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Electroplating sludge (ES) is a solid waste, which is rich in transition-metal content. However, ES is usually treated or disposed, instead of recycling. For the first time, this work synthesized an electrocatalyst from ES, and applied it in catalytic Nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) to produce ammonia under ambient conditions. As a result, the ES-derived catalyst showed the highest ammonia yield of 15.9 μg h−1 mg−1cat, which was far bigger than that (9.8 μg h−1 mg−1cat) of a pure-reagent-synthesized control. Faraday efficiency of the ES-derived catalyst reached the maximum of 0.83% at −0.9 V, obviously lower that of the control. Moreover, chronoamperometry curves of the ES-derived catalyst showed little fluctuate after 5 cycles, indicating a good stability. After detailed characterizations, following advantages were attributed to the enhanced performance. The ES-derived catalyst was doped by Fe and Mg (doping amount = 21% molar ratio). It owned a bigger percentage of oxygen vacancy (16%) than the control (12%). Besides, it had the bigger specific surface area, and enhanced binding energy/capacity for N2. The electrocatalytic NRR was carried out by distal and alternating pathways. After all, the main result of this work was in favor of producing high-value-added products by recycling of industrial wastes.

Biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa contributes to its survival on surfaces and represents a major clinical threat because of the increased tolerance of biofilms to disinfecting agents. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of 405-nm light-emitting diode (LED) illumination in eliminating P. aeruginosa biofilms formed on stainless steel coupons under different temperatures. Time-dependent killing assays using planktonic and biofilm cells were used to determine the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of LED illumination. We also evaluated the effects of LED illumination on the disinfectant susceptibility, biofilm structure, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) structure and composition, and biofilm-related gene expression of P. aeruginosa biofilm cells. Results showed that the abundance of planktonic P. aeruginosa cells was reduced by 0.88, 0.53, and 0.85 log CFU/ml following LED treatment for 2 h compared with untreated controls at 4, 10, and 25°C, respectively. For cells in biofilms, significant reductions (1.73, 1.59, and 1.68 log CFU/cm2) were observed following LED illumination for 2 h at 4, 10, and 25°C, respectively. Moreover, illuminated P. aeruginosa biofilm cells were more sensitive to benzalkonium chloride or chlorhexidine than untreated cells. Scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopic observation indicated that both the biofilm structure and EPS structure were disrupted by LED illumination. Further, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR revealed that LED illumination downregulated the transcription of several genes associated with biofilm formation. These findings suggest that LED illumination has the potential to be developed as an alternative method for prevention and control of P. aeruginosa biofilm contamination. IMPORTANCEPseudomonas aeruginosa can form biofilms on medical implants, industrial equipment, and domestic surfaces, contributing to high morbidity and mortality rates. This study examined the antibiofilm activity of 405-nm light-emitting diode (LED) illumination against mature biofilms formed on stainless steel coupons. We found that the disinfectant susceptibility, biofilm structure, and extracellular polymeric substance structure and composition were disrupted by LED illumination. We then investigated the transcription of several critical P. aeruginosa biofilm-related genes and analyzed the effect of illumination temperature on the above characteristics. Our results confirmed that LED illumination could be developed into an effective and safe method to counter P. aeruginosa biofilm contamination. Further research will be focused on the efficacy and application of LED illumination for elimination of complicated biofilms in the environment.

BackgroundKernel weight and morphology are important traits affecting cereal yields and quality. Dissecting the genetic basis of thousand kernel weight (TKW) and its related traits is an effective method to improve wheat yield.ResultsIn this study, we performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis using recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross ‘PuBing3228 × Gao8901’ (PG-RIL) to dissect the genetic basis of kernel traits. A total of 17 stable QTLs related to kernel traits were identified, notably, two stable QTLsQTkw.cas-1A.2andQTkw.cas-4Aexplained the largest portion of the phenotypic variance for TKW and kernel length (KL), and the other two stable QTLsQTkw.cas-6A.1andQTkw.cas-7D.2contributed more effects on kernel width (KW). Conditional QTL analysis revealed that the stable QTLs for TKW were mainly affected by KW. The QTLsQTkw.cas-7D.2andQKw.cas-7D.1associated with TKW and KW were delimited to the physical interval of approximately 3.82 Mb harboring 47 candidate genes. Among them, the candidate geneTaFT-D1had a 1 bp insertions/deletion (InDel) within the third exon, which might be the reason for diversity in TKW and KW between the two parents. A Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) marker ofTaFT-D1allele was developed and verified by PG-RIL and a natural population consisted of 141 cultivar/lines. It was found that the favorableTaFT-D1 (G)-allelehas been positively selected during Chinese wheat breeding. Thus, these results can be used for further positional cloning and marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding programs.ConclusionsSeventeen stable QTLs related to kernel traits were identified. The stable QTLs for thousand kernel weight were mainly affected by kernel width.TaFT-D1could be the candidate gene for QTLsQTkw.cas-7D.2andQKw.cas-7D.1.

The ability of thiol-modified humic acids (HAs) to release arsenic in tailings soil after being modified with different sulfur-containing reagents were significantly improved. The structure and physicochemical properties of humic acid (HA) before and after thiol-modification were characterized. The 3-MPTS-HA treated with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (3-MPTS) effectively improved the mobility of arsenic, and its reducing ability was increased from 2 mmol g−1 to 3.54 mmol g−1. The S content of humic acids were also significantly increased after treatment with sulfur-containing reagents, in which the oxygen-containing functional group (e.g., C = O, C–O) on the surface of HA may be the active sites for binding with sulfur-containing reagents. It was found in the XPS spectrum that because the thiol group is easily oxidized, there are many S forms in thiol-modified HA. The –SH content in Na2S·9H2O-HA, l (+)-Cysteine-HA (Cys-HA), thioglycolic acid (TGA-HA) and 3-MPTS-HA was determined by fluorescence method to be 13.9, 78.45, 90.34, and 192.29 μmol g−1, respectively. The study demonstrated that surface thiol modification can increase the abundance of thiol in HA and enhance reactivity, which will further promote the application of HA in the treatment of heavy metal contaminated tailing soil.

Two new Hessian fly resistance QTLs (H35 and H36) and tightly linked SNP markers were identified in a US hard winter wheat SD06165. Hessian fly (HF), Mayetiola destructor (Say), is one of the most destructive pests in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is the most effective approach to minimize Hessian fly damage. To identify new quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for HF resistance, a recombinant inbred line population was developed by crossing HF resistant wheat line SD06165 to a susceptible line OK05312. The population was genotyped with 1709 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from genotyping-by-sequencing and phenotyped for HF resistance in greenhouses. Two novel QTLs for HF resistance were identified from SD06165. The major QTL, designated as H35, was closely linked to SNP marker SDOKSNP7679 on chromosome 3BS that explained 23.8% and 36.0% of the phenotypic variations; the minor QTL, designated as H36, was flanked by SNP markers SDOKSNP1618 and SDOKSNP8089 on chromosome 7AS and explained 8.5% and 13.1% of the phenotypic variation in the two experiments. Significant interaction was detected between the two QTLs. Seventeen SNPs that tightly link to H35 and eight SNPs that tightly link to H36 were converted to kompetitive allele specific polymerase chain reaction markers for selecting these QTLs in breeding programs.

The enhancement of phosphorus (P) released from waste activated sludge (WAS) by electrochemical treatment was investigated in this study. Results showed that the concentration of orthophosphate (ortho-P) and organic phosphorus (OP) in liquid both increased after electrochemical treatment. The ortho-P and OP concentration reached a maximum of 5.020 mg/L and 1.888 mg/L under the optimal condition respectively (voltage of 4.5 V and time of 60 min), which were 2.86 and 4.93 times higher than that in raw sludge. Meanwhile, the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in this process was also studied. The variation trends of P release in tightly-bound EPS (TB-EPS) and loosely-bound EPS (LB-EPS) were different. In TB-EPS, the concentration of total phosphorus (TP) and ortho-P decreased when the voltage increased. In contrast, the concentration of TP and ortho-P in LB-EPS increased and reached the maximum under the optimal condition. Released metal ions (Ca, Mg, Fe and Al) had some effects on P-release both in liquid and EPS, which indicated that EPS played an important role. SCOD and TSS revealed that the disintegration of sludge was also enhanced by electrochemical treatment. Additionally, the P fractions in sludge phase suggested that OP was more likely to be released in liquid phase.

Odontoid anterior screw fixation has been proved to be an effective treatment for type IIB odontoid fracture. However, the traditional anterior screw fixation is technically challenging, due to difficult approach and high risk of screw malposition; even manipulators are exposed to high irradiation doses. With the new robot system (TiRobot), the entry point and trajectory of screw can be designed and sand to TiRobot, and then the robotic arm spontaneously moves accurately to the required position and guide the procedure. The details of TiRobotic procedure and tips are presented, which may help operators to achieve accurate odontoid anterior screw fixation.

One of the hottest topics in the field of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxide is to develop a catalyst with low cost, low toxicity, high activity, and good selectivity for N2 to replace high-cost and high-toxic vanadium catalyst. In this work, low-cost spinel MFe2O4 (M = Cu, Mn, and Zn) were synthesized, and applied in SCR. MnFe2O4 exhibited the best activity (99.9%) and selectivity (95.7%) at 100 °C. In comparison, CuFe2O4 was more suitable for SCR above 150 °C, and removed 94.3% of NO (950 ppm) together with a selectivity of 97.5% at the same time (150 °C). Detailed characterizations showed that the spinels were similar to each other in crystal structure, textural property, and micro-topography. Diffuse Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectrum indicated that the spinels all reduced nitric oxide by an Eley-Rideal mechanism. Mass spectrometry and density-functional-theory calculations revealed that different cation substitutions resulted in different abilities of NH3 dehydrogenation and over oxidization. MnFe2O4 had the lowest energy barrier (1.21 eV) for NH3 dehydrogenation, resulting in the best activity. ZnFe2O4 had a highest energy barrier (0.22 eV) for over oxidization of NH3, resulting in the best selectivity. After all, main result of this work is in favor of developing cleaner catalyst, and further works should be focused on coating the catalysts on monolithic support.

Tight oil and gas reservoirs with huge development potential are widely distributed all over the world and horizontal well technique is a popular development technology for such kinds of reservoirs. However, the efficiency of conventional horizontal well technology is usually unsatisfying due to the unfavorable flow conditions caused by the nature of tight reservoirs, such as low matrix permeability and narrow pore throat. Multi-stage fractured horizontal well technology is an emerging attractive technology that can greatly improve oil production by generating highly conductive fracture networks in tight reservoirs. and numerical simulation method is generally used to predict the production dynamics of the multi-stage fractured horizontal wells. Nevertheless, the complex geological conditions of reservoirs would greatly increase the difficulties and time required to implement a complete simulation (including model building and calculation). Therefore, in this paper, deep convolution generative adversarial networks (DCGAN) based on U-Net framework was applied to establish the dynamic mapping relationship between fracture pattern and reservoir pressure during the production process, that is, the dynamic reservoir pressure distribution can be obtained by image mapping the fracture distribution details. The results showed that the efficiency of U-Net framework based deep convolution in extracting, dividing and splicing the geometric features of fracture network is significant, and the generative adversarial networks model can effectively predict the reservoir pressure distribution according to the fracture network geometry after being trained with 6000 sets of data. Herein, the training accuracy of the proxy model towards sample data was compared, and the confrontation between the generator and the discriminator in the iterative training process was clarified according to the error function. Furthermore, the prediction accuracy towards pressure distribution at different fracture network geometry scales by the proxy model was compared. Results indicated that the pressure diffusion range predicted by the proxy model is basically consistent with the range obtained from the numerical simulation, with a mean square error (MSE) generally smaller than 0.2. In addition, the relationship between the prediction accuracy of the proxy model and the number of sample data and iterative training times was also studied, which showed that the mean square error of the proxy model kept decreasing with the increasing iteration cycles and sample size, which met the basic law of statistical learning. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the proposed method may also shed light on the applications of DCGAN in other reservoir-related problems.

pEDFM is a newly developed numerical simulation framework for mass transfer in fractured reservoirs, and this paper aims to study the application of the pEDFM framework to numerical simulation of two-phase heat and mass transfer in fractured reservoirs. Firstly, the finite volume method is used to discretize the mass and energy conservative equations. Then, all the connections between control volumes including two types of fracture-matrix (f-m), three types of fracture-fracture (f-f) and one type of matrix-matrix (m-m) connections are constructed, and corresponding transmissibility formulas of mass and heat transfer in finite-volume discrete schemes for these connections are given, and Newton iteration method is used to solve the fully implicit coupled discrete equations to obtain cell temperature, pressure and water saturation. Finally, two numerical examples including multiphase flow across high-conductivity fractures and flow barriers are implemented to show that pEDFM can eliminate the errors in EDFM for the calculated temperature profiles. An application case that applies waterflooding to a fractured reservoir model with a fractured horizontal well, four water injection wells, natural fractures and a fault is considered to show that, compared with EDFM, pEDFM can more accurately and effectively handle the numerical simulation of mass and heat transfer in realistic fractured reservoirs with complex geological conditions.

In this study, ultrasound was employed to radiate long-chain inulin suspensions in order to obtain some new physicochemical properties. The results showed that ultrasound irradiation effectively improved the viscoelasticity of long-chain inulin samples. The samples achieved the greatest increase in the apparent viscosity and viscoelasticity after 10-min ultrasonic treatment at the intensity of 1734.9 W/cm2. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum analysis revealed that ultrasound could not change the functional groups and molecular structure of long-chain inulin, only effect the hydrogen bonds of long-chain inulin. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that ultrasound also affected the relative crystallinity of long-chain inulin, depending on its intensity and treatment time. Particle size distribution indicated that long-chain inulin with particle size of 100–300 μm formed after ultrasound treatment. The changes in inulin particle size showed that inulin was unfolded by ultrasound treatment at low intensity for a short time and then aggregated with enhanced ultrasound effect. These results suggested that ultrasound treatment can change the physicochemical and structural properties of long-chain inulin, which would facilitate long-chain inulin application in the food industry.

A wheat-rye 4R chromosome disomic addition line with resistances to powdery mildew, stripe rust, sharp eyespot and high kernel number per spike was developed and characterized by molecular cytogenetic method as novel resistant germplasm. Rye (Secale cereale L.), a close relative of common wheat, is an important and valuable gene donor with multiple disease resistance for wheat improvement. However, resistance genes derived from rye have successively lost resistance to pathogens due to the coevolution of pathogen virulence and host resistance. Development and identification of new effective resistance gene sources from rye therefore are of special importance and urgency. In the present study, a wheat-rye line WR35 was produced through distant hybridization, embryo rescue culture, chromosome doubling and backcrossing. WR35 was then proven to be a new wheat-rye 4R disomic addition line using sequential GISH (genomic in situ hybridization), mc-FISH (multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization) and ND-FISH (non-denaturing FISH) with multiple probes, mc-GISH (multicolor GISH), rye chromosome arm-specific marker analysis and SLAF-seq (specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing) analysis. At the adult stage, WR35 exhibited high levels of resistance to the powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Bgt) and stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Pst) pathogens prevalent in China, and a highly virulent isolate of Rhizoctonia cerealis, the cause of wheat sharp eyespot. At the seedling stage, it was highly resistant to 22 of 23 Bgt isolates and four Pst races. Based on its disease responses to different pathogen isolates, WR35 may possess resistance gene(s) for powdery mildew, stripe rust and sharp eyespot, which differed from the known resistance genes from rye. In addition, WR35 was cytologically stable and produced high kernel number per spike. Therefore, WR35 with multi-disease resistances and desirable agronomic traits should serve as a promising bridging parent for wheat chromosome engineering breeding.

Developing highly efficient catalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen generation from water splitting is one of the grand challenges in solar energy conversion. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a library of donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) conjugated microporous polymer (CMP) photocatalysts using pyrene, benzothiadiazole, and benzene (biphenyl) as donor, acceptor, and π crosslinker units, respectively. By adjusting the ratio of pyrene to benzothiadiazole units, a range of CMPs with various polymeric structures and components was synthesized and the influence of the molecular structures on the photocatalytic performance was comparatively investigated. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (HER) up to 106 μmol h–1 was achieved on PyBT-2 with a ratio of 9:2 of pyrene to benzothiadiazole under UV–vis light irradiation (λ > 300 nm). The structure-performance relationships revealed in this work offer a fundamental understanding in the rational design of CMPs for high performance organic photocatalysts.

The development of highly efficient organic photocatalysts for water splitting into hydrogen is one of the key challenges in materials chemistry. Herein, we have designed and synthesized a series of conjugated polymers with either a one- or three-dimensional framework consisting of pyrene and benzothiadiazole with different numbers of fluorine substitutions (0 or 2). The effect of molecular structure and fluorine substitution on their catalytic activity was investigated. It was found that the linear non-fluorinated polymer L-PyBT exhibited the highest hydrogen evolution rate up to 83.7 μmol h−1 under visible light irradiation among the prepared polymers because of its broad light absorption, suitable energy bandgap, and enhanced charge generation and separation process.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) receives considerable attentions from researchers because it could achieve biological denitrification from wastewater with low carbon resource input. During anammox, hydrazine oxidoreductase (HZO) plays a critical role in the biological conversion of ammonium (NH4+) to dinitrogen gas. In this study, we constructed a HZO gene recombinant bacterium by genetic process technology with the aim to effectively remove N2H4 in anammox process. The result indicates about 80% N2H4-N could be removed by the obtained HZO gene recombinant bacterium under the optimum condition (an initial N2H4-N concentration of 5 mg/L and a bacterial dosage of 20 mL). More importantly, the high N2H4-N removal efficiency (about 70%) could be maintained when HZO gene recombinant bacterium spread to the sixth generation. The recombinant protein of HZO gene recombinant bacterium could be successfully expressed and show a stable activity to N2H4 removal under low intensity wastewater, suggesting the removal of N2H4 was attributed to the successful expression of HZO enzyme of anammox bacterium in E. Coli.

In this work, a novel and facile pre-complexation strategy was reported for the synthesis of carbon-metal catalyst for the first time. The carbon-metal catalyst (SF250) was obtained by thermal-activating pre-complexation of ferric chloride and sodium salicylate. The HRTEM and XRD showed that SF250 contained nanometer particles with core of FeOOH and shell of carbon species. When SF250 was applied in selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide (NO), it resulted in outstanding efficiency and long-term stability: the removal of NO was 99.8% with a fluctuation of 0.8%; moreover, the SF250 maintained high efficiency of removal for more than 3000 min at 400 °C. The analyses of EELS and TG-MS suggested that solid-phase and gas-type carbons both participated in reduction of NO, thus resulting in the excellent activity at low temperature. The solid-phase carbon included the active species with great reducibility distributed on the core-shell interface. The gas-type carbon included CO and benzene radicals. Therefore, our work has suggested a novel method for the synthesis of catalyst with core-shell structure by simple operation and low-cost precursors, together with excellent activity toward catalytic reduction of NO.

The phosphorus adsorbing ability of iron minerals is limited. The bio-reduction of Fe(III) provides a prospective process for improving the recovery of phosphorus. With the addition of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 to an ‘iron mineral–phosphorus’ system, the recovery of phosphorus for ferrihydrite and magnetite systems increased from 90.12% to 99.43% and from 18.18% to 97.96%, respectively. This was mainly due to the biogenic Fe(II) present after the iron reduction process, which combined with phosphorus to form vivianite. After 75 h of iron reduction, phosphorus was added. For the relative low dose of phosphorus (30 mg·L−1), the proportions of phosphorus recovery in the form of vivianite in ferrihydrite and magnetite systems were 18.95% and 14.55%, respectively. When the phosphorus concentration increased to 150 mg·L−1, the proportions of vivianite in ferrihydrite and magnetite systems increased to 53.18% and 35.42%, respectively. For batch-dosing phosphorus system (150 mg·L−1 phosphorus), it could be treated 4 batches in the ferrihydrite system within 572 h and 3 batches within 806 h in the magnetite system. On the premise that 95% phosphorus was recovered, the yield of vivianite also increased. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the transformation of iron minerals could be controlled by the concentration of the soluble Fe(II). Therefore, the recovery of phosphorus increased due to the combination of the iron reduction process and changing the phosphorus dosing time, which provided basic data for the recovery of phosphorus in wastewater.

The Zn/Fe-modified biochar on nitrobenzene (NB) removal during the electrolysis was investigated in this study. Both the Fe and Zn-modified biochar enhanced the NB adsorption compared with the un-modified biochar due to their greater specific surface area and more abundant surface function groups, respectively. The electrolysis under 2–11 V with the assist of both Fe/Zn-modified biochar achieved effective NB removal (>93%). The removal rate under 2 V using Zn/Fe-modified biochar (∼94%) was higher than that of the un-modified biochar (∼80%), whereas the removal was similar for those under 5, 8 and 11 V. The NB removal under 2 and 5 V was attributed to both adsorption and electrochemical decomposition of NB molecules. Electrolysis under 5 V by Fe-modified biochar had a higher degree of NB mineralisation than that using un-modified and Zn-modified biochar. This was likely that the Fe-modified biochar exhibited higher electrocatalytic properties, facilitating the further NB mineralisation. The ∙OH played significant roles in the degradation of NB by Fe-modified and un-modified biochar but did not significantly participated for the test using Zn-modified biochar. This was possibly because the Zn-modified biochar could adsorb greater amounts of ∙OH into the inner pores of Zn-modified biochar via its greater porosity and specific surface area, which may prevent the contact between ∙OH and NB molecules.

Cronobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic pathogen that can survive extreme desiccation, heat, acid, and osmotic stress. This can increase the risk of infection, resulting in severe diseases, mainly in neonates. The inactivation effect of 405 ± 5-nm light-emitting diode (LED) illumination on C. sakazakii with different initial concentrations and C. sakazakii strains isolated from powdered infant formula (PIF) and baby rice cereal (BRC) were firstly evaluated. Then, the effect of 405 ± 5-nm LED on the tolerance of diverse environmental conditions of C. sakazakii in PIF was investigated. Conditions involving desiccation [PIF, Water activity (aw): 0.2–0.5], heat (45, 50, and 55 °C), acid (simulated gastric fluid: SGF, pH 4.75 ± 0.25), and bile salt (0.2%, bile salt solution) were used to study the effects of 405-nm LED on C. sakazakii resistance. The transcription levels of ten tolerance-associated genes and changes in bacterial cell membrane were examined to understand the response of C. sakazakii to LED illumination. The results showed that 405-nm LED effectively inactivated C. sakazakii ATCC 29544 with initial concentration from 8 to 1 log CFU/g in PIF and strains isolated from PIF and BRC. Moreover, 405-nm LED could decrease the tolerance of C. sakazakii in PIF to desiccation, heat treatment at 50 and 55 °C, SGF, and bile salt to different degrees, but the resistance to the heat treatment at 45 °C was not influenced by LED illumination. In addition, the transcription levels of the ten tolerance-associated genes measured in the LED-illuminated C. sakazakii cells were significantly downregulated compared with those in unilluminated controls. The damage on cell membrane was confirmed for LED-treated cells by LIVE/DEAD® assay. These results indicate that 405-nm LED illumination may be effective at reducing the environmental resistance of C. sakazakii in PIF. Furthermore, this study suggests the potential for applying 405-nm LED technology in the prevention and control of pathogens in food processing, production, and storage environments.

Magnetic harvesting of microalgae by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) depends on the interface interactions between microalgal cells and MNPs, therefore it’s important to understand these interface interactions. In this effort, we discussed the application and principles of microalgae magnetic harvesting via MNPs synthesized by the coprecipitation method. MNPs were capable of capturing Nannochloropsis maritima with a harvesting efficiency of 99.5% at a dosage of 0.33 g MNPs/g dry biomass, and the harvesting performance was less dependent on pH values in the range of 5.0–9.0. Treated with ultrasonic chloroform/methanol (2:1, v/v) solvent, the biomass was enriched and MNPs were reactivated and maintained ~60% harvesting effectiveness after 5 cycles. Regardless of the negative zeta potential for both MNPs and microalgae, MNPs-microalgae interactions were explained by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (EDLVO) theory, and phospholipids over microalgal membrane were located as anchors for MNPs adhesion onto the microalgae. This work provided deeper insights into microalgae harvesting by MNPs and offered the powerful SERS technique for unlocking the door to MNPs-microalgae interface interactions.

The polyphenol profiles, antioxidant properties and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase activities of the different milling fractions of two foxtail millet cultivars were investigated in this study. The bran of foxtail millet contained the highest free total phenolic content (TPC), while the husk had the highest bound TPC. Eighteen phenolic compounds in the free phenolic extracts and thirteen in the bound phenolic extracts from the different milling fractions of the foxtail millet were identified. For the free phenolic extracts, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillic acid and p-coumaric acid were the predominant phenolics in the husk, bran and millet, respectively. The husk of YG18 had the highest p-hydroxybenzaldehyde with the content of 101.96 mg/kg. Trans-p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid were the major phenolics in the bound phenolic extracts, and the husk of JG5 contained the highest trans-p-coumaric acid with the content of 6230.97 mg/kg. Antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH, ABTS•+ and FRAP assays for all the fractions, and their values are related to TPCs. The antioxidant activities of the free and bound phenolic extracts in the husk and bran were significantly higher than that in millet (p

This study explored the efficiencies and mechanisms of refractory organic matters removal in the stabilized landfill leachate by adding different reagents. Calcium-based and aluminum-based materials were added into the leachate as comparing experiments. XRD, FTIR, and EEM were adopted to analyze the solid products and leachate. As a result, the in situ synthesized CaAl-LDHs were more beneficial for refractory organic matters removal, especially for benzodiazepines. When CaAl-LDHs were formed, the removal efficiencies of COD, UV254, and TOC were best and achieved 58.48, 81.22, and 71.30%, respectively. For fluorescent substances, humic acid-like and fulvic acid-like compounds were efficiently removed by CaAl-LDHs. In particular, CaAl-LDHs had selective removal effects on fulvic acid-like compounds, which were characteristic of small molecular weight and major carboxyl groups.

The remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil was investigated by electrokinetic (EK) and permeable-reactive-barrier assisted electrokinetic (EK-PRB). The medium of PRB was hydrocalumite (CaAl-LDH). The results showed that removal efficiency of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in EK-PRB and EK system was 96.49 and 85.50%, respectively. Simultaneously, the removal efficiency of total chromium (TCr) was 69.34 and 40.97% after 120-h treatment. The XRD, FTIR, and XPS analyses indicated that the reactive barrier media of CaAl-LDH successfully captured the chromium. Besides, the migration rate of chromium in EK-PRB was relatively faster than EK, since the media of PRB captured chromium in-time and reduced the influence of chromium accumulation on the migration of chromium. Moreover, the trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) was generated in EK/EK-PRB, and the chromium was stabilized in soil with the chemical speciations of oxidizable and residual fractions. Therefore, the treatment of EK-PRB and EK both increased the removal of chromium and decreased its environmental risks.

Porous carbon materials with high surface areas were prepared using a hypercrosslinked porous organic polymer as porous precursor with potassium hydroxide activation. Nitrogen adsorption analysis revealed that the porous carbon materials have high surface area of up to 3101 m(2) g(-1) and high pore volume of 1.84 cm(3) g(-1), which can provide more accessible surface and sites for gas adsorption and electrochemical energy storage. The porous carbons with high surface area show high H-2 uptake ability of up to 3.25 wt% at 77 K and 1.13 bar and CO2 uptake ability of 6.69 mmol g(-1) at 273 K and 1.13 bar. The lithium ion battery fabricated from CHCPB-K-600 shows a high specific discharge capacity of 1221 mA h g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1), which could still retain 833 mA h g(-1) after 50 cycles at 100 mA CHCPB-K-600 also exhibits a high capacitance of 379 F g(-1) at 0.5 A g(-1) for supercapacitor, and the capacitance retains 91.2% after 3000 cycles at 2 A g(-1). Considering the high gas uptake ability, the excellent electrochemical performance, and the facile preparation strategy, these porous carbons hold a great potential for gas adsorption and energy storage. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of the combination of nisin and e-polylysine with chitosan coating on quality maintenance and white blush inhibition were investigated in fresh-cut carrots. Fresh-cut carrots were treated with 1% lactic acid solution (v/v), 1% chitosan solution (w/v), or 1% chitosan solution containing 64 μg/mL nisin and 250 μg/mL e-polylysine (LA + CH + Nisin + e-PL). The samples were packed in polyethylene plastic bags and stored at 4 °C for 9 days. Changes in sensory attributes, physicochemical indices, respiration rate, microbiological counts and white blush were measured. Results showed that LA + CH + Nisin + e-PL significantly (P

Levuglandins (LG)D2 and LGE2 are γ-ketoaldehyde levulinaldehyde derivatives with prostanoid side chains produced by spontaneous rearrangement of the endoperoxide intermediate PGH2 in the biosynthesis of prostaglandins. Covalent adduction of LGs with the amyloid peptide Aβ1–42 promotes formation of the type of oligomers that have been associated with neurotoxicity and are a pathologic hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Within 1 min of their generation during the production of PGH2 by cyclooxygenation of arachidonic acid, LGs are sequestered by covalent adduction to proteins. In view of this high proclivity for covalent adduction, it is understandable that free LGs have never been detected in vivo. Recently a catabolite, believed to be an oxidized derivative of LGD2 (ox-LGD2), a levulinic acid hydroxylactone with prostanoid side chains, was isolated from the red alga Gracilaria edulis and detected in mouse tissues and in the lysate of phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-treated THP-1 cells incubated with arachido...

In the natural environments microorganisms coexist in communities as biofilms. Since foodborne pathogens have varying abilities to form biofilms, investigation of bacterial interactions in biofilm formation may enhance our understanding of the persistence of these foodborne pathogens in the environment. Thus the objective of this study was to investigate the interactions between Listeria monocytogenes and Ralstonia insidiosa in dual species biofilms. Biofilm development after 24 h was measured using crystal violet in 96-well microtiter plate. Scanning electron microscopy and cell enumeration were employed after growth on stainless steel coupons. When compared with their single species counterparts, the dual species biofilms exhibited a significant increase in biofilm biomass. The number of L. monocytogenes in co-culture biofilms on stainless steel also increased significantly. However, there was no effect on the biofilm formation of L. monocytogenes when cultured with R. insidiosa separated by a semi-permeable membrane-linked compartment or cultured in R. insidiosa cell-free supernatant, indicating that direct cell-cell contact is critical for this interaction.

In order to improve the generation amount of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), the process of nitrite (NO 2 − ) reduction was studied by Fe(II–III) carbonate green rust (GR(CO 3 2− )). The results indicated that 97.1% NO 2 − was degraded, and over 71.3% N 2 O was achieved by the oxidation of GR(CO 3 2− ) to Fe 3 O 4 ; 14.1% N 2 , 4.7% NH 4 + and 3.0% NO 3 − were also formed in the denitrification process; the removal efficiency for total nitrogen (TN) was 89.6%; the optimal reaction condition was NO 2 − 10.71 mM, pH 9.5 and an initial E h (the maximum value of E h reached at the beginning of the process) of −473 mV. The generation of different reduction products was dependent on the initial E h of the reaction system. Based on the adjustment of initial E h , the formation order of reduction products was as follows: N 2 O, N 2 and NH 4 + . Additionally, compared with initial nitrite concentration, pH played a decisive role in the initial E h of the NO 2 − /GR(CO 3 2− ) system. The high amount of N 2 O generated by the adjustment of initial E h provides new insight into the NO 2 − /GR(CO 3 2− ) system.

Listeria monocytogenes can persist under a wide range of stress conditions, contributing to its ubiquitous distribution and unique pathogenic traits. Light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has recently been shown to inactivate various pathogens. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of light treatment using a 405-nm LED on the subsequent resistance of L. monocytogenes to environmental stresses, including oxidative stress, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, low temperature, osmotic pressure, simulated gastric fluid (SGF), and bile salts. Following 405-nm LED illumination at 4°C for 150 min, the survival of L. monocytogenes was examined after exposure to oxidative stress (0.04% H2O2), UV irradiation (253.7 nm), low temperature (4°C), osmotic pressure (10%, 15%, or 20% NaCl), SGF (pH 2.5), or bile salts (2%). The mechanisms responsible for changes in stress tolerance were identified by assessing the transcriptional responses and membrane integrity of L. monocytogenes. The 405-nm LED treatment reduced the resistance of L. monocytogenes to all the stresses tested. Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the transcription of multiple genes associated with stress resistance, including betL, gbuA, oppA, fri, bsh, and arcA, was reduced by 405 nm LED. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that 405-nm LED treatment disrupted the integrity of the L. monocytogenes cell membrane compared with untreated bacteria. Therefore, 405-nm LED illumination appears to reduce the resistance of L. monocytogenes to various stress conditions. These findings suggest that 405-nm LED treatment could be used to effectively prevent and/or control with L. monocytogenes contamination along the entire food-processing chain, from production to consumption.

The use of humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) as reinforcing agents to improve the efficiency of electrokinetic remediation (EKR) were investigated for the first time using an artificially contaminated soil. A series of soil leaching tests and bench-scale EKR experiments were performed to elucidate the mechanisms of As removed from artificially contaminated soil. The characterization of total reducing capacity (TRC) and functional group were carried out to reveal the difference of HA and FA. The observations demonstrated that with 0.1 M NaOH and KCl as the anolyte, using both HA and FA enhanced the efficiency of EKR. After 25 days of EKR, the removal efficiency of TAs in HA/FA-enhanced EKR was about 2.0–3.0 times greater than when unenhanced. Compared to HA, more As was removed in EKR with FA, which has more TRC and oxygen-containing groups. These EKR experimental results, with the support of data obtained from soil leaching test, indicate that competitive adsorption, reductive dissolution and complexation were the reasons why HA and FA promoted the release of As in the soil and further enhanced the remediation efficiency.

strongBACKGROUND/strongCenter of rotation (COR) has been used for assessing spinal motion quality. However, the biomechanical influence of COR deviation towards different directions during flexion-extension (FE) remains largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the alteration in the range of motion (ROM), compressive force, shear force, and neutral zone size (NZ) in a lumbar functional spinal unit (FSU), caused by the deviated COR in different directions during FE.strongMATERIAL AND METHODS/strongTwelve human cadaveric lumbar FSUs (6 for L2-L3, 6 for L4-L5) were tested in a 6-degree-of-freedom servo-hydraulic load frame. These FSUs were firstly applied a 7.5 Nm pure moment to perform FE to obtain their natural COR during FE. Subsequently, they were subjected to FE around 9 established deviated CORs with 6 Nm cyclical loading.strongRESULTS/strongIt was found that the ROM and NZ increased significantly when the COR moved from the superior plane to the inferior plane for the L2-L3 unit and when the COR located in the superior plane compared with the inferior plane for the L4-L5 unit. The compressive forces for both FSUs demonstrated significant changes caused by COR shift in the same horizontal plane, while the shear forces demonstrated significant changes caused by COR shift in the same vertical plane.strongCONCLUSIONS/strongThe ROM, NZ, and shear force of FSU are sensitive to the vertical COR shift, while the compressive force of FSU is highly sensitive to the horizontal COR shift. Additionally, the kinematics and kinetics of the L2-L3 unit are more sensitive to COR location than those of the L4-L5 unit.

In the leachate system, Ca-Al-LDH was synthesized in situ by adding calcium aluminum material (AC) and Ca (OH)2. In the process of synthesis, the removal efficiencies of UV254, COD and TOC in the leachate reached 85.51%, 73.85% and 74.71%, respectively, and the organic matter could be effectively removed. XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) characterization analysis displayed that when AC and Ca (OH)2 were added at a ratio of 3:1, Ca-Al-LDH could be synthesized efficiently. The effect of this method on the removal of pollutants in leachate was better than that of Ca-Al-LDH. EEM (Excitation Emission Matrix) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer) characterization analysis showed that these results could be attributed to the coagulation of calcium aluminum material AC, LDH surface adsorption and ion exchange.

Salmonella Typhimurium, a common Gram-negative foodborne pathogen, threatens public health and hinders the development of the food industry. In this study, we evaluated the antibiofilm activity of coenzyme Q0 (CoQ0) against S. Typhimurium. Besides, the inhibition of the S. Typhimurium’s adhesion to and invasion of Caco-2 cells and its survival and replication in RAW 264.7 cells by CoQ0 were also explored. The minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimal bactericidal concentrations of CoQ0 against Salmonella were both 100–400 μg/mL. Salmonella Typhimurium biofilm formation was effectively inhibited by subinhibitory concentrations (SICs) of CoQ0. The CoQ0-affected biofilm morphology was observed with light microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. CoQ0 at SICs reduced the swimming motility and quorum sensing of S. Typhimurium and repressed the transcription of critical virulence-related genes. CoQ0 at SICs also clearly reduced the adhesion of S. Typhimurium to and its invasion of Caco-2 cells and reduced its survival and replication within RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. These findings suggest that CoQ0 has strong antibiofilm activity and can be used as an anti-infectious agent against Salmonella.

Coenzyme Q

Coenzyme Q0 (CoQ0), one of benzoquinone compounds, has been demonstrated to possess antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, its antimicrobial effect has not been extensively reported. In this study, antimicrobial activity of CoQ0 against

Key message A high-resolution genetic map combined with haplotype analyses identified a wheat ortholog of rice gene APO1 as the best candidate gene for a 7AL locus affecting spikelet number per spike. Abstract A better understanding of the genes controlling differences in wheat grain yield components can accelerate the improvements required to satisfy future food demands. In this study, we identified a promising candidate gene underlying a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on wheat chromosome arm 7AL regulating spikelet number per spike (SNS). We used large heterogeneous inbred families ( > 10,000 plants) from two crosses to map the 7AL QTL to an 87-kb region (674,019,191–674,106,327 bp, RefSeq v1.0) containing two complete and two partial genes. In this region, we found three major haplotypes that were designated as H1, H2 and H3. The H2 haplotype contributed the high-SNS allele in both H1 × H2 and H2 × H3 segregating populations. The ancestral H3 haplotype is frequent in wild emmer (48%) but rare (~ 1%) in cultivated wheats. By contrast, the H1 and H2 haplotypes became predominant in modern cultivated durum and common wheat, respectively. Among the four candidate genes, only TraesCS7A02G481600 showed a non-synonymous polymorphism that differentiated H2 from the other two haplotypes. This gene, designated here as WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO1), is an ortholog of the rice gene ABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION 1 (APO1), which affects spikelet number. Taken together, the high-resolution genetic map, the association between polymorphisms in the different mapping populations with differences in SNS, and the known role of orthologous genes in other grass species suggest that WAPO-A1 is the most likely candidate gene for the 7AL SNS QTL among the four genes identified in the candidate gene region. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00122-019-03382-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

To compare one-time accuracy rate between simulated freehand (SFH) and navigation simulated (NS) pedicle screw insertion, assuming no second chance to correct screws.A simulated, comparative, cross-sectional study was conducted on 69 patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery. An intraoperative registration system captured the planned point of entry and trajectory of pedicle screws for both SFH under direct visualization and NS under navigation-aided visualization. Pedicle screw insertion was simulated for each captured image (370 screws) using Surgimap. Rajasekaran's method helped evaluate the point of entry accuracy and trajectory.Accuracy rate was better for the NS method (97.8%) than for the SFH method (63.8%). Of 370 screws in the SFH group, 134 penetrated the cortex, with 31 resulting in4 mm penetration. Of 370 screws in the NS group, 8 penetrated the cortex,4 mm penetration. Of 134 misplaced screws in the SFH group, 64 were due to error in the point of entry, 63 were due to error in the trajectory angle, and 7 were due to both errors. Of 8 errors in the NS group, 7 were due to the point of entry.Intraoperative navigation had significantly better one-time accuracy of pedicle screw insertion than freehand insertion and should be used to avoid injury to the pedicle and surrounding tissue from screw reinsertion.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes with rye (Secale cereale) 1RS chromosomal translocations are widely used in wheat breeding programs because 1RS carries genes for resistance to several diseases. However, some of the pathogens have evolved into new races that overcome the resistance due to extensive use of cultivars with the resistance genes from rye. Therefore, identification and deployment of new resistance sources with desirable agronomic characteristics are important and urgent. We have used winter rye cultivar German White as a source of genes for desirable traits in wheat improvement. A new genotype named WR04-32 was produced through hybridization and chromosome manipulation between common winter wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 6 and German White. This genotype was highly resistant to a wide spectrum of the wheat stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici) pathotypes prevalent in China. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result using EST-STS (expressed sequence tag-site tagged sequence) marker STSWE126 specific to 1RS confirmed 1RS in WR04-32, and it was further proved to be a wheat-rye T2BL·1RS translocation line using sequential genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) and multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with probes pAs1 and pSc119.2 (or pHvG38). In addition to its resistance to stripe rust and powdery mildew, WR04-32 was genetically stable and had desirable agronomic traits, making it a desirable germplasm for wheat breeding.

Phosphate is one of the main contaminations in water, so an effective method of decreasing or removing phosphate is needed. The main purpose of this paper is to synthesize CaFe-LDHs and MgFe-LDHs from the mixture of calcined dolomite and ferric chloride to remove orthophosphate and pyrophosphate. The study showed that removal of orthophosphate was attributed to the precipitation by Ca2+ and adsorption by MgFe-LDHs, where the former played a main role. As for pyrophosphate, it was mainly removed by precipitation at the initial pyrophosphate concentration ranging from 3.228 to 17.04 mmol/L. When the initial concentrations became relatively higher, the removal efficiency of pyrophosphate decreased because the complexation effects by Fe3+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ took place.

Exploitation of host resistance is important for controlling powdery mildew of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, a wheat-Thinopyrum intermedium introgression line, designated WE99, conferred seedling resistance to 47 of 49 Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici isolates. Genetic analysis demonstrated that the resistance segregation deviated significantly from a single gene Mendelian ratio. However, marker analysis indicated that only a single recessive resistance gene, temporarily designated PmWE99, conferred powdery mildew resistance (Pm). PmWE99 was mapped to chromosome arm 2BS and linked to the three simple-sequence repeat markers Gwm148, Gwm271, and Barc55. Using race spectrum analysis, PmWE99 was shown to be significantly different from the documented genes Pm42 and MlIW170 located on chromosome arm 2BS and, thus, appeared to be a new Pm gene. Examination of the genotype frequencies in the F2:3 families showed that a genetic variation in the PmWE99 interval that favored the transmission of the WE99 allele could be the cause of the deviated segregation. Further investigation revealed that the abnormal segregation only occurred at the PmWE99 interval and was not common at other loci in this population. Identification of PmWE99 will increase the diversity of the Pm genes for wheat improvement.

Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, is a serious disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) throughout the world. Host resistance is the most effective and preferred means for managing this disease. Line 10V-2, a wheat breeding line with superior agronomic performance, shows broad-spectrum seedling resistance to powdery mildew. Genetic analysis demonstrated that its resistance was controlled by a single dominant gene, tentatively designated Pm10V-2. This gene was localized near the documented Pm2 locus on chromosome 5DS using the simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker Cfd81. To saturate the marker map of Pm10V-2, more markers were developed using bulked segregant RNA-Seq. Two single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers (Swgi047 and Swgi064), three expressed sequence tag markers (Swgi007, Swgi029, and Swgi038), and one SSR marker (Swgi066) were polymorphic between the resistant and susceptible bulks and showed tightly linked to the Pm10V-2 gene. Pm10V-2 was flanked by the new developed markers Swgi064 and Swgi066 at genetic distances of 0.4 and 1.2 centimorgans (cM), respectively, and cosegregated with Swgi007 and Swgi038. The homologous sequence of Pm2a was cloned from 10V-2 based on a recent study. Although the sequence cloned from 10V-2 was completely identical to that of the reported Pm2a-related gene, they did not cosegregate but were separated at a genetic distance of 1.6 cM, indicating that Pm10V-2 was different from the reported of Pm2a-related gene. When inoculated with multiple B. graminis f. sp. tritici isolates, Pm10V-2 had a significantly different resistance spectrum from Pm2a and other powdery mildew (Pm) resistance genes at or near the Pm2 locus. Therefore, Pm10V-2 may be a new Pm2 allele or Pm2-linked gene. To use Pm10V-2 in marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding, seven markers applicable for MAS were confirmed, including three newly developed markers (Swgi029, Swgi038, and Swgi064) in the present work. Using these markers, a great number of resistant lines with desirable agronomic performance were selected from crosses involving 10V-2, including the breeding line KM5016, which has been entered in the Regional trials in Hebei Province, China.