Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Aqueous Solution Using Biotransformed Lignite.

Heavy metal pollution caused by industrial wastewater such as mining and metallurgical wastewater is a major global concern. Therefore, this study used modified lignite as a low-cost adsorbent for heavy metal ions. Pingzhuang lignite was dissolved and modified using Fusarium lignite B3 to prepare a biotransformed-lignite adsorbent (BLA). The O, H, and N contents of the BLA increased after transformation, and the specific surface area increased from 1.81 to 5.66 m2·g-1. Various adsorption properties were investigated using an aqueous solution of Cu(Ⅱ). The kinetic and isothermal data were well-fitted by pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models, respectively. The Langmuir model showed that the theoretical Cu(II) adsorption capacity was 71.47 mg·g-1. Moreover, large particles and a neutral pH were favorable for the adsorption of heavy metal ions. The adsorption capacities of raw lignite and BLA were compared for various ions. Microbial transformation greatly improved the adsorption capacity, and the BLA had good adsorption and passivation effects with Cu(II), Mn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II). Investigation of the structural properties showed that the porosity and specific surface area increased after biotransformation, and there were more active groups such as -COOH, Ar-OH, and R-OH, which were involved in the adsorption performance.

High-performance broadband electromagnetic interference shielding optical window based on a metamaterial absorber.

An excellently transparent metamaterial-based electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding window with broadband absorption is presented theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. The window is composed of double split circular ring (SCR) elements whose absorption spectra feature two mild resonant peaks. Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) with resonant patterns is utilized as the material to induce high ohmic loss and broaden the absorption bandwidth. The window achieves strong absorptivity, > 90%, covering an ultrawide frequency range of 7.8-18.0 GHz. Moreover, the measured shielding effectiveness (SE) of the window is > 18.25 dB, at 7.0-18.0 GHz, while the average optical transmittance is fixed at ∼73.10% in the visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) region of 400-1,500 nm. Further, the absorption mechanism is revealed by designing an equivalent circuit model and studying the distributions of the electric field and surface currents of the structure. Furthermore, a specific design feature also makes our device insensitive to the incident angle and the polarization state of the impinging microwave. The 90% absorption and shielding performance of the proposed optical window avail it for a wide range of great potential applications, such as the displays of military and medical precision devices.

Biological efficacy and toxic effect of emergency water disinfection process based on advanced oxidation technology.

An innovative and removable water treatment system consisted of strong electric field discharge and hydrodynamic cavitation based on advanced oxidation technologies was developed for reactive free radicals producing and waterborne pathogens eliminating in the present study. The biological efficacy and toxic effects of this advanced oxidation system were evaluated during water disinfection treatments. Bench tests were carried out with synthetic microbial-contaminated water, as well as source water in rainy season from a reservoir of Dalian city (Liaoning Province, China). Results showed that high inactivation efficiency of Escherichia coli (>5 log) could be obtained for synthetic contaminated water at a low concentration (0.5-0.7 mg L(-1)) of total oxidants in 3-10 s. The numbers of wild total bacteria (108 × 10(3) CFU mL(-1)) and total coliforms (260 × 10(2) MPN 100 mL(-1)) in source water greatly reduced to 50 and 0 CFU mL(-1) respectively after treated by the advanced oxidation system, which meet the microbiological standards of drinking water, and especially that the inactivation efficiency of total coliforms could reach 100%. Meanwhile, source water qualities were greatly improved during the disinfection processes. The values of UV254 in particular were significantly reduced (60-80%) by reactive free radicals. Moreover, the concentrations of possible disinfection by-products (formaldehyde and bromide) in treated water were lower than detection limits, indicating that there was no harmful effect on water after the treatments. These investigations are helpful for the ecotoxicological studies of advanced oxidation system in the treatments of chemical polluted water or waste water. The findings of this work suggest that the developed water treatment system is ideal in the acute phases of emergencies, which also could offer additional advantages over a wide range of applications in water pollution control.

Intense photoluminescence at 2.7 µm in transparent Er 3+:CaF2-fluorophosphate glass microcomposite.

Er3+ doped CaF2-fluorophosphate (FP) glass microcomposites were produced by heat-treating the mixture of Er3+:CaF2 precipitate and FP glass powder above the melting temperature of the FP glass. The appearance of CaF2 crystallites in the resulting composites was confirmed by x ray diffraction. Despite the fact that the average diameter of the crystallites was around 10 µm as revealed by the micromorphology study, a transparent composite was obtained by matching the refractive index of FP glass to that of CaF2. Intense IR fluorescence at around 2.7 µm was observed in the composite, implying the composite would be a promising candidate for IR lasers and amplifiers.

Near-infrared distributed feedback solgel lasers by intensity modulation and polarization modulation.

Near-infrared distributed feedback (DFB) laser actions of Oxazine 725 dye in zirconia thin films and in silica bulks were investigated. Intensity modulation and polarization modulation were used to generate the DFB lasing. Wideband tuning of the output wavelength was achieved by varying the period of the modulation generated by a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. Tuning ranges were 716-778 nm and 724-813 nm for the thin film lasers and the bulk lasers, respectively. The laser output showed different polarization characteristics and threshold energy variation when the feedback mechanism was changed from intensity modulation to polarization modulation.

microRNA­211 suppresses the growth and metastasis of cervical cancer by directly targeting ZEB1.

Of gynecological cancers, cervical cancer has the second highest incidence globally and is a major cause of cancer­associated mortality in women. An increasing number of studies have reported that microRNAs (miRNAs) have important roles in cervical cancer carcinogenesis and progression through regulation of various critical protein­coding genes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and biological roles of miRNA­211 (miR­211) in cervical cancer and its underlying molecular mechanism. The results of reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT­qPCR) demonstrated that the expression levels of miR­211 in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines were significantly lower compared with adjacent normal tissues and the normal human cervix epithelial cell line, respectively. Furthermore, upregulation of miR­211 by transfection with miR­211 mimics inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer, as determined by MTT, Transwell and Matrigel assays, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay results indicated that zinc finger E­box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) may be a direct target gene of miR­211. In addition, RT­qPCR and western blot analysis results demonstrated that miR­211 overexpression markedly reduced ZEB1 expression at mRNA and protein levels in cervical cancer. Furthermore, the effects of ZEB1 downregulation on the proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells were similar to those induced by miR­211 overexpression. These results indicate that miR­211 may act as a tumor suppressor in cervical cancer by directly targeting ZEB1. Therefore, miR­211/ZEB1­based targeted therapy may represent a potential novel treatment for patients with cervical cancer.