The game between artificial management and natural environment determines the adaptive strategies of leaf morphogenesis in Sabina chinensis.

Sabina chinensis is a typically heteromorphic leaf evergreen tree worldwide with both ornamental and ecological value. However, the shaping mechanism of heteromorphic leaves of Sabina chinensis and its adaptability to environment are important factors determining its morphology. The morphological change of S. chinensis which under different habitats (arbor around) and treatments (light, pruning and nutrients) was investigated. Our findings suggested that the prickle leaves proportion was associated with low light intensity and soil nutrient scarcity. Stems and leaves are pruned together to form clusters of large prickle leaves, while only pruning leaves often form alternately growing small prickle leaves and scale leaves, and the length of the prickle leaves is between 0.5 cm to 1 cm. The gene expression of prickle leaves is higher than that of scale leaves that under adverse environmental conditions, and the gene expression correlations of small prickle leaf and scale leaf were the highest. Homologous and heterologous mutants of gene structure in prickle leaves were larger than those in scale leaves. KEGG pathway showed that phenylpropanone and flavonoid biosynthesis were common enrichment pathways, and the enrichment genes were mainly related to metabolism, genetic information processing and organismal systems. Therefore, we concluded that the occurrence of the heteromorphic leaf phenomenon was related to the changes in photosynthesis, mechanical damage and nutrient supplementation. The organic matter in the S. chinensis prickle leaves was reduced under environmental stresses, and it will be allocated to the expression to the prickle leaf or protective cuticles formation.

Photo-aged non-biodegradable and biodegradable mulching film microplastics alter the interfacial behaviors between agricultural soil and inorganic arsenic.

The impacts of microplastics (MPs) prevalent in soil on the transport of pollutants were urged to be addressed, which has important implications for ecological risk assessment. Therefore, we investigated the influence of virgin/photo-aged biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and non-biodegradable black polyethylene (BPE) mulching films MPs on arsenic (As) transport behaviors in agricultural soil. Results showed that both virgin PLA (VPLA) and aged PLA (APLA) enhanced the adsorption of As(Ⅲ) (9.5%, 13.3%) and As(Ⅴ) (22.0%, 6.8%) due to the formation of abundant H-bonds. Conversely, virgin BPE (VBPE) reduced the adsorption of As(Ⅲ) (11.0%) and As(Ⅴ) (7.4%) in soil owing to the "dilution effect", while aged BPE (ABPE) improved arsenic adsorption amount to the level of pure soil due to newly generated O-containing functional groups being feasible to form H-bonds with arsenic. Site energy distribution analysis indicated that the dominant adsorption mechanism of arsenic, chemisorption, was not impacted by MPs. The occurrence of biodegradable VPLA/APLA MPs rather than non-biodegradable VBPE/ABPE MPs resulted in an increased risk of soil accumulating As(Ⅲ) (moderate) and As(Ⅴ) (considerable). This work uncovers the role of biodegradable/non-biodegradable mulching film MPs in arsenic migration and potential risks in the soil ecosystem, depending on the types and aging of MPs.

Enhanced arsenite removal from water using zirconium-ferrocene MOFs coupled with peroxymonosulfate:oxidation and multi-sites adsorption mechanism.

The efficient removal of arsenite (As(III)) poses a significant challenge to traditional water treatment technologies due to its high toxicity and mobility. In this work, multifunctional Zirconium-Ferrocene Metal Organic Framework (ZrFc-MOF) fabricated with redox-active 1,1-ferrocene dicarboxylic acid ligands and Zr4+ precursors were elaborated to achieve remarkably enhanced As(III) removal via activation by peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The adsorption affinity coefficient increased from 0.097 to 2.035 L mg-1 and the maximum adsorption capacity increased from 59.79 to 111.34 mg g-1 compared with that without PMS. Besides the conventional homogeneous PMS oxidation and the following adsorption through Zr-O clusters of ZrFc-MOFs, the enhanced As(III) removal synergistic combines the oxidation mechanism of As(III) by reactive oxygen species (•OH, SO4•-, O2•- and 1O2) formed in Ferrocene (Fc) activating PMS process with the simultaneous formed extra adsorption sites of Ferrocenium (Fc+). PMS also help ZrFc-MOF to avoid destruction in harsh alkaline condition, making the effluent in this advanced treatment meet the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of 10 µg L-1 over a wide range of initial pH (2-11) with high selectivity and durability. These results indicate that this novel Fc-based MOFs activating PMS system has potential applicability for As(III) in oxidation and selectively capturing in the water environment.

Long-term Spartina alterniflora invasion simplified soil seed bank and regenerated community in a coastal marsh wetland.

The coastal wetland is easily invaded by alien species due to locating in the land and sea transitional area. As a potential driving regeneration force, the soil seed bank is vital to the community restoration and species diversity protection. To reveal the long-term Spartina alterniflora invasion impact on the soil seed banks and regenerated communities, we investigated the seed banks under the different vegetation types (S. alterniflora, Phragmites australis, Scirpus mariqueter, ruderal and unvegetated site) and soil depths (0-5 and 5-10 cm) in the coastal salt marsh wetland, Chongming island, eastern China. The results showed that the soil seed bank richness and species density under different vegetation types were higher than the aboveground vegetation, and those of 0-5 cm seed banks were higher than 5-10 cm, except for the unvegetated site. The species richness and S. alterniflora seed proportion in the seed banks under S. alterniflora communities (S.AS) were lower and larger respectively than those of other sites. The species composition between S.AS and the aboveground communities showed high similarity with aggregation phylogenetic structures in two soil depths. The seed bank variations at 0-5 and 5-10 cm depths were interpreted 3.03% and 2.25% by the aboveground communities, while 4.92% and 5.55% were interpreted by the soil microbial biomass. The SEM model explained 98.1% and 91.8% of the seed banks richness at the 0-5 cm depth and 5-10 cm depth, respectively, and explained 98.8% and 46.1% of the seed banks species density at the 0-5 cm depth and 5-10 cm depth, respectively. The aboveground vegetation biomass and abundance directly affected the 0-5 cm seed banks richness and species density, while its height and biomass only affected the 5-10 cm seed banks species density. The 0-10 cm soil depth microbial biomass indirectly affected the 0-5 cm seed banks richness and species density, while affected the 5-10 cm seed banks richness. Soil physical and chemical properties only indirectly affected the 0-5 cm seed banks species density. The results provided a reference for the ecological evaluation of the impacts of S. alterniflora invasion into the coastal salt marsh wetland of eastern China, and guidance for the protection and restoration of the native plant communities.

UiO-66(Zr)-derived t-zirconia with abundant lattice defect for remarkably enhanced arsenic removal.

Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) exhibits great potential in the remediation of arsenic-polluted water. In this study, tetragonal zirconium oxide (t-ZrO2) with high lattice defects was facilely fabricated by regulating the Zr-metal-organic framework (MOF) (UiO-66) with sodium acetate modulator and examined to adsorb arsenic from water. Benefitting from the synergistic effects of mesopores structure and lattice defect, t-ZrO2 exhibited ultrahigh adsorption capacity and faster kinetics towards both arsenate (As(V)) and arsenite (As(III)). The Langmuir adsorption capacity for As(V) and As(III) of 147.5 mg g-1 and 352.1 mg g-1 on t-ZrO2 in exothermic process, respectively, significantly outperforming reported counterparts in literature (generally ≤100 mg g-1). The faster adsorption kinetic of both As(III) and As(V) on t-ZrO2 is defined favorably by the pseudo-second-order model over a wide pH (3-11). Furthermore, arsenic is mainly captured by t-ZrO2 via forming Zr-O-As bonds through occupying coordinatively unsaturated zirconium atoms adsorption sites revealed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectra analysis. This study offers a new strategy for designing ultrahigh performance Zr-MOF-derived adsorbents for capturing arsenic.

Multifunctional Host Polymers Assist Au Nanoclusters Achieve High Quantum Yield and Mitochondrial Imaging.

The high biocompatibility and excellent photostability of Au nanoclusters (AuNCs) make them stand out in the bioimaging of nanoparticles. However, the low quantum yield and inferior targeting ability of water-soluble AuNCs greatly limit their biological applications. In this study, we designed and synthesized multifunctional host polymers PolySC4AP and FGGC@AuNCs to fabricate PolySC4AP/FGGC@AuNC assemblies via a host-guest interaction based on SC4 (sulfonatocalix[4]arene) and positively charged FGGC ligands (phenylalanine-glycine-glycine-cysteine). Owing to the host-guest assembly strategy and rigid polymer matrix, the quantum yield of FGGC@AuNCs was significantly promoted from 7.0 to 35.3%, accompanied by considerable morphological changes of FGGC@AuNCs. Moreover, PolySC4AP/FGGC@AuNCs could monitor the location of mitochondria along with R (Pearson's correlation coefficients) value for the co-localization as high as 0.9605, which provided a novel strategy for targeted bioimaging with luminophore.

Insight into the characteristics and sorption behaviors of aged polystyrene microplastics through three type of accelerated oxidation processes.

Ageing process can significantly alter the structural properties, environmental behaviors and potential ecotoxicity of microplastics (MPs) in water. In this study, the structural properties of aged polystyrene (PS) MPs being exposed to UV/H2O, UV/H2O2 and UV/Cl2 artificially accelerated oxidation processes and related sorption behaviors of bisphenol A (BPA) on those virgin/aged PS were investigated. The surface oxidation and hydrophilicity of aged PS were significantly increased according to infrared spectroscopy (IR) and water contact angle (CA) measurements. The differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) revealed apparent degradation of aged PS especially in their amorphous domain. Obviously deteriorative BPA sorption capacity on aged PS was observed compared with that of virgin PS. The sorption rates of BPA on aged PS were accelerated and sorption of BPA shifted from partition dominant mechanism on virgin PS to the adsorption dominant mechanism through being fitted with the dual-mode sorption model. Besides, ageing in UV/Cl2 system introduces C-Cl groups on the surface of PS which strengthen the combination with BPA through halogen bonding interaction. Salt and dissolved organic matters (DOM) in marine water may increase the BPA sorption on aged MPs due to enhanced polar interaction.

Cucurbiturils brighten Au nanoclusters in water.

Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with well-defined atomically precise structures present promising emissive prospects for excellent biocompatibility and optical properties. However, the relatively low luminescence efficiency in solutions for most AuNCs is still a perplexing issue to be resolved. In this study, a facile supramolecular strategy was developed to rigidify the surface of FGGC-AuNCs by modifying transition rates in excited states via host-guest self-assembly between cucurbiturils (CBs) and FGGC (Phe-Gly-Gly-Cys peptide). In aqueous solutions, CB/FGGC-AuNCs presented an extremely enhanced red phosphorescence emission with a quantum yield (QY) of 51% for CB[7] and 39% for CB[8], while simple FGGC-AuNCs only showed a weak emission with a QY of 7.5%. Furthermore, CB[7]/FGGC-AuNCs showed excellent results in live cell luminescence imaging for A549 cancer cells. Our study demonstrates that host-guest self-assembly assisted by macrocycles is a facile and effective tool to non-covalently modify and adjust optical properties of nanostructures on ultra-small scales.

Liquefaction of Peanut Shells with Cation Exchange Resin and Sulfuric Acid as Dual Catalyst for the Subsequent Synthesis of Rigid Polyurethane Foam.

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass from renewable raw materials to high value-added fine chemicals expanded their application in biodegradable polymers materials synthesis, such as polyurethanes and phenolic resin, etc. In this work, the strong-acid cation exchange resin and sulfuric acid as the dual catalyst offered an effective way to catalyze the liquefaction reaction of the peanut shells. The properties of liquefied products were characterized by means of hydroxyl value, viscosity and solubility tests, while the properties of peanut shells and liquefaction residue were analyzed by means of ATR-FTIR, TG and SEM techniques. The results indicated that the liquefied products could be completely dissolved in deionized water, methanol and polyethylene glycol, respectively, and they could be a preferable substitution of petrochemical polyols as soft segments to synthesize the rigid polyurethane foams. Moreover, the cellulose and hemicellulose in the peanut shells were easily decomposed into smaller molecules via the breakage of the C-O bond besides five-membered and hexatomic ring, while the lignin could be degraded via the breakage of the C-O chemical bonds of ß-O-4, 4-O-5 and dibenzodioxocin units. The fabricated rigid polyurethane (RPU) foam, containing higher percentage of open pores with uniform size, can be potentially utilized for flower mud and sound-absorbing materials.