A novel simultaneous short-course nitrification, denitrification and fermentation process: bio-enhanced phenol degradation and denitrification in a single reactor.

The feasibility of a simultaneous nitrification, denitrification and fermentation process (SNDF) under electric stirrer agitation conditions was verified in a single reactor. Enhanced activated sludge for phenol degradation and denitrification in pharmaceutical phenol-containing wastewater under low dissolved oxygen conditions, additional inoculation with Comamonas sp. BGH and optimisation of co-metabolites were investigated. At a hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 28 h, 15 mg/L of substrate as strain BGH co-metabolised substrate degraded 650 ± 50 mg/L phenol almost completely and was accompanied by an incremental increase in the quantity of strain BGH. Strain BGH showed enhanced phenol degradation. Under trisodium citrate co-metabolism, strain BGH combined with activated sludge treated phenol wastewater and degraded NO2--N from 50 ± 5 to 0 mg/L in only 7 h. The removal efficiency of this group for phenol, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and TN was 99.67%, 90.25% and 98.71%, respectively, at an HRT of 32 h. The bioaugmentation effect not only promotes the degradation of pollutants, but also increases the abundance of dominant bacteria in activated sludge. Illumina MiSeq sequencing research showed that strain BGH promoted the growth of dominant genera (Acidaminobacter, Raineyella, Pseudarcobacter) and increased their relative abundance in the activated sludge system. These genera are resistant to toxicity and organic matter degradation. This paper provides some reference for the activated sludge to degrade high phenol pharmaceutical wastewater under the action of biological enhancement.

Activation of Ammonia by a Carbene-Stabilized Dithiolene Zwitterion.

A carbene-stabilized dithiolene zwitterion (3) activates ammonia, affording 4• and 5, through both single-electron transfer (SET) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). Reaction products were characterized spectroscopically and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The mechanism of the formation of 4• and 5 was probed by experimental and computational methods. This discovery is the first example of metal-free ammonia activation via HAT.

Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy of the photodecarbonylation of photo-oxadibenzocyclooctyne (photo-ODIBO).

The ultrafast dynamics of photo-OxaDiBenzocycloOctyne (photo-ODIBO) photo-dissociation was studied using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Steady-state UV-Vis, time-dependent density functional theory, and 350 nm and 321 nm transient absorption studies are reported. Photo-ODIBO excitation with 321 nm and 350 nm light-induced photodecarbonylation of the cyclopropenone functional group results in the formation of ODIBO. The presence of the photoproduct was confirmed by the results of steady-state photolysis experiments and the observation of absorption signatures of ODIBO in the photo-ODIBO transient absorption spectra. Analysis of the latter revealed the underlying photochemical mechanisms and associated time constants, following excitation of the samples. The dynamics show a multi-exponential decay process, following the dissociation of photo-ODIBO into an excited state of the photoproduct ODIBO within <294 fs after 321 nm excitation. 350 nm excitation, on the other hand, is shown to produce ground state ODIBO via an intermediate species. Additional transient absorption measurements were performed directly on the photoproduct ODIBO to help distinguish spectral signatures associated with these processes.

Predicting the potential distribution of the parasitic Cuscuta chinensis under global warming.

BACKGROUND: The climate is the dominant factor that affects the distribution of plants. Cuscuta chinensis is a stem holoparasitic plant without leaves or roots, which develops a haustorium and sucks nutrients from host plants. The potential distribution of the parasitic plant C. chinensis has not been predicted to date. This study used Maxent modeling to predict the potential global distribution of C. chinensis, based on the following six main bioclimatic variables: annual mean temperature, isothermality, temperature seasonality, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and precipitation of the coldest quarter. RESULTS: The optimal annual average temperature and isothermality of C. chinensis ranged from 4 to 37 °C and less than 45, respectively, while the optimal temperature seasonality and precipitation seasonality ranged from 4000 to 25,000 and from 50 to 130, respectively. The optimal precipitation of the warmest season ranged from 300 to 1000 mm and from 2500 to 3500 mm, while that of the coldest season was less than 2000 mm. In Asia, C. chinensis is mainly distributed at latitudes ranging from 20° N to 50° N. During three specific historical periods (last glacial maximum, mid-Holocene, and 1960-1990) the habitats suitable for C. chinensis were concentrated in the central, northern, southern, and eastern parts of China. From the last glacial maximum to the mid-Holocene, the total area with suitability of 0.5-1 increased by 0.0875 million km2; however, from the mid-Holocene to 1960-1990, the total area with suitability of 0.5-1 decreased by 0.0759 million km2. The simulation results of habitat suitability in the two representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6 (i.e., the low greenhouse gas emissions pathway) and 8.5 (i.e., the high greenhouse gas emissions pathway) indicate that the habitat suitability of C. chinensis decreased in response to the warming climate. Compared with RCP2.6, areas with averaged suitability and high suitability for survival (RCP8.5) decreased by 0.18 million km2. CONCLUSION: Suitable habitats of C. chinensis are situated in central, northern, southern, and eastern China. The habitat suitability of C. chinensis decreased in response to the warming climate. These results provide a reference for the management and control of C. chinensis.

The influence of the molecular packing on the room temperature phosphorescence of purely organic luminogens.

Organic luminogens with persistent room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) have attracted great attention for their wide applications in optoelectronic devices and bioimaging. However, these materials are still very scarce, partially due to the unclear mechanism and lack of designing guidelines. Herein we develop seven 10-phenyl-10H-phenothiazine-5,5-dioxide-based derivatives, reveal their different RTP properties and underlying mechanism, and exploit their potential imaging applications. Coupled with the preliminary theoretical calculations, it is found that strong π-π interactions in solid state can promote the persistent RTP. Particularly, CS-CF3 shows the unique photo-induced phosphorescence in response to the changes in molecular packing, further confirming the key influence of the molecular packing on the RTP property. Furthermore, CS-F with its long RTP lifetime could be utilized for real-time excitation-free phosphorescent imaging in living mice. Thus, our study paves the way for the development of persistent RTP materials, in both the practical applications and the inherent mechanism.

Pyrene-Based Blue AIEgen: Enhanced Hole Mobility and Good EL Performance in Solution-Processed OLEDs.

Organic luminogens with strong solid-state emission have attracted much attention for their widely practical applications. However, the traditional organic luminogens with planar conformations often suffer from the notorious aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect in solid state for the π-π stacking. Here, a highly efficient blue emitter TPE-4Py with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect is achieved by combining twisted tetraphenylethene (TPE) core and planar pyrene peripheries. When the emitter was spin-coated in non-doped OLEDs with or without a hole-transporting layer, comparable EL performance was achieved, showing the bifunctional property as both an emitter and a hole-transporting layer. Furthermore, its EL efficiency was promoted in doped OLED, even at a high doping concentration (50%), because of its novel AIE effect, with a current efficiency up to 4.9 cd/A at 484 nm.

AIEgen with Fluorescence-Phosphorescence Dual Mechanoluminescence at Room Temperature.

We report the first example of an AIEgen (DPP-BO) with fluorescence-phosphorescence dual emission under mechanical stimulation. By carefully analyzing the crystal structure of DPP-BO, the efficient intermolecular and intramolecular interactions should account for its unique mechanoluminescence (ML) properties, especially the abnormal phosphorescence, as further confirmed by controlled experiments and theoretical calculations for the presence of ISC transitions. These results provide important information for understanding the complex ML process, possibly opening up a new way to study the inherent mechanism of ML by broadening the application of AIEgens.