Abundant Production Research Articles

Formation of highly oxygenated organic molecules from the oxidation of limonene by OH radical: significant contribution of H-abstraction pathway

Abstract. Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) play a pivotal role in the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Therefore, the distribution and yields of HOMs are fundamental to understand their fate and chemical evolution in the atmosphere, and it is conducive to ultimately assess the impact of SOA on air quality and climate change. In this study, gas-phase HOMs formed from the reaction of limonene with OH radicals in photooxidation were investigated with SAPHIR (Simulation of Atmospheric PHotochemistry In a large Reaction chamber), using a time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer with nitrate reagent ion (NO3--CIMS). A large number of HOMs, including monomers (C9–10) and dimers (C17–20), were detected and classified into various families. Both closed-shell products and open-shell peroxy radicals (RO2) were identified under low NO (0.06–0.1 ppb) and high NO conditions (17 ppb). C10 monomers are the most abundant HOM products and account for over 80 % total HOMs. Closed-shell C10 monomers were formed from a two peroxy radical family, C10H15Ox⚫ (x=6–15) and C10H17Ox⚫ (x=6–15), and their respective termination reactions with NO, RO2, and HO2. While C10H17Ox⚫ is likely formed by OH addition to C10H16, the dominant initial step of limonene plus OH, C10H15Ox⚫, is likely formed via H abstraction by OH. C10H15Ox⚫ and related products contributed 41 % and 42 % of C10 HOMs at low and high NO, demonstrating that the H-abstraction pathways play a significant role in HOM formation in the reaction of limonene plus OH. Combining theoretical kinetic calculations, structure–activity relationships (SARs), data from the literature, and the observed RO2 intensities, we proposed tentative mechanisms of HOM formation from both pathways. We further estimated the molar yields of HOMs to be 1.97-1.06+2.52 % and 0.29-0.16+0.38 % at low and high NO, respectively. Our study highlights the importance of H abstraction by OH and provides the yield and tentative pathways in the OH oxidation of limonene to simulate the HOM formation and assess the role of HOMs in SOA formation.

Present and future potential role of toxin-producing Synechococcus in the tropical region

As anthropogenic induced temperature rises and nutrient loadings increase in fresh and brackish environments, the ecological function of the phytoplankton community is expected to favour the picocyanobacteria, of the genus Synechococcus. Synechococcus is already a ubiquitous cyanobacterium found in both freshwater and marine environments, notwithstanding that the toxigenic species still remains unexplored in many freshwaters. Their fast growth rate and their ability to produce toxins make Synechococcus a potential dominant player in harmful algal blooms under climate change scenarios. This study examines the responses of a novel toxin-producing Synechococcus (i.e., one belonging to a freshwater clade; the other belonging to a brackish clade) to environmental changes that reflect climate change effects. We conducted a series of controlled experiments under present and predicted future temperatures, as well as under various N and P nutrients loadings.Our findings highlight how Synechococcus can be altered by the differing reactions to increasing temperature and nutrients, which resulted in considerable variations in cell abundance, growth rate, death rate, cellular stoichiometry and toxin production. Synechococcus had the highest growth observed at 28 °C, and further increases in temperature resulted in a decline for both fresh and brackish waters. Cellular stoichiometry was also altered, where more nitrogen (N) per cell was required, and the plasticity of N:P was more severe for the brackish clade. However, Synechococcus become more toxic under future scenario. Anatoxin-a (ATX) saw the greatest spike when temperature was at 34 °C especially under P-enrichment conditions. In contrast, Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) was promoted at the lowest tested temperature (25 °C) and under N-limitation. Overall, both temperature and external nutrients are the dominant control over Synechococcus toxins production. A model was also created to assess Synechococcus toxicity to zooplankton grazing. Zooplankton grazing was reduced by two folds under nutrient limitation, but temperature accounted for very insignificant change.

Development of Novel Banana Supplemented Biscuits using Different Banana Cultivars (<em>Musa spp</em>)

A considerable postharvest loss has been documented in banana due to its very perishable nature and abundant production in Sri Lanka. The present study was conducted to develop banana biscuits utilizing banana flour obtained from three different local cultivars (ash plantain, seeni and ambun banana) with the purpose of decreasing the postharvest losses of banana. The composite mixture of unripe banana flour and wheat flour with varied degrees such as 0, 20, 40, 60, and 100% w/w were utilized to create biscuits from each banana cultivar and an initial sensory evaluation was carried out. Proximate composition, microbial qualities, and the shelf life were assessed for the biscuits developed. The biscuits containing 100% w/w ash plantain flour, 100% w/w ambun banana flour, and 80% w/w seeni banana flour were ranked at the highest for assessed properties in second sensory analysis. Among these, 100% w/w ash plantain biscuit was picked as the best product utilizing second sensory analysis. The ash, moisture, fiber, fat, protein, and carbohydrates of ash plantain biscuit were 2.3 ± 0.1%, 3.78 ± 0.5%, 4.33 ± 0.5%, 0.33 ± 0.01%, 4.56 ± 0.25%, and 87.73 ± 3.5%, respectively while moisture content and pH changes of all types of biscuits were ranged within 6.5 - 7.3 and 3.2 - 4.0%, respectively during the storage period. Microbial studies revealed that biscuits can be preserved for two months in biaxially oriented polypropylene containers under ambient temperature. In conclusion, the banana flour may be efficiently used to create the biscuits thereby lowering the postharvest losses of banana.

Pembentukan Usaha Mikro Kecimpring sebagai Makanan Ciri Khas Kampung Wisata

With its charming geographical location, Cihanjawar Village can attract tourists from various cities. Therefore, Cihanjawar Village is known as a tourist village. Equipped with villa facilities and infrastructure located in the village of Babakan Villa, RT.05, making this village visited by many tourists every weekend. But unfortunately, in the midst of the large number of tourists who come to the village, as well as rural people living in the mountains in general, the economic life of the babakan villa village community still depends on the agricultural sector, of the 98 heads of families, almost 95% work in the agricultural sector. This makes the economic level of the Babakan Villa community tend to stagnate. Even though agricultural products can be processed into delicious food products and can be a typical product from Babakan Villa Village, RT.05, Cihanjawar Village. One of the abundant agricultural products in Babakan Villa village is Cassava. A small-scale agro-industry whose raw materials are made from cassava is a kecimpring product, this snack is one of the processed products from the Sundanese land. One of the needs that tourists look for when visiting tourist attractions is the typical food of the tourist area. Therefore, through this Community Service Lecture, using the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method, researchers hope that the community will be able to recognize the potential they have, so that they want to make social changes to their potential.

Development of a native-locus dual reporter system for the efficient screening of the hyper-production of natural products in Streptomyces.

Streptomyces is renowned for its abundant production of bioactive secondary metabolites, but most of these natural products are produced in low yields. Traditional rational network refactoring is highly dependent on the comprehensive understanding of regulatory mechanisms and multiple manipulations of genome editing. Though random mutagenesis is fairly straightforward, it lacks a general and effective strategy for high throughput screening of the desired strains. Here in an antibiotic daptomycin producer S. roseosporus, we developed a dual-reporter system at the native locus of the daptomycin gene cluster. After elimination of three enzymes that potentially produce pigments by genome editing, a gene idgS encoding the indigoidine synthetase and a kanamycin resistant gene neo were integrated before and after the non-ribosomal peptidyl synthetase genes for daptomycin biosynthesis, respectively. After condition optimization of UV-induced mutagenesis, strains with hyper-resistance to kanamycin along with over-production of indigoidine were efficiently obtained after one round of mutagenesis and target screening based on the dual selection of the reporter system. Four mutant strains showed increased production of daptomycin from 1.4 to 6.4 folds, and significantly improved expression of the gene cluster. Our native-locus dual reporter system is efficient for targeting screening after random mutagenesis and would be widely applicable for the effective engineering of Streptomyces species and hyper-production of these invaluable natural products for pharmaceutical development.

Hybrid sequencing discloses unique aspects of the transcriptomic architecture in equid alphaherpesvirus 1

This study employed both short-read sequencing (SRS, Illumina) and long-read sequencing (LRS Oxford Nanopore Technologies) platforms to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) transcriptome. The study involved the annotation of canonical mRNAs and their transcript variants, encompassing transcription start site (TSS) and transcription end site (TES) isoforms, in addition to alternative splicing forms. Furthermore, the study revealed the presence of numerous non-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules, including intergenic and antisense transcripts, produced by EHV-1. An intriguing finding was the abundant production of chimeric transcripts, some of which potentially encode fusion polypeptides. Moreover, EHV-1 exhibited a greater incidence of transcriptional overlaps and splicing compared to related viruses. It is noteworthy that many genes have their unique TESs along with the co-terminal transcription ends, a characteristic scarcely seen in other alphaherpesviruses. The study also identified transcripts that overlap the replication origins of the virus. Moreover, a novel ncRNA, referred to as NOIR, was found to intersect with the 5′-ends of longer transcript isoform specified by the major transactivator genes ORF64 and ORF65, surrounding the OriL. These findings together imply the existence of a key regulatory mechanism that governs both transcription and replication through, among others, a process that involves interference between the DNA and RNA synthesis machineries.

Pengujian Angka Lempeng Total (ALT) Pada Ikan Tongkol (Euthynnus Affinis) Di Stasiun Karantina Ikan Pengendalian Mutu Dan Keamanan Hasil Perikanan Aceh

Indonesia is a maritime country with abundant fishery and marine products. Indonesian fishery products in 2015 reached 14.79 tonnes. Tuna (Euthynnus affinis) is one of the most important pelagic fish species found in Indo-Pacific waters living in the neritic area. Its geographical distribution includes the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The results of the ALT test on tuna obtained a variety of colony counts. This research uses a descriptive method. Descriptive, namely research conducted to determine the value of a characteristic or number, either one characteristic or more without making comparisons, to relate it to other quantities. Research is conducted with the main objective of making a picture of a situation objectively (actual situation). Tuna taken from 3 different traders obtained the ALT value of sample A1 which was 2.6 x 104/gr, sample A2 which was 2.4 x 104/gr, and sample A3 which was 4.0 x 103/gr for 48 hours with temperature 350o C. After testing it can be concluded that the total plate number (ALT) of bacteria found in tuna is in accordance with the SNI 2332.3: 2015 standard concerning tuna ALT, which is 106.

In this Issue.

In this Issue.

Unravelling the pathway determining the CO2 selectivity in photocatalytic toluene oxidation on TiO2 with different particle size

The rapid intermediate species accumulation on TiO2 induces the deactivation and is a long-standing unsolved issue in the photocatalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exploring efficient pathway to achieve deep oxidation is of crucial significance. In this study, we observed that TiO2 with small particle size (S-TiO2) had high toluene conversion but low CO2 mineralization, while TiO2 with large particle size (L-TiO2) had low toluene conversion but high CO2 mineralization. The characterization results showed that S-TiO2 had a larger specific surface area and more surface hydroxyl groups than L-TiO2, which accounted for its higher toluene conversion. Additionally, low toluene adsorption but a larger quantity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed on L-TiO2. Our findings further revealed that toluene on S-TiO2 was initially oxidized to benzene-ring-containing intermediate species by ROS. However, the accumulation of these species suppressed the ROS production and blocked the ring-opening reaction, resulting in low CO2 selectivity. In contrast, nearly no intermediate species was accumulated on L-TiO2 due to the low toluene adsorption and abundant ROS production, which allowed the photocatalytic oxidation of toluene on L-TiO2 to follow the direct ring-opening pathway and achieve higher CO2 selectivity. This study provides new insight into the mechanism of the photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence within Circular Economy Activities—A View from Ireland

The world’s current linear economic model is unsustainable. This model encourages improper use of limited natural resources and causes abundant waste production resulting in severe harm to the environment. A circular economy (CE) is a sustainable, restorative, and regenerative alternative to the current linear economy and is gaining popularity worldwide. Amongst various digital technologies, Artificial intelligence (AI) is a crucial enabler for CE and can aid significantly with the adoption and implementation of CE in real-world applications. In this paper, we describe the intersection of AI and CE and policies around implementing CE principles using AI. As a means of grounding the discussion, we discuss some initiatives taken by the Irish government to adopt circularity and explore the role AI plays in these. We present a number of practical examples of AI and CE from Ireland. We argue that digitalisation has potential in CE and it has a major role to play in the transition towards CE. We close the paper by reflecting on future steps around practical implementations of AI-based CE processes.

Experimental evidence for the hydrothermal formation of native sulfur by synproportionation

Elemental sulfur (S0) is known to form in submarine acid-sulfate vents by disproportionation of magmatic SO2. S0 formed upon disproportionation shows δ34SS values considerably lower than the influxing magmatic SO2, which results in δ34SS values typically <0‰. The peculiar occurrence of isotopically heavy sulfur in the Kemp Caldera hydrothermal system (δ34SS > 5‰) and Niua North (δ34SS = 3.1‰) led to the suggestion that disproportionation is not the only sulfur forming process in submarine hydrothermal systems. We conducted hydrothermal experiments to investigate if synproportionation of SO2 and H2S can explain the occurrence and isotopic composition of S0 observed in some vent fields. Provided that SO2 and H2S are both abundant, this formation mechanism is thermodynamically conceivable, but it has not yet been demonstrated experimentally that this process actually takes place in submarine hydrothermal systems. We conducted the experiments in collapsible Ti-cells under pT-conditions (20–30 MPa, 220°C) that are relevant to S0 formation in submarine hydrothermal systems. We used starting concentrations of 10 mM sulfite and 20 mM sulfide of known isotopic composition. Under acidic conditions (pH25 °C = 1.2), S0 was the most abundant reaction product, but small amounts of sulfate were also produced. A Rayleigh fractionation model was applied to determine the isotopic composition of SO42–, SO2, H2S and S0 expected to form by SO2 disproportionation, H2S oxidation, and SO2–H2S synproportionation. The sulfur isotopic signatures of the sulfur produced in the experiments can only be explained by synproportionation of sulfite and sulfide. These results provide strong evidence that synproportionation is likely responsible for exceptionally high δ34SS values observed in S0 from some arc/back-arc hydrothermal environments, like the Kemp Caldera in the South Sandwich arc. Coeval degassing of H2S and SO2 is likely required to have this particular reaction dominate in the H–S–O reaction network and produce noticeable accumulations of isotopically heavy native sulfur at the seafloor.

Pemanfaatan Abu Sekam Padi Sebagai Bahan Pengganti Semen Pada Pembuatan Mortar di Desa Durian Dangkal Kabupaten Lahat

Durian Dangkal Village is a village that has abundant rice production which causes quite a lot of rice husk ash waste and has not been used for construction materials, rice husk ash which is usually only used as scouring ash and plant fertilizer. In this service activity, rice husk ash is used as a substitute for cement for the manufacture of geopolymer mortar. Geopolymer mortar is a mortar whose main material contains pozzolanic materials. The use of rice husk ash as a substitute for cement can reduce CO2 emissions and waste which can improve environmental quality. This service is carried out to increase public knowledge about waste processing which can be utilized in construction and has high selling power. The manufacture of geopolymer mortar was carried out by counseling and training methods which were directly demonstrated to the community and produced geopolymer mortar samples with cement as a substitute for rice husk ash.

Sulfide Immobilization: Investigating the Impact of a Protective Sulfide-Bearing Layer Formed by Siderite (FeCO3)

Sulfate-rich wastewater poses ecological hazards to freshwater ecosystems, and sulfate is highly regulated in many Minnesota lakes. Biological sulfate reduction results in the reduction of sulfate to sulfide, and this process is used to remediate acid mine drainage. Theoretically, the aqueous sulfide can be immobilized into a solid-phase material and removed from the aqueous system. This study focuses on sulfide immobilization using iron-bearing waste minerals. Specifically, the extent of reaction of siderite (FeCO3), an abundant ferrous mineral in some mining wastes, with sulfide was studied. Mildly acidic batch reactors containing powdered siderite were consecutively injected with a sodium sulfide solution. Solid reaction products were identified and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Mackinawite (FeS) appeared to be the most abundant product, with greigite (Fe3S4) also detected. Results reveal that the immobilization capacity of sulfide by siderite is limited by the concentration of the Fe2+(aq) presented in the system immediately before the initial sulfide exposure as the Fe2+(aq) levels are not replenished after sulfidation. These results improve our understanding of the sulfidation of siderite and provide insight to improve the viability of using siderite-containing mining waste rock in a sulfate remediation technology.

VHH-based chimeric antigen receptor T cells against CD70 to eliminate primary and re-challenge renal cell carcinoma tumors in preclinical study.

e14540 Background: CD70 is not expressed in normal tissue, but highly expressed on various hematopoietic and solid tumors, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). It is an ideal target for cancer therapy and recently was proved by good results in clinical trials of CD70 monoclonal antibody. Methods: We obtained 4 VHH antibody（2A5, 8B4, 11C9 and 9D8）against CD70 by screen nanobody library derived from an antigen-immunized alpaca. Generated a panel of CAR-T cells by transduce retrovirus expressing CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) to human T cells isolated from health donors. These CAR constructs include 4 VHH sequences and a human scFv containing VH and VL derived from cusatuzumab. We evaluated CAR-T cell function in vitro included cell phenotype, proliferation, cytotoxicity, and cytokine release. Furthermore, RCC tumor cell-xenograft NOG mice models were used to test the anti-tumor activity of CAR-T cells in vivo. Results: All anti-CD70 CAR-T cells eliminate CD70-positive tumor cells but not CD70-negative cells in vitro. Although there were no significant differences between the killing efficiency of the CAR-T cells, more abundant IL-2 production in two VHH-based CAR-T cells (11C9 and 2A5) were observed in multi-round co-culture assay. CAR-T cells eradicated RCC tumor cell in our Xenograft model. After infusion, human T cells expanded over 250 folds in 11C9 group and over 30 folds in 2A5 group, but only nearly 6 folds in human scFv CAR-T treated group. In our second in vivo experiment, all mice treated with higher dose CAR-T, the VHH groups maintained tumor free statue much longer time than human scFv group. Cured mice were re-challenged by subcutaneously infuse RCC tumor cells, observed and measured tumor in the next 53 days. For 11C9 CAR-T treated group, 3of 7 mice maintained tumor-free, 1 of 7 mice were tumor-palpable but too small to measurement; For 2A5 treated group only 1 of 7 mice maintained tumor-free. A significantly greater expansion of human T cells in 11C9 group but not 2A5 group after re-challenge. Conclusions: Our results indicate a promising VHH-based CD70 CAR-T cells for RCC therapy, supporting further development for future clinical trial and application.

Liberalization and the volatility of gas prices: Exploring their relation in times of abundance and scarcity

Agencies and analysts attribute the current volatility of natural gas prices to a temporary convergence of exogenous shocks such as the post-COVID-19 economic recovery and the conflict in Ukraine. This paper hypothesizes that long-term structural and policy factors endogenous to the energy sector also play a relevant role. Through a case study of three major gas markets – UK, US, and EU – the paper finds that countries characterized by abundant domestic production are less exposed to price volatility as they benefit from lower market uncertainty and asset specificity. This encourages energy firms to outsource production and rely on more flexible and shorter-term contracts. A structural condition of abundance supported by liberalization policies and a developed infrastructure network allows energy firms to easily switch suppliers or buyers without being exposed to the opportunistic behavior of the commercial counterparty, increasing market competition and reducing prices. By contrast, import-dependent countries face greater uncertainty and asset specificity, as supplies and prices are not guaranteed and they heavily depend from trends in international markets. In this context, the contractual and structural flexibility brought about by liberalization policies may expose to further insecurity of supply and volatility of prices, as exporters are contractually disengaged from commitments on volumes and prices. In periods of international scarcity, they may redirect supplies to importers that offer a premium in price. This suggests that import-dependent countries could reduce their exposure to price volatility (i) by increasing domestic production (ii) while envisaging the coexistence of contractual models based on both market competition and vertical integration, to take advantage from low spot prices in periods of international abundance and contain the surge in periods of scarcity.

TOP-106 - The intrahepatic activity of Hepatitis Delta virus is sustained by an abundant production of HBs transcripts, mainly derived from integrated HBV-DNA, and is not strictly related to the extent of HBV reservoir

TOP-106 - The intrahepatic activity of Hepatitis Delta virus is sustained by an abundant production of HBs transcripts, mainly derived from integrated HBV-DNA, and is not strictly related to the extent of HBV reservoir

Surfactant Flooding Performance Between Carbonate Reservoir and Sandstone Reservoir

Abstract. High energy consumption must be balanced with an increase in oil reserves. One of them is to increase reserves from existing fields. So far, abundant oil production is still sourced from old or brownfields. This makes many oil companies still make efforts to increase their production on the brownfields. One of these efforts is implementing Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), intending to maximize recovery (RF) from the oil field. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) can be categorized as a tertiary production stage to obtain oil in various types of reservoirs, especially heavy oil reservoirs. Around 60% of the world's oil reserves are in carbonate reservoirs, and the rest is sandstone and other lithologies. Therefore, it is crucial to know the characteristics of the reservoir to support the success of the EOR carried out. The stages of tertiary oil production are mainly carried out by chemical means. One widely used method in the field is surfactant injection or surfactant flooding. Surfactant flooding is an EOR method by injecting a surfactant-brine solution into a reservoir filled with oil that the previous step cannot wash away. Of course, surfactant injection carried out in both types of reservoirs will give different results considering the characteristics of each rock. The parameters examined were surfactant adsorption ability by both rocks, alteration of wettability after surfactant was injected, and recovery factor after injection. It was found that the surfactant adsorption on sandstone was low compared to carbonate rock; the wettability alteration was also more effective on sandstone compared to carbonate rock. So that from these two parameters, a higher recovery factor value is obtained in sandstone than carbonate rock reservoir.

Smelling Peppers and Pout Submitted to Convective Drying: Mathematical Modeling, Thermodynamic Properties and Proximal Composition.

Pepper (Capsicum spp.) is among the oldest and most cultivated crops on the planet. Its fruits are widely used as natural condiments in the food industry for their color, flavor, and pungency properties. Peppers have abundant production; on the other hand, their fruits are perishable, deteriorating within a few days after harvesting. Therefore, they need adequate conservation methods to increase their useful life. This study aimed to mathematically model the drying kinetics of smelling peppers (Capsicum chinense) and pout peppers (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) to obtain the thermodynamic properties involved in the process and to determine the influence of drying on the proximal composition of these peppers. Whole peppers, containing the seeds, were dried in an oven with forced air circulation, at temperatures of 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C, with an air speed of 1.0 m/s. Ten models were adjusted to the experimental data, but the Midilli model was the one that provided the best values of coefficient of determination and lowest values of the mean squared deviation and chi-square value in most of the temperatures under study. The effective diffusivities were well represented by an Arrhenius equation, appearing in the order of 10-10 m2·s-1 for both materials under study, since the activation energy of the smelling pepper was 31.01 kJ·mol-1 and was 30.11 kJ·mol-1 in the pout pepper, respectively. Thermodynamic properties in both processes of drying the peppers pointed to a non-spontaneous process, with positive values of enthalpy and Gibbs free energy and negative values of entropy. Regarding the influence of drying on the proximal composition, it was observed that, with the increase in temperature, there was a decrease in the water content and the concentration of macronutrients (lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates), providing an increase in the energy value. The powders obtained in the study were presented as an alternative for the technological and industrial use of peppers, favoring obtaining a new condiment, rich in bioactives, providing the market with a new option of powdered product that can be consumed directly and even adopted by the industry as a raw material in the preparation of mixed seasonings and in the formulation of various food products.

Chitosan/multilayered MXene Nanocomposites Loaded in 3D Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Networks for Seawater Desalination with Highly Efficient Photothermal Conversion

AbstractSunlight, as one of the inexhaustible green energy sources, is attracting rising attention, particularly with the rapid depletion of traditional fossil fuels nowadays. Chitosan (CHT) is an abundant natural product that can be converted into N‐doped porous carbon which has a strong light absorption ability. Herein, chitosan is employed with the accordion‐like multilayered mMXene (mMXene) to fabricate the 3D thermally insulated and low‐cost composites using melamine foam (MF) as a template. The obtained MF/CHT/mMXene (MCM) composites with different mass ratios of mMXene/chitosan are then subject to a simple annealing treatment at 500 °C for 2 h to afford 3D and self‐floating carbonized carbonized MF/CHT/mMXene (CMCM) composites. The CMCM‐1 obtained with mass ratio of CHT/mMXene at 1:1 displays low thermal conductivity, high hydrophilicity, and good light absorbance. When it is utilized as the evaporator of pure water and seawater, its evaporation rates can reach at 1.554 and 1.428 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 kW m−2 irradiation and the photothermal conversion efficiency can reach at 89.8%. In addition, the CMCM‐1 composite also displays excellent desalination ability, self‐desalination ability, good cycle stability, and reliable safety performance. Combining these advantages, CMCM‐1 composite may have potential practical applications for seawater evaporation and wastewater treatment, etc.

Including environmental covariates clarifies the relationship between endangered Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) abundance and environmental DNA

AbstractCollecting environmental DNA (eDNA) as a nonlethal sampling approach has been valuable in detecting the presence/absence of many imperiled taxa; however, its application to indicate species abundance poses many challenges. A deeper understanding of eDNA dynamics in aquatic systems is required to better interpret the substantial variability often associated with eDNA samples. Our sampling design took advantage of natural variation in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) distribution and abundance along 9 km of a single river in the Province of New Brunswick (Canada), covering different spatial and temporal scales to address the unknown seasonal impacts of environmental variables on the quantitative relationship between eDNA concentration and species abundance. First, we asked whether accounting for environmental variables strengthened the relationship between eDNA and salmon abundance by sampling eDNA during their spring seaward migration. Second, we asked how environmental variables affected eDNA dynamics during the summer as the parr abundance remained relatively constant. Spring eDNA samples were collected over a 6‐week period (12 times) near a rotary screw trap that captured approximately 18.6% of migrating smolts, whereas summer sampling occurred (i) at three distinct salmon habitats (9 times) and (ii) along the full 9 km (3 times). We modeled eDNA concentration as a product of fish abundance and environmental variables, demonstrating that (1) with inclusion of abundance and environmental covariates, eDNA was highly correlated with spring smolt abundance and (2) the relationships among environmental covariates and eDNA were affected by seasonal variation with relatively constant parr abundance in summer. Our findings underscore that with appropriate study design that accounts for seasonal environmental variation and life history phenology, eDNA salmon population assessments may have the potential to evaluate abundance fluctuations in spring and summer.