Zn4B6O13: Efficient Borate Photocatalyst with Fast Carrier Separation for Photodegradation of Tetracycline.

There is a need for photocatalysts with efficient photocarrier separation to address issues with environmental pollution. Photocarrier separation is largely determined by the orbital composition near the band edge. Here, we investigate Zn4B6O13 as an efficient photocatalyst for photodegradation of tetracycline. Theoretical calculations of Zn4B6O13 show that the valence band near the Fermi level is composed of d and p orbitals whereas the bottom of the conduction band is composed of s and p orbitals; thus, a large value of mh*/me* is derived from the band dispersion. The characteristics of this orbital composition promote separation of photoexcited carriers, leading to a high transfer efficiency of the catalyst. Moreover, photodegradation experiments demonstrate that the photocatalytic activity of Zn4B6O13 is approximately 5.2 times as high as that of SnO2. This study provides insights that might aid the development of novel borate-based environmental photocatalysts with superior performance.

CASR rs1801725 polymorphism is associated with the risk and prognosis of colorectal cancer: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) controls body calcium homeostasis. Increased levels of calcium are associated with protecting against colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to determine the relationship between CASR gene rs1801725 polymorphism and CRC risk and prognosis. METHODS: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study and a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of CASR gene rs1801725 polymorphism with CRC susceptibility. RESULTS: This study proved that CASR rs1801725 polymorphism was associated with a higher risk to develop CRC (TT vs GG: OR 1.92, 95% CI [1.03-3.59], P = .042; T vs G: OR 1.30, 95% CI [1.03-1.64], P = .030). Subgroup analysis showed that this polymorphism increased the risk of CRC among smokers, and those aged ≥60 years (TT vs GG: OR 3.37, 95% CI [1.12-10.14], P = .034). We also found that this polymorphism was associated with the tumor size, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis of CRC (GT vs GG: OR 2.03, 95% CI [1.32-3.10], P = .001). In addition, CASR gene rs1801725 polymorphism correlated with the survival of CRC patients. Further meta-analysis also obtained a significant association between this SNP and CRC risk (TT + GT vs GG: OR 1.28, 95% CI [1.01, 1.63], P = .041). Subgroup analyses by ethnicity observed a link between rs1801725 polymorphism and CRC risk in Asians, but not in Caucasians and mixed populations. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this case-control study and meta-analysis showed that CASR rs1801725 polymorphism increased the risk of CRC. Further studies from other races are urgently needed.

Simultaneous removal of organics and ammonia using a novel composite magnetic anode in the electro-hybrid ozonation-coagulation (E-HOC) process toward leachate treatment.

To achieve simultaneous organics and ammonia (NH4+-N) removal toward leachate treatment, this study designed a composite anode (CA+), in which iron powders were attracted to RuO2-IrO2/Ti tube surface by an inserted magnet and utilized in electro-hybrid ozonation-coagulation (E-HOC). The E-HOC (CA+) resulted in higher chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH4+-N removal with most content of CO2/H2O and gaseous N in product compared with E-HOC (Fe+), electrolysis ozonation and single ozonation. Reactive chlorine species (RCS) and coagulants were co-produced by compositing RuO2-IrO2/Ti and Fe powders, resulting in multiple reactions including electrocoagulation, ozone oxidation, synergistic between ozone and coagulants (SOC), electrolytic chloride and synergistic oxidation between active chlorine and ozone (SCO) occurred. Hydroxyl radical (•OH) generated through SOC reaction was promoted due the RCS generation in E-HOC. The interaction between •OH and Cl-/ClO- also contributed to enhanced Cl•/ClO• production. Consequently, synergy of chlorine, coagulants and ozone enhanced reactive species generation which contributed to favorable organics and NH4+-N removal. Enhanced •OH and RCS are also attributed to conversion of bio-refractory organics like polyphenol, polycyclic aromatics and S-containing to biodegradable ones, e.g., aliphatic compounds and CHO. This study provides an easily operating strategy for leachate treatment with high content organics and NH4+-N.

Electro-dissolved ozone flotation (E-DOF) integrated anoxic/oxic membrane reactor for leachate treatment from a waste transfer station.

With high organics and ammonia, leachate from waste transfer stations (WTSs) is among the most complex wastewater that cannot be easily disposed by signal biological processes. In this study, an electro-dissolved ozone flotation (E-DOF) was established, in which dissolved ozone flotation (DOF) and electro-coagulation (EC) occurred concurrently in one unit and integrated with anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR) to dispose leachate from a WTS. In the integrated reactor, E-DOF acted as pretreatment and advanced treatment unit. A/O-MBR acted as secondary treatment unit. The E-DOF pretreatment achieved 34.48% COD and 16.96% NH3-N removal efficiency through synergistic effect between EC and DOF. BOD5/COD of leachate was increased from 0.32 to 0.51 after E-DOF pretreatment, indicating the enhancement of biodegradability. Molecular weight distribution (MWD) and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) analysis demonstrate that the reduction of molecular weight and elimination of refractory organics through EC, ozone, and their interacted product (•OH) are attributed to biodegradability enhancement in lechate. Microbial community analysis proved that chemoheterotrophy and oxic chemoheterotrophy functions, mainly provided by Truepera, Aquamicrobium, Saprospiraceae, and Lentimicrobiaceae, ensured the efficient degradation of organic in the secondary processes. E-DOF advanced treatment effectively disposed residual contaminant in MBR effluent. The E-DOF advanced treatment mainly disposed residual contaminant in MBR effluent. High removal efficiency of COD (98.59 ± 0.27%), NH3-N (95.59 ± 0.50%), TN (95.37 ± 0.73%), and TP (96.75 ± 1.66%) were observed in the integrated reactor, and final effluent met the discharge standards for inclusion in the sewage pipe network in China.

Association of MDM4 Gene rs4245739 Polymorphism with the Risk and Clinical Characteristics of Colorectal Cancer in a Chinese Han Population.

BACKGROUND: Studies show that MDM4 may play a pivotal role in colorectal cancer (CRC). Recently, a host of studies suggest that MDM4 gene rs4245739 polymorphism may modify the risk of different cancers. METHODS: In this study, we were interested whether MDM4 gene rs4245739 polymorphism correlated with the risk and clinical characteristics of CRC. Logistic regression was adopted to estimate the association of rs4245739 polymorphism and CRC risk. RESULTS: We enrolled 444 CRC patients and 530 controls and found MDM4 gene rs4245739 polymorphism may decrease the risk of CRC. Stratified analyses uncovered that this variant was connected to a less risk of CRC in females, non-drinkers, non-smokers, and people under 60 years old. Additionally, rs4245739 polymorphism was related to TNM staging, pathological type, tumor size, and location of CRC. Furthermore, this polymorphism was significantly linked with the survival of CRC. CONCLUSION: Totally, this study suggests that MDM4 rs4245739 polymorphism is linked with the risk and clinical characteristics of CRC.

The effect of attention and interpretation therapy on psychological resilience, cancer-related fatigue, and negative emotions of patients after colon cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: Colon cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. This cancer and the related treatments bring a raft of lasting physiological and psychological impacts to patients. This study explored the effects of attention and interpretation therapy (AIT) on improving psychological resilience, cancer-related fatigue (CRF), and negative emotions in patients after colon cancer surgery. METHODS: Patients who had undergone colon cancer surgery in the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University were selected and randomly allocated into an experimental group and a control group, each with 100 cases. Patients in the control group received routine intervention measures, while the experimental group received an extra 10 weeks of AIT. Before and after 10 weeks of intervention, the effects of intervention were evaluated using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Selfrating Depression Scale (SDS) and the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS-R). RESULTS: Before the intervention, there was no statistical difference between the scores of psychological resilience, CRF, and negative emotions between the two groups (P>0.05). We compared the scores before and after the 10 weeks of intervention and found that the scores of psychological resilience of the experimental group were higher than before, and the scores of CRF and negative emotion were lower than before. After the intervention, the psychological resilience score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, the CRF and negative emotions scores were lower than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AIT can effectively strengthen the psychological resilience of patients after colon cancer surgery to a certain extent, reduce anxiety and depression, reduce the degree of CRF, and thus improve the patients' quality of life postoperatively.

In Situ Construction of a MgSn(OH)6 Perovskite/SnO2 Type-II Heterojunction: A Highly Efficient Photocatalyst towards Photodegradation of Tetracycline.

Using solar energy to remove antibiotics from aqueous environments via photocatalysis is highly desirable. In this work, a novel type-II heterojunction photocatalyst, MgSn(OH)6/SnO2, was successfully prepared via a facile one-pot in situ hydrothermal method at 220 °C for 24 h. The obtained heterojunctions were characterized via powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated for photodegradation of tetracycline solution under ultraviolet irradiation. The initial concentration of tetracycline solution was set to be 20 mg/L. The prepared heterojunctions exhibited superior photocatalytic activity compared with the parent MgSn(OH)6 and SnO2 compounds. Among them, the obtained MgSn(OH)6/SnO2 heterojunction with MgCl2·6H2O:SnCl4·5H2O = 4:5.2 (mmol) displayed the highest photocatalytic performance and the photodegradation efficiency conversion of 91% could be reached after 60 min under ultraviolet irradiation. The prepared heterojunction maintained its performance after four successive cycles of use. Active species trapping experiments demonstrated that holes were the dominant active species. Hydroxyl radicals and superoxide ions had minor effects on the photocatalytic oxidation of tetracycline. Photoelectrochemical measurements were used to investigate the photocatalytic mechanism. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity could be assigned to the formation of a type-II junction photocatalytic system, which was beneficial for efficient transfer and separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. This research provides an in situ growth strategy for the design of highly efficient photocatalysts for environmental restoration.

Measuring blood flow velocities based on three image processing techniques.

The classification of microcirculation can be based on the size of the capillary and the velocity of the blood flow. For each type of microcirculation, the ad hoc method is required to measure the blood flow velocity. In this paper, the correlation method is used to measure blood flow velocity in the small-size capillary. The large-size capillaries are classified into three types based on the blood velocities, say low-speed, high-speed, and unstable one. The template-matching algorithm, the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm and a high-speed video camera measurement are used to measure the blood velocities corresponding to those three types of large-size capillary. It was shown by several experiments that fairly good results for different types of capillary may be obtained by using the proposed three image processing algorithms.