Removal of Mercury(II) from Aqueous Solutions by Adsorption on Poly(1-amino-5-chloroanthraquinone) Nanofibrils: Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Mechanism Studies

Poly(1-amino-5-chloroanthraquinone) (PACA) nanofibrils were applied as novel nanoadsorbents for highly toxic mercury removal from aqueous solutions. A series of batch adsorption experiments were conducted to study the effect of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time, and metal concentration on Hg(II) uptake by PACA nanofibrils. Kinetic data indicated that the adsorption process of PACA nanofibrils for Hg(II) achieved equilibrium within 2 h following a pseudo-second-order rate equation. The adsorption mechanism of PACA nanofibrils for Hg(II) was investigated by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The adsorption isotherm of Hg(II) fitted well the Langmuir model, exhibiting superb adsorption capacity of 3.846 mmol of metal per gram of adsorbent. Lastly, we found out that the as-synthesized PACA nanofibrils are efficient in Hg(II) removal from real wastewater. Furthermore, five consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles demonstrated that the PACA nanofibrils were suitable for repeated use without considerable changes in the adsorption capacity

Removal of Mercury(II) from Aqueous Solutions by Adsorption on Poly(1-amino-5-chloroanthraquinone) Nanofibrils: Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Mechanism Studies

Poly(1-amino-5-chloroanthraquinone) (PACA) nanofibrils were applied as novel nanoadsorbents for highly toxic mercury removal from aqueous solutions. A series of batch adsorption experiments were conducted to study the effect of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time, and metal concentration on Hg(II) uptake by PACA nanofibrils. Kinetic data indicated that the adsorption process of PACA nanofibrils for Hg(II) achieved equilibrium within 2 h following a pseudo-second-order rate equation. The adsorption mechanism of PACA nanofibrils for Hg(II) was investigated by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The adsorption isotherm of Hg(II) fitted well the Langmuir model, exhibiting superb adsorption capacity of 3.846 mmol of metal per gram of adsorbent. Lastly, we found out that the as-synthesized PACA nanofibrils are efficient in Hg(II) removal from real wastewater. Furthermore, five consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles demonstrated that the PACA nanofibrils were suitable for repeated use without considerable changes in the adsorption capacity

Ecosystem Carbon Stock Influenced by Plantation Practice: Implications for Planting Forests as a Measure of Climate Change Mitigation

Uncertainties remain in the potential of forest plantations to sequestrate carbon (C). We synthesized 86 experimental studies with paired-site design, using a meta-analysis approach, to quantify the differences in ecosystem C pools between plantations and their corresponding adjacent primary and secondary forests (natural forests). Totaled ecosystem C stock in plant and soil pools was 284 Mg C ha−1 in natural forests and decreased by 28% in plantations. In comparison with natural forests, plantations decreased aboveground net primary production, litterfall, and rate of soil respiration by 11, 34, and 32%, respectively. Fine root biomass, soil C concentration, and soil microbial C concentration decreased respectively by 66, 32, and 29% in plantations relative to natural forests. Soil available N, P and K concentrations were lower by 22, 20 and 26%, respectively, in plantations than in natural forests. The general pattern of decreased ecosystem C pools did not change between two different groups in relation to various factors: stand age (<25 years vs. ≥25 years), stand types (broadleaved vs. coniferous and deciduous vs. evergreen), tree species origin (native vs. exotic) of plantations, land-use history (afforestation vs. reforestation) and site preparation for plantations (unburnt vs. burnt), and study regions (tropic vs. temperate). The pattern also held true across geographic regions. Our findings argued against the replacement of natural forests by the plantations as a measure of climate change mitigation

Chemical Synthesis and Insecticidal Activity Research Based on α-Conotoxins

The escalating resistance of agricultural pests to chemical insecticides necessitates the development of novel, efficient, and safe biological insecticides. Conus quercinus, a vermivorous cone snail, yields a crude venom rich in peptides for marine worm predation. This study screened six α-conotoxins with insecticidal potential from a previously constructed transcriptome database of C. quercinus, characterized by two disulfide bonds. These conotoxins were derived via solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and folded using two-step iodine oxidation for further insecticidal activity validation, such as CCK-8 assay and insect bioassay. The final results confirmed the insecticidal activities of the six α-conotoxins, with Qc1.15 and Qc1.18 exhibiting high insecticidal activity. In addition, structural analysis via homology modeling and functional insights from molecular docking offer a preliminary look into their potential insecticidal mechanisms. In summary, this study provides essential references and foundations for developing novel insecticides

Kidney Function Indicators Predict Adverse Outcomes of COVID-19.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently emerged respiratory infectious disease with kidney injury as a part of the clinical complications. However, the dynamic change of kidney function and its association with COVID-19 prognosis are largely unknown.MethodsIn this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we analyzed clinical characteristics, medical history, laboratory tests, and treatment data of 12,413 COVID-19 patients. The patient cohort was stratified according to the severity of the outcome into three groups: non-severe, severe, and death.FindingsThe prevalence of elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN), elevated serum creatinine (Scr), and decreased blood uric acid (BUA) at admission was 6.29%, 5.22%, and 11.66%, respectively. The trajectories showed the elevation in BUN and Scr levels, as well as a reduction in BUA level for 28&nbsp;days after admission in death cases. Increased all-cause mortality risk was associated with elevated baseline levels of BUN and Scr and decreased levels of BUA.ConclusionsThe dynamic changes of the three kidney function markers were associated with different severity and poor prognosis of COVID-19 patients. BUN showed a close association with and high potential for predicting adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients for severity stratification and triage.FundingThis study was supported by grants from the National Key R&amp;D Program of China (2016YFF0101504), the National Science Foundation of China (81630011, 81970364, 81970070, 81970011, 81870171, and 81700356), the Major Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91639304), the Hubei Science and Technology Support Project (2019BFC582, 2018BEC473, and 2017BEC001), and the Medical Flight Plan of Wuhan University