Trial Assay for Safe First-Aid Protocol for the Stinging Sea Anemone Anemonia viridis (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) and a Severe Toxic Reaction

Anemonia viridis is an abundant and widely distributed temperate sea anemone that can form dense congregations of individuals. Despite the potential severity of its sting, few detailed cases have been reported. We report a case of a severe toxic reaction following an A. viridis sting in a 35-year-old oceanographer. She developed severe pain, itching, redness, and burning sensation, which worsened one week after treatment with anti-inflammatories, antihistamines and corticosteroids. Prompted by this event, and due to the insufficient risk prevention, lack of training for marine-environment users, and lack of research into sting-specific first-aid protocols, we evaluated the cnidocyst response to five different compounds commonly recommended as rinse solutions in first-aid protocols (seawater, vinegar, ammonia, baking soda, and freshwater) by means of the Tentacle Solution Assay. Vinegar and ammonia triggered an immediate and massive cnidocyst discharge after their application and were classified as activator solutions. Baking soda and freshwater were also classified as activator solutions, although with a lower intensity of discharge. Only seawater was classified as a neutral solution and therefore recommended as a rinse solution after A. viridis sting, at least until an inhibitory solution is discovered.

Electrodeposited palladium as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrazine and methanol electro-oxidation and detection

Electrodeposited palladium was used as an electrocatalyst for electrochemical oxidation of hydrazine and methanol and the development of a sensitive platform for their detection. The electrochemical behavior of the electrode was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) while electroanalytical properties were determined by means of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The electrodeposited Pd catalyst exhibited good electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of hydrazine in neutral solution and methanol oxidation in alkaline solution. Under optimized DPV conditions, the electrodeposited Pd electrode shows good sensing capability in hydrazine and methanol detection.

Trial Assay for Safe First-Aid Protocol for the Stinging Sea Anemone Anemonia viridis (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) and a Severe Toxic Reaction

Anemonia viridis is an abundant and widely-distributed temperate sea anemone that can form dense congregations of individuals. Despite the potential severity of its sting, few detailed cases have been reported. We report a case of a severe toxic reaction following an A. viridis sting in a 35-year-old oceanographer. She developed severe pain, itching, redness and burning sensation, which worsened one week after treatment with anti-inflammatories, antihistamines and corticosteroids. Prompted by this event, and due to the insufficient risk prevention, lack of training for marine-environment users and lack of research into sting-specific first-aid protocols, we evaluated the cnidocyst response to five different compounds commonly recommended as rinse solutions in first-aid protocols (seawater, vinegar, ammonia, baking soda and freshwater) by means of the Tentacle Solution Assay. Vinegar and ammonia triggered an immediate and massive cnidocyst discharge after their application and were classified as activator solutions. Baking soda and freshwater were also classified as activator solutions, although with a lower intensity of discharge. Only seawater was classified as a neutral solution and therefore recommended as a rinse solution after A. viridis sting, at least until an inhibitory solution is discovered.

Efficient Hydrogen Generation and Total Nitrogen Removal for Urine Treatment in a Neutral Solution Based on a Self-Driving Nano Photoelectrocatalytic System

Urine is the main source of nitrogen pollution, while urea is a hydrogen-enriched carrier that has been ignored. Decomposition of urea to H2 and N2 is of great significance. Unfortunately, direct urea oxidation suffers from sluggish kinetics, and needs strong alkaline condition. Herein, we developed a self-driving nano photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) system to efficiently produce hydrogen and remove total nitrogen (TN) for urine treatment under neutral pH conditions. TiO2/WO3 nanosheets were used as photoanode to generate chlorine radicals (Cl•) to convert urea-nitrogen to N2, which can promote hydrogen generation, due to the kinetic advantage of Cl–/Cl• cyclic catalysis. Copper nanowire electrodes (Cu NWs/CF) were employed as the cathode to produce hydrogen and simultaneously eliminate the over-oxidized nitrate-nitrogen. The self-driving was achieved based on a self-bias photoanode, consisting of confronted TiO2/WO3 nanosheets and a rear Si photovoltaic cell (Si PVC). The experiment results showed that hydrogen generation with Cl• is 2.03 times higher than in urine treatment without Cl•, generating hydrogen at 66.71 μmol h−1. At the same time, this system achieved a decomposition rate of 98.33% for urea in 2 h, with a reaction rate constant of 0.0359 min−1. The removal rate of total nitrogen and total organic carbon (TOC) reached 75.3% and 48.4% in 2 h, respectively. This study proposes an efficient and potential urine treatment and energy recovery method in neutral solution.

Adsorption/Desorption Behaviors and SERS Chemical Enhancement of 6-Mercaptopurine on a Nanostructured Gold Surface: The Au20 Cluster Model

Computational approaches are employed to elucidate the binding mechanism and the SERS phenomenon of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) adsorbed on the tetrahedral Au20 cluster as a simple model for a nanostructured gold surface. Computations are carried out in both vacuum and aqueous environments using a continuum model. In the gaseous phase and neutral conditions, interaction of 6MP with the gold cluster is mostly dominated by a covalent Au−S bond and partially stabilized by the Au⋅⋅⋅H−N coupling. However, in acidic solution, the nonconventional Au⋅⋅⋅H−S hydrogen-bond becomes the most favorable binding mode. The 6MP affinity for gold clusters decreases in the order of vacuum > neutral solution > acidic medium. During the adsorption, the energy gap of Au20 substantially declines, leading to an increase in its electrical conductivity, which can be converted to an electrical noise. Moreover, such interaction is likely a reversible process and triggered by either the low pH in sick tissues or the presence of cysteine residues in protein matrices. While N−H bending and stretching vibrations play major roles in the SERS phenomenon of 6MP on gold surfaces in neutral solution, the strongest enhancement in acidic environment is mostly due to an Au⋅⋅⋅H−S coupling, rather than an aromatic ring-gold surface π overlap as previously proposed.

Performance analysis of photo-electrochemical photodetector based on liquid-phase exfoliation few-layered graphdiyne nanosheets

The band gap of two-dimensional (2D) materials become a hot issue for photoelectric detection. Recently, public attention is thoroughly aroused as to the remarkable electrical transport characteristic and super photoresponse of 2D graphdiyne. The simulation results show that the photoresponse can be adjusted in various solutions based on the graphdiyne nanosheets with different sizes and thicknesses. Based on few-layered graphdiyne nanosheets prepared by a liquid-phase exfoliation method, a photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type few-layered graphdiyne photodetector is demonstrated in this paper. A group of PEC tests are carried out in neutral solution to verify the simulation results. The as-prepared graphdiyne photodetector possesses high photocurrent density, effective responsivity and excellent cycle stability in condition of KCl electrolyte and solar illuminance. The detectivity of the PEC-type graphdiyne photodetector can be easy to adjust by altering electrolyte concentration and other corresponding parameters, which indicates the proposed equipment can be a good candidate for photoelectric detection.