Recent Advances in g-C3N4-Based Materials and Their Application in Energy and Environmental Sustainability.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), with facile synthesis, unique structure, high stability, and low cost, has been the hotspot in the field of photocatalysis. However, the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 is still unsatisfactory due to insufficient capture of visible light, low surface area, poor electronic conductivity, and fast recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Thus, different modification strategies have been developed to improve its performance. In this review, the properties and preparation methods of g-C3N4 are systematically introduced, and various modification approaches, including morphology control, elemental doping, heterojunction construction, and modification with nanomaterials, are discussed. Moreover, photocatalytic applications in energy and environmental sustainability are summarized, such as hydrogen generation, CO2 reduction, and degradation of contaminants in recent years. Finally, concluding remarks and perspectives on the challenges, and suggestions for exploiting g-C3N4-based photocatalysts are presented. This review will deepen the understanding of the state of the art of g-C3N4, including the fabrication, modification, and application in energy and environmental sustainability.

Temperature-induced changes in the proteome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during petroleum hydrocarbon degradation.

Petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants, which are among the most serious pollutants in the petroleum industry, can be degraded sufficiently by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, temperature-induced stress will severely inhibit this biodegradation. In this study, the proteome of P. aeruginosa P6 at 25 °C, 43 °C and 37 °C was used to examine the impact of temperature on the molecular mechanism of biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon by P. aeruginosa P6. Differentially expressed proteins were identified by iTRAQ technology, and the functions of these proteins were identified by bioinformatic analysis. The impact of 25 °C and 43 °C on cellular processes has also been discussed. The results showed that the expression of proteins in chemotaxis toward petroleum hydrocarbons, terminal oxidation of aromatic rings in petroleum hydrocarbons and trans-membrane transport of fatty acids and nutriments were clearly inhibited under 25 °C condition. The expression of proteins in chemotaxis, emulsification, adhesion and terminal oxidation of petroleum hydrocarbons; catalysis of fatty alcohols and fatty aldehydes; trans-membrane transport of nutriments and ß-oxidation were clearly inhibited under 43 °C condition.

Seroprevalence and first multilocus microsatellite genotyping of Neospora caninum in dairy cattle in Henan, central China.

Neospora caninum is one of the important causes of abortion in cattle worldwide, and losses due to neosporosis to the cattle industry are considerable. However, the knowledge of genetic characterization of this parasite is limited. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence and genetic characterization of N. caninum from dairy cows in Henan Province, central China. A total of 510 blood samples and 7 aborted fetuses were collected from 8 dairy farms in Henan Province. Serum antibodies to N. caninum were examined by ELISA using a recombinant tNcSRS2 protein as the coating antigen. The overall seroprevalence of N. caninum in dairy cows was 41.2% (210/510). The seropositivity rate of N. caninum in aborting cows (49.3%) was statistically significant higher than that (29.3%) in non-aborting cows (p<0.05) with an odds ratio of 2.44 (95% CI, 1.61-3.41). Statistical association was also found between farm type and the seropositivity rate of N. caninum infection in cows (p<0.01).N. caninum DNA was detected from 6 of 396 blood samples (1.5%) and 4 of 7 aborted fetuses by nested PCR based on NC5 gene, and the 10N. caninum positive DNA samples were further analyzed by multilocus microsatellite (MS) genotyping for MS4, MS5, MS6A, MS7, MS8, MS10, and MS12. Only 2 samples were successfully genotyped at all genetic loci, and two unique profiles including two novel allelic patterns were identified. To our knowledge, this study is the first report of genetic characterization of N. caninum isolates from naturally infected dairy cows based on multilocus microsatellites (more than 2 loci) in China.

Investigation of corrosion caused by constituents of refinery wastewater effluent used as circulating cooling water.

The corrosion rate of steel plate using single-factor, multifactor, and complex water systems was investigated via refinery wastewater effluents used as circulating cooling water. The results show that the primary corrosion factors of steel depend on the characteristics of the ions, the formation of the oxidized coating, the diffusion of dissolved oxygen, and other complex factors, although ions such as chloride, calcium, and carbonate play an important role. The corrosion rate of carbon steel exhibits two trends: The corrosion rate is high at low conductivity, increases to a maximum, and then decreases and becomes stable with increasing conductivity, as is the case with chloride, sulfate, nitrate and calcium ions. On the other hand, the corrosion rate is highest at low conductivity and then decreases and becomes stable with increasing conductivity, as is the case with carbonate, silicate, and sodium nitrate ions. Research results indicate that the anticorrosive ability is minimal at low conductivity; but is excellent at high conductivity. Pretreatment of low-conductivity water using air flotation and clarification to decrease the concentrations of chloride, calcium, and carbonate ions to a suitable level to satisfy the anticorrosion requirements is required. However, it is not necessary to significantly reduce the salt concentration or conductivity of the water by osmosis or ion exchange to obtain an anticorrosion effect when reusing wastewater effluents as circulating cooling water.