Sulfate Promotes Compact CaCO Formation and Protects Portland Cement from Supercritical CO Attack.

Supercritical (sc) CO in geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) can chemically and mechanically deteriorate wellbore cement, raising concerns for long-term operations. In contrast to the conventional view of "sulfate attack" on cement, we found that adding 0.15 M sulfate to the acidic brine can significantly reduce the impact of scCO attack on Portland cement, resulting in stronger cement than that found in a sulfate-free system.

The use of a benign fast-growing cyanobacterial species to control microcystin synthesis from .

Introduction: (), one of the most prevalent blue-green algae in aquatic environments, produces microcystin by causing harmful algal blooms (HAB). This study investigated the combined effects of nutrients and cyanobacterial subpopulation competition on synthesizing microcystin-LR.

Method: In varied nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, cyanobacterial coculture, and algicidal DCMU presence, the growth was monitored by optical density analysis or microscopic counting, and the microcystin production was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography-UV.

Three Distinctive Steps for Heterogeneous Nucleation of Tunnel-Structured Mn Oxide on Quartz under Light Exposure.

Natural manganese (Mn) oxide coatings, resulting from the heterogeneous nucleation on foreign substances, have garnered interest based on their importance in the reaction with organic substances and in environmental systems. However, the heterogeneous nucleation of the natural Mn oxide coatings still remains elusive. Here, fast photochemical oxidation of Mn(aq), we show that Mn(IV) oxide nuclei form and aggregate on quartz in three distinct successive stages: (i) a nanocrystalline film of unaligned grain forms, (ii) nanoislands develop on the film, and (iii) nanorods form on the nanoislands.

The discrepancy of somatic BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants from two different platforms in epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer.

The somatic BRCA1 or BRCA2 Pathogenic Variant (PV)/Likely PV (LPV) from Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is the most important biomarker for PARP inhibitor use and maintenance-targeted therapies. A discrepancy in the detection rates of BRCA1 and BRCA2 PV/LPV was identified among the NGS platforms. The objective of this study was to compare the somatic BRCA results from two distinct platforms using the same cohort and to identify the causes of these differences.

Monitoring the Nucleation and Growth of Nanoscale CaCO at the Oil-Water Interface.

Interfaces can actively control the nucleation kinetics, orientations, and polymorphs of calcium carbonate (CaCO). Prior studies have revealed that CaCO formation can be affected by the interplay between chemical functional moieties on solid-liquid or air-liquid interfaces as well as CaCO's precursors and facets. Yet little is known about the roles of a liquid-liquid interface, specifically an oil-liquid interface, in directing CaCO mineralization which are common in natural and engineered systems.

Bridging molecular-scale interfacial science with continuum-scale models.

Solid-water interfaces are crucial for clean water, conventional and renewable energy, and effective nuclear waste management. However, reflecting the complexity of reactive interfaces in continuum-scale models is a challenge, leading to oversimplified representations that often fail to predict real-world behavior. This is because these models use fixed parameters derived by averaging across a wide physicochemical range observed at the molecular scale.

The Roles of Oil-Water Interfaces in Forming Ultrasmall CaSO Nanoparticles.

In natural and engineered environmental systems, calcium sulfate (CaSO) nucleation commonly occurs at dynamic liquid-liquid interfaces. Although CaSO is one of the most common minerals in oil spills and oil-water separation, the mechanisms driving its nucleation at these liquid-liquid interfaces remain poorly understood. In this study, using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we examined CaSO nucleation at oil-water interfaces and found that within 60 minutes of reaction, short rod-shaped nanoparticles (with a radius of gyration () of 17.

Gravity-driven controls on fluid and carbonate precipitation distributions in fractures.

Many challenges related to carbon-dioxide ([Formula: see text]) sequestration in subsurface rock are linked to the injection of fluids through induced or existing fracture networks and how these fluids are altered through geochemical interactions. Here, we demonstrate that fluid mixing and carbonate mineral distributions in fractures are controlled by gravity-driven chemical dynamics. Using optical imaging and numerical simulations, we show that a density contrast between two miscible fluids causes the formation of a low-density fluid runlet that increases in areal extent as the fracture inclination decreases from 90[Formula: see text] (vertical fracture plane) to 30[Formula: see text].

Oxide- and Silicate-Water Interfaces and Their Roles in Technology and the Environment.

Interfacial reactions drive all elemental cycling on Earth and play pivotal roles in human activities such as agriculture, water purification, energy production and storage, environmental contaminant remediation, and nuclear waste repository management. The onset of the 21st century marked the beginning of a more detailed understanding of mineral aqueous interfaces enabled by advances in techniques that use tunable high-flux focused ultrafast laser and X-ray sources to provide near-atomic measurement resolution, as well as by nanofabrication approaches that enable transmission electron microscopy in a liquid cell. This leap into atomic- and nanometer-scale measurements has uncovered scale-dependent phenomena whose reaction thermodynamics, kinetics, and pathways deviate from previous observations made on larger systems.

Photobiological production of high-value pigments via compartmentalized co-cultures using Ca-alginate hydrogels.

Engineered cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus can use light and CO to produce sucrose, making it a promising candidate for use in co-cultures with heterotrophic workhorses. However, this process is challenged by the mutual stresses generated from the multispecies microbial culture. Here we demonstrate an ecosystem where S.

Oxidative Roles of Polystyrene-Based Nanoplastics in Inducing Manganese Oxide Formation under Light Illumination.

Every year, large quantities of plastics are produced and used for diverse applications, growing concerns about the waste management of plastics and their release into the environment. Plastic debris can break down into millions of pieces that adversely affect natural organisms. In particular, the photolysis of micro/nanoplastics can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Mineral-hydrogel composites for mitigating harmful algal bloom and supplying phosphorous for photo-biorefineries.

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) are a major environmental concern in eutrophic aquatic systems. To mitigate HABs and recover the phosphorus that drives algal growth, this study developed hydrogel composites seeded with calcium phosphate and wollastonite particles, which first adsorb phosphate (P) and then precipitate it as calcium phosphate. Using a fast-growing cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus 2973, as a model microalga, we found that the mineral-hydrogel composites reduced dissolved P in BG11 media from 5.

Photochemical reactions of dissolved organic matter and bromide ions facilitate abiotic formation of manganese oxide solids.

Manganese (Mn) oxide solids are ubiquitous in nature, acting as both electron donors and acceptors in diverse redox reactions in the environment. Reactions of Mn(III/IV) oxides with dissolved natural organic matter (DOM) are commonly described as reductive dissolutions that generate Mn(aq). In this study, we investigated the role of photochemical reactions of DOM in Mn(aq) oxidation and the resulting formation of Mn oxide solids.

Process-Specific Effects of Sulfate on CaCO Formation in Environmentally Relevant Systems.

Additives, such as ions, small molecules, and macromolecules, have been found to regulate the formation of CaCO and control its morphologies and properties. However, a single additive usually affects dominantly one process in CaCO's formation and is seldom found to significantly affect multiple CaCO formation processes. Here, we used grazing incidence X-ray techniques to observe the heterogeneous formation of CaCO and found that a series of formation processes (i.

Clinical Significance of Epstein-Barr Virus and Infection in Gastric Carcinoma.

Background/aims: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and (HP) coinfection may synergistically induce severe inflammatory responses in the stomach tissue, increasing the risk of developing gastric cancer. We aimed to analyze the effect of EBV and HP coinfection on the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of gastric cancer, as well as to evaluate the role of EBV infection in non-gastric carcinoma with lymphoid stroma (non-GCLS).

Methods: Overall, 956 patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer between September 2014 and August 2015 were eligible and divided into groups, according to GCLS morphology, EBV infection, and HP infection.

Classical and Nonclassical Nucleation and Growth Mechanisms for Nanoparticle Formation.

All solid materials are created via nucleation. In this evolutionary process, nuclei form in solution or at interfaces, expand by monomeric growth and oriented attachment, and undergo phase transformation. Nucleation determines the location and size of nuclei, whereas growth controls the size, shape, and aggregation of newly formed nanoparticles.

Engineering Calcium-bearing Mineral/Hydrogel Composites for Effective Phosphate Recovery.

Effectively recovering phosphate from wastewater streams and reutilizing it as a nutrient will critically support sustainability. Here, to capture aqueous phosphate, we developed novel mineral-hydrogel composites composed of calcium alginate, calcium phosphate (CaP), and calcium silicate (CSH) (CaP + CSH/Ca-Alg). The CaP + CSH/Ca-Alg composites were synthesized by dripping a sodium alginate (Na-Alg) solution with ionic precursors into a calcium chloride bath.

A Biosynthetic Hybrid Spidroin-Amyloid-Mussel Foot Protein for Underwater Adhesion on Diverse Surfaces.

Strong underwater adhesives are attractive materials for biomedical healing and underwater repair, but their success in applications has been limited, owing to challenges with underwater setting and with balancing surface adhesion and cohesion. Here, we applied synthetic biology approaches to overcome these challenges through design and synthesis of a novel hybrid protein consisting of the zipper-forming domains of an amyloid protein, flexible spider silk sequences, and a dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA)-containing mussel foot protein (Mfp). This partially structured, hybrid protein can self-assemble into a semi-crystalline hydrogel that exhibits high strength and toughness as well as strong underwater adhesion to a variety of surfaces, including difficult-to-adhere plastics, tendon, and skin.

Effects of MoS Layer Thickness on Its Photochemically Driven Oxidative Dissolution.

The distinctive optical and electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS) make it a promising photocatalyst and photothermal agent in aqueous applications. In terms of environmental stability, MoS has been considered insoluble, but 2D MoS nanosheets can be susceptible to dissolution, owing to their large surface areas and highly accessible reactive sites, including defects at the basal plane and edge sites. Under light illumination, the dissolution of 2D MoS nanosheets can be further accelerated by their photochemical reactivity.

Microbial production of megadalton titin yields fibers with advantageous mechanical properties.

Manmade high-performance polymers are typically non-biodegradable and derived from petroleum feedstock through energy intensive processes involving toxic solvents and byproducts. While engineered microbes have been used for renewable production of many small molecules, direct microbial synthesis of high-performance polymeric materials remains a major challenge. Here we engineer microbial production of megadalton muscle titin polymers yielding high-performance fibers that not only recapture highly desirable properties of natural titin (i.

Sulfate-Controlled Heterogeneous CaCO Nucleation and Its Non-linear Interfacial Energy Evolution.

Unveiling the effects of an environmental abundant anion "sulfate" on the formation of calcium carbonate (CaCO) is essential to understand the formation mechanisms of biominerals like corals and brachiopod shells, as well as the scale formation in desalination systems. However, it was experimentally challenging to elucidate the sulfate-CaCO interactions at the explicit first step of CaCO formation: nucleation. In addition, there is limited quantitative information on the precise control of nucleation kinetics.

Does -Butyl Alcohol Really Terminate the Oxidative Activity of OH in Inorganic Redox Chemistry?

The hydroxyl radical, OH, is one of the most reactive free radicals and plays significant roles in the oxidative degradation of organic pollutants and the electron transfer of inorganic ions in natural and engineered environmental processes. To quantitatively determine the contribution of OH to oxidative reactions, a specific scavenger, such as -butyl alcohol (TBA), is usually added to eliminate OH effects. Although TBA is commonly assumed to transform OH into oxidatively inert products, this study demonstrates that utilizing TBA as an OH scavenger generates the secondary peroxyl radical (ROO), influencing the oxidation of transition metals, such as Mn.

Cyclic strain enhances the early stage mineral nucleation and the modulus of demineralized bone matrix.

The adaptive response of bones to mechanical loading is essential for musculoskeletal development. Despite the importance of collagen in bone mineralization, little is known about how cyclic strain influences physicochemical responses of collagen, especially at the early stage of mineralization when the levels of strain are higher than those in mature bones. The findings in this study show that, without any cell-mediated activity, cyclic strain increases nucleation rates of calcium phosphate (CaP) nanocrystals in highly-organized collagen matrices.

Microbially Synthesized Polymeric Amyloid Fiber Promotes β-Nanocrystal Formation and Displays Gigapascal Tensile Strength.

The ability of amyloid proteins to form stable β-sheet nanofibrils has made them potential candidates for material innovation in nanotechnology. However, such a nanoscale feature has rarely translated into attractive macroscopic properties for mechanically demanding applications. Here, we present a strategy by fusing amyloid peptides with flexible linkers from spidroin; the resulting polymeric amyloid proteins can be biosynthesized using engineered microbes and wet-spun into macroscopic fibers.