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Iodate oxygen bismuth (BiOIO3) is a kind of bismuth-based materials with favourable photocatalytic performance which has profound effect on the problem of severe energy shortage and environmental pollution. In this work, a high-efficiency photocatalyst of bismuth vanadate combined with iodate oxygen bismuth (BiVO4/BiOIO3) are prepared via a single hydrothermal method. The as-prepared novel photocatalyst exhibit high photocatalytic performance resulting from high visible light absorbance ability and the formed heterojunction, which is beneficial to the generation and migration of photonic electron hole pairs and inhibit their recombination meanwhile. The photocatalytic oxidation ability of samples is evaluated by removal efficiency of element mercury (Hg0), which is very-hard to be oxidized, under LED (9W) light radiation with the wavelength of approximately 380–450 nm. The experimental results have indicated that the as-prepared composite catalyst show higher efficient in oxidizing Hg0, which could reach up to about 75%. Furthermore, the photocatalytic reaction mechanism about double electron transfer phenomenon between heterostructures is proposed based on characterization and experimental results.

A series of BiOIO3 were prepared via in-situ crystallization method with different calcining temperatures. All samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV–vis, PL to explore the effect of internal electric field (IEF) among different dimensions. B-200 (calcinated under 200 °C) with the optimized IEF attained the most superior photocatalytic oxidation capacity in removing gas-phase Hg0. Also, the formed 2D mixed 3D dimension changes the inter-atomic spacing to make the band bend upward, then moves the electrons and holes in the horizontally opposite direction. In combination with the above factors, the optimized IEF and dimension effectively intensify the separation of charge carriers and make the photocatalytic performance greatly improved.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the most common form of industrial and municipal wastewater control. To evaluate the performance of wastewater treatment and the potential risk of treated wastewater to aquatic life and human health, the influent and effluent concentrations of nine toxic metals were determined in 12 full-scale WWTPs in Shanghai, China. The performance was evaluated based on national standards for reclamation and aquatic criteria published by US EPA, and by comparison with other full-scale WWTPs in different countries. Potential sources of heavy metals were recognized using partial correlation analysis, hierarchical clustering, and principal component analysis (PCA). Results indicated significant treatment effect on As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn. The removal efficiencies ranged from 92% (Cr) to 16.7% (Hg). The results indicated potential acute and/or chronic effect of Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn on aquatic life and potential harmful effect of As and Mn on human health for the consumption of water and/or organism. The results of partial correlation analysis, hierarchical clustering based on cosine distance, and PCA, which were consistent with each other, suggested common source of Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb and common source of As, Hg, Mn, Ni, and Zn. Hierarchical clustering based on Jaccard similarity suggested common source of Cd, Hg, and Ni, which was statistically proved by Fisher's exact test.

Based on the density functional theory (DFT) combined thermodynamics method, the flue gas arsenic forms from the coal-fired power plants were successfully confirmed at different temperature ranges, and the interaction mechanism of the fly ash unburned carbon (UBC) components on different gaseous arsenic species were also investigated. The content of trivalent arsenic (As3+) is the highest in flue gas, and its morphological distribution is significantly affected by the flue gas temperature. When the flue gas temperature is lower than 900 K, the As2O3 molecules are dominant in the trigonal bipyramid type. While when the temperature exceeds 900 K, the priority structure of As2O3 is chain type > horn type > trigonal bipyramid type in turn. This paper has verified the feasibility for the adsorption of flue gas arsenic via the unburned carbon in fly ash, and the performance of the zigzag carbon surface is always better than the armchair surface. This paper provides theoretical support for arsenic removal in coal-fired power plants, and also provides some new ideas for the secondary utilization of fly ash and the development of carbon-based arsenic removal adsorbent.

Respiratory supporting, as an important medical treatment for new coronavirus pneumonia patients, must be effectively guaranteed by medical oxygen supply. However, the medical oxygen system designed and configured by the existing hospitals according to the current specifications cannot meet the oxygen needs for patients with new coronavirus pneumonia. This paper aimed to study the design of medical oxygen system in new coronavirus pneumonia emergency hospital. By investigating the oxygen treatment plan for the novel coronavirus pneumonia patients in the health emergency hospital, the oxygen treatment characteristics of different patients were studied. The oxygen characteristics of different respiratory support terminals were explored to study the oxygen demands of new coronavirus pneumonia emergency hospitals. Through calculating flow rates of medical gas system air source referring to ‘technical code for medical gases engineering’, the proportion coefficient of severe patients converted into respiratory distress patients was introduced, and the model of calculating flow rates of medical oxygen system air source in emergency hospital was proposed. The cases were verified in a typical health emergency hospital that the developed calculation flow model of medical oxygen source met the demands of hospital oxygen. The outcomes provide a reference for the design and construction of medical oxygen in such health emergency hospitals.

The effective capture or conversion of elemental mercury (Hg0), is the key scientific problem for controlling total mercury pollution in coal-fired power plants. In this work, the cerium chloride (CeCl3) modified carbon aerogel (CA) was successfully synthesized via impregnation method. The as-prepared samples maintained the large specific surface area and excellent pore structure of CA, and the CeCl3 was evenly dispersed, which can play a synergistic role in chemical adsorption and thermal catalysis to capture and oxidize the Hg0 effectively, and the Hg0 removal efficiency was greatly improved, up to 98% at 120 °C. The enhanced Hg0 removal performance could be attributed to the surface active chlorine and cerium oxide (CeO2) particle generated in the preparation process. Based on density functional theory (DFT), the mechanism of mercury removal was discussed in detail. This work would give a new insight for mercury and other heavy metal pollution control in coal-fired power plants.

The novel TiO2/BiOI1−x Z-scheme heterostructure with iodine vacancy was synthesized by calcination method and applied to photocatalytic removal of gas-phase Hg0. Combining with characterization analysis and DFT calculation results, the existence of iodine vacancy and Z-scheme generated charge-carrier migration paths in the TiO2/BiOI1−x composite were confirmed, and their effects on photocatalytic activity were further discussed. In the TiO2/BiOI1−x composite, the synergistic effect of iodine vacancy and Z-scheme heterojunction improved the migration efficiency of photogenerated charge and retain electrons and holes with high redox capacity, which effectively enhances the photocatalytic activity. The experiment results showed the TiO2/BiOI1−x composite possessed excellent photocatalytic removal efficiency of elemental mercury under influence of the synergistic effect. This study provides a new idea for designing photocatalysts with heterojunction and surface defects to purify environmental pollutants.

In this work, the different morphologies of BiOBr photocatalyst were successfully synthesized by mixing method, hydrothermal method, and calcination method for gas-phase Hg0 photocatalytic oxidation. The physicochemical properties of the BiOBr were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM analysis etc. It was found that all BiOBr photocatalyst samples showed excellent ability photocatalytic oxidation of Hg0 under visible light irradiation, and the BiOBr-C sample prepared by calcination method showed the highest mercury removal efficiency about 60.5% among all samples. This can be attributed to the morphology of flowerlike BiOBr-C can enhance the electron transfer ability in three-dimensional space. Besides, the calcination method is beneficial to enhance the formation of oxygen vacancy and the introduction of oxygen vacancies can efficiently improve the ability of electron capture, and further promote the photocatalytic performance of BiOBr-C. Finally, a possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism was proposed.

Bismuth-based nanomaterials exhibiting unique structures, which endow them with fascinating physicochemical properties, have received more and more interests as promising photocatalysts. Fabrication of BiOIO 3 photocatalysts by calcination method was investigated for the first time. XRD patterns showed that the crystallinity of BiOIO 3 photocatalysts could be controlled by calcination temperature. TGA demonstrated that calcining the precursor at a specific temperature range was appropriate for preparing BiOIO 3 photocatalysts. XPS and FT-IR characterization revealed that the BiOIO 3 photocatalysts prepared by calcination method possessed oxygen vacancies, which acted as the positive charge centers to trap the electron easily, inhibiting the recombination of photo electron-hole pairs. Furthermore, PL spectra confirmed the oxygen vacancies can favor for the separation of the electron-hole pairs and in turn enhance the photocatalytic performance. From the above analysis, the mechanism of preparing BiOIO 3 photocatalysts by calcination method was proposed. Meanwhile, the effect of oxygen vacancies on the photocatalytic activity of BiOIO 3 photocatalysts was investigated. The BiOIO 3 photocatalysts with oxygen vacancies were found to be efficiently photocatalytically remove gaseous Hg 0 and the relative photocatalysis mechanism was investigated.

TiO2/g-C3N4 (TCN) heterojunction photocatalysts with dimensionality tuning was prepared, g-C3N4 successfully shifted from 3D (3DBG) to 2D (2DGN). Compared with 2DGN and TiO2, all the as-prepared heterostructure samples exhibited significantly enhanced photoactivities under light irradiation. Through the photocatalytic mercury removal experiment on samples with different doping ratios, the effect of oxygen species such as hydrocarbons or surface-adsorbing molecular H2O and doping amount on the performance of photocatalytic oxidation were investigated. Finally, the photocatalytic reaction mechanism of charge transfer in the dimensional adjustable Z-scheme heterojunction was proposed. This work provides a new strategy for developing efficient photocatalysts to control mercury.

The titanium dioxide phase junction nanorods with Ti3+ and oxygen vacancies (Ov) were successfully prepared by in-situ growth method and vacuum freeze-drying, which was used for photocatalytic removal of gas phase mercury. Experimental results and characterization data indicate that the phase junction, Ti3+ and Ov synergistically promote photogenerated electron-hole separation and transfer efficiency and photocatalytic activity. The efficiency of the most efficient sample reaches 63.77 %, which is about 3.6 times that of commercial P25. Finally, we proposed the reaction mechanism that the phase junction, Ti3 + and Ov in TiO2 nanorods form an effective charge transport channel. This work provides new ideas for the effective utilization of solar energy and the design of photocatalysts.

Gaseous zero-valent mercury (Hg0) emitted from coal-fired power plants results in serious environmental problems, therefore, it is important to remove Hg0 emitted from the power plants. Herein, a novel material with a flower-shaped spherical appearance was used for the removal of Hg0. A BiOBr0.5I0.5/WS2 solid solution with {1 1 0} exposed facets of BiOBr0.5I0.5 and {1 0 4} exposed WS2 facets was synthesised through a simple self-assembly method. BiOBr0.5I0.5/WS2 exhibited excellent photoactivity under visible light, which is attributed to the synergetic effects of the exposed low facets, high surface area, and optimized band structure. Particularly, a 40- wt%-WS2-coated BiOBr0.5I0.5 photocatalyst exhibited the highest Hg0 removal of 87.52% via photocatalytic oxidation. These Z-scheme heterojunction with facets exposed can efficient separate electron-hole pairs and improve the visible light absorption performance. Further analysis indicate that BiOBr0.5I0.5/WS2 is an effective photocatalyst for solar energy utilization and environmental remediation.

A series of BiOI doped with lanthanide metals (lanthanide metals = La, Ce, Eu) were synthesized by solvothermal method and calcination method. The physical and chemical state of the as-prepared BiOI doped with lanthanide metals were characterize by characterization methods. The Hg0 photocatalytic oxidation was performed under visible light to further evaluate the photocatalytic activity. The experimental results indicate that the introduction of lanthanide ions into the BiOI lattice has an important effect on the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, it was found that BiOI doped with different lanthanide ions have different effects on the separation efficiency of charge carriers and the prevention of photo-corrosion. Compared with BiOI doped with La and Eu ions, the results identified that the incorporation of Ce was of a significant role in promoting the photocatalytic activity BiOI. It is proposed that the incorporation of La and Eu ions could induce excessive electrons on the BiOI surface under visible light, which leads to photo-corrosion of the catalyst in contact with the surface H2O. More importantly, the enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ce–BiOI is attributable to the oxygen storage capacity of the Ce3+/Ce4+redox pairs and surface defects that promote molecular oxygen activation to facilitate the photocatalytic oxidation reaction. This work can provide theoretical support for the future use of lanthanide metal substitution doped modified photocatalysts.

// Xia Chen 1, * , Rui Wu 1, * , Yiwei Kong 1, * , Yuting Yang 1, * , Yu Gao 1 , Dandan Sun 1 , Qizhen Liu 1 , Dongjun Dai 1 , Zeyuan Lu 1 , Niansong Wang 1 , Sheng Ge 3 , Feng Wang 1, 2 1 Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China 2 Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Eighth People’s Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China 3 Department of Clinical Nutrition, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Sheng Ge, email: gesheng607@126.com Feng Wang, email: zyzwq1030@163.com Keywords: tanshinone, kidney, diabetes Received: January 25, 2017 Accepted: March 02, 2017 Published: March 29, 2017 ABSTRACT Oxidative stress and inflammation have been demonstrated to be involved in the onset and promotion of diabetic nephropathy (DN).Tanshinone IIA (Tan) possesses both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, the aim of the present study was to explore whether Tan could attenuate renal damage in the rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes and its potential mechanisms. Tan was gavaged to STZ-induced diabetic rats at the dose of 10mg/kg once a day for 12 weeks. Tan treatment significantly attenuated albuminuria and renal histopathology in diabetic rats. Besides, Tan treatment also effectively inhibited oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction in the kidneys of diabetic rats. Our study provided evidence that the protective effect of Tan on diabetes-induced renal injury is associated with inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation. Tan may be a potential candidate for the treatment of DN.

To explore the effect of pH on the photocatalytic oxidation activities of BiOCl catalysts, the BiOCl catalysts under different pH values were prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, HRSEM, SEM and UV–vis to find out the impact of pH values. Photocatalytic ability of BiOCl catalysts were evaluated by oxidation of gaseous elemental mercury under UV light irradiation. It was found that BiOCl catalysts prepared under alkaline condition exhibited the best photocatalytic oxidation activities. The difference of photocatalytic activity among the as-prepared catalysts can be attribute to the growth orientation of the crystal BiOCl catalyst and the adsorption capacity of elemental mercury.

Aircraft engine emissions during landing and take-off cycle are commonly estimated on the basis of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) promulgated calculation model and emission parameters; however, the ICAO certified parameters are generally not applicable for an individual airport. In this study, the operation times, fuel and emission parameters of 8 aircraft models during taxi phase at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) are analyzed with the Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) data, and compared with corresponding values referenced by the ICAO. The results show perceptible discrepancies between the SHA-specific and ICAO certified values. The taxi-out times at SHA are considerably overestimated (up to 35.3%) by ICAO for all the analyzed aircraft models, whereas the taxi-in durations are highly close to the ICAO referenced value with a variation within -6.3% to 9.7%. In the majority of cases, the localized fuel flows and emission indices (EIs) are overvalued by ICAO, and the extent of overestimation can be as large as 21.6% and 28.3%, respectively. Variabilities in operation times, fuel and emission parameters are also characterized depending on aircraft types. Additionally, as a novel attempt, the effect of engine aging on EIs is explored and no significant correlation has been detected, indicating that other factors may affect the EIs dominantly over engine age. The resulting SHA-specific emission parameters are significant towards a precise emission quantification and modeling of impacts on air quality and health.

A new ternary composite BiOIO

The air traffic growth at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) has attracted much concern over the potential impacts on local air quality and human health; however, the emission contributions due to aircraft activities, impact on air quality and health effects remain unclear. In this study, the ground operational data derived from the Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) dataset are newly utilized to obtain the PVG-specific emission parameters of 10 distinct aircraft-engine combinations during the taxi-in and taxi-out phases of the landing and take-off (LTO) cycle. The resulting emission parameters, together with PVG-specific operational conditions, are applied to quantify the annual emissions in 2017 for main engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) at PVG, emission variations caused by mixing layer height, sensitivity of black carbon (BC) emissions to the estimation method and sensitivity of PM2.5 emissions to the fuel sulfur content (FSC). The results show noticeable discrepancies between the corrected fuel flows and NOx emission indices (EIs) and those certified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The annual emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), CO, NOx, NO, NO2, HONO, HNO3, NOy, SO2, SO42−, BC, organic carbon (OC) and PM2.5 with corrected emission parameters are 3.82 × 105 kg, 4.35 × 106 kg, 5.36 × 106 kg, 4.40 × 106 kg, 9.58 × 105 kg, 1.03 × 105 kg, 3.83 × 103 kg, 5.47 × 106 kg, 3.56 × 105 kg, 1.31 × 104 kg, 5.43 × 104 kg, 4.73 × 103 kg and 7.22 × 104 kg, respectively, while the application of the maximum height of the mixing layer contributes to emission increases as high as 16.9% (NOx). An alternative estimation of BC emissions leads to an increase of 50% compared with first-order approximation 3 (FOA3), while a reduction in PM2.5 emissions can be expected by minimizing the FSC.

The morphology of catalyst is a very important factor influencing the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. Owing to its scientific and technological importance, controllable preparation of photocatalysts with different morphologies has been studied. In this work, BiOIO

An economic and facile method was urgently required for the degradation of SF

A one-pot synthetic approach to prepare self-assembled BiOI/BiOCl microflowers by a template-free coprecipitation method at room temperature has been developed. The physicochemical structure of BiOI/BiOCl microflowers were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition information and bonding energy structure of the BiOI/BiOCl microflowers were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The photocatalytic performance of as-prepared BiOI/BiOCl microflowers was tested through photocatalytic oxidation of gas-phase mercury, as a useful catalyst (or additive) in wet electrostatistic precipitator (WESP) to capture heavy metals including mercury. The results show that the prepared BiOI/BiOCl samples demonstrate higher photocatalytic efficiency than pure BiOI or BiOCl. By optimizing the component ratio of the BiOI and BiOCl, up to 72.2% oxidation efficiency can be achieved in BiOI/BiOCl microflowers. Finally, the photocatalytic influence of BiOI/BiOCl microflowers on gas-phase mercury oxidation had been proposed.

Fe-doped TiO2 hollow microspheres were prepared by the hydrothermal method and characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), the Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and the UV–visible diffuse-reflectance spectrum (UV–Vis). The as-prepared samples were evaluated for photocatalytic removal of Hg0 under ultraviolet light irradiation. The results showed that the sample had a good photocatalytic performance. When M* (the molar ratio of Fe/Ti) was 0.05, the mercury removal efficiency reached up to 100%. It was found that the incorporation of iron narrowed the energy band gap of TiO2 (from 3.11 eV to 2.58 eV) and the absorbing boundary increased from 398 nm to 480 nm. While too much Fe3+ may occupy the capture sites of electrons and holes, which leads to a decrease of photocatalytic efficiency.

Construction of Z-scheme heterojunctions is an effective means to promote electron-hole separation leading to enhanced catalytic efficiency. In this study, a simple deposition method is used to load gray particles of TiO2 onto flower microsphere of Bi7O9I3 to form a direct Z-scheme heterojunction. The surface morphology, energy bands, structural properties, and optic1dal properties of the prepared composites are characterized through several techniques. The results indicate that by controlling the concentration of TiO2 particles, the properties such as electron-hole separation efficiency, band gap energy, photoresponse range, and specific surface area can be adjusted, and the mass percentage of TiO2 in the best Bi7O9I3/TiO2 composite is obtained as 30%. The obtained composite exhibited an absorption range of 700 nm and Hg0 removal efficiency of 92.5% under visible light irradiation, which is a great improvement over the characteristics of pure Bi7O9I3. Further, the Hg0 removal efficiency of the composite is evaluated in simulated flue gas. Finally, based on the characterization results, a reasonable reaction mechanism and electron transport mechanism are proposed.

Effective charge-carrier separation and molecular oxygen activation are crucial factors for photocatalytic environmental purification. Herein, an efficient Fe-doped Bi7O9I3 microflowers photocatalyst was synthesized. It was discovered that Fe doping could not only tune the concentration of oxygen vacancies of Bi7O9I3 to optimize the dissociation of excitons, but also promote the separation of charge-carriers and the activation of oxygen molecules. Meanwhile, the inducing of surface oxygen vacancies and Fe3+/Fe2+ by Fe optimal doping can act as the activation center for catalytic reactions, which also significantly enhances the photocatalytic activity. Benefiting from the optimized properties, the photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped Bi7O9I3 photocatalyst has been significantly improved by more than 4 times. Finally, we proposed that a highly efficient catalytic oxidation reaction mechanism can be achieved via modulating Fe doping to induce oxygen vacancies to promote charge separation and molecular oxygen activation. This work provides a novel approach for designing efficient photocatalysts.

In the present study, to insert the Cu nanoparticles (NPs) into mesoporous carbon aerogels and first applied it to remove H2S efficiently. This desulfurizer was made based on the dimensional policy by inserting the Cu NPs on mesoporous carbon aerogels to overcome the sintering problem and improve the activity, which has potential performance at high-temperature catalysis. The obtained desulfurizer was employed for H2S removal at middle temperature conditions (optimal H2S adsorption at 550 °C). We explored the optimum doping amount of CuOx, optimum temperature conditions, and the influence of textural parameters of carbon aerogels. The desulfurizers were characterized by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), N2-adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and Raman spectra techniques. The results confirmed that the presence of H2 was unfavorable for sulfidation and obviously shortened the breakthrough time. However, the existence of CO had little impact on the desulfurization and sulfur capacity. In a nutshell, this work could provide a new synthetic route to prepare Cu NPs deep into the lattice of carbon aerogels structure of desulfurizers and understand the desulfurization mechanism.

A novel particle-nanosheet CeO2/BiOIO3 composites with Ce4+/Ce3+ redox centers and oxygen vacancies were successfully prepared via hydrothermal and calcination schemes. Then the as-prepared samples were analyzed with SEM, TEM, XRD, EPR and other characterizations for the morphology, elemental composition and chemical state. Photocatalytic performance of the CeO2/BiOIO3 composites was evaluated by the removal ability of gas-phase Hg0. It is clearly illustrated that the conjunction of CeO2 with BiOIO3 regulatory band structure effectively reduced the band gap, which can promote the utilization of visible solar light. Furthermore, abundant Ce4+/Ce3+ redox centers and oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface can promote carrier separation and transfer efficiency. Therefore, combining the above advantages, the best photocatalytic mercury removal efficiency of CeO2/BiOIO3 reached 86.53%, which is 1.3 times higher than that of the pure BiOIO3. Based on the experimental results, the photocatalytic mechanism of CeO2/BiOIO3 heterostructure has been proposed. The catalyst design scheme in this work can provide new ideas for catalyst modification, which can be widely used in solar energy utilization and environmental restoration.

In this work, a high performance photocatalyst by integrating iodine vacancy of bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) was designed, having rich iodine vacancy and superior photocatalytic activity. Specifically, the mechanisms for the formation of iodine vacancy and reaction process were investigated. Further, a novel iodine vacancy flower-like BiOI1-x photocatalyst were successfully fabricated, in which the Bi5O7I nanoparticles were in-situ crystallized by using pristine BiOI and calcination method. The morphology and microstructure, physicochemical, and photoelectrochemical properties of photocatalyst were fully characterized. The photocatalytic performance of iodine vacancy flower-like BiOI1-x photocatalyst was evaluated with removal mercury, which the gaseous mercury is difficult to be removed. The iodine vacancy flower-like BiOI1-x photocatalyst possessed excellently enhanced photocatalytic efficiency for the removal of gaseous mercury under visible light irradiation. The results show that the defective flower-like Bi-410 °C photocatalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance, which manifests a mercury removal efficiency of 68.89% under visible light. Further, the photocatalyst showed favourable stability. Combined with theoretical simulation, the density function theory calculations (DFT) demonstrate that the iodine vacancy BiOI photocatalyst possess a positive VBM position due to calcination process. This work promises good prospect for the design of defect engineering materials for use in energy and environmental restoration.

Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) that inhabit hyperaccumulating plants assist cadmium (Cd) absorption, but the underlying mechanism has not been comprehensively studied. For this reason, we combined the fluorescence imaging, and transcriptomic and metabolomic methods in a Cd hyperaccumulator, Sedum alfredii, inoculated or not with PGPB Pseudomonas fluorescens. The results showed that the newly emerged lateral roots, that were heavily colonized by P. fluorescens, are the main entry for Cd influx in S. alfredii. Inoculation with P. fluorescens promoted a lateral root formation of its host plant, leading to a higher Cd phytoremediation efficiency. Furthermore, the plant transcriptome revealed that 146 plant hormone related genes were significantly up-regulated by the bacterial inoculation, with 119 of them showing a complex interaction, which suggests that a hormonal crosstalk participated root development. The targeted metabolomics analysis showed that P. fluorescens inoculation significantly increased indole acetic acid concentration and significantly decreased concentrations of abscisic acid, brassinolide, trans-zeatin, ethylene and jasmonic acid in S. alfredii roots, thereby inducing lateral root emergence. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of PGPB-induced lateral root formation for the increased Cd uptake in a hyperaccumulating plant.

The g-C3N4/Bi4O5I2 bionic flower-like structure was facilely synthesized by one step calcination method, and the as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, UV-vis DRS, photoelectron chemical analysis etc. There obviously exists the phenomenon of a certain right shift for absorption edge of bionic composites according to UV-Vis DRS tests. The mercury removal efficiency of NB-1 (the doping content of g-C3N4 is 1 mmol) can be improved by 76%, which is higher than that of g-C3N4 and Bi4O5I2. Electrochemistry confirms that the bionic structure is beneficial to facilitate the migration efficiency and suppress the surface charge recombination, in turn improve the photocatalytic performance. In addition, the heterostructure between g-C3N4 and Bi4O5I2 are built for efficient modulating the charge transfer channels in the interface/surface to enhance photocatalytic efficiency of Hg0. On the basis of experiment and characterization, a reasonable and convincing mechanism of charge transfer and photocatalytic reaction on Hg0 was proposed.

Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) can promote photosynthesis and biomass production of hyperaccumulators, achieving enhanced phytoremediation efficiency of cadmium (Cd). A better understanding of the mechanisms controlling photosynthesis of hyperaccumulating plants by PGPB is necessary for developing strategies that promote the practical phytoextraction of Cd-polluted soils. In this study, chlorophyll fluorescence, gas exchange, and transcriptome sequencing were conducted to evaluate the physiological and transcriptional changes on photosynthesis and carbon fixation in hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii after inoculation with PGPB Pseudomonas fluorescens. The results showed that bacterial inoculation significantly enhanced maximum quantum yield of PS II (Fv/Fm), effective quantum yield of PS II (ΦPSII), photochemical quenching (qP) and chlorophyll concentration, while reduced non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of S. alfredii. Further, inoculation resulted in an increased net photosynthetic rates (Pn), intercellular CO 2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (Tr) and stomatal conductance (Gs) of the studied plant. At the transcriptional level, 70 photosynthetic genes and 42 C4-pathway carbon fixation related genes were significantly up-regulated in response to inoculation, which could be the reason for enhanced photosynthesis and dry biomass. To sum up, this P. fluorescens strain can simultaneously promote growth and Cd uptake of S. alfredii, which can be a promising bacterial agent applied to Cd phytoremediation practices.

An amorphous phase TiO2 was fabricated via a fast and simple hydrolysis method and it was characterized with XRD, TEM, BET, UV–Vis, XPS and EPR. The as-prepared amorphous TiO2 has a specific surface area record-breaking 100 times that of crystal TiO2. The results show that the as-samples had better photocatalytic property, which was evaluated for gas-phase Hg0 oxidation under LED light, and photocatalytic efficiency reached up to 40%, which is 1.4 times that of commercial P25. It can be mainly attributed to the large specific surface area of amorphous TiO2 providing more reactive sites and its surface oxygen vacancies as carriers transport channels.

Bismuth oxide iodate (BiOIO3) was used to remove elemental mercury (Hg0) in recent years, due to its suitable position of valence band. While its low response to visible light and high recombination rate of electron-hole pairs limit the industrial application. In this work, the BiOIO3/graphene heterostructures were prepared successfully via the hydrothermal method, and series of characterization analysis were implemented. The prepared BiOIO3/GR composite have enhanced photocatalytic properties than pure BiOIO3. The density functional theoretical (DFT) calculation of the interfacial heterojunction between BiOIO3 (010) facet and graphene sheet further verifies the internal mechanism of improving photocatalytic performance. This work will give some help for mercury pollution control in coal-fired power plant and other similar pollutant control areas.

As one of the highest energy consuming and polluting industries, the power generation industry is an important source of particulate matter emissions. Recently, implementation of ultra-low emission technology has changed the emission characteristic of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). In this study, PM2.5 emitted from four typical power plants in China was sampled using a dilution channel sampling system, and analyzed for elements, water-soluble ions and carbonaceous fractions. The results showed that PM2.5 concentrations emitted from the four power plants were 0.78 ± 0.16, 0.63 ± 0.09, 0.29 ± 0.07 and 0.28 ± 0.01 mg m−3, respectively. Emission factors were 0.004–0.005 g/kg coal, nearly 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than those reported in previous studies. The highest proportions of PM2.5 consisted of organic carbon (OC), SO42−, elemental carbon (EC), NH4+, Al and Cl−. Coefficients of divergence (CDs) were in the ranges 0.22–0.41 (for an individual plant), 0.43–0.69 (among different plants), and 0.60–0.99 (in previous studies). The results indicated that the source profiles of each tested power plant were relatively similar, but differed from those in previous studies. Enrichment factors showed elevated Se and Hg, in accordance with the source markers Se and As. Comparing source profiles with previous studies, the proportion of OC, EC and NH4+ were higher, while the proportion of Al in PM2.5 were relatively lower. The OC/EC ratio became concentrated at ∼5. Results from this study can be used for source apportionment and emission inventory calculations after implementation of ultra-low emission technologies.

The BiOI/MoS2 heterojunction photocatalysts were fabricated by the hydrothermal method and calcination method, and the photocatalytic oxidation performance of the samples was evaluated by the removal gas-phase Hg0 under visible light irradiation. In this study, the BiOI/MoS2 heterojunction photocatalysts were adopted to explore the physical and chemical properties by characterization methods. The results show that BiOI/MoS2 with calcination method has an excellent photocatalytic performance for mercury removal reaching up to 58%. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be due to the interfacial heterojunction between BiOI and MoS2, which inhibits the recombination of electrons and holes. Meanwhile, the Electron spin resonance (ESR) characterization indicated that the surface-active oxygen existed in BiOI/MoS2 heterojunction photocatalysts by calcination method. The synergistic effect of the above two factors makes BiOI/MoS2 be of higher activity under visible light. A plausible reaction mechanism and charge transfer were also proposed. In addition, this work provides a new prospect into hydrolysis of hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, degradation of organic pollutants and electrochemistry.

It is well known that the support of sorbents plays a crucial role in gas diffusion and sulfidation reaction, and the supports of big specific areas and large pore volumes are beneficial for H2S adsorption [1]. Mesoporous carbon aerogel, a 3-D network structure of interconnected nanosized primary particles, is regarded to be a preferable support. Carbon aerogels have a unique porous structure, including well-developed and controlled interparticle mesopores and intraparticle micropores, huge pore volume, and large specific surface area. Additionally, the carbon aerogels remain stable under high temperature, and they could be formed into various shapes and can be used without any further forming treatment, which makes these materials attractive as the support of the desulfurizer [2, 3, 4].

Coal is found in huge amounts throughout the world and has lower cost as compared to other fossil fuels, it represents at present about 70% of the world’s proven fossil fuel resources; therefore, coal is probably to remain one of the most important sources of primary energy for a long time, playing a strategic role in the medium–long-term energy production systems. However, coal utilization has a few negative impacts on the environment and atmosphere; the critical issue in promoting coal utilization is environmental pollution control without reducing the energy efficiency. Coal is a complex chemical mixture composed of carbon, hydrogen, and dozens of trace elements. When coal is severed as a fuel source, some of these elements would convert to gaseous emissions, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) or hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), mercury, and other chemical by-products via the coal combustion or thermal decomposition. These emissions have been established to possess detrimental effects on the environment and human health, which contributes to acid rain, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

The IGCC coarse gas derived from coal gasification process usually contains large amounts of sulfur containing components, such as H2S, COS, and CS2, 90% of them are H2S (~0.1 to 1.5 vol.%) which could cause severe corrosion of the pipelines, facilities, and catalysts in the subsequent coal gas conversion process; thus, the sulfur compounds need to be removed prior to syngas utilization. The hot coal gases are often purified with solid sorbents (single metal oxides or bimetal oxides), namely, called as dry desulfurization. Recently, the most commonly used sorbents are transition-metal oxides and their composites, for instance, zinc oxide, copper oxide, ferric oxide, and manganese oxide as well as zinc ferrite, zinc titanate, which are called as the first-generation high-temperature desulfurizers (FHDs)

Hydrogen sulfide, the chemical compound with the formula H2S, is a colorless gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs, and it is very poisonous, corrosive, acidic, and flammable [1]. Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele has firstly discovered hydrogen sulfide in 1777. Hydrogen sulfide usually results from the microbial breakdown of organic matters in the absence of oxygen gas, such as in swamps and sewers; this process is commonly known as anaerobic digestion. Hydrogen sulfide could also occur in volcanic gases, natural gas, and in some sources of well water. The human body produces small amounts of hydrogen sulfide and uses it as a signaling molecule.

Focusing on the phenomenon of gypsum rain while wet desulphurization(WFGD) were adopted in coal fired power plant without GGH, the paper studied and put forward the solutions : (1) desulfurization facilities related equipment modification; (2) optimal operation of existing desulfurization facilities.

The present study aimed to screen the hot-spot deafness gene mutations of adolescents with non‑syndromic hearing loss in Yongchuan, Chongqing (CQ-YC ANSHL), aiming to preliminarily understand the region's spectrum and occurrence frequency of deafness gene mutation hot‑spots. A total of 60 CQ‑YC ANSHL were selected from the Special Education School of Yongchuan, Chongqing and the nine most common mutations of four deafness genes among the Chinese population were detected and associated with the patients' medical history as well as family history of deafness. Deafness gene mutations were detected in 22 cases, among which the detection rates of GJB2, mitochondrial 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid and SLC26A4 mutations were 23.73% (14/59), 10.17% (6/59) and 5.08% (3/59), respectively, while no GJB3 mutation was detected. The carrying rate of deafness gene mutations in CQ‑YC ANSHL was high; therefore, based on the deafness gene diagnosis, the combination of medication guidance, pre‑natal diagnosis and clinical interventions may be able to effectively reduce the incidence of deafness in this region.

We investigated the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) in Jiaozhou Bay (JZB), which is surrounded by the economically developed city of Qingdao, during two cruises undertaken in November, 2007 (autumn) and February, 2008 (winter). Results indicated that sea surface pCO(2) in autumn varied between 315 and 720 μatm, with an average level of 418 μatm. In winter the sea surface pCO(2) ranged from 145 to 315 μatm with an average of 249 μatm, which is below atmospheric pCO(2). Despite seasonal temperature variation between autumn and winter, it was noted that biological process (production and respiration) were responsible for both spatial and seasonal variation during these seasons. We found that Jiaozhou Bay served as a net atmospheric CO(2) source in autumn (November) (2.87 mmol m(-2)d(-1)), while in winter (February) it served as a net sink (-16.22 mmol m(-2)d(-1)).

Dissolved inorganic nutrient elements were analyzed from the samples collected in the South Passage of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary in March 2003, including NH4 +, NO3 −, NO2 − and PO4 3−. The water samples were collected with a Niskin sampler hourly at the near-surface, middle and near-bottom depths at the three stations—A1, A2 and A3—during two complete tidal cycles of neap tide and spring tide. Results showed that 1) the concentrations of NH4 +, NO3 − and NO2 − were a little higher respectively during the neap tide than those during the spring tide, while PO4 3− showed an opposite trend, and each was higher in the ebb tide than in the flood tide, either for the neap tidal cycle or the spring tidal cycle; 2) higher stratification of the nutrients existed obviously in this area, with the concentrations of which increased from the bottom to the surface, especially for NH4 + and NO3 −; 3) the coefficient of variation (C.V.) values of all dissolved inorganic nutrients varied from 4.06% to 36.8% beyond different influences of the tidal current and Changjiang runoff; 4) with increasing suspended matter in the water column, the concentrations of PO4 3− became lower in the filtered water; and 5) the total transport of each tidal cycle was much more in the spring tide than in the neap tide, and the positive values indicated that the nutrients had been exported to the East China Sea. Studies on the variations and net transport of dissolved inorganic nutrients in the South Passage of the Changjiang Estuary will provide the scientific basis for the study of the mechanism of red tide in the East China Sea.

Two 78-years old-old man and woman presented with thyroid tumor without a past history of chronic thyroiditis. Physical examinations showed touchable lumps in thyroid without other lymph nodes swelling or extra nodal lesions. Two cases both had thyroid function test, color Doppler ultrasound examination, computed tomography (CT) scan and fine needle aspiration (FNA) before surgery. The patients underwent partial thyroidectomy or subtotal thyroidectomy. Postoperative pathologic findings were consistent with malignant lymphoma. The diagnosis mainly relied on the postoperative pathologic findings.

This paper aims to investigate the enhancement effect of low intensity intermittent ultrasound irradiation on the efficiency of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) process at ambient temperature. With intermittently irradiated (ultrasound intensity of 0.19 w/cm(2), exposure time of 0.2 min), the reactor (RU) had a nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 5.49 kgTN/m(3)/d at 14.8°C, while the NRR was 1.53 kgTN/m(3)/d in the control reactor (RC). At the end of operation, the contents of polysaccharide, protein, TTC-dehydrogenase and VSS were 6.82 mg/mgVSS, 26.79 mg/mgVSS, 0.58 mgTF/L/H and 10.11 gVSS/L in RU, higher than the levels in the RC. These results demonstrated that it is possible to achieve stable and highly efficient operation in an ANAMMOX reactor at low ambient temperature by implementation of ultrasonication.

This paper, applying Achievement Motivation Scale, conducts investigation to 278 grade 2 senior high school students on their achievement motivation. The research results show that there is no significant difference between the achievement motivations of students from common senior high school and those from key senior high school; the achievement motivations of senior high school students do have significant difference in genders and male students have higher achievement motivations than female students; the achievement motivations of students studying science and students studying arts have difference closely to significant difference; motivation to pursue success has negative correlation with motivation to avoid failure. Schools, gender and science type do not have cross functions on achievement motivations.

Aiming at current E-Learning system was not able to estimate the affective state of the users , an intelligent affective state recognizer that used facial expression as input was proposed and implemented in the paper. The recognizer system consists of two neural network classifiers and a fuzzy logic facial analysis module. The recognizer system had been used in an E-Learning system to recognize the emotion state. The results manifested that the recognizer system was effective. However, other bio-signals such as heartbeat, skin resistance and voice tone could also be used for affective state recognition.