Mechanical and electromechanical properties of 2D materials studied microscopy techniques.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with van der Waals stacking have been reported to have extraordinary mechanical and electromechanical properties, which give them revolutionary potential in various fields. However, due to the atomic-scale thickness of these 2D materials, their fascinating properties cannot be effectively characterized in many cases using conventional measurement techniques. Based on typical microscopy techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), a range of microscopy techniques have been developed to systematically quantify the mechanical and electromechanical properties of 2D materials.

Improved sea rice yield and accelerated di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) degradation by straw carbonization returning in coastal saline soils.

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, a persistent organic contaminant, is widely distributed in the environment and poses substantial threats to human health; however, there have been few investigations regarding the risks and remediation of DEHP in coastal saline soils. In this work, we studied the influences of straw carbonization returning on sea rice yield and DEHP degradation. Straw carbonization returning significantly increased soil nutrients and reduced salt stress to improve sea rice yield.

Development of polyfunctionalized biochar modified with manganese oxide and sulfur for immobilizing Hg(II) and Pb(II) in water and soil and improving soil health.

Mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) pose significant risks to human health due to their high toxicity and bioaccumulative properties. This study aimed to develop a novel biochar composite (HMB-S), polyfunctionalized with manganese dioxide (α-MnO) and sulfur functional groups, for the effective immobilization of Hg(II) and Pb(II) from contaminated environments. HMB-S demonstrated superior adsorption capacities of 190.

KA-mediated excitotoxicity induces neuronal ferroptosis through activation of ferritinophagy.

Objectives: This study aims to elucidate the role of Fe overload in kainic acid (KA)-induced excitotoxicity, investigate the involvement of ferritinophagy selective cargo receptor NCOA4 in the pathogenesis of excitotoxicity.

Methods: Western blotting was used to detect the expression of FTH1, NCOA4, Lamp2, TfR, FPN, and DMT1 after KA stereotaxic injection into the unilateral striatum of mice. Colocalization of Fe with lysosomes in KA-treated primary cortical neurons was observed by using confocal microscopy.

Biochar modification accelerates soil atrazine biodegradation by altering bacterial communities, degradation-related genes and metabolic pathways.

Atrazine is one of the most used herbicides, posing non-neglectable threats to ecosystem and human health. This work studied the performance and mechanisms of surface-modified biochar in accelerating atrazine biodegradation by exploring the changes in atrazine metabolites, bacterial communities and atrazine degradation-related genes. Among different types of biochar, nano-hydroxyapatite modified biochar achieved the highest degradation efficiency (85.

A polyfunctionalized carbon framework composite for efficient decontamination of Cr(VI) and polycyclic aromatic nitrides from acidic wastewater.

Developing multifunctional engineered adsorbents is an effective strategy for decontaminating the environment from various pollutants. In this study, a polyfunctionalized carbon-framework composite, MSC-CFM, was synthesized. The composite comprises an aromatic carbon framework enriched with various functional groups, including magnetic nanoparticles, hydroxyl, and amino groups.

Research on the coupling relationship and interaction between urbanization and eco-environment in urban agglomerations: A case study of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration.

Urban agglomerations are emerging as new regional units for national participation in global competition and the international division of labor. However, they face increasingly severe resource and eco-environment pressures during urbanization. The coordination of the relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment has attracted global attention.

Diverse thermal desorption combined with self-aspirating corona discharge ionization for direct mass spectrometry analysis of complex samples.

The thermal desorption (TD) technique is widely employed in modern mass spectrometry to facilitate the detection of non-volatile analytes. In this study, we developed a compact TD device based on a small resistance wire and coupled it with a self-aspirating corona discharge ionization (CDI) source to conduct direct MS analysis of various liquid and solid samples. Due to its small size and low heat capacity, the temperature of the TD module can be flexibly and rapidly modulated by controlling the power sequence.

Mechanisms of biochar assisted di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) biodegradation in tomato rhizosphere by metabolic and metagenomic analysis.

The intensive accumulation of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in agricultural soils has resulted in severe environmental pollution that endangers ecosystem and human health. Biochar is an eco-friendly material that can help in accelerating organic pollutant degradation; nevertheless, its roles in enhancing DEHP removal in rhizosphere remain unclear. This work investigated the impacts of biochar dosage (0%-2.

Research on the synergistic effects of urbanization and ecological environment in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration based on the Haken model.

The development of urbanization and the protection of the ecological environment are important aspects of sustainable development in urban agglomerations; thus, their coordination and synergy are crucial. Scholars in both China and other countries have conducted extensive research on the relationship between urbanization and the ecological environment from the perspective of coordinated development. However, there is a lack of research on the synergistic effects of urbanization and the ecological environment.

Iridium Catalysts with f-Amphbinol Ligands: Highly Stereoselective Hydrogenation of a Variety of Ketones.

A series of novel and modular ferrorence-based amino-phosphine-binol (f-amphbinol) ligands have been successfully synthesized. The f-amphbinol ligands exhibited extremely high air stability and catalytic efficiency in the Ir-catalyzed stereoselective hydrogenation of various ketones to afford corresponding stereodefined alcohols with excellent results (full conversions, cis/trans >99:1, and 83% → 99% ee, TON up to 500 000). Control experiments have shown that -OH and -NH groups played a key role in this stereoselective hydrogenation.

Mitigation of the mobilization and accumulation of toxic metal(loid)s in ryegrass using sodium sulfide.

Remediation of soils contaminated with toxic metal(loid)s (TMs) and mitigation of the associated ecological and human health risks are of great concern. Sodium sulfide (NaS) can be used as an amendment for the immobilization of TMs in contaminated soils; however, the effects of NaS on the leachability, bioavailability, and uptake of TMs in highly-contaminated soils under field conditions have not been investigated yet. This is the first field-scale research study investigating the effect of NaS application on soils with Hg, Pb and Cu contents 70-to-7000-fold higher than background values and also polluted with As, Cd, Ni, and Zn.

New mechanisms of biochar-assisted vermicomposting by recognizing different active di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) degraders across pedosphere, charosphere and intestinal sphere.

Biochar-assisted vermicomposting can significantly accelerate soil DEHP degradation, but little information is known about the underlying mechanisms as different microspheres exist in soil ecosystem. In this study, we identified the active DEHP degraders in biochar-assisted vermicomposting by DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) and surprisingly found their different compositions in pedosphere, charosphere and intestinal sphere. Thirteen bacterial lineages (Laceyella, Microvirga, Sphingomonas, Ensifer, Skermanella, Lysobacter, Archangium, Intrasporangiaceae, Pseudarthrobacter, Blastococcus, Streptomyces, Nocardioides and Gemmatimonadetes) were responsible for in situ DEHP degradation in pedosphere, whereas their abundance significantly changed in biochar or earthworm treatments.

How does home and host-country policy uncertainty affect outward FDI? Firm-level evidence from China.

How the foreign direct investment behavior of enterprises changes in response to the risks and instability of government economic policy changes is a relevant issue which, however, has not been extensively studied yet. Accordingly, this paper establishes a linear probability regression model to study the foreign direct investment behavior of Chinese A-share listed companies in 13 countries between 2003 and 2020 and explores whether multinational companies change their OFDI decisions when the economic policy environment of China and trade-related countries are unstable. A firm heterogeneity analysis and phased discussions were conducted, and a robust conclusion was finally drawn.

The impact of rapid urbanization on residential energy consumption in China.

Due to the rapid progress of urbanization in China, the percentage of residential energy consumption out of total energy consumption has increased. This paper uses statistical data from 30 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) from 2000 to 2020 to analyze the impact of urbanization on residential energy consumption and construct an econometric model to test the mechanism. The empirical tests show that the consumption of direct energy (energy that exists in nature in its original form and has not been transformed) is positively U-shaped about the urbanization rate.

Hydroxyapatite tailored hierarchical porous biochar composite immobilized Cd(II) and Pb(II) and mitigated their hazardous effects in contaminated water and soil.

A novel composite of hydroxyapatite tailored hierarchical porous biochar (HA-HPB) was synthesized and used for the adsorptive immobilization of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in water and soil. The hierarchical porous biochar (HPB) was prepared from rice husk through a molten-salt-assisted pyrolysis approach; then, a series of HA-HPB (with 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 g of HPB) was prepared with co-precipitation procedure.

Coordination effect enabled palladium-catalyzed regioselective -alkylation of 2-pyridones.

A novel tactic for the regioselective -alkylation of 2-pyridones has been realized through palladium catalysis in moderate to high yields. The coordination effect between palladium and nitrogen on the pyridine ring plays a versatile role.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Cyclic Diaryl Phosphinamides via Intramolecular sp C-H Phosphinamidation.

We developed an oxidant- and transition-metal-free approach to construct six-membered cyclic phosphinamides via an intramolecular electrochemical C-H phosphinamidation process. With BuNBr as the catalyst and electrolyte, cyclic phosphinamides bearing a variety of functional groups (22 examples) were readily accessed under mild conditions. Meanwhile, this protocol provided an alternative route to organic electroluminescent materials and P-N ligands.

Can the income level of rural residents be improved by the Chinese "Broadband Village?": Evidence from a regression discontinuity design of the six pilot provinces.

The "Broadband Village" (B&V) initiative is a substantial investment in internet construction in rural areas in six western provinces implemented by the Chinese government since 2014. This study evaluates the effect this policy has had. Panel data of 1,049 counties in China from 2015 to 2019 are used for the regression discontinuity design (RD) to estimate the impact of B&V on the improvement of the income level of rural residents.

An automatic calibration framework based on the InfoWorks ICM model: the effect of multiple objectives during multiple water pollutant modeling.

An automatic calibration framework of water quality parameters for surface runoff during modeling with InfoWorks ICM was constructed. The framework is based on a genetic algorithm (GA) and fully considers the calibration sequence for multiple water pollutants, namely, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP). Meanwhile, four different objective functions including the Nash-Sutcliff efficiency coefficient (NSE), coefficient of determination (R), percentage error in the peak (PEP), and percentage bias (PBIAS) were selected as fitness evaluators for the GA.

Alterations in peripheral T cell and B cell subsets in patients with osteoarthritis.

Objectives: Our study objective was to explore whether abnormalities in the subtypes of T cells and B cells were present in peripheral blood of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and healthy controls (HCs).

Method: Demographic and clinical variables and blood were collected. OA severity was measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire.

Enhancement of surface bioactivity on carbon fiber-reinforced polyether ether ketone via graphene modification.

Background And Objective: The modulus of carbon fiber-reinforced polyether ether ketone (CFR-PEEK), a composite containing layers of carbon fiber sheets, can be precisely controlled to match bone. However, CFR-PEEK is biologically inert and cannot promote bone apposition. The objective of this study was to investigate whether graphene modification could enhance the bioactivity of CFR-PEEK.

Enantioselective and Diastereoselective Construction of Chiral Amino Alcohols by Iridium-f-Amphox-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation via Dynamic Kinetic Resolution.

The iridium-f-amphox-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic α-amino β-unfunctionalized ketones proceeds via a DKR (dynamic kinetic resolution) process for the construction of various chiral N,N-disubstituted α-amino β-unfunctionalized alcohols in quantitative yields with excellent enantioselectivities and diastereoselectivities (all products >99% ee and >99:1 dr, TON up to 100 000). Importantly, this catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation with a DKR process provided a highly efficient and powerful synthetic strategy for the preparation of key chiral intermediates of the preclinical antitumor agent (S,S)-R116010.