Insights into the transformation of natural organic matter during UV/peroxydisulfate treatment by FT-ICR MS and machine learning: Non-negligible formation of organosulfates.

Natural organic matter (NOM) is a major sink of radicals in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and understanding the transformation of NOM is important in water treatment. By using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) in conjunction with machine learning, we comprehensively investigated the reactivity and transformation of NOM, and the formation of organosulfates during the UV/peroxydisulfate (PDS) process. After 60 min UV/PDS treatment, the CHO formula number and dissolved organic carbon concentration significantly decreased by 83.4 % and 74.8 %, respectively. Concurrently, the CHOS formula number increased substantially from 0.7 % to 20.5 %. Machine learning identifies DBE and AImod as the critical characteristics determining the reactivity of NOM during UV/PDS treatment. Furthermore, linkage analysis suggests that decarboxylation and dealkylation reactions are dominant transformation pathways, while the additions of SO3 and SO4 are also non-negligible. According to SHAP analysis, the m/z, number of oxygens, DBE and O/C of NOM were positively correlated with the formation of organosulfates in UV/PDS process. 92 organosulfates were screened out by precursor ion scan of HPLC-MS/MS and verified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, among which, 7 organosufates were quantified by authentic standards with the highest concentrations ranging from 2.1 to 203.0 ng L‒1. In addition, the cytotoxicity of NOM to Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells increased by 13.8 % after 30 min UV/PDS treatment, likely responsible for the formation of organosulfates. This is the first study to employ FT-ICR MS combined with machine learning to identify the dominant NOM properties affecting its reactivity and confirmed the formation of organosulfates from sulfate radical oxidation of NOM.

Magnetically controlled nanorobots induced oriented and rapid clearance of the cytokine storm for acute lung injury therapy.

Cytokine storms characterized by excessive secretion of circulating cytokines and immune-cell hyperactivation are life-threatening systemic inflammatory syndromes. The new strategy is in great demand to inhibit the cytokine storm. Here, we designed a type of magnetically controlled nanorobots (MAGICIAN) by fusing neutrophil membranes onto Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4NPs). In our study, the receptors of neutrophil membranes were successfully coated to the surface of Fe3O4NPs. The associated membrane functions of neutrophils were highly preserved. MAGICIAN could in vitro neutralize the inflammatory cytokines including interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interferon γ (IFN-γ). Interestingly, MAGICIAN could be navigated to the liver sites under magnetic control and accelerated the cytokine clearance by the liver. Administration of MAGICIAN could efficiently relieve the inflammation in the acute lung injury mouse model. In addition, MAGICIAN displayed good biosafety in systemic administration. The present study provides a safe and convenient approach for the clearance of cytokine storms, indicating the potential for clinical application in acute lung injury therapy.

Exploring the Fate of Copper Ions in the Synthesis of Graphdiyne.

Copper is a crucial catalyst in the synthesis of graphdiyne (GDY). However, as catalysts, the final fate of the copper ions has hardly been concerned, which are usually treated as impurities. Here, it is observed that after simple washing with water and ethanol, GDY still contains a certain amount of copper ions, and demonstrated that the copper ions are adsorbed at the atomic layers of GDY. Furthermore, we transformed in situ the copper ions into ultrathin Cu nanocrystals, and the obtained Cu/GDY hybrids can be generally converted into a series of metal/GDY hybrid materials, such as Ag/GDY, Au/GDY, Pt/GDY, Pd/GDY, and Rh/GDY. The Cu/GDY hybrids exhibit extraordinary surface enhanced Raman scattering effect and can be applied in pollutant efficient enrichment and detection.

Surfactant-free interfacial growth of graphdiyne hollow microspheres and the mechanistic origin of their SERS activity.

As a two-dimensional carbon allotrope, graphdiyne possesses a direct band gap, excellent charge carrier mobility, and uniformly distributed pores. Here, a surfactant-free growth method is developed to efficiently synthesize graphdiyne hollow microspheres at liquid‒liquid interfaces with a self-supporting structure, which avoids the influence of surfactants on product properties. We demonstrate that pristine graphdiyne hollow microspheres, without any additional functionalization, show a strong surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect with an enhancement factor of 3.7 × 107 and a detection limit of 1 × 10-12 M for rhodamine 6 G, which is approximately 1000 times that of graphene. Experimental measurements and first-principles density functional theory simulations confirm the hypothesis that the surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity can be attributed to an efficiency interfacial charge transfer within the graphdiyne-molecule system.

Awareness of Hospice Care Among Community-Dwelling Elderly Participants.

Background and Purpose: The main goal of hospice care is to improve the quality of life for people who are at the end-of-life phase. However, investigations on the awareness of hospice care among community-dwelling elderly participants are limited. This work aimed to reveal the awareness status of hospice care and explore the factors influencing the awareness rate among elderly participants. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among individuals aged 60 years and above. Results: A total of 4,969 individuals aged 60 years and above were randomly selected from 48 primary medical institutions in Handan. The awareness rate of hospice care in the baseline survey was 19.3% (n = 959). All included individuals were divided into two groups in accordance with their awareness of hospice care. The awareness of hospice care among participants with low educational level, living alone, and afraid of talking about death was low (p < .05). Implications for Practice: The level of awareness of hospice care among community-dwelling elderly participants is low. The influencing factors included educational level, living status, and fear of talking about death. The community-dwelling elderly participants' awareness of hospice care must be improved. It is recommended that public medical education and training should be enhanced to improve knowledge and awareness of hospice care among community-dwelling elderly residents with low educational level, living alone, and afraid of talking about death.

Rapid on-site detection of persistent organic pollutants using multiwalled carbon nanotube-modified paper spray ionization and a miniature mass spectrometer.

RATIONALE: Rapid on-site detection of persistent organic pollutants (POP) is highly desirable for environmental protection. METHODS: Herein, a rapid on-site analytical workflow was developed for the investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and perfluorinated compounds using multiwalled carbon nanotube-modified paper spray ionization (PSI) coupled with a miniature ion trap mass spectrometer. Critical parameters regarding PSI and miniature mass spectrometry analysis were optimized. RESULTS: The analytical performance of the developed method was evaluated under optimized conditions, obtaining a short analysis duration of less than 1 min, sufficient linearity with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99, acceptable recovery rates of 93.1%-105.8% with relative standard deviations of between 3.5% and 10.3%, and reasonable sensitivity with limits of detection and quantitation of 2-200 and 5-500 µg/L, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Considering these aspects, it was concluded that the present approach demonstrated a promising solution for rapid on-site detection of emerging POPs.

Synthesis of Graphdiyne Hollow Spheres and Multiwalled Nanotubes and Applications in Water Purification and Raman Sensing.

Controlling the structure of graphdiyne (GDY) is crucial for the discovery of new properties and the development of new applications. Herein, the microemulsion synthesis of GDY hollow spheres (HSs) and multiwalled nanotubes composed of ultrathin nanosheets is reported for the first time. The formation of an oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsion is found to be a key factor controlling the growth of GDY. These GDY HSs have fully exposed surfaces because of the avoidance of overlapping between nanosheets, thereby showing an ultrahigh specific surface area of 1246 m2 g-1 and potential applications in the fields of water purification and Raman sensing.

Ultrathin Graphdiyne Nanowires with Diameters below 3 nm: Synthesis, Photoelectric Effect, and Enhanced Raman Sensing.

Due to the intrinsic layered structure, graphdiyne (GDY) strongly tends to form 2D materials, therefore, most of the current research are based on GDY 2D structures. Up to now, the synthesis of its ultrathin nanowires with a high aspect ratio has not been reported. Here, the ultrathin GDY nanowires with diameters below 3 nm are reported for the first time by a two-phase interface synthesis method, which has excellent crystallinity and an aspect ratio of more than 2500. Evidence shows that the GDY ultrathin nanowires are formed by the oriented-attachment mechanism of nanoparticles. The GDY ultrathin nanowires exhibit a significant quantum confinement effect, enhanced photoelectric effect, and promising applications in surface-enhanced Raman sensing.

Disruption of C/EBPß-Clec7a axis exacerbates neuroinflammatory injury via NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis in experimental neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence shows that C-Type Lectin Domain Containing 7A (Clec7a) may be involved into neuroinflammatory injury of various neurological diseases. However, its roles in neuropathic pain remain unclear. METHODS: A chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model was constructed, and gene expression profilings in spinal cord tissues of CCI-insulted rats were detected by both microarray and RNA-seq studies. A series of bioinformatics analyses identified C/EBPß-Clec7a to be a candidate axis involved into neuropathic pain. Then, its roles in mechanical allodynia, and pathological and molecular changes during CCI progression were determined by various gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: Significant upregulation of Clec7a at both mRNA and protein levels were verified in spinal cord tissues of CCI-insulted rats. Clec7a knockdown markedly attenuated CCI-induced mechanical allodynia, obstructed Syk, ERK and JNK phosphorylation, inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome and caspase-1 activation, GSDMD cleavage, and consequently reduced the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (all P < 0.05). Mechanically, the rat Clec7a promoter was predicted to bind with transcription factor C/EBPß, confirmed by Luciferase assay and ChIP-qPCR. Both in vivo and in vitro assays demonstrated that C/EBPß knockdown significantly suppressed CCI- or LPS/ATP-induced Clec7a upregulation, and subsequently reduced Syk, ERK and JNK phosphorylation, NLRP3 oligomerization, caspase-1 activation, GSDMD expression and pyroptosis, which were markedly reversed by the co-transfection of Clec7a expression vector. CONCLUSIONS: This pre-clinical investigation reveals that C/EBPß-Clec7a axis may be a potential target for relieving neuropathic pain through alleviating neuroinflammation, paving its way for clinical translation as a promising approach for neuropathic pain therapy.

Food Security Review Based on Bibliometrics from 1991 to 2021.

Food security is related to human wellbeing and sustainable development and an important guarantee for world peace. In the context of global climate change, increased food demand, resource depletion, conflicts, and frequent public health emergencies, food security is widely seen as one of the top challenges. Food security research has obvious interdisciplinary characteristics, involving a wide range of fields. We analyzed the literature on food security in the Web of Science core collection from 1991 to 2021, using bibliometric methods with the aid of the Biblioshiny software package. By collecting, screening, analyzing, and visually expressing the literature data, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) In the past 30 years, the annual number of publications on food security increased. The period can be divided into three stages: 1991-2003 as the budding period, 2004-2012 as the development period, and 2013-2020 as the high-yield and active period. The top three journals discussing food security issues are Food Security, Sustainability, and Food Policy, and these journals focus on the publication of comprehensive views from interdisciplinary perspectives. (2) Studies on food security cover 138 countries or regions. The top three countries in terms of the number of published articles are the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. Among the top 20 countries in terms of the number of published articles, European countries are highlighted. (3) Climate change, food security, agriculture, policy, and management are the other high-frequency keywords in the field of food security; climate change occurred 321 times. The word sub-Saharan Africa also occurred more frequently, indicating that food security in sub-Saharan Africa has attracted wide attention. (4) The food security theme mapping clearly showed the research status and future development trends of various topics in the field. Currently, food production, climate change, and sustainable development are the most popular themes. Research on food sovereignty, ecological agriculture, child obesity, and other aspects is an emerging field. (5) We predict that in the future, the field of food security may focus on the expansion and improvement of the food security evaluation system, the balance between sustainable development and food security goals, the improvement of agricultural production and management efficiency, and the research on government policies and strategies. Our results provide a reference for grasping the current situation, key research direction, and development trend in the field of food security.

A case series of constrictive pericarditis and suggested echocardiographic diagnostic criteria.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis (CP) is challenging as there are currently no standard echocardiographic diagnostic criteria. In this retrospective case series, we analyzed and summarized the features of 25 patients with CP and proposed echocardiographic diagnostic criteria. It is hoped that the suggested criteria help professionals make decisions in their daily practice so that patients receive timely diagnosis and effective treatment. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with CP were selected for this retrospective study. The clinical and echocardiographic imaging data were analyzed and summarized, and echocardiographic diagnostic criteria for CP were proposed. RESULTS: The main clinical manifestations were fatigue, breathlessness, exertional dyspnea (88%), lower-limb edema (84%), hepatomegaly, and jugular vein filling (84%). Echocardiographic features comprised pericardial thickening (88%) and calcification (60%), pulmonary hypertension (52%), inferior vena cava dilation (80%), left and/or right atrial enlargement (100%), diastolic flattening of the left ventricular (LV) posterior wall (72%), septal shudder and bounce (64%), restrictive LV and right ventricular diastolic filling pattern (100%), early filling changes of mitral and tricuspid flow (80% and 60%, respectively), and mitral annulus reversus (73%). CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiography is a simple and valuable examination for CP. The echocardiographic diagnostic criteria are valid and worth promoting.

A Metallic Niobium Nitride with Open Nanocavities for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

The construction of open hot-spot structures that facilitate the entry of analytes is crucial for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Here, metallic niobium nitride (NbN) three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical networks with open nanocavity structure are first found to exhibit a strong visible-light localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and extraordinary surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance. The unique nanocavity structure allows easy entry of molecules, promoting the utilization of electromagnetic hot spots. The NbN substrate has a lowest detection limit of 1.0 × 10-12 M and a Raman enhancement factor (EF) of 1.4 × 108 for contaminants. Furthermore, the NbN hierarchical networks possess outstanding environmental durability, high signal reproducibility, and detection universality. The remarkable SERS sensitivity of the NbN substrate can be attributed to the joint effect of LSPR and interfacial charge transport (CT).

Directly Convert Carbonaceous Microspheres to Three-Dimensional Porous Carbon Microspheres with a Robust Self-Supporting Structure as a Metal-Free SERS Substrate for Online High-Throughput Analysis.

It is of great significance for practical applications to directly convert readily available biomass carbon into three-dimensional (3D) porous carbon microspheres with a self-supporting structure. Herein, we report the convenient conversion of biomass carbon microspheres to hierarchical porous carbon microspheres (HP-CMSs) with a robust self-supporting framework structure. A general SiO2-induced etching mechanism is proposed for the formation of the HP-CMSs. Benefiting from this robust 3D self-supporting frame structure, these HP-CMSs have outstanding mechanical, chemical, and thermal stability. As a metal-free surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate with an ultrahigh specific surface area (4216 m2 g-1) and a high density of active sites, the HP-CMSs exhibit high sensitivity with a detection limit of 10-10 M and a Raman enhancement factor of 3.5 × 106. By integrating the enrichment and sensing functions of the HP-CMSs in a microfluidic channel, online high-throughput SERS detection of 20 samples within 5 min is achieved in a single channel, and the relative standard deviation of the signals between samples is only 5.1%. The current work develops a convenient preparation method that converts sustainable biomass carbon to 3D hierarchical porous carbon and provides a potential material for sensing, energy, catalysis, and other fields.

Land Use Dynamic Evolution and Driving Factors of Typical Open-Pit Coal Mines in Inner Mongolia.

Although coal is difficult to replace in the short term, the large-scale production and consumption of coal have significant impacts on the ecological environment. The severe disturbances, such as land excavation and occupation, that accompany the mining of mineral resources have caused dramatic changes in land cover and a significant pressure on the sensitive and fragile ecological environment. To analyze the temporal and spatial evolution trends and the differences in land use in different typical mining areas in Inner Mongolia, as well as the evaluation system and driving mechanisms of land use evolution, this study takes the typical open-pit coal mines in Inner Mongolia as the research objects and, based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, analyzes the dynamic evolution characteristics and driving factors of land use in typical open-pit coal mines in Inner Mongolia from 2001 to 2020. The change trend of land use in typical open-pit mining areas in Inner Mongolia for the past 20 years is obvious, with the highest fluctuations for grassland, mining land, cropland, and residential/industrial land. Land use in the open-pit coal mining area is greatly affected by mining factors. From the perspective of spatial variation, the most important driving factor is the distance from national roads and railways, followed by the annual average temperature and annual average precipitation and topographical conditions, such as elevation. In terms of policy, land reclamation and ecological restoration in mining areas have a positive impact on land use change. Improving the mechanism for environmental compensation in mining areas can promote the efficient and rational use of mining areas and the protection of ecosystems.

Roll to roll in situ preparation of recyclable, washable, antibacterial Ag loaded nonwoven fabric.

Functional fabrics with antibacterial performance are more welcome nowadays. However, the fabrication of functional fabrics with durable, steady performance via a cost-effective way remains a challenge. Polypropylene (denoted as PP) nonwoven fabric was modified by polyvinyl alcohol (denoted as PVA), followed by the in-situ deposition of silver nanoparticles (denoted as Ag NPs) to afford PVA-modified and Ag NPs-loaded PP (denoted as Ag/PVA/PP) fabric. The encapsulation of PP fiber by PVA coating contributes to greatly enhancing the adhesion of the loaded Ag NPs to the PP fiber, and the Ag/PVA/PP nonwoven fabrics exhibit significantly improved mechanical properties as well as excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (coded as E. coli). Typically, the Ag/PVA/PP nonwoven fabric obtained at a silver ammonia concentration of 30 mM has the best mechanical properties and the antibacterial rate reaches 99.99% against E. coli. The fabric retains excellent antibacterial activity even after washing for 40 cycles, showing prospects in reuse. Moreover, the Ag/PVA/PP nonwoven fabric could find promising application in industry, thanks to its desired air-permeability and moisture-permeability. In addition, we developed a roll-to-roll production process and conducted preliminary exploration to verify the feasibility of this method.

N-2-(Phenylamino) Benzamide Derivatives as Dual Inhibitors of COX-2 and Topo I Deter Gastrointestinal Cancers via Targeting Inflammation and Tumor Progression.

Given the close association between inflammation and cancer, combining anti-inflammation therapy is prominent to improve the anticancer effect. Based on I-1, a series of agents targeting COX-2 and Topo I were designed by combining fenamates and phenols. The optimal compound 1H-30 displayed an enhanced inhibitory effect on COX-2 compared to tolfenamic acid and I-1 and showed better inhibition of Topo I than I-1. Importantly, 1H-30 showed potential anticancer effects and suppressed the activation of the NF-κB pathway in cancer cells. 1H-30 inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and suppressed the production of NO, COX-2, and IL-1ß in RAW264.7. In vivo, 1H-30 showed acceptable pharmacokinetic parameters, decreased the tumor growth without affecting the body weight, down-regulated COX-2 and MMP-9, and induced apoptosis in the CT26.WT tumor-bearing mice. Accordingly, 1H-30 as a potential Topo I/COX-2 inhibitor which possessed anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects, with inhibition of the NF-κB pathway, is promising for gastrointestinal cancer therapy.

Discovery of dual inhibitors of topoisomerase I and Cyclooxygenase-2 for colon cancer therapy.

Novel tolfenamic acid derivatives based on the structure of I-1 were designed and synthesized to improve its poor target inhibition and solubility. Among them, W10 was identified as a potent dual-target inhibitor of Topo I (IC50 = 0.90 ± 0.17 µM) and COX-2 (IC50 = 2.31 ± 0.07 µM) with improved water solubility (32.33 µg/mL). Moreover, W10 also exhibited fairly potent anti-proliferative and pro-apoptosis activity via the mitochondrial pathway, as well as suppressed aberrant NF-κB/IκB activation in colon cancer cells in vitro. Additionally, W10 possessed favorable pharmacokinetic properties and excellent antitumor effects in vivo. In general, our study has demonstrated the potency of a novel Topo I/COX-2 dual inhibitor, which can potentially be developed into a chemotherapeutic candidate for colon cancer.

Molybdenum Nitride Porous Prisms with a Strong Plasmon Resonance Effect in the Visible Region for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

In surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection, the structure of the Raman-scattering substrate is critical to the sensitivity and stability of the detector. Herein, molybdenum nitride (MoN) porous structures with a well-defined hexagonal prism shape were synthesized via a precursor nitriding route. As a typical metallic transition-metal nitride (TMN), these molybdenum nitride porous hexagonal prisms exhibit a rare strong SPR effect in the visible region, with a resonance peak centered at 534 nm. Benefiting from the strong SPR effect and their huge surface area and porosity, these MoN porous hexagonal prisms exhibit surface-enhanced Raman scattering effects comparable to those of noble metals, with a Raman enhancement factor of 5.5 × 106. More importantly, these MoN SERS substrates exhibit ultrahigh chemical stabilities that noble metal and semiconductor substrates do not possess, which can prevent corrosion by strong acids, alkalis, and high-temperature oxidation.

Effects of Drying Methods on the Volatile Compounds of Alliummongolicum Regel.

Allium mongolicum Regel (AMR) is a traditional Mongolian food. Various drying methods play an important role in foodstuff flavor. However, the effect of different drying methods on AMR is limited. In this study, freeze drying (FD), vacuum drying (VD), and hot-air drying (HAD) were applied to dry fresh AMR to a moisture content of 8% (wet basis); headspace gas chromatography mass spectrometry was adopted to identify volatile compounds in AMR; and principal component analysis and fingerprint similarity analysis based on the Euclidean distance was used to distinguish the fresh and three dried treatments. In total, 113 peaks were detected and 102 volatile compounds were identified. Drying causes significant changes to the amounts of volatile compounds in AMR, and the drying method plays a key role in determining which volatile compounds appear. Compared to FD, VD and HAD were more appropriate for drying AMR because the volatile compounds after VD and HAD were closer to those of fresh AMR. These findings can provide a scientific basis to help to preserve future seasonal functional food and aid in Mongolian medicine production.

Cardioprotective effects of sinomenine in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model.

Background: Ischemia reperfusion (I/R) play an imperative role in the expansion of cardiovascular disease. Sinomenine (SM) has been exhibited to possess antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties. The aim of the study was scrutinized the cardioprotective effect of SM against I/R injury in rat. Methods: Rat were randomly divided into normal control (NC), I/R control and I/R + SM (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), respectively. Ventricular arrhythmias, body weight and heart weight were estimated. Antioxidant, inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory mediators and plasmin system indicator were accessed. Results: Pre-treated SM group rats exhibited the reduction in the duration and incidence of ventricular fibrillation, ventricular ectopic beat (VEB) and ventricular tachycardia along with suppression of arrhythmia score during the ischemia (30 and 120 min). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) altered the level of antioxidant parameters. SM treatment significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the level of creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK) and troponin I (Tnl). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the tissue factor (TF), thromboxane B2 (TXB2), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and plasma fibrinogen (Fbg) and inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators. Conclusion: Our result clearly indicated that SM plays anti-arrhythmia effect in I/R injury in the rats via alteration of oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction.