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Hyperlipidemia is one kind of metabolic syndrome for which the treatment commonly includes simvastatin (SV). Individuals vary widely in statin responses, and growing evidence implicates gut microbiome involvement in this variability. However, the associated molecular mechanisms between metabolic improvement and microbiota composition following SV treatment are still not fully understood. In this study, combinatory approaches using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF MS/MS)-based metabolomic profiling, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), quantitative PCR (qPCR), and 16S rRNA gene sequencing-based gut microbiota profiling were performed to investigate the interplay of endogenous metabolites and the gut microbiota related to SV treatment. A total of 6 key differential endogenous metabolites were identified that affect the metabolism of amino acids (phenylalanine and tyrosine), unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid and 9-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (9-HODE)), and the functions of gut microbial metabolism. Moreover, a total of 22 differentially abundant taxa were obtained following SV treatment. Three bacterial taxa were identified to be involved in SV treatment, namely, Bacteroidaceae, Prevotellaceae, and Porphyromonadaceae. These findings suggested that the phenylalanine and tyrosine-associated amino acid metabolism pathways, as well as the linoleic acid and 9-HODE-associated unsaturated fatty acid metabolism pathways, which are involved in gut flora interactions, might be potential therapeutic targets for improvement in SV hypolipidemic efficacy. The mass spectrometric data have been deposited to MassIVE (https://massive.ucsd.edu/ProteoSAFe/static/massive.jsp). Username: MSV000087842_reviewer. Password: hardworkingzsr.

[Display omitted] • Two kinds polymeric surfactant with good thickening capability are synthesized. • The effect of molecular structure on polymer migration are investigated. • IAM has a lower interface tension and better emulsifying ability than RCM. • IAM shown the largest EOR potential compare to RCM and HPAM. Polymeric surfactant can simultaneously thicken aquous phase and reduce water–oil interfacial tension (IFT), which makes it present a great application prospect in the oilfield taword enhanced oil recovery (EOR). There are two kinds of polymeric surfactant with different molecular structures are commonly used to realize the salt resistance, thermal endurance and shear resistance. However, the influence of the molecular structure of polymeric surfactant on their properties related on EOR are not well understood. In the work, we synthesized two kinds of polymeric surfactants with different molecular structure which respectively named intermolecular association molecule (IAM) and rigid chain molecule (RCM). Their physico-chemical properties, porous media transportation and EOR are compared with a series of experiments. It is found that the hydrodynamic characteristic sizes and retention of IAM are higher than those of RCM via the membrane filtration test and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scan. These features make IAM have a larger resistance factor and residual resistance factor than RCM and hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) in the same viscosity. Compare to HPAM with shear thinning, RCM presents a Newtonian fluid region and IAM presents a shear thickening region when the shear rate is lower than 1 s−1. The spatial structure of IAM can pack oil drop into its network, which make it easy to form oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) emulsions. Moreover, the concentration and water–oil ratio (WOR) rarely affect the stability of IAM emulsions once the intermolecular association generated. The increamental oil recovery factor of IAM is 17.5% after water flooding in the three-layer core flooding experiments with the permeability of 500 mD, 1500 mD and 3000 mD at 55℃, which is higher than that of 14.5% for RCM and 11.4% for HPAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formaldehyde is one of the most common indoor air pollutants that seriously damage human health. It is of significant importance to effectively remove indoor formaldehyde. In this work, a novel cement-based composite with ZIF-8@TiO2-coated activated carbon fibers (TiO2-ACFs) was prepared and shown to remove the indoor formaldehyde effectively. TiO2was coated on ACFs via atomic layer deposition, and then ZIF-8 was grown on the surface of TiO2-ACFs. The ZIF-8@TiO2-ACFs were then mixed with cement slurry and thus formed a cement-based composite, which exhibited excellent formaldehyde removal performance. In particular, if assisted with UV light, the removal efficiency for formaldehyde by the cement-based composite showed an obvious increase.

AbstractSemen stain is one of the most important biological evidence at sexual crime scenes. Age estimation of human semen stains plays an important role in forensic work, and it is rarely studied due to lack of well-established methods. In this study, the technique called attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) coupled with advanced chemometric methods was employed to determine the age of semen stains on three different substrates: glass slides, tissues and fabric made of regenerated cellulose fibres up to 6 d. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used in conjunction with spectral analysis for age estimation, and the results generated high R2values (cross-validation: 0.81, external validation: 0.74) but a narrow margin of error for root mean square error (RMSE) (RMSE of cross-validation: 0.77 d, RMSE of prediction: 1.02 d). Additionally, our results indicated the robustness of PLSR model was not weaken by the influence of different substrates in this study. Our results indicate that ATR-FTIR, combined with chemometric methods, shows great potential as a convenient and efficient tool for age estimation of semen stains. Moreover, the method could be applied to routine forensic investigations in the future.

In this study, two novel composite membranes containing nanoscale ZIF-8 and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) nonwoven fabric were prepared via hydrothermal (PPS-ZIF-8) and biomimetic mineralization (PPS-ZIF-8-BSA; BSA, bovine serum albumin) approaches. The biomimetic mineralization approach in particular was extremely rapid and mild, and crystalline ZIF-8 was coated on the PPS substrate in only a few seconds at room temperature. The maximum iodine adsorption capacities of the PPS-ZIF-8 and PPS-ZIF-8-BSA membranes were 2.51 and 2.07 g/g, respectively. The composite fibrous membranes were able to capture trace iodine vapor under differential pressures ranging from 0 to 1000 Pa without almost any iodine vapor leakage. The composite membranes can be applied in harsh environments because of the excellent stability of ZIF-8 and the PPS high-performance fibers. This study provides a promising strategy to fabricate novel adsorption materials for the collection of radioactive iodine during nuclear waste disposal.

Development of three-dimensional nanoarchitectures on current collectors has emerged as an effective strategy for enhancing rate capability and cycling stability of the electrodes. Herein, a new type of three-dimensional porous iron vanadate (Fe0.12V2O5) nanowire arrays on a Ti foil has been synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The as-prepared Fe0.12V2O5nanowires are about 30 nm in diameter and several micrometers in length. The effect of reaction time on the resulting morphology is investigated and the mechanism for the nanowire formation is proposed. As an electrode material used in lithium-ion batteries, the unique configuration of the Fe0.12V2O5nanowire arrays presents enhanced capacitance, satisfying rate capability and good cycling stability, as evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic discharge–charge cycling. It delivers a high discharge capacity of 293 mAh·g–1at 2.0–3.6 V or 382.2 mAh·g–1at 1.0–4.0 V after 50 cycles at 30 mA·g–1.

Abstract: A series of new lanthanide-radical complexes [{Ln(hfac)3}2(NITPhIM)2] (Ln = Nd (1), Eu (2), Tb (3), Er (4); hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate; NITPhIM = 2-[4-(1-imidazole)phenyl]-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide) have been prepared and characterized. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that these complexes are isostructural with one-dimensional chain structures. These consist in Ln(hfac)3 units bridged by the paramagnetic ligands by the means of coordination of their nitronyl nitroxide groups and imidazole rings. Interestingly, each Ln ion is either bound to two nitronyl nitroxide groups or to two imidazole units, and the different Ln centers alternate along the chain. Magnetic studies show that complex 3 exhibits a single-chain magnet behavior.

Two nitronyl nitroxide radicalTbIIIcomplexes, [Tbhfac3NIT3Py]21 and [Tbhfac3NIT4Py]22 {hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate; NIT3Py = 23′pyridyl4,4,5,5tetramethylimidazoline1oxyl 3oxide; NIT4Py = 24′pyridyl4,4,5,5tetramethylimidazoline1oxyl 3oxide} have been synthesized. Both complexes possess cyclic dimer structure in which each pyridylsubstituted radical links two different metal ions through the oxygen of nitroxide group and the pyridine nitrogen. DC magnetic studies show the TbIIIion interacts ferromagnetically with the directly bonding nitronyl nitroxide. Complex 1exhibits magnetic slow relaxation resembling SMM behavior, while there are no clearly the frequencydependent outofphase signals for complex 2.© WileyVCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009

In the current era of urbanization and industrialization, water pollution and energy generation are the main concerns in the climate change context. Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) utilize biodegradable carbon compounds in organic waste to produce an electric current.MFC technology provides sustainable solutions for renewable power systems and energy-efficient wastewater treatment for distributed electricity systems. However, in wastewater treatment, generating usable energy from the MFC remains a significant challenge for the system scale and implementation. Hence, in this paper, the Optimized Hybridized Mathematical Model (OHMM) has been proposed for wastewater treatment and energy generation using microbial fuel batteries.