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The rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things (AIoT) demands the development of ultra-low-power devices for future advanced technology. In this study, we introduce a novel Capacitive Piezo-tronic Sensor that operates at an ultra-low reading bias or nearly 0 bias condition and also enables a consistent response within a large voltage range. This sensor directly detects capacitance changes induced by piezo-charges, reflecting perturbation of the effective depletion width, and enables ultra-low-power capability by eliminating the necessity of turning on the Schottky diode. The dynamic response of the sensor also shows ultra-low-power capability and immunity to triboelectric interference. This study provides valuable insights and design guidelines for future ultra-low-power thin-film-based capacitive piezo-tronic/piezo-phototronic devices.

The zero-valent iron (ZVI) particles were synthesized by the aqueous phase reduction, and the tapping mode image of atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that the diameter of the ZVI particles was in the range of 90 nm - 400 nm. By comparison of the debromination of BDE-47 by sunlight, ZVI, ZVI impregnated activated carbon (ZVI/AC) and ZVI impregnated ion exchange resin (ZVI/IER), the debromination effect was found to descend in the following order: ZVI/IER > ZVI/AC > ZVI > sunlight. Second order and first order kinetic models were used for the fitting of the debromination data of BDE-47. Results show that the debromination data of BDE-47 by the sunlight, ZVI, ZVI/AC and ZVI/IER in the current study are generally best described by the pseudo first order equation. Meanwhile, the debromination data of BDE-47 by the ZVI and ZVI/IER can also be described by the pseudo second order equation.

This paper reports a study on vertical distribution characteristics of phosphorus speciation in samples collected at four sites from Baihua Lake, based on the Standards, Measurements and Testing (SMT) programme. In this study, the total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of these sediments samples varied from 944.86 to 2591.56 mg/kg and inorganic phosphorus (IP) was the main phosphorus fraction. For this heavily contaminated sediment, the IP mainly consisted of the Fe/Al-P. The vertical variation of the phosphorus had a tendency to decrease with the depth at sites JYS and YPZ. Since the concentrations of the TP in sediments were high and the phosphorus release potential and bioavailability were significant, the lake is still facing an ecological risk.

The quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) study was performed in this work to develop models to predict the normalized reaction rate constants for the reductive debromination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) by zero-valent iron (ZVI). In order to consider the solvent effect, conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) was applied to optimize the geometries and obtain the molecular descriptors using the pseudopotential basis set. The prediction results with the inclusion of solvent effect are slightly better than that of the corresponding gas-phase calculations. The artificial neural network (ANN) model could be more satisfactory to predict the rate constants than the partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component analysis-multiple linear regression analysis (PCA-MLR) models.

Neutral PBDEs congeners and their corresponding radical anions were studied with the pseudopotential method of stuttgart group (SDD) effective-core potentials basis set for the bromine atoms and the all-electron basis set for all other atoms. The pseudopotential method can be used for compounds containing heavy elements with relativistic effects and can reduce the computational time. The quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) study was also performed in this work to develop models to predict the normolized reaction rate constants for the reductive debromination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) by zero-valent iron (ZVI). The partial least squares regression (PLSR), principal component analysis-multiple linear regression analysis (PCA-MLR), and back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) approaches were employed for the QSPR study between the molecular descriptors and the logarithm of normalized reaction rate constants of fourteen selected BDE congeners. The results show that the ANN models could be more satisfactorily to predict the rate constants than the PLSR and PCA-MLR models.

The modified Tessier method was used in the present study to analyze the antimony (Sb) speciation in suspended solids in mining wastewater from Ban-po Antimony Mine in Guizhou province. It was found that the residual fraction and the soluble fraction are the highest and the lowest in the five Sb fractions, accounting for 62.5% and 3% of the total respectively. The order of the five Sb fractions is: the residual fraction > the reduced fraction > the oxidation fraction > the acid-extractable fraction > the soluble fraction. The antimony soluble form in aqueous solution is mainly Sb (V), about 90% of the total. The results from the analysis by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy showed that the major crystalline forms of suspended solids are K-Mg-Fe-Al-Si-O-H2O, Cu3SbS4, 3CaO·2Sb2O5·8H2O, SiO2 and the content of antimony element is approximately 2.55%.

The concentration of ammonia nitrogen in a slaughterhouse wastewater sample was determined using Nessler's reagent spectrophotometry with four different pretreatment approaches. Comparison of the results shows that the concentrations increased in the following order: coagulation sedimentation < boric acid absorption < filtration < acidifying filtration. Boric acid absorption method is more favorable, and standard curve method (SCM) should be considered superior to standard addition method (SAM) in the present research.

Objective: Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the development of osteoporosis. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), produces anti-oxidant effect in various biological systems. The present study found that GYY4137, a slow H2S releasing compound, stimulated both mRNA level and activity of alkaline phosphatase, the marker of osteoblast differentiation. This research aims to explore the mechanism on how GYY4137 stimulates osteoblastic cell proliferation and differentiation via an ERK1/2-dependent anti-oxidant approach. Methods: The MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cell line was cultured in plate. After pretreatment with GYY4137 (100 µM) for 30 min, the cells were washed twice with PBS solution and then incubated in freshly prepared low serum medium containing 400 μM H2O2 for 4 h. Cells viability was evaluated with the MTT. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by the Hoechst 33342. Then, ALP activity, NO and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity is determined by assay kit accordingly, ALP mRNA is identified by RT-PCR. ERK1/2 was analyzed by Western blot. The ROS production was measured with a fluorescence reader. All data was analyzed by SPSS 16.0. Results: We found in the present study that GYY4137, a slow H2S releasing compound, stimulated both mRNA level and activity of alkaline phosphatase, the marker of osteoblast differentiation. RT-PCR shows that GYY4137 stimulated the transcriptional levels of Runx2, a key transcription factor associated with osteoblast differentiation. These data suggest that GYY4137 may stimulate osteoblastic cell proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, GYY4137, which alone at 1-1000 µM had no significant effect, protected MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cell death and apoptosis. This was mediated by its anti-oxidant effect, as GYY4137 reversed the reduced superoxide dismutase activity and the elevated productions of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide in the osteoblastic cells treated with H2O2. Western blotting analysis showed that the protective effects of GYY4137 were mediated by suppression of ERK1/2. Conclusions: GYY4137 stimulates osteoblastic cell proliferation and bone differentiation via an ERK1/2-dependent anti-oxidant mechanism. Our findings suggest that GYY4137 may have a potentially therapeutic value for osteoporosis.