Tunable Surface Charge of Layered Double Hydroxide Membranes Enabling Osmotic Energy Harvesting from Anion Transport.

Membrane-based osmotic energy harvesting is a promising technology with zero carbon footprint. High-performance ion-selective membranes (ISMs) are the core components in such applications. Recent advancement in 2D nanomaterials opens new avenues for building highly efficient ISMs. However, the majority of the explored 2D nanomaterials have a negative surface charge, which selectively enhances cation transport, resulting in the underutilization of half of the available ions. In this study, ISMs based on layered double hydroxide (LDH) with tunable positive surface charge are studied. The membranes preferentially facilitate anion transport with high selectivity. Osmotic energy harvesting device based on these membranes reached a power density of 2.31 W m-2 under simulated river/sea water, about eight times versus that of a commercial membrane tested under the same conditions, and up to 7.05 W m-2 under elevated temperature and simulated brine/sea water, and long-term stability with consistent performance over a 40-day period. A prototype reverse electrodialysis energy harvesting device, comprising a pair of LDH membranes and commercial cation-selective membranes, is able to simultaneously harvest energy from both cations and anions achieving a power density of 6.38 W m-2 in simulated river/sea water, demonstrating its potential as building blocks for future energy harvesting systems.

Refraction and ocular biometric parameters of preschool children in the Beijing whole childhood eye study: the first-year report.

BACKGROUND: Prevention of myopia should begin before school age. However, few population-based cohort studies have investigated refractive status in preschool children with cycloplegia. This study aimed to investigate the post-COVID-19 refraction and ocular biometric parameters of preschool children in Beijing Tongzhou District. METHODS: A population-based cohort study of kindergarten children in Tongzhou District, Beijing, commenced in November 2021. The present study reports data from the first year of the aforementioned population-based study. We selected children aged 3-6 years from nine kindergartens. Biometric parameters, including axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and corneal radius of curvature (CR), were collected before cycloplegia. Cycloplegic refraction was also measured. The spherical equivalent (SE), lens power (LP), and AL-to-CR ratio were calculated. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyse the correlation between refraction and ocular biometric parameters. RESULTS: A total of 1,505 children completed the examination, and a mean SE of 1.24 ± 0.91 D was found. The overall prevalence of myopia was 1.93%. The mean AL, ACD, CR, LP, and AL-to-CR ratio were 22.24 ± 0.70 mm, 3.28 ± 0.26 mm, 7.77 ± 0.26 mm, 26.01 ± 1.56 D, and 2.86 ± 0.07, respectively. Longer AL, deeper ACD, larger AL-to-CR ratio, and lower LP were associated with older age; the CR was not significantly different among different ages. In the multiple linear regression analysis, after adjusting for sex and age, the model that included AL, CR, and LP explained 87% of the SE variation. No differences were observed in the prevalence of myopia or the SE in this particular age range. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that a large proportion of preschool children in Beijing are mildly hyperopic, with a considerably low prevalence of myopia. In preschool children, refractive development was found to present mild hyperopia rather than emmetropia or myopia, a phenomenon that is characteristic of this age range.

Relationship of Day-by-Day Blood Pressure Variability and Admission Stroke Severity in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

OBJECTIVES: Research on the association between stroke severity and day-by-day blood pressure variability (BPV) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is rare as the majority focus on the blood pressure (BP) or the short-term BPV. Our study aims to explore the exact roles of daily BPV through the 7-day commencement on stroke severity in AIS. METHODS: The study included 633 patients with AIS, defining AIS as the time from the beginning of symptom up to 7 days with recording BP twice a day as well as calculating the daily BPV, and then matching them to the stroke severity. The logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between stroke severity and day-by-day BPV. We used the smooth curve fitting to identify whether there was a nonlinear association. In addition, the subgroup analyses were performed using the logistic regression. RESULTS: According to the modified National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 301 (47.5%) patients were allocated to the mild stroke group and 332 (52.5%) to the moderate-to-severe stroke group. In terms of stroke categories, we found no significant difference between BP at admission or mean BP. However, the moderate-to-severe stroke group exhibited higher daily BPV. The multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that day-by-day BPV was positively correlated to stroke severity [odds ratio (OR)=1.05, 95% CI:1.01-1.1, P=0.03 for SBP-SD; OR=1.08, 95% CI:1.01-1.15, P=0.03 for SBP-CV; OR=1.04, 95% CI:1.01-1.07, P=0.015 for SBP-SV). CONCLUSIONS: High day-by-day BPV in AIS was associated with more severe stroke independent of BP levels.

RhoJ: an emerging biomarker and target in cancer research and treatment.

RhoJ is a Rho GTPase that belongs to the Cdc42 subfamily and has a molecular weight of approximately 21 kDa. It can activate the p21-activated kinase family either directly or indirectly, influencing the activity of various downstream effectors and playing a role in regulating the cytoskeleton, cell movement, and cell cycle. RhoJ's expression and activity are controlled by multiple upstream factors at different levels, including expression, subcellular localization, and activation. High RhoJ expression is generally associated with a poor prognosis for cancer patients and is mainly due to an increased number of tumor blood vessels and abnormal expression in malignant cells. RhoJ promotes tumor progression through several pathways, particularly in tumor angiogenesis and drug resistance. Clinical data also indicates that high RhoJ expression is closely linked to the pathological features of tumor malignancy. There are various cancer treatment methods that target RhoJ signaling, such as direct binding to inhibit the RhoJ effector pocket, inhibiting RhoJ expression, blocking RhoJ upstream and downstream signals, and indirectly inhibiting RhoJ's effect. RhoJ is an emerging cancer biomarker and a significant target for future cancer clinical research and drug development.

Traditional chinese medicine in cancer care: a review of case series published in the chinese literature.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in cancer in China. Case series report a series of cases exposed to a certain intervention. To understand the current situation of case series of TCM for cancer, we performed this review. We included case series of cancer patients treated with TCM therapy. Electronic searches were conducted in four main Chinese databases until February 2011. A total of 1,217 reports of case series (92,945 patients) were included. The top five types of cancer were lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, leukemia, and esophageal cancer. Leukopenia and hiccup treated by TCM were the most common adverse reactions after surgery or induced by chemo/radiotherapy. More than half of the patients were treated with TCM therapies alone. The application of herbal medicines especially formula based on syndrome differentiation was highly prevalent, and the typical administration route was oral usage. 1,182 reports were published in a structured format. The quantity of TCM case series for cancer treatment is substantial. Further studies should focus on the most common types of cancer and the most frequently applied TCM therapies. We presented a recommendation from the methodological point of view for the format of reporting.

Daily blood pressure variability in relation to neurological functional outcomes after acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Prior research has shown inconclusive findings regarding the relationship between blood pressure variability (BPV) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and functional outcomes. Most research has examined the connection between short-term BPV during the early 24-72 h after the occurrence of ischemic stroke and functional prognosis. We sought to determine the relationship between daily BPV at 7 days of commencement and functional outcomes during the 3 months following AIS. Methods: Altogether, 633 patients with AIS admitted within 72 h of commencement were enrolled. AIS was defined as the time from the onset of symptoms to 7 days. Throughout this period, blood pressure (BP) was recorded twice daily (casual BP cuffs). The daily BPV, with standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV), was calculated and matched to the functional results. The adverse outcome was characterized as a modified Rankin scale (mRS)≥3, which comprised the recurrence of stroke, clinical intracranial bleeding, and death. Results: In total, 633 participants were included, and the incidence of adverse outcomes was 14.06% (89/633). There was a significant positive correlation between daily BPV and adverse outcomes but not between mean BP and risk. Smooth curve fitting revealed a U-shaped connection between the mean BP and adverse clinical outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed an independent correlation between daily BPV and an adverse outcome in the top vs. bottom quartile of systolic BPV (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-4.96, P = 0.018 for SD; OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.17-4.93, P = 0.017 for CV) during a 3-month follow-up period. Identical results have been reported for diastolic BPV. Conclusion: Irrespective of BP level, elevated daily systolic BPV and diastolic BPV in AIS were associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes within 3 months. We also discovered a U-shaped association between the mean BP and adverse clinical outcomes. These findings suggested that BPV should be a risk factor for adverse outcomes after ischemic stroke, which provided new insight into BP management strategy.

Heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate using Mn-Fe layered double hydroxide: Performance and mechanism for organic pollutant degradation.

On account of high oxidation ability of sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), the eco-friendly catalysts for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation have received considerable attentions. Previous studies mainly focused on Cobalt-based catalyst due to its high activation efficiency, such as Co3O4/MnO2 and FeCo-layered double hydroxide (LDH), whereas Cobalt-based catalyst usually has serious risk to environment. To avoid this risk, MnFe-LDH was primarily synthesized in this research by simple co-precipitation and subsequently utilized as an effective catalyst for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to degrade organic pollutants. The experimental results demonstrated that MnFe-LDH with a lower dosage (0.20 g/L) could efficiently activate PMS to achieve 97.56% removal of target organic pollutants Acid Orange 7 (AO7). The AO7 degradation process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic well with an activation energy of 21.32 kJ/mol. The intrinsic influencing mechanism was also investigated. The quenching experiment and electron spin resonance (ESR) indicated that sulfate and hydroxyl radicals were produced by the effective activation of PMS by MnFe-LDH, resulting in a high rate of decolorization. The possible AO7 removal pathway in the constructed MnFe-LDH/PMS system was presented on the basis of UV-vis spectrum analysis and GC-MS, which suggested that the AO7 degradation was firstly initiated by breaking azo linkages, then generated phenyl and naphthalene intermediates and finally presented as ring-opening products. This effective MnFe-LDH/PMS system showed great application potential in the purification of wastewater contaminated by refractory organic pollutants.

Effectiveness and mechanisms of phosphate adsorption on iron-modified biochars derived from waste activated sludge.

Excessive discharge of phosphate (P) into the surface water is the key factor to cause the eutrophication, so its removal has aroused much attention in recent years. In this study, different iron modification (chemical co-precipitation of Fe3+/Fe2+ or FeCl3 impregnation) was used to improve the phosphate adsorption capacity of waste activated sludge (WAS)-based biochar. Comparative tests demonstrated that the FeCl3-impregnated WAS-based biochar exhibited much superior phosphate adsorption capacity (111.0mg/g) in all as-prepared samples and performed well even under the interferences with pH and coexisting ions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyzes indicated that the iron in FeCl3-impregnated WAS-based biochar existed mainly in amorphous phase, as hematite and amorphous hydroxides forms, which was of great benefit to the phosphate adsorption. Besides, ligand exchange plays important role in the adsorption of phosphate. The WAS-based biochar kept over 60% phosphate removal efficiency after five recycles.

Evaluating the potential impact of hydrochar on the production of short-chain fatty acid from sludge anaerobic digestion.

In this study, waste activated sludge (WAS) was used as feedstock to generate hydrochars at different temperatures (220°C and 260°C) and their effect on sludge anaerobic digestion was evaluated. Experimental results showed that the maximum yield of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) enhanced by hydrochar (220°C) and hydrochar (260°C) were 507.33 and 270.80mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L respectively, which were much higher than that in blank (141.49mg COD/L). Mechanism investigation confirmed that hydrochar remarkably accelerated the solubilization and hydrolysis of organic matters, enhanced the acidification of hydrolyzed products, and inhibited the activity of methanogenic bacteria as well as promoted the activities of key enzymes. Meanwhile, the organic matters especially humic substances existed in the hydrochar played an important role during anaerobic digestion.

Effect of nickel on the flocculability, settleability, and dewaterability of activated sludge.

Short-term and long-term effects of nickel (Ni) (0.1-10mg/L) on the physicochemical properties of activated sludge, including the flocculability, settleability, and dewaterability, were investigated. It was found that these properties were unaffected after short-term exposure (1day) to Ni(II) even at the level of 10mg/L. After long-term exposure (60days) to 1 and 10mg/L of Ni(II), however, the sludge flocculability has seriously deteriorated, while the settleability, and dewaterability became gradually better than the control. The mechanism studies revealed that long-term exposure to Ni(II) resulted in the decrease of protein content in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and the damage to EPS structures. Although Ni(II) did not bring any adverse effect on the cell membrane, the relative hydrophobicity of activated sludge was significantly decreased. The negative effects on the flocculability and phosphorus removal performance of activated sludge could be completely eliminated by adding the chelator such as EDTA and citrate.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline by AgI/BiVO4 Heterojunction under Visible-Light Irradiation: Mineralization Efficiency and Mechanism.

Recently, visible-light-driven photocatalysis is of great interest in the environmental pollutant remediation. In the present study, a novel heterostructured photocatalyst AgI/BiVO4 was synthesized by an in situ precipitation procedure. The AgI/BiVO4 heterojunctions exhibited excellent photoactivity for the refractory pollutant (tetracycline (TC), a typical antibiotic) decomposition under visible light illumination. The synthetic sample with 1:4 mass ratio of AgI:BiVO4 possessed the highest photocatalytic performance in all of the as-prepared catalysts. The TC molecules were substantially eliminated (94.91%) within 60 min, and degradation efficiency was considerably better than those of bare BiVO4 (62.68%) and AgI (75.43%) under identical conditions. Simultaneously, 90.46% of TOC removal was also achieved within 120 min, suggesting that the mineralization was superior and further confirmed by three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D EEMs). The XRD, XPS, DRS, and PL measurements revealed that a small amount of Ag nanoparticles was produced at the early photodegradation process. The structure transformation from AgI/BiVO4 (double-type) to AgI/Ag/BiVO4 (sandwich-like) improved the corresponding visible-light absorption performance. The self-assembly Z-scheme heterojunction that consisted of AgI, Ag, and BiVO4 also efficiently accelerated photoinduced electron-hole pairs' separation and ultimately improved the efficiency of TC degradation. The responsible photocatalytic mechanism was discussed in detail on the basis of the reactive species capturing tests and ESR analysis, and the experimental results had been validated that superoxide radicals and holes played a vital role during the photocatalytic process. Furthermore, TC degradation efficiency was not of significant loss after four consecutive cycles, suggesting the excellent photostability of AgI/BiVO4 nanocomposite. These features demonstrate that the AgI/BiVO4 heterojunction has great application potential for refractory pollutants' removal from wastewater.