Biomimetic Charge-Neutral Anion Receptors for Reversible Binding and Release of Highly Hydrated Phosphate in Water.

Control of phosphate capture and release is vital in environmental, biological, and pharmaceutical contexts. However, the binding of trivalent phosphate (PO4 3-) in water is exceptionally difficult due to its high hydration energy. Based on the anion coordination chemistry of phosphate, in this study, four charge-neutral tripodal hexaurea receptors (L1-L4), which were equipped with morpholine and polyethylene glycol terminal groups to enhance their solubility in water, were synthesized to enable the pH-triggered phosphate binding and release in aqueous solutions. Encouragingly, the receptors were found to bind PO4 3- anion in a 1 : 1 ratio via hydrogen bonds in 100 % water solutions, with L1 exhibiting the highest binding constant (1.2×103 M-1). These represent the first neutral anion ligands to bind phosphate in 100 % water and demonstrate the potential for phosphate capture and release in water through pH-triggered mechanisms, mimicking native phosphate binding proteins. Furthermore, L1 can also bind multiple bioavailable phosphate species, which may serve as model systems for probing and modulating phosphate homeostasis in biological and biomedical researches.

Digital economy, innovation factor allocation and industrial structure transformation-A case study of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster in China.

The attainment of regional high-quality development necessitates the critical role of the digital economy in facilitating the transformation of industrial structures. This study intends to investigate the effect of the digital economy on industrial structure transformation from the perspective of innovation factor allocation using a panel dataset of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region for the period from 2011 to 2020. This paper considers four dimensions to measure the level of industrial structure transformation i.e. industrial structure servitization, industrial structure upgradation, service industry structure upgradation and industrial interaction level. The results of the study suggest that the digital economy can significantly improve industrial structure transformation. The results remain consistent even after several robustness checks. Further, the analysis of the mechanism of action shows that the digital economy can promote industrial structure transformation by optimizing the innovation factor allocation. The study provides several policy implications for the digital economy and its role in the promotion of industrial structure transformation.

Effect of microbial inoculum on composting efficiency in the composting process of spent mushroom substrate and chicken manure.

This work aimed to investigate the microbial mechanisms for the improvement of composting efficiency driven by the compound microbial inoculum (MI) (Bacillus subtilis SL-44, Enterobacter hormaechei Rs-189 and Trichoderma reesei) during co-composting of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and chicken manure (CM). The treatments used in the study were as follows: 1) MI (inoculation with microbial inoculum), 2) CI (inoculation with commercial microbial inoculum), and 3) CK (without inoculation). The results demonstrated that MI increased the seed germination index (GI) by 25.11%, and contents of humus, humic acid (HA) and available phosphorus (AP) were correspondingly promoted by 12.47%, 25.93% and 37.16%, respectively. The inoculation of MI increased the temperature of the thermophilic stage by 3-7 °C and achieved a cellulose degradation rate of 52.87%. 16S rRNA gene analysis indicated that Actinobacteria (11.73-61.61%), Firmicutes (9.46-65.07%), Proteobacteria (2.86-32.17%) and Chloroflexi (0.51-10.92%) were the four major phyla during the inoculation composting. Bacterial metabolic functional analysis revealed that pathways involved in amino acid and glycan biosynthesis and metabolism were boosted in the thermophilic phase. There was a positive correlation between bacterial communities and temperature, humification and phosphorus fractions. The average dry weight, fresh weight and seedling root length in the seedling substrates adding MI compost were 1.13, 1.23 and 1.06 times higher than those of the CK, respectively. This study revealed that biological inoculation could improve the composting quality and efficiency, potentially benefiting the resource utilization of agricultural waste resources.