Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin over Bi2O3/(BiO)(2)CO3 heterojunctions: Efficiency, kinetics, pathways, mechanisms and toxicity evaluation

In this study, the degradation of antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) over Bi2O3/(BiO)(2)CO3 heterojunctions under simulated solar light irradiation (SSL-Bi2O3/(BiO)(2)CO3) was examined for the first time. The results showed that the Bi2O3/(BiO)(2)CO3 heterojunctions dramatically improved CIP decay efficiency. The effect of parameters showed that the CIP decay was optimized with the Bi2O3/(BiO)(2)CO3 dosage of 0.5 g/L and a wide pH range of 4.0-8.3, based on which, a kinetic model was derived to predict the remaining CIP concentration. It was found that the presence of anions like SO42-, NO3- and HCO3- decelerated the CIP decay, while the co-existence of Cl- accelerated the CIP decay. Six degradation intermediates were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass analyzer (UPLC/MS) and ion chromatographic (IC) analysis, and the decay pathways and degradation mechanism of CIP were proposed by combining the experiment data with theoretical calculation of frontier electron densities. Hydroxyl radical's reaction, photo-hole (h(+)) oxidation and reductive defluorination were found to involve in the CIP decay. The efficient alleviation on total organic carbon (TOC) and toxicity indicated that the complete mineralization and de-toxicity are possible by this system with sufficient reaction time

Thermoluminescence (TL) analysis for otoliths of the wild carps (cyprinoid) from Baiyangdian Lake and Miyun Reservoir: Some implications for monitoring water environment

Otolith is a typical biomineral carrier growing on insides of fish skull with prominent zoning structure formed by alternating layers of protein and calcium carbonate growing around the nucleus. Even though thermoluminescence (TL) analysis on biomineral has been widely used to measure the radiation exposure in the recent twenty years, the TL characteristics of the fish otolith have not yet been reported in literature. TL characteristics of otoliths from the wild carps (cyprinoid) living in the Baiyangdian Lake, Hebei Province and Miyun Reservoir, Beijing City was first studied, and the differences of energy gap (E) between the fish otoliths in the two waters have also been discussed in this paper. The experimental results indicated that TL curve parameters: peak temperature (Tp), luminous intensity (I), integrated intensity (S) and middle width (Wm) for the glow curves of the cyprinoid otoliths from Baiyangdian Lake are greater than those from Miyun reservoir, and the stability of the formers’ TL curve parameters value and energy gap (E) was weaker than the latter. In comparison to the Miyun Reservoir, the analysis manifested that the electrons and vacancies trapped in the otoliths from Baiyangdian Lake are more likely to escape. According to the investigation, the contaminative degree and eutrophication in the water of Baiyangdian Lake was heavier than that of Miyun Reservoir. Therefore, the characteristics of TL growth curves of the cyprinoid otoliths is quite sensitive to heavier contaminated and less contaminated water, and this could be regarded as an important typomorphic biomineral for monitoring the contaminative degree and environment change of the water.Keywords: Cyprinoid otoliths, thermoluminescence, water environment, typomorphic minera

The role of upfront primary tumor resection in asymptomatic patients with unresectable stage IV colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundControversy exists over the role of upfront primary tumor resection (PTR) in asymptomatic patients with unresectable stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of upfront PTR on survival outcomes and adverse outcomes.MethodsSearches were conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library from inception to August 2021. Studies comparing survival outcomes with or without adverse outcomes between PTR and non-PTR treatments were included. Review Manager 5.3 was applied for meta-analyses with a random-effects model whenever possible.ResultsOverall, 20 studies with 3,088 patients were finally included in this systematic review. Compared with non-PTR, upfront PTR was associated with better 3-year (HR: 0.69, 95% CI, 0.57–0.83, P = 0.0001) and 5-year overall survival (OS) (HR: 0.77, 95% CI, 0.62–0.95, P = 0.01), while subgroup analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between upfront PTR and upfront chemotherapy (CT) group. In addition, grade 3 or higher adverse effects due to CT were more frequent in the PTR group with marginal significance (OR: 1.74, 95% CI, 0.99–3.06, P = 0.05), and other adverse outcomes were comparable.ConclusionsPTR might be related to improved OS for asymptomatic patients with unresectable stage IV CRC, whereas receiving upfront CT is a rational alternative without detrimental influence on survival or adverse outcomes compared with upfront PTR.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=27267

Identification of Contour Lines from Average-Quality Scanned Topographic Maps

Contour line is the main linear feature on topographic maps. Extraction of contour lines is tedious and time-consuming process, but is still an interesting problem. This paper presents a novel method for extracting contour lines from average-quality scanned topographic maps. First, it uses spatial fuzzy c-means algorithm (sFCM) to solve color aliasing and false color problems by taking into consideration both color and spatial information of topographic maps during color segmentation. In order to improve the categorizing rate, upper and lower cut-sets are introduced into sFCM. Second, to deal with the problem of thick lines, node segments are removed before gaps are repaired. Third, different methods are used to repair contour lines gaps according to the causes, which improves the break points matching accuracy. The performance of the method is tested on several topographic maps comparing with other methods, and the results show that the method can avoid misleading results caused by distortion and wrong branches at intersecting regions when using thinning algorithms and have more accurate and higher quality extraction results

Theoretical studies on the noncovalent interaction of fructose and functionalized ionic liquids

As a new kind of solvent and catalyst, the functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) had been successfully used in the conversion of fructose to high value-added biofuels. In this work, a detailed density functional theory (DFT) calculation had been carried out to investigate the interactions of fructose-ILs system. To study the effect of different anions and cations on the interaction with fructose, 25 different kinds of functionalized imidazolium-based ILs were calculated by using M06-2X-D3/6-311 + G** level. It was found that the interaction energies of fructose-anions were higher than those of the fructose-cations. The interaction will become stronger for the fructose and ILs when the alkyl chain of imidazolium-based cations was replaced with a functional group (COOH, OH or HSO3). However, when the length of the alkyl chain increased, it will result in a decrease in interaction energy due to the steric effect. In the anions (Y-SO3), the greater electronegativity of SO3 will lead to strong interaction with fructose. Also, this work simulates the interaction of fructose and ion pairs, with the results showing that hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) and Tr-stacking play an important role in the system. The present study provided basic aids to understand the structures and noncovalent interaction of fructose and functionalized ILs as well as the microscopic mechanism of fructose dissolution in the ILs

Visible-light-driven N-(BiO)(2)CO3/Graphene oxide composites with improved photocatalytic activity and selectivity for NOx removal

N-doped (BiO)(2)CO3 (NBOC)/graphene oxide (GO) composite obtained from three-dimensional hierarchical microspheres is successfully synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method for the first time. In this synthesis, citrate ion plays a critical role in N doping. The obtained samples are used to degrade gaseous nitrogen oxides (NOx) at parts-per-billion (ppb) level under visible-light irradiation. NBOC-GO composite with 1.0 wt% graphene oxide (GO) displays the highest photocatalytic NO removal efficiency, which is 4.3 times higher than that of pristine (BiO)(2)CO3. Moreover, NBOC-GO composite significantly inhibits toxic NO2 intermediate production, indicating its high selectivity for NO conversion. Compared with regular GO, N doping considerably improves the catalytic performance of NBOC-GO composite, which increases NO removal by 74.6% and fully inhibits NO2 generation. The improved photocatalytic activity is mainly ascribed to extended optical absorption ability and enhanced separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers over NBOC-GO composite. Both results of electron spin resonance and theoretical analysis of band structure indicate that NO removal is dominated by oxidation with center dot OH and center dot O-2(-) radicals. The photocatalytic activity improvement mechanism over the NBOC-GO composite is proposed accordingly based on systematic characterizations. This study demonstrates a feasible route to fabricating Bi-containing composites with high selectivity and stability for air pollution control and provides a new insight into the associated photocatalytic mechanisms. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Duration of untreated illness and clinical correlates in first-episode and drug-na?ve patients with major depressive disorder

Backgrounds: The notion that a prolonged duration of untreated illness (DUI) leads to poorer outcomes has contributed to extensive changes in mental health services worldwide. However, most studies on DUI have focused on schizophrenia and related psychosis. This study aimed to assess the possible relationship between DUI and certain clinical correlates in first-episode and drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 1718 first-episode and drug-naive MDD outpatients. All participants were scored on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and thyroid hormone and metabolic parameters were measured. We used the Structure Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for clinical diagnosis and investigated suicide attempts through face-to-face interviews.Results: A total of 171 (10%) of MDD patients had co-morbid psychiatric symptoms. Participants who were older, with lower education level, and married were less likely to seek a timely treatment compared to the counterparts. One-month longer untreated duration was associated with 2% to 9% higher odds of being with most of the investigated clinical conditions. For those with the longest DUI, the risk was increased for most of the investi-gated clinical conditions, with absolute risk differences ranging from 5.19% to 29.48%.Conclusions: These findings suggest that longer DUI may be negatively associated with clinical correlates in MDD. Further long-term follow-up studies are warranted to confirm these preliminary results

Associations between metabolic disorders and sleep disturbance in patients with schizophrenia

Background: Sleep disturbance plays a crucial role in mental illness and metabolic dysregulation. However, the clinical correlates of metabolic disorders (MD, only meeting 1 or 2 metabolic syndrome standards) and its relationship to sleep disturbance in patients with schizophrenia are uncertain. The study was to illuminate the association between MD and sleep disturbance in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: One hundred and sixty-four patients with schizophrenia (157 drug-naive and 7 drug-free) were classified into 2 groups: MD and non-MD. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) were employed to assess sleep quality and clinical symptoms. Weight, height, waistline, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and lipid metabolic levels were recorded. Results: Sleep disturbance was more pronounced in the MD group compared to the non-MD group, including subjective sleep quality (z = −4.074, p = 0.000), sleep latency (z = −3.867, p = 0.000), sleep duration (z = −2.471, p = 0.013) and total scores (z = −3.074, p = 0.002). After controlling for confounding factors including age, sex, body mass index, smoking, marital status, and duration of illness, binary logistics regression showed that subjective sleep quality (p = 0.034) and sleep latency (p = 0.034) were significant independent predictors of MD. Further, partial correlation analysis showed that sleep latency (r = −0.200, p = 0.011) was significantly negatively correlated with HDLC. Conclusion: Our study suggests a high rate of MD in patients with schizophrenia, most of who were drug-naive, in a Chinese population. Longer sleep latency is associated with MD in schizophrenia patients, suggesting an important role of sleep disturbance in the development of MD in patients with schizophrenia. Interventions to improve sleep quality may prevent MD in patients with schizophrenia at an early stage

Effects of Elevated CO2 Concentration and Nitrogen Addition on Soil Respiration in a Cd-Contaminated Experimental Forest Microcosm

Forests near rapidly industrialized and urbanized regions are often exposed to elevated CO2, increased N deposition, and heavy metal pollution. To date, the effects of elevated CO2 and/or increased N deposition on soil respiration (Rs) under heavy metal contamination are unclear. In this study, we firstly investigated Rs in Cd-contaminated model forests with CO2 enrichment and N addition in subtropical China. Results showed that Rs in all treatments exhibited similar clear seasonal patterns, with soil temperature being a dominant control. Cadmium addition significantly decreased cumulative soil CO2 efflux by 19% compared to the control. The inhibition of Rs caused by Cd addition was increased by N addition (decreased by 34%) was partially offset by elevated CO2 (decreased by 15%), and was not significantly altered by the combined N addition and rising CO2. Soil pH, microbial biomass carbon, carbon-degrading hydrolytic enzymes, and fine root biomass were also significantly altered by the treatments. A structural equation model revealed that the responses of Rs to Cd stress, elevated CO2, and N addition were mainly mediated by soil carbon-degrading hydrolytic enzymes and fine root biomass. Overall, our findings indicate that N deposition may exacerbate the negative effect of Cd on Rs in Cd-contaminated forests and benefit soil carbon sequestration in the future at increasing atmospheric CO2 levels