Improved volatile fatty acid production in anaerobic digestion via simultaneous temperature regulation and persulfate activation by biochar: Chemical and biological response mechanisms.

Increasing volatile fatty acid (VFA) production via persulfate activation (i.e., chemical effect) in anaerobic digestion (AD) is an emerging resource utilization method.

Ultra-antiwetting Membrane for Hypersaline Water Crystallization in Membrane Distillation.

Membrane distillation (MD) has great potential in the management of hypersaline water for zero liquid discharge (ZLD) due to its high salinity tolerance. However, the membrane wetting issue significantly restricts its practical application. In this study, a composite membrane tailored for extreme concentrations and even crystallization of hypersaline water is synthesized by coating a commercial hydrophobic porous membrane with a composite film containing a dense polyamide layer, a cation exchange layer (CEL), and an anion exchange layer (AEL).

Development of a 3-step sequential extraction method to investigate the fraction and affecting factors of 21 antibiotics in soils.

Antibiotic exist in various states after entering agricultural soil through the application of manure, including the aqueous state (I), which can be directly absorbed by plants, and the auxiliary organic extraction state (III), which is closely associated with the pseudo-permanence of antibiotics. However, effective analytical methods for extracting and affecting factors on fractions of different antibiotic states remain unclear. In this study, KCl, acetonitrile/NaEDTA-McIlvaine buffer, and acetonitrile/water were successively used to extract states I, II, and III of 21 antibiotics in soil, and the recovery efficiency met the quantitative requirements.

MBene with Redox-Active Terminal Groups for an Energy-Dense Cascade Aqueous Battery.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal borides (MBenes), new members of the 2D materials family, hold great promise for use in the electrocatalytic and energy storage fields because of their high specific area, high chemical activity, and fast charge carrier mobility. Although various types of MBenes are reported, layered MBenes featuring redox-active terminal groups for high energy output are not yet produced. A facile and energy-efficient method for synthesizing MBenes equipped with redox-active terminal groups for cascade Zn||I batteries is presented.

Fluorescent tag reveals the potential mechanism of how indigenous soil bacteria affect the transfer of the wild fecal antibiotic resistance plasmid pKANJ7 in different habitat soils.

Plasmids have increasingly become a point of concern since they act as a vital medium for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Although indigenous soil bacteria are critical hosts for these plasmids, the mechanisms driving the transfer of antibiotic resistance plasmids (ARPs) have not been well researched. In this study, we tracked and visualized the colonization of the wild fecal antibiotic resistance plasmid pKANJ7 in indigenous bacteria of different habitat soils (unfertilized soil (UFS), chemical fertilized soil (CFS), and manure fertilized soil (MFS)).

Catalyst Aggregation Matters for Immobilized Molecular CORR Electrocatalysts.

Here, we detail how the catalytic behavior of immobilized molecular electrocatalysts for the CO reduction reaction (CORR) can be impacted by catalyst aggregation. Raman spectroscopy was used to study the CORR mediated by a layer of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) immobilized on the cathode of an electrochemical flow reactor. We demonstrate that during electrolysis, the oxidation state of CoPc in the catalyst layer is dependent upon the degree of catalyst aggregation.

Development of long lifespan high-energy aqueous organic||iodine rechargeable batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous metal||I electrochemical energy storage systems are a cost-effective alternative to conventional transition-metal-based batteries for grid energy storage. However, the growth of unfavorable metallic deposition and the irreversible formation of electrochemically inactive by-products at the negative electrode during cycling hinder their development. To circumvent these drawbacks, herein we propose 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) as negative electrode active material and a saturated mixed KCl/I aqueous electrolyte solution.

Direct HO Synthesis, without H Gas.

We report here the direct hydrogenation of O gas to form hydrogen peroxide (HO) using a membrane reactor without H gas. Hydrogen is sourced from water, and the reactor is driven by electricity. Hydrogenation chemistry is achieved using a hydrogen-permeable Pd foil that separates an electrolysis chamber that generates reactive H atoms, from a hydrogenation chamber where H atoms react with O to form HO.

Conversion of Reactive Carbon Solutions into CO at Low Voltage and High Carbon Efficiency.

Electrolyzers are now capable of reducing carbon dioxide (CO) into products at high reaction rates but are often characterized by low energy efficiencies and low CO utilization efficiencies. We report here an electrolyzer that reduces 3.0 M KHCO(aq) into CO(g) at a high rate (partial current density for CO of 220 mA cm) and a CO utilization efficiency of 40%, at a voltage of merely 2.

Quantification of the Effect of an External Magnetic Field on Water Oxidation with Cobalt Oxide Anodes.

Here, we quantify the effect of an external magnetic field (β) on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for a cobalt oxide|fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass (CoO|FTO) anode. A bespoke apparatus enables us to precisely determine the relationship between magnetic flux density (β) and OER activity at the surface of a CoO|FTO anode. The apparatus includes a strong NdFeB magnet ( = 450 ± 1 mT) capable of producing a magnetic field of 371 ± 1 mT at the surface of the anode.

Electrolysis Can Be Used to Resolve Hydrogenation Pathways at Palladium Surfaces in a Membrane Reactor.

For common hydrogenation chemistries that occur at high temperatures (where H is adsorbed and activated at the same surface which the substrate must also adsorb for reaction), there is often little consensus on how the reactions (e.g., hydro(deoxy)genation) actually occur.

Rechargeable Mg-Ion Full Battery System with High Capacity and High Rate.

Thanks to the low cost, free dendritic hazards, and high volumetric capacity, magnesium (Mg)-ion batteries have attracted increasing attention as alternative energy storage devices to lithium-ion batteries. Despite the successful development of electrode materials, the real-life application potential of Mg-ion full battery systems (MIFBSs) is largely hindered by the lack of suitable electrode couples and hence low diffusion kinetics, which induce low specific capacity, poor rate performance, and low working voltage. Herein, we report an aqueous rechargeable MIFBS by employing copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) as the cathode and 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic acid diimide (PTCDI) as the anode in 1 moL L MgCl electrolyte.

The Global Infectious Diseases Epidemic Information Monitoring System: Development and Usability Study of an Effective Tool for Travel Health Management in China.

Background: Obtaining comprehensive epidemic information for specific global infectious diseases is crucial to travel health. However, different infectious disease information websites may have different purposes, which may lead to misunderstanding by travelers and travel health staff when making accurate epidemic control and management decisions.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a Global Infectious Diseases Epidemic Information Monitoring System (GIDEIMS) in order to provide comprehensive and timely global epidemic information.

Material-Induced Venosome-Supported Bone Tubes.

The development of alternatives to vascular bone grafts, the current clinical standard for the surgical repair of large segmental bone defects still today represents an unmet medical need. The subcutaneous formation of transplantable bone has been successfully achieved in scaffolds axially perfused by an arteriovenous loop (AVL) and seeded with bone marrow stromal cells or loaded with inductive proteins. Although demonstrating clinical potential, AVL-based approaches involve complex microsurgical techniques and thus are not in widespread use.

Treatment of Critical-Sized Calvarial Defects in Rats with Preimplanted Transplants.

The local environment and the defect features have made the skull one of the most difficult regions to repair. Finding alternative strategies to repair large cranial defects, thereby avoiding the current limitations of autograft or polymeric and ceramic prostheses constitute an unmet need. In this study, the regeneration of an 8 mm critical-sized calvarial defect treated by autograft or by a monetite scaffold directly placed in the defect or preimplanted (either cranial bone transplant or subcutaneous pocket) and then transplanted within the bone defect is compared.