Opportunities for combining data of Estonian and Russian monitoring to reflect on water quality in large transboundary Lake Peipsi

Lake Peipsi, one of the world’s largest lakes, is shared between Estonia and Russia. The water quality in different parts of the lake has so far been assessed independently. Here we explore opportunities for combining data of Estonian and Russian monitoring. For that, we 1) analysed the compatibility of data for some water quality variables; 2) estimated the potential effects of the differences in sampling frequency; 3) provided a few regression models to calculate the missing data for months not sampled by the Russian side. Data of the concurrent Estonian and Russian sampling indicated a good compatibility. Estonian data analysis suggested that water quality assessment results are sensitive to sampling frequency. For example, total phosphorus (TP) in the largest basin showed a long-term decreasing trend in three month data that disappeared when data for other months were added. Disregarding some months may lead to under- or overestimation of certain factors with no consistency in the response of different basins. Hence, data of the whole ice-free period are recommended for an adequate water quality assessment. Furthermore, we demonstrated that monthly values of the water quality variables of the same year are autocorrelated. Based on this, we filled the gaps in the long-term data and compiled a dataset for the whole lake that enables its most comprehensive use in water quality assessment and management. Long-term data revealed no water quality improvement of Lake Peipsi. Further reduction of the external nutrient load is needed. Eutrophication is sustained by high internal phosphorus load.     

Photoluminescence and hydrogen evolution properties of ZnS:Eu quantum dots

In the era of Photonics, design and development of novel rare earth ion-doped quantum dots (QDs) for optoelectronic applications has gained significant interest owing to their outstanding characteristics. Simultaneously, the creation of a new class of photocatalytic materials on the nanoscale is also imperative for environmental purification. Thus, we report on wet chemical synthesis, the structural, morphological, and optical characteristics, fluorescence, and hydrogen evolution of ZnS:Eu (0, 2, 4, and 6 at%) QDs for optoelectronic and photocatalytic applications. Comprehensive structural studies depicted that Eu³⁺ ions were efficiently substituted into the host matrix and altered the original structure of the ZnS compound. The emission spectra of the ZnS:Eu QDs exhibited distinctive red fluorescence owing to the transition of dopant ions in ⁵D₀ - ⁷F₁, ⁵D₀ - ⁷F₂, ⁵D₀ - ⁷F₃, and ⁵D₀ - ⁷F₄ energy levels of the 4f orbital of the Eu³⁺ ions. Moreover, the photocatalytic properties of ZnS:Eu (6 at%) QDs possess better catalytic efficiency toward hydrogen evolution through a water splitting mechanism under simulated sunlight irradiation. The observed photocatalytic phenomenon in the synthesized samples agreed well with the luminescence properties exhibited by the QDs.     

Nano fibrillated cellulose-based foam by Pickering emulsion: Preparation,characterizations, and application as dye adsorbent

An ecofriendly and biodegradable porous structure was prepared from drying aqueous foams based on nano fibrillated cellulose (NFC), extracted from softwood pulp by subcritical water/CO₂ treatment (SC-NFC). The primary aim of this work was to use the modified SC-NFC as stabilizer for a water-based Pickering emulsion which upon drying, yielded porous cellulosic materials, a good dye adsorbent. In order to exploit the carboxymethylated SC-NFC (CMSC-NFC, with a degree of substitution of 0.35 and a charge density of 649 μeqv/g) as a stabilizer for water-based Pickering emulsion in subsequent step, an optimized quantity of octyl amine (30 mg/g of SC-NFC) was added to make them partially hydrophobic. A series of dry foam structures were prepared by varying the concentrations of treated CMSC-NFCs and 4 wt% was found to be the optimum concentration to yield foam with high porosity (99%) and low density (0.038 g/cc) along with high compression strength (0.24 MPa), superior to the conventionally extracted NFC. The foams were applied to capture as high as 98% of methylene blue dyes, making them a potential green candidate for treating industrial effluent. In addition, the dye adsorption kinetics and isotherms were found to be well suited with second order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models.     

Methods and mechanisms for uniformly refining deformed mixed and coarse grains inside a solution-treated Ni-based superalloy by two-stage heat treatment

The uniform refinement mechanisms and methods of deformed mixed and coarse grains inside a solution-treatment Ni-based superalloy during two-stage annealing treatment have been investigated.The two-stage heat treatment experiments include an aging annealing treatment(AT)and a subsequent recrystallization annealing treatment(RT).The object of AT is to precipitate some δ phases and consume part of storage energy to inhibit the grain growth during RT,while the RT is to refine mixed and coarse grains by recrystallization.It can be found that the recrystallization grains will quickly grow up to a large size when the AT time is too low or the RT temperature is too high,while the deformed coarse grains cannot be eliminated when the AT time is too long or the RT temperature is too low.In addition,the mixed microstructure composed of some abnormal coarse recrystallization grains(ACRGs)and a large number of fine grains can be observed in the annealed specimen when the AT time is 3 h and RT tem-perature is 980℃.The phenomenon attributes to the uneven distribution of δ phase resulted from the heterogeneous deformation energy when the AT time is too short.In the regions with a large number of δ phases,the recrystallization nucleation rate is promoted and the growth of grains is limited,which results in fine grains.However,in the regions with few δ phases,the recrystallization grains around grain boundaries can easily grow up,and the new recrystallization nucleus is difficult to form inside grain,which leads to ACRGs.Thus,in order to obtain uniform and fine annealed microstructure,it is a prereq-uisite to precipitate even-distributed δ phase by choosing a suitable AT time,such as 12 h.Moreover,a relative high RT temperature is also needed to promote the recrystallization nucleation around δ phase.The optimal annealing parameters range for uniformly refining mixed crystal can be summarized as:900℃×12 h+990℃×(40-60 min)and 900℃×12 h+1000℃×(10-15 min).     

Influence of fluorine-containing side chain on the properties of waterborne polyurethane-urea

In order to prepare waterborne polyurethane with excellent water resistance and thermodynamic properties, a series of side chain fluorinated waterborne polyurethane-urea (FWPU-UA) was synthesized with polytetramethylene ether glycol, N-(2-methyl-1,3-propanediol-2′-)-perfluoro-1-butanesulfonyl amine (NPBA), isophorone diisocyanate, and isophoronediamine. With the increase of NPBA content, the weight loss temperature, glass transition temperature, and tensile strength of FWPU-UA were all improved. Gaussian fitting analysis of infrared data and density functional theory simulation proved that the introduction of fluorine side chains increased the interaction of hydrogen bonding in the FWPU-UA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the aggregation of fluorine atoms on the surface of film were caused by the migration and enrichment of fluorine side chains. Furthermore, the water resistance of polyurethane-urea film could be significantly improved by adding a small amount of NPBA, and the seven-day water absorption rate of polyurethane-urea film was reduced from 30.13% to 12.55%.     

Coumarins from Seseli devenyense Simonk.: Isolation by Liquid–Liquid Chromatography and Potential Anxiolytic Activity Using an In Vivo Zebrafish Larvae Model

Different types of anxiety disorders have become the number one mental health issue in developed countries. The search for new, safer and effective drug-like molecules among naturally derived substances faces two difficulties: an efficient method of isolation compounds with a high-purity and high-throughput animal model for activity assay. Thus, the aim of the present study was to isolate by liquid–liquid chromatography high-purity rare coumarins from the fruits of Seseli devenyense Simonk. and evaluate their anxiolytic effect (defined as reversed thimotaxis) using a 5-days post-fertilization (dpf) Danio rerio larvae model. Liquid–liquid chromatography enabled the isolation of one simple hydroxycoumarin (devenyol) and four pyranocoumarins (cis-khellactone, d-laserpitin, isolaserpitin and octanoyllomatin). The anxiolytic effect was defined as a decrease in the time spent in the boundaries of the living space (also described as reversed thigmotaxis). Our results show that all isolated courmarins exerted a significant influence on the anxiety behavior (anxiolytic activity) in the zebrafish larvae model. According to our knowledge, this is the first report of anxiolytic activity of pyranocoumarins and devenyol.     

基于Matlab的量子激光雷达稳频通信模拟系统设计

传统通信模拟系统设计较为复杂,导致模拟过程消耗能量较大,不能准确模拟稳频通信质量。因此,提出基于Matlab的量子激光雷达稳频通信模拟系统。由于振荡器是雷达形成初始信号源的基础,通过分析振荡电路与相位噪声,获得相位噪声函数与通信频率存在的关系;为确保通信过程的稳定,将准确性与稳定性作为信号质量的评价指标,并采用锁频环稳频技术计算频率偏移程度,根据PID控制算法控制频率,量子激光雷达稳频通信;利用Matlab确定激光器、探测器等硬件组成结构,通过时序与数字阵列的设置完成模拟系统设计。仿真结果表明所提系统结构简便、性能稳定,能够真实模拟出稳频通信的信号质量。     

Nanoporous Surface High-Entropy Alloys as Highly Efficient Multisite Electrocatalysts for Nonacidic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution in alkaline and neutral media offers the possibility of adopting platinum-free electrocatalysts for large-scale electrochemical production of pure hydrogen fuel, but most state-of-the-art electrocatalytic materials based on nonprecious transition metals operate at high overpotentials. Here, a monolithic nanoporous multielemental CuAlNiMoFe electrode with electroactive high-entropy CuNiMoFe surface is reported to hold great promise as cost-effective electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline and neutral media. By virtue of a surface high-entropy alloy composed of dissimilar Cu, Ni, Mo, and Fe metals offering bifunctional electrocatalytic sites with enhanced kinetics for water dissociation and adsorption/desorption of reactive hydrogen intermediates, and hierarchical nanoporous Cu scaffold facilitating electron transfer/mass transport, the nanoporous CuAlNiMoFe electrode exhibits superior nonacidic HER electrocatalysis. It only takes overpotentials as low as ≈240 and ≈183 mV to reach current densities of ≈1840 and ≈100 mA cm⁻² in 1 m  KOH and pH 7 buffer electrolytes, respectively; ≈46- and ≈14-fold higher than those of ternary CuAlNi electrode with bimetallic Cu–Ni surface alloy. The outstanding electrocatalytic properties make nonprecious multielemental alloys attractive candidates as high-performance nonacidic HER electrocatalytic electrodes in water electrolysis.     

Activation of the Complement System on Human Endothelial Cells by Urban Particulate Matter Triggers Inflammation-Related Protein Production

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) is becoming a major global health issue. The amount and time of exposure to PM are known to be closely associated with cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanism through which PM affects the vascular system is still not clear. Endothelial cells line the interior surface of blood vessels and actively interact with plasma proteins, including the complement system. Unregulated complement activation caused by invaders, such as pollutants, may promote endothelial inflammation. In the present study, we sought to investigate whether urban PM (UPM) acts on the endothelial environment via the complement system. UPM-treated human endothelial cells with normal human serum showed the deposition of membrane attack complexes (MACs) on the cell surface via the alternative pathway of the complement system. Despite the formation of MACs, cell death was not observed, and cell proliferation was increased in UPM-mediated complement activation. Furthermore, complement activation on endothelial cells stimulated the production of inflammation-related proteins. Our results revealed that UPM could activate the complement system in human endothelial cells and that complement activation regulated inflammatory reaction in microenvironment. These findings provide clues with regard to the role of the complement system in pathophysiologic events of vascular disease elicited by air pollution.