Enhancing sensing performance through a metal-dielectric hybrid structure supporting hybridized TPP and symmetry-protected quasi-BIC.

We propose a metal-dielectric hybrid structure to enhance the quality () factor by strong coupling between the resonant guided mode (RGM) and higher-order Tamm plasmon polariton (TPP). Meanwhile, we found that symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (SP-BIC) can be achieved by actively adjusting the angle of the incident light, thus increasing the degrees of freedom for modulating the -factor. The simulation results indicated that both the central wavelengths and -factors of resonant modes can be modulated and optimized by modifying relevant structural parameters.

[NO Generation, Key Influencing Factors, and Emission Reduction Strategies of AO Process in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant].

To achieve non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emission reduction and control in municipal wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs）, this study conducted one-year long-term monitoring of nitrous oxide （NO） in the anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic （AO） process of a large-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant in Beijing. The experimental results showed that the anaerobic and anoxic zones of the AO process could effectively remove dissolved NO contained in the return sludge, while the aerobic zone was the main area for NO generation and emission, and its generation pathway may have been dominated by ammonia oxidizing bacteria （AOB） denitrification. A significant difference was observed between winter and summer NO production, and the difference in the average NO release flux was up to 7.

The interaction between sludge and microplastics during thermal hydrolysis of sludge.

In municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), large number of microplastics (MPs) accumulated in wastewater migrated into sludge. Thermal hydrolysis of sludge (THS) was one of the most promising processes for promoting changes in molecular structure of MPs. The physicochemical properties and degradative pathways of polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in THS under different temperatures were studied in this paper.

Docosahexaenoic acid-enriched diet improves the flesh quality of freshwater fish (Megalobrama amblycephala): Evaluation based on nutritional value, texture and flavor.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a potential regulatory substance for flesh quality of fish, while the related evaluation is still barely. In this study, the effects of DHA-enriched diets on the flesh quality of freshwater fish (Megalobrama amblycephala) were investigated systematically. The sub-adult M.

Characteristics of bioaerosol emissions from a municipal wastewater treatment plant: Health risk assessment and microbial composition.

Bioaerosols released from municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) contain pathogenic microorganisms, if dispersed into the atmosphere, which pose potential health risks to humans. In this study, the concentrations and size distribution of bioaerosol, factors on the bioaerosol emission, exposure risk, and microbial composition in different treatment units of a MWWTP were investigated. The results showed that bioaerosol was released to different degrees in each treatment unit, with the concentrations of bioaerosol varied widely, ranging from 978 to 3710 CFU/m.

Combination of 308-nm excimer laser and piperine promotes melanocyte proliferation, migration, and melanin content production via the miR-328/SFRP1 axis.

Objective: Both piperine and a 308-nm excimer laser have significant curative effects on vitiligo. This study mainly explored the molecular mechanism of a 308-nm excimer combined with piperine in regulating melanocyte proliferation.

Methods: Epidermal melanocytes were cultured in piperine solution, and the cells were irradiated by an XTRAC excimer laser treatment system at 308-nm output monochromatic light.

Migration and transformation modes of microplastics in reclaimed wastewater treatment plant and sludge treatment center with thermal hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion.

Microplastics in wastewater have been investigated globally, but less research on the migration and transformation of microplastics throughout wastewater and sludge treatment. This study investigated the fate of microplastics in a reclaimed wastewater treatment plant and a centralized sludge treatment center with thermal hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion. The results exhibited that the effluent microplastics of this reclaimed wastewater treatment plant were 0.

Enhancing surface sensing performance of cascaded high contrast gratings using bound states in the continuum.

We proposed the cascaded high contrast grating (CHCG) structure to enhance surface sensing capabilities through bound states in the continuum (BICs). Utilizing the finite element method (FEM) and rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA), we studied the dispersion relations, far-field contribution CHCGs, and near-field distributions of BICs corresponding to resonance peaks at different wavelengths. Results demonstrate the ability to precisely control symmetry-protected BIC (SP-BIC) and Friedrich-Wintgen BIC (FW-BIC) resonance peaks by altering incident angles and structural parameters, enhancing structure robustness and tunability.

High-performance gas sensor with symmetry-protected quasi-bound states in the continuum.

A high-performance optical sensor with a vertical cavity structure comprising high-contrast gratings (HCGs) and a distributed Bragg reflector was designed. The structure has two peaks with different mechanisms, among which the first peak is formed by breaking the symmetry of the structure and coupling between the incident wave and the symmetric protection mode. The joint action of the HCG resonance and Fabry-Perot resonance formed a second peak.

Enhancing nitrogen removal efficiency and anammox metabolism in microbial electrolysis cell coupled anammox through different voltage application.

The slow growth and difficulty in cultivating anammox bacteria limit the rapid start-up of anammox process and effective microbial enrichment. In this study, microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was coupled with anammox to investigate the effects of different applying voltage methods on substrate removal efficiency and rates, microbial community structure, anammox metabolism and metabolic pathways. The results showed that applying voltage not only improved NH-N removal efficiency and removal rates, but also promoted electron transfer efficiency, key enzyme activity and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secretion in the systems.

Dual-band refractive index sensor with cascaded asymmetric resonant compound grating based on bound states in the continuum.

We propose a cascaded asymmetric resonant compound grating (ARCG) for high-performance dual-band refractive index sensing. The physical mechanism of the sensor is investigated using a combination of temporal coupled-mode theory (TCMT) and ARCG eigenfrequency information, which is verified by rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA). The reflection spectra can be tailored by changing the key structural parameters.

Fabrication of surface ion imprinting rice husk-based polymer for selective detection and efficient adsorption of Cu in lake water.

With the deepening of the concept of recycling economy and green chemistry, selective detection and capture of Cu from lake water by biosorbent are of great significance. Herein, the Cu ion-imprinted polymers (RH-CIIP) with organosilane containing hydroxyl and Schiff base groups (OHSBG) as ion-receptor, fluorescent chromophores and cross-linking agent, and Cu as template ion, were fabricated via surface ion imprinting technology by employing mesoporous silica MCM-41 (RH@MCM-41) as supporter. The RH-CIIP could be exploited as a fluorescent sensor for Cu with high selective compared with Cu non-imprinted polymers (RH-CNIP).

Structural and photoelectron spectroscopic study on the heterotrinuclear nickel-titanium dioxide carbonyl complexes NiTiO(CO) ( = 2-4).

Herein, the configurations and intrinsic electronic properties of heteronuclear transition metal dioxide carbonyl anions NiTiO(CO) ( = 2-4) in the gas phase were investigated using mass spectrometry coupled anionic photoelectron spectroscopy, calculations, and simulated density-of-state (DOS) spectra. The results clearly show that the binding of electrons is enhanced by the addition of CO. The ground state structures of NiTiO(CO) ( = 2-4) are characterized to show that three transition metal atoms (one Ti atom and two Ni atoms) forming a quasi-line is favored.

Using two-step cluster analysis to classify inpatients with primary biliary cholangitis based on autoantibodies: A real-world retrospective study of 537 patients in China.

Background: A variety of autoantibodies have been detected in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), while the presence of autoantibody clusters and their clinical significance have not been fully understood. We aimed at defining autoantibody clusters and to better understand the clinical features and prognosis of PBC patients based on autoantibody clusters under real-world conditions.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 788 inpatients with PBC evaluated between October 2008 and July 2019, and included 537 patients.

Mechanisms of interaction between polystyrene nanoplastics and extracellular polymeric substances in the activated sludge cultivated by different carbon sources.

Nanoplastics (NPs) are ubiquitously present in wastewater treatment plants, which would be removed by the flocculation of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from activated sludge. However, the interaction mechanisms between NPs and EPS of activated sludge remain largely unexplored. This study investigated the interaction mechanisms between polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and EPS with sodium acetate (NaAc), methanol (MeOH) and glucose (GLC) as carbon sources.

Double-layer symmetric gratings with bound states in the continuum for dual-band high- optical sensing.

Herein, we theoretically demonstrate that a double-layer symmetric gratings (DLSG) resonator consisting of a low-refractive-index layer sandwiched between two high-contrast gratings (HCG) layers, can host dual-band high-quality () factor resonance. We find that the artificial bound states in the continuum (BIC) and Fabry-Pérot BIC (FP-BIC) can be induced by optimizing structural parameters of DLSG. Interestingly, the artificial BIC is governed by the spacing between the two rectangular dielectric gratings, while the FP-BIC is achieved by controlling the cavity length of the structure.

Achieving mainstream anammox in biological aerated filter by regulating bacteria community structure.

Although mainstream partial nitrification-anammox (PN-A) is a highly efficient and sustainable wastewater treatment process, it is difficult to achieve and stabilize due to the competition among functional bacteria. In this study, achieving one-stage mainstream anammox via regulating bacteria community structure was studied in a lab-scale biological aerated filter (BAF). The results showed that high free ammonia with 89.

Disease predisposition of human leukocyte antigen class II genes influences the gut microbiota composition in patients with primary biliary cholangitis.

Background: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) susceptibility gene is the main genetic risk factor for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). The prognosis of patients with PBC is linked to gut microbiota dysbiosis. However, whether the HLA alleles are associated with the gut microbiota distribution and disease severity remains unknown.

NO production and emission pathways in anammox biofilter for treating wastewater with low nitrogen concentrations.

Although anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) is a cost-effective nitrogen removal process, nitrous oxide (NO) production will greatly reduce the advantages of this process. It is important to identify the NO emission pathways and then reduce the NO production in anammox system. To date, very limited research has been done to investigate the NO production and NO emission pathways in anammox biofilter.

A reasonably constructed fluorescent chemosensor based on the dicyanoisophorone skeleton for the discriminative sensing of Fe and Hg as well as imaging in HeLa cells and zebrafish.

In this study, a new fluorescent sensor dicyanoisophorone Rhodanine-3-acetic acid (DCI-RDA) (DCI-RDA) has been developed by employing a DCI-based push-pull dye as the fluorophore and RDA as the recognition moiety for the simultaneous sensing of Fe and Hg with a large Stokes Shift (162 nm), high selectivity and sensitivity, and low LOD (1.468 μM for Fe and 0.305 μM for Hg).

Benzobisthiadiazole and Its Derivative-Based Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for Second Near-Infrared Photoacoustic Imaging.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging has received more and more attention on disease diagnosis and fundamental scientific research. It is still challenging to amplify their imaging ability and reduce the toxicity of inorganic materials and exogenous contrast agents. Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPNs), as a new type of contrast agent, have the advantages of low toxicity, flexible structure adjustment, good photostability, and excellent photothermal conversion efficiency.

Enhanced optical sensing performance in stacked resonant compound gratings.

We proposed a high-performance integrated optical sensor based on a stacked resonant compound grating (SRCG). The transmission spectrum of a SRCG is investigated by the theoretical model that combines the coupled mode theory with the eigenmode information of the grating structures. It is found that the spectral width of the SRCG is controlled by changing its structural parameters such as the strip depth, the period of the grating, and cavity length.

Achieving and control of partial denitrification in anoxic-oxic process of real municipal wastewater treatment plant.

Partial denitrification is an alternative process to provide stable nitrite for anammox. In this study, based on full-scale and lab-scale experiments, achieving and control of partial denitrification and the microbial mechanism were studied for 17 months in municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP). Using glucose (GLC) as sole carbon source, partial denitrification was successfully achieved with nitrite accumulation percentage (NAP) higher than 90%; whereas, using sodium acetate (NaAc) as sole carbon source, nitrite accumulation was effectively controlled with economic and efficient carbon usage.

The protective role of miR-132 targeting HMGA2 through the PI3K/AKT pathway in mice with Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To explore the role and of miR-132, HMGA2 and PI3K/AKT pathway in mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: The mice were divided into 7 groups: the normal group, the model group (AD model mice), the NC group (AD mice injected with negative control (NC) vector), the miR-132 mimic group (AD mice injected with miR-132 mimics), the miR-132 inhibitor group (AD mice injected with miR-132 inhibitor), the si-HMGA2 group (AD mice injected with HMGA2 silencing vector), and the miR-132 inhibitor + si-HMGA2 group (model mice treated with miR-132 inhibitor and si-HMGA2). Y-maze experiment and related molecular biology experiments were performed.