Occurrence, migration and health risks of fluorescent whitening agents and phthalates in bottled water.

The occurrence and health risks of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) in bottled water were reported for the first time. FWA184 and FWA393 were the most frequently detected FWAs, with mean concentrations of 3.99-17.

Energy Absorption Characteristics of Composite Material with Fiber-Foam Metal Sandwich Structure Subjected to Gas Explosion.

Based on the previous research on the energy absorption of foam metal materials with different structures, a composite blast-resistant energy-absorbing material with a flexible core layer was designed. The material is composed of three different fiber materials (carbon fiber, aramid fiber, and glass fiber) as the core layer and foamed iron-nickel metal as the front and rear panels. The energy absorption characteristics were tested using a self-built gas explosion tube network experimental platform, and the energy absorption effects of different combinations of blast-resistant materials were analyzed.

Rational design of a hydrophilic nanoarray-structured electro-Fenton membrane for antibiotics removal and fouling mitigation: An intensified catalysis process in an oxygen vacancy-mediated cathodic microreactor.

Electro-Fenton membranes (EFMs) can synchronously realize organic micropollutants destruction and fouling mitigation in a single filtration process with the assistance of hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Herein, a nanoarray-structured EFM (NS-EFM) was designed by assembling Fenton reactive CoFe-LDH nanowires using a low-temperature hydrothermal method. Combined with a defect-engineering strategy, the oxygen vacancies (O) in the CoFe-LDH nanoarrays were tailored by manipulating the stoichiometry of cations to optimize the Fenton reactivity of NS-EFMs.

BV2 Membrane-Coated PEGylated-Liposomes Delivered hFGF21 to Cortical and Hippocampal Microglia for Alzheimer's Disease Therapy.

Microglia-mediated inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), whereas human fibroblast growth factor 21 (hFGF21) has demonstrated the ability to regulate microglia activation in Parkinson's disease, indicating a potential therapeutic role in AD. However, challenges such as aggregation, rapid inactivation, and the blood-brain barrier hinder its effectiveness in treating AD. This study develops targeted delivery of hFGF21 to activated microglia using BV2 cell membrane-coated PEGylated liposomes (hFGF21@BCM-LIP), preserving the bioactivity of hFGF21.

Surface modification of Fe-juglone coating on nanofiltration membranes for efficient biofouling mitigation.

Nanofiltration membranes have increasingly played a vital role in the purification of surface water and the recycling of wastewater. However, the problem of membrane biofouling, which leads to shortened service life and increased energy consumption, has hindered the widespread application of nanofiltration membranes. In this study, we developed functionalized nanofiltration membranes with anti-adhesive and anti-biofouling properties by coordinating Fe and juglone onto commercial nanofiltration membranes in a facile and viable manner.

Synergistic effect of potassium ferrate and ferrous iron for improving ultrafiltration performance in algae-laden water treatment.

The application of ultrafiltration (UF) technology in algae-laden water is limited due to the serious membrane fouling caused by algal foulants. Herein, a Ferrate/FeSO(Fe(VI)/Fe(II)) pretreatment was proposed aiming to improve the performance of UF. The results showed that the synergistic of Fe(VI) and Fe(II) significantly increased the zeta potential of Microcystis aeruginosa, which enhanced the agglomerative tendency of algal foulants, and the particle size of flocs remarkably increased due to the in-situ generated Fe(III).

Pollution characteristics, ecological and health risks of herbicides in a drinking water source and its inflowing rivers in North China.

This study measured the pollution characteristics and ecological and health risks of 19 herbicides found in drinking water sources and their inflowing rivers. The targeted herbicides were prevalent in the study area, but most concentrations were well below 10 ng L. Acetochlor and atrazine were the dominant herbicides, although their levels were much lower than previously reported.

IbInvInh2, a novel invertase inhibitor in sweet potato, regulates starch content through post-translational regulation of vacuolar invertase IbβFRUCT2.

As a key enzyme in the starch and sugar metabolic pathways in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), the vacuolar invertase (EC 3.

Fe(II)-Modulated Microporous Electrocatalytic Membranes for Organic Microcontaminant Oxidation and Fouling Control: Mechanisms of Regulating Electron Transport toward Enhanced Reactive Oxygen Species Activation.

Regulation of the fast electron transport process for the generation and utilization of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by achieving fortified electron "nanofluidics" is effective for electrocatalytic oxidation of organic microcontaminants. However, limited available active sites and sluggish mass transfer impede oxidation efficiency. Herein, we fabricated a conductive electrocatalytic membrane decorated with hierarchical porous vertically aligned Fe(II)-modulated FeCo layered double hydroxide nanosheets (Fe(II)-FeCo LDHs) in an electro-Fenton system to maximize exposure of active sites and expedite mass transfer.

Application of Grafting Method in Resistance Identification of Sweet Potato Virus Disease and Resistance Evaluation of Elite Sweet Potato [ (L.) Lam] Varieties.

Sweet potato virus disease (SPVD) is one of the main virus diseases in sweet potato [ (L.) Lam] that seriously affects the yield of sweet potato. Therefore, the establishment of a simple, rapid and effective method to detect SPVD is of great significance for the early warning and prevention of this disease.

Effects of adding biochar on the preservation of nitrogen and passivation of heavy metal during hyperthermophilic composting of sewage sludge.

Hyperthermophilic composting (HTC) is regarded as an effective method for processing sewage sludge. The aim of the study was to investigate effects of using biochar as an amendment on the preservation of nitrogen and passivation of heavy metal during the HTC process of sewage sludge. Results showed that HTC improved the fermentation efficiency and the compost maturity by increases in the temperature and germination index (GI) value, and decreases in the moisture and C/N ratio compared to conventional thermophilic composting.

Intradermal injection of icariin-HP-β-cyclodextrin improved traumatic brain injury via the trigeminal epineurium-brain dura pathway.

The lower bioavailability after oral administration limited icariin applications in central nervous system. Icariin/HP-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) inclusion complex was prepared for acute severe opening traumatic brain injury (TBI) facial intradermal (i.d.

Glucose-responsive hydrogel enhances the preventive effect of insulin and liraglutide on diabetic nephropathy of rats.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus. The combination of insulin (Ins) with liraglutide (Lir) has a greater potential for preventing DN than monotherapy. However, the renal protective effect of the combined Ins/Lir therapy is largely compromised due to their short half-lives after subcutaneous injection.

Localized Controlled Release of Bilirubin from β-Cyclodextrin-Conjugated ε-Polylysine To Attenuate Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Transplanted Islets.

Islet transplantation has been considered the most promising therapeutic option with the potential to restore the physiological regulation of blood glucose concentrations in type 1 diabetes treatment. However, islets suffer from oxidative stress and nonspecific inflammation in the early stage of transplantation, which attributed to the leading cause of islet graft failure. Our previous study reported that bilirubin exerted antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects on hypothermic preserved islets, which inspire us to utilize bilirubin to address the survival issue of grafted islets.

In vivo 783-channel diffuse reflectance imaging system and its application.

A fiber-based reflectance imaging system was constructed to produce in vivo absorption spectroscopic images of biological tissues with diffuse light in the cw domain. The principal part of this system is the 783-channel fiber probe, composed of 253 illumination fibers and 530 detection fibers distributed in a 20x20 mm square region. During illumination with the 253 illumination fibers, diffuse reflected lights are collected by the 530 detection fibers and recorded simultaneously as an image with an electron multiplying CCD camera for fast data acquisition.