External Catalyst- and Additive-Free Photo-Oxidation of Aromatic Alcohols to Carboxylic Acids or Ketones Using Air/O2.

We present an environment-friendly and highly efficient method for the oxidation of aromatic alcohols to carboxylic acids or ketones in air via light irradiation under external catalyst-, additive-, and base-free conditions. The photoreaction system exhibits a wide substrate scope and the potential for large-scale applications. Most of the desired products are easily obtained via recrystallization and separation from low-boiling reaction medium acetone in good yields, and the products can be subsequent directly transformed without further purification.

Study on removal of phosphorus and COD in wastewater by sinusoidal AC Fenton oxidation-coagulation.

In order to treat domestic wastewater containing phosphorus and chemical oxygen demand (COD), the new technology of Sinusoidal Alternating Current (AC) Fenton Oxidation-Coagulation (SACFOC) was used to improve the removal efficiency (Re) and reduce energy consumption (EEC). The morphology, elemental composition, crystal structure and functional groups of the sludge were characterised by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show that total phosphorus removal efficiency {Re(TP)} and removal efficiency of organic matter {Re(COD)} can reach 97.56% and 87.77%, respectively, but EEC is only 0.09 kWh·m-3 under the optimum conditions of pH0 = 3, current density (j) = 0.5 A·m-2, c0(TP) = 18 mg·dm-3, c0(COD) = 300 mg·dm-3, c0(H2O2) = 0.06 mol·dm-3, t = 45 min. As compared with direct current (DC) Fenton Oxidation-Coagulation (DCFOC), the COD removal efficiency of SACFOC treatment was improved by 37%, but the energy consumption was reduced by 45%. The degradation process of total phosphorus and COD by SACFOC abides by the quasi-first-order kinetic model. The process of SACFOC includes double effects of electrocoagulation of iron sol by electrolysis and degrade COD by oxidation of formed hydroxyl radicals (·OH) in wastewater, which improves removal efficiency of total phosphorus and COD in wastewater. Our research findings will provide technical guidance and a theoretical basis for the simultaneous treatment of wastewater containing phosphorus and COD applying SACFOC process.

Effect of iron ion configurations on Ni2+ removal in electrocoagulation.

Electrocoagulation (EC) has been widely used to treat the heavy metal wastewater in industry. A novel process of sinusoidal alternating current electrocoagulation (SACC) is adopted to remove Ni2+ in wastewater in this study. The morphology of precipitates and the distribution of the main functional iron configurations were investigated. Ferron timed complex spectroscopy can identify the monomeric iron configurations [Fe(a)], oligomeric iron configurations [Fe(b)] and polymeric iron configurations [Fe(c)]. The optimal operating conditions of SACC process were determined through single-factor experiments. The maximum Ni2+ removal efficiency [Re(Ni2+)] was achieved under the conditions of pH0=7, current density (j) = 7 A/m2, electrolysis time (t) = 25 min, c0(Ni2+) = 100 mg/L. At pH=7, the proportion of Fe(b) and Fe(c) in the system was 50.4 at.% and 23.1 at.%, respectively. In the SACC process, Fe(b) and Fe(c) are the main iron configurations in solution, while Fe(c) are the vast majority of the iron configurations in the direct current electrocoagulation (DCC) process. Re(Ni2+) is 99.56% for SACC and 98.75% for DCC under the same optimum conditions, respectively. The precipitates produced by SACC have a high proportion of Fe(b) configurations with spherical α-FeOOH and γ-FeOOH structures which contain abundant hydroxyl groups. Moreover, it is demonstrated that Fe(b) has better adsorption capacity than Fe(c) through adsorption experiments of methyl orange (MO) dye. Fe(a) configurations in the homogeneous solution had no effect on the removal of nickel.

Characteristic analysis of skin keratinocytes in patients with type 2 diabetes based on the single-cell levels.

BACKGROUND: Keratinocytes play an important role in wound healing; however, less is known about skin keratinocytes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, this study aimed to search for the transcriptional characteristics of keratinocytes at the single-cell level from T2DM patients, and to provide experimental data for identifying the pathological mechanisms of keratinocytes under pathological conditions. METHODS: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on the skin tissue from two T2DM patients and one patient without diabetes-induced trauma using the BD Rhapsody™ Single-Cell Analysis System. With the help of bioinformatics R-based single-cell analysis software, we analyzed the results of single-cell sequencing to identify the single-cell subsets and transcriptional characteristics of keratinocytes at the single-cell level, including Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology analyzes. RESULTS: In this study, we found specific highly expressed signature keratinocyte-related genes. We analyzed the transcriptome of keratinocytes from experimental and control groups and screened a total of 356 differential genes, which were subject to bioinformatics analysis. Enriched pathways included oxidative phosphorylation, antigen processing and presentation, prion and Huntingtons' diseases, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, thermogenesis, vasopressin-regulated water reabsorption, and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the characteristics of keratinocytes at the single-cell level and screened a group of differentially expressed genes related to T2DM-associated keratinocytes, oxidative phosphorylation, cytokine receptor interactions, prion diseases, and other signaling pathways.

1,2-Dibutoxyethane-Promoted Oxidative Cleavage of Olefins into Carboxylic Acids Using O2 Under Clean Conditions.

Herein, we report the first example of an effective and green approach for the oxidative cleavage of olefins to carboxylic acids using a 1,2-dibutoxyethane/O2 system under clean conditions. This novel oxidation system also has excellent functional-group tolerance and is applicable for large-scale synthesis. The target products were prepared in good to excellent yields by a one-pot sequential transformation without an external initiator, catalyst, and additive.

The transcriptional characteristics of mast cells derived from skin tissue in type 2 diabetes patients at the single-cell level.

OBJECTIVES: The mechanisms underlying the role of mast cells in wound healing have not been thoroughly studied, and even fewer data are available on studies related to mast cells in the skin of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, this study aims to explore the transcriptional characteristics of mast cells at the single-cell level in patients with T2DM and provide experimental data for studying mast cell behaviors under abnormal glucose metabolism. METHODS: Two patients with T2DM and one trauma patient without diabetes were enrolled. Samples were derived from skin tissue resected at the time of surgery and were isolated by single cell capture technology on BD platform to prepare single cell cDNA library. Seurat was used to process raw reads and analyze data downstream of single-cell RNA sequencing, including removal of low-quality cells, identification of cell clusters at the single-cell level, and screening for differential genes with fold change > 1.5 and p < 0.05 by two-sided t-test. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on skin tissues of T2DM patients and non-diabetics and identified the cell cluster of skin, single-cell subsets, and transcriptional characteristics of mast cells at a single-cell level. Meanwhile, gene set enrichment(GSEA) analysis was performed on the differentially expressed genes. RESULTS: A total of 8888 cells were obtained from skin tissue. Clustering analysis revealed eight-cell clusters, identified as smooth muscle cells, dendritic cells, mast cells, and T cells, respectively. Cluster 6 was identified as mast cells with the marker genes TPSAB1, CPA3, TPSB2, MS4A2,KIT, etc., which accounting for 2.7% of the total cell number.Compared with the control group, the genes highly expressed in MCs from T2DM patients, include ADH1C, PAXIP1, HAS1, ARG1, etc., and the low expression genes include PHACTR2, GGA1, RASSF2, etc. GSEA analysis suggested that the signal pathways of MCS in T2DM patients included VEGF signaling pathway, Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, the B cell receptor signaling pathway, natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristic genes of MCs in the skin tissues of T2DM patients were described at the single-cell level. These genes and enriched signaling pathways provide a theoretical basis and data support for further researches on dermatopathy in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Treatment of Zn2+ in wastewater by sinusoidal alternating current coagulation: response surface methodology and removal mechanism.

A novel sinusoidal alternating current coagulation (SACC) technique was used to remove the Zn2+ from wastewater in the present study. The response surface methodology was used to analyze the effect of current density, time, initial pH and initial Zn2+ concentration in order to obtain the optimum removal efficiency and to lower energy consumption. The results show that SACC with a current density of 0.31 A·m-2 applied to treat wastewater containing 120 mg·dm-3 Zn2+ at pH = 9 for 21.3 min can achieve a removal efficiency of Zn2+ of 98.80%, and the energy consumption is 1.147 kWh·m-3. The main component of flocs produced in SACC process is Fe5O7OH·4H2O (HFO). Large specific surface area and good adsorption performance of HFO are demonstrated. There is strong interaction between Zn2+ and HFO. Zn2+ is adsorbed and trapped by HFO and then co-precipitated. Freundlich adsorption isotherm model and pseudo-second order kinetics model explained the Zn2+ adsorption behavior well. The Zn2+ adsorption on HFO is an endothermic and spontaneous process.

Surface-Supported Metal-Organic Framework Thin-Film-Derived Transparent CoS1.097@N-Doped Carbon Film as an Efficient Counter Electrode for Bifacial Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

An effective design for counter electrode (CE) catalytic materials with superior catalytic activity, excellent stability, low cost, and a facile fabrication process is urgently needed for industrialization of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, we report a facile in situ method to fabricate transparent CoS1.097 anchored on an N-doped carbon film electrode through sulfurization of a cobalt-metalloporphyrin metal-organic framework thin film on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass. The transparent film as counter electrode in bifacial DSSCs exhibited higher power conversion efficiency (9.11% and 6.64%), respectively, from front and rear irradiation than that of Pt (8.04% and 5.87%). The uniformly dispersed CoS1.097 nanoparticles on an N-doped carbon film provide a large catalytic active area and facilitate the electron transfer, which leads to the excellent catalytic ability of the CoS1.097@N-doped carbon film. In addition, the in situ preparation of the uniform film with a nanosheet structure offers high electrical conductivity and unobstructed access for the diffusion of triiodide to available electroactive sites, resulting in excellent device performance with superior long-term stability over 1000 h under natural conditions.