Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hwaseok Hong, Dongwoo Ki, Hogyun Seo, Jiyoung Park, Jaewon Jang, Kyung-Jin Kim
Summary: In this study, a PET hydrolase (CaPETase) from Cryptosporangium aurantiacum with high thermostability and PET degradation activity at ambient temperatures was discovered, and its crystal structure was determined. This research is of great importance for addressing the issue of excessive PET waste.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wolfram Liebermeister
Summary: The Structural Thermokinetic Modelling (STM) framework is a method for translating metabolic networks into dynamic models, utilizing a dependence schema and probability distributions for probabilistic predictions, emphasizing the importance of biological variables and the effects of consistent reversible rate laws.
Article
Microbiology
Laura Vazquez-Alcantara, Rosa Maria Oliart-Ros, Arturo Garcia-Borquez, Carolina Pena-Montes
Summary: Cutinase genes from Moniliophthora roreri were successfully expressed under different induction conditions, with MRCUT1 showing the highest enzyme activity of 34,036 U/mg at 40 degrees C and pH 8. The enzyme also demonstrated promising degradation capabilities towards synthetic polyesters such as PES, PCL, and PET found in plastic residues, showcasing its potential as a green alternative for plastic degradation processes.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhou Yu, Leiqiu Hu, Ting Sun, John Albertson, Qi Li
Summary: This study identifies the reduced efficiency of the pathway from anthropogenic heat (AH) to sensible heat flux near high-rise buildings as a primary contributor to the underestimation of AH in urban centers. It highlights the importance of heat storage in AH quantification using remote sensing data and provides evidence for potentially correcting the bias in AH with improved heat storage modeling.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiao-Qian Chen, Zhi-Yong Guo, Lei Wang, Zheng-Fei Yan, Chang-Xu Jin, Qing-Song Huang, De-Min Kong, De-Ming Rao, Jing Wu
Summary: PET degradation efficiency can be significantly enhanced by the novel DPM strategy proposed in this study. Molecular simulations revealed the mechanism behind the improved degradation and demonstrated the effectiveness and universality of the DPM strategy in various enzymes.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anni Li, Yijie Sheng, Haiyang Cui, Minghui Wang, Luxuan Wu, Yibo Song, Rongrong Yang, Xiujuan Li, He Huang
Summary: The authors identified and engineered two BHETases to improve PET recycling and upcycling efficiency. By coupling BHETase into a dual-enzyme system, the challenge of heterogeneous product formation was overcome, resulting in an improved TPA production compared to other PET hydrolases. Furthermore, a tandem chemical-enzymatic approach was used to convert commercial post-consumed plastics into virgin PET and an example chemical, achieving closed-loop PET recycling and open-loop PET upcycling.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zixuan Zhang, Di Cai, Chaofeng Shao, Changjing Chen, Biqiang Chen
Summary: This study suggests a novel method for purifying high-purity polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hydrolase using a simple heating protocol. The purified PET hydrolases showed competitive specific activities compared to conventional nickel column purification methods, with higher protein and enzyme recovery rates.
PROCESS BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Susanne A. Benz, Steven J. Davis, Jennifer A. Burney
Summary: More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, and trends in rural-to-urban migration are expected to continue through the end of the century. Cities can alter the local surface energy balance, resulting in urban temperatures that differ dramatically from surrounding areas. Optimizing vegetation and surface albedo in urban areas has the potential to mitigate urban heat anomalies.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jessica Lusty Beech, Rita Clare, William M. Kincannon, Erika Erickson, John E. McGeehan, Gregg T. Beckham, Jennifer L. DuBois
Summary: Esterase enzymes play important roles in various hydrolysis reactions. This study presents a UV/visible assay for the real-time quantification of ester hydrolysis. The method offers an accurate and cost-effective route for high-throughput screening and kinetic measurements of esterases.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zhanzhi Liu, Ying Zhang, Jing Wu
Summary: The problem of PET waste has become a serious threat to the ecosystem. PET enzymatic biodegradation, using cutinase with fused PET binding domains, demonstrates a promising strategy to enhance PET degradation activity.
ENZYME AND MICROBIAL TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Linying Wang, Maoyi Huang, Dan Li
Summary: Green roofs provide cooling benefits for the urban environment by enhancing evapotranspiration, which depends on soil moisture conditions requiring irrigation. The magnitude and spatial variability of cooling benefits are mainly controlled by irrigation amount and a surface energy redistribution factor. Convective heat transfer efficiency plays an important role in determining the amount of irrigation needed for decreasing green roof surface temperature, highlighting the importance of surface energy balance in constraining the cooling benefits of green roof irrigation.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ya-Hue Valerie Soong, Margaret J. Sobkowicz, Dongming Xie
Summary: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a commonly used polyester plastic, but it is difficult to degrade in the natural environment. PET plastic is cheap, lightweight, and durable, but the increased production of plastic products has had negative environmental impacts. The long-term presence of PET waste poses serious threats to ecosystems, food safety, and human health. Recycling is an important action to reduce these impacts. This review discusses current PET recycling methods to improve waste management and reduce plastic pollution's impact on health and the environment.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Esther Ambrose-Dempster, Leona Leipold, Dragana Dobrijevic, Maria Bawn, Eve M. Carter, Gorjan Stojanovski, Tom D. Sheppard, Jack W. E. Jeffries, John M. Ward, Helen C. Hailes
Summary: Recent advances in enzymatic degradation of PET have resulted in the development of various PET hydrolytic enzymes and mutants. Scaling up methods for breaking down PET into its monomers for recycling or other purposes is urgently needed due to the accumulation of PET in the environment. Mechanoenzymatic reactions have become a promising alternative to traditional biocatalytic reactions. In this study, we report a significant increase in the yields of PET degradation by whole cell PETase enzymes by using ball milling cycles, leading to reduced solvent requirements compared to other degradation reactions and industrial scale PET hydrolysis reactions.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Alexis Sangnier, Eric Genty, Mathilde Iachella, Philippe Sautet, Pascal Raybaud, Mickael Matrat, Christophe Dujardin, Celine Chizallet
Summary: The study investigates the adsorption modes and strength of CO on platinum catalysts supported on gamma-Al2O3, revealing that CO primarily occupies top sites on supported Pt clusters. Compared to Pt(111), CO coverage is higher on supported Pt clusters and cluster reconstruction is observed at high coverage.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Erika de Queiros Eugenio, Ivone Sampaio Pereira Campisano, Ayres Guimara Dias, Aline Machado de Castro, Maria Alice Zarur Coelho, Marta Antunes Pereira Langone
Summary: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a widely used synthetic plastic, and this study developed a new method to quantify the hydrolytic activity of biocatalysts and a novel and straightforward method for MHET synthesis.
JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Gerlis von Haugwitz, Kian Donnelly, Mara Di Filippo, Daniel Breite, Max Phippard, Agnes Schulze, Ren Wei, Marcus Baumann, Uwe T. Bornscheuer
Summary: Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a water-soluble synthetic vinyl polymer with remarkable physical properties. However, its biodegradability is low and existing degradation methods have disadvantages. In this study, a modified PVA film and a PQQ-independent enzymatic cascade for the degradation of PVA are presented, which can be suitable for industrial applications.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yannick Branson, Simone Soeltl, Carolin Buchmann, Ren Wei, Lena Schaffert, Christoffel P. S. Badenhorst, Lukas Reisky, Gernot Jaeger, Uwe T. Bornscheuer
Summary: Enzymatic degradation and recycling are effective ways to reduce the environmental impact of plastics. However, there has been no efficient enzyme reported for the hydrolysis of polyurethanes. In this study, researchers discovered urethanases from a metagenome library constructed from soil exposed to polyurethane waste. They then developed a chemoenzymatic process using urethanase for polyurethane foam recycling.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Pan Wu, Zhishuai Li, Jian Gao, Yipei Zhao, Hao Wang, Huimin Qin, Qun Gu, Ren Wei, Weidong Liu, Xu Han
Summary: A novel carboxylesterase (Tcca) from Thermobacillus composti KWC4 was discovered, which can effectively degrade waste synthetic polyester plastics such as PBAT and BHET, offering great potential for waste management and environmental protection.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tugce Sener Raman, Mathias Kuehnert, Olesya Daikos, Tom Scherzer, Catharina Kroemmelbein, Stefan G. Mayr, Bernd Abel, Agnes Schulze
Summary: This study presents a novel hydrogel by incorporating PEGDA and gelatin, which exhibits stable mechanical properties and biocompatibility. The material properties of PEGDA/gelatin hybrid hydrogels can be fine-tuned by varying the irradiation dose and PEGDA/gelatin concentration.
FRONTIERS IN CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Bin Liu, Heike Straeuber, Florian Centler, Hauke Harms, Ulisses Nunes da Rocha, Sabine Kleinsteuber
Summary: The effects of pH alterations on microbial chain elongation in anaerobic mixed cultures were investigated. The community composition shifted dramatically when the pH increased from 5.5 to 6.5, but the product range and yields returned to previous states after transient fluctuations. The study highlights the importance of pH in shaping the abundance of key players and community functioning in microbial chain elongation.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Siqi Liu, Eleonore Veron, Shabnam Lotfi, Kristina Fischer, Agnes Schulze, Andrea I. Schaefer
Summary: The lack of effective technologies to remove steroid hormones (SHs) from aquatic systems is a critical issue for both environment and public health. The performance of a flow-through photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) with TiO2 immobilized on a photostable poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane (PVDF-TiO2) was evaluated. Increasing surface Ti content enhanced the degradation of 17 beta-estradiol (E2). The degradation kinetics were independent of both TiO2 homogeneity and membrane pore size.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jiawei Liu, Qingyi Zeng, Huirui Lei, Kaiyuan Xin, Anming Xu, Ren Wei, Ding Li, Jie Zhou, Weiliang Dong, Min Jiang
Summary: In this study, 20 strains capable of decomposing polyurethane (PU) and other plastics were isolated, including 11 bacteria and 9 fungi. The best PU degrader was found to be Cladosporium sp. P7. Additionally, it was discovered that PBA-PU is depolymerized via ester and urethane bond hydrolysis, followed by intracellular metabolism and mineralization of the monomers to CO2 and H2O.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Juan Lopez-Galvez, Konstanze Schiessl, Michael D. Besmer, Carmen Bruckmann, Hauke Harms, Susann Mueller
Summary: Cell density is crucial in microbiome research and biotechnological processes. The traditional offline determination of cell density causes delays and hinders quick action. An online automated flow cytometry procedure is proposed to address this issue, enabling real-time high-resolution analysis of bacterial communities and differentiation between cell subsets. The method combines the OC-300 automation device with the CytoFLEX flow cytometer to perform automatic sampling, dilution, fixation, and staining before measurement. The method allows for reproducible measurement of cell density and fingerprint-like patterns, facilitating automated data analysis and correlation analysis.
Article
Microbiology
Daniela Becker, Denny Popp, Fabian Bonk, Sabine Kleinsteuber, Hauke Harms, Florian Centler
Summary: Analyzing microbial communities using metagenomes is a powerful approach to understand compositional structures and functional connections in anaerobic digestion (AD) microbiomes. The hybrid sequencing approach of combining short-read and long-read sequencing provides better assembly statistics and generates more high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). It is the preferable option for dealing with complex microbiomes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marc Breulmann, Rene Kallies, Katy Bernhard, Andrea Gasch, Roland Arno Mueller, Hauke Harms, Antonis Chatzinotas, Manfred van Afferden
Summary: Wastewater-based monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 is a promising tool for tracking the potential spread of the virus. Recent studies have shown that passive samplers are effective in detecting SARS-CoV-2 genome copies in wastewater and can provide timely data. This study evaluated the suitability of passive samplers for long-term detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at both city-scale and small-scale levels, and found that passive samplers can accurately indicate the level of positive infections in the population.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Bruna Grosch Schroeder, Havva Betuel Istanbullu, Matthias Schmidt, Washington Logrono, Hauke Harms, Marcell Nikolausz
Summary: To mimic the lignocellulose pretreatment process in the gut system of Pachnoda marginata larvae, two wheat straw pretreatments were tested. The combination of size reduction and alkaline pretreatment resulted in the highest methane production. SEM analysis showed that alkaline pretreatment promoted biofilm formation and microbial growth on the wheat straw fibers. Mechanical and alkaline pretreatments led to increased methane yield, but the effects were not superimposed.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jan Mican, Da 'san M. M. Jaradat, Weidong Liu, Gert Weber, Stanislav Mazurenko, Uwe T. Bornscheuer, Jiri Damborsky, Ren Wei, David Bednar
Summary: Enzymatic PET recycling is a promising alternative to conventional methods, but requires optimization of PET hydrolases through engineering. A workflow integrating various methods can accelerate the discovery of PET-degrading enzymes, leading to the development of innovative plastic recycling techniques.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zahra Niavarani, Daniel Breite, Berfu Ulutas, Andrea Prager, Omer Kantoglu, Bernd Abel, Roger Glaser, Agnes Schulze
Summary: In this study, adsorber composite membranes were created for the efficient removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from water. The synthesized membranes demonstrated excellent adsorption capacities for a variety of EDCs, including testosterone, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, 17 beta-estradiol, equilin, and bisphenol-A. These composite membranes also showed great potential for regeneration and maintained their adsorption capacity over multiple cycles.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Toshimi Nakajima, Mao Kuragano, Makoto Yamada, Ryo Sugimoto
Summary: This study compared the contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to river nutrient budgets at nearshore and embayment scales, and found that SGD-derived nutrients become more important at larger spatial scales.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fan Liu, Lei Zhang, Chongyang Zhang, Ziguang Chen, Jingguang Li
Summary: NO2 emissions from wall-mounted gas stoves used for household heating have become a significant source of indoor pollution in Chinese urban areas. The high indoor concentration of NO2 poses potential health risks to residents. It is urgently necessary to establish relevant regulations and implement emission reduction technologies to reduce NO2 emissions from wall-mounted gas stoves.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Letter
Environmental Sciences
Hans Peter H. Arp, Raoul Wolf, Sarah E. Hale, Sivani Baskaran, Juliane Gluege, Martin Scheringer, Xenia Trier, Ian T. Cousins, Harrie Timmer, Roberta Hofman-Caris, Anna Lennquist, Andre D. Bannink, Gerard J. Stroomberg, Rosa M. A. Sjerps, Rosa Montes, Rosario Rodil, Jose Benito Quintana, Daniel Zahn, Herve Gallard, Tobias Mohr, Ivo Schliebner, Michael Neumann
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Philomina Onyedikachi Peter, Binessi Edouard Ifon, Francois Nkinahamira, Kayode Hassan Lasisi, Jiangwei Li, Anyi Hu, Chang-Ping Yu
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in sediments from Yundang Lagoon, China. The results show four distinct fluorescent components, with protein-like substances being the most prevalent. Additionally, the total fluorescence intensity and LREE concentrations exhibit a synchronized increase from Outer to Inner to Songbai Lake core sediments. The findings demonstrate a strong correlation between DOM content and pollution levels.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Surya Gupta, Pasquale Borrelli, Panos Panagos, Christine Alewell
Summary: The objective of this study is to incorporate soil hydraulic properties into the erodibility factor (K) of USLE-type models. By modifying and improving the existing equations for soil texture and permeability, the study successfully included information on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) into the calculation of K factor. Using the Random Forest machine learning algorithm, two independent K factor maps with different spatial resolutions were generated. The results show that the decrease in K factor values has a positive impact on the modeling of soil erosion rates.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jesmin Akter, Wendy J. M. Smith, Yawen Liu, Ilho Kim, Stuart L. Simpson, Phong Thai, Asja Korajkic, Warish Ahmed
Summary: The choice of workflow in wastewater surveillance has a significant impact on SARS-CoV-2 concentrations, while having minimal effects on HF183 and no effect on HAdV 40/41 concentrations. Certain components in the workflow can be interchangeable, but factors such as buffer type, chloroform, and homogenization speed can affect the recovery of viruses and bacteria.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Luo, Xueting Yang, Diwei Wang, Hongmei Xu, Hongai Zhang, Shasha Huang, Qiyuan Wang, Ningning Zhang, Junji Cao, Zhenxing Shen
Summary: Atmospheric PM2.5, which can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), is associated with cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality. The study found that both the mass concentration of PM2.5 and the DTT activity were higher during the heating season than during the nonheating season. Combustion sources were the primary contributors to DTT activity during the heating season, while secondary formation dominated during the nonheating season. The study also revealed that biomass burning had the highest inherent oxidation potential among all sources investigated.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erin L. Murphy, Leah R. Gerber, Chelsea M. Rochman, Beth Polidoro
Summary: Plastic pollution has devastating consequences for marine organisms. This study uses a trait-based framework to develop a vulnerability index for marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles in Hawai'i. The index ranks 63 study species based on their vulnerability to macroplastic pollution, providing valuable information for species monitoring and management priorities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kenji Maurice, Amelia Bourceret, Sami Youssef, Stephane Boivin, Liam Laurent-Webb, Coraline Damasio, Hassan Boukcim, Marc-Andre Selosse, Marc Ducousso
Summary: Growing pressure from climate change and agricultural land use is destabilizing soil microbial community interactions. Little is known about microbial community resistance and adaptation to disturbances, hindering our understanding of recovery latency and implications for ecosystem functioning. This study found that anthropic disturbance and natural disturbance have different effects on the topology and stability of soil microbial networks.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yunhao Li, Yali Feng, Haoran Li, Yisong Yao, Chenglong Xu, Jinrong Ju, Ruiyu Ma, Haoyu Wang, Shiwei Jiang
Summary: Deep-sea mining poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems and human health by disturbing sediment and transmitting metal ions through the food chain. This study developed a new regenerative adsorption material, OMN@SA, which effectively removes metal ions. The adsorption mechanism and performance of the material for metal ion fixation were investigated.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Antonio Medici, Margherita Lavorgna, Marina Isidori, Chiara Russo, Elena Orlo, Giovanni Luongo, Giovanni Di Fabio, Armando Zarrelli
Summary: Valsartan, a widely used antihypertensive drug, has been detected in high concentrations in surface waters due to its unchanged excretion and incomplete degradation in wastewater treatment plants. This study investigated the degradation of valsartan and identified 14 degradation byproducts. The acute and chronic toxicity of these byproducts were evaluated in key organisms in the freshwater trophic chain.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiang Lin, Lianbao Chi, Qing Yuan, Busu Li, Mingbao Feng
Summary: This study investigated the photodegradation behavior and product formation of two representative pharmaceuticals in simulated estuary water. The study found that the formed transformation products of these pharmaceuticals have potential toxicity on marine organisms, including oxidative stress and damage to cellular components.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hua Fang, Dongdong Jiang, Ye He, Siyi Wu, Yuehong Li, Ziqi Zhang, Haoting Chen, Zixin Zheng, Yan Sun, Wenxiang Wang
Summary: This study revealed that exposure to lower levels of air pollutants led to decreased pregnancy rates, with PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO emerging as the four most prominent pollutants. Individuals aged 35 and above exhibited heightened susceptibility to pollutants.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ali Shaan Manzoor Ghumman, Rashid Shamsuddin, Amin Abbasi, Mohaira Ahmad, Yoshiaki Yoshida, Abdul Sami, Hamad Almohamadi
Summary: In this study, inverse vulcanized polysulfides (IVP) were synthesized by reacting molten sulfur with 4-vinyl benzyl chloride, and then functionalized using N-methyl D-glucamine (NMDG). The functionalized IVP showed a high mercury adsorption capacity and a machine learning model was developed to predict the amount of mercury removed. Furthermore, the functionalized IVP can be regenerated and reused, providing a sustainable and cost-effective adsorbent.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rita Bonfiglio, Renata Sisto, Stefano Casciardi, Valeria Palumbo, Maria Paola Scioli, Erica Giacobbi, Francesca Servadei, Gerry Melino, Alessandro Mauriello, Manuel Scimeca
Summary: This study investigated the presence of aluminum in human colon cancer samples and its potential association with biological processes involved in cancer progression. Aluminum was found in tumor areas of 24% of patients and was associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell death. Additional analyses revealed higher tumor mutational burden and mutations in genes related to EMT and apoptosis in aluminum-positive colon cancers. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of aluminum toxicity may improve strategies for the management of colon cancer patients.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)