[Pollution Characteristics, Source Analysis, and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soil and Crops in a Typical molybdenum Mining Area of Qinling Mountains].

This study focused on a molybdenum mining area in the Qinling Mountains （Shaanxi segment）. Crop and corresponding soil samples were collected from the vicinity of the mining area, and the concentrations of six heavy metals （Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb） were determined. Soil heavy metal pollution was assessed using single-factor, comprehensive pollution, and geo-accumulation index methods.

Enhance antimony adsorption from aquatic environment by microwave-assisted prepared FeO nanospherolites.

A novel hierarchically nanostructured magnetite (FeO) was manufactured using microwave-assisted reflux method without surfactants. The nanostructured FeO is formed via the co-precipitation of Fe(III) and Fe(II), followed by a nanocrystal aggregation-based mechanism. Moreover, the effects of solution pH, contact time, initial Sb concentration, coexisting anions, and recycle numbers on the adsorption of nanostructured FeO toward Sb were extensively examined in the batch adsorption tests.

Cd diminution through microbial mediated degraded lignocellulose maize straw: Batch adsorption and bioavailability trails.

Lignocellulose degraded maize straw (LMS) was prepared with the interaction of soil-indigenous microorganisms and further deployed to attenuate the Cd contamination in polluted soil. The Lignocellulose degrading ratio was determined and results revealed the significant degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin by 33.03, 26.

Study of soil microorganisms modified wheat straw and biochar for reducing cadmium leaching potential and bioavailability.

The application of crops straw and biochar in trace metals remediation from the contaminated environment attracted more and more attention during the past decade. Although there has been some review work on the mechanism of trace metals stabilization by crops straw, the effects and mechanisms of interaction among soil indigenous-microbes and crops-straw for trace metal adsorption and stabilization is still unclear. In this study, the dynamic effects along with potential mechanisms of wheat-straw (WS), wheat-straw biochar (WBC) and biologically modified wheat-straw (BMWS) were conducted to investigate the adsorption, leaching behaviour, chemical fractions and bioavailability of cadmium (Cd).

Exogenous salicylic acid regulates cell wall polysaccharides synthesis and pectin methylation to reduce Cd accumulation of tomato.

Cadmium (Cd) is harmful to plant growth and can be easily transferred from soil to plants. Plant cell wall plays important role in preventing Cd from entering cells. Salicylic acid (SA) mediated defense response increases plant resistance to heavy metals.

Rhizosphere iron and manganese-oxidizing bacteria stimulate root iron plaque formation and regulate Cd uptake of rice plants (Oryza sativa L.).

Iron plaque is the amorphous and/or crystalline layer of Fe and Mn (hydr)oxides formed on the root surface of wetland plants. It could adsorb and co-precipitate metal(loid)s at the rhizosphere, thus modulating the uptake and accumulation of metal elements in plants. In this study, the Fe(II)/Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria Burkholderia sp.

Activity and Stability Boosting of an Oxygen-Vacancy-Rich BiVO Photoanode by NiFe-MOFs Thin Layer for Water Oxidation.

The introduction of oxygen vacancies (Ov) has been regarded as an effective method to enhance the catalytic performance of photoanodes in oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, their stability under highly oxidizing environment is questionable but was rarely studied. Herein, NiFe-metal-organic framework (NiFe-MOFs) was conformally coated on oxygen-vacancy-rich BiVO (Ov-BiVO ) as the protective layer and cocatalyst, forming a core-shell structure with caffeic acid as bridging agent.

Prospects and applications of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria to mitigate soil metal contamination: A review.

The rapid increase in world population has generated the issues of hunger, poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. To meet the challenge of increased food production of better quality, the farmers were compelled to use more chemical fertilizers, especially in developing countries. The higher use of chemical fertilizers interrupts the food chain through eutrophication, the polluting air and soil by incorporating metals.

Effects of EDTA and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on plant growth and heavy metal uptake of hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance.

Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and environment-friendly strategy for decontaminating heavy-metal-contaminated soil. However, the practical use of phytoremediation is constrained by the low biomass of plants and low bioavailability of heavy metals in soil. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the metal chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and EDTA in combination with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Burkholderia sp.

The identification of active N species in N-doped carbon carriers that improve the activity of Fe electrocatalysts towards the oxygen evolution reaction.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials have become some of the most effective carriers for transition metal-based electrocatalysts towards the oxygen evolution reaction. However, the specific active nitrogen species in nitrogen-doped carriers remains unclear up to now. To identify the active nitrogen species, herein, we prepare nitrogen-doped carbon nanospheres containing different types of nitrogen species and a small amount of Fe atoms.

Effects of salicylic acid, Epi-brassinolide and calcium on stress alleviation and Cd accumulation in tomato plants.

Salicylic acid (SA), Epi-brassinolide (EBL) and calcium (Ca) play crucial roles in plant development and mediate plant response to biotic and abiotic stress. This study was aimed to investigate the possible mediatory role of SA, EBL, Ca or their combination in protecting tomato plants from cadmium (Cd) toxicity. According to the results, Cd stress resulted in a significant reduction of plant dry mass, photosynthetic pigment content as well as photosynthetic rate.

Effects of salicylic acid, Fe(II) and plant growth-promoting bacteria on Cd accumulation and toxicity alleviation of Cd tolerant and sensitive tomato genotypes.

In this study, we investigated the ameliorative effects of salicylic acid (SA), metal ion (Fe(II)), and plant growth-promoting bacteria Burkholderia sp. D54 (B) on two tomato genotypes with different Cd tolerances under Cd stress, viz. Liger (Cd tolerant) and Tabd (Cd sensitive).

Tuning the Geometrical Structures and Optical Properties of Blue-Emitting Iridium(III) Complexes through Dimethylamine Substitutions: A Theoretical Study.

The geometrical structures and photophysical properties of Ir(4,6-dFppy)₂(pic) (FIrpic) and its derivative (-FIr, -FIr, -FIr) with dimethylamine substituted at the picolinic acid (NO) ligand were fully investigated by density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory. The simulated electronic structure, as well as absorption and emission spectra of FIrpic are in good agreement with the experimental observations. The introduction of dimethylamine at the NO ligand at different positions is beneficial to extend the π-electron delocalization, increase HOMO energy levels, and hence improve the hole injection and transfer ability compared with those of FIrpic.

Charge Transfer Enhancement in the D-π-A Type Porphyrin Dyes: A Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) Study.

The electronic geometries and optical properties of two D-π-A type zinc porphyrin dyes (NCH₃-YD2 and TPhe-YD) were systematically investigated by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) to reveal the origin of significantly altered charge transfer enhancement by changing the electron donor of the famous porphyrin-based sensitizer YD2-o-C8. The molecular geometries and photophysical properties of dyes before and after binding to the TiO₂ cluster were fully investigated. From the analyses of natural bond orbital (NBO), extended charge decomposition analysis (ECDA), and electron density variations (Δρ) between the excited state and ground state, it was found that the introduction of N(CH₃)₂ and 1,1,2-triphenylethene groups enhanced the intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) character compared to YD2-o-C8.

Triphenylamine-based indoline derivatives for dye-sensitized solar cells: a density functional theory investigation.

A new series of triphenylamine-based indoline dye sensitizers were molecularly designed and investigated for their potential use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Theoretical calculations revealed that modifying donor part of D149 by triphenylamine significantly altered the electronic structures, MO energies, and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) absorption band. Key parameters associated with the light-harvesting efficiency at a given wavelength LHE(λ), the driving force ΔG inject, and the open-circuit photovoltage V oc were characterized.

Theoretical studies of the interactions of ethylene and formaldehyde with gold clusters.

We studied the adsorption of C(2)H(4) and CH(2)O on the gold clusters Au(n) (n = 1-5) in various adsorption modes using density functional theory PW91 functional. We found that the binding energies of pi-C(2)H(4) and pi and O-sigma modes of CH(2)O increase first and then decrease with the cluster size. Natural bonding orbital (NBO) analyses reveal that the donor-acceptor interaction plays an important role in these adsorption complexes and there is a nice linear relationship between the calculated binding energy and the stabilization energy estimated with second-order perturbation theory in the framework of NBO analysis.

Streptomyces plumbiresistens sp. nov., a lead-resistant actinomycete isolated from lead-polluted soil in north-west China.

The taxonomic position of an actinomycete isolated from a lead-polluted soil in Gansu province, north-west China, was determined by using a polyphasic approach. Chemical and morphological properties of the isolate, designated strain CCNWHX 13-160(T), were similar to those of streptomycetes. Analysis of the almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence placed strain CCNWHX 13-160(T) in the genus Streptomyces where it formed a distinct phyletic line with recognized Streptomyces species.

A theoretical study of the effects of the charge state and size of gold clusters on the adsorption and dissociation of H2.

The adsorption and dissociation of H(2) on the neutral and charged gold clusters Au(n) (m)(m=0,+/-1; n=1-6) is investigated using the density functional theory PW91 functional. H(2) interacts very weakly with Au(n) (-1), whereas the interaction with Au(n) (+1) is relatively strong. The binding energies on neutral clusters are between those on the cationic and anionic systems.