Roles of Phosphorus Sources in Microbial Community Assembly for the Removal of Organic Matters and Ammonia in Activated Sludge

Various phosphorus sources are utilized by microbes in WWTPs, eventually affecting microbial assembly and functions. This study identified the effects of phosphorus source on microbial communities and functions in the activated sludge. By cultivation with 59 phosphorus sources, including inorganic phosphates (IP), nucleoside-monophosphates (NMP), cyclic-nucleoside-monophosphates (cNMP), and other organophosphates (OP), we evaluated the change in removal efficiencies of total organic carbon (TOC) and ammonia, microbial biomass, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, microbial community structure, and AKP-associated genes. TOC and ammonia removal efficiency was highest in IP (64.8%) and cNMP (52.3%) treatments. Microbial community structure changed significantly across phosphorus sources that IP and cNMP encouraged Enterobacter and Aeromonas, respectively. The abundance of phoA and phoU genes was higher in IP treatments, whereas phoD and phoX genes dominated OP treatments. Our findings suggested that the performance of WWTPs was dependent on phosphorus sources and provided new insights into effective WWTP management

Allergic Asthma-Induced Cognitive Impairment is Alleviated by Dexamethasone

Allergic asthma is a typical chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory tract. Clinical data shows that patients with allergic asthma have different degrees of cognitive dysfunction. The molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of asthma-induced cognitive disorder is not yet well defined. Dexamethasone (DEX), one of the first-line drugs being widely used in the treatment of asthma, has not been reported to have an effect on cognitive dysfunction in mice model. To investigate the effect of asthma on cognitive impairment as well as the effect of DEX on asthma-caused morphological and behavioral changes, C57BL/6J mice received treatment with house dust mites (HDM) for 60 days to become allergic asthma model mice, and a group of HDM-treated asthma model mice were treated with DEX. HDM-treated asthma model mice exhibited increased airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and inflammatory infiltration in lung tissue. An elevated level of IL-4, IL-5, and TNF-α was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) by Luminex liquid suspension chip. Asthma model mice also presented memory deficits accompanied with morphological changes at the synaptic levels in the cortex and hippocampus. Meanwhile, vascular edema and increased expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α were found in the brain of asthma model mice. Interestingly, DEX treatment could reverse the inflammatory changes in asthma model mice airway, rescue the cognitive impairment and improve the synaptic plasticity. Besides, DEX significantly decreased the expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α in mice brain and lung. These processes may be used to decipher the complex interplay and pathological changes between asthma and cognition. This study provides laboratory evidence for the prevention and treatment of cognitive malfunction induced by asthma

Tailoring the Structural and Electronic Properties of Graphene through Ion Implantation

Ion implantation is a superior post-synthesis doping technique to tailor the structural properties of materials. Via density functional theory (DFT) calculation and ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMD) based on stochastic boundary conditions, we systematically investigate the implantation of low energy elements Ga/Ge/As into graphene as well as the electronic, optoelectronic and transport properties. It is found that a single incident Ga, Ge or As atom can substitute a carbon atom of graphene lattice due to the head-on collision as their initial kinetic energies lie in the ranges of 25–26 eV/atom, 22–33 eV/atom and 19–42 eV/atom, respectively. Owing to the different chemical interactions between incident atom and graphene lattice, Ge and As atoms have a wide kinetic energy window for implantation, while Ga is not. Moreover, implantation of Ga/Ge/As into graphene opens up a concentration-dependent bandgap from ~0.1 to ~0.6 eV, enhancing the green and blue light adsorption through optical analysis. Furthermore, the carrier mobility of ion-implanted graphene is lower than pristine graphene; however, it is still almost one order of magnitude higher than silicon semiconductors. These results provide useful guidance for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices of single-atom-thick two-dimensional materials through the ion implantation technique

Diet with a High Proportion of Rice Alters Profiles and Potential Function of Digesta-Associated Microbiota in the Ileum of Goats

Effects of a high proportion of concentrate in the diet on the ileal microbiota and metabolites in small ruminants are rarely reported. This study was designed to investigate the ileal microbiota and its relationship with host metabolic function in goats and aimed to elucidate the mechanisms involving in the ileal adaptation to a diet containing a high proportion of rice. Sixteen goats were equally divided into two groups and fed a diet with a normal concentrate proportion (NC, 55% concentrate) or a high-concentrate diet (HC, 90% concentrate). Results showed that the HC diet decreased bacterial diversity and elevated the abundance of five genera (Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Eubacterium_nodatum_group, Ruminococcus_gauvreauii_group, Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group and Ruminococcus 1), but reduced the number of Anaerotruncus. Microbial functional potentials indicated that the HC diet activated the pathways related to metabolism of carbohydrate, glycan, lipid and vitamins, but inhibited the pathways associated with cell motility and signal transduction. The activities of amylase and alkaline phosphatase were greater (p < 0.05) in the intestinal digesta of the HC-fed goats. However, there were no differences in the villus height, crypt depth and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the ileum between the two groups. These results indicate that the HC diet alters the bacterial community and pathways related to the metabolism of dietary nutrients and cell motility and signal transduction of bacteria in the ileum of goats

Biominerallized Noble Metal‐Based RuO2 Nanozymes Against Myocardial Ischemic/Reperfusion Injury

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among elderly worldwide. Oxidative burst, which involves the rapid release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is the primary mechanism of IR‐mediated myocardial dysfunction and injury. Therefore, ROS elimination shows great potential for modulating IR injury. Herein, BSA‐coated RuO2 nanoparticles (RuO2@BSA, RA NPs) as free radical scavengers are synthesized and their therapeutic effect against myocardial IR injury is explored. The in vitro antioxidant effect of RA NPs in cardiomyocytes is initially demonstrated. In ischemic myocardium, the RA NPs mimic multiple enzymes to remarkably reduce the infarcted area and restore cardiac function through a cascade of enzyme‐like reactions, including the transformation of superoxide anion into hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the subsequent decomposition of H2O2 to oxygen. The therapeutic mechanism of the RA NPs is based on ROS scavenging and the inhibition of apoptosis. These findings demonstrate the high clinical potential of RA NPs in IR injury treatment

Solvent Effects in the Preparation of Catalysts Using Activated Carbon as a Carrier

The role of solvents is crucial in catalyst preparation. With regard to catalysts prepared with activated carbon (AC) as the carrier, when water is used as a solvent it is difficult for the solution to infiltrate the AC. Because AC comprises a large number of C atoms and is a nonpolar material, it is more effective for the adsorption of nonpolar substances. Since the water and active ingredients are polar, they cannot easily infiltrate AC. In this study, the dispersion of the active component was significantly improved by optimizing the solvent, and the particle size of the active component was reduced from 33.08 nm to 15.30 nm. The specific surface area of the catalyst is significantly increased, by 10%, reaching 991.49 m2/g. Under the same reaction conditions, the conversion of acetic acid by the catalyst prepared with the mixed solvent was maintained at approximately 65%, which was 22% higher than that obtained using the catalyst prepared with water as the solvent

In-Situ Fabrication of g-C₃N₄/ZnO Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue: Synthesis Procedure Does Matter

The nanocomposite preparation procedure plays an important role in achieving a well-established heterostructured junction, and hence, an optimized photocatalytic activity. In this study, a series of g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposites were prepared through two distinct procedures of a low-cost, environmentally-friendly, in-situ fabrication process, with urea and zinc acetate being the only precursor materials. The physicochemical properties of synthesized g-C3N4/ZnO composites were mainly characterized by XRD, UV⁻VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), N2 adsorption-desorption, FTIR, TEM, and SEM. These nanocomposites’ photocatalytic properties were evaluated in methylene blue (MB) dye photodecomposition under UV and sunlight irradiation. Interestingly, compared with ZnO nanorods, g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposites (x:1, obtained from urea and ZnO nanorods) exhibited weak photocatalytic activity likely due to a “shading effect„, while nanocomposites (x:1 CN, made from g-C3N4 and zinc acetate) showed enhanced photocatalytic activity that can be ascribed to the effective establishment of heterojunctions. A kinetics study showed that a maximum reaction rate constant of 0.1862 min-1 can be achieved under solar light illumination, which is two times higher than that of bare ZnO nanorods. The photocatalytic mechanism was revealed by determining reactive species through adding a series of scavengers. It suggested that reactive ●O2− and h+ radicals played a major role in promoting dye photodegradation

Cookies Fortified with <i>Lonicera japonica</i> Thunb. Extracts: Impact on Phenolic Acid Content, Antioxidant Activity and Physical Properties

Lonicera japonica Thunb [...