LncRNA TUG1 reverses LPS-induced cell apoptosis and inflammation of macrophage via targeting MiR-221-3p/SPRED2 axis.

This study aimed to identify the role of lncRNA TUG1 with miR-221-3p on mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Animal model was established, and lung tissue histopathologic status and permeability were detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) or Evans blue dye assay respectively. Levels of inflammation cytokines, lncRNA TUG1, miR-221-3p, sprouty related EVH1 domain-containing 2 (SPRED2), and phosphorylated (p)-ERK1/2 were determined by ELISA, qRT-PCR or Western blot. Pulmonary impairment and apoptosis were examined by flow cytometry. We observed that LPS up-regulated levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-1ß (1L-1ß), and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and reduced SPRED2 levels, which were rescued by overexpressed lncRNA TUG1. StarBase and dual-luciferase reporter assay verified that miR-221-3p was targeted by lncRNA TUG1. MiR-221-3p could reverse the effect of lncRNA TUG1 on cell apoptosis, levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, SPRED2, and p-ERK1/2. Therefore, overexpressed lncRNA TUG1 attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary impairment in ARDS mice via regulating miR-221-3p/SPRED2 axis.

Characterization of the gut microbiota in frail elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: The change in the composition of gut microbiota has been reported in the elderly and in the frail individuals; however, studies on gut microbiota in frail elderly are limited. AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the gut microbiota of the frail elderly. METHODS: From September 2017 to February 2018, 27 elderly patients hospitalized in the Department of Geriatrics of our hospital were enrolled and divided into the frailty group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 12) based on the cutoff of 0.25 for the frailty index. The fecal samples were collected for 16S rRNA-amplicon sequencing to analyze the composition and richness of gut microbiota. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) clustering was performed using Usearch software. Intra-sample diversity (alpha-diversity) analysis and inter-sample diversity (beta-diversity) analyses were performed. The community richness was compared between the two groups at family and genus levels. RESULTS: There were 1903 and 1880 OTUs identified in the control and frailty groups, respectively, with 1282 OTUs overlap between the two groups. The alpha diversity of microbiota community was similar between the two groups, whereas the frailty group had larger beta diversity than the control group. The top-10 taxonomy categories and abundances of gut microbiota between the two groups were similar. As for the gut microbiota composition, 4 families and 17 genera were significantly different between the two groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results suggested that frailty can affect gut microbiota diversity and compositions in late elderly hospitalized patients.

Functional Sensing Interfaces of PEDOT:PSS Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Chemical and Biological Sensors: A Mini Review.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are promising devices for applications in in vitro and in vivo measurements. OECTs have two important sensing interfaces for signal monitoring: One is the gate electrode surface; the other is the channel surface. This mini review introduced the new developments in chemical and biological detection of the two sensing interfaces. Specific focus was given on the modification technological approaches of the gate or channel surface. In particular, some unique strategies and surface designs aiming to facilitate signal-transduction and amplification were discussed. Several perspectives and current challenges of OECTs development were also briefly summarized.

Study of Acute Kidney Injury on 309 Hypertensive Inpatients with ACEI/ARB - Diuretic Treatment.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients found to be hypertensive during hospitalization who were prescribed angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor antagonists (ARB) + diuretic combinations, in order to determine which type of diuretic or combination of diuretics used in ACE/ARB-treated patients leads to a higher risk of acute kidney injury. METHOD: Data on basic information, medical history, diagnostic information and medications prescribed were obtained from the patients' medical records. Retrospective analysis of potential risk factors and ACEI/ARB + diuretic use with AKI was performed. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed initial risk factors for AKI to be chronic kidney disease and poor cardiac function. In univariate analysis, patients whose baseline serum creatinine was between 115 and 265 µmol/L also had a higher risk of AKI. The combination of furosemide and spironolactone produced only approximately a third of the risk of AKI as the combination of hydrochlorothiazide and spironolactone. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic kidney disease and poor cardiac function are major risk factors for AKI in hypertensive inpatients using ACEI/ARB + diuretic therapy. The combination of thiazide diuretic and aldosterone antagonist had a higher risk of AKI than other single diuretics or diuretic combinations.

Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays with Al2O3 overcoating by atomic layer deposition.

While TiO2 nanotube arrays cosensitized with CdS and PbS quantum dots can achieve water splitting under visible light excitation, the use of quantum dots is limited by the relatively slow interfacial hole transfer rate and low internal quantum efficiencies in the visible region. Al2O3 overcoating by atomic layer deposition (ALD) can drastically enhance the photoelectrochemical performance of the quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays. 30 ALD cycles of the Al2O3 overlayer can achieve a good balance between surface coverage and charge transfer resistance. The resulting maximum photocurrent density of 5.19 mA cm(-2) under simulated solar illumination shows a 52 times improvement over the pure TiO2 nanotube arrays, and more significantly, a 60% enhancement over bare quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays. The incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency can reach the record value of 83% at 350 nm and remain above 30% up to 450 nm. A systematic examination of the role of the ALD Al2O3 overlayer indicates that surface recombination passivation, catalytic improvement in interfacial charge transfer kinetics, and chemical stabilization might synergistically enhance the photoelectrochemical performance in the visible region. These results provide a physical insight into the facile surface treatment, which could be applied to develop and optimize high-performance photoelectrodes for artificial photosynthesis.

Light-Activated Interface Charge-Alternating Interaction on an Extended Gate Photoelectrode: A New Sensing Strategy for EGFET-Based Photoelectrochemical Sensors.

Integration of extended gate field-effect transistors (EGFET) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurement to construct highly sensitive sensors is an innovative research field that was proven feasible by our previous work. However, it remains a challenge on how to adjust the interaction between the extended gate and the analyte and study its influence on EGFET-based PEC sensors. Herein, a new sensing strategy was proposed by a mutual electrostatic interaction. Three-dimensional TiO2 and g-C3N4 core-shell heterojunction on flexible carbon cloth (TCN) was designed as the extended sensing gate. Tetracycline (TC) was also used as a model analyte, and it contains electron-donating groups (-NH2 and -OH) with negative charge. The designed TCN-extended sensing gate was negatively charged in the dark by introducing carbon vacancies with oxygen doping in the g-C3N4 shell, while it was positively charged under illustration due to the aggregation of photogenerated holes on the surface. Therefore, a light-activated PEC sensing platform for the sensitive and selective determination of tetracycline (TC) was demonstrated. Such a PEC sensor exhibited wide linear ranges within 100 pM to 1 µM and 1-100 µM with a low detection limit of 0.42 pM. Furthermore, the sensing platform possessed excellent selectivity, good reproducibility, and stability. The proposed sensing strategy in this work can expand the paradigm for developing a light-regulated FET-based PEC sensor by mutual electrostatic interaction, and we believe that this work will offer a new perspective for the design of interface interaction in PEC devices.

An effective strategy for promoting charge separation by integrating heterojunctions and multiple homojunctions in TiO2 nanorods to enhance photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution.

It is important to achieve high photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxygen evolution performance in titanium oxide (TiO2) via the separation and transportation of photogenerated carriers. Herein, three-dimensional (3D) TiO2 nanorod arrays growing on flexible carbon cloth (CC) were decorated with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) to yield a 3D g-C3N4/TiO2/CC heterojunction composite (TCN). The photocurrent density of TCN is 10.6 times that of the bare TiO2 nanorod arrays, which can be attributed to the promoted separation and transportation of photogenerated carriers by the heterojunction. Then, a simple rapid cooling and heating (RCH) treatment was creatively introduced to form a gradient Ti3+ self-doping TiO2 multiple homojunction (GTSD-TiO2) in the bulk during the hydrothermal growth of the TiO2 nanorod array. This can further facilitate the separation and transportation of carriers in the bulk owing to the formation of a built-in electric field. The GTSD-TiO2 was decorated with g-C3N4 to form a core-shell heterojunction composite (GTSD-TCN). Notably, the photocurrent density of the GTSD-TCN core-shell heterojunction reached 1.23 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)) under air mass (AM) 1.5 G illumination without the use of hole scavengers or cocatalysts; this was twice the photocurrent density of the TCN heterojunction (0.64 mA cm-2) and is one of the best values obtained from the previously reported TiO2 and g-C3N4 heterojunction. This performance may be ascribed to the enhanced charge separation and transportation efficiency of the heterojunction after the RCH treatment; the efficiency rises from 51 % (TCN) to 71 % (GTSD-TCN). We believe that the RCH treatment is a highly promising method towards fabricating unique multiple homojunctions by gradient self-doping. This simple and novel design provides a new route for the preparation of high-performance PEC photoelectrodes.

Dual sulfur defect engineering of Z-scheme heterojunction on Ag-CdS1-x@ZnIn2S4-x hollow core-shell for ultra-efficient selective photocatalytic H2O2 production.

Photocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) using sunlight as an energy source, water and molecular oxygen as feedstock is considered as a green and sustainable promising strategy to solve the energy and environmental crisis. Despite significant improvements in photocatalyst design tuning, however, the relatively low photocatalytic H2O2 productivity is still far from satisfactory. Herein, we developed a multi-metal composite sulfide (Ag-CdS1-x@ZnIn2S4-x) with double S vacancies and hollow core-shell Z-type heterojunction structure for H2O2 generation by a simple hydrothermal method. The unique hollow structure improves the utilization of light source. The existence of Z-type heterojunction promotes the spatial separation of carriers, and the core-shell structure increases the interface area and active sites. Under visible light irradiation, Ag-CdS1-x@ZnIn2S4-x had a high hydrogen peroxide yield of 1183.7 µmol h-1 g-1, which was 6 times that of CdS. The electron transfer number (n = 1.53) obtained from the Koutecky-Levuch plot and DFT calculation confirm that the presence of dual disulfide vacancies provides good selectivity of 2e- O2 reduction to H2O2. This work provides new insights into the regulation of highly selective two-electron photocatalytic H2O2 production, and also provides new ideas for the design and development of highly active energy conversion photocatalysts.

All fabric and flexible wearable sensors for simultaneous sweat metabolite detection and high-efficiency collection.

Wearable sweat electrochemical sensors have attracted wide attention due to their advantages of non-invasive, portable, real-time monitoring, etc. However, existing sensors still have some problems with efficient sweat collection. Microfluidic channel technology and electrospinning technology are commonly used to collect sweat efficiently, but there are some limitations such as complex channel design and multiple spinning parameters. Besides, existing sensors are mostly based on flexible polymers, such as, PET, PDMS, PI and PI, which have limited wearability and permeability. Based on the above, all fabric and dual-function flexible wearable sweat electrochemical sensor is proposed in this paper. This sensor uses fabric as the raw material to implement the directional transport of sweat and the multi-component integrated detection dual functions. Meanwhile, the high-efficiency collection of sweat is obtained by a Janus fabric, wherein one side of the selected silk is superhydrophobic graft treated and the other side is hydrophilic plasma treated. Therefore, the resulting Janus fabric can effectively transfer sweat from the skin side to the electrode, and the minimum sweat droplet can reach 0.2 µL to achieve micro-volume collection. Besides, the patterned sensor, made of silk-based carbon cloth, is fabricated using a simple laser engraving, which could detect Na+, pH, and glucose instantaneously. As a result, these proposed sensors can achieve good sensing performance and high-efficiency sweat collection dual functionality; moreover, it has good flexibility and comfortable wearability.

Laser-Induced Graphene-Based Wearable Epidermal Ion-Selective Sensors for Noninvasive Multiplexed Sweat Analysis.

Wearable sweat sensors are a rapidly rising research area owing to their convenience for personal healthcare and disease diagnosis in a real-time and noninvasive manner. However, the fast and scalable fabrication of flexible electrodes remains a major challenge. Here, we develop a wearable epidermal sensor for multiplexed sweat analysis based on the laser-induced graphene (LIG) technique. This simple and mask-free technique allows the direct manufacturing of graphene electrode patterns on commercial polyimide foils. The resulting LIG devices can simultaneously monitor the pH, Na+, and K+ levels in sweat with the sensitivities of 51.5 mV/decade (pH), 45.4 mV/decade (Na+), and 43.3 mV/decade (K+), respectively. Good reproducibility, stability, and selectivity are also observed. On-body testing of the LIG-based sensor integrated with a flexible printed circuit board during stationary cycling demonstrates its capability for real-time sweat analysis. The concentrations of ions can be remotely and wirelessly transmitted to a custom-developed smartphone application during the period in which the sensor user performs physical activities. Owing to the unique advantages of LIG technique, including facile fabrication, mass production, and versatile, more physiological signals (glucose, uric acid, tyrosine, etc.) could be easily expanded into the LIG-based wearable sensors to reflect the health status or clinical needs of individuals.

USP9X Increased Tumor Angiogenesis in Mantle Cell Lymphoma by Upregulation of CCND1-Mediated SOX11.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive lymphoid malignancy with a poor prognosis. Ubiquitin-specific peptidase 9, X-linked (USP9X), has been associated with multiple physiological pathways and regulates various cellular activities. In this study, we explored the role of USP9X in MCL in vitro and in vivo. USP9X was verified to be increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of MCL patients and MCL cells. Moreover, CCND1 and SOX11 were also upregulated in PBMCs of MCL patients. The positive correlation between USP9X and CCND1, USP9X and SOX11, and CCND1 and SOX11 were identified. Further, USP9X overexpression and knockdown were performed in MCL cells. We proved that USP9X overexpression promoted proliferation and cell cycle and suppressed cell apoptosis in MCL cells. Upregulation of angiogenesis and cell migration were induced by USP9X overexpression in MCL cells. However, the USP9X knockdown showed opposite effects. In addition, USP9X was discovered to decrease Cyclin D1 (CCND1)-mediated SOX11 expression in MCL cells. We demonstrated that SOX11 overexpression reversed USP9X knockdown-mediated angiogenesis in MCL cells. Besides, tumor formation was inhibited by USP9X knockdown in mice in vivo. In conclusion, these results revealed that USP9X promoted tumor angiogenesis in MCL via increasing CCND1-mediated SOX11.

Constructing a 3D interconnected "trap-zap" ß-CDPs/Fe-g-C3N4 catalyst for efficient sulfamethoxazole degradation via peroxymonosulfate activation: Performance, mechanism, intermediates and toxicity.

A novel and high-efficiency catalyst Fe doped g-C3N4 (Fe-g-C3N4) composited with ß-cyclodextrin polymers (ß-CDPs) was synthesized for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the catalyst was 3D interconnected porous structure. The degradation rate constant of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in ß-CDPs/Fe-g-C3N4+PMS system was estimated to be 0.132 min-1, which was 14.7 times and 2.2 times that of g-C3N4+PMS and Fe-g-C3N4+PMS system, respectively. In addition, the ß-CDPs/Fe-g-C3N4 exhibited superior degradation performance in a wide pH range (3.0-9.0) and good selectivity in the presence of other inorganic anions and natural organics. Radical scavenging, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electrochemical measurements indicated that 1O2 and Fe(V)O were the main active species for SMX degradation in ß-CDPs/Fe-g-C3N4+PMS system. Moreover, ß-CDPs accelerated electron transfer between catalyst and PMS and promoted the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during PMS activation. The loading of ß-CDPs increased the yields of Fe(V)O and 1O2 in the system and limited the leaching of Fe3+. In addition, the possible degradation pathways of SMX were described based on the intermediates detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and the toxicity of the intermediates was also evaluated. This work investigate the role of ß-CDPs in PMS activation for the first time and develop a promising material with potential for water treatment.

Technology for Rapid Detection of Cyromazine Residues in Fruits and Vegetables: Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical Sensors.

Cyromazine is an insect growth regulator insecticide with high selectivity and is widely used in the production and cultivation of fruits and vegetables. In recent years, incidents of excessive cyromazine residues in food have occurred frequently, and it is urgent to establish an accurate, fast, and convenient method for the detection of cyromazine residues to ensure the safety of edible agricultural products. To achieve rapid detection of cyromazine residues, we prepared a molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for the detection of cyromazine residues in agricultural products. Samples of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and water were tested for the recovery rate of cyromazine. The results showed that the concentration of cyromazine showed a good linear relationship with the peak response current of the sensor developed in this study. The lower limit of detection for cyromazine was 0.5 µmol/L, and the sensor also had good reproducibility and interference resistance. This paper can be used as a basis for the study of methods for the detection of cyromazine residues in edible agricultural products.

Amorphous-Amorphous Coupling Enhancing the Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity and Stability of the NiFe-Based Catalyst.

Efficient and stable electrocatalytic water splitting plays a critical role in energy storage and conversion but is strongly restricted by the low activity and stability of catalysts associated with the complicated oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This work provides a strategy to fabricate an advanced NiFe-based catalyst to steadily speed up the OER based on a strong amorphous-amorphous coupling effect generated through amorphous CuS that induces the formation of amorphous NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets (A-NiFe NS/CuS). The presence of the strong coupling effect not only modifies the electronic structure of catalytic sites to accelerate the reaction kinetics but also enhances the binding between the catalyst and substrate to strengthen the durability. In comparison to well-grown core-shell crystalline NiFe LDH on CuO, the as-synthesized amorphous A-NiFe NS/CuS gives a low overpotential of 240 mV to achieve 100 mA cm-2 and shows robust stability under 100 h of operation at the same current density. Therefore, amorphous-amorphous coupling between catalyst-substrate by elaborate and rational engineering yields an opportunity to design efficient and robust NiFe-based OER catalysts.

Optimization of Sensors Data Transmission Paths for Pest Monitoring Based on Intelligent Algorithms.

The harm of agricultural pests presents a remarkable effect on the quality and safety of edible farm products and the monitoring and identification of agricultural pests based on the Internet of Things (IoT) produce a large amount of data to be transmitted. To achieve efficient and real-time transmission of the sensors' data for pest monitoring, this paper selects 235 geographic coordinates of agricultural pest monitoring points and uses genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and simulated annealing (SA) to optimize the data transmission paths of sensors. The three intelligent algorithms are simulated by MATLAB software. The results show that the optimized path based on PSO can make the shortest time used for transmitting data, and its corresponding minimum time is 4.868012 s. This study can provide a reference for improving the transmission efficiency of agricultural pest monitoring data, provide a guarantee for developing real-time and effective pest control strategies, and further reduce the threat of pest damage to the safety of farm products.

Hyaluronic Acid Methacrylate Hydrogel-Modified Electrochemical Device for Adsorptive Removal of Lead(II).

This paper presents the development of a compact, three-electrode electrochemical device functionalized by a biocompatible layer of hyaluronic acid methacrylate (HAMA) hydrogel for the adsorptive removal of detrimental lead (Pb(II)) ions in aqueous solutions. An adsorption mechanism pertaining to the observed analytical performance of the device is proposed and further experimentally corroborated. It is demonstrated that both the molecular interactions originating from the HAMA hydrogel and electrochemical accumulation originating from the electrode beneath contribute to the adsorption capability of the device. Infrared spectral analysis reveals that the molecular interaction is mainly induced by the amide functional group of the HAMA hydrogel, which is capable of forming the Pb(II)-amide complex. In addition, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) analysis indicates that the electrochemical accumulation is particularly valuable in facilitating the adsorption rate of the device by maintaining a high ion-concentration gradient between the solution and the hydrogel layer. ICP-MS measurements show that 94.08% of Pb(II) ions present in the test solution can be adsorbed by the device within 30 min. The HAMA hydrogel-modified electrochemical devices exhibit reproducible performance in the aspect of Pb(II) removal from tap water, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.28% (for n = 8). The experimental results suggest that the HAMA hydrogel-modified electrochemical device can potentially be used for the rapid, on-field remediation of Pb(II) contamination.

IrOx Nanoclusters Modified by BaCO3 Enable ″Two Birds with One Stone″ in Solar-Driven Direct Unbuffered Seawater Electrolysis.

Direct seawater electrolysis (DSE) coupled with renewable energy can maximize the sustainability of hydrogen energy acquisition by effectively alleviating the dependence on pure water resources. In a practical sense, the parallel chlorine evolution reaction (CER) of DSE opens up an opportunity to hit ″two birds with one stone″ by the dual values of anode and cathode. However, the biggest challenge is how to control the selectivity of CER to balance its values and drawbacks. Here, we use the different nucleation rates of iridium and barium ions in a weak basic solution and subsequent acid etching to devise an IrOx nanocluster (IrOx-Cs) supported BaCO3. The catalyst-support interaction between IrOx-Cs and BaCO3 enables repelling the Cl- near the electrode interface layer to achieve a controlled CER selectivity. Additionally, the mass activity of the prepared IrOx-Cs@BaCO3 is as high as 1402 A g-1Ir, which is 7.12 times higher than that of IrO2 oxides in unbuffered seawater. The photovoltaic-electrolysis device paired by IrOx-Cs@BaCO3 with controlled CER activity and Pt demonstrated that valuable active chlorine and H2 can be simultaneously obtained, with the flexibility to bind to different ion exchange membranes.

In situ formation of grain boundaries on a supported hybrid to boost water oxidation activity of iridium oxide.

Coupling electrochemical water splitting with renewable energy sources shows great potential to produce hydrogen fuel. The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) resulting from the complicated reaction mechanism and the requirement of the noble metal iridium as the anode catalyst are the two key challenges in implementing proton exchange membrane electrolysis. These challenges may be overcome by the nanoscale design and assembly of novel hybrid materials. Grain boundaries (GBs) are a common crystallographic feature that increase in variability and attractiveness as the particle size decreases. However, the effects of GBs on OER activity in supported hybrid IrO2 catalysts remain unclear. In this study, supported hybrid IrO2 catalysts containing ultrafine nanoparticles were prepared via the self-assembly of iridium precursors on the ß-MnO2 surface. The GBs induced intriguing features such as abundant coordination-unsaturated iridium sites and surface hydroxylation, resulting in enhanced OER activity. The formation of GBs was strongly dependent on the nature of the support. In addition to the morphology, the crystal structure of the substrate may play an important role in inducing dense nanoparticle growth. The established relationship between GB formation and OER activity provides an opportunity to design more stable and effective IrO2-based hybrid materials for the OER.

Zinc sulfide quantum dots/zinc oxide nanospheres/bismuth-enriched bismuth oxyiodides as Z-scheme/type-II tandem heterojunctions for an efficient charge separation and boost solar-driven photocatalytic performance.

A novel zinc sulfide quantum dot (ZnS QD)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosphere/bismuth-enriched bismuth oxyiodide (Bi4O5I2) tandem heterojunction photocatalyst is fabricated through two-step solvothermal, calcination and one-step hydrothermal strategies. The successfully constructed core-shell nanostructure can increase the interface area and the active sites of the composite photocatalysts. The formation of a Z-scheme/Type-II tandem heterojunction favors the transfer and spatial separation of charge carriers, in which Bi4O5I2 plays a bridging role to connect ZnO and ZnS. Simultaneously, the participation of Bi4O5I2 significantly shortens the band gap of the composite photocatalyst. This dual functional ZnO@Bi4O5I2/ZnS composite photocatalyst has a high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 578.4 µmol g-1h-1 and an excellent photocatalytic degradation efficiency for bisphenol A (BPA) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (TCP). In addition, cycling tests show that ZnO@Bi4O5I2/ZnS has a high stability, which is favorable for practical applications. This novel ZnO@Bi4O5I2/ZnS Z-scheme/Type-II tandem heterojunction photocatalyst will provide new ideas for the multichannel charge transfer of other highly efficient heterojunction photocatalysts.

Analysis of imidacloprid residues in mango, cowpea and water samples based on portable molecular imprinting sensors.

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used in the production and cultivation of crops. In recent years, the extensive use of imidacloprid in agricultural production has resulted in large amounts of pesticide residues in agricultural products and the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a rapid, accurate, sensitive and convenient method for detecting imidacloprid pesticide residues to ensure the safety of agricultural products and the environment. To clarify how to use the molecular imprinting method for the electrochemical rapid residue detection of imidacloprid. This paper selected reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles as modifiers modified on screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) chitosan as a functional monomer, and imidacloprid as template molecule to prepare molecularly imprinted polymer, and applied this sensor to the residue detection of imidacloprid. The results showed that the concentration of imidacloprid showed a good linear relationship with the peak response current, and the detection limit of imidacloprid was 0.5 µM, while the sensor had good repeatability and interference resistance. The recoveries of imidacloprid spiked on three samples, mango, cowpea and water, were in the range of 90-110% (relative standard deviation, RSD<5%), which proved the practicality and feasibility of the assay established in this paper. The results of this paper can be used as a basis for the research on the detection of imidacloprid pesticide residues in food or environment.