Hydrogen Peroxide/Phosphoric Acid Modification of Hydrochars for Sulfamethoxazole and Carbamazepine Adsorption: The Role of Oxygen-Containing Functional Groups.

Emerging pollutants, such as sulfonamide antibiotics and pharmaceuticals, have been widely detected in water and soils, posing serious environmental and human health concerns. Thus, it is urgent and necessary to develop a technology for removing them. In this work, a hydrothermal carbonization method was used to prepare the hydrochars (HCs) by pine sawdust with different temperatures. To improve the physicochemical properties of HCs, phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were used to modify these HCs, and they were referred to as PHCs and HHCs, respectively. The adsorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and carbamazepine (CBZ) by pristine and modified HCs was investigated systematically. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that the H2O2/H3PO4 modification led to the formation of a disordered carbon structure and abundant pores. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results suggested that carboxyl (-COOH) and hydroxyl (-OH) functional groups of HCs increased after modification, which is the main reason for the higher sorption of SMX and CBZ on H3PO4/H2O2-modified HCs when compared with pristine HCs. In addition, the positive correlation between -COOH/C=O and logKd of these two chemicals also suggested that oxygen-containing functional groups played a crucial role in the sorption of SMX and CBZ. The strong hydrophobic interaction and π-π interaction between CBZ and pristine/modified HCs resulted in its higher adsorption when compared with SMX. The results of this study provide a novel perspective on the investigation of adsorption mechanisms and environmental behaviors for organic contaminants by pristine and modified HCs.

FexO4-enhanced degradation of bisphenol A in visible light/peroxydisulfate system: production of singlet state oxygen.

In this study, ferrous composites (FexO4) were prepared by microreactor to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for the degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) with visible (Vis) light irradiation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the morphology and crystal phase of FeXO4. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy combined with amperometric tests were used to determine the role of PDS on the performance of photocatalytic reaction. The main reactive species and intermediates for BPA removal were determined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurement and quenching experiments. The result indicated that singlet state oxygen (1O2) contributed more to the BPA degradation than that of other reactive radicals (·OH, SO4·- and ·O2-); these reactive radicals and 1O2 formed by the reaction between photo-generated electrons (e-) and holes (h+) of FexO4 and PDS. During this process, the consumption of e- and h+ also improved their separation efficiency and thus enhanced the degradation of BPA. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of FexO4 in Vis/FexO4/PDS system was 3.2-fold and 6.6-fold higher than that of single FexO4 and PDS under Vis light, respectively. The Fe2+/Fe3+ cycle could effectively drive the photocatalytic activation of PDS through indirect electron transfer and the formation of reactive radicals. This work illustrated that the degradation of BPA was rapidly in Vis/FexO4/PDS system mainly through 1O2, which further improve our understanding on the efficient removal of organic contaminants in the environment.

[Reliability and validity of SF-36 scale for evaluating the quality of life of Tuva adults in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the reliability and validity of SF-36 scale in measuring quality of life of Tuva adults in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. METHODS: A total of 437 Tuva adults were selected by multistage sampling method, in Tuva families lived in Baihaba Village Habahe county and Kanasi and Hemu Villages Buerjin County in Artay Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2016, including 100 males and 50 females, the three age groups 18-29, 30-49, 50 and above accounted for 30. 66%, 54. 00% and 15. 33% respectively. SF-36 scale was be used to measure the quality of life. The scale's reliability was assessed by internal consistency reliability and half-fold reliability, and the validity was assessed by set validity, discriminate validity and structural validity. RESULTS: The Cronbach's α coefficient of the SF-36 scale was 0. 838, and all of the Cronbach's α coefficients were more than 0. 750 after corresponding dimensions were deleted. The Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0. 828. The achievement ratio of aggregation tests and discrimination tests were 100% and 99. 59%, respectively. Thirty-five items were included in EFA. Seven common factors were extracted through maximum balanced rotation method, and the cumulative contribution rate was 68. 97%. Eight-dimensional data were included in EFA, and two common factors were extracted with a cumulative contribution rate of 66. 44%. The fitting degree of confirmatory factor analysis model is invalid. CONCLUSION: SF-36 has showed a good reliability, set validity and discrimination validity in evaluating the quality of life of Tuva adults in Xinjiang, but its structural validity needs to be improved.

ChREBP-ß regulates thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a critical role in energy expenditure by uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)-mediated thermogenesis. Carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP) is one of the key transcription factors regulating de novo lipogenesis (DNL). As a constitutively active form, ChREBP-ß is expressed at extremely low levels. Up to date, its functional relevance in BAT remains unclear. In this study, we show that ChREBP-ß inhibits BAT thermogenesis. BAT ChREBP-ß mRNA levels were elevated upon cold exposure, which prompted us to generate a mouse model overexpressing ChREBP-ß specifically in BAT using the Cre/LoxP approach. ChREBP-ß overexpression led to a whitening phenotype of BAT at room temperature, as evidenced by increased lipid droplet size and decreased mitochondrion content. Moreover, BAT thermogenesis was inhibited upon acute cold exposure, and its metabolic remodeling induced by long-term cold adaptation was significantly impaired by ChREBP-ß overexpression. Mechanistically, ChREBP-ß overexpression downregulated expression of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, autophagy, and respiration. Furthermore, thermogenic gene expression (e.g. Dio2, UCP1) was markedly inhibited in BAT by the overexpressed ChREBP-ß. Put together, our work points to ChREBP-ß as a negative regulator of thermogenesis in brown adipocytes.