Improving Interface Matching in MOF-on-MOF S-Scheme Heterojunction through π-π Conjugation for Boosting Photoelectric Response.

Accelerating the migration of interfacial carriers in a heterojunction is of paramount importance for driving high-performance photoelectric responses. However, the inferior contact area and large resistance at the interface limit the eventual photoelectric performance. Herein, we fabricated an S-scheme heterojunction involving a 2D/2D dual-metalloporphyrin metal-organic framework with metal-center-regulated CuTCPP(Cu)/CuTCPP(Fe) through electrostatic self-assembly. The ultrathin nanosheet-like architectures reduce the carrier migration distance, while the similar porphyrin backbones promote reasonable interface matching through π-π conjugation, thereby inhibiting the recombination of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, the metal-center-regulated S-scheme band alignments create a giant built-in electric field, which provides a huge driving force for efficient carrier separation and migration. Coupling with the biomimetic catalytic activity of CuTCPP(Fe), the resultant heterojunction was utilized to construct photoelectrochemical uric acid biosensors. This work provides a general strategy to enhance photoelectric responses by engineering the interfacial structure of heterojunctions.

Tunable Fluorine-Functionalized Scholl-Coupled Microporous Polymer for the Selective Adsorption and Ultrasensitive Analysis of Environmental Liquid-Crystal Monomers.

Liquid-crystal monomers (LCMs), especially fluorinated biphenyls and analogues (FBAs), are identified to be an emerging generation of persistent organic pollutants. However, there is a dearth of information about their occurrence and distribution in environmental water and lacustrine soil samples. Herein, a series of fluorine-functionalized Scholl-coupled microporous polymers (FSMP-X, X = 1-3) were designed and synthesized for the highly efficient and selective enrichment of FABs. Their hydrophobicity, porosity, chemical stability, and adsorption performance (capacity, rate, and selectivity) were regulated preciously. The best-performing material (FSMP-2) was employed as the on-line fluorous solid-phase extraction (on-line FSPE) adsorbent owing to its high adsorption capacity (313.68 mg g-1), fast adsorption rate (1.05 g h-1), and specific selectivity for FBAs. Notably, an enrichment factor of up to 590.2 was obtained for FSMP-2, outperforming commercial C18 (12.6-fold). Also, the underlying adsorption mechanism was uncovered by density functional theory calculations and experiments. Based on this, a novel and automated on-line FSPE-high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for ultrasensitive (detection limits: 0.0004-0.0150 ng mL-1) and low matrix effect (73.79-113.3%) determination of LCMs in lake water and lacustrine soils. This study offers new insight into the highly selective quantification of LCMs and the first evidence for their occurrence and distribution in these environmental samples.

Exploration of the Performance and Mechanism of Uranium Adsorption by a Covalent Organic Framework Possessing the Thiazole Structure.

This study prepared an active 2-D covalent organic skeleton (HDU-27) with a network structure, high crystallinity, considerable specific surface area, excellent pore structure, and excellent stability. Kinetic studies manifested that HDU-27 could effectively capture uranium as monolayer chemisorption within a very short kinetic equilibrium time (10 min). In particular, the temperature significantly and positively impacted the uranium adsorption performance of HDU-27. At 298, 313, and 328 K, the adsorption capacity reached 269.2, 488.8, and 576.2 mg g-1, respectively, suggesting the potential to treat high-temperature industrial wastewater containing uranium. HDU-27 had high stability and recoverability with an adsorption efficiency of 98.5% after five adsorption-desorption cycles. According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the mechanism of interaction between U(VI) and HDU-27 was mainly the chelation of UO22+ by the N atom in the thiazole structure and the strong coordination of the O atom in the keto structure with UO22+. More excitingly, HDU-27 could chemically reduce soluble U(VI) to insoluble U(IV) and release binding sites for the adsorption of additional U(VI). In conclusion, HDU-27 has outstanding potential for uranium adsorption from industrial wastewater containing uranium.

Relationship between dry skin and pressure injury in older patients: A multicentre cross-sectional survey in China.

Dry skin and pressure injuries in older persons have become global health care problems. This was a multicentre, prospective cross-sectional study in 44 hospitals and 8 long term care institutions from 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China and aimed to explore the relationship between the two skin problems in older patients. We mainly found 11 602 cases with dry skin and 1076 cases with pressure injuries in a total of 33 769 valid participants. The overall prevalence of dry skin and pressure injuries was 34.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 33.9-34.9) and 3.1% (95% CI 2.9-3.3). Stage 2+ pressure injuries were the most (32.9%), followed by stage 1 (32.4%). The patients with dry skin had more pressure injuries than ones without dry skin (50.0% vs 33.9%). The patients with very severe and severe dry skin had more pressure injury risk (OR 2.22 and 1.90) and more stage 2+ pressure injury risk (OR 2.83 and 1.63). Other nine predictors associated with overall pressure injuries and stage 2+ pressure injuries. The area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the predictive models of overall pressure injuries and stage 2+ pressure injuries were 0.89 (95% CI 0.88-0.90) and 0.91 (95% CI 0.90-0.92), respectively.

Environment-friendly, efficient process for mechanical recovery of waste lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Technology for recycling retired lithium batteries has become increasingly environment-friendly and efficient. In traditional recovery methods, pyrometallurgy or hydrometallurgy is often used as an auxiliary treatment method, which results in secondary pollution and increases the cost of harmless treatment. In this article, a new method for combined mechanical recycling of waste lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries is proposed to realize the classification and recycling of materials. Appearance inspections and performance tests were conducted on 1000 retired LFP batteries. After discharging and disassembling the defective batteries, the physical structure of the cathode binder was destroyed under ball-milling cycle stress, and the electrode material and metal foil were separated using ultrasonic cleaning technology. After treating the anode sheet with 100 W of ultrasonic power for 2 minutes, the anode material was completely stripped from the copper foil, and no cross-contamination between the copper foil and graphite was observed. After the cathode plate was ball-milled for 60 seconds with an abrasive particle size of 20 mm and then ultrasonically treated for 20 minutes with a power of 300 W, the stripping rate of the cathode material reached 99.0%, and the purities of the aluminium foil and LFP reached 100% and 98.1%, respectively.

Interspecific interactions alter plant functional strategies in a revegetated shrub-dominated community in the Mu Us Desert, China.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Previous studies investigating plant-plant interactions have focused on plant growth, context dependence and shifts in interactive outcomes. However, changes in functional traits in the context of interactions have been inadequately explored; few studies have focused on the effects of interactions on the plasticity of functional strategies. METHODS: We conducted a 4-year removal experiment for the xeric shrub Artemisia ordosica and perennial graminoids (PGs) in the Mu Us Desert, northern China. Soil nutrient content, biomass and 12 functional traits related to plant morphology and nutrient status were measured for the shrub species and a dominant PG species (i.e. Leymus secalinus) in the presence and absence of shrubs and PGs. KEY RESULTS: Shrubs affected the functional traits of L. secalinus, reducing leaf dry matter content and increasing plant height, which probably promoted the functional strategy of L. secalinus towards a more resource-acquisitive and competitive strategy. In contrast, when the shrubs were affected by PGs, they shifted towards a resource-conservative and stress-tolerative strategy, by increasing leaf dry matter content and decreasing specific leaf area. Moreover, the shrub species relied more on internal nutrient recycling (higher nitrogen resorption efficiency) rather than on external nitrogen uptake under nitrogen competition; instead, L. secalinus tended to exhibit higher external nitrogen uptake from soil during nitrogen shortages. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that the functional strategies and nutrient cycling of the shrub species and the dominant PG were altered by each other. The shifts in functional traits may help plants to coexist in the community for a relatively long time. Our findings highlighted that interspecific interactions alter plant functional strategies and provided new insights into community assembly and succession mechanisms in a revegetated shrubland for ecological restoration of drylands.

Nitrogen, boron-doped Ti3C2 MXene quantum dot-based ratiometric fluorescence sensing platform for point-of-care testing of tetracycline using an enhanced antenna effect by Eu3.

The Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots (Ti3C2 MQDs) derived from Ti3C2 MXene have received much attention because of their remarkable advantages in biosensing. Nevertheless, the functionalization of Ti3C2 MQDs to improve their properties is just in its infant stage. Herein, we firstly synthesized nitrogen and boron co-doped Ti3C2 MQDs (N, B-Ti3C2 MQDs) with good water solubility, strong stability, and high optical characteristics. The N, B-Ti3C2 MQDs exhibit excitation wavelength-dependent blue photoluminescence with optimal excitation/emission peaks at 335/439 nm. Nowadays, the development of fast and real-time detection of tetracycline (TC) in animal derived food is very essential. In this work, a novel point-of-care testing (POCT) platform was established based on ratiometric fluorescence method using N, B-Ti3C2 MQDs coupled with Eu3+. Upon addition of TC in the Eu3+/N, B-MQDs system, blue fluorescence emission of N, B-Ti3C2 MQDs was quenched and red fluorescence emission of Eu3+ was enhanced gradually, which was ascribed to the synergistic inner filter effect and antenna effect. Moreover, we prepared test papers with N, B-Ti3C2 MQDs and Eu3+ for TC detection based on the change of fluorescence color, which could be recognized by color recognizer app installed in the smartphone. Therefore, great promise for POCT of TC is given with the merits of simplicity and visible detection possibility. The proposed method demonstrated a low detection limit of 20 nM. Application of the platform for TC quantification in milk samples opened a novel means for the potential use of N, B-Ti3C2 MQDs in food safety.

Facile microwave-assisted synthesis of Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots for ratiometric fluorescence detection of hypochlorite.

A dual-channel "naked-eye" colorimetric and ratio fluorescent probe has been developed based on titanium carbide quantum dots for the detection of curcumin and hypochlorite (ClO-). The fluorescence emission of Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots (Ti3C2 MQDs) is in the range 350-600 nm, and the maximum emission peak is at 430 nm that overlaps with the UV absorption of curcumin at 430 nm to a large extent. This facilitates the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between Ti3C2 MQDs and curcumin. When ClO- is added, the phenolic and methoxy groups of curcumin are oxidized to quinones, resulting in the restoration of the fluorescence of Ti3C2 MQD. In addition, the probe designed makes it easier to distinguish colors with the naked eye to detect curcumin and ClO-. The linear detection range of curcumin was 0.05-10 µM, and the detection limit was 20 nM. The linear detection ranges of ClO- are 25-150 µM and 150-275 µM, and the detection limit is 5 µM. This study is the first report on the determination of curcumin and ClO- based on Ti3C2 MQDs by dual-channel "naked-eye" colorimetric and ratio fluorescence method.

Association Between Skin Injuries in Medical Staff and Protective Masks Combined with Goggles During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between wearing protective masks and goggles and skin injuries in medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Researchers conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter online survey. Respondents voluntarily completed the questionnaire on their smartphones. Ordinal and multinomial logistic regressions were used to identify factors related to skin injuries. RESULTS: In total, 1,611 respondents wore protective masks combined with goggles in 145 hospitals in China; 1,281 skin injuries were reported (overall prevalence, 79.5%). Multiple concomitant skin injuries (68.5%) and injuries in four anatomic locations (24.0%) were the most common, followed by injuries in three (22.8%), two (21.7%), and one location (11.0%). Multinomial logistic regression indicated that sweating increased the risk of injuries in one to four anatomic locations (95% confidence interval for odds ratio 16.23-60.02 for one location and 38.22-239.04 for four locations), and wearing an N95 mask combined with goggles and a daily use longer than 4 hours increased the risk of injuries in four locations (95% confidence interval for odds ratio 1.18-5.31 and 1.14-3.93, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of skin injuries among medical staff wearing protective masks combined with goggles was very high. These were mainly device-related pressure injuries, moisture-associated skin damage, and skin tears. The combination of various factors resulted in skin injuries at multiple sites. Preventing and managing sweating should be a focus for medical staff who wear protective masks combined with goggles for more than 4 hours.

Environmentally friendly automated line for recovering aluminium and lithium iron phosphate components of spent lithium-iron phosphate batteries.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries contain metals, toxic electrolytes, organic chemicals and plastics that can lead to serious safety and environmental problems when they are improperly disposed of. The published literature on recovering spent LFP batteries mainly focuses on policy-making and conceptual design. The production line of recovering spent LFP batteries and its detailed operation are rarely reported. A set of automatic line without negative impact to the environment for recycling spent LFP batteries at industrial scale was investigated in this study. It includes crushing, pneumatic separation, sieving, and poison gas treatment processes. The optimum retaining time of materials in the crusher is 3 minutes. The release rate is the highest when the load of the impact crusher is 800 g. An air current separator (ACS) was designed to separate LFP from aluminium (Al) foil and LFP powder mixture. Movement behaviour of LFP powder and Al foil in the ACS were analysed, and the optimized operation parameter (35.46 m/s) of air current speed was obtained through theoretical analysis and experiments. The weight contents of an Al foil powder collector from vibrating screen-3 and LFP powder collector from bag-type dust collector are approximately 38.7% and 52.4%, respectively. The economic cost of full manual dismantling is higher than the recovery production line. This recycling system provides a feasible method for recycling spent LFP batteries.

The prevalence, characteristics, and related factors of pressure injury in medical staff wearing personal protective equipment against COVID-19 in China: A multicentre cross-sectional survey.

Since December 2019, the medical staff fighting against COVID-19 frequently reported the device-related pressure injury (DRPI) caused by personal protective equipment (PPE). We conducted a cross-sectional survey online to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of DRPI among medical staff. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to explore the risk factors associated with DRPI. A total of 4308 participants were collected and 4306 participants were valid from 161 hospitals in China. The overall prevalence of DRPI caused by PPE among medical staff was 30.03% (95% CI 28.69%-31.41%). The prevalence of male was more than that of female (42.25%, 95% CI 37.99-46.51% vs 26.36%, 95% CI 26.93-29.80%, P < .001).The categories were mainly stages 1 and 2, and the common anatomical locations were nose bridge, cheeks, ears, and forehead. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors were sweating (OR = 43.99, 95% CI 34.46-56.17), male (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.12-1.99), level 3 PPE (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.14-1.83), and longer wearing time (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 0.97-1.68). The prevalence of DRPI was high among medical staff wearing PPE against COVID-19, and the risk factors were sweating, male, wearing level 3 PPE, and longer wearing time. Comprehensive preventive interventions should be taken.

Environment-friendly technology for recovering cathode materials from spent lithium iron phosphate batteries.

The consumption of lithium iron phosphate (LFP)-type lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is rising sharply with the increasing use of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide. Hence, a large number of retired LFP batteries from EVs are generated annually. A recovery technology for spent LFP batteries is urgently required. Compared with pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and biometallurgical recycling technologies, physical separating technology has not yet formed a systematic theory and efficient sorting technology. Strengthening the research and development of physical separating technology is an important issue for the efficient use of retired LFP batteries. In this study, spent LFP batteries were discharged in 5 wt% sodium chloride solution for approximately three hours. A specially designed machine was developed to dismantle spent LFP batteries. Extending heat treatment time exerted minimal effect on quality loss. Within the temperature range of 240°C-300°C, temperature change during heat treatment slightly affected mass loss. The change in heat treatment temperature also had negligible effect on the shedding quality of LFP materials. The cathode material and the aluminium foil current collector accounted for a certain proportion in a sieve with a particle size of -1.25 + 0.40 mm. Corona electrostatic separation was performed to separate the metallic particles (with a size range of -1.5 + 0.2 mm) from the nonmetallic particles of crushed spent LFP batteries. No additional reagent was used in the process, and no toxic gases, hazardous solid waste or wastewater were produced. This study provides a complete material recovery process for spent LFP batteries.

Effects of Al3+ on the microstructure and bioflocculation of anoxic sludge.

The aluminum ions generated from mining aluminum, electrolytic aluminum and the industrial production of aluminum-based coagulants (such as AlCl3 and Al2(SO4)3) enter sewage treatment plants and interact with activated sludges. An anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2O) process was used to reveal the effects of Al3+ on the pollutant removal efficiencies, bioflocculation and the microstructure of sludge. The results showed that a low concentration of Al3+ improved the pollutant removal efficiencies and increased the sludge particle size. However, a high concentration of Al3+ hindered microbial flocculation and reduced the pollutant removal efficiencies. With a 10 mg/L Al3+ addition, the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and NH4+-N increased by 3%, 16% and 27%, and reached as high as 68%, 60% and 87%, respectively. At the same time, the dehydrogenase activity, flocculation ability (FA) and contact angle of the sludge reached their maximum levels at 41.3 mg/L/hr, 45% and 79.63°, respectively. The specific surface area of the sludge decreased to 7.084 m2/g and the sludge pore size distribution shifted to concentrate in the mesoporous range. Most of Al3+ was adsorbed on the surface of sludge, changing the physicochemical properties and physical structure of the sludge.

Integrated visual transformer and flash attention for lip-to-speech generation GAN.

Lip-to-Speech (LTS) generation is an emerging technology that is highly visible, widely supported, and rapidly evolving. LTS has a wide range of promising applications, including assisting speech impairment and improving speech interaction in virtual assistants and robots. However, the technique faces the following challenges: (1) Chinese lip-to-speech generation is poorly recognized. (2) The wide range of variation in lip-speaking is poorly aligned with lip movements. Addressing these challenges will contribute to advancing Lip-to-Speech (LTS) technology, enhancing the communication abilities, and improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Currently, lip-to-speech generation techniques usually employ the GAN architecture but suffer from the following problems: The primary issue lies in the insufficient joint modeling of local and global lip movements, resulting in visual ambiguities and inadequate image representations. To solve these problems, we design Flash Attention GAN (FA-GAN) with the following features: (1) Vision and audio are separately coded, and lip motion is jointly modelled to improve speech recognition accuracy. (2) A multilevel Swin-transformer is introduced to improve image representation. (3) A hierarchical iterative generator is introduced to improve speech generation. (4) A flash attention mechanism is introduced to improve computational efficiency. Many experiments have indicated that FA-GAN can recognize Chinese and English datasets better than existing architectures, especially the recognition error rate of Chinese, which is only 43.19%, the lowest among the same type.

Electropolymerization of a Carbonyl-Modified Dihydropyrazine Derivative for Aqueous Zinc Batteries with Ultrahigh Cycling Stability.

The design of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) that have high specific capacity and long-term stability is essential for future large-scale energy storage systems. Cathode materials with extended π-conjugation and abundant active sites are desirable to enhance the charge storage performance and the cycling stability of the aqueous ZIB. Based on this concept, 6,9-dihydropyrazino[2,3-g]quinoxaline-2,3,7,8(1H,4H)-tetrone was chosen as the monomer to be electropolymerized onto carbon cloth (PDHPQ-Tetrone/CC). When used as the cathode material for aqueous ZIBs, an exceptional cycling life (>20,000 cycles) at a current density of 10 A g-1 was achieved, with the specific capacity maintained at 82.8% and with the Coulombic efficiency at around 100% throughout cycling. At the charge-discharge current density of 0.1 A g-1, the ZIB with PDHPQ-Tetrone/CC achieved a high specific capacity of 248 mAh g-1. Kinetic analyses showed that both surface-capacitive-controlled processes and semi-infinite diffusion-controlled processes contribute to the stored charge. The charge storage mechanism was investigated with ex situ characterizations and involves the redox processes of carbonyl/hydroxyl and amino/imino groups coupled with insertion and extraction of both Zn2+ and H+.

Spherical fluorinated covalent organic polymer for highly efficient and selective extraction of fipronil and its metabolites in soil.

Covalent organic polymers (COPs) have garnered considerable attention as promising adsorbents of online solid phase extraction (online SPE). Morphology modulation provides an appealing solution to enhance adsorption efficiency and reduce back-pressure in the absorbent. However, the synthesis of COPs with regular geometric shapes and specific adsorption selectivity remains challenging. In this study, a uniform spherical fluorinated COP (F-sCOP, average diameter: 2.14 µm) was successfully synthesized by Schiff base reaction of 1,3,5-triformylphoroglucinol (TP) and 2,2'-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine (TFMB). The F-sCOP had a large surface area (BET: 346.2 m2 g-1), remarkable enrichment capacity (enrichment factors: 186-782), high selectivity toward fipronil and its metabolites (adsorption efficiency >93.1%), and admirable service life (>60 times). Based on the adsorbent, a novel µ-matrix cartridge extraction-online-µ-solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (µ-MCE-online-µ-SPE-HPLC-MS) method was constructed and used to track trace fipronil and its metabolites in soil. The proposed method exhibited a wide linear range (0.05-1000 ng g-1), low quantitation limits (LOQs: 0.0027-0.011 ng g-1), high recoveries (90.1-119.6%) and good repeatability (RSD ≤10.5%, n = 3) for fipronil analysis. This study paves the way for pesticide analysis in soil risk assessment.

Association between urinary arsenic species and vitamin D deficiency: a cross-sectional study in Chinese pregnant women.

Background: An increasing number of studies suggest that environmental pollution may increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency (VDD). However, less is known about arsenic (As) exposure and VDD, particularly in Chinese pregnant women. Objectives: This study examines the correlations of different urinary As species with serum 25 (OH) D and VDD prevalence. Methods: We measured urinary arsenite (As3+), arsenate (As5+), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) levels and serum 25(OH)D2, 25(OH)D3, 25(OH) D levels in 391 pregnant women in Tianjin, China. The diagnosis of VDD was based on 25(OH) D serum levels. Linear relationship, Logistic regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to examine the associations between urinary As species and VDD. Results: Of the 391 pregnant women, 60 received a diagnosis of VDD. Baseline information showed significant differences in As3+, DMA, and tAs distribution between pregnant women with and without VDD. Logistic regression showed that As3+ was significantly and positively correlated with VDD (OR: 4.65, 95% CI: 1.79, 13.32). Meanwhile, there was a marginally significant positive correlation between tAs and VDD (OR: 4.27, 95% CI: 1.01, 19.59). BKMR revealed positive correlations between As3+, MMA and VDD. However, negative correlations were found between As5+, DMA and VDD. Conclusion: According to our study, there were positive correlations between iAs, especially As3+, MMA and VDD, but negative correlations between other As species and VDD. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms that exist between different As species and VDD.

Vitamin D and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the IEU OpenGWAS Project: A Two-Sample Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Study.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most prevalent pregnancy problems, and there is still debate over the relationship between vitamin D and GDM. OBJECTIVES: Our objective is to investigate the correlation between vitamin D and GDM by employing Mendelian randomization (MR) with summary data obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). METHODS: Data on exposures and outcomes, namely vitamin D, vitamin D insufficiency, and GDM, were acquired from the IEU OpenGWAS Project. Bidirectional MR analysis was performed utilizing the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method as the principal analytical approach. The complementary approaches employed in this study encompassed weighted median, simple mode, weighted mode, and MR-Egger regression. A series of sensitivity analysis were conducted in order to assess the reliability of the obtained results. RESULTS: The data were acquired from the IEU OpenGWAS Project. Following the application of the three assumptions of MR, 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were included in the MR analysis for vitamin D levels and vitamin D deficiency on GDM, and 10 and 26 SNPs were included for GDM on vitamin D levels and deficiency, respectively. The findings from the IVW analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between vitamin D levels and GDM (OR = 1.057, 95% CI: 1.011-1.104, p = 0.015). Conversely, a negative correlation was seen between vitamin D deficiency and GDM (OR = 0.979, 95% CI: 0.959-0.999, p = 0.039). The results of the reverse MR study revealed no evidence of reverse causation between GDM and vitamin D. The findings from multiple MR approaches were in line with the direction of IVW analysis. Sensitivity analysis revealed no evidence of heterogeneity, pleiotropy, or outliers, suggesting the robustness of the results. CONCLUSIONS: There exists a causal association between vitamin D and GDM, whereby vitamin D levels serve as a risk factor for GDM.

Permafrost carbon cycle and its dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau.

Our knowledge on permafrost carbon (C) cycle is crucial for understanding its feedback to climate warming and developing nature-based solutions for mitigating climate change. To understand the characteristics of permafrost C cycle on the Tibetan Plateau, the largest alpine permafrost region around the world, we summarized recent advances including the stocks and fluxes of permafrost C and their responses to thawing, and depicted permafrost C dynamics within this century. We find that this alpine permafrost region stores approximately 14.1 Pg (1 Pg=1015 g) of soil organic C (SOC) in the top 3 m. Both substantial gaseous emissions and lateral C transport occur across this permafrost region. Moreover, the mobilization of frozen C is expedited by permafrost thaw, especially by the formation of thermokarst landscapes, which could release significant amounts of C into the atmosphere and surrounding water bodies. This alpine permafrost region nevertheless remains an important C sink, and its capacity to sequester C will continue to increase by 2100. For future perspectives, we would suggest developing long-term in situ observation networks of C stocks and fluxes with improved temporal and spatial coverage, and exploring the mechanisms underlying the response of ecosystem C cycle to permafrost thaw. In addition, it is essential to improve the projection of permafrost C dynamics through in-depth model-data fusion on the Tibetan Plateau.

Portable smartphone platform based on Ti3C2 MQDs/CDs assembly for ratiometric fluorescence quantitative monitoring of crystal violet.

Recent years have witnessed ever-increasing achievements using Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots (Ti3C2 MQDs) and their vital contributions to fluorescent biosensing. However, the applicability and flexibility of most Ti3C2 MQD-based sensors are limited by their emission of a single blue wavelength. To address this issue, we present a facile strategy to utilize carbon dots as a model to construct a ratiometric fluorescent sensor based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer to quantitatively monitor crystal violet. The fabricated probe exhibited dual emission at 440 and 565 nm, respectively; when introducing crystal violet, the peak at 565 nm was quenched but that at 440 nm remained constant. Further aiming for portable, convenient, and on-site analysis, an innovative smartphone-assisted platform provides promising prospects for future in situ quantitation. This work creates a general strategy for constructing Ti3C2 MQD-based composite fluorescent systems, as well as suggesting great application potential in food security monitoring.