Graphene with atomic layer of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms in a hexagonal structure has attracted multidisciplinary attention since its discovery. Due to the inherent advantages of large specific ...surface area and abundant functional groups, its derivative graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterials have achieved large-scale development in effective pollution treatment. In the past few years, novel GO-based nanomaterials through coupling with other nanomaterials have been synthesized with significant process and applied for efficient elimination of different kinds of pollutants. This paper aims to summarize recent research results on the excellent removal ability of GO-based nanomaterials for various heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions. The synthesis, adsorption process characteristics and interaction mechanism of the adsorbent are emphasized and discussed. The effects of various environmental conditions are outlined. At last, a brief summary, perspective and outlook are presented. This review is intended to provide some thrilling information for the design and manufacture of GO-based nanomaterials for the elimination of heavy metal ions from wastewater in environmental pollution management.
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•Synthesis and surface modification of GO-based composites are reviewed.•Applications of different GO-based composites for metal ions elimination are reviewed.•Interaction mechanism of metal ions with GO-based composites is discussed.•Sorption capacities of metal ions on GO-based composites and other materials are compared.•Perspective of GO-based composites in pollution management is summarized.
The synthesis of graphene oxide-based materials and their application in the efficient elimination of different metal ions are summarized and compared with other materials. The interaction mechanism is discussed in detail.
Sulfate aerosols exert profound impacts on human and ecosystem health, weather, and climate, but their formation mechanism remains uncertain. Atmospheric models consistently underpredict sulfate ...levels under diverse environmental conditions. From atmospheric measurements in two Chinese megacities and complementary laboratory experiments, we show that the aqueous oxidation of SO₂ by NO₂ is key to efficient sulfate formation but is only feasible under two atmospheric conditions: on fine aerosols with high relative humidity and NH₃ neutralization or under cloud conditions. Under polluted environments, this SO₂ oxidation process leads to large sulfate production rates and promotes formation of nitrate and organic matter on aqueous particles, exacerbating severe haze development. Effective haze mitigation is achievable by intervening in the sulfate formation process with enforced NH₃ and NO₂ control measures. In addition to explaining the polluted episodes currently occurring in China and during the 1952 London Fog, this sulfate production mechanism is widespread, and our results suggest a way to tackle this growing problem in China and much of the developing world.
Background Q fever is a bacterial zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Spain has the highest number of notified human cases in Europe. Small ruminants are a key reservoir for the pathogen, ...transmission from animals to humans is usually airborne. Aim We aimed at exploring temporal and spatial epidemiological patterns of sporadic and outbreak cases of Q fever in four Spanish regions with the highest number of notified cases. Methods We extracted data on Q fever cases in the Canary Islands, Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarre between 2016 and 2022 from the Spanish National Epidemiological Surveillance Network. We calculated standardised incidence ratios (SIR), spatial relative risks (sRR) and posterior probabilities (PP) utilising Besag-York-Mollié models. Results There were 1,059 notifications, with a predominance of males aged 30–60 years. In Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarre area, 11 outbreaks were reported, while no in the Canary Islands. A seasonal increase in incidence rates was observed between March and June. In the Canary Islands, elevated sRR was seen in La Palma, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. In Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarre area, the highest sRR was identified in the south of Biscay province. Conclusion Goats were the main source for humans in outbreaks reported in the literature. Seasonal increase may be related to the parturition season of small ruminants and specific environmental conditions. Local variations in sRR within these regions likely result from diverse environmental factors. Future One Health-oriented studies are essential to deepen our understanding of Q fever epidemiology.
This is the first systematic scholarly study of the Ottoman experience of plague during the Black Death pandemic and the centuries that followed. Using a wealth of archival and narrative sources, ...including medical treatises, hagiographies and travellers' accounts, as well as recent scientific research, Nükhet Varlik demonstrates how plague interacted with the environmental, social, and political structures of the Ottoman Empire from the late medieval through the early modern era. The book argues that the empire's growth transformed the epidemiological patterns of plague by bringing diverse ecological zones into interaction and by intensifying the mobilities of exchange among both human and non-human agents. Varlik maintains that persistent plagues elicited new forms of cultural imagination and expression, as well as a new body of knowledge about the disease. In turn, this new consciousness sharpened the Ottoman administrative response to the plague, while contributing to the makings of an early modern state.
Smart materials are a kind of functional materials which can sense and response to environmental conditions or stimuli from optical, electrical, magnetic mechanical, thermal, and chemical signals, ...etc. Patterning of smart materials is the key to achieving large-scale arrays of functional devices. Over the last decades, printing methods including inkjet printing, template-assisted printing, and 3D printing are extensively investigated and utilized in fabricating intelligent micro/nano devices, as printing strategies allow for constructing multidimensional and multimaterial architectures. Great strides in printable smart materials are opening new possibilities for functional devices to better serve human beings, such as wearable sensors, integrated optoelectronics, artificial neurons, and so on. However, there are still many challenges and drawbacks that need to be overcome in order to achieve the controllable modulation between smart materials and device performance. In this review, we give an overview on printable smart materials, printing strategies, and applications of printed functional devices. In addition, the advantages in actual practices of printing smart materials-based devices are discussed, and the current limitations and future opportunities are proposed. This review aims to summarize the recent progress and provide reference for novel smart materials and printing strategies as well as applications of intelligent devices.
Abstract
Soils harbor a substantial fraction of the world’s biodiversity, contributing to many crucial ecosystem functions. It is thus essential to identify general macroecological patterns related ...to the distribution and functioning of soil organisms to support their conservation and consideration by governance. These macroecological analyses need to represent the diversity of environmental conditions that can be found worldwide. Here we identify and characterize existing environmental gaps in soil taxa and ecosystem functioning data across soil macroecological studies and 17,186 sampling sites across the globe. These data gaps include important spatial, environmental, taxonomic, and functional gaps, and an almost complete absence of temporally explicit data. We also identify the limitations of soil macroecological studies to explore general patterns in soil biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, with only 0.3% of all sampling sites having both information about biodiversity and function, although with different taxonomic groups and functions at each site. Based on this information, we provide clear priorities to support and expand soil macroecological research.
Significance
Early warning signals (EWS) of tipping points are vital to anticipate system collapse or other sudden shifts. However, existing generic early warning indicators designed to work across ...all systems do not provide information on the state that lies beyond the tipping point. Our results show how deep learning algorithms (artificial intelligence) can provide EWS of tipping points in real-world systems. The algorithm predicts certain qualitative aspects of the new state, and is also more sensitive and generates fewer false positives than generic indicators. We use theory about system behavior near tipping points so that the algorithm does not require data from the study system but instead learns from a universe of possible models.
Many natural systems exhibit tipping points where slowly changing environmental conditions spark a sudden shift to a new and sometimes very different state. As the tipping point is approached, the dynamics of complex and varied systems simplify down to a limited number of possible “normal forms” that determine qualitative aspects of the new state that lies beyond the tipping point, such as whether it will oscillate or be stable. In several of those forms, indicators like increasing lag-1 autocorrelation and variance provide generic early warning signals (EWS) of the tipping point by detecting how dynamics slow down near the transition. But they do not predict the nature of the new state. Here we develop a deep learning algorithm that provides EWS in systems it was not explicitly trained on, by exploiting information about normal forms and scaling behavior of dynamics near tipping points that are common to many dynamical systems. The algorithm provides EWS in 268 empirical and model time series from ecology, thermoacoustics, climatology, and epidemiology with much greater sensitivity and specificity than generic EWS. It can also predict the normal form that characterizes the oncoming tipping point, thus providing qualitative information on certain aspects of the new state. Such approaches can help humans better prepare for, or avoid, undesirable state transitions. The algorithm also illustrates how a universe of possible models can be mined to recognize naturally occurring tipping points.
For over half a century, worldwide growth in affluence has continuously increased resource use and pollutant emissions far more rapidly than these have been reduced through better technology. The ...affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts and are central to any future prospect of retreating to safer environmental conditions. We summarise the evidence and present possible solution approaches. Any transition towards sustainability can only be effective if far-reaching lifestyle changes complement technological advancements. However, existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption expansion and the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits necessary societal change.
Analyzing over 100,000 industrial spills from Alberta, Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana, and the Northwest Territories, this book takes the reader behind the firewall of disinformation to uncover ...scientific truths about crude oil and saline water spills and the cumulative impacts of the fossil fuel industry on ecosystems and society.
Polymeric Systems for Bioprinting Bedell, Matthew L; Navara, Adam M; Du, Yingying ...
Chemical reviews,
10/2020, Letnik:
120, Številka:
19
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Bioprinting is rapidly being adopted as a major method for fabricating tissue engineering constructs. Through the precise deposition of cell- and bioactive molecule-laden materials, bioprinting ...offers researchers a means to create biological constructs with enhanced spatial complexity that more closely mimics native tissue. The vast majority of materials used in bioprinting have been polymers due to their suitability toward resembling the cellular environment and the variety of methods available to process polymeric systems in ambient or relatively mild chemical and environmental conditions. In this review, we will discuss in detail the wide variety of natural and synthetic polymers that have been employed as inks in bioprinting. We will review recent bioprinting innovations, such as increasing architectural complexity and cell viability in heterogeneous tissue constructs, which allow for the investigation of biological questions that could not be addressed before. We will also survey nascent fields of study that promise to further advance the development of novel biofabrication technologies in the field, such as 4D bioprinting and the inclusion of nanomaterials. To conclude, we will examine some of the necessary steps that must take place to bring this technology to commercial markets and facilitate its use in clinical therapies.
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