•This review introduces the molding method of multi-dimensional cellulose materials.•The current scenario of the preparation method of cellulose/carbon composites is summarized.•Applications of ...cellulose/carbon composites in environmental protection are described.•The progress and future potential of composites in water treatment are discussed.
Cellulose, as the most abundant natural polymer material on the earth, has attracted worldwide attention due to its characteristics of reproducibility, universality, low cost, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Cellulose-based materials have potential value in supercapacitors, environment and biomedicine. The combination of cellulose and carbon materials can further adjust the microstructure of the composite such as porosity (76–98.8%) and specific surface area (5.07–47.3 m2/g), and enhance the properties of the composite such as the adsorption rate (47–100%) and the degradation rate of pollutants (60–100%), the Young's modulus (1.14–16.6 GPa) and the tensile strength (23.1–277.5 MPa). Besides, composites have the advantages of high electronic transmission efficiency and good reusability, which broaden their applications in water treatment. This review summarizes the molding methods of multi-dimensional cellulose materials, as well as the development status, preparation and modification methods of composites formed by carbon materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, activated carbon and nanodiamonds with cellulose, analyzes the research progress and existing problems of the composites in water treatment fields such as adsorption, catalysis, membrane separation and microbial fuel cells, and finally, we make some perspectives for the future researches and applications.
Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology enables stable and regulated gene repression. For establishing experimentally versatile RNAi tools and minimizing toxicities, synthetic shRNAs can be embedded ...into endogenous microRNA contexts. However, due to our incomplete understanding of microRNA biogenesis, such “shRNAmirs” often fail to trigger potent knockdown, especially when expressed from a single genomic copy. Following recent advances in design of synthetic shRNAmir stems, here we take a systematic approach to optimize the experimental miR-30 backbone. Among several favorable features, we identify a conserved element 3′ of the basal stem as critically required for optimal shRNAmir processing and implement it in an optimized backbone termed “miR-E”, which strongly increases mature shRNA levels and knockdown efficacy. Existing miR-30 reagents can be easily converted to miR-E, and its combination with up-to-date design rules establishes a validated and accessible platform for generating effective single-copy shRNA libraries that will facilitate the functional annotation of the genome.
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•The optimized “miR-E” backbone strongly and generally improves knockdown potency•A conserved ACNNC motif is critical for efficient biogenesis of miR-30-based shRNAs•miR-E enhances pri-miRNA processing and boosts mature miRNA levels up to 30-fold•Combining “Sensor rules” and miR-E primarily yields effective single-copy shRNAs
Fellmann, Zuber, and colleagues identify an optimized shRNAmir backbone termed miR-E that strongly enhances target knockdown. A critical ACNNC sequence motif in the 3′ flank leads to better processing of synthetic pri-miRNAs and a 10-fold increase in mature small RNA levels. Existing miR-30 reagents can be easily converted to miR-E, and combining Sensor-based shRNA predictions and miR-E can lead to potent target knockdown at single copy.
Anxiety-like behaviors in mice include social avoidance and avoidance of bright spaces. Whether these features are distinctly regulated is unclear. We demonstrate that in mice, social and anxiogenic ...stimuli, respectively, increase and decrease serotonin (5-HT) levels in basal amygdala (BA). In dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), 5-HT∩vGluT3 neurons projecting to BA parvalbumin (DRN
-BA
) and pyramidal (DRN
-BA
) neurons have distinct intrinsic properties and gene expression and respond to anxiogenic and social stimuli, respectively. Activation of DRN
→BA
inhibits 5-HT release via GABA
receptors on serotonergic terminals in BA, inducing social avoidance and avoidance of bright spaces. Activation of DRN
→BA neurons inhibits two subsets of BA
neurons via 5-HT1A receptors (HTR1A) and 5-HT1B receptors (HTR1B). Pharmacological inhibition of HTR1A and HTR1B in BA induces avoidance of bright spaces and social avoidance, respectively. These findings highlight the functional significance of heterogenic inputs from DRN to BA subpopulations in the regulation of separate anxiety-related behaviors.
Currently, many catalysts are inconvenient to separate from water, and the solvents used in the preparation process are not environmentally friendly, resulting in low recovery efficiency and ...secondary pollution. In this study, the magnetic and porous regenerated cellulose/carbon nanotubes/Fe3O4 nanoparticles (RC/CNTs/Fe3O4 NPs) composites were synthesized for activation of peroxydisulfate (PDS) in a green alkaline-urea system. The RC/CNTs/Fe3O4 NPs-PDS system achieved 100% removal of bisphenol A compared with CNTs (~64.6%), RC (~0%) or Fe3O4 NPs (~0%), which was closely related to the introduction of defects and functional groups, nitrogen doping and conductive networks. Interestingly, the strong interaction between CNTs and the sheath-like protective layer formed by urea on the cellulose surface promotes the introduction of nitrogen into the composites at the preparation temperature of 70 °C. Moreover, the mechanism of the system was found to be a typical non-radical pathway. Fortunately, there is no leaching of iron ions in the system, and the effects of the actual waterbody, initial pH, and different anions are negligible. The recycling and separation experiments revealed the practicality and superiority of the composite. This work provides a feasible and sustainable strategy for the application of natural cellulose-supported catalysts.
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•Porous RC/CNTs/Fe3O4 NPs were prepared using natural cellulose as a support.•The catalyst exhibited excellent performance for activating PDS.•The enhanced activity stems from the synergistic effect of cellulose and CNTs.•A way of doping nitrogen with a temperature of 70 °C was discovered.•The non-radical mechanism of RC/CNTs/Fe3O4 NPs-PDS system was proposed.
With the development of industry and agriculture, the increasingly serious problems of environmental pollution and water quality deterioration that affect human health need to be solved. Materials ...containing both Fe and Mn, the two most abundant metal elements, have been widely used for wastewater decontamination since they are nontoxic, low-cost, easy to prepare, and highly efficient. This review systematically summarizes the synthesis methods of Fe–Mn-based unloaded materials (such as spinel-type, perovskite-type, layered double hydroxides, metal–organic framework, and its derivatives) and loaded materials (carbon materials, oxides, and other loaded materials). Furthermore, the progress and problems of the application of Fe–Mn-based materials in the fields of Fenton, photo-Fenton, electro-Fenton, persulfate, and sulfite catalysis processes are analyzed. Different activation mechanisms of Fe–Mn-based materials, such as radical pathways and nonradical pathways (like direct electron transfer pathways, singlet oxygen, and high valence metals, etc.) are described. Finally, the application potential of Fe–Mn-based materials in environmental remediation is clarified and the future research directions are pointed out. It is expected that this review can provide new inspiration for subsequent research on the application of Fe–Mn based materials for wastewater treatment.
We present SplashRNA, a sequential classifier to predict potent microRNA-based short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs). Trained on published and novel data sets, SplashRNA outperforms previous algorithms and ...reliably predicts the most efficient shRNAs for a given gene. Combined with an optimized miR-E backbone, >90% of high-scoring SplashRNA predictions trigger >85% protein knockdown when expressed from a single genomic integration. SplashRNA can significantly improve the accuracy of loss-of-function genetics studies and facilitates the generation of compact shRNA libraries.
Nowadays, the physicians usually predict functional outcomes of stroke based on clinical experiences and big data, so we wish to develop a model to accurately identify imaging features for predicting ...functional outcomes of stroke patients. Using magnetic resonance imaging of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients, we developed and trained a VGG-16 convolutional neural network (CNN) to predict functional outcomes after 28-day hospitalization. A total of 44 individuals (24 men and 20 women) were recruited from Taoyuan General Hospital and China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital to enroll in the study. Based on “modified Rankin Scale (mRS)” and “National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)” assessments, men, women, and mixed men and women were trained separately to evaluate the differences of the results, and we have shown that VGG-16 demonstrated high accuracy in predicting the functional outcomes of stroke patients. The new deep-learning approach has provided an automated decision support system for personalized recommendations and treatments, assisting the physicians to predict functional outcomes of stroke patients in clinical practice.
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Steamed ginseng water (SGW) is a by-product of the repeated thermal processing of red ginseng, which is characterized by a high bioactive content, better skin care activity, and a large output. ...However, its value has been ignored, resulting in environmental pollution and resource waste. In this study, UHPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis were conducted to characterize the compositional features of the repeated thermal-treated SGW. The antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and OH) and chemical composition (total sugars, total saponins, and reducing and non-reducing sugars) were comprehensively evaluated based on the entropy weighting method. Four comparison groups (groups 1 and 3, groups 1 and 5, groups 1 and 7, and groups 1 and 9) were screened for 37 important common difference markers using OPLS-DA analysis. The entropy weight method was used to analyze the weights of the indicators; the seventh SGW sample was reported to have a significant weight. The results of this study suggest that heat treatment time and frequency can be an important indicator value for the quality control of SGW cycling operations, which have great potential in antioxidant products.
Iron-based PAA activation process is a promising advanced oxidation process for water decontamination which depends on Fe(II) as the main reactive site for PAA activation, resulting in various ...reactive oxidative species (ROSs) generation. For practical application, the impact of water matrix chloride ion (Cl-) on ROSs production and contaminants removal should be carefully considered. In this study, it's found that the introduction of Cl- (0.1-10 mM) could significantly enhance the reaction rate of the rapid stage (kobs1) up to 2.15 times at the initial pH of 4.25 in the Fe(II)/PAA system. Further studies demonstrated that the improved removal capacity of NAP resulted from Cl- induced R-O• generation as indicated by the exposure dose of R-O• increasing from 7.74 × 10-11 M•s to 1.44 × 10-10 M•s, rather than chlorine-containing radicals' generation. DFT calculation results suggested that the formed Fe(II)-Cl- complexes could easily activate PAA to generate more ROSs for NAP removal. Moreover, Fe(II)/PAA treatment can alleviate the biological toxicity of pollutants via both the Escherichia coli test and toxicity assessment. The obtained new knowledge manifested that Cl- can boost ROSs generation and conversion in iron-based PAA systems, providing guidance for the efficient decontamination of chlorine-containing sewage with PAA-based AOPs.
After the Higgs discovery, precise measurements of the Higgs properties and the electroweak observables become vital for the experimental particle physics. A powerful Higgs/Z factory, the Circular ...Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) is proposed. The Particle Flow oriented detector design is proposed to the CEPC and a Particle Flow algorithm, Arbor is optimized accordingly. We summarize the physics object reconstruction performance of the Particle Flow oriented detector design with Arbor algorithm and conclude that this combination fulfills the physics requirement of CEPC.
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