Search Results (2,163)

Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into high-value multicarbon products, such as ethylene (C₂H₄), remains a significant challenge due to the difficult C-C coupling process. Potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K-PHI) is a promising photocatalyst, yet efficiently exchanging its interlayer cations to tune catalytic selectivity without causing structural degradation is difficult. Herein, an efficient and green supercritical CO₂ (SC CO₂) assisted ion-exchange strategy was developed to successfully prepare a series of mono-/di-/trivalent cation-doped M-PHI photocatalysts (M = H⁺, Na⁺, Sr⁺, Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, Fe³⁺). Systematic characterizations confirmed that the SC-CO₂ treatment successfully achieved in-depth cation substitution without destroying the intrinsic heptazine framework, effectively regulating the interlayer structure and significantly optimizing the photoelectrochemical charge separation. Among the prepared samples, H-PHI exhibited the optimal photocatalytic CO₂ reduction performance with an outstanding selectivity toward C₂H₄ generation. Under simulated sunlight irradiation for 3 h, the yields of CO, CH₄, and C₂H₄ C₂H₄ C₂H₄ reached 3564.87, 807.32, and 40.00 μmol·g⁻¹, respectively, significantly outperforming pristine K-PHI and other metal-doped samples. Crucially, isotope-tracing experiments utilizing a SC CO₂-DCl treatment detected deuterated CH₄ and C₂H₄ products, providing direct evidence that the hydrogen in the carbon products originates from the introduced protons, thereby elucidating the precise reaction pathway for C-C coupling. This study provides a green and efficient supercritical CO₂ ion exchange strategy for the cation engineering of crystalline carbon nitride, and also offers new ideas and methods for designing high-activity photocatalysts for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. Full article

This study demonstrates the high efficiency and selectivity of p-toluenesulfonic acid-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for simultaneous extractive denitrogenation (EDN) and desulfurization (EDS) of model fuel. Three DESs—TBPB:PTSA, TBAB:PTSA, and ChCl:PTSA (1:1 molar ratio)—were synthesized and evaluated for their effectiveness against representative heteroaromatic pollutants: thiophene, dibenzothiophene, pyridine, and carbazole. The phosphonium-based TBPB:PTSA exhibited the highest extraction performance, achieving over 96% removal of nitrogen species and up to 85% removal of sulfur species at 40 °C. Increasing the temperature enhanced desulfurization by reducing viscosity, thereby improving mass transfer kinetics. Additionally, a 3:1 ratio of DES to fuel provided an optimal balance between solvent economy and operational efficiency. Denitrogenation was driven by strong acid–base protonation facilitated by PTSA, while desulfurization was governed by π–π and dispersion interactions, modulated by the hydrophobicity of the cations. The DES achieved nearly quantitative nitrogen removal and satisfactory sulfur extraction after three reuse cycles, while multistage operation enabled complete purification within four extraction steps. ¹H NMR analysis confirmed that no DES components were found in the raffinate phase, verifying the immiscibility and stability of the solvent. These results indicate that TBPB:PTSA is a robust, regenerable, and environmentally benign solvent, effectively enabling simultaneous EDN–EDS of hydrocarbon fuels and positioning it as a promising green alternative to traditional hydrogen-based refining methods. Full article

Polyetherimide (Ultem-1000) hollow-fiber membranes were developed for biogas purification with emphasis on the relationship between spinning conditions, membrane morphology, gas transport properties, and module performance. Hollow fibers were prepared from dope solutions based on dimethylformamide (DMF) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) at different conditions, followed by post-treatment with 1 and 3 wt.% silicone solution in n-heptane to reduce nonselective defects and improve selectivity toward the intrinsic behavior of dense PEI films. SEM analysis revealed that DMF-based fibers formed a more open, macrovoid-rich structure, whereas NMP-based fibers exhibited a more homogeneous sponge-like morphology with a better-defined selective layer. DMF-based fibers experienced faster demixing, which promoted macrovoid formation, increased pore connectivity of the substructure, lowered mass transfer resistance, and at the same time increased the probability of nonselective pathways and defect-related loss of selectivity. This structural evolution was reflected in gas transport properties: untreated DMF fibers showed high mixed-gas permeance but limited selectivity, while NMP fibers demonstrated lower permeance and selectivity values closer to those of the dense film. Silicone post-treatment significantly improved separation performance, with 3 wt.% coating being markedly more effective than 1 wt.% coating. The best compromise between permeance and selectivity was achieved for the DMF-based fibers treated with 3 wt.% silicone, which exhibited CO₂ and H₂S permeances of 39.4 and 47.12 GPU, respectively, together with selectivity values of 22.4, 26.8 and 20.2 for CO₂/CH₄, H₂S/CH₄ and CO₂/N₂. A membrane module containing 500 fibers was studied during the quasi-real biogas upgrading. With increasing stage-cut, the CH₄ concentration in the retentate increased from ~74 to 96 mol.%, while CO₂ decreased from ~21 to 2 mol.%. The results demonstrate that structure control combined with silicone post-treatment is an effective strategy for producing PEI hollow fibers suitable for simultaneous methane enrichment and removal of acid impurities from biogas. Full article

Epimedium brevicornu is an important medicinal plant in China, whose main bioactive components are flavonoid glycosides. UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) play key roles in flavonoid glycosylation and metabolic diversification. In this study, transcriptome data from four representative production regions in Gansu Province were used to systematically identify and analyze the UGT gene family in E. brevicornu. A total of 359 UGT members were identified, and 168 homologous genes with clear expression evidence were obtained from four geographical populations. Molecular evolutionary analysis showed that most UGT genes were under purifying selection, whereas UGT2, UGT52, UGT57, UGT241, UGT269, and UGT271 exhibited significant signals of positive selection in specific lineages (p < 0.05). Protein interaction analysis indicated that many UGT proteins were closely associated with key enzymes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, including CHS (TT4), CHI (TT5), F3H, FLS, and DFR, suggesting their potential involvement in flavonoid metabolism. Promoter analysis further revealed a high enrichment of ERF (11,169 occurrences) and MYB (7673 occurrences) transcription factor binding sites in the upstream regions of UGT genes. In addition, UGT57 and UGT241 showed significantly higher expression levels in the QLH population. Molecular docking analysis indicated relatively strong binding affinities with quercetin, with binding energies of −7.23 kcal/mol and −4.62 kcal/mol, respectively. These results suggest that the sequence variation and differential expression of UGT genes may be associated with flavonoid glycosylation and ecological adaptation in Epimedium. This study provides a basis for understanding the evolutionary characteristics and expression patterns of the UGT gene family and offers candidate genes for future studies on flavonoid metabolism. Full article

Reducing the environmental impact of animal production is a major challenge in the context of climate change and sustainable agriculture. Although rabbit farming is generally considered less resource-intensive than other livestock systems, it still contributes to emissions of ammonia (NH₃), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), and methane (CH₄), which can negatively affect air quality and the climate. This study aimed to evaluate whether dietary supplementation with selected natural feed additives could mitigate gaseous emissions and lower the environmental footprint of rabbit production. An experimental feeding trial was conducted in which gaseous emissions from rabbit housing were monitored, and the gas composition of feces was analyzed. Emissions were quantified and expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e) to allow comparative assessment of environmental impact. The inclusion of natural feed additives significantly reduced the emission of gaseous pollutants compared with the control diet, resulting in a lower calculated environmental footprint of the production system. These findings indicate that targeted modification of rabbit diets using natural feed ingredients can be an effective strategy for reducing harmful gaseous emissions and enhancing the environmental sustainability of rabbit farming. Full article

Methane steam reforming (MSR) is the most widely used industrial process for hydrogen production. However, catalyst deactivation, carbon emissions, and energy inefficiencies limit its sustainable performance. Therefore, improving catalyst selection and optimizing operating conditions are essential for efficient hydrogen generation. This study proposes an artificial intelligence-driven framework to optimize catalyst–condition combinations in MSR systems. The framework integrates Hybrid Golden Beetle Optimization (HGBO), VIKOR-based multi-criteria decision making, and Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory (ConvLSTM) modeling. HGBO explores the solution space and generates Pareto-optimal combinations of catalysts and operating conditions. These solutions are then ranked using the VIKOR method. The ranking considers hydrogen yield, methane conversion, energy efficiency, CO₂ emissions, and catalyst lifetime. Economic feasibility is also included in the decision process. ConvLSTM modeling captures spatiotemporal relationships in catalyst and process data and predicts catalyst degradation under different operating conditions. The framework is evaluated using 620 experimentally reported MSR cases collected from the published literature within industrial ranges of 600–1200 °C, 1–40 bar, and H₂O/CH₄ ratios of 1–6. The optimized configurations achieve hydrogen yields up to 98.5%, energy efficiency approaching 99%, and reduced CO₂ emissions of about 0.85 kg h⁻¹. The results provide practical guidance for catalyst selection and process optimization in industrial hydrogen production systems. Full article

The efficient recovery of coalbed methane (CBM) is critically constrained by the inherent low permeability of coal reservoirs, a challenge predominantly attributed to mineral blockages within the pore-fracture structure. In this study, the deashing efficacy of several acid solutions (HCl, HNO₃, HF, and CH₃COOH) on bituminous coals from the Yushuwan (YSW) and Jiangna (JN) mines was initially assessed to determine the optimal acidizing system. Subsequently, the multi-scale evolution of pore-fracture structures and the fractal characteristics of coal samples treated with the optimized acids were systematically investigated. A multi-analytical approach, integrating scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) with microcrystalline peak-fitting, and low-temperature nitrogen gas adsorption (LT-N₂GA), was employed to quantitatively elucidate the underlying transformation mechanisms. The experimental results indicate that HCl and HNO₃ emerged as the most effective agents for the YSW and JN coals, respectively. Optimized acidification achieved significant reductions in ash content (specifically, an ash removal efficiency of 83.99% for HCl-treated YSW coal) through the selective dissolution of carbonate and clay minerals, thereby facilitating the exposure of the organic matrix and the induction of extensive dissolution pits and secondary fractures. Although the dissolution-induced collapse of mineral-supported fine pores led to a reduction in both total pore volume and BET specific surface area, the average pore diameter undergoes a substantial increase (e.g., nearly doubling from 9.0068 nm to 16.5126 nm for the JN coal). Furthermore, the reduction in Frenkel–Halsey–Hill (FHH) fractal dimensions (D₁ and D₂) indicates a decrease in pore-surface complexity and structural heterogeneity. These findings reveal that optimized acidification induces significant alterations in pore structure and mineral composition. The treatment facilitates the conversion of isolated pores into interconnected networks, accompanied by an increase in pore volume and a shift in pore size distribution toward larger dimensions. This research elucidates the mechanisms of mineral dissolution and pore expansion, providing a fundamental characterization of the microstructural evolution of coal in response to acid treatment. Full article

The catalytic conversion of CO₂ into methane (CH₄) offers a sustainable solution to the worsening global warming scenario, especially for controlling CO₂ levels. This study reports silicalite-1 supported Ni catalysts with different loadings for CO₂ conversion to CH₄, prepared via wet impregnation. The X-ray diffraction pattern revealed an increase in crystallite size at higher Ni loadings, which was further supported by N₂ sorption, where the specific surface area and microporosity of the catalysts were decreased. There was a slight shift in the reducibility of the catalysts, potentially indicating the impact of loading on dispersion and spatial distribution. The catalyst performance was evaluated over a range of temperatures at 5 bar and a GHSV of 20,000 mL g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹. Surprisingly, the Ni(5)@Silicalite-1 exhibited higher CO₂ conversion efficiency across the range of temperatures compared to Ni(10)@Silicalite-1. The NiO(5)@Silicalite-1 demonstrated a maximum CO₂ conversion of 88% at 450 °C, which was approximately 14% higher than that of the catalyst with a 10 wt.% loading. Notably, the CH₄ selectivity pattern was quite identical across the catalysts, underscoring that the reaction pathways were unaffected by the loadings. The higher performance of NiO(5)@Silicalite-1 could be ascribed to smaller NiO crystallites and improved textural properties. Full article

Soil and water contamination with high nutrient concentrations from swine farms poses a risk to human and animal health. This study investigated the effects of biochar derived from young aromatic coconut husk (CH), coconut shell (CS), and their mixture (CHCS) on nutrient retention in biochar-amended soil columns for variable synthetic swine wastewater (SW) loading based on water use for piglets and fattening stalls. A 0.9 L leaching test column contained 3 g of each biochar type mixed with 300 g of soil. It was loaded daily with synthetic SW for 42 days at loading rates of 30 mL/day (piglet SW) and 60 mL/day (fattening SW). CH-amended soil was then selected to investigate the effect of rainfall rates at 0 (R0), 25 (R25), 70 (R70) and 140 (R140) mL/4 days on soil nutrient retention. Leachate was collected every 7 days to analyze nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. The results showed that CH-amended soil had the highest retention of total nitrogen (TN) and phosphate among all treatments. For piglet SW, TN retention in CH-amended soil was 1.4–1.6 times higher than with CS and CHCS treatments, probably due to enhanced ammonium retention on exchangeable sites associated with the high cation exchange capacity of CH. High phosphate retention in CH-amended soil was linked to Ca²⁺ release from CH, facilitating phosphate precipitation. Moreover, CH-amended soil at R25 showed the highest ammonium retention but inhibited seed germination. Overall, CH-amended soil effectively retained nutrients and was suitable as a seedling growth medium, except under the R25 rainfall condition. Full article

Background/Objectives: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is an important therapeutic target in DNA repair-deficient cancers, but discovery of new inhibitors remains constrained by scaffold convergence, tolerability limits, and acquired resistance. This study aimed to develop an interpretable, reliability-stratified cheminformatics workflow for PARP1 potency prioritization and structure-based follow-up. Methods: A curated ChEMBL dataset of 3339 PARP1 inhibitors was encoded using RDKit 2D descriptors and Avalon fingerprints (1143 initial features), then reduced to 132 informative variables by Random Forest-based feature selection. Five regression models were optimized, including a stacked ensemble. Model interpretation was performed using permutation feature importance and SHAP. External near-domain corroboration was assessed using a stringent PubChem similarity expansion (Tanimoto > 0.90) around sub-10 nM seed compounds, followed by comparison with retrievable experimental PARP1 activity values. Top scaffold-diverse candidates were further evaluated by complementary docking against PARP1 (PDB: 4R6E) using AutoDock Vina and cavity-guided docking through the SwissDock platform. Results: The stacked ensemble achieved the best held-out performance (test R² = 0.723; RMSE = 0.610 pIC₅₀ units), with 83.7% of test predictions within ≤0.75 pIC₅₀ units and only 2.7% exceeding 1.5 pIC₅₀ units. PubChem similarity expansion retrieved approximately 32,450 analogs, of which 3349 were predicted to have IC₅₀ ≤ 10 nM. Among 366 compounds with retrievable experimental PARP1 activity values, predicted versus experimental pIC₅₀ showed a positive association (R² = 0.124; Pearson r = 0.479), with RMSE = 0.491 and MAE = 0.330 pIC₅₀ units. Three ligands—CID 168873053, CID 175154210, and CID 172894737—showed the strongest complementary docking support and pocket-consistent poses relative to niraparib. Conclusions: This workflow provides a transparent and practically useful framework for near-domain PARP1 inhibitor prioritization. The combined QSAR, explainability, external corroboration, and docking strategy supports shortlist generation for experimental follow-up. Full article

The efficiency of six deep eutectic solvents (DESs) based on choline chloride (ChCl) and various hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) was evaluated against a traditional organic solvent for extracting polyphenolic bioactive compounds from three different white mulberry samples (Morus alba), including branches, leaves, and fruits. Ultrasound-assisted extraction was performed under selected conditions identified for ChCl/glycerol DES: a 1:2 molar ratio of hydrogen bond acceptor to HBD, 20% water added to the DES, a temperature of 80 °C, and an extraction time of 30 min, providing a set of standard parameters for comparing the efficiency of different DESs. Extraction efficiencies were assessed using a developed and validated HPLC method, as well as total phenolic content and total flavonoid content assays. Among the tested DESs, those composed of ChCl and polyalcohols as HBDs showed the best performance. For branch and leaf samples, the ChCl/glycerol DES was the most effective, while for fruit samples, the ChCl/ethylene glycol DES showed the highest efficiency. In most polyphenol extractions tested, at least one DES achieved extraction efficiencies comparable to or higher than those obtained with methanol, except for flavonoids, for which DES yields were often lower. Overall, the results indicate that using DESs represents a greener and more sustainable approach to extracting bioactive compounds from white mulberry. Full article

Defect engineering and metal–support coupling provide an effective route to tune interfacial charge dynamics for selective photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. Here, Ti-vacancy-rich Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BTvO) nanosheets were prepared and decorated with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) to build Au-BTvO junctions that favor multi-electron/proton transfer toward deep hydrogenation. The optimized 3%Au-BTvO achieved high hydrocarbon productivity under visible light (λ > 420 nm), delivering CH₄ and C₂H₆ formation rates of 92.66 and 17.96 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively, with stable performance over 25 h. Spectroscopic analyses reveal higher CO₂ uptake and more effective surface activation, increased water adsorption with a more favorable interfacial hydration environment, and time-dependent formation of key C₁ and C₂ intermediates. In situ light-irradiation XPS, PL mapping, and KPFM collectively demonstrate directional electron transfer from Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ to Au and amplified surface band bending, enabling efficient charge separation and accelerated surface reduction. This work highlights defect–metal synergy as a general strategy to boost activity, selectivity, and durability in visible-light CO₂-to-methane conversion. Full article

This work investigates the influence of sodium promotion on Ag/m-ZrO₂ catalysts for methanol steam reforming (MSR), focusing on activity, selectivity, surface chemistry, and mechanistic pathways. Temperature programmed reduction (TPR), XANES/EXAFS, CO₂ TPD, DRIFTS, and temperature programmed surface reaction methods were combined with fixed bed MSR testing to develop an integrated structure–function understanding of Na-modified Ag-ZrO₂ interfaces. Na addition systematically increases surface basicity, stabilizes strongly basic O²⁻ sites, and weakens the ν(CH) vibrational mode of surface formate, thereby facilitating C–H bond scission and accelerating decarboxylation to CO₂. At moderate promoter levels (0.5–1.0 wt.% Na), the catalysts show significantly enhanced CO₂ selectivity and increased conversion relative to unpromoted Ag/m-ZrO₂, while CH₄ formation remains negligible. Excessive Na (≥1.8 wt.%) leads to slower formate decomposition, greater carbonate stabilization, and suppressed conversion, revealing a narrow optimum around 1 wt.% Na. Short-term stability testing demonstrates steady conversion and product selectivity for both unpromoted and Na-promoted catalysts, with the latter maintaining markedly higher CO₂ selectivity. Although Pt/YSZ retains far superior intrinsic activity at ~10× higher space velocity, Ag offers a cost-advantaged alternative where lower cost metals are desirable. Collectively, these findings show that Na promotion enables tunable MSR selectivity on Ag/m-ZrO₂ by directing formate decomposition toward the CO₂-forming pathway. Full article

Plasmid copy number (PCN) is a key factor limiting the expression level of heterologous proteins in yeast. Static strategies for enhancing PCN, such as reducing the transcriptional intensity of selection markers or increasing selection pressure, only maintain PCN at a single fixed level and struggle to achieve dynamic, precise, and reversible copy number regulation. This study established a dynamic plasmid copy number regulation strategy based on CRISPR interference (CRISPRi). Flexible control of PCN was achieved by designing specific guide RNAs (gRNAs) and integrating them into the inducible CRISPRi system. Optimization of the gRNA target site, inducer concentration, and induction timing resulted in a >2-fold increase in the fluorescence intensity of yeast-enhanced green fluorescent protein (yeGFP) compared with the group without induction. Using naringenin synthesis as proof-of-concept, this regulatory tool was applied to modulate the expression of chalcone synthase (CHS), the rate-limiting enzyme in naringenin biosynthesis. Finally, the yield of naringenin increased by 35.62% under the optimal induction conditions. Full article

Low-temperature methanation technology offers a promising pathway for carbon recycling and sustainable energy storage by enabling near-equilibrium CO₂ conversion under atmospheric pressure. However, efficiently activating CO₂ at low temperatures remains a significant challenge due to the kinetic limitations of hydrogenation intermediates. We construct a composite oxide–metal interface structure by anchoring highly dispersed CeCrO_x nanoclusters onto metallic nickel via an ion-exchange method. This catalyst exhibits superior activity compared to conventional Ni/oxide catalysts with identical composition. Under atmospheric pressure at 220 °C, it achieves nearly 80% CO₂ conversion with over 99% methane selectivity and maintains excellent catalytic performance and structural stability during a 240-h continuous test. Systematic characterizations, including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, CO₂ temperature-programmed desorption, and in situ DRIFTS reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy, reveal that the synergistic modification by CeO₂ and Cr₂O₃ not only optimizes the electronic structure of Ni to promote CO₂ adsorption and activation, but also enhances H₂ dissociation and intermediate conversion by regulating oxygen vacancy concentration and alkaline site distribution. Mechanistic studies indicate that the reaction follows a synergistic mechanism dominated by the formate pathway and assisted by the CO pathway. Moreover, the interfacial structure effectively stabilizes active sites and inhibits carbon deposition from CH₄ decomposition. This study provides a universal and effective strategy for designing Ni-based CO₂ conversion catalysts suited for mild reaction conditions and characterized by high energy efficiency. Full article