Prediction of BTEX volatilization in polluted soil based on the sorption potential energy theory.

Initial volatile concentration (Cs0) is a crucial parameter for the migration and diffusion of volatile organic pollutants (VOCs) from the soil to the atmosphere. The acquisition of Cs0 is, however, time-consuming and labor-intensive. This study developed a prediction model for Cs0 based on theoretical analysis and experimental simulations. The model was established by correlating the molecular kinetic and sorption potential energy. The pore structure and pore size distribution of the soil were analyzed based on the fractal theory of porous media, followed by calculating the sorption potential energy corresponding to each pore size. It was observed that the pore size distribution of soil influenced BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) volatilization by impacting sorption potential energy. The soil parameters, such as organic matter and soil moisture content, and the initial concentration and physical properties of BTEX were coupled to the prediction model to ensure its practicability. Red soil was finally used to verify the accuracy and applicability of the model. The experimental and predicted values' maximum relative and root-mean-square errors were determined to be 24.2% and 11.7%, respectively. The model provides a simple, rapid, and accurate assessment of soil vapor emission content due to BTEX contamination. This study offers an economical and practical method for quantifying the amount of volatile BTEX in contaminated sites, providing a reference for its monitoring, control, and subsequent remediation.

Biointerface Fiber Technology from Electrospinning to Inflight Printing.

Building two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) micro- and nanofibril structures with designable patterns and functionalities will offer exciting prospects for numerous applications spanning from permeable bioelectronics to tissue engineering scaffolds. This Spotlight on Applications highlights recent technological advances in fiber printing and patterning with functional materials for biointerfacing applications. We first introduce the current state of development of micro- and nanofibers with applications in biology and medical wearables. We then describe our contributions in developing a series of fiber printing techniques that enable the patterning of functional fiber architectures in three dimensions. These fiber printing techniques expand the material library and device designs, which underpin technological capabilities from enabling fundamental studies in cell migration to customizable and ecofriendly fabrication of sensors. Finally, we provide an outlook on the strategic pathways for developing the next-generation bioelectronics and "Fiber-of-Things" (FoT) using nano/micro-fibers as architectural building blocks.

Excessive disinfection aggravated the environmental prevalence of antimicrobial resistance during COVID-19 pandemic.

During COVID-19 pandemic, chemicals from excessive consumption of pharmaceuticals and disinfectants i.e., antibiotics, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), and trihalomethanes (THMs), flowed into the urban environment, imposing unprecedented selective pressure to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To decipher the obscure character pandemic-related chemicals portrayed in altering environmental AMR, 40 environmental samples covering water and soil matrix from surroundings of Wuhan designated hospitals were collected on March 2020 and June 2020. Chemical concentrations and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) profiles were revealed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and metagenomics. Selective pressure from pandemic-related chemicals ascended by 1.4-5.8 times in March 2020 and then declined to normal level of pre-pandemic period in June 2020. Correspondingly, the relative abundance of ARGs under increasing selective pressure was 20.1 times that under normal selective pressure. Moreover, effect from QACs and THMs in aggravating the prevalence of AMR was elaborated by null model, variation partition and co-occurrence network analyses. Pandemic-related chemicals, of which QACs and THMs respectively displayed close interaction with efflux pump genes and mobile genetic elements, contributed >50 % in shaping ARG profile. QACs bolstered the cross resistance effectuated by qacEΔ1 and cmeB to 3.0 times higher while THMs boosted horizon ARG transfer by 7.9 times for initiating microbial response to oxidative stress. Under ascending selective pressure, qepA encoding quinolone efflux pump and oxa-20 encoding ß-lactamases were identified as priority ARGs with potential human health risk. Collectively, this research validated the synergistic effect of QACs and THMs in exacerbating environmental AMR, appealing for the rational usage of disinfectants and the attention for environmental microbes in one-health perspective.

Efficacy and safety of neostigmine on treating gastrointestinal dysmotility in severe acute pancreatitis patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis is a serious threat to human health and gastrointestinal dysmotility is a common complication for acute pancreatitis patients, resulting in delayed feeding, oral feeding intolerance, paralytic ileus, and abdominal compartment syndrome. Currently, there are limited treatment for this complication. Neostigmine is known to increase gastrointestinal motility and has been used to treat gastrointestinal dysmotility after surgery. However, research in treating acute pancreatitis with neostigmine is currently limited. METHODS: This trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, mono-centric trial that will test the hypothesis that neostigmine can improve gastrointestinal motility in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. Up to 56 patients will be randomized in this study receiving 0.5 mg/1 ml of neostigmine methylsulfate injection twice per day or 1 ml of saline injection twice per day. Defection time (aim 1), mortality and organ failure (aim 2), borborygmus, starting of enteral nutrition and intra-abdominal pressure (aim 3), and length of ICU and hospital stay (aim 4) will be assessed. DISCUSSION: Findings from this study will provide data supporting the usage of neostigmine for treating severe acute pancreatitis patients with gastrointestinal dysmotility. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered on chictr.org.cn with the identifier as ChiCTR2200058305. Registered on April 5, 2022.

Deployable extrusion bioprinting of compartmental tumoroids with cancer associated fibroblasts for immune cell interactions.

Realizing the translational impacts of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting for cancer research necessitates innovation in bioprinting workflows which integrate affordability, user-friendliness, and biological relevance. Herein, we demonstrate 'BioArm', a simple, yet highly effective extrusion bioprinting platform, which can be folded into a carry-on pack, and rapidly deployed between bio-facilities. BioArm enabled the reconstruction of compartmental tumoroids with cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), forming the shell of each tumoroid. The 3D printed core-shell tumoroids showedde novosynthesized extracellular matrices, and enhanced cellular proliferation compared to the tumour alone 3D printed spheroid culture. Further, thein vivophenotypes of CAFs normally lost after conventional 2D co-culture re-emerged in the bioprinted model. Embedding the 3D printed tumoroids in an immune cell-laden collagen matrix permitted tracking of the interaction between immune cells and tumoroids, and subsequent simulated immunotherapy treatments. Our deployable extrusion bioprinting workflow could significantly widen the accessibility of 3D bioprinting for replicating multi-compartmental architectures of tumour microenvironment, and for developing strategies in cancer drug testing in the future.

A hackable, multi-functional, and modular extrusion 3D printer for soft materials.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has emerged as a powerful tool for material, food, and life science research and development, where the technology's democratization necessitates the advancement of open-source platforms. Herein, we developed a hackable, multi-functional, and modular extrusion 3D printer for soft materials, nicknamed Printer.HM. Multi-printhead modules are established based on a robotic arm for heterogeneous construct creation, where ink printability can be tuned by accessories such as heating and UV modules. Software associated with Printer.HM were designed to accept geometry inputs including computer-aided design models, coordinates, equations, and pictures, to create prints of distinct characteristics. Printer.HM could further perform versatile operations, such as liquid dispensing, non-planar printing, and pick-and-place of meso-objects. By 'mix-and-match' software and hardware settings, Printer.HM demonstrated printing of pH-responsive soft actuators, plant-based functional hydrogels, and organ macro-anatomical models. Integrating affordability and open design, Printer.HM is envisaged to democratize 3D printing for soft, biological, and sustainable material architectures.

Human viruses lurking in the environment activated by excessive use of COVID-19 prevention supplies.

Due to extensive COVID-19 prevention measures, millions of tons of chemicals penetrated into natural environment. Alterations of human viruses in the environment, the neglected perceiver of environmental fluctuations, remain obscure. To decipher the interaction between human viruses and COVID-19 related chemicals, environmental samples were collected on March 2020 from surroundings of designated hospitals and receivers of wastewater treatment plant effluent in Wuhan. The virus community and chemical concentration were respectively unveiled in virtue of virome and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The complex relationship between virus and chemical was ulteriorly elaborated by random forest model. As an indicator, environmental viruses were corroborated to sensitively reflect the ecological disturbance originated from pandemic prevention supplies. Chemicals especially trihalomethanes restrained the virus community diversity. Confronting this adverse scenario, Human gammaherpesvirus 4 and Orf virus with resistance to trihalomethanes flourished while replication potential of Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1 ascended under glucocorticoids stress. Consequently, human viruses lurking in the environment were actuated by COVID-19 prevention chemicals, which was a constant burden to public health in this ongoing pandemic. Besides, segments of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were detected near designated hospitals, suggesting environment as a missing link in the transmission route. This research innovatively underlined the human health risk of pandemic prevention supplies from the virus - environment interaction, appealing for monitoring of environmental viruses in long term.

Cancer cell migration on straight, wavy, loop and grid microfibre patterns.

Cell migration plays an important role in physiological and pathological processes where the fibrillar morphology of extracellular matrices (ECM) could regulate the migration dynamics. To mimic the morphological characteristics of fibrillar matrix structures, low-voltage continuous electrospinning was adapted to construct straight, wavy, looped and gridded fibre patterns made of polystyrene (of fibre diameter ca. 3µm). Cells were free to explore their different shapes in response to the directly-adhered fibre, as well as to the neighbouring patterns. For all the patterns studied, analysing cellular migration dynamics of MDA-MB-231 (a highly migratory breast cancer cell line) demonstrated two interesting findings: first, although cells dynamically adjust their shapes and migration trajectories in response to different fibrillar environments, their average step speed is minimally affected by the fibre global pattern; secondly, a switch in behaviour was observed when the pattern features approach the upper limit of the cell body's minor axis, reflecting that cells' ability to divert from an existing fibre track is limited by the size along the cell body's minor axis. It is therefore concluded that the upper limit of cell body's minor axis might act as a guide for the design of microfibre patterns for different purposes of cell migration.

Effect of Direct Viral-Bacterial Interactions on the Removal of Norovirus From Lettuce.

Norovirus (NoV) is the main non-bacterial pathogen causing outbreaks of gastroenteritis and is considered to be the leading cause of foodborne illness. This study aims to determine whether lettuce-encapsulated bacteria can express histo-blood group antigen (HBGA)-like substances to bind to NoV and, if so, to explore its role in protecting NoV from disinfection practices. Fifteen bacterial strains (HBGA-SEBs) were isolated from the lettuce microbiome and studied as they were proved to have the ability to express HBGA-like substances through indirect ELISA detection. By using attachment assay, HBGA-SEBs showed great abilities in carrying NoVs regarding the evaluation of binding capacity, especially for the top four strains from genera Wautersiella, Sphingobacterium, and Brachybacterium, which could absorb more than 60% of free-flowing NoVs. Meanwhile, the direct viral-bacterial binding between HBGA-like substance-expressing bacteria (HBGA-SEB) and NoVs was observed by TEM. Subsequently, results of simulated environmental experiments showed that the binding of NoVs with HBGA-SEBs did have detrimental effects on NoV reduction, which were evident in short-time high-temperature treatment (90°C) and UV exposure. Finally, by considering the relative abundance of homologous microorganisms of HBGA-SEBs in the lettuce microbiome (ca. 36.49%) and the reduction of NoVs in the simulated environments, we suggested putting extra attention on the daily disinfection of foodborne-pathogen carriers to overcome the detrimental effects of direct viral-bacterial interactions on the reduction of NoVs.

Occurrence and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) against COVID-19 in lakes and WWTP-river-estuary system in Wuhan, China.

The consumption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) for controlling and preventing the COVID-19 would have sharply increased during the pandemic. To evaluate their post-pandemic environmental impacts, five categories of drugs were detected in lakes and WWTP-river-estuary system near hospitals of Jinyintan, Huoshenshan and Leishenshan in the three regions (J, H and L) (Regions J, H and L) in Wuhan, China. The total amount of PPCPs (ranging from 2.61 to 1122 ng/L in water and 0.11 to 164 ng/g dry weight in sediments) were comparable to historical reports in Yangtze River basin, whereas the detection frequency and concentrations of ribavirin and azithromycin were higher than those of historical studies. The distribution of concerned drugs varied with space, season, media and water types: sampling sites located at WWTPs-river-estuary system around two hospitals (Regions L and J) usually had relatively high waterborne contamination levels, most of which declined in autumn; lakes had relatively low waterborne contamination levels in summer but increased in autumn. The potential risks of detected PPCPs were further evaluated using the multiple-level ecological risk assessment (MLERA): sulfamethoxazole and azithromycin were found to pose potential risks to aquatic organisms according to a semi-probabilistic approach and classified as priority pollutants based on an optimized risk assessment. In general, the COVID-19 pandemic did not cause serious pollution in lakes and WWTPs-river-estuary system in Wuhan City. However, the increased occurrence of certain drugs and their potential ecological risks need further attention. A strict source control policy and an advanced monitoring and risk warning system for emergency response and long-term risk control of PPCPs is urgent.

Effects of biochar aging in the soil on its mechanical property and performance for soil CO2 and N2O emissions.

Biochar application into the soils has been reported to have huge carbon sequestration potential, although it remains unclear that how the biochar aging in the soil affects its mechanical properties and soil CO2 and N2O emissions. This work assessed the impact of soil biochar aging on its physicochemical properties, microbiota community in the biochar, and soil CO2 and N2O emissions. Various characterizations (e.g., SEM-EDS, XRD, and FTIR) of fresh and aged biochar indicated that soil minerals accumulated on the biochar during the field aging process, forming organo-mineral complexes and blocking the cracks and channels on the biochar. The measured hardness and compressive strength of aged biochar were significantly higher than those of fresh biochar, consistent with the presence of soil minerals on the aged biochar. The soil CO2 and N2O emissions were significantly decreased after the addition of aged biochar particles, as compared to fresh biochar particles. This was probably because that the improved mechanical properties could inhibit the fragmentation of biochar particles, reducing the release of labile fractions from the biochar and the subsequent CO2 and N2O emissions. Moreover, the presence of CO2-fixing bacteria (e.g., Chloroflexi) and inhibited nitrification and ammonia oxidation in aged biochar particles might also reduce CO2 and N2O emissions. These findings suggest aged biochar particles with improved physical stability to the soil could enhance soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

PLGA/chitosan-heparin composite microparticles prepared with microfluidics for the construction of hMSC aggregates.

Incorporating poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) microparticles into human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) aggregates has shown promising application prospects. However, the acidic degradation products and burst release of PLGA microparticles still need to be ameliorated. In this study, the PLGA/chitosan-heparin (P/C-h) composite microparticles were successfully fabricated by integrating the double emulsion and microfluidic technology through the precise manipulation of the emulsion composition and flow rate of the two-phase in a flow-focusing chip. The P/C-h microparticles were highly monodispersed with a diameter of 23.45 ± 0.25 µm and shell-core structure of the PLGA encapsulated C-h complex, which were suitable for the fabrication of hMSC aggregates. When the mass ratio of PLGA to the C-h complex was optimized to 2 : 1, the pH of the leach liquor of P/C-h microparticles remained neutral. Compared with those of PLGA microparticles, the cytotoxicity and the initial burst release (loaded FGF-2 and VEGF) were both significantly reduced in P/C-h microparticles. Furthermore, the survival, stemness, as well as secretion and migration abilities of cells in hMSC aggregates incorporating P/C-h microparticles were also enhanced. In summary, the P/C-h composite microparticles prepared by the droplet microfluidic technique support the optimal biological and functional profile of the hMSC aggregates, which may facilitate the clinical applications of MSC-based therapy.

Separated pathways for biochar to affect soil N2O emission under different moisture contents.

Dry land is a massive contributor to global nitrous oxide (N2O) production and biochar is a potential material for soil amendment that can impact soil N2O emission. Considering that the moisture content of dry land is usually changeable, it is essential to investigate the effect of biochar on soil N2O emission under different moisture contents. Therefore, column experiments were conducted with two biochars (B300 and B500, biochars pyrolyzed at 300 and 500 °C, respectively) under five moisture contents (18%, 21%, 24%, 27% and 30%, w/w). The results showed that B300 promoted N2O emission under the moisture contents of 18%, 21% and 24% by increasing the content of dissolved organic carbon and thus enhancing the microbial processes related to N2O production. However, when the moisture contents were 27% and 30%, the promotion of N2O production was overwhelmed by the improvement in N2O reduction due to the B300 induced increase in the abundance ratio of nosZ to nirS, leading to the decrease in N2O emission. Moreover, B500 did not alter the content of dissolved organic matter significantly and thus caused no significant change in N2O emission when the moisture contents were 18%, 21% and 24%. But it was able to increase the abundance ratio of nosZ to nirS and thus decrease N2O emission when the moisture contents were 27% and 30%. The results further clarified the effect of biochar on soil N2O emission and helped to evaluate the N2O-suppressing-potential of biochar.

Biochar alters microbial community and carbon sequestration potential across different soil pH.

Biochar application to soil has been proposed for soil carbon sequestration and global warming mitigation. While recent studies have demonstrated that soil pH was a main factor affecting soil microbial community and stability of biochar, little information is available for the microbiome across different soil pH and the subsequently CO2 emission. To investigate soil microbial response and CO2 emission of biochar across different pH levels, comparative incubation studies on CO2 emission, degradation of biochar, and microbial communities in a ferralsol (pH5.19) and a phaeozems (pH7.81) with 4 biochar addition rates (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 5.0%) were conducted. Biochar induced higher CO2 emission in acidic ferralsol, largely due to the higher biochar degradation, while the more drastic negative priming effect (PE) of SOC resulted in decreased total CO2 emission in alkaline phaeozems. The higher bacteria diversity, especially the enrichment of copiotrophic bacteria such as Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, and decrease of oligotrophic bacteria such as Acidobacteria, were responsible for the increased CO2 emission and initial positive PE of SOC in ferralsol, whereas biochar did not change the relative abundances of most bacteria at phylum level in phaeozems. The relative abundances of other bacterial taxa (i.e. Actinobacteria, Anaerolineae) known to degrade aromatic compounds were also elevated in both soils. Soil pH was considered to be the dominant factor to affect CO2 emission by increasing the bioavailability of organic carbon and abundance of copiotrophic bacteria after biochar addition in ferralsol. However, the decreased bioavailability of SOC via adsorption of biochar resulted in higher abundance of oligotrophic bacteria in phaeozems, leading to the decrease in CO2 emission.

Reduced carbon sequestration potential of biochar in acidic soil.

Biochar application in soil has been proposed as a promising method for carbon sequestration. While factors affecting its carbon sequestration potential have been widely investigated, the number of studies on the effect of soil pH is limited. To investigate the carbon sequestration potential of biochar across a series of soil pH levels, the total carbon emission, CO2 release from inorganic carbon, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) of six soils with various pH levels were compared after the addition of straw biochar produced at different pyrolysis temperatures. The results show that the acidic soils released more CO2 (1.5-3.5 times higher than the control) after the application of biochar compared with neutral and alkaline soils. The degradation of both native soil organic carbon (SOC) and biochar were accelerated. More inorganic CO2 release in acidic soil contributed to the increased degradation of biochar. Higher proportion of gram-positive bacteria in acidic soil (25%-36%) was responsible for the enhanced biochar degradation and simultaneously co-metabolism of SOC. In addition, lower substrate limitation for bacteria, indicated by higher C-O stretching after the biochar application in the acidic soil, also caused more CO2 release. In addition to the soil pH, other factors such as clay contents and experimental duration also affected the phsico-chemical and biotic processes of SOC dynamics. Gram-negative/gram-positive bacteria ratio was found to be negatively related to priming effects, and suggested to serve as an indicator for priming effect. In general, the carbon sequestration potential of rice-straw biochar in soil reduced along with the decrease of soil pH especially in a short-term. Given wide spread of acidic soils in China, carbon sequestration potential of biochar may be overestimated without taking into account the impact of soil pH.

Time-dependent changes in CT of radiation-induced liver injury: a preliminary study in gastric cancer patients.

In this study, the time-dependent changes on dynamic computed tomograph (CT) of radiation-induced liver injury in gastric cancer patients was examined. The CT images of 52 gastric cancer patients who had received chemoradiotherapies were reviewed on the PACS system. Dynamic CT scan was performed in all the subjects. Our results showed that 18 patients were found to have radiation-induced liver injury. The CT findings of radiation-induced liver injury in gastric cancer patients tend to show up one month after radiation treatment. The damaged area was of low density on all three phases, and then it was enhanced on portal vein phase or delay phase. The focal radiation reaction of liver without basic disease vanished 9-11 months later after treatment. We are led to conclude that dynamic CT is of help in the diagnosis of CRT-induced liver injury, and it may be the method of choice for following up the whole course of the CRT-induced liver injury, i.e., form hepatic damage to healing. The classification of CT findings we recommend can avoid the influence of technological factors, and thereby serve as a better guide for treatment of CRT-induced liver injury.