Nitrogen-doping coupled with cerium oxide loading co-modified graphitic carbon nitride for highly enhanced photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline under visible light

The increasingly serious pollution of antibiotics brings an enormous threat to the ecological environment and human health. Graphite phase carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), as a popular photocatalytic material, is widely used in photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics in water. In order to make up for the shortage of g-C₃N₄ monomer, CeO₂/N-doped g-C₃N₄ (CeNCN) composite photocatalysts co-modified with nitrogen doping and CeO₂ loading were designed and synthesized with the idea of expanding visible light absorption and promoting photogenerated carrier separation. CeNCN exhibits excellent photodegradation performance, the removal rate of tetracycline reached 80.09% within 60 min, which is much higher than that of g-C₃N₄ (CN) and N-doped g-C₃N₄ (NCN); and the quasi-first-order degradation rate constant is 0.0291, which is 7.86 and 2.29 times higher than CN and NCN. Electron spin resonance and free radical trapping experiments confirmed that h⁺, O₂^- and OH are the active substances in the photocatalytic system. After 5 cycles, the degradation efficiency of tetracycline still exceeds 75%, which indicates that CeNCN has good stability. This work proves that N-doping and CeO₂ loading can effectively broaden the photoresponse range of g-C₃N₄, facilitate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, and provide a reference for the construction of g-C₃N₄-based photocatalyst with high-efficiency photodegradation activity.

Effect of different dosage of sodium butyrate and niacin on growth, fecal microbiota and vitamin B metabolism in weaned piglets

AIMS

Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of different dosages of sodium butyrate and niacin on the growth performance, fecal vitamin B and microbiota in weaned piglets.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Seventy-two weaned piglets (Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire, age of 21d) were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 treatments (12 pigs / treatment): the control (CT) group was administered a basal diet. The groups which concentration ratio of sodium butyrate to niacin were 100: 1, 100: 2, 100: 4, 100: 8 and 100: 16 (BN1, BN2, BN4, BN8, BN16) were administered a basal diet supplemented with 2000 mg·kg^-1 sodium butyrate and 20 mg·kg^-1 , 40 mg·kg^-1 , 80 mg·kg^-1 , 160 mg·kg^-1 or 320 mg·kg^-1 niacin. After 14-d treatment, the samples were collected. The results showed that feed conversion rate (FCR) was reduced and average daily gain (ADG) was increased in BN2 (P < 0.05). The diarrhea index of pigs decreased with the low supplement. Additionally, compared with CT group, other groups significantly increased (P < 0.05) the abundance of Firmicutes (BN4, phylum), Lactobacillaceae (BN8, family), Megasphaera (BN8, genus), and Lactobacillus (BN8, genus). Furthermore, the sodium butyrate and niacin supplementation influence vitamin B1, vitamin B2, pyridoxine, niacin, nicotinamide, and vitamin B12 (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis of the association of microorganisms with vitamin B indicated that changes of vitamin B metabolism have potential correlation with alterations of fecal microbiota in weaned piglets.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated that adding of sodium butyrate and niacin in the diet could promote the performance and improve the fecal microbiota and vitamin B metabolism in weaned piglets.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Our study might provide clues to the research of correlations between fecal bacteria and fecal vitamin B, and these findings will contribute to the direction of future research in weaned piglets.

Repressed Central Carbon Metabolism and Its Effect on Related Metabolic Pathways in Cefoperazone/Sulbactam-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Metabolic shift and antibiotic resistance have been reported in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, the global metabolic characteristics remain largely unknown. The present study characterizes the central carbon metabolism and its effect on other metabolic pathways in cefoperazone-sulbactam (SCF)-resistant P. aeruginosa (PA-R_SCF). GC-MS-based metabolomics shows a repressed central carbon metabolism in PA-R_SCF, which is confirmed by measuring expression of genes and activity of enzymes in the metabolism. Furthermore, expression of the genes that encode the enzymes for the first step of fatty acid biosynthesis, glutamate metabolism, and electron transport chain is reduced, confirmed by their enzymatic activity assay, and the key enzyme for riboflavin metabolism is also reduced, indicating the decreased metabolic flux to the four related metabolic pathways. Moreover, the role of the reduced riboflavin metabolism, being related to ROS generation, in SCF resistance is explored. Exogenous H₂O₂ potentiates SCF-mediated killing in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that the decreased ROS resulted from the reduced riboflavin metabolism that contributed to the resistance. These results indicate that the repressed central carbon metabolism and related riboflavin metabolism contribute to SCF resistance, but increasing ROS can restore SCF sensitivity. These findings characterize the repressed central carbon metabolism and its effect on other metabolic pathways as the global metabolic features in PA-R_SCF.

Glucose-Potentiated Amikacin Killing of Cefoperazone/Sulbactam Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become one of global threat pathogens for human health due to insensitivity to antibiotics. Recently developed reprogramming metabolomics can identify biomarkers, and then, the biomarkers were used to revert the insensitivity and elevate antibiotic-mediated killing. Here, the methodology was used to study cefoperazone/sulbactam (SCF)-resistant P. aeruginosa (PA-R_SCF) and identified reduced glycolysis and pyruvate cycle, a recent clarified cycle providing respiratory energy in bacteria, as the most key enriched pathways and the depressed glucose as one of the most crucial biomarkers. Further experiments showed that the depression of glucose was attributed to reduction of glucose transport. However, exogenous glucose reverted the reduction to elevate intracellular glucose via activating glucose transport. The elevated glucose fluxed to the glycolysis, pyruvate cycle, and electron transport chain to promote downstream proton motive force (PMF). Consistently, exogenous glucose did not promote SCF-mediated elimination but potentiated aminoglycosides-mediated killing since aminoglycosides uptake is PMF-dependent, where amikacin was the best one. The glucose-potentiated amikacin-mediated killing was effective to both lab-evolved PA-R_SCF and clinical multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa. These results reveal the depressed glucose uptake causes the reduced intracellular glucose and expand the application of metabolome-reprogramming on selecting conventional antibiotics to achieve the best killing efficacy.

Clinical Benefit With PARP Inhibitor for Pathogenic Germline FANCA-Mutated Relapsed Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Case Report

Background

PARP inhibitors have been approved as targeted therapy for BRCA-deficient metastatic ovarian cancer (OC). Fanconi anemia complementation group A (FANCA), one of the homologous recombination repair pathway genes, is a susceptibility gene to breast cancer and OC. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate whether germline FANCA-mutated relapsed epithelial OC could achieve clinical benefit from the treatment of PARP inhibitor.

Case Presentation

A 49-year-old female patient without a family history of cancer was diagnosed with epithelial OC. This patient underwent surgical resection plus platinum-based treatment twice in 2016 and 2018, successively. After the second relapse in July 2019, the patient underwent another radical resection. The next-generation sequencing analysis results revealed a germline FANCA mutation in the tumor tissue. Subsequently, the third-line treatment of liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride plus lobaplatin was administrated for five cycles with the patient’s consent. Then, oral niraparib (200 mg daily) was given for maintenance treatment. During the follow-up, no evidence of tumor recurrence was observed. Currently, the survival with no evidence of disease has already exceeded 21 months, and the treatment is still going on.

Conclusions

This case highlighted that OC patients harboring pathogenic gene alterations in the homologous recombination pathway might achieve clinical benefit from PARP inhibitors, which should be confirmed in further studies.

Synergistic effect of flower-like MnFe2O4/MoS2 on photo-Fenton oxidation remediation of tetracycline polluted water

In this work, a flower-like MnFe₂O₄-MoS₂ (FMW) catalyst was successfully prepared as a catalyst for photo-Fenton oxidation. The flower-like structured FMW possessed large open surface area, which exposed enough active sites and can fully contact with tetracycline (TC). We studied the effect of different FMW composites, H₂O₂ concentration and light intensity on the photo-Fenton process. 1FMW (MnFe₂O₄:MoS₂ = 1:10 in mol) exhibited the best degradation effect on TC, and 1 mmol/L of H₂O₂ and 398.73 mW/cm² of light were the optimum parameters. A p-n heterojunction was formed in 1FMW, ensuring the stability of composite and the fast electron transfer. Holes, •O₂^- and •OH were generated in photo-Fenton process and participated in TC degradation. Notably, FMW can be recycled quickly under an external magnetic field due to its magnetic properties. Overall, FMW shows good catalytic stability and recoverability in photo-Fenton oxidation process, which has a broad application prospect.

Activation of persulfate by swine bone derived biochar: Insight into the specific role of different active sites and the toxicity of acetaminophen degradation pathways

Recently, persulfate (PS) activation system has grown up as a primary branch of advanced oxidation processes, and biochar has been recognized as a potential nonmetal material in this field. However, few studies have focused on the corresponding relationship between actives sites on biochar and active species in AOPs. To pave this way, similar biochar (obtained from different pyrolysis temperature) with different functional structures were involved. In this study, biochar derived from swine bone (BBC) was applied in PS activation system to degrade acetaminophen (ACT). The results showed that both radical and non-radical pathway worked in the PS/BBCs systems, and the degradation rate (from 0.1042 to 0.4364 min^-1) climbed with the increase of pyrolysis temperature (from 700 to 900 °C). To probe into the corresponding relationship between functional structure and active species, the effect of pyrolysis temperature on functional structure was analyzed. It came out that 1) defects could act as active sites for various active species; 2) persistent free radicals could do favor to the generation of ¹O₂ and O₂^-; 3) hydroxyapatite in swine bone only served as hard templet for the porous structure. ACT degradation process was measured by Liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer, and Scendesmus obliquus was applied to investigate the toxicity of PS/BBCs system. It illustrated that the existence of SO₄^- mainly contributed to the generation of high toxic intermediates (such as biphenyl and diphenyl ether) in the PS/BBCs system. Furthermore, the enhancement of adsorption capacity would mitigate the toxicity of PS/BBCs systems to some extent.

Efficient antibiotics removal via the synergistic effect of manganese ferrite and MoS2

The use of antibiotics for beings is a most significant milestone in present era. However, owing to the excessive use, a large amount of antibiotics accumulated in water, leading to serious pollution. An efficient method is urgently needed to treat the antibiotics pollution. Photo-Fenton process is a green method with utilizing solar energy. Catalyst is important. This work combines manganese ferrite MnFe₂O₄ and MoS₂ to synthesize MnFe₂O₄-MoS₂ (FMG) composite as the catalyst of photo-Fenton process, which shows good performance on tetracycline antibiotics degradation. Light intensity exhibits positive correlation with the catalytic activity. h⁺, •OH and ¹O₂ participate in tetracycline degradation. h⁺ plays a key role in tetracycline removal. •OH has a little impact on tetracycline removal, but it has a great impact on the mineralization ability of this photo-Fenton process. Additionally, cycling experiments confirm the stability of FMG. And owing to its magnetism, FMG can be easily recycled by external magnetic field. This photo-Fenton process over FMG with utilizing the synergism of MnFe₂O₄ and MoS₂ is a promising method for antibiotics pollution treatment.

Familial episodic pain syndrome: a case report and literature review

The purpose of this case report and literature review is to show that familial episodic pain syndrome (FEPS) is a non-inflammatory genetically inherited pain syndrome. A 3-year-old boy presented at our hospital with pain in both his forearms and lower limbs below the knees for more than 3 years. There were no abnormalities in the blood tests, blood smears, liver and kidney function tests, trace elements tests, cellular immunity test, humoral immunity test, autoantibody tests, C-reactive protein (CRP) test, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) test, and tumor-related and bone marrow cytology examinations. Additionally, the imaging examination results showed no abnormalities. From the patient's medical history, we found that the mother of the child had a family history of a similar disease. To date, only 21 cases of FEPS3 caused by the sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 11A (SCN11A) gene mutation have been reported. Although the age of onset is different, most of them are inherited in families. The results of the genetic examination revealed that the pain mainly came from the genetic inheritance of the maternal family line. The whole exon gene test revealed that the pain was caused by 2 heterozygous mutations of c.674G > T and c.671T > C in the SCN11A gene.

Recent progress of noble metals with tailored features in catalytic oxidation for organic pollutants degradation

With the increasing serious water pollutions, an increasing interest has given for the nanocomposites as environmental catalysts. To date, noble metals-based nanocomposites have been extensively studied by researchers in environmental catalysis. In detail, serving as key functional parts, noble metals are usually combined with other nanomaterials for rationally designing nanocomposites, which exhibit enhanced catalytic properties in pollutants removal. Noble metals in the nanocomposites possess tailored properties, thus playing different important roles in catalytic oxidation reactions for pollutants removal. To motivate the research and elaborate the progress of noble metals, this review (i) summarizes advanced characterization techniques and rising technology of theoretical calculation for evaluating noble metal, and (ii) classifies the roles according to their disparate mechanism in different catalytic oxidation reactions. Meanwhile, the enhanced mechanism and influence factors are discussed. (iii) The conclusions, facing challenges and perspectives are proposed for further development of noble metals-based nanocomposites as environmental catalysts.

Expression of SATB1 is a prognostic indicator for survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients

OBJECTIVE

Special AT-rich Sequence-binding Protein-1 (SATB1) and Matrix Attachment Region-binding Protein were associated with high tumor stage, tumor recurrence, tumor-related death and indicating a poor prognosis. The association between SATB1 and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has been discussed controversially. Thence, this study anticipated probing the expression of SATB1 in DLBCL and the relationships with clinic pathological features and prognosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

180 cases of DLBCL tissues and 180 cases of chronic Lymphadenitis tissues in Para-carcinoma of DLBCL patients were collected in Guigang City People's Hospital, Guangxi, China, from August 2010 to December 2018. Here, the expression pattern of SATB1 in patients was examined by the method of streptomycin peroxides biotin (SP) immunohistochemical and analyzed the relationship of SATB1 with clinical pathological features and patient prognosis.

RESULTS

DLBCL carcinoma tissues expression SATB1 was significantly higher than chronic lymphadenitis tissues (p < 0.05), and the expression of SATB1 was not correlated with age, B symptoms and the ECOG status of patients (p> 0.05), but correlated with tumor stage, serum level of LDH, extranodal involvement, and IPI score (p < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate analysis showed that SATB1 is an independent factor affecting progression-free survival time and overall survival time.

CONCLUSIONS

SATB1 participates in and affects the occurrence and development of DLBCL and influences their prognosis. It has broad prospects for improving prognosis evaluation, feasibility, molecular treatment intention and allocation of the most appropriate therapy.

OUP accepted manuscript

Introduction

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are effective in the treatment of advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC); however, their efficacy in locally advanced resectable ESCC and the potential predictive biomarkers have limited data.

Methods

In this study, locally advanced resectable ESCC patients were enrolled and received neoadjuvant toripalimab (240 mg, day 1) plus paclitaxel (135 mg/m², day 1) and carboplatin (area under the curve 5 mg/mL per min, day 1) in each 3-week cycle for 2 cycles, followed by esophagectomy planned 4-6 weeks after preoperative therapy. The primary endpoints were safety, feasibility, and the major pathological response (MPR) rate; the secondary endpoints were the pathological complete response (pCR) rate, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Association between molecular signatures/tumor immune microenvironment and treatment response was also explored.

Results

Twenty resectable ESCC patients were enrolled. Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) occurred in all patients (100%), and 4 patients (22.2%) experienced grade 3 or higher treatment-related AEs. Sixteen patients underwent surgery without treatment-related surgical delay, and the R0 resection rate was 87.5% (14/16). Among the 16 patients, the MPR rate was 43.8% (7/16) and the pCR rate was 18.8% (3/16). The abundance of CD8⁺ T cells in surgical specimens increased (P = .0093), accompanied by a decreased proportion of M2-type tumor-associated macrophages (P = .036) in responders upon neoadjuvant therapy. Responders were associated with higher baseline gene expression levels of CXCL5 (P = .03) and lower baseline levels of CCL19 (P = .017) and UMODL1 (P = .03).

Conclusions

The combination of toripalimab plus paclitaxel and carboplatin is safe, feasible, and effective in locally advanced resectable ESCC, indicating its potential as a neoadjuvant treatment for ESCC.

Clinical Trial registration

NCT04177797

Periodicities in the Daily Proton Fluxes from 2011 to 2019 Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station from 1 to 100 GV

We present the precision measurement of the daily proton fluxes in cosmic rays from May 20, 2011 to October 29, 2019 (a total of 2824 days or 114 Bartels rotations) in the rigidity interval from 1 to 100 GV based on 5.5×10^{9} protons collected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. The proton fluxes exhibit variations on multiple timescales. From 2014 to 2018, we observed recurrent flux variations with a period of 27 days. Shorter periods of 9 days and 13.5 days are observed in 2016. The strength of all three periodicities changes with time and rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the 27-day periodicity is different from the rigidity dependences of 9-day and 13.5-day periods. Unexpectedly, the strength of 9-day and 13.5-day periodicities increases with increasing rigidities up to ∼10  GV and ∼20  GV, respectively. Then the strength of the periodicities decreases with increasing rigidity up to 100 GV.

Neglected microplastics pollution in global COVID-19: Disposable surgical masks

There have been many studies on the microplastic pollution, influence and control mechanisms of different plastic products. The potential harm of microplastic pollution to the environment has been confirmed. With the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 in the world, disposable surgical masks as effective and cheap protective medical equipment have been widely used by the public. Disposable masks have been a new social norm, but they must have a sense of environmental responsibilities. The random disposal of masks may result in new and greater microplastic pollution, because masks made of polymer materials would release microplastics after entering the environment. Current results showed that masks are a potential and easily overlooked source of environmental microplastics. The release amount of microplastics in the static water by one mask was 360 items, and with the increase of vibration rate, the release amount also increased. The addition of organic solvents (detergent and alcohol) in water would increase the release of microplastics from masks. When the mask became fragments, the ability to release microplastic fibers into the environment was greatly improved due to the increase of exposure area. After two months of natural weathering, the masks become very fragile pieces and microplastics. A fully weathered mask could release several billions of microplastic fibers into the aquatic environment once these fragile fragments enter the water without reservation. The rapid growth of mask production and consumption and improper disposable is worrying. It is urgent to understand the potential environmental risks and significance of masks.

Erratum: Properties of a New Group of Cosmic Nuclei: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on Sodium, Aluminum, and Nitrogen [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 021101 (2021)]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.021101.

Can incineration completely eliminate plastic wastes? An investigation of microplastics and heavy metals in the bottom ash and fly ash from an incineration plant

The content of (micro)plastics and heavy metals were investigated in the fly ash, bottom ash and surface soil samples from a municipal solid waste incinerate plant. The abundance of microplastics was 23, 171, and 86 particles/kg dw, respectively. The type of microplastics in fly ash was fiber, and the main type in bottom ash and soil samples was fragment (43.0% and 29.3%), followed by film (26.3% and 25.0%), foam (13.0% and 25.1%), and fiber (17.7% and 20.7%). Most of the microplastics had obvious tearing marks, with the protrusions and scratches on their surfaces. Several types of heavy metals such as Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb were adsorbed on the surface of microplastics. Additionally, the column test demonstrated that the microplastics and heavy metals in the bottom ash can be significantly dissolved out under the impact of external precipitation. Results also indicated that acid rain precipitation easily dissolved heavy metals into the water environment from the bottom ash without special treatment or protection. This paper investigated the combined migration of microplastics and heavy metals from the bottom ash, which can provide theoretical basis for further study of properly treating the bottom ash and exploring the environmental behavior.

Gold nanoparticles-modified MnFe2O4 with synergistic catalysis for photo-Fenton degradation of tetracycline under neutral pH

To decrease the adverse environmental and health-related effects of antibiotics, a series of MnFe₂O₄-Au (MFO-Au) composites were prepared by simple co-precipitation and photoreduction methods for efficient photo-Fenton degradation of tetracycline (TC). The synergistic effect of MFO and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with high absorption of visible light and strong photogenerated carrier separation efficiency endowed MFO-Au₃ an outstanding photo-Fenton catalytic performance for TC degradation in neutral condition. The surface hydroxyl of MFO profited to generation of •OH, and negative charged or partially polarized AuNPs benefited to adsorption of H₂O₂, which had a synergistic effect on enhancing the photo-Fenton catalytic performance of MFO-Au. 88.3% of TC was efficiently removed and about 51.9% of TOC decreased within 90 min. The electron spin resonance and quenching tests suggested that h⁺ and e^- were responsible for the high catalytic degradation and •OH and •O₂^- participated in the photo-Fenton reaction. The toxicity assessment by seed germination experiments showed efficient toxicity reduction of this system. Besides, MFO-Au exhibited high stability, good cycle, relatively economical and practical application performance, which is expected to provide potential guidance for the design and combination of noble nanoparticles with high stability and spinel bimetallic oxides with high catalytic activity in photo-Fenton reactions.

Properties of a New Group of Cosmic Nuclei: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on Sodium, Aluminum, and Nitrogen

We report the properties of sodium (Na) and aluminum (Al) cosmic rays in the rigidity range 2.15 GV to 3.0 TV based on 0.46 million sodium and 0.51 million aluminum nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station. We found that Na and Al, together with nitrogen (N), belong to a distinct cosmic ray group. In this group, we observe that, similar to the N flux, both the Na flux and Al flux are well described by the sums of a primary cosmic ray component (proportional to the silicon flux) and a secondary cosmic ray component (proportional to the fluorine flux). The fraction of the primary component increases with rigidity for the N, Na, and Al fluxes and becomes dominant at the highest rigidities. The Na/Si and Al/Si abundance ratios at the source, 0.036±0.003 for Na/Si and 0.103±0.004 for Al/Si, are determined independent of cosmic ray propagation.

MXenes as Superexcellent Support for Confining Single Atom: Properties, Synthesis, and Electrocatalytic Applications

Single atom catalysts (SACs) have shown their noticeable potential and gradually become a new favorite in catalytic field due to the particular selectivity, high catalytic performance, and strong durability. The most important factor in the synthesis of SACs is the selection of appropriate support and formation of metal-support interaction. Among a large number of nanomaterials, MXenes can be utilized as benign supports for fixing SACs because of their expansive specific surface area, regulable bandgap, superior electronic conductivity, and strong mechanical stability. The structure and property of MXenes can be manipulated by changing transition metal elements and surface termination. Here, the uniqueness and superiority of MXenes as superexcellent supports for confining SACs are analyzed from structure and property. The synthetic strategy of MXene-supported SACs is also summarized, especially emphasizing the immobilization of isolated atom against aggregation by utilizing the formidable metal-support covalent coordination interaction. In addition, the applications of MXene-supported SACs in electrocatalytic field are highlighted, including hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, overall water splitting, oxygen reduction reaction, and nitrogen reduction reaction. Finally, the challenges and prospects are pointed out for the further understanding and practical application of MXene-supported SACs in electrocatalysis.

Critical review of advanced oxidation processes in organic wastewater treatment

With the development of industrial society, organic wastewater produced by industrial manufacturing has caused many environmental problems. The vast majority of organic pollutants in water bodies are persistent in the environment, posing a threat to human and animal health. Therefore, efficient treatment methods for highly concentrated organic wastewater are urgently needed. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are widely noticed in the area of treating organic wastewater. Compared with other chemical methods, AOPs have the characteristics of high oxidation efficiency and no secondary pollution. In this paper, the mechanisms, advantages, and limitations of AOPs are comprehensively reviewed. Besides, the basic principles of combining different AOPs to enhance the treatment efficiency are described. Furthermore, the applications of AOPs in various wastewater treatments, such as oily wastewater, dyeing wastewater, pharmaceutical wastewater, and landfill leachate, are also presented. Finally, we conclude that the main direction in the future of AOPs are the modification of catalysts and the optimization of operating parameters, with the challenges focusing on industrial applications.

Enhancing iron redox cycling for promoting heterogeneous Fenton performance: A review

Conventional water treatment methods are difficult to remove stubborn pollutants emerging from surface water. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) can achieve a higher level of mineralization of stubborn pollutants. In recent years, the Fenton process for the degradation of pollutants as one of the most efficient ways has received more and more attention. While homogeneous catalysis is easy to produce sludge and the catalyst cannot be cycled. In contrast, heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction can get over these drawbacks and be used in a wider range. However, the reduction of Fe (III) to Fe(II) by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is still the speed limit step when generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) in heterogeneous Fenton system, which restricts the efficiency of the catalyst to degrade pollutants. Based on previous research, this article reviews the strategies to improve the iron redox cycle in heterogeneous Fenton system catalyzed by iron materials. Including introducing semiconductor, the modification with other elements, the application of carbon materials as carriers, the introduction of metal sulfides as co-catalysts, and the direct reduction with reducing substances. In addition, we also pay special attention to the influence of the inherent properties of iron materials on accelerating the iron redox cycle. We look forward that the strategy outlined in this article can provide readers with inspiration for constructing an efficient heterogeneous Fenton system.

Berberis kansuensis extract alleviates type 2 diabetes in rats by regulating gut microbiota composition

BACKGROUND

The stem bark of Berberis kansuensis Schneid (BK) is a commonly used Tibetan medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, its therapeutic mechanisms remain unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Our aim is to clarify the role of gut microbiota in the anti-diabetic activity of BK extract.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

High fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (45 mg/kg) was used to establish a T2D rat model, and the body weight of rats was measured every five days. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated serum protein (GSP), insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), insulin sensitivity index (ISI), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and three inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1 β and IL-6) were measured to evaluate the anti-diabetic activity of BK. Moreover, pseudo-germ-free animals were prepared by oral administration of an antibiotic mixture (100 mg/kg neomycin, 100 mg/kg ampicillin and 50 mg/kg metronidazole) twice per day for 6 days to assess the role of gut microbiota. Gut microbiota analysis was performed through 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing method.

RESULTS

After 30 days of administration, BK extract could significantly decrease the levels of body weight, FBG, GSP, HOMA-IR, LPS, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, and increase ISI levels in T2D rats. However, when the gut microbiota of T2D rats was disturbed by antibiotics, BK could not improve HOMA-IR and ISI levels in T2D rats. The results indicated that the anti-diabetic effect of BK might depend on the gut microbiota. Moreover, sequencing of 16S rRNA genes demonstrated that BK could significantly improve the gut microbiota disorder of T2D rats. Specifically, BK increased the abundance of phyla Bacteroidetes and genera Akkermansia and the ratio of Bacteroides/Firmicutes, while reducing the abundance of phyla Proteobacteria and genera Collinella, [Ruminococcus]_gauvreauii_Group, Escherichia Shigella, Enterococcus, Fusobacterium, Holdemanella, and Prevotella_9 in T2D rats. Additionally, correlation analysis revealed that Akkermansia was positively correlated with ISI, while [Ruminococcus]_gauvreauii_Group, Collinella, Escherichia Shigella, Enterococcus, Fusobacterium, Holdemanella and Prevotella_9 were positively correlated with FBG, GSP, LPS, HOMA-IR, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6.

CONCLUSION

BK extract has a good anti-diabetic effect on T2D rats. The mechanism by which this extract exerts its action is, at least partly, related to its regulation of gut microbiota.