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Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin produced by the Fusarium species, which has various toxic effects. The chemical structures of ZEN and its derivatives are similar to that of estrogen. When ingested by animals or humans, ZEN and its derivatives can lead to disturbance of estrogen balance, thereby harming the reproductive system. Moreover, they can alter gene structure and consequently affect gene expression, and can even cause damage to the immune system, thus weakening the immune response. ZEN is transformed and metabolized into ZEN derivatives during food processing or after absorption by animals and plants, and its toxicity is altered due to structural and physicochemical changes. Studying the toxicity of ZEN and its derivatives as well as their transformation and metabolism in various organisms is important for ensuring food security and mycotoxin toxicity risk assessment.

Deoxynivalenol (DON, commonly known as vomitoxin) is one of the most common pollutants in grains and grain products, and it is a secondary metabolite produced by fungi such as Fusarium graminearum. DON is usually produced concurrently with its acetylated derivatives, including 3-acetyl-DON and 15-acetyl-DON, which show similar or even higher toxicity than DON, increasing the safety risk of grains and grain products. In this paper, we briefly describe the current status of research on the production, detection technologies and pollution status of DON acetylated derivatives. We also review recent progress in research on the toxicity and transformation of DON acetylated derivatives. Through this review, we hope to provide a theoretical foundation for future research on the degradation, prevention and control of DON acetylated derivatives in foods.

Photocatalytic hydrogen production based on noble metal‐free systems is a promising technology for the conversion of solar energy into green hydrogen, it is pivotal and challenging to tailor‐make photocatalysts for achieving high photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, we reported a hollow double‐shell dyad through uniformly coating covalent organic frameworks (COFs) on the surface of hollow Co9S8. The double shell architecture enhances the scattering and refraction efficiency of incident light, shortens the transmission distance of the photogenerated charge carriers, and exposes more active sites for photocatalytic conversion. The hydrogen evolution rate is as high as 23.15 mmol g−1 h−1, which is significantly enhanced when compared with that of their physical mixture (0.30 mmol g−1 h−1) and Pt‐based counterpart (11.84 mmol g−1 h−1). This work provides a rational approach to the construction of noble‐metal‐free photocatalytic systems based on COFs to enhance hydrogen evolution performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There are significant food safety risks associated with wheat spoilage due to fungal growth and mycotoxin contamination. Nevertheless, a few studies have examined how stored wheat grain microbial communities and mycotoxins vary in different storage conditions. In this study, changes in deoxynivalenol (DON) and deoxynivalenol‐3‐glucoside (D3G) content were measured with ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS), and an amplicon sequence analysis of fungi was performed on stored wheat grains from different storage conditions using high‐throughput sequencing. The detailed interactions among the composition changes in the fungal community and the DON content of simulated stored wheat grains were also analyzed. RESULTS: Alternaria, Fusarium, Mrakia, and Aspergillus were the core fungal taxa, and the fungal communities of samples stored under different conditions were observed to be different. Aspergillus relative abundances increased, whereas Fusarium decreased. This led to an increase in the content of DON. The content of DON increased about 67% with 12% moisture and at 25 °C after 2 months of storage, which was influenced by the stress response of Fusarium. Correlations in fungal and mycotoxins changes were observed. There may be potential value in these findings for developing control strategies to prevent mildew infestations and mycotoxins contamination during grain storage. CONCLUSION: In storage, the more the fungal community composition and the relative abundance of Fusarium change, the more mycotoxins will be produced. We should therefore reduce competition between fungal communities through pre‐storage treatment and through measures during storage. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper antimony selenium (CuSbSe2) is considered a promising candidate for manufacturing flexible thin film solar cells. However, inappropriate band offset deteriorates the properties of CuSbSe2 solar cell devices. In this work, the effects of Cd1−xZnxS and ZnOyS1−y buffer layers on the performance of CuSbSe2 solar cells were studied with SCAPS simulation. The preliminary structure was designed, and the influence of Zn/(Zn + Cd) ratio, O/(O + S) ratio, thickness, and donor density of Cd1−xZnxS and ZnOyS1−y buffer layers on the performance of the solar cell was then investigated. The conduction band offset (CBO) of the interface between buffer layer and absorber layer was optimized. Efficiency values of 7.81% and 10.26% were obtained for the CuSbSe2 devices with Zn/(Zn + Cd) = 0.5 and O/(O + S) = 0.6, and the thickness of Cd1−xZnxS and ZnOyS1−y buffer layers was 20 nm and 30 nm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper antimony selenium (CuSbSe2) has advantages of adjustable band gaps from 1.09 eV to 1.2 eV, high light absorption coefficient (>105 cm−1), and low grain generation temperature (300–400 °C), which is suitable for the preparation of solar cells. However, the stable range of CuSbSe2 (CASe) phase is narrow, which is inevitable to form Sb2Se3 and Cu3SbSe4 second phase during the preparation process. In this work, selenization annealing of Sb/Cu metal layer to prepare CASe thin films with pulse electrodeposition process was studied, and the growth mechanism of CASe film was analyzed. Cu and Sb reacted with Se to form Cu2Se and Sb2Se3, respectively. Then Cu2Se and Sb2Se3 further reacted to generate CASe. Since the formation temperature of Cu3SbSe4 was lower than that of CASe, the preferential formation of Cu3SbSe4 led to layer separation. When the annealing temperature was too high, CASe decomposed to form Cu3SbSe3 and Sb2Se3. Additionally, by increasing the heating rate, the separation of CASe thin films was effectively improved, and the CASe thin films with relatively high crystallinity were obtained at 360 °C with heating rate of 30 °C/min and selenization time of 20 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ubiquitous cyan gap in the white light emitting diode (WLED) emission spectrum, especially at 490–500 nm, has long hindered our quest for natural sunlight. In this paper, abundant cyan broadband emissions (peak at 496 nm) is first achieved in CsCd(Cl1−yBry)3 metal halide perovskites (MHPs) via a simple precipitation method to address this challenge. The Mn2+ ions are then doped in CsCd(Cl1−yBry)3 to supplement the yellow component. The resulting single-component white emitter CsCd1−x (Cl1−yBry)3:xMn2+ phosphors possess an ultra-wide band emission from 350 nm to 750 nm, a pair of independent cyan and yellow emission peaks, and tunable color temperature (from 3000 K to 8000 K). The CsCd0.65 (Cl0.9Br0.1)3 : 0.35Mn2+ possesses excellent CIE 1931 color coordinates of (0.328, 0.348), a corresponding color temperature of 5690 K and a color rendering index of 90.96. In addition, this composites still has stable luminescence properties after 4 months of immersion in water. These results may stimulate the research on MHP-based single-component white emitter for the next generation of white light illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are regarded as one of the promising energy storage systems. However, rapid capacity attenuation caused by shuttle effect of soluble polysulfides is major challenge in practical application. The separator modification is regarded as one countermeasure besides the construction of sulfur host materials. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are one type of outstanding candidates for suppressing shuttle effect of polysulfides. Herein, recent advances of COFs in the application as commercial separator modifiers are summarized. COFs serve as ionic sieves, the importance of porous size and surface environments in inhibiting soluble polysulfides shuttling and promoting lithium ions conduction is highlighted. The superiority of charge‐neutral COFs, ionic COFs, and the composites of COFs with conductive materials for improving reversible capacity and cycling stability is demonstrated. Some new strategies for the design of COF‐based separator modifiers are proposed to achieving high energy density. The review provides new perspectives for future development of high‐performance Li–S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]