FTIR characteristics of charcoal with different combustion degrees as an indication of the genesis by and their significances for formation of fusinite in coal

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as a non-destructive method, is widely used for the identification of compounds and the characterization of molecular structures. In order to characterize the changes in the chemical structure of charcoal under different combustion temperatures, and thus to provide a theoretical basis for the formation of fusinite in coal, plant samples (charcoal) from modern wildfires with different degrees of combustion were selected to quantify their chemical structures using FTIR. The results shown that the sample reflectance was positively proportional to the combustion temperature. The sample No. 1 with maximum combustion temperature had the highest degree of combustion, which was measured to reach 518 ℃. The aromatic structure was dominated by tri-substituted benzene rings in all samples except the highest combustion sample No. 1, but dehydrocondensation occurred with increasing combustion temperature, resulting in a reduction of tri-substituted content of benzene rings to 20.5%. The tetra-substituted content was elevated due to dehydroaromatization of the naphthenic structure, while the change in the penta-substituted content was related to the cyclization of aliphatic chain and the decarboxylation of benzene ring. With the increase of combustion temperature, the CC content gradually increased due to the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons or the shedding of molecular side chains after dehydrogenation of cycloalkanes, reached 32% in the sample No. 1. The content of C－O first decreased and then increased. In the sample No. 1, the content of alkyl ether and aryl ether was the lowest, and the content of phenolic hydroxyl group was the highest, which may be the generation of phenolic substances by thermal breakage of ether bond under high temperature combustion. The CO content increased and then decreased to as low as 5.6% in the sample No. 1, which was due to the poor stability of the bond. Due to the influence of combustion temperature, the content of fatty substances varied greatly, with an overall gradual increase in methylene content, a decrease in methyl group, and an increase in branching degree. There were five types of hydrogen bonds in the samples, with ether-oxygen hydrogen bonds predominating in samples affected by low temperature (>55%). Cyclic hydrogen bonds and hydroxyl-N hydrogen bonds appeared in sample No. 1, while the content of ether-oxygen hydrogen bonds decreased significantly to 13.2%, which was attributed to the reduction of oxygen-containing functional groups caused by the increasing temperature. Comparison of reflectance and FTIR characteristics of fusinite in coal revealed that the characteristics of fusinite (semifusinite) in coal were very similar to those of charcoal, which might be produced mainly by wildfires. These changes indicated the effect of combustion temperature on the chemical structure in charcoal, reflecting the process of organic molecular structure changed with temperature in charcoal, and providing a theoretical basis for the evolution of organic matter and the formation of fusinite in coal

Effect of Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate Combined with Thermally Activated Nano Serpentine and Thermally Activated Nano Zeolite on Cadmium in Soil

The combined application of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) and thermally activated nano serpentine and KH2PO4 and thermally activated nano zeolite could immobilize cadmium (Cd) in contaminated soils by increasing soil pH value. The results showed that adding nPS700-2.0 (KH2PO4 and thermally activated nano serpentine activated at 700 °C, 2% addition) exhibited better performance under the same treatment condition; it reduced DTPA-Cd by 57.8% and exchangeable Cd by 48.76%. Adding nPF700 (KH2PO4 and thermally activated nano zeolite activated at 700 °C) reduced DTPA-Cd by 35.49–44.17% and exchangeable Cd by 35.89–42.57%, respectively. The increase of active adsorption points and the surface area of thermally activated nano serpentine reduced the bioavailability of Cd in soil, indicating that the combined application of phosphate and thermally activated nano serpentine has great potential for the immobilization of Cd in soil

Micro- and nanoplastics in soil:Linking sources to damage on soil ecosystem services in life cycle assessment

Soil ecosystems are crucial for providing vital ecosystem services (ES), and are increasingly pressured by the intensification and expansion of human activities, leading to potentially harmful consequences for their related ES provision. Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), associated with releases from various human activities, have become prevalent in various soil ecosystems and pose a global threat. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a tool for evaluating environmental performance of product and technology life cycles, has yet to adequately include MNPs-related damage to soil ES, owing to factors like uncertainties in MNPs environmental fate and ecotoxicological effects, and characterizing related damage on soil species loss, functional diversity, and ES. This study aims to address this gap by providing as a first step an overview of the current understanding of MNPs in soil ecosystems and proposing a conceptual approach to link MNPs impacts to soil ES damage. We find that MNPs pervade soil ecosystems worldwide, introduced through various pathways, including wastewater discharge, urban runoff, atmospheric deposition, and degradation of larger plastic debris. MNPs can inflict a range of ecotoxicity effects on soil species, including physical harm, chemical toxicity, and pollutants bioaccumulation. Methods to translate these impacts into damage on ES are under development and typically focus on discrete, yet not fully integrated aspects along the impact-to-damage pathway. We propose a conceptual framework for linking different MNPs effects on soil organisms to damage on soil species loss, functional diversity loss and loss of ES, and elaborate on each link. Proposed underlying approaches include the Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN) for translating ecotoxicological effects associated with MNPs into quantitative measures of soil species diversity damage; trait-based approaches for linking soil species loss to functional diversity loss; and ecological networks and Bayesian Belief Networks for linking functional diversity loss to soil ES damage. With the proposed conceptual framework, our study constitutes a starting point for including the characterization of MNPs-related damage on soil ES in LCA

Effect of Ozone Micro-Nano-Bubbles Treatment on “Green” and the Mechanism in Soybean Sprout

In order to explore the effect of ozone micro-nano-bubbles (Ozone MNBs) on “green” and the regulative mechanism in soybean sprout, this study took soybean sprout as the experimental material, treated with 4 mg/L Ozone MNBs and stored in white LED condition. Physical quality, synthesizing and decomposing of chlorophyll (enzyme activity and substance) were measured in soybean sprout. Compared with control group, 4 mg/L Ozone MNBs treatment could significantly inhibit the “green”, enhance the activities of chlorophyllase (Chlase), chlorophyll degrading peroxidase (Chl-POX), Mg-dechelatase (MD) and pheophytinase (PPH). And it decreased the levels of precursors in chlorophyll synthesis [δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and Urogen Ⅲ], chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. Additionally, it declined the content of ADP, ATP, NADP+ and NADPH in soybean sprout. Thus, 4 mg/L Ozone MNBs treatment affected the substance and enzyme activity of synthesizing and decomposing of chlorophyll, effectively hindered “green” in soybean sprout under white LED

The Impacts on Spinach Growth and Yield by Biological Organic Fertilizer

To decrease fertilization amount of chemical fertilizer and improve the quality of vegetable crops, spinach was taken as the test material, and the impact of different fertilizer on spinach growth and yield was studied via the manners of biological organic fertilizer and organic fertilizer+chemical fertilizer. Experimental results showed that in the formula of organic fertilizer+chemical fertilizer, chlorophyll and nitrogen contents in spinach leaves obviously increased; in the formula of only adding organic fertilizer, spinach leaf temperature, leaf width, root length, plant height and fresh weight were all better than those in the formula of organic fertilizer+chemical fertilizer, and better formulas were A5, E5, F3 and I5, in which spinach plant height in E5 was 5.63 times higher than G5, root length in E5 was 2.67 times higher than G5, and fresh weight in G5 was 32.6 times higher than G5. By comprehensive analysis, the most suitable formula for spinach production was E5, and the research could provide theoretic basis for fertilization amount of organic fertilizer required by spinach growth and development

Perilipin 1 Mediates Lipid Metabolism Homeostasis and Inhibits Inflammatory Cytokine Synthesis in Bovine Adipocytes

Dairy cows with ketosis displayed lipid metabolic disorder and high inflammatory levels. Adipose tissue is an active lipid metabolism and endocrine tissue and is closely related to lipid metabolism homeostasis and inflammation. Perilipin 1 (PLIN1), an adipocyte-specific lipid-coated protein, may be involved in the above physiological function. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of PLIN1 in lipid metabolism regulation and inflammatory factor synthesis in cow adipocytes. The results showed that PLIN1 overexpression upregulated the expression of fatty acid and triglyceride (TAG) synthesis molecule sterol regulator element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) and its target genes, diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) 1, and DGAT2, but inhibited the expression of lipolysis enzymes hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and CGI-58 for adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), thus augmenting the fatty acids and TAG synthesis and inhibiting lipolysis. Importantly, PLIN1 overexpression inhibited the activation of the NF-κB inflammatory pathway and decreased the expression and content of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) induced by lipopolysaccharide. Conversely, PLIN1 silencing inhibited TAG synthesis, promoted lipolysis, and overinduced the activation of the NF-κB inflammatory pathway in cow adipocytes. In ketotic cows, the expression of PLIN1 was markedly decreased, whereas lipid mobilization, NF-κB pathway, and downstream inflammatory cytokines were overinduced in adipose tissue. Taken together, these results indicate that PLIN1 can maintain lipid metabolism homeostasis and inhibit the NF-κB inflammatory pathway in adipocytes. However, low levels of PLIN1 reduced the inhibitory effect on fat mobilization, NF-κB pathway, and inflammatory cytokine synthesis in ketotic cows

Degradation of lignocelluloses in straw using AC-1, a thermophilic composite microbial system

In composting, the degradation of lignocellulose in straw is problematic due to its complex structures such as lignin. A common solution to this problem is the addition of exogenous inoculants. AC-1, a stable thermophilic microbial composite, was isolated from high temperature compost samples that can decompose lignocellulose at 50–70 °C. AC-1 had a best degradation efficiency of rice straw at 60 °C (78.92%), of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin were 82.49%, 97.20% and 20.12%, respectively. It showed degrad-ability on both simple (filter paper, absorbent cotton) and complex (rice straw) cellulose materials. It produced acetic and formic acid during decomposition process and the pH had a trend of first downward then upward. High throughput sequencing revealed the main bacterial components of AC-1 were Tepidimicrobium, Haloplasma, norank-f-Limnochordaceae, Ruminiclostridium and Rhodothermus which provides major theoretical basis for further application of AC-1

Exploring the evolving landscape of COVID-19 interfaced with livelihoods

Abstract The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the evolving landscape of research on the intricate relationship between COVID-19 and livelihoods, while also identifying research gaps and directions. To achieve this aim, a systematic review methodology was adopted, and metadata was developed using VOSviewer and R software. A total of 1988 relevant articles on COVID-19 and livelihoods were collected since the outbreak of the pandemic. However, after applying exclusion criteria and conducting thorough reviews, only 1503 articles were deemed suitable for analysis. The data was analyzed in relation to three phases of COVID-19 impacts: the early stage of COVID, the middle stages during the outbreak, and the post-recovery phase. We examined the distribution of research disciplines, regions, authors, institutions, and keywords across these phases. The findings revealed that coping strategies, food security, public health, mental health, social vulnerability, and regional differences were extensively researched areas in relation to COVID-19 and livelihoods. It was found that the United States had the highest volume of research on COVID-19 and livelihoods. Additionally, the top 1.28% of journals published 18.76% of the literature, with a predominantly focused on the environmental category. This study offers valuable perspectives into the vulnerability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on livelihoods. Furthermore, it provides lessons learned, outlines potential future research pathways to understand the dynamics between environmental factors (like COVID-19) and livelihood stress, and includes a comparison of traditional livelihoods research