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Purpose: To introduce a method of cranial bone reconstruction for cranial burst fractures and early-stage growing skull fractures, named bone flap binding and transposition. Methods: Cranial burst fractures, severe head injuries predominantly observed in infants, are characterized by widely diastatic skull fractures coupled with acute extracranial cerebral herniation beneath an intact scalp through ruptured dura mater. These injuries can develop into growing skull fractures. This study included two cases to illustrate the procedure, with a particular focus on the bone steps in managing these conditions. The medical history, clinical presentation, surgical procedures, and postoperative follow-up were retrospectively studied. The details of the surgical procedure were described. Results: The method of bone reconstruction, named bone flap binding and transposition, was applied after the lacerated dural repair. Two bone pieces were combined to eliminate the diastatic bone defect and then fixed by an absorbable cranial fixation clip and bound by sutures. The combined bone flap was repositioned into the bone window, completely covering the area of the original dural laceration. Subsequently, the bone defect was transferred to the area of normal dura. The postoperative courses for the two infants were uneventful. Follow-up CT scans revealed new bone formation at the previous bone defect and no progressive growing skull fracture. The major cranial defects had disappeared, leaving only small residual defects at the corners of the skull bone window, which required further recovery and did not affect the solidity of the skull. Conclusion: Bone flap binding and transposition provide a straightforward, cost-effective, and reliable method for cranial bone reconstruction of cranial burst fractures and early-stage growing skull fractures. This method has taken full advantage of the small infant's dura osteogenic potential without the need for artificial or metallic bone repair materials. The effectiveness of the method needs further validation with more cases in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To propose a novel operative strategy involving cervical lifting suture (CLS) in conjunction with the improved Hayman suture (CLS‐Hayman) to apply in the cesarean section of pernicious placenta previa (PPP) under noninterventional conditions and evaluate the curative effect of the CLS‐Hayman operation by comparing with conventional CLS. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 119 pregnant women diagnosed with PPP, including 50 cases in the CLS‐Hayman group and 69 cases in the CLS group. The authors used different statistical methods to compare intraoperative bleeding, 24‐h postpartum bleeding, postoperative complication rates, and uterine involution between the two groups under noninterventional conditions. Results: The median intraoperative blood loss was 800 mL in the CLS‐Hayman group versus 1000 mL in the CLS group. The amount of 24‐h postpartum bleeding in the CLS‐Hayman group was lower than that in the CLS group. The complication rates in the two groups were 12% and 27.5%, respectively (P = 0.04). B‐ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging data showed that the uterine involution was better in the CLS‐Hayman group. Conclusion: The CLS‐Hayman suture achieves the desired intraoperative hemostasis and also stands out for its better prevention of postpartum hemorrhage, better prognosis at follow‐up, and lower complication rates. Synopsis: Under noninterventional conditions, the cervical lifting suture–Hayman suture for managing pernicious placenta previa can better reduce intraoperative and postoperative bleeding and complication rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of information technology, the high-speed private data stream encryption transmission system is more and more widely used in the field of education. The high-speed private data stream encryption transmission system can realize high-speed and safe data transmission and protect the privacy and security of user data. To protect the security of private data in the online education of specialty "traffic engineering", an encryption transmission system for high-speed private data stream is designed. After the online education system and core modules of traffic engineering are analyzed, the system framework is designed through the codec module and the high-speed privacy data stream processing control and transmission module. The sliding window segmentation method is used to extract the privacy data in the education system and send it to the coding sub-module. Based on a homomorphic encryption algorithm, a private data stream encryption and decryption model is established. The key encoding is designed by the vector quantization coding method. The private data is authenticated according to the characteristics of the key, and the data encryption transmission is completed through the microcontroller. The experimental results show that the encrypted data of the designed system has only 0.01 Gbit loss, and the encryption time is only 93ms. The data dimension displayed after encryption is relatively scattered, and the distribution probability of encrypted data is between 1500–2000, which can effectively encrypt the private data in the online education system of transportation engineering specialty, and improve the security of high-speed private data flow in the online education system of transportation engineering specialty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's environmental protection emission standards are becoming stricter and industrial parks are taking shape, problems such as the lack of stable cooperative treatment technology for toxic pollutants and carbon emission reduction, and the high control cost seriously restrict the sustainable development of economic society and the realization of the strategic goal of carbon emission reduction. Guided by the major environmental protection demand of industries, this study put forward the method, strategy and scientific basis of "Synergistic reduce pollution and carbon in the whole process of industry". Through the coordination of control methods, cross-media, multi-field and multi-factor modeling optimization, the creative discovery of basic science at molecular level was directly linked with engineering research, which provided new scientific support for the synergy reduction of pollution and carbon emission, and contributed theoretical methods to China's industrial green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have designed a novel device that facilitates the accurate placement of occipital ventricular catheters in ventriculoperitoneal shunt procedures. After 7 years of clinical use, this device has consistently demonstrated its simplicity, user-friendliness, and effectiveness. It enables both experienced surgeons and novices to confidently and accurately position the ventricular catheter to a satisfactory location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Children diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts often concurrently have hydrocephalus. This study aims to classify the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, discussing surgical strategies—shunting or neuroendoscopic approaches—and their sequence, based on this classification.A retrospective analysis was conducted on 14 patients diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, treated surgically by the first author between January 2016 and December 2020. Clinical features, radiological findings, surgical strategies, and outcomes were reviewed. The classification of the relationship between the suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus was developed and illustrated with specific cases. Recommendations for future surgical management based on this classification are provided.We classified the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus into three categories. SACH-R1, the direct type, represents cases where the cysts cause obstructive hydrocephalus. Here, neuroendoscopic ventriculocystocisternostomy (VCC) effectively treats both conditions. SACH-R2, the juxtaposed type, involves concurrent occurrences of cysts and hydrocephalus without a causative link. This is further subdivided into SACH-R2a, where acute progressive communicating hydrocephalus coexists with the cyst, initially managed with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, followed by VCC upon stabilization of hydrocephalus; and SACH-R2b, where the cyst coexists with chronic stable communicating hydrocephalus, first addressed with VCC, followed by monitoring and potential secondary shunting if needed. Key factors differentiating SACH-R2a from SACH-R2b include the patient's age, imaging signs of fourth ventricle and cisterna magna enlargement, and the rapid progression or chronic stability and severity of hydrocephalus symptoms. SACH-R3, the reverse type, describes scenarios where shunting for hydrocephalus leads to the development or enlargement of the cyst, managed via neuroendoscopic VCC with precautions to prevent infections in existing shunt systems.The simultaneous presence of suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus requires a nuanced understanding of their complex relationship for optimal surgical intervention. The analysis and classification of their relationship are crucial for determining appropriate surgical approaches, including the choice and sequence of shunting and neuroendoscopic techniques. Treatment should be tailored to the specific type identified, rather than blindly opting for neuroendoscopy. Particularly for SACH-R2a cases, we recommend initial ventriculoperitoneal shunting.Methods: Children diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts often concurrently have hydrocephalus. This study aims to classify the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, discussing surgical strategies—shunting or neuroendoscopic approaches—and their sequence, based on this classification.A retrospective analysis was conducted on 14 patients diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, treated surgically by the first author between January 2016 and December 2020. Clinical features, radiological findings, surgical strategies, and outcomes were reviewed. The classification of the relationship between the suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus was developed and illustrated with specific cases. Recommendations for future surgical management based on this classification are provided.We classified the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus into three categories. SACH-R1, the direct type, represents cases where the cysts cause obstructive hydrocephalus. Here, neuroendoscopic ventriculocystocisternostomy (VCC) effectively treats both conditions. SACH-R2, the juxtaposed type, involves concurrent occurrences of cysts and hydrocephalus without a causative link. This is further subdivided into SACH-R2a, where acute progressive communicating hydrocephalus coexists with the cyst, initially managed with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, followed by VCC upon stabilization of hydrocephalus; and SACH-R2b, where the cyst coexists with chronic stable communicating hydrocephalus, first addressed with VCC, followed by monitoring and potential secondary shunting if needed. Key factors differentiating SACH-R2a from SACH-R2b include the patient's age, imaging signs of fourth ventricle and cisterna magna enlargement, and the rapid progression or chronic stability and severity of hydrocephalus symptoms. SACH-R3, the reverse type, describes scenarios where shunting for hydrocephalus leads to the development or enlargement of the cyst, managed via neuroendoscopic VCC with precautions to prevent infections in existing shunt systems.The simultaneous presence of suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus requires a nuanced understanding of their complex relationship for optimal surgical intervention. The analysis and classification of their relationship are crucial for determining appropriate surgical approaches, including the choice and sequence of shunting and neuroendoscopic techniques. Treatment should be tailored to the specific type identified, rather than blindly opting for neuroendoscopy. Particularly for SACH-R2a cases, we recommend initial ventriculoperitoneal shunting.Results: Children diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts often concurrently have hydrocephalus. This study aims to classify the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, discussing surgical strategies—shunting or neuroendoscopic approaches—and their sequence, based on this classification.A retrospective analysis was conducted on 14 patients diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, treated surgically by the first author between January 2016 and December 2020. Clinical features, radiological findings, surgical strategies, and outcomes were reviewed. The classification of the relationship between the suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus was developed and illustrated with specific cases. Recommendations for future surgical management based on this classification are provided.We classified the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus into three categories. SACH-R1, the direct type, represents cases where the cysts cause obstructive hydrocephalus. Here, neuroendoscopic ventriculocystocisternostomy (VCC) effectively treats both conditions. SACH-R2, the juxtaposed type, involves concurrent occurrences of cysts and hydrocephalus without a causative link. This is further subdivided into SACH-R2a, where acute progressive communicating hydrocephalus coexists with the cyst, initially managed with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, followed by VCC upon stabilization of hydrocephalus; and SACH-R2b, where the cyst coexists with chronic stable communicating hydrocephalus, first addressed with VCC, followed by monitoring and potential secondary shunting if needed. Key factors differentiating SACH-R2a from SACH-R2b include the patient's age, imaging signs of fourth ventricle and cisterna magna enlargement, and the rapid progression or chronic stability and severity of hydrocephalus symptoms. SACH-R3, the reverse type, describes scenarios where shunting for hydrocephalus leads to the development or enlargement of the cyst, managed via neuroendoscopic VCC with precautions to prevent infections in existing shunt systems.The simultaneous presence of suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus requires a nuanced understanding of their complex relationship for optimal surgical intervention. The analysis and classification of their relationship are crucial for determining appropriate surgical approaches, including the choice and sequence of shunting and neuroendoscopic techniques. Treatment should be tailored to the specific type identified, rather than blindly opting for neuroendoscopy. Particularly for SACH-R2a cases, we recommend initial ventriculoperitoneal shunting.Conclusion: Children diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts often concurrently have hydrocephalus. This study aims to classify the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, discussing surgical strategies—shunting or neuroendoscopic approaches—and their sequence, based on this classification.A retrospective analysis was conducted on 14 patients diagnosed with suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus, treated surgically by the first author between January 2016 and December 2020. Clinical features, radiological findings, surgical strategies, and outcomes were reviewed. The classification of the relationship between the suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus was developed and illustrated with specific cases. Recommendations for future surgical management based on this classification are provided.We classified the relationship between suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus into three categories. SACH-R1, the direct type, represents cases where the cysts cause obstructive hydrocephalus. Here, neuroendoscopic ventriculocystocisternostomy (VCC) effectively treats both conditions. SACH-R2, the juxtaposed type, involves concurrent occurrences of cysts and hydrocephalus without a causative link. This is further subdivided into SACH-R2a, where acute progressive communicating hydrocephalus coexists with the cyst, initially managed with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, followed by VCC upon stabilization of hydrocephalus; and SACH-R2b, where the cyst coexists with chronic stable communicating hydrocephalus, first addressed with VCC, followed by monitoring and potential secondary shunting if needed. Key factors differentiating SACH-R2a from SACH-R2b include the patient's age, imaging signs of fourth ventricle and cisterna magna enlargement, and the rapid progression or chronic stability and severity of hydrocephalus symptoms. SACH-R3, the reverse type, describes scenarios where shunting for hydrocephalus leads to the development or enlargement of the cyst, managed via neuroendoscopic VCC with precautions to prevent infections in existing shunt systems.The simultaneous presence of suprasellar arachnoid cysts and hydrocephalus requires a nuanced understanding of their complex relationship for optimal surgical intervention. The analysis and classification of their relationship are crucial for determining appropriate surgical approaches, including the choice and sequence of shunting and neuroendoscopic techniques. Treatment should be tailored to the specific type identified, rather than blindly opting for neuroendoscopy. Particularly for SACH-R2a cases, we recommend initial ventriculoperitoneal shunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is recognized as an energy-efficient and sustainable approach to combat the global freshwater crisis, particularly in rural areas where continuous energy inputs are limited. Additionally, these regions often lack effective sterilization methods for their water sources. By incorporating photothermal materials with inherent antibacterial properties, water purification can be enhanced without relying on external sterilization steps. Herein, we designed a multi-functional photothermal (MFP) evaporator based on a Cu dendrite@ CuO with abundant nanowires via a template-free method for solar-thermal clean water production. Compared to flat-type structures, the MPF evaporator with its dendritic architecture not only exhibits efficient photon absorption but also expands the evaporation area by over sevenfold, facilitating enhanced water evaporation with an efficient pathway for water transfer. Under 1 kW m−2, the MFP evaporator achieves an impressive evaporation rate of 1.40 kg m−2 h−1 and an efficiency of 87.8 %. Furthermore, the MFP evaporator demonstrates remarkable antibacterial capabilities, effectively inhibiting bacterial growth in raw water by damaging bacterial cell walls. Hence, the as-prepared MFP evaporator exhibits tremendous potential as an innovative system for solar-driven interfacial water evaporation and purification. We proposed a multi-functional photothermal (MFP) evaporator for solar-thermal clean water production which realized a photothermal evaporation temperature of 40.6 °C and an evaporation rate of >1.40 kg m−2 h−1 via ∼ 87.8 % solar conversion under 1 sunlight illumination, originating from the large photo-thermal evaporation area, narrow heat conduction path, and efficient water transfer. Besides, the MFP evaporator was fabricated through a simple process of low cost and can be connected together to form large-scale floating networks for water evaporation. Moreover, the MFP evaporator possessed a great antibacterial ability, inhibiting the growth of bacteria in raw water by destroying the cell wall of bacteria. Thus, the as-prepared MFP evaporator has great potential serves as a novel system for implementing solar-driven interfacial water evaporation and water purification. [Display omitted] • A multi-functional photothermal evaporator was designed for solar water evaporation. • Enhanced light trapping and large evaporation area contributed an excellent evaporator. • The MFP evaporator with inherent antibacterial properties (rejection rate exceeded 99.9 %). • The conversion efficiency of the setup reaches as high as 87.8 % under 1 sun. • A low-cost and well-controllable fabrication process enables for large-scale applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fifth metatarsal base fracture (fifth MBF) and lateral collateral ankle ligament (LCAL) injury are mainly caused by plantar flexion and inversion of the foot. However, there is no relevant report on the incidence, injury type and treatment principle of the fifth MBF combined with an LCAL injury. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 61 patients with fifth MBF. After admission, patients were given the symptomatic treatment and underwent standard anteroposterior (AP), 30-degree oblique foot radiographs, ankle MR and/or ultrasonic examination. The type of surgery varied base on the individual patients (type of fracture with/without lateral collateral ankle ligament injury). Results: In 61 patients, there were 39 patients with LCAL injury. Among the 39 patients with LCAL injury, 24 patients with Grade I–II injury, 6 patients with Grade III injury, and 9 patients with avulsion fractures. There was no significant difference between the patients without LCAL injury and the patients with LCAL injury in terms of age (p = 0.67) and gender (p = 0.575). The incidence of fifth MBF with LCAL injury accounted for 63.93% of fifth metatarsal base fracture; the most common causes of injury included sprains and falls. The average fracture healing time was 8.3 (range, 6–12) weeks. For fifth MBF with displaced more than 2 mm, hook plate or lag screw was used for fixation; for complete rupture of LCAL, suture anchor was used to repairing the ligament; for partial LCAL injury, plaster was used for fixation after surgery; for avulsion fractures, cannulated screw or suture anchor was used for repair. None of the patients had complications such as delayed union, nonunion, and incision infection. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment can obtain good therapeutic results in fifth MBF patients combined with LCAL injury. Moreover, defining a treatment plan for ligament injury is essential for reducing postoperative complications. This study provides a basis for epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of fifth MBF with LCAL injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The treatment of talar neck and/or body fractures is known to be difficult and challenging, with significant impact on the long‐term functional outcome for the patient. The optimal management, including the choice of surgical approaches and implants, are still under constant discussion. The purpose of the study was to investigate the clinical effects of lateral mini‐plate combined with medial lag screws for the treatment of complicated central talar fractures. Methods: The data of eight patients with complex central talus fractures treated between June 2019 and January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There were six males and two females, ranging in age from 15 to 66 years, with an average age of 37.4 years. There were three cases on the left and five cases on the right. All fractures were comminuted, including talar neck with talar body fracture in seven cases and talar body comminuted with subluxation of subtalar joint in one case. All patients were treated with the anteromedial combined anterolateral approach, lateral talar mini‐plate fixation and medial lag screw fixation. Fracture reduction quality, union time, and complications were recorded, and functional outcomes were evaluated using the American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scoring system. Results: The time from injury to surgery was 1–6 days, with an average of 3.38 days. The follow‐up period was 34–53 months (mean 44.88 months). All fractures healed with a mean healing time of 16.75 weeks (13–23 weeks). Anatomical reduction was observed in six cases and near in two cases. After operation, there was no loosening or breakage of implant, loss of fracture reduction, and irritation of skin and soft tissue by internal fixation. The average AOFAS score was 87.38 (48–100), with excellent five cases, good two cases and poor one case, and the excellent and good rate was 87.5%. Superficial skin necrosis in one surgical incision healed after dressing exchange. No deep infection occurred. One case (1/8, 12.5%) developed avascular necrosis of the talus without collapse. Posttraumatic arthritis was found in four cases (4/8, 50%). Conclusion: The utilization of lateral mini‐plates in combination with medial screws for treating complex central talar fractures results in satisfactory reduction and stable fixation, mitigating complications associated with poor reduction. However, due to the absence of an anatomical mini‐plate, pre‐contouring is necessary when applying the lateral plate. This demands a surgeon's thorough familiarity with the anatomical morphology of the talus and proficiency in surgical techniques. Posttraumatic arthritis is the most common complication of complex central talar fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is reported to promote the survival of neurons and salivary gland regeneration after radiation damage. This study investigated the effect of GDNF on cell migration, growth, and response to radiation in preclinical models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and correlated GDNF expression to treatment outcomes in HNSCC patients. Our ultimate goal is to determine whether systemic administration of GDNF at high dose is safe for the management of hyposalivation or xerostomia in HNSCC patients. Three HPV-positive and three HPV-negative cell lines were examined for cell migration, growth, and clonogenic survival in vitro and tumor growth assay in vivo. Immunohistochemical staining of GDNF, its receptors GFRα1 and its co-receptor RET was performed on two independent HNSCC tissue microarrays (TMA) and correlated to treatment outcomes. Results showed that GDNF only enhanced cell migration in two HPV-positive cells at supra-physiologic doses, but not in HPV-negative cells. GDNF did not increase cell survival in the tested cell lines post-irradiation. Likewise, GDNF treatment affected neither tumor growth in vitro nor response to radiation in xenografts in two HPV-positive and two HPV-negative HNSCC models. High stromal expression of GDNF protein was associated with worse overall survival in HPV-negative HNSCC on multivariate analysis in a combined cohort of patients from Stanford University (n = 82) and Washington University (n = 189); however, the association between GDNF gene expression and worse survival was not confirmed in a separate group of HPV-negative HNSCC patients identified from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Based on these data, we do not believe that GNDF is a safe systemic treatment to prevent or treat xerostomia in HNSCC and a local delivery approach such as intraglandular injection needs to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposed DR-Block to reduce the loss of micro-fracture information during feature extraction and ensure the integrity of fracture features. • This paper proposed the Atrous Spatial Pyramid Fusion Attention Module (ASAM) to effectively suppress the influence of non-crack interference in road crack images to crack detection. • This paper used the hybrid loss function of Dice-Loss and BCE-Loss to effectively solve the image imbalance problem of the UAV remote sensing road crack image. • This paper constructed a UAV remote sensing road crack dataset containing various crack types and various road backgrounds. Crack is the main manifestation of road damage, and its further deterioration will affect road traffic. The timely detection of road cracks is of great significance for ensuring road safety. In this work, starting from UAV remote sensing images,a pixel-by-pixel crack detection method named ARD-Unet is proposed based on U-Net combined with Depth Separable Residual Block (DR-Block), Atrous Spatial Pyramid Fusion Attention Module (ASAM) and Receptive Field Block (RFB). We used UAV to construct a remote sensing road crack dataset containing 1046 high-quality images. The proposed method achieves 76.41 % MIOU and 74.24 % F1-Score on the self-made dataset. Finally, we combine ARD-Unet with UAV to build a road crack detection UAV IoT system, which has been tested in practical applications and achieved excellent performance. Experiments show that ARD-Unet is effective for road crack detection in remote sensing images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Reduced graphene oxide and N-doped graphene were prepared by microwave irradiation. • Surface engineered graphene exhibited high catalytic ozonation activity. • Microwave reduction created more edging sites and graphitic nitrogen species. • Diverse reactive species, O 2 −, OH and 1O 2 , were possible for 4-nitrophenol degradation. Abstract N-doped graphene has demonstrated exceptional activities in versatile metal-free catalytic processes. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and N-doped rGO were synthesized by a facile approach via microwave reduction with a low energy input and short reaction time. The activities of the derived carbocatalysts were evaluated by catalytic ozonation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Compared with thermally annealed rGOs in argon atmosphere, microwave treated rGO demonstrated a better performance in catalytic oxidation, and N-doping would further improve the catalytic activity. It is discovered that microwave irradiation not only gave rise to more edging sites and dangling bonds in rGO, making higher catalytic potentials for ozone decomposition than that from thermal annealing, but also resulted in a higher concentration of N dopants. XPS studies revealed that more graphitic N species were incorporated into the carbon basal plane during the microwave reduction processes. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) in 4-NP oxidation were evaluated and identified by liquid-phase electron spin resonance (ESR) and radical scavenging tests, which indicated the generation of O 2 −, OH and 1O 2 for 4-NP degradation. This study provides a facile protocol for fabricating advanced nanocarbon materials for green oxidation and enables new insights in catalytic ozonation with state-of-the-art carbocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anode graphite was recovered from a spent lithium ion battery (LIB) and reutilized as a carbon precursor to obtain graphene-based materials. Characterization results revealed that impurities were removed from the obtained graphite powder by cleansing processes. The as-synthesized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) from the purified graphite (LIB-rGO) demonstrated excellent catalytic ozonation activity against organic pollutants removal. To probe potential catalytic active sites, LIB-rGOs with different defective levels but similar oxygen contents were synthesized. Catalytic ozonation tests revealed that a higher defective level resulted in a greater catalytic activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation further demonstrated that ozone molecules could spontaneously decompose into active oxygen species on graphene structural vacancies and edges, which consolidated the role of defective structure in catalytic ozonation activity. Meanwhile, we discovered the pollutant-structure-dependent behavior of dominant reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the aid of radical scavenging tests and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra. For phenolic pollutants vulnerable to direct ozone attacking, superoxide radicals (O 2 − ) and singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) were found to be responsible ROS, whereas hydroxyl radicals ( OH) were identified as the principle ROS for aliphatic organic pollutants destruction. This study not only put forward a possible way for reutilization of waste LIB anode, but also stepped further for investigating the catalytic ozonation mechanism towards the graphene-based materials including the active sites and the generation of ROS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Source-specific potential health risk was proposed as an effective index for determining priority control sources of PM 2.5 -bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) near an industrial park. However, industry-specific emission profiles were limited. In this study, 60 emission source samples from 13 industries and 139 p.m. 2.5 samples near an industrial park were collected from 2020 to 2021. The PAH profiles of 12 industrial emission sources were constructed to address the difficulty of source apportionment refined to industrial categories. A diagnostic ratio method and a positive matrix factorization method (PMF) were used to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the emission sources of 16 p.m. 2.5 -bound PAHs. The incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) of PAH inhalation exposure for the local population was attributed to sources by a PMF-ILCR model. The results show that the local PAH pollution seriously exceeded (86.3% sampling days) the standard (GB3095-2012). The concentration of PAHs was 33.6 ± 32.6 ng/m3 and showed a seasonal trend of "heating season > autumn > spring". There were five main sources of PM 2.5 -bound PAHs near the industrial park: heavy oil combustion (29.8%), coal and natural gas combustion (28.0%), vehicle emissions (19.9%), steel industry emissions (19.4%) and tar volatilization (2.9%). There is potential carcinogenic risk to both children (3.1 × 10−6) and adults (1.2 × 10−5). The mass contribution of each source to ambient PAHs is not equivalent to its contribution to potential health risk. The risks of PM 2.5 -bound PAHs almost all correspond to vehicle emissions (46.3%), heavy oil combustion (25.9%) and steel industrial sources (24.9%). [Display omitted] • PAH profiles for some typical industrial categories were constructed. • More representative potential sources of PM 2.5 -bound PAHs were identified. • Industry-related sources were refined in PAH source apportionment. • A PMF-ILCR model was used to assess the source-specific carcinogenic risks of PAHs. • Vehicle emissions corresponded to the highest carcinogenic risk of PAHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three kinds of graphitic carbon nitride materials (bulk, porous and nanosheet g-C 3 N 4 ) were composited with a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) by a hydrothermal method, and the obtained b-C 3 N 4 /CNT, p-C 3 N 4 /CNT and n-C 3 N 4 /CNT materials were used in the electrodes for electro-peroxone process. It was found that the n-C 3 N 4 /CNT composite exhibited the highest efficiency in oxalate degradation, though it performed the worst in the oxygen-reduction reaction for H 2 O 2 production. The n-C 3 N 4 /CNT composite exhibited higher activity than CNT and other composites in catalytic ozonation experiments, due to the higher pyrrolic-N content modified on the CNT surface and higher surface area. It also has higher electron transfer ability, which benefited to the electro-reduction of both O 2 and O 3 . The result confirmed that catalytic ozonation process was an important means to enhance the degradation efficiency in the electro-peroxone process, besides peroxone process and O 3 -electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three simple structured nitrogen heterocyclic compounds (NHCs), namely indole (ID), benzopyrazole (BP) and benzotriazole (BT), were degraded via wet air oxidation (WAO) in an autoclave-type reactor. The elimination of target pollutants became significant only above 220 °C. The reactivity order of the three substrates was ID > BP > BT. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal levels were lower than 70%. Many partial oxidation intermediates were produced, as detected by electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The presence of different anions, such as CO 3 2− , SO 4 2− , and PO 4 3− , had a detrimental effect on the removal performances. On the other hand, Cl − and NO 3 − had a beneficial effect on the WAO of the target pollutants. By combining quantum chemistry calculations and ESI-MS analysis, detailed degradation pathways of ID, BP, and BT could be proposed. It was concluded that ring breakage occurred on both the benzene and heterocyclic ring in the initial stage of WAO for all three substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new hydrogen peroxide detection sensitive material, boron doped carbonized ZIF‐67@graphene (Co‐N/C@G‐B) is synthesized through pyrolysis of a sandwich‐like ZIF‐67 coating graphene material. After doping boron atoms by using chemical vapor deposition method, new active sites such as Co2B and BNC bonds are created, and mesopores are significantly increased. Most importantly, this Co‐N/C@G‐B material is found to exhibit excellent performance as an enzyme‐free biosensor for detecting hydrogen peroxide with a very wide detection range (from 0.5 × 10−6 to 60 × 10−3 m), a low detection limit (0.19 × 10−6 m), and a rapid response time (≈3 s). The prepared biosensor also shows strong anti‐interference ability in the complex working occasions. Furthermore, for real application of the materials, an electronic device of biosensor is developed by using technologies of screen printing electrode, integrated circuit, 3D printed shell, and custom‐developed program, which shows high sensitivity and portability to detect hydrogen peroxide. Such device paves a way for further practical application of advanced materials in commercial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead is classified to be one of the top heavy metal pollutants in China. The corresponding environmental issues especially during the management of spent lead-acid battery have already caused significant public awareness and concern. This research gives a brief overview on the recycling situation based on an investigation of the lead industry in China and also the development of technologies for spent lead-acid batteries. The main principles and research focuses of different technologies including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and greener technologies are summarized and compared. Subsequently, the circulability of lead based on the entire life cycle analyses of lead-acid battery is calculated. By considering different recycling schemes, the recycling situation of spent lead-acid battery in China can be understood semi-quantitatively. According to this research, 30% of the primary lead production can be shut down that the lead production can still ensure consecutive life cycle operation of lead-acid battery, if proper management of the spent lead-acid battery is implemented according to current lead industry situation in China. This research provides a methodology on the view of lead circulability in the whole life cycle of a specific product and is aiming to contribute more quantitative guidelines for efficient organization of lead industry in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic ozonation is a highly effective method in wastewater treatment, and MnO 2 materials are widely recognized as active heterogeneous catalysts in this process. Many works reported the progress in active MnO 2 synthesis, but the active phase is rarely systematically studied. In this paper, all six phases of MnO 2 (α-, β-, δ-, γ-, λ- and ε-) were synthesized by facile methods. Their catalytic activities in ozonation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) were evaluated and correlated with the physicochemical properties obtained from X-ray Diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), physical adsorption and cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis. α- MnO 2 was found to be the most active catalyst in 4-NP degradation at neutral pH. MnO 2 with low average oxidation state (AOS) showed stronger oxidation/reduction peaks in CV characterization, which benefited catalytic decomposition of ozone to generate active species. Superoxide radical was confirmed as the main oxidizing species, along with singlet oxygen and ozone molecule oxidation in bulk solution and little contribution of oxidation on the MnO 2 surface. Mn 2+ leaching happened during catalytic ozonation, but its catalytic role is negligible. This result may give rise to the preparation of new active MnO 2 catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization, which is characterized by population aggregation, industrial development, and increased traffic load, may change local polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) emissions and their associated health risks. To investigate these changes, we collected soil samples in 2009 and 2014 in a rapidly developing small town in Southern Jiangsu (China) and measured the concentrations of 16 PAHs via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Although the total PAHs decreased from 4586.6 to 640.6 ng/g, the concentrations of the high-molecular-weight PAHs benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene increased due to changes in the PAH sources. Source apportionment by positive matrix factorization indicated that the two sources responsible for the highest soil PAH contributions changed from biomass combustion (42%) and coal combustion (32%) in 2009 to coal, biomass and natural gas combustion (35%) and diesel combustion (33%) in 2014. However, the two sources with the highest associated health risks were diesel and gasoline combustion in both years. The incremental lifetime cancer risk for residents exposed to PAHs in the soil via incidental ingestion and dermal contact decreased from 1.75 × 10 − 6 to 1.60 × 10 − 6 . The ban on open burning of straw and the substitution of coal with natural gas offset the PAH health risks due to increased urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A closed-loop process for recycling LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 from the cathode scraps for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is preliminarily established in this research. Biodegradable trichloroacetic acid (TCA) with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is innovatively developed to dissolve LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 from the cathode scraps. Operational parameters are optimized to obtain a lower Al dissolution rate, but not at the expense of sacrificing other metals. Under the optimal leaching condition of 3.0 M TCA, 4 vol.% H 2 O 2 , a solid to liquid (S/L) ratio of 50 g/L at 60 °C for 30 min, the leaching rates of Ni, Co, Mn and Li are 93.0%, 91.8%, 89.8% and 99.7%, respectively. In this optimum condition, only 7.0% of Al is leached, and this could be further controlled according to the subsequent utilization of the leachate. Avrami equation is introduced to describe the leaching kinetics of LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 from the cathode scraps. The apparent activation energies for leaching of Ni, Co, Mn and Li are determined as 44.51, 44.79, 43.81 and 28.00 kJ/mol, respectively, indicating that the surface chemical reaction is the rate-controlling step during this leaching process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li+/Na+ exchange has been extensively explored as an effective method to prepare high‐performance Mn‐based layered cathodes for Li‐ion batteries, since the first report in 1996 by P. G. Bruce (Nature, 1996. 381, 499–500). Understanding the detailed structural changes during the ion‐exchange process is crucial to implement the synthetic control of high‐performance layered Mn‐based cathodes, but less studied. Herein, in situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction, density functional theory calculations, and electrochemical tests are combined to conduct the systemic studies into the structural changes during the ion‐exchange process of an Mn‐only layered cathode O3‐type Li0.67[Li0.22Mn0.78]O2 (LLMO) from the corresponding counterpart P3‐type Na0.67[Li0.22Mn0.78]O2 (NLMO). The temperature‐resolved observations combined with theoretical calculations reveal that the Li+/Na+ exchange is favorable thermodynamically and composited with two tandem topotactic phase transitions: 1) from NLMO to a layered intermediate through ≈60% of Li+/Na+ exchange. 2) then to the final layered product LLMO through further Li insertion. Moreover, the intermediate‐dominate composite is obtained by slowing down the exchange kinetics below room temperature, showing better electrochemical performance than LLMO obtained by the traditional molten‐salt method. The findings provide guides for the synthetic control of high‐performance Mn‐based cathodes under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban and suburban variations in PM 2.5 -bound PAH compositions, sources and their potential health risk in terms of quality-adjusted life year (QALY) loss were explored, taking Haidian and Fangshan as urban and suburban representatives in Beijing. The annual mean total concentration of 16 priority PAHs in Fangshan (26.95 ng/m3) was higher than that in Haidian (12.59 ng/m3). The concentration of PAHs was much higher during the heating season, with four-ring PAHs as the dominant species. The PMF-PSCF-CPF integrated source apportionment method identified the same three sources in both areas; however, the mass contribution of traffic emissions in Haidian (64.2%) was larger than that in Fangshan (54.7%), while the source of coal and natural gas combustion and the source of biomass combustion, petroleum volatilization and coke oven contributed less (26.4% and 9.3%) than those in Fangshan (32.1% and 13.2%). Potential risk contribution of vehicle emissions (Haidian: 2943.39 QALYs, 91.36%; Fangshan: 6360.58 QALYs, 83.25%) was much greater than its mass contribution because its emission contained more PAH species with high toxicity, such as BaP. QALY loss covers the content of mental health, integrates noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic effects, and can more comprehensively reflect the health loss of affected people, thus being a suitable indicator for determining priority control sources. [Display omitted] • PM 2.5 and PAH concentrations in suburban areas were higher than those in urban areas. • Four-ring PAHs were the major species in both urban and suburban areas. • Lung, laryngeal and nasopharyngeal cancers induced the most QALY loss, followed by COPD. • Benzo [a]pyrene contributed the most QALY loss, and naphthalene was the 2nd contributor. • Vehicle emissions contributed greater QALY loss in urban areas than in suburban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Nitration treatment enhanced the activity of activated carbon in catalytic ozonation. [•] The amination modification enhanced the activity of activated carbon in catalytic ozonation. [•] Acid oxygenated groups play a positive role in catalytic ozonation of oxalic acid. [•] This provides a new choice to promote the activity of activated carbon in catalytic ozonation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The contents of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in the herbal medicine Panax notoginseng (PN) have attracted public attention for the safe use of PN. Species-specific safety limits for As and Cd based on health risk assessment are an effective measure for the safety of PN consumption. To decrease the uncertainty of risk assessment, the gastrointestinal bioaccessibilities of As and Cd in PN, the influence of pharmaceutical processes, and individual variations in the dosage and duration of PN preparations were introduced for probabilistic health risk estimation. The As and Cd concentrations in PN materials from three major medicinal material markets were in the ranges of 0.11–1.26 and 0.07–1.97 mg/kg, respectively. The gastrointestinal bioaccessibilities of As and Cd in PN determined by an in vitro experiment were 64.7 ± 3.9% and 84.1 ± 10.1%, respectively. There was almost no noncarcinogenic health risk; however, long-term consumption of the PN preparation may induce 3.53% of consumers to have carcinogenic risks exceeding 1 × 10−4. The safety limits of As and Cd in PN were then determined to be 1.5 and 3.6 mg/kg, respectively, based on this acceptable carcinogenic risk level. Furthermore, the bioaccumulation of As and Cd in PN and their impacts on pharmaceutical components were studied based on our investigation in 19 PN plantations in major production areas. The safety limits of As and Cd in the soils were thus determined to be 5.5 and 7.3 mg/kg, respectively. The establishment of species-specific safety limits for commonly used herbal medicine was proposed because current standards cannot ensure the safe usage of PN. [Display omitted] • Gastrointestinal bioaccessibility of As and Cd in PN was studied by an in vitro test. • The processing, dosage and duration of the clinical use of PN were investigated. • General standards for herbal medicine cannot ensure the safe use of PN. • A stricter As safety limit in PN was proposed for long-term use-induced cancer risk. • As and Cd safety limits in soil were determined to ensure the quality and safety of PN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Dramatic activity enhancement was observed over Fe-doped g-C 3 N 4. • Two-photoelectron reduction pathway was verified in Fe/g-C 3 N 4 Vis-O 3 system. • The different roles of single Fe atoms and nanoparticles was explored. • Fe(II)N x sites promoted the adsorption and reduction of O 2 rather than O 3. The identification of active sites and the establishment of structure-reactivity relationship at atomic scale is important for designing efficient catalysts and understanding the reaction mechanism. Here, single atom catalysts (SACs) of Fe anchored on g-C 3 N 4 were synthesized. The catalysts have larger surface area, more photo-generated electrons with stronger reduction ability and faster charge carrier migration than g-C 3 N 4 , thereby exhibited dramatically enhanced activity and stability in electron reduction of ozone (O 3) under visible light. However, lower catalytic performance was observed when Fe nanoparticles coexisted, which regulated more photoelectrons to reduce O 2 to OH via two or three-electron reduction pathways rather than one-electron reduction of O 3. Mössbauer spectrum and X-ray adsorption spectroscopy indicated that the presence of Fe nanoparticles led to higher proportion of Fe(II)N x , which played more significant role in the adsorption and reduction of O 2. The insight on the contribution of different Fe sites with well-defined local coordination structure is beneficial for rational design of efficient catalysts in photocatalytic ozonation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The roles of the emulsifiers in the crud formation during the long-term operation during the vanadium and chromium extraction were studied. The crud produced in the long-term operation of extraction was determined by GC–MS for organic phase and XPS for solid particles. The results indicate that the redox reaction occurs between Cr(VI) and organic compounds, and the reduction products of Cr(VI) induce more stable emulsion. Additionally, the roles of other types of solid particles and organic compounds confirmed before were carried out by thermodynamic calculation and experiments combined with discussion. Three-dimensional network structure of silica and precipitation of various cations act as the major incentives to stimulate the emulsion. Whereafter, crystallization of sodium sulfate and the reduction of Cr(VI) take place at the surface of emulsion droplet, and the organic compounds are prone to be adsorbed by these fine solids which subsequently consolidate the newly formed surface of droplet. The interactions between emulsion droplets were calculated according to the extended DLVO theory. The comprehensive stabilization mechanisms were also proposed, including the composite interfacial film mechanism, the steric hindrance mechanism and the double electric layer mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The stability of the interfacial crud produced during the extraction and separation of vanadium and chromium was studied in this paper. Thermodynamic stability, particle size distribution, setting time and clarifying curve of the emulsion droplet were investigated. From the results, the percentage of the crud produced decreases with the increasing setting time and after 30min it shows less change. The coalescence rate is relatively smaller than the rising rate, and the phase separation time is determined by the coalescence behavior of the droplet. The crud is considered to have thermodynamic instability, kinetic stability. The demulsifying mechanism was also put forward. New extraction system using n-hexane instead of kerosene as diluent with larger surface energy can prevent the emulsion formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) is identified as the primary organisms responsible for the treatment of heavy metal wastewater. However, most heavy metals can inhibit the growth of SRB during heavy metal treatment processes. Sulfide is a metabolic product of SRB and it can precipitate or reduce heavy metals. This study focused on the effects of sulfide on SRB resistance to Cu(II), Hg(I) and Cr(VI) toxicity. First, we considered the existence style of various heavy metals with and without sulfide addition by sequential extraction experiments. Second, the particle size distribution was evaluated and the cell structure during the metabolism of a SRB culture, containing different heavy metals, was analyzed by particle size distribution and TEM analyses. Third, the evolution of sulfate under the influence of different concentrations of heavy metals with and without sulfide addition was investigated to evaluate SRB activity. The results indicated that sulfide played an important role in alleviating and even eliminating the toxicity of Cu(II), Hg(II) and Cr(VI). We also discuss the mechanism of sulfide on SRB resistance to Cu(II), Hg(I) and Cr(VI) toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current study focused on the influences of various pretreatments, including alkaline, ultrasonic and thermal pretreatments on biological sulfate reduction with waste activated sludge (WAS) as sole electron donor. Our results showed that thermal and ultrasonic pretreatments increased the sulfate reduction percentage by 14.8% and 7.1%, respectively, compared with experiment with raw WAS, while alkaline pretreatment decreased the sulfate reduction percentage by 46%. By analyzing the WAS structure, particle size distribution, organic component, and enzyme activity after different pretreatments, we studied the effects of these pretreatments on WAS as well as on the mechanisms of how biological sulfate reduction was affected. The reduction of WAS and variation of WAS structure in the process of sulfate reduction were investigated. Our results showed that biosulfidogenesis was an efficient method of diminishing WAS, and various pretreatments could enhance the reduction efficiency of volatile solid in the WAS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As the consumption of Puerh tea is booming because of its multiple health-promoting effects, the possible health risks resulting from long-term exposure to metals contained in this tea need to be evaluated. To assess the human risk associated with drinking Puerh tea, concentrations of aluminium, lead, cadmium, mercury, zinc, copper and arsenic were determined in samples of Puerh tea, tea leaves from the plants, and planted soil collected from the Yunnan province, China. Site-specific exposure parameters such as body weight and consumption rate of Puerh tea were investigated in Kunming and Puer cities using face-to-face surveys. Health risks were evaluated for the inhabitants of Kunming and Puer cities by gender and by age groups. Although the Puerh tea plant easily absorbs aluminium from soil, the concentrations of Al and six other elements in Puerh tea were all far below the safety concentration limits of China. Both the HQ (Hazard Quotient) values for single elements and the HI (Hazard Index) value for all seven elements were far below one, indicating no non-carcinogenic risks from these seven elements for inhabitants of Kunming and Puer under the current consumption rates of Puerh tea. However, probabilistic estimation of carcinogenic risk shows that the 95th percentile carcinogenic rate of arsenic in Puerh tea approaches the accepted risk level of 10−4 for the highest exposure group. Therefore, the arsenic in Puerh tea is of concern. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Selectively extracting tungsten to purify sodium molybdate solution was studied using primary amine N1923, including various conditions, such as equilibrium pH values, concentrations of extractant in organic phase and metals in feed solution, contact time of extraction and stripping, types of acidic solutions added, temperature of extraction and the dosage of stripping agent. Graphical method using McCabe-Thiele diagram and counter-current extraction simulation (CCES) were used to determine the required stages of deep removal of tungsten. The results show that appropriate concentrations of tungsten and molybdenum in feed solution have great influence on the difficult degree of the separation between the two metals. Organic phase including 0.051M of N1923 modified by LK-N21X diluted in kerosene can extract 92.7% of tungsten in sulfuric acid solution at equilibrium pH value of 7.07 for 10min in one-stage extraction at 15.5°C, and the separation factor reaches 329 under those optimum conditions. A two-stage CCES removes 99.83% of tungsten and obtains the purified sodium molybdate solution where W/Mo (mass ratio) reaches 2.9×10−5. Stripping can be accomplished by NaOH solution completely and quickly. Furthermore, the extraction and stripping reactions of tungsten and molybdenum in equilibrium were proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant. The effects of arsenic (As) on the growth and the formation of pharmaceutical components of S. baicalensis, and the uptake and accumulation of As by S. baicalensis were investigated using a field pot-culture experiment. The results show that spiking low concentrations of As (≤100mgkg−1) into soils can hasten the growth and development of the roots. High levels of As, however, reduced plant growth. The concentrations of five flavone components were not significantly affected by spiking low concentrations of As (≤200mgkg−1) into soils. High levels of As inhibited the generation of baicalin and wogoninside, but facilitated the generation of baicalein, wogonin and oroxylin A in S. baicalensis Georgi. The concentration of As in each part of the plant was proportional to the concentration of As spiked into the soil. The application of phosphorus (P) to the soil promoted the uptake and accumulation of As in the roots of the plant, but this synergistic effect became weaker with the incremental addition of P. Dry biomass did not change in response to low levels of P addition (≤200mgkg−1) to soils, but it increased significantly under high levels of P. Based on the results of both this pot-culture experiment and human health risk assessments, maximum safety limits of 2.0mgkg−1 of As in the roots of S. baicalensis Georgi and 70mgkg−1 of As in cultivated soils are suggested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dietary consumption of fish is the greatest contributor to dioxin exposure of the general population in Japan. Unlike with other routes of exposure to dioxins, exposure via foodstuffs does not necessarily occur from local sources. Clarifying the distribution of fish from the catch area to local markets helps to control dioxin exposure from the head of the distribution chain down. We analyzed the data from 30 major central wholesale fish markets to determine both the market share of fish by catch area and the market share of major fish types in fish consumption markets. Probabilistic estimation of dietary exposure of the general population to dioxins in fish was conducted in seven regions in Japan. Probabilistic density functions (PDFs) were assigned to express the variability of data from monitoring of dioxin levels in fish by catch area or by fish type. From histograms of dioxin levels in fish by catch area, the mean and 5th to 95th percentile range of dietary exposure to dioxins in the region with the largest 95th percentile value were estimated, respectively, as 55.5 and 12.9-172.9 pg-TEQ/day. No statistically significant differences in dietary exposure to dioxins in fish were observed among the seven regions. Some specific coastal catch areas and some types of fish that had a greater impact than others on exposure were pinpointed for each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, the interfacial crud produced during the extraction of vanadium and chromium by primary amine N1923 was investigated from the leaching solution containing heavy metals. Effect of pH values of the leaching solution on the percentage of the crud produced and the emulsion type of the crud were studied. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) have been employed for the physiochemical characterizations of the crud. Our results indicate that the percentage of the crud produced is greatly affected by the pH value of the real leaching solution, and the crud is more stable in the acidic solution. The crud is an oil-in-water emulsion with many fine solid particles in the water phase. The particles, which are from the real leaching solution, have been proved to be the main cause for the crud formation. Particles in the cruds are normally composed of a large number of the crystals of Na2SO4, a few SiO2 and oxides or hydroxids of Fe and Al. However, component proportions of the solids are dependent on the pH values. Possible mechanism of the crud formation is put forward. The solids present in the real leaching solution exert a stabilizing effect on the emulsion, based on which Na2SO4 crystallizes at the interface of the emulsion. Furthermore, the Na2SO4 crystals strengthen the stability of the emulsion, and thereafter the interfacial crud forms. Three effective methods to prevent the crud formation are proposed, i.e. clearing the real leaching solution by membrane filtration, increasing of the amount of the modifier, and applying of hexane as the diluent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Batch experiments were performed to study the reaction kinetics of chromium(VI) and S(-II) in alkalescent aqueous media with high reactant concentrations. Effects of stirring rate, pH, initial Cr(VI) concentration, temperature and inert substance concentration on Cr(VI) reduction were experimentally investigated. Apparent reaction kinetics were obtained. The apparent activation energy( Ea) of the reaction was ca. 30.9 kJ · mol−1 at temperature range of 303-333 K and the reaction showed positive salt effect in the low inert substance concentration media of 0.025–0.25 mol/L, suggesting that the actual reactants might be HCrO4− and HS−. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Chinese environmental authorities have expressed interest in the use of Tradable Discharge Permits (TDP) as a regulatory instrument to control pollutant emissions. Environmental professionals still have not had enough experience however, in designing and managing TDP systems, especially for non-uniformly dispersed pollutants. As an empirical study, this paper proposes an inter-zonal TDP system and analyzes its effectiveness in cost saving and environmental protection for reducing water pollutant COD (Chemical oxygen demand) in Tianjin, China. Zonal permit system (ZPS) and emission permit system (EPS) are discussed for comparison. The inter-zonal TDP System is demonstrated to improve cost efficiency by allowing permit trades between zones, as long as water quality constraints are satisfied. The transactions are assumed to proceed in a multilateral sequential way and are simulated with a circularly running linear programming (LP) model. The simulation of permit transactions among 20 firms shows that to reach the same COD removal target, ZPS, inter-zonal TDP system, and EPS lowered the total reduction cost by 12.8%, 14.6%, and 15.8%, respectively. EPS, however, brought about "hot spots" problem. Finally, the transaction costs and sensitivity of the three TDP systems to changes in both COD reduction rate and the initial permit allocation are discussed, and policy implications are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the metabolism, population dynamics and spatial distribution of nitrifying bacteria and heterotrops in biofilms. Use of direct electric current and the micro-slicing technique; Inhibition of the nitrification rate by a current over 10 Am-2 at lower C/N ratios; Significant decrease in bacterial density of nitrifying bacteria in surface biofilms; Finding that an increase in current density narrowed the inner biofilm region; Changes in the density of NQ2-oxidizers and NH1-oxidizers in the surface biofilms, suggesting dectrochemical reactions at the anode; Finding that the current's effect on population dynamics and spatial distribution was less significant at larger C/N ratios.

Implementing artificial intelligence technologies allows for the accurate prediction of radiation therapy dose distributions, enhancing treatment planning efficiency. However, esophageal cancers present unique challenges because of tumor complexity and diverse prescription types. Additionally, limited data availability hampers the effectiveness of existing artificial intelligence models. This study developed a deep learning model, trained on a diverse data set of esophageal cancer prescriptions, to improve dose prediction accuracy. We retrospectively collected data from 530 patients with esophageal cancer, including single-target and simultaneous integrated boost prescriptions, for model building. The proposed Asymmetric ResNeSt (AS-NeSt) model features novel 3-dimensional (3D) ResNeSt blocks and an asymmetrical architecture. We constructed a loss function targeting global and local doses and validated the model's performance against existing alternatives. Model-assisted experiments were used to validate its clinical benefits. The AS-NeSt model maintained an absolute prediction error below 5% for each dosimetric metric. The average Dice similarity coefficient for isodose volumes was 0.93. The model achieved an average relative prediction error of 2.02%, statistically lower than Hierarchically Densely Connected U-net (4.17%), DoseNet (2.35%), and Densely Connected Network (3.65%). It also demonstrated significantly fewer parameters and shorter prediction times. Clinically, the AS-NeSt model raised physicians' ability to accurately preassess appropriate treatment methods before planning from 95.24% to 100%, reduced planning time by over 61% for junior dosimetrists and 52% for senior dosimetrists, and decreased both inter- and intra-dosimetrist discrepancies by more than 50%. The AS-NeSt model, developed with innovative 3D ResNeSt blocks and an asymmetrical encoder-decoder structure, has been validated using clinical esophageal cancer patient data. It accurately predicts 3D dose distributions for various prescriptions, including simultaneous integrated boost, showing potential to improve the management of esophageal cancer treatment in a clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) industry, the demand for core valuable elements in LIB has increased dramatically. A safe supply of corresponding metals is crucial to ensure the industry's sustainability. However, quantitative evaluation to reveal the supply risk including criticality of LIBs in China is still not available. In this regard, criticality analysis was carried out to identify the importance of a specific metal in the current LIBs supply chain of raw materials. Subsequently, a comprehensive methodology to evaluate supply sustainability is established in this research by considering the combined effects of material supply, economic fluctuations, and technology innovation in the time frame from 2015 to 2030. An integrated index called Chinese supply resilience is introduced, indicating that a low Chinese supply resilience has a high possibility of supply shortage of the corresponding metal while a high resilience level represents minor supply risk. The results show that insufficient material supply has already induced a severe shortage for lithium (Li) and cobalt (Co). Specifically, Chinese supply resilience of lithium moves from the threshold to the low resilience zone, whereas that for cobalt remains in the low area, both implying a high risk of supply shortage. Furthermore, three appropriate mitigation measures, that is, recycling of spent LIBs, substitution of raw materials, and an increase in domestic raw materials production are considered. Recycling demonstrates the most effective solution to alleviate the potential supply risk of corresponding materials. With this research, it may promote management efficiency on end-of-life LIBs for policy makers. Image 1 • The index of Chinese supply resilience is used to evaluate supply risk of materials. • Supply resilience for Li moves from the threshold to the low-resilience zone. • Supply resilience for Co remains in the low-resilience zone. • Effect of material supply, economy and technology innovation is analyzed. • Scenario analysis considering recycling, substitution and production is conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional conversion of organic wastes into value-added products encounters bottlenecks such as the use of expensive, toxic solvents and cumbersome post-treatment of the separated products. To overcome these bottlenecks, the in situ air–water interface is employed to convert four waste surfactants into easily separable value-added products upon photoirradiation under ambient conditions. The results show that four representative amphiphiles with different functional groups can be directly transformed into automatically separated hydrocarbons and fluorescent nanoparticles (FNs) in the gas and solid phases respectively. Such an excellent separation performance is attributed to the fact that the Henry's law constant and dipole moment of the products are significantly reduced relative to those of their parents and the unique two-dimensional (2D) interface further accelerates their separation. In particular, the optimal selectivity of olefins is up to 99%, and the fluorescence quantum yield of FNs can reach as high as 44.35%. Combined with theoretical calculations, the referred mechanism and influences of functional groups on the resource transformation pathway and products are revealed in depth. This work provides important theoretical guidance for efficient, green and economical waste-to-resource conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In membrane distillation (MD), complicated feed water with amphiphilic contaminants induces fouling/wetting of the MD membrane and can even lead to process failure. This study reports a facile approach to fabricate robust and self-healing hybrid amphiphobic membranes for anti-surfactant-wetting MD based on the ultra-low surface energy of fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (F-POSS) and its thermal induced motivation and rotation. The thermal treatment makes the membranes achieving amphiphobicity at a very low cost of F-POSS (13.04 wt.%), which is about 1/3 of without thermal treatment. The prepared membrane exhibits excellent amphiphobicity, i.e. ethanol contact angle of 120.3°, without using environmentally toxic fluorinated nanoparticles. Robust MD performance was observed for the amphiphobic membrane in concentrated sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) feed solutions. Furthermore, the fabricated membrane exhibited stable amphiphobicity even in extreme environments, including strong acid or alkaline solutions. In the event of a damaged or abraded membrane surface where the F-POSS can be removed, the amphiphobic membrane exhibits self-healing ability with additional thermal treatment. This simple approach without the use of nanoparticles provides an environmentally friendly way for fabrication of amphiphobic membranes for anti-surfactant-wetting membrane distillation. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas–water interface mediated photoconversion of renewable biomass into fuels is a promising strategy to mitigate the impending environmental pollution and energy crisis. Herein, a gas–water interface is engineered to photoconvert fatty acids (FAs, C6–C9) into gaseous Cn-2 linear alpha-olefins (LAOs) with a high selectivity (87–91%) under mild conditions; especially, experiments with different interfaces demonstrate that the gas–water interface plays a crucial role in the enhanced selective production. The thinner molecular layer and ordered packing significantly promote the production of LAOs by maximizing the hydrogen bonding between FAs and interfacial water molecules. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, at the molecular level, elaborate that interfacial water could activate the reactions through hydrogen bonding lowering the reaction barrier of initial photoreaction of FAs. Additionally, different atmospheres are found to impact the pathways and products of photoconversion, thus enabling the controllable synthesis of LAOs. Unlike the metal/enzyme-involved harsh catalytic system, the gas–water interface serves as a green, low-cost and efficient 'venue' which can be infinitely reused for hydrocarbon production, pioneering a new way for mitigating the energy crisis and developing a truly green and sustainable society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has attracted intensive attention owing to their potential environmental risk and the importance of the supply of critical metals. Sulfation roasting as a traditional technology is not considered environmentally friendly due to serious SOx emission. The usage of over-stoichiometric amounts of sodium salt results in high sodium content in the leaching solutions bringing about difficulties for the preparation of qualified lithium products. It is usually not easy to achieve high recovery selectivity of metals. Herein, we find it is possible to eliminate secondary emission and no sodium is included in the process of spent LIB (LiCoO2 as a case study) recycling if the transfer pathway of sulfur among different phases is well controlled. At the same time, high lithium recovery selectivity is achieved. The principles of green chemistry for substitution of chemicals with a low environmental impact and improving the atomic efficiency of sulfur are introduced during traditional sulfation roasting. A pretreatment step of aging with sulfuric acid at 393 K is introduced to form cobalt sulfate which in the following heat treatment step will further preferentially react with the remaining LiCoO2 until it is completely consumed. By controlling the amount of sulfuric acid, sulfur can be recirculated and recycled thoroughly in the form of SO42−, instead of SOx emission and the atomic efficiency of sulfur can be highly improved. After leaching with water, the concentration of Li+ in the leachate reaches 19.82 g L−1; 99.3% lithium and 98.7% cobalt were recuperated as Li2CO3 and Co3O4 with a purity of 99.89% and 99.95%, respectively. Our findings propose an environmentally benign and easily implemented strategy for selective recycling of spent LIBs. The fundamentals provide inspiration for separation and extraction fields such as mining and recycling of complex systems composed of multiple metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic polymeric flocculants, as useful and widely used technology, have been applied for heavy metal pollution control. However, although molecular weight is an important indicator, it is not a comprehensive indicator for evaluating flocculation efficiencies of ionic flocculants. Herein, specific charge density (SCD), defined as charge density of unit molecular weight, is a new indicator to evaluate the performance of ionic polymer flocculants. Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) as coagulant aid is investigated to flocculate different anionic pollutants. The results indicate that PDADMAC with a high SCD value could benefit to the flocculation efficiency of anionic pollutants. According to statistical analysis, the average pollutants residual could decrease to 8.64%–32.27% by that with high SCD value, especially for high valence pollutants with a decrease from 58.97%–60.40% to 27.35%–32.27%. The indicator of SCD values not only could characterize the performance of polymer flocculants but also provide a new sight of the flocculation mechanism of polymeric flocculants. Practitioner points: Specific Charge Density (SCD) is defined as charge density of unit molecularweight.SCD as a new indicator to evaluate comprehensively the performance of flocculants.Removal efficiencies by flocculation increase with SCD value of PDADMAC increase.Effect of SCD of PDADMAC on removal of pollutant with high valence is significant.SCD of PDADMAC is less indicative for removal of pollutant with low valence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Persulfate combined wet air oxidation (PWAO) is proposed to deep remove benzothiazole. • OH is firstly detected by electron paramagnetic resonance in wet air oxidation process. • OH plays a very important role in the PWAO process. • High COD removal is achieved with a large amount of microsphere polymers recycling. • The PWAO process has a lower operating cost than WAO in COD removal. Wet air oxidation (WAO) has an obvious advantage in treating wastewater with high concentration of organics, but harsh reaction conditions are required and the treatment efficiency has not reached a satisfactory level. Herein, we developed a low dosage of persulfate promoted WAO process (PWAO) to remove a model heterocyclic pollutant benzothiazole (BTH). The addition of persulfate remarkably enhanced the elimination of benzothiazole (BTH) and COD from water via degradation and polymerization. Under optimized operation condition (with 11.1 mM K 2 S 2 O 8 addition into WAO), about 65.0% of BTH converted into microsphere polymers and more than 94.6% COD was eliminated from water after polymers separation. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis and quenching experiments revealed that OH was effectively generated in a wide range of reaction temperature and it played the key role in BTH degradation and polymerization, while SO 4 − was detected at low temperature for its fast decomposition at high temperature. Quantum chemical calculation together with ultra-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS) analysis confirmed that the degradation and polymerization of BTH mainly started from the heterocyclic ring, followed by further oxidation or polymerization. Comparing with normal WAO process, the PWAO technology had an advantage in lower operating cost in removing per unit COD and carbon resource recycle, which indicates a promising prospect in treating wastewater with high concentration of heterocyclic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]