Distance-based paper device coupled with uracil-rich DNA hydrogel for visual quantification of Uracil-DNA glycosylase.

Uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG), an enzyme for repairing uracil-containing DNA damage, is crucial for maintaining genomic stability. Simple and fast quantification of UDG activity is essential for biological assay and clinical diagnosis, since its aberrant level is associated with DNA damage and various diseases. Herein, we developed a fully integrated "sample in-signal out" distance-based paper analytical device (dPAD) for visual quantification of UDG using a flow-controlled uracil-rich DNA hydrogel (URDH).

Biochar applications for efficient removal of energetic compound contaminants.

Military activities and the production or disposal of ammunition often lead to soil contamination with energetic compounds (ECs) such as dinitrotoluene, trinitrotoluene, and hexogen, posing significant threats to human health and the ecosystem. Biochar has emerged as a cost-effective and widely available solution for remediating contaminated sites characterized by its capacity for pollutant removal through adsorption and conversion process, along with minimal secondary pollution. This paper provides a comprehensive review of relevant literature on biochar's efficacy in eliminating ECs, including an analysis of the underlying mechanisms.

Nitrate and nitrite reduction by adsorbed Fe(II) generated from ligand-promoted dissolution of biogenic iron minerals in groundwater.

Chemical denitrification by redox-active Fe(II) species is pivotal in the coupled iron and nitrogen cycles. The reductive dissolution of ferric minerals by ligand can generate Fe(II)-ligand complexes, but their reducing capability for electrophilic pollutants like nitrate and nitrite remains uncertain. Here, biogenic secondary iron minerals (SIM) after dissimilatory iron reduction were reductively dissolved by oxalate and the siderophore desferrioxamine B, and subsequently the partially-dissolved SIM (SIMD) effectively removed NO from groundwater via reduction, while exhibiting much lower reactivity towards NO.

Nitrogen-Doped Indium Oxide Electrochemical Sensor for Stable and Selective NO Detection.

Efficient gas sensors are critical for environmental monitoring and industrial safety. While metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors are cost-effective, they struggle with poor selectivity, high operating temperatures, and limited stability. Electrochemical sensors, though selective and energy-efficient, face high costs, and stability issues due to precious metal catalysts like platinum on carbon (Pt/C).

Enhancing assimilatory sulfate reduction with ferrihydrite-humic acid coprecipitate in anaerobic sulfate-containing wastewater treatment.

Sulfide produced from dissimilatory sulfate reduction can combine with hydrogen to form hydrogen sulfide, causing odor issues and environmental pollution. To address this problem, ferrihydrite-humic acid coprecipitate was added to improve assimilatory sulfate reduction (ASR), resulting in a decrease in sulfide production (190.2 ± 14.

β-Cyclodextrin enhanced bioavailability of petroleum hydrocarbons in industrially contaminated soil: A phytoremediation field study.

Low remediation efficiency due to low bioavailability is a primary restrictive factor for phytoremediation applications. Specifically, this investigation examines whether Kitagawa () can be used in combination with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to remediate contaminated site. The study was conducted on the growth response of , bioavailability and dissipation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) in soil under the influence of β-CD Our preliminary studies confirmed that β-CD is effective in increasing the biomass and height of plants.

Calcined pyrite accelerates sulfur metabolic and electron transfer in driving targeted microbial fuel cell denitrification.

The sulfur powder as electron donor in driving dual-chamber microbial fuel cell denitrification (S) process has the advantages in economy and pollution-free to treat nitrate-contained groundwater. However, the low efficiency of electron utilization in sulfur oxidation (ACE) is the bottleneck to this method. In this study, the addition of calcined pyrite to the S system (SCP) accelerated electron generation and intra/extracellular transfer efficiency, thereby improving ACE and denitrification performance.

Ca-controlled Mn(II) removal process in Aurantimonas sp. HBX-1: Microbially-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) versus Mn(II) oxidation.

The application of manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) to produce manganese oxides (MnOx) has been widely studied, but often overlooking the concurrent formation of MnCO. In this study, we found Ca plays a crucial role in controlling Mn(II) removal in the bacterium Aurantimonas sp. HBX-1.

Effects of O on accumulation of nitrous and elemental sulfur and microbial community structure in double short-cut sulfur autotrophic denitrification system.

Understanding the effect of O on the accumulation characteristics of NO-N and S in the sulfur autotrophic denitrification (DSSADN) system is crucial for enhancing the denitrification efficiency of partial nitrification-anammox using DSSADN. The results revealed that in an environment without O entry, the NO-N accumulation efficiency (NiAE) and S accumulation efficiency (SAE) of the DSSADN system reached 89.40 % and 93.

Distinct Species-Specific and Toxigenic Metabolic Profiles for 6PPD and 6PPD Quinone by P450 Enzymes: Insights from and Studies.

The tire rubber antioxidant -(1,3-dimethylbutyl)--phenyl--phenylenediamine (6PPD) and its quinone product (6PPDQ) are prevalent emerging contaminants, yet their biotransformation profiles remain poorly understood, hampering the assessment of environmental and health risks. This study investigated the phase-I metabolism of 6PPD and 6PPDQ across aquatic and mammalian species through liver microsome (LM) incubations and simulations. A total of 40 metabolites from seven pathways were identified using the highly sensitive nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Enhanced-nitrogen removal through Fe(III)-triggered partial dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium coupling with anammox in anammox bioreactor.

Anammox is recognized as a prospective alternative for future biological nitrogen removal technologies. However, the nitrate by-products produced by anammox bacteria limit its overall nitrogen removal efficiency below 88 %. This study introduced Fe(III) into the anammox bioreactor to enhance the nitrogen removal efficiency to approximately 95 %, surpassing the biochemical limit of 88 % imposed by anammox stoichiometry.

Enhanced Room-Temperature NO Sensing through Deep Functional Group Hybridization in Nitrogen-Doped Monolayer TiCT.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO) is a significant environmental and human health hazard. Current NO sensors often lack sensitivity and selectivity under ambient conditions. This study investigates ammonia pyrolysis modification of monolayer TiCT MXene to enhance NO detection at room temperature.

Co-doped cryptomelane-type manganese oxide in situ grown on a nickel foam substrate for high humidity ozone decomposition.

Monolithic catalysts with excellent O catalytic decomposition performance were prepared by in situ loading of Co-doped KMnO on the surface of nickel foam. The triple-layer structure with Co-doped KMnO/NiMnO/Ni foam was grown spontaneously on the surface of nickel foam by tuning the molar ratio of KMnO to Co(NO)·6HO precursors. Importantly, the formed NiMnO structure between KMnO and nickel foam during in situ synthesis process effectively protected nickel foam from further etching, which significantly enhanced the reaction stability of catalyst.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to iron(III) reduction catalyzed by a lithoautotrophic nitrate-reducing iron(II) oxidizing enrichment culture.

The last two decades have seen nitrogen/iron-transforming bacteria at the forefront of new biogeochemical discoveries, such as anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric iron reduction (feammox) and lithoautotrophic nitrate-reducing ferrous iron-oxidation (NRFeOx). These emerging findings continue to expand our knowledge of the nitrogen/iron cycle in nature and also highlight the need to re-understand the functional traits of the microorganisms involved. Here, as a proof-of-principle, we report compelling evidence for the capability of an NRFeOx enrichment culture to catalyze the feammox process.

Integrated Transfer Learning and Multitask Learning Strategies to Construct Graph Neural Network Models for Predicting Bioaccumulation Parameters of Chemicals.

Accurate prediction of parameters related to the environmental exposure of chemicals is crucial for the sound management of chemicals. However, the lack of large data sets for training models may result in poor prediction accuracy and robustness. Herein, integrated transfer learning (TL) and multitask learning (MTL) was proposed for constructing a graph neural network (GNN) model (abbreviated as TL-MTL-GNN model) using -octanol/water partition coefficients as a source domain.

Oxidation Mechanism and Toxicity Evolution of Linalool, a Typical Indoor Volatile Chemical Product.

Linalool, a high-reactivity volatile chemical product (VCP) commonly found in cleaning products and disinfectants, is increasingly recognized as an emerging contaminant, especially in indoor air. Understanding the gas-phase oxidation mechanism of linalool is crucial for assessing its impact on atmospheric chemistry and human health. Using quantum chemical calculations and computational toxicology simulations, we investigated the atmospheric transformation and toxicity evolution of linalool under low and high NO/HO· levels, representing indoor and outdoor environments.

Scaling-Free Cathodes: Enabling Electrochemical Extraction of High-Purity Nano-CaCO and -Mg(OH) in Seawater.

For electrochemical application in seawater or brine, continuous scaling on cathodes will form insulation layers, making it nearly impossible to run an electrochemical reaction continuously. Herein, we report our discovery that a cathode consisting of conical nanobundle arrays with hydrophobic surfaces exhibits a unique scaling-free function. The hydrophobic surfaces will be covered with microbubbles created by electrolytic water splitting, which limits scale crystals from standing only on nanotips of conical nanobundles, and the bursting of large bubbles formed by the accumulation of microbubbles will cause a violent disturbance, removing scale crystals automatically from nanotips.

Highly Efficient Photoelectrochemical Alkene Epoxidation on a Dye-Sensitized Photoanode.

In photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells, selective oxidation of organic substrates coupled with hydrogen evolution represents a promising approach for value-added chemical production and solar energy conversion. In this study, we report on PEC epoxidation of alkenes at a ruthenium dye-sensitized photoanode in a CHCN/HO mixed solvent with LiBr as a mediator and water as the oxygen source. The dye-sensitized photoanode was found to exhibit significant advantages in the simultaneous improvement of charge separation and suppression of charge recombination.

Sulfhydryl functionalized two-dimensional TiCT MXene for efficient removal of Hg in water samples.

This study describes an adsorption method for the removal of Hg from aquatic environments using sulfhydryl-functionalized TiCT (SH-TiCT). SH-TiCT materials were synthesized through covalent interactions between dithiothreitol and two-dimensional TiCT. The insertion of -SH groups increased the interlayer spacing of TiCT, resulting in a 3-fold increase in the specific surface area of SH-TiCT compared with the original TiCT.

Proximity-Dependent Activation of Split DNAzyme Kinase.

Binary (also known as split) nucleic acid enzymes have emerged as novel tools in biosensors. We report a new split strategy to split the DNAzyme kinase into two independent and non-functional fragments, denoted Dk1sub and Dk1enz. In the presence of the specific target, their free ends are brought sufficiently close to interact with each other without the formation of Watson-Crick base pairings between Dk1sub and Dk1enz, thus allowing the DNA phosphorylation reaction.

Metagenomic evidence of a novel anammox community in a cold aquifer with high nitrogen pollution.

The process of anaerobic ammonium oxidation by nitrite (anammox) is a globally essential part of N cycle. To date, 8 Candidatus genera and more than 22 species of anammox bacteria have been discovered in various anthropogenic and natural habitats, including nitrogen-polluted aquifers. In this work, anammox bacteria were detected for the first time in the groundwater ecosystem with high anthropogenic nitrogen pollution (up to 1760 mg NO-N/L and 280 mg NH-N/L) and low year-round temperature (7-8 °C) in the zone of a uranium sludge repository.

Enhancing electron transfer in anaerobic process by supercapacitor materials: Polyaniline functionated activated carbon.

Strengthening the direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) is an effective strategy to improve the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) process. In this study, the polyaniline functionated activated carbon (AC-PANi) was prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization. This material possessed pseudo-capacitance properties as well as excellent charge transfer capability.

A 2.5-Dimensional biomimetic dual-functional bifacial-evaporator for high efficient evaporation and water purification.

Nowadays, solar-driven interfacial steam generation (SISG) is a sustainable and green technology for mitigating the water shortage crisis. Nevertheless, SISG is suffering from the enrichment of volatile organic compounds in condensate water and non-volatile organic compounds in feed water in practical applications. Herein, taking inspiration from nature, a dual-functional bifacial-CuCoNi (Bi-CuCoNi) evaporator with a special biomimetic urchin-like microstructure was successfully prepared.