Influence of Chemical Pretreatment on the Dissolved Organics in Poplar Alkaline Peroxide Mechanical Pulping Effluent

The components of the effluent from the chemical pretreatment of poplar alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp(APMP) were analyzed in this study. The main dissolved organics were low-molecular weight(LMW) lignin, oligosaccharides, and monosaccharides. The lignin and sugar concentrations in the effluent obtained using different chemical pretreatment conditions and chemical dosages were analyzed using ultraviolet(UV) spectroscopy. This analysis provided a theoretical basis for the subsequent treatment and utilization of APMP effluent. The experimental results showed that the dosages of Na OH, H_2O_2, and Na_2 SiO_3 in the chemical pretreatment process affected the lignin and sugar concentrations in the effluent and that different chemicals had differing degrees of influence. The degree of influence exhibited the following order: Na OH>H_2O_2>Na_2SiO_3. More specifically, the dosages of Na OH and H_2O_2 had stronger influences on the lignin and sugar concentrations than that of Na_2 SiO_3. Indeed, the Na_2 SiO_3 dosage hardly affected the lignin and sugar concentrations in the effluent, but Na_2 SiO_3 could stabilize the chemical pretreatment system and improve the reactive efficiency of Na OH and H_2O_2. The pretreatment temperature and time also affected the organic components, and the influence of the temperature was stronger than that of time.

PPARα affects hepatic lipid homeostasis by perturbing necroptosis signals in the intestinal epithelium

Rapid turnover of the intestinal epithelium is a critical strategy to balance the uptake of nutrients and defend against environmental insults, whereas inappropriate death promotes the spread of inflammation. PPARα is highly expressed in the small intestine and regulates the absorption of dietary lipids. However, as a key mediator of inflammation, the impact of intestinal PPARα signaling on cell death pathways is unknown. Here, we show that Pparα deficiency of intestinal epithelium up-regulates necroptosis signals, disrupts the gut vascular barrier, and promotes LPS translocation into the liver. Intestinal Pparα deficiency drives age-related hepatic steatosis and aggravates hepatic fibrosis induced by a high-fat plus high-sucrose diet (HFHS). PPARα levels correlate with TRIM38 and MLKL in the human ileum. Inhibition of PPARα up-regulates necroptosis signals in the intestinal organoids triggered by TNF-α and LPS stimuli via TRIM38/TRIF and CREB3L3/MLKL pathways. Butyric acid ameliorates hepatic steatosis induced by intestinal Pparα deficiency through the inhibition of necroptosis. Our data suggest that intestinal PPARα is essential for the maintenance of microenvironmental homeostasis and the spread of inflammation via the gut-liver axis.

A universal optoelectronic imaging platform with wafer-scale integration of two-dimensional semiconductors

Photodetectors (PDs) are crucial in modern society as they enable thedetection of a diverse range of light-based signals. With the exponential increase in their development, materials are being used tocreate a wide range of PDs that play critical roles in enabling variousapplications and technologies. Image sensor technology has beenhindered due to the lack of a universal system that can integrate alltypes of PDs with silicon-based readout integrated circuits (ROICs).To address this issue, we conducted experiments adopting twodimensional materials as an example. High-performance MoS2-/MoTe2-based PDs were fabricated in the current work and the mostsuitable ROICs were identified to pair with them. This established asolid foundation for further researches in the field of image sensors.We developed and implemented a versatile testing system that uses aprinted circuit board to connect the PD and ROIC. After the ROICgenerates the sampled signal, it is collected and processed by algorithms, which overcome device uniformity limitations and produce ahigh-quality image that is visible to the naked eye. This universalsystem can be used with a wide range of PD and ROIC types madefrom different materials, making it highly convenient for diversetesting applications and the development of diverse image sensortypes.This robust new platform is expected to spur further innovationand advancements in this rapidly developing field。

Meta-analyses on prevalence of selected Parkinson’s nonmotor symptoms before and after diagnosis

Background:Nonmotor symptoms are common among patients with Parkinson’s disease(PD)and some may precede disease diagnosis.Methods:We conducted a meta-analysis on the prevalence of selected nonmotor symptoms before and after PD diagnosis,using random-effect models.We searched PubMed(1965 through October/November 2012)for the following symptoms:hyposmia,constipation,rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder,excessive daytime sleepiness,depression,and anxiety.Eligible studies were publications in English with original data on one or more of these symptoms.Results:The search generated 2,373 non-duplicated publications and 332 met the inclusion criteria,mostly(n=320)on symptoms after PD diagnosis.For all symptoms,the prevalence was substantially higher in PD cases than in controls,each affecting over a third of the patients.Hyposmia was the most prevalent(75.5%in cases vs.19.1%in controls),followed by constipation(50%vs.17.7%),anxiety(39.9%vs.19.1%),rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder(37.0%vs.7.0%),depression(36.6%vs.14.9%),and excessive daytime sleepiness(33.9%vs.10.5%).We observed substantial heterogeneities across studies and meta-regression analyses suggested that several factors might have contributed to this.However,the prevalence estimates were fairly robust in several sensitivity analyses.Only 20 studies had data on any symptoms prior to PD diagnosis,but still the analyses revealed higher prevalence in future PD cases than in controls.Conclusion:These symptoms are common among PD patients both before and after diagnosis.Further studies are needed to understand the natural history of nonmotor symptoms in PD and their etiological and clinical implications.

Water quality prediction of copper-molybdenum miningbeneficiation wastewater based on the PSO-SVR model

The mining-beneficiation wastewater treatment is highly complex and nonlinear.Various factors like influent quality,flow rate,pH and chemical dose,tend to restrict the effluent effectiveness of miningbeneficiation wastewater treatment.Chemical oxygen demand(COD)is a crucial indicator to measure the quality of mining-beneficiation wastewater.Predicting COD concentration accurately of miningbeneficiation wastewater after treatment is essential for achieving stable and compliant discharge.This reduces environmental risk and significantly improves the discharge quality of wastewater.This paper presents a novel AI algorithm PSO-SVR,to predict water quality.Hyperparameter optimization of our proposed model PSO-SVR,uses particle swarm optimization to improve support vector regression for COD prediction.The generalization capacity tested on out-of-distribution(OOD)data for our PSOSVR model is strong,with the following performance metrics of root means square error(RMSE)is 1.51,mean absolute error(MAE)is 1.26,and the coefficient of determination(R2)is 0.85.We compare the performance of PSO-SVR model with back propagation neural network(BPNN)and radial basis function neural network(RBFNN)and shows it edges over in terms of the performance metrics of RMSE,MAE and R2,and is the best model for COD prediction of mining-beneficiation wastewater.This is because of the less overfitting tendency of PSO-SVR compared with neural network architectures.Our proposed PSO-SVR model is optimum for the prediction of COD in copper-molybdenum mining-beneficiation wastewater treatment.In addition,PSO-SVR can be used to predict COD on a wide variety of wastewater through the process of transfer learning.

Stacking monolayers at will:A scalable device optimization strategy for two-dimensional semiconductors

In comparison to monolayer(1L),multilayer(ML)two-dimensional(2D)semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)exhibit more application potential for electronic and optoelectronic devices due to their improved current carrying capability,higher mobility,and broader spectral response.However,the investigation of devices based on wafer-scale ML-TMDs is still restricted by the synthesis of uniform and high-quality ML films.In this work,we propose a strategy of stacking MoS_(2) monolayers via a vacuum transfer method,by which one could obtain wafer-scale high-quality MoS_(2) films with the desired number of layers at will.The optical characteristics of these stacked ML-MoS_(2) films(>2L)indicate a weak interlayer coupling.The stacked MLMoS_(2) phototransistors show improved optoelectrical performances and a broader spectral response(approximately 300-1,000 nm)than that of 1L-MoS_(2).Additionally,the dual-gate ML-MoS_(2) transistors enable enhanced electrostatic control over the stacked ML-MoS_(2) channel,and the 3L and 4L thicknesses exhibit the optimal device performances according to the turning point of the current on/off ratio and the subthreshold swing.

Contact optimisation strategy for wafer-scale field-effect transistors based on two-dimensional semiconductors

Two-dimensional(2D)semiconductors can be utilized to continually miniaturize nanoscale electronic de-vices.However,achieving a practical solution for satisfying electrical contact with 2D semiconductors remains challenging.In this study,we developed a novel contact structure with transferred multilayer(t-ML)MoS 2 by integrating both edge and top contact.After in-situ plasma treatment for the edge of the MoS 2 channel and successive metal deposition,we achieved 16 times lower contact resistivity(22.8 kΩμm)than that of the top contacted devices.The thickness-dependent electrical measurement indicates that edge contact is highly effective with thick MoS 2 due to the alleviated current-crowding effect re-sulting from the small contact area.The temperature-dependent transport measurement further confirms the effective minimization of the influence from the Schottky barrier and tunnelling barrier.Finally,the simplified resistor network model and energy-band diagram were proposed to understand the carrier transport mechanism.Our work provides a practical strategy for achieving excellent electrical contact between bulk metals and 2D semiconductors,paving the way for future large-scale 2D electronic devices.

Recent advances in regulating the local environment of M-N_(4) structure for tailored chemical reactions

Single-atom catalysts(SACs)with M-N_(4)structure have drawn significant attention due to the facile preparation,maximum atom efficiency,unique electronic properties,uniform active sites,and excellent activity.Such catalysts integrated the merits of traditional homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts effectively solve the cost,activity,and reuse problems.More importantly,the M-N_(4)structure is flexible and other species like atoms,groups,and particles can be added to precisely control the local environment of M-N_(4)to further improve the catalytic performance.Although unprecedented progress has been made,it remains difficulties in the rational design and controllable synthesis of a suitable SAC for a certain application.This review introduces the progress of M-N_(4)catalysts and summarizes the strategies to modulate the M-N_(4)structure,including changing the coordination number,tailoring the coordination structure,coordinating with groups,creating dual-atom catalysts(DACs),and coexisting of SAC with DAC and cluster.Special emphasis is placed on the preparation,structure characterization,and reaction mechanism of M-N_(4)-derived catalysts.Finally,the current challenges of these catalysts are also discussed to provide guidelines for the future design of efficient catalysts.

Short communication: genetic variations of SLC2A9 in relation to Parkinson’s disease

Background:Epidemiological studies showed that higher plasma urate was associated with lower risk for Parkinson’s disease(PD)and slower disease progression.Recent genome-wide association studies(GWAS)consistently showed that several single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in the solute carrier family 2 member 9 gene(SLC2A9)were associated with plasma urate concentration and the risk of gout.Methods:We conducted a case–control study to examine twelve tag SNPs of the SLC2A9 gene in relation to PD among 788 cases and 911 controls of European ancestry.Odds ratios(OR)and 95%confidence intervals(CI)were derived from logistic regression models,adjusting for age,sex,smoking and caffeine consumption.Results:These SNPs were all in linkage disequilibrium(R^(2)>0.7).None of them were associated with PD risk.Among women,however,there was a suggestion that the presence of the minor allele of one SNP(rs7442295)was related to a small increase in PD risk[OR(95%CI)=1.48(1.01-2.16)].Conclusion:This study provides little support for genetic variations of SLC2A9 and PD risk.