Pathogenesis and therapy of radiation enteritis with gut microbiota

Radiotherapy is widely used in clinic due to its good effect for cancer treatment. But radiotherapy of malignant tumors in the abdomen and pelvis is easy to cause radiation enteritis complications. Gastrointestinal tract contains numerous microbes, most of which are mutualistic relationship with the host. Abdominal radiation results in gut microbiota dysbiosis. Microbial therapy can directly target gut microbiota to reverse microbiota dysbiosis, hence relieving intestinal inflammation. In this review, we mainly summarized pathogenesis and novel therapy of the radiation-induced intestinal injury with gut microbiota dysbiosis and envision the opportunities and challenges of radiation enteritis therapy

Direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction with organics as electron donor by anaerobic sludge

Industrial activities produce lots of Cr (VI)-containing wastewater. This study presented a detailed work on direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction (i.e. Cr (VI) is reduced with organics as electron donor directly) by anaerobic sludge through both batch and long-term experiments. Effects of pH and initial Cr (VI) concentrations on direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction activity were evaluated. The highest direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction rate was achieved at pH 8.0 at 104\ua0mg Cr (VI)/g MLVSS/d (MLVSS: mixed liquor volatile suspended solids), corresponding to the highest protein release (124\ua0mg/g MLVSS) and cell viability (71%). In contrast, the direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction rates were 46, 70 and 82\ua0mg Cr (VI)/g MLVSS/d, respectively, at pH 6.0, 7.0 and 9.0. Also, the direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction activity decreased by 74% when initial Cr (VI) concentration increased from 10\ua0mg/L to 50\ua0mg/L. The contribution of chemical adsorption to Cr (VI) removal was found to be negligible, whereas biosorption played a role in Cr (VI) removal although its role was insignificant. Indirect Cr (VI) bio-reduction (i.e. Cr (VI) is chemically reduced by sulfide produced from biological sulfate reduction) rate (990\ua0mg Cr (VI)/g MLVSS/d) was faster than that (210\ua0mg Cr (VI)/g MLVSS/d) of direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction, indicating that indirect Cr (VI) bio-reduction would dominate the Cr (VI) bio-reduction pathway if both Cr (VI) and sulfate were present. The direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction was then successfully demonstrated in an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor, where the Cr (VI) was completely removed with a Cr (VI) removal rate of 1.0\ua0mg Cr (VI)/L/h. 454 pyrosequencing results revealed that direct Cr (VI) bio-reduction related genera were Desulfovibrio, Ochrobactrum and Anaerovorax

On-chip ultrasensitive and rapid hydrogen sensing based on plasmon-induced hot electron–molecule interaction

Hydrogen energy is a zero-carbon replacement for fossil fuels. However, hydrogen is highly flammable and explosive hence timely sensitive leak detection is crucial. Existing optical sensing techniques rely on complex instruments, while electrical sensing techniques usually operate at high temperatures and biasing condition. In this paper an on-chip plasmonic–catalytic hydrogen sensing concept with a concentration detection limit down to 1 ppm is presented that is based on a metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) nanojunction operating at room temperature and zero bias. The sensing signal of the device was enhanced by three orders of magnitude at a one-order of magnitude higher response speed compared to alternative non-plasmonic devices. The excellent performance is attributed to the hydrogen induced interfacial dipole charge layer and the associated plasmonic hot electron modulated photoelectric response. Excellent agreements were achieved between experiment and theoretical calculations based on a quantum tunneling model. Such an on-chip combination of plasmonic optics, photoelectric detection and photocatalysis offers promising strategies for next-generation optical gas sensors that require high sensitivity, low time delay, low cost, high portability and flexibility

Free sulfurous acid (FSA) inhibition of biological thiosulfate reduction (BTR) in the sulfur cycle-driven wastewater treatment process

A sulfur cycle-based bioprocess for co-treatment of wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) wastes with freshwater sewage has been developed. In this process the removal of organic carbon is mainly associated with biological sulfate or sulfite reduction. Thiosulfate is a major intermediate during biological sulfate/sulfite reduction, and its reduction to sulfide is the rate-limiting step. In this study, the impacts of saline sulfite (the ionized form: HSO + SO ) and free sulfurous acid (FSA, the unionized form: HSO) sourced from WGFD wastes on the biological thiosulfate reduction (BTR) activities were thoroughly investigated. The BTR activity and sulfate/sulfite-reducing bacteria (SRB) populations in the thiosulfate-reducing up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor decreased when the FSA was added to the UASB influent. Batch experiment results confirmed that FSA, instead of saline sulfite, was the true inhibitor of BTR. And BTR activities dropped by 50% as the FSA concentrations were increased from 8.0 × 10to 2.0 × 10mg HSO-S/L. From an engineering perspective, the findings of this study provide some hints on how to ensure effective thiosulfate accumulation in biological sulfate/sulfite reduction for the subsequent denitrification/denitritation. Such manipulation would result in higher nitrogen removal rates in this co-treatment process of WFGD wastes with municipal sewage

Genome-wide identification and analysis of heterotic loci in three maize hybrids

Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, is a predominant phenomenon in plant genetics, serving as the basis of crop hybrid breeding, but the causative loci and genes underlying heterosis remain unclear in many crops. Here, we present a large-scale genetic analysis using 5360 offsprings from three elite maize hybrids, which identifies 628 loci underlying 19 yield-related traits with relatively high mapping resolutions. Heterotic pattern investigations of the 628 loci show that numerous loci, mostly with complete–incomplete dominance (the major one) or overdominance effects (the secondary one) for heterozygous genotypes and nearly equal proportion of advantageous alleles from both parental lines, are the major causes of strong heterosis in these hybrids. Follow-up studies for 17 heterotic loci in an independent experiment using 2225 F2 individuals suggest most heterotic effects are roughly stable between environments with a small variation. Candidate gene analysis for one major heterotic locus (ub3) in maize implies that there may exist some common genes contributing to crop heterosis. These results provide a community resource for genetics studies in maize and new implications for heterosis in plants

Miniaturized spectroscopy with tunable and sensitive plasmonic structures

Broad linewidth and a lack of spectral analysis limit the applications of plasmonic sensors. In this paper, a plasmonic sensor with a high sensing FoM above 900 RIU-1 in the terahertz range is proposed based on high-quality factor (>1000) surface lattice resonance in subwavelength near-flat metallic gratings. Moreover, such a highly selective spectral manipulating scheme plus the greatly localized plasmonic resonance enables miniaturized spectroscopy based on a single detector by integrating an electro-optical material with the gratings. A spectral resolution of 0.1 GHz at a center frequency of 1.1 THz is predicted showing a four times improvement of measuring efficiency. This technique show promising potentials in on-site matter inspection and point-of-care testing

Exploring the Visual Attention Mechanism of Long-Distance Driving in an Underground Construction Cavern: Eye-Tracking and Simulated Driving

Prolonged driving is necessary in underground construction caverns to transport materials, muck, and personnel, exposing drivers to high-risk and complex environments. Despite previous studies on attention and gaze prediction at tunnel exit-inlet areas, a significant gap remains due to the neglect of dual influences of long-distance driving and complex cues. To address this gap, this study establishes an experimental scenario in a construction environment, utilizing eye-tracking and simulated driving to collect drivers’ eye movement data. An analysis method is proposed to explore the visual change trend by examining the evolution of attention and calculating the possibility of visual cues being perceived at different driving stages to identify the attentional selection mechanism. The findings reveal that as driving time increases, fixation time decreases, saccade amplitude increases, and some fixations transform into unconscious saccades. Moreover, a phenomenon of “visual adaptation” occurs over time, reducing visual sensitivity to environmental information. At the start of driving, colorful stimuli and safety-related information compete for visual resources, while safety-related signs, particularly warning signs, always attract drivers’ attention. However, signs around intense light are often ignored. This study provides a scientific basis for transport safety in the construction environment of underground caverns

Heavy metal exposure has adverse effects on the growth and development of preschool children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn) in the PM2.5 and blood and physical growth, and development parameters including birth length and weight, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), head circumference, and chest circumference in preschool children from Guiyu (e-waste exposure area) and Haojiang (the reference area). A total of 470 preschool children from Guiyu and Haojiang located in southeast coast of China were recruited and required to undergo physical examination and blood tests during the study period. Birth length and weight were obtained by birth records and questionnaire. Pb and Cd in both PM2.5 and blood were significantly higher in Guiyu than Haojiang. Remarkably, the children of Guiyu had significantly lower birth weight and length, BMI, and chest circumference when compare to their peers from the reference area (all p valu

Enhanced Li-ion intercalation kinetics and lattice oxygen stability in single-crystalline Ni-rich Co-poor layered cathodes

Single-crystalline nickel-rich cobalt-poor layered oxides are promising cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries due to their high safety and competitive cost. However, the severe cation disorder and lithium/oxygen (Li/O) loss during the high-temperature calcination process result in slow Li-ion diffusion and inferior O stability. Herein, a LiNi0.85Co0.05Mn0.10O2 (NCM85) single-crystalline cathode was prepared at relatively lower lithiation temperatures by barium/aluminum (Ba/Al) co-doping. The increase in the c-axis caused by Ba doping with a larger ion radius and the reduction in Li/Ni disorder can enhance the Li-ion diffusion kinetics, while the strong Ba-O and Al-O bonds considerably boost the lattice O stability to alleviate O escape during the charging process. The optimized cathode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 206.5 mA h g−1 at 0.1C and 115.6 mA h g−1 at 5C. Impressively, 87.5% of initial capacity is still maintained after 500 cycles at 1C in a pouch-type full cell. This finding provides a viable and flexible method to resolve the kinetics and stability issues of other layered oxide cathodes.National Natural Science Foundation of China [U22A20429, 22308103]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [2023M731083]; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central UniversitiesNational Natural Science Foundation of China, NSFC, (22308103, U22A20429); China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, (2023M731083); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universitie