Flexible Puncture-Resistant Composites for Antistabbing Applications: Silica and Silicon Carbide Nanoparticle-/TPU-Coated Aramid Fabrics.

In harsh environments, it is crucial to design personal protective materials that possess both puncture/cut resistance and chemical resistance. In order to fulfill these requirements, this study introduces an innovative approach that combines hydrophobically modified rigid nanoparticles with thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers. These materials are then laminated with high-performance aramid fabrics through a scraping process, resulting in a multifunctional composite with puncture/cut resistance, superhydrophobicity, self-cleaning properties, and acid/alkali resistance. The quasi-static puncture tests conducted reveal the remarkable performance of the composite. The maximum spike puncture resistance reaches 267.62 N, which is 17.14 times higher than that of the pure fabric (15.61 N). Similarly, the maximum knife puncture resistance reaches 115.02 N, exhibiting a 5.01 times increase compared to that of the pure aramid fabric (22.97 N). Furthermore, the results obtained from the yarn pull-out, fabric burst strength, and tearing experiments demonstrate that the incorporation of rigid nanoparticles significantly enhances the friction between the yarns, enabling a greater number of yarns to participate in the dissipation of impact energy. As a result, the puncture resistance of the fabric is greatly improved. Significantly, the composite exhibits sustained superhydrophobicity even after exposure to harsh chemicals such as concentrated sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide as well as undergoing cyclic mechanical wear. These findings highlight the composite's exceptional durability and resistance to corrosion. Overall, this study offers insights and methods for the development of multifunctional flexible puncture-resistant equipment for individuals.

Non-immersed zigzag microalgae biofilm overcoming high turbidity and ammonia of wastewater for muti-pollutants bio-purification.

Biological treatment that utilizes microalgae technology has demonstrated outstanding efficacy in the wastewater purification and nutrients recovery. However, the high turbidity of the digested piggery wastewater (DPW) leads to serious light attenuation and the culture mode of suspended microalgae results in a huge landing area. Thus, to overcome light attenuation in DPW, a non-immersed titled zigzag microalgae biofilm was constructed by attaching it onto a porous cotton cloth. As a result, the light could directly irradiate microalgae biofilm that attached on both sides of the cotton cloth, and the microalgal biofilm area was up to 6 m2 per bioreactor landing area. When the non-immersed zigzag microalgae biofilm bioreactor (N-Z-MBP) was used to treat wastewater with an ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) concentration of 362 mg L-1, the NH4+-N was completely removed in just 5 days and the maximum growth rate of microalgae biofilm reached 7.02 g m-2 d-1. After 21 days of long-term sequencing batch operation for the N-Z-MBP, the biomass density of the biofilm reached 52 g m-2 and remained at this high value for the next 14 days. Most importantly, during the 35 days' running, the NH4+ -N maximum removal rate of single batch reached up to 65 mg L-1 d-1 and its concentration in the effluent was always below the discharge standard value (80 mg L-1 form GB18596-2001 of China) and total phosphorus was completely removed in each batch. Furthermore, the biomass concentration of microalgae cells in the effluent of the N-Z-MBP was almost zero, indicating that the non-submerged biofilm achieved in situ separation of microalgae from the wastewater. This work suggests that the N-Z-MBP can effectively purify DPW over a long period, providing a possible strategy to treat wastewater with high ammonia nitrogen and high turbidity.

Recovering rare earth elements via immobilized red algae from ammonium-rich wastewater.

Biotreatment of acidic rare earth mining wastewater via acidophilic living organisms is a promising approach owing to their high tolerance to high concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs); however, simultaneous removal of both REEs and ammonium is generally hindered since most acidophilic organisms are positively charged. Accordingly, immobilization of acidophilic Galdieria sulphuraria (G. sulphuraria) by calcium alginate to improve its affinity to positively charged REEs has been used for simultaneous bioremoval of REEs and ammonium. The results indicate that 97.19%, 96.19%, and 98.87% of La, Y, and Sm, respectively, are removed by G. sulphuraria beads (GS-BDs). The adsorption of REEs by calcium alginate beads (BDs) and GS-BDs is well fitted by both pseudo first-order (PFO) and pseudo second-order (PSO) kinetic models, implying that adsorption of REEs involves both physical adsorption caused by affinity of functional groups such as -COO- and -OH and chemical adsorption based on ion exchange of Ca2+ with REEs. Notably, GS-BDs exhibit high tolerance to La, Y, and Sm with maximum removal efficiencies of 97.9%, 96.6%, and 99.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the ammonium removal efficiency of GS-BDs is higher than that of free G. sulphuraria cells at an initial ammonium concentration of 100 mg L-1, while the efficiency decreases when initial concentration of ammonium is higher than 150 mg L-1. Last, small size of GS-BDs favors ammonium removal because of their lower mass transfer resistance. This study achieves simultaneous removal of REEs and ammonium from acidic mining drainage, providing a potential strategy for biotreatment of REE tailing wastewater.

Revealing dual roles of g-C3N4 in Chlorella vulgaris cultivation.

Booming graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalyzed water splitting increases crisis of aquatic contamination. However, a controversial understanding regarding effect of g-C3N4 on growth of microalgae still exists. Accordingly, Chlorella vulgaris were cultured in 0-250 mg/L of g-C3N4 with biomass named as C-0, C-50, C-100, C-150, C-200, and C-250, respectively. g-C3N4 below 200 mg/L was beneficial to short-term cultivation of microalgae, while it was harmful to long-time cultivation. Protein factions of C-0, C-100, and C-250 were 41.4, 42.3, and 36.4 wt%, while their lipid factions varied from 21.5, 16.9, to 17.8 wt%, respectively. In short-term cultivation, superoxide dismutase's activity of C-0, C-150, and C-250 increased dramatically, while accumulated H2O2 led to increased activity of catalase. However, it started to decrease once antioxidant enzymes were per-oxidized, leading to increase of malondialdehyde content. In long-term cultivation, activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and malondialdehyde content decreased dramatically owning to peroxidation of algae. Scavenger tests with tertiary butanol and triethanolamine implied that·OH was dominate parameter affecting growth of microalgae. This work indicates that g-C3N4 below 200 mg/L is propitious to short-term cultivation of microalgae, while it is bad to long-time cultivation of microalgae, revealing dual rules of g-C3N4 in Chlorella vulgaris cultivation.

Bio-removal of PtCl62- complex by Galdieria sulphuraria.

Bio-removal of negative charged platinum complex is of great challenge owing to electrostatic repulsions between PtCl62- and general extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of microorganism. Galdieria sulphuraria (GS) are thermophilic and acidophilic microalga with specific metabolism, which subsequently lead to their unique cellular compositions such as EPS and phycocyanin, possibly providing a strategy to deal with negative charged metal complex. Accordingly, G. sulphuraria are employed to remove negative charged PtCl62- complex with initial concentrations ranging from 0, 10, 20, 30, to 45 ppm. The growth rates of G. sulphuraria with microalgae named as GS-0, GS-10, GS-20, GS-30, and GS-45, respectively, and simultaneously bio-removal efficiencies of PtCl62- are investigated. G. sulphuraria are independent to PtCl62- within 0-30 ppm, while they are inhibited within 45 ppm of PtCl62-. The PtCl62- removal efficiencies of GS-10, GS-20, and GS-30 increase from 94.58%, 95.52%, to 95.92%, while decrease to 71.81% of GS-45. About 92.39%, 93.77%, 94.29%, and 75.21% of PtCl62- adsorbed are accumulated within GS-10, GS-20, GS-30, GS-45, with few in EPS. The PtCl62- complexes accumulated in EPS and algae cells are possibly decomposed to PtCl4 according to the increasing zeta potentials of EPS and algae cells. The results indicate that PtCl62- is efficiently removed by G. sulphuraria, achieving bio-removal of negative charged PtCl62- complex from wastewater.

Discovery of AG-270, a First-in-Class Oral MAT2A Inhibitor for the Treatment of Tumors with Homozygous MTAP Deletion.

The metabolic enzyme methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) was recently implicated as a synthetic lethal target in cancers with deletion of the methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene, which is adjacent to the CDKN2A tumor suppressor and codeleted with CDKN2A in approximately 15% of all cancers. Previous attempts to target MAT2A with small-molecule inhibitors identified cellular adaptations that blunted their efficacy. Here, we report the discovery of highly potent, selective, orally bioavailable MAT2A inhibitors that overcome these challenges. Fragment screening followed by iterative structure-guided design enabled >10 000-fold improvement in potency of a family of allosteric MAT2A inhibitors that are substrate noncompetitive and inhibit release of the product, S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), from the enzyme's active site. We demonstrate that potent MAT2A inhibitors substantially reduce SAM levels in cancer cells and selectively block proliferation of MTAP-null cells both in tissue culture and xenograft tumors. These data supported progressing AG-270 into current clinical studies (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03435250).

Effect of Zinc Supplementation on Semen Quality, Sperm Antioxidant Ability, and Seminal and Blood Plasma Mineral Profiles in Cashmere Goats.

This study evaluated the effects of the different dietary zinc (Zn) levels on semen quality, on spermatozoa and seminal plasma antioxidant status, and on the seminal and blood plasma mineral status in mature male Cashmere goats during the breeding season. Twenty-eight mature male Liaoning Cashmere goats were divided into four groups based on body weight (56.2 ± 2.45 kg) and semen characteristics; these goats were fed with basal diet supplemented with 0, 20, 40, or 80 mg Zn/kg DM (zinc sulfate) for 3 months. Results showed that the Zn-supplemented diets linearly increased the semen volume (0.98, 1.04, 1.27, and 1.17 ml for the 0, 20, 40, and 80 mg Zn/kg DM supplementation, respectively) (P < 0.05) and the total sperm output (3.87, 4.52, 5.73, and 5.33 × 109/ml for the 0, 20, 40, and 80 mg Zn/kg DM supplementation, respectively) (P < 0.05); by contrast, Zn supplementation exerted no effect on sperm concentration, motility, and abnormal sperms rate. The activities of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) (linear P < 0.05) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (linear P < 0.05; quadratic P < 0.01) were highest in the intermediate supplementation (40 mg Zn/kg DM). Moreover, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of spermatozoa decreased linearly (P < 0.01) with the increase in Zn supplementation. In seminal plasma, the highest GSH-Px activity was observed in 20 mg Zn/kg DM supplementation (P < 0.05). Catalase (CAT) activities both in the spermatozoa and seminal plasma showed no difference in all treatments. Seminal plasma Zn level was highest in 40 mg Zn/kg DM (linear P = 0.068), and K increased linearly (P = 0.001) with increasing Zn level. Furthermore, blood plasma Zn (linear P < 0.01; quadratic P < 0.05), Fe (linear P < 0.05; quadratic P < 0.05), and Mg (linear P < 0.05) increased with increasing Zn supplementation. These results indicated that dietary Zn supplementation in Cashmere goats during the breeding season improved the semen quality and quantity, elevated the antioxidative indices and Zn concentration, and decreased the MDA content both in spermatozoa and seminal plasma.