An anoxic-aerobic system combined with integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland to highly enhance simultaneous organics and nutrients removal in rural China.

The biggest problem in the treatment of rural domestic sewage is that the existing treatment projects require the big investment and the high operation and maintenance costs. To overcome this problem, cost-effective, low-consuming, resource-recovering and easy-maintenance technologies are urgently demanded. To this end, a novel anoxic-aerobic system combined with integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland (IVFCW) with source separation was proposed for treating rural sewage in this study. The anoxic-aerobic system contained the anoxic filter (ANF), two-stage waterwheel driving rotating biological contactors (ts-WDRBCs). Key parameters of ts-WDRBCs were identified to be 0.6 m drop height and 4 r/min rotational speed found on oxygenated clean water experiments. Then, the optimal operating parameters were determined to be 200% reflux ratio and 3 h hydraulic retention time of ts-WDRBCs. During the 80-day operation, 91.58 ± 1.86% COD, 96.17 ± 0.92% NH4+-N, 82.71 ± 3.92% TN and 92.28 ± 2.78% TP were removed under the optimal operating parameters. Compared with other treatment technologies, this combined bio-ecological system could achieve the higher simultaneous organics and nutrients removal. The effluent NO3--N/NH4+-N concentration ratio of ts-WDRBCs was 2.15 ± 0.54, which was proved to be beneficial for plants growth. The microbial communities coexisted in each section ensured the desired removal performance of combined bio-ecological system. Summarily, high performance together with low investment costs and cheap operation costs are characteristics that make this system a promising and competitive alternative for rural sewage treatment.

Facet Engineered α-MnO2 for Efficient Catalytic Ozonation of Odor CH3SH: Oxygen Vacancy-Induced Active Centers and Catalytic Mechanism.

The oxygen vacancy in MnO2 is normally proved as the reactive site for the catalytic ozonation, and acquiring a highly reactive crystal facet with abundant oxygen vacancy by facet engineering is advisable for boosting the catalytic activity. In this study, three facet-engineered α-MnO2 was prepared and successfully utilized for catalytic ozonation toward an odorous CH3SH. The as-synthesized 310-MnO2 exhibited superior activity in catalytic ozonation of CH3SH than that of 110-MnO2 and 100-MnO2, which could achieve 100% removal efficiency for 70 ppm of CH3SH within 20 min. The results of XPS, Raman, H2-TPR, and DFT calculation all prove that the (310) facets possess a higher surface energy than other facets can feature the construction of oxygen vacancies, thus facilitating the adsorption and activate O3 into intermediate peroxide species (O2-/O22-) and reactive oxygen species (•O2-/1O2) for eliminating adjacent CH3SH. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) revealed that the CH3SH molecular was chemisorbed on S atom to form CH3S-, which was further converted into intermediate CH3SO3- and finally oxidized into SO42- and CO32-/CO2 during the process. Attributed to the deep oxidation of CH3SH on 310-MnO2 via efficient cycling of active oxygen vacancies, the lifetime of 310-MnO2 can be extended to 2.5 h with limited loss of activity, while 110-MnO2 and 100-MnO2 were inactivated within 1 h. This study deepens the comprehension of facet-engineering in MnO2 and presents an efficient and portable catalyst to control odorous pollution.

Enhanced Performance and Conversion Pathway for Catalytic Ozonation of Methyl Mercaptan on Single-Atom Ag Deposited Three-Dimensional Ordered Mesoporous MnO2.

In this study, Ag deposited three-dimensional MnO2 porous hollow microspheres (Ag/MnO2 PHMSs) with high dispersion of the atom level Ag species are first prepared by a novel method of redox precipitation. Due to the highly efficient utilization of downsized Ag nanoparticles, the optimal 0.3% Ag/MnO2 PHMSs can completely degrade 70 ppm CH3SH within 600 s, much higher than that of MnO2 PHMSs (79%). Additionally, the catalyst retains long-term stability and can be regenerated to its initial activity through regeneration with ethanol and HCl. The results of characterization of Ag/MnO2 PHMSs and catalytic performance tests clearly demonstrate that the proper amount of Ag incorporation not only facilitates the chemi-adsorption but also induces more formation of vacancy oxygen (Ov) and lattice oxygen (OL) in MnO2 as well as Ag species as activation sites to collectively favor the catalytic ozonation of CH3SH. Ag/MnO2 PHMSs can efficiently transform CH3SH into CH3SAg/CH3S-SCH3 and then oxidize them into SO42- and CO2 as evidenced by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. Meanwhile, electron paramagnetic resonance and scavenger tests indicate that •OH and 1O2 are the primary reactive species rather than surface atomic oxygen species contributing to CH3SH removal over Ag/MnO2 PHMSs. This work presents an efficient catalyst of single atom Ag incorporated MnO2 PHMSs to control air pollution.

Axial compression behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polymer confined partially encased recycled concrete columns.

Partially encased concrete (PEC) has better mechanical properties as a structure where steel and concrete work together. Due to the increasing amount of construction waste, recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is being considered by more people. However, although RAC has more points, the performance is inferior to natural aggregate concrete (NAC). To narrow or address this gap, lightweight, high-strength and corrosion-resistant CFRP can be used, also protecting the steel flange of the PEC structure. Therefore, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) confined partially encased recycled coarse aggregate concrete columns were studied in this paper. With respect to different slenderness ratios, recycled coarse aggregate(RCA) replacement ratios, and number of CFRP layers, the performance of the proposed CFRP restrained columns are reported. The RCA replacement ratio is analyzed to be limited negative impact on the bearing capacity, generally within 6%. As for the slenderness ratio, the bearing capacity increased with it. However, wrapping CFRP significantly increased the bearing capacity. Considering the arch factor, a simple formula for calculating the ultimate strength of CFRP-confined partially encased RAC columns is developed based on EC4 and GB50017-2017. By comparison with the experimental values, the error is within 10%.

Axial compression performance of partially encased concrete columns with web opening.

The objective of this study is to comprehensively assess the behavior of partially encased concrete (PEC) columns with web openings under axial compression. The primary objectives of this study are to analyze damage patterns and investigate the influence of key parameters, such as concrete strength, opening rate, and opening shape, on the ductility index and ultimate load-carrying capacity. The study employs experimental testing to examine the response of the PEC columns, with a particular focus on the mechanisms of concrete fracture and flange flexing. Notably, the study reveals a significant impact of the opening rate on the bearing capacity, while the effect of opening shape is comparatively minor. Furthermore, computational analyses are conducted to deepen the understanding of structural behavior. The study builds upon existing research to propose a novel method for calculating the bearing capacity of PEC columns with web openings. This method introduces two discount factors to enhance predictive accuracy.

Dynamics of sediment transport in the Yangtze River and their key drivers.

Understanding the dynamics of sediment transport and their underlying driving mechanisms is critical to developing strategic plans for sustainable river basin management. However, the quantification of various drivers (e.g., dam construction, soil and water conservation measures) of sediment load change remains scarce, and the projections of sediment transport under the 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C global warming scenarios are not well understood. Here we quantify the sediment load dynamics in the Yangtze River and also estimate the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to these changes using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model and statistical methods. Results show that the sediment load exhibited a significant decreasing trend at most stations in the Yangtze River, with breakpoints occurring around 1993 and 2003. The study period of 1972-2016 can be split into three sub-periods: 1972-1992 (P1), 1993-2003 (P2), and 2004-2016 (P3). From P1 to P3, 95.6 % of the decline can be attributed to climate change, the remainder resulting from the construction of dams and reservoirs (3.6 %) and improved soil and water conservation (0.8 %). Specifically, human activities contributed ∼67.96 % to sediment changes during the period P1-P2, whereas climatic change contributed ∼81.76 % during the period P2-P3. The sediment load significantly increased in the RCP 2.6 (slope = 0.87 Mt·yr-1, P < 0.01) and RCP 4.5 (slope = 0.84 Mt·yr-1, P < 0.05) under the global warming of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C towards the entire Yangtze River. Compared with the 2.0 °C (2040-2059) global warming scenario, the mean annual sediment load in the 1.5 °C (2020-2039) global warming scenario is smaller by 17.88 Mt. Our investigation found that climate variations will provide a more remarkable contribution to sediment load dynamics in the Yangtze River in the future than the historical average due to the effectiveness of reservoirs decreases and the saturation of the capacity of the soil and water conservation measures to capture sediment. Although these findings indicate the importance of climate change's impact on sediment load changes, it is necessary to apply them to appropriate management to adapt to climate changes in future river basin management policies.

Erratum: Author correction to "YPD-30, a prodrug of YPD-29B, is an oral small-molecule inhibitor targeting PD-L1 for the treatment of human cancer" [Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 12 (2022) 2845-2858].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.02.031.].

The Spatial Disparities of Land-Use Efficiency in Mainland China from 2000 to 2015.

Understanding the sustainable development goal (SDG) 11.3.1-ratio of land consumption rate (LCR) to population growth rate (PGR) is an important prerequisite for planning a guide for sustainable urbanization. However, little is known regarding the degree of accuracy of the estimated LCR due to the inconsistency of data on built-up areas. We extracted four built-up areas, based on inverse S-shaped law and area proportion method, and produced more precise built-up area data (LS_BUA) for the period 2000-2015. Chinese population density data in 2000-2015 was generated based on 26 million points of interest, 19 million roads, other multi-source data, and random forest (RF). Finally, the coupling between LCR and PGR for 340 Chinese cities was calculated during the same period. The results showed that (1) the accuracy of LS_BUA was higher than that of the other built-up area data production methods; (2) the accuracy of test sets in RF exceeded 0.86; (3) the LCR value of mainland China was 0.024 and the PGR value was 0.019 during 2000-2015. The LCR consistently exceeded the PGR and the coordination relationship between LCR and PGR continued to deteriorate. Our research eliminated the difference of SDG 11.3.1 from different data sources and could therefore help decision makers balance land consumption and population growth.

YPD-30, a prodrug of YPD-29B, is an oral small-molecule inhibitor targeting PD-L1 for the treatment of human cancer.

PD-1 and PD-L1 antibodies have brought about extraordinary clinical benefits for cancer patients, and their indications are expanding incessantly. Currently, most PD-1/PD-L1 agents are administered intravenously, which may be uncomfortable for some cancer patients. Herein, we develop a novel oral-delivered small molecular, YPD-29B, which specifically targets human PD-L1. Our data suggested that YPD-29B could potently and selectively block the interaction between PD-L1 and PD-1, but did not inhibit any other immune checkpoints. Mechanistically, YPD-29B induced human PD-L1 dimerization and internalization, which subsequently activated T lymphocytes and therefore overcomes immunity tolerance in vitro. YDP-29B was modified as the YPD-30 prodrug to improve druggability. Using humanized mice with human PD-1 xenografts of human PD-L1 knock-in mouse MC38 cancer cells, we demonstrated that YPD-30 exhibited significant antitumor activity and was well tolerated in vivo. Taken together, our results indicate that YPD-30 serves as a promising therapeutic candidate for anti-human PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy.

One-step synthesis of silicon carbide foams supported hierarchical porous sludge-derived activated carbon as efficient odor gas adsorbent.

Hierarchical porous sludge-derived activated carbon coated on macroporous silicon carbide (SiC) foams substrate has been facilely fabricated via a simple one-step strategy by utilizing sludge as carbon source, and jointly using zinc chloride and hexadecanol as pore forming agents. The sludge-derived carbon has been confirmed to be hierarchical macro-meso-microporous structure based on detailed characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurement. The adsorption tests showed that the hierarchical porous sludge-derived activated carbon fabricated by one-step pore-forming (zinc chloride and hexadecanol microemulsion mixture) possesses excellent adsorption capacity (259.9mgg-1, breakthrough time reach 90min and saturation end-time up to 140min) of methyl mercaptan (CH3SH). The excellent adsorption performance can be attributed to the macroporous SiC foam skeleton and the mesopores channel formed by nonionic surfactant hexadecanol micelles, as well as the micropores activated by ZnCl2 as odor capture sites. The proposed pore-forming strategy paves an avenue for the sludge disposal and even the development of bio-derived materials.

Elucidation of the elusive structure and formula of the active pharmaceutical ingredient bismuth subgallate by continuous rotation electron diffraction.

Bismuth subgallate has been used in wound and gastrointestinal therapy for over a century. The combination of continuous rotation electron diffraction and sample cooling finally revealed its structure as a coordination polymer. The structure provides insight regarding its formula, poor solubility, acid resistance and previously unreported gas sorption properties.