Mechanistic insight into degradation of dibutyl phthalate by microorganism in sediment-water environment: Metabolic pathway, community succession, keystone phylotypes and functional genes.

Despite extensive studies on dibutyl phthalate (DBP) degradation in isolated bacterial cultures, the primary degraders, community dynamics, and metabolic pathways involved in its biotransformation within complex sediment microbial communities remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the biotransformation mechanism of DBP by microorganisms in a sediment-water system by employing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomic analysis, and bacterial isolation techniques. We observed that DBP biotransformation has three distinct phases: lag, degradative, and stationary.

Dietary selenium intake and sarcopenia in American adults.

Background: The relationship between dietary selenium intake and sarcopenia remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study investigates the associations between dietary selenium intake and sarcopenia among American adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 19,696 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the periods 1999-2006 and 2011-2018.

Nutrient regeneration patterns for initiating and maintaining algae blooms-a case study of in Lake Taihu.

In order to clarify the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) regeneration patterns and internal mechanism for initiating and maintaining algal blooms in Lake Taihu, samples (including surface water and sediment) from 8 sites in Lake Taihu were collected for nine times from May 2010 to April 2011, and analyzed for total and labile organic matter, P fractionation and sorption behaviors, extracellular enzymatic activities (EEA), dehydrogenase activity, the respiratory electron transport system activity, and iron in sediment, EEA, N and P species and chlorophyll a (Chl. a) in surface water, as well as N and P species in interstitial water. In Lake Taihu, although severe blooms occurred in both Meiliang Bay and Zhushan Bay, the nutrient regeneration patterns stimulating the initiation and maintenance of algae blooms in these two bays were different.

Electrochemical removal of nitrate in high-salt wastewater with low-cost iron electrode modified by phosphate.

Nitrate (NO) is a widespread pollutant in high-salt wastewater and causes serious harm to human health. Although electrochemical removal of nitrate has been demonstrated to be a promising treatment method, the development of low-cost electro-catalysts is still challenging. In this work, a phosphate modified iron (P-Fe) cathode was prepared for electrochemical removal of nitrate in high-salt wastewater.

Desulfurization and upgrade of pyrolytic oil and gas during waste tires pyrolysis: The role of metal oxides.

Pyrolysis can effectively convert waste tires into high-value products. However, the sulfur-containing compounds in pyrolysis oil and gas would significantly reduce the environmental and economic feasibility of this technology. Here, the desulfurization and upgrade of waste tire pyrolysis oil and gas were performed by adding different metal oxides (FeO, CuO, and CaO).

Enhanced Fe(ii)/Fe(iii) cycle by boron enabled efficient Cr(vi) removal with microscale zero-valent iron.

Recently, researchers have been paying much attention to zero-valent iron (ZVI) in the field of pollution remediation. However, the depressed electron transport from the iron reservoir to the iron oxide shell limited the wide application of ZVI. This study was aimed at promoting the performance of microscale ZVI (mZVI) for hexavalent chromium (Cr(vi)) removal by accelerating iron cycle with the addition of boron powder.

Self-assembled porphyrin-based photosensitizer nanomicelles for enhanced photodynamic therapy.

Preparation of a supermacromolecular photosensitizer that can stay in the tumor site and exhibits high photoconversion efficiency is useful for improving the efficacy of tumor photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this paper, we prepared tetratroxaminobenzene porphyrin (TAPP) loaded biodegradable silk nanospheres (NSs) and characterized their morphology, optical properties and the singlet oxygen-generating capacity. On this basis, the effect of in vitro photodynamic killing efficacy by as-prepared nanometer micelles was evaluated and the tumor retention ability and tumor killing effect of the nanometer micelles were verified by the co-culture of photosensitizer micelle and tumor cells.

Electrochemical removal of ammonium nitrogen in high efficiency and N selectivity using non-noble single-atomic iron catalyst.

Ammonia nitrogen (NH-N) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, especially in offshore aquaculture systems. Electrochemical oxidation is very promising to remove NH-N, but suffers from the use of precious metals anodes. In this work, a robust and cheap electrocatalyst, iron single-atoms distributed in nitrogen-doped carbon (Fe-SAs/N-C), was developed for electrochemical removal of NH-N from in wastewater containing chloride.

Plasma Exosome miRNAs Profile in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to have different expressions in different phases of acute myocardial infarction. The profiles of plasma exosome miRNAs in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) at 3-6 months postinfarction are unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the profiles of plasma exosome miRNAs in patients with STEMI in comparison with healthy volunteers and to select specific exosome miRNAs related to pathophysiological changes post-STEMI.

Sedimentary environment and relative sea level changes revealed by marine biological membrane.

Marine pollution has a deleterious impact, both on the conditions of the ecosystem and the biodiversity of the ocean. Researchers in the field of marine chemistry have been putting effort into the creation of efficient catalysts for the purification of seawater. There has been extensive research done on membrane technology for the activation of peroxymonosulfate, which is an extremely effective therapy for saltwater.

Experimental Investigation of Synchronous Grouting Material Prepared with Different Mineral Admixtures.

Waste sediment generated during tunnel construction is applied to prepare synchronous grouting material, where the influences of fly ash, slag powder, and bentonite on the rheological properties (such as consistency, fluidity, setting time, drainage rate, and stone rate) are studied. The results show that adding fly ash content increases the initial consistency, setting time, and fluidity of grouting material, but also increases its drainage rate and decreases its stone rate. The addition of slag powder results in a slight increase in the setting time and fluidity of the grouting material, yet a decrease in the initial consistency value.

Construction of the gene expression subgroups of patients with coronary artery disease through bioinformatics approach.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a heterogeneous disease that has placed a heavy burden on public health due to its considerable morbidity, mortality and high costs. Better understanding of the genetic drivers and gene expression clustering behind CAD will be helpful for the development of genetic diagnosis of CAD patients. The transcriptome of 352 CAD patients and 263 normal controls were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.

Synergistic Effects of Nano-Montmorillonite and Polyethylene Microfiber in Foamed Paste with High Volume Fly Ash Binder.

Foamed cement-based materials have attracted much attention as a new type of thermal insulation materials (TIMs) that may offer a sustainable solution to the built environments. This laboratory study explores the combined use of nano-montmorillonite and polyethylene microfiber in foamed paste with high volume fly ash (HVFA) binder. A total of 16 foamed HVFA paste mixtures were fabricated which consisted of 70% Class F fly ash, 30% Portland cement, 2% sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, 0.

Magnetic ZnFeO nanotubes for dispersive micro solid-phase extraction of trace rare earth elements prior to their determination by ICP-MS.

Magnetic ZnFeO nanotubes (ZFONTs) with numerous pores on their walls were synthesized and characterized. They are shown to be a viable sorbent for dispersive micro-solid phase extraction of the trivalent ions of rare earth elements (REEs), specifically of lanthanum, praseodymium, europium, gadolinium, holmium and ytterbium. The specific surface area of ZFONTs is large (57 m⋅g) and much bigger than that of ZnFeO nanoparticles (16 m⋅g).

Synthesis of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural from cellulose via a two-step process in polar aprotic solvent.

The synthesis of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) from cellulose via a two-step process was investigated. To optimize reaction conditions, the separate conversion of cellulose and glucose was first performed in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) via a one-step process using hosphotungstic acid (PHA) as catalyst. The direct conversion of cellulose to HMF was then performed via the two-step process.

Study on regeneration of waste powder activated carbon through pyrolysis and its adsorption capacity of phosphorus.

The regeneration of WPAC through pyrolysis and its adsorption capacity of phosphorus were studied. The optimum conditions for WPAC regeneration were 650 °C and 2 h which resulted in a recovery of BET surface and total pore volume with a value of 1161.4 m/g and 1.

Enhancement of CO capture performance of aqueous MEA by mixing with [NHe-mim][BF].

Alcohol amine solutions have a high absorption capacity and rate for CO capture, however, there are some shortcomings such as high energy-consumption and low stability. To enhance CO capture performance of aqueous MEA, a functional ionic liquid ([NHe-mim][BF]) was introduced based on the advantages for CO capture. Absorbents were prepared with the molar concentration ratio of [NHe-mim][BF] to the 30 vol% aqueous MEA of 0 : 10, 1 : 9, 2 : 8, 3 : 7, 4 : 6 and 6 : 4.

Nutrients removal from the secondary effluents of municipal domestic wastewater by Oscillatoria tenuis and subsequent co-digestion with pig manure.

Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the performance of Oscillatoria tenuis to remove nitrogen, phosphorus and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from secondary effluents of municipal domestic wastewater. Meanwhile the potential of biogas production by collected O. tenuis co-digested with pig manure was also investigated.

Study on the adsorption of nitrogen and phosphorus from biogas slurry by NaCl-modified zeolite.

A NaCl-modified zeolite was used to simultaneously remove nitrogen and phosphate from biogas slurry. The effect of pH, contact time and dosage of absorbants on the removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphate were studied. The results showed that the highest removal efficiency of NH4+-N (92.

Dual extraction based on solid phase extraction and solidified floating organic drop microextraction for speciation of arsenic and its distribution in tea leaves and tea infusion by electrothermal vaporization ICP-MS.

A dual extraction based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME) was developed for As species in tea leaves and tea infusion by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, including total, suspended, soluble, organic and inorganic As as well as As(III) and As(V). In SPE step, titanium dioxide nanotubes were used for preconcentration of analytes and removal of sample matrix. Elution solution from SPE was employed for further preconcentration and separation of analytes with SFODME.

Isolation of cellulose from rice straw and its conversion into cellulose acetate catalyzed by phosphotungstic acid.

Cellulose was isolated from rice straw by pretreatment with dilute alkaline and acid solutions successively, and it was further transferred into cellulose acetate in the presence of acetic anhydride and phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40·6H2O). The removal of hemicellulose and lignin was affected by the concentration of KOH and the immersion time in acetic acid solution, and 83wt.% content of cellulose in the treated rice straw was obtained after pretreatment with 4% KOH and immersion in acetic acid for 5h.

Development of a supported tri-metallic catalyst and evaluation of the catalytic activity in biomass steam gasification.

A supported tri-metallic catalyst (nano-Ni-La-Fe/gamma-Al(2)O(3)) was developed for tar reduction and enhanced hydrogen production in biomass steam gasification, with focuses on preventing coke deposition and sintering effects to lengthen the lifetime of developed catalysts. The catalyst was prepared by deposition-precipitation method and characterized by various analytical approaches. Following that, the activity of catalysts in biomass steam gasification was investigated in a bench-scale combined fixed bed reactor.

Development of nano-niO/Al2O3 catalyst to be used for tar removal in biomass gasification.

The objective of this study isto develop a novel supported nano-NiO catalyst for tar removal in biomass gasification/pyrolysis, to significantly enhance the quality of the produced gases. For this purpose, the supported nano-NiO/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by deposition-precipitation (DP) method. Different analytical approaches such as XRD, BET, TEM and SEM/EDX were used to characterize the synthesized catalysts.

Characterization of surface water on Au core Pt-group metal shell nanoparticles coated electrodes by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

We utilized the strategy of 'borrowing SERS activity', by chemically coating several atomic layers of a Pt-group metal on highly SERS-active Au nanoparticles, to obtain the first SERS (also Raman) spectra of surface water on Pt and Pd metals, and propose conceptual models for water adsorbed on Pt and Pd metal surfaces.