Heterogeneous Process Research Articles

Evaluation of Iron-Modified Biochar from Sugarcane Bagasse and Heterogeneous Fenton Process for Batik Dye Removal

Evaluation of Iron-Modified Biochar from Sugarcane Bagasse and Heterogeneous Fenton Process for Batik Dye Removal

Regional specialization, polyploidy, and seminal fluid transcripts in the Drosophila female reproductive tract

Sexual reproduction requires the choreographed interaction of female cells and molecules with sperm and seminal fluid. In internally fertilizing animals, these interactions are managed by specialized tissues within the female reproductive tract (FRT), such as a uterus, glands, and sperm storage organs. However, female somatic reproductive tissues remain understudied, hindering insight into the molecular interactions that support fertility. Here, we report the identification, molecular characterization, and analysis of cell types throughout the somatic FRT in the premier Drosophila melanogaster model system. We find that the uterine epithelia is composed of 11 distinct cell types with well-delineated spatial domains, likely corresponding to functionally specialized surfaces that interact with gametes and reproductive fluids. Polyploidy is pervasive: More than half of lower reproductive tract cells are ≥4C. While seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are typically thought of as male products that are transferred to females, we find that specialized cell types in the sperm storage organs heavily invest in expressing SFP genes. Rates of amino acid divergence between closely related species indicate heterogeneous evolutionary processes acting on male-limited versus female-expressed seminal fluid genes. Together, our results emphasize that more than 40% of annotated seminal fluid genes are better described as shared components of reproductive transcriptomes, which may function cooperatively to support spermatozoa. More broadly, our work provides the molecular foundation for improved technologies to catalyze the functional characterization of the FRT.

The Quantitative Evaluation of the Cell Structure Uniformity of Microcellular TPU with Low Porosity via a Digital Image Processing Method

The cell structure uniformity of microcellular polymers significantly impacts material performance, especially for low-porosity microcellular TPU used in chip polishing. The distribution of the cell structure of polishing pads directly affects the removal rate and process repeatability. Despite its importance, no quantitative method for evaluating cell structure uniformity has been reported in the literature. In this study, a digital image processing method that involves morphological operations of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, binarization, and cell localization, and the statistical evaluation of cell structure parameters was established to evaluate cell structure uniformity. A quantitative metric, the cell structure uniformity index (CUI), was calculated based on cell structure indices, incorporating the cell size index (Ud), the cell number index (Un), and the cell local spacing index (Ur). By establishing an ideal model and analyzing representative SEM images, the effectiveness and efficiency of the method for evaluating cell structure uniformity of microcellular TPU were successfully validated. The results demonstrated that low-porosity TPU foams exhibited relatively low cell structure uniformity compared to the ideal model. The heterogeneous nucleation process in TPU caused non-uniform cell structures due to the temporal and spatial non-homogeneities during the early cell nucleation process. As the cells grew, they merged and reduced the distance between them, resulting in improved cell structure uniformity.

Tetracycline removal via photo-Fenton processes using Fe-based metal-organic frameworks loaded with Bi2S3: Performance evaluation and insights into the charge-transfer mechanism

Combining photocatalytic technology with the Fenton system may help overcome these technologies’ limitations. Photo-Fenton catalysis is economical and eco-friendly. The Fe based heterogeneous photo-Fenton process appears to be a promising wastewater treatment technology. Herein, an Fe based metal–organic framework (MIL-101 (Fe)) was produced via hydrothermal processing. Subsequently, Bi2S3 was loaded onto the surface of MIL-101 (Fe) to form a composite catalyst. A type-II heterojunction was established between MIL-101 (Fe) and Bi2S3. The 10 % Bi2S3-loaded MIL-101 (Fe) (MBS-10) was effective in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline, particularly after H2O2 addition. This outcome was due to the enhanced generation of radical species through the photo-Fenton process. The MBS-10 photocatalyst promoted Fe (II)/Fe (III) cycling in the presence of H2O2 and under visible light irradiation. MBS-10 also showed a higher kinetic rate constant during the photocatalytic reaction compared to MIL-101 (Fe) and Bi2S3, suggesting enhanced activity through greater electron-hole separation. Furthermore, MBS-10 proved to be stable and reusable photocatalyst after four testing cycles. The charge-transfer mechanism was elucidated through radical scavenging experiments which demonstrated that superoxide and hydroxyl radicals are the major charge carriers. Therefore, the Bi2S3-MIL-101 (Fe) composite exhibits great potential for degrading tetracycline antibiotics.

Poly(butylene succinate) Microparticles Prepared Through Green Suspension Polycondensations

AbstractThe demand for sustainable polymer particles production is growing, driven by the need for efficient, biocompatible, and biodegradable materials. In this context, the present study explores the production of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) particles in a single step using a green heterogeneous suspension process, using vegetable oil as the suspending medium. Particularly, the effects of oil type (soybean, corn, sunflower), dispersed phase holdup (10–30 wt.%), stabilizers (Span 20, Span 80, Tween 80, Brij 52, Brij 93, Igepal‐co‐520, Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR)), reaction time (1–5 h), and temperature (100–160 °C) on the suspension polymerization are investigated. Results indicate that particle size and shape are influenced by the vegetable oil and stabilizer. Additionally, it is shown that the particle size distribution is affected by the use of a sonicator, allowing the manufacture of even smaller microsized particles. Based on the results, a 30 wt.% holdup in corn oil with a blend of surfactants can be recommended, producing spherical particles with an average diameter of 100 µm. Moreover, higher reaction temperatures (160 °C) and longer reaction times (5 h) positively impacted the molar mass of the obtained particles. Finally, cytotoxicity tests using Bone Marrow‐Derived Macrophages cells confirmed the safe use of PBS microparticles at concentrations up to 1000 µg mL⁻¹

Quantification of the Contribution of Heterogeneous Surface Processes to Pollutant Abatement during Heterogeneous Catalytic Ozonation.

Heterogeneous surface processes such as adsorption and oxidation with surface-adsorbed reactive oxygen species (ROSad, e.g., adsorbed oxygen atom (*Oad) and hydroxyl radicals (•OHad)) have been suggested to play an important role in pollutant abatement during heterogeneous catalytic ozonation (HCO). However, to date, there is no reliable method to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of heterogeneous surface processes to pollutant abatement (fS) during HCO. In this study, we developed a method by combining probe compound-based experiments with kinetic modeling to distinguish heterogeneous surface processes from homogeneous bulk reactions with aqueous O3 and ROS (•OH and superoxide radicals (O2•-) in the abatement of various pollutants (e.g., atrazine, ibuprofen, tetrachloroethylene, and perfluorooctanoic acid) during HCO with reduced graphene oxide. The results show that the pollutants that have a low affinity for the rGO surface (e.g., ibuprofen and tetrachloroethylene) were essentially abated by homogeneous bulk reactions, while the contribution of heterogeneous surface processes was negligible (fS < 5%). In contrast, heterogeneous surface processes played an important or even dominant role in the abatement of pollutants that have a high surface affinity (e.g., fS = 32-82% for atrazine and perfluorooctanoic acid). This study is a critical first step in quantitatively evaluating the role of heterogeneous surface processes for pollutant abatement during HCO, which is crucial to understanding the mechanism of HCO and designing catalysts for effective pollutant abatement.

Kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic aspects of phenol adsorption onto acrylonitrile-divinylbenzene copolymer

Adsorption of phenol onto acrylonitrile-divinylbenzene copolymer (AN-DVB) was comprehensively investigated with the aspect of kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic. The effect of adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, temperature, and pH were studied in batch adsorption process. Maximum phenol adsorption capacity was obtained at neutral pH of phenol solution (6.8), at room temperature (25 °C) and at higher initial concentrations (500 mg/L) as 117 mg/g. After examining two-parameter- and three-parameter-adsorption-isotherm models, experimental data were represented well by using Freundlich adsorption isotherm model at neutral pH. Due to the all possible interactions like hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking and hydrophobic ineractions have different strengths and energetic values, phenol adsorption at neutral pH (6.8) exhibited a heterogeneous multilayer process. On the other hand, Langmuir and BET models well represented the experimental data obtained beyond neutral pH due to the weakening of different interactions, hence, multilayer but more uniform adsorption occurred. Phenol adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model that shows the surface interactions play significant role on the adsorption rate. Analysis of Boyd's intraparticle and external diffusion kinetic models indicated that in addition to surface interactions, diffusion also controlled the adsorption rate at room temperature. Activation energy was calculated as 92.99 kJ/mol, which shows the strong interaction between phenol and AN-DVB. Adsorption enthalpy change and entropy change was calculated as −25.731 kJ/mol and −0.041 kJ/molK, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous in nature.

Optimization of office process task allocation based on deep reinforcement learning

In office platforms, we often need to face the situation of a large number of parallel heterogeneous process tasks. This not only tests the ability of the task executors themselves, but also puts forward requirements for the performance of the collaborative scheduling system. Using the reinforcement learning method, combined with quantitative analysis such as collaborative coordination and slackness, and based on the Markov Bollinger theory, a multi-agent Bollinger model is proposed to realize the optimization scheduling system with overall process coordination and maximum completion time as the optimization objectives, thereby improving the overall execution efficiency. Taking the real business system process as the test scenario, under the same optimization objective, the reinforcement learning algorithm based on D3QN and DRL and the meta-heuristic algorithm based on ant colony are compared to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

8320 Integration of long-read sequencing, DNA methylation and gene expression reveals heterogeneity in Y-chromosome segment lengths in phenotypic males with 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development

Abstract Disclosure: E.B. Johannsen: None. A. Berglund: None. A. Skakkebæk: None. S. Chang: None. J. Rohayem: None. S. Laurentino: None. A. Hørlyck: None. S.O. Drue: None. E.N. Bak: None. J. Fedder: None. F. Tuttelmann: None. J. Gromoll: None. J. Just: None. C.H. Gravholt: None. Background: 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development is a rare congenital condition affecting approximately three per 100,000 newborn males. It is characterized by a combination of the typical female sex chromosome constitution, 46,XX, and a variable male phenotype. In the majority of XX males, a Y chromosome segment containing the sex-determining region gene (SRY) has been translocated to the paternal X chromosome. However, the precise genomic content of the translocated segment, breakpoints, genome-wide effects, and the effect on other biological pathways essential for the phenotype remain unknown. Methods: We performed long-read DNA sequencing (Oxford Nanopore), RNA sequencing (paired-end, 100 bp) and DNA methylation (Infinium EPIC) analysis on blood samples from males with 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development (XX males; n = 11), male controls (46,XY; n = 12 for long-read DNA sequencing, n = 26 for RNA sequencing and DNA methylation) and female controls (46,XX; n = 12 for long-read DNA sequencing, n = 32 for RNA sequencing and DNA methylation), in addition to RNA sequencing and DNA methylation analysis on blood samples from males with Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY, n = 22). We also performed clinical measures on all XX males and a subset of male controls (n = 10). Results: We identified variation in the translocated Y-chromosome segment of our XX male cohort, allowing for subcategorization into 1) XX males without Y chromosome material (n = 1), 2) those with short Yp arms (breakpoint at 2.7-2.8 Mbp, n = 2), 3) those with medium Yp arms (breakpoint at 7.3 Mbp, n = 1) and 4) those with long Yp arms, including AMELY, TBLY1 deletions, and in some cases PRKY deletions (n = 7). We also identified variable expression of the X-Y homologues PRKY and PRKX, appeared to have balanced expression level resulting in overall equilibrium. The Y-chromosomal transcriptome and methylome were affected, reflecting the Y-chromosome segment length. Genomic changes induced by the translocated Yp segment were evident in the transcriptome and methylome of autosomal and X-chromosomal regions, indicating global effects. Furthermore, the transcriptional changes in XX males correlated with phenotypic traits of the XX males, including lower height, decreased lean mass and smaller testicular size. Conclusion: Integration of long-read DNA sequencing, DNA methylation, and RNA sequencing analysis allowed for the identification of a heterogenous translocation process in XX males that exerted widespread effects on methylation and transcription. Presentation: 6/2/2024

8320 Integration of long-read sequencing, DNA methylation and gene expression reveals heterogeneity in Y-chromosome segment lengths in phenotypic males with 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development

Abstract Disclosure: E.B. Johannsen: None. A. Berglund: None. A. Skakkebæk: None. S. Chang: None. J. Rohayem: None. S. Laurentino: None. A. Hørlyck: None. S.O. Drue: None. E.N. Bak: None. J. Fedder: None. F. Tuttelmann: None. J. Gromoll: None. J. Just: None. C.H. Gravholt: None. Background: 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development is a rare congenital condition affecting approximately three per 100,000 newborn males. It is characterized by a combination of the typical female sex chromosome constitution, 46,XX, and a variable male phenotype. In the majority of XX males, a Y chromosome segment containing the sex-determining region gene (SRY) has been translocated to the paternal X chromosome. However, the precise genomic content of the translocated segment, breakpoints, genome-wide effects, and the effect on other biological pathways essential for the phenotype remain unknown. Methods: We performed long-read DNA sequencing (Oxford Nanopore), RNA sequencing (paired-end, 100 bp) and DNA methylation (Infinium EPIC) analysis on blood samples from males with 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development (XX males; n = 11), male controls (46,XY; n = 12 for long-read DNA sequencing, n = 26 for RNA sequencing and DNA methylation) and female controls (46,XX; n = 12 for long-read DNA sequencing, n = 32 for RNA sequencing and DNA methylation), in addition to RNA sequencing and DNA methylation analysis on blood samples from males with Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY, n = 22). We also performed clinical measures on all XX males and a subset of male controls (n = 10). Results: We identified variation in the translocated Y-chromosome segment of our XX male cohort, allowing for subcategorization into 1) XX males without Y chromosome material (n = 1), 2) those with short Yp arms (breakpoint at 2.7-2.8 Mbp, n = 2), 3) those with medium Yp arms (breakpoint at 7.3 Mbp, n = 1) and 4) those with long Yp arms, including AMELY, TBLY1 deletions, and in some cases PRKY deletions (n = 7). We also identified variable expression of the X-Y homologues PRKY and PRKX, appeared to have balanced expression level resulting in overall equilibrium. The Y-chromosomal transcriptome and methylome were affected, reflecting the Y-chromosome segment length. Genomic changes induced by the translocated Yp segment were evident in the transcriptome and methylome of autosomal and X-chromosomal regions, indicating global effects. Furthermore, the transcriptional changes in XX males correlated with phenotypic traits of the XX males, including lower height, decreased lean mass and smaller testicular size. Conclusion: Integration of long-read DNA sequencing, DNA methylation, and RNA sequencing analysis allowed for the identification of a heterogenous translocation process in XX males that exerted widespread effects on methylation and transcription. Presentation: 6/2/2024

Exploring performance and mechanism of modified metal-organic frameworks in calcium alginate/polyvinyl alcohol double-network hydrogels for effective dye wastewater treatment

To address the growing problem of dye wastewater pollution, a novel MOFs adsorbent calcium alginate/polyvinyl alcohol@UiO-66 was developed using environmentally friendly polymers, sodium alginate and polyvinyl alcohol creating gel spheres with a double-network structure through cross-linking. UiO-66 metal-organic frameworks are then grown onto the gel spheres, resulting in the final CA/PVA@UiO-66 adsorbent. This adsorbent boasts a high surface area (17.4 m2/g) and a mesoporous-nested microporous structure. It effectively removes MB from water, the actual maximum adsorption capacity was measured at 275.8 mg/g, which surpasses most existing adsorbents. Remarkably, the adsorbent retains 93.9 % of its initial capacity even after 10 reuse cycles. The adsorption process adhered to the Redlich-Peterson model and the PFO model. The N2-Sorption isotherm, actual Methylene blue (MB) adsorption experiments, and model analysis further suggest that the adsorption process is a complex heterogeneous diffusion process involving simultaneous chemical and physical adsorption. Additionally, the adsorption process is endothermic, indicating that it can occur spontaneously at 298 K. Increasing the temperature promotes the forward progress of the adsorption reaction, thereby enhancing the adsorption capacity. The gel adsorbent exhibited excellent dye wastewater purification capabilities, coupled with commendable reusability.

Synthesis of hydrotalcite and titanium dioxide (HT-TiO2) composite for application in heterogeneous photocatalytics processes

The objective of the study was to synthesize a composite of hydrotalcite and titanium dioxide (HT-TiO2) for application in heterogeneous photocatalytic processes to the degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous media. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction and surface area, then an experimental design was carried out to evaluate the influence of pH and temperature on the adsorption capacity of pollutants against the anionic dye indigo carmine using a kinetic study. Photocatalytic tests were carried out in a chamber equipped with a UV lamp and hydrogen peroxide as an auxiliary oxidant in degradation. The adsorption results corroborated with the order of surface areas obtained, where the adsorption capacity followed the order of HT, HT-TiO2 5 %, HT-TiO2 10 %, and TiO2, respectively, obtaining removals up to 96.94 %. For the heterogeneous photocatalytic tests, the best conditions of the experimental design were used for each semiconductor, with a removal of up to 99.96 % being observed in 2 h. The use of hydrogen peroxide as an auxiliary oxidant reduced the reaction time to 45 min, demonstrating how joint effluent treatment techniques can increase the speed and efficiency of the process.

Effective degradation of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solutions using heterogeneous electro-Fenton coupled with Fe@Fe2O3 core-shell nanoparticle

In the current research, a Ti/RuO2 anode and Fe@Fe2O3 catalyst were synthesized for electro-Fenton (EF) removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP). The results of the ANOVA from response surface methodology (RSM) indicated a significant relationship between experimental and predicted values. 100% CIP and 45% total organic carbon (TOC) removal were predicted at pH of 8.83, time of 14.80min, current density of 19.19mA/cm2, pollutant concentration of 15.13mg/L, and catalyst dosage of 199.03mg/L. Among the operational parameters, current density (F value = 191.90) and catalyst dosage (F value= 5.79) had the greatest and least effect on the CIP removal rate, respectively. The stability tests revealed excellent reusability of electrodes for long-term decomposition of CIP. The BOD5/TOC > 0.6 in the treated solution confirmed acceptable performance of the heterogeneous EF process in CIP degradation. A 25% growth inhibition rate of plant stems in the treated solution demonstrated the low toxicity and biodegradability of the effluent. The efficiency of the heterogeneous EF process for CIP removal in water matrices ranged from 43.65% to 100%. By evaluating the parameters, mineralization, production of different radicals, and energy consumption, the heterogeneous EF process can be considered for the effective decomposition of CIP from aqueous environments.

Heterogeneous oxidation involving different atomic clusters in sintering-free amorphous SiBCN ceramic with MA@PDC-SiBCN structure

Amorphous SiBCN monoliths featuring a structure of three-dimensional PDC-SiBCN network encapsulating MA-SiBCN nanoparticles (MA@PDC-SiBCN), were prepared without the need for sintering densification (>1800°C), enabling preparation of dense ceramics at a much lower temperature (1100°C). The continuous PDC-SiBCN network effectively inhibits oxygen diffusion, reducing the mass loss from B-C-N cluster oxidation and mass gain from silicon-containing clusters by 51.5% and 86.9%, respectively. Besides, the phase-separation coupled heterogeneous oxidation behaviors and kinetics of different atomic clusters in MA@PDC-SiBCN ceramic during non-isothermal oxidation up to 1500°C were investigated. Finally, the evolution of the different atomic clusters within the oxide layer during the heterogeneous oxidation process was analyzed to elucidate the micro-mechanisms behind the enhanced oxidation resistance.

A tandem dual-pathway non-radical water purification simultaneously induced by single-molecule peroxymonosulfate with a catalyst of coexisting Cu single atoms and Fe3C nanoparticles

The non-radical pathways of persulfate (PMS/PS)-based heterogeneous advanced oxidation processes offer effective means for treating complex water matrices. However, the large-scale application is hindered by the increased input costs and substantial accumulation of SO42–. Therefore, it is crucial to develop novel pathways for efficient PMS/PS activation. Here, we construct a CuSA/Fe3C-NC catalyst with Cu single atoms (SAs) and Fe3C nanoparticles (NPs) co-anchored on a carbon support. The improved d-band centers of Cu and Fe elements optimize the PMS adsorption and activation. Unlike previous studies, the electron acceptor PMS in electron transfer process is not be converted to SO42– but rather to singlet oxygen (1O2) via superoxide radicals (O2•–). A tandem dual-pathway non-radical oxidation system induced by a single-molecule PMS leads to higher PMS utilization. Under extremely low catalyst and PMS dosage conditions (catalyst dosage = 0.04 g/L, PMS dosage = 0.2 mmol/L), CuSA/Fe3C-NC + PMS system can rapidly remove bisphenol A within 30 min and achieve a mineralization rate of 85 %. This work provides strong support for the rational design of catalyst structures to achieve low-input and high-efficiency water purification processes.

Insight in sulfadiazine degradation by peroxymonosulfate activated by polydopamine-derived nitrogen-doped carbon supported CoFe2O4: Co leaching inhibition and degradation enhancement

Heterogeneous catalyst-mediated sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) showed excellent performance during antibiotics degradation. Spinel was a promising catalyst for SR-AOPs, but the secondary contamination due to metal ions leaching needed to be addressed. And the destruction of catalyst structure could lead to the reduction of catalytic activity and the difficulty of recovery. Thus, a novel nitrogen-doped carbon (NC)-supported CoFe2O4 (CoFe2O4@NC) was synthesized as the activator of PMS for sulfadiazine (SDZ) degradation under low Co leaching conditions. The consequences indicated that the CoFe2O4@NC/PMS system exhibited higher PMS decomposition efficiency and reaction stoichiometry efficiency than the bare CoFe2O4/PMS systems (CoFe2O4-180 and CoFe2O4-800), which in turn demonstrated a better SDZ removal performance. Under the condition of CoFe2O4@NC dosage 0.1 g/L, PMS concentration 0.5 mM, solution pH 6.8 and temperature 25°C, SDZ (20 mg/L) was almost completely degraded within 60 min. XPS analysis showed that the NC not only protected and stabilized CoFe2O4, but also provided additional active sites for PMS activation. During SDZ degradation, SO4•−, HO•, •O2− and 1O2 were involved in the reaction, among which SO4• and HO• made the main contribution. Meanwhile, CoFe2O4@NC could be recovered by magnetic separation, and showed great stability (Co leaching 0.852 mg/L) and reusability. In the fifth cycle experiment, 85.02 % SDZ degradation was obtained. Based on the detected intermediates (12 intermediates were identified) and DFT calculations, possible degradation pathways for SDZ in CoFe2O4@NC/PMS were proposed. The condensed dual descriptor indicated that the N7, N11, and C15 atoms on SDZ molecule were the main sites of electrophilic attack, which was consistent with the detected intermediates. The degradation of SDZ involved hydroxylation of NH2, cleavage of S−N and extrusion of SO2. This study explored the improvements made in NC support material to catalytic performance and resistance to dissolution of spinel, providing new insights for subsequent researches.

Content adaptive JND profile by leveraging HVS inspired channel modeling and perception oriented energy allocation optimization

The existing just noticeable difference (JND) models consider the effects of various covariates, however, they rarely account for the fusion relationship between the covariates, i.e., they lack a holistic understanding of the mechanisms of visual perception and disregarding the significant impact of energy consumption on visual perception. In fact, visual perception is no exception to the rule that nerve activities and energy supply are inextricably linked. Based on this insight, this paper proposes a novel JND estimation model employing content-adaptive energy allocation. Primarily, the information theory is applied to the visual perception system by conceptualizing human visual system (HVS) as an information communication framework. Then, leveraging the relationship between energy consumption and information perception, this paper quantitatively measures the HVS energy consumption as uniform metric to describe the complicated and heterogeneous HVS perception process, and then construct JND model by fusing low-level and Semantic-level features. Numerous simulation results verify that the proposed JND model is significantly competitive with other frontier models and highly compatible with HVS.

Flotation separation of ilmenite and titanaugite modified by Fe2+-assisted peroxymonosulfate oxidation: Performance and activation mechanism

Efficient separation of ilmenite and titanaugite has always been recognized challenge in modern mineral processing. The use of a heterogeneous Fenton-like oxidation process composed of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and Fe2+ is promising to address this issue. Flotation findings indicated that effective recovery of ilmenite could be achieved under weak acidic conditions, and a TiO2 recovery of 81.56 % and a grade of 32.16 % concentrate was collected. A series of characterization analyses confirmed that the PMS-Fe2+-mediated Fenton-like reaction in the ilmenite system generated more •OH and SO4•- radicals, which oxidized Fe2+ to Fe3+ on its surface, thus improving the active sites on ilmenite surface. Moreover, PMS-Fe2+ promoted the positive shift of surface charge on ilmenite, facilitating NaOL adsorption and making the surface more hydrophobic. NaOL primarily interacted with Fe active sites on the ilmenite surface and Mg2+ and Ca2+ active sites on the titanaugite surface in the formation as chemisorption. Thus, PMS-Fe2+ activated ilmenite mainly via augmenting the quantity and reactivity of Fe active sites on the surface. In summary, these findings provide the innovative pathways to implement the advanced oxidation processes in mineral flotation.

Principles of resuscitation for infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (sBPD) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation is a heterogeneous disease process that contributes to morbidity and mortality in infants. As the most common lung disease of prematurity, sBPD has a multitude of overlapping cardiac, airway, pulmonary vascular, and infectious phenotypic presentations that progress through four different phases of care. Premature infants with sBPD are at a high risk of acute decompensation and subsequent cardiopulmonary arrest. A comprehensive determination of the complex phenotypes that contribute to the clinical presentation will help clinicians decipher the phase of care, identify cardiopulmonary compromise earlier and guide targeted therapeutic intervention during acute episodes of deterioration. The approach to resuscitation of premature infants with sBPD undergoing an acute decompensation differs from general neonatal and pediatric resuscitation practices. This review summarizes the phenotypes of sBPD, the phases of care, the common triggers of acute exacerbations, and the principles of resuscitation of a deteriorating infant with sBPD. We offer a framework for sBPD resuscitation with a focus on prevention, assessment, and post-resuscitative care.

18F]FDG PET integrated with structural MRI for accurate brain age prediction.

Brain aging is a complex and heterogeneous process characterized by both structural and functional decline. This study aimed to establish a novel deep learning (DL) method for predicting brain age by utilizing structural and metabolic imaging data. The dataset comprised participants from both the Universal Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center (UMIDC) and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The former recruited 395 normal control (NC) subjects, while the latter included 438 NC subjects, 51 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects, and 56 Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects. We developed a novel dual-pathway, 3D simple fully convolutional network (Dual-SFCNeXt) to estimate brain age using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG PET) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) images of NC subjects as input. Several prevailing DL models were trained and tested using either MRI or PET data for comparison. Model accuracies were evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE) and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Brain age gap (BAG), deviations of brain age from chronologic age, was correlated with cognitive assessments in MCI and AD subjects. Both PET- and MRI-based models achieved high prediction accuracy. The leading model was the SFCNeXt (the single-pathway version) for PET (MAE = 2.92, r = 0.96) and MRI (MAE = 3.23, r = 0.95) on all samples. By integrating both PET and MRI images, the Dual-SFCNeXt demonstrated significantly improved accuracy (MAE = 2.37, r = 0.97) compared to all single-modality models. Significantly higher BAG was observed in both the AD (P < 0.0001) and MCI (P < 0.0001) groups compared to the NC group. BAG correlated significantly with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (r=-0.390 for AD, r=-0.436 for MCI) and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scores (r = 0.333 for AD, r = 0.372 for MCI). The integration of [18F]FDG PET with structural MRI enhances the accuracy of brain age prediction, potentially introducing a new avenue for related multimodal brain age prediction studies.