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Prediction of groundwater level is of immense importance and challenges coastal aquifer management with rapidly increasing climatic change. With the development of artificial intelligence, data-driven models have been widely adopted in hydrological process management. However, due to the limitation of network framework and construction, they are mostly adopted to produce only 1 time step in advance. Here, the temporal convolutional network (TCN) and models based on long short-term memory (LSTM) were developed to predict groundwater levels with different leading periods in a coastal aquifer. The initial data of 10 months, monitored hourly in two monitoring wells, were used for model training and testing, and the data of the following 3 months were used as prediction with 24, 72, 180, and 360 time steps (1, 3, 7, and 15 d) in advance. The historical precipitation and tidal-level data were incorporated as input data. For the one-step prediction of the two wells, the calculated R2 of the TCN-based models' values were higher and the root mean square error (RMSE) values were lower than that of the LSTM-based model in the prediction stage with shorter running times. For the advanced prediction, the model accuracy decreased with the increase in the advancing period from 1 to 3, 7, and 15 d. By comparing the simulation accuracy and efficiency, the TCN-based model slightly outperformed the LSTM-based model but was less efficient in training time. Both models showed great ability to learn complex patterns in advance using historical data with different leading periods and had been proven to be valid localized groundwater-level prediction tools in the subsurface environment.

The degradation and mineralization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gas-solid phase photocatalytic systems suffer great challenges due to the low electron transfer efficiency and slow benzene ring-opening kinetics. Hence, a heterojunction photocatalyst of Bi

We revealed the respective contribution and synergy between O vacancies and the facet effect in enhancing TiO2 photocatalytic O2 activation.

Background Spermatogenic dysfunction is an important cause of azoospermia. Numerous studies have focused on germ-cell-related genes that lead to spermatogenic impairment. However, based on the immune-privileged characteristics of the testis, the relationship of immune genes, immune cells or immune microenvironment with spermatogenic dysfunction has rarely been reported. Results Using integrated methods including single-cell RNA-seq, microarray data, clinical data analyses and histological/pathological staining, we found that testicular mast cell infiltration levels were significantly negatively related to spermatogenic function. We next identified a functional testicular immune biomarker, CCL2, and externally validated that testicular CCL2 was significantly upregulated in spermatogenic dysfunctional testes and was negatively correlated with Johnsen scores (JS) and testicular volumes. We also demonstrated that CCL2 levels showed a significant positive correlation with testicular mast cell infiltration levels. Moreover, we showed myoid cells and Leydig cells were two of the important sources of testicular CCL2 in spermatogenic dysfunction. Mechanistically, we drew a potential “myoid/Leydig cells-CCL2-ACKR1-endothelial cells-SELE-CD44-mast cells” network of somatic cell–cell communications in the testicular microenvironment, which might play roles in spermatogenic dysfunction. Conclusions The present study revealed CCL2-relevant changes in the testicular immune microenvironment in spermatogenic dysfunction, providing new evidence for the role of immunological factors in azoospermia.

The effective sharing of health research data within the healthcare ecosystem can have tremendous impact on the advancement of disease understanding, prevention, treatment, and monitoring. By combining and reusing health research data, increasingly rich insights can be made about patients and populations that feed back into the health system resulting in more effective best practices and better patient outcomes. To achieve the promise of a learning health system, data needs to meet the FAIR principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. Since the inception of the Brain-CODE platform and services in 2012, the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) has pioneered data sharing activities aligned with FAIR principles in neuroscience. Here, we describe how Brain-CODE has operationalized data sharing according to the FAIR principles. Findable—Brain-CODE offers an interactive and itemized approach for requesters to generate data cuts of interest that align with their research questions. Accessible—Brain-CODE offers multiple data access mechanisms. These mechanisms—that distinguish between metadata access, data access within a secure computing environment on Brain-CODE and data access via export will be discussed. Interoperable—Standardization happens at the data capture level and the data release stage to allow integration with similar data elements. Reusable - Brain-CODE implements several quality assurances measures and controls to maximize data value for reusability. We will highlight the successes and challenges of a FAIR-focused neuroinformatics platform that facilitates the widespread collection and sharing of neuroscience research data for learning health systems.

BACKGROUND Background: Crohn's disease (CD) incidence in childhood and adolescence has been increasing globally, but with significant variation across countries. OBJECTIVE This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the incidence rates of pediatric CD from different countries and explore potential influencing factors. METHODS We performed a systematic review of PubMed and EMBASE (via OVID) for studies from 01/01/1970 to 12/31/2019 and conducted a manual search for relevant systematic reviews. Meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed to investigate the overall incidence rate and potential influencing factors. RESULTS We analyzed 74 studies in our qualitative synthesis and 52 studies in our meta-analysis and meta-regression. Our findings showed that incidence rates varied depending on geographic location, with no apparent temporal trend on a global scale. Our meta-regression analysis also revealed that geographic location, UV index, and human development index were significant factors associated with the incidence of CD. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that pediatric CD incidence has increased in many countries since 1970, but varies widely with geographic location, which may pose challenges to respective health care systems. We identified geographic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that contribute to the observed heterogeneity in incidence rates. These findings can serve as a basis for future research and health policies aimed at addressing the increasing burden of CD in children and adolescents. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037669

Strict air pollution control strategies have been implemented in recent decades in the North China Plain (NCP), previously one of the most polluted regions in the world, and have resulted in considerable changes in emissions of air pollutants. However, little is so far known about the long-term trends of the regional background level of NOx and SO2, along with the increase and decrease processes of regional emissions. In this study, the seasonal and diurnal variations of NOx and SO2 as well as their long-term trends at a regional background station in the NCP were characterized from 2004 to 2016. On average, SO2 and NOx mixing ratios were 5.7 ± 8.4 and 14.2 ± 12.4 ppb, respectively. The seasonal variations in SO2 and NOx mixing ratios showed a similar pattern, with a peak in winter and a valley in summer. However, the diurnal variations in SO2 and NOx mixing ratios greatly differed for all seasons, indicating different sources for SO2 and NOx and meteorological effects on their concentrations. Overall, the annual mean SO2 exhibited a significant decreasing trend of −6.1 % yr−1 (R = −0.84, P

Bismuth-rich Bi5O7Br is a promising photocatalyst for pollutant removal owing to its stability and appropriate band structure in comparison with bismuth oxybromide. However, bulk-phase Bi5O7Br suffers from poor light absorption and high charge recombination rates resulting in poor activity. Elemental doping is a powerful strategy to enhance photocatalytic activity. In this study, we prepared a series of Br auto-doped ultrathin Bi5O7Br nanotubes and explored the effect of Br doping on photocatalytic NO removal. The optimal doping content was determined via a photocatalytic NO removal experiment, which revealed the optimal ratio of Bi and Br was approximately 3:1. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (In situ DRIFT) and density functional theory (DFT) studies revealed that NO removal mechanism catalyzed by Br doped Bi5O7Br. Our work presents a new strategy for the enhancement of photocatalytic pollutant degradation by bismuth oxyhalide photocatalysts.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is primarily the result of incomplete combustion, which has important impacts on the atmospheric chemical cycle and climate. Improved quantitative characterization of long-term CO trends is important for both atmospheric modeling and the design and implementation of policies to efficiently control multiple pollutants. Due to the limitations of high time-resolution and high-quality long-term observational data, studies on long-term trends in the CO concentration in China are quite limited. In this study, the observational data of the concentration of CO in a rural site of Beijing during 2006–2018 was used to analyze the long-term trend in CO concentration in Beijing. The Theil-Sen method and the generalized additive model (GAM)-based method, were used to conduct the trend estimation analysis. We found that the concentration of CO at the Shangdianzi site showed a significant downward trend during 2006–2018, with a decline rate of 22.8 ± 5.1 ppbV per year. The declining trend in CO also showed phasic characteristics, with a fast decreasing rate during the period of 2006–2008, stable variations during the period of 2009–2013 and a continuous downward trend after 2013. The declining trend in the CO concentration in the south to west (S-W) sectors where the polluted air masses come from is more rapid than that in the sectors where the clean air masses come from. The declining trend in the CO concentration implies the improved combustion efficiency and the successful air pollution control policies in Beijing and the surrounding area.

A novel SrSn(OH)6 photocatalyst with large plate and particle size were synthesized via a facile chemical precipitation method. The photocatalytic activity of the SrSn(OH)6 was evaluated by the removal of NO at ppb level under UV light irradiation. Based on the ESR measurements, SrSn(OH)6 photocatalyst was found to have the ability to generate the main active species of O2•−, •OH, and 1O2 during the photocatalytic process. Moreover, SrSn(OH)6 photocatalyst not only exhibits high photocatalytic activity for NO removal (79.6%), but also has good stability after five cycles. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) was used to investigate the NOx transfer pathway and the intermediate products distribution during the adsorption and photocatalytic NO oxidation process. The present work not only provides an efficient material for air pollutants purification at room temperature but also in-depth understanding of the mechanism involved in the photocatalytic NO removal process.

Seven undescribed carotane sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the endophytic fungi Fusarium sp. HM166. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and ECD defined absolute configurations. Cytotoxicity for Huh-7, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines and IDH1R132h mutant were studied.

Interfacial pH is critical to electrocatalytic reactions involving proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) processes, and maintaining an optimal interfacial pH at the electrochemical interface is required to achieve high activity. However, the interfacial pH varies inevitably during the electrochemical reaction owing to slow proton transfer at the interfacial layer, even in buffer solutions. It is therefore necessary to find an effective and general way to promote proton transfer for regulating the interfacial pH. In this study, we propose that promoting proton transfer at the interfacial layer can be used to regulate the interfacial pH in order to enhance electrocatalytic activity. By adsorbing a bifunctional 4-mercaptopyridine (4MPy) molecule onto the catalyst surface

Improving the selectivity of photocatalysis and reducing the generation of toxic by-products are the two key challenges for the development of highly efficient and stable photocatalysts. In this work, it was revealed that Zn-Ti-layered double hydroxide (ZT-LDH) photocatalyst, which generated less intermediates, showed better toluene degradation efficiency (removal ratio, 75.2%) and stability, compared with P25 (removal ratio, 10.9%). During the photocatalytic toluene degradation, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid were the main intermediates existed in the gas phase and on the surface of the catalyst, respectively. By combining experiments with theoretical calculation, it was found that the hydrogen atoms on the hydroxyl groups in the LDH would selectively attract the oxygen atoms in the carbon–oxygen double bond of the two major intermediates, facilitating their adsorption and activation on ZT-LDH. Besides, the surface electronic structure of ZT-LDH was demonstrated to facilitate the ring-opening reaction of the two major intermediates, eventually maintaining high activity and stability. This work could provide new molecular perspectives for understanding the photocatalytic reactions in VOCs degradation and developing efficient and stable photocatalysts.

The excess emission of nitrate into wastewater is inevitable by the abundant use of fertilizers and other chemicals, which poses a huge threat to the environment and human health.

This review summarized the characteristics of halide perovskite nanocrystals in photocatalytic applications. Critical insights are also provided into the existing challenges and prospects for these photocatalysts in photocatalytic applications.