Multifunctional effects of nitrification and urease inhibitors: Decreasing soil herbicide residues and reducing nitrous oxide emissions simultaneously.

Glyphosate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are major problem in achieving sustainable soil management. It is necessary to develop effective strategies to simultaneously reduce herbicide residues and nitrous oxide (NO) emissions in soil. This study aimed to: (1) quantitative analyze the effects of nitrogen (N) cycle inhibitors (nitrification inhibitors 3,4 dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and dicyandiamide (DCD) and urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT)) on glyphosate degradation and reduction of NO under different soil moistures; (2) identify the functional microbes and genes associated with glyphosate degradation and NO emissions; and (3) decipher the main mechanisms of N cycle inhibitors affecting glyphosate degradation at different soil water contents.

Study on visualization of impact damage characteristics of honey peaches based on finite element method.

The study of visualization of impact damage of fruit under different thicknesses of buffer materials can provide more efficient transportation and packaging solutions, and thus the economic losses caused by fruit damage can be reduced. Pearl cotton (EPE) is commonly used as a buffer material in the market, and the impact damage behavior of honey peaches under different thicknesses of EPE buffer material was studied by using the finite element method. Firstly, the damage area, maximum contact force and damage volume during the collision of honey peaches with EPE materials of different thicknesses (2, 4, and 6 mm) were obtained by the single pendulum device, and then the Modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio of peach flesh were obtained by compression test.

Spatial and temporal differentiation and its driving factors of air quality in the economic circle of Shandong Province during 2013-2020.

As the negative repercussions of environmental devastation, such as air quality decline and air pollution, become more apparent, environmental consciousness is growing across the world, forcing nations to take steps to mitigate the damage. China pledged to achieve air quality improvement goal to combat global environment issue, yet the spatial-temporal differentiation and its driving factors of environment-meteorology-economic index for air quality are not fully analysed. To promote regional collaborative control of air pollution and achieve sustainable urban development, spatial and temporal different and its driving factors of air quality in Shandong Province during 2013-2020.

Characterization and source apportionment of pharmaceuticals in surface water of the Yangtze Estuary and adjacent sea.

Pharmaceuticals, which are closely linked to human activities, have attracted global attention. This study investigated the occurrence characteristics of 20 pharmaceuticals in surface water of the Yangtze Estuary and adjacent sea. A total of 14 targeted pharmaceuticals were detected in both spring and summer sampling campaigns.

Partial nitrification-denitrification and enrichment of paracoccus induced by iron-chitosan beads addition in an intermittently-aerated activated sludge system.

Insufficient carbon source has become the main limiting factor for efficient nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment. In this study, an intermittently-aerated activated sludge system with iron-chitosan (Fe-CS) beads addition was proposed for nitrogen removal from low C/N wastewater. By adding Fe-CS beads, partial nitrification-denitrification (PND) process and significant enrichment of Paracoccus (with ability of iron reduction/ammonium oxidation/aerobic denitrification) were observed in the reactor.

Drosophila eIF3f1 mediates host immune defense by targeting dTak1.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factors have long been recognized for their critical roles in governing the translation of coding RNAs into peptides/proteins. However, whether they harbor functional activities at the post-translational level remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that eIF3f1 (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit f1), which encodes an archetypal deubiquitinase, is essential for the antimicrobial innate immune defense of Drosophila melanogaster.

Achieving simultaneous nitrification and endogenous denitrifying phosphorus removal in anaerobic/intermittently-aerated moving bed biofilm reactor for low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio wastewater treatment.

In this study, an anaerobic/intermittently-aerated moving bed biofilm reactor (AnIA-MBBR) was proposed to realize simultaneous nitrification and endogenous denitrifying phosphorus removal (SNEDPR) in treating low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio wastewater. The effect of different intermittent aeration modes (short and long aeration) on nutrients' removal was investigated. With the C/N ratio around 3, the removal efficiencies of total nitrogen and phosphorus were 90% and 74%, 88% and 59%, respectively, for short aeration and long aeration.

Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L5 Plays an Essential Role in the Fly Innate Immune Defense against Bacterial Infection.

Background: ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L5 (Uch-L5) functions as a critical component of the 26S proteasome to mediate degradation of polyubiquitinated proteins. It was recently shown to modulate tissue/organ development by targeting the Smoothened protein in the hedgehog pathway. However, whether it plays a role in controlling organismal immune response remains largely unknown.

Dietary Supplementation of Aspirin Promotes Defense against Viral Infection.

Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is widely consumed as a pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory as well as anti-platelet agent. Recently, our studies using the animal model of demonstrated that the dietary supplementation of aspirin renovates age-onset intestinal dysfunction and delays organismal aging. Nevertheless, it remains probable that aspirin plays functional roles in other biological activities, for instance antiviral defense reactions.

Enhanced nitrogen removal in immersed rotating self-aerated biofilm reactor: Nitrogen removal pathway and microbial mechanism.

To achieve energy-efficient treatment of the rural wastewater with satisfying performance, a novel immersed rotating self-aerated biofilm reactor (iRSABR) was proposed in this study. The iRSABR system showed better biofilm renewal performance and higher microbial activity. The effect of different regulation strategies on the iRSABR system was investigated in this study.

Safety assessment of organic micropollutants in reclaimed water: Chemical analyses, ecological risk assessments, and in vivo endocrine-disrupting studies.

Reclaimed water from municipal wastewater has great potential in mitigating the water resource crisis, while the inevitable residue of organic micropollutants (OMPs) challenges the safety of reclaimed water reuse. Limited information was available regarding the overall adverse effects of mixed OMPs in reclaimed water, especially the endocrine-disrupting effects on living organisms. Herein, chemical monitoring in two municipal wastewater treatment plants showed that 31 of 32 candidate OMPs including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenols, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) were detected in reclaimed water, with a concentration ranging from ng/L to μg/L.

Thyroid endocrine disruption induced by [Cmim]Br: An integrated in vivo, in vitro, and in silico study.

Conventional thyroid-disrupting chemicals (TDCs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, and bisphenols perturb animal's thyroid endocrine system by mimicking the action of endogenous thyroid hormones (THs), since they share a similar backbone structure of coupled benzene rings with THs. 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium bromide ([Cmim]Br), a commonly used ionic liquid (IL), has no structural similarity to THs. Whether it interferes with thyroid function and how its mode of action differs from conventional TDCs is largely unknown.

Study on the binding of polystyrene microplastics with superoxide dismutase at the molecular level by multi-spectroscopy methods.

Microplastics are harmful pollutants that widely exist worldwide and pose a severe threat to all types of organisms. The effects of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) on organisms have been extensively studied, but the interaction mechanism between PS-MPs and superoxide dismutase (SOD) at the molecular level has not been reported yet. Therefore, based on multiple spectroscopic methods and enzyme activity measurements, the molecular mechanism of the interaction between PS-MPs and SOD was investigated.

Characterizing the binding interactions between virgin/aged microplastics and catalase in vitro.

Microplastics (MPs) undergo physical, chemical, and biological aging in the environment, leading to changes in their physicochemical properties, affecting migration characteristics and toxicity. Oxidative stress effects induced by MPs in vivo have been extensively studied, but the toxicity difference between virgin and aged MPs and the interactions between antioxidant enzymes and MPs in vitro have not been reported yet. This study investigated the structural and functional changes of catalase (CAT) induced by virgin and aged PVC-MPs.

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in a novel rotating self-aerated biofilm reactor for decentralized wastewater treatment.

Decentralized wastewater pollution in rural areas has become a serious problem for the rural environment. In this study, a novel rotating self-aerated biofilm reactor was developed for decentralized wastewater treatment without any aeration equipment. After the long-term operation of 110 days, the removal efficiency reached to 96.

Investigation of an intermittently-aerated moving bed biofilm reactor in rural wastewater treatment under low dissolved oxygen and C/N condition.

An intermittently-aerated moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was proposed for nitrogen and carbon removal from low C/N synthetic rural wastewater. In purposes of low energy consumption and costs, the intermittent aeration modes were changed and the dissolved oxygen was reduced gradually during the operation. The results showed that effluent concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand were lower than 15 and 50 mg/L, respectively, even under microaerobic condition (0.

Effects of soil resource availability on patterns of plant functional traits across spatial scales.

Identifying patterns and drivers of plant community assembly has long been a central issue in ecology. Many studies have explored the above questions using a trait-based approach; however, there are still unknowns around how patterns of plant functional traits vary with environmental gradients. In this study, the responses of individual and multivariate trait dispersions of 134 species to soil resource availability were examined based on correlational analysis and torus-translation tests across four spatial scales in a subtropical forest, China.

Plant Functional Groups Dominate Responses of Plant Adaptive Strategies to Urbanization.

Urbanization causes alteration in atmospheric, soil, and hydrological factors and substantially affects a range of morphological and physiological plant traits. Correspondingly, plants might adopt different strategies to adapt to urbanization promotion or pressure. Understanding of plant traits responding to urbanization will reveal the capacity of plant adaptation and optimize the choice of plant species in urbanization green.

Probing the potential toxicity by characterizing the binding mechanism of sodium dehydroacetate to human serum albumin.

Background: Sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-S) is a common food additive, which can combine with serum proteins in the plasma, but the interaction mechanism between DHA-S and human serum albumin (HSA) is unclear. In this study, multiple spectroscopy techniques, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), molecular docking and esterase activity test were employed to investigate the interaction mechanism of DHA-S and HSA.

Results: A DHA-S-HSA complex was formed and the structure of HSA were altered by DHA-S.

Adsorption of inorganic and organic phosphorus onto polypyrrole modified red mud: Evidence from batch and column experiments.

The ubiquitous presence of inorganic and organic phosphorus in wastewater and natural water bodies has deteriorated the water environment qualities and exerted significant influences on ecosystems. In this study, an effective polypyrrole modified red mud adsorbent (PRM) was optimized for the adsorptive removal of inorganic and organic phosphorus from aqueous solutions. The addition of ferric chloride and pyrrole was optimized for complete oxidation and modification of polypyrrole onto red mud.

Inverse Parameter Identification for Hyperelastic Model of a Polyurea.

An inverse procedure was proposed to identify the material parameters of polyurea materials. In this procedure, a polynomial hyperelastic model was chosen as the constitutive model. Both uniaxial tension and compression tests were performed for a polyurea.

Removal of inorganic arsenic from aqueous solution by Fe-modified ceramsite: batch studies and remediation trials.

During sediment remediation, adsorbent addition is an effective technology for the removal of contaminants but the cost is often high. In this study, a low-cost adsorbent, ceramsite, made from contaminated riverbed sediment was synthesized. The Fe-modified ceramsite (FMC) was used as adsorbent to remove arsenate from aqueous solutions and reduce the inorganic arsenic release from contaminated sediments.