Study of S poisoning mechanism on LaMnO3 perovskite catalyst surface based on DFT method.

The sulfur poisoning mechanism of low-temperature SCR de-NOx catalyst has always been one of the hot spots in academic circles. By studying the surface sulfur poisoning mechanism, low-temperature catalysts can be developed pertinently. In this paper, the mechanism of sulfur poisoning on the surface of LaMnO3 catalyst was studied by DFT method, and the adsorption process of sulfur oxides on the surface and its influence on SCR reaction process, as well as the morphology and decomposition process of ammonium sulfate on the surface were calculated. The results show that sulfur oxides will be adsorbed on the surface and occupy the adsorption site, which will adversely affect the subsequent SCR reaction. At the same time, ammonium sulfate will accumulate on the catalyst surface, which will lead to sulfur poisoning.

Sirt6 enhances macrophage lipophagy and improves lipid metabolism disorder by regulating the Wnt1/ß-catenin pathway in atherosclerosis.

Lipid metabolism disorders are considerably involved in the pathology of atherosclerosis; nevertheless, the fundamental mechanism is still largely unclear. This research sought to examine the function of lipophagy in lipid metabolism disorder-induced atherosclerosis and its fundamental mechanisms. Previously, Sirt6 has been reported to stimulate plaque stability by promoting macrophage autophagy. However, its role in macrophage lipophagy and its relationship with Wnt1 remains to be established. In this study, ApoE-/-: Sirt6-/- and ApoE-/-: Sirt6Tg mice were used and lipid droplets were analysed via transmission electron microscopy and Bodipy 493/503 staining in vitro. Atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE-/-: Sirt6-/- mice showed greater necrotic cores and lower stability score. Reconstitution of Sirt6 in atherosclerotic mice improved lipid metabolism disorder and prevented the progression of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, macrophages with Ac-LDL intervention showed more lipid droplets and increased expression of adipophilin and PLIN2. Reconstitution of Sirt6 recruited using SNF2H suppressed Wnt1 expression and improved lipid metabolism disorder by promoting lipophagy. In addition, downregulation of Sirt6 expression in Ac-LDL-treated macrophages inhibited lipid droplet degradation and stimulated foam cell formation. Innovative discoveries in the research revealed that atherosclerosis is caused by lipid metabolism disorders due to downregulated Sirt6 expression. Thus, modulating Sirt6's function in lipid metabolism might be a useful therapeutic approach for treating atherosclerosis.

Sonolytic degradation kinetics and mechanisms of antibiotics in water and cow milk.

Antibiotics (ABX) residues frequently occurred in water and cow milk. This work aims to understand the kinetics and mechanisms of sonolytic degradation of four ABX, i.e. ceftiofur hydrochloride (CEF), sulfamonomethoxine sodium (SMM), marbofloxacin (MAR), and oxytetracycline (OTC) in water and milk. In both water and milk, the sonolytic degradation of ABX follows pseudo-first order (PFO) kinetics well (R2: 0.951-0.999), with significantly faster ABX degradation in water (PFO kinetics constants (k1): 1.5 × 10-3-1.2 × 10-1 min-1) than in milk (k1: 3.5 × 10-4-5.6 × 10-2 min-1). The k1 values for SMM degradation in water increased by 118% with ultrasonic frequency (40-120 kHz), 174% with ultrasonic frequency (80-500 kHz), 649% with ultrasonic power (73-259 W), 22% with bulk temperature (12-40℃), and by 68% with reaction volume (50-250 mL), respectively, in other things being equal. The relevant k1 values in milk increased by 326%, 231%, 122%, 10% as well as 82% with the above same effective factors, respectively. The oxidation by free radicals generated in situ dominates ABX degradation, and the hydrophobic CEF (54.0-971.7 nM min-1) and SMM (39.2-798.4 nM min-1) underwent faster degradation than the hydrophilic MAR (33.9-751.9 nM min-1) and OTC (33.8-545.3 nM min-1) in both water and milk. Adding an extra 0.5 mM H2O2 accelerated SMM degradation by 19% in water and 33% in milk. After 130-150 min sonication of 100 mL of 2.0 mg L-1 (6.62 µM) SMM in various milk with 500 kHz and 259 W, the residue concentrations (52.9-96.3 µg L-1) can meet the relevant maximum residue limit (100 µg L-1).

Compound Kushen Injection inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric carcinoma by regulating VCAM1 induced by the TNF signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Gastric carcinoma (GC) treatment needs to be developed rapidly. Compound Kushen Injection (CKI), a formula from traditional Chinese medicine, has been used clinically in combination with chemotherapy to treat GC with satisfactory results. However, the molecular mechanism by which CKI acts to cure GC is still unclear. METHODS: In the present study, in vivo and in vitro experiments were used to assess the efficacy of CKI. Using ceRNA microarray and TMT technologies, the molecular mechanism of CKI was further investigated at the transcriptional and protein levels, and a bioinformatics approach was employed to investigate and functionally validate key CKI targets in GC. RESULTS: When combined with cisplatin (DDP), CKI significantly increased its efficacy in preventing the proliferation and metastasis of GC cells and malignant-looking tumors in mice. High-throughput sequencing data and bioinformatics analysis showed that CKI regulated the TNF signaling pathway, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), with VCAM1 as a key target. The transcription factors CEBPB, JUN, RELA, NFKB1, the EMT mesenchymal-like cell markers N-cadherin and vimentin, as well as the expression of VCAM1 and its upstream signaling driver TNF, were all downregulated by CKI. In contrast, the expression of the EMT epithelial-like cell marker E-cadherin was upregulated. CONCLUSION: CKI can effectively inhibit GC growth and metastasis, improve body's immunity, and protect normal tissues from damage. The molecular mechanism by which CKI inhibits metastasis of GC is by regulating VCAM1 induced by the TNF signaling pathway to inhibit EMT of GC. Our results provide an important clue to clarify precisely the multi-scale molecular mechanism of CKI in the treatment of GC.

Embedding oxophilic rare-earth single atom in platinum nanoclusters for efficient hydrogen electro-oxidation.

Designing Pt-based electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and CO tolerance is challenging but extremely desirable for alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction. Herein we report the design of a series of single-atom lanthanide (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Lu)-embedded ultrasmall Pt nanoclusters for efficient alkaline hydrogen electro-oxidation catalysis based on vapor filling and spatially confined reduction/growth of metal species. Mechanism studies reveal that oxophilic single-atom lanthanide species in Pt nanoclusters can serve as the Lewis acid site for selective OH- adsorption and regulate the binding strength of intermediates on Pt sites, which promotes the kinetics of hydrogen oxidation and CO oxidation by accelerating the combination of OH- and *H/*CO in kinetics and thermodynamics, endowing the electrocatalyst with up to 14.3-times higher mass activity than commercial Pt/C and enhanced CO tolerance. This work may shed light on the design of metal nanocluster-based electrocatalysts for energy conversion.

ADSC-derived exosomes attenuate myocardial infarction injury by promoting miR-205-mediated cardiac angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Acute myocardial infarction is a major health problem and is the leading cause of death worldwide. Myocardial apoptosis induced by myocardial infarction injury is involved in the pathophysiology of heart failure. Therapeutic stem cell therapy has the potential to be an effective and favorable treatment for ischemic heart disease. Exosomes derived from stem cells have been shown to effectively repair MI injury-induced cardiomyocyte damage. However, the cardioprotective benefits of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADSC)-Exos remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of exosomes from ADSC on the hearts of MI-treated mice and to explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Cellular and molecular mechanisms were investigated using cultured ADSCs. On C57BL/6J mice, we performed myocardial MI or sham operations and assessed cardiac function, fibrosis, and angiogenesis 4 weeks later. Mice were intramyocardially injected with ADSC-Exos or vehicle-treated ADSCs after 25 min following the MI operation. RESULTS: Echocardiographic experiments showed that ADSC-Exos could significantly improve left ventricular ejection fraction, whereas ADSC-Exos administration could significantly alleviate MI-induced cardiac fibrosis. Additionally, ADSC-Exos treatment has been shown to reduce cardiomyocyte apoptosis while increasing angiogenesis. Molecular experiments found that exosomes extracted from ADSCs can promote the proliferation and migration of microvascular endothelial cells, facilitate angiogenesis, and inhibit cardiomyocytes apoptosis through miRNA-205. We then transferred isolated exosomes from ADSCs into MI-induced mice and observed decreased cardiac fibrosis, increased angiogenesis, and improved cardiac function. We also observed increased apoptosis and decreased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor in HMEC-1 transfected with a miRNA-205 inhibitor. CONCLUSION: In summary, these findings show that ADSC-Exos can alleviate cardiac injury and promote cardiac function recovery in MI-treated mice via the miRNA-205 signaling pathway. ADSC-Exos containing miRNA205 have a promising therapeutic potential in MI-induced cardiac injury.

Identification of key pharmacological components and targets for Aidi injection in the treatment of pancreatic cancer by UPLC-MS, network pharmacology, and in vivo experiments.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide. Aidi injection (ADI) is a representative antitumor medication based on Chinese herbal injection, but its antitumor mechanisms are still poorly understood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this work, the subcutaneous xenograft model of human pancreatic cancer cell line Panc-1 was established in nude mice to investigate the anticancer effect of ADI in vivo. We then determined the components of ADI using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and explored the possible molecular mechanisms against pancreatic cancer using network pharmacology. RESULTS: In vivo experiments, the volume, weight, and degree of histological abnormalities of implanted tumors were significantly lower in the medium and high concentration ADI injection groups than in the control group. Network pharmacology analysis identified four active components of ADI and seven key targets, TNF, VEGFA, HSP90AA1, MAPK14, CASP3, P53 and JUN. Molecular docking also revealed high affinity between the active components and the target proteins, including Astragaloside IV to P53 and VEGFA, Ginsenoside Rb1 to CASP3 and Formononetin to JUN. CONCLUSION: ADI could reduce the growth rate of tumor tissue and alleviate the structural abnormalities in tumor tissue. ADI is predicted to act on VEGFA, P53, CASP3, and JUN in ADI-mediated treatment of pancreatic cancer.

T cell-related prognostic risk model and tumor immune environment modulation in lung adenocarcinoma based on single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing.

BACKGROUND: T cells are present in all stages of tumor formation and play an important role in the tumor microenvironment. We aimed to explore the expression profile of T cell marker genes, constructed a prognostic risk model based on these genes in Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and investigated the link between this risk model and the immunotherapy response. METHODS: We obtained the single-cell sequencing data of LUAD from the literature, and screened out 6 tissue biopsy samples, including 32,108 cells from patients with non-small cell lung cancer, to identify T cell marker genes in LUAD. Combined with TCGA database, a prognostic risk model based on T-cell marker gene was constructed, and the data from GEO database was used for verification. We also investigated the association between this risk model and immunotherapy response. RESULTS: Based on scRNA-seq data 1839 T-cell marker genes were identified, after which a risk model consisting of 9 gene signatures for prognosis was constructed in combination with the TCGA dataset. This risk model divided patients into high-risk and low-risk groups based on overall survival. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that the risk model was an independent prognostic factor. Analysis of immune profiles showed that high-risk groups presented discriminative immune-cell infiltrations and immune-suppressive states. Risk scores of the model were closely correlated with Linoleic acid metabolism, intestinal immune network for IgA production and drug metabolism cytochrome P450. CONCLUSION: Our study proposed a novel prognostic risk model based on T cell marker genes for LUAD patients. The survival of LUAD patients as well as treatment outcomes may be accurately predicted by the prognostic risk model, and make the high-risk population present different immune cell infiltration and immunosuppression state.

Pd-Catalyzed Asymmetric 5-exo-trig Cyclization/Cyclopropanation/Carbonylation of 1,6-Enynes for the Construction of Chiral 3-Azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes.

We herein disclose a mild and efficient access to chiral 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes via a Pd-catalyzed asymmetric 5-exo-trig cyclization/cyclopropanation/carbonylation of 1,6-enynes. Various nucleophiles, such as alcohols, phenols, amines and water, are well compatible with the reaction system. This reaction forms three C-C bonds, two rings, two adjacent quaternary carbon stereocenters as well as one C-O/C-N bond with excellent regio- and enantioselectivities. The products could be further functionalized to generate a library of 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane frameworks.

Investigation on the efficiency of Brucea javanica oil emulsion injection with chemotherapy for treating malignant pleural effusion: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: Systematic evaluation of the clinical efficacy and safety of Brucea javanica oil emulsion injection (BJOEI) in combination with chemotherapy in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Methods: The study searched CNKI, Wanfang database, VIP database, SinoMed, PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science database and retrieved randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of MPE with BJOEI in combination with chemotherapy from seven electronic databases from inception to 31 March 2022. Meta-analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed using Revman 5.4 and Stata 13.0 software. Results: Ultimately, 30 RCTs with 2035 patients were included, including 1002 cases in the control group and 1033 cases in the treatment group. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the overall efficacy rate of BJOEI combined with chemotherapy was higher in the treatment of MPE compared with chemotherapy alone (RR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.36-1.54, p < 0.00001). And it could improve the Karnofsky (KPS) score (RR = 1.54, 95%CI: 1.41-1.68, p < 0.00001), reduce adverse reactions such as fever (RR = 0.82, 95%CI:0.60-1.12), chest pain (RR = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.67-1.21), gastrointestinal reactions (RR = 0.70, 95%CI: 0.57-0.87, p < 0.005), and leukopenia (RR = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.43-0.61, p < 0.00001). Conclusion: BJOEI combined with chemotherapy has better clinical efficacy than chemotherapy alone in the treatment of MPE. It can further improve KPS score, improve patients' quality of life, and reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions. However, the conclusions of this study need to be confirmed by further randomized, double-blind, controlled trials with large sample size, reasonable design, and strict implementation.

Removal of antibiotics from milk via ozonation in a vortex reactor.

Antibiotics (ABX) residues occur frequently in milk, causing considerable wastage of medicated milk and serious economic losses, and making the issue a burden for the dairy industry. Improper disposal of medicated milk harms dairy production, animal welfare, and the environment. This work studies the use of ozonation in a vortex reactor for removing ceftiofur hydrochloride (CEF), sulfamonomethoxine sodium (SMM), marbofloxacin (MAR) and oxytetracycline (OTC) from milk. In terms of residual concentration, O3 efficiency and the degradation kinetics of the various O3-involving processes in the vortex reactor, ABX removal via ozonation is better using stronger vortexing, which induces hydrodynamic cavitation. CEF undergoes the fastest degradation, followed by SMM, MAR, and OTC. High ABX hydrophobicity favors ABX degradation via ozonation, O3/H2O2, and O3/Na2S2O8. ABX oxidation by •OH at the O3 gas-bubble/milk interface is the principle degradation pathway, except for MAR. ABX degradation follows pseudo-first-order kinetics and is affected by initial ABX concentration, O3 concentration/flow rate, reaction temperature, and milk components to varying degrees. Under optimal ozonation conditions, ABX residues meet the maximum limits as set by the European Commission and no antimicrobial activity was observed. The decontaminated milk was therefore suggested to be reused as calf food, animal feed, organic fertilizer, etc.

A Novel Strategy to Simplify the Procedures in Treating Complicated Coronary Bifurcation Lesions: From a Bench Test to Clinical Application.

Background: Although provisional stenting strategy based on jailed balloon side branch (SB) protection could be useful for high-risk bifurcation lesion in certain clinical scenarios, its complexity still gives rise to procedure complications. We proposed a novel strategy, the jailed balloon proximal optimization technique (JB-POT), to simplify the procedures in treating complex coronary bifurcation lesions (CBLs). The present study was designed to verify the safety and efficacy of JB-POT under bench testing and clinical circumstances. Methods: After a stent was deployed in main vessel (MV) with a balloon jailed in SB, POT and post-dilation of the stent were performed without retrieving the jailed balloon. A re-POT was performed 2 mm away from SB branching point to minimize proximal stent malapposition. The JB-POT procedure was performed on 10 samples of a silicone bifurcation bench model, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) was utilized to evaluate stent deployment. From December 2018 to July 2021, a total of 28 consecutive patients with true CBLs treated with JB-POT were enrolled. Immediate procedure results were observed, and clinical follow-ups were performed. Results: The bench test showed that JB-POT did not induce significant stent malapposition, underexpansion or distortion, as indexed by the malapposition rate, minimum stent area (MSA), eccentricity index and symmetry index determined through OCT. Under clinical circumstances, JB-POT did not induce significant malapposition, underexpansion or distortion. Among the 30 lesions, there was no primary endpoint event defined as SB occlusion, need to rewire the SB with a polymer-covered guide wire, or failure to retrieve a jailed wire or balloon. One rewiring event and 0 double stenting events occurred as secondary endpoint events. One patient died of heart failure in the 8th month after discharge. Conclusions: The JB-POT protocol, which tremendously simplifies the current standard provisional stenting procedure in complicated bifurcation lesions, shows acceptability in safety and efficacy. Hence, it might become an applicable strategy for treating high-risk bifurcation lesions, especially those with multiple risked SBs.

Coronary Atherosclerotic Disease and Cancer: Risk Factors and Interrelation.

Background: In our clinical work, we found that cancer patients were susceptible to coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAD). However, less is known about the relationship between CAD and cancer. The present study aimed to identify the risk factors for CAD and cancer, as well as the relationship between CAD and cancer. Methods: In this retrospective study, 1600 patients between January 2012 and June 2019 were enrolled and divided into groups according to whether they had CAD or cancer. Single-factor and multivariate analysis methods were applied to examine the risk factors for CAD and cancer. Results: (1) Cancer prevalence was significantly higher in patients with CAD than in patients without CAD (47.2 vs. 20.9%). The prevalence of CAD in cancer and non-cancer patients was 78.9 and 52.4%, respectively. (2) Multivariable logistic regression showed that patients with cancer had a higher risk of developing CAD than non-cancer patients (OR: 2.024, 95% CI: 1.475 to 2.778, p < 0.001). Respiratory (OR: 1.981, 95% CI: 1.236-3.175, p = 0.005), digestive (OR: 1.899, 95% CI: 1.177-3.064, p = 0.009) and urogenital (OR: 3.595, 95% CI: 1.696-7.620, p = 0.001) cancers were significantly associated with a higher risk of CAD compared with no cancer. (3) Patients with CAD also had a higher risk of developing cancer than non-CAD patients (OR = 2.157, 95% CI: 1.603 to 2.902, p < 0.001). Patients in the Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level ≥ 40 U/L group had a lower risk of cancer than patients in the ALT level < 20 U/L group (OR: 0.490, 95% CI: 0.333-0.722, p < 0.001). (4) An integrated variable (Y = 0.205 × 10-1 age - 0.595 × 10-2 HGB - 0.116 × 10-1 ALT + 0.135 FIB) was identified for monitoring the occurrence of cancer among CAD patients, with an AUC of 0.720 and clinical sensitivity/specificity of 0.617/0.711. Conclusion: (1) We discovered that CAD was an independent risk factor for cancer and vice versa. (2) Digestive, respiratory and urogenital cancers were independent risk factors for CAD. (3) We created a formula for the prediction of cancer among CAD patients. (4) ALT, usually considered a risk factor, was proven to be a protective factor for cancer in this study.

Determination of trace antibiotics in water and milk via preconcentration and cleanup using activated carbons.

CPAC-SPE-HPLC (coconut powdered activated carbon -SPE- HPLC) has been developed for the determination of antibiotic (ABX), sulfamonomethoxine sodium (SMM), oxytetracycline (OTC), ceftiofur hydrochloride (CEF) and marbofloxacin (MAR), in water and milk. Over 99.0% SMM and OTC were recovered from 20 mL of 0.5 µg/mL ABX solution using 10 mg-CPAC for adsorption and 2 mL of 30% NH4OH/EtOH (1/19 v/v) for elution. Similarly, over 99.0% CEF and MAR were recovered using 15 mg-CPAC and 2 mL of 30% NH4OH/n-PrOH (1/19 v/v). Moreover, the recovery efficiencies of various ABX from 5 to 80 mL of 0.02-2.00 µg/mL medicated milk containing 10 mM EDTA are ordered as follows: OTC (99.3%), SMM (99.1%) > CEF (68.9%) > MAR (61.4%). No interference towards HPLC analysis were observed with elution using 2 mL of 30% NH4OH/EtOH (1/19 v/v). Furthermore, much lower limit of detections (0.02 µg/mL) than the maximum residual limits from European Commission (0.075-0.100 µg/mL) were obtained.

Benefitting from Synergistic Effect of Anion and Cation in Antimony Acetate for Stable CH3 NH3 PbI3 -Based Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 21.

Both the film quality and the electronic properties of halide perovskites have significant influences on the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) because both of them are closely related to the charge carrier transportation, separation, and recombination processes in PSCs. In this work, an additive engineering strategy using antimony acetate (Sb(Ac)3 ) is employed to enhance the photovoltaic performance of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3 )-based PSCs by improving the film quality and optimizing the photoelectronic properties of halide perovskites. It is found that Ac- and Sb3+ of Sb(Ac)3 play different roles and their synergistic effect contributed to the eventual excellent photovoltaic performance of MAPbI3 -based PSCs with a power conversion efficiency of above 21%. The Ac- anions act as a crystal growth controller and are more involved in the improvement of perovskite film morphology. By comparison, Sb3+ cations are more involved in the optimization of the electronic structure of perovskites to tailor the energy levels of the perovskite film. Furthermore, with the assistance of Sb(Ac)3 , MAPbI3 -based PSCs deliver much improved moisture, air, and thermal stability. This work can provide scientific insights on the additive engineering for improving the efficiency and long-term stability of MAPbI3 -based PSCs, facilitating the further development of perovskite-based optoelectronics.

Sonochemical processes for the degradation of antibiotics in aqueous solutions: A review.

Antibiotic residues in water are general health and environmental risks due to the antibiotic-resistance phenomenon. Sonication has been included among the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) used to remove recalcitrant contaminants in aquatic environments. Sonochemical processes have shown substantial advantages, including cleanliness, safety, energy savings and either negligible or no secondary pollution. This review provides a wide overview of the different protocols and degradation mechanisms for antibiotics that either use sonication alone or in hybrid processes, such as sonication with catalysts, Fenton and Fenton-like processes, photolysis, ozonation, etc.

Degradation of Antibiotics in Wastewater: New Advances in Cavitational Treatments.

Over the past few decades, antibiotics have been considered emerging pollutants due to their persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Even at low concentrations, these pollutants contribute to the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, while their degradation is still a longstanding challenge for wastewater treatment. In the present literature survey, we review the recent advances in synergistic techniques for antibiotic degradation in wastewater that combine either ultrasound (US) or hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and oxidative, photo-catalytic, and enzymatic strategies. The degradation of sulfadiazine by HC/persulfate (PS)/H2O2/α-Fe2O3, US/PS/Fe0, and sono-photocatalysis with MgO@CNT nanocomposites processes; the degradation of tetracycline by US/H2O2/Fe3O4, US/O3/goethite, and HC/photocatalysis with TiO2 (P25) sono-photocatalysis with rGO/CdWO4 protocols; and the degradation of amoxicillin by US/Oxone®/Co2+ are discussed. In general, a higher efficiency of antibiotics removal and a faster structure degradation rate are reported under US or HC conditions as compared with the corresponding silent conditions. However, the removal of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride reached only 51% with US-assisted laccase-catalysis, though it was higher than those using US or enzymatic treatment alone. Moreover, a COD removal higher than 85% in several effluents of the pharmaceutical industry (500-7500 mg/L COD) was achieved by the US/O3/CuO process.

High-Quality Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskite Film Formation for High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells.

In the last decade, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have undergone unprecedented rapid development and become a promising candidate for a new-generation solar cell. Among various PSCs, typical 3D halide perovskite-based PSCs deliver the highest efficiency but they suffer from severe instability, which restricts their practical applications. By contrast, the low-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) perovskite-based PSCs have recently raised increasing attention due to their superior stability. Yet, the efficiency of RP perovskite-based PSCs is still far from that of the 3D counterparts owing to the difficulty in fabricating high-quality RP perovskite films. In pursuit of high-efficiency RP perovskite-based PSCs, it is critical to manipulate the film formation process to prepare high-quality RP perovskite films. This review aims to provide comprehensive understanding of the high-quality RP-type perovskite film formation by investigating the influential factors. On this basis, several strategies to improve the RP perovskite film quality are proposed via summarizing the recent progress and efforts on the preparation of high-quality RP perovskite film. This review will provide useful guidelines for a better understanding of the crystallization and phase kinetics during RP perovskite film formation process and the design and development of high-performance RP perovskite-based PSCs, promoting the commercialization of PSC technology.

Promoting the Efficiency and Stability of CsPbIBr2-Based All-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells through a Functional Cu2+ Doping Strategy.

Although organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have shown dramatically enhanced power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in the last decade, their long-term stability is still a critical challenge for commercialization. To address this issue, tremendous research efforts have been devoted to exploring all-inorganic PSCs because of their intrinsically high structural stability. Among them, CsPbIBr2-based all-inorganic PSCs have drawn increasing attention owing to their suitable band gap and favorable stability. However, the PCEs of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs are still far from those of their organic-inorganic counterparts, thus inhibiting their practical applications. Herein, we demonstrate that by simply doping an appropriate amount of Cu2+ into a CsPbIBr2 perovskite lattice (0.5 at. % to Pb2+), the perovskite crystallinity and grain size are increased, the perovskite film morphology is improved, the energy level alignment is optimized, and the trap density and charge recombination are reduced. As a consequence, a decent PCE improvement from 7.81 to 10.4% is achieved along with an enhancement ratio of 33% with a CsPbIBr2-based PSC. Furthermore, the long-term stability of CsPbIBr2-based PSCs against moisture and heat also remarkably improved by Cu2+ doping. This work provides a facile and effective route to improve the PCE and long-term stability of CsPbIBr2-based all-inorganic PSCs.

Competitive adsorption of naphthalene and phenanthrene on walnut shell based activated carbon and the verification via theoretical calculation.

Walnut shell based activated carbon (WAC) was prepared via microwave-assisted KOH activation. The adsorption behaviors towards naphthalene (NAP) and phenanthrene (PHE) over WAC were studied, both in single- and binary-compound systems. Characterization results reveal the excellent microporous structure of WAC, with a micropore specific surface area of 438.5 m2 g-1. The functional groups of walnut shell precursor surface were activated through microwave irradiation. In both systems, the pseudo-second-order model can better describe the adsorption kinetic data of PAHs over WAC at all experimental conditions. Mass transfer mechanism analysis shows that film diffusion was the rate-limiting step during the adsorption process. The adsorption amount of PAHs on WAC decreased as pH values increased, and the equilibrium data can be fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model well. In binary-component systems, the presence of PHE prominently restrained the adsorption towards NAP, and the Sheindorf-Rebhun-Sheintuch (SRS) model can fully fit the adsorption equilibrium experimental values of PAHs over WAC. In addition, the preferential adsorption behavior of PHE over WAC also was confirmed by theoretical calculations. The π-π complex between the active sites on the WAC surface and π-electrons of benzene rings from PAHs may play a major role in competitive adsorption. These results indicated that WAC was a potentially low-cost adsorbent for PAH elimination.