 54.13 μmol h−1g−1 (without co-catalyst) and a specific surface area of 121.4 m2 g−1, which were about 4.7 and 2.5 times, respectively, higher than pristine g-C3N4. It also showed remarkably enhanced photocatalytic performance in removing various organic pollutants. This remarkable improvement probably arises from the porous nanosheets and an increased number of active sites resulting from the CNsF, which subsequently enhanced the charge separation efficiency. This work provided an alternative way to obtain highly active g-C3N4 photocatalysts.

This study aimed to investigate the value and feasibility of combining fractional anisotropy (FA) values from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and total kidney volume (TKV) for the assessment of kidney function in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Fifty-one patients were included in this study. All MRI examinations were performed with a 3.0 T scanner. DTI was used to measure FA values, and TKV was obtained from DTI and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI). Patients were divided into three groups (mild, moderate, severe) according to eGFR, which was calculated with serum creatinine. Differences in the FA values of the cortex and medulla were analysed among the three groups, and the relationships of FA values, TKV, and the product of the FA values and TKV with eGFR were analysed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic efficiency of the FA values, TKV, and the product of the FA values and TKV for kidney function in different CKD stages. Medullary FA values (m-FA), TKV, and the product of the m-FA values and TKV (m-FA-TKV) were significantly correlated with eGFR (r = 0.653, 0.685, and 0.797, respectively; all P

The interchangeable operation of alkaline oxygen evolution and reduction using bifunctional electrocatalysts in devices consolidates the commercialization milestone of energy storage in hydrogen, a...

Many Chinese herbal medicines have been proven to have anti-inflammatory effects. Among them, edible and medicinal mushrooms are rich in a variety of physiologically active ingredients, which can enhance immunity and are good materials for the development of health foods. This article aims to investigate the beneficial effects of SOD Light, a herbal formula consisting of Sparassis crispa, Aureobasidium pullulan, and Ganoderma lucidum, on anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and immune-modulation. SOD Light was able to inhibit ROS expression level and boost the SOD activity in PBMCs by 11% and 43.8%, respectively, as compared with the control group, and the significant improvement effect of the phagocytic activity of neutrophils was exhibited. Moreover, SOD Light also significantly enhanced the expression of the lymphocyte development-associated and adaptive immune-related genes (i.e., CD134, CD26, CD96, CD247, and IL-16). This study successfully unveils that the combination of S. crispa, A. pullulans, and G. lucidum was available for anti-oxidation, cytokines production, enhancement of T cell activation, and lymphocyte development in PBMCs, which implies that SOD Light are beneficial for immune modulation.

In this work, an experiment was carried out to investigate the preparation condition of anisotropic Fe-deficient M-type Ca–Sr–La system ferrite with optimum magnetic and physical properties using the raw material Fe2O3 from steel industrial iron oxide waste. The compositions of the calcined ferrites were chosen according to the stoichiometry ${\mathrm {Ca}}_{1-x-y}$ La x Sr y Fe10.9CozO19, where M-type single-phase calcined powder was synthesized with a composition of $x = 0.45$ , $y = 0.18$ , and $z= 0$ . The effect of CaO, SiO2, and Co3O4 inter-additives on the Ca–Sr–La system ferrite was also discussed in order to obtain low-temperature sintered magnets. The magnetic properties of $B_{r} = 4570$ Gauss, $_{b}H_{c} = 4320$ Oe, $_{i}H_{c} = 5260$ Oe, and ( $BH$ ) $_{\mathrm {max}}= 5.16$ MGOe were obtained for Ca–Sr–La system hard magnets with low cobalt content at 1.85 wt%. The magnetic properties of the prepared magnets really good compared to that of the traditional Sr–La–cobalt (Co) M-type ferrite, which has been the highest grade M-type hard ferrite. The remarkable steel industrial iron oxide waste Fe2O3 is recycled to produce high-end permanent magnets under an output power of < 1 kW, which will eventually be used in high-efficiency motors.

Only a few known epoxide hydrolases (EHs) displayed activity towards o-nitrostyrene oxide (4a), presumably owing to the large steric hindrance caused by o-nitro substituent. Therefore, excavating EHs with high activity and enantio- and/or regio-selectivity towards racemic (rac-) 4a is essential but challenging. Here, AuEH2 from Aspergillus usamii was expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). E. coli/Aueh2, an E. coli transformant expressing AuEH2, possessed EH activities of 16.2–184 U/g wet cell towards rac-styrene oxide (1a) and its derivatives (2a–13a), and the largest enantiomeric ratio of 96 towards rac-4a. The regioselectivity coefficients, βR and βS, of AuEH2 were determined to be 99.2% and 98.9%, suggesting that it regiopreferentially attacks the Cβ in the oxirane rings of (R)- and (S)-4a. Then, the nearly perfect kinetic resolution of 20 mM rac-4a in pure water was carried out using 20 mg/mL wet cells of E. coli/Aueh2 at 25 °C for 50 min, retaining (S)-4a with over 99% ees and 48.9% yields, while producing (R)-o-nitrophenyl-1,2-ethanediol (4b) with 95.3% eep and 49.8% yieldp. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of AuEH2 with high enantiopreference for (R)-4a, its crystal structure was solved by X-ray diffraction and the molecular docking of AuEH2 with (R)- or (S)-4a was simulated.

In this study, a metal–organic framework, namely, Zn3(BTC)2 (BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricaboxylic acid), was solvothermally synthesized and employed as a catalyst for biodiesel production from degummed vegetable oil via a one-step transesterification and esterification reaction. The resulting Zn3(BTC)2 particles exhibit a well-defined triclinic structure with an average size of about 1.2 μm, high specific surface area of 1176 m2/g, and thermal stability up to 300 °C. The response surface methodology–Box–Behnken design (RSM–BBD) was employed to identify the optimal reaction conditions and to model the biodiesel yield in relation to three important parameters, namely, the methanol/oil molar ratio (4:1–8:1), temperature (45–65 °C), and time (1.5–4.5 h). Under the optimized reaction conditions (i.e., 6:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 65 °C, 4.5 h), the maximum biodiesel yield reached 89.89% in a 1 wt % catalyst, which agreed very well with the quadratic polynomial model’s prediction (89.96%). The intrinsic catalytic activity of Zn3(BTC)2, expressed as the turnover frequency, was found to be superior to that of other MOF catalysts applied in the transesterification and esterification reactions. The reusability study showed that the as-synthesized Zn3(BTC)2 catalyst exhibited good stability upon three consecutive reuses without a noticeable decrease in the methyl ester yield (∼4%) and any appreciable metal leaching (

Excessive energy consumption and low reaction efficiency caused by electron cycle rate limitations are bottlenecks in water treatment. Here, we introduce an innovative strategy to overcome this problem via constructing a novel three-dimensional (3D) hybrid of vanadium tetrasulfide cross-linking graphene-like carbon with π electrons (VSO–C(π)), which exhibits excellent performance during refractory pollutant removal based on sustainable electron cycling between hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), dissolved oxygen (DO), and pollutants at the solid–liquid micro-interface. VSO–C(π) is synthesized through an in situ hydrothermal synthesis procedure and characterized via a series of techniques. The cation-π structures are constructed through V–S–C(π) and V–O–C(π) bridges in VSO–C(π), triggering orientable electron transfer from C(π) to the metal V centers and forming a polarized distribution of surface electrons. In the VSO–C(π)/pollutants/DO/H2O2 system, the pollutants act as electron donors to C(π), with the subsequent degradation of pollutants, while DO and H2O2 act as electron acceptors and are activated by reactive oxygen species to further degrade the pollutants at the V centers. This sustainable electron cycling process is responsible for the excellent activity and superior adaptability to pH changes and different salt environments, while also greatly saving resources and reducing energy consumption.

In this study, we investigated the stress and doping effects of ferroelectric hafnium zirconium oxide (HfZrO) based on material analysis and electrical characteristics. The experimental results revealed that the ferroelectric crystalline phase is effectively transferred by mechanical stress of tantalum nitride (TaN) electrodes, and the origin of stress is mainly the thermal residual stress formed near the TaN and HfZrO interface. The ferroelectric polarization characteristics of HfZrO can be further modified by additional Al doping, which not only improves the leakage current of HfZrO due to the large bandgap of Al2O3 but also simultaneously stabilizes the ferroelectric domain switching under a large coercive field.

Tungstic oxide (WO3) is a promising visible-light-responsive photoanode material, but it has poor charge transport and collection properties. In this study, a WO3/BiFeO3 core/shell photoanode (WO3/BFO) with enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was successfully prepared using a facile spin-coating method. The optimal WO3/BFO shows an excellently enhanced and stable photocurrent density of ∼2.83 mA cm−2 at 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl, which is ∼244% more than WO3 under AM 1.5 illumination. The results of Mott–Schottky tests, intensity modulated photoelectrochemical spectroscopy and transient photocurrent decay indicated that the BFO ferroelectric nanolayer significantly enhances the charge density of the WO3/BFO, and improves its charge transport and separation property and charge lifetime, which could be the reason for the enhanced PEC activity of WO3/BFO.

Protein oxidation is a critical process in the deterioration and spoilage of fish and related commodities during processing and storage. In this study, the hydroxyl radical generation system (HRGS) was used to simulate the effect of oxidation on the functional, conformational and gelling properties of topmouth culter (Culter alburnus) myofibrillar proteins (MP). Additionally, the effects of oxidation on the gel-forming abilities of MP were also systematically analyzed from the perspective of intermolecular interaction forces. Oxidation was shown to decrease the total sulfhydryl content, increase the surface hydrophobicity, and induce conformational changes in MP. Rheological analysis showed that oxidation reduced the gel strength. Water holding capacity (WHC) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) analyses showed that low oxidation could enhance water binding of protein matrix, while high-degree oxidation could substantially reduce the gelling properties of MP. The selective solubility of MP gel proved that oxidation could reduce the content of ionic and hydrogen bonds and increase hydrophobic interactions. All the results indicate that oxidation could alter the intermolecular interactions between protein-protein and protein-water molecules, due to irregular unfolding and inhibition of the cross-linking of amino acid side chains, leading to reduction in the quality and function of fish and related products.

Long-term efficient separation of highly emulsified oily wastewater is challenging. Reported herein is the preparation of a reinforced superhydrophilic, underwater superoleophobic membrane with demulsification properties using active iron nanoparticles in situ generated on a polydopamine (PDA)/polyethylenimine (PEI)-modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane surface. A stable zwitterionic structure is fabricated on the membrane surface and provides it with an excellent capability of binding a hydration layer, leading to enhanced superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic properties. The interaction between the membrane surface and water is quantified using the relaxation time of water. After iron nanoparticles in situ anchoring, the superhydrophilic, underwater superoleophobic PDA/PEI modified PVDF membrane shows more stable flux behaviors, higher oil separation efficiency, demulsification, and excellent antioil-fouling properties for various anionic, nonionic, and cationic surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions in a crossflow filtration system. The reinforced hydration layer and the amphoteric charged demusification properties of the membrane play important roles in enhancing the membrane separation performance. The reinforced membrane also exhibits excellent cleaning and reusability performance in long-term operations. The outstanding separation performance, as well as the simple and cost-effective fabrication process of the membrane with various favorable properties, highlight its promise in practical emulsified oily water applications.

Five new polyketides, asperochrapyran (1) and asperochralactones A-D (2-5), along with 12 known polyketides (6-17), were obtained from the fungal strain Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis. Structures of all isolates were elucidated by their spectroscopic parameters. The relative configurations of the new compounds were deduced by the data of coupling constants and NOESY spectra. The absolute configurations were determined by the comparison of experimental and calculated ECD spectra. Moreover, the plausible biosynthesis pathway of major isolates was proposed as well. Anti-inflammatory activity of compounds 5 and 7-17 were evaluated with human neutrophils in response to the stimulation of formyl-methionyl-leucyl phenylalanine (fMLP). Asperlactone (9), aspyrone (13), and (-)-(3R)-mellein (14) exerted superoxide anion inhibition at 30 ± 9%, 29 ± 9%, and 26 ± 12%, respectively, at 10 μM. The capacities of asperlactone (9), aspilactonol B (10), penicillic acid (12), and (-)-(3R)-mellein (14) in elastase release inhibition were revealed as 25 ± 4%, 38 ± 8%, 25 ± 5%, and 34 ± 9%, respectively, at 10 μM.

The objective of the study was to explore the formation mechanism and thermodynamic properties of chitosan (CS)–potato protein isolate (PPI) complex under DHPM treatment. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) results showed the formation of a complex between CS and PPI. Meanwhile, particle size and zeta-potential were shown to increase with increasing CS concentration, further confirming the formation of the complex. The surface hydrophobicity results showed CS was bound to PPI by hydrogen bond. The ultraviolet and fluorescence spectral analysis exhibited CS formed a protective mechanism against PPI destruction, preventing the exposure of tyrosine and tryptophan residues. Infrared spectrum and circular dichroism spectral analysis revealed no occurrence of chemical reaction between CS and PPI under DHPM treatment, further indicating that they are bound by hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction. Moreover, CS addition was shown to enhance the intermolecular interaction and promote the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bond network. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that CS addition could improve the thermal stability of PPI. These results have shed light on the formation mechanism and thermodynamic properties of the CS/PPI complex and facilitate its application in food industry.

The diaryl ureas are very important fragments in medicinal chemistry. By means of computer-aided design, 1-aryl-3-[4-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl]urea derivatives were designed and synthesized, and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against A549, HCT-116, PC-3 cancer cell lines, and HL7702 human normal liver cell lines in vitro by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. Most of the target compounds demonstrate significant antiproliferative effects on all the selective cancer cell lines. The calculated IC50 values were reported. The target compound 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-{4-{[3-methyl-4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)pyridin-2-yl]methoxy}phenyl}urea (7u) demonstrated the most potent inhibitory activity (IC50 = 2.39 ± 0.10 μM for A549 and IC50 = 3.90 ± 0.33 μM for HCT-116), comparable to the positive-control sorafenib (IC50 = 2.12 ± 0.18 μM for A549 and IC50 = 2.25 ± 0.71 μM for HCT-116). Conclusively, 1-aryl-3-[4-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl]urea derivatives as the new anticancer agents were discovered, and could be used as the potential BRAF inhibitors for further research.

Background Potato powder, a rich source of high-quality protein and starch, plays an important role in the production of functional foods. In this study, ball-mill processed potato powders with different particle sizes (278, 208, 129, and 62 μm) were analyzed in terms of physicochemical, pasting, rheological, and digestive properties. Results Scanning electron microscopy and laser diffraction analysis of the samples revealed mono-model particle-size distributions. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed structure destruction of starch pellets. Proximate composition and physical property analysis showed an increase in the water, ash, protein, and starch content. Meanwhile, the water solubility index and swelling power values were found to increase with decreasing grain size, and so were the brightness (L*) and redness (b*) values of the potato powders. With particle size reduced to 129 μm, large changes were observed in gelatinization properties, such as peak viscosity, trough viscosity, breakdown viscosity, and final viscosity. Oscillatory rheology results also showed that, with the decrease in particle size, the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) improved, with highest storage modulus (G') observed in the 129 μm particle size. The hydrolysis rate and glycemic index also increased in the 129 μm potato powder. Conclusion The results provide information that could be useful for improving quality characteristics by using specific grain sizes in the development of potato-based products such as gluten-free products and ethnic food products with particular functional and rheological properties. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

An open reading frame of sleh1, a gene encoding for a novel epoxide hydrolase from Solanum lycopersicum (SlEH1), was amplified by RT-PCR and expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). The substrate spectrum assay showed that E. coli/sleh1 had EH activities towards all tested substrates except for racemic (rac-) 5a, and the highest enantiomeric ratio (E > 200) towards rac-2a, retaining (R)-2a with 99.1% ees and 49.2% yields and affording (R)-2b with 89.8% eep and 46.7% yieldp. Besides, E. coli/sleh1 also hydrolyzed of rac-7a–9a with moderate regioselectivities, producing (S)- or (R)-7b–9b with 40.5–51.3% eep and 69.4–75.2% yieldp. The pH optimum and stability of the purified SlEH1 were 7.5 and at a range of 6.5–8.5, and it was thermostable at or below 40 °C. Its catalytic efficiency (kcatS/KmS = 7.49 mM−1 s−1) for (S)-2a was much higher than that for (R)-2a. The gram-scale kinetic resolution of 150 mM rac-2a was carried out by E. coli/sleh1 at 20 °C for 8 h, producing (R)-2a with 98.2% ees and 45.3% overall yields after purification by silica gel column chromatography. Furthermore, the source of extremely high enantioselectivity of SlEH1 towards rac-2a was analyzed by molecular docking simulations.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution is a typical cleaning agent for membrane fouling. However, it can damage membrane chemical structures and produce toxic disinfection byproducts, which in turn reduces the membrane performance. This study focuses on the fabrication of active membranes thereby overcoming the limitations of chemical cleaning. A hierarchical active poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane with polydopamine/polyethyleneimine (PEI) co-supported iron nanoparticle (Fe NP) catalysts was successfully constructed and denoted as a Fe-HP-membrane. The Fe-HP-membrane exhibited excellent advanced oxidation activity with maximum flux recoveries (∼85% with bovine serum albumin [BSA] and ∼95% with humic acid [HA] solutions). After the static experiment of ∼30 days, the BSA proteins and HA successfully desorbed from the membrane surface. Especially, with a trace amount of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) flowing over the surface of the Fe-HP-membrane, highly exposed active sites were observed. Membrane cleaning showed that the "outside-to-in" active surfaces generated considerable amounts of •OH radicals at the interface of BSA or HA and the fouled membrane. As a result, the unwanted foulants were successfully removed from the membrane interface, enabling multiple use of the Fe-HP-membrane. Therefore, backwashing with a small amount of H2O2 (0.33 wt %) covered ∼20% of the flux. In contrary, backwashing with NaClO (1 wt %) can only achieve a flux recovery of ∼10% after six consecutive BSA filtration cycles. The Fe-HP-membrane exhibited better HA foulant removal (a flux recovery of ∼51%) after backwashing with H2O2 than using NaClO (a flux recovery of ∼43%). Our findings demonstrate a new platform for water treatment and regeneration of fouled membranes.

Adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen (Rom. Caill.) Stapf) seeds are edible crop classified as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Adlay bran (AB) is one of the wastes generated during adlay refining processes. In this work, supercritical fluid extract of AB (AB-SCF) was investigated to reveal its lipid regulating potential and decode its bifunctional ingredients. AB-SCF×0.5 (30.84 mg/kg/body weight), AB-SCF×1 (61.67 mg/kg/BW), AB-SCF×5 (308.35 mg/kg/BW) and AB-SCF×10 (616.70 mg/kg/BW) were administrated to high fat-diet (HFD) induced hyperglycemic hamsters for 8 weeks. The results indicates that AB-SCF displays a prevention of dramatic body weight gains, lower levels of serum TG, TC, LDL-C and higher in HDL-C, amelioration of cardiovascular risk, alleviation of hepatic TG, TC and lipid peroxidation, and enhancement on cholesterol metabolism with higher bile acid excretion. Investigations on energy metabolic mechanism demonstrates that the hyperlipidemia mitigating capacities of AB-SCF are up-regulated on lipoprotein lipase, AMPK, p-AMPK and down-regulated at fatty acid synthase. Major bio-functional lipid compositions are identified as linoleic acid (28.59%) and oleic acid (56.95%). Non-lipid chemical and active markers are confirmed as 3-O-(trans-4-feruloyl)-β-sitostanol (1463.42 ppm), 3-O-(cis-4-feruloyl)-β-sitostanol (162.60 ppm), and β-sitosterol (4117.72 ppm). These compositions might synergistically responsible for the mentioned activities and can be regarded as analytical targets in quality control. AB-SCF may be considered as a promising complementary supplement, and developed as a functional food or new botanical drug in the future.

Four active partition layers and ten isolates, including (5R)- and (5S)-macapyrrolidone A (1a, 1b), and four new alkaloids, (5R)- and (5S)-macapyrrolidone B (2a, 2b) and macapyrrolins D, E (3, 4), were isolated from maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.), an indigenous food plant from Peru. Derived from the n-hexane layer, the macamide-rich fraction exhibited pro-angiogenic activity on EPC and HUVEC cells. Anti-thrombotic activity was displayed by the polar part of maca extracts (n-butanol and water layers). Both 75% methanol aq. (midlower polar part) and n-hexane (low polar part) layers, which showed signs of fatty acid content, markedly inhibited superoxide and elastase release in an anti-inflammatory assay. The 75% methanol aq. layer showed strong anti-allergic activity, and macapyrrolin A (5) was found active based on β-hexosaminidase release inhibition assays and a ChemGPS-NP experiment. These valuable bioactivity results suggest that maca is a food plant with good benefits for human health.

As an important class of inorganic compounds that exhibit a variety of physical, chemical, and electrochemical properties, ABO3±δ perovskites are generally known as active electrocatalysts for the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the inferior performance for the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) limits their wide potential in constructing stable oxide-based alkaline electrolyzers for hydrogen production. Here, we show that the efficient decoration of perovskite oxide (K0.469La0.531)TiO3 (KLTO) via surface ion exchange with Ru cations and nucleation growth of Ti-doped RuO2 (TRO) nanoparticles could form a composite oxide-type electrocatalyst. It enables fast water dissociation with excellent HER activity in alkaline solution, superior to other oxide electrocatalysts and commercial Pt/C. Theoretical and experimental studies imply that the co-existence of surface TRO nanoparticles and the Ru-doped KLTO (RKLTO) substrate synergistically enhances the alkaline hydrogen evolution kinetics. Ti doping into the RuO2 lattice could significantly reduce the barrier of water dissociation to facilitate the Volmer process. The surface doping of Ru in the KLTO substrate could regulate and optimize the hydrogen adsorption free energy. The present strategy represents a new concept for designing oxide-based electrocatalysts related to devices for energy conversion and storage.

Transparent electronics has attracted much attention and been widely studied for next-generation high-performance flat-panel display application in the past few years, because of its excellent electrical properties. In display application, thin film transistors (TFTs) play an important role as the basic units by controlling the pixels. Among them, oxide-based TFTs have become promising candidates and gradually replaced the conventional amorphous and polycrystalline silicon TFTs, due to high mobility, good transparency, excellent uniformity and low processing temperature. Even though n-type oxide TFTs have shown high device performance and been used in commercial display application, p-type oxide TFTs with the equal performance have been rarely reported. Hence, in this paper, recent progress and challenges in p-type oxide-based TFTs are reviewed. After a short introduction, the TFT device structure and operation are presented. Then, recent developments in p-type oxide TFTs are discussed in detail, with the emphasis on the potential p-type oxide candidates as copper oxide, tin oxide and nickel oxide. Moreover, miscellaneous applications of p-type oxide TFTs are also presented. Despite this, the performance of p-type oxide TFTs still lags behind, as compared with that of n-type counterparts. Thus, the current issues and challenges of p-type oxide TFTs are briefly discussed.

A coated nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) fertilizer was prepared via crosslinking chitosan and alginate using citric acid. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analysis, and zeta potential measurement showed the successful crosslinking, appropriate size, and colloidal stability of the coated NPK fertilizer. The encapsulation capability of the crosslinked chitosan/alginate (Chi/Alg) was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and NPK analysis. The release behavior studies under various pH conditions showed that Chi/Alg NPK conformed to the standards of controlled release fertilizer with a maximum release rate of 40% for 30 days. The investigation of the release mechanism using Korsemeyer-Peppas mathematical model showed that the release of nutrients is governed by both coating material relaxation and diffusion process.

The solid-solid or solid-liquid interfaces are vital for the photocatalytic reaction. Herein, AgI nanoparticles (NPs) attached on the (0 1 1) plane of Ag2WO4 nanorods were synthesized by a facile method at room temperature. The co-crystalization of the two components caused their phase transformation and the existence of a strong interface interaction. Meanwhile, the porous batt-like morphology of AgI NPs provided more contact sites for organic pollutants to induce a strong interaction at the solid-liquid interface. The heterojunction nanocatalyst was found to be highly effective for the degradation and mineralization of various pollutants, including the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A, the antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin, and the azo-dye methyl orange under visible light (λ > 420 nm). Its photocatalytic rate was 91, 52, and 39 times higher than that of bulk AgI, standard TiO2-xNx, and the physical mixture of the two components, respectively. Further studies demonstrated that the strong interactions between the two components and the pollutants promoted the electron transfer from organic pollutants to AgI NPs and then from AgI NPs to Ag2WO4 nanorods, resulting in the rapid oxidation of pollutants and the formation of Ag NPs. The newly formed Ag NPs further accelerated the degradation of pollutants due to a SPR effect and an empty levels feeding role to produce h+ on Ag2WO4, which can oxidize surface-adsorbed H2O into OH. This photocatalytic system provided a platform for understanding solid-solid and solid-liquid interface interaction and a novel design idea for water pollutants removal.

Nanoscaled Ti1-xSixN/CrAlN multilayers combining the cutting edges of Ti1-xSixN and CrAlN coatings are currently the focus of attention of researchers. Here, the structural, mechanical, and thermal properties of Ti1-xSixN/CrAlN multilayers with varied Si content were investigated. The hardness values of Ti1-xSixN/CrAlN multilayers are individually enhanced to 30.7 ± 1.0 GPa for x = 0, 36.0 ± 1.3 GPa for x = 0.13, and 35.9 ± 1.5 GPa for x = 0.22 from the 27.4 ± 0.3 GPa for CrAlN due to interfacial strengthening effect. Ti1-xSixN insertion layers retard the thermal decomposition process of CrAlN. After annealing at 1200 °C, the hardness of Ti1-xSixN/CrAlN (x = 0, 0.13, 0.22) multilayers is individually enhanced by ∼6.9, 12.9 and 13.6 GPa from the 18.7 ± 1.1 GPa for Cr0.32Al0.68N. However, Ti1-xSixN insertion layers lead to a drop in the oxidation resistance of CrAlN coatings due to their inferior oxidation resistance. Noticeable is that increasing Si content of Ti1-xSixN/CrAlN multilayers causes a decline in the thickness of oxide scales.

In this paper, the effect of channel annealing and oxygen flow rate in P-type tin-monoxide (SnO) thin film transistor (TFT) was investigated to reach the process compatibility with n-type oxide-based TFT. The optimized P-type SnO TFT with a small threshold voltage of -0.1 V, a high field-effect mobility of 4 cm² V-1 s-1 and an on/off current ratio of >10² was proposed. From the experimental results, the 150 °C channel annealing revealed a metallic behavior but a semiconductor-like property at a higher 200 °C that was favorable for transistor rectification. Besides, the higher oxygen flow rate was also helpful for improving device mobility and driving current, but shows a slight increase in off-state leakage, which is unavoidable due to the increase of grain in SnO channel.

The prevalence of asymptomatic HUA is increasing year after year. HUA is a risk factor for the occurrence and development of renal diseases. However, the role of urate-lowering therapy in asymptomatic HUA complicated by renal damage is still controversial. In some experiments, the treatment of asymptomatic HUA complicated by renal damage may delay the progression of kidney damage. In addition, there is increasing evidence, suggesting that elevated serum uric acid is an independent risk factor for kidney disease. However, in other studies, uric acid-lowering therapy did not improve renal function, and uric acid levels could not be used as an independent predictor for CKD development. Further experimental studies are needed to determine the starting threshold and target value of asymptomatic HUA complicated by renal damage. At the same time, confirmation of the benefits of urate-lowering therapy for kidneys requires studies with larger samples and high-quality RCTs.

A visible-light-driven photocatalyst nitrogen-deficient mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-C3N4-δ) was prepared by a thermal polymerization-assisted colloidal crystal templating method. The unique mesoporous structure of mpg-C3N4-δ was confirmed to be formed with relatively uniform pores and cyano groups ( C N)-related nitrogen defects, which were generated from the break of the C N bonds of triazine rings and the subsequent loss of terminal NHx species during the pore-making process. Benefiting from the larger surface area, suitable energy level and increased unpaired electrons on C atoms of aromatic rings, the photocatalytic activity of mpg-C3N4-δ for RhB degradation was 11 and 2.6 times higher than that of bulk g-C3N4 and mpg-C3N4, respectively, under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). Furthermore, nitrogen defects in mpg-C3N4-δ were verified to serve as electron/hole traps to boost the separation and transfer of photoexcited charge carriers and thus enhanced the production of main active species h+ and O2 −, resulting in the efficient destruction of the intrinsic structure and functional groups of RhB molecules into small molecules. This work highlights that construction of uniform mesoporous architectures with surface nitrogen defects could be useful for developing highly efficient metal-free photocatalysts.

Qing Dai (Naturalis Indigo) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used as a topical agent in moderate psoriasis, targeting interleukin-17 (IL-17). In this study, it was prepared from the aerial parts of Strobilanthes cusia. Three undescribed indole alkaloid derivatives, indigodoles A-C, along with seven known compounds were isolated from this preparation of Qing Dai and their structures were elucidated from spectroscopic data, including NMR, MS, UV, IR, optical rotation, and CD. As well, most compounds were tested against IL-17. Indigodole C and tryptanthrin could significantly inhibit IL-17 production of Th17 cells. In addition, indigodole A and indirubin showed notably anti-IL-17 gene expression in dose-dependent effects without cytotoxicities toward Th17 and Jurkat cells, respectively. Overall, our studies indicate that the aforementioned indole alkaloids could contribute to anti-IL 17 properties of Qing Dai.

Chlorpheniramine is a pharmaceutical pollutant and a precursor of carcinogenic nitrosamines during disinfection/oxidation. In our previous study, graphene oxide coated with magnetite (GO-Fe3O4) was capable of removing chlorpheniramine in deionized water by adsorption. This study investigated the removal of chlorpheniramine and its nitrosamine formation potentials (FPs) by adsorption onto magnetic GO-Fe3O4, with respect to the influence by using real municipal wastewaters as the background. In the results, the adsorption performances of chlorpheniramine in wastewaters decreased in the order: GO-Fe3O4 suspension > GO-Fe3O4 particles > activated carbon. Chlorpheniramine adsorptions on GO-Fe3O4 particles and activated carbon were reduced by using real wastewaters as the background, whereas chlorpheniramine adsorption on GO-Fe3O4 suspension was enhanced due to the effects of surface charge on GO-Fe3O4 and ionic strength variation in water. The fittings of adsorption isotherms indicated that the wastewater background reduced the surface heterogeneity of GO-Fe3O4 suspension and improved the adsorption performance. Appreciable removal efficiencies of NDMA and other nitrosamine FPs were observed when GO-Fe3O4 particles were added in real wastewaters. However, when chlorpheniramine was present in wastewaters, chlorpheniramine adsorption and degradation reaction simultaneously occurred on the surface of GO-Fe3O4, increasing NDMA and other nitrosamine FPs in wastewaters after GO-Fe3O4 addition for chlorpheniramine adsorption. The assumption was further demonstrated by observing the NDMA-FP increase during chlorpheniramine adsorption on GO-Fe3O4 in deionized water. GO-Fe3O4 is a potential adsorbent for chlorpheniramine removal. Nevertheless, the low treatment efficiencies at high doses limit its application for nitrosamine FP adsorptions in real wastewaters.

A series of bismuth oxybromide photocatalysts were fabricated via a one-step hydrothermal method through pH value adjustment. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared samples were examined by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and phenol. The results indicate that the B9 displayed the highest photocatalytic activities. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attribute to enhanced absorption in the visible region and the decreased recombination efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers. The effect of hydrothermal pH value on the composition and morphology was explored and a synthesis process of bismuth oxybromide was proposed.

Consumption of additional H2O2 is necessary in classical Fenton catalysis. Herein, we report a novel and special nanocatalyst consisting of CoMoS2 nanosphere-embedded, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets (CMS-rGO NSs). This nanocatalyst was discovered to have an impressive reactivity for in situ generation and synchronistical activation of H2O2 in different active centers, yielding fast and efficient degradation of the pollutants. The reaction rate is ∼21 times higher than that of conventional Fenton catalysts. The characterization shows that countless flower-like CoMoS2 nanospheres are uniformly embedded in the rGO nanosheets through Mo S C bonding bridges in CMS-rGO NSs, which leads to activation of the π electrons and their transfer from rGO to the metal centers (π → M). The formed Mo O Co further leads to a distribution of orientations of the electrons around the metal centers due to the different electronegativity of Mo and Co. During the reaction, the dissolved O2 is efficiently reduced to HO2 /O2 − around the electron-rich Mo center, and HO2 /O2 − is further reduced to H2O2 around the Co center. The generated H2O2 is finally reduced to OH for degrading dyes in the electron-rich metal (Mo or Co) centers of CMS-rGO NSs. The dye pollutants also act as electron donors, and they are directly degraded in the electron-poor π-center of CMS-rGO NSs, which promote the electron transfer cycle and achieve electron gain-loss balance. This discovery provides a new strategy for H2O2 generation-activation and pollutant degradation through constructing electron transfer bridges over the surface of catalysts.

To elevate the concentration of racemic styrene oxide (rac-SO), its asymmetric hydrolysis in organic/aqueous biphasic system was researched. Firstly, n-octane/phosphate buffer reaction system was constructed, where PvEH2 retained 75.9% activity at 25 °C for 8 h. Secondly, the optimal volume ratio of two phases and weight ratio of rac-SO to E. coli/pveh2 were 4:6 and 0.8. Then, the maximum allowable rac-SO concentration was assayed as 200 mM, 10-fold that in aqueous phase. Finally, the hydrolysis of rac-SO was performed, affording (R)-SO with over 99.5% ees and 47.8% yield, and (R)-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol with 93.6% eep and 50.4% yield in 12 h.

The migration pathway of potassium in biomass during coal/biomass co-gasification was studied both qualitatively and quantitatively. A reactor was employed to individually perform pyrolysis and gasification of two raw materials and their blends. An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry accurately measured the amount and occurrence of potassium in biomass migration. Results showed that about 58.6 wt% potassium in biomass existed in the water-soluble form. When the blends were pyrolyzed at above 500 °C, about 65.0 wt% potassium in biomass migrated to the coal char, 19.1 wt% potassium in biomass remained in the biomass char and 15.9 wt% potassium in gas phase. The migrated potassium salt in coal char still existed as a 75.4 wt% insoluble sulfate. Reaction temperature and the ratio of Al to Si from the minerals in coal are key issues for the redistribution of potassium in biomass. The water-soluble potassium in biomass helps to catalytic co-gasification.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe life-threatening inflammatory disease. Neutrophil activation is a major pathogenic factor in ALI. Protein kinase B (PKB)/AKT regulates diverse cellular responses, but the significance in neutrophilic inflammation and ALI remains unknown. Methods: Human neutrophils and neutrophil-like differentiated HL-60 (dHL-60) cells were used to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of 5,7-dimethoxy-1,4-phenanthrenequinone (CLLV-1). The therapeutic potential of CLLV-1 was determined in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. Findings: CLLV-1 inhibited respiratory burst, degranulation, adhesion, and chemotaxis in human neutrophils and dHL-60 cells. CLLV-1 inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT (Thr308 and Ser473), but not of ERK, JNK, or p38. Furthermore, CLLV-1 blocked AKT activity and covalently reacted with AKT Cys310 in vitro. The AKT309-313 peptide-CLLV-1 adducts were determined by NMR or mass spectrometry assay. The alkylation agent-conjugated AKT (reduced form) level was also inhibited by CLLV-1. Significantly, CLLV-1 ameliorated LPS-induced ALI, neutrophil infiltration, and AKT activation in mice. Interpretation: Our results identify CLLV-1 as a covalent allosteric AKT inhibitor by targeting AKT Cys310. CLLV-1 shows potent anti-inflammatory activity in human neutrophils and LPS-induced mouse ALI. Our findings provide a mechanistic framework for redox modification of AKT that may serve as a novel pharmacological target to alleviate neutrophilic inflammation. Funding Statement: This research was financial supported by the grants from the Ministry of Science Technology (MOST 106-2320-B-255-003-MY3 and MOST 104-2320-B-255-004-MY3), Ministry of Education (EMRPD1G0231 and EMRPD1H0381), and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CMRPF1F0011~3, CMRPF1F0061~3, CMRPF1G0241~3, and BMRP450), Taiwan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that no competing interests exist. Ethics Approval Statement: The procedure of neutrophil isolation was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. ALI was induced by intra-tracheal spray of 2 mg/kg LPS (Escherichia coli 0111:B4) in seven to eight weeks old C57BL/6 male mice, according to the guidelines and approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Chang Gung University, Taiwan.

Owing to the strict restrictions on the production and use of bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol analogs (e. g., bisphenol S and bisphenol F) are gradually coming to use in many fields. BPA and these bisphenol analogs are so-called bisphenols (BPs). BPs as a class of endocrine disrupters are widely distributed in the environment (water, sediments, sludge, and aquatic products). BPs enter the human body through various routes, leading to endocrine disruption, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, dioxin-like effects, and neurotoxicity. The Canadian government has identified BPs as substances for further scoping/problem formulation. Because of the widespread attention paid to BPs in the environmental field, research is being expanded to cover water, sediment, dust, and biological samples, and other media. Given the significant differences in the complexity and pollution concentration of environmental samples, the development of pretreatment methods that afford high extraction efficiency, good purification selectivity, strong universality, operational simplicity, and high-throughput extraction and purification, are necessary to realize the highly sensitive detection of BPs in environmental media. In recent years, solid-phase extraction (SPE), accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and dispersion liquid-liquid-microextraction (DLLME) as new pretreatment technologies have gradually replaced the traditional liquid-liquid extraction and Soxhlet extraction. SPE has seen rapid development for the extraction and purification of BPs in various environmental samples, overcoming the bottlenecks related to time, energy, and solvent consumption in traditional methods while extending technical support for the analysis of emerging pollutants. The physicochemical properties, usage, and environmental hazards of typical BPs were briefly reviewed, with emphasis on the application of SPE products, development of new adsorbents, and transformation of the SPE mode. Commercialized SPE products are universally applicable in the field of environmental monitoring, while products suitable for the pretreatment of BPs are limited. The development of new adsorbents mainly focused on their adsorption capacity and selectivity. For example, ordered mesoporous silicon, carbon nanomaterials, metal-organic frameworks, and cyclodextrins have large surface areas, good adsorption performance, and regular pore structures, which improve the adsorption capacity of BPs. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and mixed-mode ion-exchange polymers are mainly used to improve the selectivity of BPs in the purification process. In addition, MIPs have high chemical, mechanical, and thermal stabilities, which ensures their widespread application in the extraction, preconcentration, and separation of BPs. A variety of new SPE adsorbents can partially meet the diverse needs for detection. There is a consensus that the current challenges in analytical chemistry include the determination of contaminants at low concentration levels, but at the same time, more efficient and environment-friendly methodologies are required. With the introduction of high-sensitivity instruments in the market, the SPE model is seeing gradual development in terms of miniaturization, automation, and simplification. This in turn has minimized solvent consumption, analysis time, and labor cost, resulting in more efficient and affordable analytical methods such as QuEChERS, solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) to adapt to the new development scenario.

Herein, the responses of the operational performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) with a high ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) load and microbial community structure to increasing carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios were studied. Variation in the influent C/N ratio did not affect the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH4+-N but gradually abated the ammonia oxidization activity of sludge. The concentration of the sludge in the reactor at the end of the process increased four-fold compared with that of the seed sludge, ensuring the stable removal of NH4+-N. The increasing influent COD concentration resulted in an elevated production of humic acids in soluble microbial product (SMP) and accelerated the rate of membrane fouling. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that the C/N ratio had selective effects on the microbial community structure. In the genus level, Methyloversatilis, Subsaxibacter, and Pseudomonas were enriched during the operation. However, the relative abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) involved in nitrification declined gradually and were decreased by 86.54 and 90.17%, respectively, with influent COD increasing from 0 to 2000 mg/L. The present study offers a more in-depth insight into the control strategy of the C/N ratio in the operation of an MBR with a high NH4+-N load.

The heterogeneous Fenton process suffers from low efficiency because of the low electron transfer cycle rate of Fe3+/Fe2+, which often consumes enormous amounts of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or other energy. Herein, we report a novel Co-based Fenton-like catalyst (in-situ-Co-g-C3N4) synthesized via the surface complexation method, in which Co species were modified in situ into the framework of the graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) substrate through C–O–Co chemical bonding. The catalyst exhibited higher Fenton-like catalytic activity than pure g-C3N4 in the degradation of various pollutants under neutral conditions, as evidenced by the approximately 150-fold higher Fenton-like reaction rate constant of in-situ-Co-g-C3N4 than that of g-C3N4. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and a series of experimental and characterization analyses revealed the interfacial reaction mechanism between H2O2, pollutants and in-situ-Co-g-C3N4. During the Fenton-like reaction, the electron-poor C center on the aromatic ring of g-C3N4 could capture the electrons deprived from pollutants, and subsequently deliver them to around the electron-rich Co center to efficiently reduce H2O2 to hydroxyl radicals (•OH), enabling H2O2 to be used efficiently for the degradation of pollutants. This study provides a strategy for improving Fenton-like degradation efficiency by effectively utilizing the energy of organic pollutants.

The development of cancer treatments requires continuous exploration and improvement, in which the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of cancer is still an important pathway. In this study, based on the molecular hybridization strategy, a new structural framework with an N-aryl-N’-arylmethylurea scaffold was designed, and 16 new target compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against four different cancer cell lines A549, MCF7, HCT116, PC3, and human liver normal cell line HL7702. The results have shown seven compounds with 1-methylpiperidin-4-yl groups having excellent activities against all four cancer cell lines, and they exhibited scarcely any activities against HL7702. Among them, compound 9b and 9d showed greatly excellent activity against the four kinds of cells, and the IC50 for MCF7 and PC3 cell lines were even less than 3 μM.

Disulfide-bond A oxidoreductase-like protein (DsbA-L) is an adiponectin-interacting protein that is highly expressed in adipose tissue. The adipo-renal axis involves adipocyte release of signaling molecules that are recruited to kidney and regulate kidney function. We have found that the DsbA-L modulated the progression of diabetic nephropathy, but the precise mechanism of this modulation is unknown. Here, the transgenic mice overexpressing DsbA-L protein in fat (fDsbA-L) were used to verify that the renoprotective role of DsbA-L whether by adipo-renal axis. Mice were divided into four groups: a normal (Control) group, STZ induced diabetic mice, fDsbA-L mice and diabetic fDsbA-L mice (n=6). Diabetes was induced in mice by STZ 100mg/kg and continued HFD feeding for 12 weeks. Compared with the control group, the weight, blood glucose,and urine protein levels and the pathological changes in the kidney tissue of diabetic mice were increased significantly, accompanied by increased NLRP3,caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18, FN, and Collagen1 mRNA and protein expression, which were reduced in diabetic fDsbA-L mice. Interestingly, the level of adiponectin in serum and kidney expression in diabetic mice was reduced significantly compared to that in the control group. However this change was reversed in diabetic fDsbA-L mice. These data suggest that the overexpression of DsbA-L in the adipocytes of mice can protect against diabetic renal injury through anti-inflammatory mediators,and may be mediated by the adipo-renal axis.

A putative Solanum lycopersicum epoxide hydrolase, SlEH2, was discovered based on computer-aided analysis. Then, its encoding gene (sleh2) was expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3). The substrate spectrum assay exhibited that E. coli/sleh2, an E. coli transformant expressing SlEH2, possessed the activity of 74.8 U/g wet cell and enantiomeric ratio (E) of 145 towards racemic (rac-) para-chlorostyrene oxide (4a). The scale-up kinetic resolution of 400 mM rac-4a was conducted using 200 mg/mL wet cells of E. coli/sleh2 in the presence of 1% (v/v) Tween-20, retaining (R)-4a with 98.4% ees and 47.1% yields while affording (R)-4b with 92.0% eep and 49.5% yieldp.

High energy consumption is impedimental for eliminating refractory organic pollutants in water by applying advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Herein, we develop a novel process to degrade and mineralize them like bisphenol A, et al, in chemical conjuncted Fe0-FeyCz/Fex , graphited ZIF-8 and rGO air-saturated aqueous suspension without additional energy. In this process, a strong Fe-π interaction occurs on the composite surface, causing the surface potential energy ~ 310.97-663.96 kJ/mol. The electrons for the adsorbed group of pollutants are found to delocalize to around the iron species and could be trapped by O2 in aqueous suspension , producing · OH, H and adsorbed organic cation radicals, which are hydrolyzed or hydrogenated to intermediate. The target pollutants undergo surface cleavage, and convert H2O to . OH, consuming chemical adsorption energy (~2.852 - 9.793 kJ/mol), much lower than that of AOPs. Our findings provide novel technology for water purification and bring new insights into pollutant control chemistry.

Aim:To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of abemaciclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) versus ET alone in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC) from China, Brazil, India, and South Africa.Methods:This randomized, double-blind, phase III study was conducted between 9 December 2016 and 29 March 2019. Postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative ABC with no prior systemic therapy in an advanced setting (cohort A) or progression on prior ET (cohort B) received abemaciclib (150 mg twice daily) or placebo plus: anastrozole (1 mg/day) or letrozole (2.5 mg/day) (cohort A) or fulvestrant (500 mg per label) (cohort B). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) in cohort A, analyzed using the stratified log-rank test. Secondary endpoints were PFS in cohort B (key secondary endpoint), objective response rate (ORR), and safety. This interim analysis was planned after 119 PFS events in cohort A.Results:In cohort A, 207 patients were randomly assigned to the abemaciclib arm and 99 to the placebo arm. Abemaciclib significantly improved PFS versus placebo (median: not reached versus 14.7 months; hazard ratio 0.499; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.346–0.719; p = 0.0001). ORR was 65.9% in the abemaciclib arm and 36.1% in the placebo arm ( p Conclusion:The addition of abemaciclib to ET demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS and ORR, without new safety signals observed in this population. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02763566.

SummarySolar-driven hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production presents unique merits of sustainability and environmental friendliness. Herein, highly efficient solar-driven H2O2 production through the reduction of dioxygen coupled with the oxidation of biomass-derived glycerol as a sustainable reductant was achieved by employing an unusual p-type polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) framework with sodium cyanaminate moiety (PCN-NaCA), which exhibited a highly enhanced production rate of 15.0 mmol H2O2 h−1 g−1(catal.) and a notable apparent quantum yield of 27.6% at 380 nm. The overall photocatalytic transformation process was systematically analyzed using various static/time-resolved spectroscopic and computational methods. The presence of sodium cyanaminate moiety in PCN-NaCA induced the following multiple effects: enhancing photon absorption, switching to p-type character with accumulating more electrons in the surface region, retarding radiative charge recombination, enhancing surface adsorption of O2, and favoring highly selective 2e− ORR. In particular, it was found that the adsorption of O2 (an electron acceptor) on PCN-NaCA actually enhances the population and lifetime of trapped electrons in the ps-ns time regime, which should have a notable synergic effect on oxygen reduction process. All of these unique properties of PCN-NaCA positively contribute to the extraordinary photoactivity of H2O2 production.