Quantifying source-oriented risk can identify primary pollution sources to help alleviate risks to ecosystems and human health posed by soil heavy metals. Taking Yulin National Energy and Chemical ...Industry Base as an example, ecosystem and human health risk assessments of each identified source category were quantitatively calculated by combining the Potential Ecological Risk (RI) and Total Carcinogenic Risk (Total-CR)/Total Hazard Index (Total-HI) assessment models with the positive matrix factorization (PMF) receptor model. In this work, an analysis of the Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Contamination Index (Pi), RI, CR and HI of heavy metals (As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg and Mn) identified universal ecosystem risks and both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health risks in most sites. Source apportionment results indicated that the dominant source of heavy metals in the soil was coal-related activities (52.5%), followed by industrial activities (22.0%), traffic activities (13.2%) and agricultural activities (12.3%). The source-oriented quantitative risk assessment results showed that coal-related activities are the greatest contributor to RI and Total-HI, while industrial activities are the largest source of Total-CR, which should be controlled, to reduce the carcinogenic health risk posed by exposure to heavy metals.
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•The level of heavy metals in soils from Yulin were investigated.•Igeo, Pi, RI, CR and HI values in soil indicated high risk to ecological and human health.•Four source categories were identified using PMF model.•Source contributions to ecological and human health risks were quantitatively and spatially identified.•Coal-related activities caused the greatest potential ecological risk and hazard index.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
In this study, the salt-tolerant aerobic granular sludge (SAGS) was cultivated with the increased salinity (0–9% NaCl), showing oval shape, and clear outline. The related sludge characteristics in ...the formation process of SAGS as well as the effects of salinity on the performance (removal ability, sludge biomass and EPS component) of SAGS were evaluated. Increased salinity accelerated the formation of SAGS, and resulted in the excess secretion of EPS. Relationship between EPS and settling capacity of SAGS was determined, with the increase of salinity, SVI decreased linearly and the sedimentation performance of granular sludge was enhanced. Pearson correlation analysis showed that shorter settling time (3 min) and longer anaerobic influent time (30 min) were beneficial to the operation of SAGS reactor. Metagenomics results showed that the SAGS was dominated by Candida, Halomonas and other salt-tolerant bacteria, the enrichment of these salt-tolerant microbes played an important role in maintaining the stability of granular sludge system and improving the overall salt-tolerant performance. Compared with S9 samples, the proteome regulation in S0 sample was more active and the abundance of Cell motility related proteins was 5 times higher than that in S9 samples. Extracellular structure related proteins was more active in S9, and its abundance was 3.6 times that of S0.
•SAGS dominated by halophilic Candida was cultivated at 9% salinity.•Increased salinity accelerated the formation of SAGS.•Decreased SVI contributed to the enhancement of sedimentation performance of SAGS.•Shorter settling time and longer anaerobic influent time were beneficial to SAGS.•A regulation strategy of SAGS for salt stress was put forward through metagenomics.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Cereal endosperms, which consist of an outer aleurone layer and an inner starchy endosperm, provide over 70% staple food for human www.fao.org. Rice endosperm development occurs in the caryopsis of a ...grain. During the grain filling stage, sucrose produced in photosynthetic leaves is transported to grains via the phloem 1, 2. It has been proposed that sucrose, upon arrival in the caryopsis through the phloem located at the dorsal vascular bundle, is partially hydrolyzed by cell wall invertases （CINs） into glu- cose and fructose 3, 4. Since endosperm is symplastically isolated from maternal tissues, it is assumed that these sug- ars are delivered to the endosperm actively through an ap- oplastic pathway by sugar transporters located in aleurone 5, 6. However, the exact role of aleurone in regulating sugar transport remains unknown.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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•An eco-friendly biomass-based flame-retardant coating was developed to cotton fabrics.•The coating neither used elements such as Cl, Br, P nor organic solvents.•The coating exhibited ...excellent durability due to the action like dyestuff fixing.•The flame-retardant mechanism of the coating was revealed in detail.
Inspired by the classic dye-fixing process, a novel eco-friendly biomass-based coating that neither used traditional elements such as Cl, Br, P nor toxic organic solvents was first developed to endow cotton fabrics with durable flame retardancy from biomass tannin (TA), tartar emetic (TE), and Fe2+. In this coating system, TA used as a charring agent was fixed onto the fiber surface of cotton fabric by TE in water via the action like dyestuff fixing, while Fe2+ coordinated with the hydroxyl of TATE can catalyze TA and cotton fibers to form graphited stable carbon residues for achieving high flame retardance. Consequently, the resultant fabrics showed great flame retardance with excellent durability. Even after 100 laundering or friction cycles, their limiting oxygen index values of ~27.0% hardly changed. And the washed flame-retardant cotton fabrics still easily passed the horizontal flammability test with an extremely low destroy spread speed. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscope, and cone calorimeter test results all confirmed the durability of the coating. The flame-retardant mechanism analysis demonstrated that the coating could promote the cotton fibers to form dense and regular graphitized carbon layers and effectively protect the matrix from decomposing to flammable gases under high temperatures. In addition to durable flame retardancy, the mechanical properties and hydrophilicity of cotton were slightly influenced by the flame-retardant coating. This eco-friendly biomass-based flame-retardant coating provides a new strategy for fabricating green flame-retardant systems without using hazardous compounds.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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•Novel SiO2/PUF composites were designed and fabricated.•The composites with hierarchical pores showed excellent thermal insulation.•The composites exhibited great flame-retardancy ...and smoke-suppression.•The flame-retardant mechanism of the composites was proposed.
Polyurethane foam (PUF) is widely used in building insulation field but highly flammable. In an effort to develop an efficient way to reduce flammability and smoke release of PUF without sacrificing its inherent merits, a novel strategy has been proposed to decorate silica aerogels onto the surface of PUF to fabricate hierarchically porous SiO2/PUF composites. Due to the unique hierarchically porous structure, the resultant composites showed superior thermal insulation with a lower thermal conductivity of 0.0282 W/(m K). The introduction of silica aerogels also effectively improved the compressive strength, almost 220% of that of neat PUF. Notably, the SiO2/PUF composites were rendered self-extinguishing in vertical burning tests and had a high limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 32.5%. Cone calorimetry (CC) tests revealed that the peak heat release rate (PHRR) and peak smoke production release (PSPR) of the SiO2/PUF composites were reduced by 40.4% and 45.6%, respectively. Particularly, the specific optical density (Ds) of the composites displayed as 55.7% reduction in the smoke density chamber tests, showing excellent smoke-suppression. The mechanism analysis suggested that a compact silica-rich hybrid barrier formed, preventing thermal degradation products and energy transfer during combustion. These results indicate SiO2/PUF composites have enormous potential as building insulation materials.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The link between microbiota and gastric cancer (GC) has attracted widespread attention. However, the phylogenetic profiles of niche-specific microbiota in the tumor microenvironment is still unclear. ...Here, mucosa-associated microorganisms from 62 pairs of matched GC tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Functional profiles of the microbiota were predicted using PICRUSt, and a co-occurrence network was constructed to analyze interactions among gastric microbiota. Results demonstrated that mucosa-associated microbiota from cancerous and non-cancerous tissues established micro-ecological systems that differed in composition, structure, interaction networks, and functions. Microbial richness and diversity were increased in cancerous tissues, with the co-occurrence network exhibiting greater complexity compared with that in non-cancerous tissue. The bacterial taxa enriched in the cancer samples were predominantly represented by oral bacteria (such as
,
, and
), while lactic acid-producing bacteria (such as
and
) were more abundant in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Colonization by
, which is a GC risk factor, also impacted the structure of the microbiota. Enhanced bacterial purine metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and denitrification functions were predicted in the cancer associated microbial communities, which was consistent with the increased energy metabolism and concentration of nitrogen-containing compounds in the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, the microbial co-occurrence networks in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues of GC patients were described for the first time. And differential taxa and functions between the two groups were identified. Changes in the abundance of certain bacterial taxa, especially oral microbiota, may play a role in the maintenance of the local microenvironment, which is associated with the development or progression of GC.
Hormones are important signaling molecules regulating developmental processes and responses to environmental stimuli in higher plants. Rice endosperm, the portion of the seed surrounding the embryo, ...is the main determinant of rice grain shape and yield; however, the dynamics and exact functions of phytohormones in developing endosperm remain elusive. Through a systemic study including transcriptome analysis, hormone measurement, and transgene‐based endosperm‐specific expression of phytohormone biosynthetic enzymes, we demonstrated that dynamic phytohormone levels play crucial roles in the developing rice endosperm, particularly in regard to grain shape and quality. We detected diverse, differential, and dramatically changing expression patterns of genes related to hormone biosynthesis and signaling during endosperm development, especially at early developmental stages. Liquid chromatography measurements confirmed the dynamic accumulation of hormones in developing endosperm. Further transgenic analysis performed on plants expressing hormone biosynthesis genes driven by an endosperm‐specific promoter revealed differential effects of the hormones, especially auxin and brassinosteroids, in regulating grain shape and quality. Our studies help elucidate the distinct roles of hormones in developing endosperm and provide novel and useful tools for influencing crop seed shape and yield.
A systemic study including transcriptome analysis, hormone measurement, and transgene approach demonstrated the crucial role of dynamic phytohormone levels in the developing rice endosperm, particularly grain shape and quality, which helps to elucidate the distinct roles of hormones in developing endosperm.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Elastic biomass aerogels have attracted widespread attention but are seriously hindered by environmentally unfriendly cross-linkers and fire hazards for functional applications. This study outlines ...the fabrication of a fully bio-based, low fire-hazard and superelastic aerogel without any cross-linkers for excellent thermal insulation and oil absorption, via creating highly oriented wave-shaped layer microstructures and subsequently depositing nonflammable siloxane coating on the surface of the aerogel skeleton. The resultant environmental-safety aerogel showed the combined advantages of anisotropic super-elasticity, hydrophobicity, low density and high flame retardancy (limiting oxygen index value of 42%, UL-94 V-0 rating, and extremely low heat release), thus leading to many benefits for solving environmental hazards. For instance, this fire-safety biomass aerogel can be used as the high-performance thermal insulator with low thermal conductivity and high shielding efficiency. The aerogel also exhibited a great selectively oil clean-up absorption with a high absorption capacity of 117 times its own weight and excellent recyclability. Especially, due to the highly oriented microstructures, the aerogel as a filter showed the fastest separation rates of oil/water mixture (flux rate of 145.78 L h−1 g−1) ever reported. Such a method of preparing super-elastic biomass aerogels will provide new insights into their multifunctional applications with high environmental safety.
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•Fully bio-based aerogels without any cross-linkers were fabricated via a facile strategy
•The aerogel showed anisotropic super-elasticity, hydrophobicity, and low fire hazard
•High-performance thermal insulation and oil clean-up absorption were achieved
•The fast oil/water separation rate (145.78 L h-1 g-1) ever reported
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Nowadays, there is an urgent need for microwave absorbing materials with light weight, thin thickness, and strong absorbing ability to solve the problem of electromagnetic radiation. In this study, ...we report a novel high-performance aerogel absorber by growing MoO3-doped WO3 nanoflakes on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. The resultant rGO-Mo-WO3 aerogel displays a low density (∼75 mg/cm3) and unique hierarchical architectures including 3D porous microstructures, 2D rGO skeleton, and binary transition metal oxide of Mo-WO3 nanoflakes, thus leading to excellent microwave absorption performances. Typically, rGO-Mo-WO3 aerogel exhibits an ultra-strong reflection loss (RL) of −61.8 dB with a thin coating thickness of 1.54 mm. And a wide effective absorption bandwidth of 6.24 GHz can be achieved at a low filler loading of 8 wt%, much superior to previous ones. The synergistic effect of moderate polarization relaxation loss and weak conduction loss together with the porous microstructure for the aerogel result in the suitable impedance matching and strong microwave attenuation ability. This work may demonstrate a promising method to fabricate hierarchically nanostructured absorbers with the advantages of light weight, ultra-strong microwave absorption, and thin coating thickness.
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•A functional aerogel is fabricated by growing MoO3-doped WO3 nanoflakes on rGO sheets.•The aerogel with low density and unique hierarchical architectures displays excellent microwave absorption.•An ultra-strong reflection loss of −61.8 dB is achieved at a thin thickness of 1.54 mm.•A wide effective absorption bandwidth of 6.24 GHz is achieved at an ultra-low filler loading of 8 wt%.•The microwave absorption mechanism of the aerogel is proposed in detail.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
Context
Postoperative hyponatremia leads to prolonged hospital length of stay and readmission within 30 days.
Objective
To assess 3 strategies for reducing rates of postoperative ...hyponatremia and analyze risk factors for hyponatremia.
Design
Two retrospective analyses and 1 prospective study.
Setting
Tertiary referral hospital.
Patients
Patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas and other sellar and parasellar pathologies.
Intervention(s)
Phase 1: no intervention. Phase 2: postoperative day (POD) 7 sodium testing and patient education. Phase 3: fluid restriction to 1 L/day on discharge in addition to phase 2 interventions.
Main outcome measures
Rates of early and delayed hyponatremia and readmissions. Secondary outcomes were risk factors for hyponatremia and readmission costs.
Results
In phase 1, 296 patients underwent transsphenoidal surgery. Twenty percent developed early and 28% delayed hyponatremia. Thirty-eight percent underwent POD 7 sodium testing. Readmission rates were 15% overall and 4.3% for hyponatremia. In phase 2 (n = 316), 22% developed early and 25% delayed hyponatremia. Eighty-nine percent complied with POD 7 sodium testing. Readmissions were unchanged although severity of hyponatremia was reduced by 60%. In phase 3 (n = 110), delayed hyponatremia was reduced 2-fold 12.7%, relative risk (RR) = 0.52 and readmissions 3-fold 4.6%, RR = 0.30 (0.12–0.73); readmissions for hyponatremia were markedly reduced. Hyponatremia readmission increased costs by 30%.
Conclusions
Restricting fluid to 1 L/day on discharge decreases rates of delayed hyponatremia and readmissions by 50%. Standardized patient education and POD 7 sodium testing decreases severity of hyponatremia but does not impact readmission rates. These protocols should be considered standard practice for patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery.
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