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Mainstream anaerobic wastewater treatment has received increasing attention for the recovery of methane-rich biogas from biodegradable organics, but subsequent mainstream nitrogen and dissolved methane removal at low temperatures remains a critical challenge in practical applications. In this study, granular sludge coupling n-DAMO with Anammox was employed for mainstream nitrogen removal, and the dissolved methane removal potential of granular sludge at low temperatures was investigated. A stable nitrogen removal rate (0.94 kg N m-3 d-1 at 20 °C) was achieved with a high-level effluent quality (

A common feature of fluorescent sensing materials for detecting chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and simulants is the presence of nitrogen-based groups designed to nucleophilically displace a phosphorus atom substituent, with the reaction causing a measurable fluorescence change. However, such groups are also basic and so sensitive to acid. In this study we show it is critical to disentangle the response of a candidate sensing material to acid and CWA simulant. We report that pyridyl-containing sensing materials designed to react with a CWA gave a strong and rapid increase in fluorescence when exposed to Sarin, which is known to contain hydrofluoric acid. However, when tested against acid-free diethylchlorophosphate and di-iso-propylfluorophosphate, simulants typically used for evaluating novel G-series CWA sensors, there was no change in the fluorescence. In contrast, simulants that had been stored or tested under a standard laboratory conditions all led to strong changes in fluorescence, due to acid impurities. Thus the results provide strong evidence that care needs to be taken when interpreting the results of fluorescence-based solid-state sensing studies of G-series CWAs and their simulants. There are also implications for the application of these pyridyl-based fluorescence and other nucleophilic/basic sensing systems to real-world CWA detection. Chemical warfare agents and simulants are commonly detected with fluorescent sensing materials containing nitrogen-based groups, however these groups’ basicity can cause false positives in the presence of acids. Here, the authors disentangle the response of pyridyl-containing sensing materials to acid-containing and acid-free Sarin and simulants.

Developing an electrically conductive and corrosion-resistant coating is essential for metal bipolar plates of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Although enhanced corrosion resistance was seen for Cr coated stainless steel (Cr/SS) bipolar plates, they experience a quick decrease of through-plane electrical conductivity due to the formation of a porous and low-conductive corrosion product layer at the plate surface, thus leading to an increase in interfacial contact resistance (ICR). To tackle this issue, the multilayer Cr coatings were deposited using the magnetron sputtering with a remote inductively coupled oxygen plasma (O-ICP) in the present study. After the O-ICP treatment, a Cr oxide layer (CrO*) is formed on the specimen surface. The CrO*/Cr/SS has a remarkably lower stable corrosion rate (iss) than that of the native Cr oxides (CrOn/Cr/SS). Compared with CrOn/Cr/SS, the excellent performance of CrO*/Cr/SS is attributed to a denser and thicker surface layer of CrO* with Cr being oxidized to its highest valence state, Cr (VI). More importantly, the through-plane electrical conductivity of the specimens treated by the optimized O-ICP decreases much slowly than CrOn/Cr/SS and thus, the increament of ICR of CrO*/Cr/SS after the potentiostatic polarization test is considerably smaller than that of CrOn/Cr/SS, which is benefited from the reduced iss that mitigates the deposition of corrosion products and hinders further oxidation of Cr coating. Therefore, CrO*/Cr/SS proves to be a well balanced trade-off between corrosion resistance and through-plane electrical conductivity. The results of this study demonstrate that O-ICP treatment on a conductive metal coating is an effective strategy to improve the corrosion resistance and suppress the increase of ICR over the long-term polarization. The technique reported herein exhibits its promising potential application in preparing corrosion resistant and electrically conductive coatings on metal bipolar plates to be used in PEMFCs.

Background Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), arising from nasopharynx epithelium, is a rare type of malignant carcinoma that has a specific geographical distribution and a high risk of distant metastases. For most of the diagnosed NPC patients, the total survival rate decreased significantly due to the high local recurrence rate and metastasis rate. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), as routine therapy strategy of NPC, usually accompanies with high-dosage cytotoxic agents and serious toxic side reaction. Therefore, there is an urgent need for update the existing therapy strategies. In this study, we sought to investigate the effects of a combined therapy strategy, erlotinib combined with cisplatin and radiotherapy, on biological characteristics of NPC CNE2 cells and the potential reasons. Methods CNE2 cells in logarithmic phase seeding in 96-well plates received concentration gradients of erlotinib (at 0, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 mmol/L) or cisplatin (at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 mg/L), in order to obtain the optimal working concentration of erlotinib and cisplatin via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Then, cells were divided into control group and four treatment groups (Group I-IV). All treatment groups received irradiation of 4 Gy, moreover, Group II-IV respectively received erlotinib, cisplatin and erlotinib plus cisplatin at optimal working concentration. After 24 and 48 h of irradiation, growth inhibition rate was determined; invasion ability and migration ability was respectively detected by Boyden's chamber assay and cell scratch test; flow cytometry was performed for determining apoptosis rate and cell cycle distribution; the expression levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signal pathway proteins were semi-quantitatively analyzed by Western-blot. Results Compared with Group I, all the other treatment groups showed better inhibition effect on cell viability, invasion and migration ability and higher apoptosis rate, while Group IV showed the strongest growth inhibition effect and highest apoptosis rate. In addition, EGFR signal pathway proteins of Group IV showed the lowest expression level. Conclusions In combined therapy with radiotherapy/chemotherapy, erlotinib could enhance radiotherapy/chemotherapy sensitivity, probably because it could suppress DNA damage repair after radiotherapy/chemotherapy, thus weakening radiotherapy/chemotherapy resistance of tumor cells.

Most lung development occurs in the context of cyclic stretch. Alteration of the mechanical microenvironment is a common feature of many pulmonary diseases, with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and fetal tracheal occlusion (FETO, a therapy for CDH) being extreme examples with changes in lung structure, cell differentiation, and function. To address limitations in cell culture and in vivo mechanotransductive models, we developed two mouse lung organoid (mLO) mechanotransductive models using postnatal day 5 (PND5) mouse lung CD326-positive cells and fibroblasts subjected to increased, decreased, and cyclic strain. In the first model, mLOs were exposed to forskolin (FSK) and/or disrupted (DIS) and evaluated at 20 h. mLO cross-sectional area changed by +59%, +24%, and −68% in FSK, control, and DIS mLOs, respectively. FSK-treated organoids had twice as many proliferating cells as other organoids. In the second model, 20 h of 10.25% biaxial cyclic strain increased the mRNAs of lung mesenchymal cell lineages compared with static stretch and no stretch. Cyclic stretch increased TGF-β and integrin-mediated signaling, with upstream analysis indicating roles for histone deacetylases, microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs. Cyclic stretch mLOs increased αSMA-positive and αSMA-PDGFRα-double-positive cells compared with no stretch and static stretch mLOs. In this PND5 mLO mechanotransductive model, cell proliferation is increased by static stretch, and cyclic stretch induces mesenchymal gene expression changes important in postnatal lung development.

Acrylamide (ACR) is a typically contaminate during environmental industry and poses potential health hazards that have been attracting increasing attention. Its neurotoxicity is known to cause significant damage to health. However, the mechanisms of ACR-induced neurotoxicity require further clarification. This study explores how ACR-induced oxidative stress, neuronal lesions, neurotransmission impairment, and neuroinflammation mutually contribute to neurotoxicity using a mouse model. According to the results, oxidative stress was indicated by the presence of a distinct increase in cellular reactive oxygen species levels, malondialdehyde, and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine content, as well as a significant decrease in the glutathione content after ACR exposure. Moreover, ACR caused neurological defects associated with gait abnormality and neuronal loss while suppressing the levels of acetylcholine and dopamine and increasing the protein expression of α-syn, further inhibiting cholinergic and dopaminergic neuronal function. Additionally, ACR treatment caused an inflammation response via NF-κB activation and increased the protein expression of NLRP3. Consequently, ACR activated the NLRP3 inflammasome constituents, including Caspase-1, ASC, N-GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18. The results revealed the underlying molecular mechanism of ACR-induced neurotoxicity via oxidative stress, neurotransmission impairment, and neuroinflammation-related signal cascade. This information will further improve the development of an alternative outcome pathway strategy for investigating the risk posed by ACR.

Schottky-barrier field-effect transistors (SBFETs) based on monolayer SiC contacting four metals (Ag, Au, Al, and Pd) have been proposed using density functional theory and ab initio simulations. The n-type Schottky contacts could be formed between monolayer SiC and Ag, Au electrodes with electron Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) of 0.7 and 1.1 eV, respectively, whereas the p-type Schottky contacts were formed between monolayer SiC and Al, Pd electrodes with hole SBHs of 1.0 and 0.1 eV, respectively. When the gate length was equal to 5.1 nm, SiC-SBFETs with four metals could all overcome the short-channel effect due to the wide bandgap of SiC. In addition, the SiC-SBFET with Pd electrode provided the best performance and could satisfy the performance requirement of high-performance transistor with gate length of 5.1 nm outlined by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). Our study gives an insight into the monolayer SiC–metal interfaces and, thus could be developed into a viable 5-nm “More than Moore” device in the future.

The room temperature deep eutectic solvent (DES) is demonstrated as an ideal precursor to prepare self-hybridized graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) for the first time, for its special components, randomly reorganized molecules and extensive hydrogen bonds. In this work, by adjusting the proportion of urea and ammonium thiocyanate in the precursor DES, the self-hybridized coralloid g-C3N4, stacked by a mass of double-layer g-C3N4/g-C3N4 nanocages, were prepared without any templates. Compared to conventional g-C3N4 prepared using melamine, urea and AT as precursors, the improved charge transfer between the interfaces of the self-hybridized g-C3N4 has been demonstrated, which is attributed to the well-matched electronic band structures of the two g-C3N4 species, the abundant 2D/2D interfacial contact and increased photocatalytic active sites. As expected, it exhibits highly enhanced photocatalytic activity, which is among the best g-C3N4 photocatalysts without doping any other elements.

The perovskite-type lanthanum ferrite, LaFeO3, has emerged as one of the most promising candidates for highly efficient photocatalytic materials. However, the intrinsic drawbacks of inferior surface hydrophilicity (related to the absorption and transport of water), weak visible-light adsorption (related to the absorption of photon) and poor charge separation efficiency (related to the active substance that can actually participate in the reaction) seriously limit its photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, LaFeO3 is encapsulated by conductive polyaniline (PANI) aerogel on the surface to simultaneous moderate these deficiencies. The ameliorative surface properties and interface effect between LaFeO3 and PANI result in elevated effects for water adsorption and diffusion, visible-light (photon) adsorption and photo-induced carries transfer, and the coated LaFeO3 exhibits improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance under visible light. In addition, after continuously testing, the coated LaFeO3 still shows superior stability with nearly negligible decay. Importantly, this model can enrich to other inorganic oxide based semiconductor to modulate the surface properties and charge transport behaviour, and hence improve the visible light photocatalytic performance.

A method of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) combined with indirect ultraviolet detection was developed for the determination of piperidinium ionic liquid cations. The factors affecting the retention of piperidinium cations (N-methyl-N-butyl piperidinium, [MBPi]+; N-methyl-N-propyl piperidinium, [MPPi]+; N-methyl-N-ethyl piperidinium, [MEPi]+) were investigated and the retention mechanism of piperidinium cations on HILIC column was discussed. The retention behavior of piperidinium cations on HILIC column had typical HILIC characteristics and their retention followed the carbon number rule. Imidazolium ionic liquids mainly played the roles of background ultraviolet absorption reagents and eluents. The resolution between [MBPi]+ and [MPPi]+ was 3.2 and the resolution between [MPPi]+ and [MEPi]+ was 2.4. The detection limits of cations were 0.22–0.36 mg/L. The method was applicable for the analysis of piperidinium ionic liquid samples synthesized in chemistry laboratories. The recoveries after spiking were 93.4–98.9%. The method is simple, accurate and practicable.

Fluorenylboronate ester chromophore-based thin films were investigated for the detection of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) vapors via the decomposition product, hydrogen peroxide. Sensing with a high level of sensitivity was achieved using a fluorescence "turn-on" mechanism based on the significant shifts in the absorption and photoluminescence spectra that occurs when the boronate esters were converted to phenoxides by hydrogen peroxide under basic conditions. The addition of an organic base was found to be critical for achieving fast conversion reactions and the formation of the phenoxide anions. Addition of a nitrile group to the fluorenyl boronate ester moiety improved the stability of the material to photooxidation, increased the photoluminescence quantum yields, and enhanced the absorption and emission shifts to longer wavelengths. In real-time sensing measurements, films comprising the cyanofluorenyl boronate ester moiety and tetra- n-butylammonium hydroxide had a response time to acid-decomposed TATP vapor of seconds and a limit of detection of 40 ppb in 60 s.

Sensing of TATP vapours via the decomposition product, hydrogen peroxide, was achieved using a fluorescence “turn-on” mechanism through conversion of boronate esters to phenoxides under basic conditions in solid-state films. High sensitivity was achieved with two new fluorenylboronate esters comprising either 2,4-difluorophenyl or 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl substituents. The key to the sensitivity was the fact that the phenoxide anion products from the hydrogen peroxide oxidation absorbed at longer wavelengths than the starting boronate esters. Selective excitation of the phenoxide anions avoided the background fluorescence from the corresponding boronate esters. The use of the electron withdrawing substituents also led to greater photostability. The derivative containing the 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl moiety was found to give the most stable phenoxide, and demonstrated fast fluorescence “turn-on” kinetics with a lower limit of detection of ≈2.5 ppb in 60 s.

A novel ergostane, sarocladione (1), was isolated from the deep-sea-derived fungus Sarocladium kiliense, along with 20 known compounds. The structure of 1 was determined mainly by a detailed analysis of its experimental and calculated NMR spectroscopic data. It is worth noting that 1 was the first steroid bearing a 5,10:8,9-diseco moiety. All 21 compounds were tested for in vitro antitumor activities against five cancer cell lines. β-Sitostenone (7) and 4,6-dihydroxyeudesmane (20) showed significant effects on HeLa-S3 cells with the IC50 values of 9.2 μM and 9.3 μM, respectively.

Golgi Membrane Protein 1 (GOLM1) has been identified as a prime target for cancer therapy because it overexpresses in many solid tumors, increases tumor growth and metastasis and leads to unfavorable survival. Though various approaches including siRNA interference and antibody targeting have been attempted, GOLM1 has remained an un-targetable molecule because of its mainly intracellular location and the lack of domains that could possibly be interfered with by small molecules. Numerous natural anti-tumoral plant substances have been identified, while their possible function on GOLM1 has never been revealed. This is the first report to study the relationship between GOLM1 downregulation and natural anti-tumoral plant substances and the possible mechanism. Among three tested possible migration-inhibiting natural substances (Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), Betulinic acid (BA) and Lupeol), EGCG showed the most potent inhibition effect on GOLM1 expression and MDA-MB-231 cell migration. Knocking down GOLM1 expression further increased the EGCG treatment effect. Molecular docking prediction and following experiments suggested that EGCG may inhibit GOLM1 expression and MDA-MB-231 cells migration through HGF/HGFR/AKT/GSK-3/β-catenin/c-Myc signaling pathway. In all, EGCG is the first identified GOLM1 downregulation natural product. Silencing GOLM1 may be a novel mechanism of potentiated anti-cancer migration effects and cytotoxic effect of EGCG. In addition, this study shed a new way for cancer therapy by combination of GOLM1 silencing and EGCG treatment in the future.

Background Acquired radioresistant cells exhibit many characteristic changes which may influence cancer progression and further treatment options. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes of radioresistant human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer cells on both phenotypic and molecular levels. Methods We established an acquired radioresistant cell line from its parental NF639 cell line (HER2-positive) by fractionated radiation and assessed changes in cellular morphology, proliferation, migration, anti-apoptosis activity, basal reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and energy metabolism. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was also used to reveal the potential regulating genes and molecular mechanisms associated with the acquired changed phenotypes. Real-time PCR was used to validate the results of RNA-seq. Results The NF639R cells exhibited increased radioresistance and enhanced activity of proliferation, migration and anti-apoptosis, but decreased basal ROS. Two main energy metabolism pathways, mitochondrial respiration and glycolytic, were also upregulated. Furthermore, 490 differentially expressed genes were identified by RNA-seq. Enrichment analysis based on Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes showed many differently expressed genes were significantly enriched in cell morphology, proliferation, migration, anti-apoptosis, antioxidation, tumor stem cells and energy metabolism and the signaling cascades such as the transforming growth factor-β, Wnt, Hedgehog, vascular endothelial growth factor, retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptor, Toll-like receptor and nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor were significantly altered in NF639R cells. Conclusions In clinical radiotherapy, repeat radiotherapy for short-term recurrence of breast cancer may result in enhanced radioresistance and promote malignant progression. Our research provided hints to understand the tumor resistance to radiotherapy de novo and recurrence with a worse prognosis following radiotherapy.

The rapid development of wearable electronics and smart textiles has dramatically motivated the generation of flexible textile-based supercapacitors (SCs). However, the rapid evaporation of water moisture in gel electrolyte substantially limits the working durability and performance enhancements of the flexible devices. Therefore, a high-performance multifunctional textile-based SC with long-term durability is highly desired. Herein, a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/polyacrylamide (PAM) composite gel electrolyte was developed to fabricate multifunctional device with water-retaining and water-proofing properties based on multidimensional hierarchical fabric. And the assembled SC based on composite gel exhibited a superior water-retaining property and long-term working durability (93.29% retention rate after operation for 15 days), whereas the performance of SC based on pure PVA gel declined sharply and only 43.2% capacitance remained. In addition, the assembled SC exhibited enhanced specific capacitance of 707.9 mF/cm2 and high energy density of 62.92 μWh/cm2 and maintained a good stability of 80.8% even after 10 000 cyclic tests. After water repellency treatment, the integrated device immersed in water could still work normally. What's more, the assembled devices could be charged by a portable hand generator, which could be potentially applied for field rescue and military applications. We foresee that this strategy would be a potential route to prepare high-performance multifunctional textile-based SCs for wearable electronic systems and smart textile applications.

Combining nitrate/nitrite dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) is a promising sustainable wastewater treatment technology, which simultaneously achieve nitrogen removal and methane emission mitigation. However, the practical application of n-DAMO has been greatly limited by its extremely slow growth-rate and low reaction rate. This work proposes an innovative M embrane B io T rickling F ilter (MBTF), which consist of hollow fiber membrane for effective methane supplementation and polyurethane sponge as support media for the attachment and growth of biofilm coupling n-DAMO with Anammox. When steady state with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6.00 h was reached, above 99.9% of nitrogen was removed from synthetic sidestream wastewater at a rate of 3.99 g N L−1 d−1. This system presented robust capacity to withstand unstable partial nitritation effluent, achieving complete nitrogen removal at a varied nitrite to ammonium ratio in the range of 1.10–1.40. It is confirmed that n-DAMO and Anammox microorganisms jointly dominated the microbial community by pyrosequencing technology. The complete nitrogen removal potential at high-rate and efficient biomass retention (12.4 g VSS L−1) of MBTF offers promising alternative for sustainable wastewater treatment by the combination of n-DAMO and Anammox.

In this study, the electroflotation of quartz and magnetite with cationic collector dodecylamine (DDA) and anionic collector sodium oleate (NaOL) were investigated to gain a better understanding of the electroflotation process and identify methods to improve it. An interesting phenomenon accompanied with obvious promotion (NaOL is used as collector) and inhibition (DDA-HCl is used as collector) of quartz flotation was observed after electrolysis. The obvious promotion arouse from the supply of the metal cations as active site for the adsorption of negatively charged group and increase active collecting species ionic forms RCOO- and (RCOO)22–. Conversely, the obvious inhibition originated from the decrease of the active collecting species RNH3+ and (RNH3)22+. An obvious inhibition phenomenon was observed after the electrolysis for the magnetite. This is because the active collecting species RNH3+, (RNH3)22+, RNH2·RNH3+ and RCOOH molecule decreased significantly after electrolysis. Furthermore, a comparison test between the regular flotation and electroflotation was conducted in the reverse flotation of magnetic separation concentrate. Compared with the regular flotation process, electroflotation flotation was characterized by simple reagent regime (without pH regulator and activator) and moderate conditions (natural pH), which had mild operation condition superiority. Moreover, the flotation product index of electroflotation can be better through slightly adjusting the reagent regime, and it can be certain that electroflotation is an effective process in the reverse flotation of magnetite. These findings provided a novel perspective for understanding the electroflotation process.

In present work, we have studied the electronic transport properties of a single diketopyrrolopyrrole molecule connected to the gold electrode or the zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrode via the benzene or the pyrene by performing first-principle quantum transport calculations. The results show that the conductance of the single diketopyrrolopyrrole molecular device can be modulated by changing the electrode. Remarkable negative differential resistance behavior can be found in the single diketopyrrolopyrrole molecular device with zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrode. In addition, we find that the anchoring groups play an important role in the magnitude of the device's current.

Susceptibility to corrosion of metal bipolar plates limits their application in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and hence, the development of a conductive coating with high corrosion resistance is essential. Zirconium nitride (ZrN) exhibits high corrosion resistance but the interfacial contact resistance (ICR) after the long-term test is not satisfied owing to the surface oxidation and the corrosion products. To further improve the corrosion resistance and retain a considerable electrical conductivity, herein, we present a novel zirconium oxynitride (Zr2N2O) coating on 304 stainless steel by incorporating a controlled amount of oxygen into ZrN with plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. The corrosion current density of the Zr2N2O coated specimen is found to be over one order of magnitude lower than that of the ZrN coated substrate. More importantly, after the long-term test, the ICR of Zr2N2O coated specimen is much smaller than that of ZrN coated specimen owing to the improved oxidation resistance and decreased corrosion rate, suggesting incorporating a controlled amount of oxygen into conductive coating is a feasible strategy to achieve an ultrahigh corrosion resistance while retaining a considerable electrical conductivity.

Using diamine as anchoring group, the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) based on oligo(phenylene-ethynylene)s (OPEs) and cruciform OPEs with an extended tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) (OPE3 and OPE3-TTF) were successfully formed on the Au substrate. The uniformity and stability of SAMs were confirmed through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical reductive desorption. The investigation of transport properties of SAMs was achieved by conducting-probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) with both Au and Pt tips. The results indicated that the conductance of OPE3-TTF was 17 and 46 times that of OPE3 for Au and Pt tips, respectively. Theoretical calculations are qualitatively consistent with the experimental results, suggesting that the diamine as anchoring group has a great potential in molecular electronics.

Using first principles density functional theory, we perform a systematic study of the band structures of passivated zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons (ZPNRs) and the transport properties of in-plane metal-semiconductor junctions. It is found that the ZPNR passivated by H, Cl or F atoms is a semiconductor, and the ZPNR passivated by C, O or S atoms is a metal. Therefore, ZPNRs with different passivated atoms can be fabricated into an in-plane metal-semiconductor junction. The calculated current-voltage characteristics indicate that these in-plane metal-semiconductor junctions can exhibit excellent rectification behavior. More importantly, we find that the type of passivated atom plays a very important role in the rectification ratio of this in-plane metal-semiconductor junction. The findings are very useful for the further design of functional nanodevices based on ZPNRs.

In this study, an analytical method of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography combined with indirect ultraviolet detection for the determination of alkyl ammonium ionic liquid cations was developed, and it was combined with the sample pretreatment technique of solid phase extraction in order to be applied to analysis of alkyl ammonium ionic liquid cations in environmental water. The retention behavior of alkyl ammonium cations on the hydrophilic interaction column had the typical characteristics of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, and their retention followed the carbon number rule. The separation and detection of tetraethyl ammonium cations, tetrapropyl ammonium cations and tetrabutyl ammonium cations were achieved in 20 min by using 1.0 mM 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium trifluoroacetate aqueous solution/acetonitrile (40/60, v/v) as the mobile phase. The detection limits were 0.093, 0.096 and 0.253 mg L−1, respectively. The relative standard deviations of the retention time and the peak area were less than 0.5% from seven determinations. The reversed phase ion-pair solid phase extraction method was realized by using sodium octanesulfonate as the ion-pair reagent and 90% acetonitrile (v/v) solution as the eluent. Alkyl ammonium cations in Songhua River water and Hulan River water were analyzed. The results showed that the recoveries and enrichment effect of tetraethyl ammonium cations and tetrapropyl ammonium cations were all good. The method is simple and reliable, which can provide a reference for the analysis of alkyl ammonium cations in environmental water.

Aspergillus nidulans MCCC 3A00050 was isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample of the western Pacific Ocean. A systematic investigation on its chemical constituents led to the isolation of 19 compounds, including 13 steroids (1–13), four anthraquinones (14–17), one phenolics (18), and one chromanone (19). For the first time, three diosgenins (1–3) were isolated from fungi, three ergosterols (4–6) from the genus of Aspergillus, while other 11 miscellaneous compounds (7–11 and 14–19) from the species of Aspergillus nidulans. The isolation of diosgenins (1–3) and ergosterols (4–6) might be used as chemotaxonomic markers for the genus of Aspergillus and the species of Aspergillus nidulans, respectively.

By performing first-principle transport calculations, we propose that lateral heterostructures of zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons (ZPNRs) with the different passivated edges, can represent a powerful platform for the high performance field-effect transistors (FETs). The ZPNR with H-passivated edge is a semiconductor with a band gap of 1.39 eV. However, the ZPNRs with zigzag edges and cliff edges all exhibit the metallic characters. Two 5 nm Schottky barrier FETs consisting of H-passivated ZPNR and unpassivated ZPNRs with zigzag or cliff edges all can overcome the short channel effect. More importantly, the 5 nm Schottky barrier FET consisting of H-passivated ZPNR and unpassivated ZPNRs with cliff edge at a supply voltage of 0.64 V exhibits ION/IOFF ratio larger than 103, which satisfy the requirements of the high-performance transistor outlined by the ITRS (International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors). Therefore, the transistor model of ZPNRs in this paper provides a valuable idea for the design of short channel transistors in the future.

In this work, we investigate the electronic properties and thermoelectric performance of triangulene π-dimer junctions with the twist angle from 0° to 60° by using first-principles calculations in combination with a non-equilibrium Green's function method. It is found that the triangulene π-dimer can be transformed between nonmagnetic state and antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic state by varying the twist angle. The reason is that the relative rotation between the monomers weakens the overlap of two single occupied molecular orbital. More importantly, our theoretical analysis shows that the ferromagnetic states of the triangulene π-dimer junctions at the twist angle of 20°, 30°, and 60° have outstanding thermoelectric performance. The corresponding ZT value is as high as around 6, which is mainly contributed from the spin splitting nature. This work is instructive to improve the thermoelectric properties of π-stacking molecular junctions or organic polymers.

It is well accepted that non-polar oils can be used as collector extender in oil agglomeration flotation of many different types of mineral. In this paper, in order to study the influences of oil structures on the non-polar oil assisted dodecylamine (DDA) flotation of quartz, the research focuses on the interaction of DDA (collector) and non-polar oil (collector extender) in aqueous phase. In this work, saturated hydrocarbon dodecane and cyclohexane, unsaturated hydrocarbon dodecene, aromatic hydrocarbon dimethylbenzene and 1-methylnaphthalene were chosen as researched subjects, and the influences of oil structures on interfacial activity of oil–DDA–water ternary models were investigated by experimental and theoretical methods. The flotation results demonstrated that the collecting capability of the oil and DDA combination follows the order of 1-methylnaphthalene > dimethylbenzene > dodecene > cyclohexane > dodecane. Moreover, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation is performed to investigate the interfacial property of these five non-polar oil-DDA-water systems, and five parameters, radial distribution functions, interaction energy, density distribution, interfacial thickness and self-diffusion coefficient are proposed to reveal the influence mechanism of molecular structure on interfacial activity of the ternary oil-DDA-water systems. The same trends are obtained from the parameters described above, aromatic hydrocarbon dimethylbenzene and 1-methylnaphthalene performance better than saturate hydrocarbon and unsaturated hydrocarbon. The researched results indicate the interaction between non-polar oil and DDA hydrophobic alkyl tail would enhance the mobility of oil component, which induce significant change of interfacial thickness and diffusivity. Additionally, the interaction between DDA hydrophilic head group and water molecules via strong hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interactions and weak electrostatic attraction would lead to water molecules penetrate through DDA monolayer and adsorb on oil surface. The researches enable us to obtain a deeper microscopic-level understanding of the interaction between oil-DDA-water ternary components, and maybe have some references for designing of oil-assisted flotation agent.

Understanding the transport characteristics of single molecules bonded between metal electrodes is of fundamental importance for molecular scale electronics. By performing first-principle quantum transport calculations, we investigate the influence of anchoring groups on the conductance of a single molecular junction. The results indicated that the conductance of a single-molecule anchoring the Au electrode with thiol can be enhanced obviously by changing the anchoring group with amine. More importantly, the negative differential resistance behavior is found in the I-V characteristic of this single-molecule junction with thiol anchoring group, which also can be enlarged remarkably by replacing the anchoring group with amine. The results suggest that the diamine as anchoring group has a great potential in molecular electronics.

In this paper, in order to study the interaction mechanism of non-polar oil assisted dodecylamine (DDA) flotation of quartz, the particle-oil drops system were treated the same as the hydrophobic particles system. Pure dodecane was chosen as research object, the interfacial interactions between quartz particle and oil drop were investigated through calculation of the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (EDLVO) potential energy profile. Based on the calculations of the van der Waals attractive interaction potential, hydrophobic interaction potential, hydrocarbon chain association potential, and electrostatic interaction potential, the results indicated that the mineral particle and oil drop attachment state was mainly dominated by hydrophobic interaction potential. In the modification of oil agglomeration flotation process, the adsorption of DDA on the dodecane/water interface presented significant effects on the interfacial interactions between quartz particle and oil drop. It was found that the adsorption of DDA at dodecane/water interface changed the zeta potential value of oil drop from negative to positive. In this case, the attachment of the particles would occur spontaneously, which was due to the contribution of electric double layer attractive interaction. On the contrary, in the traditional oil agglomeration flotation process, a mechanical agitation was required to overcome a potential barrier due to the existence of electric double layer repulsive interaction between the negatively charged oil drops and mineral particles. This study was focus on the theoretical level, and provided some insights into mechanism of oil agglomeration flotation.

Spintronic systems exploit the fact that the electron current is composed of spin-up and spin-down carriers, which are more easily disturbed than electronic systems. Here, we investigate the spin transport properties of a single phenalenyl or pyrene molecule connected to zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrodes by using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory. We found the difference of the symmetry on these two molecules will bring a remarkable effect on the spin transport properties of the devices. The spin-resolved currents of the single pyrene molecular device are much lower than that of the single phenalenyl molecular device when they all connected to electrodes symmetrically. In addition, we found the change of the connected site will decrease the spin-resolved currents of the phenalenyl-based molecular device drastically, but had no longer any influence with the pyrene-based molecular device. The results will be helpful for us to further understand the transfer of the spin-carriers in the spintronic systems.

Binder-free, nano-sized needlelike MnO2-submillimeter-sized reduced graphene oxide (nMnO2-srGO) hybrid films with abundant porous structures were fabricated through electrophoretic deposition and subsequent thermal annealing at 500 °C for 2 h. The as-prepared hybrid films exhibit a unique hierarchical morphology, in which nMnO2 with a diameter of 20—50 nm and a length of 300—500 nm is randomly anchored on both sides of srGO. When evaluated as binder-free anodes for lithium-ion half-cell, the nMnO2-srGO composites with a content of 76.9 wt% MnO2 deliver a high capacity of approximately 1652.2 mA•h•g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A•g−1 after 200 cycles. The high capacity remains at 616.8 mA•h•g−1 (ca. 65.1% capacity retention) at a current density as high as 4 A•g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance indicates that the nMnO2-srGO hybrid films could be a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs).

Germanium selenide (GeSe) is an isoelectronic analogue of phosphorene, which has been studied widely in recent experiments. In this paper, we have investigated tunable electronic structures and transport properties of 2D and quasi-1D GeSe by using a self-consistent ab initio approach. The calculated band structures show stretching and compression in the zigzag direction and stretching in the armchair direction, and all can enlarge the band gap of 2D GeSe nanosheet. However, the compression in the armchair direction will reduce the band gap of the 2D GeSe nanosheet. In addition, appropriate compressions in both directions can change the 2D GeSe nanosheet from indirect band gap to direct band gap. When the 2D GeSe nanosheet is cut into a quasi-1D nanoribbon, the band structures can be modulated by the ribbon width and the passivation. The unpassivated zigzag GeSe nanoribbons are metals regardless of the ribbon width. The H-passivated zigzag GeSe nanoribbons are semiconductors with direct band gaps, and the ...

We investigate the transport properties of Schottky contact structure based on zigzag phosphorene nanoribbon (ZPNR) by using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory. The calculated band structures show the unpassivated ZPNR is metal and the H-passivated ZPNR is semiconductor. The in-plane contact structure of unpassivated ZPNR and H-passivated ZPNR leads to the formation of a Schottky barrier, which results in rectifying current-voltage characteristics. The rectification ratio (RR) can reach to 10 3 in the bias region from 0.3 V to 0.5 V. By extending the length of H-passivated ZPNR in Schottky contact structure, the currents of the Schottky contact structure are decreased, but the RR can be enlarged obviously. When the length of H-passivated ZPNR is four times than that of the unpassivated ZPNR, the average RR increases to 10 6 in the bias region from 0.3 V to 0.5 V and the maximal RR is boosted up to 10 7 at 0.45 V.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (PropS-SH) modified with La 2 O 3 nanoparticles were investigated to evaluate the doping effect of La 2 O 3 nanoparticles on PropS-SH silane film towards brass corrosion protection in NaCl solution. The results indicated that SAMs of PropS-SH modified with La 2 O 3 nanoparticles presented improved barrier properties because La 2 O 3 nanoparticles filled the holes of silane film, which in turn improved the density of silane film, thus enhanced the barrier properties of silane-metal interface. Further, part of La 2 O 3 nanoparticles was transformed to lanthanum oxide hydroxide (LaOOH) by hydrolysis reaction, and the formed La compounds covered the cathode sites, giving rise to a blocking effect.

Controlling magnetic transport through a single molecule remains one of the most fundamental challenges of spin electronics. Here, we investigate the effects of the redox reaction on the magnetic transport properties of a single anthraquinone (AQ) molecule connected to zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrodes by using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory. Two kinds of contacted types, isomeric AQ-14 and AQ-15, are considered in this work. The results show the excellent spin-filtering with 100% spin filtering efficiency can be found in AQ-14 molecular device. Redox reaction on the molecule doesn't affect its spin filtering behavior. After the contacted type changing, the spin-filtering behavior is only found in AQ-15 molecular device at the reduced state. When the molecule is oxidized, the α-spin current of the device is reduced dramatically leading to the absence of the spin-filtering behavior. More importantly, the on-off of the α-spin electronic conductance of AQ-15 induced by redox reaction can allow it be designed as a spin current switching.

By performing first-principle quantum transport calculations, we investigated the effects of the edge types and edge defects on the electronic and transport properties of phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs). The calculated band structures show the PNRs with the zigzag and cliff edges are all metallic. The conductance of the cliff phosphorene nanoribbon (CPNR) is higher than that of the zigzag phosphorene nanoribbon (ZPNR). The low bias negative differential resistance behavior is only found in the ZPNR and the peak-to-valley current ratio is up to 102. More over, we found the carrier transport channels under low bias of ZPNR and CPNR mainly locate on the edges. The current-voltage characteristics show the defects induced by removing the phosphorus atoms from the edge can decrease the conductance of the ZPNR and CPNR obviously. The low bias negative differential resistance behavior of the ZPNR also can be weakened or removed by the edge defects.

Methylation of cytosine to 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is a prevalent DNA modification found in many organisms. Sequential oxidation of 5mC by ten-eleven translocation (TET) dioxygenases results in a cascade of additional epigenetic marks and promotes demethylation of DNA in mammals(1,2). However, the enzymatic activity and function of TET homologues in other eukaryotes remains largely unexplored. Here we show that the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii contains a 5mC-modifying enzyme (CMD1) that is a TET homologue and catalyses the conjugation of a glyceryl moiety to the methyl group of 5mC through a carbon-carbon bond, resulting in two stereoisomeric nucleobase products. The catalytic activity of CMD1 requires Fe(ii) and the integrity of its binding motif His-XAsp, which is conserved in Fe-dependent dioxygenases(3). However, unlike previously described TET enzymes, which use 2-oxoglutarate as a co-substrate(4), CMD1 uses l-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as an essential co-substrate. Vitamin C donates the glyceryl moiety to 5mC with concurrent formation of glyoxylic acid and CO2. The vitamin-C-derived DNA modification is present in the genome of wild-type C. reinhardtii but at a substantially lower level in a CMD1 mutant strain. The fitness of CMD1 mutant cells during exposure to high light levels is reduced. LHCSR3, a gene that is critical for the protection of C. reinhardtii from photo-oxidative damage under high light conditions, is hypermethylated and downregulated in CMD1 mutant cells compared to wild-type cells, causing a reduced capacity for photoprotective non-photochemical quenching. Our study thus identifies a eukaryotic DNA base modification that is catalysed by a divergent TET homologue and unexpectedly derived from vitamin C, and describes its role as a potential epigenetic mark that may counteract DNA methylation in the regulation of photosynthesis.

The isolation and structure elucidation of six new prenylated acylphloroglucinols, faberiones A-F, from the whole plant of Hypericum faberi is reported. Faberiones A-D (1-4) share a rare styrene substituent and may be biosynthetically generated via further acylation of the acylphloroglucinols. By analyzing the MS and NMR data, the structures of the new isolates were established. Faberiones B (2) and C (3) showed moderate cytotoxicity against the pancreatic cell line (PANC-1) with IC50 values of 6.2 and 9.0 μM, respectively.

Dodecylamine (DDA) can only be used with acidification in the reverse flotation of iron ore. To solve this problem, this paper proposed a novel water-in-oil microemulsion with DDA prepared using one or two of AEO-3, OP-10, and Tween-80 & Span-80 as the surfactants, 2-octanol as the cosurfactant, and DDA and kerosene as the oil phase. The freezing point, surface tension, droplet size distribution, and zeta potential were determined for the DDA microemulsion. The results showed that the freezing point of the produced DDA microemulsion can be reduced to –12.5 °C. Moreover, the surfaces of its droplets dispersed in aqueous solution are positively charged at pH values less than 10.0. The flotation performance of the DDA microemulsion was investigated by flotation tests. From the results, DDA microemulsion exhibited good dispersibility and surface activity, thereby confirming its ability to effectively reduce air–water interfacial tension. In addition, it was found to have good adaptability to temperature and pulp pH, yielding a magnetite concentrate with 68.54% Fe and 3.60% SiO2 from magnetite with 64.93% Fe and 9.12% SiO2 using 45 g/t DDA microemulsion. Therefore, the proposed DDA microemulsion can be used as an efficient collector in the reverse flotation of magnetite.

The granular bioreactor, characterized by excellent settling velocity, high rate and low cost is an ideal choice for achieving coupled nitrate/nitrite dependent denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process. To fundamentally understand its underlining mechanisms and provide suggestions for process optimization, a granule-based model framework was developed to describe simultaneous anaerobic methane and ammonium oxidation by functional microbes. The proposed model was evaluated based on long-term experimental data from two membrane granular sludge reactors (MGSRs) with different operational conditions. The model possessed of good predictive ability to reproduce removal rates and effluent concentrations of nitrogen species. The predicted biomass abundance in two MGSRs and stratified microbial distribution along granule depth were consistent with experimental observations. The estimated parameter values, with good identifiability and reliability indicated a stimulated growth of DAMO archaea in MGSRs. Both hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and granule sizes have influences on microbial abundance in the MGSR and community distribution inside granules. Within the investigated HRTs from 1.4 h to 20 h and granule sizes from 500 μm to 2900 μm, it was revealed that a proper control of relatively short HRTs and small granule sizes resulted in an increased fraction of DAMO archaea and a reduced DAMO bacteria abundance with AnAOB less impacted, which would lower the required nitrite nitrogen to ammonium nitrogen ratio in the nitritation reactor (prior unit) and thus minimize operational cost in sidestream treatment lines.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a crucial cofactor for the redox reactions in the metabolic pathways of cancer cells that have elevated aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect). Cancer cells are reported to rely on NAD recycling and inhibition of the NAD salvage pathway causes metabolic collapse and cell death. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms and clinical implications for the NAD salvage pathway in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain unclear. This study showed that the expression of Nampt, the rate-limiting enzyme of the NAD salvage pathway, was significantly increased in PDAC cells and PDAC tissues. Additionally, inhibition of Nampt impaired tumor growth in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo, which was accompanied by a decreased cellular NAD level and glycolytic activity. Mechanistically, the Nampt expression was independent of Kras and p16 status, but it was directly regulated by miR-206, which was inversely correlated with the expression of Nampt in PDAC tissues. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of Nampt by its inhibitor, FK866, significantly enhanced the antitumor activity of gemcitabine in PDAC cells and in orthotopic xenograft mouse models. In conclusion, the present study revealed a novel regulatory mechanism for Nampt in PDAC and suggested that Nampt inhibition may override gemcitabine resistance by decreasing the NAD level and suppressing glycolytic activity, warranting further clinical investigation for pancreatic cancer treatment.

To manipulate the separation density of a dense medium cyclone (DMC), different arrangements of permanent magnets were attached on the outside of the cyclone. Separation tests were performed and the results showed that, with the increasing magnetic field intensity, the products densities decreased with magnetite only, and the separation density first increased and later decreased. The simulation analysis indicated that the presence of a magnetic field in the lower conical section of the cyclone can decrease the separation density, because of the downwards movement of the magnetic medium. This paper proposed a new magnetic manipulation method for separation density and also will be an innovative way to increase the capacity of the equipment.

Sulfur deposited on a hollow polyaniline sphere was prepared through in situ synthesis and used to investigate the electrochemical properties of lithium/sulfur cells. The fabricated hPANIs@S composite presented an excellent reversible capacity of 601.9 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles at 170 mA g −1 . The capacity increased with the cycle increase, especially at high charge/discharge current. For example, the capacity had only approximate 270 mAh g −1 after initial 121th cycle at 510 mA g −1 , and the capacity steadily increased to 380 mAh g −1 after 180th cycle at similar current. These results indicated that cycle property improved compared with that of pure sulfur prepared through in situ synthesis under similar conditions. The enhanced cycle property of the hPANIs@S composite could be due to the homogeneous distribution of fine sulfur particles on the PANI surface, which stabilized the nanostructure of sulfur and enhanced its conductivity during charge/discharge cycles.

Cobalt boride nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of Mobil Crystalline Material 41 (MCM-41) and the catalytic activity for sodium borohydride hydrolysis was characterized. The transition from cobalt boride particle to cobalt boride layer was evaluated, and the catalytic activity of cobalt boride was improved because of the MCM-41. The catalytic activity increased with the cobalt boride/MCM-41 mass ratio from 1:4 to 1:1. A cobalt boride/MCM-41 mass ratio of 1:1 provided high catalytic activity similar to cobalt boride. Sintered measurements showed that the catalytic activity was from amorphous cobalt boride and not from crystalline cobalt boride. Sintering resulted in the conversion of amorphous cobalt boride to crystalline cobalt boride and damaged the nanostructure of the amorphous cobalt boride framework.

Summary The segregation (or exsolution) of nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of perovskite oxide parents has emerged as an advanced technology to design functional materials for renewable energy. However, this process relies heavily upon lengthy reduction (800–1,200 K) in hydrogen-rich environments to facilitate the electron transfer from hydrogen to oxides, making this process costly. Here, we show that, in addition to thermal driving forces, photo-illumination can drive electron donation and facilitate the electron harvesting on perovskite directly. This results in segregation of NPs at room temperature with the assistance of trialkyl amine as a hole acceptor. A proton-coupled electron transfer catalytic cycle is suggested to explain this unusual electron transfer pathway, which is redox neutral and an intrinsically closed cycle. The practicality of this process is demonstrated by the improved performance in a trial electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction. This work suggests a promising design principle for perovskite functionalization.

Layered double hydroxide (LDH) coating grown in situ on metals has attracted extensive attention as an efficient way to enhance corrosion resistance. However, work on copper alloys is still lacking. Here, we directly synthesized a LDH-based hierarchical film on copper alloys via incorporating another divalent element Zn in the substrate. Electrochemical tests showed the hierarchical coating acted as a robust anticorrosive surface after a simple hydrophobic treatment by inhibiting the transport of aggressive Cl−, water molecules and oxygen to the bare substrate. The configuration, formation and anticorrosion mechanisms of the hierarchical structure were proposed based on surface and interface analyses.

A novel combined reagent dodecylamine (DDA)–2-octanol–kerosene was employed to overcome the problems associated with DDA, that is, DDA has a high freezing point and needs to be acidified with hydrochloric or acetic acid when it is used for flotation. The analysis of the basic physical properties of the agent showed that DDA–2-octanol–kerosene had significant advantages in freezing point and dispersibility and its freezing point can be reduced to below 0 °C. From the flotation results of magnetite, it can be seen that DDA–2-octanol–kerosene has a better selectivity. Response Surface Methodology based on a three-level, three-variable Box–Behnken design (BBD) was employed to define the quadratic relationship between the recovery of quartz and the composition of the mixed agent. The results indicated that the recovery of quartz increased with the increase of DDA or 2-octanol dosage, however, kerosene had a marginal positive effect on the recovery of quartz when the amount of kerosene was less than 0.76 times that of DDA and otherwise a negative effect. This study provides a new method and technical support for its industrial application for the reverse flotation of iron ore for the combination of agents in the field of iron ore flotation. And allows for a deeper macro-level understanding of the interaction between the DDA–2-octanol–kerosene ternary mixed agents.

The integration of nitrate/nitrite dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) provides sustainable solution to simultaneously remove nitrate, nitrite and ammonium. This study demonstrated the sludge granulation process coupling n-DAMO and Anammox from mixed inoculum including river sediment, return activated sludge and crushed anaerobic granule sludge in a novel membrane granular sludge reactor (MGSR). Flocculent biomass gradually turned into compact aggregates and retained as granular sludge with an average diameter of 2.2 mm in MGSR after 684 days’ operation. When steady state with a hydraulic retention time of 1.19 days was reached, the MGSR achieved a nitrogen removal rate of 1.77 g N L−1 d−1. Granules with density of 1.043 g mL−1, settling velocity of 72 m h−1 and sludge volume index of 22 mL g−1 leaded to excellent biomass retention (42 g VSS L−1). Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that two dominant microbial groups, n-DAMO archaea and Anammox bacteria, in the microbial community of the granule were enriched to 31.09% and 12.45%. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed a homogenous distribution of n-DAMO archaea and Anammox bacteria throughout the granule. The granular sludge coupling n-DAMO and Anammox microorganisms provides significant potential for high rate nitrogen removal from wastewater.

Using density functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green's function method (NEGF), we investigate the electronic structures and transport properties of hydrogenated zigzag phosphorene nanoribbon (ZPNR) after adsorption of four typical harmful molecules. The results show that SO3 and CCl4 are both tending to adsorb on the top site of hydrogenated ZPNR. The NH3 and CH4 are both tending to adsorb on a hollow site of hydrogenated ZPNR. Hydrogenated ZPNR exhibits a strong adsorption of SO3, and the corresponding adsorption energy and charge transfer are largest in four harmful molecules. Moreover, we found the adsorptions of CH3, CH4 and CCl4 have little effect on the band structure of hydrogenated ZPNR. However, the adsorption of SO3 can reduce the band gap of hydrogenated ZPNR obviously. The findings of the present work confirm that the hydrogenated ZPNR has strong selectivity of the absorbability.