Photothermal-Based Multiplex Nested Digital PCR System for Rapid Detection of Foodborne Pathogens.

The rapid and sensitive detection of foodborne pathogens is crucial for ensuring food safety. Among virus testing methods, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has served as the gold-standard technique in most food safety regulation organizations. However, to enhance the speed and efficiency of PCR, novel approaches are continually being explored. In this work, leveraging the photothermal effects and high thermal conductivity of gold nanoparticles, we have significantly improved the heating and cooling rates of thermal cycles, enabling ultra-fast PCR detection. Specifically, we present a pre-degassing multiplex digital PCR chip integrated with gold nanoparticles. We further developed a portable system with a light source for photothermal heating cycling, along with an optoelectronic sensor to analyze PCR amplification products after rapid thermal cycling. As proof of concept, the proposed chip and portable device was applied for the on-site detection of several types of foodborne pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella. The whole system could distinguish those pathogens within 20 min, showing good potential for the rapid detection of multiple types of foodborne pathogens.

A review on three-dimensional electrochemical technology for the antibiotic wastewater treatment.

The potential genotoxicity and non-biodegradability of antibiotics in the natural water bodies threaten the survival of various living things and cause serious environmental pollution and destruction. Three-dimensional (3D) electrochemical technology is considered a powerful means for antibiotic wastewater treatment as it can degrade non-biodegradable organic substances into non-toxic or harmless substances and even completely mineralize them under the action of electric current. Therefore, antibiotic wastewater treatment using 3D electrochemical technology has now become a hot research topic. Thus, in this review, a detailed and comprehensive investigation was conducted on the antibiotic wastewater treatment using 3D electrochemical technology, including the structure of the reactor, electrode materials, the influence of operating parameters, reaction mechanism, and combination with other technologies. Many studies have shown that the materials of electrode, especially particle electrode, have a great effect on the antibiotic wastewater treatment efficiency. The influence of operating parameters such as cell voltage, solution pH, and electrolyte concentration was very significant. Combination with other technologies such as membrane and biological technologies has effectively increased antibiotic removal and mineralization efficiency. In conclusion, the 3D electrochemical technology is considered as a promising technology for the antibiotic wastewater treatment. Finally, the possible research directions of the 3D electrochemical technology for antibiotic wastewater treatment were proposed.

Improved Daily Spatial Precipitation Estimation by Merging Multi-Source Precipitation Data Based on the Geographically Weighted Regression Method: A Case Study of Taihu Lake Basin, China.

Accurately estimating the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation is crucial for hydrological modeling. However, precipitation products based on a single source have their advantages and disadvantages. How to effectively combine the advantages of different precipitation datasets has become an important topic in developing high-quality precipitation products internationally in recent years. This paper uses the measured precipitation data of Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) and in situ rainfall observation in the Taihu Lake Basin, as well as the longitude, latitude, elevation, slope, aspect, surface roughness, distance to the coastline, and land use and land cover data, and adopts a two-step method to achieve precipitation fusion: (1) downscaling the MSWEP source precipitation field using the bilinear interpolation method and (2) using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) method and tri-cube function weighting method to achieve fusion. Considering geographical and human activities factors, the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation errors in MSWEP is detected. The fusion of MSWEP and gauge observation precipitation is realized. The results show that the method in this paper significantly improves the spatial resolution and accuracy of precipitation data in the Taihu Lake Basin.

High efficiency three-dimensional electrochemical treatment of amoxicillin wastewater using Mn-Co/GAC particle electrodes and optimization of operating condition.

In this work, Mn-Co/GAC particle electrode was prepared by loading Mn and Co as catalysts on granular activated carbon (GAC) and used in a three-dimensional (3D) electrochemical system for mineralization of amoxicillin wastewater. Observation results by SEM, EDS and XRD confirmed that Mn and Co catalysts were successfully loaded onto GAC. The electrochemical properties were measured using an electrochemical workstation. Mn-Co/GAC had a much higher oxygen evolution potential (1.46V) than GAC (1.1V), which demonstrated that it could effectively reduce the oxygen evolution side reaction. In addition, Mn-Co/GAC had an electrochemically active surface area 1.34 times that of GAC and a much smaller mass transfer resistance than GAC, which could provide favorable conditions for the degradation of pollutants. The investigation of the influences of single operating parameters on total organic carbon (TOC) removal rate and electrical energy consumption (EEC) indicated that current density and treatment time had the greatest effect. In order to maximize TOC removal rate and minimize EEC, optimization of operating parameters was also carried out using response surface method in combination with central composite design. The optimal operating parameters were determined as current density of 5.68 mA/cm2, electrolyte concentration of 0.127M, particle electrode dosage of 31.14g and treatment time of 120min. Under this optimum operating condition, TOC removal rate of 85.24% and amoxicillin removal rate of 100% could be achieved with a low EEC of 0.073 kWh/g TOC. In addition, TOC removal rate and EEC were significantly improved compared to the use of bare GAC as particle electrode under the same operating conditions, demonstrating the excellent electrocatalytic ability of the new particle electrode Mn-Co/GAC. A possible mechanism of enhanced amoxicillin and TOC removal was also recommended. In summary, the 3D electrochemical method using Mn-Co/GAC particle electrodes is a suitable choice for amoxicillin wastewater treatment.

PAK3 promotes the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating EMT process.

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. The malignant biological behavior of HCC is closely related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and EMT plays an important role in the progression, migration and metastasis of HCC. P21-activated kinase 3 (PAK3) is a serine/threonine protein kinase, and PAK3 affects the EMT, proliferation, metastasis and invasion of HCC. Methods: In this study, the relationship between PAK3 and HCC was first analyzed by bioinformatics, and then, the expression of PAK3 in clinical samples was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Subsequently, the expression of PAK3 was further confirmed in HCC cells. In addition, after the overexpression or knockdown of PAK3 in cells, the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of these cells were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), wound healing and Transwell assays, and the results were confirmed in vivo experiments in mice. In addition, we also verified that PAK3 affected the EMT and EMT-related pathway of HCC through qRT-PCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence experiments. Results: Through database analysis, we found that PAK3 was highly expressed in HCC patients and was positively correlated with tumor stage and grade, suggesting that PAK3 expression was closely related to HCC occurrence and development. We subsequently confirmed that PAK3 was overexpressed in HCC clinical samples and HCC cell lines and that PAK3 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. Finally, we found that PAK3 regulated EMT-related molecule expression and EMT-related TGF-ß/smad signaling pathway. Conclusion: High expression of PAK3 enhances the invasion of HCC and regulates EMT, suggesting that PAK3 may be a potential target for the treatment of HCC.

Progress in research and development of particle electrodes for three-dimensional electrochemical treatment of wastewater: a review.

A three-dimensional (3D) electrochemical technology is regarded as a very effective industrial wastewater treatment method as it has high treatment efficiency, high current efficiency, and low energy consumption, and especially can completely mineralize nonbiodegradable organic pollutants. The core of the 3D electrochemical technology is a particle electrode, and the particle electrode plays several important roles for removing pollutants during the electrochemical reaction process. Many types of particle electrodes have been developed and used for different types of wastewater treatment. In this paper, a comprehensive review on the research and development of particle electrodes of the 3D electrochemical reactors for wastewater treatment is conducted. Specifically, the role that the particle electrode plays during the 3D electrochemical treatment of wastewater is thoroughly investigated and systematized. In addition, the different types of particle electrodes used in the 3D electrochemical wastewater treatment are classified into several types according to the presence or absence of a catalyst and the main components of the particle electrode or carrier. Also, focusing on the recent research results, the structural characteristics, performance, advantages and defects, and the role of catalyst components of each particle electrodes are evaluated. Finally, the direction and prospect of future research on the particle electrode is presented.

Using Individual GPS Trajectories to Explore Foodscape Exposure: A Case Study in Beijing Metropolitan Area.

With the growing interest in studying the characteristics of people's access to the food environment and its influence upon individual health, there has been a focus on assessing individual food exposure based on GPS trajectories. However, existing studies have largely focused on the overall activity space using short-period trajectories, which ignores the complexity of human movements and the heterogeneity of the spaces that are experienced by the individual over daily life schedules. In this study, we propose a novel framework to extract the exposure areas consisting of the localized activity spaces around daily life centers and non-motorized commuting routes from long-term GPS trajectories. The newly proposed framework is individual-specific and can incorporate the internal heterogeneity of individual activities (spatial extent, stay duration, and timing) in different places as well as the dynamics of the context. A pilot study of the GeoLife dataset suggests that there are significant variations in the magnitude as well as the composition of the food environment in different parts of the individual exposure area, and residential environment is not representative of the overall foodscape exposure.

[Effects of grazing disturbance on soil active organic carbon in mountain forest-arid valley ecotone in the upper reaches of Minjiang River].

Effects of grazing disturbance on the soil carbon contents and active components in the four vegetations, i.e., artificial Robinia pseudoacacia plantation, artificial poplar plantation, Berberis aggregate shrubland and grassland, were studied in the mountain forest-arid valley ecotone in the upper Minjiang River. Soil organic carbon and active component contents in 0-10 cm soil layer were greater than in 10-20 cm soil layer at each level of grazing disturbance. With increasing the grazing intensity, the total organic carbon (TOC), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and easily oxidized carbon (LOC) contents in 0-10 cm soil layer decreased gradually in the artificial R. pseudoacacia plantation. The LFOC content decreased, the POC content increased, and the TOC and LOC contents decreased initially and then increased with increasing the grazing intensity in the artificial poplar plantation. The POC content decreased, and the TOC, LFOC and LOC contents decreased initially and then increased with increasing the grazing intensity in the B. aggregate shrubland. The POC and TOC contents decreased, and the LFOC and LOC contents decreased initially and then increased with increasing the grazing intensity in the grassland. The decreasing ranges of LOC, LFOC and POC contents were 0.1-7.9 times more than that of TOC content. There were significant positive relationships between TOC and LOC, LFOC and POC, suggesting that the active organic carbon components could reflect the change of soil total carbon content.