Electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENMs) have garnered significant attention among researchers for membrane distillation (MD) in treating high-salinity wastewater due to their high water flux and low ...mass transfer resistance. However, a significant challenge in using ENMs for MD is membrane wetting, which results from the deformation of their weakly randomly overlaid nanofibers structure due to water flow shear forces. Herein, we focused on the membrane's structure and successfully prepared superhydrophobic nanofiber membranes with 3D-network reinforced pore structure by immersing PVDF ENMs in a mixed solution of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TNPs) after a hot-pressing treatment for impregnation and coating. The resulting membrane exhibits exceptional properties, including a high water contact angle (WCA) of 160.3°, a high liquid entry pressure (LEP) of 1.57 bar, and sustained structural integrity with an unchanged pore size distribution even after 5 h of water scouring. These characteristics contribute to a water flux of 39.3 kg·m−2·h−1 and an unexpectedly long durability of up to 102 h, along with an outstanding salt rejection exceeding 99.99 %. Moreover, the membrane demonstrates stable water flux and resistance to wetting when processing a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution containing 0.1 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), underscoring its significant potential for MD applications.
Neutrophils (Neu) migrate rapidly to damaged tissue and play critical roles in host defense and tissue homeostasis, including the intestinal epithelia injuries and immune responses. Although their ...important roles in these diseases, they are challenging to study due to their short life span and the inability to cryopreserve or expand them
. Moreover, the standard cell culturing on plastic plates (two-dimensional (2D) cultures) does not represent the actual microenvironment where cells reside in tissues. In this study, we developed a new three-dimensional (3D) culture system for human and mouse peripheral blood Neu, which is made of hydrogel. The Neu showed much better cell integrity and less cell debris in the 3D culture system compared to that in 2D culture system. Moreover, the 3D culture system was more suitable for the observation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) stimulated by the classical stimulation phorbol ester (PMA), and other damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) such as Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/ATP, interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) than the 2D culture system. Moreover, NETs phenomenon in 3D culture system is similar to that
. In addition, the 3D culture system was evaluated to co-culturing Neu and other parenchymal cells, such as colon mucosal epithelial cell lines. In conclusion, the 3D culture system could maintain better properties of Neu than that in 2D culture system and it may reduce the gap between
an
experimentations.
An active and precise method for three-dimensional (3D) droplet manipulation is introduced. By modulating the local electrostatic force acting on droplets in carrier oil between needle plate ...electrodes, the vertical motion of droplets can be controlled, including the droplet levitation at the interface between the carrier oil and the air. Levitated droplets can be translated horizontally with high efficiency by the motion of the needle electrode. With controllable local deformation on the flexible plate electrode, selective manipulation can be realized for multiple droplets. Applying the manipulation method proposed, a platform is built and various droplet handling, such as transport, merging, and mixing, is performed effectively. Complex droplet transport trajectories are achieved by moving the needle electrode. The droplet transport velocity can reach up to 37 mm/s. The introduced method has fundamental advantages of avoiding cross-contamination between droplets, enhancing the flexibility, eliminating the transport track constraint, and lowering costs with straightforward and precise droplet manipulation.
•The optimal ratio of mixed-modified silt was 1% lignin and 40% construction waste fine aggregate.•Modified silt's CBR value can satisfy the standards for subgrade filling.•The silt particle ...gradation was improved by the construction waste fine aggregate.•The polymers generated by lignin enhanced the silt particle’s cohesion.
The silt in the alluvial plain of the Yellow River is characterized by uniform particle size, high porosity, and large material compressibility, which poses a challenge for filling roadbeds in this area. The study investigated the impact of lignin and construction waste fine aggregate on the physical and mechanical properties of the modified silt. The construction waste modified silt with a fine aggregate content of 30% construction waste has good compressive strength, shear strength, and degree of consolidation. The lignin modified silt with 0.5% lignin concentration has higher compressive strength, cohesiveness, internal friction angle, and compression modulus. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation identified the optimum proportioning of 1% lignin and 40% construction waste fine aggregate for the composite modified silt and the engineering characteristics and modification mechanism of the optimum modified silt were analyzed. The California bearing ratio (CBR) test results indicated that the value of optimum composite modified silt silt increases by 118.48% compared to the plain silt, and it meets the requirements for subgrade fill as specified in the guidelines. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) test results showed that the addition of lignin and fine aggregate improved the grain composition and enhanced the silt compactness. The study demonstrates that incorporating lignin and fine aggregate in silt material can enhance its engineering properties, thereby meeting the minimal standards of filling highway subgrades. These findings can serve as a valuable reference for enhancing the quality of silt in the region.
The sluggish Ni(II)/Ni(III) redox cycle does not benefit perxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for recalcitrant pollutant degradation. To solve this problem, a heterogeneous catalyst, Cu0.2Ni0.8O/SBA-15 ...(CNS), was constructed to activate PMS for decomposing two sulfonamide antibiotics, sulfachlorpyridazine (SACP) and sulfapyridine (SAP). SACP and SAP were completely degraded over Cu0.2Ni0.8O/SBA-15/PMS (CNSP) after 90 min. O2.- was the dominant active species involved in the degradation of SACP and SAP. Structural analysis and elemental valence state observations indicated that Cu(Ⅰ) provided electrons through Cu–O–Ni bonds to realize the charge compensation for Ni(Ⅲ) in the CNSP system. Thus, the in situ Cu(I)/Cu(II) promoting the Ni(II)/Ni(III) cycle could accelerate the PMS activation. This work provides new insights into the electron transfer between transition metals and the charge compensation mechanism for PMS activation. The degradation mechanism was proposed based on the XPS results before and after the reaction, a radical quenching test, and an EPR test. Combined with the SACP and SAP degradation intermediates identified by LC-MS, we suggest that the choice of treatment process depends on the occurrence of a steric hindrance effect between the molecular structure of the degradation target and free radicals.
•A new insight into electron transfer between transition metal ions and charge compensation mechanism for PMS activation.•Steric hindrance effect decided key active species for degradation reaction.•Degradation mechanism of two sulfonamide antibiotics over Cu0.2Ni0.8O/SBA-15/PMS system were explored in detail.
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•Effluent nitrogen control strategy was validated in a continuous flow SNADCO process.•Stable operation was feasible at influent ammonium concentration of 500–1500 mg/L.•Total ...nitrogen removal efficiency was high as 87.3–91.2%.•COD and BOD5removal efficiencies were 80.8–81.2% and 91.1–98.9%.•Functional groups of bacteria were compered by giving activity and relative abundance.
A simultaneous partial nitritation, anammox, denitrification, and COD oxidation (SNADCO) process was used to evaluate the nitrogen and biodegradable organic matter removal of swine manure digestate based on a nitrite limitation and ammonium surplus strategy. As influent ammonium concentration increased from 500 mg/L to 2100 mg/L, the 5 day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) maintained at a high removal efficiency of 95.4%. However, nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) decreased from 90.9% to 68.2% due to the inhibition of AnAOB caused by an ammonium concentration of 2100 mg/L. The contribution of AnAOB to nitrogen removal was 75.6–86.5%, while that of denitrifying bacteria was 4.6–7.0%. In the case of COD removal, the contributions were from ordinary heterotrophic organisms and denitrifying bacteria, at 27.1–64.9% and 11.2–22.1%, respectively. The results of specific bacteria activity tests and microbial analysis showed that a highly efficient synergism between functional microorganisms is essential for the stability of the SNADCO process.
Background:
The causal relationship between depression and erectile dysfunction (ED) is still uncertain.
Objectives:
To identify the genetically predicted causality of depression on ED through ...Mendelian randomization (MR).
Materials and methods:
A comprehensive GWAS meta-analysis comprising 807,553 Europeans provided single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) information for depression, and another genome-wide association analysis involving 223,805 European ancestries measured SNPs for ED. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the primary MR analysis method to evaluate causal effects. In addition, the maximum likelihood method, MR-Egger, weighted median, robust adjusted contour score (MR.RAPS), and MR pleiotropic residual and outlier (MR-PRESSO) methods were used as supplements for sensitivity analysis.
Results:
According to the IVW analysis, depression significantly increases the incidence of ED (odds ratio OR = 1.68, 95% confidence interval CI = 1.38–2.05,
p
< 0.001). In sensitivity analyses, the ORs for the maximum likelihood method, MR-Egger, weighted median, MR.RAPS, and MR-PRESSO are 1.70 (95% CI = 1.39–2.08,
p
< 0 .001), 1.94 (95% CI = 0.63–6.01,
p
> 0 .05), 1.59 (95% CI = 1.21–2.10,
p
< 0 .001), 1 .70 (95% CI = 1.39–2.08,
p
< 0 .001), and 1.68 (95% CI = 1.40–2.04,
p
< 0 .001). There is no clear indication of potential heterogeneity or pleiotropy (
p
for the MR-Egger intercept = 0.804;
p
for the global test = 0.594; and
p
for Cochran’s Q statistics >0.05).
Conclusion:
Genetically predicted depression plays a potentially causal role in the occurrence of ED.
Beamforming and its applications in steered-response power (SRP) technology, such as steered-response power delay and sum (SRP-DAS) and steered-response power phase transform (SRP-PHAT), are widely ...used in sound source localization. However, their resolution and accuracy still need improvement. A novel beamforming method combining SRP and multi-channel cross-correlation coefficient (MCCC), SRP-MCCC, is proposed in this paper to improve the accuracy of direction of arrival (DOA). Directional weight (DW) is obtained by calculating the MCCC. Based on DW, suppressed the non-incoming wave direction and gained the incoming wave direction to improve the beamforming capabilities. Then, sound source localizations based on the dual linear array under different conditions were simulated. Compared with SRP-PHAT, SRP-MCCC has the advantages of high positioning accuracy, strong spatial directivity and robustness under the different signal–noise ratios (SNRs). When the SNR is −10 dB, the average positioning error of the single-frequency sound source at different coordinates decreases by 5.69%, and that of the mixed frequency sound sources at the same coordinate decreases by 5.77%. Finally, the experimental verification was carried out. The results show that the average error of SRP-MCCC has been reduced by 8.14% and the positioning accuracy has been significantly improved, which is consistent with the simulation results. This research provides a new idea for further engineering applications of sound source localization based on beamforming.
Growing evidence indicates that intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation is a critical factor in the development of osteoporosis by triggering osteoclast formation and function. ...Pseurotin A (Pse) is a secondary metabolite isolated from Aspergillus fumigatus with antioxidant properties, recently shown to exhibit a wide range of potential therapeutic applications. However, its effects on osteoporosis remain unknown. This study aimed to explore whether Pse, by suppressing ROS level, is able to inhibit osteoclastogenesis and prevent the bone loss induced by estrogen-deficiency in ovariectomized (OVX) mice.
The effects of Pse on receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone resorptive function were examined by tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAcP) staining and hydroxyapatite resorption assay. 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H
DCFDA) was used to detect intracellular ROS production
. Western blot assay was used to identify proteins associated with ROS generation and scavenging as well as ROS-mediated signaling cascades including mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), NF-κB pathways, and nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) signaling. The expression of osteoclast-specific genes was assessed by qPCR. The
potential of Pse was determined using an OVX mouse model administered with Pse or vehicle for 6 weeks.
ROS production was assessed by intravenous injection of dihydroethidium (DHE) into OVX mice 24h prior to killing. After sacrifice, the bone samples were analyzed using micro-CT and histomorphometry to determine bone volume, osteoclast activity, and ROS level
.
Pse was demonstrated to inhibit osteoclastogenesis and bone resorptive function
, as well as the downregulation of osteoclast-specific genes including
(encoding TRAcP),
(encoding cathepsin K), and
(encoding matrix metalloproteinase 9). Mechanistically, Pse suppressed intracellular ROS level by inhibiting RANKL-induced ROS production and enhancing ROS scavenging enzymes, subsequently suppressing MAPK pathway (ERK, P38, and JNK) and NF-κB pathways, leading to the inhibition of NFATc1 signaling. Micro-CT and histological data indicated that OVX procedure resulted in a significant bone loss, with dramatically increased the number of osteoclasts on the bone surface as well as increased ROS level in the bone marrow microenvironment; whereas Pse supplementation was capable of effectively preventing these OVX-induced changes.
Pse was demonstrated for the first time as a novel alternative therapy for osteoclast-related bone diseases such as osteoporosis through suppressing ROS level.
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