Lower concentration polyethylene microplastics can influence free-floating macrophyte interactions by combined effects of many weak interactions: A nonnegligible ecological impact.

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems and their accumulation has been considered an emerging threat. Early research on the effects of MPs on macrophytes primarily focused on the toxicological impacts on individual macrophytes, with several studies suggesting that lower concentrations of MPs have little impact on macrophytes. However, the ecological implications of lower MP concentrations on macrophyte communities remain largely unexplored.

Responses of submerged macrophytes to different particle size microplastics and tetracycline co-pollutants at the community and population level.

Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotics are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, and their accumulation and combined effects are considered emerging threats that may affect biodiversity and ecosystem function. The particle size of microplastics plays an important role in their combined effects with antibiotics. Submerged macrophytes are crucial in maintaining the health and stability of freshwater ecosystems.

Increased invasion of submerged macrophytes makes native species more susceptible to eutrophication in freshwater ecosystems.

Invasion and eutrophication are considered to pose serious threats to freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, little is known about the synergistic effects of invasion density and nutrient concentration on native submerged macrophytes. Here, we selected a common invasive species (Elodea nuttallii) and two native plants (Hydrilla verticillata and Potamogeton maackianus) to elucidate the effects of invasion density and eutrophication on native submerged plants.

Use of CMIP6 scenarios as a reference to understand the responses of macrophyte germination and seedling growth to future warming and allelopathy co-stressors.

The application of appropriate references such as CMIP6 climate scenarios for benchmarking studies of climate change on ecosystems can promote consistency among different climate change research. However, the use of CMIP6 climate scenarios is not common among experiments on the effects of climate change on freshwater ecosystems. Also, little is known about the impact of ecological factor such as allelopathy of alien species on macrophyte germination and seedling growth under different climate scenarios.

Microplastics and co-pollutant with ciprofloxacin affect interactions between free-floating macrophytes.

Microplastic and antibiotic contamination are considered an increasing environmental problem in aquatic systems, while little is known about the impact of microplastics and co-pollutant with antibiotics on freshwater vascular plants, particularly the effects of interactions between macrophytes. Here, we performed a mesocosm experiment to evaluate the impact of polyethylene-microplastics and their co-pollutants with ciprofloxacin on the growth and physiological characteristics of Spirodela polyrhiza and Lemna minor and the interactions between these two macrophytes. Our results showed that microplastics alone cannot significantly influence fresh weight and specific leaf area of the two test free-floating macrophytes, but the effects on photosynthetic pigments, malondialdehyde, catalase and soluble sugar contents were species-specific.

Effect of hydraulic parameters of leachate treatment process on di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate removal from aged leachate.

The effect of hydraulic parameters of an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic leachate treatment reactor on the removal of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from aged landfill leachate was studied. The mean DEHP removal efficiencies were 79.5%, 87.

Removal of Di-n-butyl phthalate from aged leachate under optimal hydraulic condition of leachate treatment process and in the presence of its dominant bacterial strains.

The effects of hydraulic condition of reactor and the dominant degrading bacteria on the removal of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) from aged landfill leachate by anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A/A/O) leachate treatment process were investigated. The optimal DBP removal (96.0%) was obtained from aged leachate when the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the reactor was 3 d, internal reflux ratio of the reactor was 200%, and external reflux ratio of the reactor was 60%, respectively.

Antibiotics in Leachates from Landfills in Northern Zhejiang Province, China.

The concentrations and distributions of five sulfonamide, three tetracycline, and two macrolide antibiotics in leachates from three landfill sites in northern Zhejiang Province, China, were determined by solid-phase extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Most of the antibiotics were detected in the leachate samples. The concentrations and distributions of the antibiotics in leachates of different ages were very different.

ZIF-Derived Cobalt-Containing N-Doped Carbon-Coated SiO Nanoparticles for Superior Lithium Storage.

N-Doped carbon-encapsulated SiO and Co nanoparticles are synthesized by the calcination of ZIF-67-coated SiO nanoparticles. This composite exhibits good electrochemical conductivity and superior accommodation to volume change from N-doped carbon and Co with SiO nanoparticles, exhibiting improved cycle and rate performances for lithium storage. It retains a capacity of 1044 mA h g over 150 cycles at 1.

Removal of phthalic acid dieters with dissolved organic matter by an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic leachate treatment process.

The removal of di--butyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) with dissolved organic matter (DOM) was studied in a laboratory scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic reactor for landfill leachate treatment. The removal rate was up to 98.0% for DBP and 78.

Metal-Organic Frameworks-Derived Mesoporous Si/SiO @NC Nanospheres as a Long-Lifespan Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Silicon (Si)-based anode materials with suitable engineered nanostructures generally have improved lithium storage capabilities, which provide great promise for the electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, a metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived unique core-shell Si/SiO @NC structure has been synthesized by a facile magnesio-thermic reduction, in which the Si and SiO matrix were encapsulated by nitrogen (N)-doped carbon. Importantly, the well-designed nanostructure has enough space to accommodate the volume change during the lithiation/delithiation process.

Systematic Exploration of the Role of a Modified Layer on the Separator in the Electrochemistry of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

As a significant constituent of lithium-sulfur batteries, the separator also exerts a considerable effect on the performance of the sulfur cathode. In our work, the mixture of acetylene black and multiwalled carbon nanotubes is uniformly applied onto the commercial polypropylene membranes to attain the modified separators. While investigating different samples, the underlying influence of the coating layer is systematically scrutinized on the electrochemical behaviors of sulfur cathodes, relying on the extensive electrochemical and structural measurements.

One-Step Construction of N,P-Codoped Porous Carbon Sheets/CoP Hybrids with Enhanced Lithium and Potassium Storage.

Despite the desirable advancement in synthesizing transition-metal phosphides (TMPs)-based hybrid structures, most methods depend on foreign-template-based multistep procedures for tailoring the specific structure. Herein, a self-template and recrystallization-self-assembly strategy for the one-step synthesis of core-shell-like cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanoparticles embedded into nitrogen and phosphorus codoped porous carbon sheets (CoP⊂NPPCS), is first proposed. Relying on the unusual coordination ability of melamine with metal ions and the cooperative hydrogen bonding of melamine and phytic acid to form a 2D network, a self-synthesized single precursor can be attained.

Nickel hexacyanoferrate/carbon composite as a high-rate and long-life cathode material for aqueous hybrid energy storage.

A nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF)/carbon composite is prepared to realize reduced structure vacancies and enhanced conductivity simultaneously. The resultant composite as a cathode material exhibits good capacity retentions both for rate capability (93% of that at 0.1 A g for 2 A g) and cycle stability (94% after 900 cycles at 0.

Fabrication and improved photoelectrochemical properties of a transferred GaN-based thin film with InGaN/GaN layers.

Herein, a lift-off mesoporous GaN-based thin film, which consisted of a strong phase-separated InGaN/GaN layer and an n-GaN layer, was fabricated via an electrochemical etching method in a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution for the first time and then transferred onto quartz or n-Si substrates, acting as photoanodes during photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting in a 1 M NaCl aqueous solution. Compared to the as-grown GaN-based film, the transferred GaN-based thin films possess higher and blue-shifted light emission, presumably resulting from an increase in the surface area and stress relaxation in the InGaN/GaN layer embedded on the mesoporous n-GaN. The properties such as (i) high photoconversion efficiency, (ii) low turn-on voltage (-0.

Sensitive determination of protein based on the fluorescence enhancement effect of terbium (III)-epinephrine-protein-sodium dodecylsulfate system.

It was found that the fluorescence of Tb(3+)-epinephrine (E) complex can be enhanced by both bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), and stabilized by ascorbic acid (AA). It is considered that the fluorescence enhancement of the Tb(3+)-E-BSA-AA-SDS system originates not only from the hydrophobic microenvironment provided by BSA-SDS, but also from the energy transfer from BSA to Tb(3+) in this system. Therefore, a new fluorescence method for the determination of protein concentrations as low as 1.

Study on the co-luminescence effect of Tb-Gd-epinephrine system and its application to the sensitive determination of epinephrine at nanomol level.

A new fluorimetric method for the determination of epinephrine is established by rare earth co-luminescence effect of Tb-Gd-E-Tris system. Under optimum conditions, a linear relationship has been obtained between the fluorescence intensity and the concentration of epinephrine in the range of 1.8x10(-8) to 2.

[Determination of inorganic elements in different parts of Sonchus oleraceus L by flame atomic absorption spectrometry].

Flame atomic absorption spectrometry with air-acetylene flame was used for the determination of inorganic metal elements in different parts ( flower, leaf, stem and root) of Sonchus oleraceus L. The contents of Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr, Co, Ni, Pb and Cd in the flower, leaf, stem and root of Sonchus oleraceus L were compared. The order from high to low of the additive weight (microg x g(-1)) for the 13 kinds of metal elements is as follows: leaf (77 213.

Interaction between proteins and cationic gemini surfactant.

Surface tension, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) methods have been used to investigate the interaction between cationic gemini surfactant 1,2-ethane bis(dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12C2C12) and proteins including bovine serum albumin (BSA) and gelatin. Surface tension measurements show that the complexes of gelatin--C12C2C12 form more easily than that of BSA--C12C2C12. Addition of C12C2C12 has a different effect not only on the polarity of the microenvironment in BSA and gelatin systems but also on their fluorescence spectra.

Multi-phase equilibrium microemulsions and synthesis of hierarchically structured calcium carbonate through microemulsion-based routes.

Middle-phase microemulsions (MPMs) in two systems of a cationic surfactant, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTABr)/n-butanol/iso-octane/Na2CO3 or CaCl2 and an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/n-butanol/iso-octane/Na2CO3 or CaCl2, were used to synthesize nanostructured calcium carbonates. MPMs provide a simple and versatile reaction media, i.e.