Adsorption-enhanced Fenton catalytic membrane for high-efficiency, high-quality drinking water treatment.

To efficiently remove micropollutants from drinking water, this study developed an adsorption-enhanced Fenton catalytic membrane with a two-dimensional structure composed of graphene oxide loaded with iron-cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks (FeCD-MOF). As water passes through the interlayer channels, micropollutants and hydrogen peroxide (HO) are adsorbed into the voids of the FeCD-MOF and the cavities of the CD. This process increases the concentration of micropollutants and HO in the confined space, thereby significantly enhancing the efficiency of the Fenton catalytic reaction.

Adjusting oxidation pathways via fine-tuning atomic ratios in window-opening MOF membranes for efficient self-cleaning.

Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) can be used as a green oxidant to mitigate catalytic membranes fouling and restore filtration performance through advanced oxidation processes (AOP). However, the adjustment of oxidation pathways and the understanding of underlying mechanisms for efficient cleaning without sacrificing the filtration performance need to be studied systematically. We optimized the membranes microenvironment via thermal modification from 25 °C to 400 °C below the catalyst ZIF-8 framework's decomposition temperature.

Reduced biophotonic activities and spectral blueshift in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia models with cognitive impairment.

Background: Although clinically, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are the two major types of dementia, it is unclear whether the biophotonic activities associated with cognitive impairments in these diseases share common pathological features.

Methods: We used the ultraweak biophoton imaging system (UBIS) and synaptosomes prepared by modified percoll method to directly evaluate the functional changes in synapses and neural circuits in AD and VaD model animals.

Results: We found that biophotonic activities induced by glutamate were significantly reduced and spectral blueshifted in synaptosomes and brain slices.

Titanium Oxide Electrocatalytic Membrane Filtration: "Two Faces" of Oxygen Vacancies in Generation and Transformation of Reactive Oxygen Species.

Oxygen vacancies are crucial to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the metal oxide electrocatalytic membrane (MO EM) process. Here, using cathodic TiO EM as a model, we thoroughly reveal the roles of oxygen vacancies in ROS generation and transformation. Oxygen vacancies significantly promote HO and OH production at low concentrations (increment <35%) but inhibit their production at high concentrations (increment >35%).

Catalytic ozonation of sulfamethoxazole using low-cost natural silicate ore supported FeO: influencing factors, reaction mechanisms and degradation pathways.

A low-cost natural silicate ore supported FeO (FeSO) was synthesized for catalytic ozonation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX). XRD, SEM-EDS, BET, FTIR and XPS results of the FeSO catalyst confirmed that the natural silicate ore was successfully modified with iron oxide. The effects of key factors, such as catalyst dosage, initial solution pH, reaction temperature, inorganic anions and initial concentration, on ozonation degradation were systemically investigated.

Electrified ceramic membrane actuates non-radical mediated peroxymonosulfate activation for highly efficient water decontamination.

Electrified ceramic membranes (ECMs) achieve high water decontamination efficiency mainly through implementing in situ radical-mediated oxidation in membrane filtration, whereas ECMs leveraging non-radical pathways are rarely explored. Herein, we demonstrated a Janus ECM realizing ultra-efficient micropollutant (MP) removal via electro-activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in a fast, flow-through single-pass electro-filtration. The Janus ECM features two separate palladium (Pd) functionalized electrocatalytic reaction zones engineered on its two sides.

Separate Reclamation of Oil and Surfactant from Oil-in-Water Emulsion with a CO-Responsive Material.

Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion is one type of oily wastewater produced by many industries. The treatment of and resource recovery from O/W emulsions are very challenging. Unlike bulk or floating oil, which can be successfully abstracted from wastewater by hydrophobic/oleophilic materials, the abstraction of emulsified oil is not easy because of its highly hydrophilic surface composed of dense surfactants.

Peracetic acid integrated catalytic ceramic membrane filtration for enhanced membrane fouling control: Performance evaluation and mechanism analysis.

Endowing ceramic membrane (CM) catalytic reactivity can enhance membrane fouling control in the aid of in situ oxidation process. Peracetic acid (PAA) oxidant holds great prospect to integrate with CM for membrane fouling control, owing to the prominent advantages of high oxidation efficacy and easy activation. Herein, this study, for the first time, presented a PAA/CM catalytic filtration system achieving highly-efficient protein fouling alleviation.

Carbon nanotube supported oriented metal organic framework membrane for effective ethylene/ethane separation.

Zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8) is effective for CH/CH separation because of the "sieving effect" of a six-membered (6-M) window. Here, we demonstrate that ZIF-8 is a versatile material that could effectively separate CH from CH via its 4-M window along the <100> direction. We established a facile and environmentally friendly carbon nanotube (CNT)-induced oriented membrane (CNT-OM) approach to fabricate a {100}-oriented ZIF-8 membrane (100-M).

An Ultrahigh-Flux Nanoporous Graphene Membrane for Sustainable Seawater Desalination using Low-Grade Heat.

Membrane distillation has attracted great attention in the development of sustainable desalination and zero-discharge processes because of its possibility of recovering 100% water and the potential for integration with low-grade heat, such as solar energy. However, the conventional membrane structures and materials afford limited flux thus obstructing its practical application. Here, ultrathin nanoporous graphene membranes are reported by selectively forming thin graphene layers on the top edges of a highly porous anodic alumina oxide support, which creates short and fast transport pathways for water vapor but not liquid.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cerebral Microbleeds: Analysis From the UK Biobank.

Background And Objectives: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) at different locations in a large healthy community population.

Methods: A total of 8,159 participants from the UK Biobank with MRI scans suitable for CMB analysis were included. Brain susceptibility-weighted imaging data were acquired on 2 identical 3.

Precise Sub-Angstrom Ion Separation Using Conjugated Microporous Polymer Membranes.

Polymer membranes typically possess a broad pore-size distribution that leads to much lower selectivity in ion separation when compared to membranes made of crystalline porous materials; however, they are highly desirable because of their easy processability and low cost. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of ion-sieving membranes based on a polycarbazole-type conjugated microporous polymer using an easy to scale-up electropolymerization strategy. The membranes exhibited high uniform sub-nanometer pores and a precisely tunable membrane thickness, yielding a high ion-sieving performance with a sub-1 Å size precision.

Janus electrocatalytic flow-through membrane enables highly selective singlet oxygen production.

The importance of singlet oxygen (O) in the environmental and biomedical fields has motivated research for effective O production. Electrocatalytic processes hold great potential for highly-automated and scalable O synthesis, but they are energy- and chemical-intensive. Herein, we present a Janus electrocatalytic membrane realizing ultra-efficient O production (6.

Electropolymerization of robust conjugated microporous polymer membranes for rapid solvent transport and narrow molecular sieving.

Pore size uniformity is one of the most critical parameters in determining membrane separation performance. Recently, a novel type of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) has shown uniform pore size and high porosity. However, their brittle nature has prevented them from preparing robust membranes.

Low Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus Volume Associated With Hypertension-Related Cognitive Impairment.

Hypertension increases the risk of cognitive impairment independent of detectable stroke or cerebral lesions. However, the principal pathophysiological basis of this increase has not been fully elucidated. The present study investigates the relationships among blood pressure, hippocampal subfields volume, and cognitive function in a relatively young non-stroke population.

Association of common genetic variants with brain microbleeds: A genome-wide association study.

Objective: To identify common genetic variants associated with the presence of brain microbleeds (BMBs).

Methods: We performed genome-wide association studies in 11 population-based cohort studies and 3 case-control or case-only stroke cohorts. Genotypes were imputed to the Haplotype Reference Consortium or 1000 Genomes reference panel.

Tuning the Surface Structure of Polyamide Membranes Using Porous Carbon Nitride Nanoparticles for High-Performance Seawater Desalination.

Enhancing the water flux while maintaining the high salt rejection of existing reverse osmosis membranes remains a considerable challenge. Herein, we report the use of a porous carbon nitride (CN) nanoparticle to potentially improve both the water flux and salt rejection of the state-of-the-art polyamide (PA) thin film composite (TFC) membranes. The organic-organic covalent bonds endowed CN with great compatibility with the PA layer, which positively influenced the customization of interfacial polymerization (IP).

Role of pre-coagulation in ultralow pressure membrane system for Microcystis aeruginosa-laden water treatment: Membrane fouling potential and mechanism.

This work systematically studied the role of pre-coagulation in the performance of ultralow pressure membrane system for algae-laden water treatment. The membrane performance with/without pre-coagulation was compared in terms of membrane permeate flux, water quality and membrane fouling. Ultralow pressure membrane system can effectively reduce TOC of Microcystis aeruginosa-laden water from 5.

Synergistic oxidation - filtration process analysis of catalytic CuFeO - Tailored ceramic membrane filtration via peroxymonosulfate activation for humic acid treatment.

This work synthesized catalytic CuFeO tailored ceramic membrane (CuFeCM), and systematically investigated the intercorrelated oxidation - filtration mechanism of peroxymonosulfate (PMS)/CuFeCM catalytic filtration for treating humic acid (HA). PMS/CuFeCM filtration exhibited enhanced HA removal efficiency while reduced the irreversible fouling resistance as compared with the conventional CM filtration. Results from HA characterizations showed that PMS/CuFeCM catalytic filtration oxidized HA into conjugated structures of smaller molecular weight.

Direct Patterning of Carbon Nanotube via Stamp Contact Printing Process for Stretchable and Sensitive Sensing Devices.

Flexible and wearable sensing devices have broad application prospects in bio-monitoring such as pulse measurement, motion detection and voice recognition. In recent years, many significant improvements had been made to enhance the sensor's performance including sensitivity, flexibility and repeatability. However, it is still extremely complicated and difficult to prepare a patterned sensor directly on a flexible substrate.

Individuals in the prediabetes stage exhibit reduced hippocampal tail volume and executive dysfunction.

Introduction: High glucose levels are associated with cognitive impairment and total hippocampal volume reductions. However, the effects of the blood glucose level on hippocampal subfield volumes remain unclear, especially in the prediabetes stage.

Methods: Sixty participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and were divided into the nondiabetes, prediabetes, and diabetes groups according to their medical history and A1c level.

Carbon and nitrogen metabolic pathways and interaction of cold-resistant heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

In this study, both the carbon and nitrogen metabolisms of two heterotrophic nitrification bacteria were investigated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at 2 °C. Similar catabolism and anabolism trends were observed for the two bacteria in stable experimental systems under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Based on the nitrogen and carbon balance analysis and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) calculation, we proposed the following metabolic pathways: i) aerobic: except for microbial assimilation, the carbon and nitrogen sources were removed through respiration and nitrification, which provided energy for cell synthesis; and ii) anaerobic: the nitrification process almost stopped and most of the carbon sources decomposed into inorganic carbon, which dissolved in the medium.

[Distribution Characteristics of Mercury in Different Urban Constructed Wetlands].

To explore the spatial and temporal distribution and the methylation characteristics of mercury in different constructed wetlands in cities, and to understand the potential ecological exposure of mercury in urban wetlands, four artificial wetlands in Chongqing were studied from March 2017 to March 2018. The water samples were collected separately in four quarters, and the mass concentration of total mercury (THg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) was researched for one year. The results showed that the THg concentration in the four wetland waters is higher than the background value of the world's lakes and reservoirs for dam construction, but it is far lower than the waters with pollution history.

[Mercury Distribution Characteristics and Its Mass Balance in a Multifunctional Urban Wetland].

The distribution characteristics and the source-sink relationship of total mercury (THg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) were studied in a wastewater treatment area and in a lake deep purification area of a multifunctional urban wetland that integrates domestic sewage treatment plant effluent, water purification, and leisure entertainment in Chongqing. The results showed that the THg concentration ranged from 1.98 ng·L to 38.