Multi-scale mechanisms of Zn coordination by humic substances from different bio-stabilized sludge: insights from structure-based modeling and molecular dynamics simulations.

The structural features of humic substances (HS) critically determine their interactions with heavy metal ions, playing a significant role in heavy metal immobilization during sludge bio-stabilization processes and subsequent land applications. However, the specific effects of chain structure and acidic functional group distribution within HS molecules on metal coordination remain insufficiently understood. Here, representative molecular models of HS derived from vermicomposted sludge (VCS), aerobically composted sludge (ACS) and anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) were constructed based on structural characterization.

Molecular choreography of sludge extracellular polymeric substances-From biomolecule identification to energetics and assembly dynamics.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) shape the immediate environment for microbial survival and biofilm formation. Dynamic agglomeration of EPS dominates the formation kinetics and structural properties of activated sludge flocs as a consequence of biopolymer interactions across the wastewater treatment process. Current partial understanding and imprecise modeling of the structure hinder the comprehensive elucidation of the dynamic reorganization of clusters as component interactions change, causing a gap in the fundamental knowledge of EPS generation and functions.

Functional study of an O-methyltransferase in eupatilin biosynthesis in Artemisia argyi by an efficient hairy roots transformation system.

Artemisia argyi is a well-known medicinal plant, and the reference genome has been worked out. However, the absence of an effective genetic transformation system obstructs research into the genetic functions associated with the biosynthesis of its active ingredients. Here, we first established an efficient hairy roots (HRs) transgenic system for A.

Multi-omics analysis to a sludge composting system reveals thermophilic bacteria promote free amino acid production and compost quality.

Recycling waste nutrients from waste activated sludge (WAS) back to agricultural land through composting embodies the core principle of circular economy. However, large quantities of nitrogen are lost as nitrogenous gases during composting, reducing the fertilization performance of the final products. Here, the N cycle and amino acid (AA) biotransformation profiles in an industrial-scale sludge composting plant (130t/d) were investigated using replicated and temporally sampled multi-omics datasets.

Genome-wide identification and expression profiling of MYB transcription factors in Artemisia argyi.

Artemisia argyi, a significant medicinal plant in China, is known for its high content of essential oils, flavonoids, and other bioactive compounds. MYB transcription factors are the largest gene family in plants and are widely reported to play important roles in plant development, metabolism, defense, and stress resistance. However, the MYB family of A.

Resolving Recapture Dynamics of Rydberg Electrons via Laser-Driven Frustrated Tunneling Ionization.

By employing two-color counterrotating circularly polarized laser fields, we investigate the dynamics of electron recapture into Rydberg states under strong, ultrashort laser pulses, probed via coherent extreme-ultraviolet free-induction decay (XFID). Our study reveals significant distinctions between XFID and above-threshold high-order harmonic generation in terms of their ellipticity dependence on the driving-laser waveforms, yield variations with the laser-intensity ratios, and sensitivity to the driving-laser ellipticity. All these differences arise from the fundamentally distinct electron trajectories underlying the two processes.

Mechanistic insights into the viral microorganism inactivation during lime stabilization for wastewater sludges.

The pathogens inactivation in wastewater sludges is vitally important for safely managing solid wastes and protecting public and environmental health especially in the emergency. Reports have shown the effectiveness of lime to kill virus pathogens in sludges, but mechanism of virus inactivation and related human diseases is unclear. This study evaluated representative limes of CaO/CaO on actual viral microorganism inactivation by viral metagenomic sequencing technology.

Solid-liquid redistribution and degradation of antibiotics during hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge: Interaction between biopolymers and antibiotics.

Waste activated sludge serves an important reservoir for antibiotics within wastewater treatment plants, and understanding the occurrence and evolution of antibiotics during sludge treatment is crucial to mitigate the potential risks of subsequent resource utilization of sludge. This study explores the degradation and transformation mechanisms of three typical antibiotics, oxytetracycline (OTC), ofloxacin (OFL), and azithromycin (AZI) during sludge hydrothermal treatment (HT), and investigates the influence of biopolymers transformation on the fate of these antibiotics. The findings indicate that HT induces a shift of antibiotics from solid-phase adsorption to liquid-phase dissolution in the initial temperature range of 25-90 °C, underscoring this phase's critical role in preparing antibiotics for subsequent degradation phases.

Ginseng polysaccharides ameliorate ulcerative colitis via regulating gut microbiota and tryptophan metabolism.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is regarded as a recurring inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, for which treatment approaches remain notably limited. In this study, we demonstrated that ginseng polysaccharides (GPs) could alleviate the development of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC as reflected by the ameliorated pathological lesions in the colon. GPs strikingly suppressed the expression levels of multiple inflammatory cytokines, as well as significantly inhibited the infiltration of inflammatory cells.

Novel multiplexed alkali enzyme lysis coupled with EDTA pretreatment for RNA virus extraction from wastewater sludge: Optimization, recovery, and detection.

RNA viruses are readily enriched in wastewater sludge owing to adsorption by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) during wastewater treatment, causing pathogenicity. However, conventional wastewater extraction methods often fail to fully extract these viruses from sludge. In this study, three methods: enzymatic (ENP), alkaline (ALP), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) pretreatments were applied to sludges and promote the RNA virus extraction from sludge.

Molecular dynamic modeling of EPS and inorganic/organic flocculants during sludge dual conditioning.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are the key components determining the dewatering behavior of wastewater sludge. However, current technical optimization of sludge conditioning for dewatering is limited by the poor understanding of the conditioner-EPS interactions at molecular levels. Herein, a combination of molecular dynamic (MD) simulations, dewaterability assessment and EPS characterization was used to reveal the sludge dewatering mechanisms using dual conditioning processes (prevalent inorganic (poly aluminum chloride (PAC)) and organic (poly dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PDDA)).

Extension of the bright high-harmonic photon energy range via nonadiabatic critical phase matching.

The concept of critical ionization fraction has been essential for high-harmonic generation, because it dictates the maximum driving laser intensity while preserving the phase matching of harmonics. In this work, we reveal a second, nonadiabatic critical ionization fraction, which substantially extends the phase-matched harmonic energy, arising because of the strong reshaping of the intense laser field in a gas plasma. We validate this understanding through a systematic comparison between experiment and theory for a wide range of laser conditions.

Seed-Assisted Synthesis of Hierarchically Structured Nano-Sized Ti-β Zeolites for the Efficient Epoxidation Reaction of Alkenes.

The development of nano-sized titanosilicate zeolites with hierarchical structures is crucial in promoting the efficient epoxidation of alkenes. In the present work, nano-sized hierarchical Ti-β () zeolites with high crystal yield are prepared by a one-pot nanoseed-assisted approach. The influence of seed size on the resultant Ti-β zeolites is investigated by complementary characterizations, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N adsorption/desorption, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and UV Raman spectroscopy.

Spatially homogeneous few-cycle compression of Yb lasers via all-solid-state free-space soliton management.

The high power and variable repetition-rate of Yb femtosecond lasers makes them very attractive for ultrafast science. However, for capturing sub-200 fs dynamics, efficient, high-fidelity and high-stability pulse compression techniques are essential. Spectral broadening using an all-solid-state free-space geometry is particularly attractive, as it is simple, robust and low-cost.

Changes in molecular structure of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) with temperature in relation to sludge macro-physical properties.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are important components of activated sludge, whose content and composition have important effects on the macro-physical properties of sludge. In this study, the response of EPS in sludge to temperature (-40-200 °C) was systematically investigated using XAD resin fractionation, variable-temperature infrared spectra (VTIS) and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS). The relationships between the molecular structure of EPS and the macro-physical properties (rheological property and dewatering performance) of waste activated sludge (WAS) at varying temperature were also established.

Study of sludge conditioning using organic acids chelated ferrous ion catalyzed NaClO oxidation: Evolution of extracellular polymeric substances and floc structure.

In previous studies, we interestingly found that several ligands (e.g., nitrilotriacetate and humic acid) could significantly accelerate the oxidation of NaClO by ferrous ion, via complexing with Fe(II).

Performance and mechanisms of wastewater sludge conditioning with slag-based hydrotalcite-like minerals (Ca/Mg/Al-LDH).

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in wastewater sludge form a network structure that is highly hydrophilic and compressible. Thus chemical conditioning is always required to improve sludge dewaterability by changing the gelatinous structure of sludge flocs. Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are generally characterized by large surface area and high anion exchange capacity, so we prepared three types of hydrotalcite-like compounds (Ca/Mg/Al-LDHs) from a typical solid waste, blast furnace slag, using NaOH precipitation (giving LDH), a hydrothermal method (LDH), and NaOH-NaCO precipitation (LDH).

Bioactive Constituents of Bee Pollen and Quantitative Analysis of Samples Collected from Seven Areas by HPLC.

Bee pollen contains all the essential amino acids needed by humans. China is the largest producer of bee pollen in the world. In the present study, we identified 11 fatty acids in bee pollen oil by GC-MS analysis, and 16 compounds were isolated from bee pollen by column chromatography and identified.