•Self-supported Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam electrode was fabricated via hydrothermal synthesis method.•The electron sturcure and high-quality ohmic contact between Pt and Ni(OH)2 were investiged.•A novel ...ammonia–nitrogen sensor was fabricated based on Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam electrode.•This sensor showed great detection performances.
In this work, Ni foam-supported Pt-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets (Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam) was designed to construct a novel electrochemical sensor for detection of ammonia–nitrogen in water. Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam was prepared via one step and in situ hydrothermal synthesis in chloroplatinic acid solution and Ni foam acted as Ni source and conductive substrate. The electrochemical measured results indicated that Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam showed excellent catalytic activity to electrooxidation of ammonia due to great synergistic effect between Pt and Ni(OH)2. Furthermore, the constructed electrochemical sensor based on Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam exhibited great detection ability to ammonia–nitrogen with the linear range from 0.05 μM to 600 μM. The limit of detection was 39.2 nM (Sensitivity/Noise = 3). The optimized electron sturcure and high-quality ohmic contact between Pt and Ni(OH)2 were main reasons of great performances of Pt-Ni(OH)2-Ni foam. This work provided a potential sensor for ammonia–nitrogen determination.
The toxicity of antimony (Sb) is closely related to its chemical forms. To further realize the toxicity risk of different forms of Sb, the separate and simultaneous binding mechanisms of antimony ...potassium tartrate/potassium pyroantimonate with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated with muti-spectroscopic methods. Fluorescence quenching result and UV–vis absorption spectra showed that a 1:1 complex was formed between antimony potassium tartrate/potassium pyroantimonate and BSA through a modest binding force. The results revealed that the binding of antimony potassium tartrate/potassium pyroantimonate to BSA caused changes in the secondary structure of BSA. Both Sb forms (antimony potassium tartrate and potassium pyroantimonate) were able to interact with BSA when coexisting but there was a binding influence on their interacting with the BSA. Both Sb forms interfere with the binding of the other to protein.
To evaluate the potential of an integrated clinical test to detect diverse classes of somatic and germline mutations relevant to pediatric oncology, we performed three-platform whole-genome (WGS), ...whole exome (WES) and transcriptome (RNA-Seq) sequencing of tumors and normal tissue from 78 pediatric cancer patients in a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory. Our analysis pipeline achieves high accuracy by cross-validating variants between sequencing types, thereby removing the need for confirmatory testing, and facilitates comprehensive reporting in a clinically-relevant timeframe. Three-platform sequencing has a positive predictive value of 97-99, 99, and 91% for somatic SNVs, indels and structural variations, respectively, based on independent experimental verification of 15,225 variants. We report 240 pathogenic variants across all cases, including 84 of 86 known from previous diagnostic testing (98% sensitivity). Combined WES and RNA-Seq, the current standard for precision oncology, achieved only 78% sensitivity. These results emphasize the critical need for incorporating WGS in pediatric oncology testing.
A series of poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate)- block -poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PETG- block -PTMO) copolymers were synthesized by means of a polycondensation ...process and characterized using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), that confirm the successful synthesis of the material. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), small – and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXS and WAXS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used in order to evaluate the influence of the block copolymers' composition and microstructure on the phase transition temperatures, thermal properties, as well as the thermooxidative and thermal stability of the PETG- block -PTMO copolymers, respectively. The mechanical properties were investigated by tensile testing and dynamic mechanical measurements (DMTA). We found that along with an increase in PTMO weight fraction, both number-average molecular weights and intrinsic visocisities increase. Moreover, an increase in the flexible segments content in PETG- block -PTMO resulted in shifting the values of glass transition temperatures toward lower ones, which was confirmed by DSC and DMTA analyses, thus affirming the miscibility of both phases. At the same time, along with an increase of PTMO flexible segments amount in the PETG- block -PTMO copolymers, the values of Young's modulus, tensile strength at yield and weight losses in lower temperatures range, i.e. 280–390 °C, decrease.
Coordination-driven self-assembly as a bottom-up approach has witnessed a rapid growth in building giant structures in the past few decades. Challenges still remain, however, within the construction ...of giant architectures in terms of high efficiency and complexity from simple building blocks. Inspired by the features of DNA and protein, which both have specific sequences, we herein design a series of linear building blocks with specific sequences through the coordination between terpyridine ligands and Ru(II). Different generations of polycyclic supramolecules (C1 to C5) with increasing complexity are obtained through the self-assembly with Cd(II), Fe(II) or Zn(II). The assembled structures are characterized via multi-dimensional mass spectrometry analysis as well as multi-dimensional and multinuclear NMR (
H, COSY, NOESY) analysis. Moreover, the largest two cycles C4 and C5 hierarchically assemble into ordered nanoscale structures on a graphite based on their precisely-controlled shapes and sizes with high shape-persistence.
Human activities are profoundly changing the state of natural water systems. Human-water interactions have shown unprecedented scale and intensity. Traditional hydrological methods have difficulty ...systematically analyzing the process of water utilization, transformation, transportation and redistribution in the production and consumption of products. This paper reviews the literature surrounding sociohydrology to illustrate its useful exploration in the study of human-water coupling. The paper begins by presenting background information before conducting a bibliometric analysis of the development trends. Four perspectives of sociohydrology revealing the interaction between humans and water are introduced: the evolution of basin-scale water allocation patterns; human activities and hydrological disasters under climate change; virtual water—a useful tool for analyzing water utilization and transformation in the production and consumption of products; and public participation and water management policies. Subsequently, major methods and their potential applications are covered: sociohydrological modeling, field surveys and statistical models. A literature review suggests that the focus of research on human-water coupling lies in the selection and modeling of elements. The macro-element describing system changes should be extended at the political and cultural levels. Research on structural and institutional indicators on a long historical scale should be deepened and expanded. Interdisciplinary research still needs further development.
Thyroid cancer (TC) is becoming an increasing public health problem worldwide. TikTok is a global video-sharing social media app, which can be a source of information on TC. However, the information ...quality of these videos remains unknown.
A search of TikTok was performed with the term ""and "" ("thyroid cancer" and "thyroid neoplasm" in Chinese). Videos included were independently assessed using six predefined questions for content scores and DISCERN scale for information quality, while the video popularity index (VPI) was also calculated. A correlation analysis was performed among duration, presence of animation, VPI, DISCERN scores, and content scores.
A total of 56 videos were finally included, of which 49 were uploaded by physicians, 4 by health organizations, and 3 by hospitals. While 43 were real content videos, 13 were animated. The mean of DISCERN score and content score was 3.44 ± 0.72 and 5.19 ± 0.95, respectively. Good consistency was found between the two reviewers in terms of both DISCERN scores and content scores. The video duration and presence of animation were positively correlated with VPI, while DISCERN scores and content scores were not correlated with VPI.
The overall quality of TC-related videos was satisfactory, although the quality varies greatly depending on the type of source. Patients should be cautious when using TikTok as a source of TC-related information.
Removing the blocked molecular groups and fully exposing the intrinsic active sites of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could give full play to their advantages of multi-active sites and multi-channel ...mass transfer, which will benefit the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. Here, the partial diligandation-activated ZIF-67 (named as ZIF-67–400) with excellent ORR performance was obtained by simple low-temperature pyrolysis. The ORR electrocatalytic activity exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.82 V and the stability of maintaining 96% activity after 10 h of operation, which is comparable to commercial Pt/C. Further research studies reveal that the morphology, special dodecahedron configuration, and crystal structure of ZIF-67-400 are maintained well during the pyrolysis, but some hydrocarbon groups in the ligands are eliminated, resulting in the active sites being exposed and coordinated with the intrinsic porosity, improving the catalytic performance. This work may provide an alternative path for activating the electrocatalytic performance of metal-organic frameworks by low-temperature annealing.
The capillary rise of shallow mineralized groundwater can contribute to the salinization of the soil layers. The excessive salt amounts adversely affect soil physical and mechanical properties, as ...well as the heat transfer performance, all of which are key factors with regard to the design of geothermal-related earth structures such as geothermal energy piles (GEP), ground source heat pumps (GSHP), and earth-air tunnel heat exchangers (EATHE). Therefore, in this study, the thermal-mechanical properties of saline soils are systematically investigated. A series of thermal and mechanical response tests were carried out under different salinity conditions, and the shear wave velocity-stress behavior of saline soil was measured using a modified oedometric cell coupled with an anchored bender element pair. Experimental results showed that saline soils generally have higher dry density and lower optimum moisture content at higher salt contents. The shear strength of saline soil increased about 5% while the salt concentrations of bulk solution increased from 0 mol/kg to 6 mol/kg, and the shear wave velocity increased by 50% to 83% when the normal load increased from 12.5 kPa to 250 kPa for sodium chloride- (NaCl-) treated soil and 39% to 52% for calcium chloride- (CaCl2-) treated soil. In addition, the thermal conductivity decreased by 0.121 W m-1 K-1 for NaCl-treated soil and 0.129 W m-1 K-1 for CaCl2-treated soil on average when the salt concentration increased from 0 mol/kg to 6 mol/kg. Finally, an elastic shear modulus (G0) model and a thermal conductivity (K) model were formulated for saline soil for the first time, and the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed models were validated by comparisons of the model predicted values and experimental data.
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